south africa

Review: Ivory by Tony Park

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This is a crazy good pirate adventure! Alex lives on the shores of Mozambique, building a luxury hotel… with a band of friends who have their own agendas. They are a group of pirates, stealing supplies and construction materials whenever they can, until a bigwig with a secret tries HIS hand at piracy. And then the bigwig’s corporate attorney Jane gets all mixed up in the crossfire. Throw in a Chinese crime lord, some Romancing the Stone meets Oceans Eleven, and you’ve got yourself excitement on the high seas. 

I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I needed a departure from my usual. I ended up LOVING the characters, the twists, the old-school piracy, the modern criminal aspect, the beachy vibe, the double double cross, and the tiny bit of romance. And I learned quite a bit about the government practice of culling ivory. 

Despite the bad guys outnumbering the good guys, Alex and Jane get what they wanted in the end, and I got a happily ever after. 

-calliope 

Buy IVORY

Review: Love, in Writing; by Elsa Winckler

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20131102-220427.jpg Just released this month!

Love, in Writing is about a romance author, Margaret, who meets a sci-fi writer, Graham. They live in different towns in South Africa but keep running into each other at various events. Margaret and Graham develop a relationship, but each is too stubborn to see the love they have between them.

I enjoyed the South African setting, the surfing references, crazy cousin Louise, and Margaret’s bookshop (full of books with happy-ever-afters). The author signings and book launches were fun to read about, too.

I really liked that Margaret stood her ground and wouldn’t compromise her values and needs just because she met a hot guy. She wanted Love and Forever, and she was prepared to wait for it. I also thought it was great that Graham wanted to hold back, since his goal was a casual relationship. He pulled back from getting too close to Margaret before he was really ready.

Within this novel, Margaret and Graham wrote about each other in the books they were writing. Using valuable novel space to describe how and what they were writing was a little too silly for me. I skimmed over those parts when I saw them coming. I thought the plans near the end to get back together were also a little unrealistic. But I suspended my disbelief and was satisfied with the ending and the epilogue.

Love, in Writing is a well-written, quirky romance. The characters are fun, and the setting is unique. I enjoyed it.

–Calliope

Buy it now Love, in Writing