tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29632925473549900762024-03-17T08:20:24.997+00:00Serendipity ReviewsA UK book blog which features the latest book reviews, author events as well as interviews with authors. serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.comBlogger2689125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-38112653700976128172021-09-16T15:52:00.000+01:002021-09-16T15:52:18.495+01:00The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab<div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUb9ppTUUPZZIT02YPUqcSvi97kKZrN4X_85neazvWogyH_YDVIuupJNuyNocSQrtiuuV-R4Q1Kj-B9RT-OsIEyMmPaMVFI0iD82QKQgg1K_J8BQmc6BlkVZ2wU2Qlbn0tmGmpHZ1oMIpI/s2048/9401a90e4b584b7d8126c34556e6cc3c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUb9ppTUUPZZIT02YPUqcSvi97kKZrN4X_85neazvWogyH_YDVIuupJNuyNocSQrtiuuV-R4Q1Kj-B9RT-OsIEyMmPaMVFI0iD82QKQgg1K_J8BQmc6BlkVZ2wU2Qlbn0tmGmpHZ1oMIpI/w480-h640/9401a90e4b584b7d8126c34556e6cc3c.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">hank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">OK, I read this last year but never got around to reviewing it and as I'm trying to be really good and decrease my Netgally percentage, I thought it was a good time to put it up. I have no idea why I didn't review it at the time, because it was one of my favourite books last year. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love any book that deals with immortality and this provides such a twist to the topic. Set in France in 1714, Addie is so desperate not to marry the man her parents have chosen for her that she makes a Faustian pact with a twist - immortality but added with a curse to be forgotten by everyone she meets. You may thinks that's OK, she gets to lives forever, but eternity can be pretty lonely if no one ever remembers you or grows to love you. Addie has to work hard to find a way into people's memories, usually through the arts. Maybe a song about her, or a painting. But then one day she meets somone who doesn't forget her. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This book is breathtakingly beautiful from the start and is by far my favourite V.E. Schwab book ever. The whole set up of this story is unique and intoxicating at the same time. I loved Addie and her struggle to be remembered. She never gave up even though her decision in the first place may have been seen as rash and stupid, but she was young. She didn't realise how tough it would be. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It reminded me a little of How To Save a Life by Matt Haig but with a much better plot and well paced tension. I couldn't put this book down. I was addicted to it from start to finish and I felt so sad to say goodbye to Addie. The ending is really clever. I'm just so sorry it has taken so long to review it. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you like your magic with a twist, you will love this. </span></div></span>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-68380708233705420762021-02-06T08:00:00.001+00:002021-02-06T08:00:01.982+00:00When The World Was Ours - Liz Kessler Blog Tour<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today I'm absolutely thrilled to be on the be on the blog tour for Liz Kessler's latest novel, When The World Was Ours. Set during the Second World War, the novel follows the lives of three childhood friends, whose lives are closely intertwined, even though their lives take very different paths. Inspired by the true story of the author's father as he escaped Nazi occupied Europe. This book is already receiving outstanding reviews and will without doubt be on award lists by the end of the year.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have an exclusive excerpt from the book, just for you today from Elsa's point of view. </span></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOS6rIo3MDUaWwOdJTw3gVla0PqF9w64Z18IhKbyZICB4HRyq7so4WhwbDGA8gm7uQovdwt0fAuQrQ2ncnHxH-tsLv1fLQ8vMNvr3FFBwjtbNulMyOZvUgiMR3QpJsZc0UhO8ZBE_IcHh/s2048/9781471196805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1322" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOS6rIo3MDUaWwOdJTw3gVla0PqF9w64Z18IhKbyZICB4HRyq7so4WhwbDGA8gm7uQovdwt0fAuQrQ2ncnHxH-tsLv1fLQ8vMNvr3FFBwjtbNulMyOZvUgiMR3QpJsZc0UhO8ZBE_IcHh/w414-h640/9781471196805.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">ELSA</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>I rub my eyes and stare at my parents. I must have heard them wrong. I </span><span style="font-style: italic;">must </span><span>have. Half of me wants to ask them to repeat what they’ve just told us. The other half is terrified of hearing the words again.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘You can’t be serious,’ Otto says before I have decided which way to go. ‘You’re sending us away? This has to be some kind of a joke, right?’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Vati turns towards my brother. ‘Do we look like we are joking, Otto?’ he asks, his voice husky and dark.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘But – but things aren’t really so bad, are they?’ I ask.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘How bad do you want them to get, Elsa?’ Vati replies. ‘It’s not enough that neither you nor Otto is allowed to join the youth groups with all the other children? Not enough that I have no work, that you are not allowed to walk in the park, ride your bicycles, go swimming! Not enough that our friends are disappearing on a daily basis?’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Mutti puts her hand on his arm. ‘Darling, go gently on the children. They don’t need to think about all of this.’</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>‘But, Stella, that’s just it. They </span><span style="font-style: italic;">do </span><span>need to think about all this. We have to face what is happening.’</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>‘We </span><span style="font-style: italic;">are </span><span>facing it,’ Mutti replies calmly. ‘I am with you on this decision. But still, we don’t need to ram it down their throats.’</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Vati lets out a breath. ‘Very well,’ he says. ‘But the decision is made. We just have to sit tight and wait till we are given our date. But it will be soon.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘Soon? Like, weeks away?’ Otto asks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘Days, more likely,’ Vati confesses.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘Days?’ I croak.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>Mutti is crying openly now. ‘My babies. Believe me, if </span><span>we </span>thought we had any other options, we would take them.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>‘But why can’t you come with us?’ Otto asks. My big brother, the one who always tries so hard to be tough and strong and </span>capable, sounds as scared as me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span>‘They won’t let us,’ Vati replies. ‘We are not allowed out of </span>the country. But you children have a chance. And your mother and I will not sit here and let the chance go by without reaching out to grab it.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Mutti kneels in front of Otto and me. She takes our hands. ‘You are the most important things in our lives,’ she says. ‘There is nothing that I care about as much as you.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘Then why are you sending us away?’ I ask. My throat hurts and I can barely get the words out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘Because we want you to live,’ Vati says simply.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">‘We’re living now,’ I argue weakly. ‘Can’t we just carry on as we are?’ I think about the last time we went through this, leaving my two best friends. In Prague I have only one true friend. I can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to Greta.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDcnPdWrwJdmo2Anma-lx2UUuKVZHxM9D3DWhr4gUfdQ54sQ6Sr7avS-lWAz5n_KDgGYySvEuZ59-fLvbmYMknXkFdq9MZq5d6Jox0LUEgp8mEJBGHEnGYOr-FhYL1ygNbbg9tnfMbBZG/s1024/WTWWO-blog-tour-twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDcnPdWrwJdmo2Anma-lx2UUuKVZHxM9D3DWhr4gUfdQ54sQ6Sr7avS-lWAz5n_KDgGYySvEuZ59-fLvbmYMknXkFdq9MZq5d6Jox0LUEgp8mEJBGHEnGYOr-FhYL1ygNbbg9tnfMbBZG/w640-h320/WTWWO-blog-tour-twitter.png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">I honestly can't wait to read the whole book. If you want to catch up with all the other blog posts on the tour, please check out the list above. </span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">To find out more about Liz Kessler, you can find her on <a href="https://twitter.com/lizkesslerbooks">Twitter,</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lizkessler/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lizkesslerchildrensauthor">Facebook</a>. Liz also has an amazing website <a href="https://www.lizkessler.co.uk/">here.</a> </span></i></p></div></div></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-3149646472937404962020-09-16T16:08:00.003+01:002020-09-16T16:08:55.219+01:00The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBd1cfVtYLSyy-VTGaIxRUDSAUS3Fta0qLkIyIdjXFsccgzuRij1OmPY3cQMv69yDUruIi_ZP1xaZ7HfACCL5OR9J6EPSDO5q4j7df1UTa1X2E1H9haCC4haD7YYErtET9j1D7hyphenhyphenxOFhW/s346/46000520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBd1cfVtYLSyy-VTGaIxRUDSAUS3Fta0qLkIyIdjXFsccgzuRij1OmPY3cQMv69yDUruIi_ZP1xaZ7HfACCL5OR9J6EPSDO5q4j7df1UTa1X2E1H9haCC4haD7YYErtET9j1D7hyphenhyphenxOFhW/w260-h400/46000520.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Never ever underestimate the mature generation, because they have tricks up their sleeves, that you wouldn't believe. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Set in a luxurious retirement home, four septuagenarians head full steam into solving not just one murder but three, way ahead of the police. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I was a bit skeptical about reading a book by a celebrity as I have been caught out before by the quality of the plot, however this book was utterly brilliant. The best celebrity book I've ever read. It was extremely funny and sad at the same time as well as being an unputdownable thriller. There were red herrings all over the place. I didn't see the murderers for any of the victims. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The characters were a bit cliched but it suited their personalities and I felt the author got them spot on. Elizabeth, who leads this merry tribe of investigators, is a blended mixture of Miss Marple, Vera and Hetty Wainthropp and definitely one of my favourites. I quickly fell in love with Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim too. When I reach retirement age, I want to live in a place like this. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The chapters are short, sharp and page turning. I really enjoyed reading Joyce's diary. This has all the hall marks of a cosy mystery but it was so lovely to see the older generation taking control. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">If you ever watched and loved the BBC series, New Tricks, you will certainly enjoy this. I really hope this gets picked up by a production company and made into a TV series. I honestly can't wait for book 2!</span></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-68450145607375259682020-09-11T08:00:00.001+01:002020-09-11T08:00:01.159+01:00Scrublands by Chris Hammer<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBwm_GQlnrv9YFoLzf5fBYaIgzlE2fQSOwI1q-JKcDLXthtNGkXCKH66o2Q0A_FHp3SkbHI5Z0PVVEA2N9qjIVvIN9UhOCsL2fjLSLryJ-n7-9uXgnQTRpun8EL4h4iOxtw8X9p35gb1p/s475/40942058._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBwm_GQlnrv9YFoLzf5fBYaIgzlE2fQSOwI1q-JKcDLXthtNGkXCKH66o2Q0A_FHp3SkbHI5Z0PVVEA2N9qjIVvIN9UhOCsL2fjLSLryJ-n7-9uXgnQTRpun8EL4h4iOxtw8X9p35gb1p/w406-h625/40942058._SY475_.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>I was gifted this book by Tandem Collective as part of a read along. </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A year after the mass shooting in Riversend, journalist Martin Scarsden visits the town to find out how the residents are coping after their beloved priest shot down five innocent people, before being killed by his friend. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Set in Australia, this book makes you feel the unbearable heat. There's a drought and the town in dying. Throw in a rather nasty bush fire and you find yourself reaching for water. If that isn't enough, there is an oppressive tension in the town which makes you feel uncomfortable.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All the characters have secrets. No one seems to want to tell Martin the truth, so he has to work hard to find out what really happened. But Martin has his own issues. After a traumatic experience the year before that not only nearly cost him his career, but his life too, he's struggling to find himself again. He knows the events of the past have changed him and he can empathise with the residents after such a traumatic situation. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This book has some amazing descriptions and detailed analyses of the characters. By the end of the book, you feel like you know them and understand their motives and you can't help but forgive them for their sins. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I enjoyed the book but I read it at speed and I think this book needs to be read slowly to really get to grips with the intricate and intense emotions of the characters. It reminded me a lot of The Harry Quebert Affair.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There is a sequel now available called Silver which is out now. If you are a fan of crime novels then you will love this one. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-21988246532743102342020-09-07T08:00:00.001+01:002020-09-07T08:00:09.880+01:00Patsy by Nicole Dennis - Benn<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwm6gtOT6mjUUmg-6VKhWEz0QA-QV5owsfOx4wtBcRSvfc7Kw6dELz4oKrc0PjXdNgsEOF0tEHjADezfLU6BBqprnPpE7FyvQK4MG5izjihzwd_QNOLfKhpv5axb7nu3HySF29-GGbK6p/s475/43386366._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwm6gtOT6mjUUmg-6VKhWEz0QA-QV5owsfOx4wtBcRSvfc7Kw6dELz4oKrc0PjXdNgsEOF0tEHjADezfLU6BBqprnPpE7FyvQK4MG5izjihzwd_QNOLfKhpv5axb7nu3HySF29-GGbK6p/w405-h625/43386366._SY475_.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Patsy always dreamed of leaving the poor town of Pennyfield and joining her friend in America. So when she finally gets her visa to leave, she can't get on the plane soon enough. She doesn't even give her ageing mother and her five year old daughter a second thought. However, life in America doesn't match the dreams she had of it and she quickly discovers how hard life can be. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I read this as part of the Tandem Collective Voices initiative.The book is told from dual perspectives in third person, so we get to understand how Patsy and her daughter Tru felt throughout the book. At the start, I was excited to read it, but if I'm honest I found it a really slow read. It took me ages to finish it, because I didn't feel a connection to Patsy. I understood her reasons for leaving her daughter as the story progressed, but I still felt she was a little selfish. A child should never be held responsible for their parent's past. I really loved Tru, her daughter though. She managed to win the love and respect of her father, unlike her step brothers and she seemed more grown up than Patsy. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is quite a depressing read at times as you come to terms with how illegal workers are treated in America. Even though her life had been hard in Jamaica, I felt she soon realised that the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. There are long periods in the book where it felt that not a lot happened and then the story felt wrapped up too quickly for my liking at the end. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I also really struggled with the use of Patois. I didn't always understand what they characters were saying. I know this gave the story authenticity, but I felt it slowed the reading process down even further. On the whole it was an interesting read but I'm not sure I'd rush to read another book by this author. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-79886257957260469652020-09-06T14:08:00.002+01:002020-09-06T14:08:29.688+01:00My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPK26pj7gEsap9JX19tHnMtaGSsx5sa9Q65DOR5QKIElhfgkypK0Chh_swcBo8wEhMfoNS1QvBKMT3px3U9k_VbKiNKGv_B53-0oeoPzWzwgvb1HPhHYhijettQ6AlQNsoNoieEqIpbyiQ/s475/38819868._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPK26pj7gEsap9JX19tHnMtaGSsx5sa9Q65DOR5QKIElhfgkypK0Chh_swcBo8wEhMfoNS1QvBKMT3px3U9k_VbKiNKGv_B53-0oeoPzWzwgvb1HPhHYhijettQ6AlQNsoNoieEqIpbyiQ/w389-h625/38819868._SY475_.jpg" width="389" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If you knew a member of your family was a serial killer would you protect them? Is blood actually thicker than water? Can you even answer that question? I'm not sure I can. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Set in Nigeria, the book launches straight into the action, when Korede is disturbed at dinner in order to clean up after another murder by her sister. She takes it in her stride, until it looks like Ayoola might kill the man Korede has been in love with for a long time. Only then does she really start to doubt her sister, who always seems to make excuses for why she had to kill someone. Her excuses appear plausible, but as the situation keeps repeating, it becomes difficult for Korede to justify her sister's actions.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The family set up is strange and we only find out later in the book what has occurred in the past, that may have made Ayoola believe that murder is acceptable. I liked both characters, which feels a weird thing to say when one is a serial killer, but the author has made her likable. Ayoola made murder seem as routine and mundane as brushing your teeth on a daily basis. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The chapters are short, sharp, funny and you can easily read this book in a day. The ending left me with unanswered questions, which I suppose is how Korede felt as she never really got to the bottom of why her sister felt the need to murder any man who payed her attention. I didn't feel the characters went through any changes within the book, which is something you come to expect in fiction. It felt more as though we were being given a glimpse into their lives. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On the whole, I enjoyed it and I look forward to reading more by this author. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-51158373462057899602020-08-23T15:50:00.001+01:002020-08-23T15:50:48.198+01:00Those Who Are Loved by Victoria Hislop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZqRczoiiLwv7Dm6zbusQOFYCuy68ffAmtrH7yhCwG7Q4KOD2W2taVUIeIsthS8xgo_DD9rbL5DY7yumqX5uQpARTCQbzQ_daqydkgSXkr3D-bYU-HR87rkrrt4LrCL41lwg1aKQLPw9E/s346/43884141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="225" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZqRczoiiLwv7Dm6zbusQOFYCuy68ffAmtrH7yhCwG7Q4KOD2W2taVUIeIsthS8xgo_DD9rbL5DY7yumqX5uQpARTCQbzQ_daqydkgSXkr3D-bYU-HR87rkrrt4LrCL41lwg1aKQLPw9E/w351-h541/43884141.jpg" width="351" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of a group of amazing bookstagrammers to read this book as part of a read along. This book was sent to me to review by Headline via Tandem Collective. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">In 1941, Nazi forces occupied Greece, causing a huge divide between the community and bringing it to complete destruction. Themis is fifteen years old when it happens and has already spent years stuck between her brother's strong opposing views on the situation. This book follows the family's life throughout the occupation and then through the civil war that followed and haunted Themis for years. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This book is rich with detail of the events of the German occupation and the civil war. If I'm honest, it was a subject I knew very little about. I learned so much from reading it and enjoyed it, but occasionally felt it dominated the story and was difficult to process it as the changes within government were so volatile. If I felt like that reading it, how on earth did the Greek population feel like living through it? Each day brought changes to their lives. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Themis was an amazing character. </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The book spans decades of her life and I found it fascinating to see how her thoughts and feelings developed.</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> The way she fought for her country and her children, yet hid so much of the real her from them while they were growing up. It made me think about how much history the people we know have hidden underneath the surface. How much do they actually share with us about the events of the past. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I thought it was really clever how the author centred the events around a family divided by political beliefs because at times you forgot which side you were supposed to be on. Both sides of the civil war carried out barbaric acts, desperate to increase their amount of followers. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">For the read along, I read this book at quite a fast pace. I think to enjoy it fully, you need to take your time with it and at some point I would love to go back and read it at a slower pace, to fully immerse myself in the political events that occurred. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I am a huge fan of The Island and I love the way Victoria Hislop brings little known history back to life. If you are a fan of WWII fiction, this book is for you as it will allow you to read about one of the lesser known events caused by the German invasion. </span></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-33943996233257319802020-08-12T15:59:00.003+01:002020-08-12T15:59:39.727+01:00The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3O7Y4t9VGBLUSDGPgXpSL9fU_yPtQTRKx0JvaWspvOdMLqHUUhO-4O7GX-MH9IGxdbj30qT8NnsIa10ds3MD6nLzLHJXRh6VJeE_bcT6k2dpPhtGGq5A-XPGEAoauB6wnaZBzVw7VTQ0/s475/52738210._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="303" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3O7Y4t9VGBLUSDGPgXpSL9fU_yPtQTRKx0JvaWspvOdMLqHUUhO-4O7GX-MH9IGxdbj30qT8NnsIa10ds3MD6nLzLHJXRh6VJeE_bcT6k2dpPhtGGq5A-XPGEAoauB6wnaZBzVw7VTQ0/w379-h594/52738210._SY475_.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>This audio book was gifted to me via Tandem Collective by Bonnier Books for the Phone Box read along. </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">After losing her mum and daughter in the tsunami of 2011, Yui wonders how she will continue to live without them. Only after listening to a guest on her radio show, does she hear about the disused telephone box at the end of a garden, where mourners trek for miles to speak to their lost loved ones. Yoi decides to visit the telephone box for herself and this is where she meets Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose young daughter hasn't spoked since her passing. Their chance meeting opens up a new path for both of them to follow.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">This book is both tragic and beautiful at the same time. All the characters burrow into your heart and you want to hug them and be there for them in their time of grief. The story shows the depth that grief can take. Also, how you can grieve the living as well as the dead. It also shows how loneliness can escalate grief. Talking to someone in a similar situation can help ease the pain. Grief has no time limit. It isn't something you can just get over or put to the back of your mind. The characters in the book, don't get over their grief, they learn to live with it. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I loved the idea of using the phone box to talk to their lost loved ones. It gave the book a magical feel, as though the phone box was a gateway between the living and the dead. When someone dies, you wonder if you ever told them how much you loved them enough. You want to share the tiny details of your life that they have missed and the phone box really helps the visitors in their grieving process. What I found fascinating about this was that the phone box actually exists and if you look it up on the internet, you will read some wonderful articles on it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The Phone Box at the Edge of the World only confirmed my new found love of Japanese translations. If you loved Before The Coffee Gets Cold, you will love this one too. Both books have a gentleness to their styles. The audio version of this book was utterly mesmerising. The voice has such a calmness to it, you leave the book feeling extremely calm and relaxed. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">As many of you may know, August is Women in Translation month, so this is a perfect book to start with. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-23278232055810705402020-08-11T12:34:00.000+01:002020-08-11T12:34:04.301+01:00Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigiHfsREsZ6gvqxhhy1Lea-AFcnxC1Zg0XgbKrr-UgLSF968en3lytFMXz_7sjPWDQ7AIGg1aoXqAm-HllthTAX6k10TXOMvrr2Ink7RGppCpZOBaAsnJnFrtwSOG82e_IMSD_4XfuaLZ/s398/49438663.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="260" height="623" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigiHfsREsZ6gvqxhhy1Lea-AFcnxC1Zg0XgbKrr-UgLSF968en3lytFMXz_7sjPWDQ7AIGg1aoXqAm-HllthTAX6k10TXOMvrr2Ink7RGppCpZOBaAsnJnFrtwSOG82e_IMSD_4XfuaLZ/w406-h623/49438663.jpg.png" width="406" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>This book was gifted to me by Harper Collins Children's Books for an honest review. </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This book follows the story of Nick and Charlie set two years after the Heartstopper graphic novels 1 to 3. If you haven't read them, I urge you too as they are brilliant, but you honestly don't need to before reading this book. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">There are a couple of things I didn't know about this book. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><ol><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">It was originally released as an e-book in 2015.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">It was written as a companion novella for the book Solitaire, which is about Tori, Charlie's sister. </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">After reading this and the first novel of the Heartstopper books, ( I would have read the other two, but the waiting list at the school library is HUGE!) I now want to read Solitaire. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Nick and Charlie are the cutest couple, they are the perfect soulmates and they have the type of relationship everyone dreams off, but they are about to hit a difficult period. Nick, being a year older than Charlie is about to go off to university and Charlie is having issues with it. Being old and wise, I've seen this situation so many times and it is definitely a test for any couple. Can Nick and Charlie hold on to their strong relationship? You will have to read it to find out. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This book is important, because apart from the books by Simon James Green, I don't really come across a lot of true love relationship books for boys. Charlie is a sweet and tender boy, who has struggled with his mental health, causing eating issues. Nick, is outgoing and heavily into his sports. You wouldn't necessarily put them together, but they work beautifully. You want their relationship to work. This book is an LGBTQ+ book, but that isn't the emphasis of it. This book is about real love and working through the obstacles that face every couple. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I only received this book yesterday and I read it in a couple of hours. I couldn't put it down as I needed to know what would happen. Nick and Charlie are like the high school golden couple and if they can't make it work, then no one can. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">If you love a good Young Adult romance, this is the one for you. I know as soon as I put this book on the school library system, it will be months before it ends up back on the shelves. All the students will want to read it. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-61131714428599108872020-08-07T09:00:00.005+01:002020-08-07T09:00:00.635+01:00Female Characters in Medieval Castle Culture by Barbara Henderson<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">As part of the blog tour for <b>The Siege of Caerlaverock,</b> I am </span></i></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">pleased to welcome author,</span></i></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Barbara Henderson who has written a piece about why she </span></i></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">chose to write about a female </span></i></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">characters in her latest Middle Grade book. </span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5quZt8DNFpA8vWTMB-ChTn9z0FiCgXBY7DRIeCs79IWwEV1si878tATGcWH0vqFkzP5T6fYWOBJzHlQq1aTUNV9v6TFQc7E4Ah60YR5ivd1J5EQwTJjDc5eWULobG3PS3q5Cs8V6eF-1/s2048/Barbara+Henderson.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5quZt8DNFpA8vWTMB-ChTn9z0FiCgXBY7DRIeCs79IWwEV1si878tATGcWH0vqFkzP5T6fYWOBJzHlQq1aTUNV9v6TFQc7E4Ah60YR5ivd1J5EQwTJjDc5eWULobG3PS3q5Cs8V6eF-1/s640/Barbara+Henderson.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">When I approached writing my medieval Middle Grade adventure,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><b>The Siege of Caerlaverock</b></i>, I came across a few things which surprised me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xgmail-msolistparagraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">1.<span style="border: 1pt none; padding: 0cm;"><span color="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span>There were not many children’s books set in the Middle Ages<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xgmail-msolistparagraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">2.<span style="border: 1pt none; padding: 0cm;"><span color="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span>There are very few medieval books set in Scotland, the so-called Land of Castles<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xgmail-msolistparagraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">3.<span style="border: 1pt none; padding: 0cm;"><span color="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span>Worst of all, female characters are all but invisible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xgmail-msolistparagraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">So it was settled. Not only was I going to attempt a medieval manuscript set in Scotland, I was going to give my story a female heroine. The detective work began. It seems that castles really were male domains - unless they were royal palaces. However, some females did live in castles. Noble ladies, their ladies in waiting… but none of that was good enough for me! I wanted a lower-class female (servants have MUCH more access to information!) and I needed her to be around twelve or thirteen years of age for the Middle Grade sweet spot. 8-12 year olds like to read about heroes and heroines just a little older than themselves.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicnKq_UJ4snbc8w6PazxWK2bKu0f5fVDin3pwFBvpMQ-_0zdIAHQEnazGGPIIiM_jc903d-MXjN9PFtKULDEdydsvTYkts8XKi-ZmTDHxftkzKCUaeOhfNRX0ixmIgQk4nOKhiP0e1_n2/s960/Caerlaverock+photo+Barbara+Henderson.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicnKq_UJ4snbc8w6PazxWK2bKu0f5fVDin3pwFBvpMQ-_0zdIAHQEnazGGPIIiM_jc903d-MXjN9PFtKULDEdydsvTYkts8XKi-ZmTDHxftkzKCUaeOhfNRX0ixmIgQk4nOKhiP0e1_n2/s640/Caerlaverock+photo+Barbara+Henderson.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Time to call in the expert: I met with a university lecturer whose specialism was females in medieval royal castles. I contacted her department and simply asked, and to my astonishment, she agreed to meet for lunch. That lunch was one of the best investments I ever made. Not only did she give me a lot of relevant information, but she also knew exactly who would know the answers if she did not. Over the coming days, a constant trickle of Twitter messages appeared, full of random details and likelihoods about medieval life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">As a result, the manuscript needed some revisions. For example, I had foolishly assumed that the castle cook was going to be a woman. How wrong I was! No, cooking was much too important a job to be entrusted to a woman – you needed a man for that job. As a result, the castle cook ‘Mum’ in my original draft became ‘Dad’ - and ‘Dad’ seemed nowhere near old-fashioned enough. ‘Dad’ became ‘Fa’.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I was making progress – it turned out that there<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">were</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>female washerwomen, called ‘laundresses’, and also brewing seemed to be a girl’s job. As it’s a kids’ book, I plumbed for the laundress as a main character – after all, I didn’t want to introduce a generation of young readers to the secrets of home-brewing and be held responsible for the consequences!<span style="color: #201f1e;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EdPcT2jQ3e01lGoCFRPou9L5M3x1cAf6NqHaqhhedqbkKzrIQPLe8ZUAzXWxjyyW3ED8cUjxb1rHHT_Z9f-TfOiEqsdHwarFALhdLLsEPjHZNDgcaNemgaOO-llR6Ua6Sgw7xzhPmV87/s2048/WP_20180413_14_16_39_Pro.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Photo: Barbara's daughter examining the missiles which collided with Castle Caerlaverock during the real life siege battle." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1150" height="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EdPcT2jQ3e01lGoCFRPou9L5M3x1cAf6NqHaqhhedqbkKzrIQPLe8ZUAzXWxjyyW3ED8cUjxb1rHHT_Z9f-TfOiEqsdHwarFALhdLLsEPjHZNDgcaNemgaOO-llR6Ua6Sgw7xzhPmV87/w561-h1000/WP_20180413_14_16_39_Pro.jpg" width="561" /></a></div><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">Photo: Barbara's daughter examining the missiles which collided with Castle Caerlaverock during the real life siege battle.</div></span><p></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The heraldic poem on which I based my book mentioned the ‘Lady of the castle’ specifically, but not the Lord. In the light of this, it seemed fair to assume that the current Lord Maxwell was from home and his lady had been left behind. I was so excited when I realised that the decision-maker in this siege crisis was probably a woman! And the best bit was that I didn’t have to force the agenda at all – the source material told me so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Of course, there is still plenty of male action in the book. The most significant side character is a young boy called Godfrey, only eight years old and already sent away from home to train as a page, then a squire and finally to become a knight. He becomes an invaluable ally to Ada, my laundress.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">There are others. Ada makes frequent reference to St Hunna, the patron saint of laundresses, and Ada’s absent mother has also shaped her life and outlook significantly. The most important thing for me is that Ada needed to have agency - the power to make a difference in the real-life event I am describing. In July 1300, the King of England and his 3000 soldiers besieged a border castle with only 60 to defend it. Rocks crashed into the castle walls, flaming arrows flew - and my 12 year-old influences events far beyond her station.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I hope that in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">The Siege of Caerlaverock</i></b>, I’ve created a medieval story which contains everything we love about the period – the sumptuous clothes, the conduct determined by chivalry and bravery, armour and weapons and horses and battles. But I also hope that any girl drawn to these types of stories (as I was) will find something to recognise in the narrative.</span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Girls are now, thankfully, brilliantly visible in contemporary fiction in the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 32px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Time for historical fiction to catch up, don’t you think?</span><span face="" style="color: #201f1e; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgbS2F4IsJxaK21BmgNCF4wh9WwlLaSb7e1xgGHl7aoJEdojwZ4-xZwAY00nqS5ybgISTuTPy1n9iXG03NM-AaAgthsY4psDg8dTgvfS7BQjP20VImUuh7h2WaZQH1nuC3mjNdskMU7pt/s2048/The+Siege+of+Caerlaverock+Paperback+FOIL+FINAL+JUNE+20203+%25282%2529.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1334" height="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgbS2F4IsJxaK21BmgNCF4wh9WwlLaSb7e1xgGHl7aoJEdojwZ4-xZwAY00nqS5ybgISTuTPy1n9iXG03NM-AaAgthsY4psDg8dTgvfS7BQjP20VImUuh7h2WaZQH1nuC3mjNdskMU7pt/w651-h1000/The+Siege+of+Caerlaverock+Paperback+FOIL+FINAL+JUNE+20203+%25282%2529.jpg" width="651" /></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>The Siege of Caerlaverock</b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b> </b>is a medieval adventure for 8-13 year olds and set during the real life siege of Caerlaverock Castle in July 1300.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwlIS5ELaC8">Book Trailer</a></span></i></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>To find out more about Barbara Henderson:</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.barbarahenderson.co.uk"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>Website</i></span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/scattyscribbler"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>Twitter</i></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/barbarahendersonwriter/"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>Facebook</i></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZ1SFBoclHRDknGLJdI9ljNANZxEISK_qBsBcU20PnQdp-gc1AOwSNYi38DpHTVzehgTFss-VRbQswipMkBU3ll8o3-0AQs1RuEFk4RerzPGo3FjcdOvF8GOtkeqRKSLmGJHdB6OlXt-w/s1141/Screenshot+2020-08-07+at+06.05.47.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="1141" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZ1SFBoclHRDknGLJdI9ljNANZxEISK_qBsBcU20PnQdp-gc1AOwSNYi38DpHTVzehgTFss-VRbQswipMkBU3ll8o3-0AQs1RuEFk4RerzPGo3FjcdOvF8GOtkeqRKSLmGJHdB6OlXt-w/w640-h193/Screenshot+2020-08-07+at+06.05.47.png" width="640" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>If you would like to catch up with the other blogs on the tour, here are the other stops.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIupaJv2-9hQDx51qubtqCOuAuH73L6vkBqVT48ApPn18iKlmhFfYcCwuNMpePq3e97QGehdyvP0d7avHQx_lPSOi1Sdqkiaj5gB94t-VTv2AyswjsVo06PVAD9Fw3njhiIt4H5PsviLGy/s1240/Siege+of+Caerlaverock+BLOG+TOUR+POSTER.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIupaJv2-9hQDx51qubtqCOuAuH73L6vkBqVT48ApPn18iKlmhFfYcCwuNMpePq3e97QGehdyvP0d7avHQx_lPSOi1Sdqkiaj5gB94t-VTv2AyswjsVo06PVAD9Fw3njhiIt4H5PsviLGy/s640/Siege+of+Caerlaverock+BLOG+TOUR+POSTER.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZ1SFBoclHRDknGLJdI9ljNANZxEISK_qBsBcU20PnQdp-gc1AOwSNYi38DpHTVzehgTFss-VRbQswipMkBU3ll8o3-0AQs1RuEFk4RerzPGo3FjcdOvF8GOtkeqRKSLmGJHdB6OlXt-w/s1141/Screenshot+2020-08-07+at+06.05.47.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-68130898640112456042020-08-06T08:00:00.009+01:002020-08-06T08:00:05.459+01:00Chelsea High by Jenny Oliver<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5Dk815nbfkx83U43bRL3QU1X7WdGi3WsOTAbqFosHlL859TweUF78ys5cMhJam5r5MFm0-lButlUKLVr2Yi0gR7rvt_gQmqlAxUL2KBpnTa7K5Zt02db1gaIADYErDUY8FANfC6ejy54/s475/51899697._SX318_SY475_-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5Dk815nbfkx83U43bRL3QU1X7WdGi3WsOTAbqFosHlL859TweUF78ys5cMhJam5r5MFm0-lButlUKLVr2Yi0gR7rvt_gQmqlAxUL2KBpnTa7K5Zt02db1gaIADYErDUY8FANfC6ejy54/w388-h594/51899697._SX318_SY475_-2.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book was gifted to me by Electric Monkey for an honest review. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><i>Norah led an idyllic life on the river in a quaint little village. Everyone knows everyone and they all help each other out. Her parents seem to have a God like status among the neighbours. But when her father is arrested for fraud, the village turn against Norah and her family and she finds herself in a private school in London, paid for by the very rich grandparents that she didn't know she had. Surrounded by extortionately rich students and Instagram sensations, Norah struggles to fit in, until the school put on a theatre production. Norah decides to audition, especially as there is a chance she will star opposite the rather good looking Ezra. </i></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I have to be honest, I thought I wasn't going to like this book. The beginning comes across quite cheesy. The school felt like it was straight out of Made in Chelsea and nearly put me off. But as I kept reading, I completely got sucked into the the world of Chelsea High. I really enjoyed it and found it easy to read. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">There was a lot more to the characters than money. They all had their own problems and Norah soon realised that the other students were no better than her. I loved the contrast between Norah's old life and new. The way she tried to fit in with the rich kids before learning that it wasn't worth it in the end. Norah also reaches a stage where she realises her parents are far from perfect. Taking off her rose tinted glasses, she finally sees what everyone else sees for the very first time. Her dad has made a huge mistake, which she constantly defended him for, until she understood that he was actually guilty. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">The school put on a production of Grease and I was totally hooked. I loved how some of the students warmed to Norah and accepted her despite being different to them. And the growing friendship between Ezra and Norah was really sweet. I also loved how Norah wins over her stuffy grandparents, especially her grandfather. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book felt like a combination of High School Musical and Mean Girls. Fun, dramatic and cheesy at the same time. If you are looking for an easy read. This one is for you. I read it in two days and loved it. I look forward to reading the sequel. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitf4d97hWJCwXxBt9J0ExsZbt5m_W6Am_Al59ln5Z7L92gJFDZx-vYbJwt3YWvYGfLolFLwoy9ey9HjVrN-VZ6w1HC3Bt176obYBn92UK9K_7d0gI85Lk02ivyEelYGrn014Nq9GHTwCQc/s1920/Chelsea+High_Blog+tour_Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitf4d97hWJCwXxBt9J0ExsZbt5m_W6Am_Al59ln5Z7L92gJFDZx-vYbJwt3YWvYGfLolFLwoy9ey9HjVrN-VZ6w1HC3Bt176obYBn92UK9K_7d0gI85Lk02ivyEelYGrn014Nq9GHTwCQc/s640/Chelsea+High_Blog+tour_Twitter.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-91890286945168338652020-08-01T08:00:00.001+01:002020-08-01T08:00:00.707+01:00The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually by Helen Cullen<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnJqsgoXy5a5ou6T-7LUFKo_VGNs57MBYzFQQtTgeUUDnf_BB2wbzGJqhlp4wzrE4N5YzjSUR55bXBMYplq_9HWDY5nAVKYrqlS95GGFh0obyetNVAyCo_tSJuorIA-nX09HvqEYYhFQf/s647/Screenshot+2020-07-31+at+15.47.54.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="401" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnJqsgoXy5a5ou6T-7LUFKo_VGNs57MBYzFQQtTgeUUDnf_BB2wbzGJqhlp4wzrE4N5YzjSUR55bXBMYplq_9HWDY5nAVKYrqlS95GGFh0obyetNVAyCo_tSJuorIA-nX09HvqEYYhFQf/s640/Screenshot+2020-07-31+at+15.47.54.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">This book was gifted via Netgalley from Penguin Random House UK for an honest review. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">As the Moone family prepare to celebrate Christmas a tragedy strikes, leaving them with a terrible loss that they need to learn to live with. As they come to terms with the heart ripping event, the reader is transported back to 1978, to the day when Murtagh Moone meets his future wife Maeve. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">This book is one of those stories that stay with you long after you have finished. You leave it behind, feeling emotionally spent. </font><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The author writes so beautifully, you find yourself completely invested in the characters, hoping for a beautiful outcome.</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">But life, isn't like that, and Cullen shows the reality of mental health and how it can destroy a family built with love, trust and happiness. When tragedy strikes within the book, it's highly emotional and you know right from the beginning where the story will end. But then light appears as the family finally learn to live with the change they never realised was coming. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">One of the aspects, I really enjoyed was that it is a historical novel, it dealt with an era I rarely find in books. Cullen brings the 70's and 80's back to life with vim and vigour. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">The setting for the book is magical. The tiny Irish island the family move to, is like a land from the past. No cars, one pub, very few shops and a tiny village where everyone knows your business. A stunning setting to live in, but not one to make life easy for someone suffering with severe mental health problems. The ending completely surprised me and I was annoyed with myself for not seeing the subtle signs placed throughout the plot. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times" size="5">Helen Cullen is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. Her writing is so descriptive and almost poetic in nature. She builds a world for you to immerse yourself in. She gently leads you through a complex and harrowing situation that takes place over a thirty year period. Helen Cullen has shown she isn't a one hit wonder. Her writing has developed, showing that she can write about anything and hold your complete attention. I loved her first book, The Letter of William Wolf, but I absolutely adored this one.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-55286022177411146122020-07-30T13:17:00.001+01:002020-07-30T13:25:47.674+01:00Rick by Alex Gino <span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBMFzxA5pdRAXrQ89KEDD3zAt0QsyDY4B7J1v5-mOkPa9tJ32oOsb3fyGuhQymakt5tscOZlh9ZxNgpz-S0Z459kgNPz4x5R20VFxa8lTaizNAuahzgUcW_L_8MYcUTDf5ARXpkVSISHE/s475/44660928.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBMFzxA5pdRAXrQ89KEDD3zAt0QsyDY4B7J1v5-mOkPa9tJ32oOsb3fyGuhQymakt5tscOZlh9ZxNgpz-S0Z459kgNPz4x5R20VFxa8lTaizNAuahzgUcW_L_8MYcUTDf5ARXpkVSISHE/w419-h625/44660928.jpg" width="419" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b>This book was gifted to me by Scholastic UK for an honest review</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>Ever since Rick met his best friend, Jeff, he has tagged along with all his antics. But now, they are in middle school, Rick realises how much of a bully Jeff really is. Rick's dad and all of Rick's friends also only ever talk about girls, but Rick hasn't figured out yet how he feels about them. It's only when he joins the Rainbow Spectrum Club, does he start to figure out who he really is. </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><font size="5">I adored this book! I loved it so much, I read it in a day. Rick is a great character, who doesn't feel the same way about girls as his friends do. In fact, he doesn't really feel that way about anyone, so the Rainbow Spectrum club, allows him to be himself and realise there are more than just two possiblitlies when it comes to defining yourself. We all know the Jeff's of the world and it was excellent to see him being dealt with appropriately. </font></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This is the first book I've read that really explains the term, asexual. It talks about it in such an easy understandable way, that I know from working at a school, that kids will love it and many will identify with it. This book allows them to explore their thoughts on sexuality in a safe place. Too often students, feel they have to be one thing or another, when actually there are more possibilities and there shouldn't be embarrassment or guilt about being any of them. It takes the politics and the drama out of gender & sexuality. I'd love to see all schools having a Rainbow Spectrum club. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-84918641281329101362020-07-28T12:09:00.000+01:002020-07-28T12:09:35.264+01:00The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjL1OPRywQ4IIfgsfRjHOD96g-oyVf6_IhBpbaBJ16uJIgn36e17K1xTRLQaeXuihPkQnFMr08aKNaJElKWFSVJfrFPNxpHR_OgPlrXqNISjbG3Bk_bKnsVIcUNNAp3erjSuHU120HRsA/s2048/ac38565dcf864e7fb7b2a0f66dfd197b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2017" data-original-width="2048" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjL1OPRywQ4IIfgsfRjHOD96g-oyVf6_IhBpbaBJ16uJIgn36e17K1xTRLQaeXuihPkQnFMr08aKNaJElKWFSVJfrFPNxpHR_OgPlrXqNISjbG3Bk_bKnsVIcUNNAp3erjSuHU120HRsA/w500-h493/ac38565dcf864e7fb7b2a0f66dfd197b.jpeg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><i>Rowan takes a job as a nanny that is too good to be true. This job turns out to be a nightmare, where a child ends up dead. Everyone thinks Rowan killed her and while she awaits trial for murder, she recalls the events that took place. She might be guilty of some things, but she's not guilty of murder. So who is? </i></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This is my first crime thriller by Ruth Ware. I've read quite a few of her Young Adult books under the name of Ruth Warburton, but as I never usually read crime, I'd not ventured into this adult genre. However during lockdown, I found a new love for this type of fiction. I read this as a buddy read with Rebekah on Instagram.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">The book is framed with a letter to a solicitor, while Rowan is awaiting trial. So we are witness to only her side of the story as she mulls over what happened leading up to the murder. I thought this was a really clever way of writing it, as you are only seeing Rowan's point of view, and it soon becomes clear that she is</font><span style="font-size: x-large;"> an unreliable narrator. I knew there was something not quite right about her, but I didn't work out what it was until the end. The house is dripping with an eerie evil atmosphere, that would make anyone uncomfortable staying there. I suspected every character of wrongful play all the way through the book. A lot of the characters came across as weird and unapproachable, making Rowan's job harder than it needed to be. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the book and I was impressed that Rowan managed to stay there longer than one evening. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I did feel as though the ending was missing a couple of key scenes, which I would really have loved to have seen happen, and I'm still in two minds about what way the ending went, as you are left to mull over what happened. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On the whole, I really enjoyed this though. </span><font size="5">A great crime thriller to get your teeth into and solve the murder. </font></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-2528236349960004722020-07-27T16:18:00.000+01:002020-07-27T16:18:03.692+01:00The Hidden Beach by Karen Swan <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5u2fsTQnsc9Ix-UrVB4wRf1J1OEzDY1axCMOwsqpyfH2r6O1FVYJ6KadUkydFfUC4CN6NBgykRPBdrC3Ni2oHjgjTz2agKGoYlatQB4fzTF2YG4sV0PZyfxIHIYQ_odieBPHzr-haG9l/s2048/IMG_1324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1913" data-original-width="2048" height="585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5u2fsTQnsc9Ix-UrVB4wRf1J1OEzDY1axCMOwsqpyfH2r6O1FVYJ6KadUkydFfUC4CN6NBgykRPBdrC3Ni2oHjgjTz2agKGoYlatQB4fzTF2YG4sV0PZyfxIHIYQ_odieBPHzr-haG9l/w625-h585/IMG_1324.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><font size="5">This book was gifted to me from Pan Macmillan via Tandem Collective for the Hidden Beach read along. </font></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><font size="5"><br /></font></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><font size="5">Bell works as a nanny to the most perfect family, with the most adorable children you could find in picturesque city of Stockholm. One morning as she is leaving for the school run, an urgent phone call comes through that shatters the ideal family life for ever. As they relocate for the summer to the small islands of the archipelago, Bell becomes entangled in the lives of the family, bringing up old wounds and creating new ones. </font></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><font size="5"><br /></font></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I've seen Karen Swan books on the shelves for quite a few years, but the covers have always put me off. I now realise as the old saying goes - never judge a book by it's cover. The cover of The Hidden Beach is really deceiving because it screams chick lit, but this book is so much more than that. There are thrills, suspense, tears and explosive page turning turmoils. I don't think I can put into words how thrilling this book actually is. I was only supposed to read a certain amount each day for the read along, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The mystery that evolved by the end was a complete shock to me. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">Some of the characters were adorable, others you hated on sight, purely for their selfish attitudes, but you instantly become Team Bell, hoping that everything turns out lovely in the end. Even though I disliked some of them from the beginning, I grew to understand their motives and rash decisions as the book progressed, because the author created real people with heartbreaking decisions. Hanna and Emil are so wrapped up in their past, they don't see how they are creating huge cracks in their future, as well as that of the children involved. Even though Bell has never had children or worked as a nanny before she was the most sensible person all the way through. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">When this book finished, I was bereft. I had the worst book hangover I've had in years and it took nearly a week before I could read anything else. I wanted to read it all over again and feel envy for anyone who is about to start reading it. The group that I read it with, all loved it so much, we are now in the midst of arranging another read along of a different Karen Swan book. I've already started buying up her back catalogue because with this one book, she has made me a huge fan. Some are comparing her to Nora Roberts, but I've read very little by that author so I can't really comment on that. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">All I can say is give this book a read, because you will be pleasantly surprised and won't surface from it until the end. The perfect summer read!</font></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-3090142766989868082020-07-22T13:38:00.000+01:002020-07-22T13:38:15.448+01:00The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Daughter of Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVkMUoorWsG0B1WUVcnIYl3xzraFHSJs_LzAWZN7F-9lY3bzH6vZep00PCV3ApbtUHCGo3iDibp6IrUI2CYH53OK5Wonp9KOnpAeHXGIL2Zm94riLgTE5poMsxvEjkITQOitkGSbQP2UA/s2048/44442961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVkMUoorWsG0B1WUVcnIYl3xzraFHSJs_LzAWZN7F-9lY3bzH6vZep00PCV3ApbtUHCGo3iDibp6IrUI2CYH53OK5Wonp9KOnpAeHXGIL2Zm94riLgTE5poMsxvEjkITQOitkGSbQP2UA/w416-h625/44442961.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book was gifted to me by Scholastic UK for an honest review. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><i>Three days before New Year, and Sabrina has had to make big changes in her life. Leaving behind her friends at Baxter High, including her ex, Harvey, she starts at the Academy of Unseen Arts along with other witches and warlocks. Now all she needs is a little bit of luck. Unfortunately, she seems to have drawn the attention of a bad luck demon...</i></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">If you're looking for the squeaky clean Melissa Hart version of Sabrina, you are definitely looking in the wrong place. This version of Sabrina and her family is so much darker and deliciously so. This is the second book in the series and I didn't feel I needed to have read the first in order to understand this one, but I really want to read it now. Inspired by the Netflix original series, it has a Riverdale/Charmed feel to it. I love the books are separate stories from the actual series, so that you aren't reading what you have already seen. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">Turning her back her on her friends, to concentrate on her studies, Sabrina desperately tries to make new friends, even though she feels lonely and alienated from her old ones. Nick Scratch, is an excellent additional character, as he struggles to tone down his bad warlock reputation and learn the art of mortal love in order to woo Sabrina, who is still pining for adorable witch hunter, Harvey. Nick sets his sights on Harvey, to help him win Sabrina's affection which is a brilliant yet twisted plot line. However, Harvey and Nick pull off this snarky yet affectionate bro-mance, which was a highlight of the whole story. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book is told from multiple view points, allowing you to get an excellent view of how all the characters are feeling. Set over one week, we see Sabrina and her new acquaintances attempt to save the town yet again from a demon determined to turn the mortals and witches against each other. The book has a lot of horror in it, mixed with humour and affection. It covers LGBT+ issues really well too. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I think Sarah Rees Brennan is the perfect author for these books, as she is brilliant at writing darkness mixed with satire. I would've like the ending to be a bit more explosive as it felt the demon situation was dealt with extremely quickly. However, it didn't stop me really enjoying this book. I can't wait to read Book 3. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-58936340901328837272020-07-21T15:38:00.002+01:002020-07-21T15:39:32.696+01:00The Heatwave by Katerina Diamond<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiQ5uNyM3fMpoZi5ZcR0xPoJyDPus-MDUgZyCPioeA34v_uKJVhJ8sUddyNVj7QfT9SB2jpad9raf1jGitc9h0bFy8VFMRf9Rvwq7j0KU9B_50V26YKZNf5h_hBL1p3wXfnujswfj1HIy/s400/49082711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiQ5uNyM3fMpoZi5ZcR0xPoJyDPus-MDUgZyCPioeA34v_uKJVhJ8sUddyNVj7QfT9SB2jpad9raf1jGitc9h0bFy8VFMRf9Rvwq7j0KU9B_50V26YKZNf5h_hBL1p3wXfnujswfj1HIy/w404-h625/49082711.jpg" width="404" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book was gifted to me via Netgalley by Avon Books. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><i>It was a bad summer. Everyone remembers it. First the stranger arrived in town and then the first girl disappeared. At sixteen, Felicity fled to start a new life, knowing more than she ever told. But now sixteen years later, another girl has disappeared from the same town and Felicity must go back to face the past and find the killer. </i></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">The writing is told in a dual perspective. Firstly, you have Felicity in the present day in first person and then you have her friend Jasmine, sixteen years previously in the past. That did confuse me a little to begin with, but once I got into the story, I stopped noticing it and by the end you realise why it was written in such a way. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">The story is slightly gruesome in parts and you feel the shock and horror that both Jasmine and Felicity went through, both now and in the past. It's such an addictive page turner, as you desperately hope for a good outcome. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I really like Jasmine as a character, but I did find Felicity a bit annoying. She comes across so self absorbed and I couldn't work out why she felt the need to solve the latest mystery, but by the end, I realised how necessary that is to the plot and I'd probably have a drinking problem too, if I'd witnessed all that she had seen. Also, I was amazed that the locals were so willing to tell Felicity everything they knew about the case, especially as she appeared as a stranger to the town. The teenagers she spoke to, gave up information so freely, which seemed a little unrealistic as they are more likely to be rude and aggressive than willing to talk. Tim, Jasmine's lodger, gave me the creeps from the start, he was so mysterious and dark. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I am really getting into these dark psychological thrillers. They are so gripping, I find it difficult to put them down. And this one wasn't any different. All the way through the book, I was following red herrings, convinced I knew who the killer was and each time I completely got it wrong. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font size="5">This is the author's first standalone novel, as I understand, she normally writes about DS Imogen Grey. I don't really enjoy detective series, so I'm not sure I would read them, but I will look out for more standalone novels by Diamond.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On the whole, I did really enjoy the book and the ending was so unexpected, I felt the story really paid off. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-87829063104681092392020-07-15T15:37:00.000+01:002020-07-15T15:37:10.723+01:00The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJkArSU0zcSl5LsAgtEt6XfhhIaBDAwtXZ-gwWZ5dWKak7AHz8_hX8vOhhXULHCzfXwluTecINkhNLadDLlxDD1jkcDZKzb3PqTFxd4BO7_PaREV9fqbM7BiF7469KE55Mm5HD5Jh_ndQ/s475/42285012._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJkArSU0zcSl5LsAgtEt6XfhhIaBDAwtXZ-gwWZ5dWKak7AHz8_hX8vOhhXULHCzfXwluTecINkhNLadDLlxDD1jkcDZKzb3PqTFxd4BO7_PaREV9fqbM7BiF7469KE55Mm5HD5Jh_ndQ/w406-h625/42285012._SY475_.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book was gifted to me via Netgalley from Zaffre Books.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">Told in a dual time line, this book tells the story of Nuri and his wife, Afra and their treacherous and traumatic journey from war torn Syria to England, as well as showing them finally living in the UK. Nuri had a wonderful life in Syria, he was a beekeeper with his cousin, Mustafa. They sold their honey products all over the world, but when the war started their lives were completely destroyed. Mustafa and his family flee first to England, but something rather sad and poignant is holding Nuri and Afra back. Finally, he can take no more and leaves his life behind. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I adored this book!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">It is so beautifully written and you instantly warm to Nuri. He is a simple man with a love for simple pleasures, but the journey to England changes him dramatically. For period of time, he believes he will never reach his destination. The only thing that keeps him going, are the regular emails from his cousin, raising his spirits and telling him all the wonderful things England has offered him. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I loved the way the book used a single word in chapters to transport us between his journey and the difficulties he faced. It was so cleverly created. All the references to bees, were beautiful and I learned so much about them from this book. I love coming away from fiction with new facts. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">This book makes you appreciate how difficult life is for the refugees and I think sometimes we forget why they leave their country the first place. No one would leave unless they really had to, and this book demonstrates this so well. It isn't just their homes they leave behind, but also their families and all the fond memories they had. I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying that must be. Then to be treated like they were criminals when they do arrive and put through so much more, just to find a place to call home. My heart ached for Nuri, Afra and all the other refugees from other countries as they tried to escape. There were many who won't so lucky as Nuri. Many children found themselves without their parents, leading them to a life you wouldn't wish on your enemies. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5">I recently read The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf, and I would say that The Beekeeper of Aleppo is the adult version of that book. You will need tissues by the end of this book, but it does make you realise that the toughest situations makes us stronger and there is always a silver lining at the end. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-22155717192820043592020-07-13T15:26:00.000+01:002020-07-13T15:26:02.007+01:00His & Hers by Alice Feeney<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvX6EzK3XXteQjf1715eOz7RDIJdAkmfdJUqI3Ca0iPCN2EnBO53Sdburpb-aL8R9zOs5448KyskPz4Guo5Y8Hb5gWXUBlkS1NOws3LyjX8wjZA1plUGSpVXtFI2DTD68x8ZHUvYUN3GHD/s475/46230645._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvX6EzK3XXteQjf1715eOz7RDIJdAkmfdJUqI3Ca0iPCN2EnBO53Sdburpb-aL8R9zOs5448KyskPz4Guo5Y8Hb5gWXUBlkS1NOws3LyjX8wjZA1plUGSpVXtFI2DTD68x8ZHUvYUN3GHD/w406-h625/46230645._SY475_.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">This book was pure dynamite!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I can't remember the last time I was unable to put a book down because I was so engrossed in the story. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">When a murder occurs in Blackdown village, Alice is sent to cover it for the daily news. She's just been pushed aside as the main presenter of the news and she is not happy. Having to cover this story pushes her over the edge, because it means that she has to come face to face with her ex-husband. As more murders appear they both become the main suspects.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"> </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">Told from multiple viewpoints, you are convinced that everyone is a suspect, even though the writing wants you to presume it is either Jack or Alice, the two main characters. This book is so well crafted, you still have no idea who the murder is until the last page and you constantly find yourself changing your mind. Everyone's lives seem to be entangled in a messy web of deceit and darkness. Everyone in Blackdown village has secrets, they would rather hide, but the pages never lie and all that is hidden is revealed gradually over the course of the novel. The truth about the murderer is there in black and white, you just don't realise until the end. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I honestly can't tell you anything about it without giving secrets away. I did not see the ending coming at all. </font><span style="font-size: xx-large;">I think this is the best psychological thriller I've ever read. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">Alice Feeney is a new to me author, but I can assure you this won't be the last book of hers that I read. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">If you love psychological thrillers then this book needs to be at the top of your TBR list. It is phenomenal!</font></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-92072687172925110252020-07-09T13:09:00.001+01:002020-07-09T13:09:54.911+01:00The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp69IdffWcnVPP7iSy37WTsUyd5HX2Wzdp5MduoaUzeh-BLu6xrS1qYOXVLRvpaAuHzTi6cGhSAOpPNN1auEMrZXWHSUjdotfGUTAeRcOT94GZa_3SH3wmwvi2z5qzm6zUrfKxDbCzGdoM/s2862/A8ED49BA-19CC-42C8-A212-E3169BE23781.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2862" data-original-width="2862" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp69IdffWcnVPP7iSy37WTsUyd5HX2Wzdp5MduoaUzeh-BLu6xrS1qYOXVLRvpaAuHzTi6cGhSAOpPNN1auEMrZXWHSUjdotfGUTAeRcOT94GZa_3SH3wmwvi2z5qzm6zUrfKxDbCzGdoM/w625-h625/A8ED49BA-19CC-42C8-A212-E3169BE23781.JPEG" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I'd been planning to read this book for awhile, as it was already creating a stir, however with the horrific events in America, I pushed it up the pile. I realise how important it is to read more books black authors and I really want to read as many as I can. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">The Vanishing Half is set in a small town called Mallard in America which doesn't appear on any map. It was set up by a man finally freed as a slave from his father and the idea behind it was that the people living in it were the ones that would never be accepted but refused to be treated the same as other Negroes, because their skin was light enough to pass for white. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">In the town, there are two identical twin sisters who decide to run away from home. As they grow up, their lives take very different routes. One marries a man much darker than herself, who she eventually leaves, returning home with a child with darker skin than anyone else in town. The other twin passes over as white. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I loved this book from the first page. The characters are so well written that you find yourself truly invested in their lives. Both the twins make choices that could be seen as selfish as time passes. Desiree chose to return home to a town where she knew her daughter would find it difficult to fit in, where as Stella chose to hide her heritage from her new family. It's fascinating to see how the decisions they make affect their children in years to come. Jude (Desiree's daughter) never had a lot and suffered so much at the hands of bullies. I felt this made her stronger and mored determined to be someone. Kennedy (Stella's daughter) had received everything she ever wanted and to me, it felt like she flitted from one acting job to another, never worrying too much as her parents always bailed her out. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">Out of all the character pieces, my favourite parts were Jude's especially with her growing relationship with Reese. It is simply beautiful. This book is also LGBT+ which I don't think is widely known and is a pleasant surprise. The issues raised are dealt with sensitively and with normality, rather than having to make it a statement piece. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I'd love to see these characters in a sequel. There were scenes from the future I would love to see. I loved this book so much, I downloaded The Mothers straight after finishing this one. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-55435697626821864922020-06-17T15:16:00.000+01:002020-06-17T15:18:26.477+01:00My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieisO-gbX4H5R-bZ0t_8g-mFBlu7pH0PZ4LTOruh3KIwHxdtz4I39KRyzqkPCDweHJQ9iU53-Y4Gkmy5qrDfdJQIdb3MM3m6XKS1L0kzH_I4e9Xtvtej7iz5LBW4M_788m_7bnN74M6Y0A/s4032/JPEG+image-E04550F7274B-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieisO-gbX4H5R-bZ0t_8g-mFBlu7pH0PZ4LTOruh3KIwHxdtz4I39KRyzqkPCDweHJQ9iU53-Y4Gkmy5qrDfdJQIdb3MM3m6XKS1L0kzH_I4e9Xtvtej7iz5LBW4M_788m_7bnN74M6Y0A/w469-h625/JPEG+image-E04550F7274B-1.jpeg" width="469" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><i><font size="5"></font></i></span></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><i><font size="5">"I just really need it to be a love story, you know? I really, really need it to be that.”</font></i></span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span><!--more--></span></span></font><p><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);">I was in two minds whether to read this book, knowing the story was based on a relationship between a teacher and a student. I can't read books about abuse in any shape or form, but the reviews kept appearing and everyone was telling me how good it was, so I decided to read it, knowing I could stop if it became too uncomfortable. </span></font><br /></p><p><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span> </span> </span></font><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">The book is written in first person and flits back and forth between the present and the past. Vanessa is in her second year of boarding school and she is feeling extremely lonely since falling out with her best friend, Jenny. She wants what Jenny has; her relationship with her boyfriend and Vanessa appears to find that with her mature English tutor, Strane. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5">Through out the book, it feels like there is a fine line as to whether Vanessa provoked her teacher, or whether he groomed her. The way he talks to her and fusses over her, I <span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);">could</span> understand how she was completely misled. She talks about how the relationship began and how even now, in her thirties, she still has contact with Strane. Yet, as a reader, you have to take into consideration that Vanessa was only fifteen and her mind wouldn't have developed enough for her to necessary understand what was happening to her. </font></span></p><p><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span> </span>As new allegations arise about him in the present, Vanessa starts to question how the relationship actually started and flowed. Her life had descended into a dull void, but it wasn't just Strane that made that happen. There were other events, which are revealed throughout the book, that added to Vanessa's life spiralling downwards.</span></font></p><p><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span> </span> </span>By the end of the book, I felt it was up to the reader to decide what you thought actually happened. Personally, I felt that he did groom her, as he was very clever at making her feel special and loved. Even though his methods from the very start were subtle, he managed to ma<span></span>nipulate her thoughts and feeling enough, to make her believe she had actually started it all. </span></font></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span> </span>My heart went out to Vanessa, even though she came across as quite a unlikable character at the beginning, but I soon realised that it was because of what she went through. I felt so angry with her mother, who appeared to have an inkling as to what had happened, but never acted upon it. I got the impression, that she hoped it would just disappear. </span></p><p><font size="5"><font color="#181818" face="Merriweather, Georgia, serif"><span style="background-color: white;"><span> </span>This book was extremely difficult to read at times, especially as a </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);">mother. I found myself uncomfortable with it on quite a few occasions. However, I think it's an important read and one that should be discussed. If that is how children are groomed, then they need to be made aware of how subtle this type of person can be. It comes across as brainwashing. </span></font><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I'm so impressed by the author's ability to deal with such a traumatic and sensitive subject. A truly outstanding debut that needs to be read. An ideal reading group choice.</span></font></p></div><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-68581456866757460802020-06-11T15:21:00.000+01:002020-06-17T15:16:56.190+01:00Wonderland by Juno Dawson <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx_sxwye0CAFiFOm6BnEhNsQ27hjet59TUIBKM5hUj4nXiOeUdjvsMqiT1oGtdJMPCYDtErJ8RVNRTacqYC1QHxM8zBIrr9JKYooFWWKwLfuKGB8fkBLKJfvEZcNBTLb3gg0vrgyrY7KE/s3653/IMG_0666+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3653" data-original-width="2854" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx_sxwye0CAFiFOm6BnEhNsQ27hjet59TUIBKM5hUj4nXiOeUdjvsMqiT1oGtdJMPCYDtErJ8RVNRTacqYC1QHxM8zBIrr9JKYooFWWKwLfuKGB8fkBLKJfvEZcNBTLb3gg0vrgyrY7KE/w501-h640/IMG_0666+3.JPG" width="501" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><i>"We're all mad here"</i></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">This book is utterly bonkers! But in a good way! If you thought the original Alice in Wonderland was strange, imagine it with the setting and cast from Made in Chelsea. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">Alice is desperate to find Bunny; after one night together, she's fallen in love and worried about Bunny's safety after she goes missing. Setting off on a psychedelic trip without knowing if she will ever return the same person, Alice finds herself searching for Bunny in Wonderland, a prestigious high society weekend hell raiser, where only old money allows you entry. With all the guests, dining on a concoction of alcohol and drugs, Alice finds more than she bargained for. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">Told in first person, we get to experience the bizarre Wonderland world through Alice's eyes. Alice is a complex character, recovering from attempted suicide and still struggling to come to terms with being comfortable in her own body and you find yourself constantly wanting to hug her and reassure her. Luckily, as the book progresses, Alice's search for Bunny, helps her to find herself. I felt it gave a true insight into the life of a trans girl. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">I loved the characters within the book and also how the author moulded and transformed aspects of the original Alice story to fit this one. Cat was utterly brilliant and definitely one of my favourites. Wonderland is the type of party you wished you'd been invited to.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6">The ending of the book was completely unexpected, transforming the story from a glamorous party into a thriller in one chapter. You definitely need to keep on your toes with this book! I get the impression from the ending of the book that a sequel may be on the cards. But who knows? This is the world of Wonderland after all!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="6"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-23519772248442377552020-06-05T14:51:00.000+01:002020-06-05T14:55:15.630+01:00Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I actually bought this book months ago, completely attracted by the cover. However, I only picked it up during lockdown because everyone seemed to be talking about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Set in a quiet town in North Carolina in 1969, everyone whispers about the 'Marsh Girl'. The rumours about her have been spreading for years, so when a body is found, Kia becomes the main suspect. But the locals really don't know the Mash Girl at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The blurb makes this book sound like a psychological thriller because it focuses heavily on the suspicious death of the town's favourite former high school hottie, Chase Andrews. But really the story is so much more than that. This book is about a child who learns to survive on her own. Kia is shy and sensitive and very much a loner, but she is also acutely intelligent. She learns to adapt to her awful circumstances to become a highly acclaimed biologist, due to the years she has spent studying the marshes. I loved Kia. She learned to live alone and trust no one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">To be honest, I struggled with it at first. It wasn't the writing, as the author created such a hauntingly atmospheric setting, that I felt I could wander through the marshes with my eyes shut. I think it's the latent teacher in me, who kept getting angry that a child had been deserted. I couldn't understand why her mother or her brothers and sisters never checked up on her and I found myself getting annoyed. My heart wept for Kia. The loneliness of her life seeps into your bones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">However, I persevered and boy, am I glad that I did. Once Kia started spending time with Tate, the story really took off for me and I couldn't put it down. Tate is a wonderful character, who goes out of his way to make sure Kia has what she needs as well as teaching her to read, the best gift he could ever give her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The book focuses on nature and how the female species adapt and survive. Throughout the book, Kia learns from the creatures of the marsh, how to literally save her life. She completely relies on nature to help her grow up and understand the world. Mother Nature never lets her down like the people who have come and gone in her life have. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Kia's story will stay with me for a long time. It's the type of book I would definitely read again. It reminded me of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. This book shows that no matter what life gives you to start with, you can always make it better. </span></div>
serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-39405529202814021502020-06-03T16:15:00.000+01:002020-06-03T16:15:25.333+01:00Friend Me by Sheila Averbuch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Before I review it, I have to say this book was sent to me and I do know Sheila rather well. However that doesn't influence my review. This is Sheila's debut novel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The main character, Roisin, has moved to Massachusetts with her family from Ireland. She is struggling to make friends and having to cope with the school bully, Zara. Zara excels in cyberbullying. Roisin feels so lonely until she starts talking to Haley online. She thinks Haley really understands her because she has confronted her own bully and beaten her. Roisin can't resist telling Haley all her problems. They make lots of jokes together about how they could finish off Zara, but when Zara has a nasty accident, Roisin begins to worry that she may be accused. She tries to meet Haley but she can't find her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I really wasn't expecting this book to turn out the way it did. The ending completely blew me away. Think Black Mirror meets Mean Girls and you will get a good idea how this book works. The bullying, Roisin suffers is quite brutal and none of her family seem to be there to help her. Mum works way too many hours and Dad is still working in Ireland. Her brother tries to help, but he laughs off most things. Haley seems like the perfect friend from the beginning, but straight away you get this uneasiness about having an unknown friend online. Roisin trusts her completely and as the reader, you do feel uncomfortable by her naivety. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">This first half of the book moves at a slower pace than the second half. By the end I was holding my breath. Great characters helping to create a gritty read. This book gives a nerve wracking glimpse of what the future could look like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">An ideal contemporary read for the middle grade audience, dealing with hard and relevant topics such as cyberbullying and the overuse of social media. There is a lesson to be learned from reading this book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Thanks again to Sheila for sending me this cracking read. </span></div>
<br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963292547354990076.post-79099598210903767512020-05-28T11:12:00.000+01:002020-05-28T11:12:42.681+01:00The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Imagine sharing a flat with someone you've never met? That would be really strange, but then imagine sharing a flat with someone you are never destined to meet? Weird huh? OK, let's take it one step further. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Imagine sharing a bed with them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Argh! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Well, that's exactly what happens in The Flat Share. Tiffy desperately needs someone to live, after her incredibly nasty and controlling boyfriend turfs her out of his flat, in favour of his new fiancee. Leon needs more money to help pay for the lawyer who is supposedly trying to get his brother out of jail. A win win situation for both of them. Tiffy has the flat all day and over the weekends, while Leon lives there at night. The old saying, 'NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET' comes to mind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">This book is adorable from start to finish. In fact, I read it in two days and really didn't want to leave the characters behind. It is definitely one of those books that makes you feel quite bereft when finished. This was the perfect read for lockdown. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The story is told in dual narrative and the two characters communicate through notes left all around the house. In a world where technology now dominates and the art of letter writing is a forgotten memory, this is the nearest you will get to an epistolary novel. I've always loved books where the characters communicate by writing to each other, I feel they are more honest with their feelings. For three quarters of the book, and over nearly a year, the two character never meet. Everyone one they know, seems to have met the other flat mate and through these meetings, Tiffy and Leon get a glimpse of what their flatmate is really like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">When they do meet, it's beautiful and explosive, even if they couldn't be more different to each other if they tried. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I can see why this book has been so popular. It's warm and funny, yet tender and sweet. The perfect idea of a rom-com. I would love to see this made into a film, as it would be just as big a hit as the book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">This was the author's debut novel and I really don't think it will be long before she is considered one of the best in the rom-com field. The author's writing style reminded me a lot of Catherine Alliot's, but a younger, more contemporary version. If you haven't read it yet, then I would definitely pick it up. I promise that you won't be disappointed. </span></div>
<span id="goog_1577904261"></span><span id="goog_1577904262"></span><br />serendipity_vivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156013023056026525noreply@blogger.com0