Bobby Denise Is Reigning Rampant by Daniel Ross

This is a somewhat peculiar little book, although firmly set in a version of the real world (as real as Las Vegas or Los Angeles could ever be I suppose) there is just something about it that made me feel as though I was reading a Fantasy Tale.  Something about the people, the places and the situations felt as though they were skewed by viewing through some sort of stargazing device that allowed you to see other worlds the roughly parallel our own.  The Quantum Theory as applied to Reality.

The first thing that struck me is the observational powers of the author.  Characters come alive through the pages not through their voice but through their actions and through their observations of others activities.  Our protagonist's character becomes apparent not through the murder he commited and not through his determination not to repent for killing his Manager but through his observations of Edward and Frances.  This is a man who misses nothing and watches every minutiae of life - much like the big cats he used to work with.  In fact I am not entirely sure that Mr Bobby Dennison is actually a Human Being, more a darkly enchanted Dusty set for revenge.

Amanda Paceman is a deliciously vindictive character, the epitome of every vile and judgmental hack reporter you have ever gleefully read.  Such is the power of the author I did find myself becoming gloriously outraged on our anti-hero's behalf at her diatribes against him in Catfights and Footlights.  Strangely I felt more outrage for a fictional report doing a disservice to a fictional character than I do for what often passes for real journalism.  Curse you Mr Ross for making me care.

As to plot, it is there but so sinuous that I genuinely felt as if I was merely following Bobby's example and observing a life unfold.  An old life, a lived life and a life with tragedy seeded throughout.  The plot weaves sinuously throughout but so unobtrusively that I got fully sucked in to the world and the players on the stage I was allowed to glimpse.  Players with wonderful names Gator Amy, Les Animo, El Motto.

So, why not 5 Stars for the book?  Simply put there was one little bit that annoyed me and snapped me right from the tale - a conversation starts in a Park but then ends in an apartment with no signalling of movement and during such a short conversation and the relative distances between locations (as already described during earlier chapters) impossible for them to walk and talk it.  One little slip up removed one whole star from your review Mr Ross - blame your proofreader or your editor for that one!

This is a gloriously peculiar fiction and it has left me wondering how long we are going to be made to wait for it's successor.  Surely there must be another book inside Mr Ross.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE.

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

2.5 Stars

This was my first Nick Hornby novel and it will probably be my only Nick Hornby novel.  I haven't seen the film of Juliet, Naked but the premise intrigued me - a mixture of musician-worship and what happens when you meet those you worship juggled with getting older and feeling dead-ended by life.  I think we all have a tendency to almost fetishise the music of our youth but sometimes that can go too far and for Duncan it has gone way too far.

My issues really started with Annie making contact with the elusive Tucker Crowe.  I just found it all too unrealistic and the burgeoning of that relationship felt somehow seedy and had more than a faint whiff of being very disturbing.  I cannot pinpoint exactly why it made me feel this way but it did and I sort of galloped through the last third of the book, not because I wanted to find out what happened but, rather more prosaically, because I wanted it all to be over.

The only things that salvaged this for me where the early chapters dealing with Duncan's obsession with not only Tucker Crowe's music but in the almost mythical being he had become.  His pilgrimage, with Annie in tow, was rather touching in a lot of ways.  His then reaction to the new release of previously unheard recordings was wonderfully wrought - particularly his misgivings in the aftermath of publishing his review to the devoted fan base online.  I also found the sections from Tucker's perspective to be actually well handled, at least in the earlier portions of the tale, with his rather acerbic and phlegmatic voice being distinct from the other characters. 

For me Annie was just there and I couldn't work up any strength of feeling for the character at all.  I did want to see the Shark's Eye though - sounds like the best bit of the exhibition to me.

Overall a well written book - I could appreciate the craft of the writer if not his tale - but not one for me and one that has made me rethink trying any of Mr Hornby's back or future catalogue.

Christmas On The Little Cornish Isles: The Driftwood Inn by Phillipa Ashley

I purchased this book last year but ran out of festive season before I could read it and somehow reading Christmas books outside of November and December feels just plain wrong.  So, I hiked it high up on my 2018 list of reading musts for Yuletide.  To be honest, I rather wish I hadn't as I never really sank in to the tale and found it all a little predictable and dare I say it (dare, dare!) boring.  The writing is actually rather good and there is a nice wry humour and a gently unfolding plot that should soothe the reader in to the story and absorb you in the place and the people.  To be entirely honest I think it may have been the setting that did it for me - I live in a small town but a town nevertheless and the sheer rurality of the Little Isles and their reliance on the weather to get the most basic of necessities to them is so far from my sphere of experience that I spent a lot of time mentally wondering how I would cope in that place rather than inhabiting the fictional world.

That said I did find the characters to be all a little flat.  Maisie was the best of the lot though, with her conflicting emotions warring within it made you unsure exactly how she would react in any given situation.  This just made her feel like a woman determined to grab her life with both hands and enjoy it as best she could for as long as she could and I really enjoyed that about her.  Sadly the other characters were a little bit two dimensional for my tastes.  Patrick infuriated me, somehow despite all his layers and personal tragedies and triumphs he never really became more than a bunch of words on the page.  This is a real shame as if had just had the same sprinkling of author dust that Maisie got this would have probably been a much better review.

This is not a bad book by any means but it really didn't make me want to reach for the other Cornish Isles books.  If you enjoy the genre (as I do) then I would say give it a go - just because I didn't thrill to it doesn't mean you won't and a lot of people seem to disagree with this reviewer about this one.

The Christmas Wish by Tilly Tennant

2.5 Stars

I couldn't really get to grips with the characters in this story at all.  Somehow the connection between reader and the page just didn't happen for me.  At first I felt intense sympathy for Esme after she fled her controlling boyfriend to her Grandmother's house in Derbyshire, especially as she seemed to be overcoming her personal demons and rebuilding her life.  Unfortunately, she soon suffers an extreme case of recidivism and allows him back in to her affections after the death of her Grandmother.  I think it was that point that she lost me if I'm being honest.  Sure, she decides to take the trip that her Grandmother had planned to Lapland for them both but she still doesn't deal with the boyfriend, she sneaks away whilst he is at work and then refuses to answer her phone or read her text messages.  It did drive me ever so slightly up the wall.  I am aware that there are people trapped in toxic relationships like these but somehow Esme's feels almost glib and she does a disservice to anyone in that situation for real.

The scene setting in Lapland is wonderful and did make me want to visit myself.  Admittedly I am a complete sucker for anything Santa and the thought of watching the Aurora Borealis does bring a deep joy to my heart.  Ms Tennant does make it all seem rather magical and mythical; particularly the visit to see the Real Santa Claus.

Unfortunately, the setting was not enough to make me a happy reader.  The characters are all more like caricatures than real people - Zach is tortured by his past, the snowmobile guide (who's name eludes me) is lovelorn, the two old people on the trip fall in to steamy clinches at the drop of a hat and then argue over nothing to both of their enjoyment.  Nothing really more than surface for any of them, including Esme.

A pleasant enough festive read but there are much better out there.

All I Want For Christmas by Amy Silver

This is a strangely dispiriting read when compared to much of the Christmas fare published in this genre.  It is my first festive read of the 2018 season and, to be honest, I couldn't have picked a better one to start with.  Set against the forced jollity peddled to us on the television this is the story of 3 women who each have their own problems to deal with this Christmastime and sees them face up to them admirably.

This is my second Amy Silver book and what stands out for me is the realism and individuality of the characters.  Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the three women and even though the chapter heading tells us who is "speaking" the voices are so distinct that you automatically know once you have settled in to the book and got everyone straight in your head:

Bea - Clearly suffering with depression but doing her best for her infant son and trying to keep her business afloat as well.  The mystery of her husband is solved about halfway through the book and I was relieved to know I had guessed the reason for her isolation correctly - not for Bea but for my own personal satisfaction you understand.

Chloe - Career focussed and in a dangerous relationship with an unattainable man.  She wants everything to be perfect but seems to be losing herself along the way.  After a drunken Work's Christmas Party she begins to reevaluate her life and her behaviour towards others.

Olivia - Very happy in her relationship but his whole family descending for Christmas makes her feel trapped and unsure if accepting his proposal was the right thing for her.

After chance meetings with each other at Bea's Cafe, The Honey Pot, the three women soon begin to form a tentative support network for each other.  It is through this that we learn all about the characters as they slowly peel their personalities apart to admit things to each other that nobody else knows.

To be honest this would have been 5 stars but the ending with everyone getting a renewed chance at happiness felt a little off to me.  Yes, I know it is a Christmas Story and, as such, a happy ending is to be not only expected but assured but it just left me all a little flat - possibly because I am the eternal pessimist who knows.

The plot pacing is excellent throughout and I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone - even if this is normally a genre you steer clear of.

Wickham Hall by Cathy Bramley

I thoroughly enjoyed Holly's story in Wickham Hall and the author writes in such a way that you feel like you are getting the warmest of hugs from her as you read.  Like life nothing is ever straightforward and it isn't all happy, happy, joy, joy but it did suck me right in and I did not want to leave.

Our main protagonist is Holly - single, out of work and worried about her mother's hoarding habit - and she really could be the next person you pass in the street.  When she lands her dream job in event planning at the local Stately Home, the eponymous Wickham Hall, we get to see a tiny glimpse behind the scenes of the workings of the grand place that is both the home and livelihood for the family that inherited it.  From planning a grand wedding, through a summer fete and on to a Christmas function it is a heady rush of preparations and pinning a smile on.  Despitew all that she still finds time to have a private life that feels full and fairly realistic - lots of chilling with her best friend and a bottle or two of wine.

Of course there has to be a Grand Romance in a book of this type and we get two and a half for the price of one in this book.  Not only Holly's love for the heir to Wickham Hall but her mother's youthful indiscretion with a charming Italian who turns out to be Holly's father but her new one with a local professor.  That is where I kind of knocked a star off - the reveal of Holly's father is well paced but he, and his new family, are a little too good to be true and their reaction to finding out Holly exists is rather too saccharine for me.

It is a very jolly book, in the best of ways, that left me feeling happy and wanting to read more when it was finished.  All the characters are distinct and felt all too real.  There is certainly scope to investigate the lives of two or three of these in further books - especially our purple haired chef.

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

Set somewhere around the mid 1760s The Blue introduces to a Huguenot refugee, Genevieve, living amongst the Silk Weavers of Spitalfields and desperate to become a painter.  Not a salubrious occupation at the time and certainly not one for a woman to enter.  Her Grandfather has secured her a place as a resident artist at Derby Porcelain but for Genevieve this is a fate almost worse than death.  When she meets the charismatic Sir Gabriel he offers her a way out, but to receive it she has to find out the Secret Of The Blue.

Normally this is the style of book I lap up and I have read a few now set in a similar time period.  I can't put my finger on it but there was something missing in this tale, something that stopped me getting dragged in to the story and being unwilling to relinquish it's hold on me.  The plot is well paced with a few nice little red herrings scattered about that made me look in the wrong direction for a chapter or two.  It does all become a little overblown and ridiculous towards the end though - I won't detail how or when things go went awry for this reader as it will spoil the plot - and maybe it is this that spoilt it for me.

Genevieve is a rather frustrating character.  She vacillates from being determined to a simpering wreck time and again and I was never quite convinced by her seeming capitulations and weaknesses; they just jarred too much with the girl who would gatecrash a society party thrown by the celebrated William Hogarth.  In some ways she is drawn in a very human way with all the contradictions that make up a flesh and blood person, I just didn't really like her very much.  I also felt that little time was spent on forming characters for the other people in the plot.  The men in particular are painted with very broad strokes and when you consider how intrinsic to the plot Sir Gabriel and, later, Thomas are I would have expected more than the two dimensions we got of them.

Overall this is a solidly written book with excellent descriptions of life in both London and Derby.  Unfortunately, for me, it was missing the necessary depth to create a truly absorbing tale.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK READ THROUGH THE PIGEONHOLE.