Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

Something Rotten (2004) (Hodder)
Jasper Fforde
Grade: A-
Genre: fiction / crime / alternate reality
Source: own
Thursday Next: (1) The Eyre Affair, (2) Lost in a Good Book, (3) The Well of Lost Plots, (4) Something Rotten

TBR RBC 2015: A book by Jasper Fforde 

After two years as the ‘Bellman’, head of Jurisfiction in The Well of Lost Plots (the place where all fiction is written), Thursday has decided that she’s had enough. While the work keeps her busy and certainly keeps her busy, she needs to get back to the real world to get her husband, Landen, uneradicated by the mammoth Goliath corporation and let her son grow up in a world out of books. Tasked with acclimatising Hamlet to the real world, evading both her official stalker and the assassin trying to kill her, stopping a coup against President George Formby, trying to save all Danish books from a terrible fate and preventing the end of the world with an awesome game of Superhoop, will Thursday ever have time to fix her own troubles?

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The Here and Now (2014) (Hodder Children's Books)
Ann Brashares
Grade: C+
Genre: young adult / time travel
Source: own / NetGalley

General RBC 2015: A book set in the future 

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

These are the most important rules of Prenna’s community – the rules that she knows she must abide by if they’re to blend in and appear normal. Ethan is the first and only person who makes Prenna want to risk revealing her community’s secret: that they’re from another time … In the future, a mosquito-borne disease is rapidly killing huge swathes of humanity. The early twenty-first century is identified as a ‘safe haven’ where those who have managed to avoid the disease can start over. But the restrictive rules about never revealing where they’re from, never dramatically changing the course of history and never being intimate with someone from outside their community are put to the test as Prenna and Ethan are drawn into a course of events that has the potential to destroy the world – and history – as they know it …

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

A Knight in Shining Armor (1989, 2002) (Pocket Books)
Jude Deveraux
Grade: B+
Genre: time travel / contemporary romance / historical romance
Sex scenes: mild
Source: own
Montgomery: ... (16) A Knight in Shining Armor

Romance RBC 2015: An AAR Top 100 Romance 1998 

Dougless Montgomery is used to being the failure in her family, whether this is in relation to her job, her friends or her love life. When she is unceremoniously deserted in the middle of the English countryside by the man she thought she loved and his bratty daughter, Dougless is at her wit’s end. Her family are the last people she wants to turn to, but as she considers her (limited) options in an old church in a tiny village, she realises that she has no other choice … that is, until, a knight in shining armour literally appears out of nowhere …

One moment Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck was locked in a tower awaiting his execution, and the next he finds himself in a strange, fast-paced England where his title means nothing and he supposedly died over four hundred years earlier, leaving behind a damning reputation and legacy. At first, Dougless thinks Nick is simply a very authentic and dedicated role-player, but as he reveals more about his life, she is forced to re-evaluate. As the pair help each other navigate unfamiliar ground, they are launched into an adventure that will change their lives – and the course of history – forever …

Me and Mr J by Rachel McIntyre

Me and Mr J (2015) (Electric Monkey, Egmont)
Rachel McIntyre
Grade: B++
Genre: young adult
Source: own

TBR RBC 2015: A book on Egmont's frontlist 

Lara Titliss (Worst. Surname. Ever.) has recently found salvation in her new diary – an unexpected and unwanted gift from her grandmother. It is in these pages that Lara documents the bullying and torment she suffers from her peers as a result of being a tall, gangly red-head and the least popular girl at school, yet also her discovery of her soulmate. One problem – he’s her teacher. Mr Jagger is the best thing that has ever happened to her school. All the girls in Lara’s class unashamedly throw themselves at him, but she’s the one who he praises in class and asks for help with a special project. He’s the first person who takes her seriously and takes the time to listen to her problems; it’s no wonder that she falls helplessly over heels in love with him. Surely he can’t love her back …

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood (2011) (Hodder)
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Grade: B
Genre: young adult / supernatural
Source: bookbridgr
Covenant: (1) Half-Blood

General RBC 2015: A book based on a myth 

The Hematoi descend from the union of Gods and mortals. Children of two pure-blood Hematoi possess god-like powers and are like the royalty of their community. Children of a pure-blood and a mortal – not so much. They have two choices in life: become a slave in the households of pure bloods, or train to become a Sentinel and protect their community.

Three years ago, Alexandria Andros was taken away from the Covenant by her mother. Now that her mother’s dead, Alex has been returned to the Covenant and must fight for the right to stay – not easy given that she’s missed three years of training. The delectable Aiden has taken responsibility for Alex’s training and Alex is determined to prove that she’s got what it takes to become a Sentinel. Her journey isn’t helped by both others’ wish that she fail and her forbidden attraction to pure-blood Aiden …

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

The Well of Lost Plots (2003) (Hodder)
Jasper Fforde
Grade: B+
Genre: fiction / crime / alternate reality
Source: own
Thursday Next: (1) The Eyre Affair, (2) Lost in a Good Book, (3) The Well of Lost Plots

General RBC 2015: A funny book 

Former literary detective Thursday Next has recently taken up residence in the Well of Lost Plots, the place where all fiction is created. In the real world, the evil Goliath Corporation want her dead and she needs to think about the safety of her unborn child. Settling in to Cavendish Heights, an unpublished novel of dubious quality, this is the perfect time for Thursday to consider how she’s going to approach single-parenthood and how she can reverse Goliath’s eradication of her husband, Landen. Amidst training with Miss Havisham to become a Jurisfiction agent and saving Cavendish Heights from a disastrous future, Thursday realises that something is seriously wrong in the Well and must work out who she can trust, and who wants her dead …

Seed by Lisa Heathfield

Seed (2015) (Electric Monkey, Egmont) (publishing 16/04/2015)
Lisa Heathfield
Grade: A+
Genre: young adult
Source: own
Seed: (1) Seed

General RBC 2015: Free Square 

Seed loves her. Seed will never let her go ...

All Pearl knows is life at Seed. At Seed, they’re all children of Mother Nature who will love and protect them so long as they remain true to each other and live pure lives. In contrast, life on the Outside is dangerous, evil and poisonous. Their tiny community reap and sow the land under the guidance of their charismatic leader, Papa S. At fifteen years old, Pearl will soon become Papa S’s Companion, a role she simultaneously looks forward to, yet fills her with unease. When a new family from the Outside joins their way of life at Seed, this is just the start of a massive upheaval affecting every aspect of their lives. Ellis forces Pearl to question everything she has ever been told about the Outside world, and he challenges some of the very beliefs that they hold dearest at Seed. As some shocking truths are discovered, it's time for Pearl to re-evaluate everything she believes in ...   

The Game and the Governess by Kate Noble

The Game and the Governess (2014) (Headline Eternal)
Kate Noble
Grade: C
Genre: historical romance
Sex scenes: mild
Source: bookbridgr

Winner Takes All: (1) The Game and the Governess

Lord Edward Granville, Earl of Ashby, has never been short of luck. From his time on the battlefield to his way with the ladies and at the card table, he’s more than earned his nickname of ‘Lucky Ned’. When Ned is challenged to a wager with his best friend and secretary, John Turner, he can’t say no. John doesn’t think that Ned can win over a lady without the benefit of his title, and so the pair agree to switch identities during a trip to visit one of Ned’s properties.

Governess Phoebe Baker wants nothing more than to keep her employers happy whilst making sure that her students are getting a good education. There’s no one she’d rather avoid than the Earl of Ashby. Phoebe has a past with the Earl that she would rather keep private and so when she discovers that he’ll be staying for a week with his secretary, it’s her worst nightmare. Thankfully, she doesn’t see much of the Earl, but his secretary is persistent in crossing her path … and making her pulse flutter …

The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

The Executioner's Daughter (2014) (Egmont)
Jane Hardstaff
Grade: C
Genre: children's
Source: own

The Executioner's Daughter: (1) The Executioner's Daughter 

The people of London love a good beheading. The streets are always bustling on beheading day as spectators jostle to get the best view and satisfy their bloodthirsty curiosity. Moss can imagine nothing worse, but unfortunately, she’s present at every single one. As the daughter of the executioner, it’s her job to catch the poor soul’s head in her basket. Living with her father, Moss has never seen outside the Tower’s walls and longs to follow the river and be free of their current life. Then Moss meets Salter, a boy living independently off his wits on the river. But London – and especially the Thames – is no place for children this harsh winter. Word has it that something lurks in the water and it’s targeting children …