I was ready to be disappointed by this book, after all the previous 6 have been excellent and the author is bound to crash and burn sooner or later and drag things on for one or two books longer than he really should. Fortunately, for me, this seventh outing of Peter Grant and all things Folly lived up to the previous 6 books.
It has everything I have come to expect from this series - sarcastic narration from PC Grant, whoops Detective Grant as he is now; a plethora of strange peoples popping up out of the demi-monde; a little whiff of Nightingale; genuine peril from the Faceless Man II and the mystery of Lesley May. Throw in a good dollop of the early history of London and it all cracks along at a cracking pace.
Although I didn't race through this book as fast as I have the previous offerings that was down to other time commitments and I hated leaving this wonderfully realised fantasy world to deal with real life. Even better I love how the reach of the Folly is expanding with new people being brought in as adjuncts to their Metropolitan Police sanctioned activities. Either things are getting weirder in London (entirely plausible as Peter seems to rattle everyone's calm albeit accidentally) or the powers that be are just starting to realise how odd everything really is. The cast of core characters is expanding but this is at the loss of spending much time with Nightingale and I am beginning to miss him.
Actually, the one big difference between this and the previous books is that it is much more action led and we don't get too much downtime with Peter. Yes, the sarcastic asides are still there and the voice is as strong as ever but some of the personal touch feels a little lost. Maybe it is time to get Peter back out of the city and exploring the wider British Isles (Foxglove Summer was easily the best of the series thus far). That said, the progression of the storyline started in Rivers Of London is good and feels organic rather than forced and, even better, there is still an openness to the ending that leaves us as bewildered as Peter as to where exactly things stand when the ancient dust settles.
Still a cracking good read and I am looking forward to Book 8.
Sunday 16 February 2020
The House At Silvermoor by Tracy Rees
Set during the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century the author introduces us to Josie and Tommy who live in the neighbouring mining villages of Arden and Grindley in Yorkshire. We get to follow them through several years of their lives taking them from little more than children through to adults. In a nutshell that is the basic premise of the book - a coming of age tale for two disparate youths who paths cross one importune Sunday and change their lives forever.
Wow, that sounds really quite harsh and I did enjoy the book, enough to give it 4 stars after all. However, I did have quite a few issues with it along the way. The main one being that none of the characters bring anything new to the table at all and the vast majority of them are either subservient to their masters and accept their lot with nary a peep or they are either a Victorian Vaudeville Villain or overtly philanthropic; there is no middle ground, no nuance. Even our main protagonists Josie and Tommy are stereotypical dreamers constantly getting in to scrapes of their own devising. I was not convinced that this was an accurate reflection of the Victorian mining villages as their is no sense of pride in the work, just a daily drudge and grind and, coming from a mining family on my mother's side it was always imbued in me that it was a very hard life but one you could take pride in.
I did enjoy reading Josie and Tommy's story though, but for me it was more a historical fantasy than a historical fiction. The writing is undeniably good and despite all my reservations Ms Rees certainly pulled me in and kept me hooked - admittedly it took about 150 pages before I really became absorbed as this is definitely a slow burner. I even found myself wanting to know how things turned out for them and their plans to escape England to, of all places, Colonial India.
The author allows Josie and Tommy to tell their own stories but their voices didn't feel that different on the page and if it hadn't been for their very different storylines - Tommy and his loving family and life down the pit, Josie and her estrangement from her family and eventual life in service - it would have been hard to tell them apart. I will admit that my interest was piqued by Josie's time in service in York and was quite saddened at how little time we spent in that glorious city's snickleways.
It may take a while to hook you but it is definitely worth persevering with. An enjoyable read that gives you a sense of satisfaction when you complete it; even if it does have a very open ended finale.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM AMAZON.CO.UK
Wow, that sounds really quite harsh and I did enjoy the book, enough to give it 4 stars after all. However, I did have quite a few issues with it along the way. The main one being that none of the characters bring anything new to the table at all and the vast majority of them are either subservient to their masters and accept their lot with nary a peep or they are either a Victorian Vaudeville Villain or overtly philanthropic; there is no middle ground, no nuance. Even our main protagonists Josie and Tommy are stereotypical dreamers constantly getting in to scrapes of their own devising. I was not convinced that this was an accurate reflection of the Victorian mining villages as their is no sense of pride in the work, just a daily drudge and grind and, coming from a mining family on my mother's side it was always imbued in me that it was a very hard life but one you could take pride in.
I did enjoy reading Josie and Tommy's story though, but for me it was more a historical fantasy than a historical fiction. The writing is undeniably good and despite all my reservations Ms Rees certainly pulled me in and kept me hooked - admittedly it took about 150 pages before I really became absorbed as this is definitely a slow burner. I even found myself wanting to know how things turned out for them and their plans to escape England to, of all places, Colonial India.
The author allows Josie and Tommy to tell their own stories but their voices didn't feel that different on the page and if it hadn't been for their very different storylines - Tommy and his loving family and life down the pit, Josie and her estrangement from her family and eventual life in service - it would have been hard to tell them apart. I will admit that my interest was piqued by Josie's time in service in York and was quite saddened at how little time we spent in that glorious city's snickleways.
It may take a while to hook you but it is definitely worth persevering with. An enjoyable read that gives you a sense of satisfaction when you complete it; even if it does have a very open ended finale.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM AMAZON.CO.UK
Friday 7 February 2020
The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue
In the spirit of full disclosure, I attended a Convent School. Although not a Catholic I had the joy of being educated solely by nuns (with one exception of a lay teacher who was an ex-nun) for a full 7 years. So, this almost had a flashback quality when talking about the strange atmosphere that pervades a school run by those married to Christ. Especially when they are a traditional order with the wimples and long, sack-like habits and who wholly subscribe to the stain of Original Sin. That would have been creepy enough but make the setting a girl's boarding school and the eery factor is off the scale. Whether this is fully drawn on the page or embellished by distant memory I cannot truly attest but some of those school sections really gave me the heeby-jeebies.
Ostensibly this is the story of Louisa - bright scholarship girl who excels in her exams and gets thrust in to the rarefied atmosphere of an exclusive boarding school. One question this left me with was - it felt like she was 16, I'm sure she was 16 and yet she enters in the fourth year. Surely she would have been lower sixth? Yet, frequently the novel mentions the Sixth Form areas which are clearly out of bounds to Louisa. I just found the age thing confusing and I think it bothered me more than it should have.
What does work well is the timeline of the book. Whilst, it is set in two disparate timezones - that preceeding Louisa's disappearance and then one that follows on some 20+ years later - each timeline runs in an horologically correct manner which pleased me as it stepped away from the current fashion to jumble everything up. The story is strong enough on it's own to not need to needlessly confuse the reader. In fact, it could have been split in to a couple of sections, before and after, if you will and would have still been an absorbing read.
The characters really do inhabit the page, well those from Louisa's past do; unfortunately the modern day is much less richly evoked and that is what let the book down. There is a uncomfortable disconnect between then and now and it sometimes felt, to me anyway, that the sections were written by disparate people only one of whom could evoke people on a page to living and breathing entities.
I know plot hasn't really been discussed here but it is so richly detailed and multi-leveled that to say more than is included in the publisher's blurb would ruin the read. Trust me, this is one book that deserves to be read and thought about and it did make me think!
As a debut novel this is exceptional, the problem for the author will be following it up when trying to craft against deadlines. There was just something about the reading of this that felt like it had been carefully crafted and edited with the luxury of time on it's side. I am very interested to see how the author will parlay that second difficult book when working against a strict publisher's deadline.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA READERS FIRST.
Ostensibly this is the story of Louisa - bright scholarship girl who excels in her exams and gets thrust in to the rarefied atmosphere of an exclusive boarding school. One question this left me with was - it felt like she was 16, I'm sure she was 16 and yet she enters in the fourth year. Surely she would have been lower sixth? Yet, frequently the novel mentions the Sixth Form areas which are clearly out of bounds to Louisa. I just found the age thing confusing and I think it bothered me more than it should have.
What does work well is the timeline of the book. Whilst, it is set in two disparate timezones - that preceeding Louisa's disappearance and then one that follows on some 20+ years later - each timeline runs in an horologically correct manner which pleased me as it stepped away from the current fashion to jumble everything up. The story is strong enough on it's own to not need to needlessly confuse the reader. In fact, it could have been split in to a couple of sections, before and after, if you will and would have still been an absorbing read.
The characters really do inhabit the page, well those from Louisa's past do; unfortunately the modern day is much less richly evoked and that is what let the book down. There is a uncomfortable disconnect between then and now and it sometimes felt, to me anyway, that the sections were written by disparate people only one of whom could evoke people on a page to living and breathing entities.
I know plot hasn't really been discussed here but it is so richly detailed and multi-leveled that to say more than is included in the publisher's blurb would ruin the read. Trust me, this is one book that deserves to be read and thought about and it did make me think!
As a debut novel this is exceptional, the problem for the author will be following it up when trying to craft against deadlines. There was just something about the reading of this that felt like it had been carefully crafted and edited with the luxury of time on it's side. I am very interested to see how the author will parlay that second difficult book when working against a strict publisher's deadline.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA READERS FIRST.
The Gentle Art Of Forgetting by Richard Easter
3.5 Stars
The best thing about this book is the voice of Context. I think I would have been happy to have Context narrate throughout instead of flashing here and there throughout Jane's life and having Jane narrate to us. Context is wry and strangely disconnected from the story and that drew me in, Jane is altogether too serious and instead of sucking you in to her life I found that she kept me at arms length.
When you start the book you are warned that this is part of a trilogy - indeed you are slap bang in the middle of it with Jane's story. You really, REALLY, don't need to read either of the other books to enjoy this one. Apparently (and this is the only one I have read) they share similar themes and some recurring characters but also exist in their separate spaces and times. As a stand alone novel this worked well, I never felt like I was missing out on some nuance because I hadn't read the first book and it did make me curious to read it - which has to be good.
The whole idea of Context butting in to move the story along was a good one as otherwise this would have been a confusing mess. The whole idea of Here and Watching The Snow is just off the wall enough to intrigue me but it did get completely confusing at times but good old Context was always there to save the day. I also loved the idea of explaining the shifts throughout the years of Jane's life until we get to the denouement; it was certainly effective in building the tension and keeping you reading.
Yet, I didn't love this book; I enjoyed it but I always felt there was something missing from it. I think, with the benefit of a couple of days between finishing the book and reviewing it, that this was because I simply couldn't take to Jane. I lived for the 80s references throughout certain sections but that the was the most interesting and absorbing part of her character - pop culture references that hold a nostalgia for me.
On the whole a quirky story that shows a lot of promise by the author but just some way to go with the characters.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA BOOK SIRENS
The best thing about this book is the voice of Context. I think I would have been happy to have Context narrate throughout instead of flashing here and there throughout Jane's life and having Jane narrate to us. Context is wry and strangely disconnected from the story and that drew me in, Jane is altogether too serious and instead of sucking you in to her life I found that she kept me at arms length.
When you start the book you are warned that this is part of a trilogy - indeed you are slap bang in the middle of it with Jane's story. You really, REALLY, don't need to read either of the other books to enjoy this one. Apparently (and this is the only one I have read) they share similar themes and some recurring characters but also exist in their separate spaces and times. As a stand alone novel this worked well, I never felt like I was missing out on some nuance because I hadn't read the first book and it did make me curious to read it - which has to be good.
The whole idea of Context butting in to move the story along was a good one as otherwise this would have been a confusing mess. The whole idea of Here and Watching The Snow is just off the wall enough to intrigue me but it did get completely confusing at times but good old Context was always there to save the day. I also loved the idea of explaining the shifts throughout the years of Jane's life until we get to the denouement; it was certainly effective in building the tension and keeping you reading.
Yet, I didn't love this book; I enjoyed it but I always felt there was something missing from it. I think, with the benefit of a couple of days between finishing the book and reviewing it, that this was because I simply couldn't take to Jane. I lived for the 80s references throughout certain sections but that the was the most interesting and absorbing part of her character - pop culture references that hold a nostalgia for me.
On the whole a quirky story that shows a lot of promise by the author but just some way to go with the characters.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA BOOK SIRENS
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
3.5 Stars
It took me a while to get myself centred with this book and to understand where the author was coming from. It is a place so alien to me this may as well have been a science fiction novel - in all honesty when the year 2025 is first mentioned I thought that is what it was, then reality hit and I realised that is only 5 years away. Where did the time go?
The story centres around Dannie, a very definite Type-A personality who is determined to make her way in the cutthroat world of Corporate Law. We join her as she goes for the most important job interview of her life (an naturally aces it) and then gets proposed to by her longterm, equally ambitious, partner and cohabitee David. Everything seems to be coming up roses. Then she falls asleep and has a premonitory dream that she can't shake where it is 15th December 2025 and she is in a strange apartment that seems to be hers and with a man who is very definitely NOT David.
Once I got over the shock of how close 2025 really is I did enjoy reading this book. I was just incredibly frustrated by Dannie, she is completely obsessed by this dream. Whilst I get that it shook her I couldn't understand why she couldn't just "shake it off" and get on with whatever life threw at her without having to look for signs that it was in fact endeavouring to come true. Spoiler Alert - the whole premise of the story is that it does come true but only because Dannie seems to manufacture it that way. It just felt to me that she was willing it to happen.
What saved it for me was her relationship with childhood friend Bella. This is where the magic happens on the page. The slotting together of two wildly different personalities is achieved organically and they genuinely feel like friends who know each other and the author manages to give us a glimpse into their lives without making it feel forced. It does have a vaguely sapphic undertow though that never gets explored fully, instead being depicted as a more sisterly love and devotion that felt, to this reader, like the author had been discouraged from taking it down that route when really that is where she wanted to place things.
This is Rebecca Serle's second book and again it plays with themes of time, place and might have beens. This is slightly more successful than The Dinner List in this regard but it still left me feeling like it was full of missed opportunities.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHERS VIA AMAZON.CO.UK
It took me a while to get myself centred with this book and to understand where the author was coming from. It is a place so alien to me this may as well have been a science fiction novel - in all honesty when the year 2025 is first mentioned I thought that is what it was, then reality hit and I realised that is only 5 years away. Where did the time go?
The story centres around Dannie, a very definite Type-A personality who is determined to make her way in the cutthroat world of Corporate Law. We join her as she goes for the most important job interview of her life (an naturally aces it) and then gets proposed to by her longterm, equally ambitious, partner and cohabitee David. Everything seems to be coming up roses. Then she falls asleep and has a premonitory dream that she can't shake where it is 15th December 2025 and she is in a strange apartment that seems to be hers and with a man who is very definitely NOT David.
Once I got over the shock of how close 2025 really is I did enjoy reading this book. I was just incredibly frustrated by Dannie, she is completely obsessed by this dream. Whilst I get that it shook her I couldn't understand why she couldn't just "shake it off" and get on with whatever life threw at her without having to look for signs that it was in fact endeavouring to come true. Spoiler Alert - the whole premise of the story is that it does come true but only because Dannie seems to manufacture it that way. It just felt to me that she was willing it to happen.
What saved it for me was her relationship with childhood friend Bella. This is where the magic happens on the page. The slotting together of two wildly different personalities is achieved organically and they genuinely feel like friends who know each other and the author manages to give us a glimpse into their lives without making it feel forced. It does have a vaguely sapphic undertow though that never gets explored fully, instead being depicted as a more sisterly love and devotion that felt, to this reader, like the author had been discouraged from taking it down that route when really that is where she wanted to place things.
This is Rebecca Serle's second book and again it plays with themes of time, place and might have beens. This is slightly more successful than The Dinner List in this regard but it still left me feeling like it was full of missed opportunities.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHERS VIA AMAZON.CO.UK
The Foundling by Stacey Halls
4.5 Stars
First things first, this came so close to being my first 5 Star read of 2020. It was just a shame that the central theme of the book stretched plausibility far too thin and there is no way I could see that situation ever happening. Honestly, by giving it away to the reader before events unfolded on the page it strangely devalued the story. Even worse if it had been left as a twist in the tale at the end I would have moaned about that too so poor Ms Halls really can't win on this one.
Overall this is a strong novel but it does feel like Historical Accuracy is played fast and loose with. This is the second book I have read that has The Foundling Hospital as a central theme and from the additional reading that led me on to previously the depiction of it's inner workings seems to be accurate. Although it may be a Central Theme it features only in brief snatches throughout the book as the story is really all about people.
This is what the author does so well, she draws believable characters that live outside of the page and draw you in to their world. The best of these in this book is Bess Bright, you can really feel her struggle as she tries to come to terms with having to give her illegitimate daughter away. Her backstory is poignant without being cloying and when she goes to The Foundling to get her daughter, 627, back the reveal is as shocking for her as it is for the reader.
Unfortunately, this is where the plot muddies and leaves the reader with a lot of questions. The main one I had is why any employer, no matter how odd, would take on an illiterate girl as a nursemaid for a 6 year old. It just doesn't ring true at all and despite the rather peculiar mode of life in the Callard House it just doesn't work. Throw in a rather gruesome explanation for Mrs Callard's hermit like existence and it does have a fair old whack of melodrama to it.
As you can tell there are a lot of things that I perceived as flaws in this book. However, despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this world. Ms Halls can certainly weave a story and knows how to keep her readers entertained - even when their brains are going "Really, this isn't a telenovella you know". I know that the publisher's are pushing the "new Hilary Mantel" line but apart from Historical Fiction being their chosen fields these author's are chalk and cheese so please, I implore you, ignore that as it does everyone a disservice.
To sum up this is a fun read that has a lot of flaws but that you somehow enjoy despite (or maybe because of) them.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK SUPPLIED BY READERS FIRST.
First things first, this came so close to being my first 5 Star read of 2020. It was just a shame that the central theme of the book stretched plausibility far too thin and there is no way I could see that situation ever happening. Honestly, by giving it away to the reader before events unfolded on the page it strangely devalued the story. Even worse if it had been left as a twist in the tale at the end I would have moaned about that too so poor Ms Halls really can't win on this one.
Overall this is a strong novel but it does feel like Historical Accuracy is played fast and loose with. This is the second book I have read that has The Foundling Hospital as a central theme and from the additional reading that led me on to previously the depiction of it's inner workings seems to be accurate. Although it may be a Central Theme it features only in brief snatches throughout the book as the story is really all about people.
This is what the author does so well, she draws believable characters that live outside of the page and draw you in to their world. The best of these in this book is Bess Bright, you can really feel her struggle as she tries to come to terms with having to give her illegitimate daughter away. Her backstory is poignant without being cloying and when she goes to The Foundling to get her daughter, 627, back the reveal is as shocking for her as it is for the reader.
Unfortunately, this is where the plot muddies and leaves the reader with a lot of questions. The main one I had is why any employer, no matter how odd, would take on an illiterate girl as a nursemaid for a 6 year old. It just doesn't ring true at all and despite the rather peculiar mode of life in the Callard House it just doesn't work. Throw in a rather gruesome explanation for Mrs Callard's hermit like existence and it does have a fair old whack of melodrama to it.
As you can tell there are a lot of things that I perceived as flaws in this book. However, despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this world. Ms Halls can certainly weave a story and knows how to keep her readers entertained - even when their brains are going "Really, this isn't a telenovella you know". I know that the publisher's are pushing the "new Hilary Mantel" line but apart from Historical Fiction being their chosen fields these author's are chalk and cheese so please, I implore you, ignore that as it does everyone a disservice.
To sum up this is a fun read that has a lot of flaws but that you somehow enjoy despite (or maybe because of) them.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK SUPPLIED BY READERS FIRST.
The Likely Resolutions Of Oliver Clock by Jane Riley
I really enjoyed this book. It helped that the author had done her research on what life behind the scenes is like in a Funeral Parlour. She almost got it right, what she missed was the very overdeveloped sense of the absurd that everyone I ever worked with had; trust me it takes a certain kind of person to work in a Funeral Parlour and a pre-requisite for a coping mechanism seems to be a sense of humour that borders on deranged. There are a lot of emotions flying around and those family meetings can be really something and she captured this exquisitely, even if Mr Clock did feel a little obsequious at times. I wasn't sure about "The Folder" but it was great to see Oliver step away from the formula and try and treat each visitor through the doors as individual stories because that really is how it works.
The only real let down for me was how much of a mess Oliver was away from Clock & Sons. The dichotomy between work Oliver and home Oliver was so great that it just didn't ring true and spoilt it just a teeny, tiny bit for me. I get the whole frustrated relationship thing but he just felt like so much of a mess when away from work and almost devoid of any personality that I did wonder where it was going. Strangely, the book is saved by his almost complete breakdown when someone close to him dies and he struggles to get past it. I loved how the grief was allowed to filter through all aspects of his life and that it was shown to be completely devastating, even though Oliver was doing his best to minimise his outward show.
The nuances of emotion in the book are, on the whole, really beautifully handled. Occasionally the author whacks you round the head with a point but these were mercifully few and far between. I think the most frustrating thing for me was that in his search for an Adult Relationship Oliver misses what is clearly under his nose. The fact that it was so obvious that these two were perfect for each other felt like overkill and over-signposted in the book; especially as they frequently followed or proceeded some half-hearted encounter with the woman he'd found himself with.
Throw in a lot of almost Catholic Guilt about changing the way that Clock & Son operates and there is a lot going on here. I did really enjoy it though and was pleased that it tackled some difficult subjects in an accessible way, including making those who deal with people at their absolute lowest point come across as completely and utterly human.
The only real let down for me was how much of a mess Oliver was away from Clock & Sons. The dichotomy between work Oliver and home Oliver was so great that it just didn't ring true and spoilt it just a teeny, tiny bit for me. I get the whole frustrated relationship thing but he just felt like so much of a mess when away from work and almost devoid of any personality that I did wonder where it was going. Strangely, the book is saved by his almost complete breakdown when someone close to him dies and he struggles to get past it. I loved how the grief was allowed to filter through all aspects of his life and that it was shown to be completely devastating, even though Oliver was doing his best to minimise his outward show.
The nuances of emotion in the book are, on the whole, really beautifully handled. Occasionally the author whacks you round the head with a point but these were mercifully few and far between. I think the most frustrating thing for me was that in his search for an Adult Relationship Oliver misses what is clearly under his nose. The fact that it was so obvious that these two were perfect for each other felt like overkill and over-signposted in the book; especially as they frequently followed or proceeded some half-hearted encounter with the woman he'd found himself with.
Throw in a lot of almost Catholic Guilt about changing the way that Clock & Son operates and there is a lot going on here. I did really enjoy it though and was pleased that it tackled some difficult subjects in an accessible way, including making those who deal with people at their absolute lowest point come across as completely and utterly human.
Wednesday 5 February 2020
More From Life by S. J. Crabb
2.5 Stars
This is a fun, light read and it definitely ticks the escapism box. Nothing here can be taken too seriously which is both in the story's favour and to it's detriment. It's sheer frothiness both beguiles and repels the reader. I found myself really enjoying the rather cliched ride for a number of pages and then becoming completely disenfranchised by it. Very odd to say the least, but at least it made me feel something whilst reading and that has to be good, doesn't it?
It also features one of my trigger issues - the store is Tesco and NOT Tescos - throughout the tale it is referred too in the plural (not the possessive) and it drove me ever so batty. Yes, a tiny, inconsequential little thing but one that irritates me no end on an almost daily basis. Throw in a lot of colloquial language and a whole ship's worth of cliches and you could be forgiven for dismissing this as a swing and a miss in an overpopulated genre. However, there are some little glimpses of a talented storyteller peeking through and the odd genuine reflection on life after divorce, life during and after the menopause. Regrettably, in this book they are only glimpses.
The biggest problem for me was the relationship between Amanda and her teenaged children. It was all pretty much made-for-TV movie cliche and the fact that Amanda couldn't see how stifling she was being whilst blaming them for ignoring her made me quite mad. I also hated that when forced to spend a week with their father and his new wife both offspring suddenly realised how important Amanda was. This is a familiar trope and one that I have never had the misfortune to see in real life, so much so I am beginning to think that it is purely a fictitious construct.
Despite all the above I did find the overall story to be rather charming - even if so far removed from reality as to be almost a fantasy. Honestly, the whole holiday thing is beyond the bounds of plausibility and throw in the rather naive romance and it does feel cloying as well as fantastical. Somehow, I didn't hate it and my brain tells me I really should have but my heart tells me it enjoyed the devil may care, throw reality to the wind nature of the plot and the rather breezy, almost inconsequential telling.
In fact, that is what I took away from the book - an author that made me have fun with characters that have little depth, an author with a rather limited vocabulary for dialogue, an author that managed to entertain me despite everything. Critically this is a flop. Emotionally I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Surprisingly I found myself looking up the author's previous works and adding them to my shopping list.
This is a fun, light read and it definitely ticks the escapism box. Nothing here can be taken too seriously which is both in the story's favour and to it's detriment. It's sheer frothiness both beguiles and repels the reader. I found myself really enjoying the rather cliched ride for a number of pages and then becoming completely disenfranchised by it. Very odd to say the least, but at least it made me feel something whilst reading and that has to be good, doesn't it?
It also features one of my trigger issues - the store is Tesco and NOT Tescos - throughout the tale it is referred too in the plural (not the possessive) and it drove me ever so batty. Yes, a tiny, inconsequential little thing but one that irritates me no end on an almost daily basis. Throw in a lot of colloquial language and a whole ship's worth of cliches and you could be forgiven for dismissing this as a swing and a miss in an overpopulated genre. However, there are some little glimpses of a talented storyteller peeking through and the odd genuine reflection on life after divorce, life during and after the menopause. Regrettably, in this book they are only glimpses.
The biggest problem for me was the relationship between Amanda and her teenaged children. It was all pretty much made-for-TV movie cliche and the fact that Amanda couldn't see how stifling she was being whilst blaming them for ignoring her made me quite mad. I also hated that when forced to spend a week with their father and his new wife both offspring suddenly realised how important Amanda was. This is a familiar trope and one that I have never had the misfortune to see in real life, so much so I am beginning to think that it is purely a fictitious construct.
Despite all the above I did find the overall story to be rather charming - even if so far removed from reality as to be almost a fantasy. Honestly, the whole holiday thing is beyond the bounds of plausibility and throw in the rather naive romance and it does feel cloying as well as fantastical. Somehow, I didn't hate it and my brain tells me I really should have but my heart tells me it enjoyed the devil may care, throw reality to the wind nature of the plot and the rather breezy, almost inconsequential telling.
In fact, that is what I took away from the book - an author that made me have fun with characters that have little depth, an author with a rather limited vocabulary for dialogue, an author that managed to entertain me despite everything. Critically this is a flop. Emotionally I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Surprisingly I found myself looking up the author's previous works and adding them to my shopping list.
Academy Of Peculiars:Book 1 - Stranger by Isadora Brown
I am not sure what age range this book is aimed at but for me it is strictly pre-teen from the 1970s. It seems a million miles away from anything that a teenager would want from their recreational reading in a modern world. What's even worse is that the whole super-powers thing feels bolted on and not thought through at all; this is especially heinous because the whole premise of the title and the blurb make you think that it is going to be about this sub-X-Men school when really it is a thinly veiled romance story.
Then we get to our characters who are only interested in "copping off" with the opposite sex, I seem to recall a couple of vague references to same sex romantic relationships but they get quashed pretty quickly. The height of the weekend for our three intrepid "heroines" appears to be sneaking out of school to go partying at a local nightclub that has a very lax alcohol policy. How very 1980s of them. I found it difficult to wrap my head around how they got away with this every single weekend when one of the powers that peculiars can have is an intimate knowledge of just what is going on in people's minds whether they wish them to or not.
It all felt a little like "Wow, Hogwarts was a really successful franchise how can I develop a similar thing". What you don't do is half bake it and this is more like quarter baked. So, we have school houses split by the traditional four elements used in astrology - well I presume there's four we only get to meet two of them. Could have worked but somehow really doesn't; maybe because the rivalry between fire and water is not explained you are just supposed to accept it. Then you have the differentiation of the powers people can be born with and they all just feel made up on the fly and infinitely mutable as though the author felt some of them were a bit boring really so had to throw something new in to the mix at a minutes notice three quarters of the way through the book.
Then we get to find out that having these powers make you more or less immortal and somehow you stop ageing at a point in your early twenties. What? I can go with longevity being a nifty side effect of super strength or telekinesis but it is stretched to an nth degree here. Even worse are the extremely inappropriate relationships between pupils and staff. Honestly, it made my skin crawl. I can understand schoolgirls getting crushes on teachers but the reciprocity of it was downright sickening (and not in a Queenly way).
Honestly, avoid, avoid, AVOID. So many red flags in this book from not only dubious behavioural standpoints but the execution of it is lacklustre at best.
Then we get to our characters who are only interested in "copping off" with the opposite sex, I seem to recall a couple of vague references to same sex romantic relationships but they get quashed pretty quickly. The height of the weekend for our three intrepid "heroines" appears to be sneaking out of school to go partying at a local nightclub that has a very lax alcohol policy. How very 1980s of them. I found it difficult to wrap my head around how they got away with this every single weekend when one of the powers that peculiars can have is an intimate knowledge of just what is going on in people's minds whether they wish them to or not.
It all felt a little like "Wow, Hogwarts was a really successful franchise how can I develop a similar thing". What you don't do is half bake it and this is more like quarter baked. So, we have school houses split by the traditional four elements used in astrology - well I presume there's four we only get to meet two of them. Could have worked but somehow really doesn't; maybe because the rivalry between fire and water is not explained you are just supposed to accept it. Then you have the differentiation of the powers people can be born with and they all just feel made up on the fly and infinitely mutable as though the author felt some of them were a bit boring really so had to throw something new in to the mix at a minutes notice three quarters of the way through the book.
Then we get to find out that having these powers make you more or less immortal and somehow you stop ageing at a point in your early twenties. What? I can go with longevity being a nifty side effect of super strength or telekinesis but it is stretched to an nth degree here. Even worse are the extremely inappropriate relationships between pupils and staff. Honestly, it made my skin crawl. I can understand schoolgirls getting crushes on teachers but the reciprocity of it was downright sickening (and not in a Queenly way).
Honestly, avoid, avoid, AVOID. So many red flags in this book from not only dubious behavioural standpoints but the execution of it is lacklustre at best.
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