The Millionaire Plan by Karen King

Okay, so where do I start with this one.  Let us commence with the complete lack of proof reading or editing shall we - always remember, no amount of spellcheck can save you if your typo is a real word.  So, we get Amber making coffee by "pouring hot water in to a cafeteria" (okay, that one made me laugh) and Randy "realising his hold on her bag" (not realising it was too tight or unwanted but handing it to Amber).  These are just two examples from the latter half of the book, trust me there are numerous scattered throughout.  Along with that we also have a plethora of missing words, usually prepositions so you can figure out what should be there.  Then you have factual errors - we are told Amber and Callie are staying in Callie's Aunt's waterfront apartment but then it becomes a cottage and then back to an apartment again.  When Amber has seasickness Jed gives her Ginger Tea but a paragraph later it's ginger ale.  As you can tell, the multiple errors really aggravated me.

Even worse than the liberal problems with the text itself is the plot.  It made me feel unclean just reading it - what a toxic bunch of people; each and every one of them a liar in their own way.  Strangely, the designed-to-be-odious Randy is perhaps the only honest one among them - he admits he wants a marriage of convenience and a child of convenience so he can get his inheritance bumped up to the max.  Everyone else is just ick - Amber wants a millionaire to solve her parents money worries (if it's an inherited house why do they appear to have a full mortgage on it, if her dad is such a success in business why would they have any mortgage on an inherited property?); Jed is a billionaire but pretends he is just a "working Joe" and pretty much penniless.

The plot itself is pretty much laughable with people falling in love in seconds.  Now, I like a good rom com as much as the next woman but even I baulked at this one as being ridculous and contrived.  There is a brief attempt to create an on-again-off-again tension but it never really works.

I have read one Karen King book that I really enjoyed and that led me to buy a slew of her books, I really wish I hadn't.

The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan

I was actually quite disappointed in this book, having discovered the author through her second novel (The Girl Next Door) I was expecting great things from this book.  Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.

Ultimately the story is about two families - one seemingly normal with mum, dad and 2 daughters and one with a deranged mother and her daughter who appear to be stalking the former.  Initially it is all a bit disorientating as you are trying to figure out if the reminiscences from "Then" are of this girl watching Corinne and Ashley's family and then, to be honest I gave up really caring.  The problem for me was that I couldn't warm to either Corinne or Ashley so when it becomes apparent that yes, they are the daughters so longingly watched through the windows I couldn't really find myself summoning up much sympathy for them.

The identity of the mysterious girl is well hidden through the book and you are given a couple of red herrings along the way.  Unfortunately, the tension of what was happening with Ashley's husband Jack and here fears he was having an affair is dissipated somewhat by the fact it is clear to the reader that this is not what is happening (honestly, it is almost spelt out what his reasons for always being at work are early in the proceedings).  Then you have their daughter Lucy who has an "unsuitable friend", again you know from the first incident who this friend is going to turn out to be so it takes some of the sting out of it all.

Corinne and her boyfriend just plain irritated me.  Which somehow makes me feel bad because of their struggles to procreate but Corinne just comes across as vacile and needy so I couldn't get too worked up about what she was going through.

There was a lot that didn't make sense in the plotting but the final showdown with "the girl" at the mother's house and then in the Underground just stretched believability too far and made me tut and roll my eyes.  the book does end on a nicely twisted note though, that I did appreciate.

Girl's Guide To Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky

2.5 Stars

I'm at a bit of a loss with this review, this is the second time I've read this book and I must have loved it the first time around as I have all 5 in the series and have read them all.  Unfortunately, on this read through I'm not quite sure why that is.  I could just about remember the basics - librarian Jane gets her wage slashed but free accommodation to make up for it, discovers secret basement full of Witchy goodies and awakens her familiar, Neko, by accident which leads her Warder, David to turn up on the doorstep berating her; all mixed up with her family relationships changing, her crush on an academic who turns out to be a bit of a prat and her friendship with the baker.

Everything that happens in the book is narrated by Jane and she is annoying - whether it is her constant ramblings about the academic or worrying that people are only nice to her because she inadvertently cast a love spell - her voice soon began to grate on me.  No wonder her grandmother keeps asking her to make promises not to do weird stuff (like "promise me you won't kiss a toad") as she is just dumb enough to do anything someone tells her too.  The humour in the book comes from laughing AT Jane rather than WITH Jane and leaves you feeling a little bit less than you thought you were; not that there is much humour to be entirely honest.

My favourite character is Neko - he is the king of snark and completely fabulous (yes, in the Ru Paul sense of the word).  Unfortunately, he doesn't make enough appearances in the book for my money. 

I am so not sure why I loved this one the first time through and I am now wondering if it is worth re-reading the rest of the series but I've dug them out now so I guess I will.

The Ballroom Cafe by Ann O'Loughlin

When I started reading this book, I found it more than a little peculiar - two sisters living under the same roof who communicate only by written notes (not because one of them is deaf or mute, oh no because they just don't speak to each other) and then an interloper to this tiny village arrives and is clearly set to shake everyone up.  I did a little mental eye roll and decided to stick with it because I had previously loved The Ludlow Ladies Society which was my introduction to this author.  I was worried that the plot line was going to be something similar - especially as the loss of a child is mentioned early on - and, indeed, there are some similarities in that it is a book primarily about women and their relationships both with each other and the wider world.  Men, are very much second place in Ann O'Loughlin's books and this is very much the case here - yes, they appear and they are dealt with as sensitively as the women but they just aren't important to this story.

Fortunately, I soon become absorbed by the story.  It touches on quite emotive issues - spousal cheating, Magdalen Laundries and adoption.  Unfortunately, the twist that is much vaunted is not so much of a twist as an I knew it but hey ho.  Ella and Roberts clearly have serious issues with each other but as the story unfolds you realise that the reasons behind the fracture in their relationship are manyfold and it wasn't just one incident that caused it; what is surprising is the vitriol in the notes they leave each other, although I will admit to finding some of it amusing.

One thread that runs through the whole tale are the Weiss Brooches.  I just loved the fond descriptions and memories each tiny item of jewellery evoked in Ella and such a simple device managed to create a really evocative snapshot of both the past and the present.  Not always happy times but real times, and these snapshots helped me understand the time, the place and the events between much better.

A truly beautiful story of ordinary lives moulded by societal concerns far beyond the individuals concern.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

          2.5 Stars

This is quite a peculiar little tale of Sabrina and her five 30th Birthday dinner guests (Audrey Hepburn, Conrad - her old professor from USC, Robert - her estranged father, Tobias - her ex-fiance, and Jessica - her best friend).  Not quite sure why she was limited to only 5 people for her fantasy dinner party list but she was.  Indeed the number five is a recurring theme throughout the book, particularly with Tobias and his random times to ask Sabrina for 5 words to describe how she feels in the moment.

I'm not entirely sure what the author is trying to convey with this story and fear that it is all trying to be terribly clever and deep at the expense of the story itself.  It takes some getting used to the flashing back in time to a specific event and then jolting back to the birthday dinner - in all honesty I never really got comfortable with that and it is a thematic trope I am well used to.  It just felt somehow disjointed and quite fractured, mainly because Sabrina is quite an annoying character.

Everything is told from her viewpoint and it soon becomes clear that she never really considers other people's thoughts and feelings when making plans or doing anything.  Initially we are treated to her derision of her best friend's life and lifestyle choices and then, as the story progresses she is similarly judgmental of her father, her boyfriend and almost everyone she comes in to contact with.

I am still not entirely sure why Audrey Hepburn was on her dinner party list - a very strange juxtaposition between people that were important in Sabrina's life and then a movie star.  It was also quite disconcerting to have words put in to Ms Hepburn's mouth.  As one guest was obviously dead it made sense that others were too so I spent a fair chunk of the book trying to decide who was an who wasn't pre-deceased - it does get drawn out eventually.

This was all a bit of a slog to read, which is a pity as the first few chapters showed a lot of promise and drew me in quite well.  Unfortunately as more becomes revealed you soon realise that Sabrina herself is quite a manipulative and selfish character and that everyone else seems happy to pander to her.  Also, nothing is really resolved by this meal and all the interactions around the table, and the flashbacks they engender, become progressively more and more serious and depressing.  There is no light relief, not even from the supposed love story between Sabrina and Tobias.

All in all, I was very disappointed with the book and felt that it was style over substance.  I did persevere to the end but will readily admit I had to bribe myself with the promise of reading an old favourite if I slogged it out to the end.

THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK PROVIDED BY READERS FIRST.
       

The House We Called Home by Jenny Oliver

3.5 Stars

Once I got around 50 pages in to the book I started to enjoy it, but it does take perseverance to get that far.  There is a lot of information thrown at us initially and, to be perfectly honest, all of the characters are initially painted as being pretty much a complete bunch of horrors.  The kind of people you cross the road to avoid in real life.  Gloria(?) and Graham, the matriarch and patriarch of the family, have a stale marriage - she has a wandering eye and he just wanders off.  Stella and Jack and their 2 children are, respectively, a narcissist and a fantasist.  Amy is childlike and entitled and has got herself in to a bit of a pickle with a one night stand.  There is some character progression through the book, fortunately, but I never really warmed to any of the characters or the situation they found themselves in, with the exception of Amy.  Once you realise the reasons why she is like she is it starts to make sense and at least by the end of the book she is starting to shoulder the burden of being responsible for herself.

I'm not entirely sure where the tagline "The magical, laugh out loud..." comes from though.  It is sheer hyperbole as there is nothing magical about watching families fracture and then try to rebuild - and it is very definitely try.  I came away with the feeling that Gloria(?) and Graham may reconcile and that Amy was sorted but I give Stella and Jack 6 months - tops - before they snide each other to death.  There is a little bit of humour but certainly not enough to make you snort let alone laugh out loud.  Most of what little there is comes more from denigration of one character by another, whilst reflecting family life pretty accurately it doesn't work as well on the page because those sort of asides need body language to balance them out, in writing they just seem offensive.

That said I did enjoy the pacing of the story and finding out the history of the Whitethorn sisters.  I did feel it was more of a kitchen sink drama-lite than a comedy though, fortunately I like that kind of book too.  It does raise some interesting points about how families perceive each other and how it is all to easy to slot in to familiar childhood roles when everyone gets together.

A Girl's Best Friend by Jules Wake

4.5 Stars

This was a thoroughly entertaining read, even if the benefits of dog ownership are somewhat rammed down your throat - becoming a bit of a theme in Ms Wake's books unfortunately.  At least in this one the downside is also showcased, particularly as the heroine, Ella, gets landed with the canine equivalent of a garbage disposal - a labrador.  To be entirely fair, as much as I am not a dog person, the author did make dog ownership seem kind of fun despite the whining at night and the close call with the chocolate eating.

The story itself is well structured, with the story arc taking place at a gentle pace over a few months.  In the beginning Ella is completely disenfranchised - she has split up with her boyfriend and moved to the country from London to house sit for her Aunt and feels completely out of her depth.  As an illustrator her creativeness seems to have flown the coop and her hopes of becoming what she feels is a "real" artist are completely subsumed.  Slowly the village and Tess (her dog) help to break her out of her depression and help her reconnect with herself and her creativity.

The writing really drew me in to the story and I loved the little glimpses of Ella's artistic life.  It was her illustrations that captivated me and the descriptions almost allowed me to see Cuthbert, Englebert and the gang in her drawings - particularly the ill-fated image of the Cavalier hat wearing Cuthbert.  It also reminded of Trisha Ashley and her character (Tansy) who draws the Slipper Monkey books in Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues, which is no bad comparison in my opinion.

The characters are all flawed, normal sounding people and somehow you feel like you have known them forever.  So much so, picking up the book felt like settling in to a cosy couch with a brew for a good natter with friends.  Warm, funny and bittersweet in places.  The only thing that really let it down was the section dealing with Patrick, Ella's ex, and her realisation that he had been stealing from her - for me it really didn't need that thrown in to the mix and it jarred with the feel of the rest of the book.

A comforting read that entertains and enthralls.