The Twenty (The Barronlands Trilogy #1) - Claudia Carozza

Imagine living in a time when infertility runs rampant and babies are no longer being born. The world is crumbling around you as people start talking about the end. This is the world Hazel DeSales grew up in. After her mother dies from a mysterious cancer, Hazel finds herself taking care of her younger sister Netty and alcoholic father. 

It's not until twenty women, known as the Elect, become pregnant all across the Barronlands when things start looking up. Hazel and Netty apply for jobs working as domestics in the Antioch Center where the Elect will be taken care of and protected. Hazel feels change in the air and her outlook for the future starts to improve. 

But she soon learns that change is not without consequence. Rumors are brewing about a government cover up and Hazel finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. So begins the unraveling of secrets that uncover things from her past and, threatening her future. Hazel is determined to seek the truth and promises herself to do whatever it takes to succeed.

Although the conflict in the storyline is different, my first impressions were that this book is really similar to The Hunger Games as it was set in a time when there are segregated 'wards' and classes of societies, a younger sister that leans on the older sister, and a group of oppressed classes that are trying to overthrow the wealthy 'officials'.

Doesn't really live up to The Hunger Games standard (but then again they are big shoes to fill) andI thought that some of the characters were really simplistic and lacked a little depth, but there was enough action and movement in the storyline to make it a good easy read while on the train commute to/from work everyday.

Being the first part of a trilogy I am interested enough to want to keep on reading the second one, but didn't think it was anything to rave about.

Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexter #2) - Jeff Lindsay

He's a charming monster... A macabre hero... A serial killler who only kills bad people.

Dexter Morgan has been under considerable pressure. It's just not easy being an ethical serial killer - especially while trying to avoid the unshakable suspicions of the dangerous Sergeant Doakes (who believes Dexter is a homicidal maniac...which, of course, he is). In an attempt to throw Doakes off his trail, Dexter has had to slip deep into his foolproof disguise. While not working as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department, he now spends nearly all his time with his cheerful girlfriend, Rita, and her two children, sipping light beer and slowly becoming the world's first serial couch potato. But how long can Dexter play Kick the Can instead of Slice the Slasher? How long before his Dark Passenger forces him to drop the charade and let his inner monster run free?

In trying times, opportunity knocks. A particularly nasty psychopath is cutting a trail through Miami - a man whose twisted technique leaves even Dexter speechless. As Dexter's dark appetite is revived, his sister, Deborah (a newly minted, tough-as-nails Miami detective), is drawn headlong into the case. It quickly becomes clear that it will take a monster to catch a monster - but it isn't until his archnemesis is abducted that Dex can finally throw himself into the search for a new plaything. Unless, of course, his plaything finds him first...

With the incredible wit and freshness that drew widespread acclaim toDarkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay now takes Dexter Morgan to a new level of macabre appeal and gives us one of the most original, colorful narrators in years.

I read this one straight after I finished the first book, and it hasn't yet gotten old or boring. The storyline followed pretty much a same pattern as the first one, same wit and dark humour but with slightly different twists along the way.

If you enjoyed Darkly Dreaming Dexter you won't be disappointed by Dearly Devoted...

Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter #1) - Jeff Lindsay

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep's clothing. He's handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He's a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened -- of himself or some other fiend.

I haven't watched the TV series, although I have been told by enough people that it is definitely worth watching. From reading other reviews it looks like I have done it the right way by reading the book first, because I started reading this book series with no real comparison other than a few images to help me imagine what Dexter would look like as I was reading. So, contrary to what other readers have said, I was not at all disappointed by the book version. I found Dexter sarcastic and witty in all the right places, and his internal dialogue was helpful in showing how hard he tried to blend in to his surrounding.

I don't usually read too many thriller/murder mysteries, but I loved this, and am picking up the second one to continue on straight away.

Secret Daughter: A Novel - Shilpi Somaya Gowda

On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.

Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband, Krishnan, see a photo of the baby with the gold-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion. Somer knows life will change with the adoption but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.

Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies, "Secret Daughter" poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families--one Indian, one American--and the child that indelibly connects them.

Beautifully written, this book really opened my eyes as to how lucky I am, and how I should not take my family for granted. I had never thought about how Internationally adopted children might have a yearning for their homeland, but this was conveyed well throughout the story.

I loved how we saw the contrasts of the families and how and watched then unfurl and then weave together.

I would definitely recommend for anyone who likes to read about lifestyles in different countries.