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 

Book Review: Girl Unknown by Karen Perry

Book Review: Girl Unknown by Karen Perry

Monday, 30 January 2017

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January has been SUCH a good book month for me! Book number six of the month, I'm very pleased to say, was just as good as those prior to it. Thank you very much to the team at Penguin Random House for my review copy of Girl Unknown by Karen Perry.

This story intrigued me from the outset- set in Ireland, a young girl, Zoë, turns up at the office of her history university tutor, convinced that he is her father. Upon further discussion it is indeed believed to be the case and David, one of our protagonists, finds himself under the strain of getting to know his long lost daughter and the affects that this has on his wife and other children. Needless to say, things start to appear odd and, amidst a Christmas Day suicide attempt from Zoë, the family find themselves with a new member. Caroline has her doubts about the sincerity of Zoë, believing that there is definitely more to her and her story than meets the eye. She finds that Zoë is cold and untrusting of her, manipulative and callous: at one point, Zoë causes herself physical harm and makes out to David that it was Caroline that made it happen. She is right, of course, not to trust Zoë and eventually, the lies and the cracks start to appear.  

I don't think I've ever felt such strong emotions towards a single character before, much less the sheer dislike I felt towards Zoë. Her portrayal was fantastic, the antagonistic side of her blatant and well executed. Everything she did, without spoiling too much, irritated me on a ridiculous scale. I think it's pretty fair to say that it's been a long time since I've read a psychological thriller with such an obviously vindictive and conniving character. She eventually commences a relationship with David's best friend, a much older man, and moves out of the family home, despite both David and Caroline’s protests. The couple surprise David and Caroline and their children whilst away in France- and then everything changes and nothing can go back to how it was before.

I am not exaggerating when I describe this book as fantastic. I completely and utterly devoured it in a single sitting. Everything I look for when reading thrillers was readily there - it was full of intrigue, unpredictable and kept me hooked right until the - unexpected - twist at the end. The characters and the plot were both incredibly: every single character was one that I wanted to get to know on a deeper level and there were absolutely no plot holes at the end of the story. Everything I had wanted to know was answered in such an intriguing way. I enjoyed the shifting of character perspectives throughout the tale; this definitely allowed for a quick paced story and made it all the more “unputdownable.”

A fantastic tale with an ending that surprised even the most inquisitive, doubting crime fiction lover.

5/5.  

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Goodreads: My December To-Read List

Goodreads: My December To-Read List

Wednesday, 14 December 2016

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My December to-read pile is a pretty ambitious one for two reasons. Firstly, because it’s already the 14^th of the month and I’ve read a grand total of about 50 pages of one book, and secondly, because I work 56 hour weeks at the moment and barely have time to sleep let alone get lost in a gem of a book. I also happen to have chosen 5 books which have a remarkable amount of pages between them. However, God loves a trier so I’m going to give it a go and see if I can exceed my own incredibly low expectations.

The first book from my monthly TBR is one I’ve actually already started reading and I’m enjoying so far, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I love my war fiction (have a read of my post all about it, if you so wish!) and this one falls nicely into that category. It’s a pretty short one, but it’s quite complex and uses some incredibly intricate prose. It’s a book that’s been on my TBR for a good few years so it’s nice to finally get around to reading it.

The next book on my list is an ARC sent to me by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books; My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood. This one is right up my street and has been described as being a compelling and intriguing psychological thriller. Exactly what the doctor ordered and something I’ve had on my pile for a few months now. It’s publishing date is 9^th February but you can download it on kindle now, if you want to give it a go.

I absolutely love Jodi Picoult and have read a fair few of her books over the last few years. I picked up this one whilst perusing the shelves in Sainsbury’s and it sounds absolutely amazing, as always. I think the cover is absolutely beautiful as well, which definitely aided in my choosing of it. I love the way that Jodi writes and how she approaches difficult, important topics in her tales. I’m sure that this one will not disappoint me.

At the end of January I’m going to be part of a Penguin Books blog tour for the book Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent, so obviously I’m dying to get that one read this month. I’m really thrilled to be part of this tour; I absolutely love Penguin and hold their name in high esteem so I’m certain I’m going to find it to my taste. It’s also a psychological thriller, I believe, and we ALL know how I feel about those…

My final book is also an ARC, this time from Pan Macmillan, The House of New Beginnings by Lucy Diamond. I don’t really know all that much about this one, other than the fact that the review copy cover is beautiful, so it’ll be nice to go into it with a clear mind and absolutely no expectations. I HAVE  read books by Lucy before so I know to expect good things!

What are you planning on reading this month? Let me know! 

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Book Review: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Book Review: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Monday, 15 August 2016

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August is the month where I’m slowly but surely working my way through the masses of ARCs that I’ve accumulated over the last weeks and months. One of those ARCs I was particularly looking forward to getting to: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I read The Husband’s Secret a few years back and absolutely loved it but I hadn’t gotten around to reading anything else that Liane had published since then. When I noticed that Penguin Michael Joseph had Truly Madly Guilty available for request, I snapped it up and got stuck straight in.

 I wanted to love it.

I honestly really did. That isn’t to say that the entire reading of the book was pointless and I hated every second of it. There were lots of different things that happened that were absolutely spectacular and made the story one of those where I had to just keep going with it. I found myself reading on in spite of my reluctance, drawn in by the absolutely remarkable language and descriptiveness. I LOVE the way that Moriarty writes, but unfortunately, for me, this one just fell a little bit short of what I expected from her.

The premise of the story is pretty simple and easy enough to follow. There are 3 couples, 2 of whom have children and a third who are childless. We learn that one afternoon, they meet at one of the couples’ houses for a barbeque. At this barbeque, something incredibly bad happens and all three couples are left dwelling on the aftermath of the event. Sounds intriguing, right? Exactly. The whole thing just dragged on for way too long and by the time what happened was actually revealed, it all felt a little bit anticlimactic. I was expected something big and vibrant and full of excitement but instead I felt like I was left with a bit of a flicker. In spite of my belief that the book was too long, there were certain things that happened that definitely should have been discussed in more depth. I didn’t really warm to the characters and I found a few of them quite whiney. Their problems were minute and blown out of proportion, and one of the couples in particular I found to be incredibly selfish and self-centred.

There is no doubting that Moriarty has a way with words and her prose is remarkable. Her books are humorous and enjoyable for the most-part and it’s such a shame that this one didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m looking forward to her future books and I’ll most likely give her others a go in the meantime. I haven’t given up on her yet!

Thanks to the team at Penguin Michael Joseph for my advance copy of the book!

2.5/5

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