Caramel Hearts
E. R. Murray
Liv should be an average 14 year old from an average split parents. The only problem is that her mother is in a recovery centre for alcoholics and Liv is only being guided by her older sister. When she discovers a book of recipes that might lead her into knowing her mum’s previous self, things become both better and worse at the same time.
Liv is a cute little character that isn’t very bright. Oh wait, she’s only 14. So we can excuse a wide number of things she does wrong, except maybe that theft. What were you thinking Liv? I think her brain just went into overdrive sometimes with the sheer amount of mess she had gotten herself into.
I recognised her defence mechanism of running away when things got too much, but I couldn’t agree with it. Is 14 too young to run away? Maybe I’m losing my teenage touch. Still though, teenagers are going to sympathise with her, and might even do some thinking for themselves about what the right thing to do is…
This is yet another novel in the theme of a father or mother being in rehab for an alcohol addiction. This time we are seeing the perspective of the younger sibling, rather than the one that is the new ‘head’ of the household. It’s an interesting read, and I enjoyed it. It’s nothing particularly new though.
I’m going to give this 4 stars. It kept me entertained for a couple of hours, and I have to say the idea with the recipes made me want to bake which is always a good thing!
Bloomsbury | July 2016 | AU $19.99 | Paperback
Having just read a novel where there is a difference between nice guys and good guys, River makes a good contrast of it. He starts out nice, passes through completely useless, then maybe to good. It’s that character evolution of being just another guy to being one who has gotten a bit of self-awareness happening.
I wanted to like this novel, I really did. But instead it reminded me of 
I really like how the story develops with only hints of Annabel’s problems. It keeps the reader interested, and then invested in both of the characters. Julia too takes some time to get used to, and most of the time I found myself sympathising with her and wishing that she had more guts!
Kendra! I love you! I love you every time I read you. You’re plucky, irritating, and yet becoming more human all the time. I do wish you weren’t so stubborn, you should know that your friends will go first, but ah well. Everyone has their blind spots right? [How punny!]
There is no need to have read the 11 books in the Roy Grace series before this. Other reviewers have complained that it took ages for the Detective to enter the story – I didn’t miss this because I didn’t know what to expect of him. I actually loved being in the mind of the ‘Black Widow’ and the other criminals.
Lily is very… cold. I found it difficult to empathise with her because she seemed unchanged by deaths she had caused. Is it simply a side effect of being a witch? Or is it something else about her character that makes her too much like Lillian. They are the same person after all. I don’t think it was all about Lillian manipulating Lily, much as Rowan wanted to blame her.
There is no feeling of Merlin as a character as she begins simply as a construction of impersonal memories. The novel is plot based, and moves at a relatively fast pace once Merlin encounters other inhabitants of the desolate world. As long as you read this lightly without too many preconceived notions of how an apocalyptic novel should go, you will enjoy it.
I gobbled this up in an hour. I couldn’t put it down. The way Black interacted with her family, with Ed and with the others spoke strongly of her ability to keep on going. But Black, I’m sorry. Sometimes you just aren’t that bright. Sure, you are under a lot of stress, but seriously! Then again, you are only a teenager and teenagers tend to do things like that.
Nessa is an interesting character with her own mind, and she truly grows throughout the novel. It’s not just plot driven, there is definitely character development. Not to mention some very nice world-building of the island and its inhabitants.