Review: A Life of Her Own

Title:  A Life of Her Own

Author: Fiona McCallum

Publisher: 18th March 2019 by Harlequin Australia, HQ (Fiction, Non Fiction, YA) & MIRA

Pages: 416 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women fiction

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

When knowledge gives you the power to change your life ... Alice Hamilton loved being a mature-age student, but now she's finished her university degree she needs to find herself a career. But the job market is tough and it doesn't help that her partner David keeps reminding her about their sizeable mortgage. When she's offered a role in a major real estate agency, she jumps at the opportunity. David is excited by her prospects in the thriving Melbourne housing market, and Alice is pleased that she'll be utilising her exceptional people skills.

But Alice quickly realises all is not as it seems. What is she doing wrong to be so out of sync with her energetic boss, Carmel Gold, agent extraordinaire? Alice is determined to make it work, but how much will it affect her values?

As everything starts to fall apart, a sudden visit home to the country town Alice escaped years ago provides an unexpected opportunity to get some perspective. Surrounded by people who aren't what they seem, or have their own agendas, can Alice learn to ask for what she really wants ... on her own terms?

From Australia's master storyteller comes an inspiring story about standing up for yourself, making difficult choices and chasing your dreams.

My Thoughts

A Fiona McCallum book will always provide you with a good dose of reality tied together with an emotional plot line. On this occasion, there is Alice who, after a failed marriage and undertaking studies as a mature age student, tries to find a place in the workforce to help her partner with the payment of their new home in Melbourne. Sadly, however, she doesn’t enjoy her work and longs for a fulfilling life. Thus begins a journey of self discovery, of picking up the pieces and finding the courage to try and start anew. Can Alice make ‘A Life of Her Own’?

There are many hurdles and hoops for Alice to jump over and work her way through in this book ... so many, in fact, that it becomes somewhat dull. There is the sad upbringing, unsupportive family, failed marriage, the domineering and uncaring partner, the vicious boss .... the list is long. So with little support, Alice understandably starts to fall apart, crying regularly and often. Unfortunately the overkill makes me blase regarding her plight as it all gets a bit repetitive.

Yet for those readers who can relate to one, or all, of the sad scenarios, then Fiona’s writing will undoubtedly speak to you. There are many emotionally charged pages as you hope Alice will indeed find the courage to forge ‘a life of her own’ in this heartfelt tale; that she will overcome life’s hurdles and find the strength to create a brighter future for herself.

‘In not too long you’ll be in a much better place and you’ll look back on this time and laugh at how hopeless it all seemed. Meanwhile, I think you need to relax, ease up on yourself, not expect to have all the answers–that’s the universe’s job. Put it out there and ask for help. That’s what I do.’

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: Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop

Title: Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop

Author: Rebecca Raisin

Publisher: 3rd March 2019 by HQ Digital

Pages: 250 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: romance, contemporary, humour, womens fiction

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

The trip of a lifetime!

Rosie Lewis has her life together.

A swanky job as a Michelin-Starred Sous Chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for exactly January 2021.

That’s until she comes home one day to find her husband’s pre-packed bag and a confession that he's had an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.

Now, Rosie is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime, and the chance to change her life! With Poppy, her new-found travelling tea shop in tow, nothing could go wrong, could it…?

My Thoughts

‘The bookworms are utterly lovely. They cuddle their books like newborn babies, chat for hours over tea and cake about their favourite writers, cliff hangers, preferred chapter length, eBooks versus paperbacks and the like! In a way I wish I could have poured my own pot of tea and sat with them like Aria did. You have to envy her sometimes. It’s a great way to live life.’

Bookworms beware! As soon as I saw this and read the blurb, I knew I needed to read this book! Sometimes you need some light escapism for lifting one’s mood, and this is one of those books that came to me at the right time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

There is just so much to love about this story .... with some really compelling life lessons included. I really appreciated Rosie’s story, both the literal and figurative journey she was on. In fact, there were quite an assortment of characters on this wonderful trip across the UK - what a great way to travel! I totally lost myself to van life and felt like I was at one of the festivals where Rosie and Aria have set up. I want a van!

‘A busy day ahead doing this. I grin, imagining him in some rural hamlet, a pot of steaming hot tea at the ready, a new novel to sink into and nothing else to do all day besides enjoy the solitude.’

Rebecca Raisin’s writing has a wonderful warm feel to it, both in terms of people and place. The people are engaging and the places .... well you just wish you were there - pink van included! Then there is the food and tea! Don’t get me started! You will adore Aria’s van, you will love the combination of tea and books, especially Rosie and Aria’s attempt to match a brew to a title! I could really do with a cup of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ right about now!

‘She goes to the first shelf, pulls down a once cobalt blue hardback, its cover now ravaged and faded with time-and she takes a great big sniff, before she turns to me, her eyes bright as though she’s just discovered the meaning of life. “That is the best scent in the world, better than any perfume, any flower. It’s the smell of lives lived.”

Delve a bit deeper and this book is about life, love and friendship and how it can be found in the most unlikely of places. It’s all about finding yourself and daring to break out of the humdrum daily existence to try something new and exciting. Could you reinvent yourself? Live nomadically from venture to venture? Who wouldn’t love to try a summer of festivals in a camper!

‘With a long sigh she says, “I felt like there was no sunshine anymore, you know? Like I was trudging through interminable darkness. Have you ever considered why you’re here, Rosie? Like right here, right now? This moment.”

This wonderful cosy read just resonated with me so much! With copious amounts of tea, books and a trip to the countryside ... what is there not to love?

“Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a thousand lives already,” he laughs. “And one thing I’ve learned is there is no right way to walk this earth, and we can only learn from those in our lives, take whatever lesson we can from it and keep going.”

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: What the Wind Knows

Title:  What the Wind Knows

Author: Amy Harmon

Publisher: 1st March 2019 by Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 416 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women fiction, historical fiction, romance

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

My Thoughts

Amy Harmon has a new book out! Sign me up! Amy is one of those buy without knowing authors, as her writing is so lyrical and you are always guaranteed to be swept away. ‘What the Wind Knows’ is a wonderful tale of Ireland during the 1920s.

‘I’d often wondered, absorbed in piles of research, if the magic of history would be lost if we could go back and live it. Did we varnish the past and make heroes of average men and imagine beauty and valor where there was only dirge and desperation? Or like the old man looking back on his youth, remembering only the things he’d seen, did the angle of our gaze sometimes cause us to miss the bigger picture?’

The novel was well researched on so many aspects, everything from the clothing worn, to the political unrest, all adding to its authenticity. There are a number of really interesting aspects to this book: the mythical story of Niamh and Oisin, excerpts from Yeats poems, key moments of the Irish Revolution, cameo’s by Michael Collins’ and his fight for freedom and finally, a timeless love story of Anne and Thomas. Bound to be something for any history lover in this book.

What I did find, however, was the balance was not quite right for me between all these aspects. There is a lot of history in this book and sometimes it is to the detriment of the more personal aspects, such as the love story. I would have preferred to learn more of the story between Anne and Thomas. Amy makes a valiant effort to link the history to the people ie. through the inclusion of Michael Collins, but it does not quite fully gel. I feel like there were two distinct tales - one a history lesson the other a love story. So whilst I appreciate the amount of time and research that went into this book , I really wanted to learn even more about the characters, particularly Eoin who was so central but glossed over as an adult. I admittedly skimmed some parts which is shocking for an Amy Harmon book , yet I needed to be more invested in the personal tales that were being told and not the outright historical recount.

If you have never read an Amy Harmon book, I suggest you do (HERE) ... and soon. She has an incredible way with words and I will gladly read anything and everything she writes. This book is not one of my more favoured ones of hers, however that being said, I still loved it and would recommend to those who have a particular interest in Irish history. This is a well written tale with the added bonus of a beautiful, historical, time traveling romance.

“Shh,” I soothed. “’Tis just the wind.”

“What story is it trying to tell?” she murmured, her voice rough with spent emotion.

“The wind knows every story.”

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 Scholar

Title: The Scholar

Author: Dervla McTiernan

Publisher: 18th February 2019 by HarperCollins

Pages: 384 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: mystery, fiction, crime

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

From the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller The Ruin comes a compulsive new crime thriller featuring DS Cormac Reilly. Being brilliant has never been this dangerous ...

When Dr Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit and run outside Galway University late one evening, she calls her partner, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him.

A security card in the dead woman's pocket identifies her as Carline Darcy, a gifted student and heir apparent to Irish pharmaceutical giant Darcy Therapeutics. The multi-billion-dollar company, founded by her grandfather, has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy - it has funded Emma's own ground-breaking research. The enquiry into Carline's death promises to be high profile and high pressure.

As Cormac investigates, evidence mounts that the death is linked to a Darcy laboratory and, increasingly, to Emma herself. Cormac is sure she couldn't be involved, but as his running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question his own objectivity. Could his loyalty to Emma have led him to overlook evidence? Has it made him a liability?

My Thoughts

As a follow up to her most successful ‘The Ruin’, author Dervla McTiernan delivers a sensational second story in the Cormac Reilly series. Not having read the first book, I did not feel that I missed out by not doing so. ‘The Scholar’ is a complex and captivating thriller that confirms Dervla to be a wonderful crime writer.

I raced through this book completely captivated by the murder mystery playing out before me. Dervla does provide some of the backstory to Cormac from the first book which helped in understanding some main characters. There is also a range of supporting characters that are so well presented, particularly Peter Fisher and Carrie O'Halloran who I loved and would love to learn more of in future stories.

This is a fabulous crime novel full of intrigue and corruption with a well developed plot. You will follow along with the investigation and learn of cover ups, deception and much police ‘politics’ on when to follow procedure and when to follow your instinct. The story was so well woven that not until the very end did I have an inkling of the perpetrator. The twists and turns will certainly keep you guessing and you will become most invested in well rounded and developed characters.

All up this is an addictive and fascinating journey and if you are not on the Dervla McTiernan crime train, I suggest you hop aboard for some well written thrillers.

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: Home Fires

Title:  Home Fires

Author: Fiona Lowe

Publisher: 18th February 2019 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 400 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

When a lethal bushfire tore through Myrtle, nestled in Victoria's breathtaking Otway Ranges, the town's buildings - and the lives of its residents - were left as smouldering ash. For three women in particular, the fire fractured their lives and their relationships.

Eighteen months later, with the flurry of national attention long past, Myrtle stands restored, shiny and new. But is the outside polish just a veneer? Community stalwart Julie thinks tourism could bring back some financial stability to their little corner of the world and soon prods Claire, Bec and Sophie into joining her group. But the scar tissue of trauma runs deep, and as each woman exposes her secrets and faces the damage that day wrought, a shocking truth will emerge that will shake the town to its newly rebuilt foundations... 

My Thoughts

‘...it wasn’t the sight of the buckled and twisted remains of their home that undid her. It was seeing two tiny rompers, Liam’s shorts and T-shirts and Josh’s workwear—clothes she’d pegged on the line the morning of the fire before leaving to visit her mother. She’d doubled over at the everyday sight and sobbed at nature’s taunting. How dare she have taken normality for granted.’

If you live anywhere in the world where bushfires are hazard, you will be enthralled by this book. Each summer, here in Australia, we are faced with this deadly disaster annually. What Fiona does is bring it right into the spotlight in a most confronting way. From both an individual and community perspective the devastating effects are presented and admirably not just for a moment but for many months afterwards as well.

Following the lives of three women deeply affected, the story jumps back and forth from prior to, during and many months later. At times this can be a challenge to track, however, Fiona does it well enough, climaxing with the fire itself on the day. This is not just a story about bushfires, it’s an investigation into the many issues of life in a small town community and the everyday challenges they face. What the fire does, is bring these conflicts to a head with how people cope when faced with adversity.

‘Now everything was measured in BF and AF, from the big picture things right down to the little things like reaching for your favourite cooking knife or spanner, only to realise it had been destroyed.’

Beginning with their frustrations at the slow rebuild after the fire and having to live in temporary housing, to the social and emotional impact on families and individuals. Fiona does a wonderful job at presenting how such a traumatic situation impacts on people differently. It really makes you stop and pause as to how you would respond to such a confronting situation. There are many personal stories here that cover a cross section of issues - marriage, jobs, domestic violence. I have to be honest and say that I did struggle with the three male partners - I didn’t like any of them and found their actions - scripted or not - rather hard to accept.

Overall, this was a fabulous read, so real and emotional - the frustration and heartbreak very relatable. There are many facets and components to this story of a small town in the face of devastating fires. I highly recommend you taking the time to become part of the lives of these people and feel the fear with what they faced.

‘Claire thought about the men and women of Myrtle and how many were barely coping. All their energy was sucked out of them just trying not to sink under the weight of trauma, red tape and rebuilding. It didn’t leave much in reserve...’

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: Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

Title: Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

Author: Ruth Hogan

Publisher: 12th February 2019 by Hachette

Pages: 336 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: general fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 4 crowns

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes - a novel of mothers and daughters, families and secrets and the astonishing power of friendship.

Tilly was a bright, outgoing little girl who liked playing with ghosts and matches. She loved fizzy drinks, swear words, fish fingers and Catholic churches, but most of all she loved living in Brighton in Queenie Malone's Magnificent Paradise Hotel with its endearing and loving family of misfits - staff and guests alike.

But Tilly's childhood was shattered when her mother sent her away from the only home she'd ever loved to boarding school with little explanation and no warning. Now, Tilda has grown into an independent woman still damaged by her mother's unaccountable cruelty. Wary of people, her only friend is her dog, Eli. But when her mother dies, Tilda goes back to Brighton and with the help of her beloved Queenie sets about unraveling the mystery of her exile from The Paradise Hotel and discovers that her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all ... Mothers and daughters ... their story can be complicated ... it can also turn out to have a happy ending.

My Thoughts

‘I am here to pick over the bones of my mother's life like some sort of domestic vulture; deciding which linen, china and furniture are worth keeping, and which should be consigned to the charity shops’

I love Ruth Hogan’s writing. Her book, ‘The Keeper of Lost Things’ (review HERE) was extraordinary, so I was excited to embark on another reading journey with Ruth at the helm. Her writing is pure and simple, yet leaves you with a full heart. She most definitely has a way with words especially considering it’s not about always about plot but character and relationships. I particularly appreciated her shining a spotlight on mental health in this particular tale.

‘Maybe I am mad, and yes, maybe I will get hurt, but isn't it about time to take a risk? I'm sick of being careful and hiding who I really am.’

This is a wonderful story all about family relationships over time and the impact of being truthful to those you care about. It really is a thought provoking read just from that aspect alone. It alternates (seamless shifts and connections between timelines I might add) between a young Tilly and the grown up Tilda and this provides insightful perceptions of the impact of change over time. Tilda holds onto much resentment towards her mother and only after her mother dies and she is sorting things out, does Tilda come to see events from a different perspective.

‘I can still see her hair blowing in the wind and her dress billowing. She was so beautiful and I was so proud of her. So where did it all go so terribly, irrevocably wrong?’

Tilly was always closer to her father and only upon her mother’s death and with the help of friends and neighbours can she see events of the past through fresh eyes. The diaries she reads help Tilda to understand her mother more as a person and appreciate how it was for her and ultimately form the person Tilda was to become herself. This struggle to reconcile a past she thought she understood, to how things really were is fascinating. Combine that with a fabulous cast of characters and you have an engaging read.

‘I am going to use the best cutlery, the best crockery and the best glasses every day. I am not going to die with my best party dress still unworn on its hanger.’

If you have never read a Ruth Hogan book, I suggest you give it a go and read one sooner rather than later.

‘These days I remember my childhood like an old cine film shot in soft focus mellowed by distance and nostalgia, that jumps and jerks from one frame to another. Some of the characters are just shadows in the background, some have starring roles and others are out of the frame altogether. Bits of the film are missing or blurred and it is shot entirely from one perspective.’

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 Happiness Project

Title:  The Happiness Project

Author: Pippa James

Publisher: 12th February 2019 by Bookouture

Pages: 343 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: womens fiction, chick lit

My Rating: 2 cups

Synopsis:

Forty-year-old Alison Lund has always carefully planned everything in her well-ordered life, from colour co-ordinating her beautiful house to persuading her excitable son Alexander that sticker charts are more fun than misbehaving. But Alison’s perfect world has just fallen apart…

Her head is left spinning when her beloved larger than life mother-in-law, Maggie, passes away and Alison is left heartbroken. Every afternoon they’d talk and laugh over a pot of tea, she was the glue that kept Alison together through the first few tough years of motherhood. And now Alison is trying to figure out a future without her.

With a little help from her two best friends, Alison resolves to be more Maggie. After an emotional New Year’s Eve get together, the three women create a happiness project, challenging themselves to step outside their comfort zones and make the most of every single day.

Daring to do things differently, can Alison learn to live more spontaneously and find happiness along the way? Or will letting go be harder than she ever imagined?

My Thoughts

I was drawn to this book through the promise of making positive changes in an effort to bring more happiness into one’s life. Three friends decide to start the new year afresh with the goal of reaching greater heights of happiness - through either a job, health or new family outlook.

I felt the author tried to make the interactions between the three friends as down to earth and realistic as possible, however for me, it just did not work. Perhaps, those that read the first book (this is the second in the series but can be read as a stand-alone) may have found a greater connection to the characters, unfortunately I really struggled and found them underdeveloped on the whole.

There also appeared to be much unresolved, for example, rather strange that it is a year’s resolution yet the book ends within the first few months of the year. As mentioned, I found some of the characters - main and secondary - behaviour at times, to not quite gel and I didn’t really empathise with them. So all up, a well written story that will definitely appeal to some with its classic chick lit approach in both character and story - for me, however, it just fell a little flat which is disappointing as the premise was a worthy 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