tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91949121377433825782024-03-17T17:59:25.780+00:00Rebecca McCormick's authorial blogRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.comBlogger824125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-39789538782700495282024-03-16T16:17:00.016+00:002024-03-16T16:17:00.133+00:00Foster by Claire Keegan - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM8IkRwZj5kzc0lgCHm7iPtGlivM-xlWwllP1E3xPAUq3POTcQuRcQO2-h2wbZzXTpMxg8QotvHTzLQ8KpgCOfj-ajYOdY41R_TIZPpvXFLy0yLr5xGoawYBheJvXX7Bwgmcy9wlUpzb63VMYroai2fPAyNiftzH9TI1YPCMcuYUkwNdY04FrSD_nMa8w/s2016/IMG_4682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM8IkRwZj5kzc0lgCHm7iPtGlivM-xlWwllP1E3xPAUq3POTcQuRcQO2-h2wbZzXTpMxg8QotvHTzLQ8KpgCOfj-ajYOdY41R_TIZPpvXFLy0yLr5xGoawYBheJvXX7Bwgmcy9wlUpzb63VMYroai2fPAyNiftzH9TI1YPCMcuYUkwNdY04FrSD_nMa8w/s320/IMG_4682.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>I got this book for my birthday from Lee's brother and sister in law! As you may have seen, I've previously read two others of Claire Keegan's novellas and really enjoyed them. This one was on my wishlist which is where Lee's brother picked it from. It was a lovely present and I picked it up to take away with me on a work weekend where I knew I wouldn't have much time or energy for reading. It was perfect for that because it's so slight but still riveting. </p><p>The protagonist of the story is never called by name, but she is a girl of maybe ten or eleven. She lives with her parents in Wexford, in a family with many siblings. Her mother is expecting again and, unable to cope, her parents have decided to send her 'down country' to some relatives of her mother's. She doesn't know them. They are the Kinsellas and they live on a small farm with a small bungalow. The girl is welcomed in, and given a little room of her own. There is no sign of a child but she is given a boy's clothes to wear and her room has train wallpaper. </p><p>The girl flourishes under the care and attention of the Kinsellas. She spends her days helping around the farm and both John and Edna seem to genuinely care about her. Edna says something about how if she was theirs, she wouldn't be left in the company of strangers. They take the girl to town for clothes of her own and she learns that they did have a son, who died in a tragic accident. They are clearly still sad about it. The girl I think would have stayed there, but all too soon her dad turns up to take her back home and it seems like the Kinsellas will be saddened again by her leaving. </p><p>I'm giving this four out of five; I really liked it.</p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-34394704182420164662024-03-13T16:24:00.021+00:002024-03-13T16:24:00.141+00:00A Swift Return by Fiona Barker, Illustrated by Howard Grey - Blog Tour and Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMjjq2Vqd-CKh_n_ORE70mTCV7xdj4pkcTZq4jHsiUu2Pw5bH2v2CBEEQc-Q5aBUH0Ssv4PGPnkxo30HWuXA_fxYtUMZDRU1GFEQ0GEV4T9QcxxF8TLwleADtKrJ9LdzY25BIB-b_YI-axDa0cloda5pRg0Nyq8pIyUTO4Lu0tcNr8euimlGcJ0oQ8-E-/s500/A%20Swift%20Return%20Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMjjq2Vqd-CKh_n_ORE70mTCV7xdj4pkcTZq4jHsiUu2Pw5bH2v2CBEEQc-Q5aBUH0Ssv4PGPnkxo30HWuXA_fxYtUMZDRU1GFEQ0GEV4T9QcxxF8TLwleADtKrJ9LdzY25BIB-b_YI-axDa0cloda5pRg0Nyq8pIyUTO4Lu0tcNr8euimlGcJ0oQ8-E-/s320/A%20Swift%20Return%20Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for A Swift Return. It is a pleasure to welcome you here and I hope you will click around my blog to read some of my other reviews. I don't often review children's books, and I don't often read them as I don't have children, but I signed up to this because I really liked the sound of the book. </p><p>It is written by Fiona Barker and illustratred by Howard Gray. I know that in children's books the illustrations are often as important as the words, because they provide visual cues for early readers so they can grasp the story, and because they add background details. The illustrations in this book are absolutely divine, and I would encourage you to spend some time looking at them if you read this book. </p><p>The story is about a little girl, Aria, who "has her head in the clouds". Yousuf, meanwhile, has his feet firmly on the ground. They live near each other in an apartment block and watch the birds. One falls to the ground, injured. The two work together to nurse the swift back to health and later set her free too. </p><p>I loved the book and would recommend it for your small ones. I'll be passing on my copy to my friend S and her little girl! </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-696553401456528682024-03-09T13:24:00.032+00:002024-03-09T13:24:00.134+00:00The Djinn's Apple by Djamila Morani<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQrta-3nApLSmiKG6U8Tj87kzYqbcaxmimd1jmtsL43DaQDmoIGPmqeFh_nDQkSEV_AHNHHXgNxiswGZapL3o8rA00C3Oji14Ybys5rxfP2ROMJ9mVXNMRF1dFoRn5SkXIB4dmoX-qm_n6g9zu7CXROCqc4JvwMB2UhgBgeKGNcCG3J4H4qdC91T9eTxH/s1600/Djinn's%20Apple%20banner_final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQrta-3nApLSmiKG6U8Tj87kzYqbcaxmimd1jmtsL43DaQDmoIGPmqeFh_nDQkSEV_AHNHHXgNxiswGZapL3o8rA00C3Oji14Ybys5rxfP2ROMJ9mVXNMRF1dFoRn5SkXIB4dmoX-qm_n6g9zu7CXROCqc4JvwMB2UhgBgeKGNcCG3J4H4qdC91T9eTxH/w602-h339/Djinn's%20Apple%20banner_final.png" width="602" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for The Djinn's Apple by Djamila Morani. It is a pleasure to welcome you here. Please do have a click around and read some of my other reviews. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't often read books in translation but this one was done in a lovely way. Here's to translators the world over! There were certain phrases that were just so beautiful and which added to this book feeling like poetry almost. It definitely feels like a bit of a dream. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is set in Baghdad, in the Abbasid period of time, under that caliphate. This was new to me so I enjoyed learning a little bit about it. At the beginning of the book Nardeen is twelve and she lives with her parents, her two older brothers, and her little sister. Her dad is a doctor and a translator; he teaches Nardeen about healing the sick and so on. She wants to be a doctor too. The caliph doesn't like her family, and one night his men break in and kill all of Nardeen's famile except for her. She manages to escape, unsure who or what they are looking for. She comes round in a hospital and learns she has been captured as a slave and will be sold. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, then a man called Ishaq saves her from that. He is known to her and it's not entirely clear whose side he is on. But she trusts him and over the next four years they do build a sort of father/daughter relationship. Then he takes her to the hospital where he teaches, and includes her in the teaching even though the male students aren't too keen on this. But she can do things that the men can't, including treating high class women who can't be seen uncovered by men. Ishaq teaches Nardeen to trust in her instincts. She starts to fall in love. But she still wants to serve justice on the men who killed her family... what will she do when she comes face to face with one of them?</div><div><br /></div><div>I loved the setting of this book and Nardeen is a great character. I loved the historical background and really I just wish it had been longer because I wanted more of it!</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you for reading. Please check out the other stops on the tour! </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-34471999152873771172024-02-29T20:10:00.036+00:002024-02-29T20:10:00.131+00:00None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9XQyDuN2LSQr1Yo7VENAzvSq7bCCEy6xTiktzU_b4ccS0-97HBdmhiW-wkmUZ7SzjGYpxH_V1_viELj8IvrL77SXOGjY78EkKJtNu3KShW9Oo-nS0P5StcEV7-T6MNnjcmWCG5o1SCHDur7oikHkiewFCJKjFP5t4HlJilmW7_uttUp9ykFB946h1xtE/s2016/IMG_4621%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9XQyDuN2LSQr1Yo7VENAzvSq7bCCEy6xTiktzU_b4ccS0-97HBdmhiW-wkmUZ7SzjGYpxH_V1_viELj8IvrL77SXOGjY78EkKJtNu3KShW9Oo-nS0P5StcEV7-T6MNnjcmWCG5o1SCHDur7oikHkiewFCJKjFP5t4HlJilmW7_uttUp9ykFB946h1xtE/s320/IMG_4621%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You know I've really enjoyed Lisa Jewell's crime thrillers over the past couple of years, so when I heard of this one I thought it sounded right up my street. I searched for it at the library but it had a queue, so I put myself in it and then waited about four months for it to come through to me. But by that point it felt like a really nice present to myself! If you've read this I would love to hear your opinions on it because I'm not sure what was true and what wasn't!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the beginning of the book two women are celebrating their birthdays. They are Alix, forty five years old, who is married to Nathan, and has two small children of like eleven and six. He earns a lot of money and she has a successful podcast. She has just finished her series about successful women and isn't really sure what to do next, and then she meets Josie. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Josie happens to be in the same fancy restaurant that night, also celebrating her forty fifth birthday. For her and her husband Walter this is out of their ordinary as they don't generally eat at places like this restaurant. Walter is much older than Josie - like nearly thirty years older than her. They have two daughters, Erin and Roxy. They are both grown up now; Roxy disappeared five years ago when she was sixteen, and Erin still lives in the flat with Josie and Walter. There's clearly something going on with Erin but it's not clear as to exactly what. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The two women meet in the toilets, have a brief discussion, and leave. Then Josie approaches Alix on a different day and says that she wants Alix to interview her for a podcast. Alix is intrigued and agrees to a test interview. Josie is unsettling (in fact she reads as neurodivergent, which really makes a lot of sense) but Alix is intrigued by her. Josie begins to tell the story of her and Walter - they met when Josie was just thirteen and she was groomed by him; she lost her virginity to him when she was sixteen and married him at eighteen, having her children shortly thereafter. She tells a story of him being controlling and violent, and the more they dig into her back story the more unsettled Alix becomes. But she somehow can't look away, especially when Josie makes serious allegations about Walter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Alix's life may look perfect on the outside, but actually things aren't what they seem. Nathan is a loving husband, but he keeps going on total benders where he drinks too much and disappears for hours. Alix is rapidly getting to the end of her tether and is considering divorce. Josie's whispers in her ears make her even more uncertain...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was quite shocked by some of the twists and turns in the book. I also am really not sure what was true and what wasn't by the end. I'm not sure that any of the characters came off brilliantly. The podcast becomes a series with a bunch of other interviewees so right from the beginning it's obvious that something has gone terribly wrong... but what exactly? It's so intriguing. I really found it a fast paced page turned and I'm giving it four out of five!</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-65341729162814004372024-02-24T20:54:00.018+00:002024-02-24T20:54:00.154+00:00The Last Slice of Rainbow by Joan Aiken - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItfXQDrYeDFc02JKgiOQgCYEKWz5RVdsQyLxvHR7LN5uUqWJK571KhNVfcedz1lQVgGLxl9Myp14BEIv9YIQw9U1O_JVqZLCIG54wojChWnCJb2iy__tCJPQ_EsyrPUuQEmu0kE7H3BZ0BihlVg9zG66ppiiLq69_eV3VLGBxERObXn5rLrTmn_1WuSwE/s2016/IMG_4617%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItfXQDrYeDFc02JKgiOQgCYEKWz5RVdsQyLxvHR7LN5uUqWJK571KhNVfcedz1lQVgGLxl9Myp14BEIv9YIQw9U1O_JVqZLCIG54wojChWnCJb2iy__tCJPQ_EsyrPUuQEmu0kE7H3BZ0BihlVg9zG66ppiiLq69_eV3VLGBxERObXn5rLrTmn_1WuSwE/s320/IMG_4617%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I mentioned when I read <a href="http://www.rebeccamccormick.co.uk/2024/01/the-silence-of-herondale-by-joan-aiken.html">The Silence of Herondale</a> recently, I used to have this Joan Aiken book when I was very little, and absolutely loved it. It's one of the first books I remember loving, alongside Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl and others like them. I can remember it living on the shelf of my cabin bed in our tiny bedroom in the first house I lived it. God knows how many times I read it. I probably still have my original copy but it will be in the black hole of my mother's loft, so I just bought it again on eBay for a few quid. I picked it up and read it straight through. It is a children's book so not very complex, but the stories really give excellent depictions of fantasy worlds and like all good short stories drag you in immediately. I loved my reread!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The only story I remembered clearly was the titular one, about a little boy who wishes for a rainbow and then ends up having to give it all away. Rainbows are fleeting! You can't posess them! That's the moral of the first story and I was wondering if they would all have morals, but they don't. Which is good, but the mid eighties were a totally different time so I did wonder. I will also say that I wondered if there would be anything in this book that we would now consider 'problematic'. I'm thinking of Blyton and Dahl, both mentioned above, both of whom I really loved, but both of whom I now wouldn't read because of their racism, sexism, anti Semitism, and so on. Honestly children's literature has moved on so far in forty years which I'm really glad about, but it does make me nervous about revisiting some of my favourite books. However, I'm pleased to report that there wasn't anything in this book that I found offputting, which I'm glad about. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I read, I did remember another of the stories, in which a small boy called Tim gets tricked by a stone goblin. I loved that one, too. I didn't remember any others. I did think there was a bit of an over reliance on princesses and kings and queens, but that maybe was the fashion at the time. I liked the rich worlds of those stories anyway. I also liked that not all the protagonists of the stories were 'good'. We need a baddy every now and then! Maybe then they don't get their happy endings!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In all, I would recommend this for children these days as I think it would still go down well. My copy had some really lovely illustrations in it which I liked. I'm giving it four out of five. </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-51663160706586672052024-02-21T19:57:00.038+00:002024-02-21T19:57:00.141+00:001979 by Val McDermid - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmFxdadc3jea4aOTqViYHApaz8WJUzSzYe-1YF-g0f1bo9CoWcNCFGxOfiVR-l2MD_dyvDx4Sc8CaVjbPEqp3BTkrNqQ3wgY7_PqJWqtF3ClPGNNR1aZB95EhPg_hM9JXEQzYZGlKqZl9-OZibJ61J6w8934lwGbAAaDu7nF2gfdypGkE49wSX4K5PFWd/s500/IMG_4328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmFxdadc3jea4aOTqViYHApaz8WJUzSzYe-1YF-g0f1bo9CoWcNCFGxOfiVR-l2MD_dyvDx4Sc8CaVjbPEqp3BTkrNqQ3wgY7_PqJWqtF3ClPGNNR1aZB95EhPg_hM9JXEQzYZGlKqZl9-OZibJ61J6w8934lwGbAAaDu7nF2gfdypGkE49wSX4K5PFWd/s320/IMG_4328.JPG" width="203" /></a></div><p>You may remember that last year I read <a href="http://www.rebeccamccormick.co.uk/2023/03/1989-by-val-mcdermid-review.html">1989 by Val McDermid</a>, not realising that it was the second in a series about journalist Allie Burns. I really enjoyed it so I wanted to read the first one. I bought it on Kindle a while ago but had forgotten about it. But then I was on holiday in Edinbugh last week, tabling at the Zine Fest and then staying with a friend for a few days, so I decided to read something set in Scotland and this fit the bill perfectly. I really enjoyed this book but I think I liked the second one more. Like the second book, it really has a lot going on, with many plot lines. I don't think it's detrimental to the book overall, but I do wonder if it would be better to split the lines into separate novels? </p><p>So, in 1979 Allie is working for the Daily Clarion in Glasgow. She hasn't been there very long; newly returned to Scotland from university in England and is pretty new to journalism. She is always just given the 'miracle baby' stories and isn't taken seriously by her bosses or colleagues. The miracle baby is genuinely one given to her after she and her colleague Danny witness a baby being born on a stopped train on New Year's Day on the way back to Glasgow. Allie is fed up, so when Danny suggests a story he might have she's willing go in on the investigating with him.</p><p>Danny's older brother Joseph has always been the golden boy in the family. He drives a flashy car and boasts about his high flying job with an investment company. Over Christmas he mentions something which means that the way the company works may be laundering money for rich clients. Danny starts looking into his brother's actions and asks some questions, and realises that money laundering is exactly what is happening. He and Allie start investigating, and take the story to their boss, but Danny realises he can't keep his brother's name out of it. He knows this is going to have a terrible effect on his family. </p><p>They get the story and the credit, but at what cost? Allie starts hanging out with Rona (who I remembered as her girlfriend from the second book, so I knew where the relationship was headed) who works on the 'women's pages'. She tells Allie to keep an eye on some SNP meetings and the women involved. There is about to be a vote on Scottish devolution, and the SNP are getting antsy. While there, Allie meets three men who talk about forming a Scottish Republican Army, like the IRA, to force complete independence from England. Allie persuades Danny to infiltrate this group, and again she and Danny face danger in the pursuit of their story.</p><p>I did think the very ending of the book was a little bit anticlimatic. But maybe it is quite real in that way. The book has a lot of heart and emotion, and it's hard to not feel for both Allie and Danny in their ways. I loved the 1979 setting and all the sexism that Allie faced in her job and the way she was just fobbed off despite being a good writer and having excellent instincts. I also really liked the look at journalism at the time with all the copies of stories, the copy boys, the hierarchy of the newsroom, and all of that. There's less of this in the second one so I appreciated this look. Plus some of the stuff they had to do because there just weren't phones and computers around was totally wild. A totally different world and yet it really isn't that long ago. </p><p>I'm giving this five out of five. Despite a couple of misgivings I did really like it. I have just learnt that 1999 is coming out later this year, so I will look forward to that! </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-88293760753972721412024-02-17T21:02:00.002+00:002024-02-17T21:02:39.443+00:00Heartstopper Vol 5 by Alice Oseman - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ4SjPdfJoC5Fw4z0cx7dd96sms2UdVAZD9DObSDti9MnXPhbGQRWenl_1YRIdwGCXlSaKpm02RgWtUXPsqDwP7Ijklw9wRaBHTTWd4b5iYFrBKQ8VhMVBup2-YB5fzk1fU7HmigZSyU0FUPPiBMeTMPcD3CtLIo1Ynn5YEzXJ6i1snk1wGGHrYohHn6t/s2016/IMG_4252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ4SjPdfJoC5Fw4z0cx7dd96sms2UdVAZD9DObSDti9MnXPhbGQRWenl_1YRIdwGCXlSaKpm02RgWtUXPsqDwP7Ijklw9wRaBHTTWd4b5iYFrBKQ8VhMVBup2-YB5fzk1fU7HmigZSyU0FUPPiBMeTMPcD3CtLIo1Ynn5YEzXJ6i1snk1wGGHrYohHn6t/s320/IMG_4252.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's the latest instalment of Heartstopper! Yay! I wanted to read this as soon as it came out, but it wasn't available in my library. Then it appeared, but I couldn't place a hold on it. So I asked the librarian to, and she was able to, so finally I had it in my hands! I picked it up last week, because I knew it would be an easy read while I was away in Edinburgh with my friend. I really enjoyed it and am glad I read it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So as you may remember, Nick and Charlie have been together for a couple of years now and they've said 'I love you' to each other, and they're out to everyone important in their lives. Nick is in the sixth form so he's having to start making some decisions about his future. Meanwhile Charlie is sitting his GCSEs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Charlie is mostly in recovery from anorexia, but it's something they both keep in mind during this book. They want to stay over with each other, but their parents aren't too sure. There's funny bits about keeping the door open and stuff. Charlie's parents say they can have a sleepover once Charlie's exams are over, which they do. They have some sexual contact and they're both really happy about it - but Nick doesn't really have friends to talk to about it so he's a bit sad about that. The sex stuff is really cute, not explicit but adorable between the two of them. Charlie is a bit anxious about his body and I'm glad that it was shown that they talked about it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, Nick says he's going to go to the University of Kent so that he can stay near Charlie instead of them having to be long distance like Elle and Tao. But he drives Elle and Tara on a bit of a road trip around some universities. He really likes Leeds Uni (and so he should, Leeds is great) but can he bear to be so far away from Charlie? He talks to Elle and Tara about his relationship with Charlie and it was really nice to see him being more open in general.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The art is as usual just really cute. I liked a lot of the little details like when they're kissing or cuddling. I liked the sort of dotty bits where at one point Charlie was like 'fine' and the picture of his face was adorable. I liked again how Alice showed text conversations between a few different people. I liked the depictions of the universities - trips that I remember well myself - and I liked how Nick really grew in this book in particular. In all I'm giving this five out of five because I love them, and I'll be really sad to say goodbye to them in Vol 6! </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-41280395433350682542024-02-11T11:34:00.057+00:002024-02-11T11:34:00.244+00:00The Lost Man by Jane Harper - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuEp8CcYpKIdXHVnrHDNQ_7FeLobmytJTZcL5FRv6SN3vq3bAWxZ-rZ3P55He35K_CqBy-DrY73P8PTMGX57VGvoEWaPsOWNT7SA22G4nh1FHM7cVioKhSgA8cqmLoJf3fd8nMVdsq-RXAJ-GO5YgrdzXeaNqssxCAo9p1akUb989eYItY19tUZeT5vRc/s2016/IMG_4117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuEp8CcYpKIdXHVnrHDNQ_7FeLobmytJTZcL5FRv6SN3vq3bAWxZ-rZ3P55He35K_CqBy-DrY73P8PTMGX57VGvoEWaPsOWNT7SA22G4nh1FHM7cVioKhSgA8cqmLoJf3fd8nMVdsq-RXAJ-GO5YgrdzXeaNqssxCAo9p1akUb989eYItY19tUZeT5vRc/s320/IMG_4117.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>This was the February book choice for my book club and as usual it wasn't something I would have ever looked at twice I don't think. But I was incredibly intrigued by it so picked it up at the beginning of February. It took me a week to read because at the beginning I didn't really get it and was taking ages to read just a few pages. But then something clicked in and I realised it was all coming together and a lot of hints had been there to guide you into realising what happened. I raced through the last third. </p><p>So, the book is about a family who live in the middle of the outback absolutely miles away from anywhere. Nathan is the protagonist of the book. Right at the beginning he is driving with his son to the stockman's grave, which is on the Bright cattle station, which is huge. It's in the far south east of the property, which isn't too far from the road that runs north/south. Nathan's property is much smaller, and is to the southern border of the Bright ranch. He struggles to run it, for reasons that become clear. Nathan's son Xander is sixteen and is visiting from Brisbane for Christmas. Nathan's ex, Jacqui, left him like a decade ago and is remarried, and they don't get on, but Nathan misses his son and wants to bridge the gaps between them. </p><p>They arrive at the grave alongside Bub, Nathan's youngest brother. There they have been told is the body of the middle brother, Cameron. A police officer and a nurse, Steve, turn up to investigate the death. Cameron's car is found about ten kilometres away, on a rocky outcrop near where the north/south road meets the east/west road, which leads, in three hours' drive, to the local town, Balamara. Cameron could have walked away from his car, but why? He clearly had no supplies with him and has died from the heat and dehydration from being exposed near the grave. There are no injuries on his body. When they find the car, they realise he could have kept himself going for a while if he had stayed close to it - he had water, food, first aid, fuel - all the things that the whole family needs to keep in their cars in case they get stranded or something. So why would he walk away? And why was he at the grave?</p><p>Nathan and Xander head back to the Bright house and don't go back to Nathan's. There a few people also live. There's Liz, the men's mum. Her husband Carl was killed in a car accident and his grave is on the homestead. He was a nasty and abusive person and throughout the book we learn some of the horrific things that he did to Nathan, Cameron, and Bub. There isn't much of a gap between Nathan and Cam so they grew up together, but there's then a decade between them and Bub, so he had a different experience of childhood. </p><p>There's Ilse, Cameron's widow, and their two children, Sophie and Lois, who are like eight and five or something. Ilse is Dutch and she was a backpacker in the area and actually she had a bit of a thing with Nathan to begin with, but then he got into trouble in the town and she met Cameron, not realising they were brothers. Nathan clearly still holds a thing for her and tries to not be around her too much. Sophie has hurt her arm on her horse, which is one of the many things that becomes significant later. </p><p>Harry also lives on the site, in a cabin. He is a ranchhand, and has been there since before Nathan was born. He's dependable and reliable, but he was heard arguing with Cameron shortly before his death. Then there are two backpackers from England, Simon and Katy. Katy is supposedly teaching the girls and Simon helps on the station. They are obviously weirded out that their boss is dead, and don't really know what to do. </p><p>Nathan has been living a really lonely life because he is a pariah in the town. I won't spoil why but I think this will be an interesting discussion at book club as to whether we think he was justified or not. He finds it hard to be back in the cradle of his family, but he does want to know what happened to Cameron. </p><p>The book has a really gothic feel to it. The isolation and the heat all conspire to add insecurity and fear to the book. It's oppressive. The Bright house seems dark and oppressive throughout the whole thing, looked upon as it is by the grave of Carl Bright. The isolation is just loopy - the spaces involved are just incomprehensible to my English brain. There's a map in the book which did really help. </p><p>I really liked Nathan and wanted him to succeed. I did guess what the outcome might be as I was racing through the final third and I was glad I got it! I'm giving this five out of five and I'll definitely read something else by Jane Harper in the future. </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-14332395546432659622024-02-07T20:52:00.015+00:002024-02-07T20:52:00.132+00:00So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIhkyYNzfR96ghGKN9qwPvY1a1jLWQd6BXBqC2YcxyaWa-8lBVGP5AWMNPIDk0s_1jC_z7WdbjQwLNM-OJAoeKyHA2u-GZ4ingbHK5glNLPyMHyRliYgF_NEIJM9kd48eAGFpR-ujwClg_HcCuRyfmqb-0WLjZY_r5JLTYQ3YZlbkgijpyIIw6BsLWmXk/s2016/IMG_4098%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIhkyYNzfR96ghGKN9qwPvY1a1jLWQd6BXBqC2YcxyaWa-8lBVGP5AWMNPIDk0s_1jC_z7WdbjQwLNM-OJAoeKyHA2u-GZ4ingbHK5glNLPyMHyRliYgF_NEIJM9kd48eAGFpR-ujwClg_HcCuRyfmqb-0WLjZY_r5JLTYQ3YZlbkgijpyIIw6BsLWmXk/s320/IMG_4098%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After I read another Claire Keegan book at the beginning of the year, I mentioned her on my book club WhatsApp, and Helena brought this book along for me to borrow. It's tiny - just forty seven pages long - so barely a novella really. But it is a good little story and as with her previous book there's a lot in what isn't said. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So anyway, Cathal is probably about thirty-five ish - it's not stated and honestly he seems older, but he talks about wanting children with his fiancee, which gives a certain age range I think - and he's at work one Friday afternoon and everyone is being overly nice to him. His boss tells him to go home, but he doesn't; instead he stays until 5pm as usual and gets the bus home from Dublin to Arklow as usual. He starts to think about his relationship with Sabine, who was German or something - not Irish, anyway - and to whom Cathal was engaged. I think he did love her, but he was quite particular and was also quite resentful of the amount she spent on food ingredients to cook. Honestly it didn't sounded like he treated her brilliantly and, in fact, they have broken up and this day was supposed to be their wedding day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I liked the book and am giving it four out of five! </div><p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-16203015132553259972024-02-03T14:09:00.034+00:002024-02-03T14:09:00.129+00:00The Household by Stacey Halls - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zjP-jO9qHZiUH_x413fsJE2p-H0vSCLSrVwg0TDgEYgimxx22hB2HR1NdHpCQuXAlvjNW1i67-PwazeymNYkDZXmuSOyTHmVuGvA1EfyB4Q1_P8JxG21nYU05IWgxynz2eHGisEt-aZaRUZB5X06arQqnoII80zR9Yw27G11ao1DmIBthurbHuQQQaFA/s385/household.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zjP-jO9qHZiUH_x413fsJE2p-H0vSCLSrVwg0TDgEYgimxx22hB2HR1NdHpCQuXAlvjNW1i67-PwazeymNYkDZXmuSOyTHmVuGvA1EfyB4Q1_P8JxG21nYU05IWgxynz2eHGisEt-aZaRUZB5X06arQqnoII80zR9Yw27G11ao1DmIBthurbHuQQQaFA/s320/household.png" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You know I've read and enjoyed a couple of others of Stacey's books, so when I saw this on Netgalley I requested it straight away. I am so thankful to Bonnier Books for granting access to me! This book will be published on the 11th of April, so only a couple of months away. I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book blends reality with fiction in a really brilliant way. One of the things we talk about at book club a lot is about when or where or if it is possible and ethical to write books about real people. My overarching feeling is that it's fine if it's long enough ago, if the people in question don't have heirs and relatives who are still alive. For instance, writing about Queen Victoria likely doesn't matter now, but writing about Queen Elizabeth II would have different ramifications. I know other people may have different lines here but that's where I am on it. I actually really wish I had chosen this for a book club book because I think we would have loved it. I've told everyone to read it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So apparently in 1847 Charles Dickens and a woman called Angela Coutts put a load of money in to open up a thing called Urania Cottage. It aimed to take 'fallen women' who had been in prison or involved in prostitution or whatever, and train them up, out of the eyes of everyone else, for a life in service. The idea was to get them away from the problems and temptations of their former lives, and reform them into 'good' women. This was a real place and it really did do some of these things! Angela Coutts was a very wealthy heiress and she is one of the main characters in this book. Charles Dickens is also in it but barely appears, which I think was a good shout for the author. As Angela is much less well known it's easy to shape her into a character the reader cares about. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Angela lives in a huge mansion near Regents Park and is accompanied by her old governess, Mrs Brown, and her husband, Dr Brown. Angela appears to live a charmed life - she is rich, she throws parties, she is fond of a duke who keeps rebuffing her offers of marriage (who, as I read later, is supposed to be the Duke of Wellington, but he's not named as such in the book). But she has a stalker, Richard Dunn. He has done many things to scare and threaten her and has spent time in prison for it, but at the beginning of the book he is released and Angela has to live under the threat of him again. She has police guarding her, but she's obviously still worried. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She gets involved in Urania Cottage. The matron, Mrs Holdsworth, is stern but fair. Some of the first 'inmates' are Josephine and Martha. It's not exactly a prison, but there are very strict rules. The women are given a lot of luxuries, though, and lots of education and some freedoms. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Josephine has been in prison - due to poverty - and there, has started a relationship with a woman called Annie. They are both offered the chance to go to Urania Cottage, where they will be trained to be servants, and from there, they will be deported to Australia to start lives there. It's a pretty good deal and Josephine jumps at the chance. Another woman there is Martha, who has spent time in a Magdalen Laundry, although her specific circumstances aren't spelt out. She is desperate to get back in touch with her sisters, Mary and Emily, but she can only find Mary. She enlists the help of Mrs Holdsworth's son, Frank, and also that of the home's chaplain, Mr Bryant. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a really twisty and turny book and I was so intrigued to find out where it would go. I didn't guess a lot of the twists which was great and I was really pleased by them, they felt satisfying. There's a lot of characters which would be my only critcism, but the book also has a lot of scope so a lot of the characters are needed. It's a really interesting look at poverty in the middle of the 1900s, too, and I also really liked the descriptions of London and bits that are now definitely London but weren't then, like Shepherd's Bush. It felt like very really settings. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In all I'm giving this five out of five as I really liked it. Thank you for the access, Bonnier Books! </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-66877548463027218172024-01-31T11:57:00.026+00:002024-01-31T11:57:00.145+00:00The Silence of Herondale by Joan Aiken - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJju3G2DGB9BpLSCyigNRTn7IspvuwNQIbpUkszFlNHOyxmmBd7ohNTVvPrSEBI-HO3uzVXiUeNZLkOoFsH3oSZSo686ip1a2-cqGQEg9j8QJGAXehded9utLmSmfF2s0iVbUx-WQzosa-KBSvzxg83IqOSVQpCXsM30FjSYxtll683R3-fcN0M8G1Y3X6/s2016/IMG_3959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJju3G2DGB9BpLSCyigNRTn7IspvuwNQIbpUkszFlNHOyxmmBd7ohNTVvPrSEBI-HO3uzVXiUeNZLkOoFsH3oSZSo686ip1a2-cqGQEg9j8QJGAXehded9utLmSmfF2s0iVbUx-WQzosa-KBSvzxg83IqOSVQpCXsM30FjSYxtll683R3-fcN0M8G1Y3X6/s320/IMG_3959.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I bought this book for Lee a couple of years ago because he likes gothic novels and I thought he'd enjoy this short book. He read it ages ago and did like it, and then I forgot about it until we were sorting out some books and he said I should read it, so I did. It took me longer than I thought because it's quite dense. But I did like it.<div><br /></div><div>I read Joan Aiken when I was little and absolutely loved her, but I didn't know she had written any books for adults. I had a book of short stories by her called The Last Slice of Rainbow that I read over and over again, and in fact I've just bought it on eBay because I'd love to read it again as an adult. I must have seen this on my travels somewhere online and bought it for Lee. It's nice to revisit her as an author!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, the book's main character is Deborah Lindsay. She's in her twenties and is an orphan after her parents were killed in a car accident. She is Canadian but living in Britain and in desperate need of a job. She applies to be the governess for a thirteen year old, Carreen Gilmartin. Carreen's aunt, Mrs Morne, is looking for a governess for her, but Carreen is no ordinary thirteen year old. Instead she is an illustrated playwright and is a prodigy, and has made quite a lot of money. Mrs Morne gives Deborah the job, and then gets to go shopping for Carreen. Deborah is then accused of shoplifting, but Mrs Morne saves her, something which comes back to bite Deborah later. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then Carreen goes missing, before Deborah can even meet her. It is thought that she has gone to the ancestral family home in Herondale in Yorkshire, to see her uncle John, Mrs Morne's brother. He lives in a huge hall on the edge of Herondale village but he is in ailing health and about to die. Deborah leaves immediately, hoping to find Carreen there. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the village she finds mostly silence and suspicion. The caretaker type person, Mr Bridie, and the housekeeper, Mrs Lewthwaite, have both left the house as John has been taken into hospital. Deborah opens up the house and finds that John's bedroom is wet, a window having been left open. She finds his gun and keeps it close. She notices a few other odd things. Carreen does indeed arrive, alongside her new found cousin, Jeremy, who belongs to another of Mrs Morne's brothers. Deborah is immediately suspicious of him, especially when the gun goes missing and a heavy weight on the pump is cut and could have injured someone.</div><div><br /></div><div>All this is exacerbated by the breaking out of prison of a murderer known as the Slipper Killer. Jock Nash comes from Herondale and is expected to make his way back there. He murdered a man for digging up a rare orchid on the moors nearby. Police turn up in the village to search for him, but there is still a veil of silence. </div><div><br /></div><div>In all I did like the book and found it a good story, but I didn't think it quite hit the mark of being truly creepy or frightening. The setting - remote Yorkshire village, lots of snow etc - is brilliant, but it wasn't quite used to its full potential. I liked Deborah a lot and wanted her to succeed. I did like some of the twists towards the end. In all I'm giving this four out of five. </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-74980279826301897382024-01-27T16:25:00.044+00:002024-01-27T16:25:00.132+00:00The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid-Banks - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7xlYJjjiVbU-Gv1q131an3ziEZT1YNjdueSaeSSVYCrm0Qz-dz3UvlHGuVIwn8FArMgm-Qlrh4MXJfjBQZUnS_KTGo_cAtRSUfsrId9at71ILhQntlYf4atMj-7Euf9EugyA2MZO4zI-AkM-hTHTlcQYskuMh8r8M7iKu9OvVJm3vi0ZiDeJuESqSwwy/s2016/IMG_3690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7xlYJjjiVbU-Gv1q131an3ziEZT1YNjdueSaeSSVYCrm0Qz-dz3UvlHGuVIwn8FArMgm-Qlrh4MXJfjBQZUnS_KTGo_cAtRSUfsrId9at71ILhQntlYf4atMj-7Euf9EugyA2MZO4zI-AkM-hTHTlcQYskuMh8r8M7iKu9OvVJm3vi0ZiDeJuESqSwwy/s320/IMG_3690.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>I got this book for Christmas from a book swap I did based on Twitter. My partner and I sent each other some information about the type of book we like, and I mentioned that I'm a fan of kitchen sink drama. I think that's why Jon chose this book, and I have to say, he did brilliantly because that's exactly what this is. I hadn't heard of the book before, or even the author, so I am really glad to read her for the first time and have another author opened up to me.</p><p>The book was published in 1960 and first of all I have to say it is very reflective of its time in terms of attitudes and bigotry. That is my main caveat in this review, because I really enjoyed the book but clearly didn't like the discriminatory language used. I'll get to that...</p><p>So, Jane Graham is the heroine of this book. At the very beginning she moves into an L-shaped room at the top of a dingy boarding house in Fulham. I didn't fully understand the layout but she's got two arms to the room because another room has been carved out of the space. This room doesn't have a window, so Jane is surprised on nearly her first night when a face appears at the window on the partition between their rooms. The face belongs to John, a black jazz musician. Below Jane are Mavis, whose room is full of knickknacks, and Toby, a writer. There's also the owner, Doris, and her chap, Charlie. In the basement are two sex workers. </p><p>Jane has had to move out of her nice family home because she is pregnant. Her own mother died giving birth to her so it's always just been her and her dad, with some family who visited at Christmas. Jane is twenty-seven and until the sexual encounter that got her pregnant, was a virgin. She had toured as an actor with a troupe in her early twenties, and there met the man she refers to only as The Actor. She had to leave and then got a job in a hotel in the west end. She has carved a niche for herself there and really respects her boss, James, but she knows that she will have to give up her job when the baby is born. When she told her father the news, he told her to leave his house, hence why she has ended up in the boarding house. </p><p>She meets the other inhabitants of the house, and starts a relationship with Toby. She brightens up the room even though Doris isn't happy about this, with the help of John and Toby. The book encompasses nearly the whole of her pregnancy, but it has a lot of other stuff too, going backwards in Jane's life to give a complete picture of her life. I really liked Jane and I liked her aunt Addy. I liked Toby and John and the sex workers in the basement. I could imagine the house perfectly and thought it was really true to life. I would definitely give the book five out of five for its story and its perfect kitchen sink drama. </p><p>However, the racism and homophobia really put me off. John is black and I think he suffers most from Jane's racism. She really 'others' him. It's not like she dislikes him, but she's fascinated by his blackness and his skin and the way he speaks. There is more outward racism towards him from other characters, including Jane's dad. Then Toby is Jewish, and the K slur is used towards him and other Jews many times in the book although, again, not from Jane's point of view. I don't think SHE minds Jewish people as much as she minds black people, but she doesn't really call other people out. She is however disdainful towards a queer ex colleague of hers. So just be aware of these attitudes and words in the book if you read it.</p><p>I do think this is really representative of its time, when people really did look down on people who were different to them. Jane's attitudes don't seem like anything out of the ordinary - <i>for the time. </i>But does that mean I have to like it? No. </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-41864799721685653752024-01-24T13:37:00.018+00:002024-01-24T13:37:00.255+00:00There Is (Still) Love Here by Dean Atta - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tXnXEihUfPlmegmZvOe8sVv1RnGqh7RSvCYptbVGhEsK0ktZlwmBp9F_0mY1dm7DmfLSb_8UQT6M_ADH-5kobB6wjXwvSbbzqtyy2o3DikhHs6YlllDfGqhwaMWVuLbBBjtjicrNPmxWuFH9TyBcHu9W5V92_hPvwTte-qv4pikVPYMqGPgMBROfZXKp/s2016/IMG_3676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tXnXEihUfPlmegmZvOe8sVv1RnGqh7RSvCYptbVGhEsK0ktZlwmBp9F_0mY1dm7DmfLSb_8UQT6M_ADH-5kobB6wjXwvSbbzqtyy2o3DikhHs6YlllDfGqhwaMWVuLbBBjtjicrNPmxWuFH9TyBcHu9W5V92_hPvwTte-qv4pikVPYMqGPgMBROfZXKp/s320/IMG_3676.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <p></p><p>My sister in law bought me this for Christmas, it was on my wishlist because as you'll know, I really like Dean Atta's books and I didn't realise he had released a new one. Someone mentioned it on Twitter so I added it to my wishlist. I read it really quickly because it's a small collection of poetry, but I really enjoyed it and am so glad I got it.</p><p>This collection of poetry isn't completely a collection in that there's just one theme or anything, but it fits together really well and feels really cohesive. There are poems about love, about loss, about ethnicity, about heritage, including Dean's Greek Cypriot background, about Covid lockdown, about his partner, and more. There's some really beautiful turns of phrase in the poems, including a gorgeous line about radiators, of all things. I really felt like I got to know Dean as a person as well as as a writer through this collection. </p><p>I'm lending this to my friend, and I am giving it five out of five. I am so glad I read it. Sorry this isn't as long a review as usual, but I would definitely recommend this collection if you're already a fan of Dean's, and also, if you're not. </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-79235061323433903632024-01-21T13:39:00.045+00:002024-01-21T13:39:00.137+00:00The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i3McvYz72-5F-UdVihBBgPvyeHWG2q5sk-Se61MbUNbJyVBSLLtV6MBlkwVxJuDFctCDIs4WnVFlY3zTJnXnn2fR5pCZbZd5WHEy94BquY_6gT-yEpCpRbzFBHXIhImbs3Hy2pxS3kkd59IARq0Dj779VnwGDVnaS2D-8w0XMufy7j2WMLNHOB_5YRyg/s2016/IMG_3635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i3McvYz72-5F-UdVihBBgPvyeHWG2q5sk-Se61MbUNbJyVBSLLtV6MBlkwVxJuDFctCDIs4WnVFlY3zTJnXnn2fR5pCZbZd5WHEy94BquY_6gT-yEpCpRbzFBHXIhImbs3Hy2pxS3kkd59IARq0Dj779VnwGDVnaS2D-8w0XMufy7j2WMLNHOB_5YRyg/s320/IMG_3635.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>This book was one of my Christmas swap gifts, and I was intrigued by it as I hadn't heard of the author before and I like crime fiction, as you know. I picked this up on the 10th of January because I'm trying really hard to read all my Christmas books. This book took me about a hundred pages to get into, but after that, I really got into it and read it really quickly. I desperately wanted to unravel the mystery and learn whodunnit. My Santa sender also sent me the next in this series, so I will look forward to that. </p><p>So, the book is set in 1892. Sarah Gilchrist is in her late twenties and she is at Edinburgh University training to become a doctor. She is one of the first female cohorts of students. There are just twelve female medical students, and they are accompanied everywhere by suitable chaperones. Their very presence at the university is contentious - the male students don't like them and even the professors aren't very keen. Sarah desperately wants to become a doctor. She had been studying in London, but then something happened which derailed her reputation, and instead, she's been exiled to her aunt and uncle's house in Edinburgh.</p><p>You see, Sarah is a lady, she's aristocracy, and not too long ago she was at a party and went into an empty library where she was rapedby a man called Paul. The word rape is never used, and the narrative is not graphic about it, but it's obvious that's what happened. However, it was spun that Sarah was a willing participant and so she has been derided as a slut. She spent some time in hospital but her parents have abandoned her and she isn't allowed to contact her sister. She is living with her Aunt Emily and Uncle Hugh. Emily is harsh with her, treating her like both a small child and a wanton whore. Sarah is allowed to go to lectures and that's basically it.</p><p>Except, she is also allowed to do some work in a clinic, in the slums of Edinburgh, which looks after women and children. Fiona Leadbetter set up the clinic and Sarah thinks she's marvellous. They look after many, many women, many of whom are prostitutes. They help a girl called Lucy; she asks for an abortion but Fiona sends her away, saying she can't do that. </p><p>But then, very soon afterwards, Lucy turns up on the slab at the medical school. Sarah is obviously scared and upset that the body is of someone she knows. She is convinced there are defensive injuries on Lucy, and that Lucy did not die of a self administered overdose of laudunum, but was murdered. She starts to look into who may have known Lucy, and finds that one of her professors, Gregory Merchiston, is a punter in the brothel where Lucy worked. Investigating, though, will lead her into dangerous areas and will get her education and even her life threatened. </p><p>I liked the mystery a lot, and I liked the red herrings that were dropped and who the murderer was. I liked the feminist nature of Sarah's education and her being at university in the first place. I likesd her character and how she just wouldn't give up. I liked the feminist commentary around poverty and women's rights and so on (which just about stopped Sarah from being a bit of a White Saviour). I'm giving this four out of five as I really enjoyed it!</p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-79840415358626229662024-01-18T16:50:00.013+00:002024-01-18T16:50:00.132+00:00Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6v0wnh6DbcvxIgizT7bFqi7koV8pBTg5-HJZbLt2NuoImKLTP9OIQjDPC-kmoT0g-pqaVUK9z9oPkGcbVNX92RmhyECYgQ5q-8dqfn-OoYXN41iL_wwL8ya7MpYRmaKzJihqWBKKuInQkTc42h5ad5A15kbKpl-sUKoWJdlEK-tkPt-tjBIRYwIOBjSXq/s2016/IMG_3595%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6v0wnh6DbcvxIgizT7bFqi7koV8pBTg5-HJZbLt2NuoImKLTP9OIQjDPC-kmoT0g-pqaVUK9z9oPkGcbVNX92RmhyECYgQ5q-8dqfn-OoYXN41iL_wwL8ya7MpYRmaKzJihqWBKKuInQkTc42h5ad5A15kbKpl-sUKoWJdlEK-tkPt-tjBIRYwIOBjSXq/s320/IMG_3595%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can't remember who told me to check out Claire Keegan but I noticed a few people reading her stuff last year so when my cousin asked me what to get me for Christmas I said this. I picked it up and read it very quickly as it's a novella, only about 120 pages. I really liked it and am glad I read it! I'll definitely read something else by the author because I liked the sparseness of her prose. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is set in 1985 and it was honestly quite nice to be transported back to that time and to a Christmas in that time especially. The main character of the book is Bill Furlong. He is married to Eileen and they have five children, all girls, the eldest of whom is about fifteen I think. Bill owns a company that sells coal, anthracite, kindling etc. The book is set in Ireland and as I said it's set just before Christmas. Bill is getting ready to wind down for a break, stuff like that. At the beginning of December he and the family visit the switching on of the local lights and make the Christmas cake together, and the girls write their Christmas letters. Bill seems a little bit bored with life, a little bit fed up of the status quo, but nothing too serious. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, he visits the convent in the town, which also operates a Magdalene laundry. I'm quite familiar with their stories and the scandal surrounding them and the abhorrent things the Catholic church did in them, but I liked the way this went. It was really understated. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to happen, but I was pleasantly surprised. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bill himself grew up in the large house belonging to a Protestant woman. His mother was a servant there and was a single mother; in other words Bill knows that if his mother hadn't been given a break by the woman who owns the house, she may have ended up in a laundry herself. This experience massively impacts Bill still and it shows in what happens in the book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm giving this five out of five and will definitely read something else by Claire. I'm excited to see what else she has to offer!</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-31702830077910689542024-01-15T15:08:00.034+00:002024-01-15T15:08:00.129+00:00War of The Wind by Victoria Williamson - Review and Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rtvxih5IMOMpVgUI3ysijGPLnfAFcW-bn-Grlaz7rrM1Ye6czHPNo7QP4NX1UFu1XFC6gz10eOcI4kL_i566Mbt5xnjetTO0KW4g6i-on94CdAMpFIZITBKFJmPG_bw4WGfXCNHtqVCXi72-uqHdjRUlM5QnNDRRobbIEoOIGnt0hFtSphtCtDxjkXhS/s735/War%20of%20the%20WInd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="479" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rtvxih5IMOMpVgUI3ysijGPLnfAFcW-bn-Grlaz7rrM1Ye6czHPNo7QP4NX1UFu1XFC6gz10eOcI4kL_i566Mbt5xnjetTO0KW4g6i-on94CdAMpFIZITBKFJmPG_bw4WGfXCNHtqVCXi72-uqHdjRUlM5QnNDRRobbIEoOIGnt0hFtSphtCtDxjkXhS/s320/War%20of%20the%20WInd.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the blog tour for War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson! It is so nice to welcome you to my blog today - please do have a click round and read some of my other reviews.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is a pleasure to be back reviewing Victoria Williamson! She was one of my favourite author discoveries last year; everything I've read by her has been so good and I really enjoy what she is doing with fiction and with middle grade in particular. Her middle grade is really engaging and perfect for the age group. I also love her settings, especially as she often sets books in Scotland where she grew up. I am excited to see what else she writes in the future and I'm really glad to be on this tour!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is set on a remote Scottish island called Scragness. Max is fourteen and lives on the bay there with his mum, dad, and baby sister Sally. A couple of years ago Max had an accident off his dad's boat and nearly drowned. He ended up losing his hearing. He is now in a special class at school and hates it. He has lost touch with all his old friends, including his best friend Calum. His mum struggles with sign language and his dad hasn't learnt any and refuses to write things down for Max. He wants Max to wear his hearing aid, but Max hates it as it doesn't really help him. Max really resents Sally because he thinks that his parents prefer her, and think that they just had her to replace their 'broken' son. Max's only friend is his Uncle Stuart's dog Twister who the family looks after when Stuart works away. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Max is taught by Mrs Brody, who taught him most of the sign language he knows. Her daughter, Erin, is also in his special class - she was born deaf and is really clever. She is friends with Beanie, who has Down Syndrome and who lives with her grandma. Beanie is horribly bullied by Max's old gang, and Max feels like he has to stand up for her even though he doesn't really want to. Beanie knows a lot of sign language thanks to Erin, but she also speaks slowly enough for Max to mostly catch what she's saying to him. She gets easily upset by disruptions in her routine. Also in the class is David, who has a high level of special needs - he uses a wheelchair and can't speak. Max basically hates them all and just thinks of himself as better, I think. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The island has never had any smart phones or internet because of its remoteness, but there are new wind turbines coming and there is a deal for them to also have mobile masts and for each of the islanders to be provided with a smart phone. Max is really excited about this because he knows there's a voice to text app that his dad and friends can use to communicate with him. There are a few islanders who are protesting the turbines, but Max knows they won't win. The turbines go up, but very quickly it is obvious that they're making animals behave strangely. Then all the humans start acting strangely too - can all the hearing people on the island hear something that Max and Erin can't? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then the mysterious scientist turns up, defended by three soldiers. Max knows something dodgy is going on, but how can he make people believe him?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I loved this book; it's pacy and fun and I loved Max and his friends and wanted them to succeed. I would actually really like it if there was a sequel to this book! I did think Max skewed a tiny bit younger than fourteen, but I can forgive that. I liked the setting and I liked the way it drew on classic sci fi literature. I'm giving this four out of five, and many thanks to Victoria! </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-48228294586381847782024-01-11T21:04:00.046+00:002024-01-11T21:05:03.900+00:00Book Round Up of 2023<p style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7_nC4qtDrVyLQU_gZFbhDJYhnEU9nQzAQUDVRgI8PWxd0Yqz0ET-HR3lTkyo-Azn5yevoosSf27Z7ttcjsDHuJLLuhM-t2_zghRX5edyy6VgJ7hqOixRmE_EKoUsX9bhW4khm8AqsLIRYj-JYR840QgZh0vz-8BDf2hI3Lg3V0FT_4N6Nd8n-XbI3n-t/s1792/IMG_3593.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7_nC4qtDrVyLQU_gZFbhDJYhnEU9nQzAQUDVRgI8PWxd0Yqz0ET-HR3lTkyo-Azn5yevoosSf27Z7ttcjsDHuJLLuhM-t2_zghRX5edyy6VgJ7hqOixRmE_EKoUsX9bhW4khm8AqsLIRYj-JYR840QgZh0vz-8BDf2hI3Lg3V0FT_4N6Nd8n-XbI3n-t/s320/IMG_3593.PNG" width="148" /></a></div><u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></u><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">How many books read in 2022?</u></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">98. I would have liked to get to a hundred, but didn't quite. Then I would quite like to have finished the 99th book, but I was really busy over Christmas and New Year, as we all are, so I didn't get it finished until the 2nd of January. Oh well! <br /><br /><u>How many were on paper and how many electronic?</u><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br />I read about 45 paperbacks, about 15 hardbacks, and about 37 ebooks. I've obviously counted wrong but I utterly can't be bothered going back over it because I've been trying to write this post for like a week and it's doing my head in, so I would like it to just be finished! And one audiobook. I had a couple of months when I mostly read ebooks because I was on holiday and find it easier to take my tablets on holiday than a bunch of paper books. I am hoping to listen to more audiobooks in 2024!<br /><br /><u>Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio?</u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><u><br /></u>I think I read nine non fiction books, including an autobiography and a biography. I actually really enjoyed the non fiction I read in 2023 even though I don't often choose it. Two of the non fiction books were for book club</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><u>Male/Female authors?</u><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br />As far as I can see, I read twenty two books by men solely. I read a couple by non binary authors and a few men were included in books of short stories too, I think. <br /><br /><u>Most books by a single author?</u><br /><br />It's probably still Elly Griffiths. Oh no, I only read two by her. I also read two by Stacy Halls and two by Janice Hallett, I think. <br /><br /><u>Favourite book(s) read?</u><br /><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">One of my favourites had to be Silas Marner by George Eliot. I also really liked The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell. My mum liked it too so I'll lend her other things by Maggie for sure as I love her. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><u>Least favourite?</u><br /><br />I think Only for the Holidays which I reviewed recently, it just didn't live up to my expectations. <br /><br /><u>Oldest book read?</u><br /><br />Silas Marner, for sure. It was published in 1861!!! My goodness. <br /><br /><u>Newest?</u><br /><br />A couple of the last books I read aren't published until 2024, so either Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan, or The Winter Visitor by James Henry. <br /><br /><u>Longest book title?</u><br /><br />The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels I think, by Janice Hallett <br /><br /><u>Shortest title?</u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><u><br /></u>Rizzio by Denise Mina, I think <br /><br /><u>How many re-reads?</u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><u><br /></u>I am honestly not sure that I reread any books. It's not something I generally do as there are always new books to get to! I have so many!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><u>Any in translation?</u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><u><br /></u>Heatwave by Victor Jestin was I think the only one. It was originally in French. <br /><br /><u>How many of this year's books were from the library?</u><br /><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Fourteen, I think. But believe me when I say I already have a LOT of books!</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-27220530803592331142024-01-06T22:02:00.001+00:002024-01-06T22:02:07.970+00:00One Good Lie by Jane Isaac - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMspWGaI0MKzt8EWWHSa87QSJsWdW6-pbxqo-YIoHfXIfbLwDBoBAytmeAcwJBRKmEGrmwV2_r0BbmkZ2RruTfpzYO9AGtJfGp4G5a417XYzd1o-D-lZ3RXhhJ4o-RoSB4_eCA6Kmp1oeaH1E8r5gUyhdgalppa0Ct8csnfWzzQBRQx9TJ3oJKUPg1ZA5J/s2016/IMG_3492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMspWGaI0MKzt8EWWHSa87QSJsWdW6-pbxqo-YIoHfXIfbLwDBoBAytmeAcwJBRKmEGrmwV2_r0BbmkZ2RruTfpzYO9AGtJfGp4G5a417XYzd1o-D-lZ3RXhhJ4o-RoSB4_eCA6Kmp1oeaH1E8r5gUyhdgalppa0Ct8csnfWzzQBRQx9TJ3oJKUPg1ZA5J/s320/IMG_3492.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can't remember where I got this book but it was hanging out by the side of the bed so I picked it up. I wanted to like it but sort of didn't, really. The story and mystery are quite interesting, but the denouement didn't quite work for me which sort of ruined the whole thing. I did see quite a lot of the twists coming and some of the red herrings, too, and I had worked out who the murderer was by like two thirds of the way through. This wouldn't make me want to read something else by Jane Isaac, for sure!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The story centres on two sisters and it opens on their mother's birthday, when the family is having a memorial for her. Aileen, the mother, was murdered ten months previously, in the kitchen of her shop in a small Leicestershire town called Market Deeton. Her partner Colin was found guilty and is now serving a sentence for it. He maintained his innocence and said he was with a girl called Charlotte at the time. However, Charlotte went missing and Colin got found guilty. Her daughters are Ruby and Sophie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ruby is the older one and she's a kitchen designer working for a small company. She has recently bought a house with her boyfriend Tom, but they're kind of on a break because Ruby isn't sure what she wants, and of course she's still grieving for her mum. Most of the book centres on Ruby and I did like her as a character. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sophie is the younger sister and she's got two children, Daisy and Alfie. She's a single mum since the kids' dad Greg left. She had a breakdown then and Colin was her therapist, so Sophie feels tremendously guilty for introduing him to her mother. Sophie started seeing Ewan just a couple of months before Aileen's death. He's really good with her kids but hasn't yet introduced her to his family.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the day of Aileen's memorial, Ruby walks home from Sophie's house through the town centre. She is harassed by some teenagers outside the shop, and then she runs into Ewan. The two talk and then have a drunken kiss before being interrupted by someone at the top of an alley. Ruby feels awful and runs home. The next morning, however, the police family liaison office is at her door to tell her that Charlotte was killed the night before in the town. She had recently returned to the area and now she's dead. The police don't think the case is linked to Aileen's death, but obviously Charlotte was linkedto the case. And of course, Colin can't be the perpetrator as he's now in prison. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ruby knows that Ewan was in the area at the time, of course, and she has her suspicions about him. They talk, and agree to not mention that they ran into each other. But Ruby starts to get suspicious about her whole life and starts to wonder - what do they really know about Ewan? What is his past? Maybe Colin's conviction isn't as strong as Ruby thought. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, Sophie is hiding things from Ruby. She is still fragile after her breakdown and Ruby knows she has to tread carefully. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did like the mystery and I liked how most of it unfolded, but the end really let it down for me and I was glad to see the back of the book by the end. The ending just seemed to come out of nowhere; I didn't feel like the author had done a good enough job of sowing the seeds there. I also felt like the book needed a better edit - there were loads of mistakes like people's names used wrongly (eg Ruby goes to visit Sophie's friend Louise, and instead of saying 'Louise' it says 'Sophie', where she isn't there) and some times are all out. Ruby has a meeting with someone at 3pm but turns up to the cafe at 11.30? Come on now. I feel like a closer edit would have helped a lot!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In all I'm giving this three out of five, I didn't like it a lot. </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-64869726264257634912024-01-03T21:57:00.001+00:002024-01-03T21:57:33.475+00:00The Last Word by Elly Griffiths - Review <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy9kHC8O34S7fHVqDUWlRJzYc4Q-nKvID63TEKd1pQlLJ3LJvy_bm0cgEwfYcbn-sCz1bKXT-IH3zB1MEeoaX9kMAMKbEnYcqkkzlCHPYiDwQDS0r6EHWY11YAN-TTLhdb0SWZmzaxAB8KOUKDWeAWKdUZ0WliUp7iC_iYlR-IkZzScmVy3FEDwa1xFpO/s1500/81D02EtYE5L._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="971" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy9kHC8O34S7fHVqDUWlRJzYc4Q-nKvID63TEKd1pQlLJ3LJvy_bm0cgEwfYcbn-sCz1bKXT-IH3zB1MEeoaX9kMAMKbEnYcqkkzlCHPYiDwQDS0r6EHWY11YAN-TTLhdb0SWZmzaxAB8KOUKDWeAWKdUZ0WliUp7iC_iYlR-IkZzScmVy3FEDwa1xFpO/s320/81D02EtYE5L._SL1500_.jpg" width="207" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>So this book is the second one to star characters who first appeared in <a href="http://www.rebeccamccormick.co.uk/2020/09/the-postcript-murders-by-elly-griffiths.html">The Postscript Murders</a> which I read back in 2020. In that book Harbinder Kaur was the investigating detective, but she met Edwin and Benedict and Natalka in the course of the investigation into the death of Peggy, who lived in Edwin's sheltered housing and who Natalka was a carer for, and those three are the main characters in this book. Harbinder does feature, but not very much, but still, it was nice to read her cameo!</p><p>So Edwin and Natalka are now running a private detective agency. Natalka is still doing care work and her mum Valentyna has moved over from Ukraine to live with her and Benedict. Edwin is eighty something but very sprightly and very sharp. He likes the agency but wishes they had something more interesting to investigate than cheating husbands and such as the like. Benedict still runs the coffee shack on Shoreham sea front but he still does help the agency out if needed. </p><p>Natalka is contacted by a woman called Minnie who thinks that her mother has been killed by her current husband, Alan. Alan is a pharmacist but the death seemed natural enough, but Minnie and her sister Harmony think Alan has killed their mother in order to inherit her house. Melody was a writer. Edwin notices the obituary of a man he vaguely knew, too, who was also a writer. A couple more mysterious deaths come in, and it turns out that all the victims were writers and that some of them had been on a writer's course nearby. Edwin and Benedict go undercover at the retreat and meet some people who may have been involved in the deaths. </p><p>Then one of the other participants on the course is found dead. Basically everyone there, including the tutors, are suspects. Two detectives - one of whom has Harbinder has a bit of a hero of hers - arrive and the detective agency basically get under their feet, but Harbinder encourages them to give Edwin and co some leeway. </p><p>I really liked Edwin in this book, he's sweet and sharp and I liked the way he was thinking throughout. I liked Benedict but was a bit over the whole 'used to be a monk' thing. Natalka was an odder one but I would give her another go. She's struggling as her brother is at war in Ukraine and she's worried for her safety. I did think the ending of the book was a bit too nice, a bit too happy ever after. That does make me think that we won't see these characters again, but honestly I don't know, maybe we will. But in all I liked this book and am giving it four out of five. </p><p>I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Quercus Books for providing me with this ebook!</p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-46864240123801354492023-12-31T18:14:00.056+00:002023-12-31T18:14:00.137+00:00Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello - Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfFfFgwsdpbbeoE9bFE9WYXTKJo-C8yP2Qtw0ymsEdP3qG00xvo920XOGBqRURUlVIk2H8H_b2x__n1Bo9OeXrn-ZafmT48kdWvqbQtDb0PlqZIHsUZl2is0yQjYNfuQfc5e_fdfZyer7MH2XFcMoSSDBJlI3U31XbSg-9gdh1BSBEMG7pTlnBRHmtEQS/s400/9781398516908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfFfFgwsdpbbeoE9bFE9WYXTKJo-C8yP2Qtw0ymsEdP3qG00xvo920XOGBqRURUlVIk2H8H_b2x__n1Bo9OeXrn-ZafmT48kdWvqbQtDb0PlqZIHsUZl2is0yQjYNfuQfc5e_fdfZyer7MH2XFcMoSSDBJlI3U31XbSg-9gdh1BSBEMG7pTlnBRHmtEQS/s320/9781398516908.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I saw a recommendation for this book on Twitter and bought it when it was 99p. I saved it to read over Christmas but it took me absolutely forever because I just really didn't enjoy it. I'm trying to work out whether it's just me and whether the book just wasn't a good fit for me, or whether it is actually bad. I read a few of the two and one star reviews to see if people agreed with me and actually I think that this is just somewhat of a bad book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is dual narrative, from the points of view of Quincy and Tia. Quincy lives on a farm in a rural town where his family is basically the only Black family in the area. They run the farm with several holiday cottages and have a fancy restaurant and stuff. Quincy is the youngest of three - his sister Drew is an internet sensation and his brother Cam is a DJ. Quincy is still at college. He had a girlfriend, Kali, but before the beginning of the book he found out that she slept with his best friend Simon and he hasn't spoken to either of them since. He's still heartbroken and concentrating on the horses and working and stuff, but he's pretty miserable. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tia lives in Peckham with her mum and sisters. Her older sister Willow and she have the same dad, who now lives in America. Their little sister, Banks, is only four. Her dad, Paul, is still around, but their Mum, Tope, and he are no longer together. Tope lost her job and the family had to move and it's all been a lot of upheaval for Tia. Tia has a boyfriend, Mike, who is a bit of a dickhead. Her best friend is called Remi and I wish we had seen more of her, to be honest. Mike is about to turn eighteen and Tia has been organising all of his party and is going to take the cake. However, Tia is feeling a bit underappreciated by him - he has never told her that he loves her and he's just a bit of a loser. He asks her for some space but she isn't really sure what that is supposed to mean. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then Tope announces that she's been given a two week (or even more?) trip to Quincy's farm to stay in one of the cottages. She needs the break so she takes her kids down there. But there's a mix up with the booking and the cottages are all full. Instead, Tia's family ends up staying in Quincy's house itself. Tia is not happy about the holiday and is determined to not enjoy herself - especially as she definitely doesn't like horses or sheep or the lack of internet. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Quincy's family is holding a ball this Christmas, and it's a big deal because they're the first Black family to do so. Quincy doesn't have a date so he makes up a girl called Leah, but then of course he asks Tia for a favour. She says she will goes as his date if he will help her get back to London for Mike's party to sort everything out. They have to fake it in front of his friends and it nearly all goes wrong, but the two of them find themselves falling for each other anyway... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I just felt like there were too many tropes in the book, including the fact that Tia loves baking and that they go ice skating and blah blah blah. It needed about half of it cutting out, I swear. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of my main criticisms was that this book felt like an American novel that had somehow been transported to the south of England. Some American things seemed to remain, like that every teenager had a fancy car (maybe they were just rich?) and just some other weird stuff. I also didn't get why Tia and her family had to go to the farm like at the beginning of December. Would a mum really take her kids out of school and college for so long? It did give Tia and Quincy time to get to know each other, which is why I suspect it was done, but it just didn't seem real. Maybe I needed to suspend my disbelief for the whole book, though! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm giving this two out of five, unfortunately. Sorry, just not for me. </div><p></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-73963451286800123892023-12-28T18:51:00.037+00:002023-12-28T18:51:00.175+00:00The Winter Visitor by James Henry - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-nE1NLNNxwDcYvy8vi68eKHG1hYedMxlKRslSYEa2SEuwJpeL_u-PBhUVbBNo5QjYNQ-WpHDMBmWRGNYdB4afmP-fiSnDt4K83AOmH1l2uiOadLEI53cHA6Y_9FBVZBByovib7O0J15ajp8_yBq33rdH0G3IJgZOntM0Pw4Ot1cmjj8IZFde0ayF1N_o/s2016/IMG_3065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-nE1NLNNxwDcYvy8vi68eKHG1hYedMxlKRslSYEa2SEuwJpeL_u-PBhUVbBNo5QjYNQ-WpHDMBmWRGNYdB4afmP-fiSnDt4K83AOmH1l2uiOadLEI53cHA6Y_9FBVZBByovib7O0J15ajp8_yBq33rdH0G3IJgZOntM0Pw4Ot1cmjj8IZFde0ayF1N_o/s320/IMG_3065.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was contacted by a lovely person at Quercus Books who offered this book to me to review as they thought it would be up my street. They were right! I was provided with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So a man called Bruce Hopkins reappears in Essex after several years in exile in Spain, due to his part in an armed robbery. He has received a letter from his ex wife, Chloe, and he wants to see her. He visits her mum, first, who lives in this fancy mansion type of place. It's all a bit confusing and then Bruce is found dead in the boot of a stolen car that has been pushed into a reservoir. The police quickly find out that a man called Roland nicked the car for money; he was told exactly where to steal the car from at an out of the way motel, but has no idea who by. He's very recently out of prison and living with his sister Mandy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also, one of the police duo who star in the book, Kenton, was bird watching when he saw a fire across the estuary and set off to it. It turns out a church roof has gone up in flames, deliberately set fire to. The vicar, Soames, immediately puts pressure on the police to solve his terrible crime. It doesn't seem like these two things are linked but then it becomes obvious they are and that they are linked to a boys school, and a pupil there in the distant past. There are parts with Roland's sister and with Bruce's ex, which become clear at the end, but they are a bit confusing in the middle. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is set in 1991 which is so longer ago now that it felt like ancient history. Policing seems so different now! The technology has come a really long way in that time, I think. There were a couple of anachronisms in my opinion but nothing too jarring. I really liked the detectives, Kenton and Brazier, and I would definitely read another book about them. I liked the WPC too, and treatment of her felt very real for the time period. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If I have to give some criticisms it's that there are really a lot of characters in this book and it was quite hard to keep them all straight in my head which is probably why it took me so long to read. I also thought there were some parts that stretched the boundaries of coincidence just a bit too much for me. In all I'm giving this four out of five and thank you to Quercus Books for letting me read it!</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-84380674361447322742023-12-23T16:55:00.017+00:002023-12-23T16:55:00.137+00:00Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fsMbGEHVKZ1O2QWGqywPDlhyphenhyphenw3PfjYCUXYXwl9GGTJa3cXFlPel0AN4XlDxVELw7oW42B29OineviVwyYWdCq9Kd_QfaNxi6f2Tj4k7fvSwjDvGr2TSZhZPfQZVUAV9c0g9cH9tg-GHhqMxRBuuQlDAM8QubZ8CIub0PY3GAkUd8i7aNMQK7MbCIcjS1/s2016/IMG_2989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fsMbGEHVKZ1O2QWGqywPDlhyphenhyphenw3PfjYCUXYXwl9GGTJa3cXFlPel0AN4XlDxVELw7oW42B29OineviVwyYWdCq9Kd_QfaNxi6f2Tj4k7fvSwjDvGr2TSZhZPfQZVUAV9c0g9cH9tg-GHhqMxRBuuQlDAM8QubZ8CIub0PY3GAkUd8i7aNMQK7MbCIcjS1/s320/IMG_2989.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I saw a tweet way back in October where the publisher was offering proofs of this book to anyone who asked, so I sent an email and was thrilled when a few weeks later I was asked for my address, and then this gorgeous book arrived later that week! I love Sarah Crossan and have read everything she's written, so was really pleased to be gifted this as well. I was provided with a copy of the book for review purposes, but was not otherwise compensated for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like Sarah's other books, this is written in verse. It is set in 1846 in Ireland, in the middle of the potato famine. At the beginning of the book, things aren't so bad. Nell has left school and got a job at the Big House, working as a scullery maid for Lord Wicken. He is a ruthless and harsh landlord of the land that Nell's father works. She lives with her parents and her little brother Owen in a small cottage. Their potato crops are failing and they must sell the oats in order to pay their rent. People are leaving for America or Canada or even Dublin all the time. Nell's friend Rose is falling in love with Eamon. Nell's boss, Maggie, is harsh and cruel to her, and rarely gives her enough to eat. Her family is relying on Nell's wages to pay themselves, but things are getting worse and worse. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lord Wicken's nephew, Johnny, is new to Ireland. Little by little, he and Nell get to know each other. She wants to avoid him, but she finds him quite irresistible. Other staff are suspicious and Nell knows what her family and neighbours would think if she and Johnny actually fell in love. But the famine is getting worse and people are getting desperate. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did feel that the bits where Nell and Johnny are actually together were a little confusing in parts and I wasn't sure exactly what had occurred between them as the poetry was quite vague. But that's really my only critcism. Thank you Bloomsbury for the book! </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-38542787299632498802023-12-20T21:08:00.026+00:002023-12-20T21:08:00.244+00:00Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash by John Carter Cash - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJ3KU4rlHvTASyH8N9P2F_ztGBXh3i9SHQPmaQfsMay3hW5Apegz7WkdLyZPUrFRFROKbBOyBI6nn8dXvfGfj4fptpW4qe_dlBS1Uu2PfX_m466ym2cD-jH7p7E-9X3ylfRQK78FStTLO0k2QD7mKwtgidFxqZ8DV7lz9FjRIvkflT-emL-LrkLZUI5_H/s1280/IMG_2737.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="591" height="726" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJ3KU4rlHvTASyH8N9P2F_ztGBXh3i9SHQPmaQfsMay3hW5Apegz7WkdLyZPUrFRFROKbBOyBI6nn8dXvfGfj4fptpW4qe_dlBS1Uu2PfX_m466ym2cD-jH7p7E-9X3ylfRQK78FStTLO0k2QD7mKwtgidFxqZ8DV7lz9FjRIvkflT-emL-LrkLZUI5_H/w336-h726/IMG_2737.PNG" width="336" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing you might not know about me is that I really love Johnny Cash's music. I've been a fan for a long time now, and so is my mum. I also like quite a lot of June Carter's music, and the music of The Carter Family, too. I could probably stand to learn more of her music, but I do like her. Also, if you don't know, she wrote some of Johnny's biggest hits, like Ring of Fire! That's an absolute classic! I know a bit about their lives but not loads, so I wanted to read this book when I heard about it a few months ago. It was published in 2007, only four years after June and then Johnny died in 2003, but I hadn't heard of it until recently. I don't even remember how. But it was expensive to buy so I decided to not bother.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then Spotify started doing audiobooks on Premium, which I have. And this was on there! So I started listening to it while on car drives by myself, and I finished it in only a few weeks. It's narrated by another country singer, who had a good and engaging voice and who really sounded like Johnny Cash at times!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was really interesting to hear about June's early life and her place in the Carter family. The book doesn't focus too much on her previous marriages, but does talk about her daughters Carlene and Rosie and their places in the family. John Carter remembers Rosie living with them when he was little, but he also recounts her addiction and the pain that she put upon her family and especially her mother when she was ill. He talks about how all Johnny's four daughters had their place in the family too and that June pretty much accepted them all as hers. John Carter talks about being the spoilt youngest child - and only son - in the family and what that meant; I actually felt he was quite self aware here on what privileges that had given him that maybe his sisters didn't benefit from. I also think that John Carter clearly only focussed on his own parents and not on their previous spouses, because that really just didn't interest him. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I of course knew about Johnny's addiction problems, but hearing about them through John Carter was absolutely heartbreaking. He talks about sharing a hotel room on tour with his dad when he was really quite a small child and listening to his dad's laboured breathing and that John Carter would worry that his dad had died. I feel like there was a lot of unpacked trauma here but because John Carter was just talking about his mother for the most part, he just talked about how she acted and the huge love she had for her family. It was interesting to hear about the family as a whole - their homes, their staff, their touring - as well as the bad parts. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">John Carter also suffered from addiction and he isn't quite as open about that as you would perhaps like, but it was still interesting and it still added to the story of June. I didn't know that she herself had problems with drugs towards the end of her life. The stories about her last recordings are pretty sad, actually. The part about her death was really sad, too - and then of course Johnny died just a few months later. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I generally liked the book and I particularly liked John Carter talking about the funny things June used to say and the 'klediments' (treasures) she had in each of their houses. It was cute to hear about how his second wife made him listen to the Carter Family more - his own legacy! It's quite funny. I didn't like that there was quite a lot of fat shaming of his mother towards the end, and I do think that some of the talk of addiction and god was a bit much. But maybe that's because I'm not a believer. I'm giving this four out of five as I did like it for the most part. </div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-47774881613952040142023-12-17T19:59:00.028+00:002023-12-17T19:59:00.136+00:00The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett - Review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh00-IzihXwOwZAcxXkgJXp4icQtAMriTVhjmEQ9872wmwepFDcdp2pWiWpBqm8fXvZFFcuEi_UoS6GvfLtJIoDqt0WgQ1JRig8S9LvEimeGrb0y82ZjigZqr-yHPqFZ24n93G_Lq6vbNn5kqJ-tqHticO3W-j2sXfHRQpkBq4dE5sqCWQweflh0J19QN4/s640/IMG_2949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh00-IzihXwOwZAcxXkgJXp4icQtAMriTVhjmEQ9872wmwepFDcdp2pWiWpBqm8fXvZFFcuEi_UoS6GvfLtJIoDqt0WgQ1JRig8S9LvEimeGrb0y82ZjigZqr-yHPqFZ24n93G_Lq6vbNn5kqJ-tqHticO3W-j2sXfHRQpkBq4dE5sqCWQweflh0J19QN4/s320/IMG_2949.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got this book - which is a sequel to <a href="http://www.rebeccamccormick.co.uk/2022/10/the-appeal-by-janice-hallett-review.html">The Appeal</a> - on Kindle and wanted to read it close to Christmas, as it's about a Christmas pantomime so it's definitely festive! It's a novella, so didn't take me too long to read at all. It's been described as The Appeal 1.5 which makes a lot of sense. If you like that book you would definitely like this, I think, but also if you hadn't read the appeal you would probably understand everything in this book and would still enjoy it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book is told in emails and text messages, like the first one. We're back with the Fairway Players as in the first book. The Haywards have clearly gone, and the land their house was on is now a fancy new housing estate. There is also a new council housing estate on the other side of town, which not all the Players are happy about. Sarah-Jane and her husband Kevin have been voted the co chairs of the theatre group, but Celia and Joel Halliday wish they were top dogs and Celia has passive aggession down to a fine art. The Walfords - Joyce and her sons, since her husband's death - are still around, as are the Paynes. I actually don't remember too much about the Paynes but it feels like everyone looks down on them because Karen 'only' works in Sainsburys. There are a few other people I recognised, but there's some new players too. There's a youngish single man who joins, and a couple who auditioned for the play but who never turn up. They live in one of the new posh houses and everyone seems to think it's a bit of a coup that they've joined. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every time Sarah-Jane sends an email it's immediately followed up by one from Celia, to undermine her. Then Sarah-Jane announces that she's procurred an actual beanstalk for the pantomime, which was last used thirty years ago and at one point by the Players themselves, but which has been in storage. It needs some upkeep, but then there's a rumour that it contains asbestos! The whole thing becomes a bit of a farce at this point, and it all comes to a head on the night of the panto itself, the 23rd of December. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As in the book before, a KC has sent information about the case to his students, Femi and Charlotte, to see what they think and what conclusion they would come to about the 'crime' - if there is a crime at all. We see their discussions between themselves and with Roger, too. It's interesting, but I'm not sure their discussions really went far enough for me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did enjoy the story but I felt there were too many red herrings and random stuff shoved in, and not really enough resolution. In all I'm giving this three out of five. </div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194912137743382578.post-2432423316162392742023-12-14T15:00:00.029+00:002023-12-14T15:00:00.137+00:00The Brewery Murders by J R Ellis - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IVoUbqTYNZG-6IN9Di7A7n7T8lAHmsomhNmflkLxUQmZ72_ULVxnA-XNLrsia80gLDYMKwa3uw9LojPVgrTQQAFmxNONYgyGUgn_PO8w7HBplbleK3aBxdDa01Deibw-msfFj0RytVA-CHFxiAU0P_k-A25jkX8jQsSmmJJLKA7Dc6wtvupOFPeSZkrK/s2016/IMG_2824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IVoUbqTYNZG-6IN9Di7A7n7T8lAHmsomhNmflkLxUQmZ72_ULVxnA-XNLrsia80gLDYMKwa3uw9LojPVgrTQQAFmxNONYgyGUgn_PO8w7HBplbleK3aBxdDa01Deibw-msfFj0RytVA-CHFxiAU0P_k-A25jkX8jQsSmmJJLKA7Dc6wtvupOFPeSZkrK/s320/IMG_2824.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You know I love J R Ellis and have read everything his written. He writes a series focussing on DCI Jim Oldroyd and his two sergeants, Andy and Steph. Oldroyd is now living with a woman, Deborah, in Harrogate, and Andy and Steph are a couple and live together in Leeds. I love the series because of its North Yorkshire setting, which is a place very dear to me, and I love to read about it. This is the ninth book in the series, and takes place in lower Wensleydale which I visited recently! It's a lovely part of the world. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So in this book there's a beer festival to begin with and there are two breweries present who both brew in Markham and who are rivals. The older, traditional one is run by Richard Foster, who took over from his father. His father made a beer called Wensley Glory back in the nineties which won many awards, but the recipe was lost upon his death and so Richard can't remake it. The other brewery is run by Richard's sister, Emily, and she employs mainly women. Her partner Janice works there too. The women's brewery is subjected to a lot of abuse and harassment from Richard's brewery, mainly because a lot of the men who work there don't think women should be brewing beer. A man called Brendan Scholes turns up to talk to both Richard and Emily. He used to work at Richard's brewery and his dad Wilf was the only other person who knew the missing recipe other than Foster Sr. He has recently died and Brendan says he has a copy of the recipe. He wants either Richard or Emily to pay him for it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, he is then found dead in a vat of beer in the older brewery. There are any number of people who might have wanted Brendan dead, including of course Richard and Emily, who may have both wanted the recipe, if it exists, the husband of a woman that Brendan had an affair with, and any number of people who just disliked him. Oldroyd and Andy are put on the case and are helped by a young and enthusiastic DC who I think we'll see more of in future books. One of my only criticisms of this book is that there's very little Steph in it and I like her, I always want to see more of her! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did guess one of the major twists before Oldroyd got there, which pleased me. I found the mystery a good one and in all I'm giving it four out of five. </div><p><br /></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15114191808501237357noreply@blogger.com0