The Introvert Confounds Innocence - Michael Paul Michaud #Randomthingstours

Description

Finally, a book series for all of the weirdos of the world!

THE INTROVERT CONFOUNDS INNOCENCE continues the story of the eponymous anti-hero introduced in THE INTROVERT.

With his life disrupted by an unscrupulous work colleague and a bully at his son Toby's school, things go from bad to worse when his neighbor's abusive boyfriend goes missing, plunging the introvert into the center of a murder investigation.

Increasingly hounded by a meddlesome detective, and with his thoughts continually urging him to make people "red and open" and to "achieve it" with his girlfriend Donna, what follows is a sometimes brutal, oftentimes hilarious, and absurdist account of the life of one very anti-social and unexpected anti-hero

I'm delighted to be on the blog tour for this book today.

Review

This is a standalone book, but I think you'd enjoy it more if you read the first book, The Introvert. Because once you finish this one you are going to want even more.

In this book we meet again the vacuum salesman, who is now living with his girlfriend Donna and they have a son. Thinking the inclusion of the son would make this a very different book I was proved wrong as our anti-hero yet again delivers very dark humour and is still wanting to see people as "red and open".

This time he gets a new colleague at work - Gordon. Well, I just loved Gordon so much, he's the perfect foil to the introvert (whose name we never get to know!). The introvert himself reminds me a lot of the character Don in the "Rosie Project". He says it how it is and then when he sees others reactions he starts to replay what he's said and he still doesn't get it. The interactions with Gordon are just comedic genius.

A quirky read I don't think you will have read anything quite like this before. The dialogue reads like it's an Ellery Queen or written by Laurence Block, you are instantly transported to another time and place. In fact apart from the mention of a PC and spreadsheet this could be set at any time.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for supplying me with the ARC to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About Michael Paul Michaud:

Michaud is an American-Canadian citizen, an Assistant Crown Attorney in the Greater Toronto Area, and author of BILLY TABBS (& THE GLORIOUS DARROW) (bitingduckpress) and THE INTROVERT series (Black Opal Books). He holds a B.A. in English from McMaster University, an Honors B.A. in Political Science (summa cum laude) from McMaster University, a J.D. from The University of Western Ontario (with an international exchange completed at Washington & Lee), and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and International Thriller Writers. Michaud has won awards for both his work as a criminal prosecutor and for his work with the community. He has also made regular appearances on SiriusXM’s Canada Talks.

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelPaulMichaud/

The Introvert Confounds Innocence Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheIntrovertBook2

The Introvert Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheIntrovertBook

Twitter: MichaelPMichaud

Instagram: MichaelPMichaud

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-michaud-04439311/

Goodreads page for The Introvert Confounds Innocence: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44490433-the-introvert-confounds-innocence

Adults - Emma Jane Unsworth

Description

‘DAZZLING’ Marian Keyes, ‘HILARIOUS’ Dolly Alderton, ‘TENDER’ Jessie Burton, ‘MAGNIFICENT’ Daisy Buchanan, ‘INCREDIBLE’ Candice Carty Williams, ‘MOVING’ Laura Jane Williams, ‘BRILLIANT’ Nikesh Shukla, ‘I LOVED IT’ Sam Baker, ‘PAINFULLY TRUE’ Kate Davies

Jenny is unloved, unemployable and emotionally unfiltered. Her long-suffering friends seem sick of her and whilst her social media portrays her life as a bed of roses, it is more of a dying succulent.

Adults is what you want it to be. A misadventure of maturity, a satire on our age of self-promotion, a tender look at the impossibility of womanhood, a love story, a riot. And Emma Jane Unsworth is the only voice to hear it from. Adults is excruciating, a gut punch of hilarity and a book laden with truth that you will read again and again.

Review

I'm not in the demographic audience for this book, however, I could still really relate to it. I think if you aren't into social media or understand it's significance for so many people, then a lot of this book will be lost on you. 

As the book begins with Jenny agonising over a post for her Insta account - does she have the right filter?, has she got the #tag right? You may think this is going to be a lighthearted chick lit kind of aread, and you would be so wrong. 

Once we begin to get to know Jenny and her foibles, a whole deeper world is unearthed and actually at one point I did have a little cry; not only for the wonderfully evocative writing, but a memory it stirred in me. Yet at the next moment I was laughing out loud at the reference to The Scottish Restaurant - do not say its name!

There are some wonderful characters in the book. The author develops them so well and the interactions so wonderfully crafted that it felt like I was stood there watching it all happening. 

The story line does flip flop at times and not sequentially. However, it meanders around much like Jenny's mind and I really rather liked how it was all mapped out in a haphazard way. Although I realise now that the more painful memories were surfacing towards the end. 

I think the author has a unique voice and I look forward to reading more of her books. I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.My thanks to netgalley and Harperfiction for inviting me to read and review this book.

Adults is out on 30 January 2020.

The Choice - Clare Wade

Description

Imagine a world where...

Everything you ate was monitored by the government.

Every step you took was counted.

Your children were weighed every day at school.

Neighbours reported on neighbours and no one was safe from judgement.

Sugar was illegal, and baking was a crime.

Imagine if that world was here... What would you do?

Toe the line or fight for your freedom...

Review

This is a novel set in England in a dystopian future where Sugar is a Class A substance and possession of it can get you into a lot of trouble. You may end up in the shame box which is a glass cube in a public place.

We meet Olivia who used to be a baker before baking was banned seven years previously. For this reason Olivia is extremely hurt by the sugar ban and the surrender of all of her cake making equipment. She tries her best to do everything the government (headed up by Mother Mason) requires of her and her family. 

There is some veiled humour in the book, such as when Olivia bakes a Mother Mason approved bake which her son describes as a cake in public. Olivia is distraught that she will be reported for them eating cake when it was in fact an approved "bake".

The book started out well but then for me it dragged on and I lost a bit of interest in it. I was also thinking it wasn't a bad thing that sugar was banned and that people had to exercise, worse things could happen to you. Thankfully about a third of the way through the book Olivia finds her inner fight and the plot took a very different turn. I was actually scared for Olivia on a couple of occasions and just as surprised as she was when she got arrested. 

Other than Olivia I didn't think that the characters were fully developed and we don't really get to know them. Towards the end I really did feel Olivia's pain and it did start a little train of though it my head of what if.....

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

Christmas at Liberty's - Fiona Ford

Description

The first novel in the Liberty Girls series will be loved by fans of Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Mr Selfridge.

September, 1941.

Mary arrives in war-torn London nursing a broken heart and a painful secret.

When she is offered her dream post as an assistant in the fabric department at Liberty store, she knows this is the fresh start she needs. Amid the store’s vibrant prints and sumptuous interiors, Mary finds a new family who can help her to heal.

But not everyone will give Mary such a warm welcome, and the trauma of her past will soon catch up with her.

As Mary and the Liberty Girls endure the heartache and uncertainty of war, it will take a steady heart to keep the magic of Christmas alive.

Review

I saved this book from my personal book shelf to read over the Christmas period, but really you could read it at any time of the year.

Liberty's is one of my favourite stores and I was a little nervous at how it was going to treated. I needn't have worried because the descriptions and details of the store where just spot on, I could see it all in my minds eye. I also love Liberty fabrics, so the fact that Mary gets to work in that department was a bonus for me. 

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the social history aspects. Set in 1941,  I learned quite a few things I hadn't known about before, especially some of the war time rationing. I loved how everyone in the book pulled together to make the most of what they had and each other. What wasn't so good was the way Mary was treated by society and her family- it really brought home to me the way society in general has changed in this respect.

One of the characters that was so vivid was Mrs Matravers, such a colourful and changing character who more than added to the varied story line. This certainly wasn't a saccharine read - it has warts and all.

I am a little behind in this series as there is already a follow up book and a third to be released in 2020.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

I heart New York - Lindsey Kelk

Description

I Heart series book 1. Get ready to meet Angela Clark as she flees the world s worst wedding for a new life...

It's official. Angela Clarke is in love with the most
fabulous city in the world.

Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination - NYC.

Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBFJenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring them out for yourself ...

Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?

Review

Any book set in New York is a winner with me and this was no exception. I just loved all the day to day details of living in the Big Apple.

When we first meet Angela she is a bridesmaid at her BF's wedding. Next thing she is alone in a hotel room in NYC with no one she knows wondering what on earth she has done.

Luckily Angela gets a new BF and a group of friends who begin to help her live (and me vicariously) New York style. Personally I loved the descriptions of the shopping trips and her purchases.

Don't expect this book to be realistic - it's pure escapism chic lit, and apart from the locations of the various places in NY, totally chic lit fiction. A few things I wasn't personally comfortable with, like dating two guys at once and the way her blog seemed to be a plagiarism of Carrie Bradshaw's style.

I hadn't realised that this was the first in a series of books and I will be looking to read the others to see what else happens to Angela as she has a big decision to make in this book which sets out the path for future books.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review. 

The Telephone Box Library - Rachael Lucas

Description

The Cotswolds: the perfect retreat for a stressed-out teacher. And Lucy has found just the right cottage for a bargain rent. All she has to do is keep an eye on Bunty, her extremely feisty ninety-something neighbour . . .

With her West Highland terrier Hamish at her side, Lucy plans to relax and read up on the women of nearby Bletchley Park. But the villagers of Little Maudley have other ideas, and she finds herself caught up in the campaign to turn a dilapidated telephone box into a volunteer-run library.

Along the way, she makes friends with treehouse designer Sam, and finds herself falling for the charms of village life. And it seems Bunty has a special connection to Bletchley and the telephone box, one that she's kept secret for decades . . 

Review

I was in seventh heaven reading this book! I just can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. Probably aided by the fact that Lucy has a West Highland Terrier and I loved how very true to life all of its antics and mannerisms were. If I had one gripe it would be that the dog on the cover of the book is no Westie!

Lucy has taken a break from a stressful teaching post and finds herself in a Cotswold village in a lovely cottage at a low rent, in return for looking in on an elderly neighbour each day. When we first meet that neighbour called Bunty she is a force to be reckoned with. But oh how she mellows and she also used to work at Bletchley in the war. So, along with Lucy I was enthralled at what went on in the war and her memories.

I think I've met everyone in the book in real life at some point. All the characters are so well drawn and of a wide age range. Stanley the Snake was a great addition to the book and I laughed so much when we first met him, I leave you to find out why and where.

This was such a delight to read. I feel I did live a little vicariously through the book and was so sad to finish it. Definitely a feel good book if you want a little escapism.

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

The Dilemma - B A Paris

Description

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.

The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?

Review

I found this book to be a very different read to previous B A Paris books which I loved so much. It wasn't a psychological thriller to my way of thinking at all. Difficult to describe without giving away the plot line.

There are twp dilemma's in the book but personally I found one of them to be unrealistic, hard to believe and not plausible.  If the dilemma had lasted a couple of hours, but it was a whole day and I found the whole thing was dragged out for far too long. I just kept asking myself "really!" who would do this? 

The ending was extremely raw, so sad and very well written. Certainly it was an emotional read, but not the book I thought it was going to be based on previous works. There is a final few pages on what happens one year later on which I am not sure was needed as it seemed to detract from the ending.  I would say if this is your first B A Paris do read the earlier works as they are truly psychological thrillers.

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