October Read: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

 

What I expected going into this novel and what it was were very different. I'm still processing. 

It takes place in a small town in Australia. A town where houses are expensive and everything is gorgeous and perfect. Except for Black Wood House. It sits empty since a shocking murder forty years before, when the owner of the home murdered his wife while she lay in bed, and chased his daughter out the door. The daughter survived, but her father returned to the home and killed himself. Susan and Bill were beloved in the neighborhood; the horrible murder/suicide left a stain on the community. They all want Black Wood House to be torn down. 

Enter Sarah Spade and her husband Joey. Sarah has a popular website, a bestselling book about "being your best self", and is eager to turn the Black Wood House into a show-stopping flipper that will sell for millions. 

Except Sarah's not what you'd expect, and wow I did not expect her character or the novel to take the turns it did. For one, Sarah is not likable. Her marriage is on edge, and oh, the secrets she has to keep in order to maintain her perfect image. Only problem is, once she moves into the house, her life starts to fall apart. She can't sleep, she's finding notes around the house, there's someone walking around in the attic, and her husband won't stay at the house. 

As Sarah slowly unravels, as a reader you're kept wondering: is she losing her mind? The possibilities are all over the place: is someone trying to drive her out of the home? Are the neighbors spying on her? Is the house haunted? Or is there something else?

The turns it took were all over the place. The ending leaves you rethinking everything. It's at turns unsettling, suspenseful, and a bit bewildering. It's a whole lot of stuff going on, and I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on at all. If you want to read a novel that will keep you scratching your head and thinking you've got it figured out (you won't), pick this one up!

Rating: 4/6 for a wild ride where no one can be trusted--even the house. At times suspenseful, at times downright spooky, this is a blend of thriller/horror/suspense that will keep you guessing. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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October Read: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

 

I've read Rachel Joyce's novels before, and I know I am always in for a quirky tale that hits me hard in the heart when I'm least expecting it. Her latest didn't disappoint, and I loved everything about it. 

It's 1950, and Margery Benson is in her late 40's, single, and teaching home economics in post World War 2 England. She has no family, and has settled into a pretty sad and lonely life. One particular day, a student draws a picture of Margery, and once Margery sees the drawing, she loses it. She snaps, walking out of the school, quitting her job, and going home. She decides to leave it all behind and pursue her one dream-a dream from childhood that she stuffed deep down and decided would never happen. Her dream? to travel to New Caledonia in pursuit of the legendary golden beetle. Does it exist? Who knows? But Margery is determined to find it. She advertises for a companion to help her in her quest, and lively, quirky Enid Pretty is her last hope to pull off her adventure. 

Enid isn't exactly what you'd want on a trip to New Caledonia-a place that's full of jungles, rain forests, mountains, and all sorts of danger. Even Margery isn't in the best shape to undergo an arduous trip, but her mind is set and she's not going to give up. As Enid and Margery travel by ship to their destination, they get to know each other and a friendship slowly forms in between a whole lot of rocky situations. Just who is Enid Pretty? What is she running from? 

Margery is delightful, and you can't help but admire her persistence in what looks like a completely foolish endeavor. Enid is a bit of a mystery, and she's so different than Margery you wonder how they could ever become friends, let alone go on an adventure that is both thrilling and dangerous. Yet Enid's story slowly unfolds, and you see how alike both women really are, and how both have dreams that neither is willing to let go. This is a travel tale, an adventure, a story of two women who become dear friends, and a tale of pursuing dreams. It's never too late! 

I so hope this becomes a limited series somewhere on TV. I would recommend this novel to book groups, and pretty much anyone else! I'll be passing my copy onto friends for sure. The author has some extras at the end of the book that you're sure to enjoy. Definitely one of my favorite novels of 2020. I've left a lot for you to discover as you read it--I can't give away all the good stuff! 

Rating: 5/6 for an unlikely adventure and friendship between two women who seem very different but are actually quite a lot alike. I'll confess I got a bit teary-eyed a few times and it left me thinking about Margery and Enid for quite some time. 

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book. 

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Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

 I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this novel, mostly because I finally just last week sat down to start it. I was browsing my bookshelves and spotted it and remembered it was out in August and I definitely wanted to read this latest from the author of The Orphan Train. I'm sure this will be wildly popular and hard to get unless you buy a copy for yourself. 

Before I give my review, I'll update you on my bookshelves, after the Great Weeding Project of 2020 that I did a few months ago. I'm still being pretty tidy, and not stacking any books on the floor. I'm still buying books, but trying not to buy too much! Now I can see everything fairly quickly, so it does make it easier to find something to read. Now to just circle around and pick up on the books I tried to read this summer and didn't for one reason or another. I'm very happy I did the work and cleaned up my books. All that clutter was making me feel like I couldn't read fast enough, but no matter how fast I read, I wasn't making any progress. Now I don't feel like that anymore. I'm settling into my Fall nesting mode. I basically just go to work, then home to read each night. It's my time of year to chill on the couch and gobble up books. 

So, let's get to The Exiles. I was very surprised at how fast I dove into it and spent a few late nights and early mornings reading it. I know I'm in a good story when the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning is the book and if I can read for a bit before I have to face the day. This was that kind of book. Historical fiction is always my favorite genre; it wasn't hard to get caught up in the journeys of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna. 

Evangeline is a governess in London in 1840 who has fallen under the spell of the son of her employer. He gifts her with a ruby ring, and she is smitten. Unfortunately, she's accused of stealing the ring, and her lover is out of the country. She's taken to Newgate Prison, and found guilty of stealing and sentenced to deportation to Australia, to serve her sentence of fourteen years in prison as a convict laborer. Evangeline is a gentle reverend's daughter, fond of poetry and has a sweet soul. She's also pregnant, with no family to save her. On board the ship, she meets Hazel, a young Scottish girl found guilty of stealing a silver spoon, and sentenced to seven years convict labor in Australia, too. Hazel has had a very rough upbringing, and is a survivor. She's also skilled in midwifery and herbal medicines. 

Finally, there is Mathinna. This young girl is the daughter of an aboriginal chief; she  has lost her mother and father. She has been selected by the wife of the new governor of Van Diemen's Land, famed Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin. Mathinna will live at the Governor's home, and be schooled in how to be a white child; losing all of her "savage" qualities. It's a cruel game Lady Franklin plays; parading Mathinna around to her friends, having her perform. Mathinna is so lost. Her story is all the more heartbreaking knowing she's just a little girl trying to navigate a very strange world that dismisses her as a human being. 

I have to admit there were quite a few times my heart jumped, as the women struggle to survive in the most hellish conditions. The treatment of women convicts was brutal, and absolutely infuriated me. They were completely at the mercy of those with power, and those with power were men. They were starved, beaten, raped, forced to live in absolute primitive conditions; giving birth to children and forced to turn them over to an orphanage until their sentence was served. 

What I can say about Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna is that they were so strong. Broken, yes, but still had that fire in them. I wish I could tell you there's a happy ending for all of them, but that just isn't the case. I'll leave it to you to read the novel and find out. 

This was such a good read. So good. Definitely a great selection for a book club. 

Rating: 5/6 for a powerful historical novel about women convicts traveling to Australia, and their struggles to survive and retain their dignity and sense of self in the face of overwhelming despair. It also focuses on the decimation of the aboriginal people, culture, and homeland. This novel certainly made me curious to read more about the convicts who traveled to Australia as exiles from Great Britain and the history of their experiences. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

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The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I hadn't read any of Liane Moriarty's novels before I decided to try out Nine Perfect Strangers. I've joined the Book of the Month Club, and this was my choice for December. A very snowy and cold weekend kept me on the couch (in between cooking and laundry) reading this novel. I have to say I was a bit disappointed, and also at the same time, interested enough to keep reading. 

Nine Perfect Strangers is about a group of people who travel to Tranquillum House- a  remote health resort in Australia-for a ten day rest and relaxation session. Owned and run  by the glamorous and mysterious Masha, along with her assistants Yao and Delilah, it's a stunning resort guaranteed to reset your life. Electronics and cell phones are forbidden; any junk food or alcohol are confiscated from luggage. 

The nine strangers come from all walks of life: Frances, a romance author with a career on the skids; Tony, a grumpy ex-soccer star; Jessica and Ben, a young married couple who won the lottery (which promptly ruined their lives), Carmel, a mother of four girls feeling fat and rejected since her husband left her for a younger model; Lars, a handsome lawyer who faces a big life decision; and the Marconi family: Napoleon, Heather, and their daughter Zoe, who are together to endure the painful anniversary of Zach's (their son and Zoe's twin) death. Normal, every day people with the usual issues. They are just want some peace and quiet, good meals, relaxation, and hey-if they lose weight, even better. 

However, they are all in for a highly unusual stay at Tranquillum House. It's bizarre, and just gets even stranger as the story moves along. Masha is, quite frankly, batshit crazy. She's decided this group will be the first group of guests to take part in a new program, one that will change their lives profoundly. The guests, however, have no clue what's in store for them. As a reader, I didn't, either. The plot takes some very odd turns. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was a bit underwhelmed. I liked Frances very much, and the Marconi family dynamics are interesting. I felt some characters had more development than others. I wasn't quite sure what the purpose of this tale was; if it was a tongue-in-cheek look at spa resorts, or if it was about strangers coming together and finding out they have a lot more in common than they think. Or if it was about being in a quiet place where you're forced to examine your life, what's worked, and what hasn't, and how you got to the place you are today. Masha as a character was just odd, and her decisions later in the novel are just bizarre. 

I've read reviews online and people are either hot or cold on this novel. I'm somewhere in the middle. It was interesting, but vaguely dissatisfying at the same time. It was longer than I thought was necessary; extra plot could have been condensed. Short chapters made it move quickly; multiple viewpoints from characters kept me turning the pages. If the chapters had been long I probably would have given up before the end. I was, however, interested in what came of everyone after they left Tranquillum House, so I'm glad the author helped close out the story with those chapters. 

Have I left you confused? Well, join the club. It was an okay novel, with elements I enjoyed, but overall, just kind of an odd plot. 

Rating: 2/6 for an uneven novel. Some characters were developed much more than others, leaving me feeling like I was missing something. An extremely strange turn of events at the resort seemed like it was just tossed in for effect, and made the whole novel one that left me scratching my head. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

This was my "last" summer read, and once again, I've got to say how much I enjoy Jane Harper's novels. 

Force of Nature is the follow up to The Dry, her first novel that is one of my top reads for the year. Once again, we join Federal Agent Aaron Falk, and his partner Carmen, as an investigation into money laundering by a well respected company turns deadly. This is a completely different novel than The Dry, but equally compelling. You can read this novel without reading The Dry, but of course it does help understand Aaron a bit if you have his background. Jane Harper doesn't go over what happened in The Dry, so this could be a stand alone.  

Aaron and Carmen have been working with Alice Russell, an employee at BaileyTennants. Long suspected of money laundering and other secretive illegal doings, BaileyTennants is a family owned business run by a brother and sister, Daniel and Jill Bailey. Their father started the business, and still keeps a hand in it. They have a sterling reputation, but underneath the gloss are illegal doings that have been going on for two generations. Aaron and Carmen are very close to having all the proof they need to put BaileyTennants out of commission, with the help of Alice. She's just got a few more key pieces of paperwork that she needs to give them. 

Only problem? Alice, along with four other women and five men, has gone on a three day corporate retreat into the wilderness--and Alice has disappeared. 
Aaron and Carmen travel to the Giralang Ranges, a rough bushland in Australia, to meet with investigators after Aaron receives a mysterious missed call from Alice on his cell phone. He's convinced something bad has happened to Alice, and it may be tied into her covert help on the investigation. 

The story bounces back and forth between the search for Alice, and the days leading up to her disappearance. This corporate retreat sounds like a nightmare. It's cold, rainy, windy, and the women and men are split up, with one map per group to find their way to checkpoints, where food and shelter await them. Both make it fine on the first night, but soon after, the women get lost, and things go from bad to worse. Add in the dynamics of the group: Jill, Alice, Lauren, Bree, and her sister, Beth. Bree is Alice's assistant, and Beth is the lowly clerk in the company. It's a mix of high up executives, middle management, and entry level positions. Each woman has issues: Alice is rude, and has the only cell phone of the group (she hid it and didn't turn it in, as required). Jill is the "boss", and Bree is trying to make a good impression so she can move up. Beth is a disaster; a recovering alcoholic with a strained relationship with her sister. Lauren has been slipping up at work, and is nervous, on edge, and painfully pale. All of the women bring something to the trip that becomes a factor in their journey. None of them like each other. None of them want to be on the retreat. 

Does anyone know Alice is working with the police? Are there other secrets each woman is keeping from the others? Does the notorious past of the Giralang Ranges as the playground of a serial killer have any bearing on their situation? 

Jane Harper makes you feel every miserable raindrop, the wet clothes, the hunger pangs, and the painful blisters as the women struggle to find their way through an ever increasing dangerous situation. Alice's cell phone is slowly losing power, and there's no service anywhere. She's desperate to get back, but why? As their situation becomes more fraught with danger, the tension rackets up and tempers blow. But what happens to Alice? 

Good stuff! It's a complete switcheroo from The Dry, where a two year drought made everything dry, dusty, and parched. Force of Nature is wet, stormy, cold, windy, and just plain uncomfortable. I found myself longing for a flannel shirt, chili, and a hot cup of coffee. In the middle of a hot and humid week in Iowa. Jane Harper is a master at setting the mood, the tone, and the feel of a place. 

Rating: 5/6 for another great novel by Jane Harper. She pulls you in, and won't let go until the last page. Anyone who likes thrillers--and these are set in Australia--will enjoy her writing. Interesting look at what motivates each of us to act, and the consequences we must live with when we do. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Force of Nature by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper

Wow. Just wow. This was a really great read--I zoomed through it in a few days when I realized I had to return it to a friend at our book club tonight. I finished it a mere 30 minutes before we were meeting, and I couldn't wait to talk about it to my friends. Seriously--this was the book I stayed up late to read, woke up early to get more pages in; read during my lunch hour at work. 

A quick plot recap: Aaron Falk, a federal agent in Australia, returns to his hometown of Kiewarra for the funeral of his childhood friend  Luke, his wife Karen, and their little boy Billy. Everyone believes it was a murder-suicide caused by the unrelenting 2 year drought, money problems, and the slow madness of the heat. Why would Luke kill his family so savagely, then turn the gun on himself?  The only survivor: Charlotte, Luke's baby girl. 

Aaron means to leave quickly, since he and his father were run out of town 20 years before after Aaron's friend Ellie was found drowned in a nearby creek, rocks weighing her body down. All eyes turned to Aaron, who was innocent of any wrongdoing, but Ellie's abusive, drunken father made sure someone was to blame. But Luke's father tells Aaron "I know you lied."  Whaaaat???!! Well geez, now Aaron has to stay and figure out just what that means. 

Aaron is joined by local police office Raco in doing some off-duty investigating of the Hadler family's murders, and little by little, they find things that just don't add up. Meanwhile, Aaron's lingering in Kiewarra is stirring up some anger, old feelings, and a lot of trouble. Can he stay long enough to find out what happened to Luke and his family that horrible afternoon?

Well. Jane Harper can write a hell of a story. The dust, grit, heat, parched throats; clothes sticking to skin--she's got that nailed down. It's guaranteed to give you a short fuse just reading about it. The atmosphere of simmering rage in Kiewarra is evident everywhere, and all it takes is one small flame to send it out of control. The repeated small mentions of the fire hazard signs pointing to high danger; the crunch of dirt; the continual desire for a glass of water or a cold beer; it's all part of a background that settles you deep into the story, and makes you feel acutely aware of the edge there is to the cast of characters. I kept thinking, "Tread lightly Aaron!" I felt like he was going to get jumped at any time.  I won't tell you what people do to try to drive him out of town, but geez, these people can really take it up a notch. 

There's so much more to this thriller, but I'm mentally wiped out from the tale. Trust me. Pick it up and read it. I immediately checked out the second in the series, Force of Nature. I need to take a day or two or five to get over The Dry before I start on it. Jane Harper is working on her third novel-yay!

I won't tell you anymore. Discover the brilliance of The Dry for yourself. 

Rating:  6/6 for an excellent thriller that didn't let me down. Such good writing, and a story that pulled me along until I was left reeling at the end. An excellent book club choice, with a reader's guide at the end to help facilitate discussion. Yes, it deserves a solid 6/6!

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio book. 

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The Dry by Jane Harper

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay: A Review and Winner of Giveaway Announced

As I said in my previous post about Picnic at Hanging Rock, this novel came out of nowhere for me, and after a quick search on the internet, I was intrigued not only by the novel, but by the author, Joan Lindsay. 

Joan Lindsay wrote this book in 1967, when she was 70 years old.  Her first novel.  It became an instant hit.  The tale is simple, but as any simple tales go, there's a lot going on underneath the surface.  It's February 14, 1900.  The young ladies at Appleyard College for Young Ladies in Australia are eager to take a day trip to Hanging Rock, a place ideal for picnics and taking in some fresh air and nature.  The group, with Miss McGraw, the mathematics teacher, and Mademoiselle De Poitiers, the popular French teacher as chaperones, take the three hour carriage ride out to Hanging Rock.  The plan is to eat lunch, rest, explore a bit (as much as you can in gloves and corsets), and return to Appleyard at 4 PM.  Other folks are also there picnicking: Michael Fitzhubert, visiting from England; Albert Crundall, the coachman for Michael's Aunt and Uncle; and Mr. Ben Hussey, the carriage driver.  

Miranda is a senior, and the most popular girl at Appleyard.  She decides to climb Hanging Rock, and takes along Irma, Marion, and Edith.  The girls are seen crossing a creek by Michael and Albert, and then simply disappear.  Edith appears later, screaming, hysterical.  She can't tell anyone what happened, and no one can find the three missing girls.  Oddly enough, Miss McGraw is missing, too.  Searches, questions, theories abound.  Michael is haunted, and decides to travel back to Hanging Rock to try and find something, anything to answer his questions.  Miraculously, he finds Irma weeks after the incident, but in mysterious circumstances and unconscious. The other two girls and Miss McGraw are never seen again; nor is any trace of them ever found.  They have simply disappeared into thin air. 

From this dark day, the story moves on to how the disappearances change everyone who is touched by them: the students at Appleyard, the Headmistress of Appleyard, the teachers, Michael and Albert.  It's a pretty interesting ending; a bit of a shock to me.  According to the foreword, Joan Lindsay had written an ending that explained exactly what happened to the girls, but it was so "out there" (my words) that the publisher had her cut it.  There are hints of strangeness, and it's left up to readers to decide for themselves what may have happened to the girls on that lovely summer day.  Joan Lindsay herself claimed that the story may or may not be true, and plenty of folks have searched for information over the decades, but have found nothing.  

I'm intrigued enough to have placed  a hold on the movie at my local library. I can't wait to watch it.  

A huge thank you to Penguin/Random House for providing a copy not only for my review, but a copy to give away to a lucky reader.  And the winner of the giveaway is...

Thank you to all who entered the contest.  I am very glad I had the opportunity to read this classic novel, and I think it would make a very good book club discussion--or even better, a classroom discussion.  Just goes to show, any book you haven't read (even one 50 years old!) is new if you haven't read it yet.

Rating:  4/6 for a novel that has  a lot to offer towards discussion.  What is it about this tale that has stood the test of time?  Fascinating!

Available in paperback and ebook. 

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Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay: A Review and Winner of Giveaway Announced

Book Giveaway: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

It never gets old:  the surprise I feel when books  I've been completely unaware of all my adult reading life pop up on my radar. This is one of those books.  And lucky for you, my blog fans, you get a chance to win a copy from Penguin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this classic.  

Here's what Penguin is saying about this newly released paperback edition:

A 50th-anniversary edition of the landmark novel about three “gone girls” that inspired the acclaimed 1975 film and an upcoming TV series starring Natalie Dormer

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

by Joan Lindsay

Foreword by Maile Meloy

“A sinister tale...laced with touches of other-worldliness” —The Guardian

“Deliciously horrific.” —The Observer

“The fact that most people believed that this palpable fiction was a record of a real event is not merely a tribute to the writer...but a testimony to the atavistic power of its theme.” —The Spectator

“Beautifully haunting.” —The Sun Herald (Australia)

Mysterious and subtly erotic, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (Penguin Classics; On-sale: October 3, 2017; $16.00; ISBN: 9780143132059) was first published 50 years ago and inspired the iconic 1975 film of the same name by Peter Weir—as well as a six-episode TV series starring Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, scheduled to be released by Amazon next year. Widely considered one of the most important Australian novels of all time, it stands with Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides as a masterpiece of intrigue.

On a cloudless summer day in the year 1900, everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of the secluded volcanic outcropping. Farther, higher, until at last they disappeared…. They never returned.

Over the course of four weeks in 1966, Joan Lindsay wrote PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, a debut literary novel that became a sensation. The intrigue surrounding it propelled it into Australia’s national folklore. This new Penguin Classics edition, featuring a foreword by Maile Meloy, author of the recent bestselling novel Do Not Become Alarmed, about the disappearance of four children on a family vacation, celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the novel’s first publication.

As Maile Meloy recommends in her foreword, new readers are encouraged to delve into PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK with as little information as possible. For whether these accounts are fictional or true is entirely up to the reader to discern.

About the Author:

JOAN LINDSAY was born Joan à Beckett Weigall in Melbourne, Australia, in 1896. She attended Clyde Girls Grammar School, the model for Appleyard College in Picnic at Hanging Rock, and the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, where she studied painting. On Valentine’s Day 1922 she married Daryl Lindsay in London. She chose Valentine’s Day 1900 as the setting for Picnic at Hanging Rock, her best-known work, which was first published in 1967 and is the basis for the 1975 film of the same name by Peter Weir. She died in Melbourne in 1984.

MAILE MELOY (foreword) is the author of the novels Do Not Become Alarmed, Liars and Saints, and A Family Daughter; the story collections Half in Love and Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It (named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review); and the Apothecary series, a middle-grade trilogy. She has received The Paris Review’s Aga Khan Prize, the PEN/Malamud Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Rosenthal Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She lives in Los Angeles.

Enter to win a copy!  Here's how:
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Contest ends at 12 AM on Sunday, October 15th.  Open to U.S. residents only.  

Review and winner will be announced Sunday, October 15th!  

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Book Giveaway: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

I traveled to Australia this week to visit Tumbledown Manor.  A perfect beach read (or front porch read) that was a refreshing change of locale for me.  I haven't read too many novels set in Australia but I certainly plan on changing that soon.  

Lisa lives in New York City, a mother of two adult children, and happily married.  The story opens on her 50th birthday.  Her husband arranges for a surprise birthday party at their apartment, and so thoughtfully has a massive flower arrangement delivered to the party.  When Lisa reads the card, she discovers that the flowers were mistakenly delivered to her--and that they were meant for her husband's mistress.  Awkward!

Lisa is a successful author struggling through the second book in a trilogy.  This whole divorce isn't helping at all.  She decides to leave New York City for her native Australia.  She's starting over and leaves New York City with no regrets.  Once in Australia, she resists buying a townhouse in Castlemaine and instead buys Trumperton Manor, a falling-down house surrounded by neglected grounds and a spooky stable.  She has a connection to the house; her grandfather's family built the place and lived there.  In this space she will write her novel, and figure out her new life. 

There are plenty of characters in this novel that make it a fun read:  the Grey Army; a group of retirees who descend on the house to paint, rebuild, and refinish the home; Lisa's sister Maxine who is constantly bossy; Scott, the very handsome and slightly goofy landscaper who sets Lisa's heart racing; Lisa's son Ted and daughter Portia.  And of course her ex-husband Jake makes an appearance.  Lisa is surrounded by a great family and community.

Tuck this one into your beach bag or your purse when you take your vacation.

Rating:  7/10 for an enjoyable read with likable characters and a beautiful setting.  

Available in paperback and e-book.

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Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes has been popular in England for years, and we are finally getting to see her previous novels here in the United States.  The Ship of Brides was first published in England in 2005, but the story is still fresh in 2015.  Jojo's inspiration for this novel was her grandmother, who was a war bride that traveled to England to meet her soldier husband after World War 2.  

This novel has a cast of characters:  Margaret, a young woman leaving her father and brothers on their ranch in Australia; Jean, the youngest bride--a little too eager to party and a bit immature; Frances, a nurse who worked in the Pacific during the war, and Avice, the well-to-do young woman who imagines a picture perfect life in England.  All of these women have one thing in common:  they have married British soliders who were stationed in Australia, and they're finally traveling to England to meet their husbands.  They're on no ordinary cruise ship--they are traveling on the British aircraft carrier HMS Victoria, which has a full compliment of crew making their way home at war's end.  It has all the makings of a potential disaster.  How can anyone think all those men and all those brides will behave for six weeks at sea?

I did enjoy this book, but I felt it dragged on a bit.  There were times I felt like I was on a six week trip.  I did come to enjoy the women very much and felt for them when not-so-great stuff happened. The slow addition of the male characters (who have their own stories to tell) rounded out a picture of people returning home changed by war, and not quite sure what to do or what to expect once they return to civilian life.  

Can you imagine sailing into the unknown, hoping when you got to the other side your husband was waiting with open arms?  What if you got a "do not come" letter halfway into your journey?  The homesickness must have been unbearable.  What brave women.  

Fans of Jojo Moyes will read this, and don't think that I didn't enjoy it, because I did, and I was sad to say goodbye to the women.  I just felt some parts were a bit slow, and it could have been shortened up a bit.  And the mystery of Frances was very slow in being revealed.  This is historical fiction that will probably peak your interest in war brides.  It is a subject worth exploring.

Rating:  6/10 for a story that has a large cast of characters, but dragged a bit in places.  An interesting look at war brides.  

Available in paperback and e-book.
Thank you to Penguin for a review copy!

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The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

So much fun to read a novel from a man's point of view as he looks for love in a very scientific kind of way.  Sounds kinda goofy, and it is--in a wonderfully funny way.  Don Tillman is a total square.  He's in his early 40's and a genetics professor.  He has decided it is time to find a wife, and goes about this in a very scientific way:  he produces a 16 page questionnaire to find suitable candidates.  Among the questions asked to filter out the "unsuitable" candidates:  do they drink?  smoke?  Are they on time or late?  Are they vegetarian?  

Don lives his life by a very scheduled, regimented  plan.  He looks at everything scientifically and not emotionally, which is part of his charm.  Yes, he is charming in his total dysfunction.  And along comes Rosie, a PhD candidate in Psychology who asks Don to help her find out just who among a field of academics is her natural father.  And guess what?  Rosie is everything Don doesn't want, yet he finds himself feeling attracted to her, thrown off his regimented plans, and examining his burgeoning emotions.  All which throw him in a tizzy.  It's so much fun to read Don's thought process through this whole unexpected awakening to love. And Rosie is equally charming in her complete normal-ness.  She herself is in a bit of a quandary over finding such a odd duck appealing--truly, opposites attract.  

Can Don help Rosie find her real father?  And what of his wife project?  Will he ever find a suitable candidate?  This is a sweet story of two people making their way towards each other in a completely awkward and humorous way.  And really, isn't that how love usually goes?  You will love this novel!  Perfect for summer.  

Rating:  7/10 for a refreshing look at finding love with a cast of characters who are completely charming.  You'll find yourself cheering them on to a happy ending.  

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion