Year: 2010

Road Closed by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #2)

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My Rating: 4/5

When I read Leigh Russell’s first book Cut Short, I enjoyed it but felt like the reader didn’t get to know enough about the characters. This was my main gripe with an otherwise really enjoyable debut novel. I had high hopes for the second instalment and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. Having said that I think we have yet to see Leigh Russell’s finest work and next year I think book 3 will show that. It almost feels like with each book you read you are building up to the bigger picture of Geraldine’s life.

Initially I felt like again we weren’t seeing the real Geraldine and I was getting frustrated. However, by the time I finished this book I realised that this is perfect character building. She is a far from perfect person but is dedicated to her job. We see a lot more of her personal life in this book and it has given Leigh Russell a great platform for book three with a shock twist from Geraldine’s past. I realised by the end that this type of writing just made me want to pick up another book and read more about her, perfect tactics Ms Russell!

Billie Jo by Kimberley Chambers

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My Rating: 4/5

Billie Jo is an only child and is loved and adored by her father Terry. Terry and Michelle have been married for years and Terry is a well known villain in the area. Their marriage is far from perfect and their constant arguments are cause for concern to Billie Jo. Terry decides to confide in his young daughter that she won’t have to put up with her drunk and waste of space mother for too long as he has met somebody else. Terry is involved with his secretary and she is pregnant and he is determined to start afresh. Life is about to deal Terry a blow and it will shatter Billie Jo’s life.

Shockingly I only picked up my first Kimberley Chambers book at the end of last month. Since then I have gone and brought her first two books and devoured them both. The Betrayer was Kimberley’s 3rd book and was a first class read. Her second book published Born Evil I loved but it wasn’t a patch on The Betrayer. Seeing as Billie Jo was her debut novel I knew I would enjoy it but figured it wouldn’t be as good as her more recent stuff. It is obvious to me whilst reading her books that her writing got better and better with each book she produced. I cannot wait to get stuck into The Feud which is her fourth release. I think I didn’t give KC enough credit as this book was a corker too.

Her writing style like I have said before is NOT for the feint hearted. If you don’t like swearing then her books are a definite no-no. Her debut novel starts out by introducing us to Billie Jo Keane is a young girl who has to deal with her parents constantly arguing. Not only that, but her mother is a drinker who doesn’t care for Billie Jo and thinks only of herself. Within the first 30-40 pages I was enthralled by this eclectic mix of a family. The author has a great way of getting you into their lives very quickly and you feel a certain empathy with people very quickly.

Just as I was getting my teeth into the beginning of the story a shocking twist is thrown straight at you, and was one that I didn’t see coming. If I’m honest it threw me off balance and I wondered how the story would carry on. Thankfully I couldn’t have been more wrong and you soon realise that this event is the catalyst for Billie Jo’s life events.

The story is stretched over a few years and we see large segments of peoples lives lived and the outcome of each bad decision made. In the first third of the book I (as usual) had my favourites and the ones that I loathed. What surprised me is that I didn’t realise just how much that opinion would change by the end of the book.

The story itself is like I said pretty fast paced and with the initial shocking twist I wasn’t expecting too many surprises. Although there weren’t any major plot twists I was quite surprised how things eventually turned out. This book, like the other two I read were everything I want from a great crime read; characters that have real strong personalities, great settings with real authenticity, and a great plot. Kimberley Chambers can do no wrong in my eyes; she is a serious contender for becoming the number one British Crime writer this year. She is showing the public what crime writing should be about and I would imagine making a few of the `old-timers’ quake in their boots.

Highly recommended author, if you haven’t read her before give her a go and start at the beginning with Billie Jo, you won’t be disappointed.

A Season To Remember by Sheila O’Flanagan

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My Rating: 4/5

This book is not Sheila O’Flanagan’s usual offerings and is more like a collection of short stories all brought together. This book opens at The Sugar Loaf Lodge and we meet the owners Neil and Claire. They are suffering in the economic crisis and are worried that at the beginning of December they still have many rooms available. Thankfully they appear to have a Guardian Angel and surprisingly all of their rooms are eventually booked.

The Sugar Loaf Lodge has a number of rooms and each room is named after a mountain, and so too is each chapter. Each room and chapter tells us a different story about its occupants and how they ended up at the Lodge for Christmas.

We meet some really interesting characters and it’s surprising just how much we learn about each of them and their situation. That’s not to say that each person has a happy ending but it definitely gives you an insight.

I have personally found myself wondering what various people are doing and how they came to be at a certain place. Although normally in my situation it is when I am killing time in an airport and trying to work out who is flying where and who is married to who. This is what in one respect drew me to the book. Usually I am not over keen on short stories but this seemed so different.

The book focuses on the place but then integrates everybody’s story and take on the situation. The characters were also fantastic and were an eclectic mix of people which kept it interesting. We meet a young girl who is heartbroken and trying to move on, a young coupled looking for peace and quiet, and a family group as well as others. The family group that appeared in this story were actually the family that appeared in Sheila O’Flanagan’s book `Anyone but Him’.

Although not a hefty book like hers usually are, this was still a decent size read at 320 pages. The title indicates along with the timing of publication that this was a Christmas themed book. I must be honest and say that this was a wonderfully light and easy read for any time of year. Sheila O’Flanagan has still produced a great book with her absorbing style of writing that fans like me love.

There is no predictability to this book as there is no real depth to the linking of characters and we only see short snippets of their life, but in my opinion this is what stands this book apart a little bit. It was very refreshing to read something where you don’t wait for the linking of characters to come together and you are just finding out about each characters life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it would make a lovely present at this time of year!

Born Evil by Kimberley Chambers

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Debbie Dawson makes the fatal error of falling in love with Billy McDaid. When Debbie announces to her mother June that she is pregnant by the low life drug dealer Billy, June realises that life will never be the same. Debbie’s brother Mickey has just come out of a stint in prison and is determined to make his life better and that includes protecting his mother and sister. When Debbie gives birth to Charlie, it seems that the little boy is pure evil. Not only is he sadistic and nasty, he is about to be the start of what tears the family apart.

I have only recently discovered Kimberley Chambers having read The Betrayer which was a first class read. Born Evil was the second book Kimberley Chambers wrote and although I loved it, it wasn’t as good as The Betrayer. I think this is a sign that Kimberley Chambers is getting better with each book she writes.

Probably the first thing to note is that this book is gritty realism at its best and that includes swearing and violence. If this isn’t something you particularly like then maybe this isn’t the book for you. Having said that, it’s not something that bothers me and I think it adds to the realism of the characters and setting.

This book starts by introducing us to Debbie at a young age when she first meets Billy and we get to see just how destructive he is on her life. When she falls pregnant she decides that although young she wants to make a go of it with both Billy and the baby. I admit that although Debbie is the centre of the story I didn’t really warm to her that much. By the middle of the book I wanted to strangle her for her stupidity, and by the end of it I hadn’t made my mind up what sort of a person she was. The fact that I got so irritate by her can in my opinion only be a sign of good writing on the author’s behalf.

The book is staggered over the years and we see Debbie move on from her life with Billy to one where she spends time with her mum June and her brother Mickey. In addition to this we have Mickey’s best friend Steve who I adored. The story itself was weaker than her other book but only in the sense that I could see what was coming. Although this wasn’t as good as the first I read I still thought that it could walk all over the kind of books Martina Cole is producing right now.

CROSS FIRE BY JAMES PATTERSON (ALEX CROSS #17)

My Rating: 3/5

I feel a terrible burden when I pick up a James Patterson book these days. The man is a legend who has produced some fantastic work that has earned him the right to be called one of the bestselling authors of all time. A staggering figure is that in 2007 one in every fifteen hardback books sold was a James Patterson. I myself seem to have a love-hate relationship with his work.

Lately I haven’t been over enthused with any of his offerings and his best book in the last few months has been without a doubt `Worst case’ which is another popular series of books featuring Michael Bennett. It seems that all of his co-written books have been a pile of rubbish and it makes me wonder just how bad his books can get. I was however looking forward to his new release Cross Fire, his 17th in the Cross Series of books. When the book arrived my first thought was that this book would be the one that cemented my loyalty to JP and why I always pre-order his books no matter how disappointed I was with the last one.

In this latest instalment we again get drawn straight in at chapter one. JP’s infamous style of his short sharp chapters is there in abundance, which I confess I love. Alex is written exceptionally and as soon as you pick the book up you feel like you are getting reacquainted with an old friend. Nana is also still around as are the kids and you felt like you are once again part of the Cross’ hectic family life.

The story itself is the major let down for me. James Patterson in the past has come up with storylines that have had me staying up overnight to finish a book or being so engrossed that I miss my train stop. This book is certainly not up to what I would call his best standards. I thought the plot jumped and many of the chapters felt almost unfinished.

We see the re-appearance of an old adversary in the form of Kyle Craig. I was looking forward to this element of the story as you feel like you have seen Alex’ life up close and personal in all of his books. For me the first half of the book featuring Kyle Craig was okay but the second half was abysmal. It felt rushed and unfinished and had an element of laziness to it.

Overall the book was very average and again I finished it feeling that dreaded sense of disappointment returning. I don’t know why his books just don’t seem to hit the mark anymore and I find myself wondering if Alex Cross is running out of steam. In comparison his Michael Bennett novels are picking up pace and fast becoming favourites of mine. All in all, if you are expecting another corker in the Alex Cross series you may be disappointed.

Honeycote by Veronica Henry

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My Rating: 4/5

Having never read Veronica Henry I had no idea what to expect. I also wasn’t aware that Honeycote was part of a series, luckily for me I picked up the first book. The start of the book is great and tends to draw you in to the characters from the first few pages. We get a great perspective from the author of the setting of Honeycote House and it seemed very picturesque.

 Initially, I only found I had one problem with the story, there were quite a few characters and for some reason their names just didn’t gel with their personalities. I can’t explain why but for me I struggled until at least the halfway point to gel the names to each character. Thankfully that was really the only criticism I had. I adored the Liddiards even though they were all far from perfect.

Veronica Henry certainly doesn’t shy away from creating multiple stories and characters, and although some people may not like that I absolutely loved it. Yes there were multiple things to see develop but it gave you even more as a reader to get your teeth in to. I managed as usual to either love or loathe certain characters very soon after starting to read and that pleases me because I feel like the author is making me feel emotion either way.

Around the halfway point things really pick up and we see a chain of events start that affect every member of the family and believe me there are quite a few of them. In addition to Mickey and Lucy we see their three children Patrick, Georgia and Sophie. We also have James Liddiard and his girlfriend Caroline, The Liddiard daughter’s friend Mandy and his dad, as well as numerous village characters that are all an integral part of the story.

Her writing style flows easily ad it was a pleasure to read, none of the chapters were a struggle and I thoroughly enjoyed it and left wanted to find out what happens next for all of them. Thankfully the next book in the Honeycote series is on my to tread list so I wont have to wait that long. Veronica Henry manages to create a chick lit book that has great characters, storylines that make you want to laugh or cry and some good old fashioned smut. Just my kind of book!

Promises, Promises by Erica James

My Rating: 4/5

Erica James books have always been a source of enjoyment for me. Yes she produces Chick Lit romance books but she always manages to integrate a dose of realism without it becoming too depressing.

In this book Erica’s writing style is as ever so easy to get along with. You are swept away with the characters as they are introduced to you and you find yourself feeling like you want to be a part of what is going on.

In this case it is meeting the three main characters and their husbands’ wives or children. Maggie is the first we meet and I instantly loved here character. She is a woman that cleans houses for a living and is constantly being put down by her mother in law, or being bossed around by her slob of a husband. Next comes Ella and initially I wasn’t sure about Ella, but as time goes on you really warm to her and can see that she is suffering to get through the feeling that she has wasted many years on a man who cannot commit to her for all the wrong reasons. Lastly we meet Ethan who although selfish, I couldn’t help but really like.

The story is told from all of their perspectives which makes it easy to follow each thread. Ethan’s wife was despicable and a great bit of character writing from Erica James. This latest book was a pretty hefty offering at 448 pages but no sooner had I started it I was turning pages incredibly quickly.

The story itself was told really well because although it’s essentially a romance book, it’s what I like to call reality romance. We see the realities that maybe we know happen in real life. We see women that stay with the wrong man, women that marry for the wrong reasons and men that have affairs because they are unhappy. It is told with sympathy but a good old dose of reality.

By the halfway mark I decided to give up on the idea of finishing my much overdue ironing and devoured the second half in one foul swoop. I finished the book feeling happy that the ending was as I thought, yes a tad predictable but still it was the ending that I had hoped for. Once again Erica James has created a very good Chick Lit books that her fans should love, I know I did!

More Than Love Letters by Rosy Thornton

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My Rating: 4/5

I only recently discovered Rosy Thornton with her release of her book Tapestry of Love which I really enjoyed. What I didn’t expect was a book like this. I opened the page and was immediately worried. What faced me was a series of letters and emails. Not only was this the beginning of the book, it seemed that the whole book was made up this way. I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. How on earth was I supposed to get a feel for the story and characters through letters? I am pleased to say I was completely wrong!

The letters and various emails we see going back and forth are between the main characters of the book, and what characters they were. We see Richard Slater emailing his friend Michael Carrington who works in the Home Office. We also meet Margaret who frequently writes to her Gran and regularly emails her friend Bec’s. In addition to this we see the minutes to the WITCH meetings (Women of Ipswich together combating homelessness).

By around the 30 page mark I began to realise that this was not only cleverly written but was warm and funny. There is nothing better that getting a feel for people by reading the written word.

Margaret’s emails to her friend Bec’s were hilarious as we see them spouting off about their own lives. In addition to this there is a theme running through all of their emails where they try to integrate some of the lesser known words into their conversation and in turn award each other points for the use of the word. Never before in my life have I read a book and then actually gone to a dictionary and looked up a word. (By the way I can now tell you all that facinorous is another word for atrocious!).

I loved Cora, who was the woman who Margaret lived with and we see her take on things as she writes lovingly to her husband. In addition we see Margaret’s Gran writing back to her granddaughter to update her on her life and how things are going. I was very shocked and quite saddened at the realisation of Cora and her letters at the end but it was written so well that it all made sense!

All in all, I never imagined that I could enjoy this as much as I did due to the fact that it was all letters and emails. Rosy Thornton has done a grand job in writing a clever, warm and funny book by merely meshing together people’s thoughts and feelings. As much as this wasn’t the normal sort of book that I would pick up if I was in a shop, it just goes to show that Rosy Thornton can clearly produce a great book by doing things differently.

The Betrayer by Kimberley Chambers

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My Rating: 5/5

Maureen Hutton lives on a council estate in the East End of London with her three children. Her husband was a waste of time alcoholic who never helped her and she has had to go it alone ever since. Maureen’s life over four decades sees the ups and downs of her family’s life. Unfortunately when she is told a secret that may tear her family apart she has no choice but to get rid of the betrayer before it is too late.

Okay first off, what planet have I been on? Why on earth I haven’t picked up a Kimberley Chambers book I do not know. What I do know is that every book she has written I have now ordered and I have no intention on missing out on her future releases.

Kimberley Chambers has written a book that reminded me of the first book I read by Martina Cole. Her style is something of a slap in the face. It’s hardcore reality and immerses you from page one. I actually picked this book up because of the rave reviews here on Amazon. Of each of her 5 books, none of them have rated less than 4.5 out 5 stars ranging from a minimum of 9 reviews up to way over the 30’s. This alone was enough to grab my attention. I randomly decided to choose The Betrayer as it had a whopping 15 reviews rating it as 5 star. Thankfully, all 15 people were right!

The book itself starts off by introducing us to Maureen Hutton in 1975. We meet her three children, Tommy the eldest son, Susan the middle daughter and her youngest son James. Living on a council estate in the east end of London in the seventies is difficult for anybody, but for Maureen it is all she knows.

Her children are all completely different and we watch as each of their lives revolves around decisions they did or didn’t make when they were younger. No matter what happens to them they can always rely on their Mum. The story picks up pace from the word go and we see Maureen’s eldest son Tommy make a choice that affects the rest of his life and that of his family. It sets the precedent for their futures and as usual Maureen is the glue that holds them all together.

Kimberley Chambers has an uncanny knack of making you feel like you are living their lives alongside them. The characters she created makes for real emotion towards each one and by around chapter five I had an intense loathing for Tommy Hutton. As the years progress we see her children grown up and break away from Maureen all doing their own thing. Some of their lives they keep secret from her for fear of upsetting her. Maureen’s daughter is also somebody that I instantly disliked although James, the youngest son I fell in love with.

The story itself immerses you into a world where drug addiction, the underworld and dysfunctional families is all part and parcel of everyday life. If you are easily offended then you may not like the language in this book but for me it is what makes it all the more real. There is no hiding from the reality of being brought up the way the Hutton’s were and everybody’d secrets get dragged out over time. I love the fact that the story was set over four decades and this just made the reality set in even further. I almost had a longing to find out what was going to happen and was annoyed that I couldn’t read faster.

Kimberley Chambers is genius and has produced a top notch book that Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller fans will love. She is certainly creating her niche and in my opinion is one her way to fighting for the crown of the best female crime writer around! If I was you and you haven’t heard or read Kimberley Chambers before, I suggest you start right now. Trust me, if you don’t you may well regret it.

Desire by Louise Bagshawe

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My Rating: 4/5

I have never read a Louise Bagshawe book and only picked this up because I read and loved Scandalous written by her sister Tilly Bagshawe. I must say the first thing that surprised me was the content of the story itself. The cover is a glamorous hot pink colour with a woman at the edge of an infinity pool which screams Chick Lit at you.

However, when you read the book you soon realise that this book is a Chick Lit book with a bit of thriller thrown in for good measure. What a great job Louise Bagshawe does of it too! The first few chapters are filled with tension and pace as we see Lisa wake to a persons’ worst nightmare. A she flees the scene and tries to get out of the country we also see Sam start to be dragged in as he is the wedding journalist who happens to be there at the wedding and seeing it all first hand.

The story picks up even more pace as we see Sam get closer to Lisa and the lengths that she is prepared to go to for her own safety. The speed of writing and the chase itself doesn’t relent until the very last page which I absolutely loved. There are many people in other reviews I have seen say that this book is similar to another she has written. With this one being my first I can only judge it on this story alone and I absolutely loved it.

In my eyes it is the perfect combination of Chick Lit and Thriller all rolled into one. Yes the hardcore Crime and Thriller fans may not like it but this had the balance just right in my eyes. I will certainly be continuing to read her books and only hope that I enjoy them all as much as I did this one. I can’t really find too many negatives with the book although it did have a certain inevitability to it which was maybe the only thing I could criticise.

The writing style was really easy and the chapters the right length too. There was an easiness to reading this which I have missed in some of the more recent books I have read and I love that feeling. It is an absolute pleasure to pick a book up and immerse yourself in their world without too much cramming of information or facts going on in the background.

It looks like the Bagshawe sisters will be earning money from me in the future because they are both very talented women and I look forward to reading more of both Louise and Tilly’s work in the future.