About Britain - Tim Cole

 

Description

In 1951, the Festival of Britain commissioned a series of short guides they dubbed ‘handbooks for the explorer’. Their aim was to encourage readers to venture out beyond the capital and on to ‘the roads and the by-roads’ to see Britain as a ‘living country’. Yet these thirteen guides did more than celebrate the rural splendour of this ‘island nation’: they also made much of Britain’s industrial power and mid-century ambition – her thirst for new technologies, pride in manufacturing and passion for exciting new ways to travel by road, air and sea.

Armed with these About Britain guides, historian Tim Cole takes to the roads to find out what has changed and what has remained the same over the 70 years since they were first published. From Oban to Torquay, Caernarfon to Cambridge, he explores the visible changes to our landscape, and the more subtle social and cultural shifts that lie beneath.

In a starkly different era where travel has been transformed by the pandemic and many are journeying closer to home, About Britain is a warm and timely meditation on our changing relationship with the landscape, industry and transport. As he looks out on vineyards and apple orchards, power stations and slate mines, vast greenhouses and warehouses for online goods, Cole provides an enchanting glimpse of twentieth and early twentieth-century Britain as seen from the driver’s seat.

Review

I usually love books like this but for some reason I could not get into this one at all.

The author has driven the roads that were featured in the 1951 Festival of Britain guides. It's a book you can dip in and out of but I had opted to start at the beginning. It was not an area I was too familiar with and felt a little at odds with finding a connection with the writing.

Thinking I might do better with an area I knew well I opted for the East Midlands section. Unfortunately that too left me cold. The book is obviously well researched and goes into a lot of depth, at times reading more like a book suited to an academic rather than someone with a passing interest.

Maybe it is because the book is really about the view from the car rather than interacting with the places themselves that it wasn't really for me.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Yours Cheerfully - A J Pearce

 

Description

The Times Top Ten Bestseller
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird comes Yours Cheerfully, the charming and hilarious tonic we've all been waiting for!

'Sweet, heart-warming and uplifting . . . Absolutely lovely!' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups
'Full of wit, friendship and the uplifting knowledge that when people come together, great changes can be made' - Katie Fforde, author of Wedding Season

London, September, 1941.

Following the departure of the formidable Editor, Henrietta Bird, from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, is still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, but bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It.

When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty, and standing by her friends.

Every bit as funny, touching and cheering as AJ Pearce's debut, Dear Mrs Bird, Yours Cheerfully is a celebration of friendship, a testament to the strength of women and the importance of lifting each other up, even in the most challenging times.

Review

I loved the first book - Dear Mrs Bird - this one not so much.

The book is a follow on from Dear Mrs Bird but could be read as a standalone. We meet Emmy again and this time Mrs Bird from the first book has departed and so the "Yours Cheerfully" letters page is born and the title of this book.

Emmy is once again hands on with the advice to readers but this time it gets much more serious as she becomes involved with the War Office and the recruitment drive of women for the war effort. I must say that the fight the women have against men and the powers that be, was so disheartening but opened my eyes to a side of the war I had not thought about before. Young women without child care who needed to work.

I found this book to be rather slow in places and rather long and drawn out. At times it felt like when someone tells you a tale and they include every little detail, instead of just getting to the point. Unfortunately I did not find the "hilarious tonic" from the blurb, but it was certainly eye opening.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

The Girl Who Reads on the Metro - Christine Féret-Fleury

 

Description

For fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and The Elegance of the Hedgehog, The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is the French phenomenon by Christine Féret-Fleury, ready to charm book-lovers everywhere . . .

When Juliette takes the métro to her loathed office job each morning, her only escape is in books – she avidly reads on her journey and imagines what her fellow commuters’ choices might say about them.

Then she meets Soliman – the mysterious owner of the most enchanting bookshop Juliette has ever seen – and things will never be the same again. For Soliman believes in the power of books to change the course of a life, and he’s about to change Juliette’s forever . . .

Review

This book was on a list for  books to choose from in my library book reading group. The title of the book and the description drew me to this book, but in the end I was disappointed with it. I listened to the audio version of the book. 

In essence this is a fairytale set in the real world. I hadn't thought that would be the case, instead believing it to be by someone who goes to run a bookshop. I like a little bit of magic and fantasy but for me this was just too fantastical and for a lot of the book I had no clue what was happening. 

The parts of the book I liked the most where those where the books were used to help sell and market properties in Paris. Ironically this is the job that Juliette leaves behind. A lot of the narration on the Metro reminded me more of the London underground and many words were not translated as such but English words substituted when French ones would have been understood. So at times I forgot the book was set in Paris.

The narrator had a fairy tale telling lilt to her voice and this was just right I think, making it a little more intriguing. It's not the voice I would have had in my own head whilst reading. I'm pleased I listened to it as audio as I don't think I would have finished it in paper book form. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to borrowbox and the local library for the loan of the audio book. 

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

 

Description

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

Review

I'd heard great things about this book - and for once they were all true.

I'm not sure my review can do this book justice. I loved it so much. I alternated between reading slowly and savouring every word, not wanting it to end; and then reading faster to find out what was going to happen next.

The book begins with the twin sisters in the 1960s living in a backwater town in southern America. But they always knew they wanted more than the small town existence and decide to runaway together. What follows is an epic saga of both theirs and their families journey through to the 1990s.

Once the twins go their separate ways the book begins to follow each of them and also flips back and forth through time to show what happened to them previously. The same then begins to happen for their offspring. 

The writing is just brilliant, the words flow from the page. With the right amount of descriptive phrasing the author places you centre of the action. When one of the characters drops a wine bottle in shock, I was there right beside them in shock also.

As well as racial prejudices the book covers domestic abuse, trans issues and all the baggage that comes as part and parcel of those subjects. Because these things happened to the people in the book and the people they loved I felt that it all flowed perfectly together. The book made me sad at times for both the loss of identity and the need to fit in one way or another for so many of the people in the book.  

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book was from my own bookshelf.

Love You Bad - Louise Mullins

 

Description

Kerensa lives a life of privilege few could imagine. Loving husband. Luxury home. Financial security. But in the attic of their sea view mansion is a secret waiting to be discovered, threatening to destroy their perfect marriage.

When their daughter's au pair uncovers Dominic's carefully constructed illusion, one lie at a time, it ends in murder. But whose?

A twisty page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, and Louise Candlish. Yet will equally appeal to readers of romantic suspense by authors such as Kendra Elliot, Mary Burton, Melinda Leigh, and Willow Rose.

Review

Trigger warning for violence and strong/sexual language.

I actually read this book in one sitting, as once I started I couldn't put it down.

The story is told alternatively from the perspective of Domonic and Kerensa in five parts. The action also flips between the past and the present with each successive part bringing the past nearer to the present. 

It's certainly a very dark and disturbing tale.  I was trying to piece together some of what had happened in the past, second guessing what I thought had happened. However, short chapters meant it was moving so fast I just had to keep reading. When things finally began to come to a head I only hoped it was all going to turn out ok, but it wasn't to be and the book went off again with a new twist. 

Atmospheric writing and believable characters mean it's a little bit like car crash tv. You can't believe what you are reading, but you can't stop either.  It's difficult to say more without ruining the plot of the book. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Zooloo's booktours for the invite to the Book Tour and for the ARC of the book for review.

Author

Louise Mullins writes full-time using the experience she gained in a prior life working in the field of forensic mental health, working with offenders and survivors of serious crimes.

 

To keep up to date with her latest releases, visit her website: www.louisemullinsauthor.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as: @mullinsauthor. 

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Website : www.louisemullinsauthor.com

Mrs March - Virginia Feito

 

Description

Shirley Jackson meets Ottessa Moshfegh meets My Sister the Serial Killer in a brilliantly unsettling and darkly funny debut novel full of suspense and paranoia

George March’s latest novel is a smash hit. None could be prouder than Mrs. March, his dutiful wife, who revels in his accolades and relishes the lifestyle and status his success brings.

A creature of routine and decorum, Mrs. March lives an exquisitely controlled existence on the Upper East Side. Every morning begins the same way, with a visit to her favourite patisserie to buy a loaf of
olive bread, but her latest trip proves to be her last when she suffers an indignity from which she may never recover: an assumption by the shopkeeper that the protagonist in George March’s new book –
a pathetic sex worker, more a figure of derision than desire – is based on Mrs. March.

One casual remark robs Mrs. March not only of her beloved olive bread but of the belief that she knew everything about her husband – and herself – sending her on an increasingly paranoid journey, one
that starts within the pages of a book but may very well uncover both a killer and the long-buried secrets of Mrs. March’s past.

A razor-sharp exploration of the fragility of identity and the smothering weight of expectations, Mrs. March heralds the arrival of a wicked and wonderful new voice.

Review

I didn't find this book as funny as My Sister the Serial Killer as referenced by the publisher. For me it was a very long drawn out book, which I found distressing and depressing in the main.

I was drawn into this book by the mention of New York and Mrs March living on the Upper East side. What I didn't expect was her life to be more like the 1950s than I suppose 2020's. There is a mention of a microwave otherwise I'm not sure I would have known it wasn't the 1950s. 

Mrs March (and she is called that all through the book - even when she is a child) is very hung up on social etiquette. Doing, saying, living the right way, it was just exhausting to read about it. There is a glimmer of humour in all of this until you realise that she has serious mental health issues.

I only kept reading as there was an allusion to uncovering a murderer, and I thought maybe I had the wrong end of the stick so to speak. This part of the book did grip me more than the beginning, but if you want a light hearted read, this won't be the book for you.

The writing in this book is undoubtedly very good and you can place yourself in the character of Mrs March very easily. Too easily in fact. I just became a little saddened by the whole tale.

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

Masterpiece - Janet Pywell

 

I'm delighted to be on the Blog Tour today for #MASTERPIECE

Description

NOT EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE AT A FORTUNE. BUT SHE'S ONLY ONE BURGLARY AWAY…

Photographer, artist and art forger Mikky dos Santos has had a tough life and now she’s about to steal the world’s most famous stolen painting – Vermeer’s The Concert – worth $200 million.

When Mikky’s flatmate is commissioned to paint one of the world’s most famous divas her life begins to spiral into chaos. An evil investigative journalist and a dangerous businessman are on the hunt to uncover Mikky’s darkest secrets and threaten her detailed plans.

The race is on.

This breathtaking protagonist is exhilarating and has attitude, yet underlying it all, a longing for human connection that makes you love her despite her own best efforts to push you away.

There are rich glimpses into European cities, a savvy feel for the international art world and an electrifying female sleuth who blasts into your life with explosive excitement. This thrilling page-turner will shock you with the stunning twist at the end.

Set in London (England), Mallorca (Spain) and Dresden (Germany) – this international crime thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat until the twist at the very end.

You will be instantly hooked!

Review

I do love a strong female lead in a book, and Mikky is certainly that.

When we first meet Mikky she is concerned about an elderly neighbour and quickly scales a fence to break in and get her help. Hardly the actions of an art thief, but we gain a sense of her values. Yet whilst she waits for the glazier Mikky snoops around her neighbours house, looking for what she knows is hanging there somewhere.

Her flatmate Javier is an artist and has been commissioned by a famous Opera Diva to paint her portrait. Mikky somewhat reluctantly accompanies him to Dresden for the initial meeting with the diva. How is this going to fit with Mikky being an art thief I began to wonder. 

I have a passing interest in art and the details in the book of art and art forgery were really interesting to read. The painting by Vermeer really was stolen in 1990 too and the author has imagined what could have followed. I loved the cat mouse games Mikky played with her different pursuers and certainly didn't see a couple of the twists coming. 

From about 60% into the book until the end was very fast paced and a real page turner. I wanted closure on how this was all going to work out in the end.

I found the character of Mikky likeable and believable. What I think is unusual about the book is the self talk we get from Mikky. At times I felt it wasn't always needed, but it is a slightly different approach to giving a voice to a character. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the invite to the tour and to the author for an ecopy of the book to review.

About the Author

Author Janet Pywell's storytelling is as mesmerizing and complex as her characters.

In her international crime thriller series - art forger, artist and photographer Mikky dos Santos is a uniquely lovable female: a tough, tattooed, yet vulnerable heroine who will steal your heart.

Each book is a stand-alone exciting action-adventure novel, set in three uniquely different countries/ locations.

These books are a must-read for devotees of complex female sleuths - an emotional female James Bond.

Janet has a background in travel and tourism and she writes using her knowledge of foreign places gained from living abroad and travelling extensively.

She draws on all her experiences of people and places to create exciting crime thrillers with great characters and all the plot twists and turns any reader could ask for.

Janet honed her writing skills by studying for a Masters degree at Queen's University, Belfast - one of the Russell Group of universities.

Janet researches meticulously and often takes courses in subjects to ensure that her facts are detailed and accurate and it is this attention to detail that makes her novels so readable, authentic and thrilling.

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