Book Club Book Review: Table for Eight by Tricia Stringer

Table for Eight

by

Tricia Stringer

 

Publisher: Harlequin Fiction AU

Publication date:  24th September 2018

Pages: 496

RRP: $32.99

Format Read: Trade Paperback

Source: Courtesy of publisher via Beauty & Lace book club

A cruise, no matter how magical, can't change your life. Can it...?


Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship's all-powerful maître d' Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style-eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together.


But this trip is different. As the glamour and indulgence of the cruise takes hold, and the ship sails further away from Sydney towards the Pacific Islands, it becomes clear that her fellow travellers - a troubled family, a grieving widower and an angry divorcee determined to wreak revenge on her ex - are going to be harder work than usual.


As Ketty tries to deal with her own problems, including the unexpected arrival on board of her long-lost love, Leo - the man who broke her heart - as well as troubling news from home, she begins to realise this might be the one cruise that will defeat her.

Ketty Clift loves cruising and helping people so naturally she combines the two on her numerous cruises.

Ketty’s fashion design business has taken a recent downturn and she had thoughts of cancelling her cruise on the Diamond Duchess’s farewell voyage but it seemed fitting that what may be her last cruise is also the last voyage for this magnificent ship.

Ketty loves to observe people and her table of eight each night for dinner id the perfect opportunity to get to know her fellow passengers; their strengths and foibles.

One cruise. Twelve days. Eight strangers. (well almost strangers, there is a husband and wife with the wife’s father in the group).

Stringer skilfully develops her characters. There are characteristics you will see in yourself and the people around you which draws the reader in, quickly becoming invested in the characters’ lives, eager to learn more.

Stringer uses the backdrop of a luxury cruise liner to explore issues of broken relationships, love, loss, grief, family relationships, self image and second chances.

I’ve never been on a cruise and Stringer’s luscious descriptions of the opulence of the ship, the activities available, the night life and the beautiful islands they visited brought it all to life on the page. If you have cruised before I am sure it will bring back memories in vivid detail.

I loved that the characters were older (aged between 40 and 69) and how they formed friendships and relationships in a different way than younger people. Table for Eight confirms that age is no barrier to love and the need to have companionship and feel wanted.

The story is told in multiple POV so we get a well rounded view of what the characters think and feel. This also helps to explore the different ways that people see the same situation.

The main character, Ketty, is a people watcher and she loved giving people a nudge toward love, healing or a change of direction. Some may see Ketty as a meddler or a busy body but she always had good intentions.

Each character has their own reasons for being on the cruise and heartbreak, secrets and jealousies are slowly divulged throughout the story.

Stringer’s move from her highly successful Rural Fiction stories to the Contemporary Fiction market has been an outstanding success.

Content: themes of loss and grief

                 no sex

                 minimal coarse language (hardly worth a mention)

My rating    5/5            🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace book club. You can read the original review here 

Table for Eight is book #33 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

 

photo courtesy of Harper Collins Aus

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling author of novels across three genres: women's fiction, historical saga and rural romance. Her first book, Queen of the Road, won Romantic Book of the Year in Australia and she has been shortlisted for more awards. Tricia has spent many years in education as a teacher, a librarian and in middle management; with her husband she took on the first licensed Post Office in South Australia where they included a bookshop, and she now works as a full-time writer. Tricia travels Australia and sometimes overseas researching and drawing inspiration for her novels which always feature an authentic Australian voice. Home is a place near the beach in rural South Australia.

 

Book Club Book Review: On the Same Page by Penelope Janu

On the Same Page

by

Penelope Janu

 

Publisher: Brio Books (XO Romance)

Publication date: 1st October 2018

Pages: 352

Format Read: Paperback

Source: Publisher via Beauty and Lace Book Club

Sometimes a girl just has to do what’s in her heart …

By day Miles Franklin, named after the famous author, is a successful lawyer. But by night she writes historical romance novels under the pen name Emma Browning. When Miles’s assistant covertly enters her boss's novel in one of Australia’s biggest literary awards—and it wins—Miles’s perfectly ordered world is torn apart.

Lars Kristensen smells a rat. As the CEO of Iconic International, the company publishing Miles’s prize-winning novel, he’s determined to meet the author and uncover her true identity. But Miles is equally determined to protect her privacy—and to keep writing. Even if it means mastering pole dancing, and choreographing a love scene in the back of a horse-drawn carriage … Well, she is a romance writer, after all.

Miles has the grit to keep her secret, but Lars has the smouldering looks and arrogance of any romantic hero she has ever imagined.

Hmm. Sometimes a girl just has to turn the page …

Janu brings up the issue of literary snobbery in On the Same Page. Does it exist? I'm sure it does but I've never come across it.

Miles Franklin is the daughter of two acclaimed authors. She was sent to a psychiatrist in her early teens as she was reading and writing historical romance stories. Her parents thought there was certainly something wrong with her. She was wasting her literary talent.

Miles is a lawyer by day and a successful Historical Romance author by night. Hiding her secret behind the pseudonym, Emma Browning. However when her latest novel wins a literary award there is much disapproval in literary circles, including that of her parents.

I loved Miles! A relatable character; she was uncoordinated, out of shape, anxious and had a chronic blushing problem. She put a lot of herself into her characters and also a lot of the things she wanted to be.

Janu ties the classics cleverly through the narrative with references to many of the greatest literary romances of all time. I loved the snippets of Miles' Historical Romance stories which gave the reader stories within a story.

There is a minor but powerful subplot of teenagers in crisis and how a little attention and caring can make a huge difference in their lives.

The story is filled with humour usually at Miles expense. Written in the first person we learn a lot about Miles' hopes and fears. I would have liked to learn a little more about Lars.

On the Same Page is a wonderful story that will make you laugh and also sigh

My Rating 4.5/5                🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace Book Club. You can read the original review here

  On the Same Page is book #32 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

  

photo courtesy of Goodreads

Penelope Janu writes contemporary fiction about clever and adventurous women who don’t mean to fall in love, but do. Penelope’s novels, whether coastal or rural, celebrate Australian communities.

Penelope is a lawyer with an interest in social justice issues and the environment. She, like her characters, is up for anything, even though she has a terrible sense of direction. She has six children, big dogs, a distracting husband and never enough time to write.

Penelope hopes readers will fall as passionately in love with her heroines and heroes as she invariably does. She has travelled to many places in the world but has lived most of her life in Sydney, Australia. When not reading or writing Penelope can be found walking the coastline, or in the bush (though she's not much of a walking companion as she plots as she walks). 

Bookish Naughty or Nice Tag : Blogmas 2018

 I'm not usually a big fan of book tags, mainly because I can never find the time to answer questions, search for books and post but I  recently saw this tag on Alliee Reads and thought it was a cute way to get to know a little more about each other.

So let's get started...

 

Rules

• Tag & link the person who tagged you

• Tag and link me/this post
  

• Tick/cross off the ones you’ve done
• Tag another 10 people!

If you’ve not been tagged, go ahead and do it anyway!

Here’s the list for you to copy and do yourself!

1.Received an ARC and not reviewed it  

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

I have so many ARC waiting patiently on my shelf I feel guilty every time I walk past them.

 
2.Have less than 60% feedback rating on Netgalley

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

My feedback is surprisingly at 80%. I went crazy for a while on Netgalley and requested loads of titles but I'm committed to getting through them all in 2019.

 

3.Rated a book on goodreads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did)

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

Always post promised reviews within a week or two of reading and rating.

 

4.Folded down the page of a book

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

Nooooo!!! Never!!!!

5.Accidentally spilled on a book

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

Maybe the occasional tea or coffee splatter but not an actual spill unless it's my tears spilling over my favourite character having their heart broken or, god forbid, dying.

6.DNF a book this year

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

 I can't bring myself to DNF a book even if it's terrible. I'm always hopeful if I read on it will improve.

7.Bought a book purely because it was pretty with no intention of reading it

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿ 

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love pretty covers and can't resist them.

8.Read whilst you were meant to be doing something else

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿  

100% of the time whilst I am reading I should be doing something else.

9.Skim read a book

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

I can't skim read. Firstly I wouldn't want to miss something crucial and secondly the author took a long time to write the book, so read whole book! 

10.Completely missed your Goodreads goal

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿ 

I have a little trick with my Goodreads goal and it's to keep the goal low and then you never miss attaining your goal. And it's not cheating! Is it?

11.Borrowed a book from the Library and not returned it

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿  

I'm not much of a Library user as I like to keep the books and not have a deadline to read them (thus my answer to Question 1) 

12.Broke a book buying ban

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿   

Haha! What's a book buying ban?

13.Started a review, left it for ages then forgot what the book was about

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿    

Only occasionally. I try to write reviews when they are fresh in my mind but sometimes that next read is beckoning and the review gets pushed aside.

14.Wrote in a book you were reading

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿   

I never write in the books but I do use sticky notes if a sentence stands out that I want to remember later.

15.Finished a book and not added it to your Goodreads

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿   

Goodreads is the only way I keep track of what I have read so all books are added as soon as I finish them

16.Borrowed a book and not returned it to a friend

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿    

If I borrow a book I will tell them that they may not get it back for a while but I will always return it....eventually.

17.Dodged someone asking if they can borrow a book

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿

My books will only be lent out to close friends and family. That is unless I'm happy to never have it returned.

18.Broke the spine of someone else’s book

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿     

Never! I always take great care when borrowing someone else's book 

19.Took the jacket off a book to protect it and ended up making it more damaged

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿ 

Taken the jacket off a book and then can't remember the safe place I put it so it wouldn't get damaged.

20.Sat on a book accidentally

 ✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿      

Haha! No, I have books everywhere but I'm pretty sure I've never sat on one.

8/20 𝒩𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎  

12/20 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒

I'm happy to see I'm a little more Nice than Naughty when it comes to my bookish ways. 

If you would like to join in consider yourself tagged.

The Questions

1.) RECEIVED AN ARC AND NOT REVIEWED IT
2.) HAVE LESS THAN 60% FEEDBACK RATING ON NETGALLEY
3.) RATED A BOOK ON GOODREADS AND PROMISED A FULL REVIEW REVIEW WA STO COME ON YOUR BLOG AND NEVER DID
4.) FOLDED DOWN THE PAGE OF A BOOK
5.) ACCIDENTALLY SPILLED ON A BOOK
6.) DNF’D A BOOK THIS YEAR
7.) BOUGHT A BOOK PURELY BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY WITH NO INTENTION OF READING IT
8.) READ WHILST YOU WERE MEANT TO BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE (LIKE HOMEWORK)
9.) SKIM READ A BOOK
10.) COMPLETELY MISSED YOUR GOODREADS GOAL
11.) BORROWED A BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY AND NOT RETURNED IT
12.) BROKE A BOOK BUYING BAN
13.) STARTED A REVIEW, LEFT IT FOR AGES, THEN FORGOT WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT
14.) WROTE IN A BOOK YOU WERE READING
15.) FINISHED A BOOK AND NOT ADDED IT TO YOUR GOODREADS
16.) BORROWED A BOOK AND NOT RETURNED IT TO A FRIEND
17.) DODGED SOMEONE ASKING IF THEY CAN BORROW A BOOK
18.) BROKE THE SPINE OF SOMEONE ELSE’S BOOK
19.) TOOK THE JACKET OFF A BOOK AND ENDED UP MAKING IT MORE DAMAGED
20.) SAT ON A BOOK ACCIDENTALLY 

* This post is part of Jo Linsdell's Link it up Thursday

Storybook Corner Book Review: Animalphabet (Children's Picture Book)

Animalphabet

by Julia Donaldson

illustrated by Sharon King-Chai 

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Two Hoots

Publication date: 30th October 2018

Pages: 32

RRP: $24.99

Format Read: Hardcover

Source: courtesy of the publisher

A splendidly die-cut alphabet of animals from Number 1 bestselling author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, and visionary illustrator Sharon King-Chai.
Each cleverly cut flap draws you further into a beautifully vibrant world of huge elephants, slithery snakes and growling tigers. Sharon King-Chai's bold colours and shapes make Animalphabet a rich delight for children of all ages while Julia Donaldson's rhythmic text is a pleasure to read aloud. The cleverly written, simple text invites children to compare one animal to another, and clever hints and peep-through holes within the artwork make this a hugely entertaining guessing game as well as a gorgeous book to treasure.
The perfect gift for boys and girls alike who will love embarking on a journey of discovery through the natural world, from one animal to another.

From the best selling author of The Gruffalo and The Guffalo's child.

This beautiful hardcover picture book tempts you right from the first look. The cover has a gorgeous illustration of two elephants in a forest, embellished with foil and cut-outs it’s a book that screams to be picked up.

Each page features an animal of the alphabet, bright splashes of colour, peep through cut-outs giving hints of what’s to come and flaps to lift and peek under. As each animal is introduced we are given a hint by way of a question as to what the next animal will be. B is a butterfly then the question is; Who has more legs than a butterfly?

Dot loved this book and her favourite part was guessing what animal came next. We have read this together many times and she is enjoying the accomplishment of getting more and more animals correct.

Ditto loves flaps and was more interested in seeing what is behind each flap than the related text but this is a book that will grow with the child and can be read and enjoyed over the years to come.

King-Chai’s illustrations are enchanting with great splashes of colour with the scenes perfectly matching the animals depicted with forest scenes, water scenes and desert scenes. A feast for the eyes!!

Animalphabet is a beautiful picture book that would make a treasured gift for any preschool child.

My Rating   5/5      🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

photo courtesy of Goodreads

Julia Donaldson is the outrageously talented prize-winning author of some of the world's best-loved children's books, including modern classics The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, which together have sold over 17 million copies worldwide, and the hugely successful What the Ladybird Heard adventures. Julia also writes fiction, including the Princess Mirror-Belle books illustrated by Lydia Monks, as well as poems, plays and songs - and her brilliant live shows are always in demand. Sharon King-Chai is an enormously talented designer and illustrator. Having grown up in Australia, she moved to London in 2003 and since then has brought her style and eye for beautiful design to album covers, book covers, stationery and her books Lucy Ladybird, Snail Mail and Animalphabet.


                                                      About the Illustrator 


Sharon King-Chai is an enormously talented designer and illustrator. 
Having grown up in Australia, she moved to London in 2003 and since then has brought her style and eye for beautiful design to album artwork, book covers, stationery and her own books Lucy Ladybird, Snail Mail and Animalphabet, a collaboration with Julia Donaldson. Sharon has a passion for innovation, and her artwork and clever use of paper cutting encourage the reader to think differently about the pages they hold in their hands.