Mailbox Monday - May 6th

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 

Happy Monday! During the last week I attended an author signing at Hachette Australia head office. It was an interesting night listening to Kelly Rimmer, author of Before I Let You Go, and Natasha Lester, author of A Kiss From Mr Fitzgerald, talk about their writing style, their inspiration and their journey to publication. There was champagne, canapes and a bag of books for everyone. After the talk we went for pizza and coffee.

Natasha Lester

 

Kelly Rimmer

 
















On Sunday my daughter and I decided to visit Australia's iconic Bondi beach. it was a mild autumn day although a little cloudy. We live a long way west of the coast so to visit the beach we first had a 40 minute bus journey east to the city and then another 40 minute bus trip to the coast. There was a protest march in the city so the 40 minute trip turned into 60 minutes. The weather turned and it started to drizzle. The closer we came to the beach the more it rained and when we arrived it was pouring. We found a rustic little cafe run by an elderly Italian couple and had lunch and a warming coffee, took a couple of photos and decided to make the journey home. The walk on Bondi beach will have to wait until another day. 

 

The books I received during the past week.

from the author:

Jacob's Toys by Claudia Woods

A wild storm sends Jacob's toys on an amazing backyard adveture....

How will they ever make it home?


from the publisher for review:

Rogue by A.J. Betts
There was no going back; there was no choice, anymore. I'd chosen out and this was it: hot-cold, dry-wet, bright-dark and lonely.

Hayley has gone rogue.

She's left everything she's ever known - her friends, her bees, her whole world - all because her curiosity was too big to fit within the walls of the underwater home she was forced to flee.

But what is this new world she's come to? Has Hayley finally found somewhere she can belong?
Or will she have to keep running?

from my sister-in-law:

The French Photographer by Natasha Lester
 Manhattan, Paris, 1942: When Jessica May's successful modelling career is abruptly cut short, she is assigned to the war in Europe as a photojournalist for Vogue. But when she arrives the army men make her life as difficult as possible. Three friendships change that: journalist Martha Gellhorn encourages Jess to bend the rules, paratrooper Dan Hallworth takes her to places to shoot pictures and write stories that matter, and a little girl, Victorine, who has grown up in a field hospital, shows her love. But success comes at a price.

France, 2005: Australian curator D'Arcy Hallworth arrives at a beautiful chateau to manage a famous collection of photographs. What begins as just another job becomes far more disquieting as D'Arcy uncovers the true identity of the mysterious photographer -- and realises that she is connected to D'Arcy's own mother, Victorine. 

from Hachette Aus:

Whisper Network by Chandler Baker
 Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked at Truviv, Inc. for years. The sudden death of Truviv's CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company. Each of the women has a different relationship with Ames, who has always been surrounded by whispers about how he treats women. Those whispers have been ignored, swept under the rug, hidden away by those in charge.

But the world has changed, and the women are watching this promotion differently. This time, when they find out Ames is making an inappropriate move on a colleague, they aren't willing to let it go. This time, they've decided enough is enough.
Sloane and her colleagues' decision to take a stand sets in motion a catastrophic shift in the office. Lies will be uncovered. Secrets will be exposed. And not everyone will survive.

The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn
1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther's prison but soon becomes her refuge.

2017. Free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker embarks on a research posting in the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast. When a violent storm forces her to take shelter on a far-flung island, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel determines to track down the intended recipient.

Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years.

What Books did your postman deliver this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Book Review: The Border by Steve Schafer

The Border

by

Steve Schafer

Publisher: Scourcebooks Fire
Publication date: 5th September 2017
Pages: 364
Format read: eBook
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

A band plays, glasses clink, and four teens sneak into the Mexican desert, the hum of celebration receding behind them.
Crack. Crack. Crack.

Not fireworks--gunshots. The music stops. And Pato, Arbo, Marcos, and Gladys are powerless as the lives they once knew are taken from them.

Then they are seen by the gunmen. They run. Except they have nowhere to go. The narcos responsible for their families' murders have put out a reward for the teens' capture. Staying in Mexico is certain death, but attempting to cross the border through an unforgiving desert may be as deadly as the secrets they are trying to escape...

The Border is the debut novel of author Steve Schafer.

Four Mexican teenagers witness the cold blooded murder of their families, by a band of Narcos, whilst attending a 16^th Birthday celebration. They flee into the darkened night with the sounds of death threats ringing in their ears.

Schafer has lived, worked, volunteered and travelled throughout most of latin America, including northern Mexico and it is clear he has extensively researched his topic.

The story is narrated in the first person by 16 year old Pato. But we also get a good sense of the other three main characters, Arbo, Marco and Gladys.

When they realise their only means of escape is across the Sonoran Desert into the USA the teens are naive and unprepared. Desperate situations call for desperate measures.

It’s easy to feel empathy for these four teens. Good kids who have been placed in a life or death situation. Throughout the story they bicker, they get along, they dream and occasionally the leadership role shifts but most of all they are scared; just like normal teens.

This is a timely and relevant story with the immigration debate currently storming in America.

The Border is a highly emotional and thought provoking read with palpable suspense and page turning action.

Highly recommended!

A few words from the author:

Political discourse often loses sight of the individuals at the heart of the issue. To generalize they are people in need. They leave desperate situations to  find an opportunity for a better life.

                                        

My rating    5/5 

Content: violence

                 mild sexual reference

                                🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  

Photo credit: Goodreads

 

Steve Schafer is an avid cultural explorer, animal lover, bucket-list filler, and fan of the great outdoors.

He has a master’s degree in international studies from Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two children. The border is his first novel. 

Book Review: A Life of Her Own by Fiona McCallum

A Life of Her Own

by

Fiona McCallum

Publisher: Harlequin Australia 
Imprint: HQ Fiction
Publication date: 18th March 2019
Pages: 405
RRP: $32.99 
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: copy courtesy of the publisher 

 

Alice Hamilton loved being a mature-age student, but now she's finished her university degree she needs to find herself a career. But the job market is tough and it doesn't help that her partner David keeps reminding her about their sizeable mortgage. When she's offered a role in a major real estate agency, she jumps at the opportunity. David is excited by her prospects in the thriving Melbourne housing market, and Alice is pleased that she'll be utilising her exceptional people skills.
But Alice quickly realises all is not as it seems. What is she doing wrong to be so out of sync with her energetic boss, Carmel Gold, agent extraordinaire? Alice is determined to make it work, but how much will it affect her values?
As everything starts to fall apart, a sudden visit home to the country town Alice escaped years ago provides an unexpected opportunity to get some perspective. Surrounded by people who aren't what they seem, or have their own agendas, can Alice learn to ask for what she really wants ... on her own terms?

‘It’s hard when it feels like the whole world is against you.’

A Life of Her Own is a heart-felt story of a woman with low self esteem, from years of mental abuse, and how she gets her life back on track.

I didn’t like Alice at all and then I felt bad for not liking her. She’d had a bad upbringing, always put down by her mother, always being told she was not good enough and her dreams were a stupid waste of time. Alice seemed to attract bullies and I feel that may be the way with people with low self esteem; they are an easy target.

McCallum did an excellent job of portraying how a narcissist works. There were a lot of relevant issues explored in the book. Narcissism and gas lighting are real and I think those involved need to be called out on their behaviour.

I don’t think the development of Alice’s character was well executed. We never did get to see the happy Alice she says she was before the bullying by her new boss. All we got was a confused person that didn’t like anyone. She didn’t like her mother or sister, she didn’t like her first husband, she didn’t like her present partner, she didn’t want the well paying job offered to her, she had no respect for her brother-in-law, she liked her step-father but couldn’t understand why he was so stupid to stay with her mother, she didn’t like Helen (even though she never took the time to get to know here) and the list goes on. If you always focus on the negative, life will be negative.

Lauren was the shining light in this story. She was a true and loyal friend to Alice. Always calling her and checking if she was ok. Dropping in to lend a shoulder to cry on and listen to Alice’s problems. Lauren is the one to eventually encouraged Alice to follow her dreams and supported her in ways only a true friend would.

It took a while for Alice to find herself and work out exactly what she wanted in life and to be responsible for her own happiness. Alice’s final chosen career was a surprise. I think she will need to toughen up to get through it though.

As much as I didn’t connect with Alice the story still grabbed me. I couldn’t stop reading. I picked the book up whenever I had a spare minute. And isn’t that what a great story is all about?

 🌟🌟🌟

My rating  3/5

*This review is: 
Part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
& Book #14 in the Australian Women Writers Challenge

 

 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm in rural South Australia and then moved to inner-city Melbourne to study at university as a mature-age student. accidentally starting a writing and editing consultancy saw her mixing in corporate circles in Melbourne and then Sydney.
She returned to Adelaide for a slower paced life and to chase her dream of becoming a author - which took nearly a decade full of rejections from agents and publishers to achieve. Fiona now works as a full-time novelist and really is proof dreams can come true. Fiona writes heart-warming stories of self-discovery that draw on her life experiences, love of animals and fascination with the human condition. 

She is the author of ten Australian bestsellers: 'Paycheque', 'Nowhere Else', 'Wattle Creek', 'Saving Grace', 'Time Will Tell',  'Meant To Be', 'Leap of Faith', 'Standing Strong', 'Finding Hannah' and 'Making Peace'. A Life of Her Own is Fiona's eleventh novel.