This is one for the dog lovers out there. Jane is an introvert. She likes dogs a whole lot more than people, and she loved her old dog, Barnum, more tThis is one for the dog lovers out there. Jane is an introvert. She likes dogs a whole lot more than people, and she loved her old dog, Barnum, more than her husband. And since she’s just lost both of them to cancer, she’s had plenty of time to think about it. I liked Jane, I could see a lot of myself in her introverted, private-space seeking ways. She won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but at least she’s honest (with herself) about her feelings. She didn’t love her husband – in fact she was planning on leaving him until he got his diagnosis – and she feels guilty that he knew that, but she owns her feelings. There are reasons for why she fell out of love with him and no matter what she felt, she stuck by him right to the bitter end.
But despite the rather grim beginning, this book is actually full of a lot of warmth and plenty of humour – even if the latter is sometimes a bit dark, such as with the ashes. Jane might be unfriendly to people, but she’s got a good heart, especially where dogs are concerned. I loved her relationship with Maybe, the puppy she rescues almost by accident. Maybe is the complete opposite of Jane, with her people loving, friendly ways, but they’re both fighters and make a great pair.
I also really liked Jane’s list making habit – mostly because they’re very funny. She’s got a very snarky sense of humour that I really enjoyed and was a perfect balance for the sometimes sad twists that the plot takes. Because starting with a funeral isn’t the only thing this book throws at the reader. There are memories to think back on and present woes as well as future worries. Yet Jane manages to cope surprisingly well through it all, whether it's dealing with her in-laws, accidentally making friends with her co-worker or pelting irritating B&B guests with mini-muffins, Jane has an interesting and sometimes unique way of dealing with the things life throws at her.
I loved how she changes as the book progresses, without actually changing too much. It’s almost more a case of relaxing and learning to accept the life she has, since she spent almost her entire marriage waiting to move back home. This time, although she still wants desperately to get back home and away from the B&B, she also has so many other things to think about and plan for that she learns to value what’s right in front of her rather than what she had before. It’s not always an easy lesson for her to learn, but I liked how it subtly wove its way in through the story in the small changes before the big ones arrived. There is a romance too, but it’s a very quiet one that is definitely secondary to the love story between Jane and Maybe.
I do think certain things about the ending felt a bit brusque and it might have been nice to have seen at least some of it come about in conversation, rather than a round-up paragraph from a few weeks later. Having said that, I did actually like the last few pages and their forward-thinking nature. I really liked that a book that started at a funeral ended with a lot of hope, even if everything wasn’t all quite tied up with a pretty bow.
So if you’re looking for a tale about an introverted woman who faces grief and loss by learning to love and make (a few) friends, then this should fit the bill. Though it’ll be best if you like dogs. And don’t mind a bit of dark humour amongst some sadder moments. I really enjoyed this book for its wit and its hope and its honest portrayal of Jane. She’s strong and she’s grumpy and she’s unfriendly, but she’s also brilliant and I’m so glad I got to read the story of her and Maybe. I will definitely be looking out for more books from this author.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)...more
This book is an absolute delight, a perfect piece of summer escapism full of the delights of classic cars and European road trips, complete with wine This book is an absolute delight, a perfect piece of summer escapism full of the delights of classic cars and European road trips, complete with wine and a very handsome co-driver. Laurie’s life has been one of duty ever since her parents divorced and she stayed with her father. Much as she loved her Uncle Miles, his wild, jet-setting ways didn’t fit in with her life – and now he’s gone. Laurie’s life as a quiet librarian, living with her sensible fiancé doesn’t have room for Ferraris or last minute trips to Italy, and yet Laurie can’t let her uncle go that easily. After all, she probably won’t keep the car… probably.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Laurie is an everyday woman, who lives a normal, humdrum life in which she thinks she’s content, even if she’s not sure she actually wants to marry her boyfriend and certain childhood happenings have left her angry. There’s nothing exciting about her. She worries about things like money and what other people think about her, and yet she can’t resist the lure of the Ferrari and a trip to Italy, even if she’s not actually qualified to drive. I liked Laurie, she’s down-to-earth and a little shy, but she’s not whiny or weak. In fact she’s pretty strong and determined and just a little stubborn. I loved seeing her grow and change as the trip progresses and she learns so much about herself, her life and her heart.
Then there’s Cam. Sexy, charming, friendly… and surprisingly manipulative. He doesn’t think he’s being like that, of course, and it’s all for a good cause (in his head, anyway), but he certainly has a few secrets that he keeps to himself and isn’t quite as perfect as he would like to appear. I liked him well enough, and he and Laurie are good together, but I have to admit I cheered when Laurie spread her wings without him.
Part road-trip, part life journey, full of humour and warmth and the delights of a European summer, this book might be a little far-fetched at times (driving around in a car that valuable!) and I was a little confused when Laurie was asking Cam what Miles did, since she did grow up with the man and at one point seems to imply she helped track the Ferrari down, and I wish things with her mother had been resolved in some way, but overall this is fun and light and lovely. A perfect beach read, or for a chilly night indoors when you need a little sunshine in your life. It might make you yearn for a holiday, though.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)...more
It’s never a good sign when my reaction on finishing a book is: Are you kidding me? That’s the end? Are you kidding me? Actually, I was a lot less polIt’s never a good sign when my reaction on finishing a book is: Are you kidding me? That’s the end? Are you kidding me? Actually, I was a lot less polite and there may have been swearing involved, because I felt cheated. After putting up with the rest of this book, I deserved a decent ending, but that is far from what I got.
In truth, this is probably a two star book that occasionally touches on three. The beginning is slow, full of info-dumps and meanders for a while before Nicola finally reaches Nowhere Else. Sadly, from there on things didn’t improve. This story is too long, it has a nasty habit of broadcasting clues so that everything is completely predictable (Mediterranean colouring, you say? Finishing school in Italy, well, fancy that) and plot twists that are visible for a mile off. I’m not normally bothered by such things, but so many of the subplots in this book limped into dull dead ends that it just made everything feel a little tedious.
It’s not all terrible. There are sections that are potentially interesting and well written. Nicola’s first ventures into Nowhere Else are good and the stuff with the drought is realistically awful, it’s just that none of it went anywhere. I could have done without the whole Richard experience. As for Scott – why bother?
Then came the ending. Sudden doesn’t quite cover it, more like having a door slammed in the face. No, actually, more like having a door slammed on the face. It was so abrupt I think it broke my nose. I don’t care if I knew exactly where it was headed, I put up with everything that came before in the hope of a fairly decent pay off. I didn’t get anything at all. Which, considering that the romance itself was pretty feeble in the first place, is a massive letdown. That’s why this book has only one star.
I’ve read a lot of great M&B books set in the Australian bush over the years – Emma Darcy has written some particular gems – and I expected more of the same here. I didn’t get it. The story is longer than usual, but definitely didn’t make good use of the extra space. I’m disappointed.
(I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.)...more
This book wasn’t what I expected it to be. The blurb is pretty light-hearted and fun, so that’s what I thought I’d get, with a fairytale romance at itThis book wasn’t what I expected it to be. The blurb is pretty light-hearted and fun, so that’s what I thought I’d get, with a fairytale romance at its heart. Instead this story is about Sage growing up, finding her feet and figuring out just what feminism means to her. It’s not a bad book, but it wasn’t what I thought I was getting into.
Sage is brilliant academically, but she’s led a highly sheltered life. Her grandmother, Andrea, has shaped and moulded her from a mere babe to the 22-year-old she now is. She knows nothing of popular culture, she dresses in hand-me-down men’s clothing and her life is dedicated to Andrea’s cause. For years Sage had no problem with any of this, because it was all she knew. Then she went to college, had a bad experience with mean girls and suddenly lost all sense of herself. Now about to start on a PhD in Women’s Studies, she spots a naked man from her office window and realises there’s so much out there she doesn’t know or understand.
So begins her re-education. Well, kind of. She meets Ryan, the naked model with a quirky taste in t-shirts, and he offers to teach her about popular culture. Except things don’t exactly pan out that way, and there’s some drama around how her birth mother abandoned her and the way Andrea raised her, and suddenly Sage not only feels adrift from the world, but she no longer knows who she is.
It’s a story that’s been told before – teenage mother unable to cope with a child, leaves her to oppressive grandparent, child grows up naive and sheltered, the big bad world comes a-calling and much drama ensues. Andrea is a complete cliché too. A woman abandoned by her husband, finds solace in the Feminist movement, radicalises her life, alienates her daughter and vows to do better with her grandchild, but makes a mess of things. When Sage tracks down her mother, she of course stumbles into another cliché, but from completely the opposite side.
So this is a story that’s been told before, using much of the same methods, with much the same outcomes. There are a few more surprising twists along the way, but mostly it goes along much as you’d expect. I know this is a retelling of a fairytale, but it’s also a retelling of a dozen updated retellings of a fairytale without doing anything original along the way. Sage is an interesting main character, and her naivety didn’t annoy me as much as I might have expected as she bounces from crisis to crisis. Of course she’s one of the beautiful-but-has-no-idea kind of people, but I liked how she eventually handles that, and by the end I really liked her and the way she handled the sometimes farcical turns of her life. Yet it isn’t funny, instead it’s mostly a bit sad.
It was an okay read, familiar and full of interesting points, but it’s not really a romance, or much of a fairytale. The one thing it does do well, however, is talk about feminism and the different ways it can affect different women, and how they can also use it to shape their own lives. If you like to read about a woman finding herself in a sea of unfamiliar views, with a good feminist core, then you’ll probably find plenty to like and agree with here. If you’re expecting humour, fairytales and romance… well, this probably isn’t for you. There are good points in this novel, just so long as you know what you’re getting when you go in.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)...more
This book was not what I expected. I think I was expecting a cosy, easy read with a nice feel good plot and a HEA. Well, from the start this was much This book was not what I expected. I think I was expecting a cosy, easy read with a nice feel good plot and a HEA. Well, from the start this was much funnier than I anticipated. Surprisingly so. I mean here’s this woman in her forties, who’s just fallen off the roof and is now in a coma. While she’s trapped in her body, her family are running around, worried she tried to hang herself, and the hospital is trying to save her. There’s also a funeral to attend (her mother’s, not her own), and everything’s just snarky and farcical and so much fun.
But don’t let that fool you, either, because this story is neither sweet nor fun, and it’s not particularly cosy either. In fact it gets quite dark as it goes along. Joy’s been in love with the same man for more than twenty years, but he married someone else, and there’s a big secret between them. She’s never been able to let him, or the secret go, and this story – and the waking up of the title – is as much about facing that as it is anything else.
It’s a strange tale, deep and complex, with hidden emotions and lots of secrets – some of which are merely eluded too rather than explored – and there’s not really a romance here. Well, there’s Jimmy from the past and Doc (Kyle) wanting to make a new start, but this story isn’t just about Joy’s heart, it’s about her mind and her purpose. Really it’s a story about a woman finding her feet after twenty years of looking back.
Then there are the mad Talleys, a family that’s just full of character, with their chimney full of charms, the Magic apple tree and spring of Good Fortune. They dominate this tale, just as surely as they’ve dominated Joy’s life, though I did get confused as to whose kid was whose, and which sister was the oldest, and how much older than the boys they were. There’s a few things hinted at with them, too, which it would have been nice to explore.
But this is Joy’s tale, of letting go and growing up, no matter what age you are, of dealing with the past and taking control of the present. It’s the story of one woman’s awakening, from her own secrets as much as the coma. It wasn’t what I expected when I started reading, but I still enjoyed it right to the end.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)...more
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