Tag: fiction reviews

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Fiction

The Shock of the Fall, Nathan Filer

Whilst on holiday with their parents, Matthew Homes and his brother, Simon, sneak out in the middle of the night. However, only Matthew returns safely. Fast forward ten years and Matthew is in a mental institution. He feels guilty for his brother’s death and is living with Schizophrenia, frequently hearing and seeing visions of Simon.

What really intrigued me is that Schizophrenia is often a mental health illness, people are afraid to touch in comparison to more common illnesses, such as Depression. However, I thought Nathan Filer, portrayed the illness very well and realistically. As a result, it was no surprise that after finishing ‘The Shock of the Fall’, I discovered he has experiences of working as a Mental Health Nurse.

If I am honest, when I first began reading this book I wasn’t so sure at first. It took me a while to get into it. However, this is part of Matthew’s characterisation. He is not the most reliable storyteller and the switching between different periods of time reflects his thinking patterns. Whilst this can be hard to follow, it is worth it and really helps you to immerse yourself within the character.

Overall, whilst a difficult read, this book shares Matthew’s journey with you in the most honest way, whilst touching upon themes of grief, guilt, trauma and mental illness.

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Fiction Romance

Married at First Swipe, Claire Frost

‘Married at First Swipe’ centres around Hannah, who is passionate about travelling, grasps every adventure and likes to live life on the edge, and her best friend Jess, who settled down 20 years ago, has two children and is very much a perfectionist.

After the birth of her nephew, Hannah decides it is time to settle back down in Manchester and Jess gives her a job at her company, dating app ‘Save The Date’. Hannah yearns for someone to settle down with, and when she discovers that Save The Date is experiencing financial hardships, Hannah comes up with a plan which could solve everyone’s problems.

But is meeting a man for the first time at the alter really going to help both, Hannah and Jess?

To begin with I wasn’t 100% sure about this book. I thought the premise sounded unrealistic and in all honesty I feared it would be a bit cringe. However, I was drawn in by the modernity of the story line, put aside my preconceived opinions, and gave it a go.

Firstly I believe this is a very early edit as there were some paragraphs which jumped around a bit/a few grammar mistakes, but putting those aside it was a very well written book, with chapters jumping between Hannah and Jess, allowing us have insights into both their lives and hear things from both their views. I was really impressed with how realistic the characters were. Claire Frost really bought them to life and the challenges and hardships they face were really believable and relatable. I found myself warm to both, Hannah and Jess, and wanted happy endings for both of them.

I really enjoyed the themes touched upon in this book and think there are lessons we can all take from the story, such as the work you have to put into long-lasting relationships, how other people’s lives are not as always as perfect as they may seem, and the difficulties you may face to keep all the plates spinning in life and that to do that we must take care of ourselves from time to time.

Overall, an easy and warming feel-good read. Many thanks to NetGalley and to Simon & Schuster UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Fiction Thriller

The Perfect Sister, Zoe Miller

‘The Perfect Sister’ is told from the viewpoints of Alice and her sister, Holly. When Holly was born, Alice vowed to herself that she would look out for Holly enough to make up for their absent father who walked out before Holly was born. Alice lives up to her promise, however in recent years the two sisters, who were once very close, are driven apart by secrets and jealousy.

When a block of flats Holly used to live in is being demolished, she gets worried. She wants to talk to Alice about it.. but how can she? They are not that close anymore and Holly’s husband Luke barely gives her a second to herself when Alice is around.

Meanwhile Alice, gets a knock on the door with questions about Holly. Whilst Alice knows her sister is hiding something, there is no way that Alice believes Holly would have been involved in anything so sinister. Forced to dig through the past to uncover the truth- Alice uncovers years of Holly’s secrets and begins to doubt her innocence.

The Perfect Sister is a psychological thriller which keeps you on your toes guessing! The bond between the sisters was excellent and the book really showed that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, as both sister’s fought their own troubles. Zoe Miller, made it easy to relate to the emotions of the characters and the motives behind their actions. For example, Holly didn’t want to admit her debt to Alice, which led to a spiral of problems. Whilst it is easy to say ‘Well why didn’t you say so’, you can totally understand why she wouldn’t want to admit that and feel for her about how she got into the situation that she found herself in.

Overall, a really good read. Every time I thought I knew, something else came to light.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advanced copy.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

The Vow, Debbie Howells

Amy is due to get married in two weeks but when her fiance Matt disappears she is left with no choice but to call the wedding off as the police investigation is underway. Meanwhile, Fiona also reports her missing partner, Matt, to the police. He was supposed to be moving in with her.

Amy refuses to believe that Matt has been living a double but police quickly prove this is the case and begin questioning both women. Where is Matt? And, who’s version of events do the police believe?

The Vow, is a beautifully written domestic thriller told from the perspectives of Amy, Fiona and Amy’s daughter Jess. The book, goes between the present day and the past, allowing us an insight into Amy’s childhood.

The characters and the story of this book are so well developed. For example, Amy is a herbalist and it was evident Debbie did her research as within the story we what different herbs and flowers mean etc. I thought this was really well done as it gave so much depth to Amy’s character and made her profession and passion come to life. Furthermore, it wasn’t just the main characters who were well portrayed- so often in books minor characters get name dropped and it is hard to imagine them – but even minor characters were brought to life throughout this book.

The Vow sucked me in right from the start and I found it immensely gripping. Unfortunately, the book was a little predictable as I guessed the ending about half way through, but never the less I was still hooked and keen to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy.

Categories
Fiction Romance

One Day in Summer, Shari Low

One day in summer three lives are about to change forever.

The book starts with introducing Agnetha McMaster, mother of 20 year old twins. It is Agnetha’s 45th birthday and her daughters are encouraging her to reclaim her life and put herself first for a change. For the past 20 years she brought her children up, she took care of her elderly parents and she barely takes a day off at her job running the café which has been passed down through generations.

10 years ago Agnetha’s husband Mitchell, divorced her for her ex-best friend Celeste. Mitchell now suspects Celeste of having an affair. Is this karma for how he treated Agnetha?

Meanwhile, Hope McTeer, who was adopted as a baby, takes a DNA test and she is about to meet her biological father for the first time. Will she get the answers she hopes for?

The story is set between the past and present and told from multiple viewpoints. At the start of the story there was a list of all the characters which made me nervous that I would never be able to keep up and that the story could get messy. However, Shari is an exceptional storyteller, all the characters came together to tell the story and they were so well portrayed. I felt like I was part of their circle and living their experiences and emotions through them.

I read this book whilst away for a week and it made the perfect summer holiday read. The story is full of energy and humour, whilst it touches on themes including grief, betrayal, lost love and finding love again. I picked this up thinking it would be a break from my usual twisty thrillers, yet how wrong I was. ‘One Day in Summer’ is full of shocks and surprises, so much so that I could not put it down.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

Shame On You, Amy Heydenrych

‘Shame On You’ tells the story of social media sensation, Holly who is an influencer, the face of clean eating, and a cancer survivor. One evening Holly meets a man in a coffee shop. Whilst he seems friendly at first, the evening ends when he brutally attacks Holly. He makes it clear he knows who she is, yet she doesn’t know him. Who is this man and why did he attack Holly?

As the investigation follows. Holly’s life begins to spiral out of control. This is a story of how one tiny lie can have a rippling effect on your entire life.

Having read ‘The Pact’ by Amy Heydenrych earlier this year, there was no question as to whether I was going to give ‘Shame on You’ a go and it for sure did not disappoint. What I loved about ‘The Pact’ was how niche and well researched it was and it came as no surprise that Amy is a ghost writer for tech companies. This is the same for ‘Shame on You’. The book surrounds itself around social media, the influencer culture and how we ‘trial people’ by social media.  I have not come across many thrillers which are as modern and relatable as this thriller was.

I feel like I had a complete love/hate relationship with the main character. I felt bad for her because she was bullied at school and had a difficult home life. Yet, I hated her because of what she did. The same went for the man who hurt her. He did bad, but he lost his mum when he was young, he wasn’t allowed to grieve, and it was obvious he needed help and support. It wasn’t as clear cut as good vs. bad and I think Amy got this across to us very well. There was one quote in particular which was about women fitting in on social media and how if they don’t fit in then it can be seen as an invitation to harassment. This quote literally blew me away as it was very relatable and describes perfectly what we are up against in the influencer world. Whilst what Holly had done can be argued as inexcusable, these words provided an explanation for why she felt so under pressure to do what it is she did.

Overall, great themes and it really offered food for thought in today’s social media obsessed society.

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Fiction Romance

An Accidental Life, Chelsea Cannon

Margaret Wilcox dreams of studying literature at college but with disapproving parents, who refuse to pay for a course which they believe has no purpose, Margaret’s aspirations for college are short-lived. When William Hill asks Margaret to marry him at the age of seventeen Margaret says yes as she doesn’t see an alternative life. William’s job allows her to stay at home, giving her time to read, and she remains a home maker and brings up their two children Michael and Emily.

Fast forward 15 years, and an opportunity arises for a screenwriting course. Margaret is desperate to sign up but the class is full. However, an opportunity arises which allows Margaret to sit the course, but it involves the need for her to live a double life. We all know lies don’t last forever and always have consequences- but what does this mean for Margaret?

At first I wasn’t sure what to make of this book! I loved it and hated it all at the same time! It was an easy, light read but also predictable and unrealistic. I found that the novel touched upon some great themes such as identity, being true to oneself and following our own passions in life, but I think the lack of depth let it down. There were areas where not enough attention was given to and the story seemed to skip out important bits, such as when Charles was born, what were William’s reactions at the time? And many other questions which I won’t state as I don’t want to give away spoilers.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of An Accidental Life in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction Romance

Very Nearly Normal, Hannah Sunderland

If you loved Sophie Kinsella’s ‘My Not So Perfect Life’ then you will love ‘Very Nearly Normal’

This novel follows the story of 28 year old Effie, who is still living with her parents, has a tragic love life, and has given up on her dreams to become a published writer. Effie’s so called best friend Kate appears to be living it up in a glamorous flat, with a successful career and is newly engaged whereas Effie lives under a black cloud. Her self-esteem and self-belief is drastically low and she doesn’t feel good enough and as a result she turns to the bottle to drown her sorrows.

Following a failed date Effie, meets Theo who encourages Effie to live out of her comfort zone. They write a to do list together and before you know it you are laughing and crying as we follow Effie’s on a journey of self discovery.

Overall, a very relatable and feel-good story. It is so easy to think everyone is doing better than us and that we should have reached the same goal posts but this story shows us how we all have our time to shine and that good things come to us all.

Categories
Fiction

We Begin At The End, Chris Whitaker

Based in Cape Haven, a small town in America, We Begin At The End starts by setting the scene of an event which happened 30 years ago. Sissy Radley’s body was discovered and Vincent King was charged and sent to prison for her murder. Move forward to the present day and Vincent King is about to be released. His childhood friend, now Chief Walker, the one who found the body, is the only one happy to see him released.

The story switches between Chief Walker and Duchess Day Radley, a 13 year old doing her best to look out for her troubled mother, Star (who is the older sister of Sissy and was the girlfriend of Vincent at the time of the murder), and six year old brother, Robin. In order to deal with adversity Duchess refers to herself as an outlaw throughout the book, imagining that she is of a persona which is to be feared. Unfortunately, despite always having good intentions, Duchess’ actions lead to a series of events which threaten all their lives.

Whilst, in parts I found this book a bit slow burning (compared to my usual reading material) I really admired the way Chris Whitaker bought the characters to life. I felt particularly invested in Duchess as you cannot help but feel for the amount of weight on her shoulders at such a young age, yet the strength she shows and the determination she has to carry on.

Overall, this book takes you on a journey with the characters. You experience their broken lives, their battles to survive and the lengths they will go to protect their family.

Categories
Fiction

A Good Father, Catherine Talbot

A Good Father is told from the perspective of Des, who lives with his wife Jenny and their 3 children. The book flicks between the past and the present day and Des is, as the title of the book suggests, A Good Father. However, Des also struggles with control, jealousy and obsession, which we see unwind throughout the tale.

From a psychological element I thought Des was an interesting character, I never knew whether to hate him or to feel sorry for him. I found that Catherine Talbot demonstrated Des’ complexities very well. However, I would have loved to have either delved more into Des’ past to try and understand how and why his personality was moulded that way, or to hear from Jenny to try and understand Des’ character from her point of view.

Overall, despite some parts of the book being slow I thought this was a decent psychological read and good for a debut novel.

I would like to thank Net-Galley and Penguin Books UK for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.