I haven’t done a book post for a while.. and have been reading a lot of books.
I thought, with the holidays approaching, this might be a good time to share some of them with you – in case you are looking for gift ideas for a booklover – or something to read while you recover from the festive lunch or on those long cold winter evenings.
I’m going to start with some romances from my own publisher Choc Lit (full disclosure here) –
When I signed with Choc Lit to publish my books, I had already read and liked several of their other authors. I then deliberately set out to read as many of their books as possible – and I have really liked them.
The Elephant Girl
This is a book I was always going to like. It’s the second novel by my friend Henriette Gyland.
I wasn’t going to love it because she is my friend (I have friends who write books I don’t like ) – I was always going to love it because her debut novel was good – and this was going to be better.
It’s a love story wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a tale of redemption.
The story begins when our heroine learns her mother’s murderer has been released from jail. As a child, our heroine witnessed that murder – and this news is the start of her journey to finally understand and come to grips with that day.
And along the way, she may find some unexpected truths.
This book is a great example of why I am so thrilled to have Choc Lit as my publisher.
This is a book about real people – with real issues and real problems. There are no manufactured conflicts, no easy outs and no cheating. I was totally involved with the story – and highly recommend it.
Dream a Little Dream
This is another Choc Lit book – this time by Sue Moorcroft.
I’ve read all Sue’s Books. She’s just a fine writer of real stories about real people (see above).
In this book – our hot but flawed hero (Sue’s really good at hot but flawed heroes) suffers from Narcolepsy – a sleep disorder. I loved how his struggle to understand and cope with the disorder was woven into the story.
I also love that while there was a happy ever after – it was a real one. No spoilers of course – but let me just say I hate unrealistic ‘it’s a miracle’ endings. That wasn’t the case here. The ending was exactly as it should have been. Sue does not cheat!
Go and get this. You won’t regret it.
Beneath An Irish Sky
This is a debut novel – and it’s great. Seriously – it is really really good. Far better than I would normally expect from a debut. And it’s a collaboration of two authors working under the pen name of Isabella O’Connor.
The story and the characters captured me right from the start. There’s a mystery from the past and a conflict in the present.
I like that it touches upon Ireland’s traveller community – but in a respectful way.
Its’ a love story – in fact more than one love story.
This is the story of a father and son – and each meets a woman in the book – which gives is two romances.
But there is another love story – the story of the love between a father and a son. It’s a love story as tricky as any romance and as interesting and fulfilling to read.
A great debut novel – long may the collaboration continue.
A Bargain Struck
This is the second book I’ve read by Liz Harris.
It’s is a western romance – which works for me. I love a man with a horse and cowboy boots. It’s also historical.
I liked the slow building romance here – the emotion gradually built between the protagonists, and slowly developed for the reader too. For me, this was a very good thing. I always feel it makes the romance more believable.
Both parties were flawed but very likable, and their emotions and reactions to each other were totally believable, as were the tantrums thrown by the child character.
This is not a cookie cutter historical romance. If you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary, you’ll probably like this.
Leaving behind the Choc Lit titles…..
The White Pearl
This book by Kate Furnivall was on the short list for RNA’s Romantic Novel of the year award – in the epic romance category. I’m not sure why.
I’m not saying it’s a bad book – it’s just not a romance.
It is actually a very good depiction of the arrogance of colonial Britain in Asia and the war that ended a whole era of history. There are romances in it – but a romantic novel – I don’t think so.
Having said that – it’s very well written and well researched.
It dragged me in right from the beginning and kept me turning the pages because I had to find out how it ended. There were some unexpected moments in the book.
It was a good read – but not my favourite.
The Wanderer
As some of you may know from previous posts, I am a fan of US writer Robyn Carr.
She did a series of books set in the small town of Virgin River – I read all 19 and loved them. In fact, this is what inspired me to try my hand at my own series of small town books.
She has a new series just beginning – Thunder Point.
It’s another small town series, but this small town is on the coast, rather than in the mountains.
There is a new, but equally interesting cast of townspeople. And equally appealing heroes and heroines.
I liked this first book. The first Virgin Rover book began with the heroine… This time it begins with the hero, so I am wondering (especially given the covers) if this series is hero driven rather than driven by the heroines. That’s fine by me. She writes a fabulous hero – flawed but fabulous.
I have already bought the next one.
The Casual Vacancy
JK Rowling’s first adult book after the Harry Potter series was attracted a lot of attention – but it’s taken me a long time to get around to reading it.
One review I accidentally stumbled on pointed out there were 34 characters in this book –I didn’t count them but I can believe it. There are a lot of characters and at times I was struggling a bit to remember who was who.
It’s a well written book – and is a fascinating looking onto the heart of small village England. The characters are well written – and some of the small vignettes are lovely.
But having said all that, this wasn’t a book that gripped me. The story arc was very slow moving. I kept thinking that I was going to put it down and not bother finishing it. But I did finish it – and I found the last scene rather moving. So maybe I was more involved with it than I thought.
This is a more literary book than I usually read –perhaps that’s why it didn’t grab me. Or perhaps, like everyone else, I was subconsciously looking for another Harry Potter experience…
I am Legend
I had recently watched Brad Pitt in World War Z – and this for me was a trip back to the beginning of the whole zombie apocalypse idea.
Written by Richard Matheson in 1954, the book got mixed reviews.
It’s the story of the last man on earth – the only survivor of a pandemic which turned the planet’s entire population into walking dead. In this book the dead resemble and are called vampires rather than zombies, but the theme is the same – the lone survivor struggles to survive in the new order.
It has been the basis for several films – the first in starring Vincent Price (1964) and the most recent in 2007 and starring Will Smith. My personal favourite is the 1971 film with Charlton Heston, called the Omega Man. All deviated a bit from the original book, but most film adaptations do.
This is not the best book ever written – and it is a bit dated in style. But at the time, it was ground breaking. Over the years, it had gained better reviews – and an honoured place in the history of sci fi / horror. And Matheson has been recognised as one of the most influential writers in his genre.
Its influence still survives, which makes it an interesting read. It’s not a huge book – only 170 odd pages and well worth a look if you are interested in the genre.
Throttle
I remember the first time I watched Duel – the 1971 Steven Spielberg film based on the short story written by Richard Matheson (see I am Legend, above). It was riveting. A battle for survival between a truck driver and a car in the vastness of the US highway system.
Throttle is a salute to Duel – written by Joe Hill and his father – the one and only Stephen King.
Which is interesting considering the content of this book.
Yes, it involves a cross country trucker trying to kill some bikers… but ultimately – it’s a story about the relationship between a father and a son.
This is the first of Joe Hill’s writing I have read. Being such a fan of his father’s work, I wasn’t sure I wanted to give him a try. In this shortish collaboration, King’s hand is obvious – but there is much there that doesn’t belong to Stephen King.
There are no supernatural elements in this book. No vampires or boogie men or swamp monsters. The horror of Throttle is entirely man-made.
I am definitely up for some more Joe Hill.
And finally – my book of the month award – probably best book of the year (which title it may to share with Odd And the Frost Giants – another Gaiman book) goes to…
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
I have included a photo of Neil Gaiman as well as the book cover – because I really do have a massive fan-girl crush on him.
A couple of years ago, I declared The Graveyard Book (which added a whole collection of new awards to the Gaiman mantelpiece) to be the best thing I’d read in — forever. Until I read Odd and the Frost Giants. Then I read this.
As I read it – each book just seems to me to be THE best book ever. Until the next Neil Gaiman book comes along.
The book is about childhood – but not. It’s about love and fear and friendship. It made me cry in the first chapter – and the last, and in the middle.
Reading a Gaiman book sometimes makes me almost despair. I know I will never write a book like that. But at the same time, the magic on the pages inspires me to work even harder at my writing – in the hope that I can give my readers even a fraction of the same pleasure that his books give to me.