Things We Never Said

Title: Things We Never Said

Author: Nick Alexander

Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing 4 Sept 2018

Pages: 367 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: General Fiction (adult), Women’s Fiction

My Rating: 4 crowns

Synopsis:

All the love she ever gave. Every secret she never told.

Catherine was the love of Sean’s life. But now she is gone. All that’s left is a box full of envelopes, each containing a snapshot and a cassette tape.

Through a series of recordings, Catherine shares their long love story, but will Sean recognise the story she tells? Catherine’s words have been chosen with love, but are painfully honest—and sometimes simply painful. She reveals every unspoken thought and every secret she kept from her husband—revelations that will shake everything Sean thought he knew about their life together.

But as disconcerting as the tapes turn out to be, Sean prays that they will ultimately confirm the one thing he never dared question. Does destiny exist? And were his and Catherine’s love and life together always meant to be?

My Thoughts

‘Things We Never Said’ was a very enjoyable book. I really liked how every chapter started off with a snapshot and then a cassette recording of his wife’s explanation of the photo. I felt for, Sean, the main protagonist, as he listened to his wife’s revelations.

“On Wednesday evening, he bursts into tears while driving home and has to pull over into a lay-by until he can see properly again...he realises he had been remembering kissing Catherine in the middle of the ring road.”

It’s a very moving story about grief and a man’s struggle to get through while maintaining his relationships with his daughter, family and friends. While he listens to the cassettes he also reflects on his own life and makes changes to his current life.

“He has been thinking about what Catherine said, that he has stopped singing. He’s been trying to work out when and why that happened and has realised that he’s even stopped listening to music.”

Some of Catherine’s revelations are very painful for Sean and I thought it very unfair for him to be finding these things out when she had passed, maybe it was easier for her to reveal them that way, but it caused him lots of different emotions and he was still trying to deal with the grief of losing her.

“Sean spends the week feeling jealous. He’s fully aware that it’s absurd to be feeling jealous of one’s late wife’s ex-boyfriend from thirty-five years ago, but he can’t help himself.”

Sean’s neighbour and family friend Maggie was a big support to Sean and his daughter during their grieving period, but she was very unsure about the validity of the cassettes and was worried that Sean was placing too much importance on them. I think they helped him through his grief.

“But just remember that...Look, this is difficult to say, but she’s gone, Sean...it’s like I said before. It’s all those drugs she was on, sweetie. That’s all it is.”

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It is a sweet, warm and moving story about love, loss, grief, change and happiness. It keeps you well entertained with it’s many revelations along the way.

“To lose someone you really love/ is hard beyond belief/ Your heart comes close to breaking point/ and no one knows the grief/ Many times I’ve thought of you / and many times I’ve cried/ If my love could have saved you/ you never would have died.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

Review: The Little Shop of Found Things

Title:  The Little Shop of Found Things

Author: Paula Brackston

Publisher: 2nd October 2018 by St Martin’s Press

Pages: 320 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction, time travel

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

A new series about a young woman whose connection to antiques takes her on a magical adventure, reminiscent of Outlander

New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance to launch a new series guaranteed to enchant her audience even more.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It’s while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century. And shortly after, she's confronted by a ghost who reveals that this is where the antique has its origins. The ghost tasks Xanthe with putting right the injustice in its story to save an innocent girl’s life, or else it’ll cost her Flora’s.

While Xanthe fights to save her amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.

With its rich historical detail, strong mother-daughter relationship, and picturesque English village, The Little Shop of Found Things is poised to be a strong start to this new series.

My Thoughts

Having read a couple of Paula Brackston ‘witchier’ novels, I was up for trying the first in a new series for her. With an attractive cover and the promise of a dual time narrative, I signed up.

Being the first in a series, what we have here is a slow build - mother and daughter starting over in a small town ready to move on and begin anew after hardships. The main lead, Xanthe, has an ability to connect with objects that ‘sing’ to her the history of their previous owner. Their new abode has a resident ghost from the  1600s who demands Xanthe's help save her daughter in that time - thus the strong pull she feels for the chatelaine (had to look that one up!), that will in turn, assist her to time travel. What I did appreciate is the historic detail, inclusive of settings/buildings, clothing, servants lives, attitudes to religion, and sentencing of convicted criminals. I enjoyed the modern tale also and hope future books in the series will flesh out more with Xanthe’s mother Flora, helpful friend Liam and many in the local community who really needed to be fleshed out a bit more for the reader to engage.

With characters and plot taking their time in being established, I began to struggle. When  Xanthe so easily alternates back and forth between past and present, I had trouble letting go of logistics. To fully appreciate this scenario, one must suspend understanding in a number of matters eg. the time travel dynamics with no one surprised when Xanthe appeared or disappeared and in odd types of dress given the relevant time period. Her language was alluded to as being strange in the past, but the way she spoke and her forthright expectations really would not have been accepted in the 1600s; there were just too many unrealistic interactions if she was to assume the role of a servant. Add I did not really fall for the ‘insta romance’ if she was fearful of the retributions from the ghost in present day.

‘Xanthe felt suddenly swamped with guilt. How could she have been so easily and completely distracted from what she had come here to do?’

So, whilst the concept is clever and it may make for a good series, I was not overly convinced with the opening instalment. While there were parts I enjoyed, I couldn't fully get into this book. It is an easy read with time travel, romance, mystery and historical fiction all melded together with a sprinkle of magic thrown into the mix.

‘The present that she knew, the way things were in her time, could only have come about if she had traveled back to the past.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

Review: The Single Ladies of the Jacaranda Retirement Village

Title: The Single Ladies of the Jacaranda Retirement Village

Author: Joanna Nell

Publisher: 25 September 2018 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary fiction

My Rating: 3.5 crowns

Synopsis:

A moving, funny, heartwarming tale of love and friendship, for anyone who loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Keeper of Lost Things and Three Things about Elsie.

It's never too late to grow old disgracefully...

The life of 79-year-old pensioner Peggy Smart is as beige as the décor in her retirement village. Her week revolves around aqua aerobics and appointments with her doctor. The highlight of Peggy's day is watching her neighbour Brian head out for his morning swim.

Peggy dreams of inviting the handsome widower - treasurer of the Residents' Committee and one of the few eligible men in the village - to an intimate dinner. But why would an educated man like Brian, a chartered accountant no less, look twice at Peggy? As a woman of a certain age, she fears she has become invisible, even to men in their eighties.

But a chance encounter with an old school friend she hasn't seen in five decades - the glamorous fashionista Angie Valentine - sets Peggy on an unexpected journey of self-discovery. Can she channel her 'inner Helen Mirren' and find love and friendship in her twilight years?

My Thoughts

‘I don’t see the point at my age. Who’s going to look at me anyway?’

Being a member of the sandwich generation (responsible both for bringing up your own children and caring for your ageing parents) I fully appreciate what this book has to offer. An engaging read, heartwarming really, about the high and low points of what it is to grow old. There will be laughter, there will be tears but most of all it highlights what it’s like to be facing the twilight years of one’s life.

‘It’s difficult to make those really deep friendships when you’re our age, don’t you find? No sooner have you got to know each other than you’re wearing their favourite colour and singing ‘Abide With Me.’

Follow along with Peggy and her fellow residents of the Jacaranda Retirement Village as they face the growing hurdles of what it is to age. At times humorous, at times incredibly sad, I feel that this book really does shone the spotlight on both aspects of this life stage. How do we treat our elderly, what is like to be facing a loss of independence, a lost partner or loved one - how do you move on from that? Peggy (the main lead) goes through all this and more and with the help of her lifelong friend Angie, learns to see life through a different - ‘a pensioner camouflaged in fifty shades of beige’ - lens!

‘Unfortunately, it all went downhill once I hit the mental-pause.’

The standout aspects of this book is firstly the humour. Peggy’s thoughts, musings and observations are very funny. Whether you know someone, or even have experienced some similar situations, it will ring true for many of us. For the female readers, no matter what age, we all have had to deal with mood swings, memory loss and body image shame.

‘She hated shopping. Underwear was challenging enough, but swimwear was in a league of its own.’

The second aspect I wish to draw attention to, is the underlying theme of loss and sadness - loss of youth, loss of independence, loss of a loved one. This book may make you giggle, but at this stage of life, it goes hand in hand with many a sad truth. Whether it be physical (knee replacements or the consequences of having a fall), social (loss of a friend) or emotional  (loss of your own cognitive skills) - it’s just so challenging to face and confront this onslaught of change.

Peggy stared at the shaggy fringe of dust clinging to the blades of the ceiling fan. How she’d love to get up there and give them a good clean, but it wasn’t worth it. Her independent life at the village was already hanging by the thinnest of threads. She couldn’t risk falling from the stepladder.

Finally there are the many pertinent themes that run throughout - lessons to be learnt at any stage of life. Everything from taking charge of your own life, learning how precious time is, being thankful and best of all, it’s never too late to make changes. Peggy learns to embrace these changes, thanks to Angie’s encouragement, and surprises herself with new and fun discoveries.

‘How many of the colourful dresses in her wardrobe had been worn to farewell someone who had had a fall. Stay upright seemed to be the mantra of her age group.’

This book has a little something for everyone - best of all is perhaps its honesty - laugh or cry (or do both) but embrace life and cherish each and every day.

‘You have to stop thinking like an old person. If you behave like an old biddy, people are going to treat you like one.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Lost Pearl

Title:  The Lost Pearl

Author: Emily Madden

Publisher: 27th August 2018 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 480 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

A sweeping family saga of long lost love, for readers of Fiona McIntosh and Mary-Anne O'Connor.

From Pearl Harbor to the shores of Sydney, a family secret that spans generations could unite a family – or destroy it.

Honolulu, Hawaii 1941

On the evening of her sixteenth birthday party, Catherine McGarrie wants nothing more than for the night to be over, even though the opulence of the ballroom befits the daughter of a US Navy Rear Admiral. Then she meets Charlie, a navy officer from the other side of the tracks, a man her parents would never approve of. As rumours of war threaten their tropical paradise, Catherine and Charlie fall in love. But the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941 changes their lives forever.

Seventy–five years later, addled by age and painkillers, Catherine tells her granddaughter Kit her story and reveals the tale of a long–lost treasure. Can Kit uncover the secret and reunite her family? Or will the truth tear them apart?

My Thoughts

‘Read this book’, the reviewers stated. ‘I’m not sure’, I replied. ‘Read it!’. ‘Okay’. Wow! To think I was so close to missing out on such an incredible tale! This is one of ‘those’ books - it will leave you both breathless and speechless. The Lost Pearl by Aussie author Emily Madden can only be described as epic in every sense of the word - a family drama which spans decades.

This heartbreaking tale contains so much trauma, that inevitably, leads to such sadness. Yet right along side it is hope and love and you will be drawn in, clinging to that final thread of things will be okay. A dual time narrative that witnesses a granddaughter slowly uncovering the secrets from her grandmother’s dying words. This is a book with a lot of pages, but at no stage does it drag. In fact the opposite will occur, long into the night, when sleep should have claimed you, will you tell yourself, ‘just one more chapter’.

Here are just some of the aspects that make this book truly great. The research: this is a story infused with rich historical detail that will be confronting in some ways. Everything from the laughter and joy of prewar Hawaii, to the devastation and trauma of the bombing of Pearl Harbour, to the horrible treatment of unmarried pregnant women at the Crown Womens Hospital in Sydney. Then there are the themes: weaving through this tale you will be confronted with class and race issues in pre WWII America and of course sexism in the treatment of women. To do this requires some fabulous writing and Emily delivers on this aspect! There are a variety of plot lines, an array of characters that in the hands of a lesser author would become a messy storyboard. Not so here. It just all works so well. Finally, there are the characters themselves and delightfully we are given a variety of first person voices which allows the reader a greater understanding and connection. The engagement you will feel to both Charlie and Kitty in the past - even learning the reasoning behind William’s thoughts - will be so real and heart wrenching.

As you know I am an avid fan of historical fiction but the woven web of secrets and loss throughout this particular tale, will leave you feeling as if you were in places such as Hawaii on the eve of the bombing or waiting for a baby to be delivered in that terrible institution. This holds such poignancy about family and love, yet at the same time, slowly placing all the puzzle pieces on the board for you to move around and finally place together for an amazing journey.

‘It wasn’t the ending she had envisioned, but wasn’t that always the case? Life rarely let you live it out according to plan.’

I could not put this book down and for a long time found it difficult to leave Charlie, Catherine, Kit and Adam - even Kit’s family (especially her brothers) were delightful. There is just so much to love here that I cannot recommend it highly enough to people who love a story rich in drama, history and romance.

‘No, not goodbye.’ He dipped his head, planting a kiss on her forehead. ‘Until we meet again.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

Review: A Brazen Curiosity

Title: A Brazen Curiosity: A Regency Cozy (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries Book 1)

Author: Lynn Messina

Publisher: 15 September 2018 by Potatoworks Press

Pages: 176 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, mystery, romance

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Twenty-six-year-old Beatrice Hyde-Clare is far too shy to investigate the suspicious death of a fellow guest in the Lake District. A spinster who lives on the sufferance of her relatives, she would certainly not presume to search the rooms of her host's son and his friend looking for evidence. Reared in the twin virtues of deference and docility, she would absolutely never think to question the imperious Duke of Kesgrave about anything, let alone how he chose to represent the incident to the local constable.

And yet when she stumbles upon the bludgeoned corpse of poor Mr. Otley in the deserted library of the Skeffingtons' country house, that's exactly what she does.

My Thoughts

Lynn Messina! Sign me up! You are becoming my ‘go to’ for a fun getaway. Light and easy reads is what you deliver time and again. I adored this book! Lynn has proven herself to be a truly witty and very clever author of Regency genre. I mean a ‘posthaste’ nap sounds inviting to me!

“Aunt Vera, having decided it was her niece who had ruined the mood, rather than Mr. Otley’s corpse, reiterated her demand that Bea take a nap posthaste.”

This book is indeed a lot of fun and ticks so many boxes - historic details, an escape to the country, a murder to be solved, a little romance and all tied together with humour. You will love Beatrice, our main heroine and an old maid at 26! The way she does a character analysis on those gathered at this country retreat is wonderful, with her desire to throw food at them in abomination truly hysterical. However, there is also that touch of sadness about her situation and she recognises that which makes the reader truly feel for her.

“The difference between who she perceived herself to be and who she actually was was vast, and if she had any fight left in her, she would resent how easily she’d succumbed to everyone’s low expectations, including her own.”

Bea found herself wanting to hurl a dinner roll at him just to elicit a lecture on the throwing arch of flour-based projectiles.”

So when a murder occurs in the library late one night, Bea sees this as her opportunity. This has a good ol’ game of ‘Cluedo’ written all over it - Mr So and So, in the library with the .... what is there not to appreciate? As Beatrice and the Duke put their heads together in an attempt to reveal the murderer, the complexity of the clues is such, that you will not see the culprit until the final reveal.

“Beatrice couldn’t believe they were debating decorum while the dead body of Mr. Otley cooled before their eyes.”

I cannot recommend this book highly enough (and I am off to search up the remaining two in the series) for an all round entertaining read. It is a fun mystery, filled with an array of stereotypical, yet enticing, characters from that era with many a laugh out loud moment.

“I had quite a lot of tea.”

“Bea!” her aunt exclaimed, appalled at this display of outrageous behavior. “We just talked about this. Ladies do not admit to any biological functions.”

“Yes, Bea,” Flora said, smirking. “Weren’t you listening? It was in the section on hygiene.”

“Of course, I remember,” Bea lied smoothly. “The hygiene section was a favorite. I do particularly love disavowing my own physiological processes.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

The Sunday Girl

Title: The Sunday Girl

Author: Pip Drysdale

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Australia), 23rd August 2018

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers

My Rating: 4.5 Cups

Synopsis:

The Girl on the Train meets Before I Go to Sleep with a dash of Bridget Jones in this chilling tale of love gone horribly wrong …

Some love affairs change you forever. Someone comes into your orbit and swivels you on your axis, like the wind working on a rooftop weather vane. And when they leave, as the wind always does, you are different; you have a new direction. And it’s not always north.

Any woman who’s ever been involved with a bad, bad man and been dumped will understand what it feels like to be broken, broken-hearted and bent on revenge. Taylor Bishop is hurt, angry and wants to destroy Angus Hollingsworth in the way he destroyed her: Insidiously. Irreparably. Like a puzzle, he’d slowly dissembled … stolen a couple of pieces from, and then discarded, knowing that nobody would ever be able to put it back together ever again. So Taylor consulted The Art of War and made a plan. Then she took the next step – one that would change her life forever.

Then things get really out of control – and The Sunday Girl becomes impossible to put down.

My Thoughts

It certainly was impossible to put down! I read this book in 3 days and it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I have read many thrillers before, but this would have to be in my top 10.

I really enjoyed the way every chapter started with an excerpt from The Art of War, this was the book that the protagonist, Taylor, was using as a guide to ruin her ex-boyfriend, Angus.

“But everybody has their limit, a boundary you just can’t cross, and Angus eventually found mine...that amicable, pliable, understanding girl finally snapped.”

Angus seemed like a dream come true at first and Taylor was swept off her feet,

“With Angus, life was like a movie: a dozen red roses at work for no reason, phone calls from the restaurant bathroom in the middle of a business lunch just to say that he missed me…”

She soon noticed little things about him that made him not so perfect and to keep him interested, she did things she wouldn’t normally do.

“But then, after a few months, the night set in. A tapestry of darkness began to weave itself around us...I knew how wonderful Angus could be if he was happy…”

Taylor was very lucky to have such a supportive best friend, in Charlotte, who helped her get through the break-up, but even she didn’t know how far Taylor was planning to go.

She set about destroying him one step at a time, she made a list:

“Reputation. Work. Money. Family. Health. Home. Sanity. Sex. Other.”

I really liked how calculating and clever Taylor was in her plan for revenge and it made for some really interesting reading that made you want to keep turning the pages and reading more and more. The chapters were quite short so that also made it an easy and quick read.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller with a very unexpected twist at the end.

“And I know that one day I will stop thinking of Angus...I know that one day he will become just another thing that changed me, that made me who I am. Because that’s how life works: Some love affairs change you forever.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release