2018 Top Ten International Reads

As choosing an overall top ten is far too difficult, I broke it up into Aussie authors and ‘the rest’.  I have more US writers on this list than I thought I would.  Of course, this might be Connie Willis’s doing.

Blackout by Connie Willis:  Blackout is part of Willis’s Oxford Time Travel series and  has time travellers heading for England during WW2. The book is full of ordinary characters doing ordinary things. Then, it suddenly dawns on you that the characters and their lives are anything but ordinary! Blackout and All Clear as basically the same book, but it was too long and Willis and her publishers cut it up into two parts.  They are my overall favourite reads of the year.  5 out of 5

All Clear by Connie Willis: After finishing All Clear, my love for Willis’s Oxford Time Travel series has not diminished and in fact I’m sad and depressed that I only have Fire Watch, the short story, remaining. I’d love to demand Willis write another book in the series but as I recently read she took an epic eight years to pen Blackout and All Clear, I don’t see it happening in my near future.  5 out of 5

Passage by Connie Willis: Passage isn’t part of the Oxford Time Travel series but as this is the fifth Willis novel I’ve read, I’ve become very familiar with her style. I can understand why some people become frustrated with it when reading her books, but I just continue to adore it and her. She is truly one of the most deceptively intelligent writers there has ever been. I can’t recommend Passage enough. 5 out of 5

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway is a nearly 40 unmarried overweight introverted cat owning archaeologist. DI Harry Nelson is the lead detective working on two missing child cases. When bones are found on the salt marsh near where Ruth lives, Harry asks for her assistance and soon Ruth finds herself drawn further and further into the police investigation and subsequently, danger.T here was something about this book which dragged me in and made me want more. Luckily for me there are another ten books in the series.  I’m currently up to number 8.  I won’t list them all, but I rated them all 5 out of 5.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeymoon: You’d have to live under a rock to not have heard of this debut. There’s several themes Honeyman explores with Eleanor’s story. How people cope with mental illness, of course, plus how people cope with loneliness and the importance of love. We’re all a little crazy. We’re all a little damaged. But in the end, we might find the strength to make it through the day and feel fine — about certain aspects, at least. After all, if Eleanor can do it, so can we.  5 out of 5

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan: There’s a little bit of everything in this book: romance, mystery, comedy, drama. It’s a book about books and a book about movies. It’s a collection of short stories. It has diverse characters who will warm your heart and make you cry. It’s above love and second chances. It’s about loss and the flow on effects of those losses And it’s a keeper. 5 out of 5

The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen:  Schaffhausen is a good friend of a good friend of mine meaning I feel like I know her (even though the limit of our friendship is the occasional comment/reply on one of our mutual friend’s Facebook posts, LOL) and, therefore, I felt obliged to pick up a copy of her debut novel. For someone who doesn’t read this genre often, The Vanishing Season definitely had its creepy moments. There’s no huge Gone Girl twist in the end of the book but there is enough tension in the climactic scenes to make you keep turning pages until you reach the end. 5 out of 5

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson: A nuclear war ends when a super flu spreads around the world. Those few who have managed to survive both of these events flee the cities, living off the land in isolated areas. Johnson’s debut skips along at a fast pace which had me hooked from the first chapter.   4 1/2 out of 5

The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson: Despite being around 500 pages long, this book was a fast easy read; for the most the characters were ordinary people who you could imagine live down the road; the setting was cute and typically English; the characters too were very English; and I appreciate the fact they were older.  4 out of 5

Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn: First books in mystery/detective series can be tough. The author has to introduce the main characters and establish their personalities, one of whom we need to find very likeable, as well as give us a bit of background on those characters, without using information dumps or corny flashbacks. Then, they need to bait us enough in the ending to ensure we pick up book number two in the series. Dunn’s effort ticked all the boxes all while presenting a half decent murder plot.  Considering there are currently 23 titles in the series, I assume Dunn kept up the high standard and I’m not the only one who instantly became a bit of a fan of Daisy and Dunn’s writing. 4 out of 5

Hopefully I’ll pick up just as many 5 star reads in 2019.

Happy New Year!

My 2018 Aussie Top Ten Reads

                  

I am jumping on the bandwagon and posting my best books of the year.  As choosing only ten books though is just way too difficult, I’ve decided to post my top ten books by Aussie authors first.

Suspect by Michael Robotham:  How did I only discover Robotham this year?  This is the first book in the Joseph O’Loughlin series and I adored it. Although this thriller/mystery has so much going on in it, it’s still an easy read, fast paced and a definite page turner. I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out how Joe would get out of his dilemma. Just a warning, sitting up late at night to finish the book will happen. There was an unexpected twist in the end that left me breathless for a long moment.  5 out of 5

Lost by Michael Robotham:  It’s a gutsy move to relegate the character you’re planning to make the star of a series to a supporting role in only the second book, but I also thought it was a master stroke. In this thriller/mystery, we follow the story of DI Ruiz who’d pursued O’Loughlin in Suspect. The action moves along with breakneck speed and again Robotham made me gasp out loud a couple of times with shock at the many plot twists and unexpected scenes which occur.  5 out of 5

Life Or Death by Michael Robotham:  A stand alone Robotham thriller/mystery.  Set in the US, it starts with the book’s hero, Audie Palmer, escaping from gaol only one day before he is due to be released on parole. Robotham’s skill for writing action sequences is highlighted, especially during the first part of the book which is full of above average fight and flight scenes. The book is much more though. Robotham’s observations of family and society and the dark side of human nature are remarkable and he manages to present many literary elements.  5 out of 5

The Right Place by Carla Caruso:  Nella and Adrian’s story was probably one of the best contemporary romances I’ve read for a while. The book also comes under the genre of historical fiction by featuring Nella’s grandmother’s, Esta, story of migrating to Australia from Italy in the 50s.  There’s beautiful Italian recipes included (and not just a couple — as many as some high priced recipe books I have purchased in the past) which makes  The Right Place double the worth. 4 1/2 out of 5

The Art of Preserving Love by Ada Langton: This rich and unique tale is about preserving love; ensuring it doesn’t fade, no matter the circumstances.  Love in all its forms, not just romantic.  There is romance, of course, but it isn’t written in the traditional form. The romance more or less just weaves its way through what I’d probably class as a historical women’s fiction book.  4 1/2 out of 5

The Way Back by Kylie Ladd: I thought The Way Back would be a mystery cum physiological thriller, perhaps police procedural.Instead it is the dramatic story of a typical Australian family coping with an unbearably heartbreaking situation. I think my favourite thing about this book is that it felt so real. No character or plotline seemed over the top.  I shed a tear more than once.  4 1/2 out of 5

Beautiful Messy Love by Tess Woods:  A contemporary romance done right.  Woods uses modern references and topical political subjects to actually add to the plot and characterisation. Social media, terrorism, fear of Muslims, asylum seekers, Australia’s off-shore detention centres – they’re all integrated into the plot seamlessly. If you’re looking for a book that represents how Aussies really think, talk and act, this is the book for you. The dialogue and slang are spot on.  4 1/2 out of 5

The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale:  An addictive psychological thriller in the vein of Girl on the Train. Instead of the big shock twist, Drysdale just keeps the tension on one blood pumping level. She has a knack of making even the most mundane moments feel frightening. From a parrot squawking to a yellow ribbon, you just know, as you read, that these small things will be dangerous.  4 out of 5

The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier:  Set in 1932, WW1 is still affecting many of this book’s characters either physically, mentally or financially. The secrets of the title are many and varied. Napier covers tough issues: sexual abuse/rape, child abuse, adultery, arson, extortion. The book can be quite harrowing at times but is an impressive debut and will believe it will become an important piece of Australian literature in the future. 4 out of 5

The Memories That Make Us by Vanessa Carnevale:  Our heroine, Gracie, suffers from complete amnesia after being involved in a car accident. She can’t remember her best friend, her mother, or her fiance, Blake, who she was supposed to marry in three weeks. Yes, the old faithful amnesia trope. But with this book and her heroine, Carnevale has really done an excellent job at looking at the fear of memory loss instead of simply using it as a cliched romantic plot device.  4 out of 5

The Ghost Fields

Book Review:  The Ghost Fields (Ruth Galloway #7) by Elly Griffiths

I was going to make my review: ‘I love Ruth. I love Nelson. I want them to get together and have secksy times. End of.’ Then I realised I probably should say something more intelligent in a review than that, so here goes…

The Ghost Fields is number seven in the Ruth Galloway series. The mystery this time surrounds a body found in a WW2 plane wreckage which has been dug up during preparation for a new housing estate. Ruth is called in and quickly determines the person was murdered and not killed by the crash. Soon after, members of the victim’s family, who also previously owned the land where the plane was discovered, are also attacked. Assuming the attacks and the original murder are linked, Nelson and co set out to investigate.

In typical murder mystery fashion, there’s a plethora of characters who could be the likely killer. This time around I picked the perpetrator quite quickly. This did not spoil the reveal as I had no idea why this person was committing crimes (it wasn’t just my gut instinct, there were a few clues along the way) and so I was still interested in the why/when/how etc.

There’s a couple of heart stopping moments when it came to the mystery/thriller plot. One involving regular character Clough, and one that made me wonder if Griffiths is a fan of Hannibal Lecter. *shudder*

The Ghost Fields title comes from the name given to the many now abandoned airfields which were built during the war. Some were genuine fields, and some simply ruses to fool the Germans. All the history Griffiths presented was interesting; I was never bored with the storyline and even though Griffiths has already used WW2 in a previous installment, it felt fresh and new and original.

I will insist, however, that if you’re still reading the series at this point, you’re not really reading it for the mysteries. It’s the characters you’re interested in.

Other than new policeman Tim (I’m still sitting on the fence when it comes to him and I actually keep waiting for Griffiths to kill him off!), all the regular supporting characters are like old friends to me now. Griffiths’ characterisation is always great. Even Ruth’s daughter, who has now started school, has her own unique personality and ‘voice’. Reading about their lives is like wrapping a cosy blanket around me on a cold night.

I would never recommend you read this book (or any of the others in the series for that matter) as a standalone. To understand the characters, and to get the full effect of the soap opera of their lives, you really have to read the Ruth Galloway books in order. I laughed and cried and gasped aloud at some of the situations Griffiths forces them into during this installment.

I’m definitely going on to number eight, especially after Griffiths finished on a huge cliffhanger/teaser (I hate/love her so much).

An obvious 5 out of 5 for me.

A Lost Love

Book Review:  A Lost Love by Carole Mortimer and Hiromi Kobayashi

I’ve always wanted to read one of these Mills & Boon Manga editions, so when the opportunity to request one via Net-Galley came along, I thought I’d give it a go.

The reading backwards thing was easier to master than I thought it would be. I thought it would take a little getting used to at least but I found I was doing it no worries after the first page.

I didn’t have any issues with the illustrations either. I felt they were all exactly how I imagined a Manga book’s drawings should be depicted. That is, sometimes a little dramatic and exaggerated but essentially fun.

Mortimer’s story, however, was the weak point for me. I’ve read a lot of crazy plots in Mortimer books but this one really takes the cake.

Jacquii was married to Rafe (there’s a classic M&B hero name if there ever was one!) and they had a baby before they divorced. Soon after, Jacquii was involved in a car accident. Rafe was such a tyrant during their marriage and subsequent divorce that Jacquii lets him think she’s died in the accident. While she’s in the hospital being attended to by doctors, she asks them to perform plastic surgery on her face. The plan is to change her features completely so that she can return to live near Rafe and see her son without his knowledge.

Yes, Jacquii becomes Brooke and moves in next door so she can see her son. Okay, I understand a woman doing anything for her kids but surely in this case plastic surgery was a little extreme. No one in the hospital suggested a visit from a psychiatrist? Or checked to see if reruns of Return to Eden were being shown?

As much as I usually enjoy Mortimer’s books (she’s easily my most read Mills & Boon writer), I certainly won’t be racing to read the normal edition of this book. I did wonder whether the publishers deliberately look for over the top plots like this for their manga editions. I’ll have to read another couple to work out if this is the case.

2 out of 5 The book was a quick read and the manga drawings enjoyable due to their uniqueness but the storyline was just too whack for me.

A Room at the Manor

Book Review:  A Room at the Manor by Julie Shackman

I just checked and this book has fairly high rated reviews on Goodreads. I’m obviously missing something.

Lara returns to her hometown after being dumped by her boyfriend, gets a job at a local cafe, and meets Hugo, an elderly local aristocrat who mentions her in his will when he passes away. Hugo’s grandson, Vaughan, is instantly suspicious but obviously he finds himself attracted to Lara and is won over by her sweet nature. Besides the will conflict, Lara believes Vaughan is a player and engaged to a rich socialite, considering how often they’re pictured together in the newspapers. Sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it? Yes, half of the Mills & Boon books of the 80s had the same plot.

Vaughan’s character is a Mills & Boon cardboard cutout, right down to his dark good looks and occupation (sculptor). I suppose I might have had more interest in him if he’d featured a little more. For a leading man, he doesn’t get many scenes.

There is a plethora of other supporting characters. The book was beefed up with boring scenes featuring them. Tedious conversations and mundane actions that made me want to scream. I don’t need a blow by blow of creating a website or whatever. This was a real sign there was no real plot to speak of and Spackman was forced to add things to reach a suitable word count. (If I was her editor, I would have culled and turned it into a novella.)

None of the supporting characters were so endearing either that I would want Spackman to make them the lead in a sequel.

The book is advertised as charming and funny. I wouldn’t say I felt either label fit. I agree it’s a clean romance but I don’t think this automatically makes it charming. I don’t remember laughing too much.

The Scottish setting is completely wasted too. It didn’t really play any part of the book.

There is foodporn. Lara bakes and we get descriptions of the food. It didn’t save the dullness of the plot for me though.

A generous 2 out of 5

The Dinner List

Book Review:  The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

We all know the dinner list game: name five people, living or dead, with whom you would like to have dinner. In this book, our heroine Sabrina finds herself actually dining with the people on her list. It’s a great premise… but…

Sabrina’s list includes her boyfriend Tobias, her best friend, her father, one of her teachers, and Audrey Hepburn. It sounds more exciting than it is. In fact, nothing particularly happens at the dinner party at all, in my opinion.

The alternating chapters of the book is the story of Sabrina’s romance with Tobias. Unfortunately I didn’t fall in love with their romance either, or them in general.

Tobias is not my type of man. He’s a bit new age metrosexual but instead of this being charming, he comes across as simply selfish. He refuses to take any responsibility in life and makes Sabrina feel guilty when she does.

Sabrina too is not the most likeable lead character I’ve ever come across. She too can be selfish as well as jealous.

None of the characters besides Sabrina and Tobias have much of a part to play. Sabrina’s relationship with her father is supposed to reflect her issues with Tobias, but it’s all a bit of a yawn. Her best friend is used as Tobias and Sabrina’s voice of conscience and to fill in some of the gaps for the reader. Her teacher is there for no reason whatsoever really. And Audrey Hepburn is only there for marketing reasons, I’d say, as her part in it is almost ridiculous.

There’s a couple of real life facts about Hepburn brought up but I would think even a casual fan would know most of them. A couple of her movies are mentioned in passing but only her most well known ones. (Weirdly, the movie which one would assume Sabrina was named after is barely mentioned!)

I suppose you could say there is a twist in the book but, as I guessed it at least 10 chapters before it was revealed, I wouldn’t say it was brilliant.

The last third of the book was a real struggle for me. I did finish it, mostly to see if there was any explanation regarding how the dinner party came to be. Serle, however, doesn’t bother to come up with anything original in this respect. It just happened apparently and that’s that.

Overall, bit disappointing. 2 out of 5.

Mistletoe Kisses

Book Review: Mistletoe Kisses by Marnie Blue

It’s that time of the year again — time to read Christmas themed books.  I continue to have a love/hate relationship with holiday season themed books. I’m usually disappointed but I’m still sucked into reading them despite that fact.

I often notice writers often try to cash in and Christmas (or whatever holiday they’re using) is sometimes irrelevant to the plot or only briefly mentioned in passing.   I’ll give Blue points for not being guilty of this, at least. Mistletoe Kisses was a true Christmas story.

Unfortunately I’m not handing out many points for anything else.  I’m afraid I found the book’s plot and characters a little boring and its conflict really forced.

The hero, Justin, is a policeman who is forced to pose as Santa for PR for the force.  His helper elf turns out to be Lilly, a friend of his and his family’s who left town just after his father died.  This is the conflict. He’s mad at her for leaving town even though she was a minor and had to go where her parents took her.  WTF, Justin?

There is also a bit of a subplot about Justin’s PTSD but it was also a little forced.  I kept expecting Lilly to be his great saviour in this regard but the storyline just plodded along instead really.

Lilly needs to keep associating with Justin so she can get a job as a reporter and the mistletoe kiss she and Justin share that initially gets the public involved and interested in their story was a good idea on Blue’s part.  Only Lilly and Justin’s supposed super chemistry when it came to kissing wasn’t there in my opinion.

I really found myself skimming to the end.  The book was harmless but ultimately unsatisfying.

2 out of 5