BOOK REVIEW: Murray Davies - Welcome To Meantime

"DCI Patsy Chalke. Beautiful, rich, Oxford-educated. Owns a riverside penthouse, drives a red Mercedes convertible.
DS Bobby Leyden. The bruiser from the notorious Ferrier estate. Lives on take-away Chinese and cans of 1664. Drives a Ford.
They are Chalke and Cheese, but when a gruesome string of murders rocks the royal borough of Greenwich, the pair must work together to find out who is killing South London's villains. And why.
Only one thing's certain. In Meantime nothing is what it seems to be."

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it many times again, I’m sure; if a book’s set in Greenwich or the surrounding areas (basically, the areas I know really well), chances are I’ll love it. This book hit the mark in that respect and all other respects too. It follows Greenwich police officers as they attempt to get to the root of a string of murders, including South London’s hard men and celebrities. 

The storyline and plot is incredibly easy to follow, the timeline is well laid out and you don’t feel confused or lost at any point. Each chapter is based on a new day in the case which makes everything feel much more coherent and ‘real time’, I guess. 

When I was about halfway through reading this book, I posted a Facebook status about it:

“Never has a book been so me. Set in Greenwich (live there), the main character used to live on the Ferrier (lived there), not to mention it also features Millwall, cage fighting, and boxing. Oh, and lots of murders. I'm in love.”

I literally told anyone who would listen that it was amazing because that’s honestly what it is. Further down the line, the book mentioned my favourite restaurant too (Tai Won Mein, for those wondering) and I knew it was love, haha. 

The characters are strong. The two main characters are described as Chalke and Cheese and that’s pretty true. Chalke is a very strong-willed woman who seems to come from a different social class as the rest of her colleagues, something she tries to keep from them as much as possible. She lives a different lifestyle but still shares some of the same morals and beliefs as those around her which makes her likeable. Leyden is what I’d imagine I’d be like if I were a guy, given I share a whole load of things in common with him already. He used to live on the Ferrier estate (so did I!), stays true to his roots, and wants to do well at his job. 

The murders are sometimes far-fetched until you remember that you’re reading about South London villains or just villains in general and it becomes a little easier to believe that these things could, and would, happen. They’re all linked together, giving enough away so you want to keep reading but you still don’t know who’s at the heart of the murders for the most part. 

It becomes a little clearer to guess towards the end of the book but I find that to be the case with most thrillers and, personally, I really enjoy that because I feel like I’ve solved the crimes too. Is that sad? Ah, well… 

I can honestly say, hand on heart, this has become one of my favourite books. As soon as I’d finished reading it, I wanted to read it again. When I was taking the DLR to work, I was thinking about all the areas where certain scenes had played out etc. In fact, one thing I will say that surprised (in a good way) me most is the description of Greenwich. It really helped me get a clear image of the scenes, especially some of the murder ones. If you know Greenwich, you’ll love this. If you don’t, you’ll still love it.

Best of all..? Apparently, there’s a second book on the way according to this site: http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/51365/. EXCITING!

Paperback | Kindle

About the Author: During his career as a national newspaper reporter, Murray Davies has covered most of the major British crime stories and headline court cases of the past thirty years. He lives in London.

BOOK REVIEW: Karen Thompson Walker - Age of Miracles

“'It is never what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different - unimagined, unprepared for, unknown…' One morning, Julia and her parents wake up in their suburban home in California to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth is noticeably slowing. The enormity of this is almost beyond comprehension. And yet, even if the world is, in fact, coming to an end, as some assert, day-to-day life must go on. Julia, facing the loneliness and despair of an awkward adolescence, witnesses the impact of this phenomenon on the world, on the community, on her family and on herself.” 

I first heard of this book when the lovely Giovanna Fletcher (@mrsgifletcher) mentioned it – at least I think it was her who mentioned it. I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to get my grubby mitts on it but let me tell you, I’m glad I did and it was worth the wait.

The writing style draws you in instantly, to the point where I genuinely forgot I wasn’t living in the book world. It tells the story of Julia’s struggle to grow up and come of age in a world where nothing is certain anymore. Days start getting longer, first by minutes, then hours, then days. It sounds fun at first – more sun (for those who like sun), more of an excuse to go to bed later (for those like me who are tired but keep putting it off). It’s all fun until people start getting hurt and things start going terribly wrong.

As well as looking at how Julia deals with the massive worldly change occurring, it also looks at the development of her first relationship, I suppose, or definite crush at the least. Something that, as teens, we all go through so it’s easy to relate to her feelings and thoughts. The fact that it coincides with something we (I hope) will never go through is, perhaps, what draws you into the story.

The characters are great – from the annoying children at the bus stop to the adults, they’re all written in incredibly well. For me, the worst part of a book is if I feel that some of the characters are there simply as filler which, I’ll be honest, there was one or two in this book but the rest of them made up for that. I loved watching the children in the book develop into young adults, something that happened a little faster thank to the whole ‘days getting longer’ thing, sadly.

The way the characters interact with people, particularly Julia and Seth (if I remember correctly, sorry, I’m writing this without the book at hand and finished this a little while ago!), is great. Their initial awkwardness that turns into becoming inseparable is so true to life, at least for me, that it’s a joy to read – it’s always nice reading things you can relate to, right?

The storyline is easy to follow and the structure definitely helps with this. You’re not left wondering what’s happening and when, it was a joy to read and, like I say, definitely worth the wait. The ending leaves it open for a follow up but, at the same time, it rounds off the story quite nicely which is a great way for the book to end.

Paperback | Kindle

BOOK REVIEW: John Green - The Fault in our Stars

“Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.”

I read ‘Looking for Alaska’ by John Green after I saw a quote from it all over Tumblr. I fell in love with John Green’s writing style immediately and it quickly became one of my favourite books. I’d been meaning to read more of his stuff for a while but didn’t – probably because I have the biggest ‘to-read’ pile you could imagine, but also because I’m quite cheap when it comes to buying book.

Along with my already declared love for John Green’s writing style, I knew a lot of people were raving about this book and saying it had brought them to tears so I was fairly certain that, even if it didn’t make me cry, I was going to like it. I was wrong. I love it.

The story follows the relationship the builds between Augustus and Hazel after they meet at a support group for children who have, or have had, cancer. The relationship that blossoms is incredibly special and perfectly written, as is the friendships between Isaac, Hazel, and Augustus. It’s touching beyond belief.

It’s nice to see a book that touches on cancer in teens without leaving the reader depressed – there’s always an uplifting, positive emotion sweeping through, regardless of what tragedies might happen.

It’s a tragic love story but there’s much more depth to it than your typical ‘boy meets girl, they fall in love, they fall apart’ story. There’s real hurt in the words, there’s humour that makes you chuckle inside (and outside, if you're not careful), there’s anger at the harsh reality of life but, there’s also the sense that life is there to be lived, not dwelled on.

The ending made me sob like a baby; not because it was hopelessly sad but because it was a beautiful truth.

This video of Troye Sivan's song, written after reading this book, also makes me sob like an absolute mess. Especially this video (there's two online).

What’s your favourite tragic love story?

*This is a repost from my old blog thislittlemell.blogspot.com*

Book Review: Lisa Appignanesi - Paris Requiem

This follows the life of Raf, James, and Ellie – a trio of siblings. Having been giving the task to bring his siblings back to America, James travels to Paris and finds himself caught up in something that he might have preferred to avoid. After a spate of apparent suicides, including Raf’s lover, the trio (though more so Raf and James) set about trying to get to the bottom of what happened as they’re certain there’s something amiss and it was murder, not suicide.

I will be completely honest and say it took me quite a while to get into this book – not because it’s written terribly or because it’s boring, but simply because it’s more challenging to read than what I’d found myself reading of late. It’s the kind of book that you have to concentrate on in order to keep up with what’s happening – at least that was the case for me, anyway. However, once I had got into the book (took me perhaps 50-100 pages), I was utterly absorbed. I found myself looking forward to the journey to work just so I could sneak a few pages in.

It’s a rich story with lots of aspects to follow, hence the need for concentration, but I never once felt like all the aspects didn’t mesh or work together. Everything blended into a story that was compelling to read and, consequently, something that I would advise people to read. It touched upon themes that I’m not so used to reading about (mental health and anti-Semitism for example) but that’s not a bad thing.

The characters are detailed and full, none of them felt like they overpowered another or were simply there for the sake of being there. Each character has a purpose and brings something to the storyline whilst helping to get certain things out of other characters too. They work well together without feeling bland or pointless.

It’s set in Paris in the 1800’s and I feel like, although it’s not necessary to know what times were like back then to enjoy and appreciate the story, it might have helped to know a little of the background. While we’re on the subject of Paris, one thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book (in fact, it’s the only thing and it’s the tiniest of complaints) is that there would be the odd sentence in French that wasn’t always explained and if, like me, you’re not particularly good at French, it puts you off the reading flow.

The ending felt very well written – sometimes with books I get the feeling the author has reached the point of desperation and just wants to get the ending over with ASAP. That wasn’t the case with Paris Requiem.
I enjoyed the structure and the plot of this book. It flowed wonderfully, I was left guessing and wondering what was going to happen next. The time line was relatively clear so you never felt lost or confused. All in all it was a pleasure to read and I look forward to reading more of Appignanesi’s work.

Amazon: Paperback

Goodreads

P.S. on a side note, how beautiful is the cover and does it remind anybody else of The Exorcist? xx

BOOK REVIEW: Jennifer Joyce - A Beginners Guide To Salad

"Ruth loves nothing more than curling up in front of the telly with a family-sized bar of chocolate. She doesn’t do diets and she certainly doesn’t do exercise. But all that changes when she’s invited to her school reunion.
Bullied at school for being overweight, Ruth’s first reaction is to rip the invitation into a million pieces. But then Ruth hatches a plan. She’ll lose the weight and arrive at the reunion looking gorgeous and glamorous, leaving her old classmates in awe. Especially her former crush, Zack O’Connell.
With the help of her friends and a new, unbelievably hot colleague, Ruth begins her transformation. With six months until the reunion, losing weight will be a piece of cake, right?"

 I was lucky enough to win this book but, let me start by saying, I would happily have paid full price for this and would recommend it to anybody. It’s one of those fantastic books whereby you’re fairly certain you know exactly what’s going to happen but every now and then a little twist rears its little head and makes you question things.

It follows the life of Ruth as she embarks on a mission to lose weight so she can attend her school reunion with her head held high and show her former bullies that she’s not the person she was, that she’s over what they did and all the hurtful things they said. There’s two problems with this; she’s awful with diets and she’s not really over it at all.

Along the way, we meet the people in Ruth’s life that matter most – her best friend and flatmate, Billy, her work colleague and friend, Erin, her other flatmate, Theo, and her newest colleague, Jared. What I loved most about this book (if I HAD to pick one thing) would be that each chapter is written the view point of a character, be in Ruth (1st person) or any of the others (3rd person). It really helps you to get a rounded view of what’s happening and how everything affects them all. Better still, there are times when they recap things from a different point of view (I’m describing this so terribly, I’m sorry!) – so if Ruth and Billy are in a scene together and it’s first told to us through Ruth’s point of view, it’s then recapped from Billy’s; it’s a great way to see that people misinterpret things or see things in a different way.

The relationships in this book are fantastic. There was, perhaps, one point in the book where I found myself questioning where Billy has disappeared to but, oddly enough, the next chapter was his and he had just got into a relationship so, as in reality, he’d clearly gone a little M.I.A. whilst getting to know his lovely lady. The interactions are brilliant and true to life and the relationships are complex and comforting.

The characters are realistic, as are the struggles they go through. Jared and Ruth are dealing with their own demons and helping each other through, although they don’t necessarily realise it at the time – lots of misinterpretations and the like. Billy is Ruth’s older brother, Stephen’s best friend and Ruth’s best friend too. He’s there for her as a shoulder to cry on and a support whenever she needs it. Erin is the slightly promiscuous but kind-hearted friend who is on her own little journey that runs in the background of the story. Theo is a male Erin but without the journey – he is what he is and we love or hate him for it.

There’s humour, romance, and tragedy all wrapped up within this wonderfully written story. I was captivated from start to finish and was a bit gutted when I’d finished it, if I’m honest.

As I said at the start of this book, you think you know where it’s going to go but little things keep happening that make you question how sure you are about it and so you change your opinion, only for something else to pop up. It’s this writing style and structure that keeps you absolutely hooked – I had hoped for an early night last night but, nope, I had to stay up and finish it because I couldn’t bear to put it down.

It’s nice to read a book where, although there’s a happy end, it doesn’t entirely work out for the main character – she didn’t end up in the place she’d hoped but she’s happy and that’s such a life lesson to us all… You can’t plan for life but you can be happy with what you’ve got, even if it’s not what you expected. I loved it – it’s as simple as that.

Available to buy on Amazon

BOOK REVIEW: Nicola Doherty – If I Could Turn Back Time

“What if you found The One, then lost him again?
Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his best female friend...
Zoe knows she doesn't deserve another chance with David. But if there's the tiniest possibility of making things right, she'll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so...”

 The story starts with a character waking up the morning after with the hangover from hell. She doesn’t really know where she is or how she got that – all she knows is last night was a mental one, by anybody’s standards, and that, wherever she is, it’s ridiculously hot considering it’s winter. It turns out she’s in David’s room which, from the blurb, we can guess is her ex-boyfriend. Is this just a terrible hangover or something more..?

We’re then taken back 12 hours to when the events of the night start to unfold and we’re given the opportunity to learn about the narrator – we learn she’s called Zoé and that she’s clearly hung up on her ex. After a long day at work (she works in retail), she decides to follow a tradition a customer told her about; making a wish in the shop window.

We then follow her journey as she pieces together what’s happened and tries to correct her previous mistakes in order to change the outcome – and not necessarily just to do with her relationship with David.

There’s a little bit of a love triangle and, though the characters involved might not be a surprise, the outcome and the relationships that unfold are an absolute delight to read about. Let’s face it, most of us, at some point, have been dumped by somebody and spent months moping about and wanting them back, saying we’d do anything to get them back or we’ve at least known someone like that. Either way, it helps to make this book all the more enjoyable.

The characters are well-written and the relationships/friendships are well explored and well developed. The way that they interact with each other is exactly how I’ve known people in this situation to behave so it’s very much like reading about friends in this situation – just with a bit of added time travel!

I like that there’s a bit of a moral to the book – that even if you could go back and change things, it doesn’t mean they will go as you plan because you can’t really plan for life. Things happen, people come and go, and it’s all about how you react to certain things.

We watch as Zoe rebuilds (or doesn’t, depending how you look at it) her relationship with David but also how she cheats her way into the job she’s always wanted after having been denied it before she jumped back in time. She has the upper hand in a lot of the situations but that doesn’t necessarily mean she gets what she wants out of it. She learns that maybe some things don’t work out for a reason in life and love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could have spent forever reading about it and watching relationships develop and fall apart. The structure was lovely, the language used was spot on, and it was incredibly light and easy reading.

This is Nicola’s second novel and, after reading this, I’ll definitely be checking out her first -  The Out of Office Girl.

eBooks/Kindle: The Book People | Amazon | Waterstones

Paperback: The Book People | Amazon | Waterstones

*I was lucky enough to be sent this via BookBridgr so thank you BookBridgr and Frances Gough!

BOOK REVIEW: Jimmy Rice and Laura Tait - The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me

"Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly certainly remembers Alex. But she decided ten years ago that love wasn't about mix tapes and seizing the moment - though she's not exactly sure it's about secret dates with your boss, either.
But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a big city, and he's almost certain that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Almost.
How do you know if it was meant to be or never meant to happen at all?"

Following the story of Holly and Alex, we’re taken on a journey of their relationship both past and present. They’ve known each other for years and it’s not always been smooth sailing. He loved her but thought she was too good for him and not interested, she loved him but thought he wasn’t interested. When Alex moves to London, he gets in touch with Holly and their friendship is left to blossom but can they pick up where they left off and finish what they started?

This was the first book I’ve ever read (apart from the dull university textbooks) that have been written by more than one author and, I’ll be honest, it’s been quite the revelation. I loved the idea of it but I love it even more in practice. It really helps you to feel like you’re being told the story from both parties involved whereas usually the story focuses on one side. 

It was set in Greenwich and surrounding areas which is another thing that I really enjoyed about this book. I know it’s really silly but when a book is set in an area I know, it makes it so much easier for me to get into the book as I can picture the scene really clearly and, as I live in Greenwich, this definitely made it easier. 

The difference in tones of voices and writing styles is subtle and very complementary to each other. I think that if this book had been written any differently, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly half as much. It was written in a casual tone of voice which is undoubtedly my favourite. I like to read books that are written in such a way it feels like a friend telling me a story (I really don’t think I’m explaining this well at all), with the language used and pauses taken. 

There are funny elements to this book and I definitely chuckled more than once whilst reading this, particularly at the jogging scene to name one of many. Of course, being a ‘rom-com’ book, there’s a certain element of wanting to bang their heads together but it wouldn’t be a rom-com without that, would it?! 

The characters in the book are well developed and portrayed. Sometimes I feel like a character is supposed to be bitchy but then their dialogue says something utterly different – not the case with this book. I loved that there was a character called Melissa, simply because that’s my name (well, Melisa/Melissa).

If you’re looking for a light-hearted read that you’ll be able to relate to in some manner, whether it’s a lost love or a lost friendship, this book is a great option. It’s brilliantly written, it’s funny, it has great structure and flow, and is, in all honesty, a great book.

Waterstones: http://fave.co/QESdY8

Amazon: (Paperback) http://fave.co/QESwlD 

(Kindle) http://fave.co/1hvY1c1
TheBookPeople: http://fave.co/QFyR50

BOOK REVIEW: Jane Costello - The Time of Our Lives

“Three best friends. One five-star hotel. Will it be the holiday of a lifetime . . .?
Imogen and her friends Meredith and Nicola have had their fill of budget holidays, cattle-class flights and 6 a.m. offensives for a space by the pool.
So when Meredith wins a VIP holiday at Barcelona's hippest new hotel, they plan to sip champagne with the jet set, party with the glitterati and switch off in unapologetic luxury.
But when the worst crisis of her working life erupts back home, Imogen has to juggle her BlackBerry with a Manhattan, while soothing a hysterical boss and hunting down an AWOL assistant.
Between a robbery, a run-in with hotel security staff and an encounter on a nudist beach that they'd all rather forget, the friends stumble from one disaster to the next. At least Imogen has a distraction in the form of the gorgeous guy who's always in the right place at the very worst time. Until, that is, his motives start to arouse a few suspicions…”

Meredith has to be the luckiest person ever – she not only wins a holiday for 2 to a 5 star hotel in Barcelona, she then gets the competition providers to find a way of getting a third person to go too. So Meredith, Imogen, and Nicola set off on their dream holiday although, well… let’s just say it doesn’t exactly go to plan. Before they’ve even left the airport, Imogen has managed to throw her buffet breakfast over herself and a ridiculously hot man and, it turns out, it’s not the last she sees of him. 

It was at this point of the book i.e. VERY early on, that I knew I was going to love it and I was right. Jane Costello’s writing style is very lighthearted and funny which suits me perfectly – I actually laughed to myself on the tube more than once when reading this. It’s also this humour that, when juxtaposed alongside more serious/sad scenes, helps to bring you down with a bump, something I love. 

I adored the friendship between the three ladies. They look out for each other, are comfortable with each other but, at the same time, will tell it how it is with no holding back.

Things don’t run smoothly for Imogen and, as it’s her first holiday in many years, you feel bad for her but, for the most part, the scraps and situations she finds herself in are utterly hilarious and I found myself laughing at/with her more than pitying her. 

Throughout the story, Imogen frequently mentions her daughter’s father, Roberto, and is seemingly unable to get over him leaving her but never really reveals what happened. It’s because of this that she seems a bit ‘bunny boiler’-esque until she reveals the truth to Harry – the gorgeous fella from the airport, a journalist who seems to have ulterior motives thanks to the work drama that poor Imogen is having to deal with whilst on holiday.

When you find out Imogen’s past, you really want her to get with Harry and work everything else out – and you’re absolutely screaming at her by this point to take a step back from work – and re-evaluate what’s important to her and look at her priorities. 

On a personal note, I find it hard to believe that two people would form such a bond given the time frame but that’s the whole point of a book; it can romanticise and steer away from reality. 

The timeline of the book is very clear and easy to keep up with, making the book incredibly easy to read. Add to that Jane Costello’s writing style and you’re definitely on to a winner. The book made me smile and laugh – it was such a great, easy read and I loved every moment of it. I liked the characters and the situations that they find themselves in but, most importantly, I liked that they all went through it and became better people by facing up to the things that they had been ignoring – a life lesson we could all learn from sometimes.

Amazon: Kindle | Paperback
Waterstones: Paperback

BOOK REVIEW: Pippa Wright - Unsuitable Men

I’ve been so busy these last few weeks that I haven’t been able to blog as often as I’d like so, for that, I’d like to apologise. I have tonnes of notes written up about various books so I’ll get cracking on writing them ASAP. In the meantime, I finished this book on my journey to work today and I’m going to sneakily write a review at work so forgive me for any errors, I’m not the best ninja!

"After eleven years of coupled-up domesticity, Rory Carmichael is single for the first time in her adult life. Even she would admit that her ex-boyfriend Martin wasn’t the most exciting man in the world – let’s face it, his idea of a rocking night was one spent updating his Excel spreadsheets – but Rory could rely on him and, having watched her mother rack up four turbulent marriages, that’s what matters. But when she discovers that her supposedly reliable Mr Right is a distinctly unreliable cheater, she’s forced to consider the possibility that everything she knows about relationships is wrong.
In an effort to reinvigorate both her love life and her lacklustre career at posh magazine Country House, she sets herself a mission to date as many unsuitable men as possible. Toyboys. Sugar daddies. Fauxmosexuals. Maybe the bad boys she’s never dated can show her what she’s been missing in life. But if Mr Right can turn out to be so wrong, maybe one of her Mr Wrongs will turn out to be just right…"

I absolutely loved the concept of this book – we’ve all dated people that weren’t exactly suitable haven’t we? Rory finds herself single after 11 years of being with her boyfriend whom she’d planned a future with. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she finds out he cheated on her, is forced to move out of their joint home, and isn’t really enjoying work all that much. So when her column at Country House magazine gets cut she has to think fast and, influenced by a conversation with her colleague Ticky, she suggest writing about dates with unsuitable men.

This book was a genuine joy to read. I won’t lie and say I loved everything about it but I did love the majority of it and the things I didn’t like really aren’t major at all. Let’s get the ‘bad’ out of the way, shall we? There’s literally one thing: Rory’s colleagues are all posh and so everything they say, especially Ticky, is spelt out phonetically, so you end up reading it in a posh accent. Now I’m aware that for most people that would be fine but, for me, I just can’t. I don’t really appreciate a posh voice the way I know I should and so it began to grate on me because I couldn’t get away from it. (I did tell you it was silly!)

The characters in the book are well developed and very fleshed out, from the main characters to the unsuitable men that Rory finds herself dating. There are no characters that just feel like padding – for me there’s nothing worse than spending time reading about somebody to find that they’re quite two dimensional, boring and, ultimately, not really relevant to the story. This wasn’t the case – they all have their part to play and bring something worth reading to the table.

It touches upon the celebrity phenomenon but not in the way you might expect. They’re not current celebrities, as such, more past celebrities. ‘They’ being Rory’s aunt and her lodgers (lodgers feels like the wrong word as they’re more like family – something that becomes evident as the story develops).

One of the stand out things about this book was that, yes, it looks at Rory dating unsuitable men and that’s funny etc. but it also goes deeper and is about Rory growing up, changing, and becoming the person she wants to be, not the person she thought she had to be. There are moments you want to shout at her for not spotting the obvious but that just proves how well written this book is – the fact that I could get that absorbed in this make-believe world says a lot.

There’s a happy ending but it’s not necessarily the one you might think would occur as you’re reading it, although it might be as I guessed relatively early on. Having said that Pippa Wright did throw a little something in the mix that shook things up and I doubted myself for a while. Overall, this was a great book to read and, as I have ‘The Foster Husband’ sitting on my ‘to-read’ pile, I am now even more excited to get my teeth into it!

Paperback | Kindle

COVER REVEAL: Sue Moorcroft - The Wedding Proposal

I will literally read anything I can get my hands on but, as fickle as it sounds, I’m more inclined to read something if it has a pretty cover so imagine my delight when I saw the cover for Sue Moorcroft’s upcoming novel, ‘The Wedding Proposal’. Here are two things that I don’t expect you to know about me; 1) I LOVE mint green and all shades that are close to it, and 2) I love petals. Now, knowing those two things, let me know you the front cover…

JUST LOOK AT IT! My goodness! It’s a thing of beauty! When I saw this, I didn’t know anything about the book but I knew I wanted to get my hands on it.

"Can a runaway bride stop running?Elle Jamieson is an unusually private person, in relationships as well as at work – and for good reason. But when she’s made redundant, with no ties to hold her, Elle heads off to a new life in sunny Malta.
Lucas Rose hates secrets – he prides himself on his ability to lay his cards on the table and he expects nothing less from others. He’s furious when his summer working as a divemaster is interrupted by the arrival of Elle, his ex, all thanks to his Uncle Simon’s misguided attempts at matchmaking.
Forced to live in close proximity, it’s hard to ignore what they had shared before Lucas’s wedding proposal ended everything they had. But then an unexpected phone call from England allows Lucas a rare glimpse of the true Elle. Can he deal with Elle’s hidden past when it finally comes to light?"

After having read the blurb, I know I’m going to enjoy it which just makes this whole cover reveal even more amazing. It’s beautiful and sounds like something I’d enjoy.

More information about Sue Moorcroft
Sue Moorcroft is an accomplished writer of novels and short stories, as well as a creative writing tutor. She’s also the fiction judge at Writers Forum and a regular guest on Sue Dougan’s Chat Room at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Sue’s Choc Lit novels include: Starting Over, All That Mullarkey, Want to Know a Secret?, Love & Freedom, Dream a Little Dream, Is This Love? and Darcie’s Dilemma (ebook). Love & Freedom won the Festival of Romance Best Romantic Read Award 2011 and Dream a Little Dream was shortlisted for the 2013 Romantic Novel of the Year Award.

‘The Wedding Proposal’ is going to be released this September and I, for one, can’t wait. 

What about you?

BOOK REVIEW: Claire King - The Night Rainbow

"During one long, hot summer, five-year-old Pea and her little sister Margot play alone in the meadow behind their house, on the edge of a small village in Southern France. Her mother is too sad to take care of them; she left her happiness in the hospital, along with the baby. Pea's father has died in an accident and Maman, burdened by her double grief and isolated from the village by her Englishness, has retreated to a place where Pea cannot reach her - although she tries desperately to do so.
Then Pea meets Claude, a man who seems to love the meadow as she does and who always has time to play. Pea believes that she and Margot have found a friend, and maybe even a new papa. But why do the villagers view Claude with suspicion? And what secret is he keeping in his strange, empty house?"

This novel follows the life of two sisters, Pea and Margot, as they cope with the fallout of the loss and devastation that struck their family a short while ago. Along the way, they make a new friend who, despite their own tragedy, slowly helps to make everything better.

The story is told through the eyes of Pea, aged 5 and a half. At times the narration felt as though it was coming from somebody much older than Pea is supposed to be. Instead of seeing that as a flaw, I'd like to think that's just the author's way of further proving that Pea had to grow up a lot quicker than any child should have, as a result of the misfortune her family suffered. Despite everything Pea has gone through, the narration perfectly encapsulates the optimism that many young children seem to possess. It is this optimism that keeps you turning the pages.

The novel focuses on very few characters, allowing you to learn a lot about each of them. It's this fact that helps to make it so captivating - it's like following the lives of people you know and care about. It also shows the various ways in which tragedy affects a person and how differently people cope with it; for that alone, it is a brilliant piece of literature.

One element of this novel became fairly obvious quite quickly. I'm not sure if that's an intentional act by the author but, either way, it didn't make the novel any less enjoyable to read. Early on in the story, a relationship develops that makes you wonder whether you should continue to read... All I can say is you'll regret it if you don't. This book touches on some of the darkest places a human can find themselves in but the ending shows that there's always hope.

There's something slightly magical about a story that contains so many negative emotions and situations yet can still portray positivity throughout. This novel manages that with ease. It's an absolute delight to read, even if it is slightly haunting at points. It's the kind of book you read and, thanks to the wonderful descriptive nature of Pea's narration, find yourself getting lost in her world.

The book is available at Waterstones, from Amazon, or on your Kindle

BOOK REVIEW: Mhairi McFarlane - Here's Looking At You

“Anna Alessi – history expert, possessor of a lot of hair and an occasionally filthy mouth – seeks nice man for intelligent conversation and Mills & Boon moments.

Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna couldn’t be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned out better than she dared dream. However, things weren’t always this way, and her years spent as the ‘Italian Galleon’ of an East London comprehensive are ones she’d rather forget.

So when James Fraser – the architect of Anna’s final humiliation at school – walks back into her life, her world is turned upside down. But James seems a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can change, right? So why does Anna feel like she’s a fool to trust him?”

Anna is haunted by her past and, though she thinks she’s over it, she’s really just spent years blocking it out, a fact she realises when she decides, thanks in part to her friends, to go to her school reunion and face her demons. It turns out the people in her past don’t remember her so can she start afresh and prove she’s changed as those from her past prove they’ve changed too? Maybe…

When she goes to the school reunion, she sees James and Loz; James being the main character from her past that broke her down and Loz being his sidekick. Neither of them recognise her (she’s lost a hell of a lot of weight and truly blossomed, in all senses, by all accounts) and Laurence tries to make a move, causing Anna to make an excuse and leave, with the hope that she’ll never have to see them again.

Oh, how wrong she was! She ends up having to work with James, a situation she is definitely not a fan of. She decides she can either be nice and give him another chance or make his working life difficult. Turns out she can’t stick to the option she chose and I’m so glad that’s the case.

They build a friendship that’s by no means smooth but, oh jeez, you feel compelled to keep reading in the hope they work it out. If they were my friends in real life, I would definitely have bashed their heads together at various points in the book.

Whilst Anna and James are attempting, and sometimes failing, to sort out their differences, Anna’s sister Aggy is in the process of planning her wedding – something that doesn’t go to plan either but, thanks to a surprising helpful hand, Aggy gets her wedding after all, even if it’s not the one she’d been dreaming of.

In most stories, when the lead female has been hurt in the past it’s usually some stupid guy who didn’t realise what he had and left or, worse, cheated and then left. Anna’s story is so different to that. Without giving too much away, she wasn’t just hurt by the guy she liked, she was publically humiliated too, in front of a school hall of judgemental, rude, teenagers. Yes, it involves a boy but not a boyfriend.

It was nice to read a story whereby the lead character has literally been to their lowest point possible and made it through, growing into a strong woman that men adore and want to be with whilst women want to be her. Anna’s not perfect but that’s part of her charm and what makes her character such a joy to read.

It’s also touching to see the way James reacts when he finds out just how much of an impact his actions had on Anna; genuine horror and remorse. The length’s he goes to in order to win back her trust and become the friend to her that she needs also makes for great reading.

There are twists and turns throughout which keep you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages, a fine testament to McFarlane’s exceptional writing skills. This would be a great read for anyone who has been belittled by another human and made to feel worthless and not good enough because it’s inspirational and shows that you can become the butterfly you always wanted to be.

Although it’s based around a horrible topic, ‘Here’s Looking at You’ had me smiling, laughing, and full of happiness. Okay, fine, I’m not that tough – I also shed a tear or two as well. I can’t recommend this book enough and I’m going to have to read more of Mhairi McFarlane’s work in the future!

Kindle Edition | Paperback Edition

*paid for by myself*

GUEST POST: Stefan Haucke

Hello everyone! Today we've got a guest post from the ever-so-wonderful Stefan Haucke, author of 'Shadow of Ghosts' (review coming soon!!)

In the post, Stefan talks briefly about some of the interesting things he learned whilst doing research for his book.

"Shadows of Ghosts is a fantasy novel that takes place in a land that has many parallels to the United States during the era leading up to and during the Civil War. When I was researching this era I discovered that there was a rapid advancement in the technology of communications and travel; and this rapid advancement dramatically changed society during the first part of the nineteenth century.

Before the start of the nineteenth century, travel and communication was slow. Then, the invention of the steamboat and the building of railroads and canals suddenly made traveling long distances dramatically faster and more convenient. At the same time, the telegraph was invented. Now, with the telegraph, long distance communication became almost instantaneous. There were also major improvements in the ability to rapidly print newspapers and books. These changes in communications and travel allowed new ideas to flow across the United States. The abolitionist movement gained strength. The temperance movement, women's rights, improvement in the care of the mentally ill, prison reform—all these ideas gained a greater audience and led to major societal improvements due to the innovations in communications and travel."

A review of 'Shadow of Ghosts' is coming soon so keep your eyes peeled!!

BOOK NEWS: Lindsey Kelk Reveals ‘What A Girl Wants’ Cover!

From the moment I heard Lindsey’s next book was going to be released in July, I have been waiting not-so-patiently for more information about the release and the book itself. Today, Lindsey tweeted a picture of the front cover as well as the release date.

For those who don’t know (and why would you?) my birthday is in July so I was always going to be excited about the July release but it turns out that it’s released on July 17th, just 11 days before my birthday. I think it’s safe to say I know what I’m no doubt going to end up treating myself to for my birthday!

According to Goodreads, “Tess Brookes was the girl with a plan. Now she's the girl with a choice. Should she stay in London and start her own advertising agency with her best friend and potential boyfriend Charlie? Or should she head to exciting Milan to pursue both a new career as a photographer and a new man, the enigmatic and elusive (and highly irritating) Nick? For the first time, Tess has to choose between the life she always dreamed of and a future she never imagined possible. With her heart and her head pulling her in different directions, Tess has to make a life-changing decision about What a Girl Wants.”

It’s the follow up to About a Girl which I LOVED (no surprise, I love all of Lindsey’s work) and the fact this is the 2nd book makes up for the break I’ve had to take from Alex, haha. If you’d like to read About a Girl, here’s the Amazon links: Kindle / Paperback

What a Girl Wants is available for pre-order here: Kindle / Paperback and will be released on July 17th 2014.

REVIEW: Ann Hood - Something Blue

“College friends Lucy and Katherine reunite as adults—and build a new friendship as changed women.
Katherine shows up at Lucy’s Manhattan doorstep having run away from the marriage altar. Lucy isn’t thrilled to see her former sorority sister—her own life as a children’s book illustrator is complicated enough, especially as she may be falling out of love with her boyfriend. Along with Lucy’s oddball best friend, Julia, the women tackle the complicated challenge of being young, lost, and in search of life in New York City“

This book follows the lives of Lucy, Katherine, and Julia, as they try to figure out what they want from life and how to get it. Lucy has been with Jasper for years but isn’t very happy, Katherine is about to get married but isn’t very happy, and Julia lives her life through lies and, you’ve guessed it, isn’t very happy - in fact you could say they all feel blue. We watch the three girls as they try to get along with each other and stumble through life, on a road towards happiness.

Lucy and Katherine were friends in college but haven’t really spoken in years which is why I found it so weird that Katherine would turn up on her doorstep. That being said, I can understand why she wants to try and go back to a time when she was happy and that was when Lucy was still in her life. Lucy, however, has moved on and become best friends with Julia, wanting to leave her past strictly in the past. She’s not happy with the person that she was then but, then again, she doesn’t appear to be happy with the person that she is now. She feels like she’s stuck in a rut; she isn’t happy with her boyfriend or her job.

“Katherine arrives on the New York doorstep of her old college friend Lucy and finds herself to be a painful intrusion from the past. The pair, together with Lucy's best friend Julia, must learn to forge new relationships with each other.”

All three characters find it hard to adjust after Katherine turns up; Katherine finds it hard to accept that Lucy has changed and they’re not the close friends they once were, she also finds it hard to be around Lucy and Julia because it reminds her of what she and Lucy once had – friendship. Julia finds it hard because she doesn’t really like Katherine and there are moments when she nearly reveals her lies. Finally, Lucy finds it hard because she is constantly reminded of the past she’d rather forget thanks to Katherine’s appearance.

I don’t really know what to say about this story. I understand that it focuses on the three women’s lives and that we watch them as they try to get where they want to be in life and work out what they want… I just don’t feel there was much of a story to pad it out. It was a great, easy read but it felt like there could have been so much more to it. I would have liked there to have been more of a story behind it all.

I like that the characters do eventually get where they want to be, with who they want to be and it’s nice to read a book where the characters have the same ‘what if’s’ as people do in real life. It’s a very believable book in terms of characters, although I feel that Julia is an exaggerated version of how her character would be in reality.

One thing I took away from this book was that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and that you can’t bury your past by running away (which is what Lucy did). It will come back and haunt you somehow although, for Lucy, that worked out fine.

As it was written in third person, I struggled to feel connected with the characters. That’s very much a personal thing to me as I know plenty of people that connect better with third person. It just made me feel like I was an outsider, trying to befriend a group of females who didn’t want to know. Then again, in hindsight, maybe that was a deliberate act of the authors as that’s how the characters felt the majority of the time.

I would suggest this book to a friend, partly because it’s an easy read but more so I could see if they felt the same way as me about it. I was left wanting more but I’m not sure if it was in a good or a bad way – did I want more in the form of another book or did I want more from the book I’d just read? It’s hard to say.

Have you read this book, if so, what did you make of it? Leave a comment and let me know!

REVIEW: Susanna Johnston - Lettice and Victoria

“This mischievous roman à clef revolves around the interactions of five main characters. Victoria, barely twenty, finds herself acting as amanuensis to Laurence, an elderly man of letters, now blind, who lives in a ravishing house by the sea in northern Italy. Soon after her arrival, she indulges in a heady night of passion with Edgar, a youthful Englishman. Their subsequent union introduces Edgar's pretentious mother Lettice, who is jealous and suspicious of her daughter-in-law's prettiness and her ability to amuse Lettice's intellectual friends. While Victoria struggles to adapt to her new surroundings, Lettice, in a bid to maintain her own social superiority, attempts to thwart her every move in hilarious fashion. Enter Archie, one of the inner circle, whose relationship with Victoria provokes a scandal that threatens to destroy her. Darkly funny and deeply insightful, Lettice & Victoria is not just a love story with a fanciful and flawed female protagonist, but a wonderful portrait of English society.”

‘Lettice and Victoria’ follows the story of Victoria, a young woman who reads and writes letters for Laurence, a blind man who lives in a very nice house in Italy. Whilst there she meets Edgar and, from then on, seems to go from one convenience to another. Her mother-in-law, Lettice, is a fascinating character who seem rather jealous of Lettice and the effect she has on her nearest and dearest.

Although the book focuses on both Victoria and Lettice, for me Lettice is far and away the character who steals the show. She’s very reminiscent of Hyacinth Bucket from ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ (a great TV show). In fact, ‘Lettice and Victoria’ is very much all about keeping up appearances, especially from Lettice’s point of view.

The book seems to be set in years gone by based on communication methods (very letters based), the social habits in the book, and the speech – not to many the choice of names. It’s described as a ‘love story’ but I beg to differ on that part – there’s very little love or romance throughout, it’s all very much relationships for convenience. The book itself is fast paced with short chapters which is my idea of heaven when it comes to a book. I like something that keeps me turning pages and that’s one sure-fire way of getting me to do so! One of the drawbacks to this tempo is that, towards the end especially, the book can feel slightly rushed – as though the author wanted to wrap everything up quickly.

There are a few moments of humour, not enough to make me laugh aloud but certainly enough to get me smiling. The humour mostly comes from Lettice’s reaction to certain situations – she really is the stand out character for me. I love and hate her, all at once.

The relationship between Lettice and Victoria is one that a large number of people could easily relate to. Lettice is very much a person who wants to be the centre of attention and wants to appear as though she’s more than she is (much like Hyacinth Bucket) which results in Victoria biting her tongue at times and going along with things for the sake of it. Within the group of friends in the book, there’s a certain amount of bitching and back-stabbing which all of us at some stage will have experienced.

Speaking of the friendship group – golly, they’re a weird bunch. Their friendships are complicated and, at times, seem like more of a convenience than a genuine like. That being said, people in this book clearly marry for convenience so that’s to be expected, I suppose.

Maybe it’s a generation thing (I feel this book would be better suited to someone a little older than me) but I found their social habits and friendships really weird, but in a good way. I had to keep reading, I needed to know how things were going to end, if the relationship between Lettice and Victoria was going to improve, etc.

The blurb mentions a scandal that ‘threatens to destroy’ Victoria. I got the impression when reading that, for a scandal, it was fairly overlooked. That being said, the fact I’m not sure I’m talking about the right scandal (you’ll know what I mean when you read it) means that it must be a juicy read!

One of my favourite things about this book is the level of description. The setting, the characters, the whole book is so incredibly rich in description it’s easy to picture everything and get caught in the story. It sounds obvious to say but description is so helpful when it comes to setting the scene which, I feel, helps you to get something out of the book – that certain something that the author set out for you to get.

Overall, I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it and I liked the pace it went to. I find the characters slightly strange but in a captivating way. Plus, who wouldn’t like a book that reminds them so much of a great TV show?!

'Lettice and Victoria' is available to buy on Amazon: Kindle - £5.39 or Hardback - £12.99

*sent for review by Arcadia Books*

BOOK NEWS: Giovanna Fletcher Reveals Cover For Second Book

I can’t be the only person who’s been excitedly waiting for Giovanna’s 2^nd book for what feels like forever. I say that with the same certainty I would if you asked my name and I replied with Melisa. Know how I know I’m not the only one..? The answer’s simple… I’ve read ‘Billy and Me’. It was an amazing debut, full of emotion (yes, I nearly cried on the DLR) and great characters. It brought something new to the chick-lit table because we weren’t kept waiting to find out if the characters were going to get together, we knew pretty early on that they were, it was just a matter of whether love would be enough to keep them together.

So when Giovanna revealed her cover for ‘You’re The One That I Want’ my excitement levels increased tenfold. Set for release on May 22^nd, the wait is nearly over and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and, no doubt, fall in love with (at least) one character. 

It’s available for pre-order on Amazon, so get buying and prepare to be M.I.A when it arrives because, if ‘Billy and Me’ is anything to go by, you’ll not be able to put it down! 

Hands up, who else is excited?

REVIEW: Tom Bale - The Catch

“How far do you go for a friendship? That's the question Daniel Wade is forced to ask when a simple favour has fatal consequences. For the sake of his old schoolmate, Robbie - and more importantly for Robbie's sister, Cate - Dan agrees to go along with a lie. But soon he's sucked into a conspiracy that threatens to consume them all.

How hard do you fight for a fortune? For Gordon and Patricia Blake, the dead man held the key to a glorious future. Now that future has been ripped from their grasp, and the Blakes want to know why. Then they want revenge.

How can you hope to survive? With a ruthless predator on their trail, Dan realises that evading justice is the least of their worries. All that matters now is staying alive.”

This is, in all honesty, the first thriller/crime book I’ve read where I didn’t have the faintest clue as to what was going to happen or how it was going to end. The story focuses on a handful of people and those people are split into two groups – Dan, Robbie, and Cate in one and Gordon, Patricia, Jerry, and Stemper in the other – although that changes over time as some people leap ship and others go it alone. Some are good, some are bad, some are just plain deranged, and the bad might surprise you.

The story starts with Dan, Robbie, and Cate (Robbie’s sister) trying to fix one of Robbie’s previous mistakes. It becomes quite clear early on that Robbie is a reckless character with minimal thought of anyone else but himself with Dan and Cate both appearing to be fed up of helping him out of the troubles he gets himself into. The trio go to meet a guy called Hank who Robbie did business with in the past… let’s just say that it wasn’t 100% legit. Although the three go together, it’s Cate who has to deal with Hank directly and it doesn’t end smoothly, with Dan having to jump in.  That’s where the story gets interesting…

Yet again, one of Robbie’s mistakes leads to Dan (and eventually Cate) getting dragged into all kinds of craziness. This time, however, it’s dangerous. After Robbie’s actions lead to the death of a man, both he and Dan have to decide what to do. Dan thinks they should confess to the police and explain it was a mistake, Robbie takes every opportunity to deny what happened and, ultimately, make it look like he was never there, happy for his friend to take the blame if necessary.

As it happens, the person that died as a result of Robbie’s carelessness wasn’t exactly a clean cut kind of guy – he, himself, was mixed up in trouble and with some dangerous people, something to do with money (I do know but I refuse to give the game away). When they hear that Hank has been killed, all manner of conspiracy theories are thought of – resulting in them determined to find the person who killed him to find out why. Cue madness.

I don’t want to give too much away but this book really surprised me. Firstly because I’ve never read a book before where I couldn’t even so much as hazard a guess as to what was going to happen, but also because the characters were so full – they changed, they surprised me, they grew as the story becomes more deep.

From the off, I hated Robbie; he was smug, rude, and selfish, three of the worst qualities in a human. Therefore it doesn’t really surprise you how low he’s willing to stoop, especially when it comes to those he loves. Dan is the complete opposite. Time and time again, he puts himself out for his best friend who never seems to return the favour, unless he can get something out of it too. He struggles with his guilt and the lies that he’s forced to tell and never really recovers. It’s this pairing that makes the book so gripping to read.

At times the narrative seemed a bit disjointed but, overall, it worked with the plotline. For the most part, nobody in the story knows fully what’s going on so with the narrative being here, there, and everywhere sometimes, it helps you understand how the characters would be feeling, to an extent. I’m not sure if this was a deliberate act by the author but it worked out in the end. Of course, however, it can sometimes get quite annoying.

That aside, I can’t think of many other bad points, really. The characters are wholesome and bring out a wide range of emotions ranging from anger to confusion, happiness to sadness. The story has several twists and turns that keep you reading and on the edge of your seat. The only other aspect of this book that I didn’t particularly feel was strong or like was the ending. It could have been wrapped up better, in my opinion. It was still a great read and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a good thriller/crime book.

*received from NetGalley*

REVIEW: Giovanna Fletcher - Billy and Me

This is a repost from my other blog but I thought I'd put it on here as a) it's a fantastic book, and b) this is my book blog now. ENJOY!

Blurb:

Sophie May has a secret.

One that she’s successfully kept for years. It’s meant that she’s had to give up her dreams of going to university and travelling the world to stay in her little village, living with her mum and working in the local teashop.

But then she meets the gorgeous Billy – an actor with ambitions to make it to the top. And when they fall in love, Sophie is whisked away from the comfort of her life into Billy’s glamorous – but ruthless – world.

Their relationship throws Sophie right into the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy? And most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be discovered and shared with the nation?

My thoughts:

There is so much I want to say about this book but, if I did that, I’d ruin the secret so here’s what I can tell you… It’s an emotional rollercoaster and it’s a bloody superb debut novel from Giovanna Fletcher.

Unlike most other chick-lit stories, you know pretty soon that Sophie May and Billy are an item… The question is; will they stay that way? Y’know when you watch a movie and you’re so utterly engrossed in the storyline that you’d rather risk your bladder exploding than running to the toilet and missing something..? ‘Billy and Me’ is like that but in book form – I can easily see this becoming a movie. It got to the point that I was reading it and shouting at the book. Thankfully, I wasn’t in public or that could have been slightly awkward. I did, however, nearly cry on the DLR so be prepared!

Sophie May is a young lady who’s sacrificed certain things in her life and it all comes back to her past. Then along comes love, in the form of Billy. A love so strong and powerful that she starts to leave her comforts behind and face up to the things from her past (not necessarily through choice) that she’s kept hidden for far too long.

I always have my head in a book so, in my head, I’m bound to relate to some of them but none of them have touched me in the same way Sophie May does. There’s been no other story I’ve related to more than hers. Minus the actor boyfriend, of course. It’s more than just because of her past, it’s the way she’s been affected by it. That’s what makes the story so great – no matter what your story, you will, in some way, be able to relate to Sophie.

When I finished the book, I was in floods of tears. I was red, puffy, and snotty, but I was happy. I’d been touched by a book, I felt like I’d gone through everything with Sophie and that’s a testament to Giovanna’s writing ability. I’m a sucker for a book so they do make me shed the occasional tear here and there but this one had me sobbing.

For anyone who thinks that this is about Gi and Tom, I’d tell them to read the book and strip it to its core: it’s about a couple who have to adjust to a big change in their life that threatens to break down the foundation of their relationship. I don’t know about you but that sounds like most relationships to me, not just theirs.

When Giovanna did her book tour, she drew everyone a cupcake based on a word they used to describe the book so I’m going to do the same in the back of my book so that, should I ever lend anyone the book, they can see what I thought of it and maybe add their own cupcake to it too.

(It was supposed to represent all the layers and emotions of the book!)

This book is incredible. I didn't want to put it down and I think this could easily be a series so, with that being said, bring on the next book!

*paid for by myself*

REVIEW: Heather Wardell - Fifty Million Reasons

"Angela has typical lottery player plans: help friends and family, give more to charity, and escape her rut. But when she wins big, she faces angry relatives, her own unexpected greed, and a lawsuit from the person who put her in that rut. Almost nobody treats her normally, and now they’ve got fifty million reasons not to. She can buy anything she wants now, but can she buy the life she needs?”

NOTE: Includes significant references to “Good to Myself” and “Pink Is A Four-Letter Word” – the author suggests reading those first however I didn’t and the book was still a fantastic read.

It’s easy to assume that if you won the lottery, all your problems would be solved but Angela’s story proves that, maybe, that wouldn’t be the case. In fact, winning might be the cause of the majority of your problems. Set in Canada (part of the reason I loved this book so much – I WILL move there one day), we follow the life of Angela – a regular woman who helps those less fortunate and has a small tight knit group of friends – after she wins big on the lottery. It looks at how money affects not just herself but also those around her, including those she thought she could rely on.

As a character, Angela is very relatable and it’s exceptionally easy to get caught up in her world – proof that it’s a fantastic book but also testament to Wardell’s writing style. There were plenty of times I found myself wondering how I’d react to winning and the truth is, it would be just as Angela (I hope. I think I hope anyway) but, more than that, I found myself questioning whether people would react to my (imaginary) win as those in the book did with Angela.

Angela is kind, generous, and pretty cool – something that doesn’t change too much throughout the book. We learn about her ex, Shane, before he’s fully introduced but only by fleeting comments. Her past isn’t mentioned much and, when it is, it’s not explained in a way that brings you entirely up to speed. At least, that’s how I felt when I read it. That being said, there was advance warning from the author and it’s genuinely the only little niggle I have with this book.

The writing style is a dream to read. As I mentioned previously, I would often find myself living in Angela’s world only to be brought back to reality when it was my tube stop or time to finally accept that my ‘one more chapter’ before bed had come. More than that, though, I would find myself thinking about the characters and the story when I was at work or watching TV – how would I spend the money? Would I follow the same suit as Angela? How was she going to react to certain events? The questions are endless. The writing style helps you to empathise with Angela and it’s this that makes the book strike a chord; we’d all like to think we’d be generous with our winnings but seeing things through Angela’s eyes has made me realise that I wouldn’t play it the way I initially thought I would and, maybe, that’s not a bad thing.

If I could take one thing away from this book, it’s that money can’t, and never will, make you happy. Not fully. When Shane reappears in Angela’s life, she thinks she’ll finally be able to have the life she’d been dreaming of since their split and it was her winnings she had to thank for reconnecting them (wait until you read that part – it’s amazing!) but it turns out that John (her friend that lives with his son in the same block as Angela, who she often visits) was right to be wary of the situation. Both Shane and Angela have changed in the 9 years since they were last together and no matter how much money she has, she can’t change that. So will they be able to make it work this time?

John is Angela’s, dare I say it, best friend and one of the few people that doesn’t treat her differently – at least not for the wrong reasons. He doesn’t accept handouts from Angela, despite how much he needs them and that ends up being both frustrating and endearing for Angela. Maybe what she needs is a friend who will be there, regardless of her bank balance?

I can’t rate this book highly enough – it’s superb. I love that it captures you so completely that you think about it even when you’re not reading it and when you are, you get lost in a whole other world that makes you think about reality. That sounds far more confusing than it is. The characters are well padded out, they’re likeable (in most cases) and things don’t necessarily go as you might think or hope.

*Received from NetGalley*