Social Creature - Tara Isabella Burton

Description

A friendship to die for.

Louise is struggling to survive in New York; juggling a series of poorly paid jobs, renting a shabby flat, being cat-called by her creepy neighbour, she dreams of being a writer. And then one day she meets Lavinia. Lavinia who has everything – looks, money, clothes, friends, an amazing apartment… 

Lavinia invites Louise into her charmed circle, takes her to the best parties, bars, the opera, shares her clothes, her coke, her Uber account. Louise knows that this can’t last for ever, but just how far is she prepared to go to have this life? Or rather, to have Lavinia’s lie?

A Ripley story for the Instagram age set in contemporary New York; a world at once sophisticated and sordid, irresistible and irresponsible, unforgettable yet unattainable

Review

The two main characters are moneyed Lavinia and down at heel although smart and educated Louise. I didn't care for either of the characters as they are both so self absorbed each in their own way. Louise seems to be completely in Lavania's control - but maybe not all is what it seems and this is hinted at throughout the book with references to the future. I was surprised when I learnt exactly how the future events were arrived at. 

Comparisons are drawn between this book and the Mr Ripley stories. Certainly it is set in a privileged New York background with Lavinia spending money like it's going out of fashion but not working for it, her parents providing her with a substantial allowance.

Whether it was the background it was set against, with the talk of parties, lavish dresses, men treating women as less than equal most of the time and everyone having names from the 1920's; I kept forgetting it was set in the modern day. Every so often there would be a spate of posts to Instagram and then Facebook updates and I would have a jolt back to the 21st Century.

Towards the last third of the book when events take a different turn, the social media side does come more into its own. Made for an interesting twist on the tale. It is this part of the book that took it from 3 to 4 stars for me as up until this point I was finding it all just so pretentious and a little boring. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for an ARC for review.

Did you see Melody? - Sophie Hannah

Description

Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl.

A simple mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder.

Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody?

And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life?

Review

As I began to read this book I found I had no sympathy at all for Cara Burrows. Which was unfortunate as she is the main character in the book. All I could think of was her selfish attitude and how really stupid she seemed to be. So when she claims to have seen a girl whom she later finds to be a girl presumed murdered I really had little faith in her claims.

I have never read any of Sophie Hannah's books before and it struck me that her style had much in common with Agatha Christie. I now know that she did in fact write the first new Hercule Poirot mysteries since Agatha Christie's death. The book certainly has the feel of something that although set in the present day could well have been set in a Country House in the 1920s.

Large portions of the book are given over to Cara watching and reading material around the disappearance of Melody which I found a little heavy going. However, once the mystery was afoot so to speak, I did get caught up with the "whodunnit" aspect of the story.

Overall I think it was a clever  and unusual plot - just took a while to get going and for that reason I am giving the book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review.

Antiques and Alibis - Wendy H. Jones #LoveBooksGroupTours

Description

Cass Claymore, a red headed, motorbike riding, ex-ballerina inherits a Detective Agency, and accidentally employs an ex-con dwarf and an octogenarian. Hired by a client who should know better, Cass has no leads, no clue and a complete inability to solve a case. Still a girl needs to eat and her highbred client’s offering good money. Join her as, with bungling incompetence, she follows a trail littered with missing antique teddies, hapless crooks, a misplaced Lord of the Realm and dead bodies. Will Cass, and Scotland, survive?

I'm so pleased to be part of the book tour for this book. You can read about who else is on the tour and more about the author below. Together with a link to purchase the book.

Review

The description of the PI in this novel got my attention, as she's a motorbike riding ex ballerina - whose inherited a Detective agency. Great bring it on.

As you will gather from this and the fact that she's employing an ex-con dwarf and an octogenarian not to mention the oversized dog she also inherited, it is all a bit tongue in cheek. There is however detecting to be done and also death, menacing threats and guns, so not that tongue in cheek.

I liked Cass - she takes it all in her stride with sarcasm, childminding and one liners that I wish I had thought up.  I wondered would I be able to find out who dunnit before she did? As she hasn't quite graduate from PI school yet, but knows how to use her ballerina moves to her advantage, just like in Red Sparrow. She also has her vertically challenged sidekick Quill, who in my mind I cast as Warwick Davis. He's very entertaining and full of surprises too. I really enjoyed this character in the book.

If you are a fan of Stephanie Plum from the Janet Evanovich novels, well this book will be right up your street. The writing is fast paced and with some Scottish dialect that might slow you down on occasion but it adds to the feel of the book.

I'm giving this book five out of five stars and my thanks to the author and Love Books Group Tours for a review copy of the book. Love the cover too.

Link to buy the book https://amzn.to/2D3GT42

Author Information

Award Winning Author Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Shona McKenzie, is set in the beautiful city of Dundee, Scotland. Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. This took her all over the world including Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Much of her spare time is now spent travelling around the UK, and lands much further afield. As well as nursing Wendy also worked for many years in Academia. This led to publication in academic textbooks and journals. Killer's Countdown is her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mystery series. Killer's Crew won the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2107. There are now six books in this series with Killer's Crypt being released in August, 2017. The Dagger's Curse is the first book in The Fergus and Flora Mysteries for Young Adults. This book is currently shortlisted for the Woman Alive Magazine Readers Choice Award Book of the Year. She is also a highly successful marketer and she shares her methods in the book, Power Packed Book Marketing.

You can find her on Twitter

@WendyHJones

#FashionVictim - Amina Akhtar

Description

A darkly thrilling take on the fashion world, #FashionVictim is Dexter meets The Devil Wears Prada.

New York City fashion editor Anya St. Clair is on the verge of greatness. Her wardrobe is to die for. Her social media is killer. And her career path is littered with the bodies of anyone who got in her way. She’s worked hard to get where she is, but she doesn’t have everything.

Not like Sarah Taft. Anya’s obsession sits one desk away. Beautiful, stylish, and rich, she was born to be a fashion world icon. From her beach-wave blonde hair to her on-trend nail art, she’s a walking editorial spread. And Anya wants to be her friend. Her best friend. Her only friend.

But when Sarah becomes her top competition for a promotion, Anya’s plan to win her friendship goes into overdrive. In order to beat Sarah…she’ll have to become her. Friendly competition may turn fatal, but as they say in fashion:One day you’re in, and the next day you’re dead.

Review

I love reading about the world of fashion and magazines and so those words were a draw to this book for me. The book does have lots of that in spades, it's also set in New York another one of my fave locations.  I loved the rivalry between the staff at La vie and Anya's desperate need to be a part of the trinity that contains Sarah and Jack.

What I wasn't prepared for was the lengths that Anya will go to, to get what she wants. This is no Ugly Betty or Mean Girls, it's more like Saw meets the Devil wears Prada with a little of The Heathers! There is even an Editor that Meryl Streep would be proud to play, complete with all those digs at everyone and stealing credit for their work. She'll come to regret that though.

I did find myself grimacing each time a murder took place, but not liking Anya any less - how weird is that? A killer who describes the fashion outfit she's wearing down to the Manolas and makes sure her body shots hit Instagram. The ingenuity of the murders and the story of Anya and her quest to be Sarah's BFF kept me gripped and I wondered how this was all going to end? Well brilliantly would be the answer to that!

The writing is fast paced and there is never really a dull moment in the story. If you love fashion, snark and the darker side of murder then this book will be for you. If you are expecting chick lit then maybe look elsewhere.

I'm giving this book five out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review.

The Psychology of Time Travel - Kate Mascarenhas

Description

A time-travel murder mystery from a brilliantly original new voice. Perfect for readers of Naomi Alderman's The Power and Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven.

1967: Four female scientists invent a time-travel machine. They are on the cusp of fame: the pioneers who opened the world to new possibilities. But then one of them suffers a breakdown and puts the whole project in peril...

2017: Ruby knows her beloved Granny Bee was a pioneer, but they never talk about the past. Though time travel is now big business, Bee has never been part of it. Then they receive a message from the future – a newspaper clipping reporting the mysterious death of an elderly lady...

2018: When Odette discovered the body she went into shock. Blood everywhere, bullet wounds, flesh. But when the inquest fails to answer any of her questions, Odette is frustrated. Who is this dead woman that haunts her dreams? And why is everyone determined to cover up her murder?

Review

Having read just about every time travel novel there is I was wondering how different this tale could be. As soon as I began to read it I had no need to wonder any more - this is a unique novel containing time travel with so many fabulous ideas.

I was sucked in straight away - rather than just someone hoping about in time this book has a time travel HQ called The Conclave - it's recognised by the world at large that time travel exists and you can sign up to be a time traveller. 

Even when I was reading this book I was thinking about it - the author really created a whole other world. The time travellers have their own vocabulary and also they can meet and interact with themselves in future or past times, sometimes many versions of them at once!

If that wasn't all enough there is also a murder mystery to solve too. Really this book ended far too soon for me. My only reservation was that I was unable to read it for long periods and so at times I had forgotten who was who. However, I realised that some of the time you didn't know who was who as you hadn't met them yet!

I would caution against this book for those who do not subscribe to the theory of time travelling existing, as you will not like the book, or think it believable; but for someone like me it was a joy to read.

I'm giving this remarkable book five out of five stars. My thanks to netgalley for an ARC to review.

Formula Q - Alexander Charalambides

Description

A ruthless dictator, an ambitious driver and a race neither can afford to lose.

Vittoria Tarno lives for the speed that only Hyper Q, Earth’s most intense racing sport, can give her, but Vittoria and her team, Goofé Troupé, have been banned from the major league.
Determined to barge back into the spotlight, Vittoria jumps at the chance to be reinstated, but there’s one big catch: she has to accept the challenge of Admiral Suresh, the famously deranged dictator of distant, forbidding Mars.
On Mars Formula Q isn’t bloodless as it is on Earth. With no support, no time to prepare and no hope of winning, Goofé Troupé are thrown into race after race against competitors determined to win the trophy, a giant metal pizza slice known as the Spearhead of Ares.
When Vittoria breaks the speed record held by one of Mars’ great racing heroes, Goofé Troupé are soon racing for more than the honor of their home planet. With a new and dangerous opponent, a regime determined to bring them down and tracks more treacherous than any they’ve seen before, Vittoria and her team face a choice. Will they return home, safe and sound but defeated, or will Goofé Troupé remain on Mars and literally race for their lives?

Review

I had previously read one of the short stories which this book follows on from and was keen to read more. Overall I enjoyed the book but for me it stretched an idea a little too far for a full novel. I must admit I am not one for reading action - I prefer to see it , so the book centres around describing a lot of racing and for me that was not the best part of the book. I did like the politics behind the racing and reading about how team Goofe Troupe get themselves out of scrapes on Mars.

This book is aimed at YA and I am sure they will enjoy it for its quirkiness and the heroine Vittoria and her love of cold pizza. I certainly liked it when she got one over on everyone else but remained true to herself.

I'm giving this book four out of five stars.

My thanks to the author for a copy of the book to review.

Roar - Cecelia Ahern

Description

I am woman. Hear me roar.

Have you ever imagined a different life?
Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided?
Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?

The women in these startlingly original stories are all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave.

From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf and The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.

Witty, tender, surprising, these keenly observed tales speak to us all, and capture the moment when we all want to roar.

Review

I'm not usually one for short stories but these are great reads and you don't get to the end and feel like there should be more, or wondering what happened. Each one is a perfect little life lesson.

When I read the first story I wasn't really expecting it to be quite so off the wall, but once I realised the stories are not totally set in the real world I was fine with it. A little like fairy tales but not always with a happy ever after ending.

My favourite has to be "The woman who thought the grass was greener on the other side" this one actually made me laugh out loud" as well as getting over the message. Another favourite was "The woman who was Pigeonholed."

So if you want a little escapism but with a little wake up call then these are the stories for you. My advice is to read a few at a time and look forward to the rest. I will be re reading them from time to time.  I'm giving this book five out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of the book.