Book Reviews January 2025

Hello Everybody and Happy New Year!

I have a ton of book news to share with you as I have not written a blog review since September. Urgh!!

Anyhow, so as not to overwhelm you, I will spread my book reviews over the next couple of blog posts.

First up, back in October I watched Boy Swallows Universe, a Netflix TV series. It’s based on the smash hit book by Trent Dalton, who is a local boy to me in Brisbane. I have the book on my TBR pile. I’ve heard mixed responses on the book – some find it just too confronting. The book follows two young boys growing up in a drug dealing family, surrounded by criminals.

I have to admit the TV Series was certainly confronting with some very disturbing scenes. And yet, there was something about the story that kept me invested in watching to the end.

Anyone else watched the series or read the book? What are your views on it?

One redeeming element for me of the series is that some scenes were filmed in and around Brisbane, so I enjoyed spotting local landmarks, one of which was the clock tower I recently went up in Brisbane.

I also attended a local library author talk with Fiona McIntosh. Even if you aren’t a fan of her books, which are mainly historical fiction with a romantic element (although she does have a detective series and fantasy series), she is undoubtedly a wonderful public speaker. She went over her time slot by half an hour and then still did questions and book signings. She seems to have a well of energy for everything that she does.

It was a free talk at a local library and was full. All attendees received a rather glossy ‘mini’ book of the first chapter of Fiona’s next book to be released in the Jack Hawksworth series, together with a chapter from the first book in the series.

Obviously, it’s a good way to hook new readers into this series, but it must have been quite costly for her publishers.

I also attended a book talk with the stella American author Jodi Picoult, talking about her latest book ‘By Any Other Name’. Prior to the start of the talk the audience was treated to a harpist performing Tudor music.

The book centres around two women centuries apart, who both have to decide whether to relinquish their name to their work in order for it to be heard in the world. Emilia Bassano in 1581 pays William Shakespeare to use his name for her plays, subsequently writing her name out of history.

During her talk, Jodi discussed in depth the research she has done around Emilia Bassano and has discovered a trail of clues that support her claim. Well educated and connected, Emilia travelled Europe and was mistress to Lord Chamberlain, giving her access to English Theatres.

In contrast, Picoult claims that when Shakespeare died there were no books in his home, his daughters were illiterate and he had never travelled outside England. How could he then have written in such detail about Venice, the Danish Court and the workings of Italian life and royalty?

Thanks to being gifted this book at Christmas, it is now on my TBR pile, so I will report back in due course.

Here’s my Book Reviews January 2025 list:

The Tailor’s girl – Fiona McIntosh (fiction)

This book was passed on to me by a friend just prior to my attending Fiona’s talk.

The Tailor’s Girl is a historical fiction book set in London, UK, and the countryside of the South Downs.

I found this to be an absorbing historical read, although I wasn’t sure about the premise of a man losing his memory – it felt a little too contrived in a way. However, I ripped through the book pretty quickly, so it was an interesting enough storyline to keep me entertained.

The blurb:

A humble soldier awakes in a military hospital with no recollection of his past, not even his name. Flashbacks of the battlefields of Ypres are the only memories that haunt him. Then a beautiful seamstress, Eden Valentine, walks into his life, telling him of her dreams of owning her own business on Saville Row. Together they begin a new life, with Eden helping to care for him as he tries to rediscover himself.

As events twist and turn, Alex Wynter, an influential heir to Larksfell Hall, adds to the mystery. Will his secrets tear apart Eden’s heart and life?

The House of Lost Secrets – Anstey Harris (fiction)

This was an Amazon free read which I choose at random, as I am not familiar with this author.

This is a well-written book, with beautiful descriptions of the Scottish Coastline. The general tone and voice of the book is, however, quite somber and moody as it discusses the traumas and deep secrets of what it means to be human and, more particularly, to be a woman.

This felt like a modern version of Joanna Trollope’s The Other Family, which I read last September.

The story revolves around relationships, the lies we tell ourselves, and the secrets we keep from others.

The author’s own story is interesting and heartbreaking. She was born in an unmarried mother’s home in Liverpool in 1965. Her family history and her desire to give a voice to women and children separated from each other by forced adoption inspires her stories.

Apparently, during the 1960s, there were 16,000 forced adoptions per year.

The blurb:

She thought she knew her best friend…She was wrong.

The weatherworn cottage Clachan has always been Jo Wilding’s sanctuary, a blissful escape from her tumultuous home life. From the first summer Rachel invited her to join the Willoughby family in the wilds of Scotland, she fell in love with the sea air, sandy beach and Tristan, Rachel’s older brother…

All these years later, Clachan is where their most important occasions and conversations take place, so when Rachel organises a weekend there, Jo never suspects that this weekend will change everything. Because it turns out Rachel has been keeping a secret, a betrayal that plunges Jo into a past she’s spent years trying to forget.

Left to untangle the pieces of their past alone, Jo has to decide if there is such a thing as forgiveness when there is no one left to forgive?

Happy Bloody Christmas – Jo Middleton (fiction)

I loved this Christmas cosy murder book, although I appreciate it’s rather unseasonal now!

Whilst extremely funny and witty, the fictional story also shines a light on how women try to do it all at Christmas, instead of asking for help or allowing others to step up and shine.

Jo started her writing as a blogger (Slummy Single Mummy) who inspired me to set up my blog. She also comes from my UK home county of Somerset. In one part of the book her character Anna goes to the Farmer’s market and mentions purchasing spelt flour from a healthy bread stall. Anna has suspicions the bread stall has links to a cult, as they are always inviting customers to visit their farm in the hills. I’m certain this was based on a real life stall, as I had exactly the same suspicions when I bought bread from them!

Anyhow, the story has well-defined characters, lots of witty lines and a good who-dunnit plot. She is apparently writing a follow up novel for next Christmas.

Blurb:

Anna’s Christmas Eve To Do List:

1. Wrap the kids’ presents

2. Peel the potatoes

3. Get rid of the dead body?!

Hungover and exhausted after her family’s annual party, all Anna Johnson wants for Christmas is to finish her to-do list and finally sit down with the world’s biggest glass of wine.

But when she stumbles across a dead body in her larder, her plans are well and truly buggered.

A mysterious death in her home really is the last thing she needs, but with her judgemental in-laws arriving in less than twenty-four hours, turning her house into a crime scene is not an option. If she’s going to save Christmas, it’s up to Anna to find out what the hell’s gone on. Oh – and figure out what to do with the body before one of the kids finds it.

And you thought burning the turkey was the worst that could happen…

The Crow Folk – The Witches of Woodville – Mark Stay (fiction)

This book is a bit of a diversion in genre for me as it dips into magical realism.

I’ve been following Mark Stay for a while through his co-hosting of the Best Seller Experiment podcast (a great resource for writers and readers who want to hear authors talk about their writing process) and now his own podcast Mark Stay’s Creative Differences Podcast where he gives so much great advice about writing and the publishing industry.

Anyhow, I thought I should give his books a go. Set in Britain in the 1940s, the story centres on a small village on the South Coast. The story expertly weaves historical war time life with a sprinkle of magic and witchcraft. Stay’s voice throughout is quirky and funny in a way that will particularly appeal to British audiences. He has engaging characters that leap off the page. I really enjoyed this book and will carry on with the series.

The Blurb:

As Spitfires roar overhead and a dark figure stalks the village of Woodville, a young woman will discover her destiny . . .

Faye Bright always felt a little bit different. And today she’s found out why. She’s just stumbled across her late mother’s diary, which includes not only a spiffing recipe for jam roly-poly, but spells, incantations, runes and recitations . . . a witch’s notebook.

And Faye has inherited her mother’s abilities.

Just in time, too. The Crow Folk are coming. Led by the charismatic Pumpkinhead, their strange magic threatens Faye and the villagers. Armed with little more than her mum’s words, her trusty bicycle, the grudging help of two bickering old ladies, and some aggressive church bellringing, Faye will find herself on the front lines of a war nobody expected.

The Lost Past of Billy McQueen – Neil Alexander (fiction)

I was attracted to this kindle read by its 1980s time frame. I really enjoyed Alexander’s references to ’80s culture in Britain, siting the songs, clothes and news of the era. I grew up as a teenager during this time, so could really relate to the settings and characters.

This was an enjoyable read with a bit of mystery pushing the story along, however I felt it sagged a little in the middle.

The blurb:

The past has never left Billy. It’s just been waiting for him to come and find it…

It’s been over thirty years since Billy last called Northern Ireland home. Back then, his secret love for schoolfriend Conor was the only shining light that kept him going during troubled times. That is, until their romance was tragically cut short when Conor disappeared without a trace.

Now a phone call draws Billy back home when his mother falls into a coma. While sorting through old belongings, he stumbles upon an envelope bearing his name. Inside, he finds a mysterious note and a mixtape left by Conor – dated the very day he disappeared in 1989.

But who sent it? Why did his mother keep it hidden? And what really happened to Conor?

As Billy sets off to find the answers to a mystery that’s followed him for years, he soon realises that uncovering the truth about his lost past may come at a high cost. But laying the ghosts of that past to rest might be the only way to finally set himself free…