Tag: RATED 4/5

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.

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!

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.

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.

Severed by Simon Kernick

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My Rating: 4/5

Former Soldier Dan Tyler is about to have a very bad day. He awakes to find himself in a strange bed with your girlfriend lying dead next to him. Not only is she dead but he is covered in her blood and according to the DVD in the machine, it was him who killed her. He is then instructed to deliver a briefcase to a shady address in East London and then wait for further instructions. There seems no way out for Dan so he has no choice but to follow his instructions and only hope he can survive the next 24 hours and uncover what really happened before he ends up dead too.

My first Kernick book was Relentless which I cannot praise highly enough. I then moved on to his most recent book The Last Ten Seconds which I loved too. I had really high hopes for this book but it didn’t quite live up to expectation for me.

Don’t get me wrong, it certainly wasn’t a bad book, but in comparison to the last two I have read it just wasn’t as good. The great thing about Simon Kernick’s writing is that he isn’t backward in coming forward. Each book I have read starts at 100 miles per hour and doesn’t seem to let up in pace. Normally the first few chapters are what grab you and pull you in. In this respect Severed is no different and he certainly manages to do this. However, the story was a little on the side of too un-realistic.

I must confess that although believability is good, the whole point of reading is for fun so if the realism isn’t there then it doesn’t bother me too much. Having said that, this story at times, fell too far over the boundaries of being far-fetched for my liking. That aside, everything else needed for a great read was there. The character Tyler is an ordinary guy who happened to have served in the Army for quite a while. It is pretty clear from the beginning that there are not many people he can trust or turn to for help.

His army training certainly helps with some of the situations he comes across though and pretty soon we meet many other shady characters. Aside from Tyler we don’t get to learn too much about the other people in the story unless they are absolutely necessary which makes a refreshing change. Sometimes there is too much background on characters, whereas with this it felt quite balanced.

The first half of the book is spent with Tyler following orders and suffering the consequences, whereas the second half of the book changes pace again with him fighting to get some kind of control back into his crazy day. The story is split over two days but the vast majority of the book is over 24 hours. Along the way we meet the likely suspects for Tyler’s set up but as the story progresses it appears that nobody is who they appear to be.

Yes, this book is a little unrealistic but the writing is fantastic. As a reader I am drawn into the plot (no matter how far fetched) and find myself wondering who is involved from page to page. Yes this book is escapism with a capital E but it is a worthwhile read. Towards the end of the book you are thrown a few plot twists which I liked and the story is finished with an Epilogue which wraps it all up nicely. I enjoyed this book, although not as much as Relentless but I will continue to work my way through the rest of his books and look forward to it.

Stand By Me by Sheila O’Flanagan

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My Rating: 4/5

Dominique Delahaye is married to successful businessman Brendan. However, when Brendan disappears, leaving Dominique and their daughter to cope alone, things look very bleak for them. However, will Brendan ever return or is it too little too late in Dominique’s eyes?

This is a pretty hefty book at a little over 500 pages long. However, normally I would settle straight into an O’Flanagan book but this one took me a little longer than usual. What I absolutely loved was the fact that this story is told from beginning to end. Although the start of the book sees Dominique in the current day, you are swiftly transported back to when she was just a young girl and met Brendan for the very first time.

Dominique is a very young girl and her parents are devout religious people who try to mould Dominique to be more like her brother who wants to be a priest. Dominique has other ideas and becomes very independent even from a young age. Sheila O’Flanagan does a fine job of creating the typical religious Irish upbringing that Dominique has and you almost feel yourself rooting for her to create her own life away from her parents.

Dominique’s husband Brendan is introduced to the story very early on and we get to see how their relationship progresses and their family as well as Brendan’s business grows. Before long you find yourself slap bang in the middle of Dominique’s seemingly perfect life.

When Brendan disappears and leaves Domino (his pet name for Dominique) and their daughter Kelly to fend for themselves I found myself beginning to loathe the character. The story itself is wonderful in the sense that you get a real perspective of how their loves have become what they are and the reasons behind it.

The story is all consuming and I love the introduction of Brendan’s brother Greg and his wife, who also happened to be a school friend of Dominique’s. It makes for an interesting dynamic of the story and by the last quarter of the book I was so conflicted with how I felt about the different characters I almost got annoyed. The fact that I could get worked up over a story tells me the author has hit the nail on the head as far as the story goes.

The ending was wrapped up with what I felt was a good conclusion but it would have been nice to see an epilogue maybe a year on. Sheila O’Flanagan has produced another great book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

A Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

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My Rating: 4/5

Okay, firstly I have to say that I am usually of the `trashier the better’ kind of attitude. If I am reading Chick Lit, I love the sleaze and glamour of it all. On the other side of the fence, I love a good crime thriller where we see the regular cop heroes turn up at every given opportunity. However, this book certainly doesn’t fit into the Chick Lit genre and I would be at a loss as to where to place it. It is a `real’ book, that’s the best way I can describe it. There is no gush, no fairytale typical storylines, and certainly no murders!

Rosy Thornton has managed to produce a book that doesn’t just tell you a story; it parks your butt on a plane and actually takes you there. Her style of writing is unusual in comparison to what I am used to but it is brilliant all the same. I could almost imagine myself sitting in the corner of Catherin Parkstone’s kitchen in the Cevennes Mountains and actually watching her life unfold. The characters are written really well and there is such an element of realism that you find yourself swept along with the tale. The scenery is so well described that it has left a vivid picture in my imagination of what everything and everybody should look like.

The story itself was great too and we meet Catherine’s local neighbours, who are at first very `French’, making Catherine have to work a lot harder to become part of the community. Catherine’s sister Bryony makes an appearance in Cevennes after making a radical decision to take a sabbatical from work. This complicates Catherine’s life more than she cares to admit. She struggles to get her priorities in her head the right way round. Although both her children are grown up she finds herself constantly worrying about whether they will be okay and whether moving to this remote part of France was a good idea after all.

The book is structured so that we see her time at her home progress over a number of months which makes it so much easier to imagine the different times of year in this area. It also gives the reader the element of how far she has come and what the future will hold.

All in all this was a fantastic book. I will admit that I would never have chosen this from a bookstore as it doesn’t look trashy enough for me, but boy am I glad I read this. A wonderful book with a real touch of realism that is perfect for curling up with. I would highly recommend this book and Rosy Thornton will definitely be added to my list of authors to pre-order from.