Book reviews

Book Review: As good as it gets? by Fiona Gibson

Posted on by Libby Price

As Good As It Gets

Just a few chapters in I knew I was going to enjoy this book as the reference points were bang on for me! I too have had a shopping fail due to the light being too dark in certain trendy stores (in the book Charlotte mistakes a navy sweatshirt for black, in my case I bought my 11 year old daughter a top with swearing on it!!) and I also concur that Forever 21 stores are enormous and you need to have a map to escape (I actually had to ask for help to find my way out of one last year!!)

This is what Amazon had to say about it:

“A warm, funny read for fans of Outnumbered and the novels of Fern Britton, Fiona writes about life as it really is.

“Midlife crisis? WHAT midlife crisis?!”

Charlotte Bristow is worried about her husband Will. With her 16-year-old daughter Rosie newly signed to a top modelling agency, and Will recently out of a job, things are changing in their household.

As Will dusts down his old leather trousers and starts partying with their new, fun neighbours, Charlotte begins to wonder what on earth is going on.

So when Fraser, Charlotte’s ex – and father of Rosie – suddenly arrives back on the scene, she starts to imagine what might have been…”

I did enjoy this a lot. It’s not intellectually challenging, nor emotionally draining – but it’s an easy read with some great ‘laugh out loud’ moments (in fact I was told off by my 3 year old for making her bed rock with my LOLing when she was trying to go to sleep!!)

I will definitely be investigating Fiona Gibson’s other books – and this is out in paperback next week if you’re a traditional reader!

Book Review: The Book of You by Claire Kendal

Posted on by Libby Price

I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of ‘The Book of You’ to review by the guys at Mumsnet.

The Book of You

And here’s what Amazon has to say:

“A terrifying psychological thriller about obsession and power, perfect for fans of Gone Girl and Before I Go to Sleep.

Clarissa is becoming more and more frightened of her colleague, Rafe. He won’t leave her alone, and he refuses to take no for an answer. He is always there.

Being selected for jury service is a relief. The courtroom is a safe haven, a place where Rafe can’t be. But as a violent tale of kidnap and abuse unfolds, Clarissa begins to see parallels between her own situation and that of the young woman on the witness stand.

Realizing that she bears the burden of proof, Clarissa unravels the twisted, macabre fairytale that Rafe has spun around them – and discovers that the ending he envisions is more terrifying than she could have imagined.”

From the outset I really enjoyed this – way more than Gone Girl – and mostly because you actually care about Clarissa and what is going to happen to her.  The book has some chapters written in the first person, almost as diary entries – and others in the third person.  I’m not sure it particularly adds anything to the book – but equally doesn’t distract.

It is very clever writing about Clarissa being stalked, but weaving in the plots of other women having similar issues.  It makes you realise how difficult it can be for stalking victims to be believed.

Some of it is set in court where Clarissa is on jury service – and I enjoyed this having been through court proceedings myself a couple of years ago (thankfully no one was harmed before our trial apart from some sticklebacks – although they did prove to be very expensive sticklebacks for us – but that’s a whole other story!)

At times I did just want to shout at Clarissa ‘for goodness sake, please tell someone what’s going on’ – but you can understand how she wanted to gain enough evidence to be believed.

It really is a ‘just one more chapter, suddenly it’s 1am’ kind of book!

The book also cross references a number of fairy tales – I didn’t realise how dark some were – frightening.  Think I’ll stick to the mainstream ones with my kids.

The ending is not what I expected at all – but I really respect Claire Kendal for that.  I can’t say any more without giving it away – you’ll just have to read it yourself – and I would thoroughly recommend that you do!

Book Review – Look Behind You by Sibel Hodge

Posted on by Libby Price

I love a bargain – and this book was free with ‘Kindleunlimited’ through my Amazon Prime account (a 21st century library – without the germs my Nan always reckoned you got from books you borrowed!!) I hadn’t read any reviews – but it sounded my cup of tea so I downloaded it.

Look Behind You

This is what Amazon has to say:

“Chloe Benson wakes up kidnapped and bound in an underground tomb with no memory of how she got there.
She manages to escape but no one believes her story—not the police, not the doctors, and especially not her husband, Liam.
When she suspects Liam is lying to her, Chloe is forced to retrace her past, following in her own footsteps to find the truth and stay alive. But who is following Chloe?
Look behind you. You never know who’s out there.”

I really, really enjoyed it – and not just because it was a freebie! I read it quite quickly because it was very exciting and full of suspense. I liked Chloe and wanted her to find out what had happened to her – although was nervous for her of whom she could and couldn’t trust along the way.

My only one negative is that the ending is quite abrupt. With just 5% left to go (that would have been ‘a few pages’ in the olden days!!) I was concerned how it was all going to get concluded – and it was all a bit swift – but at least the loose ends were pretty much tied up.

It was really well written – and I will definitely be looking for other books by Ms Hodge. Now what freebie to chose next………..

Book Review – The State We’re In by Adele Parks

Posted on by Libby Price

I am always partial to a bargain – and Amazon offered me a free book (can’t remember why, think I agreed that a delivery could be outside my usual Prime terms) – and ‘The State We’re In’ was one on the shortlist. It appeared to have been on best seller lists, and it involved a flight to Chicago, where I’d been last month, so I opted for it.

The State We're In

The Amazon blurb is fairly vague:

“THE STATE WE’RE IN is the unforgettable, emotionally powerful novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks.
What are the odds that the stranger sitting next to you on a plane is destined to change your life? Especially when they appear to be your opposite in every way.
She’s a life-long optimist, looking for her soul mate in every man she meets; he’s a resolute cynic – cruel experience has taught him never to put his faith in anyone.
People can surprise you. In the time it takes to fly from London to Chicago, each finds something in the other that they didn’t even realise they needed.
Their pasts are such that they can never make one another happy and it’s when they get off the plane that their true journey begins…”

When I started reading this I got really confused. There were chapters headed up with the names of different characters, and they seemed completely disparate – and I thought I was going to find it hard work. But I’m not one to give up on a book (hey, I waded through the Goldfinch!!) so I persevered – and I am sooooo glad I did.

I can’t really give you too much of the back story without giving away fundamental twists and turns of the plot – but I couldn’t put it down – and was desperate to know what was going to happen next. There’s emotion / love / lust / travel / family secrets / rude bits / shopping in Chicago – and, as is my usual style, sobbing at the end.

I am a bit gutted that I finished it this evening to be honest. I know I like most books I read and review on here (generally by being sensible in what I chose to read in the first place) but I really liked this one!

Book Review – Fractured by Dani Atkins

Posted on by Libby Price

I read ‘The Story of Us‘ by Dani Atkins over the Christmas break, and loved it – and immediately downloaded ‘Fractured’ which was one of her back catalogue.

Fractured

 

Here is what Amazon has to say about it:

“What would you do if life gave you a second chance?

The night of the accident changed everything…
Now, five years on, Rachel’s life is crumbling. She lives alone in a tiny flat, working in a dead-end job, desperate with guilt over her best friend’s death. She would give anything to turn back the clock. But life doesn’t work like that… Does it?

The night of the accident was a lucky escape…
Now, five years on, Rachel’s life is perfect. She has a wonderful fiancé, loving family and friends around her, and the career she always wanted. But why can’t Rachel shake the memory of a very different life?

Gripping, romantic and heartbreaking, Fractured is a magical love story that asks: can two different stories lead to the same happy ending?”

It started off – in a similar vein to ‘The Story of Us’  – with a car crash, and I have to say my initial thoughts were ‘Hmm, this is all a bit the same’ – but that didn’t last long and I was soon hooked into Rachel’s story.

There is then a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment (90’s Gwyneth Paltrow film reference for those wondering what I’m on about!) and the story pans out a different way – as the blurb above suggests.

Throughout I was desperate to know which was the ‘real’ story – and it very cleverly kept me entertained.  (The last few nights I’ve willingly been the one to lie with the toddler who won’t go to bed on her own, so I could finish  it off!!)  I really liked Rachel, and her friends and family, and was rooting for her to do the right thing throughout.

The ending is lovely – and obviously I wept loads – as is my way.

Dani Atkins definitely has a ‘style’ – but it is one that I really like!

Biff, Chip and Kipper – ROBINSON!

Posted on by Libby Price

Like the Swiss family, the people who make squash and marmalade (is that the same people by the way?) and the Labour MP for Coventry called Geoffrey who lent Mr Mandleson hundreds of thousands – Biff, Chip and Kipper have the surname ROBINSON!

Biff chip and kipper

I found this out 5 years ago (which I was reminded by Timehop earlier in the week – again, I LOVE Timehop!) but I had forgotten this fact. In the intervening demi-decade I’ve had 2 more kids, so that’s 2 more lots of Oxford Reading Tree ‘fun’ to look forward to.

I discovered this little known gem when in one of the books there is a newspaper in a picture, and it contains an article about the family and uses their surname. Honestly, I’m wasted as an accountant, I should have been a spy. (Although I have just found out it’s on Wikipedia………)

Knowing I have similarly geeky parents as friends – I re-shared this on my Facebook page and imagine my delight when one of my friends could add even more information!  (Her class had written to some authors – and Roderick Hunt, who wrote the 300+ books for this range now used in 80% of UK schools, actually wrote back to them – how exciting!)

It would seem that Kipper is in fact ‘Christopher’ and couldn’t say it as a child so it became Kipper.  Now, as an Elisabeth who couldn’t say that as a child, turned it into Libby-buff and then eventually Libby – I empathise with this totally.

Biff is in fact ‘Barbara’ and Chip is ‘David’ – but he didn’t elucidate as to why they ended up with their abbreviations – so we’ll have to guess!

Now all I want to know is what are ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad”s first names (even Wikipedia can’t help with that one!!)

Book Review – The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle Earth by Robert S Blackham

Posted on by Libby Price

I grew up in South Birmingham – and so have always been vaguely aware that Tolkien had grown up in the same area. I took the kids to Sarehole Mill over the summer and so learnt more about the connections there.  My Grandmother (who used to live practically in the grounds of the mill) mentioned that she had a book about it, and so I borrowed it to read – and it’s brilliant!

TolkienIt talks through JRR (Ronald to his friends)’s early life in the late 19th / early 20th century and the areas he lived in (totally my stomping ground as a child Sarehole / Hall Green / Kings Heath / Moseley) with historic photographs and maps – but it also cross references specific things to sections of his famous books.  In a number of cases it prompted an ‘of course’ in recognition from me!

I also hadn’t realised his later connections with Edgbaston (aside from the fact I knew he was a King Edward School alumnus) or The Lickey Hills and Worcestershire area (which spookily also follows the path of where I lived as an adult!)  If only he’d gone to Southampton Uni and not Oxford we could have been living parallel lives!!

  • Who knew Tolkien drank in the Ivy Bush on the Hagley Road, or The Prince of Wales in Moseley village?
  • Or that ‘Trittiford’ changed it’s name from Titterford for reasons of good taste in the 1920s?!
  • Or that the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham (which our company has painted a number of times, and featured in the televised leadership debates of the last General Election campaign) was used as a hospital in the First World War?

This is great if you are a lover of Tolkien, or know the South Birmingham area – and if you fall into both categories – it’s really interesting!

Book Review – The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve read Jenny’s other books and really enjoyed them both (The Little Christmas Kitchen and The Vintage Summer Wedding) so expected to enjoy reading this – and it was another bargain download at less than £2.

The Parisian Christmas Bake Off

Amazon say this:

“Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!

Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.

Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.

As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…

Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake Off a more perfect Christmas treat!”

I am possibly one of the few people in the entire country not to watch The Great British Bake Off – but I didn’t let that put me off – and I’m glad I didn’t.  It was a lovely read – and the descriptions of the food were amazing.  I’m just glad I read it before my January detox as I would have been drooling even more!  I read it over Christmas – which was very apt – but not essential!

My only slight disappointment is that I’d read The Vintage Summer Wedding first – and this was actually written first – and some of the characters follow through, so I knew who Rachel would end up with because of that.  So – if you haven’t read either – definitely start with this one first,

I really hope we get to find out more about the residents of Nettleton in the future (pretty please Ms Oliver!!)

Book Review – The Story of Us by Dani Atkins

Posted on by Libby Price

I am not sure how this ended up on my Kindle – if it was recommended by someone in person or on Facebook, in a magazine, by my Kindle itself – or just because it was such a bargain (currently 85p to download!)

The Story of Us

Here is what the Amazon blurb says:

“A gripping love story from the bestselling author of Fractured.

Emma Marshall can’t wait to marry her childhood sweetheart, Richard. But then a tragic accident changes everything, and introduces a stranger, Jack, into her life. Gorgeous and mysterious, Jack is like no-one Emma has met before. But Richard is the man she loves…

Two different men.
Two different destinies.
How will Emma end her story?”

It’s a real page turner – and I loved it – couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next.  I had guessed that the first chapter of each section wasn’t going to be predictable in what it was describing – and I was right – but I would never have guessed what it was setting up for in the last chapter.  I wept buckets.

There were great moments of drama, emotion, rude bits and intrigue – lots of bases covered!

I will definitely be investigating Ms Atkins’s back catalogue now – and would happily pay way more than 85p for this!

Book Review – The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

Posted on by Libby Price

Ok – at this point I need to confess to a bit of a girl crush on Marian Keyes. I follow her on Twitter and feel like we’ve watched the last few series of Strictly Come Dancing together. Hey – she’s even TWEETED ME BACK a couple of times (dances a jig!) We also share a love of Clinique Chubby Sticks. So – with all of these mutual interests – I had high hopes for her new(ish) book ‘The Woman Who Stole My Life’ and took it away with us to read over the Christmas break.

The Woman Who Stole My Life

Here is what Amazon have to say about it:

“International bestselling author Marian Keyes is back with another masterfully told story full of wit and charm.

‘Name: Stella Sweeney.

Height: average.

Recent life events: dramatic.’

One day, sitting in traffic, married Dublin mum Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life.

For she meets a man who wants her telephone number (for the insurance, it turns out). That’s okay. She doesn’t really like him much anyway (his Range Rover totally banjaxed her car).

But in this meeting is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart.

Is this all because of one ill-advised act of goodwill? Was meeting Mr Range Rover destiny or karma? Should she be grateful or hopping mad?

For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

Marian’s stunning new novel The Woman Who Stole My Life is about losing the life you had and finding a better one.”

I have to say that I really enjoyed it.  There were some total laugh out loud moments (so I was ‘LOLing’ on my sunlounger in both senses of the word!!) but it is also really moving.  I thought the title was going to be predictable in the story line – which it was – and wasn’t!  It combined many different story lines woven together that if you set out as individual facts would look odd – but it all flowed brilliantly.  The fact that Stella is a slightly chubby, 40 something Mum also rang true (although not lots of the other stuff, before my husband gets concerned!!)  Also, having been to New York fairly recently – I enjoyed the bits set there.

It is not a deep, complicated read – but it is fun, easy, and you always want to keep reading to see how it’s going to develop.

Now – I must go and download some of Ms Keyes’s back catalogue…..