The Traitor by Kimberley Chambers (Mitchell/O’Hara #2)

227x346

My Rating: 5/5

My, oh my! Considering that I only discovered KC a mere 3 months ago, I have managed to read all of her books including the latest release, the second in the trilogy of the Mitchell and O’Hara families. The upside to this is I have discovered a wonderful writer who has produced 5 absolute top notch books; however the downside is that I now have to wait a few months until the final part of the trilogy is released.

We pick up from where we left off with the Mitchell family in tatters. After Eddie Mitchell accidently killed his wife instead of Jed O’Hara he confesses and is awaiting his verdict. Frankie meanwhile is determined to make a go of it with Jed and is living with him and their children. Frankie’s twin Joey is in his own relationship and is steering well clear of the family as he can’t deal with all the upheaval. Seeing as I read part one so recently the characters were still fresh in my mind, but even if there had been a long gap, you can’t fail to remember these feisty families. KC has the knack of creating some real charmers in her books, and Jed has to be the worst yet. I detested him and his family but I like nothing more that loving or loathing characters, it’s the sign of a great writer.

Not only do we meet both the Mitchell and O’Hara family again but we get to see the lives they are all living and what they are all up to, especially where the family business is concerned. As usual we are thrown in at the deep end with all of them and that includes the family feud still slowly simmering away. Frankie and Joey are now grown up and I loved the fact that we got to see a lot more of their personalities. The plot itself is a continuation from the first book, although if you picked this up first by mistake it wouldn’t make that much of a difference as you get quite a bit of background too. Having said that I always think the first part gives you the ability to build the characters up and have a bit of history on them. The plot is as fast and nail bitingly exciting as the last one, if not more.

I almost dragged the last few chapters out because I didn’t want to finish the book as I knew I had a long wait until the next one. For those that read my reviews regularly you have heard it all before. For those that haven’t I will say it again. If you haven’t read Kimberley Chambers then I suggest you start….RIGHT NOW! Once again KC you have produced a first rate book and you truly are a fabulous author, just keep `em coming girl!

Love Always by Harriet Evans

My Rating: 4/5

Natasha Kapoor’s life seems to be on a downward spiral. Her business and marriage are failing and her beloved Grandmother who lived in Cornwall has passed away. She travels back to Summercove, the family home in Cornwall, for her Grandmother’s funeral. Whilst there, she discovers the diary of her aunt Cecily who died as a teenager. Natasha starts to read the diary and soon discovers that her family are hiding secrets. She is determined to find out what happened in the summer of 1963, but when she finds the truth, will she like what she hears?

This book when it landed on my doorstep shocked me a little as it is certainly a hefty read at just over 500 pages. If I am being totally honest I wondered why this book would be different to any other Chick Lit book I had read and whether I could handle such a long read. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

The first thing that struck me as odd once I had finished the book was the front cover. When you first see it, you imagine it is no different and will be your typical `girl meets boy’ scenario book. The cover is at odds with the type of story this book tells.

At first I found the book a little slow going as we get to meet Natasha and her family. It all seemed a little stilted and hard work. At around the chapter 5 mark I was beginning to wonder whether I should bother reading on, however I don’t give up easily. By around chapter 10 there was absolutely no turning back and I had engrossed myself in the story.

The book is told over two time periods. We see Natasha and her current life, dealing with all her troubles and the discovery of her aunt Cecily’s diary. The second time period is that of the summer of 1963 as we too read Cecily’s diary. If I am being completely honest, I preferred the 1963 part of the story as there were a lot more secrets being made cleared the more you read. Having said that I didn’t dislike Natasha’s story, it was just a little duller in comparison to that of Cecily’s.

The story itself has real heart and we see all of Natasha’s family in this story, some of them nice and some of them not so nice. All of the characters were really believable and by the end I really felt for everybody involved. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and although it wasn’t the best I have read recently it was certainly enjoyable. It is a story that goes against the normal grain of romance and has characters that are quite memorable. I will certainly be reading more of Harriet Evans in the future and would recommend if you want something not too heavy, but a little more serious than the usual Chick Lit stuff.

The Feud by Kimberley Chambers (Mitchell/O’Hara #1)

228x346 (2)

My Rating: 5/5

Apologies for the length of this review but when a book comes along that is perfect, I feel the need to tell everybody about it. Shockingly, I had not even heard of Kimberley Chambers and only read her first book in October 2010. After reading the first one I realised that I may well have stumbled across a new talent that I feel is fast approaching the title Queen of Crime in the UK. After devouring the first I read her second and third book in quick succession. Her fourth book (this one), is the start of a trilogy featuring the Mitchell and O’Hara family.

As usual her breakneck speed of drawing you in takes you by surprise. We meet the Mitchell clan with the father Harry as the head of the family and his three sons Eddie, Paulie and Ronny. Kimberley Chambers has a fantastic style of writing where she spreads the book over the years without it being too little or too much. You see chunks of their lives as the year’s progress and she gets the balance absolutely spot on. The book starts in the seventies and progresses through to the late eighties. The Mitchell family have always had a long running feud with the O’Hara’s and as Harry decides to take a back seat he looks to Eddie to tale over his criminal empire.

Eddie is a fantastic character and he is everything you would expect and underworld gangster to be. He is fearless, ruthless and fiercely loyal. When he meets and marries the young Jessica, her family aren’t that keen but are aware they have no say in the matter. Over the years we see Jessica and Eddie have twins of their own Frankie and Joey. We see them not only as young children but later on as teenagers too. The main characters of the story are Jessica and Eddie and we see what it is really like for a woman being married to a man so high up in the underworld. We also see and learn a lot about Jessica’s parents Joyce and Stanley, her brother Raymond as well as he twins Frankie and Joey.

The story itself gives great background to why the feud started and what has happened to keep it at bay. As the chapters speed along we meet the O’Hara’s and see the two families interact. As time, and chapters, go by we see the feud start up again and the reasons why. The story itself doesn’t let up pace at all and just rushes towards a huge climax at the end of the book. I was shocked by the turn of results at the end and realise that this has ended well. Kimberley Chambers had finished and answered half the questions regarding the families, but has left it that I have so many more about what is to come.

The writing as usual is gritty and realistic with violence and language being a staple ingredient. If either of these things offends you, then maybe this wouldn’t be to your taste. For me, it just makes it so real and I literally could NOT stop reading. I started this last night and finished it this morning. The only negative is that I have to wait until the second installment is delivered to my door before I can get stuck in and find out what happens next. This particular book has had 33 customer reviews, and 32 of those rated it as 5 stars, that you won’t see very often!

Having only discovered KC as an author a mere 3 months ago, I am shocked that she is not more popular. I for one cannot believe that more people do not know about her. The friends that I have handed her books to are now as addicted as I am. Kimberley Chambers is certainly the BEST British crime writer I have discovered this year. Comparing her to Martina Cole is an insult to the standard of Kimberley Chamber’s books. As an ex- Martina Cole fan I can honestly say that Ms Cole should learn a thing or two by maybe picking up one of KC’s books.

Going Dutch by Katie Fforde

224x346

My Rating: 3/5

I had never read Katie Fforde before but have seen her books many times over the years. I picked this book up after reading the jacket and had no expectations, I was just hoping for a decent read.

The book wasn’t particularly hefty at 400 pages but the cover is reasonable, although not particularly attention grabbing. I settled myself down and got stuck in, only that is a lot easier said than done sometimes.

The book is very easy to read and like many chick lit authors, Katie Fforde has an easy way about her writing. We meet Dora and Jo immediately and get to see what has led them to the barge and their current situation.

The characters themselves were `nice’, but sometimes, I kind of feel that `nice’ just doesn’t leave a good enough impression on me. Out of the two characters, Jo stood out more as she was the elder character being a woman nearing her fifties who was finding her feet again and she had some quirky aspects to her character. Dora, on the other hand, was just plain dull. For a start the name just conjures up an image if somebody older than she was meant to be (in her twenties) and she just didn’t have that much personality.

The story itself also seemed to be a bit of a non starter. Don’t get me wrong this certainly wasn’t the worse book I have read it was just too safe with not an awful lot going on in it. There was no excitement and some scenes bordered on making me snooze!

As the story progressed, it was obvious what would happen and there was no doubt in either the author or the readers mind what the ending would be. All in all, for a first book by this author it didn’t leave the greatest of impressions. It was very safe and a little on the dull side.

Once I had read this book I scouted on Amazon to see how her other books faired and was pleased to see that her other books had much more favourable reviews. I will look forward to reading another by her, but certainly won’t be rushing out to buy it from the shop.

Road Closed by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #2)

51U0B24BxUL.SX316.SY316

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

225x346

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

163x250

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

227x346 (1) My Rating: 4/5

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

164x250 (1)

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!