Don’t Look Back

Book Review: Don’t Look Back by Jo Spain

Between her books and screenwriting, I’ve become a huge fan of Jo Spain. But… Unfortunately, this one, for me, was a bit of a letdown.

After a whirlwind romance, Luke and Rose marry. Things go awry when her violent ex-boyfriend tracks her down. A dead body later, Luke has called in his friend and former barrister, Mickey, to assist. However, once Mickey starts investigating, she’s not sure who to believe.

I liked Mickey. I would like her to feature in another book. There were moments though that Spain confused me with where she wanted Mickey to go romantically. She’s in love with this one, and then this one, and then having dinner with this one, but hang on, she loves this one. It all seemed very out of character with the rest of Mickey’s personality and was very distracting.

Likewise, the flashbacks of Rose and Luke’s romance were also unnecessary. They became quite tedious and, in the end, I didn’t think these numerous scenes added to the plot.

I also found that the wealth of the main characters grating. At times, it read like a 80s Sidney Sheldon.

I’m still keen to read more Spain books but this one was not her best work.

3 out of 5

The Chocolate Factory

Book Review: The Chocolate Factory by Mary-Lou Stephens

Despite the promise of chocolate and the Tasmanian landscape and feminism and romance, I did not really enjoy this book.

I did like the historical details. Hobart was chosen as Cadbury’s first chocolate factory outside of England. The investment, in 1921, must have been huge – along with building the factory and a housing estate for its employees, they also shipped out several staff to establish operations in Australia.

Dare I say that Stephens may have been better off simply writing a non-fiction book about Cadbury’s. There are a lot of interesting facts she includes. They read, however, like facts. I don’t t think they were added organically into the fictional plot.

Stephens’s story centres on Dorothy, a WWI widow, whose passion for the ‘firm’ finds her in an esteemed position of authority (for a woman in 1921) which sees her leave England to become one of the first Australian based employees. Dorothy had potential, but Stephens seemed to jump around with her plotline.

There was a lot of focus on unnecessary and boring plot points (eg Dorothy’s accent, the Quaker religion, the uptight boarding house owner, blah blah) and then others which should be expanded upon were condensed and mentioned almost in passing (the meeting of school teacher Thomas on the ship, for example, was brief and uneventful but then, a mere chapter later, Dorothy is all starry eyed when thinking about him and I was sure I must have missed an entire scene).

I haven’t had much luck lately with Australian historical romance and this book unfortunately didn’t get me out of that rut. I’m sure a lot of readers will love it, but it wasn’t for me.

2 ½ out of 5

The Bodyguard

Book Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

This is probably Center’s most popular title and it’s another cute and sweet read.

Jack is a famous movie star who has returned to his Texas home when his mother becomes sick. Threats of a crazed stalker lead his handlers to hire a bodyguard. He’s not thrilled by the idea, or thrilled with letting his family know they could face danger from deranged fans when they’re already dealing with his mother’s illness, so he compromises by allowing his bodyguard to pose as his girlfriend.

Straight after the death of her mother, Hannah’s boyfriend dumped her. So, with her self esteem at an all time low, she doubts anyone will be convinced she could be Jack’s girlfriend. However, Jack and his family turn out to be a lot less Hollywood than she imagined and she’s soon fantasising that, even though he’s an actor, Jack is not really acting when they are together.

I always love the forced proximity, fake dating, and found family tropes, and Center includes them with more pizazz than most authors. She also includes some nice themes. I especially liked the message that looks aren’t everything and personality can count in our current overly botoxed world.

I don’t think, for me, The Bodyguard hit the same heights as Happiness for Beginners. Maybe it lacked a little depth. But it was still a cut above most of the other romances I’ve read in the last couple of years and I’m still keen to read more by Center.

4 out of 5

Here for the Right Reasons

Book Review: Here for the Right Reasons by Jodi McAlister (Marry Me, Juliet #1)

After drunk-applying for reality show Marry Me, Juliet (aka The Bachelor in the real world), Cece finds herself accepted as one of the girls hoping to catch the eye of ‘Romeo’ Dylan, a handsome ex-Olympian sailor who now runs a charity foundation.

Let’s be honest, we all suspect (know?) that these shows are scripted and none of the girls are really there ‘for the right reasons’ and McAlister doesn’t dissuade this line of thinking. Just about every girl on the show has an ulterior motive, including Cece, who desperately needs to stay on the show as it’s 2020 and she needs to earn money after recently losing her job due to the pandemic.

The book started well. I thought, at last!, we had a winner in the [incredibly tricky to get right] chicklit arena! However, I will admit my attention did wan at about the 75% mark. I think my main issue was the two leads. I found Dylan terribly bland and Cece’s constant crying made me want to slap her silly. In contrast, supporting characters Murray and Lily were much more interesting.

I did like the way McAlister poked fun at reality shows. I’m not sure I was supposed to find the ridiculousness of the contestants’ challenges and their staged arguments more interesting than the romantic relationship of the main couple but, there you go.

The ending was a little predictable, especially if you read the blurbs from book 2 and 3 in the series (try not to, the spoilers did take away from my enjoyment). But, McAlister definitely has potential. 3 out of 5

The Fiction Writer

Book Review: The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor

Olivia is struggling with her writing career when she receives an offer she can’t refuse – ghostwriting. Ash, a millionaire, claims Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is plagiarised from his late grandmother and he hires Olivia to write the ‘truth’. Olivia is soon living with Ash in his Malibu mansion and living her own Rebecca-like life, with Ash showing her a bit too much attention, Ash’s housekeeper giving her the evil eye, drugged drinks, suspicious fires, and speculation that perhaps Ash’s first wife did not die in a car accident as claimed.

I think you need to be at least familiar with Rebecca to read this. I’ve not actually ever read the book but I’ve seen the Hitchcock movie a zillion times (it’s a personal favourite, so the question is, why haven’t I ever read the book?) as well as the other couple of filmed versions (just once, they weren’t awful but nothing like Hitch’s perfection), so I’m very familiar with all the details. There was some clunky writing involved here though. I mean, ‘last night I dreamt I went to Malibu again’ doesn’t really have the same ring to it as the original. My teeth grinded every time I read, ‘my cousin’ used in an apparent attempt to keep one of the character’s identity secret. And, seriously, you could play some sort of drinking game with the amount of times Cantor mentions the characters drinking wine (and you would be adding another level of meta maybe).

Yes, this book is so meta, I became a little lost as to which was was being broken in the end. However, after I finished it, I didn’t stare off into space and think, ‘wow, that was so clever’. Instead, I basically just stared off into space and thought, ‘what.ever, gf’.

I had issues with the romantic/sexual aspect of the book. Ash was like a Maxim DeWinter you ordered from Wish, and Olivia’s other two potential loves are pretty insipid and almost invisible for the bulk of the book.

But!!!! I still found the book oddly compelling and I sped through it quickly in a trashy, car crash I couldn’t stop looking at, kind of way, which makes my rating difficult. Mmm… 3 out of 5 maybe, but I can easily see some readers loving it or hating it much more.

Devolution

Book Review: Devolution by Max Brooks

World War Z was a huge hit for Brooks. It was written as a weirdly serious historical account of the zombie apocalypse. With Devolution, Brooks has written a locked-in Blair Witch type story featuring a Big Foot (big feet?) family.

Instead of the multiple character point of views he used in WWZ, Brooks settles on the narration of Kate via diary entries. The diary part seemed unnecessary. I think Brooks could have just told the story from Kate’s POV. He also included random tidbits between chapters featuring real life sightings of big foot etc. Those tidbits, I think, were far more interesting than the actual main story, so… Not a good sign.

I read this for a genre challenge, this being my horror pick but… It wasn’t scary. Brooks needed to build the tension a lot more. It’s a short book and this might be a bit of a drawback. For example, I didn’t feel like I knew any of the characters enough to care about their fates.

I’m also unsure what themes Brooks was going for. He scoffs at the idea of environmentally friendly living, veganism and pacifism. He celebrates his characters finding their inner violent natures and killing things in general. There’s shades of Lord of the Flies and a lot of unnecessary gore.

I predicted the ending but, again, it doesn’t send any type of worthwhile message. Just, no.

Mmm… Maybe 2 1/2 out of 5

Apples Never Fall

Book Review: Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

I’m not understanding the bad reviews for this book. Right from the first paragraph, I knew this book was going to be a cut above what I’d read of late.

Joy has now hit her seventies, retired from running a tennis academy and waiting (im)patiently for one of her four children to give her a grandchild. Then, on Valentine’s Day, she disappears, texting a gibberish message about going ‘off grid’ to her family. Soon, the police are involved and looking for a body, and Stan, Joy’s husband of over 50 years, is their prime suspect.

The story is told in dual timelines — now, and the few months leading up to Joy’s disappearance. I don’t think I’d call this a murder mystery, as such (although Moriarty surprised me with some of the twists at the end). Apples Never Fall is more of a family drama, it’s funny and, obviously, quite sad at times, with lots of thought provoking scenes centring around themes of domestic violence – physical as well as psychological abuse.

Moriarty’s characterisation is brilliant. Joy is a joy, full stop. But Moriarty gives each character their moment in the sun. There’s some characters who I’m sure I would have disliked if a lesser writer presented them. Moriarty, though, evoked empathy and manipulated me into liking them, no matter the extent of their questionable morals and actions.

Maybe it’s the tennis readers disliked? There’s a lot of tennis talk in the book. However, I think as long as you get the general gist of the characters’ passion for the game, it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan yourself or not.

Can’t think of a better way to start my reading year. 5 out of 5