Review: The Darlings The Darlings sees high flying family the Darlings – who also happen to be the ‘darlings’ of the financial industry – go from riches to… well, not exactly rags but perhaps a few less luxury holidays and world class restaurants. Paul Ross seems a decent enough guy, who didn’t try to game the(…)
literary fiction
Book Review: The Uninvited – Liz Jensen
Review: The Uninvited (2013) Hesketh Lock is an anthropologist with remarkable talents. He isn’t good with relationships but he’s incredibly good at spotting and analysing behavioural patterns. Therefore, when he’s called to investigate corporate cases of whistle-blowing in Taiwan and sabotage in Sweden, he’s looking for the individuals’ reasons for their actions. What he finds is(…)
Book Review: Bad Pharma – Dr. Ben Goldacre
Review: Bad Pharma (2012) Bad Pharma is actually a fairly scary book to pick up when you’ve just collected a prescription from the chemist but I’d heard a lot about Bad Science (which I’ve since read) and thought Bad Pharma would be incredibly interesting. I certainly wasn’t wrong. This is pretty much a damaging expose of(…)
Book Review: The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge – Christine Nolfi
Review: The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge Ourania D’Andre is an electrical contractor who successfully bids for a job at the Fagan mansion. There she is brought into contact with Troy who she has a little history with. They also share grief: Troy’s brother Jason was killed years ago and both bear guilt and sadness over the(…)
Book Review: Abdication – Juliet Nicolson
Review: Abdication (2012) I quite enjoy historical fiction, especially when it’s centred around a period of history I know a little about. When I received Abdication out of the blue I was definitely interested. This still remains one of the scandals of 20th century England, the abdication of a monarch to enable him to be with(…)
Book Review: Home Front – Kristin Hannah
Review: Home Front (2012) Jolene and Michael are a ‘normal’ couple with two kids, a lovely home… and a crumbling marriage. The distance between them seems to be becoming unsurmountable and Michael caves one day and says he doesn’t love Jolene anymore. A hard statement to overcome at the best of times but when your wife(…)
Book Review: Gold – Chris Cleave
Review: Gold (2012) Oh Mr Cleave, you make it hard work for reviewers! I could just tell you about the story of Gold but there’s something in Mr Cleave’s cleverly worded synopsis that makes me want to preserve the secrecy and adhere to his wishes. So, let me just say that Gold is about: relationships, sacrifices,(…)
Book Review: Signs of Life – Anna Raverat
Review: Signs of Life What can I say about Rachel? Well, I don’t understand her, that’s for damn sure but that’s no surprise because you pretty quickly gather from the book that she doesn’t seem to even ‘get’ herself. Despite a comfortable life with a solid relationship, she’s unsettled and that leads to an affair(…)
Book News, Excerpt, Giveaway: In Leah’s Wake Free 3-4 August on Amazon
Happy birthday to author Terri Giuliano Long, whose bestselling literary fiction title In Leah’s Wake will be free on Amazon on 3-4 August. Excerpt: In Leah’s Wake Leah had taught her parents a lesson, all right. Here she was, alone on this smelly hide-a-bed in Hope’s living room, the springs poking into her back, wishing(…)
Book Review: After the Fog – Kathleen Shoop
Review: After the Fog Rose Pavlesic is a very together woman – on the surface. Devoted to her role of Community Nurse, Rose finds the problems of the townspeople quickly overwhelm her thoughts. Luckily, her family are all headed in the right direction so there’s nothing there to worry about… or so she thinks. However,(…)
Book review: Comeback Love – Peter Golden (New release)
[sws_blue_box box_size="575"]About the book Comeback Love - Peter Golden, ISBN: 978-1451656329 Source: Netgalley Like Nicholas Sparks and Robert James Waller, first-time novelist Peter Golden knows how to write the kind of nostalgic fiction that men and women alike fall for. In Comeback Love, a universal story about lost love, he offers an evocative debut that begins in the(…)
Book review: The Lifeboat – Charlotte Rogan (New release)
[sws_blue_box box_size="575"]About the book The Lifeboat - Charlotte Rogan, ISBN: 978-0316185905 Source: NetGalley “The sinking of an ocean liner leaves a newly married woman battling for survival in this powerful and unforgettable debut novel. Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life. In the summer of 1914, the(…)
Review: West of Wawa – Lisa de Nikolits
[sws_blue_box box_size="550"] West of Wawa is a coming-of-age backpacking travel story full of wacky, eye-opening and downright scary adventures. A new arrival in Canada from Australia, Benny is fleeing personal and professional disasters – not to mention her impending 30th birthday. With a history of running from her troubles, Benny escapes once more: abandoning her new job and life for a cross-Canada bus(…)