Don't let April showers get you down. Just stay inside with one of these great reads instead....
#1 The Summer Job by Lizzie Dent (15 Apr 2021)
Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)? And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked (but who thinks she's someone else).
In my opinion: ★★★★★
LOVED IT! A great story about a "ramshackle family hotel.....trying so desperately to be grander and more magnificent than it was....filled with imperfect people, all muddling along together with their ridiculous flaws and gigantic hearts". But, it was totally main character, Elizabeth Finch or Birdy to her friends, that made this for me. She's a wonderfully boisterous, attention-seeking, risk-taking, sarcastic gobshite or a thirty-one year old girl "lacking in credentials and experience".
But, mostly she's hilarious as this quote shows where Birdy is about to finally get it on with James: "I stink. I haven't had a shower and I'm still wearing yesterday's knickers. Oh, and in this light, I'd better warn you, there will be some disappointments." Or "Sorry, James, I'm a total mess. I'd like to say it gets better than this, but it really doesn't." She's also totally relatable. I could particularly relate to this one: "No one in history has moaned about bosses as much as me....Almost every boss I've ever had has fallen short in every conceivable way." Its written in the first person with plenty of random musings about anything and everything.
#2 Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane (1 Apr 2021)
Eve, Justin, Susie and Ed have been friends since they were eighteen. Now in their 30s, the four are still as close as ever, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. Then one night, in an instant, all their lives change forever. And, as Eve learns she didn’t know her friends as well as she thought, she also discovers she isn’t the only person keeping secrets…
In my opinion: ★★★★★
I didn't even read the blurb for this, I just saw Mhairi McFarlane and thought must-read as I loved her previous book - so funny. Well WOW this couldn't have been more different yet at the same time similar. Like 'If I Never Met You' this was funny mainly due to the author's dry, cynical but spot-on writing style and witty musings. For example, a favourite of mine was Eve pondering "how many mistakes in life are born of a simple fear of being rude" or justification of bitching that some people are so intolerable that "there's only two ways of releasing the pressure. One, letting loose at the individual winding you up, or two, bitching mercilessly behind their back."
But, unlike 'If I Never Met You' which was based on a fauxmance this was essentially a heartbreaking story of friendship and loss (with a little bit of love obviously). As such I wasn't expecting the emotions and thoughts this provoked. But that said it was still essentially a light-hearted read with the author blending her wit and empathy seamlessly....and I for one LOVED it!
#3 The Lost Hours by Susan Lewis (1 Apr 2021)
Golden couple Annie and David Crayce have it all. A loving marriage, three beautiful children and a thriving family business. Life couldn’t be better. Until the unthinkable happens… A piece of damning DNA evidence has arisen, placing David as the prime suspect of a murder committed twenty-years ago. Annie is sure her David is innocent. But if he isn’t guilty, then either his father or brother must be. As the police investigate, so does Annie. And Annie begins to doubt the one person she thought she knew best… Her husband.
In my opinion: ★★★★
Having only fairly recently discovered author Susan Lewis I have quickly become a huge fan. Once again this was another brilliant read that had me gripped from start to finish. The reason being that Susan Lewis always seems to tackle some really compelling and thought-provoking moral dilemmas with her plots. In this one familial DNA evidence means that there are only three possible suspects (the father, uncle or grandfather) and so in proving their own innocence each is effectively condemning a loved one instead. This explores the emotional impact on the close-knit family from divided loyalties to doubts, love, anger, guilt, disbelief and more.
I've given this 4 stars rather than 5 simply because in an exceptionally demanding way I was expecting more. Right from the start the remote shooting school setting filled me with nervous anticipation and dread - all those guns - but disappointingly that didn't really amount to anything. Mostly though whilst I didn't see the eventual culprit coming - and was in one way pleased with who it was (or wasn't) - they did seem an odd choice and the emotional fallout of it being someone else would have been even more powerful. I really wanted to give this 4.5 as it is brilliant......
#4 The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary (29 Apr 2021)
Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding in rural Scotland. But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, Dylan, who she's avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier. Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they've totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four-hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship...
In my opinion: ★★★★
This was a story of two halves - literally and figuratively speaking. I loved the 'NOW' which focused on the calamitous road trip of five very different and unlikely travelling companions and their baggage (again literal and figuratively). These chapters were fun, funny, witty, light-hearted and entertaining and I enjoyed the dynamic and banter between the group. That said though none of the characters were a patch on Eileen from Beth O'Leary's previous book (which earned a solid 5-star rating from me). The 'THEN' was important for framing the 'NOW' but was more intense, less funny, slower paced and less me if I'm honest. Here the author also made mention of issues such as mental health but I felt they were almost token tick-box references and topics that should either be done justice or left out. With Beth's easy to read style this was an enjoyable read but sadly didn’t quite reach the admittedly high expectations set by #TheSwitch.
#5 The Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan (29 Apr 2021)
In a luxury lodge on Botswana’s sun-soaked plains, four friends reunite for a birthday celebration. Arriving at the safari lodge, a feeling of unease settles over them. There’s no sign of the party that was promised. There’s no phone signal. They’re alone, in the wild. The hunt is on.
In my opinion: ★★★★
I loved the premise of this and it was certainly an addictive, speed-read. The atmosphere was tense and sinister from the off, in no part due to the predatory safari setting, and I was literally holding my breath throughout waiting to see how it was going to pan out. Sadly though in the end I didn't really like the way it did pan out. The atmospheric setting didn't come to much, and I struggled to engage with any of the 'wild girls'. It didn't help that although the chapters alternated equally between the 'friends' some were in the first person and some the third which seemed both jarring and suggestive. But, mostly I found it a bit far fetched, very twisted and the motive uncomfortable (although for those reasons I definitely didn't see it coming). I also like things neatly tied up and justice to be done so naturally I didn't like the weird non-ending. Despite the dubious story line this was an enjoyable, gripping read nonetheless.
When Alice and Leo move into The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive. As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating, grisly secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before. Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it.…
In my opinion: ★★★★
I've only read one of B A Paris' previous books #TheDilemma which I really liked. Others have said this is a departure from B A Paris’s previous psycho-thrillers so that maybe explains why I wasn't as invested in this one. It was a bit of a slow burn and I think maybe the characters just didn't have enough depth for me to really get behind them or the story. The early narrative is told from Alice’s viewpoint interspersed with anonymous therapy sessions but for me these chapters didn't really add anything because I'd completely forgotten them by the time I knew what/who they were about and wouldve had to re-read later to make any sense if them. The plot also got a bit strange and overdone towards the end with Alice managing to somehow tenuously link one-off events across multiple countries and years but not see what was right in front of her eyes. Definitely not a must-read but also not a miss either so why not make up your own mind....
#7 Worst Idea Ever by Jane Fallon (29 Apr 2021)
Best friends tell each other everything. Or do they?
Setting up a fake Twitter account, Georgia hopes to give her friend some anonymous moral support by posing as a potential customer. But then Lydia starts confiding in her new internet buddy and Georgia discovers she doesn't know her quite as well as she thought.
In my opinion: ★★★★
This has an interesting premise and is a very easy read but I wanted (and was expecting) more. I enjoyed the first part but once the characters work out what's going on, the story peters out a bit and just sort of plods on to a fairly tame conclusion. Surely after such jealousy and betrayal there would have been more fireworks, even revenge perhaps, something anyway? That said it was a enjoyable read but very much a nice read rather than a must read.
#8 The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc (1 Apr 2021)
Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself. Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door. What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out?
Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody. Most of all herself.
In my opinion: ★★★
This had a few laughs but given that it's TV comedian and presenter Mel Giedroyc's debut novel I was expecting more. It's more of a nice, relaxed, happy ever after read. With four children, two lay-about brothers, a snobby mum, estranged parent-in-laws, a feisty grandma and a brainiac business partner, the Parker family provided an interestingly diverse array of characters. But sadly I found myself getting annoyed with most of the characters particularly Sally (and Amerjit) who were frustratingly wet and Frank unbelievably defeatist - thank goodness for tenacious eleven year old Mikey. The story is nice enough but took a while to get going and finished too soon as I wanted to know what the Parkers were going to do next.
#9 Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor (29 Apr 2021)
Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong. Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim: Jenna. Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?
In my opinion: ★★★
I've wanted to read this author for ages but sadly this just wasn't for me. It was an easy read with an engaging writing style which kept me intrigued and reading quickly but I didn't enjoy the story line. I found the retreat and therapy aspect a bit much and also the characters a bit irritating and unlikable. But the main problem was the motivations of both the culprit and victim which seemed both ridiculous and unconvincing. The aftermath was also totally unbelievable - how the characters could be so forgiving and their personalities change instantaneously (particularly the dad). Whilst this wasn't my cup of tea I would try another of the author's books as I really do think it just this particular story line I didn't take too rather than the writing style so I would try another of her books.
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