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Book Review: The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

Posted on by Libby Price

The Farm

“Daniel believed that his parents were enjoying a peaceful retirement on a remote farm in Sweden, the country of his mother’s birth. But with a single phone call, everything changes. Your mother…she’s not well, his father tells him. She’s been imagining things – terrible, terrible things. In fact, she has been committed to a mental hospital. Before Daniel can board a plane to Sweden, his mother calls: Everything that man has told you is a lie. I’m not mad…I need the police…Meet me at Heathrow. Presented with a horrific crime, a conspiracy that implicates his own father, Daniel must examine the evidence and decide: who is telling the truth, his mother or his father? And he has secrets of his own that for too long he has kept hidden…”

This was recommended to me on Facebook by a friend who reads – and enjoys – similar books to me, so I downloaded it without reading anything about it – or about the author. I have not read his critically acclaimed Child 44 trilogy – so was coming at it totally cold.

The book is told in places through Daniel’s eyes – and partly through his mother Tilde recounting stories, and this flows well. I was intrigued to read more and find out what happened. The writer clearly uses his own Swedish roots to set the scene very well for the sections set over there, and the various celebrations etc.

I can’t really talk much about the actual storyline without giving away what it’s about – and the conclusion – so I won’t!

There are some huge leaps of faith in parts – with characters whizzing around the Swedish countryside, and some characters are introduced without you really finding out much about them at all – Daniel’s partner and Father being two very peripheral characters that aren’t properly introduced at all and yet could have played much more significant roles.

The ending is a bit odd. One huge element of the storyline is tied up neatly – but there are still lots of lose threads in other areas – particularly with regards to Daniel and his family. I’m not sure if this has been left for a sequel – or if we are never to find out how they all move on from the repercussions of the events in the book.

Overall I enjoyed this and wanted to keep reading – but it didn’t completely knock me off my feet. I would definitely try books by this author again though.

Book Review: Putting Social Media To Work: A Practical Guide by Gemma Reucroft and Tim Scott

Posted on by Libby Price

I had commented on social media that I wanted our company to start doing more on there – and a friend recommended this book:

Putting Social Media to Work

“Social media has the power to change everything. It is simply that impactful. How we communicate and collaborate. How we lead and how we learn. How we engage and communicate with the people that work for us and buy from us. How we do the day job. Who has power. Who is considered to be a leader. How and where we do the work that we do. We live in an increasingly open and transparent world. Social media offers greater opportunities to rethink some of the old ways of working than organisations have had before. This book will explain why understanding social and getting social is important for individuals and organisations alike, and why, whatever your personal perspective on all things social media, you cannot ignore it. The authors share their own experiences of what social has done for them professionally, and will give you some ideas on how to implement social for you or where you work. How to build your business case, how to overcome the obstacles of implementing social, and managing both the practicalities and the myths. This is the social world. Are you ready?”

I downloaded it and starting reading it – well, that’s like doing work isn’t it!?!

I am already a regular (ok, let’s say excessive) social media user personally, so quite a lot of this was a bit basic – but would be ideal if someone was coming at it without knowing their Twitter from their Facebook as it does explain everything really well.

It definitely gave me lots of ideas about what we should / shouldn’t do!

It’s also a bit different because our organisation is a small family run business, so whilst I will be in charge of social media, I’m also the boss – so there’s no one to ask for approval from (technically my husband is the MD – but let’s not go there!!) Because of the HR background of the authors, it does come at it from their point of view and is probably more applicable to someone within a larger organisation.

But it was definitely worth the read. I liked the tone of the book and the humorous way it was written – and the little asides were great. One of them is a One Directioner (Tim says it’s Gemma, but I fear he doth protest too much!!!)

So – here are my company Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages – let’s see how I get on!!! #blatantpromotion

Book Review: Here Come The Girls by Milly Johnson

Posted on by Libby Price

Here Come The Girls

“Shirley Valentine, eat your heart out
Ven, Roz, Olive and Frankie have been friends since school. They day-dreamed of glorious futures, full of riches, romance and fabulous jobs. The world would be their oyster.Twenty-five years later, Olive cleans other people’s houses to support her lazy, out-of-work husband and his ailing mother. Roz cannot show her kind, caring husband Manus any love because her philandering ex has left her trust in shreds. And she and Frankie have fallen out big time.But Ven is determined to reunite her friends and realise the dream they had of taking a cruise before they hit forty. Before they know it, the four of them are far from home, on the high seas. But can blue skies, hot sun and sixteen days of luxury and indulgence distract from the tension and loneliness that await their return?”

It is not often I write a bad review of a book – mostly because I’m really selective about what I read so I don’t waste time on rubbish books – but I downloaded this for holiday, based on Amazon reviews and because it was cheap. I will not use this basis again.

The story was set on a cruise and was dull and repetitive (which is kind of how I expect a cruise would be?!?) There was lots of detail about what people were eating every meal – but not in an ‘amazingly described, making you desperate to share such a fabulous meal’ kind of way – more in a complete regurgitation of the menu in list format. It was the same with the descriptions of outfits – BORING.

The characters were just quite dull. They were supposed to be celebrating one of their 40ths – but it felt like they were all a decade plus older at least.

The vocabulary was often repetitive and it just felt badly written, and the authors obsession with the women burping was just bizarre.

It felt like a very poor self published novel – one where every middle aged woman thinks they have a book in them, but some of them definitely shouldn’t bother. I was stunned that Milly Johnson has written many books and is so highly praised in multiple reviews. Just because you aren’t writing high brow fiction doesn’t mean it should be slapdash and poor quality – lots of other authors in this genre manage to write excellent books.

This is a book I would not recommend, and I won’t be searching out any more by the same author. Thank goodness ‘The Girls’ have gone………

Book Review: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

Posted on by Libby Price

The Girl On The Train

This had been top of the best sellers list for a while – so I became a sheep and bought it to read on holiday.  It was very popular around the pool too (thankfully not everyone reads Kindles, so you can still be nosy about what other people are choosing!!)

This is the Amazon blurb:

“Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.

Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.

Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…”

The book starts from Rachel’s point of view – now I know she’s a barely functioning alcoholic – but I still wanted to slap her – a lot!  Some of the choices she makes are inexplicable.

It also is told from 2 other female perspectives – Megan (who Rachel had christened ‘Jess’ when being a peeping Tom from the train) and Anna (who is now married to Rachel’s ex husband).  But not a single one of them was likeable.  The stories intertwine, jumping backwards and forwards in time – as is fairly popular in this genre of book.

The story is also reasonably predictable.  I guessed fairly early on in the book who the ‘baddie’ was – although not the exact details of how it would end – and just waited for that to be borne out.  Having said that, the lady next to me on her sunlounger hadn’t guessed at all and was pinning it on one of the ‘red herrings’ until quite near the end.

This has been described as being like ‘Gone Girl’ and there were some real similarities for me – mostly that I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and that it had been overhyped by the media!

Book Review: Girls Uninterrupted by Tanith Carey

Posted on by Libby Price

Girls uninterrupted

I don’t often read non fiction – in fact, this is the first non fiction book I’ve read since I started doing book reviews on here.  This was recommended by the Head Teacher at my eldest daughter’s school (the author is a parent from the girls’ school she was previously head of) – and ever a girlie swot, I always do what I’m told – so I purchased it to read over Easter.

The full title is ‘Girls Uninterrupted – steps for building stronger girls in a challenging world’.  Snappy eh?!  But I totally agreed with the sentiment – so thought I’d give it a go.

Here is what the Amazon blurb has to say:

“* Why are girls self-harming and suffering eating disorders in record numbers? * Why do girls feel they have to be ‘little miss perfects’ who are never allowed to fail? * Why are girls turning against each other on social media? * What should we tell girls about how to deal with challenges of every day sexism and violent, misogynistic pornography? * How can parents, teachers and grandparents inoculate girls so they can push back against the barrage of unhealthy messages bombarding them about what it means to be female? Whether they are praised for being pretty rather than smart, or accused of being ‘bossy’ rather than leaders, teaching girls how to be comfortable with themselves has never been more challenging. Laid out in clear simple steps, Girls Uninterrupted shows the practical strategies you need to create a carefree childhood for your daughters and ultimately help build them into the healthy, resilient women they deserve to be.”

Now, it wasn’t a page turning ‘can’t put down’ of a book – but I did find it really interesting.  With 3 daughters (and a son) at different ages from pre-teen down to toddler – it was very appropriate.

A lot of it is common sense – or, common sense when you think about it – but how often do you take the time out of your busy life to sit down and think about stuff like this? I know I don’t. It was great to take that time out and think about how our actions – and the actions of the world about us – impact on our daughters’ lives.

There are some interesting facts and statistics that it was good to see too, on a whole myriad of relevant topics – eating disorders, viewing of porn on the internet and bullying to name but 3.

It has already impacted (in a good way!) on my own behaviour. Even my husband noticed I’d put my phone down when we were all out having lunch after going swimming as a family last weekend (normally I’d be checking emails / updating Facebook / tweeting – but decided all of that could wait!)

Then today, the 11 year old and I had a conversation about her exams this week, and how all we want is for her to do her best – and how they’re not the end of the world. Thankfully she seems to be taking them in her stride really well – and can see that some of the girls in her class who have cried over getting one question wrong and getting very stressed beforehand is not healthy, and definitely not what we as her parents want her to worry about.

Some of the recommendations I’m not sure are totally achievable for us as a family (for example, we can’t turn the wifi off to stop the kids accessing it in the evenings after their bedtimes, as that’s often when the husband and I are catching up with the day jobs!) – but we can remove their devices from their bedrooms and set them to charge on the landing instead.  There are lots of other suggestions to be inspired by too.

I would really recommend this to everyone with daughters.

But now back to some reading as escapism from reality for a bit!!

Book Review: The Vintage Ice Cream Van Road Trip by Jenny Oliver

Posted on by Libby Price

The Vintage Ice Cream Van Roadtrip

I recently read the first in the Cherry Pie series – and loved it – so when this popped on to my Kindle (got to love pre-ordering) it had to be devoured before I started anything else!!

Here’s what Amazon had to say about it:

“Welcome to Jenny Oliver’s brand new Cherry Pie Island series! There’s nowhere more deliciously welcoming…

If you were to ask Holly Somers how life is going at the moment she wouldn’t have a clue how to answer you… On the one hand she’s embarking on a retro-fabulous road trip in her vintage ice cream van all the way from Cherry Pie Island to the South of France. Plus, she’s sharing the journey with Wilf Hunter-Brown (quite possibly the most attractive man she’s ever met!)

On the other? Well, apart from being unsure as to whether the rickety old ice cream van will actually make it to the Riviera, she and Wilf had a one-night fling a few weeks ago. Even worse, it seems there’s an unexpected little consequence of their impromptu night together. Life on Cherry Pie Island definitely hasn’t equipped Holly with knowledge of the best way to tell a super-rich entrepreneur with a womanising reputation that he’s about to become a Dad!

Despite the heat of the Provencal sunshine you’d think you’d be able to keep cool inside an ice cream van – but the temperature is definitely rising. And with time running out to tell Wilf the truth, Holly’s dream roadtrip is fast becoming a nightmare on wheels! There’s no denying that this will be a journey to remember. When it comes to sundaes, Holly has always been partial to the more traditional flavours – but something’s telling her that this could be the time to take a chance and try something new…”

It was lovely! Like the first book in the series it wasn’t a highbrow doorstop of a book – but was a great, quick, escapist read.  As with all of Jenny’s books – the food descriptions were amazing – and she really evoked the feel of France.

Whilst the main characters in book 2 were different to book 1 there were enough cross references for you to still feel involved with life back on Cherry Pie Island.

I’m already excited about book 3 (and subsequent books!!)

Book Review: The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Cafe by Jenny Oliver

Posted on by Libby Price

I have been a big fan of Jenny Oliver’s previous books – and so was excited that she was publishing more – and this time a whole series based on fictional Cherry Pie Island! I have always loved her characters and so have wanted to know what happens after the book finishes (unlike Gone Girl where I didn’t give a toss about any of them!) – and so thought a series would be excellent.

The Grand Reopening

The first one is entitled ‘The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Cafe’ and this is what Amazon says about it:

“Home, Sweet Home….?
There’s nowhere more deliciously welcoming…
When Annie White steps back onto Cherry Pie Island, it’s safe to say her newly inherited Dandelion Café has seen better days! And while her childhood home on the Thames-side island idyll is exactly the same retreat from the urban bustle of London she remembers, Annie’s not convinced that Owner of The Dandelion Cafe is a title she’ll be keeping for long. Not that she can bear the idea of letting her dedicated, if endearingly disorganized staff lose their jobs. Plus café life does also have the added bonus of working a stone’s throw away from millionaire Matt and his disarmingly charming smile!
One (shoestring budget) café makeover, a few delightful additions to the somewhat retro menu and a lot of cherry pie tastings later, The Dandelion Café is ready for its grand reopening! But once she’s brought the dilapidated old café back to life, Annie finds herself wishing her stay on the island was just a bit longer. She always intended to go back to the big city…but could island living finally have lured her back home for good?”

I REALLY enjoyed it. It’s a light, easy read – but funny, warm and you really care about the characters.  As with her other books there are excellent points of reference that really ring true (this time my favourite being a white Dolcis shoe box in a drawstring black Dolcis bag!!).  As with Jenny’s previous books, her descriptions of food are amazing – you can almost taste the cherry pie and its accompaniments!

Annie’s relationships with her family are complex – but you are always in Annie’s corner.

And as I expected – I do want to know what happens to Annie next!

I had read the blurb for book 2 before reading book 1 (book 2 should be winging its way to my Kindle today – yay!) and so could see the seeds being sown for the characters that feature in that.  I am also hoping we continue to keep in touch with the characters from book 1 – but I will report back on that later!

This is not high brow, prize winning fiction (but hey, we don’t want to read The Goldfinch every day – in fact, most normal people don’t want to read The Goldfinch ever!!) – but it’s fun, escapist reading – which sometimes is just what is called for.

I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series as they are published.

And I really fancy some cherry pie………

Book Review: Second Life by S J Watson

Posted on by Libby Price

Second life

Earlier in the year I read ‘Before I Go To Sleep‘ by S J Watson. I liked it – but it had been hyped by friends before I read it – and it wasn’t as amazing as I’d expected. I went into this, SJ Watson’s next book, without any preconceived ideas apart from this fairly vague Amazon blurb:

“She loves her husband. She’s obsessed by a stranger.
She’s a devoted mother. She’s prepared to lose everything.
She knows what she’s doing. She’s out of control.
She’s innocent. She’s guilty as sin.
She’s living two lives. She might lose both . . .”

Again SJ Watson is writing as a woman (he’s a bloke) – this time as Julia.  She obviously has her historic demons (it is revealed fairly early on that she’s an alcoholic – and I felt these parts were described incredibly well, it even made me go properly on the wagon for a bit!!) The story is based about the fact that her sister has been murdered in Paris – and Julia’s attempt to uncover what has happened.

I can’t really say much more without giving away huge chunks of the plot – it twists and turns brilliantly with lots of things interlinking.  Sometimes it is a bit far fetched – but not so much it makes it totally unbelievable.  The use of social media / the internet / apps makes it seem very up to date in setting – and all of this makes some of the coincidences less coincidental.

I have to say there were times when I was shouting at Julia to tell someone else the truth – but to actually be in that situation must be so difficult, and reasonable behaviour may well go out the window.

As with Before I Go To Sleep it picks up pace towards the end and gets more and more exciting – but still the ending is a total shock.  I can’t say any more than that!!

I really enjoyed it – much more than Before I Go To Sleep – and would definitely recommend it.

Book Review: The Doll’s House by M J Arlidge

Posted on by Libby Price

I have loved the previous 2 books by M J Arlidge about DI Helen Grace – so was pleased when this popped up on my Kindle (I’d pre-ordered it when I read the previous book ‘Pop Goes The Weasel‘ last year).

The Doll's House

Here is what the Amazon blurb says:

“A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare.
Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing – her estranged family having received regular texts from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave.
For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it’s chilling evidence that she’s searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful – a predator who’s killed before.
And as Helen struggles to understand the killer’s motivation, she begins to realize that she’s in a desperate race against time . . .”

You would not need to have read ‘Eeny Meeny’ or ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ (although I would highly recommend that you do!) before you read this – it would stand alone – but I very much enjoyed revisiting DI Helen Grace and some of the other characters. It definitely builds on the prior books so there would be ‘spoilers’ if you tried to read them retrospectively.

I’ve actually got to like Helen more with each book – I guess as we get to know her better and understand her more.

It’s a twisting and turning thriller as usual – and again set in Southampton (my stomping ground for Uni – which I think I must remember with rose tinted glasses, as the area I lived in again is described as rough!!) The stories interlink both in terms of historic crime, current crime and the personal lives of the protagonists both police and villains. Lots is interlinked and only concludes right at the end – but I was pleased the loose ends were all tied up.

I didn’t feel this was quite as gory as the previous books – but maybe I’m just becoming immune to it, as I’m a fairly recent convert to thrillers!

This – along with the other books in the series – would make great TV dramas (unsurprisingly given Mr Arlidge is also a script writer – I was slightly over-excited to spot his writing credit in the last series of Silent Witness on BBC1!)

I was pleased to see that this is no longer a trilogy and I have pre-ordered book number 4 for later this year!

Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

Posted on by Libby Price

I was lent this in a proper, old fashioned book format by a friend – and a number of friends had really enjoyed it. On Facebook it had a bit of a ‘marmite’ response from people – either loved or disappointed (when I posted a photo of it – with my non-alcoholic beer – whilst chaperoning some ten pin bowling 11 year old girls!!)

Beer and book

It’s not a new book (first published in 2011) and has been made into a film (starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman no less – thankfully I had started reading before I knew this, so had already imagined the characters in my head -and they definitely weren’t Colin and Nic!).

This is the Amazon blurb about it:

“Memories define us.
So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love – all forgotten overnight.
And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine’s life.”

Initially I was really interested in Christine’s life – waking up each morning having forgotten the last 20+ years.  Imagine how horrific it would be to wake up each morning and look in the mirror and see your Mum looking back!?!  Christine then starts to keep a journal so that she can remember things she’s discovered about her past and isn’t starting from a blank page (boom!) each day.

The middle section of the book is supposed to be this journal – and I found this section dull and repetitive and it REALLLLY DRAGGGGGED.  Now I guess that is kind of the point – as it’s exactly what Christine was having to do by re-reading about her life each day – but I didn’t enjoy this bit at all (but I am really impatient!)

The final section picked up again – and was ‘edge of the seat’ exciting (so I read late into the night to finish it!)  I really enjoyed how it all concluded.

So I guess it wasn’t ‘marmite’ for me.  I neither loved it nor loathed it – I just kind of liked it.  Not sure that will ever make the strapline on a book cover….

Having said that – I have downloaded ‘Second Life‘ which is the new book from SJ Watson published a couple of weeks ago (and only £1.88 on Amazon at the moment!).  Partly because I found out that SJ is from the Midlands and we have to support our own!  Oh – and I was surprised Mr Watson is a bloke – I guess because he wrote so well about being a woman.  But then if people write well about murder you wouldn’t expect them to be trained killers………..