Ocean Light by Nalini Singh

Have you discovered the phenomenon that is Nalini Singh? This prolific writer has written over 16 books in the Psy-Changeling series and because she was raised in New Zealand we can call her one of our own.

Ocean Light (number 2 in her Psy-Changeling Trinity series) is the latest offering from Nalini. The story and takes place in an alternate future where Humans, Changelings (shifters) and Psy (people with varying psychic powers) live together after a tenuous peace accord has been reached.

Bowen Knight wakes up from a coma after being shot by a bullet meant for his sister. The ‘Consortium’ which he is the head of has a traitor in its midst and it is up to him to try and get to the bottom of the mystery. So far, this could be any ‘who-dun-it story but the reality is far different. When Bowen wakes, he is not in some city hospital, but instead in Ryujin, the deep underwater base / habitat of the Black Sea Shifters.

This is his story of coming to terms with the fact that he has a ticking time bomb in his head and the experimental surgery he has offered to be a part of has a 50% chance of either killing him or leaving him brain dead.

This is also the story of Kaia, a scientist turned cook who is a member of the Black sea shifters and whose blossoming relationship with Bowen is central to the story. Kaia has no time for humans who have caused her much heartache, and the last thing she wants to do is to fall prey to the dangerous charm of a human who is a dead man walking, but she simply cannot stay away from Bowen.

When Kaia is taken by those who mean her harm Bowen will do anything to get her back even if it means striking a devil’s bargain and giving up his mind to the enemy.

If you haven’t read other books in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini, this may not be the best place to start, as her storylines and characters all intertwine to create a totally satisfying reading experience, however for fans of her book, you will not be disappointed in this latest offering.

Reviewed by Fiona Frost

Catalogue link:  Ocean Light

A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde

“Lorna, a talented gardener and Philly a young Irish plantswoman come together through their love of plants and gardens to work in the grounds of a beautiful manor house in the Cotswolds. For both of them finding love has been unsuccessful.”
So starts the blurb for this the latest from the prolific romance author Katie Fforde. Romance is not my normal fiction of choice, but the covers of her book are whimsically appealing and almost beg to be picked up and perused. However, reading this book was a bit like watching the TV series Married at First Sight. I seemed to spend my time alternately wanting to shake Philly and Lorna and throttle the male characters for beating about the bush so much. Does no-one know how to communicate with anyone these days?
As a romance novel, the path to finding and holding onto love figures highly throughout the book. We follow the journey of these two characters as they come to grips with attraction, frustration, troublesome parents and children, a reminder of a past life and a seemingly overwhelming inability to be able to make decisions about their lives.
‘What I want to know is what lies behind those ash trees at back of the garden’ (Lorna).
I loved the idea of the secret garden and having lived in a house that had its own walled garden I know they can be wonderful mysterious, mystical places especially when they are hidden away. The answer seemed a long time coming. I waited and waited for the garden to materialise, especially given that it is in the title of the book and also the blurb. In fact the garden is so secret that it isn’t discovered until quite a lot of the story has been read, and even then it seems almost to be tacked on at the end of the story as an afterthought. I am also amazed that someone who called herself a gardener by vocation could not know that there was a garden hidden away on the property she worked on, even when it was a large sprawling property.
Despite everything written above, I do understand why Katie Fforde is so popular. Her books are easy to read, take us out of the humdrum of our own lives and allow us if only for an instant, to be onlookers in a society populated by people named Lucien, Philomena (Philly) and Seamus and where the message being shouted out loud is that people can find and keep love at any age, young, middle or old and that there is somebody out there for everyone.

Reviewed by Fiona

Catalogue link:  The Secret Garden