AA City Guide: Berlin by Christopher Rice and Melanie Rice

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s up to date and easy to use.

Expert travel writers tell you all you need to know about Berlin.

Visit the must-see sights, or break away and try something a bit different.

The city is divided into districts, each with a locator map and information about the best sights, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. There’s also a handy foldout map.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This is a fairly superficial guide that focuses on only 25 attractions and although updated in 2011, I found that some of the attractions highlighted were actually closed for refurbishment until spring 2013 and 2014. The map and tube/tram map are useful but you can get these from any Berlin hotel for free. Ultimately I didn’t think this was particularly good value for money and I’m going to try Lonely Planet guides for future trips.

Hailey’s War by Jodi Compton

The Blurb On The Back:

Introducing a fierce, fearless heroine you’ll never forget …

Twenty-three-year-old Hailey Cain is going nowhere fast. A bike messenger on the free-for-all streets of San Francisco, she’s trying to outrun her failure to graduate from the United States Military Academy, as well as the tragic accident that forced her to leave Los Angeles.

When an old high school friend, now a career criminal, calls asking for a favour, it seems like an easy job: drive a naïve teenage girl home to her family’s village in rural Mexico. But on an isolated highway, Hailey and her charge drive into a calculated ambush from seven heavily-armed men. Hailey is shot. The firl disappears.

When Hailey finally recovers, the only thing she knows is that everything she thought she knew was wrong. The smart thing would be to go home and lick her wounds in private. But Hailey is through with doing the smart thing, the easy thing, the safe thing. Instead, with little more than resolve, she goes on a mission for answers … and for justice.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jodi Compton’s thriller, the first in a series, is a tightly written novel with a brave and resourceful heroine but the plot relies heavily on contrivance to keep the story moving, which I rapidly found irritating. All in all, it’s not a bad thriller but my attention did wane in the last quarter and I’m really not sure that I care enough about the main character to want to read on.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.