The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

Loved the story, loved the characters and loved the writing.  The hint of mystery adds to the enjoyment and keeps you coming back for more. It is a relaxing stroll through an absorbing narrative that leads to a satisfying conclusion and even throws in a little education about bees for good measure.  Not a gripping, fast paced novel but a page turner none the less.  Just discovered it was made into a movie starring Queen Latifa, must check it out.

 

The Light Between Oceans - M L Steadman

Amazon Blurb

Richard and Judy summer bookclub read 2013, Goodreads category winner, and longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013, stunning story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who face a life-changing moral dilemma.

 

A boat washes up on the shore of a remote lighthouse keeper's island. It holds a dead man - and a crying baby. The only two islanders, Tom and his wife Izzy, are about to make a devastating decision.

They break the rules and follow their hearts. What happens next will break yours

 

 

 

My Review

An enjoyable, moving read. The narrative sympathetically unfolds from an unusual perspective, that of a couple who find a baby and decide to keep her.  The story unfolds at a gentle, heart tugging pace and makes it impossible not to care about their plight. The decisions made and the on-going consequences make riveting reading.  The moral dilemma makes for a good ‘book club’ choice.  Look forward to the movie.

 

     

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Amazon Blurb

When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life.

'The odyssey of a simple man, original, subtle and touching'. - Claire Tomalin

'From the moment I met Harold Fry, I didn't want to leave him. Impossible to put down.' - Erica Wagner, The Times

 

It's been a while since my last review basically because I haven't finished a book since 'On Canaan's Side'. I have picked up a few but none kept me reading, mainily because I have been distracted by my latest hobby of papercrafting. This book was chosen by my book club to read and I didn't think I would like it......how wrong could I be.

 

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I have awarded this book a well deserved 5 stars.  I knew from the first chapter that at last I had found a book that was going to hold my attention.  It was, I thought, an unlikely (pardon the pun) narrative to grab me but it was so cleverly written with subtle references to the past that I was intrigued to find out more.  It wasn't long before I 'cared' for Harold, his journey and the other major characters.  I was moved to tears on quite a few occasions one of which was in an airport lounge - hopefully no-one noticed. 

 

A lovely moving account of one man's journey both literally and emotionally with a heart breaking twist I never saw coming.  What a pleasure to read and I look forward to reading more of Rachel Joyce's work.

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

The Mesmerist - Barbara Ewing

This is one of my bargain books, I wasn't sure what to expect as I had never read Barbara Ewing before but for 33p it was worth a try.  I found it a bit slow reading at first as I couldn't really get interested in Hester and Kitty's story. However when Cordelia's story began to unfold the narrative became not just more interesting but moved at a much faster pace.

As the story was eventually intriging I'm glad I stuck with it.
 

The Catalyst (Balancer Prelude) - Chris Adonn

Enjoyable prelude to the next installment of the balancer chronicles which I realy look forward to reading. I would like to see James continue to make an appearance. 

My only problem was with a character name ie 'beloved'.  When reading I mentally changed his name to Paul and this worked for me.

Full House - Maeve Binchy (Quick Read)

Waterstones Synopsis

Dee loves her children very much, but now they are all grown up, shouldn't they leave home? Rosie moved out when she got married, but it didn't work out, so now she is back with her parents. Helen is a teacher, and doesn't earn enough for a place of her own. Anthony writes songs, and is just waiting for the day when someone will pay him for them. Until then, all three are happy at home. It doesn't cost them anything, and surely their parents like having a full house? When a crisis occurs, Dee decides things have to change for the whole family ...whether they like it or not.

Just spent a beautiful day in and out of the garden enjoying the glorious sunshine reading Full House in between housework of course.

My Review

A nice little read for a single sitting whilst indulging yourself.  Maive Binchey does a pretty good job of describing modern family life with stay at home offspring.  No doubt every mother will identify with some if not all of protagonist Dee's mistakes and grievances.  I am certainly guilty of one or two misdemenours.  (I justify myself by putting it down to having only one child, I would never let three away with it......would I?).  

A light gentle read to while away a few hours although everything is resolved rather too quickly but with only 117 pages to play with it's necessary.

The Sicilian Amulet – Jo Manning

On a recent trip to Dublin I found a lovely wee bookshop in Malahide.  Naturally I had to buy a book and as usual being on the hunt for a bargain I was drawn to a hardcopy of The Sicilian Amulet with a price tag of €3.  It had an interesting title and the cover was appealing.  Well, the old adage applies …… never judge a book by its cover.

Amazon Synopsis

Jane Holland finds herself strangely drawn to Sicily and is introduced to a prince named Lorenzo, who gives her an amulet. His grandfather Maurizio made two and gave the other one to a beautiful peasant woman. Later, Jane discovers that her great-aunt had a scandalous affair with a married man. Are the spirits of Maurizio and Caterina working through Jane and Lorenzo to bring closure to that tragic love affair?

My Review

I laboured through the book as some part of the story did entice me (perhaps entice is too strong a word more accurately peaked my interest).  However the love story, which accounts for a large percentage of the novel I found just too ‘Mills and Boon’ for my liking.  I also found the writing, to be kind, less than sophisticated and the narative predictable. 

I would describe this novel as chick lit which may appeal to YA’s, (maybe I’m just in my grumpy old woman phase). 

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Viera Rigler

Goodreads Blurb

After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy?

Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. But not even her level of Austen mania has prepared Courtney for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condom-less seducers, and marriages of convenience.

This looking-glass Austen world is not without its charms, however. There are journeys to Bath and London, balls in the Assembly Rooms, and the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, who may not be a familiar species of philanderer after all. But when Courtney’s borrowed brain serves up memories that are not her own, the ultimate identity crisis ensues. Will she ever get her real life back, and does she even want to?( 

My Review

I confess I have never read a Jane Austen novel (yes honestly), I only picked this novel up because it was buy one get one free for 99p.  To my surprise I found it an enjoyable read and as a result it may have inspired me to dust one of Jane Austen's novels of my shelf and give it a try (one day).

The modern twist made what could have been the usual 'will they, won't they' scenario, which I can find tedious and frustrating, much more interesting. 

A light, enjoyable 'holiday' read.

No Time For Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

Goodreads Blurb

Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family–mother, father,brother–had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she’ll learn the devastating truth.

Sometimes it’s better not to know. . . .

My Review

A good page turner full of suspense, kept me guessing most of the way through.  Not so much a ‘who done it’ as a ‘who did what’.  Maybe I’m just in reading form at the moment but yet again I was gripped from the beginning, every time I put the book down I had to lift it soon after to find out what comes next. 

A well paced mystery/thriller with very visual storytelling and interesting characters.  It would certainly inspire me to read more of his novels.

I would have awarded 5 stars but the last quarter of the book was not as (I struggle for a word here) perhaps strong....  It was faster paced towards the end and certainly tied up all loose ends but.... maybe less innovative is what I am trying to say. But don't be put off it is still a good read.

1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

Goodreads Blurb

Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

My Review - Doubleplusgood

Having finally read this classic it was not what I had expected, however I don’t know what I really expected and yet in some ways it was not unexpected…… (a case of snippets being used and abused through the years by the media).  What did come as a pleasant surprise was the darn good storyline within the Big Brother, Room 101 etc scenario.

This is an amazing piece of writing given it was published in 1949, the similarities with things around today are quite fascinating/unsettling.  Orwell creates a bleak, very atmospheric world and the main protagonist, Winston Smith, was very believable - I was gripped by his plight from the first page.

Be warned it is very violent in parts. 

The Magic Cottage - James Herbert

Amazon Blurb

A cottage was found in the heart of the forest. It was charming, maybe a little run-down, but so peaceful--a magical haven for creativity and love. But the cottage had an alternative side--the bad magic. What happened there was horrendous beyond belief.

My Review

This started out as a nice ‘magical’ story of a couple moving into their dream cottage.  After you get comfortable strange occurrence’s begin, leading to a crescendo of magic, fear and evil.  I don’t recommend reading this in the middle of the night with low lighting…..scary.  I kept sneaking looks into the shadows……

A real page turner.  A few twists and turns, although I had suspected them it did not ruin my enjoyment.  This is the first James Herbert novel I have read (by recommendation) and was surprised and how readable it was (not full on horror as I would have expected from Herbert).  I would read more of his work in the future.