Category Archives: Fiction

Review: Philippa Christian – Nanny Confidential

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Nanny Confidential
Philippa Christian

Lindsay is an elite nanny working in the homes of the rich and famous, looking after their kids so they can present their best face to the world. As an Australian far from home, her family worries about her rich lifestyle. Lindsay on the other hand has her feet firmly on the ground.

23680856I really don’t remember requesting this novel, and I can’t find evidence for it in my inbox. But I picked it up with a positive will, thinking it would be perfect pool-side reading.

Personally, I wanted less asides into the other nannying positions she had had, and more focus on a main family. I would have been enthralled by more details. As it was, it was a little too skinny for me. The blurb writes it up as a dashing romance vs a hard life of looking after children not your own, but that wasn’t the case.

The problem may have been that I’m not familiar with any of the celebrities that were mentioned, or hinted about. I understand about the limitations of working with famous people and writing not always positive things about them!

Unfortunately I felt a bit empty after reading it. Where did that time go? Did I learn something useful? Not really. Is it perfect for a light read? Yeah, maybe, if you like to peep into ‘Celebrity lives’ at home. I”m going to be generous and grant it 3 stars, because it wasn’t awful.

3star

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for this complimentary copy. As always, my views are my own.

Review: Keren David – This is NOT a Love Story

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This is NOT a Love Story
Kerin David

The world never seemed to revolve around Kitty. But when she finds herself in an entirely new environment with two hot boys to chase (not that she would ever admit to liking them), she creates a new persona for herself.

22838328This novel started out with so much promise, but failed to deliver. What you think is a horrifying lovers spat gone wrong is nothing more than a joke – on both the reader and the characters. Kitty! You stupid, selfish character. You’re so busy being ‘cool’ that you missed everything. And being cruel to the other characters is just ugh. Did not endear me to you despite you being the main character.

And this Instagram thing, which I assumed was included to ‘keep up with the times’? It just dated the novel for me, and didn’t actually do anything to further the story. Maybe if images were included, then it would have been more useful. As it was, I could have done without it, and more character development.

Considering that more than one point of view is shown in the story, you would expect to get a good grasp of the characters. But I didn’t feel like I knew any of them. Ethan was ‘moody’, Theo was ‘clever’, but apart from Ethan being constantly rude and Theo focussing on London Jewish politics, that was it. It had promise, it really did. Ah, but it was all lost.

Oh! And did I mention some of the characters were gay? Just goes to show that you need some solid story as well as some queer references to get my vote. 2 stars from me, with a sympathetic 3 if I must.

2star

Review: Victoria Scott – Salt and Stone

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Salt and Stone
Victoria Scott

Tella has survived a jungle and a desert. Now she faces stormy seas and frozen mountains on her quest to save her brother. With others in the race with ulterior motives and those just trying to survive, it’s a battlefield of interesting portions.

20657437The novel breaks open with a bang, and continues along at a relatively fast pace. This is interspersed with confused love scenes and meaty blood letting. And of course, depictions of friendships that can rise and break in a moment. Don’t think it’s just love and games in their boat, there’s more than that going on.

The reason I perhaps enjoy this slightly more than the Hunger Games is that there isn’t too much killing of people, only Pandoras. I mean, almost everyone is attached to their Pandoras, Tella in particular, but it’s not quite the same as the wanton killing of humans.

Personally, I found the first novel, Fire and Flood, more than this one. It had the juicy details and the threat of death being much closer. Instead in this one, Tella is so comfortable in her role that it is impossible to see anything going wrong for her and her guy (see what I did there, readers of the first novel?)

I received the first novel in this series from the publisher, and it hooked me enough that I requested the second. It didn’t come my way though, and since I have more than enough books to read at the moment, I didn’t buy this one. Luckily for me, my partner bought me this for Christmas!

4star

Review: Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey – Cheaper by the Dozen

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Cheaper by the Dozen
Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Let’s preface this by saying that I wouldn’t normally have time for this novel, unless it came super super recommended and with a free copy. But! My girlfriend read me this novel as my bedtime story. I couldn’t have hoped for a better one!

99406This novel documents the best parts of Frank Gilbreth’s life with his 12 children. His saying was always that children were ‘cheaper by the dozen’.That being said, he did end up having less than that.

I really enjoyed the discussions of what life was like back then, and it was presented in a positive, casual way which made it very accessible.

Frank practiced efficiency in every part of his life – at work and at home. He’s best know for beginning the crazy of ‘motion study’ and he and his wife Lillian were responsible for a lot of management improvements.

I wasn’t really sure whether to categorise this as fiction or non-fiction. It was so enjoyable that I didn’t know what to rate it either. My recent trending towards not starring non-fiction is going to remain true for this novel. Even if you don’t have someone to read it aloud to you, it’s worth a read if you like to see into real people’s lives, and have a bit of humour on the way.

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Review: Ann Walmsley – The Prison Book Club

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The Prison Book Club
Ann Walmsley

This non-fiction grabber reads like a fictional book. Who could imagine going into a prison in order to read literature with inmates convicted of murder, drug dealing and robbery. That’s what Ann did, somehow getting over her fear of tattooed men who might want to hurt her.

24876660I’ve never really thought about prison settings, not since my review of Peacock Blue, and of course that isn’t a Western prison. This prison is harsh, and grimy, and that’s what makes the transformation of the men within the book club surrounds more profound. They have high, intelligent thinking, despite what they might have done on the outside.

I wished I knew more, or perhaps less, about the affluent book club that Ann is part of in the outside world. I couldn’t imagine the fancy cheeses or anything else being attractive to me. Ann’s standing in the world wasn’t clear to me at all – did she have a day job? Does that actually matter?

I’ve sort of wanted to join a book club, but I think in general I read the wrong genres of novels. I’m not really a high literature or even mostly adult fiction reader. This didn’t go to prove me wrong, but maybe since I am reading more adult fantasy at the moment (Brandon Sanderson, drool), I could get into that. But then again, I have so many other good novels to read…

More could have been made of the benefits of the book club. There were some places for statistics that wouldn’t have gone astray for me. I did like how Ann followed the men outside prison after their release, and how it made her feel more comfortable in her own skin. Insights into her own life were welcome too.

I requested this novel. I was looking for something a bit more ‘meaty’ to read, and this was it. Non-fiction is not usually my thing, but this novel was really great. I’d put it on a book club reading list any day!

Review: Alyssa Palombo – The Violinist of Venice

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The Violinist of Venice
Alyssa Palombo

Adriana has been tortured away from music by her bitter father after her opera mother’s death. Still the longing to make music holds strong in her, and she decides to make her way to Vivaldi’s home in order to nurture her talent as a violinist. What happens next is a romance that is both tender and heartbreaking.

23848300This novel opens with a storm, and only gets better from there. I was convinced I was in the same time as the characters, roaming the streets of Venice. There were vivid pictures painted for me of the characters’ costumes and the places where they interacted the most. The pathways between places were a bit hazy for me, but at those points I was too engrossed in the characters to notice.

The little intricacies underlying the main plot line (Adriana and Toni’s affair) are fascinating. You can’t really think about how the different points will happen or twine together, but they do. What I liked about this was that a ‘happy ending’ wasn’t necessarily assured. There are so many things at stake, not just Adriana’s life.

You don’t need to know anything about music to enjoy this novel. If you’re more of a classic romance person, this is going to suit you as well. And you might even be engaged enough to go and youtube the music so that you can hear it in concert (haha) with reading the novel.

This is also available as an ebook, and I’d certainly suggest borrowing from your library if it is available ( I can only imagine how nice Adriana’s voice should sound). I’m not sure on the rereadability of this one. I’ve got a reader in mind for it right now, and I’m certain that she will also like it (being a musical person herself).

4star

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for my free review copy.

Review: Jenny Downham – Unbecoming

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unbecoming
Jenny Downham

Katie’s grandmother has unexpectedly come to stay. Katie’s life has been fragmenting since her parents split up, and this new addition to an already dysfunctional family could be the end of it. In coming to care for her eccentric grandmother, Katie comes to realise that family is complicated – but that doesn’t mean it is inherently bad.

9780545907170_xlgThis novel touches on a number of important topics – sexuality, family history and degenerating health conditions. The family history here is convoluted and lovely, and exposed sneakily by Katie’s perspective, and also from Mary’s memory. Mary’s memory loss is extreme, and is getting worse, but she is still trying to work out what has gotten lost, and why it is important.

Dementia can be a tricky subject to portray in a manner that is convincing, but it is done so brilliantly here. The mentions of Jack being present for Mary could have been jarring, but instead they were comfortingly woven into the text, where they could be either past memories or imaginings from Mary.

What I liked about Katie and Jamie/Simona’s relationship was that it was less ‘typical’ or predictable than relationships in other novels, where being in love doesn’t solve all problems. Something I always struggle with, both in novels and in real life, is that any gay characters are automatically expected to like each other! I mean, the saying is that ‘there are plenty more fish in the ocean’ for straight people, and I think that needs to be different for gay or alternative relationships – it’s more like an overcrowded pond with plenty of random fish that are forced to be friendly because they share the same space. Is that too much of an analogy?

The ending was a little neat for my now-refined taste, but there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that. This is the second novel I have read recently that doesn’t offer easy answers, or a linear, unimaginative plot. Not being able to predict characters based on past novels you have read (and I have read a lot) is beginning to be a sign of brilliance of authors I read.

This is a valuable contribution to YA literature. Highly recommended reading.

4star

Thanks to Scholastic for providing me with a complimentary copy.

 

Review: Snowflake Seashell Star (colouring book)

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Snowflake Seashell Star
Colouring Adventures in Numberland
Alex Bellos with Edmund Harriss

You’d think it might get a bit samey with so many adult colouring books out there (I’ve reviewed some here, here and here), but this one offers something different again for me.

27075080You get some freedom here, and I think this book is designed for bright colours. Not all of the images are right there for you to colour – you might need to draw lines, or decide on a numbered colour scheme. Others are the traditional different coloured animals fitted into each other which you shade from one side to the other.

If I was to take a guess, if you have a somewhat arty mathematician in your family, this could be a good gift. I’m thinking scientific people of any kind here (just to generalise this 😉 ). Or keep it for yourself. It’s so pretty!

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Skin Deep

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Skin Deep
Brandon Sanderson

Stephen Leeds has multiple personalities, and has trouble keeping them all straight. While other people can’t see them, they are as real to Stephen as the girls he gets set up with. With another mystery to solve, Stephen is going to need them to help him sort the case out, but they’re starting to get out of hand.

20886354Another Brandon Sanderson novella, another disappointment. But it’s not the story I’m disappointed with, it’s the length! I can never get enough of Sanderson’s work. I do so wish he would make these into novels, but I guess with everything else that he has been doing (finishing that stupid series… Wheel of Time I think it is?) he doesn’t have time. I can continue to hope.

As usual, I’m not really sure what to say about a short story. The characters (although they are sort of imaginary) really do come together as whole entities in their own right. The scenery? Eh, it’s not the focus. The storyline? Engaging, surprising and twisting, just as I would want it!

There are veiled references to some of the things that happened in the first novella, but you don’t have to necessarily read that one first. I am tempted to go back and read that one again to get my fix of Brandon Sanderson. My copy of Steelheart is on loan right now, or else I’d be reading it!

5 stars from me. And thanks to my partner for buying it for me! I love surprises.

5star

Review: D.E. Wyatt – No Good Deed

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No Good Deed
D.E. Wyatt

Elsabeth and Hieronymus are always getting into trouble, yet always manage to scrape out by the skin of their teeth. When Elzabeth forgoes a warning in favour of sex, things get a little more heated that she intended.

18710486This novel reminded me a bit of Robin Hood, except that the two main characters couldn’t have cared less about anyone else. But you know what? I don’t actually have a problem with that! It’s nice to have protagonists that aren’t ‘nice’ for a change. Scoundrels can get away with a lot more fun things.

Elsabeth is great at everything she does – swordfighting, sex and scams. But she’s just not very good at thinking. Compared to the other protagonist, Brother Hieronymus, she does more thinking, but damn, they’re both stupid! Why do you not get that you are being led on the whole time?

In this novel I felt like I was being spoon fed too many details. I didn’t need to think for myself at all. I was told, not shown, most of the excitement. There could have been more immediacy to the whole thing.

I received this novel from the author quite a while ago *cough cough, 2013??* but never got around to reading it because the front cover just didn’t fill me with glee. I’m giving it 3 stars now, but that’s being generous. I could put it down and pick it up far too easily.

3star