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Andrea in 2021


~Andrea~

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Bit behind on reviews - not that I've really read that much! So just a couple of quick ones:

 

Black Eyed Susans - Julia Haeberlin

At seventeen, Tessa narrowly escapes being murdered by a serial killer. Decades later, the convicted killer is finally about to be executed, except that Tessa is no longer sure he really did it. The story unfolds along two separate timelines - one as the young Tessa goes through therapy not long after her near escape, and another as an adult, with a teenage daughter of her own.

 

I enjoyed this psychological crime thriller. The characters were well drawn enough to interest me, whereas I find a lot of crime books have rather flat characters. I also enjoy any element of therapy in a novel so that aspect of this book also appealed. I did guess the ending but it didn't really spoil my enjoyment of the book.

 

The Woman who Stole my Life - Marian Keyes

From amazon: One day, sitting in traffic, Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life.

But in this event is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, wrenching her whole family apart. For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach.

But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

 

After reading two of her books I've become a big fan of Marian Keyes. They both had me in stitches, while being stories of real depth, so I was expecting more of the same from this one. However, while funny in places, it just didn't have the comic punch of the other two I've read. For that reason I did find it slightly disappointing. It wasn't a bad read though. There was humour in it, but I think I only laughed out loud once. The story was quite good. I liked it but I didn't love it.

 

Edited by ~Andrea~
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Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanna Harris

From the cover: Beyond the main street of Les Laveuses runs the Loire, smooth and brown as a sunning snake - but hiding a deadly undertow beneath its moving surface. This is where Framboise, a secretive widow named after a raspberry liqueur, plies her culinary trade at the crperie - and lets her memory play strange games.

Into this world comes the threat of revelation as Framboise's nephew - a profiteering Parisian - attempts to exploit the growing success of the country recipes she has inherited from her mother, a woman remembered with contempt by the villagers of Les Laveuses. As the spilt blood of a tragic wartime childhood flows again, exposure beckons for Framboise, the widow with an invented past.

 

When I started this I thought it was going to be too literary for me. I'm very much a commercial fiction devotee. I do like stuff to be well-written though. However once I got into the groove I really enjoyed this. The characters were interesting, (although often not particularly likeable) the writing lovely and evocative, and the story full of drama and jeopardy. This is my first Joanna Harris so I think I will be trying some more.

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5 hours ago, ~Andrea~ said:

This is my first Joanna Harris so I think I will be trying some more.

I've never read anything by her either but I noticed she has a new book (I'm not sure if it's actually out yet) called Honeycomb that sounds really good. It made me look at what she actually writes and she has a real variety of genres!

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On 8/4/2021 at 3:34 PM, ~Andrea~ said:

This is my first Joanna Harris so I think I will be trying some more.

 

She is brilliant. If you haven't already try 'Gentlemen and Players' and then 'Blue-eyed Boy', they're both very good.

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  • 1 month later...

The Illustrated Child - Polly Crosby

From the blurb: Romilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. She knows little about her past – but she knows that she is loved.

When her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the main character, everything changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV, and strangers appear at their door, convinced the books contain a treasure hunt leading to a glittering prize. But as time passes, Romilly’s father becomes increasingly suspicious of everything around him, until, before her eyes, he begins to disappear altogether. In her increasingly isolated world, Romilly turns to the secrets her father has hidden in his illustrated books, realising that there is something far darker and more devastating locked within the pages…

 

Hmm. I'm not sure what I made of this book. It's described as literary fiction, but I didn't find it particularly literary myself. It's certainly unusual and the writing is good in places, but also quite simple in others, being narrated by a child. I was intrigued to find out what happened, but I didn't particularly enjoy the book. It's unpleasant in places and contains a lot of childhood neglect. I found some of the story far-fetched and couldn't quite buy into it. I did read to the end though, which says something I guess, and a lot of people loved it. I didn't love it, or hate it. It was ok, but I'd have rather spent my time reading something else.

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Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Nine strangers join an extreme health retreat in the middle nowhere in the Australian desert, each one carrying their own personal demons. The retreat at Tranquillium House begins as you would expect it, health foods, exercise, meditation, but then things begin to take a somewhat sinister turn.

 

This is my first Liane Moriarty and I loved it. It's a comedy and it did have me laughing out loud. The characters were interesting and the plot engaging. I love anything involving inner emotional struggles or therapy and this book left me feeling satisfied on lots of counts. I will definitely be looking out for more by this author.

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16 hours ago, ~Andrea~ said:

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

 

 

This is my first Liane Moriarty and I loved it. It's a comedy and it did have me laughing out loud. The characters were interesting and the plot engaging. I love anything involving inner emotional struggles or therapy and this book left me feeling satisfied on lots of counts. I will definitely be looking out for more by this author.

Oh goodness, if you loved this one then you've got a lot to look forward to as most of the Liane Moriaty fans I know (me included) really didn't like this one! It's not a patch on Big Little Lies which is really really good.

 

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