Review: The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

I just disembarked from a hell of a turbulent thriller. The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton was a gripping read and a scary insight into what happens when a relationship goes wrong. Juliette is obsessed with her pilot ex-boyfriend Nate and becomes an airline steward in order to win him back.

Juliette has serious baggage and if you're a male reader then consider this a horror novel. The lengths Juliette goes to in an effort to win Nate back were entertaining at first, then bothersome, then troublesome before spiralling into downright crazy! You definitely don't want to come across a character like Juliette in real life. Ever!

I admired Juliette's energy and determination but couldn't help wanting her to shift focus and 'move on'. It's only when the heart of her fixation was revealed that I really began to understand her.

The duties and lifestyle of airline crew featured prominently throughout the novel and I enjoyed this fresh and unique setting way more than I expected.

I was utterly gripped by The Perfect Girlfriend and for heightened pleasure, I recommend you read this on a plane with your boarding pass as a bookmark. Arm the doors and cross check people, and get ready for an exhilarating take off and surprise destination.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

March 2018 Birthday Giveaway

It's my birthday in March and I want to celebrate, so let’s have a giveaway! Last year's birthday giveaway was my most popular giveaway for the year, so let's do it again.

Just choose one of the books pictured (right) and enter using the form below. The winner will win their choice of book. Depending on the number of entries, I 'may' decide to choose a second winner.

Entries close midnight Sunday 11th March 2018 so please enter and help me spread the birthday bookish cheer :-)

Carpe Librum!

This giveaway has now closed.

Review: The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

Beginning in 1969 New York, The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin is a family drama with an enticing premise: four siblings are told by a gypsy psychic the day they will die. The concept immediately conjures a host of questions. Do the siblings believe the prophecy? Do they ignore or accept the prediction? What are the predictions? Do they vary from child to child? Do any of the siblings confess their 'date'? Does knowing the date change the way they'll live their life? These are all questions I was keen to find answers for and with one of the best covers I've seen this year, I was eager to start reading The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin.

Following on from the prologue where the predictions take place the book is split into four parts, one for the life of each sibling. What develops is a good literary novel about a Jewish family in America covering the siblings' generation as well as that of their parents and subsequent children, but it didn't go where I wanted it to. My questions were eventually answered, but the information was slowly drip fed into the book in a measured writing style.

I think I'm partly to blame for not enjoying this novel as much as I should have. When I heard the premise I was instantly reminded of the premise of The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma and wanted to relive the startling impact the premise in that book had amongst the siblings. (That the eldest brother would die at the hands of one of his brothers). It was one of my favourite books in 2015 and I wanted to experience that reading magic again here.

In the end, The Immortalists deals with many interesting themes, including fate and destiny and our ability - or inability - to escape it or change it.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Hangman by Jack Heath

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

Australian writer Jack Heath is an established YA author living in Canberra and Hangman is his first adult novel in my new favourite series featuring anti-hero Tim Blake. 

Blake is a despicable investigator contracted to the FBI as a last resort to solve crimes other FBI agents cannot. A psychopath with a dark secret, Blake's assistance comes with a steep price.

Recipe for Hangman by Jack Heath

Step 1. Take the pace of any James Patterson or Matthew Reilly novel.
Step 2. Add a gruesome yet likeable protagonist; like Dexter from Jeff Lindsay.
Step 3. Make him an anti-hero you can root for like Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes but without the sex.
Step 4. Add a measure of cannibalism from The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
Step 5. Combine with the shock factor of Stephen King's writing.
Step 6. Bake for 376 pages and your novel will be ready.
Step 7. Consume Hangman in as few sittings as possible.
Step 8. Enjoy every morsel.

Reading Hangman was a guilty pleasure and I found myself getting behind Blake and hoping things turned out in his favour despite his proclivities. It isn't for the squeamish though, so if you can't handle a little gore this fast-paced crime thriller isn't for you.

Jack Heath has created an extraordinary and original character in Timothy Blake, and I can't wait to read his next book. Hangman has already been optioned for television by the ABC in USA so I'll be keeping an eye out for that too. Highly recommended!

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Review: West Cork by Sam Bungey & Jennifer Forde

* Copy courtesy of Audible *

West Cork is a true crime podcast series investigating the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Ireland 20 years ago. Sophie was a French film producer and was killed while on vacation alone in West Cork, Ireland just before Christmas in 1996.

Journalist Sam Bungey and Documentary Producer Jennifer Forde investigate the case over the course of 13 episodes including multiple interviews with prime suspect Ian Bailey.

The case was incredibly layered and complex and I was impressed by the logical approach the investigators took in outlining the various aspects of the case and somewhat flawed investigation by the Guards; Ireland's Police Force. Bungey and Forde gained an enormous level of access to Ian Bailey, primarily due to the fact Bailey seems to like the attention. He's a narcissist guilty of domestic violence who loves the spotlight a little too much, but is he a killer?

This was my first time using Audible and I was utterly gripped by the listening experience and the true crime investigation. It was the audio equivalent of binge-watching Making a Murderer on Netflix.

By the conclusion of the final episode I was left wanting more, but I guess that's inevitable in a case that is still active and technically unsolved. I'm interested to know who Bungey and Forde think is responsible for murdering Sophie and what they hope will happen now the case is gaining international recognition. (It's already a significant and well-known cold case in France and Ireland). I hope Sophie's family get justice soon.

West Cork is compelling listening and is recommended for listeners, viewers and readers of true crime.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Winner of The Bookworm by Mitch Silver announced

Thanks to those who entered my giveaway to win a print copy of The Bookworm by Mitch Silver last week. Entries closed at midnight on Friday 16 February 2018 and the answer was ‘an old leather bible’. 

The winner was drawn today and congratulations go to:

Tien

Congratulations Tien, you'll receive an email from me today and will have 7 days to provide your mailing address. The prize is courtesy of Wunderkind PR & Pegasus Books and they’ll send your prize to you directly.

Carpe Librum!

Review: How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomachs - The Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits by Melanie Mühl & Diana Von Kopp

* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *

I was keen to read How We Eat with Our Eyes and Think with Our Stomachs - The Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits by Melanie Mühl and Diana Von Kopp in order to conquer some of my bad habits and recognise what's really going on in my body.

Much of the information wasn't new to me, and the chapters just touched on interesting topics without delving deeper. The chapters skimmed over topics providing the reader with a tempting and tantalising teaser without investigating further.

Printed in large font and generously spaced, this was a quick and easy read, and regularly quoted other references and books. The comprehensive chapter by chapter bibliography at the end was welcome.

I was hoping for the next level understanding and unfortunately I didn't manage to get it here. Perhaps this is just a book to whet the reader's appetite (see what I did there) but for real insight into what we buy and what/how/why we eat, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Here are a few of my favourite nuggets from the book:

• Haagen-Dazs ice cream is not made in Denmark. It's made in America and has been given a Scandinavian name to make it sound like a premium product. (Page 11)
• The Swedish delicacy surstromming is "fermented herring with an odour so awful and overwhelming that it can make you faint when you open the tin." This reminded me of a video I once saw of a family trying to eat it and I was subsequently lost in a YouTube vortex watching others trying to eat it and failing. (Page 100)
• If your waiter at a restaurant is overweight, diners are more likely to order more food. (Page 139)
• Apparently the sucking action from drinking a milkshake through a straw has a calming and soothing effect. "It changes the consistency of the milkshake in the mouth, where a small amount of liquid meets with a larger amount of air. The result is a pleasantly creamy sensation." So that's why I love milkshakes! "The act of sucking is also associated with pleasure, reassurance, and satiation." (Page 168)
• The introduction 250 years ago of knife and fork has changed the formation of our mouths and we have since developed an overbite. The art of separating food with the use of our incisors (clamping down on the food and pulling) has been lost and consequently the top row of teeth no longer needs to meet the bottom. (Page 213)

These were fascinating tidbits, and if the book had more of them throughout, I would have enjoyed it more.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

* Copy courtesy of Harper Collins *

Some fast facts about The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn:
- The book has been sold in 38 territories around the world
- It's being adapted into a movie by Fox 2000 Studios

In this psychological thriller the main character is Anna Fox, child psychologist now agoraphobe who hasn't left her New York townhouse in almost a year. She's an alcoholic who stalks her neighbours online and spies on them through her windows until she sees something shocking.

I notice this is being compared to The Girl on a Train, but I only agree with that so far as the main character has a drinking problem, sees something and can be unreliable but that's as far as it goes. I like Anna and was cheering her on whereas Rachel made me groan out loud in frustration.

I seem to enjoy agoraphobic characters and it was no different here. It was fascinating to see how Anna struggled with her condition and what she does to fill in her time while still trying to remain useful to society.

There were a few twists and turns at the end that had me speeding through the pages and all in all this was an exciting and unpredictable read. Fans of old black and white films will love the cinema references and parallels between this novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window.

I enjoyed this more than The Girl on a Train and think it's going to be a fantastic thriller movie when it hits the big screen.

My rating = ****1/2

Carpe Librum!

P.S. Read a FREE sample of the novel here.

Review: The Little Bullet Book - Be Gorgeously Organized by Dave Sinden

* Copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia *

For readers who have always wanted to try their hand at keeping a bullet journal, The Little Bullet Book - Be Gorgeously Organized by Dave Sinden is a great place to start. It's full of prompts and customisable weekly and monthly planners and checklists to fill in yourself that will teach you the basic elements of bullet journalling.

There are task trackers (my favourite) as well as methods for establishing and outlining your goals and ways in which to work towards achieving them.

This bullet journal can be started at any time and isn't date specific. In fact, there are no dates mentioned whatsoever, only prompts for weeks and months. A ready-made index is also helpful.

I liked the idea of making a list of things you're grateful for and I know it's a popular trend on social media but there's something to be said about writing it down and keeping it private that could make all the difference in your own personal development and growth.

All in all, a nicely presented journal containing pages full of prompts and suggestions that can easily be filled in no matter the time of year or stage of life. This is for anyone who wants to be better organised.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

WIN a print copy of The Bookworm by Mitch Silver

RRP $25.95USD

* Copy courtesy of Wunderkind PR & Pegasus Books *

Blurb
Europe, 1940: It’s late summer and Belgium has been overrun by the German army. Posing as a friar, a British operative talks his way into the monastery at Villers-devant-Orval just before Nazi art thieves plan to sweep through the area and whisk everything of value back to Berlin. But the ersatz man of the cloth is no thief. Instead, that night he adds an old leather Bible to the monastery’s library and then escapes.

London, 2017: A construction worker operating a backhoe makes a grisly discovery―a skeletal arm-bone with a rusty handcuff attached to the wrist. Was this the site, as a BBC newsreader speculates, of “a long-forgotten prison, uncharted on any map?” One viewer knows better: it’s all that remains of a courier who died in a V-2 rocket attack. The woman who will put these two disparate events together―and understand the looming tragedy she must hurry to prevent―is Russian historian and former Soviet chess champion Larissa Mendelova Klimt, “Lara the Bookworm,” to her friends. She’s also experiencing some woeful marital troubles.

In the course of this riveting thriller, Lara will learn the significance of six musty Dictaphone cylinders recorded after D-Day by Noel Coward―actor, playwright and, secretly, a British agent reporting directly to Winston Churchill. She will understand precisely why that leather Bible, scooped up by the Nazis and deposited on the desk of Adolf Hitler days before he planned to attack Britain, played such a pivotal role in turning his guns to the East. And she will discover the new secret pact negotiated by the nefarious Russian president and his newly elected American counterpart―maverick and dealmaker―and the evil it portends.

Oh, and she’ll reconcile with her husband.

Author
Check out Mitch Silver's website here: www.mitchsilverauthor.com

Giveaway - this giveaway closed at midnight Friday 16 February 2018

Review: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Secret History by Donna Tartt has been on my radar for years so I was happy to borrow a copy from a friend and find out for myself why it's on so many Top 100 lists.

Published in the 1990s and set in Hampden College in Vermont, the story is narrated by college student Richard Papen and is essentially the story of what happens to him and his five fellow classics students. On the first page of the Prologue we learn one of them has been murdered.

Richard is on a scholarship but his fellow students have wealthy backgrounds and they're all studying Ancient Greek under the exclusive tutelage of a Professor who will only take a limited number of students on at any one time. The novel is peppered with quotes in Greek, and the students are intelligent, rich and somewhat entitled which gives the book an altogether snobbish undertone.

The narrator was irritatingly elusive and I wasn't quite sure if this was the point. The novel provided a penetrating character analysis of the friends without ever giving us a clear picture of the narrator and I'm still not sure why. Each of the characters was flawed and unlikeable in their own way and their behaviour was sometimes detestable. I'm just talking about their everyday behaviour here, not the fact that they murdered one of their friends.

Given I had little to zero understanding of the classics references contained within the book, I was relieved to discover I could easily follow the mystery through to a satisfactory ending. Although I was left wanting to know more about Henry's past and what happened in the woods.

Ultimately, this was a grudging read and a slow-burn. There's much to admire in the writing and the research is impressive, but it just didn't ring my bell. If I wanted a college setting with inspiring references to classic literature and a tragic death I'd turn to Dead Poets Society.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!

Review of How to Draw Cute Stuff - Draw Anything and Everything in the Cutest Style Ever! by Angela Nguyen

* Copy courtesy of Murdoch Books *

I can't draw. At all. So it shouldn't come as a shock that I've always admired those who can. In How to Draw Cute Stuff: Draw Anything and Everything in the Cutest Style Ever! artist Angela Nguyen shows the reader how to draw a variety of cute subjects from people, animals and food to other household items.

Thanks to the phenomenal success of Kawaii - the Japanese culture of cuteness - the popularity of all things cute doesn't seem to be fading any time soon. The ability to draw cute stuff can be utilised in a variety of ways: happy mail, doodling, bullet journals etc. and I was hoping to put some of these newfound skills to good use.

The subjects are all cute, there's no doubting that, but many of the things being drawn are quite detailed and - in my opinion - beyond the skills of a beginner. Perhaps readers with basic drawing skills will be able to draw a policeman, ninja, eagle, tiger, school bus or helicopter by following the instructions, but I certainly wasn't able to.

My favourites from the book did include the smiley face expressions, houses, and the puffer fish. (Loved that puffer fish!) The difficulty level of the majority of items exceeded my own skills as a beginner and I'm sorry to say I couldn't attempt many of them.

It is for this reason I'm giving the book 3 stars.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is one of my favourite books of all time and even recalling it now makes me chuckle. Having read it back in 2011, I thought it was high time to explore more from this eccentric and witty author, so I picked up Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. Big mistake. Huge.

Do you ever worry you'll spoil your love for a book if you read another by the same author and it's a drag? When I read a dud by an author I revere, it inevitably diminishes my overall opinion of their work and it happens more often than I'd like.*

Unfortunately, this was one of those times and I just didn't enjoy Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. There were moments of humour and cleverness, but by the end I was left wishing I'd never picked it up.

As a reader, I was greedy to recreate the magic of Three Men in a Boat where I should have been content to leave it as a standalone reading experience beyond compare. Have I learned my lesson though? Probably not.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!

* Which is why I'm reluctant to read anything else by John Williams, author of Stoner.

Review of How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life by Ruth Goodman

Ruth Goodman is one of my favourite historians, and I've enjoyed watching her in the following documentary series: Tudor Monastery Farm, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Wartime Farm and Full Steam Ahead.

In How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life, Ruth covers every stage of the day: sleeping, when to rise, washing, dressing, breakfast, education, dinner, men and women's work, leisure time and activities, supper and bedtime.

Goodman packs a punch into these 300 pages and her experience as a living historian is impressive. I especially enjoyed the social etiquette section, and in particular the section about walking and posture. Goodman says that today we can guess someone's nationality from their gait, and in the Tudor period you could guess someone's occupation from the way they walked.

"Ploughmen were described as having a 'plodding' gait, slow and deliberate, while shepherds were renowned for their light and springy step, striding out across the hills." Page 91

Ruth goes on to outline the preferred posture of the era and even touches on the differences wearing ruffs and lace cuffs made to posture and bearing. I'd never considered ruffs other than presuming they'd be uncomfortable to wear, and discovered that they significantly effected the way the wearers stood, ate and held themselves.

I also learned that starching a ruff can take an entire day and a white ruff was a versatile item of clothing thanks to the use of coloured starches. Yellow ruffs were worn, pale pink ruffs were worn by young boys, and blue starched ruffs were popular until they became associated with prostitutes and Elizabeth I declared that "no blue starch shall be used or worn by any of her Majesty's subjects." Page 78.

How To Be A Tudor is full of interesting tidbits like this and I enjoyed them all. Did you know that a middle class woman could be wearing 1000 pins at any one time? And these pins are still being found in the Thames? Wow!

I thoroughly recommend How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life by Ruth Goodman to readers with an interest in history, fashion, England and the Tudor period.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

2018 Reading Challenge Sign-Ups

I'm excited to sign-up for the following three reading challenges this year.

• Aussie Author Challenge 2018
• 2018 Australian Women Writer's Challenge
• 2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

____________________________________

The Aussie Author Challenge 2018 is hosted by Booklover BookReviews and I'm signing up for the Kangaroo level again. This means I'll need to read and review 12 titles written by Australian authors.

To successfully complete the challenge, at least 4 titles must be written by female authors, 4 titles by male authors and at least 4 of the 12 titles must be new to me authors. I'll also need to read across a minimum of 3 genres.

You don't need a blog to join in, you can follow along on Facebook and Twitter. For more details, click here.
______________________________________________

I'm signing up to the Franklin level of the 2018 Australian Women Writer's Challenge this year and will need to read 10 books and review at least 6 of them in order to complete the challenge.

The challenge is run by writers and volunteers and encourages readers to discover more books by Australian women.

Participants can can join in on Facebook and GoodReads.

_______________________________________________

I'm signing up for the Renaissance Reader level of the 2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge again this year, hosted by Passages to the Past. 

I will need to read 10 historical fiction novels to complete the challenge and it could be a stretch, so wish me luck.
____________________________________________

You can follow my challenge progress here and I look forward to discovering some ripping reads during the year. Let me know if you're participating in any of these challenges in the comments below.

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Commando - The Life And Death Of Cameron Baird, VC, MG by Ben Mckelvey

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

Australian writer Ben Mckelvey has done a great job telling the reader about the life of Cameron Baird, VC, MG in The Commando - The Life and Death of Cameron Baird, VC, MG. With the help and blessing of Cameron's parents Kaye and Doug Baird, Mckelvey gives us an insight into the life of Cameron Baird, killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.

Posthumously awarded the 100th Victoria Cross, Cameron Baird, VC, MG is one of Australia's most decorated modern soldiers. Mckelvey takes the reader back to Cam's childhood as a talented young football player, joining the Australian Army and his career as a soldier.

Here's a quote from Page 46:
"When building a modern soldier, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) prefers to start from a somewhat razed foundation, so in their early days at Kapooka the recruits can do no right. No matter how they make their beds, clean their bathrooms or fold their uniforms, they will have done it incorrectly. There will be punishments, and very loud vocal objections at their ineptitude. They are not permitted to contact their family or friends for the first week, though they are encouraged to write letters to loved ones back home."

And on Page 47:
"This is all part of ADF strategy. After an initial burst of harsh discipline, recruits are allowed to progress their skills, and to take pride in their development. This is when Cam began to feel a love of soldiering that rarely dampened ever after."

I easily related to this, having joined the ADF earlier than Cam and survived the rigorous Officer training at ADFA to go on and serve in the Royal Australian Navy. Prior to reading this biography, the name of Cameron Baird lived in my mind alongside those other greats of the Australian Army, Ben Roberts-Smith and Mark Donaldson, but now I have a sense of the man, the son and the soldier and what made him a hero. 

According to the CO of 2 Commando Regiment, Cam "will never be forgotten by his regiment, his Army or his nation." In writing this biography, Ben Mckelvey is helping to make sure of it.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Top 5 Books of 2017

Here are my top 5 books of 2017, in the order I read them.

1. Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession (Six Tudor Queens #2) by Alison Weir

Alison Weir's unique take on the life of Anne Boleyn in Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession took me by surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it in June, courtesy of Hachette Australia. The novel covers Anne's upbringing in French court and the powerful women she served there, right up to her execution at the order of the King. 

The reason this made my top 5 list was largely due to the end of the novel. Weir was able to create an incredibly moving 'end' that was unexpectedly emotional and even a little upsetting. It's unlike me to be moved to tears reading a book, but this was close.

2. The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

I read The Four Tendencies in September (courtesy of Hachette Australia) and I'm still thinking about and applying the theories in my everyday life. It's for this reason The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin easily earned a place on my Top 5 books this year. 

Since reading the book I've been able to recognise the four tendencies in others and have reaffirmed my status as an Obliger. I rarely re-read books, but this is one I can easily see myself returning to for a refresher.

3. A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

2017 was the first time I tackled anything by the great Virginia Woolf, and I'm so glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed Woolf's provocative and powerful writing in this novel length essay, and unexpectedly found myself laughing in some parts and inspired in others. Reading it in May, I readily imagined A Room of One's Own as a successful TEDTalk and reading it put to rest any fear that Virginia Woolf was too literary for my reading tastes. 

I usually try to include a few classics in my TBR pile but unfortunately this was the only one I read in 2017. I hope to do better in 2018.

4. Need To Know by Karen Cleveland

Penguin Random House UK outdid themselves in their marketing for espionage thriller Need to Know by Karen Cleveland in 2017. It arrived in a classified envelope containing a redacted mission, cool ID pouch, and advanced reading copy with phrases printed on both page edges. It was the most exciting book pitch ever and the book definitely delivered on its promise. 

For someone who doesn't read spy novels, I was lured in by the pitch and rewarded with a highly entertaining read. Cleveland spent 8 years as a CIA Analyst and Need to Know is being released on 25 January 2018.

5. Force of Nature by Jane Harper

I was nervous to read Force of Nature after the roaring success of The Dry by Jane Harper but I needn't have worried. Courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia, Force of Nature is an absolute ripping read and I think I enjoyed it even more than The Dry if that's at all possible. 

Read in November on holiday in Queensland, this was a highlight on my reading calendar and I'm proud to list a book by an Aussie author in my Top 5 List this year. (The last Aussie author to make it on my top 5 was Markus Zuzak with The Messenger in 2015).

Have you read any of the books in my top 5 list? What was your favourite read in 2017?

Carpe Librum!

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2017 Completed

In 2017 I participated in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2017 hosted by Passages to the Past. To successfully complete their Renaissance Reader level I needed to read 10 historical fiction novels and I just scraped it in.

Here's what I read:
1. The Hidden Thread | Liz Trenow
2. Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession | Alison Weir
3. The Shadow Land | Elizabeth Kostova
4. Tin Man | Sarah Winman
5. A Column of Fire | Ken Follett
6. City of Crows | Chris Womersley
7. The Last Tudor | Philippa Gregory
8. The Last Hours | Minette Walters
9. She Be Damned | M.J. Tjia
10. Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders

Have you read any of these books? I just managed to finish the final book before the year ended, but given historical fiction is still one of my favourite genres, I'll definitely be signing up again in 2018.

Carpe Librum!

Review: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders was the buzz book of 2017 and now I understand why. It's essentially the story of President Abraham Lincoln's grief at the tragic passing of his son Willie to typhoid fever and is different to any book I've read before.

The historical novel is written in an entirely original format and the story is told in two alternating methods or styles. The first being a collection of snippets from a variety of historical sources (referenced at the end), while the second appears as observations and conversations from ghosts in the cemetery where Willie's remains are interred.

I've read other epistolary novels - where the book is made by bringing together letters, diary excerpts and so on - but this was so much more. Both methods took some getting used to, but ultimately produced an entirely new reading experience for me. I expect this literary format and writing style will be emulated by writers in the years and decades ahead in an attempt to recreate the magic on the page.

The majority of the story takes place in the bardo; a Tibetan term for the Buddhist state between death and rebirth, a kind of purgatory or limbo. The ghost characters don't realise they're dead, and ignore the clues - calling their coffins a 'sick-box' and yearning to get back to their lives. Slowly Willie's presence begins to change their outlook and the entire cemetery is affected by what happens, courtesy of Lincoln's love for his son.

President Lincoln's grief and loss were palpable and the observations from history and supernatural characters moving. I can't begin to imagine the level of research Saunders conducted into Abraham Lincoln and the civil war in order to collect and bring those excerpts together to tell this story, but it's impressive to say the least.

This is a book about grief and the afterlife as much as it is about love, and I understand why Lincoln in the Bardo won the Man Booker Prize in 2017.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Review: She Be Damned by M.J. Tjia

* Copy courtesy of Pantera Press *

It's 1863 and Heloise Chancey is an amateur sleuth in London. An ex-courtesan with a penchant for investigation, Heloise puts her skills to work after at-risk women are murdered in Waterloo at a troubling rate.

This is a debut novel for Australian author M.J. Tjia and is the first in the Heloise Chancey historical crime series.

Quick and easy to read, She Be Damned was a great end-of-year read and helped me successfully complete my historical fiction reading challenge.

Having said that, the romance angle seemed a little unrealistic for the time period - despite Heloise's past as a courtesan - and was a turn off for me.

She Be Damned by author M.J. Tjia is recommended for those who love to discover new Australian authors and enjoy reading historical crime fiction. (Love that cover!)

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!