Category: reviews

books, Chick lit, fiction, historical, reviews, romance

Christmas Short Story Round-up

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As I mentioned in October, the Christmas themed books are stacking up.  Now the big day is approaching, I thought I’d start with my run down of the best of my Christmas reading so far.  And to ease myself into the festive mood, I’ve been reading short stories.  Some of these are new this year, some are from last year which I didn’t get around to until I was out of the Christmas mood and consequently held on to ready for this year! So as we hurtle towards December, here are my top picks of the Christmas novellas so far (in no particular order):

Now a popular theme this year has been the Christmas novella following on from a successful non-Christmas book.  I actually find I prefer these novellas to the full length Christmas themed sequels in quite a lot of cases – the shorter form means there’s (often) no need to break up a couple who you’ve really got invested in in the first book just to provide enough drama and plot for the novella. Sealed with a Christmas Kiss by Rachel Lucas is a good example of this.  I read Sealed with a Kiss a year or so ago before it was picked up with Pan and really enjoyed it.  So I was pleased to reacquaint myself with Kate and Roddy and to read about the latest developments in the plans to save the Island.  As always with these things, probably best to have read the original book first.

Unlike Christmas Kiss, I hadn’t read the book that preceded Secret Santa by Scarlett Bailey but that didn’t stop me from enjoying Sue Montaigne’s struggles to organise the Nativity Pageant in Poledore.  This novella is festive but without being cloying or sickly – which is always good.  One of my favourites of the Christmas themed reading so far – and I’ve gone and put one of the other Poledore books on my to-read list.

At the historical end of the Christmas market, The Viscount’s Christmas Temptation by Erica Ridley is another novella that’s Christmas themed without being too saccharine.  It’s a prequel to her Dukes of War series (the first book of which is waiting on my Kindle) and focusses on the organisation of a Christmas ball.  Standalone and fun, this is worth a look if you want a bit of Christmas themed historical romance.

Being a fool, I forgot that I’m several books behind in the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander and managed to spoil a couple of plot developments for myself by reading Star of the East.  I still enjoyed it though – but suggest it’s only for people who are up to date with the series.

On to the non-novella but still Christmas and short section – and Trisha Ashley’s Christmas offering is a collection of her short stories – Footsteps in the Snow.  These are stories that have previously been published in various magazines and are definitely at the shorter end of the market, but they still display Ashley’s trade mark wit and flair and I would say are perfect for reading in the tube or on the bus.  I paid 99p for this and was perfectly content – but I wouldn’t want to pay overly much more than that – the back third of the book is a preview of her next novel.

Jill Mansell’s A – Z of Happiness is similarly short – but has the bonus of being free (or at least it was when I downloaded it and still was when I wrote this).  It’s not stories, it’s more musings with an author Q&A, but if you like Jill’s writing, it’s definitely worth a look – especially as it’s gratis.

So there you have the best of my Christmas short stories so far to ease you into the Festive Season.  Still to come, I’m planning a round-up of Christmas novels – ideal for curling up in front of the fire with once you’ve finished work for the holiday.

books, cozy crime, reviews

Cozy Crime Round-up

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If you were to make a study of my reading material, you would find that one of the genres that crops up the most is so-called “Cozy Crime”.  I love me a murder mystery, but I don’t like too much gore, psychological stuff, horror etc.  Basically what I’m saying is that I’m a golden age detective story fan and that’s the level of violence that I’m happy with.  So here’s a few of my recent reads from cozy end of the genre.

Mrs Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death by Mark Reutlinger – I read this in the book marathon on holiday in October, but have waited until now to review it because it is out on the 18th (thank you NetGalley for my super-advance copy!).  Rose Kaplan is a resident at an old people’s home who suspected of a murder after a fellow resident chokes to death on a Matzoh ball made by Mrs K for the Passover seder.  Rose and her best friend Ida decide to investigate who really was responsible.  I loved this book when I read it on the beach.  It’s not challenging reading, it’s not reinventing the wheel, but it is a nice way to spend a few hours – it feels like an American cross between Agatha Raisin and Miss Marple.  Definitely worth a look.

Also out in the next couple of weeks is Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd.  Now this is the second in a series – but I don’t think it’s going to ruin your enjoyment if you haven’t read the first one.  In Death Comes to London, Miss Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna make a trip to London for The Season and their friend from the village Major Robert Kurland is also summoned to town.  When the grandmother of one of Robert’s friends drops dead in a ballroom, Lucy and Robert end up investigating what could have caused her deaths.  I really enjoyed this during some of my nightshift commutes – it reminded me of the better end of the M C Beaton/Marion Chesney Regency mysteries.  In fact I’ve already treated myself to the first in the series to help fill the gap before the next book arrives!

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay – Having enjoyed McKinlay’s Death of a Mad Hatter earlier in the year (review) I ordered the first in her Library Lovers series to see if it was a flash in the pan.  Lindsay is the director of Briar Creek Public Library – and ends up trying to solve a murder after one of her employees is accused of killing her boyfriend.  I didn’t see all the twists coming and I liked the characters.  It felt a little bit like a younger Jessica Fletcher-who-runs-a-library-and-solves-murders.  And when you’ve wiled away as many afternoons to Murder, She Wrote repeats as I have, that can only be a good thing.

Breaking my usual rules about only reading series in order, on a trip to the library recently I picked up book 6 of Catriona McPherson’s Dandy Gilver series – Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder.  I quite enjoyed the first in the series, but hadn’t read any more because of the huge to-read pile and because they broke my rules on how much I’ll spend on an ebook (I have them on my wish list so I check periodically if they’re on offer!).  I liked this book more than book 1 and although I’m fairly sure there are a few plot developments that I’ve missed it didn’t impair my enjoyment of the book.  I didn’t work out the solution – which I had to read several times to get straight in my head, although whether that is because the cast of characters was huge, because the solution was complicated or because I’d had a couple of glasses of wine, I’m not sure!

Not really cozy crime per se, but I read E C Bentley’s Trent’s Last Case – which popped up in my Goodreads recommendations as being the forerunner of Sayers et al.  It’s an Edwardian set murder mystery where an investigator working for a newspaper tries to work out who killed a wealthy financier.  Now I didn’t enjoy it as much as my normal Golden Age fare, but I did enjoy it mostly to see the parallels between the later books which I love so much.  One to read more because of its influence and its reputation rather than because it stands up brilliantly in my opinion.

 

books, Chick lit, new releases, reviews

Review: The Woman Who Stole My Life

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I have a strange relationship with Marian Keyes books.  As a person, I love her on Twitter and I could watch her all day on Strictly It Takes Two or Bake Off Extra Slice.  But when it comes to her books, and when I read them, I enjoy them but there are some times I pick one up and just don’t fancy it.  I don’t know if it’s because as well as the humour she deals with Serious Issues – and I’m not always in the market for Proper Problems with my chick lit.*  She is massively, massively popular though – and I know this is a book which is going to be on a lot of Christmas lists this year.

The Woman Who Stole My Life is about Stella Sweeney – who tries to do a good deed and ends up a car crash, the fall out from which will change her life.  The novel jumps backwards and forwards between the now – and various points in the past which explain how she got there.

Now once again, this summary seems short and cryptic, but I’m trying hard not to give too much away because I really enjoyed not knowing all the twists and turns. I will admit that I sometimes found it hard to keep track of when we where we were in the story on occasions – but that may have been down to the formatting in the proof e-copy that I was lucky enough to receive.

One thing that I really wanted to mention was how much I love the title.  Who is the Woman Who Stole My Life ?  I’ve tried writing a sentence to explain what I mean six times – and each time it’s given away too much of the plot.  But trust me when I say when you read it, you’ll understand what I mean.

I think that this may be my favourite of Marian Keyes’ novels.  I like Stella – her voice reminds me of the tone that you get from Marian’s Twitter feed (@MarianKeyes if you don’t already follow her).  I occasionally wanted to give Stella a bit of a talking to, but most of the time I was totally rooting for her as she bounced back from a life-changing experience and tried to figure out what she wanted in life with the assistance (or otherwise) of her family and friends.

And having enjoyed this so much – despite there being some serious issues in there – it’s inspired me to go back and read some of the Keyes backlist that I’ve missed out on.  In fact I think that there may be a Walsh Family book in my library book bag waiting to be read.  Serendipity indeed.

The Woman Who Stole My Life feels like a winter book, something you can curl up on the sofa with and eat Jaffa cakes like there’s no tomorrow – just like Stella does although I give you fair warning that if you do, you may end up in “lady chinos” – just like Stella!

My copy came from Netgalley in return for an honest review, but I’m expecting The Woman Who Stole My Life to be front and centre on the displays and promotions in all the major shops, but if you want to buy online here are some links – for kindle, at Foyles, it’s on my shelves at My Independent Bookshop – where it’ll give some money to one of my local indies or you can buy it through Hive and give money to one of your local indies.

*As the regular reader will be aware, my aversion to Bad Things leads me towards the romance novels and cozy crime and away from Literary Fiction and Prize Winning books.

Chick lit, fiction, new releases, reviews

Review: A Place for Us Parts 3 and 4

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I have enjoyed this book so much – and contrary to my usual views about serialisations (and to my sleep-addled pleas after Part 1 of A Place For Us) I’ve really enjoyed having to wait for the next part, as it’s forced me to make the book last.  As a fast reader, when I find something I like, I gobble it up as quickly as possible – then it’s over.  As someone who finished each of the last 4 Harry Potter books by early afternoon the day that they came out, I can attest that this can leave you with a very long wait to find out what happened next and a sense of regret that it was over too soon.  But reading something spaced out over a period of time gives you a different perspective than eating it up in a big rush.  And this is a book that I would definitely have read in a hurry.  I was desperate to find out what happened next and how it was all going to work out.

The end of Part 2 left us with another major plot development.  Part 3 throws everything up in the air again – so that it falls down in different places and leaves the reader with some answers – but most of the characters are still in the dark.  Part 4 puts everything back together and by the end you can see the family walking forwards into a new future.

And I can’t say much more than that about the plot – because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone – particularly as part of the joy of this for me was not knowing where this was going and how everything was going to link up together.  Also because the book is going to be published as a proper book in early 2014, anything I say in this post is giving spoilers for the second half of the book – which I try not to do with books I’m reviewing.

This books has such a large cast of characters it is hard to pick a favourite.  Instead I’ll say that I liked the Grandchildren strands the best – if I was forced to pick – but it’s a really tough choice, because every part of the plot has something about it that makes me think that I like that one best.  Certainly the book wouldn’t be as good as it is if any one of them was missing.

This is a different sort of book from Harriet Evans I think.  I’ve read a couple of her books in the past (and as is standard for me, I have a couple waiting to be read as well) and although I enjoyed them and recommend them – I wouldn’t have lent them to my mum.  This one I would.  And that’s because she loves big family sagas spread across time – and even though this one is mostly set in the present so much of the story is because of what happened in the past.  I keep wanting to mention Elizabeth Jane Howard’s Cazalet Chronicles in connection with this book and I can’t quite pin down why – except that they are both books about extended families with secrets which switch between characters as the stories continue and where a house is almost a character in its own right.

Anyway, if you haven’t started reading A Place For Us, you should try it – and now all four parts are available you won’t have the agonising wait that I did between parts 1 to 3 (the holiday meant I got to part 3 a bit later than intended and was able to go straight on to Part 4).  If you want a proper book copy – it’s not out until January 15th next year, which is a shame as I probably have bought it for my sister for her Christmas book if I could have done.  Here are the links to the kindle versions of Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.  I got the first three parts through NetGalley (in return for an honest review) but bought myself Part 4 because I was so desperate to know how it all worked out.

books, Children's books, new releases, reviews, Young Adult

Young Adult Reading Round-up

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Welcome to my (roughly) quarterly round-up of what Young Adult and Children’s fiction I’ve been reading recently.

We start this time with Gail Carriger’s Etiquette and Espionage*, which is the first book in her Finishing School series.  Published 18 months ago – the third book is due out next month – it’s a steampunk school story which ticked quite a few of my boxes (Nineteenth century setting, school story, assertive female lead) and stayed on the right side of what I can get into when it comes to vampires and supernaturals.  I loved the premise – a finishing school which teaches its students espionage alongside social graces.  The cast of characters was interesting, the plot was pacy and you get the feeling there are lots more things still to be revealed in the rest of the series.  I think it would suit an early teen who was a Worst Witch fan and who likes Harry Potter – but it works for those of us who are Young Adult at heart with a thing for school stories as well.

In the last round-up I mentioned that Fools’ Gold by Philippa Gregory was on the to-read pile.  This is the third book Gregory’s YA series The Order of Darkness, which is set in the fifteenth century.  I suspect in coming to a middle book in this series I’ve probably spoilt the plots of the previous two – but hey, I wasn’t going to get books one and two just to read them in order because I happened to have bought book three.  That would be insane.  But this is an illustration (again) of why I prefer to read series in order.  Anyhow, enough digression.  Fools’ Gold is set in Venice where our intrepid heros Luca and Isolde are trying to track down the source of an influx of English gold that has hit the Venetian market, whilst also pursuing their own quests for various things.  It was fine.  Just fine.  It fell slightly the wrong side of my supernatural/paranormal limits – it’s more White Queen than Other Boleyn Girl – which may suit others but not me.  It filled an afternoon, but I won’t be hunting out the rest of the series.

In the last post I also mentioned that I was behind the curve with Rainbow Rowell’s work – and I have (finally) read Eleanor and Park.  For those who’ve missed it, set in the 1980s  Eleanor is the new girl in town with a troubled and chaotic home life; whilst Park is the boy in the headphones and black t-shirt at the back of the bus, busy trying to make himself invisible.  As the two get to know each other – through  mix-tapes and cartoons they fall in love.  But it’s not as simple as that of course.  Although I was worried for a while it was going to end up with me in tears on the train, it was all ok in the end (in that I wasn’t a weeping mess on the train) and I really enjoyed it.  I’m saddened (but not surprised) that this has been a bit controversial in areas of the US (swearing! sexuality!) but luckily that doesn’t seem to have dented the book’s performance. One for a mid-teenager I think – around the start of GCSE time.

Out next week is Oh Yeah Audrey* by Tucker Shaw – which is the story of 16 year-old Audrey Hepburn super fan Gemma and her meet-up with fellow fans who she met through her tumblr page dedicated to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star.  I can’t say that I loved it, but it was perfectly fine whilst it lasted – although it did have a few issues, like a late plot development which I didn’t think was adequately resolved.  It’s set over the course of one day – so naturally there’s not a whole lot of scope for character development, but it does have a nice take on some of the best – and worst – bits of the social media revolution.

And a massively advance heads-up about Unspeakable* by Abbie Rushton – which isn’t actually out until February – which is bonkers.  I’m sure I’ll mention it closer to the time to remind you, but it’s really worth putting a note in your diary to look out for it because it’s really good. It deals with difficult issues, it’s powerful, it’s emotional and it’s gripping.  Unspeakable is the story of Megan.  She doesn’t speak.  She wants to – but the voices in her head won’t let her.  Then Jasmine joins her school and suddenly talkative Jasmine is unlocking things inside Megan – could she be the answer?  But what will happen if she rediscovers her voice?

So there you have it – the best bits of my latest Young Adult reading.  A quick mention should also go to the first Wells and Wong book* – which I reviewed in the Back To School post and is also well worth a look if you have someone to buy for who has read all of the Worst Witch, St Clares, Mallory Towers sort of books.  Book Two is due out early next year.  As usual – any more recommendations for what I should be reading in the YA world always welcome – pop them in the comments.

And thanks as always to NetGalley who provided me with my copies of the books which have asterisks (*) next to their titles in return for an honest review (as if I’d ever do anything otherwise).  All the others come from the pile of purchases!

books, new releases, reviews, Uncategorized

Review: The Rosie Effect

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I’ll start by saying that Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project is possibly my favourite book that I’ve read so far this year.  I’ve leant it to my sister, my mum and my dad – and they’ve all loved it.  Don Tillman is one of my new favourite fictional characters – and I loved his “journey” in The Rosie Project.  Thus it was with excitement mingled with trepidation that approached its sequel – The Rosie Effect.  I’ve had mixed results with sequels – so my overriding thought going into this was “please don’t have messed this up Mr Simsion”.

The Book picks up around 10 months after the end of The Rosie Project, with Don and Rosie married and living in New York.  One day as they’re sitting down to dinner, Rosie tells Don they have “something to celebrate” and suddenly he has a whole new host of challenges to negotiate on the road to fatherhood – and yes I know that’s a slight spoiler – but hey – this is one of the posters that Penguin are using:

Twitter poster for The Rosie Effect

So as you might imagine, the prospect of fatherhood poses a whole lot of questions for Don – who takes life very literally and isn’t great with social conventions.  I don’t want to say too much more than that, because I think anything else I add is going to be a bit of a spoiler!

The problem with a lot of sequels is that to create a plot, the author needs to create some drama in a relationship, and on this front the idea of a baby is a good one – it’s a logical next step for Don and Rosie and doesn’t feel forced.  And with the addition of adjusting to life in a new country where there are new rules to learn there is plenty of potential for drama.  However some of the things that happen to Don as a result of the pregnancy do seem a little far fetched and some of Rosie’s behaviour didn’t seem to sit quite right with the Rosie of the first book.

But I still enjoyed it – and I wonder if my reservations are because my hopes were so high.  Looking at it the other way though, would I have liked the book so much if I hadn’t read the first one?  I think probably not – because I needed the investment in the characters that I’d already built up.

So, is it as good as the Rosie Project?  No.  Is it a satisfying sequel for those of us who loved the original?  Well yes – I think so.  After a few rocky moments in the middle – and towards the end – I finished up happy with the outcome.  If you haven’t met Don and Rosie before – go and read the Rosie Project first – but, overall, he didn’t mess it up.

My copy of The Rosie Effect came from NetGalley in return for an honest review – but I suspect it’s going to be widely available from all the usual outlets – like Foyles or on Kindle or you can find it on my shelf at My Independent Bookshop.

Chick lit, fiction, new releases, Uncategorized

Review: The Honeymoon Hotel

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Today’s review is Hester Browne’s latest book The Honeymoon Hotel – which was out last week in the UK and I’m reviewing today because NetGalley was showing the US release date and I didn’t realise…

I’ll start by saying that Hester Browne creates the sort of characters and lives that I love.  I adored Melissa/Honey from the Little Lady Agency* and Evie from Vintage Girl (or Swept Off Her Feet depending on when you bought it) is a hoot.  Browne also creates worlds that I wish I could be a part of – a bit posh, filled with glamour and balls and parties but in a subtle, achievable way – you can believe that you too could be part of a world like that with a bit of luck and hard work (and better networking skills).

The Honeymoon Hotel is the story of Rosie, who at the start of the novel is unceremoniously left at the altar**, and her life as an events coordinator (mostly weddings) at a posh, glamorous, retro-in-a-Golden-Age-of-Hollywood way hotel in London.  She’s angling for a promotion, but her plans are thrown off track by the arrival of the owner’s son Joe to learn the business…

I *really* enjoyed The Honeymoon Hotel – once again, Browne has created a world that you believe in and characters that you buy into – I was rooting for Rosie all the way through and wanted it to turn out “right” for her.  I’m quite a shy person in real life and not good with crowds of strange people, but I found myself thinking “Oooh.  Hotel events planning, that sounds like so much fun” as I read about Rosie’s job at the hotel.  I loved the supporting characters as well, and although he gave me the pip at first, as I got to know him I really liked Joe.  I would liked to have find out more about his dad Lawrence (and what he was up to when he kept disappearing) and I wanted a little bit more comeuppance for one character who shall remain nameless in the interests of avoiding spoilers.

If you haven’t read any of Hester Browne’s books before, this might be an ideal place to start – a quirky and interesting set up, an engaging central character and a cast of characters that all seem perfectly real and plausible.  I could have read about them for twice as long – and could happily have coped with another chapter or an epilogue of what happened next.

My copy of The Honeymoon Hotel came from Netgalley in return for an honest review – although I’ll probably buy myself a copy of the paperback so that I can put it on an actual shelf next to her other books! You can buy Honeymoon Hotel from all the usual suspects like Foyles, Waterstones, on Kindle, if you’re in the US on Amazon.com or in a new twist, you can buy it through my page on My Independent Book Shop so a portion of the sale goes to an independent book shop near me – and where you can also buy other books that I’ve reviewed recently.  I’m hoping that Honeymoon Hotel will be widely available in the supermarkets as well and that it will do really well.

 

* It’s a measure of how much I love Hester Browne’s characters, voice and world that I’m still coming back despite my disappointment with the third Little Lady book.  Although I will say that the first book appeared at a time when I wanted a boyfriend who didn’t make me sleep in a tent for holidays or sneer at my theatre habits and in consequence I possibly over-identified and over-invested in the central relationship, and so the third book pushed me into a rant on the scale of certain elements of the True Blood fans at the end of that series.

**The regulars amongst you will notice that this is my second book in a week featuring a hotel with a worker who was jilted. You wait ages for a book about a hotel and then… etc

reviews, women's fiction

Review: Love Me Or Leave Me

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Another review of a new book – out today in Kindle, and later in the month in paperback (though I think it’s been available in giant airport size paperback for a few months) – it’s Claudia Carroll’s Love Me Or Leave Me.  You’ll be pleased to here that it’s not one of a series that I’m coming to mid way through, or a serialisation that’s driving me to begging.  I’m also well rested and hopefully coherent!

This is the third of Claudia Carroll’s novels that I’ve read – I have a fourth waiting on the Kindle for me to get around to it (quelle surprise!) and I’ve read a few of her short stories too.  She’s one of a gaggle of Irish authors who I’ll always have a look at when I see that they have something new out, but won’t necessarily automatically buy.

Love Me Or Leave Me tells the story of Chloe – dumped at the altar and rebuilding her life – who takes a job as the General Manager of Ireland’s newest concept hotel – a divorce hotel.  That’s right – you check in married and check out divorced (practically) as the hotel helps you untangle your life from your ex-spouse’s.  But the book doesn’t just follow Chloe – it also follows three of the couples who check in for the hotel’s opening weekend.

I really liked the multiple Points of View you get with this novel – Chloe is a first person narrative – and the others are third person – which helps keep the focus on Chloe and her journey.  But all the stories are interesting and having four means that there are enough twists and and turns to the novel to keep it pacey and interesting without it seeming forced or over dramatic – after all when your heroine’s been left at the altar at the start of the book, there’s not a more drama that can happen to her without it seeming like she’s being picked on by a higher power!  I liked the little reveals of the secrets in the other couple’s relationships and I found myself rooting for different people and various different outcomes.

And for a novel about divorcing couples (and heartbreak) it’s actually a cheerful and up-beat read.  And that’s partly because of that four-way narrative again – each couple’s story is well-fleshed out and feels real, but because there are three of them (and Chloe’s story) you don’t have to have 100 pages of each couple being miserable to set up the split and make you care about what happens to them.  In fact I’d say Carroll’s done a great job of writing each story so that it grabs you and gives you definite opinions about the characters very quickly – without a lot of background waffle.

This is a lovely back to school read – it is romantic and chick lit-y but to me it doesn’t feel like a book for reading on a sun lounger.  Perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon as you curse the British weather – and the lack of an Indian Summer!  Find the Kindle edition here or pre-order the paperback here or from Hive or at your bookseller of choice.

fiction, reviews

Review: The Secret Paris Cinema Club

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When I replied to this intriguing tweet from Quercus at the start of the month, I didn’t know what to expect.

I did try and work out what the book in question might be (and failed spectacularly) and settled down to wait for the package, which duly arrived bearing a copy of The Secret Paris Cinema Club by Nicolas Barreau – which is out today in its shiny English language edition.  With the author name and the subject matter, I was surprised to find that this is a novel in translation from the German – not from French.  I went looking because I would have loved to have read this in French back in my university days when I had to review a French language book a term (my choices back in those pre-e book days tended to involve dry French classics which I struggled through and did not enjoy).

So, a plot summary:  Alain owns and runs Cinema Paradis – an arthouse cinema in Paris.  He is a man after Mark Kermode’s heart – his cinema doesn’t sell popcorn and he has strict rules about the sort of films that he’ll show.  He’ll also do anything for his customers – particularly one of his regulars – a woman in a red coat. But just after he eventually plucks up the courage to ask her out, she unexpectedly vanishes just as his cinema gets a new lease of life…

This book reminded me in some ways of one of my favourite French films – Amelie.  It’s fun, it’s quirky, it’s almost ridiculous in places and the city of Paris is practically a character in its own right.  Despite Quercus’ tweet, I’d say it’s more about films and acting than it is about theatre – and it’s about secrets and coincidences as well.  The Secret Paris Cinema Club is a little gem of a romantic comedy, which will bring a smile to your face as autumn arrives.  It’s also chock full of film references and quotes – I’m sure I didn’t spot them all – and it’s given me some really good ideas for French films to watch.

This book wasn’t on my radar until I won a copy from Quercus – but it brightened up my commute during nightshift week and I’m hoping that it’ll find an audience beyond sleep-deprived Francophile chick flick fans.  You can find the Secret Paris Cinema Club here and on Kindle here – and if you’re in the US be aware it was published as One Evening In Paris in the States.

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).