The Sisters by Claire Douglas - Review
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid - Review
Saturday, December 17, 2022
How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie - Review
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
I have seen so many people read this book, and then two of my friends did it for their work book club, so I thought I would finally get around to it. I requested it at the library and picked it up soon after. It's a really strange book and I'm not entirely if I liked it, but I did find it very compelling.
So the unlikely heroine of the book is Grace. At the beginning of the book she is in prison, serving time for a murder she didn't commit. However, she has committed six murders, so there's some irony that she's serving time for something she actually didn't do. She has started writing the story of what happened with the six murders she did commit, keeping her paper concealed from her cellmate Kelly. Grace is definitely not likeable, but she is captivating.
She was brought up by her single mother, who then died when she was only around twelve, I think. (I'm writing this review quite a while after I read this book as I just haven't been able to get my brain into gear!) She first of all goes to live with her mum's friend, Helene, but then Helene wants to move back to France so Grace moves in with her friend Jimmy's family. She is loved and accepted there, but she's already decided that she needs to kill several members of her dad's family.
She knows who her dad is - a self made millionaire called Simon. He is married and has a daughter just a little bit younger than Grace. He knows that Grace exists and has for her whole life, but wants nothing to do with her life. Grace's plan is to kill her cousin, her uncle, Simon's wife and daughter, and then Simon himself. She will be sure to make them all look like accidents, and then when everything has died down a bit, she will reveal herself as a biological relative and demand some of the money. She wants to set herself up for a better life than how she grew up.
It's a brilliant plan, until she's accused of a murder she didn't commit and ends up inside. She's got an appeal pending, though, and a very good lawyer. It's obvious that there's a twist coming but I didn't at all see what it was. It was a good twist, but I felt the end of the book was a little bit rushed. I also think that it's obvious that Bella Mackie is a journalist primarily - while this doesn't make her a bad writer, it does make her write in a certain way.
I'm giving this four out of five though, and I would read something else by her!
The Railway Murders by J R Ellis - Review
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Forever Home by Graham Norton - Review
Thursday, December 8, 2022
You know that I like Graham Norton's books - I've read all his previous ones, which you can find reviews for here - so I keep an eye on new books by him. I saw this one was coming out so I requested it from the library. I am so thankful for my library and the easy system and the friendly librarians! I am trying to not buy as many books so using the library is perfect for me.
So in this book Carol is a fifty something year old teacher. She has one son, an adult, who lives in London I think? She herself lives in a small town in Cork. She is divorced and for the past ten years or so she's been in a relationship with Declan. He's quite a bit older than her and has two children, Killian and Sally. Carol started off as Sally's tutor, which is how she met Declan. His wife disappeared several years before Declan and Carol got together. No one quite sees what Carol saw in Declan, but they have had quite a happy relationship.
But Declan has developed dementia, and over a few years it has become clear that Carol can no longer look after him in their home. Carol loves the house - three storeys, with worn oak floors - and knows that Declan didn't want it ever to be sold. But when Declan goes into a home, Killian and Sally reveal that they own the home, under a power of attorney made by a friend of Carol's who's a lawyer. They have always disapproved of Carol's relationship with their father, but she is shocked. She then has to move back in with her aging parents. Her father is the owner of a chain of coffee shops, meaning the family has a lot of money. So when Killian and Sally put Declan's house up for sale, Carol's dad sets out to buy it for her. Her mum is deeply suspicious of the family as a whole and of Declan's ex wife also, so when Carol gets the house she joins Carol in starting to sort it out.
Meanwhile Killian and his husband Colin have a comfortable but dull life. Killian is quite a terrible person so I felt like he got everything he deserved, but he's such a snot about everything. They are expecting a baby but Killian's heart isn't in it.
Sally is thirty-something and lives a somewhat dull life. But with the sale of the house, opportunities are opening up to her as she now has money. She isn't sure what she wants to do, but she knows working as a canteen cook isn't it. I felt sorry for Sally - she has been a bit forgotten by everyone in her life. I also really liked Carol - she seemed very resilient. I don't think we got to know Declan very well, but that might have been intentional thanks to his illness.
I liked the book and think Graham is really good at spinning a whole yarn. However, this didn't hit as well as some of his other books for me. I can't fully explain why. But I'm giving it four out of five anyway!
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Review
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce - Review
Saturday, December 3, 2022
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson - Review
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
This was the November choice, chosen by Margarate who never steers us wrong. I'm writing this before the book club meets, but I think generally the reaction to the book will be positive. We'll see though!
There are three strands to the book, which is set in 1972. First of all there's Clara. She is eight years old and lives in Solace, Northern Ontario, with her parents and older sister Rose. Rose is sixteen and just before the beginning of the book she has run away. This has happened before but she's only ever been gone for a couple of nights, not for a week or more. Clara has decided to stand in the window watching for her sister until Rose returns home, which is why she sees the man move into Mrs Orchard's house next door. She watches intently, watching him move Mrs Orchard's possessions around. She has to keep going next door because she promised Mrs Orchard that she would look after her cat, Moses, until she comes out of hospital.
The man is Liam, and the second strand of the story is his. He is in his late thirties and he's just split up with his wife, Fiona. They lived in Toronto. Liam has been left the house by Elizabeth Orchard, a woman from his childhood who he barely remembers. Liam is an accountant, but he's quite dissastisfied with his life and ends up working for the local joiner/handyman. Everyone in the small town knows that he's arrived. The local sheriff comes to talk to him about the missing girl, but Liam obviously knows nothing but realises that the family next door - and especially Clara - are fragile
The third strand is Elizabeth. She is in hospital, at the end of her life. She was only supposed to be in for a couple of weeks, hence her asking Clara to look after that cat, but it turns out that her heart is failing and there's nothing doctors can do about it. She is reminiscing about her past, her thoughts directed towards her late husband. She goes over how they met Liam's family and how they got so attached to him that she would then leave him the house and, when she dies, most of her money.
I liked the story about Rose and Clara's naivety about the situation. I really liked Liam, who really grew over the course of the book. I didn't love Elizabeth's storyline, and I felt it was a bit obvious where it was going. I'm giving this four out of five because I mostly really liked it.
Name Upon Name by Sheena Wilkinson - Review
Sunday, November 27, 2022
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell - Review
Friday, November 25, 2022
The Swimmer by Graham Norton - Review
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
I was looking on the library system for Graham's new book, Forever Home, and saw this one, which I haven't read. I wasn't expecting it to be such a small book - it's one of those short story things - but that was fine, I still really enjoyed the story and am giving it five out of five.
A woman called Helen lives in Bantry Bay in the south west of Ireland, in a house right on the coast. She lives with her sister, Margaret, who irritates her and upsets her peaceful retirement. One day, Helen is sitting in the coastal garden when a man passes her on his way to swim. He is carrying a distinctive carrier bag, and speaks briefly to Helen. She watches him swim for a while, and then she falls asleep. When she wakes up an hour later the carrier bag is still on the beach and Helen gets worried. She raises the alarm with the local barman, Pat, whose life isn't panning out exactly as he would have wanted.
Police are called and reckon the man has drowned. They identify him as Tom Shine. Margaret goes on the TV saying she spoke to the man, although that's a lie and only Helen did. Helen and Pat begin to get close, playing chess together in the pub. Then Helen goes up to Dublin and meets a familiar stranger...
This is a cute story, I liked it!
The Ministry of Unladylike Activity by Robin Stevens - Review
Sunday, November 20, 2022
The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas - Review
Thursday, November 17, 2022
The Haunting Season by various authors - Review
Monday, November 14, 2022
I heard of this book because my friend Janet posts some Kindle deals on Instagram every month, of books that are like a pound to buy. I don't always buy them, but this one piqued my interest so I spent 99p on it. It's still showing as 99p when I write this, so here's the link. I thought this would be a good book to read in October and I was right! I really enjoyed all the stories.
I really enjoyed Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story which had echoes of The Yellow Wallpaper and which featured a woman who was about to give birth. I enjoyed the story about a woman fleeing an abusive husband with their child. And I liked the one set on the Jurassic Coast about a newly married man uncovering a prehistoric skeleton and believing it would make him famous. Those are the ones that stick out a couple of weeks after I read the book, but honestly I liked them all and would thoroughly recommend the book if you like gothic stories. I'm giving this four out of five.
Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald - Review
Friday, November 11, 2022
I can't remember where I heard of this book but there must have been a reason I heard of it, or someone recommended it to me. I requested it at the library in August, and it arrived while I was on holiday in France. The library keeps holds for two weeks before returning them, so I sent Lee to pick the book up on the day after we got back from holiday. I didn't get round to it until early October, though, by which time it was due back at the library. I tried to renew it, but the system told me the item had holds on it, so I couldnt.
Now I actually find this impossible to believe, because of this:
This is the check out record at the front of the book, and as you'll see, the last time it was out before me was AUGUST 2000!!! I cannot believe that no one has requested it in twenty years and then two of us did at the same time?! I am pretty sure it had been in county reserves for that entire time, to be honest. Maybe it was just a bug in the system? It was weird and funny anyway!
So I can't remember why I wanted to read this, but I picked it up anyway. It reminded me of Transcription by Kate Atkinson. The characters are somewhat confusing and often referred to by their roles at the BBC - DPP and RPD and other things like that. I had to keep reminding myself of who was who. Sam and Jeff are those two, are department heads who record sounds and programmes and other things for use at the BBC. They each have young assistants, Recorded Programme Assistants. Sam surrounds himself with young women so they will mostly care about his worries. The book is set in 1940 when bombs are raining down upon London. Violet is one of the RPAs and she becomes friendly with Lise, a new one, who then disappears. She later asks for a pass to be allowed to use the BBC's bunk room.
The new RPA is Annie, from Birmingham, who has had an interesting life up to now. She soon falls in love with Sam.
The book is quite short, and to the point. I liked the prose a lot, and the conversations between the RPAs. I did find it confusing in parts, but I'm glad I persevered with it as it was quite a departure for me. I'm giving it four out of five!
Lily: A Tale of Revenge by Rose Tremain - Review
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
This book was the October choice for my book club so I bought it on eBay for just a few quid and picked it up in early October. I wasn't sure what to expect from it as I haven't read anything else by the author. It reminded me very much of The Five by Hallie Rubenhold as it's set in the Victorian era and other people in my book club said that too.
Lily starts the book aged about seventeen, and she tells the reader immediately that she is a murderer. This did make me look at every character she encountered like 'is this who she killed? is this?!' so I thought that was an interesting way of starting a book. We go backwards and forwards in time from Lily now to her early childhood.
She was a foundling child, found in a park abandoned by her mother and left in a sack with a bag of hair in it as a token. She was found by a policeman, Sam Trench, and taken to Thomas Coram's foundling hospital. She was then fostered to a family in Suffolk, with loving parents and three older brothers. She had an idyllic early childhood there, but what she didn't realise is that aged six she would be taken back to the hospital in London and abandoned by her foster parents.
When she's there, she immediately comes up against Nurse Maud, who is cruel towards her and other children. Lily makes friends with another little girl with whom she shares a bed and the two of them escape the hospital but run into trouble and are soon dragged back there.
As a teenager, Lily is apprenticed to a wigmaker called Belle who praises her eye for detail and becomes something of a mother figure towards Lily. She reckons she has information on Lily's real mother and Lily tries to find her. Meanwhile Sam, the officer who found her, and his wife come back into Lily's life and they want to be kind towards her to. To a point. I was totally on board with them until Sam turned totally creepy.
I liked the book, it was compelling and kept me reading. I liked Lily and wanted her to succeed and when the murder did occur I was completely on her side and felt it was justified. Some of us in the book group questioned whether the ending (which I won't spoil) was realistic or not, but I felt like she deserved some happiness! It was an interesting one to discuss and I'm giving it four out of five.
Nothing More to Tell by Karen M McManus - Review
Saturday, November 5, 2022
The Appeal by Janice Hallett - Review
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas - Review
Monday, October 31, 2022
What July Knew by Emily Koch - Review
Friday, October 28, 2022
How to Be More Hedgehog by Anne-Marie Conway - Review
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman - Review
Sunday, October 23, 2022
The Miraculous Sweetmakers #1: The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings - Blog Tour and Review
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
The Other People by C J Tudor - Review
Monday, October 17, 2022
Lost in the Jungle by Marja West and Jurgen Snoeren - Review
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Only On the Weekends by Dean Atta - Review
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Where did I get it? I bought it on Amazon as a holiday treat for myself. As I was travelling by plane I only took my tablet so I thought I would buy this to read as I've heard good things about it and because I loved The Black Flamingo so much.
What's it about? Mack is sixteen and gay, which everyone knows about him. His dad is a famous film director, and Mack's mum was an artist who died when Mack was only a few months old. Mack has two best friends, Femi, and Sim. The three of them spend a lot of time in Mack's den, playing video games and hanging out. Mack has a huge crush on the school's star basketball player, Karim, aka K. Mack is put with K's cousin, Maz, in home economics, and starts a friendship with her. He gets to know her, and K, and Maz's dad Uncle O, really well. Eventually he and K start a relationship, but as K isn't out to anyone, he asks Mack to keep it on the downlow. Mack agrees, but really he doesn't want to - he wants PDAs, he wants all the cuteness of being in a relationship. There's definite friction between the two of them and while I do sympathise with Mack (the heart wants what it wants!) I also felt for K and how he was trying to feel his way through life.
Halfway through the novel something happens which uproots Mack's life, meaning he can only see K on the weekends (hence the name of the book). I won't give spoilers about exactly what happens because I liked the surprise, but I also really liked the romance in the second half and the way Mack really came out of his shell.
This is a novel told in verse like The Black Flamingo, but it's also really long so I really felt like I was getting a really good look at the whole thing. It definitely didn't feel too short.
I've read a few negative reviews of this book on Goodreads and I think most of them are missing the point that sixteen years olds can often make very very stupid decisions. Because they're sixteen! Their brains aren't fully formed yet! They want everything they want, and don't often think about consequences! I don't think you can criticise this book on the grounds that Mack is just a bit daft. Of course he is! Adult readers of YA really need to bear in mind sometimes that YA books just are not for them!
I can't wait to see what Dean writes next - I think he writes really complex characters. I liked how in this book there was a juxtaposition between Mack and his financial privileges and his friends who were from much poorer backgrounds and who in many cases were living in difficult circumstances - I felt like that was nicely explored.
What age range is it for? 14+
Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Of course! There's gay characters, ones who aren't quite sure who they are yet, bi characters, and a dreamy trans character...
Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, most of them!
Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No I don't think so.
Is there any sex stuff? A little, it's not graphic and it fits perfectly within the story.
Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so
Is there any talk of death? A little bit about Mack's mum, but it's not graphic
Are there swear words? A few
What criticisms do I have? My only criticism is a spoiler so I'm not going to share it here
Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely
Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I wanted to treat myself on holiday, as I said!
What do I think of the cover? It's cute! I think I forgot to mention that Mack is also fat, which I think could have been indicated a little bit stronger in the artwork, but there we go
How many stars? Four out five!