Book Review: Sixty Seconds by Jesse Blackadder

Sixty Seconds

by 

Jesse Blackadder

Publisher: Harper Collins 
Publication date: 18th September 2017 
Pages: 384
Format Read: eBook
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

Inspired by the author's own family experience. The Brennans - parents Finn and Bridget, and their sons, Jarrah and Toby - have made a sea change, shifting from chilly Hobart to a sprawling purple weatherboard in subtropical Murwillumbah. Feeling like foreigners in this land of sun and surf, they are only just starting to settle when, one morning, tragedy strikes - changing their lives forever.

Determined to protect his wife, Finn finds himself under the police and media spotlight. Guilty and enraged, Bridget spends her nights hunting answers in the last place imaginable. Jarrah - his innocence lost - is propelled suddenly from his teens into frightening adulthood. As all three are pushed to the limit, questions fly: Who is to blame? And what does it take to forgive?

A haunting and ultimately redemptive story about what it takes to forgive.  

Sixty Seconds is a poignant story that explores the aftermath of a sudden and tragic death and the different ways people react and reconcile with the loss.

Bridget wants to find blame and to direct her heartache into hate, both strong emotions that can feed off each other. Finn tries to find solace in their shared grief but is pushed away by Bridget. Their teenage son Jarrah is not only suffering loss, he is trying to fit into a new school and struggling with identity. It is heartbreaking watching him dealing with his conflicting emotions alone.

This story is so confronting I found it hard to read and had to put it down on occasions. There are support workers that have their own agenda to push and empathisers that want to unburden their own demons. And when you think this family has suffered the worst imaginable, life just keeps throwing more tragedy their way.

The narration is unique as it is told in multiple POV and multiple narrative styles. Finn is in 3rd person, Jarrah is 1^st person (which worked well for the teen perspective) and Bridget is 2^nd person (I didn’t particularly like this because I find the use of ‘you’ did this and ‘you’ did that sounds quite accusing and confronting). The characters are well developed and their actions wholly believable.

Author Jesse Blackadder drew inspiration from her own tragic experience to write this heartbreaking and compulsive story of loss.

Sixty Seconds is a story that explores loss, forgiveness, hope and the rebuilding of a family that has been shattered.

This book has been re-released in March 2019 as In the Blink of an Eye.

Content: Child death

                Swearing

                Sexual references

                             🌟🌟🌟🌟

 My rating  4/5  

*this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #17 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

Jesse Blackadder is an award-winning novelist, freelance journalist and budding screenwriter. Her novel The Raven's Heart won the Benjamin Franklin Award for historical fiction (USA), and her novel Chasing Light earned her an Antarctic Arts Fellowship. 

She is also the author of three children's books, Dexter the Courageous Koala, Paruku the Desert Brumby and Stay the Last Dog in Antarctica. This is her fourth adult novel. 

 

 

Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 ARC copies of Whisper Network

With thanks to Hachette Australia I have three Advanced Reader Copies of Whisper Network to give away.
Please enter via the Giveaway form below. Giveaway closes on 3rd June 2019.

Publication date: 25th June 2019

Blurb:


If only you'd listened to us, none of this would have happened.
 
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.

Touted as the next Big, Little Lies this is one novel not to be missed.

This giveaway is now closed and the winners were - Mel, Kathryn & Bec.

Mailbox Monday - May 13th

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! 
And a Happy Mother's Day to all my readers who celebrated Mother's day yesterday.

It turned out to be a gorgeous Autumn day where I am and we had a family BBQ lunch at home with my children, their partners and my grandchildren. We then travelled to see my mother and had an amazing afternoon tea set up by my daughter.  

 

The books I received during the past week.

From the publisher for review:

Allegra in Three parts by Suzanne Daniel
Publication date: 29th May 2019

Eleven-year-old Allegra shuttles between her grandmothers who live next door to one another but couldn't be more different. Matilde works all hours and instils discipline, duty and restraint. She insists that Allegra focus on her studies to become a doctor. Meanwhile free-spirited Joy is full of colour, possibility and emotion, storing all her tears in little glass bottles. She is riding the second wave of the women's movement in the company of her penny tortoise, Simone de Beauvoir, encouraging Ally to explore broad horizons and live her 'true essence'. Rick lives in a flat out the back and finds distraction in gambling and solace in surfing. He's trying to be a good parent to Al Pal, while grieving the woman linking them all but whose absence tears them apart.

Allegra is left to orbit these three adult worlds wishing they loved her a little less and liked each other a lot more. Until one day the unspoken tragedy that's created this division explodes within the person they all cherish most.

The Bells of Old Tokyo by Anna Sherman
Publication date: 14th may 2019 

From 1632 until 1854, Japan's rulers restricted contact with foreign countries, a near isolation that fostered a remarkable and unique culture that endures to this day. In hypnotic prose and sensual detail, Anna Sherman describes searching for the great bells by which the inhabitants of Edo, later called Tokyo, kept the hours in the shoguns' city.

An exploration of Tokyo becomes a meditation not just on time, but on history, memory, and impermanence. Through Sherman's journeys around the city and her friendship with the owner of a small, exquisite cafe, who elevates the making and drinking of coffee to an art-form, The Bells of Old Tokyo follows haunting voices through the labyrinth that is the Japanese capital: an old woman remembers escaping from the American firebombs of World War II. A scientist builds the most accurate clock in the world, a clock that will not lose a second in five billion years. The head of the Tokugawa shogunal house reflects on the destruction of his grandfathers' city: "A lost thing is lost. To chase it leads to darkness." 

Crossings by Alex Landragin
Publication date: 28th May 2019

I didn't write this book. I stole it...

A Parisian bookbinder stumbles across a manuscript containing three stories, each as unlikely as the other.

The first, 'The Education of a Monster', is a letter penned by the poet Charles Baudelaire to an illiterate girl. The second, 'City of Ghosts', is a noir romance set in Paris in 1940 as the Germans are invading. The third, 'Tales of the Albatross', is the strangest of the three: the autobiography of a deathless enchantress. Together, they tell the tale of two lost souls peregrinating through time.

An unforgettable tour de force, Crossings is a novel in three parts, designed to be read in two different directions, spanning a hundred and fifty years and seven lifetimes. 

What am I looking forward to reading? 

I am so excited about Allegra in Three Parts  firstly because this is a debut novel and Allegra already sounds like a character everyone will fall in love with and secondly I will be part of the blog tour for this book and will be posting an interview with author Suzanne Daniel.

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 & Book Bingo - Round 10: The Cinema at Starlight Creek by Alli Sinclair

Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. Every second Saturday, book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose. 

This week I have chosen the category 'Book with a place in title"

 

The Cinema at Starlight Creek

by 

Alli Sinclair

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Australia 
Imprint: Mira-AU
Publication date: 20th May 2019
Pages: 384
RRP: $29.99AUD
Format read: Uncorrected proof paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Queensland, 1994 When location manager Claire Montgomery arrives in rural Queensland to work on a TV mini-series, she's captivated by the beauty of Starlight Creek and the surrounding sugarcane fields. Working in a male-dominated industry is challenging, but Claire has never let that stop her pursuing her dreams-until now. She must gain permission to film at Australia's most historically significant art deco cinema, located at Starlight Creek. But there is trouble ahead. The community is fractured and the cinema's reclusive owner, Hattie Fitzpatrick, and her enigmatic great nephew, Luke Jackson, stand in her way, putting Claire's career-launching project-and her heart-at risk.

Hollywood, 1950 Lena Lee has struggled to find the break that will catapult her into a star with influence. She longs for roles about strong, independent women but with Hollywood engulfed in politics and a censorship battle, Lena's timing is wrong. Forced to keep her love affair with actor Reeves Garrity a secret, Lena puts her career on the line to fight for equality for women in an industry ruled by men. Her generous and caring nature steers her onto a treacherous path, leaving Lena questioning what she is willing to endure to get what she desires. 

The Cinema at Starlight Creek has a dual time line narrative. Moving from 1950’s Hollywood to 1994 and a small country town in northern Queensland’s cane belt.

Claire is working on a min-series featuring art-deco architect Amelia Elliott. When her first cinema location falls through she arrives in the small, neglected town of Starlight Creek, the location of another Amelia Elliott designed cinema. The cinema is ideal but first she must get the approval of the cinema’s reclusive owner Hattie Fitzpatrick and her handsome but surly great nephew Luke Jackson.

Lena Lee has been in Hollywood for three years trying to break into the big time when her first major role is axed by the censorship board.

The Cinema at Starlight Creek is a sweeping tale about realising your dreams. The way women’s roles have been undervalued and underpaid is a major theme throughout the story. In 1950’s Hollywood we see women’s roles axed through censorship when the Hays Code deemed them too brazen for the screen. The conditions and pay for females was much less than their male counterparts. Lena’s character was strong and outspoken, but always fair. She was continually campaigning for better conditions for all women.

I did feel more invested in Claire’s story and I loved the descriptions of the Queensland town of Starlight Creek. Claire had her own battle with realising her dreams at the expense of finding love and was starting to think maybe you can’t have it all.

There are many parallels between Lena and Claire’s lives, aims and ideals. Both women had strong character, often empowering those around them with their passion and drive.

The Cinema at Starlight Creek is a story that will appeal to a wide readership. An Historical Fiction with a romantic heart and a small country town in Australia that has fractured and needed a stranger to show them the way to unite.

                            🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

 My rating   4.5/5

*this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #16 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

#BookBingo2019

Photo credit:Goodreads

Alli Sinclair is an Australian multi-award winning author published who has lived in Argentina, Peru, and Canada. She’s climbed some of the world’s highest mountains and worked as a tour guide in South and Central America. Australia has always been close to Alli’s heart as she loves the diverse landscapes and the rich multicultural heritage of this wonderful land.

She holds an annual Writers at Sea cruise retreat and presents writing workshops around Australia. Alli also works in film and is involved in international projects. She's a volunteer role model with Books in Homes and is an ambassador for the Fiji Book Drive.

Alli's books explore history, culture, love and grief, and relationships between family, friends and lovers. She captures the romance and thrill of discovering old and new worlds, and loves taking readers on a journey of discovery.

  

 

 
 

Book Club Book Review: Without a Doubt by Fleur McDonald

Without a Doubt

by

Fleur McDonald

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 
Publication date: 1st April 2019
Pages: 337
RRP: $29.99
Format Read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace book club

Detective Dave Burrows had never even heard of Nundrew in Queensland before. He'd certainly never have guessed that this was where he'd be risking his life.

In Barrabine, as Dave's workload skyrockets, Melinda, Dave's wife, is unhappy about being left alone so much to raise their eighteen-month-old daughter. It's not how Dave wants it either, but crimes still have to be investigated - it's what he joined the force for - and he's the only one able to do it.

Melinda's interfering father isn't helping. He's never thought that Dave is right for his daughter and he's not shy about telling Dave what he's doing wrong. When things come to a head at home, Dave's policing mate, Spencer, comes up with a plan.

In the most dangerous mission of his life, Dave knows what he's risking. If he's found out, he'll never see Melinda or Bec again. Of that he's sure.

McDonald writes a riveting rural crime story that had me grabbing for the book every spare minute I had.

Even though this is my first Det Dave Burrows novel the characterization was ample for Dave to come across as sincere and likeable. You find yourself barracking for him.

The story is spread wide across the Australian outback with settings in both the remote goldfields town of Barrabine WA and Nundrew in Central Queensland.

McDonald has clearly done her research and knows the way of these harsh isolated towns and the people living there.

With a main story of cattle stealing Dave goes undercover in the most dangerous op of his life. Believable side stories portray the strain the isolation can have on a marriage and a person’s mental health and the need for adequate counselling services and activities for the youth of the area. This is where the police come in; not only fighting crime in the area but preventing future crime by being involved in youth programs.

This is hard, rough country and cattle mustering is tough work, it involves tough men, so there is bad language and not everyone plays nice.

I loved McDonald’s use of Aussie slang making me feel like she had pulled her characters straight out of an outback pub instead of from her imagination. I loved them all....well maybe not Scottie.

The heat was palpable and well portrayed. The flies, the dust, the smell! I felt them all.

Without a Doubt was my first Dave Burrows and won’t be my last. This is a great stand-alone however you will want to go back and read Fool’s Gold the first Dave Burrows exclusive. He does feature in Fleur’s other books.

This review first appeared on the Beauty & Lace book club.

 

                            🌟🌟🌟🌟

My Rating   4/5

*this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #15 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

Photo credit: Goodreads

After growing up on a farm near Orroroo in South Australia, Fleur McDonald’s first job was jillarooing in the outback. She’s now closely involved in the daily management of the 8000-acre station she and her family live on near Esperance in Western Australia.

Fleur is the author of the bestselling novels Red Dust, Blue Skies, Purple Roads and Silver Clouds.