Happy publication day (3rd August) to ‘I Did It For You’ by Amy Engel!
Having enjoyed ‘The Roanoke Girls’, I was pleased to be granted an early copy of ‘I Did It For You’ for review. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, HQ Stories – as always, opinions are my own.
This story follows a young woman, Greer Dunning, who returns to her small home town in Kansas. She has been away for over a decade, having left after the murder of her sister, Eliza, for which crime a man was executed. Greer finds her home unchanged in many ways – her family and close friends are there, the town’s rhythms are the same – but a new murder has shaken the inhabitants. The slaughter of a young couple in the same place as Eliza’s murder 14 years previously has raised the prospect of a copycat killer – and Greer finds herself wondering whether justice was truly done for her sister’s death.
Having read and enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous books, ‘The Hunting Party’ and ‘The Guest List’, I was pleased to pick up ‘The Paris Apartment’ – another standalone mystery/thriller. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read the book in exchange for an honest review.
The story centres on Jess, a young woman visiting Paris to stay with her half brother, Ben (as well as running away from her life in England). He lives in a luxurious apartment block but – when she arrives – Ben is missing. The other residents of the block are not helpful – and some are downright hostile to Jess and about Ben. As Jess struggles to piece together the events surrounding Ben’s disappearance, she also begins to uncover some shady secrets about the residents of 12 Rue des Amants…
I don’t usually read a lot of historical romance, but this one proved irresistible. The recommendations promised ‘witty’, ‘fun’ and ‘sassy’ which I’m absolutely here for, so I was pleased to be granted a copy by NetGalley for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Yinka, Where is your Huzband?’ – thanks to Penguin/Viking Books for inviting me on the tour and for my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
The story centres on Yinka Oladeji, a thirty-one year old Londoner who is looking for love. Unfortunately, her extended Nigerian family don’t think she has time to waste and are praying for her – while constantly asking the whereabouts of her ‘huzband’. As her friends, cousins and sister get married and start families, Yinka seems to be treading a solitary path. When her cousin Rachel gets engaged, Yinka sets herself a challenge to find a date for the wedding – with some unexpected results.
I’ll admit I perhaps didn’t come to this book for the most obvious reason. I didn’t actually know anything about Barbara Pym or her books, but have read and enjoyed several biographies by Paula Byrne and so was keen to read this. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Fourth Estate Books for my copy of her latest book in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Mrs Narwhal’s Diary’ by S J Norbury.
Thanks to Damp Pebbles tours for inviting me on the tour and for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. This book is published by the brilliant Louise Walters Books.
From the Publisher:
“It was Woman’s Hour who suggested I keep a diary. They said it was good for mental health, and I must say I did feel much less frazzled after writing everything down yesterday. The frustrations were all still there, but somehow smoothed out – as if by a really good steam iron.”
Mrs Narwhal is overwhelmed. Her husband, Hugh, is unkind and unhappy – working every hour at a job he hates to save the ancestral home he never wanted. Then there’s Hugh’s sister, Rose, who’s spurned her one true love, and ricochets from crisis to crisis; and not to mention two small boys to bring up safely in a house that could crumble around their ears at any moment…
When Hugh’s pride receives a fatal blow, and he walks out, Mrs Narwhal is plunged into a crisis of both heart and home. With help from Rose she sets out to save the house her husband couldn’t. But can she save her marriage? And does she really want Hugh back?
Funny, charming, and moving, Mrs Narwhal’s Diary is an irresistible story which will enchant and delight its readers.
My Review:
This isn’t my usual genre, but I’ve heard such brilliant things about Louise Walters Books (plus I enjoyed ‘Old Bones’ by Helen Kitson from the same stable) that I was keen to join the blog tour. I’d seen someone suggest that this book had echoes of ‘I Capture the Castle’ by Dodie Smith (a favourite of mine) and was drawn by the idea of a gentle, funny read.
‘Mrs Narwhal’s Diary’ is covers a tumultuous year in the life of the Narwhal family. Mrs Narwhal’s husband, Hugh, has inherited his family estate and it isn’t in a good way. Add in Hugh’s loose cannon of a sister (Rose) who is separated from her husband, two lively sons, a slightly odd groundsman, a difficult customer of her husband’s furniture business, a surly cleaner – and it is clear that Mrs Narwhal has her work cut out for her!
Given the diary format, it is Mrs Narwhal’s voice that we hear most distinctly and what a voice it is! Funny, thoughtful, wise – she is a character that the reader cannot help but warm to, even though I was a bit frustrated by some of her reactions to things in the novel. I loved that you could hear her almost unfiltered private thoughts which was important in gaining an insight into the other characters and events. It’s a wholly realistic and engaging voice and the reader shares in her frustrations, sadness and moments of joy.
However, my favourite character in the novel had to be Rose – she is brilliant! She is much less measured and diplomatic than Mrs Narwhal and I loved the way she was often tactless and blunt, yet clearly fun and respected by those around her. I also loved her involvement in the stately home visit that ended rather unfortunately…
With such strong female characters (including the memory of the terrifying Greer), Hugh was always going to be a disappointment. However, it is precisely this about him that allows the women to shine in this novel and take charge of the huge project that comes their way regarding Narwhal Hall.
The characterisation is one of the real strengths of the novel – like real life, this isn’t packed with exciting events or plot twists. Instead, it is the quiet story of a family rearranging their relationships and redrawing boundaries as life moves on around them. It is all the better for this and allows for some really insightful and clever observations on human nature.
However, all the wisdom and insight of the novel rather takes the reader by surprise as it tends to be the humour and ridiculousness of everyday life (especially everyday life in a crumbling stately home) that is foregrounded. There are some very funny events, not least the opening of the novel when Mrs Narwhal is waiting anxiously for the piper to fall through the boards of the tree house.
Little details – both relatable and those unique to the Narwhals – are what make this novel. The missing scissors, the stuffed polar bears, the ghastliness of the school fete, the Minecraft posters on the precious wood panelling, the insulting poem about a character’s generously-sized bottom – these are the things that make the reader laugh and make up the days of the lives of the Narwhal family.
I’d whole-heartedly recommend this book to those looking for a funny, charming and sweet novel. It isn’t without its quiet sadness, but it is absolutely relatable and entertaining. Comparisons with ‘I Capture the Castle’ are justified – the eccentric family living in a run-down setting – but Mrs Narwhal deals adroitly with so much more than Cassandra Mortmain as she faces everything that middle-aged life can fling her way. And always with wit and humour and charm.
About the Author:
S J Norbury lives in Herefordshire with her family. Mrs Narwhal’s Diary is her first novel.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Behind Closed Doors’ by Catherine Alliott.
This book was published on 4th March by Michael Joseph and I thank the publisher for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review, plus the invitation to join the tour.
I’ve read a lot of Catherine Alliott’s books, although not so recently, so I thought I knew what I was getting myself into with this one. Absolutely not so!
In this book, Lucy Palmer seems to have it all – a big house in London, a job writing cosy crime novels, a handsome husband and two grown-up children who are both successful in their own ways. However, this is all a facade and Lucy’s marriage is about to end spectacularly and suddenly – and, when is does, she has some work to do in dealing with her past. Leaving London, she goes to care for her elderly and bordering-on-alcoholic parents in the country where she starts to rebuild her life.
This is an altogether darker story than I am used to from Alliott, both in the truth about Lucy’s husband, Michael, and the events surrounding the end of the marriage. It also touches on some poignant issues, especially caring for elderly parents and ageing.
However, everything else I expected from Alliott is also there, so this slightly darker turn works well. It still has elements of humour – I really loved Lucy’s parents and their hectic social life of boozy octogenarian parties, plus the sassy teenage twins who have much more of a finger on the pulse than the adults. There’s also romantic strands to the story, although these aren’t as central as I would have expected given what I’ve read of Alliott’s writing previously. Instead, the love story is quite understated and works really well given Lucy’s situation.
I really loved the family dynamic that is at the heart of this book. Lucy is at the centre of a supportive, if slightly eccentric, family network and this is one of the real strengths of the novel. There’s the ageing parents, growing old disgracefully but still frail, Lucy’s sister (Helena) who absolutely has control of everything except her own children, plus Lucy’s children – the strong and reliable Imo and thoughtful, calm Ned. I especially liked the strong women in the novel – Helena and Imo being my favourites, although there are other surprisingly awesome women (and a few men!) along the way.
Although this was not what I wholly expected when I picked up this book, I’d recommend it. It is certainly less cosy than I was anticipating and includes some difficult issues, not least domestic abuse, but it is an immersive and engaging read. I genuinely struggled to put it down and loved the clever, understated explorations of relationships and dependencies between people.
Hi and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Write Reads. This YA thriller is to be published on 3rd December, 2020 by Penguin.
My Review
I’d not read any books by Karen McManus before this one, but I know they are hugely popular (even with my own son) so I thought I would give this one a try. Huge thanks to Dave at The Write Reads, Penguin Books and Karen McManus for giving me the opportunity to join this blog tour and a free copy of the book for review.
This is the story of three eighteen-year-old cousins who don’t know each other when the book begins – they come from different branches of an estranged family, the Storys. However, they all get an invitation to go to spend the summer working at their grandmother’s holiday resort on a beautiful East Coast island. This in itself is mysterious, as their grandmother disinherited all her children (the cousins’ parents) by letter years before. The letter simply said ‘You know what you did’, something none of the siblings claim to understand.
Arriving on the island, the it soon becomes apparent that the three cousins are not especially welcome and that there are family secrets to uncover…
The story is told from the perspective of the three cousins in turn – Milly, Aubrey and Jonah – with some flashbacks when we also hear the voices of the parents during their time at Gull Cove Island in the 1990s (when they are a similar age to their children in the present day). This is a clever way of revealing information gradually as the different perspectives gradually come together to reveal the full picture.
I definitely found it easier to connect to some of the characters more than others. In particular, I liked the character of Aubrey who seemed the most relatable of the three main voices – she had several of her own problems to work through as well as dealing with the family issues surrounding her grandmother. She seemed a much more developed character than either Milly or Jonah, both of whom were interesting but not quite as engaging for me.
The plot is cleverly woven so that the reader is kept guessing throughout – there were several twists along the way that I could never have predicted! The plot moved at a good pace and kept me reading as I wanted to find out the secrets behind the Story family and it is fair to say I was not disappointed.
One of the things I liked most about the book was the portrait of a small American community – there was a real sense of the history of the resort with various generations of families and their entwined lives and hidden secrets. This was evident not only in the Storys themselves but also with Kayla’s family and the Baxters. I really felt that the narrative was rooted in a complex and interesting tangle of multi-generational characters.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It would probably be best for older teens and adults as there is some swearing and mature themes. This is one that lulls you in with a false sense of security before winding an intricate and engaging plot – you won’t want to put it down.
