Happiness for Humans - P Z Reizin

Description

Don't tell anyone, but Jen is one of my favourite people.

(Machines aren't supposed to have favourites. Don't ask me how this has happened.)

Jen is sad. Aiden wants her to be happy. Simple? Except that Jen is a thirty-something woman whose boyfriend has just left her and Aiden is a very complicated, very expensive piece of software.

Aiden knows Jen inside out. With access to all her devices, he knows her most played song, can find her favourite photos and single out the insta-quotes which most inspire her. Based on observations and unique algorithms, he has calculated that Jen should find a new man to achieve optimum wellbeing. And with the whole of the internet at his disposal, he doesn't have to look far to find a perfect specimen and engineer a meeting. Except Jen seems to be remarkably unwilling to fall in line with Aiden's flawless plan.

Can a very artificially intelligent machine discover emotional intelligence in time to fix Jen's life? And find out what exactly does make human beings happy?

Review

If you like films like I Robot and the TV series Humans, then this is the book for you. It's along those lines but with so much humour and also a little unnerving glimpse into the future too.

When we first meet Jen she has just broken up with her boyfriend of 2 years. Aiden is her AI friend he watches old films with her and wonders what cheese tastes like.  So, what else would your friend do for you but have your back. Aiden although constricted by the confines of not actually being human begins to "sort" out things for Jen in the real world. What ensues is both hilarious and at times strangely frightening.

Aiden is not alone he has an accomplice AI Aisling and together they begin to put the world to rights as they see it. Meanwhile Jen has a couple of romantic entanglements orchestrated by Aiden. One that seems to be so perfect for her and yet she decides to break off further contact - or does she? Enter a third AI Sinai - which totally blew everything I thought was going to happen out of the water.

This is such a charming, clever and amusing story - it takes such unexpected turns and isn't quite like anything I have read before. A real page turner with a scary insight into what the future might hold for humans - after all we already have Alexa don't we!  One of my favourite lines from the book is when one of the AI starts to "see" an Amazon algorithm - and all the recommendations she has for him!

I'm giving this book five out of five stars - in fact it deserves so much more! My thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of the book for review. 

Happiness for Humans is out on 4 January 2018.

Three Things About Elsie - Joanna Cannon

DESCRIPTION

There are three things you should know about Elsie.
The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly a man who died sixty years ago?

From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them:
1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

REVIEW

What an unusual read this book is, so many facets to it and running through it a little whodunnit too. It's not often I read a book and think I'm so glad I got to read this story - but this is one of those books.

The book opens with Florence aged 84 lying on the floor of her flat wondering if anyone is going to find her. She begins to recount events from her life over the past 60 years and more recently at the Home for the Elderly that her flat is a part of. From time to time the narration leaves the events and comes back to the present day and Florence who is still lying on the floor.

Throughout the book we meet the people in Florence's life - of course Elsie, the people who work at the home and various other characters that she encounters through little jaunts. The description of her time in Whitby was wonderful. I know Whitby fairly well and I could tell the author did too, I was there with Florence and her friends walking along seeing what they saw in glorious colour.

The plot construction is marvellous but to say would give too much away as there is more than one secret to uncover in this utterly enchanting read - a glimpse into seeing things through someones older eyes.

You don't just get to see things through Florence's eyes though. There is also Simon the Handyman who makes discoveries of his own about his life and Miss Ambrose who has probably been on a course for whatever life throws at her, except her own life!

So many beautifully written and evocative sentences too. My favourite was "three generations of women balance their lives on top of each other, like tiers on a wedding cake". The battenburg cake on the cover is also a charming but sad part of the story too.

I could go on and on about this book, but really you just need to read it for yourself.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for an advance copy of the book which is out on 11 January 2018.

Covent Garden in the Snow - Jules Wake

Description

Tilly Hunter has fabulous friends, her dream job as a make-up artist with a prestigious opera company and Felix, her kind and caring husband to be. It looks set to be the most perfect Christmas yet!

But when a monumental blunder forces her to work closely with new IT director Marcus Walker, it's not only the roast chestnut stalls on the cobbles of her beloved Covent Garden that cause sparks to fly…

Super serious and brooding, Marcus hasn’t got a creative bone in his sharp-suited body. For technophobe Tilly, it's a match made in hell.

And yet, when Tilly discovers her fiancé isn’t at all what he seems, it's Marcus who's there for her with a hot chocolate and a surprisingly strong shoulder to cry on … He might just be the best Christmas present she’s ever had.

Review

I must admit the cover of this book had a lot with me wanting to read it, I just wanted to step right inside that scene! Once I was inside I wasn't disappointed either.

We meet Tilly just as she opens an email which it turns out has a virus attached to it - being a complete technophobe she manages to get into quite a scrape over it all. Plus a new IT Director, Marcus Walker, just happens to have taken up his new post and is not happy with her at all.

Despite not really understanding people like Till that can make such a hash of techy things I did love her. We get to find out in some detail about her job at the Opera House, and the tour and backstage insight was fantastic, really felt like I was there. I learnt a few things too.

This book was a little bit of escapism and a perfect read for this time of year. Yes it is a romance novel and you can see where it is all going - but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars.

BTW the kindle version is only 99p! I read it in two days so perfect for over the festive season.

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for a copy of the book for review.

The Present - D S Devlin

Description

12 deadly gifts, one killer on a Christmas countdown…

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… this is one deadly Christmas that you can’t forget.

The police are baffled by the ‘Santa’ killer, who sends his intended victims gruesome presents based on the twelve days of Christmas. When a young journalist receives a mutilated bird in the post, it’s a race against time to find the killer…

Review

After reviewing the "other" book called The Present a few days ago I've now read the one I intend to. My review for the chicklit version has gone up on the page for this crime novel though!

I'm not one for true crime and gory details and so those aspects of this book did not appeal to me, but it is written in such a homely way that it actually didn't seem as if those things were too real. This enabled me to just carry on reading and enjoy the whodunnit aspect of the novel.

It's only taken me a couple of readings to get through, as once I was hooked and I was so sure of who the "Santa" killer was I had to know I was right! At some point I did think no one would write a plot this obvious and so changed my mind, changed it back again and finally I had no idea!

Just to make it clear this is not someone murdering Santas', but someone using the Christmas song of 12 days of Christmas as clues to taunt the police each year, before eventually murdering a victim. As it takes place during Christmas he is dubbed the "Santa" killer.

You do need to suspend some disbelief that Anna the journalist would put herself in so much danger and be prepared to meet the "Santa" killer one on one. She does come out of it as one gutsy lady despite being petrified, and I was swept along with her descriptive exploits.

If this sounds like your sort of thing and you are not looking for the next big crime writer then it's a good read.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

The Present - Charlotte Phillips

Description

12 magical gifts, one love that lasts a lifetime…

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me … one romantic Christmas you won’t forget.

When helping to clear out her beloved grandmother’s home, Lucy Jackson discovers twelve beautiful Christmas decorations hidden in the loft. As she discovers their heartbreaking story, a touching romance develops with the handsome gardener next door.

Review 

I have to admit I actually got this book by mistake as Harper Collins have another book out by DS Devlin called The Present with an identical cover apart from the colourway. Even Amazon have reviews mixed up for each book and the profile for Charlotte Phillips on the book page for Devlin!  It doesn't help that both books centre on the 12 days of Christmas and a journalist. So - choose carefully, one is a romance - this one - the other a crime novel.

After starting to read the book and wondering when the crime was going to happen I decided I actually wanted to read this book too. The print length is given as 400 pages but I have to say that flew by and I read it in a day or so.

The story centres around Lucy and the discovery of some beautiful Christmas decorations covering the 12 days of Christmas, except one of them is missing and this is what hooked me in. Why was it missing?

The decorations belong to Olive, Lucy's Gran and she is at present in the hospital and so cannot help Lucy uncover the mystery. However, Olive's gardener and handyman Joe, comes to her rescue. At first I did feel this was a little contrived, but as I got slowly sucked in and some depth to the characters of Joe and Lucy evolved I needed to find closure with this book.

Maybe it's the time of year, but with such a seasonal setting and pictures painted of a snowy landscape I just settled down with this book and went with it. The little mystery got solved and I ended up loving it all.

I'm giving this book four out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book to review.

I'm off to read the "other" The Present now!

The Art of Hiding - Amanda Prowse

Description

Nina McCarrick has it all: a loving husband, two beautiful boys, a well-appointed home and more time than she knows what to do with. Life is perfect. Until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.

Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina’s life of luxury quickly disappears and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married. Forced to move out of her family home, Nina returns to the rundown Southampton council estate—and the sister—she thought she had left far behind.

But Nina can’t let herself be overwhelmed—her boys need her. To save them, and herself, she will have to do what her husband discouraged for so long: pursue a career of her own. Torn between the life she thought she knew and the reality she now faces, Nina finally must learn what it means to take control of her life.

Stirring and empowering, this novel from bestselling author Amanda Prowse once again plumbs the depths of human experience in this tale of one woman’s loss and love.

Review

Amanda Prowse is a prolific author but this is only the second book of hers that I have read and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nina has led a very closeted and privileged life, and then one day it all ends in the death of her husband. She has to move, explain to two children why their life is not the same anymore and find some money for them to live on.

Whilst this is a sad tale there was enough of a glimpse of fabulous human relationships that helped Nina to keep going. I loved her sister Tiggy who really begins to come through for her and maybe has always been there for her? The meeting at the school and the "friends" from her old life were all portrayed brilliantly.

I found the circumstances that Nina finds herself in to be quite thought provoking. The children's voices in the story were true to life and poignant. The whole book is written in a easy reading style, like someone is retelling it to you in person. I couldn't wait to get back to it to find out what was going to happen next.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.