Category: new releases

Chick lit, fiction, new releases, reviews

Review: A Place for Us by Harriet Evans (part 2)

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We’re off schedule again people… But this time I’m properly rested and hopefully coherent (at least until nightshifts start again tonight).  It is, of course, because of the nights that we’re departing from the schedule – I didn’t realise that Part 2 was nearly here until I saw someone else review it…  Anyhow we left A Place for Us with me begging to find out what happened next in a slightly sleep deprived manner, after the end of Part 1 dropped a fairly major bombshell on the reader.

Well, what can I say.  In Part 2 the bombshell is unloaded onto the rest of the characters – along with a few other secrets – and then we’re left on another cliff hanger.  Honestly, this serialisation malarkey isn’t good for my blood pressure.  There.  That’s all I can say about the plot without giving too much away.  Except that we learn more about the characters – and in particular the absent Daisy.

I am desperate to know what happens next (again) and Harriet Evans has surprised me with some of the twists and turns we’ve had in this second part.  She’s also written a novel which (so far) seems to really lend itself to being broken up into chunks to torment the reader.  I think this part is shorter than part one – but it’s packed with character development, plot movement and surprises so you don’t notice.  I’m very excited about part three – because based on what’s happened so far, I’m fairly sure I have no idea what’s going to happen next.

A Place for Us Part 2 is here for Kindle and if you haven’t read Part 1 then you really should.  I’m off to make a note in my diary about the release date for part 3 (25 September).

books, Chick lit, new releases, reviews, romance

Review: Unfinished Symphony of You and Me

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This post was Not In My Plan for this week.  My carefully constructed plan of what to post when, in a nice pattern, on a regular schedule, constructed (and written) around my current batch of nightshifts.  Then I started reading Unfinished Symphony of You and Me on my dinner break at 3.45am on Wednesday morning.  And I’ve just finished it (it’s Saturday afternoon at the moment, but it’ll be Sunday when this publishes, because I can’t let go of the plan so much I post twice on the same day!) and it was too good for me to just add it to the books read list this week and say how much I’d enjoyed it.

I really loved this. I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened – but I didn’t want it to be over at the same time.  I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner.

Lucy Robinson’s created a fabulous cast of characters and a heart-wrenchingly brilliant story that shows you the importance of living your life, taking control and following your dream and not waiting for someone* to sort it out for you.

I loved crazy, messed-up Sally’s journey to find herself as she takes her courage in her hands and faces her fears.  I was desperate to find out what had happened that summer in New York to turn her from the mousy wardrobe mistress into a student opera singer.  And I didn’t get too grumpy at the reveal being dragged out, once I finally found out what had happened and how totally ingenious it was.  There were a couple of points where I could see the car crash (metaphorically) coming and wanted to scream with frustration at Sally for being so stupid – but then it was so brilliantly done in the end that I Didn’t Mind**.

I don’t want to say too much else about the plot, because it’s another book where it would be all too easy for me to ruin it for everyone who hasn’t read this yet (go and buy it).  I will say though that Barry is my favourite mad housemate since Bing in Bernadette Strachan’s Reluctant Landlady.  And that’s saying something.

This is a perfect summer read.  Although if you read it at the beach, people may point at you when you start crying (I held out until nearly the end, which is surprising considering that post-nightshifts I get incredibly emotional).  And, of course, my idiocy means I’m reviewing it too late in August for many people who, unlike me, have already had their summer holiday.

Still, recapture that holiday reading feeling and go and buy yourself a copy of Unfinished Symphony of You and Me.  My copy came from Netgalley (in return for an honest review etc) but you can find it here, here, here and here (on Kindle) and I hope still in W H Smith and maybe even the supermarkets too.  So really you have no excuse.  I’m off book some tickets to the opera and to add everything else Lucy Robinson has written to my to-read list – and to try to resist the urge to Buy Them Now (because of that pesky backlog I’m trying to deal with). Go. Buy. Read. Enjoy.

Oh dear.  I think this may be another of my overly emotional crazy posts.  Like my moment over the first part of Harriet Evan’s new book.  This is why I plan things so I don’t have to be coherent on here during my nocturnal moments.

* A man

** And when you consider that I can barely read one of my formerly most read books any more because I’m so angry at the way that the third book in the series turned out, you’ll know that that’s a big deal.

 

books, historical, new releases, reviews

Review: The Fortune Hunter

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I was very excited to get an advance copy of Daisy Goodwin’s The Fortune Hunter ahead of its release in paperback on the 28th – as I really enjoyed her debut novel My Last Duchess (which I passed straight on to my mum who liked it too).

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The lovely paperback cover of The Fortune Hunter

I’ve had trouble coming up with a plot summary for this that doesn’t give too much away, so I’m settling for the blurb:

In 1875, Sisi, the Empress of Austria is the woman that every man desires and every woman envies.

Beautiful, athletic and intelligent, Sisi has everything – except happiness. Bored with the stultifying etiquette of the Hapsburg Court and her dutiful but unexciting husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi comes to England to hunt. She comes looking for excitement and she finds it in the dashing form of Captain Bay Middleton, the only man in Europe who can outride her. Ten years younger than her and engaged to the rich and devoted Charlotte, Bay has everything to lose by falling for a woman who can never be his. But Bay and the Empress are as reckless as each other, and their mutual attraction is a force that cannot be denied.

Now I didn’t know a lot about Sisi before I read this book – so I can’t tell you how close to what actually happened this is.  What I can tell you is that I really enjoyed reading this book – loved the characters and spent a large portion of the book knowing that it wasn’t going to turn out right for everyone, but hoping against hope that it might.

I galloped through this (sorry, couldn’t resist a horse pun in a book where so much is centred around riding) in about 3 and a half train journeys.  I’m not a horse rider or a hunting fan, but I still found the book enthralling and the horse-y sections were were engaging and easy for a non rider to follow. There were also some lovely details in this – I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Queen Victoria and John Brown.

The Historical Note at the end explained some of the liberties taken by the author with reality and the book left me wanting to know more about the real Sisi and the Hapsburgs – and sent me googling on a variety of characters and hunting for biographies of various people.  It also made me want to re-read My Last Duchess – so I’ll have to dig out my copy of that too.  I’ve passed this straight on to my mum – which is always a sign of a good book in this genre. I look forward to seeing what Goodwin comes up with next

The Fortune Hunter is out in paperback on the 28th of August and should be available in all good book shops like Waterstones and Foyles although I could only find a link to the hardback on their website – but if you can’t wait you could buy that now – as you can the Kindle edition.

new releases, reviews

Review: Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase

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Out today in paperback is Louise Walter’s first novel Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase, which I’ve been wanting to read since I heard about it.  I love timeslip novels and the blurb looked right up my street – but my rules about not buying hardbacks except in extremis (and anyone who’s seen a photo of my to-read pile knows that I’m not in extremis!) meant I had to hold my horses and wait for the paperback! I was thrilled to get a copy ahead of its release – and wanted to share my thoughts about it.

Firstly the plot: Roberta collects letters left inside the books that she sells, but when she discovers a letter from her grandfather written after he was supposed to be dead, family secrets start to unravel.  The book moves between Roberta in the present day (or near enough) and her grandmother, Dorothy, in the 1940s as the reader discovers what really happened during the Second World War.

I absolutely gobbled this book up – all done in two train journeys.  I would have tried to make it last longer, but I was too desperate to find out what happened to pace myself.  Roberta’s story is slighter than Dorothy’s but is no less fascinating.  I thought both the leading ladies were engaging and believable and I really wanted to know what the solution to the puzzle was.*  World War II isn’t usually my first choice of historical period to read about, but this has made me think that I need to read some more books set in this period.
This is a really impressive first novel – I’m passing it straight on to my mum (and then probably my sister) and I will be looking forward to more books from Louise Walters.
If you want to read Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase it should be available in all good bookshops (and I hope nice and prominent) like Foyles and also Kindle and other e-readers.
My copy of Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase was sent to me by Bookbridgr in return for an honest review.
* I’m trying not to give details about the plot away because I’m sure there will be other people out there who’ve been waiting for this the way that I have.
books, new releases, reviews

Review: What Would Mary Berry Do?

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Out today (that’s Thursday 31st July) is this great chick-lit novel by Claire Sandy.  If you’re a Great British Bake-Off fan, this may be the book for you if you’re getting panicky before the start of the new series next week.  And if you’re not a baker or a cook, What Would Mary Berry Do? may still be the beach book for you this summer.

WWMBD and other books
What Would Mary Berry Do? and some of my Bernadette Strachan collection…

So, first, the setup: After a disastrous school bake sale, Marie Dunwoody decides that by this time next year it will be different.  With a Mary Berry Baking Bible in hand, she sets out to conquer cakes – and change her outlook on life thinking “What Would Mary Berry Do?”  At the same time, husband Robert is struggling with office politics – where a muffin is worth more than sales figures and son Angus is struggling with problems at school – something his nine-year old twin sisters are determined to get to the bottom off…

I loved the cast of characters in this book – the Dunwoody family are a hoot and there’s a set of fully rounded supporting characters too, I particularly loved Marie’s employees at her dental surgery.  The different strands of the plot work very well – and whilst I was frequently laughing, I also had a tear in my eye at one point too.  You don’t have to be into making your own baked goods to enjoy either – the plot and characters are engaging enough to interest people who don’t know their Croquembouche from their Crème Anglaise.

The blurb says it’s ideal for fans of Jenny Colgan and I’d agree with that – but I’d also add that fans of Trisha Ashley and Alexandra Brown would probably enjoy this one too – and anyone who likes their chick lit with a dose of humour.  And as Claire Sandy is a pen name for the fabulous Bernadette Strachan, if you haven’t read any of her work, can I point you in the direction of my favourite of hers – The Reluctant Landlady – where you’ll find loveable characters (Bing! Bernard!), a great plot, lots of humour but a bit less baking.

I’m hoping you’ll be able to get hold of a copy of What Would Mary Berry Do at all good bookshops, but in case you can’t get to an actual shop, here it is on Foyles website and Kindle.  I’m hoping it will do really well – it’s my favourite book I’ve read this month.

new releases, reviews, Uncategorized

Review: American Blonde

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A busy week here on the blog – because a lot of my advance copies come out this week!  Today I’m doing American Blonde by Jennifer Niven (published this very day) and tomorrow is my favourite book of the month so far (and there isn’t much reading time left in July) – What Would Mary Berry Do?

So I discovered a little way into this book that there have been three previous books featuring the leading character Velva Jean, which I of course haven’t read.  And that did explain the start which seemed to plunge you right into Velva Jean’s life without giving you much detail about what is clearly a fairly complicated back story!  But that said, I don’t think you need to have read the previous stories to enjoy this one – I haven’t (duh) and I still liked it.

Velva Jean Hart returns to the US after serving in the WASP as a pilot in Europe.  She’s had some adventures there (about which I’m hazy and I wouldn’t want to give away anyway) and is a war heroine.  She’s promptly snapped up by Hollywood giant MGM after the publicity surrounding her return.  At the studio, she joins up with one of her former WASP colleagues –  who is a film star – and navigates the tricky waters of stardom, with a new name, a new image and a studio who wants to control every aspect of her life.  But when she witnesses a suspicious death and starts to investigate, she discovers how far the powers-that-be will go to maintain Hollywood’s perfect image.

I picked this on Net Galley because I have a bit of a fascination with studio-system-era Hollywood – and it really delivered.  I loved the studio intrigue, the cover-ups and the machinations, although with such a huge cast of characters – many of whom had stage names – I did occasionally find it a little hard to keep track of who was who. I did like the leads, although I felt like I was missing out a little bit on the back story to some of them, which would have explained why she preferred one suitor rather than the one that I liked best!

But this is a really good read – and if you’re a fan of Hollywood’s Golden Age there’s plenty for you here, but equally, I think the murder mystery is good enough to hold your interest even if you’re not fascinated by the machinations of the studio system.  Once I’ve got the to-read pile more under control I may well try and go back and read some of Velva Jean’s previous adventures.

American Blonde is available through Foyles and Amazon although I can’t see it as an e-book in the UK.  My copy was provided by Net Galley in return for an honest review.

books, fiction, new releases, reviews

Review: A Place for Us by Harriet Evans (part one)

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I am not a good candidate for serialisations.  I am your classic binge reader – find me something I like and I’ll gorge on it until there is nothing left.  I don’t like having to wait. Anticipation is not my friend.  I count myself as anticipated out after waiting to find out what happened next in Harry Potter for years at a time from the end of Chamber of Secrets onwards.

I’m writing this on my phone, on a train in the early hours of the morning because I’ve just finished the first part of Harriet Evans new book which I was pre-approved for on Netgalley and I need to know what happens next.  Now.  Preferably about 10 minutes ago.

Part one of this serialisation has set up a cast of characters designed to captivate, has dangled enough clues about secrets to tantilise and then FOUR sentences from the end dropped a great big enormous bombshell and then left me hanging. To quote one of my favourite TV shows (involving a Miss B Summers of Sunnydale, California) Inquiring minds need to know. And this one needs to know now.

A Place for Us (so far) is the story of three generations of the Winter family who have been summoned to the family home for Martha the matriarch’s 80th birthday party.  Previously very close, the family has fractured apart and during part one we get to know them – find out who they are and some of what they’re hiding, and guess at other secrets as yet unrevealed.  Then, at the end of Part 1, we find out the bombshell that is about to be dropped at the party (or at least I think we do, unless it’s a masterpiece of misdirection) and your brain starts frantically trying to work out what happens next – and whether this will bring them closer together or send them spiralling further apart – because although this secret is huge, there are lots of other things lurking beneath the surface too.

I’ve read a couple of Harriet Evans’ books before and enjoyed them. She mentions Georgette Heyer (always a good way to my heart) and I like her heroines.  This book has so many characters I don’t know who is my favourite yet, but I want to read more so I can decide!  (I hope my message is getting through, though I fear it may sound like the deranged rantings of a sleep-deprived woman, it’s not. Honest. I just Need To Know).  If the rest of the book lives up to this first part (of FOUR – how am I going to cope with this?!) I believe then it is going to be a great read (and possibly somewhat epically long) and deserves to be gobbled up by fans of Harriet Evans and new readers alike.

It’s Thursday morning and I’ve re-read my rantings from last night before publishing. I don’t think I sound too crazy. I’m hoping I sound enthusiastic and excited about the book rather than plain loopy, although I fear it’s a fine line.  But I didn’t want to alter too much of my post – because this was my genuine response to finishing Part One of the book. And it was 1am, on a train, at the end of a 10 hour shift and that sort of sleep-deprived creativity cannot be faked!

new releases, reviews, romance

Book review: The Perfect Match

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I was offered an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review – and as you know, I’m never influenced by the fact that the book was free when I’m writing my thoughts on it.

So, I’ve been reading Katie Fforde’s books for about a decade now – and have settled into a nice pattern of buying her latest paperback as soon as it comes out.  Now this review of her latest hardback means that I’m out of sync with her paperback releases, but it was a sacrifice I was more than willing to make…

Bella, the heroine of The Perfect Match, is an estate agent who moved in with her godmother three years ago, when she moved towns because she’d fallen in love with a man she couldn’t have.  She’s now seeing Nevil – her boss – who wants to take their relationship to the next level.  But he’s been growing increasingly secretive and something doesn’t quite feel right to Bella about the whole situation.  Then when the man she was running away from returns to her life, her questions really start to mount up.

One of the things I particularly like about Katie Fforde’s books (and I am planning an Authors I Love post on her) is that while they’re all love stories, the heroines always have such interesting jobs – that Fforde seems to have researched really thoroughly.  Bella is no exception to this – she’s just the sort of estate agent you would like to have.  She doesn’t seem to be out for her commission – but is always trying to find the perfect house for her clients.  Like a lot of Fforde women, she has a kind heart and does her best to help people (but without being sickly or do-goody) and you really do want her to find a “Perfect Match” of her own (sorry, terrible pun, but it had to be done).

Nevil is obviously wrong for Bella – and my only quibbles with the book were that I would have liked Bella to have stood up to him more, rather than being trampled over and letting him run her down and I would like to have seen more of his eventual comeuppance.  But I did enjoy the book – in fact I was actually quite grumpy when my train was on time and I had to stop reading it and go to work!  I particularly liked the subplot with Bella’s godmother and her love life, which was sweet and realistic portrayal of love later in life which rang true without being either twee or pensioners-do-Fifty-Shades.

It’s not my favourite of Katie Fforde’s books – there’s not enough of Dominic in this book for it to reach the giddy heights of my favourites like Stately Pursuits and Flora’s Lot, but it’s still a fun romantic read which I’m sure will be very popular on the beach this summer and I’d happily recommend to people who like a good light romantic read. Now all I’ve got to do is twiddle my thumbs (or start re-reading) until her next one comes out!

 

American imports, cozy crime, new releases, reviews

Book Review: Death of a Mad Hatter

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I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (I know! Two giveaway reviews in a week! This doesn’t usually happen – I’ve only won three giveaways ever!) but that doesn’t influence what I write.

Back on more familiar territory for me here, with a fun murder mystery story from American author Jenn McKinlay.   Death of a Mad Hatter is the second book in the Hat Shop Murder series (and is the first book I’ve read by this author) and centres around American Scarlett Parker and her cousin Vivian Tremont, who run a hat shop in London.  As usual I’m trying to avoid spoilers in my synopsis, and I can’t say too much about the set up without giving away the plot of the first book (or at least I think I can’t!), so here goes: In Death of a Mad Hatter, an unpleasant man dies at a themed party which the girls have provided the hats for.  When a trace of poison is found in the hat, the girls get involved in trying to track down who was really responsible.

Death of a Mad Hatter
I love it when you get some extras with a book!

This is a cozy murder mystery with a fun premise and an ingenious solution.  The plot is well worked out, the dialogue snappy, the humour works and the characters are engaging.  I was never bored and always wanted to know what was going to happen next.  In fact the book almost seemed to wrap up too soon – although that’s not to say that the denouement was in anyway rushed, I just couldn’t believe that the book was nearly over (which is always a good sign). I read the book in a day and enjoyed it.

For me it ticks similar boxes as Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series, although this series is obviously set in the UK.  And therein was my only problem with it – as a Brit there were a few things that jarred for me as being just not “right”.  Now I know that this book is written for the US market – and in fact I don’t think it has been picked up by a publisher over here – so for the vast majority of people reading it, this won’t be an issue.  Mainly the problems came with things that the British characters said that weren’t “right” – although as we have the NHS here the idea of a British family having a event to raise money to build a new wing at a hospital struck me as a bit odd – but hey, it could happen, after all Great Ormond Street Hospital’s charity is probably one of the most famous charities in the country!

Now this is me being really very nit-picking – because the “wrong” moments were my only problem with the whole book and it’s really a very minor issue in the grand scheme of things, because in the main the British characters and British bits were so well done that the bits that weren’t “right” bit surprised me!  And I’ll still be looking out for more from Jenn McKinlay – from the cards and bookmarks that came with my copy I think her other series may be right up my street too!

Death of a Mad Hatter is presumably available all good bookshops and book retailers who stock Mass Market paperbacks in the US and over here in the UK you can get it from Foyles and Amazon (and presumably anyone else who’ll order in from the US). Jenn McKinlay’s website is jennmckinlay.com, she can be found on twitter as @JennMcKinlay and on Facebook

fiction, new releases, reviews, Thriller, Uncategorized

Book Review: A Delicate Truth by John le Carré

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Disclosure: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway – not that that influences what I write…

So, as you may have noticed from the previous posts, I’m not a big thriller reader.  Detective or mystery stories, yes, lots of them and preferably set in any period not now (I’m not a CSI girl).  I have read some John le Carré before – because before watching the film of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, I wanted to have read the book – to see if it was going to be too violent for me to cope with (for my post about the contradictions of my job and my aversion to violence in films see this post on my other blog).  I enjoyed it so much that I not only watched the film and most of the Alec Guiness TV adaptation, but also read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – which is also really good.  I’ve been keeping my eyes out for more of his Smiley series at the library – but hadn’t read any of his newer books* – hence my entry into the Goodreads giveaway (despite the enormous size of the to-read pile) and I was really pleased when I won a copy.

A Delicate Truth
Paperback copy of A Delicate Truth by John le Carré

I’m always very careful not to give away plot spoilers in my synopsis, and it’s quite hard with A Delicate Truth to say much about the plot without saying too much, so I’ve taken my cue for this from the Goodreads synopsis.  The story centres around a top, top secret counter-terror operation in Gibraltar – what happened, how it was set up and whether it was the success that it was meant to have been.

The intertwining plots are carefully and meticulously constructed – I never thought that I knew what was coming next and at the end I still had questions (in a good way) and wanted to know more.  The characters are believable – in some cases horribly so – and you really can imagine that these events could possibly have happened – although you hope fervently that they haven’t.

Le Carré still has the knack for describing the workings of government in a way that feels real, and in addition, in this book he turns his focus on the world of private defence contractors.  I’ve read a lot of news articles about this new aspect of the military world and I can’t claim to know first hand what any of them are really like, but it’s clear that the author isn’t keen, shall we say, on this latest development.  And if anything near of the shenanigans that go on in this book have gone on in real life (and I devoutly hope they haven’t) then he’s got reason.

This is an exciting and page-turning book – which I gobbled up in a day’s commute and an evening’s reading. I would recommend it to anyone who has read his earlier works or people who like a thriller at the cinema and want a book for their summer holiday.  I’m not surprised this has done so well – I’ll certainly be passing it on to the thriller readers in my family (my dad and The Boy).

A Delicate Truth by John le Carré can be found on Kindle or as a proper book all over the place (although my link is Foyles, for reasons previously explained) and you can also see more reviews on Goodreads.

* I nearly put “contemporary books” but then I remembered that the Smiley books were written at the time that they were set in, it’s just me that’s reading them now!