With All My Love – Patricia Scanlan

When I chose this book, the blurb sounded really interesting but unfortunately it took me quite a while for me to get into the book. The story revolves around Valerie who has relocated to Spain and her daughter Briony who is helping her. Scanlan takes us on a voyage of discovery and orders the story so that we are whisked away into the past and then transported back into the future. As previously said the beginning of the book was incredibly slow and I found myself getting annoyed with Valerie as her character is the typical insecure woman that is found in love stories.

Having said that as I continued to read the book I found myself getting more into the story and when the main event of the story occurs I found myself crying along with the characters as the situation continued. Once this had happened I couldn't put the book down although Valerie was still slightly annoying me.

As stated the book did improve towards the middle of the book but the ending was very rushed and I felt that Scanlan did not develop the budding relationships as well as she had earlier on in the book. It felt towards the end that she had given up with developing the story and that she no longer wanted to write the story anymore.

Overall, this book is a good read if you overlook the slightly annoying moments that occurs with Valerie and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a chic flick book.

 What are your thoughts?

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Next book review: "Dennis Nilsen - Conversations with Britain's most evil serial Killer - Russ Coffey"

Shatter - Michael Robotham

As you know I absolutely love Robotham’s writing style and therefore when I found this book I had to read it. It follows on from Lost in the series regarding Joseph O’Loughlin. However, unlike the other books he has written, I was not immediately hooked. It took a while for the story to get going but as soon as it did, I was hooked. Familiar faces show up including Detective Vincent Ruiz who has retired which adds credibility to the story.

The premise of the story is that Joseph has moved to Somerset with his family to get away from London and is drawn into a Suicide investigation which isn’t as it seems. I particularly liked how Robotham not only showed the story from Joe’s perspective but also the criminal who they are hunting. The story is intricately woven through the two very different viewpoints and Robotham develops the new characters immensely. You feel the horror that they feel and the sadness in one of the character’s lives.

However, as much as I enjoyed this book as much as the others, I felt the end was a tad predictable and slightly weak. I was hoping for a more solid ending and felt like the ending tailed off with the impression that he had run out of steam.

Having said that, the story was brilliant; leaving me desperate at some points for a clue to be found as to who was committing the crimes and not wanting to put the book down. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a crime thriller. 

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Next book review: "With All My Love - Patricia Scanlan"

Sisterland – Curtis Sittenfeld

The moment I started reading this book I was unsure whether this was the right one for me. I'm usually open to all types of books and all types of subjects. However, this book is primarily based around the notion of ESP or senses and psychic abilities which is something that I struggle to believe in. I thought that it would focus entirely around this topic but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't dominate the story as expected. In reality, the story focuses on Kate who is a typical stay at home mum who has a twin sister (Violet) who predicts an earthquake. Instead of focussing on Violet, Sittenfeld focuses on the effects of the prediction on Kate’s stable and comfortable world which allows those of us who find the topic of psychic powers to enjoy the book a little more.

Sittenfeld develops her characters very well although they are slightly predictable. I also found her writing style to be somewhat wordy and at times was bored with the numerous long sentences full of descriptions. The story was also predictable and the tension that should have been created was tenuous at best. Throughout reading, I often thought that the story could have been wrapped up much quicker than Sittenfeld allowed.

I was also disappointed with the ending as it literally just stopped without any feeling of closure. The drama of the final chapters was left with an anticlimactic ending which did not offer any assistance to the reader’s perceptions of what would happen. However, Siitenfeld did attack certain topics which often cause volatile opinion, so credit where credit is due.

Overall this book is an average story probably best read on holiday where you can dip in and out of it where required. Nevertheless, it will not stop me from trying another book written by Sittenfeld.  

What are your thoughts? 

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Next book review: "Shatter - Michael Robotham"

A Hundred Pieces of me – Lucy Dillon

This is a very enlightening book about a variety of subjects. As many reviews have said regarding this novel, it is a book that will stay with you forever and will change your output on life.

You follow the protagonist which is Gina Bellamy who is going through one of those big life changing situations. Dillon creates her character in such a way that you fall in love with her almost instantaneously. I felt as though Gina was living a life which could happen for me and for anyone; a life which is full of fun things but where the focus has been on material things and not the moments that make us who we are. The premise of the story is regarding clearing out Gina’s things and keeping 100 things which mean something to her or remind her of a defining moment in her life.

While exploring these random objects, Dillon takes us back in time through Gina’s life and therefore we learn more about Gina as you grow with her. You cringe with her, cry with her and laugh with her as cheesy as that sounds. In the end the story of the novel becomes slightly unimportant as I felt like I began to evaluate my own life and belongings which I believe was Dillon’s intention. 

Dillon’s writing style is superb and again, it kept me reading. I am not much of a girly story reader, preferring crime, fantasy and non-fiction books, but this is a book which I will recommend to anyone who needs to re-evaluate what is important. This book made me change my perspective and made me what to do all those things that we inevitably put off for the future when life gets in the way. If you need that in your life, this is definitely the book for you. I think I will be keeping this book for a while so I can re-read when I need to as it provided more perspective than any self help book I have ever read.  

What are your thoughts? 

Thank you for reading my review. 

Next book review: "Sisterland – Curtis Sittenfeld"

Lost – Michael Robotham

If you read my previous review on Michael Robotham’s book “The Suspect” then you know that I love the way he conveys his storyline, develops his characters and adds twists and turns to his plots that keep you hooked.

In his previous book we followed the main character of Doctor Joseph O’Loughlin a psychologist who gets involved in a murder case. This time we follow the inspector from the previous novel Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz who enlists the help of Joseph O’Loughlin to uncover the truth about an event which he cannot remember. We learn more about Vincent Ruiz than we did in the previous book and Robotham has given him a very interesting background and delves into World War Two.

The storyline is cleverly woven with many twists and turns which are not easy to spot. I found Robotham’s writing style to be even better than his previous book as his chapters were less disjointed than before and his knowledge of police work provided more depth to the story. The characters as ever were well developed although I would have liked to have learnt more about the character Joseph O’Loughlin and his family.

This is a series of books and I know I will want to read the rest of them if they are as good as Lost and Suspect. So watch this space! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book, a crime thriller or just a well written piece of work.

What are your thoughts? 

Thank you for reading my review. 

Next Book Review: "A Hundred Pieces of Me - Lucy Dillon"

Perfect – Rachel Joyce

The premise of this unusual book surrounds two young boys who believe that the Government are going to add two seconds to time and the subsequent consequences that follow. This takes the two boys on different paths which cleverly demonstrate that life is never set in stone and things can always go wrong and yet can simultaneously go right. Rachel Joyce is a clever writer in description and also in developing her characters. However, it took me a while to really engage with the story and believe in the characters as she wished me to. The story is split between the two boys and a man in the future called Jim. I chose this book initially as it had psychological links but I found this was centred completely on Jim which I felt Joyce had not developed as well as she developed the other characters.

Don’t get me wrong, the writing is beautiful and the story interesting, I just feel as though Joyce did not provide enough depth to the plot and the sequence was not all together coherent. I think it would have benefitted if Joyce had told the story in a logical format without the parallel storylines as I felt as though Jim’s Story added no value to the plot until the very end of the book.

However, there were moments where I was gasping and was shocked but these did not come until the end and the plot hinges on this ending which I have to say was a little weak. The epilogue seemed very “pink and fluffy” and there were many questions I had regarding some of the characters which unfortunately were left unanswered. I have to admit that there were parts which felt uncomfortable and almost as if Joyce was trying to hard which is understandable following the success of her first book “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”.

As far as a follow up book goes, Joyce has done a good job as she has produced a story which is interesting. It is just unfortunate that there are a few plot holes she has not been able to fill.

In conclusion, the book could have been developed more and the plot could have been organised in a different way. However, it was still a good book to read but maybe only the once. 

What are your thoughts? 

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Next book review: "Lost - Michael Robotham"

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton

When I saw this book in the book store, I was instantly hooked. The cover alone drew my attention but the blurb pulled me in even more. There are four main characters: Laurel, Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy who are all interlinked in some way. The story is set over three time frames: World War 2, 1960s and 2011. The premise of the story is a daughter looking into her families past which has many twists and turns. The mother, Dorothy, is dying in 2011 and Laurel is searching for answers regarding an event which happened in 1961 which she witnessed. 

Morton has developed the characters in such a way that you instantly love them and you want everything to work out for them and as cheesy as it sounds you literally go through the highs and the lows with every character. I found I was begging for Laurel to find the answers she so desperately needed. The way Morton has developed the storyline leads the reader to find out the answers before her so I found I was having moments of complete frustration as her search took her on a different journey to that which the reader was embarking on. 

Jumping between the different eras enhances the storyline, develops the characters and keeps you reading when you really should have gone to bed. I loved the fact that you were jumping between them, learning things about the past before Laurel did and remembering how hard it was for people during World War 2. It is obvious that Morton conducted a lot of research into the life in London at the time of the Blitz and it has enhanced the storyline even more as it brings a feeling of reality to the story.

In conclusion, the storyline is incredible and kept me hooked right the way through the entire book. Sometimes I pick up a book and find that there are moments where I have to force myself to keep reading but this was not the case here. I would recommend this book for everyone. Morton’s writing style will draw you in and leave you wanting more. I know I did.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading my review.

Next book review: "Perfect – Rachel Joyce"