Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Wednesday 14 February 2024

Book Review: Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews

 Someone Else's Bucket List

by

Amy T. Matthews

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 31st January 2024
Genre: Contemporary / Romance
Pages: 390
RRP: $32.99AU (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: Someone Else's Bucket List

It's no secret I love a heart-wrenching read and Someone Else's Bucket List ticks all the boxes.
However, Amy T. Matthews doesn't simply break her reader's heart she has added lots of humour, adventure, arm-chair travel and even a touch of romance.
 
Jodie Boyd is shy and anxious, she has never been one to follow her dreams. Her sister Bree is an adventurous, globe-trotting, hugely successful Instagram influencer.  Jodie loves and admires her sister but she could never put herself out there like Bree does. Bree's untimely death leaves the family not only devastated but facing financial ruin with huge medical bills to pay.
Then a prescheduled post pops up on Bree's Instagram challenging Jodie to finish the last six items on Bree's bucket list. If she finishes them a sponsor will pay off the family's debts, with one condition, it all needs to posted to Instagram.
 
I loved how Matthews conveyed Jodie's terror at not only having to preform these very public acts but also having it all broadcast across Bree's Instagram, watched by over a million followers.
Every character in this story was so well portrayed, each playing an important role in Jodie's growth.
 
It was so much fun to follow Jodie as she checked items off the list, mostly freaking out about everything but pushing through and discovering a more assertive side of herself. Her character growth was slow to evolve which made it all the more believable.
I loved following all the # teams for who Jodie may have as a love interest - so much fun! 
 
Someone Else's Bucket List is a beautiful, heart-wrenching and fun read about grief, hope, love and courage. It's about believing in yourself and going after your dreams. 
 
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
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Friday 19 January 2024

Book Review: The Blue Gum Camp by Leonie Kelsall

The Blue Gum Camp

by

Leonie Kelsall 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 3rd January 2024 
Genre: Rural Romance
Pages: 419
RRP: $32.99AU (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: The Blue Gum Camp

The Blue Gum Camp is Leonie Kelsall's fifth book featuring characters from Settler's Bridge and surrounds.
 
Charity Farrugia is persuaded to attend a B & S ball by her sisters, Faith and Hope. They feel the always serious and always responsible Charity needs to relax and have some fun.
 
Lachlan is only going to the B & S ball to keep an eye on his mischievous younger brother Hamish. Lachlan has been working the family farm whilst his father has become a curmudgeonly recluse since his mother's untimely death twelve months ago.
When Lachlan and Charity meet sparks fly but Charity isn't ready to let her guard down.
 
I enjoyed the different ways of thinking between Hope and her friends in their early twenties and that of mid thirties Charity. Having characters from different age groups adds diversity to the story. I loved all the sibling banter and light ribbing both with the Farrugia sisters and Lachlan and Hamish. It felt very natural and was filled with humour. The siblings' similarities and differences were perfectly portrayed.

If you have read the previous books you will see many well-known and much loved characters get a mention which adds a further level of connection with the whole community that surrounds the books.
 
Kelsall explores themes of running a farm, aging parents, early onset dementia, feeling responsible for siblings, cognitive disorders, loss and grieving.  
The Blue Gum Camp has slightly darker themes and more drama than most rural romance novels however the main theme is still one of rural life and the lack of potential partners in small country towns.
 
My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tuesday 9 January 2024

Book Review: The Italian Marriage by Jenna Lo Bianco

 The Italian Marriage

by

Jenna Lo Bianco

An inheritance. A fake marriage. Must be amore.
 
Publication date: 27th December 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
RRP: $34.99AU (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: The Italian Marriage 

I loved this book! The perfect beach read, even though I'm nowhere near a beach.

The Italian Marriage is so sweet I think I 'aawed' through the whole book.
The Italian Marriage is a fake marriage trope; he falls first, one bed, sweetly sexy, romance.

Matthew D'Adamo is set to inherit the family estate but first he needs a wife. The estate goes to the youngest 'married' D'Adamo male.

Sarah Browne, a free-spirited event manager, agrees to an air-tight pre-nup and is looking forward to a break from the emotional toll of her endometriosis. The first time the two meet is on the flight to Florence. When they arrive they find another claimant has surfaced and now they must spend a year together restoring a rundown hotel. Whichever couple is most successful after 12 months wins the family estate.

I loved both Sarah and Matthew! They were both so perfect; kind, accommodating and thoughtful. Sarah is fun, spontaneous and confident. The story introduces lovely friends that help them connect with the community and there are also those that are bent on thwarting them so there is loads of drama between all the sweet moments of Sarah and Matthew getting to know each other.

With chapter headings in Italian and lots of Italian interspersed throughout conversations it was very easy to connect with the location.
The Italian Marriage is steeped in the culture of Italy. The language, the food, the architecture is all vividly played out on the page.

If you are after a sweet romance with plenty of drama and a few little twists The Italian Marriage will not disappoint.
The Italian Marriage is destination romance at its best!

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

Saturday 25 November 2023

Book Review: The Girls by Chloe Higgins

 The Girls

by

Chloe Higgins

A memoir of family, grief and sexuality

Imprint: Picador
Publication date: 27th August 2019
Genre: Non fiction / Memoir
Pages: 320
RRP: $32.99AU (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: The Girls

When Chloe was seventeen she and her mother stayed home, so she could study for HSC exams, whilst her father took her two younger sisters on a ski trip. On the way back from the trip the car was involved in an accident and burst into flames. Both the sisters were killed.
The Girls is what followed, for Chloe, after that fatal day.
 
I find it very hard to review memoirs, especially those that involve grief and mental illness as I've never had this extreme level of grief.  
 
I appreciated that Chloe was candid in her writing. It is no use writing a memoir if you are only going to write the good stuff and gloss over the bad. It's all included; the drugs, the sex and the bouts of depression.
 
The words flow and her writing is easy to read even though the content is tough.
The story jumps around a lot in time and sometimes I found the time stamp hard to figure out.

I am glad writing this book has helped Chloe work through her own grief and by the end of the book I was pleased she was starting to heal.

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Challenges: TBR challenge
                    Non-fiction challenge

Wednesday 8 November 2023

Book Review: Voices in the Dark by Fleur McDonald

Voices in the Dark

by

Fleur McDonald

Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 31st October 2023 
Genre: Rural / Suspense
Pages: 368
RRP: $32.99AU (trade paperback) 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via DMCPR
 

Review: Voices in the Dark 

I always eagerly await each new release by Fleur McDonald. Her knowledge of and dedication to small communities, farming and the problems they face shines through in her stories.

Voices in the Dark is a stand alone rural suspense novel featuring country cop Dave Burrows however he is not the main character in this story.

Sassi Stapleton is driving to Barker after a late night call asking her to come immediately as her grandmother is seriously ill. When Sassi doesn't arrive at the expected time, her uncle notifies Dave and the police get into action.
Fleur McDonald packs an emotional punch as the police, ambulance and emergency services work together in a harrowing rescue scene.

Voices in the Dark focuses on the Stapleton family and their struggles to reconnect and get over the demons of the past. There are lots of appearances from characters I have grown to love from previous books. Mia the young constable, Dave and Kim all have strong parts in this story. Lots of well placed backstory keeps new readers up to speed.

Fleur writes magnificent stories about country people, farming and the problems remote areas face but also highlights the special bond small communities have. Even though the gossip abounds they will do anything to help each other.

Voices in the Dark is a story about family secrets, elder abuse, letting go of resentments, moving forward and starting over. 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

Thursday 31 August 2023

Book Review: The Summer Place by Janette Paul

 The Summer Place

by

Janette Paul

Three women, lives adrift, and a life-changing beach

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Publication date: 26th April 2023
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 384
RRP: $34.99AU (paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: The Summer Place

The Summer Place is a thoroughly enjoyable, heartwarming story about love, healing and friendship.
 
Told through the perspective of three women, each broken in different ways. I like that Janette Paul portrayed each woman's obstacle with equal importance because for each of them their hurt was equally debilitating.
 
Erin is recovering from a near-fatal accident, holding tight to all her grief and anger. She is constrained by her PTSD and the scars that riddle her body.
Cassie, recently widowed, cannot seem to move on from her grief and regrets. 
Jenna has been secretly in love with Blake for years, and now she has been invited to his wedding.
 
All three women have been invited to a wedding at Hope Head, a place that holds memories, in much happier times, for each of them.
I loved every character in this uplifting story. The three main characters' problems all came across as real and the supporting characters were just that; supportive and honest, edging Erin, Jenna and Cassie to make decisions towards happiness and healing. 
 
The fictitious Australian town of Hope Head on the mid north coast of New South Wales was beautifully described and a fitting location to have an epiphany on life and moving forward.
 
The Summer Place is sentimental and sweet, with HEAs all round, it filled my heart with joy.
 
The Summer Place is the perfect beach read.
 
My rating 5 happy stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
 
About the author
 
Janette Paul is an internationally published author of contemporary women's fiction and romantic comedy, and is the alter ego of award-winning suspense author Jaye Ford. Her first novel won two Davitt Awards for Australian women crime writers and her books have been translated into nine languages. She is a former news and sports journalist, and ran her own public relations consultancy before turning to fiction. She now writes from her home in Newcastle, New South Wales.

Thursday 3 August 2023

Book Review: Reaching Through Time by Shauna Bostock

 Reaching Through Time

by

Shauna Bostock


Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 4th July 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 352
RRP: $34.99AU (paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

Review: Reaching Through Time

With Reaching Through Time Shauna Bostock has delivered an extensively researched family history going back generations, with interesting facts on Indigenous and Australian history included.

I love family research and genealogy and it doesn't just have to be my own. I can pore over anyone's family tree for hours. Births, deaths, marriages and connections between families fascinates me.

Shauna includes a family tree at the front of the book and I kept turning back to it to see where each relative came in.
You never know what you will find when you start researching your ancestry and Shauna did discover that one ancestor was a slave trader in England. I liked that this book was an honest account of her ancestry and the bad wasn't covered up or omitted.

I enjoyed every aspect of Shauna's book. Her writing is very personable and open. I was astounded by how much research, travel and time went into uncovering all the details and there are pages and pages of sources listed in the back which is a testament to this fact.

Pages of photo inserts are included which give an added connection whilst reading. Thank you Shauna for sharing your precious family photos. They are a beautiful addition to the book.

Reaching Through Time is perfect for readers who enjoy Aboriginal history, Australian history and exploring the past.

4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

A formaer primary school teacher, Shauna Bostock's curiosity about her ancestors took her all the way to a PhD in Aboriginal history.

Tuesday 25 July 2023

Book Review: The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street by Marlish Glorie

 The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street

by

Marlish Glorie

Publisher: Fremantle Press
Publication date: 2nd May 2023
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 304
RRP: $32.99AU (paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty and Lace Book Club
 

My review of The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street

The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street was originally published in 2009 and has been re-released by Fremantle Press with a new, modern updated cover.

The book opens on quite a dramatic scene as Helen has  had enough of her husband's hoarding and living with dead people's belongings, she drags her bed outside and attacks it with an axe.

Helen, hoping to start a new life, eventually leaves her husband and with the help of her long-time neighbour, Astrid, she buys an old rundown bookshop. 

I quite enjoyed this quirky and poignant story about the messiness that is family. Glorie shows how serious hoarding can destroy relationships. Helen and Arnold's two sons had left home to get away from the mess and they very rarely saw them but when they heard their mother had actually left their father, both boys found their way home.

Marlish Glorie's writing is witty and candid. I felt this story was a bit of a tragi-comedy. It's a story of love, loss and grief, of second chances and doing the best you can. I loved the finely nuanced characters, all inexplicably tied to each other. The story is funny at times and at other times quite profound.

I'm a bit of a hoarder myself, not to the extent that Arnold hoards, but I love teacups and teapots. And of course books!

This quote in the book had me in stitches, because this is exactly what I tell my children. 🤣🤣

"One day, all this will be yours. And Vivian's. It's your inheritance. I've been thinking about your future."

 The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street may not be to everyone's liking, but I loved it!

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
About the author
 
Marlish Glorie is a novelist, short story writer, mentor and teacher of creative writing. Her short stories have been published in national anthologies. Marlish lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband. She is currently working on another novel, and also volunteers at Trillion Trees.
 

Wednesday 21 June 2023

Book Review: Inkflower by Suzy Zail

 Inkflower

by

Suzy Zail

I think there is no better day than Global MND Day to post my review of Inkflower
 
Publisher: Walker Books
 
Publication date: 5th July 2023
 
Genre: Young Adult / Historical Fiction
 
Pages: 384
 
RRP: $22.99AU (paperback)
 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

My review of Inkflower

Fifteen year old Lisa's father has Motor Neurone Disease and only six months to live. He gathers the family together to tell them the story of his childhood. A story of a young boy who fought against all odds to survive.
 
Lisa battles with the idea of this new version of her father; a dying man with a devastating childhood. His stories bring to life the grandparents, aunts and uncles she never had the chance to meet.
 
Inkflower unfolds in a dual time-line narration. The now, set in the 1980's, is narrated by Lisa as she navigates school and friendships whilst coming to grips with her father's illness and also who she is. The then, is narrated by Lisa's father Emil as he tells his family the harrowing story of a young boy bullied at school for being Jewish, taken from his home in Czechoslovakia and the horrors of his years in Auschwitz.
 
The balance and parallels between Emil's years of fighting for survival in Auschwitz and his battle against the debilitating effects of MND were astutely portrayed.
 
Inkflower is a deeply moving story of survival inspired by the true events of the author and her family.
Suzy Zail has written an honest and candid story of love, courage, family and resilience.
There can never be too many stories detailing the horrors of Auschwitz and they need to be recorded now because soon there won't be any survivors left.
 
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Publisher's recommended age: 14+

About the author

Suzy Zail has worked as a litigation lawyer, specialising in family law, but now writes full time. Among other titles, she has written The Tattooed Flower, a memoir about her father's time as a child survivor of the holocaust, the story which inspired this novel. Her first novel for young adults, the Wrong Boy, was short listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, the WAYRBA, USBBY and YABBA awards. 
You can visit Suzy online at suzyzail.com.au and on Instagram @authorsuzyzail
 

Friday 9 June 2023

Book Review: The Money Club by Fiona Lowe

 The Money Club

by

Fiona Lowe

Wealth. Trust. Betrayal. 

Publisher: Harlequin Australian
 
Publication date: 3rd May 2023 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 528

RRP: $32.99AU (Paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

My review of The Money Club

With The Money Club Fiona Lowe brings her readers right into a small country town devastated when a well respected member of their community goes missing, along with the money they invested with him.

Brad Quinn is charismatic and affable. He and his fiancée, Izzy, live a life of luxury and Brad is happy to share the secret to his success with his close friends and family. As the money rolls in everyone in Brad's Elite Club is able to buy luxury cars and overseas holidays, until Brad and their money disappear.

Fiona explores how easy it is for people to be caught up in these schemes when they are advised by a close friend, preying on the bonds between them.

I found it very hard to like any of the characters or find any sympathy for them. Many of the characters blamed everyone but themselves for their loss. I did however like the growth of the three main characters. Izzy, Lucy and Birdie showed great strength and fortitude by the closing of the book.
I enjoyed the mystery part of the plot and this had me hooked as the tension hung in the air and there was an unexpected turn of events that truly shocked me.

Fiona Lowe explores themes of community, family, home ownership, trust, friendship, financial stress and starting over.

Does the small town of Glingilly survive this devastating financial blow? You will have to read the book to find out!

My rating 3.5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐½

About the author

Fiona Lowe has been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker; an ideal career for an author who writes novels about family and relationships. She spent her early years in Papua New Guinea where, without television, reading was the entertainment and it set up a lifelong love of books. Although she often re-wrote the endings of books in her head, it was the birth of her  first child that prompted her to write her first novel. A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA award and the Australian RuBY award. Fiona writes books that are set in small country towns. They feature real people facing difficult choices and explore how family ties and relationships impact on their decisions.

When she is not writing stories, she's a distracted wife, mother of two 'ginger' sons, a volunteer in her community, guardian of eighty rose bushes, a slave to a cat, and is often found collapsed on the couch with wine.

 


Saturday 13 May 2023

Book Review: A Woman's Work by Victoria Purman

 A Woman's Work

by

Victoria Purman

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
 
Imprint: HQ Fiction
 
Publication date: 5th April 2023
 
Genre: Women's Fiction / Historical
 
Pages:  358 
 
RRP: $32.99AU (Paperback) 
 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

My review of A Woman's Work

A Woman's Work is a poignant look at the expected role of married women post WWII Australia.
 
Set in 1950's Australia when the chance of winning a cash prize in a cooking competition could open up a wealth of opportunity.
Told through the dual narrative of two Australian mothers; Ivy Quinn, war widow and single mum to 12yo Raymond, and wife and mother of five, Kathleen O'Grady.

Victoria Purman knows how to immerse her readers into the lives of others. We get a very personal view of both Ivy and Kathleen's lives; their dreams, internal conflicts and despair.

Ivy is a single working mum, she constantly worries if she is doing enough for Raymond, he has no father figure and she is concerned this may have a negative effect on him.
Kathleen, a SAHM of five, finds her days overwhelmed with washing, cleaning and cooking. Her and her husband have grown apart and she feels lost.
 
Both women find a new purpose and confidence when they decide to enter the Australian Women's Weekly recipe competition with a  cash prize of £600.

I immediately connected with Ivy and her son Raymond. Kathleen took me longer to work out. I didn't like her at all until the penny dropped and I realised she had severe depression (sometimes I need these things spelled out to me).

I loved all the cooking and recipes and whilst reading I had so many things I would have liked to ask my grandmother about. I also enjoyed all the nostalgia Purman invokes with the inclusion of rationing, movies of the time, fantales, the Melbourne Olympics and Bex powders.

A Woman's Work is a truly engaging read, and even though set in the past is perfect for contemporary fiction readers.

My rating 4 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Victoria Purman is an Australian top ten and USA Today bestselling fiction author. Her most recent book, The Nurses' War, was an Australian bestseller, as were her novels The Land Girls and The Last of the Bonegilla Girls. Her earlier novel The Three Miss Allens was a USA Today bestseller. She is a regular guest at writers festivals, a mentor and workshop presenter and was a judge in the fiction category for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for an unpublished manuscript.

I'm off to make some cheese and gherkin scones! 😀

Monday 8 May 2023

Book Review: Falling by T. J. Newman

 Falling

by

T. J. Newman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
 
Publication date: 2nd June 2021
 
Genre: Thriller / Suspense
 
Pages: 304
 
RRP: $32.99AU (trade paperback) 
 
Source: Own copy
 

My review of Falling

Come aboard and buckle up for the ride of your life!
Falling is fast-paced and adrenaline fuelled. I was hooked from the very first page.
 
T. J. Newman has presented her main character, Capt. Bill Hoffman, with a moral dilemma; he is told to crash the plane he is piloting or his family will be murdered. While Bill grapples with trying to keep the plane safely in the air his cabin crew work to keep the passengers alive long enough to land.

Falling was a fast read for me, a taut breathtaking thriller and literally unputdownable. Newman ends each chapter on a tiny cliff-hanger that urged me to keep reading. The tension was palpable and the action never stops. I actually found myself holding my breath at times.

Great characters, from the pilot and cabin crew to Bill's calm and feisty wife and FBI agent Theo Baldwin, come together to make Falling a wonderfully engaging read.

I loved that the cabin crew, pilot and ground staff were so professional and rather than instill a fear of flying the story makes you feel like, if something does go terribly wrong, you are in safe hands.

T. J. Newman uses her experience as a flight attendant to deliver scenarios that are believable, if not a little stretched, and characters that are real.

I am more than a little excited to get my hands on Drowning which will be released on 1st June 2023.
 
My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

T. J. Newman, a former bookseller turned flight attendant, worked for Virgin America and Alaska Airlines from 2011 to 2021. She wrote much of Falling on  cross-country red-eye flights while her passengers were asleep. she lives in Phoenix, Arizona. This is her first novel.

 

Friday 5 May 2023

Book Review: New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village by Michelle Vernal

 New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village

by

Michelle Vernal

Publisher: Bookouture
 
Publication date: 4th may 2023
 
Genre: Romance (RomCom)
 
Pages: 305
 
RRP: $4.99AU (Kindle)
 
Source: eBook courtesy of the publisher
 

My review of New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village

New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village is such a fun story! I loved it from start to finish! It is a warmhearted romcom set in the small village of Emerald Bay where everyone knows your business and nobody seems to mind that it's that way.

Michelle Vernal has delivered a whole town of quirky and lovable characters. The story is just as much about the whole town as it is about the main character, Imogen Kelly, one of the five Kelly sisters.

Imogen, a highly successful Dublin interior designer, has returned home to Emerald Bay to complete an interior design project at Benmore House, the home of her first love Lachlan Leslie. A high school romance she still hasn't found closure with. Whilst at home surrounded by her family Imogen reflects on her own lifestyle choices and her current romance with a man 27years her senior.
 
New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village is a light read, a feel good story with plenty of humour at Imogen's expense. Imogen takes all the mishaps with good grace and is even able to have a laugh at herself, making her a very endearing character.

I really enjoyed this story about families, celebrations, reconnecting with your true self and new beginnings. I loved getting to know all the townsfolk of Emerald Bay and Imogen's large and loving family. I am looking forward to reading Christmas in the Little Irish Village and being back with them all again.

My rating 5 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader's Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.
 
Follow the blog tour below
 

 

Thursday 30 March 2023

Book Review: The Way from Here by Jane Cockram

The Way from Here

by

Jane Cockram

 
Publisher: Harlequin Australia
 
Publication date: 2nd March 2022
 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
 
Pages: 320
 
RRP: $29.99AU (Paperback)
 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

My review of The Way from Here

The Way from Here is a twisty family saga that had me captivated from start to finish.
 
When Susie dies suddenly from a fall from a ladder her older sister Mills is grief-stricken. Then Mills receives a bundle of letters written by Susie to be opened after her death. Each states a place she would like Mills to spread her ashes.
 
I've read a few books with posthumous letters and I like that they have all had a different style to them and different connections between the letter writer and the recipient
 
The Way from Here is narrated through a dual time-line with present day Mills on her quest to retrace Susie's holiday and sprinkle her ashes in the places that somehow changed Susie's life forever and 1998 with 19 year old Susie on her summer holiday.
 
Jane Cockram's writing flows well and the story is easy to read I enjoyed both timelines with the evocative descriptions of the French coastal town of Ile de Clair and the mystery of Mills revisiting these areas and slowly uncovering deep and heart-breaking secrets. 

There were lots of red herrings which sent me running off at tangents and never guessing the real story until the very end.

If you enjoy twisty family sagas you will love The Way from Here.

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Jane Cockram studied journalism at RMIT, majoring in Literature. After completing post-graduate studies in Publishing and Communication at Melbourne University, she worked in sales for Pan Macmillan Publishers and then as fiction buyer at Borders, fulfilling a childhood dream of reading for a living. Cockram spent a year living in the West Country of England, where the House of Brides is set, and still daydreams about returning. In the meantime, she resides in Melbourne with her husband and two children.


Monday 13 February 2023

Book Review: Twenty-Six Letters by Charlotte Nash

Twenty-Six Letters

by

Charlotte Nash

A bundle of secrets.
A mother she never knew.
A future she never dreamed. 
 
Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 2nd August 2022
 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
 
Pages: 424
 
RRP: $32.99AU Paperback
 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher 
 

My review of Twenty-Six Letters

Twenty-Six Letters is a heartfelt mother/daughter relationship that plays out posthumously as Wilhelmina (Wil) gets to know her mother through letters she wrote before she died.

The story opens with a 30 year old Wil. She is a bit of a mess, partying too hard and unreliable. She always  seems to be in some sort of trouble and her father has had enough. He threatens to kick her out if she messes up one more time. Well you can guess what happens here.

I felt sorry for Will who had lost her mother at a young age and she felt that she didn't fit in with her family. But I could also understand her father's frustration.

When Wil comes into possession of the letters, which were supposed to be given to her one a year but somehow got misplaced, the story moves to her mother and her life growing up. 

I didn't really connect with the letters and how each year the mother presumed she would know how Wil felt and what she was going through. I really didn't like how the mother kept putting down Wil's father in the letters. This was the man that had brought her up since she was five and patiently put up with all her nonsense. It made me quite angry.

Wil follows her mother's letters back to a gorgeous little country town in England where her mother grew up. I loved this part of the story with the Lord of the area and all the country folk knowing exactly who was coming and going and what was happening. The ending was predictable, but I do love a happy ending!
 
my rating 3.5/5   ⭐⭐⭐½
 
About the author
 
Credit: Goodreads
 Charlotte Nash is the internationally published author of seven contemporary novels, most recently Saving You and On a Starlight Ocean. She has degrees in engineering and medicine and a PhD in creative writing, which used the neuroscience of reading to understand how cleverly-crafted technical fiction appeals to our narrative brains. As a firm believer in unlikely pairings, she is an engineer by day and writes smart, unusual love stories by night. She has taught writing through The University of Queensland, QUT, Queensland Writers Centre and the University of Technology Sydney.

 


Saturday 26 November 2022

Book Review: Keeping Up Appearances by Tricia Stringer

 In a small country town, better bury your secrets deep....

Title: Keeping Up Appearances
Author: Tricia Stringer
Publication date: 5th October 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 464
RRP: $32.99AUD
Format: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 
My review of Keeping Up Appearances 
 
Single mother of three, Paige, is hiding from extended family and is hoping to fly under the radar in the small town of Badara.
 
Marion has been busy trying to build community spirit with exercise classes and a Celebrate Badara festival but the planned opening of a time capsule could destroy everything when long buried secrets work their way to the top.

Briony Hensley's grown children all have their lives together and Briony is smug with her perfect family. There would be no gossip around town about the Hensleys! Small towns do tend to gossip and for many keeping up appearances is imperative.

I do love Tricia Stringer's writing style however I felt the subject explored in Keeping Up Appearances was a little outdated. I wondered if people really do think like that in this day and age!
I loved the town of Badara, wonderfully drawn and filled with caring people who looked out for each other. The little spats between the townsfolk came across as real. There are lots of fun moments in Keeping Up Appearances such as the exercise class Marion is trying to promote, the family picnic for the sports club, the Op shop ball organised for the Celebrate Badara Festival and I can't forget the opening of the time capsule which was really quite funny but devastating for poor Marion.

Keeping Up Appearances has strong themes of kindness, forgiveness and acceptance. It is a story that will leave you contented and is garnering a multitude of five star reviews.
Even though I thought all the problems were wrapped up a bit too quickly and nicely at the end it is a feel good story and Tricia Stringer did deliver the feels.

My rating 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling Australian author of contemporary fiction and rural romance.

Tricia grew up on a farm in country South Australia and has spent most of her life in rural communities, as owner of a post office and a book shop, as a teacher and librarian, and now as a full-time writer. She lives in the beautiful Copper Coast region with her husband, Daryl. From there she travels and explores Australia's diverse communities and landscapes, and shares this passion for the country and its people through stories.



 

Wednesday 9 November 2022

Book Review: The Vet's Country Holiday by Lily Malone

 Even though The Vet's Country Holiday is book 4 in the Chalk Hill series it reads perfectly as a stand alone. I've been reading the books out of order and have no problem with knowing what's going on. Some characters pop in and out of other books and there may be small spoilers but nothing major.
 
One by-the-numbers accountant plus one irrepressible city girl equals one tricky equation
 
Title: The Vet's Country Holiday
Author: Lily Malone
Series: Chalk Hill #4
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Publication date: 30th March 2022
Genre: Contemporary / Rural Romance
Pages: 373
RRP: $29.99AU
Format: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
 

My review of The Vet's Country Holiday

Lily Malone's The Vet's Country Holiday was just the book I needed to get me out of a reading slump.
I raced through the story and loved everything about it. The small town of Chalk Hill in country Western Australia is instantly appealing with its beautifully described scenery and friendly townsfolk. 

Isabella Passmore is house sitting, and dog sitting, for Taylor and Abe while the have a much deserved holiday.
Isabella (Izzy) would have to be my most favourite character ever. She's a bit awkward and is always getting herself into sticky situations which was quite humorous, but mostly I loved her kind outspokenness. She gently forces people to open up and she's not afraid to speak her feelings.

Accountant Elliot Fields is back in Chalk Hill to help his parents with the financial side of their new cafe and water ski business. A years old tragedy has caused Elliot to close himself off from everyone, including his family but Izzy is not going to let him get away from expressing his most feared thoughts.
Izzy and Elliot were perfect together! Their relationship started out as fun as they were both only in Chalk Hill for a short time and knew they had a life and job to go back to.

The Vet's Country Holiday is a story about openness, forgiveness and moving on. It is full of fun and laugh out loud moments but it also brought a tear to my eye on occasions.

Lily's ability to take a real life event and expand on it with the 'what ifs', to show how different life may have been, highlights her exceptional story telling ability.
The Vet's Country Holiday is funny, engaging and heartwarming. A story bursting with country charm.

If you are after a story to captivate and delight, you can't go past The Vet's Country Holiday.
 
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Lily Malone is a journalist and freelance writer who discovered after years of writing facts for a living, writing romance was much more fun.

Lily juggles writing with the needs of a young family, and when she isn’t writing, she likes gardening, walking, wine, and walking in gardens (sometimes with wine).