Book Review: Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Book Review: Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Sunday, 21 May 2017

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Around Mother’s Day, I received an incredibly exciting package in the post. I get a lot of books in the post (much to my downstairs neighbours’ despair) but this one threw me as being a LITTLE bit different. Coupled in with the ARC was a teensy-weensy bottle of the good stuff- sparkling white wine! A book and a glass of wine- is there anything better? I think not. I’ve read The Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry before, so I knew that Blood Sisters would be right up my street.

The book was one that I was intrigued by immediately. They do say not to judge a book by its cover, but for this one it was incredibly difficult not to because the cover is just SO beautiful. The story centres around two characters, Alison and Kitty, who we are led to believe from the offset are sisters. The story skips back and forth between chapters from their perspectives. Alison, an art teacher at a local college, comes across an advertisement for a job as an in house art specialist… at a local, open prison. The story principally follows her getting stuck into her new job, the relationships that she forms with the inmates, and all links back to a particular point in her life where everything changed forever. In contrast, Kitty lives in a care facility following an accident that left her with brain damage and requiring constant support. We hear the story from Kitty’s thoughts, as opposed to her spoken words, because her accident has left her void of the ability to communicate coherently.  The two stories from the sisters’ perspectives are separate but as the tale progresses, become more apparently intertwined and the end result is nothing short of fantastic.

The book is brilliantly written and absolutely nothing is left unanswered at the end of the story. I absolutely loved the switch between perspectives- I found Kitty to be such an interesting and intricate character, having both a contrasting intelligent voice and childish naivety about her. She is so blissfully unaware of certain situations and the appropriateness of certain behaviours, but so sharp and witty in others. I love how tense the chapters involving Alison are- I found myself on the edge of my seat as twist after twist was unravelled. It’s fair to say that I definitely didn’t see the vast majority of the twists coming, but at the same time they were definitely twists that were just oh-so believable- no predictability at all. The book approaches some pretty tough topics and does so in a very realistic and thoughtful way. The characterisation throughout the tale is en point, and all characters, principle and secondary, are relevant and have a useful role to play. I found myself questioning everyone and everything about the story, yet I still failed to come to the correct conclusion- the tell of a practically perfect tale! The pace of the story was excellent- it started off quite slowly but burst into a story that I literally couldn’t put down within a few pages. I’ll have to be honest with you - I’m finding it difficult to write this review without blurting out all the amazing things that happened, so you’ll have to just take my word for it and pick up a copy of the book when it’s published on June 29^th!

Thank you so much to the amazing team at Penguin books for sending me this book for review- I’m so excited to see other people’s thoughts on it. It really is a fantastic and chilling tale.

4.5/5 

Goodreads: April Recently Read

Goodreads: April Recently Read

Sunday, 30 April 2017

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I can honestly say that I am actually SO impressed with myself and how much I managed to read over the course of the month of April. I am amazed that I managed to find the time to read SEVEN WHOLE BOOKS. And to be honest with you, there were some blooming good ones.

I started off April finishing up with a book that I started at the end of March and it got April off to a pretty good start, as far as I’m concerned. Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner. I’ve already reviewed the book on the blog (you can have a little look at it here, if you so wish!) I loved this book A LOT and it really did get me out of what could have turned into a pretty remarkable reading slump. It was a really interesting, intriguing and thought-provoking book, full of twists and turns. A fantastic read.

As well as having a VERY well-known love of psychological thrillers and crime fiction, one of the genres that I’ve been leaning towards a lot more over the last few years is war fiction. Whilst this one isn’t actually fiction- in fact it’s a letter directed at a concentration camp survivor’s father- But You Did Not Come Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivans was a beautiful and heartwrenching piece of writing, one that I enjoyed enormously. It was devastatingly sad, and addressed the feelings that she, Marceline, had after she returned from Auschwitz concentration camp to discover that her father had not survived the tragic events. It was a very poignant story and of course, I had a little sob (surprise, surprise, Hollie…).

When I was in my second year of uni, I was introduced to The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I enjoyed the story but I don’t think I quite appreciated it the way that I should have done. Whilst I was at the cinema a few months back, one of the trailers shown was actually the trailer for this book and I was made up that they were making it into a film. One of the things that I did remember, having read the book, was that I enjoyed the plot, even if I didn’t fully acknowledge the importance of it. I chose to re-read the book this month and I am honestly so glad that I did. I found the writing style absolutely beautiful and I devoured absolutely every word. I definitely recommend giving this one a whirl if you haven’t already.

About a year ago (almost to the day, actually), I reviewed Lisa Williamson’s debut novel The Art of Being Normal. I absolutely LOVED this book, so when I found out that Lisa had written another YA novel, All About Mia, I couldn’t help myself. I quickly bought a copy on Amazon and vowed to get stuck straight in. I went back to Lancashire for a long weekend and chose to take this book along with me. I read it over the course of a few evenings and it was an absolute delight. It really approached the teenage years in a relatable way- it’s been a long while since I was a teenager but it was really nice to read a book written by someone who really seems to understand all about the complexities of growing up. I’ll likely review this one in more detail at some point, but I will say that it was a charming read.  

C. L. Taylor is probably one of my most-read authors over the last few years, so buying her new book was inevitable. As I’d finished reading All About Mia when I was visiting my parents, I nipped over to the local Tesco to get another book for the train ride home and the book I chose was Taylor’s The Escape. My expectations, of course, were very high and I am so over the moon to reveal that I wasn’t disappointed. I was very keen to review this one, so I’ve already done my full review here. It’s probably one of the best psychological thrillers that I’ve read over the last few years and definitely my favourite of C.L. Taylor’s.

My favourite book of April came courtesy of the lovely PR team at Penguin books. Around the end of March, I was surprised with a little parcel from them; a copy of Jane Corry’s Blood Sisters and a little bottle of the good stuff- white wine! I was a kind daughter and donated the wine to my mother but the book was mine and mine to keep. I loved this book. There are no two ways about it. Every single aspect of the book was exactly what I was looking for in a book- it epitomised the genre and left me satisfied. Twist after twist after twist – it was absolutely impossible to guess the ending. I’ll be writing a full review up this week but I couldn’t resist throwing a little something into my wrap up.

The final book that I read in April, I finished this morning. It was a book that I bought after hearing nothing but amazing things about it, for weeks and weeks and weeks. I even bought an additional copy and included it in a book giveaway that I’m holding. I had a lot of faith in its quality and once again, I wasn’t disappointed. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a book unlike anything that I’ve ever read before. I’m sure that you, like most people, have seen and been affected in some way or another by events involving gun crime and police targeting people from minorities in the states. This book approaches issues like these in the only way possible: by telling it exactly like it is, no censorship, the full reality of the situation. This book is a must read; so, so, so very important. One of the best books I’ve read this year, by far.

What have you been reading this month? Let me know in the comments!