Claire's book list 2014

[chesilbeach]

The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin
 
Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):
Moscow, May 1876: What would cause a talented young student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public in the Alexander Gardens? Decadence and boredom, most likely, is what the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police thinks, but still he finds it curious enough to send the newest member of the division, Erast Fandorin, a young man of irresistible charm, to the Alexander Gardens precinct for more information.
 

Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done—and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin. There are many unresolved questions. Why, for instance, have both victims left their fortunes to an orphanage run by the English Lady Astair? And who is the beautiful “A.B.,” whose signed photograph is found in the apparent suicide’s apartment? Relying on his keen intuition, the eager sleuth plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the deadly center of a terrorist conspiracy of worldwide proportions.
 
Review:
I bought this book off the back of a recommendation of the BBC programme A Good Read.  I like my crime fiction a bit quirky, whether that's in location, period, style or character, and this one seemed like a good fit.  As you can see from the synopsis, it's set in nineteenth century Russia, so that was quirky enough for me, and it was recommended by all the panelists, so I thought it was worth trying.
 

As far as plot goes, it's a fairly straight forward detective novel, but what makes it stand out is the Russian society of the period.  I know very little about the history or Russia, and this book completely immersed me in it.  From the strict hierarchy of the classes to the living conditions of the characters to the gambling and duelling of the period, and the life of a detective, it was a fascinating read.  That's not to say it was heavy, no, no, no … the information was effortlessly given to the reader, and it was a gripping whodunit, with twists and turns aplenty, and the most unexpected ending I never saw coming.
 

I will definitely read more of the Ernst Fandorin series.  I did pick up the second book to have a look at the other day, and I noticed that some sections of the book had the text turned through 90 degrees (perhaps representing a newspaper?) and it looked a little awkward to read in a paperback, so I think I'll be reading at least the next one on my Kindle.
 

A very good read, and one for crime lovers who want something a bit different.

Edited September 8, 2014 by chesilbeach

[Anna Begins]

That sounds interesting- especially the Russian setting.  Today on bookaday is Favorite Literary Dinner Party.  I'm surprised to see how many said the tea party in Alice in Wonderland, I should've said that!  I don't know what to say, so I['m skipping today.  Tomorrow is literary crush!  Anyway, I think this one is for the TBR pile!

[chesilbeach]

I'm at home this afternoon, so I'm going to try and catch up on the last couple of weeks of bookaday.  I haven't read Alice in Wonderland (at least, I gave up on it when I was little and haven't tried it since ) so that one won't be featuring on my list!
 
I'll be interested to see what you think of The Winter Queen if you do read it.

[chesilbeach]

Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

Peter Ackroyd's Hawksmoor was first published in 1985. Alternating between the eighteenth century, when Nicholas Dyer, assistant to Christopher Wren, builds seven London churches that house a terrible secret, and the 1980s, when London detective Nicholas Hawksmoor is investigating a series of gruesome murders on the sight of certain old churches, Hawksmoor is a brilliant tale of darkness and shadow.

 

Review:

I'm going to start by saying, this is not the first book of Ackroyd's I've tried, and I have enjoyed all the ones I have read, so this review is ONLY reflective of this book!  That's got you interested, hasn't it?

 

Ok, so the book is written in chapters alternating between the eighteenth century and 1970s London, and the historical chapters are written in English contemporary to the period.  I struggled big time with this book.  It's a short book - just over 200 pages - but it took me almost a week to read.  At first, I thought it was going to be worth the effort, but I got more and more frustrated reading the old style of English, with odd capitalisation, strange spellings and confusing phrasing.  The modern English chapters were much more readable, although, if I'm honest, slightly dull.  But I thought it would be worth it at the end, and I would find out what it had all been about, but you know what?  I got to the end, and just thought, "Was that it?"  I read it for my book group, and it garnered a very mixed reaction there, and I was able to get to grips a bit more with the story, and without spoiling anything, I found out they thought the same as me about one aspect, and found that aspect unresolved and unsatisfying.

 

I'd been told it was creepy and chilling, but I found it neither.  There's even a quote from a newspaper review on the back of the copy that I read that said it was funny!  All I can say is that the reviewer and I have very different senses of humour.  

 

Overall, I didn't enjoy reading it, I can't recommend it, and it's one to chalk up to experience.  It won't, however, stop me reading more Ackroyd, as this is the first one of his I haven't enjoyed.

[Karsa Orlong]

Congrats on your mod-ship, Claire!

[chesilbeach]

Thanks, Steve.  

[Devi]

Congrats indeed claire!

[chesilbeach]

Thanks, Devi

[chesilbeach]

Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz
 
Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):
A gripping insight into the teenage life of Yassen Gregorovich, set against a backdrop of violence and corruption. From Yassen's training to become a deadly assassin, to meeting a teenage spy called Alex Rider, this thrilling adventure will be the deadliest yet...
 
Review:
If you've been a fan of the Alex Rider series from Anthony Horowitz, you'll be familiar with the villainous Yassen Gregorovich, and in this standalone book, Horowitz tells the story of how the ruthless assassin became the man he is.  I absolutely loved this book!  It's a perfect way to see the Alex Rider world from a whole new perspective and make you understand how circumstances can set a person on a path that leads to becoming a mercenary, but still aim the story at a YA audience.  Definitely recommended to Alex Rider fans, but you can read this without having to have read the other series of books too.  An exciting and thrilling story that gives a voice to a type of character that often ends up as one-dimensional or a caricature. 

[poppyshake]

Yes, congrats on your mod-ship Claire   (be gentle with me ) 

[chesilbeach]

Yes, congrats on your mod-ship Claire   (be gentle with me ) 

 

Thanks, Kay!  (… I'll *try* )

[chesilbeach]

Little Sacrifices by Jamie Scott

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

How much would you risk to stand up for your beliefs?

 

When the Powell family moves to Savannah Georgia in 1947, they hope against hope that they'll be welcomed. But they're Northerners and worse, they're white civil rights advocates almost a decade too early. The American South is deeply segregated.

 

At first their daughter, May, can pretend they're the same as everyone else. It means keeping quiet when she knows she should speak up, but it's worth the sacrifice to win friends. Keeping secrets has been the norm for her new home's residents for forty years anyway, and the old lady who lived in the house before them left more than her furniture when she died. May finds her diaries and letters, unravelling a tale of love and loss that reaches across the generations with devastating consequences.

 

 

Review:

I have to be honest, and while I've read To Kill A Mockingbird and The Help (although that was only because it was for my book group), this is probably not the sort of book I'd read.  The reason I picked it up was because the author is Michele Gorman writing under a pen name, and she's been a contributor to the forum in the past, and I've read all her romcoms, so I wanted to see what her historical fiction was like.

 

I really enjoyed reading the story.  I loved that from the very start, there's a tension simmering just under the surface, and as the story develops, more of the past is revealed, while more of the present is exposed, building to a dramatic conclusion.  It's both the coming of age for May and the mystery of the diaries, in the time of segregation in the deep South.  I liked this approach, as it you see both the personal, small stories of a teenager, but also the view of the wider, historically important stories of the period, which is just how real life is - you could be living in times that will eventually become incredibly significant events in world history, but as an individual, you'll still remember your first kiss, the last day of school, and other personal milestones in your life.

 

I loved how the characters grow and develop throughout the book, so that as the reader, if feels like real life where you get a first impression of them, but each one builds throughout the story, and you don't just see one side of them, but the positives and negatives in each one.

 

Just to note - I've taken the synopsis from Amazon, but I've removed the last paragraph, which gives away something that doesn't happen until, if I remember rightly, until almost the very end of the book, probably well into the last quarter, maybe even the last eighth of it.

[chesilbeach]

Poppy by Mary Hooper

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):
Poppy is young, beautiful and clever – and working as a parlourmaid in the de Vere family’s country house. Society, it seems, has already carved out her destiny. But Poppy’s life is about to be thrown dramatically off course. The first reason is love – with someone forbidden, who could never, ever marry a girl like her. The second reason is war. As the lists of the dead and wounded grow longer, Poppy must do whatever she can to help the injured soldiers, knowing all the while that her own soldier may never return home ...

Review:
This is the third of Mary Hooper's historical YA books I've read, but I think this was my least favourite so far, and I'm not quite sure why. Poppy's story shows what it was like during the war from a young womans point of view, with the affect it has on her life, moving from a job in service to joining the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse. The level of detail is fantastic, and the author does paint a picture of the period very well, as with all her books. I think the problem for me was that it felt like evoking the period and describing the life of Poppy during the war too precedence, and I didn't quite feel like the story matched up to that, almost taking a back seat.

I have to say, this review is written a month after I actually read the book, so perhaps time has taken its toll on my thoughts, but I genuinely remember more about the details of the hospital wards and the patients than I do about Poppy's personal story, and that's not been the case with any of the other books I've read by Hooper, where the heroines character and voice are the strengths of the books, and the world around them is beautifully described and developed but never overpowers the story.

This sounds really harsh and that I didn't enjoy it, but that's not the case at all. It was a good read, and I did find it fascinating to see another perspective on the war, especially the VAD, which I'd never heard of before. I would definitely recommend it as a good read, but I would perhaps recommend it after Newes from the Dead, which I thought was excellent.

[chesilbeach]

I'm on holiday at the moment, and normally, this would have been a time for a book spending spree to load up my Kindle with holiday reads, but we're staying at home this time so no need for the splurge. I have planned all along to keep reading off my TBR so that I can once again reduce it to zero, but over the past few months, I do seem to have taken two steps forward and one step back, so instead of keeping to that plan, a visit to a bookshop or a browse through my wish list, has resulted in the TBR being added to occasionally. It's not too bad … it's usually a case of I've read maybe four or five books and then bought one or two, so it never gets into silly numbers, but it means that it has got smaller, just more slowly than it should have.  The intention had been to be down to zero before the holiday but because of my lack of willpower, I still have a TBR, so now, I've got the dilemma of wanting to read my normal holiday books - romcoms, travel/memoirs, basically, lighthearted fare - but I desperately want to keep going with my TBR books.

I think that if I keep going with reading my TBR books, I will be able to reduce it to single figures by the end of my holiday - maybe even reduce it to zero, but I'm finding it a real struggle not to "treat" myself to something on my holiday wish list and indulge in that instead.  I've just finished a TBR book this morning, and with time on my hands and a computer at my fingertips, the Kindle wish list is beckoning!   

[chesilbeach]

Decided to pop out for a morning coffee, taking my Kindle with me, so I managed to resist the urge to download anything new, and have started A la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France by Ian Moore. I normally try to avoid reading two non-fiction book in a row, and particularly not two which are so similar (I've just finished Toute Allure: Falling in Love in Rural France by Karen Wheeler), but they are just the sort of holiday reading I enjoy, and they're both on my TBR, so I couldn't resist!

[Athena]

Claire, I really admire your resolve to stick to reading your TBR and reducing it. That's going quite well !

[Michelle]

I would say that a holiday is the perfect time to indulge yourself! (Sorry! )

[chesilbeach]

I would say that a holiday is the perfect time to indulge yourself! (Sorry! )

 

I think if we'd gone away somewhere, I would definitely have indulged, but because we're staying at home, it feels like I should stick to my guns and attack the TBR, especially as it's going so well, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I've still got a while at home yet, so maybe if I make good progress, I can reward myself with a couple of holiday books later on.

[Alexi]

I must get hold of Russian Roulette! (typed Tourette's at first there, sod phone typing). I loved the Alex Rider series and it sounds like a worthy spinoff!

 

Congratulations on the modship!

 

I'm also trying to reduce the TBR (although mine is sitting around the 250 mark) but buying/acquiring books is so satisfying

[chesilbeach]

I'm certain you'll love Russian Roulette, Alexi, if you're an Alex Rider fan.

 

And, thank you.

 

I've just broken my own "no new books" rule as I want to read the Ali Smith book before I go to the book event for it, so I had to download it today.  Hoping to finish my current book this afternoon, and then I've got a couple of days to read it.  I'll then buy the hardback on the night and get it signed!

[Athena]

I've just broken my own "no new books" rule as I want to read the Ali Smith book before I go to the book event for it, so I had to download it today.  Hoping to finish my current book this afternoon, and then I've got a couple of days to read it.  I'll then buy the hardback on the night and get it signed! [/font]

Have fun at the signing !

[chesilbeach]

Velvet by Mary Hooper

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...

 

Review:

I read this immediately after Poppy and it felt like I was going back to the Mary Hooper I know.  Much more focus on story, with an exciting and thrilling plot, looking at the world of the medium in Victorian society.  Mediums were big business back then, and I've read in other books about how some famous people at the time, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, were believers in the spiritual world, and Velvet looks at the cut throat tactics employed by those who credited themselves as being able to talk to the dead.

 

It's a real page turner of a story, and I raced through it and the plot has a few twists and turns along the way to keep you gripped by what will happen to Velvet, even if some of them you can see coming.  Although, maybe that's because I'm older and have more experience as a reader, which the teen audience who it's written for may not.

 

Anyway, another great historical YA story from Mary Hooper, and despite my view of her latest, Poppy, I'll definitely be going back to read more of her books.

[chesilbeach]

The Girl Who Walked On Air by Emma Carroll

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

Louie, who was abandoned at Chipchase's Travelling Circus as a baby, dreams of becoming a 'Showstopper', but Mr Chipchase keeps her hidden, tucked away in the ticket booth. No Death-Defying Stunts for her. But Louie has been secretly practising her act; the tightrope and dreams of being the Girl Who Walked on Air - she just needs to be given the chance to shine.

 

And the circus needs her too - Wellbeloved's rival show is stealing their crowds. They need a Showstopper. Desperate, Mr Chipchase reluctantly lets Louie perform. She is a sensation, and gets an offer from the sinister Mr Wellbeloved himself to perform ... over Niagara Falls. But nothing is quite as it seems and soon Louie's bravery is tested not just on the highwire but in confronting her past and the shady characters in the world of the circus ...

 

Review:

I loved Emma Carroll's debut book, Frost Hollow Hall, so I couldn't wait to read this when it came out. Aimed at the middle grade group (9-12 years), this is pure old fashioned storytelling. Louie is a child who has had to become self sufficient to an extent after being abandoned as a baby at the circus, which means with no parental influence, she is able to be an independent, strong, single minded person. The owner has kept her hidden in menial jobs, but Louie has the dream to walk the tightrope, a place she feels at her best. I love that Carroll shows children that when they find they have a gift for something, they can strive to follow their dream to be the best.

 

There's also a mystery story to follow through the book, with a mysterious and rather sinister rival circus owner and the mother who left Louie with Mr Chipchase in the first place. The story builds so that not only does Louie grow as a performer, but we also she how she finds out who she is and where she comes from.

 

Brilliant story telling, and a timeless style that could have been written when I was a child, and I believe will stand the test of time. I absolutely can not wait for Carroll's next book!

[chesilbeach]

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

We are the Liars.

 

We are beautiful, privileged and live a life of carefree luxury.

 

We are cracked and broken.

 

A story of love and romance.

 

A tale of tragedy.

 

Which are lies?

 

Which is truth?

 

Review:

Hmmm. This book was highly recommended, and I'd seen lots of good reviews in the media for it. The synopsis is very sparse, and that's a good thing, as you need to know as little about the story as possible before you start reading.

 

This next part of my review is put in as a spoiler, and although it doesn't contain any plot points, it does tell you something about my experience of reading the book that might spoil it for you if you plan to read it.

 

 

Before I started it, I saw lots of comments, including on the front cover of the book, that say there is a big twist you won't see coming. I suspect that because of those comments, I was looking out for that twist, and I can honestly say, I knew at the point where things change, exactly what was going on. This meant there was no big twist for me, and actually, I thought it was a bit predictable, and the clues are there all along as to what is happening.

 

 

The writing is good, although I didn't really engage with these wealthy, privileged people, but I suspect it was spoiled for me by reading too many reviews and comments about it before I actually read the book. I'm sure there are many people who will enjoy the book, and find it a gripping read, but it just wasn't for me.

[chesilbeach]

Circle Line by Steffan Meyric Hughes

 

Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):

In 1969, man flew to the moon and sailed around the world solo. In 2009, sailor and Londoner Steffan Meyric Hughes thought he’d try something a little closer to home, becoming the first to sail and row around London in a small boat. Along the way, he discovers the truth behind boats, the sea and rivers, the history of the great city’s future and great secrets of the mysterious Thames: wrecks, bombs and intrigue. Circle Line is the story of a unique journey on the forgotten waterways of one of the world's greatest capitals; an investigation into the way we live today; and a humorous, sometimes moving trip down memory lane.

 

Review:

I read this only last month, but I have to be honest and say it's not really stayed with me, and I'm wracking my brains to remember much detail! I was really looking forward to this book as I like travel memoirs, especially those with a specific purpose, and those in England, so this should have been a perfect fit for me. I'm sure I enjoyed it more than I recall, but in hindsight, it's very vague in my memory, and I'm usually pretty good at remembering books, so that must say a lot. I know I enjoyed the opening couple of chapters, with the author recounting how his love of boats and sailing came about, and also the description of the boat he would be using, and I remember there was a unpromising start with a tube journey back home. After that it all becomes a bit vague … I know there were far too many stories of peeing … a couple of meetings with friends and relatives … and some history of the places in London, but again, I have to be honest, the rest I've forgotten.