Giveaway (5 copies) & Review of Once Upon A Camino by Matthew S. Wilson

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Nine years ago, I interviewed Melbourne based author Matthew S. Wilson about reading, writing and his debut novel at the time, The Devil's In The Detail. Since then, Matthew has been working hard on his next masterpiece and has re-emerged from years of research with a compelling adventure story set in Spain.

Today marks the release of Once Upon A Camino by Matthew S. Wilson and to celebrate, Carpe Librum is giving away 5 copies signed by the author. This is an international giveaway and entries close at midnight AEST Sunday 24 July. See below to enter. 

Review

So, what did I make of it? I enjoyed it! Once Upon A Camino is about Tom and his journey on foot as a pilgrim along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Tom is a successful white collar worker in London in love with his girlfriend Ana. He decides to fly to Spain in order to ask for her family's blessing to marry, but Ana's grandfather wants him to prove his love for her. What happens next is an unexpected series of events as Tom agrees to walk the Camino so he can propose to Ana.

Along the gruelling journey, Tom meets fellow pilgrims and they share their stories and motivations for making the same trek. The setting reminded me a little of a modern day take on The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (there's even a Knight!) and I really enjoyed it.

Inspired by his own trek along the Camino in 2010, Once Upon A Camino is thoroughly researched and gave me an insight into Spanish history I hadn't encountered before. Unfolding from multiple character points of view and comprising an element of historical fiction, Once Upon A Camino is a story about love, courage, friendship, regret, fate and destiny and was beautifully told.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Blurb

Tom, a 28-year-old investment banker, lives a successful life in London with his girlfriend, Ana. Intending to propose, he flies to Spain, seeking her family’s blessing. But his plan runs aground when Ana’s grandfather, Tito, insists the union cannot proceed until Tom walks the Camino de Santiago, an 800-kilometre pilgrimage across Spain.

‘A man would walk across a country without hesitation for the love of his life, no?’

Upon commencing the Camino, Tom’s plans further unravel – his backpack mysteriously disappears, and his phone loses its signal. And when all the other hikers seemingly vanish, Tom makes a discovery that changes everything. Suddenly pursued by the authorities, Tom’s only path home to Ana is alongside a motley band of pilgrims bound for Santiago – among them a reclusive fisherman named Fernando, who carries his own dark secret.

Once Upon a Camino is a novel about time. It focuses on past regrets and untrodden paths. It’s a story of friendship and connection, of following your heart, despite your better judgement. It’s written for those who’ve walked the path to Santiago and others who simply enjoy life’s unpredictable journey and the strangers we meet along the way.

Giveaway

This giveaway has now closed and the winners have been announced.

Review: The Tens by Vanessa Jones

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Do you ever just feel like reading a book about a cult? It's been a while since I last visited a cult behind the safety of a well written narrative, but Australian author Vanessa Jones convinced me to give her latest novel The Tens a try.

Main character Sophie has recently been suffering from terrifying nightmares and she's seeing a therapist to help her work through some issues. After her husband leaves her, Sophie's world begins to fall apart and she relies more and more on her therapy. Sophie is the classic unreliable narrator and her behaviour becomes more worrying as time progresses.

A few errors and typos (like mignon instead of minion page 174) jolted me out of the storyline, and the occasional mixed tense broke the tension as my reading stumbled over the inconsistencies. The dynamic between Sophie and Abigail wasn't realistic enough for me and left me unconvinced. I'm certain that with a better editing process, these issues will be improved and the story will benefit greatly as a result.

I've been watching a lot of crime shows lately (Broadchurch, Troppo, Wire in the Blood) and it occurred to me while reading it, that The Tens would make a great screenplay for one of these programs. I later learned the author is also a screenwriter, so that makes perfect sense.

The Tens by Vanessa Jones is a solid thriller with Australian flair that is recommended for crime and thriller readers and fans of Aussie domestic noir. There's even a playlist that accompanies the novel which is fun!

For more great novels featuring cults, check out my reviews of the following:
Hive and Rogue by A.J. Betts ★★★ & ★★★
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray ★★★
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes ★★★
The Nowhere Child by Christian White ★★★★

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Guest Review: Snotlings - The Boogie Monster by Tarryn Mallick

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Intro

James Harris

Junior guest reviewer James Harris has been reading up a storm over the holidays and discovered a new favourite Australian author. Snotlings - The Boogie Monster by Tarryn Mallick and illustrated by Nahum Ziersch is a laugh out loud thriller starring boogers and germs for children aged 7-12 years. I'll let James tell you all about it as he 'picks out' the best parts 😆

James' Review

Lucky for me Tarryn Mallick saw a review that I did on Carpe Librum and asked me to review her new book Snotlings. So it sounded really awesome - a whole world of boogers up someone’s nose, what's not to be excited about?

Firstly, it came in the mail. I never get mail so that was really exciting. And it was in a cool box, with a magnifying glass and some trading cards that were a bit like Pokémon cards, but were from the characters in the book. SO cool. And it was signed by the author and I was one of the first ever children to read the book! And there was 40 tiny pictures of snotlings to find in the book, which was fun to use the magnifying glass for. So I wanted to start this book straight away (but Mum made me finish the one I was reading first).

There is this boy called Jackson, who is a kid about my age who NEVER vacuums his room (which sounds like me..!). He has a booger collection in his room, and one day he picks his nose and sees the booger move. So he uses a magnifying glass to look at it and finds a little warrior named Flick. This opens up the story about a whole world inside his nose where there is a war going on. There is good guys (the snotlings who have really cool names like Flick, Loogie, Crust, Goober) who live in Stickly Castle, and the bad guys (Mucuszar and his army of germs). And then they come out to the real world and try to destroy it by turning them into nose picking zombies. Jackson and his friends have to stop this all from happening, and explain it to the adults.

I liked this because it was funny and was easy to imagine the world because it painted a clear image in my head of the world up Jackson’s nose. I really hope there will be a book 2 because I think it has a lot of potential and this book has already based the story so well, it would be easy to jump into a new story of the snotlings.

I give it 5 snotballs out of 5 (and totally worth picking your nose for….)

James' Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Reach by B. Michael Radburn

* Copy courtesy of Pantera Press *

Taylor Bridges is back! We first met Park Ranger Taylor Bridges in Tasmania in The Crossing, then caught up with him in Gippsland Victoria in The Falls, and this time he's on secondment to the Hawkesbury River in NSW.

Bridges has earned a reputation as a remote crime scene specialist and this time he's heading into a remote logging community called Devlins Reach. With a population of only 320 people, Devlins Reach is accessible by ferry across the Hawkesbury River. Taylor has been asked to employ his unique set of skills to assist Detective Sergeant (DS) Ryan Everett in the investigation into the remains of three men discovered at an excavation site.

Radburn's skill at capturing the Australian bush is in full swing again and the isolated environment almost becomes a character of its own as the river swells and a huge weather event is on the way.

Small town characters feature throughout the book as DS Everett and Taylor Bridges attempt to identify the men and establish who may have wanted to harm them. The history of the island is full of secrets and unexplained disappearances and the locals are reluctant to talk; preferring to keep their secrets to themselves. Bridges shares his beliefs on energy and history which adds to the tension:

" I believe when something bad happens - and I mean something truly wicked - it can leave a stain, some kind of residue on the place; a memory that can't be wiped clean. Nothing to do with spectres, things that go bump in the night; it's more grounded than that, as if the energy sparked during that wicked deed remains burning somehow." Page 106

The Reach has a dark and otherworldly undercurrent, with an old logger's tale about a Hoodoo that takes on many forms and is responsible for men disappearing from the logger's camp. Taylor's daughter is channelling warnings from her deceased sister Claire that may or may not be relevant to the case. Many locals believe in a dark power and it's up to the reader to decide if any of it is real or not. I really enjoyed this duality and it certainly added to my reading experience.

With limited resources at hand and zero back up available, Bridges and Everett make a great team. We hear from them in alternating chapters that makes for an entertaining and convincing crime-solving endeavour. The Reach can be comfortably read as a stand alone with a few references to Taylor's background enough to inform the reader, however I do recommend you start at the beginning in order to enjoy the character arc and understand how Taylor has found himself with this unique set of skills.

This series continues to be cinematic, and I can easily imagine Bridges holding his own with many of the other single name crime and mystery solving specialists on our TV screens, like: Bones, Bosch, Cardinal, Castle, Chance, Dexter, Goliath, Harrow, House, Lucifer, Luther, Sherlock, Strike, River and Wallander. Okay, sorry, I think I got a little carried away there. Obviously single name TV shows are a 'thing' I enjoy and I totally think Bridges should be added to their company.

I really enjoy the continuity in the titles of this series, Glorys Crossing becomes The Crossing, The Falls is the location of the second book and Devlins Reach becomes The Reach. In listening to an interview with the author on the Good Reading podcast, I've learned the next book in the series is called The Wells which will be taking Taylor Bridges up north to the Northern Territory. 

What a terrific Australian crime series this is turning out to be; with each book set in a different state of Australia, readers are able to journey around the country with Taylor, solving crimes in national parks and rural and remote locations as they go. I'll definitely be looking forward to Taylor's next interstate secondment.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Subterranean by B. Michael Radburn

* Copy courtesy of Atlas Productions *

Aussie author and Carpe Librum favourite B. Michael Radburn is back with Subterranean; a story about a woman on the run after leaving an abusive relationship and a homeless Army veteran living in the abandoned train tunnels beneath Sydney's streets. Cassie is being pursued by twins hired by her husband who put me immediately in mind of the twin brothers Leonel and Marco Salamanca from Breaking Bad.

Daniel is trying to recover from the physical and emotional trauma experienced in Afghanistan and when these two flawed characters meet, the reader can't resist hoping they will find a way to help each other.

Subterranean is a novella and a quick read, however the presentation in smaller format paperback, large font and with the inclusion of several illustrations gave me the immediate impression this was a YA novel. This stand alone novella can easily be read by a YA audience, but it's a confusing presentation of an adult novella in my opinion. The shadowy cover design captures the feel of the story perfectly and I could easily have done without the illustrations and large print.

As with his Taylor Bridges series, Radburn does an excellent job of bringing Australian characters to life and describing the Australian landscape. In Subterranean he convincingly captures Sydney's urban and underground environment and the pips of the ABC Radio News broadcasts were a very nice touch.

Highlighting the plight of our own homeless veterans and the lack of services from the Department of Veterans' Affairs in this novella was an added bonus and as a fellow veteran, I hope this helps shine a light on this important and ongoing issue.

However, Subterranean's ending was the real highlight for me. It was an unexpected climax I didn't realise we were working towards and which provided a very satisfying end to the story. A great read!

Carpe Librum!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

P.S. Check out my reviews of the following books by B. Michael Radburn:
- The Crossing
- Blackwater Moon
- The Falls

Review: Hide by S.J. Morgan

*Copy courtesy of the author & Midnight Sun Publishing*

Hide is Australian author S.J. Morgan's first adult novel and it's a thrilling read.

It's 1983 in Swansea, South Wales where we first meet Alec Johnston. A somewhat flawed character who doesn't quite know what to do with his life, Alec is sharing a flat with bikies, Minto, Stobes and Black. (Great names right?)

The overbearing Minto has a girlfriend Sindy and while Alec knows he should mind his own business, he can't help but be drawn in by Sindy's vulnerability and the situations she finds herself in. Try as he might, Alec just can't seem to get out from under the gaze of his bikie housemates; Minto in particular.

Alec seeks help from his parents who live in Cardiff and are easily the most memorable fictional parents I've encountered in a long time. I was definitely rooting for the parents the whole way; perhaps even more so than our protagonist Alec at times!

What develops is a slow burn domestic noir which ramps up the tension as the short punchy chapters progress. The action moves to Australia (not a spoiler, this is in the blurb) and the novel develops into a crime thriller which kept me turning the pages.

Ultimately, I would have liked more information on Sindy and a watertight ending but the conclusion was a satisfactory one, just the same.

With an atmospheric cover design which accurately conveys the trouble ahead for Alec, I believe Hide will appeal to crime fans who enjoy a good domestic thriller.

I'll be running a giveaway on 22 November alongside an interview with the author S.J. Morgan so stay tuned for a chance to win your own signed copy of Hide.

Carpe Librum!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Friday Freebie: WIN a copy of Honey Farm Dreaming by Anna Featherstone

RRP $32.99 AUD

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Today's giveaway is a memoir by Australian author and small farmer Anna Featherstone. Honey Farm Dreaming is a memoir about sustainability, small farming and the not-so simple life. It includes organic balm recipes, secret farmhouse recipes and tips on how to make a bee hotel and attract bees to your garden. Enter below for your chance to win a copy.

Blurb
A farmyard full of animals, thousands of tourists in the garden, a hundred backpackers in the house, millions of bees in the air - and one family. What could possibly go wrong?

When Anna and Andrew move their young family to a farm the future is uncertain. All they know is what they feel - a desire to become contributors not consumers. City folk, they are starting from scratch 'not knowing how to make anything, grow anything, fix anything or really do anything'.

Ten years on, and the 90-acre farm transforms from a bland grass paddock to something that is energetic, vibrant, ethical and beautiful. The farm becomes home to honey and native bees, and a multitude of plant and animal species; it lures thousands of visitors all seeking a slice of idyllic farm life to enrich their souls and, sometimes, their social media feeds. Meanwhile, Anna feeds her own soul, becoming a passionate producer of honey, herbs, handmade medicinal balms and other farm-made goods, recipes for which are included in this book.

It's called 'living the dream', but is it? Discover more about the 'good life' and enjoy a good laugh from this entertaining, engrossing memoir in which author Anna Featherstone lays bare what it's like to follow your dreams and to find success, failure and finally understanding along the way.

Author Bio
Anna Featherstone has spent more than a decade small farming where she's made mistakes, balms and a life with her family. Their small but productive farm has won state and National tourism awards for its agritourism offering which included a farmstay. Anna thinks about the environment a lot, loves growing Chinese Raisins, turmeric and tulsi and is a balm-maker, bee lover, writer and speaker. Her first book, co-authored with Andrew Campbell is Small Farm Success Australia: How to Make a Life and a Living on the Land. Visit her website for more: www.annafeatherstone.com

Giveaway

This giveaway has now closed.

Review: The Troubles Keeper by Susan May

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Rory Fine has the ability to lift the worries and concerns of a person just by touching them. A handshake or the briefest touch can leave people feeling lighter, happier and as if their troubles have just disappeared. In fact, Rory takes those troubles and stores them away in his mental attic until he can dispose of them later. What a guy!

What do you think a man with this type of gift would do for a living? Counsellor, doctor or emergency worker springs to mind. Nope, Rory drives a bus and uses his gift to alleviate the worries and concerns of his regular passengers; and they love him for it.

One day Rory picks up a negative energy, something dark and powerful, and that's where The Troubles Keeper by Australian author Susan May really kicks off.

Reminiscent of Dean Koontz, I was far more interested in Rory than the thrilling circumstances he finds himself drawn into, and would have been happy to learn more about him and his youth given the chance. The character reminded me a little of the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz, where I'm always more fascinated by his gift than what he 'gets up to' in each book. I wanted to stop and sift through the troubles Rory takes from people and was somewhat reluctant to be pulled into a thrilling ride to pursue the owner of the dark energy.

The Troubles Keeper has a touch of everything to keep the reader entertained throughout, including elements of crime, science fiction, the paranormal and the age-old motivators of love and revenge. Recommended for fans of Dean Koontz and Stephen King.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Blog Tour & Review of The Beast's Garden by Kate Forsyth

* Copy courtesy of the author for review via Penguin Random House Australia and NetGalley *

Kate Forsyth is one of my favourite Australian authors, and her re-telling of the Rapunzel fairytale in Bitter Greens is still with me, years after reading it.

The Beast's Garden is Kate Forsyth's latest re-telling and is based on the fairytale Beauty and the Beast. In this case, the beauty is Ava, a talented and beautiful young German woman and the beast of the title is Leo, an intelligent Nazi Officer with an unexpected love of poetry. 

Set in Nazi Germany during WWII, Ava rejects all of Leo's advances (despite her attraction to him) until the actions of the Gestapo begin to impact those in her immediate circle, including her Jewish friends.

Taking place in Berlin from 1938 - 1945, we see how regular Germans react to the Gestapo and the Hitler regime, and the impact of war on the city's citizens. Ava takes risks to defy Hitler and joins an underground resistance movement, and sees many of her friends arrested, tortured and killed. Leo works for the Abwehr (secret intelligence service) but Ava isn't quite sure if he's a spy or not and has to tread carefully.

Ava's childhood friend is sent to Buchenwald concentration camp and the several chapters from his perspective are thoroughly heartbreaking and a haunting reminder of the atrocities committed during the Hitler regime.

As I was reading this love story filled with brutal destruction, hate and death, (as well as a love of literature) I didn't have the sense of reading a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast in the same way as Bitter Greens. I understand the analogy, but for me The Beast's Garden reads like a WWII historical novel with a fresh perspective. 

A handful of main characters in the book are fictional, however I've since learned that all events that take place during the novel and many of the people mentioned were based on real figures from history and required years of research.

The Beast's Garden is bound to appeal to a wide market, those looking for a complex love story and those who want a fresh perspective on the fall of Berlin and the impact of this war on everyday Germans.

My rating = ***

For more insight from Kate Forsyth herself about her inspiration for The Beast's Garden, check out her blog post on the topic.

Review: The Forgotten Manuscript and The Unknown Crime by Sarah Rayne

The Forgotten Manuscript and The Unknown Crime are two short stories gathered together in the one publication, forming a novella of sorts.

Having read 11 novels by Sarah Rayne, the writing style in this was like coming home. Some of the plot components in each of the tales was familiar; uncovering mysteries from the past, a love of manuscripts and discovering connections from history to the present.

As standalone short stories, they both had their merits, but weren't long enough for the brilliant plotting of Rayne to be established and shine through.

All in all, The Forgotten Manuscript and The Unknown Crime were quick and easy reads and will tide you over until her next release.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Embroiderer by Australian author Kathryn Gauci

* Copy courtesy of the author * 

It's 1972, and Eleni is summoned to her dying aunt's bedside in Athens. Her aunt wants to come clean about Eleni's family history and recounts a shocking life, full of secrets, loss, war, betrayal, death, love and espionage.

The tale takes us as far back as 1822, during the The Greek War of Independence, and essentially follows one particular family and their efforts to survive the conflicts, keep their business going and stay alive in turbulent times.

My understanding of these conflicts is not as comprehensive as it should be, and reading The Embroiderer was a great way to learn about the battles, invasions and wars in Greece from the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832) through to the Balkan Wars (1912-1913).

Readers who enjoy reading historical fiction based around real historical conflicts will enjoy reading The Embroiderer, and will definitely learn more about Greece (and WWI) in the process.

The contents of a senior family member's journal at the end of the novel took the number of characters I could follow just a little too far, and I longed for a briefer method of learning what lay in her journal. I also wished for more time to linger on the details of the family business of embroidery and couture fashion during the period, my main attraction for this novel.

Having said that, if you have an interest in Greece, or are of Greek lineage yourself, you are bound to fall in love with The Embroiderer.

In conclusion, here's an excerpt from the blurb that sums up the novel really well: Set against the mosques and minarets of Asia Minor and the ruins of ancient Athens, The Embroiderer is a gripping saga of love and loss, hope and despair, and of the extraordinary courage of women in the face of adversity.

My rating = ***1/2

Carpe Librum!

About the Author

Kathryn Gauci was born in England, and studied textile design, carpet design and technology. After graduation, Kathryn spent a year in Vienna before working as a carpet designer in Athens for six years.

Before turning to writing full-time, Kathryn ran her own textile design studio in Melbourne for over fifteen years and The Embroiderer is her first novel; a culmination of her love of design and travel, and her years living and working in Greece – a place she is proud to call her spiritual home.

Review: The Chronicles of Dandelion and Ash Series, Book 1 and Book 2 by V.N. Kelly-Clark and D.J. Kelly-Clark

* Copies from authors for review *

Dandelion (The Chronicles of Dandelion and Ash Book 1) 
Dandelion is a delightful children's book written by V.N Kelly-Clark and illustrated by D.J. Kelly-Clark.

This Australian husband and wife team introduce young readers to Dandelion, a faery who doesn't like to brush her hair. Dandelion's hair is thick and white-blond and so tangled and knotted that she gets it caught all the time.

I'm sure all kids and parents can relate to Dandelion's fear of having her hair brushed or cut and her subsequent adventures.

Dandelion is a quick and easy read for bedtime, and my only regret is that I desperately wanted to see one last illustration of Dandelion at the end of the book.

Sugar Rush (The Chronicles of Dandelion and Ash Book 2)

Sugar Rush is the second book in The Chronicles of Dandelion and Ash series of e-books from husband and wife team V.N & D.J. Kelly-Clark. 

In this instalment, Ash (Dandelion's brother) finds himself in trouble after eating sweet treats that give him a sugar rush. This is no ordinary sugar rush though as sugar can make a faery's wings fall right off and Dandelion has forgotten to warn her brother.

Sugar Rush is longer and contains more illustrations than Dandelion, and the symptoms Ash experiences during the sugar rush are funny and clever at the same time.

Recommended reading age for both picture books is 3-7 years.

My ratings as follows:

Dandelion = ****
Sugar Rush = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Deadlight Hall (Nell West / Michael Flint #5) by Sarah Rayne

* Copy from author for review *

Deadlight Hall is the fifth novel in the Nell West and Michael Flint series of novels from author Sarah Rayne, and is due for release next year.

The cover is probably the best in the series and certainly sets the tone for a creepy mystery involving a set of twins. I'm a sucker for stories about twins and this one takes place during WWII with Michael taking the lead investigative role after being asked by a colleague for advice.

I enjoyed seeing the two characters Nell and Michael draw even closer, although I was surprised to find my favourite part of the novel was when Nell was considering and making plans to expand her antiques shop. I don't know why, but I really enjoyed seeing her work out if she could afford it and what she might do with the additional space.

I was relieved to find the required visits to the sinister building (in this case Deadlight Hall) were fewer than in previous books, and also relieved that Beth (Nell's daughter) and Wilberforce took more of a back seat this time.

Having said all of that, I did find myself yelling at Michael to download the torch app on his smart phone and use it to light up the scary basement or to use as a reading light when it began to get dark. On that note, it'd be great to see Michael and Nell making the most of some of the more modern forms of research online to uncover the dusty past. I recently discovered a website that contains the names and details of all AIF solders to have fought in WWI, and it's amazing how much effort is being dedicated to digitising the past.

The conclusion of Deadlight Hall saw all of the loose threads in the mystery neatly tied up, but unfortunately I found the ending just a little too complete or perfect for my taste. 


My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Allegiance by Wanda Wiltshire

* From the publisher for review *

Allegiance by Wanda Wiltshire is the second in the Betrothed series, and picks up right where Betrothed left off.

We catch up with Marla, who has left Faera, and is upset about leaving her betrothed Leif behind.  Marla is supported by her best friend Jack and after realising her romantic feelings for him, they become an item.

This is the beginning (or continuation) of a love triangle between the three main characters (Marla, Jack and Leif) and the romance forms a large part of the novel.  There is physical yearning - between both couples - that is repeatedly denied and which reminded me of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Allegiance will appeal to readers who loved the Twilight series.  However if I'm honest, this isn't me.  

The book started to pick up for me when Marla returned to Faera and started to assist in the tracking down of the Shadow Fae.  It was interesting learning about the evil and darkness in Faera (not just all the good stuff) including the origin and methods of the Shadow Fae.  Their motivations and reasons for bringing horror upon the citizens of Faera was realistic and fit with the fantasy world the author has created.

Copy of Allegiance with
handmade bookmark
from author
Wanda Wiltshire

This darkness and tension was definitely more my style and I really enjoyed this part of the novel.  Even more, my reading was enhanced by the use of a handmade and personalised bookmark from the author (pictured left).

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

You can click here to buy the book.  The next in the series is called Confused and is due for release in 2015.

Review & Giveaway: just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth

* From author for review *

just_a_girl is like no other book I've ever read.  Written by Australian author Kirsten Krauth, it's been described as: "Lolita with a webcam" or "Puberty Blues for the digital age," and now that I've read it, I'd have to agree.

Set in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, just_a_girl is about fourteen year-old Layla, her religious mother Margot and a stranger on the train, Tadashi.

Layla is provocative, daring, reckless and a tease.  (The scene involving a Chup a Chup on a train has haunted me, and I don't think I'll ever look at one the same way).  At times I didn't like Layla's provocative and promiscuous behaviour and at other times she made me laugh out loud or hot under the collar.  She was both naive and mature at the same time, and the writing in her chapters was fast-paced and chock full of YA language.

Contrastly, Layla's mother Margot has no idea what her daughter is up to, and is primarily occupied with her Church and pastor.  Her sentences are long and wistful, and it's clear she hasn't recovered from her divorce after learning her husband was gay.

Tadashi has seen Layla on the train, and the reader is given a glimpse of his lonely and solitary life.  We soon learn that he is purchasing a companion doll (or Love Doll) from Japan to have a relationship with.  The chapters narrated by Tadashi were fascinating, and I could easily have spent the entire novel with him on his personal journey.

Not since reading Tim Winton last year, have I come across an author so eager to break the usual rules regarding dialogue and grammar, but Krauth does it successfully in just_a_girl, and it works.

Unlike other novels, just_a_girl doesn't seem to be heading towards a point in time or a particular event.  The author switches between the lives and perspectives of the three protagonists with seemingly no overarching plot set to crash together.  There is an overlap of consequences between Layla and her mother, and Layla and Tadashi at the end, but I'll leave that to the reader to discover on their own.

just_a_girl  is confronting and shocking and contains teenage sexual activity.  If I had a teenage daughter I'd be terrified after reading this debut novel from Kirsten Krauth, but perhaps that's the point.

I'd like to add a personal caveat to my star rating if I may: I would recommend  just_a_girl for readers aged 16 and over.  The novel isn't restricted by the publishing industry, it's just my own personal suggestion.

My rating = ****

Giveaway

Thanks to the generosity of Kirsten Krauth, I have an autographed copy of just_a_girl to give away to one lucky Carpe Librum reader.

Autographed copy of
just_a_girl by
Kirsten Krauth
up for grabs!

To enter: just_a_girl is an internet handle, alias or nickname. To enter this giveaway, what is/was your own internet handle or what would it be if you were a young teenager communicating in an online chat room today?

Eligibility: this giveaway is open to those with an Australian postal address only.
Entries close: midnight, Monday 10th March 2014.

Winner: will be chosen by random.org and announced no later than midnight Friday 14th March 2014.  The winner has until midnight Friday 21st March to make contact and provide a postal address.

Additional entries: those who Tweet about this giveaway (or RT), sign up to follow Carpe Librum by Google Friend Connect or via email after this post will receive an additional entry in the competition.  (Make sure you mention this in your comment/entry).

Good Luck everyone and thanks to Shelleyrae from Book'd Out for the introduction to Kirsten!

N.B. I forgot to mention that just_a_girl contains the most amazing description of a woman giving birth that I've ever read/heard.  It had me puffing at the end!

Review: The Whispering by Sarah Rayne

*From Publisher for Review *

The Whispering is the fourth in Sarah Rayne's ghost series featuring Nell West and Michael Flint.

This time Michael Flint is researching the music and poetry of the Great War; in particular how music influenced their individual outlook and work.  I studied WWI poetry at university, so it was wonderful for me to see the names of Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon frequently mentioned.  I wish Wilfred Owen could have played a role in the story but that might have been asking for too much.

Michael is also researching the origins of the Palestrina Choir: a girl's choir based in a convent that sang behind a rood screen to hide their 'deformities'.  Girls who were crippled, malformed or simple were left at the convent by their parents, joined the choir and created angelic music but could never be seen.

Here's a quote from The Whispering about the origins of the long-dead choir.  The Palestrina Choir was "..formed in an ancient monastery in Belgium in 1900 to commemorate the start of the new century, and was named for the sixteenth-century composer of sacred music."

I was fascinated by the choir, and Michael visits Fosse House to meet reclusive Luisa Gilmore as part of his research but ends up discovering more than he bargained for.  

Meanwhile, Nell is researching the origin of the Holzminden sketch, a drawing that Michael finds in Fosse House, and which could be a sketch made at a WWI prisoner of war camp.

The Whispering is nicely layered and I enjoyed having Michael as the protagonist this time around instead of Nell.  There was an important reveal at the end that I had incorrectly predicted, and for me that's a sign of a great read when the plot carries you in an unexpected direction.

The Whispering can be enjoyed as a stand-alone and is recommended for readers who like a good ghost story, or the idea that the past can bleed into the future and vice versa.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Silence by Sarah Rayne

* From the author for review *

The Silence by Sarah Rayne is the third in her ghost book series featuring antiques dealer Nell West and her academic boyfriend Michael Flint*.  

The story takes place at Stilter House (aptly named) located in the Derbyshire Peaks in England and Nell is asked to catalogue some items in her late husband's childhood home.

On the back of The Sin Eater, this series has definitely ramped up in The Silence, and I thoroughly enjoyed uncovering the layers and layers of mysteries within and of course encountering a few ghosts along the way.

The Silence is so much richer than The Sin Eater, with a higher 'creep level' and a particular metal object I won't be forgetting in a hurry (no spoilers though).  The word 'outbuilding' takes on a sinister tone and Nell West's beliefs about life after death are tested again.  (Thankfully Nell is more accepting this time and less sceptical which was a welcome change).

I was really taken by the young mute boy Esmond, his reason for being mute and the misunderstanding about his mother's death that had serious implications resonating for years. 

The Silence has it all despite it's compact length of 272 pages.  It's a chilly read, so pack a scarf and dive into this exciting ghost/mystery novel.  (I can't wait to start reading the latest in the series The Whispering, next).

My rating = ****

*The Ghost Series of novels by Sarah Rayne include:

Book #1 The Property of a Lady  (5 stars)
Book #2 The Sin Eater  (3 stars)
Book #3 The Silence
Book #4 The Whispering (out now!)

Review: The Sin Eater by Sarah Rayne

* From the author for review *

According to author Sarah Rayne's website, the term sin eater: refers to a person who, by means of food and drink, would ritualistically take on the sins of a dead or dying person, thus absolving his or her soul. Parts of the Old Testament hint at the ritual of sin-eating, and over the centuries it seems to have been performed, in various forms, in many parts of the world. The last recorded instance of a sin-eater in the UK was in Shropshire as recently as 1893.

The Sin Eater by Sarah Rayne is the second novel in the Michael Flint / Nell West series and follows on from Property of a Lady. I absolutely fell in love with Property of a Lady, and gave it 5 stars in my review, so I was eager to read the next in the series.  However, unfortunately for me The Sin Eater just wasn't able to match it.

Nell West is an antiques dealer and Michael Flint an academic working in Oxford and together they make a great pair.  In this novel they become involved with Benedict through a friend and his inheritance of Holly Lodge*.  Benedict begins to experience a presence in Holly Lodge and is convinced he is suffering from dissociative personality disorder or DPD.  I was frustrated by the character's explanations for what was happening to him: perhaps it was DPD, it was the mist, I knocked my head etc.  In fact, each of the three main characters were reluctant to accept that there could be unexplained forces at work.

As the reader I jumped in straight away and was more than willing to accept what was happening and just wanted to get on with the plot.  The character's continual reluctance held me back when I just wanted to be swept away by the narrative.

The sections set in London and Ireland in the 1890s were the most gripping of all, and I could easily have spent the entire novel there.  The story of the first sin eater, the evil and malevolent chess pieces and the fire in the watch tower had me powering through the pages to find out what was going to happen.  These sections were written in the signature Sarah Rayne style I've come to know and love and I just wish Michael, Nell and Benedict were less reluctant to accept what was happening to them, and get on with it.

I'm very much looking forward to reading the next in the series, The Silence.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Funnily enough, Holly Lodge is a residence in Victoria where my sister and our family stayed while preparing for her wedding 2 years ago.  The beautiful double storey property holds special memories for me so I relished seeing the name Holly Lodge throughout The Sin Eater.

Review: Heirs & Spares by J.L. Spohr

* From author for review *

Heirs & Spares is an historical fiction novel, but setting it apart from others in the genre is the fact that the setting is fictional. Set in 1569 during the reign of Elizabeth I, the main character Lady Annelore is based just north of France in a place called Troixden; a place which doesn't exist in real life.

It took me until 3/4 of the way through the novel before I realised it was complete fiction; Lady Annelore and King William weren't real characters from history, and I wish so much I'd known this at the beginning.

Generally historical fiction takes real characters from the past and the author plots a tale around them. Of course there are fictional characters as well, however in the case of Heirs & Spares there are no true historical figures in the direct plot, linking the tale to the past.

If I review Heirs & Spares as a fiction novel, I would comfortably say it was a good and entertaining read. For regular readers of historical fiction though, this was light in terms of court intrigue, betrayal and general action. Having recently read The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner probably ruined my complete enjoyment of Heirs & Spares, simply because it was so rich with plot, court activity and intrigue, betrayal, love and action.

Perhaps I'd recommend Heirs & Spares to YA readers of historical fiction, providing a gentle introduction to life at court during this period, two very likeable characters in Annelore and William and a pleasing romance.

Heirs & Spares is FREE for Kindle download today in honour of the new Prince George.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Stay tuned for a guest post by J.L. Spohr on "Tying Historical Fiction to Current Events" which I'm thoroughly looking forward to; particularly with the recent arrival of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge!

Review: Property of a Lady by Sarah Rayne

* From author for review*

Property of a Lady is the first in a series of ghost stories written by one of my favourite authors Sarah Rayne, featuring characters Nell West and Michael Flint.

Michael Flint is an academic living in Oxford and is asked by friends based in the USA to look at an old house they've just inherited.  When Michael sees Charect House, he becomes interested in its history and stumbles across a mystery that goes back generations.

Michael enlists the help of local antiques dealer Nell West who is buying back the original furniture belonging to the once grand house, and the two begin to dig into the past together.  Nell's daughter is having terrible nightmares about a man with no eyes, the same dream that is terrorising the daughter of his American friends.

Property of a Lady is a modern day ghost story with characters employing straight forward sleuthing techniques to get to the bottom of the tragedies that occurred inside Charect House several generations ago.

Together they discover letters, diaries and other source material that is expertly drip fed into the story in a believable fashion and at just the right time.  The connections and mysteries take Michael and Nell to a prison, and to an asylum both of which give the novel a creepy ghostly feel, but mostly it's about unravelling sad tragedies of the past.

I read Property of a Lady at lighting pace, and from a reader's perspective felt it was perfect in every way.

But, decide for yourself!  You can read the first chapter of Property of a Lady here.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!