Tag: RATED 4/5

To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

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My Rating: 4/5

I was so excited to get Jill Mansell’s new book. It seems like forever since her last one although in reality it has only been a year. Thankfully Jill Mansell has produced a book that every chick lit fan will enjoy. When I first received the book I was please to see that even the cover looked inviting in a lovely sea blue! The strength of this author is the characters she creates and in my opinion this is what has crated her huge following of fans. This book is no exception to that rule and the main character Ellie Kendall is a great girl and one that you can imagine living next door to.

Her tragedy is the catalyst for the next stage in her life. Thankfully there is the crazy neighbour Roo who comes in to her life and reminds her what it’s like to be a `normal’ girl. As per usual there is a stunningly handsome man in the story, meet Zach McLaren. I must say that this particular male lead was an absolute corker and he worked a treat in this story. The three characters all have their own life and part to play in this story but they also all cross paths which makes the book that little bit more interesting.

The story itself is one tinged with sadness but is still not too dreary. We get to see Ellie try and re-build her life in the best way possible (that’s all I can say without spoiling the main plot too much). Roo was a brilliant girl and by the time I had read just a few chapters I had a real feel for the girls and Zach. This book was so pleasurable to read. It was light hearted and easy to read with a sprinkling of romance. Chick Lit in general is never going to throw many surprises up but shockingly this one did. We meet Tony Weston who is Ellie’s father-in-law and he brought a great thread to the story with a bit of a surprise at the end.

All in all as ever I have absolutely nothing but praise for Jill Mansell. She continues to produce great books that are a joy to read, I can only cross my fingers and hope that the next one is just as good.

The Make by Jessie Keane

My Rating: 4/5

Jessie Keane started off her books with an absolutely brilliant trilogy featuring a character by the name of Annie Bailey. When I finished them I was a little worried about whether her follow on books would create such good characters. Thankfully her following book Jail Bait was a great book too with brilliant plot and characters.

This latest book is of exactly the same making. We meet Gracie Doyle who is far from perfect but is great to read about. There is no hanging around waiting for the plot to develop, we get thrown straight into it with the mysterious disappearance and assault on her two estranged brothers.

What I especially loved about this book was the fact that JK split it into two sections. We read Gracie’ story and see the story develop as she learns about her brothers before launching herself into their life down in London. We then also see the story a few weeks prior to that involving Harry and George.

Gracie’s ex-husband Lorcan runs his own casino in London and help’s Gracie in her search to find out what has happened. That element in the story adds another thread as we get to see the ex-partners battle out their own problems whilst trying to help Gracie’s brothers. I loved the fact that the story is really fast paced and the fact that it is no-hold barred. I shouldn’t have worried that Jessie Keane wouldn’t produce the goods because as ever she has written a great book.

I really like the fact that the story moves down south as it has a lot more gritty realism being set on the streets of London (or at least it did for me). The story does touch on some sensitive issues but it is dealt with really well. I loved the ending as well which was an added bonus.

All you need for a good crime book in my opinion is a great story, strong characters and great writing. I can assure you that Jessie Keane has all three in abundance. If I am being 100% honest, I still miss Annie Bailey the character from her first books a little bit but to be fair her current books are just as good. Highly recommended!

You Belong to Me by Karen Rose (Baltimore #1)

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My Rating: 4/5

When I received KR’s latest book I wasn’t surprised to see it was a humdinger of a hardback at 480 pages. This was actually something I relished, a meaty book that I could get my teeth into.

In the past Karen Rose has been criticised for her style of writing with some saying that the romance element shouldn’t be there. I disagree and see nothing wrong in a crime or thriller novel having a splash of love about it.

In this particular book it took me no time at all to get straight into the heart of the story. The opening few chapters throw us into the world of Lucy Trask and the grisly discovery of a body. Lucy does follow a tried and tested type of character, a strong and independent woman with a murky past. I must say though, although it may seem a tires type of character, Karen Rose does it perfectly. Lucy Trask was a great character and a lot of the gripping elements of the story relate to her past and her current hidden secrets. JD Fitzpatrick is also a strong and cleverly written lead character. I wouldn’t be spoiling the plot by saying that the love interest is not hard to work out in this book but it was done subtly.

As ever Karen Rose’ strongest attribute is the crimes themselves. As usual we have a gritty and sometimes disturbing plot with a very high body count and a race against time before more people become victims. The crime scenes themselves are very descriptive and the tension runs pretty high too and I found myself sitting up a little more, and nudging my tush further towards the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen.

The story doesn’t let up pace throughout the whole book and the ending was a pretty good round up too. Overall it took me around three days to finish the book which isn’t surprising with the size of it. However, I didn’t once get tired of reading it and the story remained fresh throughout. I think her stories only get better and she manages to keep it interesting with the characters she creates. Overall, another great book by Karen Rose and one that I would highly recommend.

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

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.

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.