Category: Books

Half A World Away by Mike Gayle

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

‘Half A World Away’ had been on the shelf far too long, and as I am making an effort to shop my shelves, I thought it was about time it was read. Especially as Mike Gayle has quite a backlist for me to catch up on.

Let us start with a key piece of information: just like all the other books I have read from the pen of Mike Gayle, this book made me cry. I mean, I had been warned by various bookstagrammers that this was a book that really tugged at those heart strings, but I do not think even I was prepared for quite how much this one was going to full-on yank on those heart strings. (Part 4 – oh, my word.)

Noah and Kerry are siblings, but they have been separated for many years after they were taken into care and their lives took very different roads. Noah was adopted by a loving family – Kerry was left in the system but she never forgot her younger brother and makes the decison to get in touch with him. Together, they embark on a journey of self-discovery as they are reunited and navigate their chance to rediscover family.

You fall in love with these characters, and their families (well, most of the members of their families) and you really enjoy being on their journey with them. You live their happiness and heartbreak – expect tears, sometimes of sadness and sometimes of joy. But your heart will be full when you finish this book, and you may have a little bit of a book hangover.

Do you have a favourite Mike Gayle book? If so, which do I need to read next?

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Roughly a year ago, I read ‘The Silent Patient‘ by Alex Michaelides and enjoyed it. So, ‘The Maidens’ has been on my radar since. When a beautiful copy of the hardback was to be found in my charity bookshop a month or so ago, I knew I could not leave it sitting in there, and it had to come home with me.

I am so glad that this book did come home with me as I absolutely loved it. This was the sort of thriller that really did have you on the edge of your seat and makes you read past your bedtime. I loved the fact that it was set around the academic world of Cambridge and that it drew on the ideas of Ancient Greece, its literature and philosophers. Alongside the fact that there always seems to be an air of mystery to that academic life, ‘The Maidens’ is a complex and thrilling read.

Alex Michaelides is very successful at planting red herrings or suggestions within his stories, which can lead the reader down a certain path. Suspecting certain characters and maybe even thinking that they have solved the mystery, however, I think the reader is rarely successful until the final pages of the book, when Michaelides actually reveals his culprit. I did not see the plot twist coming in this book and I think that is an additional reason why I enjoyed this story so much.

I absolutely can’t wait to read more from the pen of Alex Michaelides, I believe that there is a new novel heading our way soon, as I think his books will go from strength to strength. I thought ‘The Silent Patient’ was outstanding, but ‘The Maidens’ topped that, which is quite an achievement. These are atmospheric, chilling and thrilling reads – so, if you have not given either title a go, why not – because you are missing out.

The Vintage Shop of Second Chances by Libby Page

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

Libby Page is an author that has only come to my attention this year – when I read ‘The Lido‘ and loved it just as much as everyone else I know in the Bookstagram world. So, as a treat, I dedicated some reading time to ‘The Vintage Shop of Second Chances’ to kick start the summer break – and I am so glad that I did. This book is just beautiful, and I even shed a little tear.

Lou decides to finally follow her dream and start a vintage clothes shop back in her home town. In this shop hangs a beautiful yellow dress that belonged to her mother, but little does she know that the beautiful yellow dress is going to take her on a whole adventure. (And that is all that I am going to give you on the plot, as I really believe that you need to read this book). But, alongside her, Maggy and Donna also embark on adventures that they were not expecting and, together with Lou, learn something about themselves that they were probably not expecting. In fact, everyone has a second chance – but you will have to read it to find out what they may be.

Something that Libby Page does brilliantly is not just give us strong female characters, but also beautiful friendships across the generation gap. I love that the characters do not ever seem to be just friends with peers, but it demonstrates that friendship can blossom between all sorts of people and for all sorts of different reasons. This makes the story even more special.

This is a fabulous read about family, friendship, community and self-discovery. It proves that you are never too old to learn something new or make a fresh start – and that you should never be scared to do either.

If you are a fan of Libby Page, I would love to know what your favourite book is.

The Family Retreat by Bev Thomas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

This month’s Tasting Notes Book Club title is ‘The Family Retreat’ by Bev Thomas.

I was not sure what to expect from this book as, I am sure you have gathered by now, I do not read blurbs – so the only idea had about it was that it may be considered a psychological thriller. Although, if you judged a book by its cover, I am not sure if that is the category that you would place it into as a reader.

However, having now read the book, I am not sure that I would consider it a psychological thriller. In fact, I am not even sure it is a thriller. It seems more like a piece of contemporary fiction, but it certainly evokes an atmosphere of the long English summer.

This book is told from the point of view of Jess, an overworked GP who is taking some time away from London with her family. We soon learn that this may not just be a simple family holiday, but that there is more to her decision to take this break. She meets a number of different characters during her time away, who all seem to have their own struggles, which Jess appears to get drawn into. The timeline of this tale is not always strictly chronological; there are moments when Jess reflects on events in the past, which for me did cause a little confusion in the story, and I am not sure they always really added to the narrative.

There are a large number of issues covered in this book, such as mental health issues and unhealthy, controlling relationships. I understand that it is important that such issues are covered in books, but I did feel that in this book there were a number of issues covered and maybe this led to them feeling like they had been touched on rather than fully tackled. They did not neccessarily add to the narrative of the story, although it can not be denied that it could and should start conversations about some of these issues.

This is certainly a book that will be worth discussing by book clubs and book groups – I think it will create a whole range of different opinions.

The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I was lucky enough to win a dedicated copy of ‘The People on Platform 5’ by Clare Pooley and I was so incredibly excited. Although I had been late to the party with ‘The Authenticity Project‘, only having read it about a year ago, I knew I could not leave ‘The People on Platform 5’ on my shelf for quite so long. So, I chose it for the prompt of ‘Joy’ from ‘The Unread Shelf Project 2023’.

And this book did bring me so much joy. As someone who commutes on the train everyday, I loved the idea that people on the train may not be afraid to speak to each other, and even form friendships. Clare Pooley creates a wonderful collection of characters who are thrown together by catching the same train every day. They may not seem like the usual people you would put together to make friends, but they help each other in different ways – and probably each needed the others even if they did not realise it.

Iona, almost the matriarch of the story, is one of the greatest characters to grace the pages of a book. She is definitely someone who proves that growing older does not mean that you have to give up on life. And she proves that to so many around her, with a little bit of help from her friends. (I quite like her rules for the commute too; I may have to employ some of them in my routine). There are so many fantastic people that Iona manages to bring together and support in realising how important or special they are in their own way. You will certainly enjoy finding out more about them, just as Iona does.

This is a fantastically uplifting read, leaving you feeling full of joy as you finish the final line. Just like ‘The Authenticity Project’, it is going to become a book that I recommend to so many people, because I want everyone to be able to be reminded that there is a lot of good in the world. And that it is never too late to aim for what you really want, or to make the change that will make you happy.

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I have only recently discovered the books of Clare Mackintosh and I am so glad that I have as she writes a great thriller. And my thriller and crime phase does not seem to have left me yet – it must be the escapism of it all.

‘Hostage’ was a little bit of a slow burn of a book but once the pace picked up I could not put it down and needed to know what was going to happen next. I do not want to give any of this story away, it definitely needs to be read to be appreciated without any spoilers. However, I was impressed that the real twist came at the very, very end of the book. And it was a twist that I genuinely did not see coming; it was a very clever move by Clare Mackintosh.

I am not sure the characters were particularly likeable in this book but they were fascinating. You needed to find out more about them and try to understand the decisions that they make. I was often left contemplating what I would have done in some of their situations. It was definitely a strong study of human nature and emotion.

Despite this book having been published in 2021, it is one that still felt very bang up to date, with some of the references made to some of the social and political issues within the plot are ones that we seem to still be and possibly always will be facing in the twenty-first century.

Just with the last book I read by Clare Mackintosh (The Last Party), I am keen to read more. Maybe they will pop up in my summer reading over the next few weeks, although I must remember that I should be shopping my shelves – haha!

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

The second of ‘The Seven Sisters’ brings us the story of ‘The Storm Sister’ – the second sister, Ally.

I was gripped by this book from the first page, just as I had been when I picked up ‘The Seven Sisters‘. Ally is an adventurer; she is a yachtswoman and is about to embark on her latest adventure when she hears of the death of Pa Salt. As her life changes the path she thought it was following, she decides that, like her sister, she will follow the clues that have been left by Pa Salt to see if she can find out a little more about her roots. This adventure takes the reader to Europe – Norway to be precise – as she discovers that her other musical talent may have come from her ancestors as she unravels their story.

The way that Lucinda Riley weaves the sense of mystery and discovery into these stories makes them real page-turners. The dual timelines leave you wanting to find out more all the time, as the reader wants to know the answers to the mysterious past, and how the clues and discoveries may impact the future for Ally.

By the end of the book, I was fully rooting for Ally to have a happy ending; I felt after all the adventure of the book she deserved that. And I felt like I had been on another wonderful adventure (just adding Norway to places I would definitely like to visit). It always makes me want to find out more about my family history, because I think it is so fascinating to find out where we have come from and how that may impact who we are today – even if we may not realise it.

I am very much ready to find out more about the Seven Sisters, and I think it is safe to say that ‘The Shadow Sister’ will be on my summer reading list, as I am keen to find out about Star and her family past.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I was kindly added to a readalong for ‘The Wind Knows My Name’ by Isabel Allende. So, I was gifted a proof of the book to allow me to join in, so thank you again Tandem Collective UK. I was very excited, as this was my first encounter with Allende’s work; I have seen it around a lot but I was not sure that her books were for me. They always seemed to be something that may be a little highbrow for me. Yet again, how wrong I was – in fact, I am now going to be trying to read her backlist (along with all those other books I promise myself I will read).

‘The Wind Knows my Name’ is a beautifully crafted piece of historical fiction that takes use from the tragic night of Kristallnacht in the 1930s right up to the present day. This book explores the idea of displacement of people due to the difficult and dangerous social and political situations that they have lived through with their families, causing them to flee for the hope of a better life. And, what Allende does so cleverly is bring some of her characters together from very different backgrounds, but who all have the shared experience of displacement – allowing them to form relationships and support for each other.

This book is heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure. It is incredibly thought-provoking as its timeline becomes more and more contemporary, and you see the issues we sometimes think are left in the past are still continuing, every day, around the world. And, in fact, you will be wanting to find out more about the events that she has chosen to pick out to create her narrative.

I think it is fairly clear that I will be trying more of Allende’s novels. So, if you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments.

The Detective by Ajay Chowdhury

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

If you love a great piece of detective fiction, well, then you will love ‘The Detective’ by Ajay Chowdhury.

This is a crime novel that is right up to date but cleverly also entwines a crime from the past. We follow Detective Kamil as he attempts to impress his new team at the Met. Can he solve the mystery of a series of murders linked to a cyber company that is about to be sold for millions? And what exactly is it about the company that makes it so valuable – is it all it seems? Also, who are the skeletons that have been found at the scene of the first murder? After all, they are over 100 years old…

As you know, I do not write reviews that contain spoilers, but I do hope I spark your interest in the book. I mean, I was really interested in Detective Kamil and his case; Ajay Chowdury creates fantastic characters who are involved in a highly engaging mystery. I would quite like to sit down with Detective Kamil and find out a bit more about him (or just read the previous two books to find out a bit more – which I am definitely tempted to do). But he also brings the murder mystery exploding into the 21st century as he tackles some of the issues that we are facing today. Especially the idea about how much do these cyber companies know? Do we always know what is happening behind the scenes and with our data?

If you like a well-constructed, contemporary page-turner, then I would recommend you pick up ‘The Detective’, because you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to Harvell Sacker for the gifted copy of this fantastic read.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

‘In Memoriam’ is a book that I was totally influenced to pick up by my bookish friends, and it got bumped to the top of the tbr pile for ‘Pages of Pride 2023’.

I am not sure I can review this book, as I am not sure I can do it justice. There is so much to say about this book, but I am not sure I know how to put it into words – well, not in the way it truly deserves. This is an outstanding piece of historical fiction.

Gaunt and Ellwood are school friends; they attend the same private boys school and have a very close bond. Gaunt is of German heritage and Ellwood is a privileged member of English society, and of Jewish heritage. When Europe changes forever in 1914, the young men are thrown into war. Their relationship develops, and they are at war with what is seen as socially accpetable from their relationship, their own emotions and the enemy. I keep my reviews spoiler free so that is as far as I can go – other than to say that this novel is stunning.

This book presents the horrors of World War One; not to shock, but to allow the reader to understand the experiences of the men. This book studies the relationships of the men who were at war, and the relationship of Gaunt and Ellwood at a time that their relationship would not have been legal, let alone accepted with sensitivity. But, also, this book presents the impact that the war was having, not only on the men who went, but the men and families who were left behind. And, a couple of times, this book suggests that our characters felt the war was toughest on those at home reading the papers and guessing what was happening, which is another thought-provoking point (there are many in this book).

This book is beautifully written, clearly very well researched, and an emotional rollercoaster. I think this book will stay with me forever, and I will be encouraging everyone to read it (with a box of tissues for the tears).