Steph Warren - Bookshine posted: " First a quick explanation! Due to some severe health issues over the last few years, and a lingering chronic condition, my planned review schedule went right out of the window and I have been scrabbling ever since to get it bac"
Due to some severe health issues over the last few years, and a lingering chronic condition, my planned review schedule went right out of the window and I have been scrabbling ever since to get it back on track.
In an attempt to try to regain some lost ground, I have been scrunching some of my (overdue) NetGalley reviews together into one or two posts each week: shorter reviews, but still covering all of the points I intended to.
That's the plan anyway, so let's continue the year as we mean to go on, with a new selection from my back-shelves...!
Title: Kala Author: Colin Walsh Publisher:Atlantic Books
Blurb: 'Sometimes I think of who we were back then, when she was with us. We were such a force. What happened to her?'
In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland's west coast, three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They - Helen, Joe and Mush - were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group's white-hot centre. Soon after that summer's peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.
Against the backdrop of a town suffocating on its own secrets, in a story that builds from a smoulder to a stunning climax, Kala brilliantly examines the sometimes brutal costs of belonging, as well as the battle in the human heart between vengeance and forgiveness, despair and redemption.
This summer, lose yourself.
Find Kala.
Review: 'Lose yourself' is definitely the right tagline for this incredibly immersive Irish literary coming-of-age / mystery novel.
The plot follows two timelines representing the teenagerhood and adulthood respectively of the small group of main characters - Kala, Aiofe, Helen, Joe, Mush and Aidan (although we only see the alternating viewpoints of the adult Helen, Joe and Mush). Set in a small community, where all the characters and their families are closely interlinked, Colin Walsh cleverly plays with time and perspective throughout the narrative, to bind the friends closer in ways that even they aren't aware of and increase the effects of mystery and the surreal nostalgia of childhood memories on the reader.
Slow-moving and slow-building though the story is, it didn't take long at all to hook me in completely until I forgot I was reading a book at all. Which made the impact of the darker sides of the plot even more shocking when they hit. There are potential triggers in the form of addiction, mental illness, self-harm, sexual assault, animal cruelty and death, severe violence and torture - it's hard to think of many areas of human darkness this story doesn't touch upon as it explores the secrets of this ordinary small-town community. Yet I never felt that the darkness was all-consuming, as the light of friendship, loyalty, love, regular everyday kindness and understanding continued to shine through and strengthen characters and reader, to carry us through to a more hopeful ending.
This may be a story about finding out who you are and where you fit in the world, but the depth of storytelling here and the bonds I formed with the characters (whether I loved, pitied or disliked them) mean this one will stay with me for a long time, haunting my memories like the image of a girl on a bike, careening downhill, busy road ahead and hair whipping out behind, pedalling furiously to stay ahead of her friends.
Title: The Housekeepers Author: Alex Hay Publisher:Headline
Blurb: UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON.
DOWNSTAIRS, THE SERVANTS ARE PLOTTING THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY.
When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, she knows just who to recruit to help her take revenge.
A black-market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs King's predecessor, who has been keeping the dark secrets of Park Lane far too long.
Mrs King has an audacious plan in mind, one that will reunite her women in the depths of the house on the night of a magnificent ball - and play out right under the noses of her former employers...
THEY COME FROM NOTHING. BUT THEY'LL LEAVE WITH EVERYTHING.
Review: I really wanted to love this historical fiction, girl-power heist story but, unfortunately, too much of the plot involved moving furniture around for it to hold my attention.
The narrative flits between the point of view of various characters - Mrs King, Mrs Bones, Winnie, Alice, the Janes, Hepzibah and Miss de Vries - but all of them have a similar feel and similar voices. Each is trapped, broken, hard, brittle, sharp, hopeful and hungry... they just have different circumstances that made and/or is keeping them that way. As a result, it was sometimes hard to tell the characters apart without context clues, with the exception of the Janes, who remained somewhat blank and mysterious throughout.
There was a darker story, of maids and men, hidden behind the skirts of the housekeeper heist which hooked me in every time it peeked out, but it kept getting lost behind the main plot which I found it very hard to engage with. I just couldn't believe that the feat described was at all possible, no matter how many step-by-step, cupboard-by-cupboard details the author provided. And it felt a little late to be taking revenge (or even restitution) when the man responsible is no longer in situ, leaving a young woman to pay the price for the sins of her father. It didn't really fit with the idea of women supporting women (even if in their own self-interest, rather than to out-do the male oppressors specifically) that is demonstrated elsewhere in the novel.
If you enjoy your historical heist thrillers slow-paced and with a large female-centric cast, then this book is well-written and ticks all of those boxes - it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.
Title: A Cryptic Clue Author: Victoria Gilbert Publisher:Crooked Lane Books
Blurb: A retired librarian gets back to the books—and into a devilish murder case—in acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert's new series, the perfect literary adventure for fans of Kate Carlisle and Jenn McKinlay.
Sixty-year-old Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits up and supplement her meager pension. But as she's about to discover, a retiree's life can bring new thrills—and new dangers.
Cameron "Cam" Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old collector, is also seeking something—an archivist to inventory his ever-expanding compendium of rare books and artifacts. Jane's thrilled to be hired on by Cam and to uncover the secrets of his latest acquisition, a trove of items related to the classic mystery and detective authors. But Jane's delight is upended when a body is discovered in Cam's library. The victim, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, was the last in line of Cam's failed romances—and now he's suspect number one.
Cam vows to use his intelligence and deductive skills to clear his name—but with a slight case of agoraphobia, rampant anxiety, and limited social skills, he'll need some help. It comes down to Jane to exonerate her new boss—but is he truly innocent?
Review: Imagine a younger Miss Marple and a younger Sherlock Holmes teamed up to investigate a murder and appreciate mystery books - that's the concept here and it really worked for me!
As a bookworm myself, I ALWAYS appreciate books about books, and it felt especially meta to be reading about a collection of classic mystery books within a murder mystery. And I love that Jane is a librarian, archivist and literary researcher, giving her all the skills she needs to solve a more tangible mystery. Alongside, of course, her new employer Cam, who is not great at social situations but has an excellent focus on detail and a logical, analytical mind.
The budding working relationship between the two main characters is brilliant - building naturally and very believably - and I really enjoyed their 'odd couple' investigation and the refreshing lack of romantic entanglement in their friendship. Add to that a nicely-paced and plausible plot and a small selection of interesting side characters and suspects, and this was a really enjoyable British mystery and a great start to a new series.
I would definitely read more Hunter and Clewe mysteries in future... especially as I am hooked on the very personal mystery of Cam Clewe's own family history! Look out for my review of Book 2, A Killer Clue soon, which releases later this year but is available to pre-order already.
Title: The Only Purple House in Town Author: Ann Aguirre Publisher:Sourcebooks Casablanca
Blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes the magical town of St. Claire, where anything is possible...
Iris Collins is the messy one in her family. The "chaos bunny." Her sisters are all wildly successful, while she can't balance her budget for a single month. It's no wonder she's in debt to her roommates. When she unexpectedly inherits a house from her great aunt, her plan to turn it into a B&B fails—as most of her plans do. She winds up renting rooms like a Victorian spinster, collecting other lost souls...and not all of them are "human."
Review: This was a really light and fluffy read, combining found family tropes with a romcom, lots of LGBTQIA rep and a sprinkle of magic in the form of witches, shifters, succubi and more.
In traditional romcom style, main characters Iris and Eli have plenty of miscommunications and misunderstandings to keep them apart, but bond over their shared goal of saving Violet Gables and preserving it as a sanctuary for the lost and lonely. It's just a shame that Eli's secret involved basically stalking Iris before she even knew he existed, because that turned what was really an otherwise sweet romance into something a bit creepy and sinister... I certainly found it a lot harder to get past than it seemed in the story!
I did, however, enjoy the family bonds built between Iris and Eli and the other residents of Violet Gables and the lovely accepting, small-community vibe they created. It felt like a bit of a shame in the end that their joint efforts wasn't what made the difference and saved the day and that the author went for something of a Fae-ex-machina resolution instead. Again, it felt a bit too easy to be readily believable.
Still, taken with liberal quantities of salt and not too seriously, this is a warm and readable closed-door romance.
Blurb: There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but trouble.
Emily Laurence is a liar. She is not polite, she's not polished, and she has never taught a child in her life. This position was meant to be her sister's - brilliant, kind Amy, who isn't perpetually angry, dangerously reckless, and who does (inexplicably) like children.
But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not.
If she can get away with her deception for long enough to earn a few months' wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way, perhaps they'll be all right. That is, as long as she doesn't get involved with the Edwards family's dramas. Emily refuses to care about her charges - Grace, who talks too much and loves too hard, and Aster, who is frankly terrifying but might just be the wittiest sixteen-year-old Emily has ever met - or the servants, who insist on acting as if they're each other's family. And she certainly hasn't noticed her employer, the brooding, taciturn Captain Edwards, no matter how good he might look without a shirt on . . .
As Fairmont House draws her in, Emily's lies start to come undone. Can she fix her mistakes before it's too late?
The story follows Emily as she takes a governess job that she is ill-qualified and ill-suited for, because her sister is chronically ill and her family poor. She goes in with nefarious intentions and is surprised to find a quirky and accepting little found family that aren't prepared to dislike her just because she thinks they should and no matter how hard she tries to convince them to. It was actually Meera, Akia, Joe and Oliver that really made this story and made me want to keep reading more - Emily is a bit of an adorable idiot!
There's plenty of diverse representation, in terms of gender, sexual orientation, disability and race, and the story explores identity and how we can limit ourselves when we try to fit into a box of our own or others' devising. In fact, there are quite a few really touching moments as the characters struggle with themselves. And, of course, there is some sweet and spicy romance too.
If you love Jane Austin and/or Jane Eyre but want modern sensibilities and diverse characters, or enjoy The Sound of Music but would have liked to see Maria get support from the Von Trapp household staff, then this is the book for you - a light entertaining read that touches gently upon darker issues but always with warmth and hope.
Another really eclectic mixture from my backlist here: coming-of-age drama; feminist heist; classic-style mystery; light closed door romantasy and finally, a quirky period romcom.
Do you prefer to stick to one or two genres, or do you simply read anything that takes your fancy?Have you tried any of these titles, and if so, what did you think? I'd love to know!
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