Tag Archives: Challenges

November 10, 2011 · 6:48 pm

Transworld Book Group – The Final Book.

By now I should have read and reviewed my final book for the Transworld Book Group reading challenge, but unfortunately things haven’t gone entirely to plan. Out of the four books that I’d chosen the one I was most intrigued by was this fourth book, The Obscure Logic of the Heart by Priya Basil. I’d read and enjoyed her Quick Read book Strangers on the 16:02 so I was looking forward to reading a full length novel by her. And the synopsis sounds great:

An epic Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century

In a bustling London café, Anil, now a famous architect, sits waiting for Lina. It is years since he last laid eyes on her, the love of his life.

Lina is running for the train – punctuality has never been her strength. After all this time she cannot be late to meet Anil.

Together, they think back to tragedies both personal and political, betrayals large and small. A past played out across three continents that house their rival worlds: Sikh and Muslim, wealthy and modest, liberal and orthodox, corrupt and moral….

Lina has one more revelation that must be shared with Anil. Might it unite them once and for all, or has it come too late?

I’ve picked it up a few times and got a few pages in but at the moment it’s just not working for me. I know that it’s nothing to do with the book, I go through phases where I find some books just too dense to get into. So I’m going to do what I know works, leave this to one side for a while and then come back to it. I know I will read it, and based on what little I have managed to read I’m pretty sure I’m going to really enjoy it.

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October 20, 2011 · 6:53 pm

Book Review : Teacher, Teacher by Jack Sheffield.

It’s 1977 and Jack Sheffield is appointed headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. So begins Jack’s eventful journey through the school year and his attempts to overcome the many problems that face him as a young and inexperienced headmaster.

The many colourful chapters include Ruby the 20 stone caretaker with an acute spelling problem, a secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher, a villager who grows giant carrots, a barmaid/parent who requests sex lessons, and a five-year-old boy whose language is colourful in the extreme. And then there’s also beautiful, bright Beth Henderson, who is irresistibly attractive to the young headmaster…

Warm, funny and nostalgic, Teacher, Teacher is a delightful read that is guaranteed to make you feel better, whatever kind of day you’ve had.

This was my third book for the Transworld Book Group challenge, I was really intrigued by the synopsis and as I want to read a little more non-fiction this semi-autobiographical book seemed like a good step to take.

The book covers a school year, each chapter starts with an entry from the school log book and then proceeds to tell the story behind the entry. Whilst many of these stories are funny and thoroughly entertaining, dotted throughout the book are a few more touching and emotional stories. I found that I enjoyed the amusing stories but it was a couple of the touching stories that I carried on thinking about long after I put the book down.

Jack is a great narrator, and way into this small village, but it is the other characters who really steal the book away. There are both adults and children that delight, it would seem mean to pick out any favourites.

My only slight niggle was that Jack occasionally made comments that felt very modern in both their thinking and the language used. I think though that it is because I previously worked with schools that this grabbed my attention, most readers wouldn’t notice this.

I really enjoyed this book, I know that there are a further four books in the series and I’m sure that with time I’ll be reading them all.

Teacher, Teacher is published in paperback by Corgi in the UK priced £7.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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September 27, 2011 · 8:45 am

Book Review : Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson.

Chelsea Ross knows she’s a great actress. Which is lucky, as she’s just got the toughest role of her life!

Washed up from Hollywood and in serious need of cash, Chelsea jumps at the $10,000 opportunity to act as a ‘carer’ to famous hockey player Mark Bressler, injured after a car crash. After all, how hard can it be to play nice and pick up after an incredibly hot invalid in need of her tender loving care? Just three months of playing nurse and the cash is hers.

But Mark Bressler doesn’t need help. The moody hockey player’s glory days may be over, but he has no intention of letting anyone aid his recovery, least of all the maddeningly cheerful Chelsea. He’s determined to get her to quit – and Mark isn’t the type to give in. But then, neither is Chelsea…

I loved the sound of this book, and the gorgeous purple cover, so it was a very easy pick to make it one of my books for the Transworld Book Group challenge. A book that had a sports slant to it really appealed to me, I’m a huge sports fan but don’t tend to read many books that feature them. When the book arrived I realised that this was the fifth book in the Chinooks series, I started to read hoping that it wouldn’t matter that I hadn’t read the previous books.

It didn’t, the book definitely works as a stand alone, nothing happened in the story that made me feel like I’d missed some important fact. The plot does feel pretty familiar, neither Chelsea or Mark likes each other, but it’s clear there is something between them and they end up in a will they won’t they struggle. I think if the book hadn’t had the ice hockey back drop I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did, this was the part that kept my interest rather than the love story.

Mark begins the book as a pretty obnoxious character, though it is understandable considering his recent accident and the abrupt end of his glittering sports career. Chelsea’s determination and focus proves a good foil to his attempts to get rid of her, and I thought her motivation for doing so is quite interesting. I liked some of the other hockey players we get to see fairly briefly, I can see me being tempted to read the other books in this series to get to see some more of them.

I definitely enjoyed this book, though I think this was mainly to do with the setting and the way it’s written. I would have liked the plot to be a bit more adventurous, but for a fluffy read this did do the job.

Nothing But Trouble is published in paperback by Corgi in the UK priced £5.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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August 26, 2011 · 11:33 am

Book Review : The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas.

A chance encounter: When Sarah meets dark, brooding Alex,she grasps his offer of a new life miles away from her own. They’ve both recently escaped broken relationships, and need to start again. Why not do it together?

A perfect life: But when Sarah gets to the tiny village of Burrington Stoke, something doesn’t add up. Alex’s beautiful wife Genevieve was charming, talented, and adored by all who knew her. And apparently, she and Alex had a successful marriage complete with a gorgeous son, Jamie. Why would Genevieve walk out on her perfect life? And why has no one heard from her since she did so?

A web of lies: Genevieve’s family and all her friends think that Alex knows more about her disappearance than he’s letting on. But Sarah’s fallen in love with him and just knows he couldn’t have anything to hide. Or could he?

As soon as I read the synopsis for The Secrets Between Us I knew it would have to be one of the books I picked for the Transworld Book Group challenge, I hadn’t heard of Louise Douglas but this sounded like a great read with plenty of intrigue and tension. I’m pleased to say I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

The plot is wonderfully twisty – we see everything from Sarah’s point of view, from her first meeting with Alex to her attempts to integrate herself into his life. The plot works really well from this perspective, we as the reader get to form opinions of characters and question their motives and actions in the same way Sarah does. It also means that the mystery of what happened to Genevieve feels very real and very significant, I found myself suspicious of so many characters.

Sarah is a really interesting character, when we first meet her she’s just broken up with her partner after experiencing a huge trauma, and this vulnerability stays with her. I spent a lot of the book feeling worried for her, both that she might be in the same sort of harm Genevieve was and what the effect of her new living situation would be on her.

I found this book really gripping, I got completely swept up in. I loved the way it was written, you never get the sense of knowing completely what’s going on – you’re always waiting for the next twist to pull you off in a new direction. I’ll certainly be looking out for more by Louise Douglas in the future.

The Secrets Between Us is published in paperback by Bantam Press in the UK priced £12.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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August 3, 2011 · 11:15 am

I’m part of the Transworld book group!


It’s time for another brilliant Transworld reading challenge! The Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge is running from August to October. It’s very easy – you get to pick four titles from a list of 15 and like previous challenges they send you the first book, you read it and review it and then they send your second and so on.

The four books that I’ve picked are:

  • The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas
  • Teacher, Teacher! by Jack Sheffield
  • The Obscure Logic of the Heart by Priya Basil
  • Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson


You can review the book on your blog, or on Amazon so why not sign up and join the book group?

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July 28, 2011 · 2:23 pm

Book Review : The Summer Season by Julia Williams.

As summertime flourishes, it’s time for new beginnings…

Heartsease House is in desperate need of renovation. Its owner, widower Joel, is struggling to come to terms with life as a single dad. His plans to refurbish the house and garden suddenly seem like one burden too many.

Mum to twin girls, Lauren’s life is a constant juggling act. When her ex Troy turns up she’s determined to keep her distance while he gets to know his daughters. But it’s a lot harder than she imagined …

Then erstwhile guerrilla gardener Kezzie bursts into their lives with her infectious enthusiasm to restore the gardens of Heartsease. But who is Kezzie? And what is she running away from?

As the warm days of summer draw closer, Heartsease House and its beautiful love-knot garden are transformed. But will Joel, Kezzie and Lauren be able to restore their own hearts?

I was sent this book as part of my preparation for the Ladies Who Love day at Bromley Literary Festival, I knew of Julia Williams but I’d never read any of her books so I was curious to see what I made of The Summer Season. The book opens with a map of the village that the book is set in and then a family tree, my interest was definitely piqued and I turned the page eager to start the story.

The plot twists around three main characters, Lauren, Joel and Kezzie. They’ve all got problems in their past that they’re trying to overcome, and in doing this their paths become increasingly intertwined. I liked the way that their stories all overlapped, but they each got a decent storyline of their own – there was no scrimping on story.

Within the main plots there was the story of Joel’s garden, including a knot garden. This had been created by his ancestors and their story was uncovered by the characters, and we got to read it too. I liked the description of the garden and I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Joel’s great-great-grandparents, they fitted seamlessly into the story and added real depth to it.

One of the great things for me about this book was that I enjoyed all three of the main characters. I expected that as there were three there would probably be one I liked less, but that wasn’t the case. I really liked the character of Lauren though at times I did want to shout at her! I definitely felt like she was the kind of person I could become good friends with. I thought Joel was an interesting character, I can’t remember reading a book with a young widower whereas I can think of a number where a wife has lost her husband. I think the fact that all of the characters had their flaws meant that they were all more likeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a lovely warm-hearted read that left me feeling hugely content when I finished it. It may be the first book I’ve read by Julia Willams but it definitely won’t be the last.

The Summer Season is published in paperback by Avon in the UK priced £6.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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July 25, 2011 · 2:40 pm

Book Review : Hollywood Sinners by Victoria Fox.

POWER Marriage to Hollywood heartthrob Cole Steel secured Lana Falcon a glittering place on the red carpet. But running from a wicked past she has trapped herself in a gilded cage the price of freedom…her soul?

REVENGE Kate diLaurentis’s career is fading as quickly as her looks… What could be worse than discovering her husband’s latest mistress is Hollywood s hottest starlet? Her only option the most shocking revenge.

LUST Chloe French’s innocent beauty has captured a million hearts, but no one s warned her of the dangerous, dark temptation of rock star Nate – will lust destroy her?

GREED Las Vegas King, Robert St Louis s fairytale wedding to Sin City s richest heiress is tabloid gold… But scandal circles like a vulture – dirty secrets are about to be exposed!

I had read brilliant reviews of Hollywood Sinners so I was really excited when I got my hands on a copy of it to read before the Ladies Who Love Day at Bromley Literary Festival. With a fabulous and glitzy cover I was sure that the inside would live up to the outside.

The plot offered everything I look for a good bonkbuster – glamorous women, hunky blokes, and fantastic locations. I was really excited when I started reading and discovered plenty of it is set in Las Vegas, after a holiday there a couple of years ago I’ve got the Vegas bug and had great fun working out where things were happening. It made me feel like I was back walking along the Strip which made me both happy and yearny for a return trip in equal measure.

There were so many interesting storylines within Hollywood Sinners, the move between them had me turning the pages as quickly as I could, eager to discover what was going to happen next. I loved Lana’s story, whilst parts of it were quite standard bonkbuster fare there were parts that were completely new and fresh, things I’d never read about before. I also loved Chloe’s story, it was interesting watching someone totally new to the scene navigate her way through the many pitfalls a glitzy career seem to bring.

The book opens with a prologue and then jumps back a year. It’s not clear who the prologue is featuring, as I made my way through the book I thought I’d worked out who it was, then I changed my mind as was sure I’d got it sussed. When I got to the reveal I was completely wrong all over again!

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t read it fast enough. I can’t wait to read whatever it is that Victoria Fox writes next.

Hollywood Sinners is published in paperback by Mira in the UK priced £7.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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June 3, 2011 · 4:49 pm

New York Books Challenge.

As soon as I saw this new challenge being announced over at fab teen fiction site Chicklish I knew I had to sign up. The combination of YA fiction which is something I love more and more and New York which is my favourite place in the world is absolutely irresistible.

The challenge is straight forward, read six YA books that are set in New York by the end of the year. They even provide a list of titles – there are some great sounding books, I think this challenge is going to be brilliant fun!

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March 11, 2011 · 2:52 pm

Book Review : Past Caring by Robert Goddard.

1910: Distinguished MP Edwin Strafford resigns at the pinnacle of his career, removing himself from the public eye. The woman he loves, and for whom he was willing to sacrifice everything, suddenly and coldly rejects him. All the reasons for his fall from grace are shrouded in darkness.

Seventy years later, historian Martin Radford is down on his luck when a mysterious benefactor offers him the opportunity of a lifetime: to uncover what exactly happened to Edwin Strafford. But this apparent good fortune swiftly turns into a nightmare. Radford’s investigations trigger a violent series of events, which throw him straight into the path of those who believed they had escaped punishment for crimes long past but never paid for…

This is the second book I’ve read for the Great Transworld Crime Caper. As soon as I read the synopsis of the book I thought it sounded like my sort of book, within a few pages I knew I’d made a good choice.

The plot is split between the present (though that’s in the 1980s, back when the book was written) and the past, as historian Martin Radford tries to investigate what happened to Edwin Strafford back in the 1910s. Edwin’s story is told through his memoir, both plots are gripping and once they started to overlap I found it increasingly hard to put the book down.

I didn’t find the characters in the book particularly easy to like, the majority of them are working to their own personal agenda and seem to have little trouble with doing whatever it takes to get to their goal. Many of the characters are however interesting, I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth, Edwin’s fiancée.

Edwin’s memoir covers his time as a politician and his experiences of the women’s suffrage movement. I found this to be very interesting reading, though as it’s a time of history I don’t know much about I couldn’t comment on it’s historical accuracy.

The book is very readable, and the jumps between the present set narration and the past account provided by the memoir were very smooth. I have previously read books that use diaries and memoirs for flashbacks that have failed in what they were trying to do – Goddard pulls it off very well. I’ll certainly be recommending this book in the future.

Past Caring is published in paperback by Corgi in the UK priced £7.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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February 21, 2011 · 12:08 pm

Book Review : Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton.

Moving to remote Shetland has been unsettling enough for consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton; even before the gruesome discovery she makes one rain-drenched afternoon . . . Deep in the peat soil of her field she is shocked to find the perfectly preserved body of a young woman, a gaping hole where her heart has been brutally removed and three rune marks etched into her skin.

The marks bear an eerie resemblance to carvings Tora has seen all over the islands, and she quickly uncovers disturbing links to an ancient legend. But as Tora investigates she is warned by the local police, her boss, and even her husband, to leave well alone.

And even though it chills her to the bone to admit it . . . something tells her their concern isn’t genuine.

This is the first book I’ve read for The Great Transworld Crime Caper. I’m a big fan of crime fiction so I thought I would take the opportunity to try out some new authors, the synopsis for Sacrifice left me looking forward to it arriving in the post.

The action kicks off within the first chapter of the book as Tora discovers the mutilated corpse buried on her land. From that point on I felt completely drawn in to the plot, and found it really hard to put the book down. There is no let up from the plot, even the quieter sections are all plot building, there is certainly no filler to be found. About halfway through I had a eureka moment and was sure I knew how the plot was going to end, whilst my thoughts were not wrong they definitely fell far short of the brilliant conclusion to the book. Bolton managed to fit so much into the plot yet it never felt unrealistic.

I found the characters easy to engage with, Tora particularly. I found myself getting really invested in her story, when she dug further and further into what was going on I felt anxious about what might happen to her. At the various points when her attempts were thwarted I found myself getting frustrated on her behalf. I also really liked the character of Dana, I found that I could identify pretty well with her.

The way the book is written worked really well for me. I’ve never travelled to the Shetland Isles but Bolton describes the area in such a way that I could picture it really clearly. I loved the way that folklore and legend was woven into the plot, I think the combination of this and the setting worked to make the book a really interesting read.

Sacrifice is published in paperback by Corgi in the UK priced £6.99. Whilst I was provided with a review copy of the book all of the opinions expressed are my own.

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