Review: Time and Time Again by Ben Elton

Title:  Time and Time Again

Author: Ben Elton

Publisher: 9th December 2014 Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press

ISBN: 9780593073568

Pages: 334 pages

How We Read It: ARC ebook

Genre: historical fiction, time travel, thriller

Our Rating: four cups

Synopsis:

It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.

Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history.

Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century?

And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

Our thoughts:

“If you could change one thing in history, if you had the opportunity to go back into the past, to one place and one time and change one thing, where would you go? What would you do?”

How thought provoking is that! What discussions could be had over a few drinks! This book is so very clever and ‘thought provoking’ does not even begin to come close on the possibilities that Elton delivers in this fictional drama. Everyone should read this book for the social commentary alone. Moral, social and cultural dilemmas are thrown at the reader from every angle. Add to that the historical detail and societal norms – thorough and real to life so you feel you are on the streets in Sarajevo or Berlin. We especially found the Franz Ferdinand assassination to be so extraordinary and incredible attention given to detail. Throw into the mix a fictional man on a mission and you have the recipe for one incredible journey of adventure.

We could not put this book down! Elton almost delivers the perfect novel – the premise has you from the get-go and from then on come twists and turns that will keep you ripping through the pages to the very end. The concept is well conceived and the writing clever and highly entertaining.

Although one suspends reality in a fiction book, there are occasions when marrying the factual truths and potential shift in scenarios, a bit too generous. For example, don’t delve too deeply into Newton’s supposed physics on time travel (fascinating though they are) and logistics big (could WW1 really have been prevented) and small (gun and ammunition questions) were difficult to fathom on a few occasions.

There is also the introduction of a major character, who although fascinating, took the spotlight off the essence of the tale (that aspect is a whole new story in itself). The whole balance of the book felt off to us towards the end – slightly rushed? But we guess, where was Elton to draw the line? That is the thing about going back in time. How can you know you've fixed things, improved past mistakes to make a better world?

Despite these minor hiccups, we thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

“The debate always degenerated into name-calling battles been the Marxists, who contended that much of history was inevitable the result of preordained economic and material forces, and the romantics, who believed that history was made by individuals and that a single stomach ache or an undelivered love letter could have changed everything."

Are you a Marxist or Romantic? Read ‘Time and Time Again’ to discover that and much, much more.

You wont regret it.

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 Boston Girl: A Novel by Anita Diamant

Title:  The Boston Girl

Author: Anita Diamant

Publisher: 9th December 2014 by Scribner

ASIN: B00KU4PW86

Pages:  256 pages

How We Read It: ARC ebook

Genre: historical fiction, coming of age

Our Rating: three cups

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Red Tent and Day After Night, comes an unforgettable novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century.

Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie’s intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can’t imagine—a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture, and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love.

Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her “How did you get to be the woman you are today.” She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she was and a wicked sense of humor.

Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Anita Diamant’s previous novels bestsellers, TheBoston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman’s complicated life in twentieth century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world.

Our thoughts:

Anita Diamant's novel begins with a question: "How did you get to be the woman you are today?" Thus follows the telling of a remarkable tale, one so well written, that at times you have to remind yourself it is indeed fiction.

This is the story of Addie Baum - Jewish daughter to immigrant parents; she grew up during the mid-1900s in Boston. As a teenager Addie is asked to recite “Paul Revere’s Ride” at the Saturday Club, a group for young women from many different religious and ethnic backgrounds who gather together each weekend.  This is the beginning of Addie’s journey – a journey that would develop her fortitude and intellect, as she forms friendships, faces family tragedies, follows her aspirations in exploring her career options and eventually finding romance. Diamant covers a lot of history as Addie’s story unfolds: prohibition; 1920s flappers and artists; World War I; The Great Depression; the Spanish Flu; women’s education and careers; journalism and a woman’s place in it.

“People kept saying, ‘Life goes on’. Sometimes that sounded like a wish and sometimes if felt like an order. I wanted to scream, ‘Life goes on? Not for everyone, it doesn’t”.

All of these experiences combine to make Addie the woman she is today, and is representative of a generation of women who pursued freedom in an attempt to make something of their lives, something that traditionally was outside the boundaries of what women should have aspired to.  So many memorable characters are woven throughout this story. We especially enjoyed the independent spirit of several of the women - her sister Betty and Filomena, to name but two.

“Filomena just knew who she was, which wasn’t so easy back then. I guess it’s still not easy, is it? It took me until I was in my forties before I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up”.

Our only criticism is in the closing stages of the novel. The last part of the book just felt rushed, a lot of time covered in a few short chapters pertaining to Addie's later years. Given that the majority of the book was such rich story telling, we just felt that the strings of this story were not neatly tied together.

Overall, however, this was an engaging tale that we would recommend to other readers who enjoy this genre and time period.

                        Our rating: 

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: Hello From The Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Title: Hello From The Gillespies
Author: Monica McInerney
Publisher:  NAL Trade (November 4 2014)
ISBN: 9780451466723

Pages: 624 pages

How We Read It: eARC

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary
Our Rating: 2 cups 

Synopsis:

For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when Angela is taken away from them in a most unexpected manner, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways….

Our Thoughts:

Angela Gillespie feels overwhelmed. She is a wife and mother on an outback Australian sheep station that after too many years of drought no longer has any sheep. She worries about her four children who each have their own (largely self-inflicted) dilemmas. She worries about her relationship with her husband which seems to be growing increasingly distant. She endures the strain of trying to hold it all together. As a result of all the stress, she not only suffers from headaches, but also indulges in an imagined fantasy life as a means to escape from it all.

“I seem to be yearning for something all the time. For everything to be different. To be a different person in some way. To go back and start again, somehow make things better, make the right choices.”

“I just think if I could press a pause button for a while, have some time to myself, a little peace, a lot of quiet, time to reflect, I would be a much better mother, a much better wife, a much better person. I think I just urgently need a little bit of time off from worrying about everything, from being me, all day, every day, months and years on end. Is that too much to ask? Is that selfish of me?”

In a moment of frustration, instead of composing her usual ‘sunny’ Christmas letter, she lays it all out and ‘tells it like it is’ – never intending for this version of the letter to actually be sent out, of course. And, of course, it accidentally DOES get sent, leading to all sorts of upset and fallout.

Then, before the dust settles from the revelations of the brutally honest letter, circumstances occur that do indeed allow her to press that pause button, but not at all in the way in which she imagined. In the aftermath of these events, her family has to learn to pull together and cope with things without her guiding hand, and they make some interesting discoveries along the way.

At the beginning of this tale we were engaged by Angela’s plight, sympathetic to her feelings of discontent. We could relate to that overwhelmed feeling, the longing for a break, the desire for a little 'me time'. The whole idea of the mistakenly sent letter, with all of the resultant consequences, held great potential, too. However, as we read on we were disappointed.

This is a long book, and while the style is easy reading, it needed far more editing. There is a great deal of repetition within the story, and we found ourselves skipping page after page of unnecessary dialogue. There are worthy life lessons illustrated (such as ‘be careful what you wish for’) but they begin to get lost in the endless repetition. Some aspects don't feel completely believable either. While not entirely unlikable, the characters of the grown children come across as quite immature for their ages, and the enormous amount of family drama eventually gets to be a bit much. The story overall is pleasant enough, but it plays out too predictably, leading up to a neat and conveniently 'perfect' conclusion. There are no real surprises here, and this story could have been just as effectively (and more engagingly) told in many fewer pages.

Based on her previous novels, we will certainly read future releases from McInerney; however, we do not feel this book is her strongest effort, and it definitely could be improved by heavier editing.

 Our Rating:

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

Review: Seven Letters From Paris by Samantha Verant

Title: Seven Letters From Paris
Author: Samantha Verant
Publisher: 3rd November 2014 by Random House Australia 
ISBN: 9780857984647

Pages: 304 pages

How We Read It: eARC

Genre: memoir, non-fiction, travel, relationships, cultural-France
Our Rating: 2.5 cups 

Synopsis:

In the best romantic tradition of ALMOST FRENCH, a woman falls madly in love with a Frenchman in Paris. But it takes her twenty years to find him again …

Samantha’s life is falling apart - she's lost her job, her marriage is on the rocks and she's walking dogs to keep the wolf from the door.

But when she stumbles across seven passionate love letters from the handsome Frenchman she fell head over heels for in Paris when she was 19, she can't help but wonder, what if?

Surely it wouldn’t hurt to try to find explain why she never wrote back. Closure is a good thing, after all.

One very carefully worded, very belated email apology later, it’s clear that sometimes love does give you a second chance.

Jetting off to France to reconnect with a man you knew for just one madly romantic day is crazy - but it’s the kind of crazy Samantha’s been waiting for her whole life.

Truth may be stranger than fiction but sometimes it's better than your wildest dreams.

Our Thoughts:

“Nineteen eighty-nine. Twenty years ago. Paris.  And just like that … we reveled in our past, reliving each moment by glorious moment in a wild romp down memory lane.”

Memoirs often make interesting reading and this one appealed especially so, as the prospect of getting a second chance at love, a second lease on life, would make for an entertaining story. Add to that a window into the lives of two seemingly down-to-earth people, for many it would be a journey, a path they too may have travelled. Although a real connection with the characters is difficult due to the style of writing, it still made for a very easy read.

The memoir is written in an easy going, friendly conversational tone, and true romantics will love how it unfolds. It’s a lovely lighthearted story that will restore your faith in love and life – second chances do exist and it’s never too late to change course and go after your dreams.

“By searching my past, I figured, maybe I could figure out my future …. If there was ever a time to change everything in my life it was now.”

An engaging aspect of this book is the dual genre of both romantic tale and travel book. The detail provided of French locations and cuisine is very appealing for any Francophile and serves as a bit of a ‘virtual vacation’ as you follow along with Sam’s experiences.

As the title of the book suggests, a highlight is the seven initial letters sent from Jean-Luc – definitely French and definitely swoon-worthy! And these letters are cleverly interspersed throughout the book – touching, sweet, and 100% romantic.

“If life was the sum of the choices I’d made, I was just going to have to make better decisions. Starting now.”

Seven Letters from Paris is a light read that will restore your faith and inspire you to:

“Now put this book down and live and love your life to its fullest – without fear, without anger, and without regret.”

Our Rating:

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: Lizzy & Jane by Katherine Reay

Title: Lizzy & Jane
Author: Katherine Reay
Publisher:  Thomas Nelson (October 28 2014)
ISBN: 9781401689735

Pages: 352 pages

How We Read It: eARC

Genre: contemporary fiction, chick lit, food and drink
Our Rating: 2 cups 

Synopsis:

Lizzy and Jane never saw eye to eye. But when illness brings them together, they discover they may be more like Austen’s famous sisters after all.

Lizzy was only a teenager when her mother died of cancer. Shortly after, Lizzy fled from her home, her family, and her cherished nickname. After working tirelessly to hone her gift of creating magic in the kitchen, Elizabeth has climbed the culinary ladder to become the head chef of her own New York restaurant, Feast. But as her magic begins to elude her, Paul, Feast’s financial backer, brings in someone to share her responsibilities and her kitchen. So Elizabeth flees again.

In a desperate attempt to reconnect with her gift, Elizabeth returns home. But her plans are derailed when she learns that her estranged sister, Jane, is battling cancer. Elizabeth surprises everyone—including herself—when she decides to stay in Seattle and work to prepare healthy, sustaining meals for Jane as she undergoes chemotherapy. She also meets Nick and his winsome son, Matt, who, like Elizabeth, are trying to heal from the wounds of the past.

As she tends to Jane's needs, Elizabeth's powers begin to return to her, along with the family she left behind so long ago. Then Paul tries to entice her back to New York, and she is faced with a hard decision: stay and become Lizzy to her sister’s Jane, or return to New York and the life she worked so hard to create?

Our Thoughts:

“She was my Mom’s favorite, absolute favorite, to the point of naming her daughters after Austen’s most famous sisters.”

From the very title itself, this tale began with a Jane Austen reference we couldn't pass up. Lizzy and Jane is a story about two sisters who had a falling out when their mother died from cancer. When Lizzy, a New York restaurateur, takes a break to visit her sister Jane, who is undergoing chemotherapy, she thinks she’s there to escape her own stresses and recapture the ‘zing’ that is missing from her cooking, whilst building a bridge with her sister. Instead, she discovers what’s really missing from her life.

“I want to love what I’m doing. I want to not feel heavy all the time. I want to laugh like I used to – to be that kid in the picture…. I want to be whole. I want to be thankful.”

Cancer is a real struggle for all those involved. In today’s day and age, there would be few who have not been touched by it in some way – either personally or through a family member or a friend - which makes this book resonant and poignant on that level.

“I understand. I’ve been on both sides – afraid of where I am and where I’m going to finally feeling comfortable with the journey.”

This book is full of culinary descriptions and literary food references. We had never really considered how food is used in literature that much, but this idea is explored throughout the novel, as Lizzy takes inspiration from several classics for her new creations in the kitchen. In many respects, this story reads like a literary ‘Feast’ (name of the restaurant) for the senses. If you like food and the thought behind its inception, this will prove an intriguing component of the read. 

“It’s never about the food – it’s about what the food becomes, in the hand of the giver and the recipient.”

However, we struggled with the melancholy that permeated this read. The struggles, the misunderstandings – fights with harsh words, painful medical situations, recurrent family discord, insincere communications – not easy reading at times. The story is written solely from Lizzy’s perspective, which significantly limits your appreciation and connection with other characters on a deeper level.

Overall the author attempts to provide a reflection of real life and a message of forgiveness and second chances, reconciliation and realisation of what is truly important in life.

“It was about love and our definition of it, our striving for it. And it was about how that love gets accepted, returned, or rejected.”

Our Rating:

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher (thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing us with an e-ARC) and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Nightingale by Fiona McIntosh

Title: Nightingale
Author: Fiona McIntosh
Publisher: October 21st 2014 by Penguin Australia
ISBN: 9781921901966
Pages: 357 pages 
How We Read It: ARC ebook
Genre: historical fiction, war, romance
Our Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis: 
Amidst the carnage of Gallipoli, British nurse Claire Nightingale meets Australian Light Horseman Jamie Wren. Despite all odds, they fall deeply in love. Their flame burns bright and carries them through their darkest hours, even when war tears them apart.

Jamie's chance meeting with Turkish soldier Açar Shahin on the blood-stained battlefield forges an unforgettable bond between the men. It also leaves a precious clue to Jamie's whereabouts for Claire to follow.

Come peacetime, Claire's desperate search to find Jamie takes her all the way to Istanbul, and deep into the heart of Açar's family, where she attracts the unexpected attention of a charismatic and brooding scholar.

In the name of forgiveness, cultures come together, enemies embrace and forbidden passions ignite – but by the breathtaking conclusion, who will be left standing to capture Nurse Nightingale's heart?

 A heart-soaring novel of heartbreak and heroism, love and longing by a powerhouse Australian storyteller.

Our thoughts:

“You already love him; it happens. Accept love comes out of nowhere for the majority of us. And the best love is unexpected, while the least successful in love are those who plan it or force it. This young man has flown into your heart and made a nest.”

From the harrowing trenches of Gallipoli to the bustling cities of Cairo, London, and even post-war Istanbul, this novel will take you on an emotional journey of war, love, faith, heartbreak and hope. Yes, this is a romantic tale, the classic love triangle, but for us, the real attraction to Fiona McIntosh’s tale is in the descriptive diversity.

From the shores of Gallipoli in World War I and the hellish circumstances that soldiers faced there, McIntosh captures everything, from the chaos and camaraderie to the heroism and tragedy, that will leave you drained yet riveted. We found her writing to be so vivid at times that a real authenticity flowed through her words and we were transported effortlessly to another place and time.

This story serves as a great reminder of the brave work done by the nurses and doctors who worked tirelessly to save and care for the wounded in horrific conditions. At the heart of this novel is the firsthand account of – in this instance – the women, primarily nursing staff – who worked in difficult and unsanitary conditions for ridiculous amounts of time, under the sorrow of so much carnage. One could not help but feel their fears and frustrations, yet unquestionable dedication.

This novel illuminates not only the horror of war but also the human side, and the truce declared to clear No Man's Land of the dead, which allowed a relationship to be struck between the harmonica-playing Jamie and the kaval-playing Açar, provided a moment to surely pull at one’s heartstrings.

Another highlight of the novel was Claire’s trip to Istanbul – once again McIntosh’s descriptions of the post-war Turkish city were vivid, intriguing and culturally captivating.

There is an array of secondary characters that bring a quintessential quality to the story as well. Jamie’s friend Spud at Gallipoli and the heart breaking tale of Açar, who provided the focal motivation in all that would transpire, felt real, the descriptions ‘too’ real as the horrors hit home.

Ultimately this is a well-researched historical fiction novel by an author we will surely read some more from. We were totally absorbed in this compelling story, finding it difficult to put down and eager to pick up when time once more permitted. We have no hesitation in recommending this novel.

"Leave some room for oddities because life, I have found, is rarely neat. Drink your tea. It has magical properties to make every shock feel less dramatic.”

Our Rating:

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