The Fast Paced Thriller: Dan Brown's Inferno

When Robert Langdon awakes in a hospital bed in Florence with a head wound and no recollection of the past three days the last thing he expects is to be hunted by an armed killer who wants something that Robert has possession of. Robert discovers Dante's Inferno holds the answers to the high-stake riddle he finds himself drawn into.

Fans of the Robert Langdon books are really going to enjoy this book, as Dan Brown once again delivers another fast-paced thriller, this time using city of Florence as the backdrop and Dante's Inferno poem and artworks dedicated to it as the clues that Langdon must use to solve a riddle that could cost human kind dearly.

As much as I did enjoy reading this , at times it feels very similar to Brown's previous books Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code as the formula of the books feels like it is repeated for the third time. This time Da Vinci has been replaced with Dante as the American professor uses clues from the artwork and poetry of Renaissance Italy instead to guide him on his quest. After three books Professor Langdon doesn't offer much as a character, he comes off as more of a blank page than a mystery.

That being said if what you are after is pure escapism and you fancy a bit more of what Dan Brown has to offer than this fast paced thriller would be a great easy holiday read. The backdrop of Florence is easy to get lost into with Langdon and Brown weaves the artwork and story surrounding Dante's work Inferno in a very enjoyable way.

Candles to rival Diptyque?

If you have ever shopped at a Westfield mall in Australia or New Zealand (or anywhere else that has Peter Alexander pajama stores) I’m going to take a bet that you’ve been enticed into their store by the smell of sweet delicious vanilla. Well, its all thanks to the beautiful smelling Glasshouse candles.

Now I have always been an admirer of Diptyque but with an eye watering price-tag I’ve never quite been able to take the plunge. Glasshouse are not only a more affordable option but they are also put out the most ah-may-zing scents, come in beautiful display worthy jars and are also massive to boot. While I think I have outgrown the vanilla scent that Peter Alexander stores are famous for the range of fragrances is pretty vast. I picked up two Glasshouse candles a couple of months ago when we moved into our house and have been burning Esperance, a mimosa and apple scent, on chilly winter evenings. I also picked up Saigon, a lemongrass fragrance which I think I’ll keep for summer as it’s a beautifully light fragrance.

The candles come in two sizes - the bigger sized jars are truly massive with 80 hours of burn time in them, while the smaller candles are perfect for trying out various fragrances. I bought my mum three of the small summer varieties for Christmas last year (Montego Bay, Galapagos and Bora Bora) and they give a really fresh and clean scent without being overpowering.

I really love the simple packaging of the jars which will be perfect for reusing, when I finally get to the bottom and they don’t have any nasty labels stuck to the outside which is something that often puts me off buying other expensive candles. Peter Alexander and Adore Beauty stock these online but you can also order from the Glasshouse website. Another bonus is they are all aussie made! I really don’t think I need any more candles since two is going to take me months and months to use up but they also have a range called ‘La Maison’ that come in really beautifully designed black geometric jars so I think I might just have to try those out as well.