Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

From the cover:
Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of the group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

Being a fan of Vampire Academy i didnt know what to expect..i was hoping for Big things...and was i disappointed..?..
No i wasnt. It was good although it took a while for me to get into, the 2nd half of the book is def better than the first..but it has left me wanting to read book 2. It will be interesting to see how Sydney and Adrians relationship develops, if it develops. And how could i not want to read book 2 when Dimitri enters book 1 on the last page.
A good read.
All Vampire Academy fans will enjoy it I'm sure!
:)

The Maid - Kimberly Cutter

From the front cover

"The girl who led an army, the peasant who crowned a king, the maid who became a legend"

Based on the epic tale of Joan of Arc. A fabulous read. 

Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen

This book is full of suspense. A great read!
From the blurb;

'At first the prisoner scratches at the walls until her fingers bleed. But there is no escaping the room. With no way of mesuring time, her days, weeks, months go unrecorded. She vows not to go mad. She will not give her captors the satisfaction she will die first.'

The question is 'Why is this happening?' Gripping, it had me reading to the end to find the answer!

The Game Changer : Dr. Joyce Valenza

Wow! I was lucky enough to hear Joyce speak last Friday at the Melbourne SLAV conference. She really is an amazing, dynamic Teacher/Librarian

Click on the link above for Joyce's wiki notes from the PD