Star-Crossed

Book Review: Star-Crossed by Minnie Drake

I’ve been reading a lot of mystery/thrillers of late, so I was really looking forward to a bit of fun romance and Star-Crossed sounded like it was going to tick all the boxes but…

I had a few issues, for starters, with the main thrust of the plot. Our heroine, Justine, works at a magazine and decides to alter/edit the horoscopes before publication so that her friend/childhood sweetheart, Nick, will, after reading them, be persuaded by their messages so much that he’ll realise he should become romantically involved with Justine. Whilst this seems to backfire spectacularly month after month, her new readings do, however, unintentionally influence a plethora of minor characters. Yes, my big issue is that I can’t really imagine anyone taking readings in a magazine so seriously. I mean, really, who takes anything they read in a magazine seriously? Yet, our leads, along with a dozen or so supporting characters, make major life decisions based on a horoscope column.

The stories featuring these supporting characters are interspersed throughout and unfortunately they did not have as much of an impact on me as I felt they should. Most were a little bland; I never laughed out loud, nor did I well up with tears. Each short story was okay but that was all. In fact, when one of the most interesting characters is a dog (especially when I loathe fiction written from an animal’s point of view), you know you’ve lost me.

The main characters, too, were not as likeable as I would have liked and Nick and Justine really lacked chemistry. When Drake threw in another character, effectively creating a love triangle, I must admit I wasn’t sure who was going to win out in the end.

I did like Drake’s descriptive passages. I liked the pacing of the interspersed stories, effectively giving them a rom-com movie feel. Maybe it would work better as a movie though because I did sometimes get mixed up with who was who. Maybe the characterisation was not as great as it should have been; or the plots were too weak. Drake also tried to add in too many twists with the supporting stories. Maybe less could have been more?

The same could be said for much of the book. It’s definitely too long. Maybe 100 pages less and some of the boredom I felt could have been skipped. Then there was the repetition of the which character was which star sign, and which rising sign, and how their personality was influenced by these signs and what reading was relevant to them etc etc etc. It got a bit much.

I will say I believe in the stars; definitely in the personality traits that are assigned to a person once they’re born under a certain star. Even as a believer, I struggled. If you think it’s all a load of rubbish, you will be in real trouble.

So, Lee, Capricorn, who should have guessed a book which gives such prominence to an Aquarius would never be her thing, gives Star-Crossed 2 and ½ [Scorpio rising] stars.

Murder in Mayfair

Book Review: Murder in Mayfair by DM Quincy (Atlas Catesby #1)

Murder in Mayfair is the first in a series of mystery books set in the early 1800s London. Our hero is Atlas, the son of a Barron who is suffering from [obviously undiagnosed, given the time] PTSD after the death of his sister and is a little lost with what he wants from life. (I must admit, by the end, I was also suffering; Atlas seemed to bring his sister and her death up with annoying regularity.)

The book starts with Atlas rushing to the aid of Lilliana, a woman whose husband sells her off, says she has had other men, and tries to keep her from seeing her children. The husband has many other charming aspects and enemies and, I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say he is soon found dead. Also obviously Lilliana and Atlas become the main suspects.

Some of the parts of the book were a little modern; I doubt if the sensitive subjects featured would have been discussed so openly in that era. It wasn’t all jarring, however, and there were a lot of good factual inclusions, such as the Bow Street Runners. And, unlike a lot of mystery books I’ve read of late, Atlas does at least do a bit of investigating (as opposed to stumbling across or simply guessing the murderer).

DM Quincy writes historical romances under the name of Diane Quincy and her style tends to lean more towards the romantic than crime/thriller genre. Having said that, however, I didn’t really enjoy the romance between the two leads. It seemed a little bland. Happily there was a good bit of romantic chemistry between two of the supporting characters — Atlas’s sister and his best friend. These two, for me, really stole the show, romance-wise, and I found them infinitely more interesting than Atlas and Lilliana.

Actually, my feelings for Atlas and Lilliana could describe my feelings for the book overall — nice enough but a little bland.

3 out of 5

Where the Crawdads Sing

Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I think everyone would have heard of this book by now but, despite its popularity and the hype, I didn’t really know what it was about. I chose it as I needed an author starting with O for a challenge read in a mystery/thriller group. I feel a bit bad about that because, even though there is a murder mystery plot involved, I wouldn’t exactly describe it as that genre if asked.

The story revolves around Kya who, at a young age, is abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself — basically in a shack in the swamp. Without any support network or basic social skills, she almost fully survives off the land with only the occasional, often aggressive, interaction with other people.

The story is set in the North Carolina wetlands. I only know the area from other books and movies (I kept thinking of the movie Cross Creek all the time for some weird reason) and I learnt much from Owens’ beautifully descriptive prose. As two of the book’s characters are scientists/naturalists who are experts on the flora and fauna of the area, and Owens, in real life, is a wildlife scientist, she excels in this respect. Butterflies and insects and mushrooms and shells and all manner of birds come to life on the page.

Whether or not Kya would be able to survive in the area alone is debatable but Owens manages to make it pretty believable. The plot’s credibility is aided by the time setting; the main narrative goes from the 1950s through to 1970.

Obviously, given the time and place setting, racism and prejudice play a huge part. It’s amazing to think of some of the things depicted in the book as happening only 50 or so years ago. It’s just as amazing to think some of these things still happen today.

Other major themes running through the book are the effects of abandonment and loneliness; the effects of alcoholism and abuse, physical and sexual. Some scenes are difficult to read, many will require tissues.

There is also a major theme of love, romantic and otherwise and I found this was when I was reaching for the tissues the most. (Especially towards the end when Kya describes her relationship with Jumpin’. *sniff*)

I did think the book might have been a few chapters too long. I can understand the reviews that noted readers gave up on the book. I did take advantage of the audioversion and that probably helped a little with the beginning of the book especially, where Owens seemed to get a bit bogged down with details. Cassandra Campbell was one of the best narrators I’ve come across and I will be on the look out for more by her.

The courtroom drama did ramp up the tension of the book quite a lot. I did have a few issues, especially the fact that the victim’s wife was not part of these proceedings at all, but overall I enjoyed these scenes.

This is Owens’ debut [fiction] novel and unfortunately, instead of celebrating what a wonderful book she’s delivered, there’s a lot of speculation online regarding her ability, even some comparing her to Charles Manson! Ironic, considering the maliciousness of prejudice theme she was trying to convey…

I have heard Reese Witherspoon is hoping to make it into a movie. Sounds ambitious but hopefully the cinematographers could bring the marsh to life as much as Owens.

I didn’t quite give the book 5 stars and I think this is for the ending. Although quite obvious, I didn’t think it sent a great message morally (I sound awfully posh now! LOL). And, as I noted, I think the book was a touch too long (or needed more plot for its length perhaps).

4 1/2 stars out of 5

The Day the Lies Began

Book Review: The Day the Lies Began by Kylie Kaden

Let me start by saying I find Kylie Kaden’s style compelling and I will continue to read her titles. However, like many others, I think she missed the mark a few times with The Day the Lies Began meaning it was all a little confusing. Also, to be honest, I found a lot of the book’s content very uncomfortable and this was very off-putting overall.

Even the book’s title is confusing. It refers to the day of a local festival where Abbie and Will’s daughter Eadie goes missing. What happens following this incident and the lies the various characters tell as a consequence forms the bare bones of the book’s plot. By the end of the book the reader learns the town’s characters have been lying well before this incident and day, however.

Abbie and Blake are the lead characters and their relationship is uncomfortably confusing. Abbie is married to Will and Blake is her foster brother. But… It’s complicated. I gave up counting the amount of times Abbie and Blake insisted they thought of each other as siblings but then, in the next breath, noted they really weren’t siblings and as such, felt an attraction. With this idea, Kaden crept into inappropriate territory too much for my liking.

Not so confusing but uncomfortable to the extreme is the character of Trevor and his crimes. At times Kaden handled this well but at other times it made me want to just slam the book shut. To be very modern, I think there needs to be some sort of trigger warning involved and I’m sorry, I think this subject matter will put a lot of readers off.

The other major characters are Blake’s on again, off again girlfriend Hannah and Hannah’s sister, Molly. Hannah is not the most likeable of characters and her and Blake’s relationship is really confusing (and weird). I thought Hannah and Molly’s secrets were extremely obvious too.

The book was confusingly long. Even though Kaden doesn’t repeat scenes verbatim, the general gist of some scenes are recapped far too many times. Tighter editing could have helped a girl out.

The book wasn’t all bad though. Kaden captures the Australian bush and scenery spectacularly. Her descriptive passages are often so beautiful that I found myself reading some lines twice. The setting, although fictional, is obviously based on a couple of Queensland towns I know pretty well and I loved this entire aspect of the book.

I also love the Australian slang Kaden uses but, alas, I have to wonder if even this would be confusing for the non-Australian readers (or even the non-Queenslanders!). 

There is a satisfying ending and a couple of twists that I never expected. Those who are tempted to add this to their DNF pile will be happy if they persist, I think.

Confusingly, considering this review, I didn’t hate the book but it did fall short of my love mark. As I said, I will continue to read Kaden’s books and I think she’s fantastically talented but maybe she just bit off more than she could chew with The Day the Lies Began. 3 out of 5

Good Girl, Bad Girl

Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (Cyrus Haven #1)

This book introduces us to Cyrus Haven, a psychologist who, like his patients, is a bit of a damaged soul. Cyrus’s past is revealed in stages and is just as, if not more, disturbing than the other crime plots in the book. 

The other two mystery plots each centre around a teenage girl but don’t think for a minute that Robotham did this because he was struggling with ideas. His crime plots are all multi layered, richly detailed and utterly unique. 

Evie, aka Angel Face, was the victim of a violent crime as a child which has led her to be placed in a children’s home. When she appeals to the courts to be declared an adult and thus freed, Cyrus is one of the experts consulted. 

Jodie is a champion ice skater who is found raped and murdered not far from her home. As a police psychologist, Cyrus assists in the investigation of this case. 

All three crimes are just as fascinating as the other, as are all the other B-plots weaving their way throughout the book.

I’ll point out this is no cosy and definitely not for the faint hearted. Many of the characters Robotham introduces us to reflect the seedier side of human nature. Even those who are innocent of the three major crimes per se are lowlife scum you will want to meet their comeuppance at some stage in the future.

I did guess some plot points but I think that’s more of a testament to Robotham’s writing than his lack of giving the reader a huge twist. That is, his ‘twists’ don’t come as a huge shock if you have picked up on the clues he’s placed throughout. 

The book also gave me a few heart stopping moments and highlighted Robotham’s skill for both action scenes and pacing.

With the three major crime plots and several other minor ones, there is a lot going on in this book but it never gets confusing. But, obviously with this much plot, not everything is tidily wrapped up at the end. I’m looking forward to the future books of this series.

I did listen to this in audiobook form but unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of the narrator’s voice choices or timing. I would recommend reading it the traditional way.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the book’s title or blurb. I don’t think either reflects what the book is truly about. If you’re put off by either (which I must admit I was), I recommend you ignore them and put your trust in the fact that Robotham is an extremely talented writer. 

Yes, if you haven’t worked it out from my review, I’m a bit of a Michael Robotham fan. His detailed descriptive prose, complicated yet believable plots, and brilliant characterisation means his books stand out as a cut above the other thrillers kicking around at the moment and, as such, I need to give this a 5 out of 5.