Book Review: Memories of May by Juliet Madison

 

Memories of May by Juliet Madison
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Publication Date: May 5th 2017

Blurb: 
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but in Tarrin’s Bay, she’s about to find that love is stronger than time...

By day, single mother Olivia Chevalier runs the family’s bookstore and raises her nine-year-old daughter. By night, she escapes into a world of fiction where there is excitement, romance, and happy endings.

Both of her roles are endlessly rewarding, but Olivia’s life has not been without challenges, hard work, and disappointment. So when enigmatic travel writer Joel Foster walks into her bookstore – and her life – with his mantras of trying new things and taking risks, Olivia knows that nothing will change.

But when a family dilemma surfaces, Olivia is compelled to enroll in Joel’s writing course to tell the story of her grandmother’s life. With each new day and each new page, Olivia discovers secrets about her family and truths about herself, and finds herself yearning to rewrite the story she has planned and seek a life as intriguing as fiction.

My thoughts:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Memories of May is book 5 in Juliet Madison’s Tarrin’s Bay series.

Olivia Chevalier is a single mother to 9 year old Mia. She owns the local bookshop and is pretty happy with her simple, some may say boring, life. That is until adventurer and author Joel Foster comes into town to teach a writing course and turns Olivia’s life upside down.
Olivia decides to attend Joel’s writing course and write her Grandmother’s life story.

I loved the blending of story’s; Olivia’s story, Joel’s story and Olivia’s Grandmother May’s story. They all held my interest and were relevant to the theme of the overall story.

”Life is merely a collection of moments, of memories. Every life matters. It is up to you to take risks, live your life fully, and follow your heart. Don’t settle for a life half lived. Make amazing memories. Make memories matter.”

Memories of May is a heart-warming story of new beginnings and the urging to create your own life, not just the one that is expected of you.


Nine year old Mia was a lovely addition to the story. She was fun and outspoken but not too precocious. It was a good way of introducing a child’s view of aging and death.

Even though this is part of a series each book can be read on it’s own but it’s always nice when familiar characters, from previous books, make an appearance through the story.

I finished this book with that warm feeling that life and love really are good.

Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received an ERC from the publisher via Netgalley.

About the Author: (courtesy of Goodreads)

 Juliet Madison is a naturopath-turned-author with a background in dance, art, internet marketing, and perfume sales (yes, she was one of those annoying people in department stores who spray you with perfume). Nowadays she prefers to indulge her propensity for multiple careers by living vicariously through her characters. She likes to put those characters into extraordinary situations and take them on a challenging journey to discover their true passion and inner strength, weaving in some laughs, tears, romance, and sometimes a touch of magic along the way.
Living near the beach on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, Australia, Juliet spends as much time as possible writing and coming up with new ideas, while doing her best to avoid housework.
Juliet is a proud member and volunteer with The Romance Writers of Australia and she loves to interact online with readers and writers via twitter (@Juliet_Madison), and facebook (www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonAuthor). She can be contacted through her website at www.julietmadison.com where readers can also download some free short stories.

Book Review: Saigon Dark by Elka Ray

 

Saigon Dark by Elka Ray
Publisher: Crime Wave Press

Blurb: 
 Good and bad. Life and death. Some choices aren't black and white

A grief-stricken young mother switches her dead baby for an abused child, then spends the next decade living a lie. She remarries and starts to feel safe when she gets a note: 'I know what you did'. Can she save her family from her dark secret?

My Thoughts:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On the same night her young daughter dies Lily finds a beaten neglected child, around the same age as her daughter, on her doorstep. Citing ‘fate’ as her motivation she decides to keep the child.
The story follows Lily’s life over the next 11 years as she walks a fine line between right and wrong, good and bad. She is always trying to justify her actions while hiding a terrible secret that leaves a heavy burden on her life.

The story is full of raw emotion and tension. Lily runs from her old life and starts over where no-one knows her but there is always that foreboding feeling that her past will one day catch up with her.

The narration is mainly in short, sharp sentences which perfectly portrays the way Lily’s mind is thinking; fast, sharp and erratic. She is always despairing about life and thinking worse case scenarios.

When the note appears that someone knows what she did there are already a few likely suspects that kept me guessing and changing my mind constantly. I never did actually guess right!

I couldn’t read this book fast enough. I was anxious to see what Lily would do next and if she would ever get out of her dilemma.

A tension filled story of lies, betrayal and blackmail. A real sense of foreboding is felt throughout.
Highly recommended!

I received an ERC from the publisher.

About the Author; (courtesy of Goodreads)

 Born in the UK and raised in Canada and Africa, Elka writes for children and adults. Elka divides her time between Central Vietnam and Canada's Vancouver Island - with both regions featured in her fiction.

When she's not writing, drawing, traveling or reading Elka is in - or near - the ocean.

Book Review:Weave a Murderous Web by Anne Rothman-Hicks

 

Weave a Murderous Web by Anne Rothman-Hicks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane Larson, an up and coming Lawyer, takes on a domestic, unpaid child support, case on the request of a friend. As she looks further into the finances of the defendant she finds there is more to him than meets the eye. And it’s not all legal! Jane soon finds herself embroiled in a web of drugs, lies and murder.

It does take a few chapters for the writing to settle but from then on the story is absorbing with plenty of twists, turns and witty dialogue.

Jane is a great protagonist, sharp-witted, sarcastic and cynical. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. She zeroes in on the problem at hand and nothing will get in her way until she has answers.

There are plenty of characters introduced and they each have their own distinct personalities. There is lots of suspicious activity, where everyone seems to have something to hide. Add to this a few red herrings and it will keep you guessing until the action packed finale.

The epilogue ties the story up nicely.

I received on ERC to read and review.

Book Review: The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name by David Cadji-Newby

 

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name by David Cadji-Newby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would have to say I was very impressed with the quality of the book. Printed on high quality thick carded paper these books will take years of page turning by hands both small and large.

My granddaughter received two of these personalised books for her second birthday. I think this was the result of a wide and highly successful marketing campaign as other guests (at her birthday celebration) also remarked that they had looked at buying this particular book.

Both books were exactly the same unfortunately. However, I have noticed on the website that there are options, although very limited, to change some of the characters. Although in this case the buyer would have to pre-empt that the recipient may already have a copy. There are also options for the child’s hair and skin colour.

The story is about a little girl who goes on an adventure to find her lost name. As she meets different characters along the way they each give her the first letter of their name.

I loved that there were some unusual characters, such as a Narwhal, Aardvark and Nabarlek, rather than the typical farm and zoo animals. Each animal tells a little about themselves eg: Aardvark eats ants; Narwhal is called the sea unicorn.

My Granddaughters name has 7 letters and the book had 36 pages which I feel is great value for money. But what if your name is Zoe or Sam? They’ve thought of that too and added in 4 extra pages of story for short names.

Most importantly my Granddaughter absolutely loves this book!

And of course there is also “The Little Boy Who Lost His Name”

Book Review: Flames over Norway by Robert Jackson

 

Flames Over Norway by Robert Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Flames of Norway is set during the lead up to WWII and follows the POV of three main characters, Kalinski – a Pole, Armstrong – a Britain and Lehmann – a German.

Jackson tells the facts without prejudice and gives the reader a blow by blow description of the battle for Norway. He knows his subject and the reader is taken right to the heart of the action with vivid imagery.

Although written with great detail of the military planning and reconnaissance missions the story never gets bogged down and it kept me enthralled until the fiery end.

Highly recommended for any readers interested in the planes and the missions of pilots during WWII.

I received an ERC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Scared to Death by Rachel Amphlett

 

Scared to Death by Rachel Amphlett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Scared to Death is the first book in the Detective Kay Hunter series. The story pulled me in from the very beginning. The suspense is gripping and each scene is vividly described making the events spine-chillingly real.

DS Kay Hunter is dedicated. She doesn’t dwell on the problems in her life and the backstory tells us she has plenty of personal problems she could be dwelling on.
It’s a nice change to have a detective that’s not a divorced alcoholic. The reader is not heaped with Hunter’s personal life. We are just given a few snippets here and there to let you know a bit about her, she was bullied at school, gets annoyed by her mother and sister and has a loving supportive partner. The story focuses mainly on the case at hand.

The pace is fast. The chapters are short and precise which makes this book an easy, quick read but not easy to read as there are quite a few skin crawling adrenaline pumping moments.

The killer has a troubled background but the reader is never urged to feel sorry for him. The victims are kept slightly detached although they are not completely innocent themselves.

If you enjoy adrenaline pumping action and suspense I highly recommend “Scared to Death.”

I was provided with an ERC from the author to read and review.

Book Review: Knife & Fork by Gita V Reddy

 

Knife and Fork by Gita V. Reddy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bholu, an inquisitive monkey, decides to leave the forest to seek adventure in the city. He sees many wondrous things and, after watching a little girl eating in her garden, he learns to eat with a knife and fork. He returns to the forest and brags about what he has seen and his new manners. He is now arrogant and thinks he is superior to the other monkeys. His friends soon tire of his bragging and he finds eating with a knife and fork in the forest very difficult. Bholu is now very lonely, sad and hungry. A wise old monkey tells him it is better to be as a monkey should be. Don’t try to be what you are not, just be yourself.

Reddy’s short simply written chapter books help encourage the transition from beginner readers to more advanced readers. For reluctant readers the length will make it easier for them to finish a book. Younger readers will also be encouraged to read a page or two with the rest read to them.
The full series has books in different genres to give children a wide taste of stories.

The story was fun and the imagery was vivid. The moral of not being arrogant and just being yourself was easy to understand for small children.

Recommended for: 3 years plus – read to me
5 years plus – read alone