Reviews written by Sarah

Marriage and Other Games by Veronica Henry.

I chose to review this book as I couldn’t believe how different it was to any other “chick lit” I’d previously read. I expected it to be all light-hearted with fluffy characters and a book I could easily put down and pick up at my leisure. However, this was not to be. I was immediately drawn in and I felt wrapped in the world of Charlotte Briggs.

The Somerset moors are a fitting setting for a story where every character’s story holds mystery and intrigue. Moving from the city to the isolated village of Withybrook is a big step for our heroine, yet not one she chooses to take. With handsome Fitch, mixed-up Sebastian and determined Penny, Charlotte attempts to make a new life for herself. Finding a new purpose to life is what keeps her going, yet it all comes crashing down around her and her new friends.

One unanswered question is the only reason I gave this book a four and not a five for storyline. I can’t say what that is for fear of spoiling it for others, but if ever Veronica Henry reads this, I’m sure she’ll know.

I have to admit I completely misjudged this book. From the first couple of chapter I thought it would be your typical chick lit-type book. How wrong could I have been?

When Dana’s husband, Gus, walked out on her with no explanation other than their marriage wasn’t going in the direction he thought it would, Dana’s life was torn apart. An accomplished writer, Dana was getting ready to complete the book that would launch her in her home country, yet Gus’s leaving leaves with that dreaded illness no author wants: writer’s block. With her editor, Walter, on her back for the completed novel, Dana finds herself looking to her past for inspiration. Gus thinks he has the whole truth about Dana’s past and turns to her estranged brother, Ed, for help. However, when Ed walks back into Dana’s life, the secrets and lies begin to unravel.

I was captivated from chapter 3 in and the last two lines left a lump in my throat. I haven’t previously read any of Colette Caddle’s work but I will be searching out her books after reading this gripping novel.

The blurb sold this book to me as it sounded like a Dan Brown novel which I had previously enjoyed. However, I was disappointed as it did not read as such. I found it difficult to get into due to the jumpy nature of the chapters.

Characters were hard to affiliate with as whenever something happened to them, just as I began to feel like I knew them a bit better, a new chapter took me somewhere else in the world. By the time I came back to that character I had forgotten a little about them. The story, however, did build into a crescendo that held my interest, even if the characters did not.

At times, the book felt like an attack on people of faith; not just the leaders, but also the common believers. As a believer myself, it was a little insulting to think that Khoury assumed I could be manipulated by pretty lights in the sky. I understand that this is fiction, but it has taken a lot less to incite religious hatred and war before.

This has not put me off the author; however, I will take a little less interest in the blurb next time, instead, waiting until I have read the book before making judgement.

This has to be officially the best book I have ever read! Now, I don’t say that lightly as I love books in general but this one is something different, something special. At first I didn’t know if I could read a book narrated by Death but a few pages in and I was hooked.

Set in Germany, 1939, Liesel’s life has been turned upside down. Liesel is the book thief who, at 9 years old, cannot read. Her escapades with her best friend, Rudy, and the nights spent reading with her new Papa are only part of the tale Death has to tell. As Hitler’s reign grows stronger and the bombs fall, Liesel begins to learn just what it is like to live under the rule of the Third Reich.

Relationships are key to this story and they’re all centred around Liesel: her mother, brother, Mama, Papa, Rudy, Max and many, many more. Each one forms Liesel into the book thief I came to know and love. This is a gripping and emotional journey that Death takes us on. If even Death can get emotional about Liesel, then so can you.

This was the first time, as an adult, that I have ventured into the world of children’s books (though with some of the content I’d prefer to think this was Young Adult fiction). I was immediately drawn into Sig’s frozen world and could easily picture him sitting with his father’s frozen body. The stranger who knocks at his door is a face his father would have been glad to have missed. “Even the dead tell stories” is the opening line to this book and here they most certainly do. What is it in his father’s past that brings the stranger into Sig’s life?

One of this story’s selling points is the way it seamlessly moves from present to past and back again without causing confusion. It is essential to know Sig’s past for it is there he will find the reason for the stranger’s appearance the day after his father’s death. I’m not going to say but part of the answer is contained in the little wooden box his father brought home 10 years previously.

The Colt revolver it contains is significant to the story but I’m not going to tell you why – you’ll just have to read it for yourself to find out.

For a first novel this isn’t half-bad. Beth’s world is one I was immediately interested in and, despite her albinism and nystagmus, a world in which she coped well – for a while. It is her inevitable breakdown that causes her husband, George, to alienate himself from her and their young son, Vincent. Growing up, Vincent tries his best to find out as much as he can about his mother, but his father holds everything close to his chest. To even think of her breaks his heart. However, there is more to this than meets the eye.

Blackmoor is a mining village: a close-knit community at the beck and call of the mine owners. When they are let down by the big bosses they turn to Michael Jenkins, a politician who may have an agenda of his own. The book moves from past to present effortlessly, telling Vincent’s story and that of his parents with a simplicity not found in many new books. However, sometimes this simplicity left me yearning for things to get a little more complex. This is a story where the characters are the key, occasionally in need of a little more plot, though. I can’t wait to see more from this promising author.

I have to admit straight from the off that I found this a very difficult book to read. Explaining why is just as difficult. The first story in this book of ten short stories is the novella banned in Egypt for over a decade. Reading it I can understand why it was banned. So much of it grated on me yet the relationships between the boy and his parents warmed me.

The other nine stories show a variety of aspects of Egyptian life: religion, the elderly, love, beauty, school, work and much more. I found these stories so much easier to read as they quickly moved on to another part of life. My favourite was “An Old Blue Dress and a Close-fitting Covering for the Head”. A complex relationship such as this could occur anywhere in the world, but it is somewhat more poignant written in such a setting.

Overall, I would recommend this to someone used to reading world literature but not for someone such as I who had not yet ventured so far. Maybe my struggles were due to my own lack of cultural understanding and knowledge. If so, then reading this again in the future will help me.

A student’s cookbook that has taught me a few things (even though I left university mmmm errrr a while ago). This visually stunning book will have even the most kitchen-phobic student fighting to get to the hob first. From fry-ups to birthday cake, Tiffany has it all wrapped up.

As soon as I got hold of this book I had to have a go so off I went rooting into my larder and fridge. Dinner was chicken wrapped in bacon served with ham and cheese jacket potatoes. Yummy! Mummy done good as my 3 and 5 year olds loved them - the potatoes in particular.

Next was pudding. Now I can cook but my baking skills are renowned (renowned for being atrocious). I wanted to try to the brownies but didn’t have the key ingredient of muscavado sugar. So I thought I’d start simple with cute cupcakes. THEY WORKED!!!! Whoopppeeeee! For the first time since primary school I succeeded in a baking scenario. I am a genius. I could be on Masterchef! I am brilliant! I was .... hang on, following a student recipe. Hey-ho. It worked though hehe.

Tiffany Goodall will be the next new star of cookery, having already made guest appearances on UKTV’s Market Kitchen and the BBC Good Food Show. Here’s to more of Tiff’s Tuesdays! (Sounds like a great name for a television show by the way.)

(NB the ratings do not apply to non-fiction however it is an excellent book!)

This beautiful book will be one to treasure in our house. I firstly introduced to it to my 3 year old son who can recognise numbers to 6. He loved the cheeky faces of the children and enjoyed shouting out the numbers he recognised. On the numbers he didn’t know, he carefully counted hats, bricks and children as well as the dots at the top of the page to match the number.

Next was my 5 year old daughter. She loved counting children in the pictures, even though she can easily count higher than 10. She especially loved the “seven slithering sliders” and said this over and over again. “Oooh a tongue twister” was her excited cry.

The counting wall frieze uses pictures from the book and will have pride of place on our dining room wall. A timeless book which will be loved for years to come.

“Levien is the new must-read thriller writer” – Lee Childs. With a write –up like that how could I turn down an opportunity to read this? This is Levien’s second novel and reading it has made me want to search out the first. Frank Behr is a hardened ex-cop with an attitude to match, but when his friend is found dead at work he has to face up to what could be the most dangerous case of his life. The loss leaves him confused, estranged from his girlfriend (who has a secret of her own) and struggling to cope with the hated he has for the killers.

When I started this I didn’t particularly like Frank. If I’d have met him in real life his abrasive nature and curt manner would have put me off straight away. However, the more I read the more I began to understand this man with a past of his own. Learning martial arts gave the opportunity to grow close to his teacher, so much so that they became friends. It is his teacher’s death that leaves him horrified and determined to exact revenge on the killers. Following two different inquiries, Frank is left wondering if he is in fact working on the same case.

A thrilling, chilling book which is going to passed around my family before I get to read it again. David Levien is one to watch.