Manic Monday: Checkers by John Marsden

Each Monday (or the closest I can get to Monday) I will be posting a Past/Present/Future Reading Post called Manic Monday. I haven't been updating my reading list online, and not everyone is my friend on Goodreads to see what I have been reading. So this is a way for my friends and followers to get a glimpse at my reading agenda :D Just don't hate me if I post it on a Tuesday - it just indicates how "manic" my Monday really was! If you want to see more of what I have been reading, I try and update my Goodreads account with each book I am reading.


What I just finished reading
Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff
4/5 Stars

Blurb from Goodreads:
Fledgling wizard Tony is now an assistant director on "Darkest Night," the syndicated TV series about a vampire detective. But it's hard to concentrate on the latest episode when a Demonic Convergence is allowing lesser demons entry to our world, and the sexy stuntwoman, Leah, is also an immortal Demongate whose death would open the way to unimaginable peril. Can Tony halt the Convergence, keep Leah alive, and still have a career? Or will his artistic ambitions-not to mention the rest of the world-go up in smoke?

What I am reading now
Checkers by John Marsden

Blurb from Goodreads:
Australian author John Marsden's gripping suspense stories--with his signature shocking climaxes--have made him the John Grisham of the young adult set around the globe. Checkers, following this tradition, is the riveting story of a teenage girl who loses not only her family but her sanity when her father is suspected of participating in a financial scam--one that the media has traced to the highest levels of the Australian government. Telling the story in first-person flashbacks as the girl recuperates in a mental institution, Marsden symbolizes his protagonist's powerlessness by never revealing her name. The result is an eerie sense that she could be any teenager trying to understand her parent's cryptic behavior and motives. The only completely honest relationship the girl has is with her beloved dog Checkers, a gift from her father upon closing his most important deal. Checkers "wasn't the kind of dog you hug really tight, like a Labrador.... He had too much independence, too much pride," but he becomes the only source of comfort for the girl once the story breaks about her father's shady business practices. She never dreamed that the connection the reporters are searching for could be running around in her own backyard. Fraught with tension and political intrigue, Checkers is an intelligent page-turner for teens.

What I am reading next
I am still working my way through the many books I bought as part of the Galaxy EOFYS sale. On top of that, I went to the Lifeline Book Fair at Sutherland on Saturday, and I bought even MORE books!!! The thing is, with so many new books, I have no set reading order planned. Most of the books I haven't read before, or haven't even heard of the authors. It means I am doing a lot of picking and choosing before I start a new one. I bought more than 40 books in the last few weeks.



P.S. - Who do you think the best Paranormal Romance authors are?