Books

Book Review: Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

Posted on by Libby Price

Paris for One

“Bestselling author Jojo Moyes brings us a charming and heart-warming short story in association with Quick Reads.
Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She has never even been on a weekend away with her boyfriend. Everyone knows she is just not the adventurous type.
But, when her boyfriend doesn’t turn up for their romantic mini-break, Nell has the chance to prove everyone wrong.
Alone in Paris, Nell meets the mysterious moped-riding Fabien and his group of carefree friends. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?”

I hadn’t heard of ‘Quick Reads’ before – but having just read another Jojo Moyes book ‘After You’ and not wanting to get started on another ‘big’ book on the last day of a break away, this seemed like the perfect thing to download – and I wasn’t disappointed.

Initially I thought Nell was a bit annoying, and I wanted to give her a bit of a talking to about being a doormat with her loser boyfriend, and not trusting her mates more – but I think that was exactly the emotion the author was trying to engender!

As the book goes on you do find yourself rooting for Nell and her new found bravery.

It also made me reminisce about when I ‘almost’ went to work in the Paris office of the accountancy firm I worked for – the partner over there who wanted me to go had great faith in me (even thought I’d told him I would only be able to work speaking French if I kept a plentiful supply of red wine on the go at all times!)  This is also the important person, who when I asked him what sandwich he wanted for a lunchtime meeting in Leicester said I could chose – so I went for a ‘roast beef’ one – at the height of the ‘mad cow’ crisis.  Thankfully he was a Frenchman with a sense of humour!  I often wonder what would have happened if I had braved it in Paris – but that would have been for 18 months plus – Nell’s weekend sounds like a much more sensible starter option.

Although I suspect she will be back!

A lovely, fun, ‘quick read’!

It’s all O2’s fault……

Posted on by Libby Price

When I first started this blog I was reading LOADS – mostly when sat at the station or at school waiting for my eldest daughter.

Now, back then – 6 months or so ago – the village where we live, the train station our daughter uses, and the location of her school were all total O2 blackspots – so I couldn’t access the internet from my phone – therefore reading was the only option (other than napping, which did happen occasionally!)

Anyway – O2 have sorted themselves out – and all of the above areas are bathed in the glow of 4G – so I can sit in the car and respond to emails, do the internet shopping, play Words With Friends etc – and reading is taking a back seat.

I think I need to sort myself out and get reading again!

Book Review – It’s Not Me It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

I have read, loved and blogged about Mhairi McFarlane’s previous two books ‘You Had Me At Hello‘ and ‘Here’s Looking at You‘.  So imagine my excitement when my lovely friend Emily sent me this photograph by text message saying ‘Look what I’ve got’:

It's not me it's you 2

There was an actual squeal of excitement from me – as the publication date isn’t until next month!  But as reported before, Em  has contacts!  She also scored super highly in the friend’s stakes by dropping it round to me as I was packing to leave that afternoon for a transatlantic trip with the husband (another blog post is brewing for that – don’t fear!)

I started reading ‘It’s Not Me It’s You’ in a bar in Manhattan with an ice bucket of pinot grigio and a husband with a flight of beers and the sport on TV – pretty much perfection! And it was the sampler of this book that turned me into a Mhairi McFarlane obsessive fan, so my expectations were high!!

It's not me it's you

This is the blurb from Amazon, just to set the scene for you (which interestingly has changed since my previous blog post when the sampler came out  – and you can currently download the sampler for free for your Kindle – yay!):

“An achingly funny story about how to be your own hero when life pulls the rug out from under your feet. From the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLO
Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong.
When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault.
When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault.
And when he wanted her back life nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame…
From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.”

And I was not disappointed at all – in fact I think this could be my favourite Mhairi book yet!

There is a love story (a twisting rollercoaster) accompanied by a bit of mystery solving (think grown up Nancy Drew rather than Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison) and all in the style of writing and with perfectly relevant reference points that we’ve come to expect. I really really enjoyed it, and want to be Delia’s friend as she sounds like such a lovely person – normal in a Bridget Jones as a heroine kind of way (but way less annoying!).  Whether you’ve read Mhairi’s other books or not – if you’re a 30 / 40 something female Brit, with a sense of humour, penchant for booze and the occasional potty mouth (that pretty much sums me up!!) you will love this book.

Despite being very kindly sent this uncorrected proof to read – I will most definitely be buying the original, as my copy has pages saying what illustrations are going to be on it – but they aren’t actually drawn in – and I am desperate to see them (told you I was obsessed!!)

Book Review: Daughter by Jane Shemilt

Posted on by Libby Price

For once I don’t think this was a recommendation from a friend – I’m not sure if it was a magazine review in Red – or that I noticed it was a ‘Richard and Judy Bookclub’ book – but I downloaded this to read, and read most of it on a transatlantic flight earlier this week.

Daughter

Here’s what the Amazon blurb says about it:

“When a teenage girl goes missing her mother discovers she doesn’t know her daughter as well as she thought in Jane Shemilt’s haunting debut novel, Daughter.

THE NIGHT OF THE DISAPPEARANCE

She used to tell me everything.
They have a picture. It’ll help.
But it doesn’t show the way her hair shines so brightly it looks like sheets of gold.
She has a tiny mole, just beneath her left eyebrow.
She smells very faintly of lemons.
She bites her nails.
She never cries.
She loves autumn, I wanted to tell them. She collects leaves, like a child does. She is just a child.
FIND HER.

ONE YEAR LATER

Naomi is still missing. Jenny is a mother on the brink of obsession. The Malcolm family is in pieces.
Is finding the truth about Naomi the only way to put them back together?
Or is the truth the thing that will finally tear them apart?

Daughter by Jane Shemilt is an emotional and compelling story about how well you really know those you love most.”

Overall I enjoyed this – the combination of thriller and family drama is often a winner.  The one thing is, and it’s no fault of the writer at all, but I’m getting a bit bored of books that flick backwards and forwards in time each chapter. It seems to be the thing to do at the moment, and frankly – it’s all a bit exhausting!

It made me think a lot about how I juggle family and work life – although thankfully without a missing child thrown into the mix.

Definitely worth a read – and whilst slightly gritty in places, it didn’t have the scariness of ‘I Am Pilgrim’ or ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ – but maybe the fact it could be more realistic makes it worse?!?  It’s well written – and amazing that the writer juggles being a GP, wife of a neurosurgeon, and mother of 5 (all of which she has utilised in the story to some extent!)

Book Review – The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern

Posted on by Libby Price

I mentioned a while ago about my friend giving me a book to read before publication (you can read about that here) and this is the review that was embargoed until the release date of 9 October 2014 (hopefully today if the scheduling system on WordPress decides to work?!?)

The book in question is ‘The Year I Met You’ by Cecelia Ahern.

The Year I Met You

This is the publishers blurb from Amazon:

“A thoughtful, captivating and ultimately uplifting novel from this uniquely talented author.
Jasmine loves two things: her sister and her work. And when her work is taken away she has no idea who she is.
Matt loves two things: his family and the booze. Without them, he hits rock bottom.
One New Year’s Eve, two people’s paths collide. Both have time on their hands; both are at a crossroads. But as the year unfolds, through moonlit nights and suburban days, an unlikely friendship slowly starts to blossom.
Sometimes you have to stop still in order to move on…
Original and poignant, The Year I Met You will make you laugh, cry and celebrate life.”

Unfortunately it didn’t make me laugh or cry or particularly want to celebrate life. It was ‘nice’ and ‘an easy read’ but I was not desperate to get back to it to finish it, as I have been with lots of other books I’ve read recently.  It was kind of like Marks & Spencer undies – fine, practical, you know what you’re getting – but not going to set the world on fire.

I know Ms Ahern has a huge fanbase – and I am sure lots of people will love this – but I have to say it’s just a like from me.

I’m glad I didn’t pay for it!!

Book Review – Here’s Looking at You by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

A few weeks ago I read and reviewed ‘You Had Me At Hello‘ by Mhairi Mcfarlane and loved it, and the lovely author (whom I must confess I have a bit of a girl crush on) even tweeted back saying she loved my review – eek!!!  She’ll probably block me on Twitter now thinking I’m a crazed stalker….

So – I set about on her next book with high expectations of enjoying it immensely!

Heres looking at you

Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

“The new novel from the bestselling author of You Had Me At Hello.
Anna Alessi – history expert, possessor of a lot of hair and an occasionally filthy mouth – seeks nice man for intelligent conversation and Mills & Boon moments.
Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna couldn’t be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned out better than she dared dream. However, things weren’t always this way, and her years spent as the ‘Italian Galleon’ of an East London comprehensive are ones she’d rather forget.
So when James Fraser – the architect of Anna’s final humiliation at school – walks back into her life, her world is turned upside down. But James seems a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can change, right? So why does Anna feel like she’s a fool to trust him?
Hilarious and poignant, ‘Here’s Looking At You’ will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.
The new must-read novel from #1 bestseller Mhairi McFarlane.”

And it did not disappoint at all.  I totally agree with the writer of the above review – at times I really was laughing one minute and crying the next (although I do cry very easily – adverts / X Factor / school assemblies all have me reaching for the tissues).

Don’t tell my friend Emily – but I also found the bit where she took the mickey out of Mills & Boon editors quite funny!!!

The historic (1980s / 90s) references are just bang on for a ‘just 40’ year old – and it’s so well written, like chatting with a mate.  After reading Gone Girl and not really giving a toss about any of the characters, it was lovely to read something where you are rooting for the good guys.

Only a month until Mhairi’s next book ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ comes out, and the first few chapters are fab.  Now what to read before then…………

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Posted on by Libby Price

I know, I know, everyone else read this YEARS ago, I am totally behind the times! Just like the series ‘Breaking Bad’ (which I am still resisting) loads of people have raved about ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn and I’ve just never quite got round to it. But with the Hollywood interpretation of it due out next month, I thought I should really get my act together and read it before I see the film. I hate seeing films before reading the books (although often don’t like the film once I’ve read the book, so perhaps I shouldn’t read so much!) Although with 4 children, popping to the cinema is a thing of the past –  like a full night’s sleep and size 12 jeans!

Gone Girl

So I finally started ‘Gone Girl’ last week and I’ve really enjoyed it. The story is widely publicised at the moment, I’ve kept hearing it on the radio in the trailers (which has been a bit weird) – but basically, on Nick and Amy’s 5th wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing and Nick is the prime suspect. It is written from both of their perspectives and has brilliant twists and turns – a real thriller and consequently kept me engaged.  I can’t really say much more about the plot without giving away major spoilers (just in case you’re the only person left in the world who hasn’t read it yet!)

A number of people had told me the ending was rubbish – and perhaps it was because that gave me really low expectations, I didn’t find it as bad as I expected!!  Whilst it’s a good, fast paced, thriller – it isn’t exactly literary genius – but it was very enjoyable.

It will be really interesting to see how the film turns out (but make sure you read the book first!)

Book Review: Pop Goes The Weasel by M J Arlidge

Posted on by Libby Price

Earlier in the year, upon the recommendation of someone I follow on Twitter (and subsequently Richard and Judy) I read ‘Eeny Meeny’ by M J Arlidge. It introduced us to DI Helen Grace (I imagine her as a slightly younger, feistier and even more messed up Jane Tennison / Helen Mirren!) and her crime fighting in Southampton (where I went to University – so I always feel an allegiance to the city / football team) It was a fast moving, graphic, chilling thriller – and I LOVED it! I immediately pre-ordered the sequel ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ and it magically appeared on my Kindle last week.

Pop goes the weasel

The Amazon blurb says this:

“A man’s body is found in an empty house. His heart has been cut out and delivered to his wife and children.
He is the first victim, and Detective Inspector Helen Grace knows he will not be the last. But why would a happily married man be this far from home in the dead of night?
The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse: a serial killer preying on family men who lead hidden double lives.
Helen can sense the fury behind the murders. But what she cannot possibly predict is how volatile this killer is – or what is waiting for her at the end of the chase…”

You don’t have to  have read ‘Eeny Meeny’ to read this – but, this has loads of spoilers in it explaining things that happened in the first book, so you couldn’t go back and read the first one afterwards without knowing lots about how it would conclude.

Again I raced through this, really enjoying the fast pace.  The chapters are often quite short – so  ‘just one more’ happens a lot (and before you know it, it’s 1am and you should have turned the light out hours ago!) I have to say I guessed who the killer was pretty early on this time around – although not all of the twists and turns that went with the story.  It was also quite stressful to find the suburb I lived in 20 years ago, Portswood, being described as the red light district – and that students from my University were being forced into prostitution to pay uni fees!!

Having just read up a bit about the author, he has worked in TV for years – and I think that’s quite apparent from the scene setting and excellent descriptions of the areas and characters (surely someone will buy the TV rights for this?)  This is gory – and you need a strong stomach for some of it – but it’s worth it.

Yet again I’m left wanting to find out what happens to DI Grace and the team next – roll on 12 February 2015 when the final book in the trilogy ‘The Doll’s House’ will hit my Kindle.  Suspect it won’t be the perfect Valentine’s read!!

Book Review: You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

I have friends in high places who let me have top secret things. This makes me sound like Olivia Pope in Scandal – just without the amazing coats, shoes and sex with the President of the US!! (By the way, if you haven’t watched Scandal – then have a box set gorge – it is brilliant. In fact, it may have to have a blog post all to itself sometime soon!)

So – back to the top secret things. The aforementioned friend works in the book industry (more about her here) and so let me borrow a copy of a book not released until next month (blog post embargoed until October) and the sampler of a new book by Mhairi McFarlane ‘It’s Not Me It’s You’. It was only the first few chapters but I LOVED IT – this is what Amazon has to say about it so I’m not ruining any surprises:

“Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong. Everything was going smoothly. Ok, she had a slightly rubbish job working for the council and she hadn’t seen her best friend Emma in god knows how long, but she’d been working up to proposing to Paul for months. This. Was. It.

But with one annoying little ‘beep beep’, Delia’s life is turned upside down and rather than stick around and commit GBH by punching her cheating scumbag boyfriend (who still wants to be with her) in the chops, she decides the best thing to do would be get some head space and leave for London.

But a new city is never going to be the answer, and with a dodgy new job in media PR, where a suspicious yet devastatingly handsome journalist seems to be sniffing around and endangering her job, Delia can’t run forever. Where did the old Delia go? And can she get her back?”

I literally CAN NOT WAIT until 6 November 2014 when it will wing it’s way to my Kindle.

Anyway – the secret sampler thing totally worked as marketing, as I obvs went and downloaded Mhairi McFarlane’s first book ‘You Had Me At Hello’ immediately – and I loved that too!!

You had me at hello

It is written totally in the style I would love to write if I ever do brave the book writing thing, and as if the narrator (Rachel in this case) is chatting to you, the reader, as her mate.  I guess the fact that I’m a similar age to the author (OK, just the other side of 40 to her!) means lots of similar reference points.  It flicks between the present day and uni days with ease and is a fabulous mixture of romance / humour / good guys v bad guys and some real laugh out loud moments (where you accidentally wake your husband up when you’re reading in bed way too late!)   There was a slightly ‘close to the bone’ moment for me when a character said that Rachel, having not seen her since uni, could be 15 stone and shouting at her 4 children – yep, anyone from the University of Southampton class of 1995 – that’s me now!!

It was a great read – and I’d love to know what happens to all of the characters next – which I think is always the sign of a good book – leave them wanting more (possibly the sign of a good ‘lost love’ too?!)

Oh – and you can be as lucky as me and read the first few chapters of ‘It’s Not Me It’s You’ as they are at the end of the Kindle edition of ‘You Had Me At Hello’!

Monday meltdown….

Posted on by Libby Price

As I’ve mentioned before, our eldest has started a new school and this has given me lots of time to wait around at the train station for her – and catch up on my reading. A Monday is the one day of the week when we have no childcare (4 children and running our own business means that a nanny is the best option – and she works Tuesday to Friday every week).

This morning husband did the train drop off. Today was the day the train was 25 minutes late. He will not have been reading a book (he doesn’t do reading – unless it’s work or rugby team related, or trying to find an edition of NCIS or one of the Bad Boys films on the Sky planner) but will have used that half an hour or so to start the days work – emails / calls aplenty. Now he was also supposed to do pick up – but the delay to the start of his day meant a later train back from London – so I had to take the 3 younger siblings to pick their big sister up.

They were INSISTENT that they should wait on the platform rather than in the comfort of the car – even the bribe of another viewing of Frozen on DVD would not entice them to remain in the vehicle.

Here they are waiting excitedly:

Monday meltdown

This was before:

a) a lady was struggling with a pushchair, and loads of commuters and teenagers just watched her – so I had the 2 year old in one arm and helped carry her pushchair up the stairs with the other

b) an overtired 4 year old (first full day at school) had a full on meltdown because she didn’t want to walk quickly up the stairs to go home once we’d rendezvous-ed with her big sister

c) the 2 year old stropped to be put down and proceeded to run off down the road in the opposite direction from the car

d) the 4 year old wouldn’t be strapped back in to her car seat unless it was moved from the middle row where I can easily do the seat belt to the back row by her brother

e) my phone started ringing with a problem at work

Roll on tomorrow when I can sit in the car on my own and read my book after a nice relaxing day in the office……………