Review: The Housekeepers

Title: The Housekeepers

Author: Alex Hay

Publisher: 11th July 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 390 pages

Genre: historical fiction, mystery, heist 

Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs launch a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class.

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…

After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.

My Thoughts

Housekeeper Mrs King is dismissed and has revenge on her mind. She brings together a team of female associates to plan a robbery and all whilst the house is in the throes of a party during the season. Laughs and mysteries abound in Alex Hay’s, The Housekeepers.

‘I pledge allegiance to this plan, and to the bonds herein defined - with firm intent, free will, in ridicule of all doubt and fear.’

I was intrigued by the plot, setting and period - the promise of a good heist from a wealthy London mansion - all very ‘upstairs and downstairs’ vibes. There are secrets and revelations to keep readers engaged as the countdown to the big day plays out. How are the various characters connected? Why is Mrs King so driven? Is this plan feasible? The rich house descriptions and eclectic group of characters are certainly unique. 

‘You shouldn't forget where you come from,' said Mrs King thoughtfully. She took out her pen, signed the first letter with a flourish. ' The Housekeepers will do nicely.'

Unfortunately, for me, it did not all add up. It is largely a character driven book and with a long (read, ‘huge’) cast of characters to contend with. The pace is slow in places and the heist itself falls a little flat for me. There was a great deal more going on than the premise suggested and with that large cast, I found it difficult to not only keep tabs but also be invested and therefore thrilled by proceedings. 

‘She kept her eyes fixed on the green baize door at the top. It was a partition between worlds. On the other side the air thinned and the light became frosted around the edges.’

Still, if you are intrigued and looking for a fun read with elements of mystery, robbery and an eclectic cast then this may well be the book for you. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Heart Is a Star

Title: The Heart Is a Star

Author: Megan Rogers

Publisher: 28th April 2023 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 284 pages

Genre: contemporary, drama

Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

Layla Byrnes is exhausted. She's juggling a demanding job as an anaesthetist, a disintegrating marriage, her young kids, and a needy lover. And most particularly she's managing her histrionically unstable mother, who repeatedly threatens to kill herself.

But this year, it's different. When her mother rings just before Christmas, she doesn't follow the usual script. Instead, she tells Layla that there's something she needs to tell her about her much-loved father. In response, Layla drops everything to rush to her childhood home on the wild west coast of Tasmania. She's determined to finally confront her mother - and find out what really happened to her father - and lay some demons to rest.

The Heart is a Star is an engrossing, lyrical and powerfully absorbing novel about the complicated and beautiful messiness of midlife; about the ways in which we navigate an intricate, complicated world; and about how we can uncover our true selves when we are forced to face the myths that make us.

My Thoughts

The Heart is a Star appealed to me as it promised what many face in real life - daily struggles for a woman of a certain age. Layla is exhausted and is feeling the strain from work and family demands. She has a troubled mother and when she calls threatening to harm herself and claiming there are things she needs to tell her about her father, Layla jumps on a plane to go and see her. 

‘… at night, when Dad held our hands and walked us the fifty paces to the cliff edge, he'd look up at the dome of constellations above us and say, 'I've never seen the stars so bright than they are here. There are two things in this world you can trust, girls: me and the constancy of those stars.’

Firstly, there is much going on in this book with a number of heavy topics, therefore, it was hard to devote the necessary time to do each of them justice. Layla has work troubles, her marriage is in crisis, her young children need her, she is having an affair, her family (mother and sister) are estranged with her mother threatening self harm; and finally, what is the mystery surrounding her father’s death? Can you see what I mean? There is a lot going on. 

‘… as the children began to grow up and need me less, I remembered that I was a person, with desires and passions and interests and a career that I'd spent a lifetime building.’

This led me to be rather conflicted about this book. Whilst I appreciate what the author was trying to do, scaling it back somewhat might have allowed for further development of certain issues. Whether it had been family dysfunction or the role of women or personally my preferred theme, the long held family secret regarding her father and their initial move to Tasmania, time would have been better spent in my opinion developing a singular theme. 

‘We live a double life. The outer life, which is the one we observe at airports and across dinner tables, at school pick-ups and basketball practice. And then, the one beneath. The secret, passionate, inside-our-skin lives; the intense life that no one else sees.’

The Heart is a Star is a slow burn tale that held potential. At its heart I felt it was about family and the fallout of family secrets being kept. Although others may feel they are protecting those they love and care for by hiding the truth, the damage can be unequivocal when finally they are revealed. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: The Little Venice Bookshop

Title: The Little Venice Bookshop

Author: Rebecca Raisin

Publisher: 30th March 2023 by HQ

Pages: 352 pages

Genre: romance, women’s fiction

Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.

Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.

Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs?

My Thoughts

I have read and enjoyed Rebecca’s books before. This time I admit to being enticed by the title, a cover with the lure of bookshops and, let’s face it, who would not be up for a trip to Venice?

‘…here we are together in Venice, in the loveliest little canal bookshop, about to be spoiled for choice with our first love - reading.’

Whilst it was interesting to read of Luna’s earlier life, travels and her New Age beliefs, overall it took too long to get going. Readers were ultimately left wanting for more time at the bookshop by the Venetian canal. By the end, everything seemed somewhat rushed - insta relationships, finding long lost family and a quick ending - I would like to have read more about the cast of characters. This book proved to be a little too syrupy sweet for me with loads of reliance on New Age aspects such as tarot cards, affirmations and chakras. 

If  you are looking for something light hearted and an escape from reality for a while, 

The Little Venice Bookshop is sure to appeal. A story of family, love and loss all set against a backdrop of cats and books in Venice. An easy inbetween read. 

‘You’d think it was truly abandoned if there wasn’t so much musicality to the place, from the canal babbling and boats whirring past to the murmuring of books and cats. There’s a current, as if the bookshop is slowly waking from a deep sleep after the winter.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: The Private Lives of Spies

Title: The Private Lives of Spies

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Publisher: 14th February 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 216 pages

Genre: historical fiction, short stories, spy

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

From Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world's most beloved and bestselling authors, comes a marvellous collection of stories about intrigue and espionage, told in his inimitable style.

During WW2 there was a rumour that German spies were landing by parachute in Britain, dressed as nuns...

Conradin Muller was an unusual spy. He was recruited in Hamburg in June 1943, much against his will, and sent on his first, and only, mission in late September that year. He failed to send a single report back to Germany, and when the War came to an end in May 1945, he fell to his knees and wept with relief.

From a highly reluctant German spy who is drawn to an East Anglian nunnery as his only means of escape, to the strange tale of one of the Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf, these are Alexander McCall Smith's intriguing and typically inventive stories from the world of espionage.

My Thoughts

"Do you want to spend your life in the shadows? Now there are shadows, and it is the lot of some to work within them or, indeed, on their periphery, in their liminal territory. But if you are one who prefers to be in the clear light of day, then perhaps it is best not to dwell in penumbral regions."

I am a huge fan of the author Alexander McCall Smith. He is a prolific and incredible writer with his No.1. Ladies Detective Agency being a firm favourite of mine. Therefore I am always eager to read his latest which, this time around, is a short story collection surrounding intrigue and espionage. 

Here the reader is presented with five short stories that are a combination of fiction and nonfiction. The first is my favourite, a tale recounting the supposed legend of German spies dropped into England as nuns during WWII. You cannot help but be drawn to the plight of this reluctant spy and his effort to both hide and survive. Other tales include a Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf and another on the Vatican Secret Service. 

Each of the short stories is imbued with Alexander’s typically clever prose and sprinkled life musings surrounding intrigue and espionage. Not one of my favoured of his books but still an entertaining read with themes of transparency and forgiveness in our lives.

“… you can create an identity for yourself that can then become the real you. Then people think that you were always what you claim to be, that you were born to it, so to speak, rather than having made it all yourself. And that can be important in the world of spies. They are accustomed to maintaining one identity while really being something else altogether.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Title: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Author: Heather Fawcett

Publisher: 31st January 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 315 pages

Genre: fantasy, fae, fiction

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love, in this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

My Thoughts

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries is a unique story that combines fantasy, mystery, history, and some romantic aspects. An academic inquiry into the world of the fae - be prepared for something completely different and outside the box.

"Remarkable?" I repeated.

"Well, it's never been done before, has it? An encyclopedia of faeries? This will form a cornerstone of all scholarship on the subject for years to come. Probably it will lead to the formation of new methodologies that will enhance our core understanding of the Folk."

Emily is an introverted researcher who travels in order to study faeries in an effort to compile an encyclopedia. It is written in a diary format which has its pros and cons and whilst the writing is good, it does get a little lost at times. Looking at reviews, people either loved or hated it! It was either magical or downright boring. What I can say is that it reads as a cosy fantasy, somewhat slow paced with quirky characters and a few abrupt occurrences that surprised me. I am not yet sure how I feel about it. I really wanted to like it as the premise is so inviting, especially the whole secrets of the Hidden Ones. Then it seemed to get lost within itself, convoluted and at times, quite dark. A strange mixture. 

This book is quite ambitious (it is book 1 as it will be part of a series) and is sure to appeal to many. It didn’t convince me but it had an understated charm that I found appealing. Readers who enjoy a slower academic fantasy, especially surrounding faerie mythology are sure to be on board.

‘The Folk cannot be understood. They live in accordance to whims and fancies and are little more than a series of contradictions. They have traditions, jealously guarded, but they follow them erratically. We can catalogue them and document their doings, but most scholars agree that true understanding is impossible.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Heroines

Title: The Heroines

Author: Laura Shepperson

Publisher: 31st January 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 338 pages

Genre: Greek mythology, historical fiction, retellings

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

In Athens, crowds flock to witness the most shocking trial of the ancient world. The royal family is mired in scandal. Phaedra, young bride of King Theseus, has accused her stepson, Hippolytus of rape.

He's a prince, a talented horseman, a promising noble with his whole life ahead of him. She's a young and neglected wife, the youngest in a long line of Cretan women with less than savoury reputations.

The men of Athens must determine the truth. Who is guilty, and who is innocent?

But the women know truth is a slippery thing. After all, this is the age of heroes and the age of monsters. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard.

Until now.

My Thoughts

‘I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land.’

The Heroines joins a strong group of Greek mythologies currently on offer for readers. Set out like a Greek tragedy with three acts and a Chorus (giving voice to the women of Greece - very clever!) it is presented as a powerful feminist retelling of Theseus's wife, Phaedra. This is a tale of women's rights and how they fought during this period against the often cruel ways of men and alas, their also often sad demise. 

The story is presented through a range of characters in individual chapters and reads like a letter in many ways rather than a direct retelling. This makes the reader somewhat removed from the story and problems further arise with a large cast of characters. These are all in first person (with frequent switches) and do not allow for full development. I do enjoy these Greek retellings regaling the lost voice of women, however, this book does not reach the standard of others currently on offer. 

The reader is left wanting something more in both character development and world building. The author does, however, clearly highlight the plight of women and their lack of power at this time. 

The Heroines is a fresh and contemporary retelling of this Greek myth, especially through the eyes of Phaedra who is often overshadowed by stronger characters from the period. Whilst I was excited to read her story and the book held potential, it needed more depth for me to make those necessary, deep connections. 

‘If they are the heroes, does that make us the heroines?

We keep going, we persevere, we ask for nothing and we get even less.

Where are our stories?’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.