Review: The Easiest Slow Cooker Book Ever by Kim McCosker

I'm not very handy in the kitchen, but love using my slow cooker to prepare easy meals that produce leftovers for the following night. Having zero talent in the kitchen, the title of The Easiest Slow Cooker Book Ever by Kim McCosker definitely appealed to me and after borrowing a copy from my library, I soon realised I'd be needing my own. That never happens!

I started reading this last year, but wanted to wait until I'd tried some of the recipes before writing my review. The most popular recipe so far has been the Pulled Pork (Burgers). I serve mine with mash and with just two of us it lasted for several dinners and lunches. It was also an incredibly cheap meal to produce which also has its advantages.

I don't know about you, but when a slow cooker recipe asks me to start by browning meat in a frypan, my eyes roll and I swiftly move on. If I was going to brown meat in a pan, then I may as well cook it there. I'm happy to say only one of the recipes in this book begins this way and I was relieved.

The worst or most unsuccessful recipe so far (for me) was the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. I just didn't like the texture of the chicken and won't be putting whole chicken breasts in the slow cooker again.

I'm still looking forward to trying out the following recipes from the book: Beef Stroganoff, Easiest Roast Beef Ever, Country Chicken Casserole, Fiesta Chicken and Potato and Leek Soup. Yum!

Kim McCosker is the author who wrote 4 Ingredients and I just found out she's an Australian author too! How did I miss that?

My rating = ***1/2

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

* Copy courtesy of NetGalley *

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths is a gothic cozy murder mystery with literary leanings and I really enjoyed it.

The story is told from the perspective of three main characters, teacher Clare, daughter Georgie and DS Kaur. Clare is a literature teacher with a passion for the work of gothic writer R.M. Holland. Clare teaches at Holland House, Talgarth High School, the building where the reclusive R.M. Holland lived and wrote The Stranger.

When Clare's friend and colleague Ella is found dead, clues seem to point to the well known ghost story by R.M. Holland, The Stranger.

Set in rural England, this is a classic whodunnit with plenty of literary references. I enjoyed the alternate perspectives of daughter Georgie and DS Kaur's investigative process.

The Stranger Diaries is an enjoyable cozy murder mystery with plenty of potential suspects and I enjoyed the gothic undertones and satisfying conclusion. The inclusion of the short story The Stranger at the end was a bonus.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Interview with Jack Heath, bestselling Australian author of Hangman and Hunter

Australian author Jack Heath
(Photo credit: Ben Appleton)

Jack Heath lives in Canberra and is the bestselling author of more than 27 acclaimed fiction titles for middle‐grade and YA readers. His books have sold more than 200,000 copies worldwide and been translated into several languages. First published as a teenager, in the course of his research Jack has trained with firearms, performed street magic, visited morgues and prisons, travelled through eleven countries and read only books by women for a year. Heath’s debut into the adult crime genre, Hangman, was a huge success with rights sold across the globe as well as TV option.

A hearty welcome to Carpe Librum Jack! Congratulations on the release of Hunter, the second in the Timothy Blake series, and thanks for including an excerpt of my Hangman review in the praise section. I was ecstatic when I read it and it’s a thrill to interview you today.

Tell me, do you have anything in common with your cannibal protagonist, Timothy Blake?
Much more than I like to admit. I’m a nail-biter, I lie too easily, and I’m prone to a cynical or even nihilistic worldview. I regularly swear off meat (or coffee, or alcohol, or social media) only to indulge at the very next opportunity. Unfortunately, Blake has strengths that I don’t share. He’s observant. Brave. Cunning. He has a good memory. In fairness to me, though, I never ate anybody.

How do you balance Blake’s dark proclivities with the need to make him likeable?
I’m always walking a tightrope, trying to shock the reader as much and as often as possible without compromising their affection for Blake. Readers are willing to forgive him because he’s so skilled, because he has suffered so much, because he feels so guilty about his sins, and because the people he eats are mostly as bad as he is. Thistle helps make Blake likeable, too. She brings out the best in him, and he would do almost anything for her.

What was your inspiration for the character of FBI Agent Reese Thistle? She’s such a great character, and how did you come up with such a brilliant name?
I wish I could take the credit for the name! It was my wife’s idea. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but the more I wrote, the more it seemed to suit her. She started out, like most of my characters, as just a plot device. In Hangman I needed a counterpoint to Blake—someone who had suffered as much as he had, but hadn’t turned into a monster, and therefore made him morally culpable for his crimes without even knowing about them. But the more backstory I gave Thistle, the more human she became. She’s harder to write than Blake, but I’ve been able to borrow from my own experience to make it easier. Thistle has my taste in—and knack for—music, my history of troubled relationships, my obsession with my job, and my fondness for The X-Files.

Oh, I love The X-Files! Are there any plans to write a crime novel based in Australia? Is the Timothy Blake series set in Texas because (unlike Australia) they have capital punishment, thereby giving Blake access to death row cadavers?
When I was younger I knew the USA mostly from TV, so I thought of it as violent, corrupt, lawless and desperate. Whereas Australia seemed like a pretty nice place, perhaps because I was a middle-class white male living in Canberra. So I set my crime novel in the United States because that seemed more convincing to me at the time. Now I have a more nuanced view of both countries, so I’d like to write a crime novel set in Australia, but not right now. It would look like I was chasing the trend kickstarted by Jane Harper and ably accelerated by Chris Hammer, Sarah Bailey, Emma Viskic and Benjamin Stevenson. People love Blake and his noir distortion of Texas, so my plan is to keep doing that.

I’ve noticed that since the launch of Hunter, you’ve been incredibly generous with your time responding to reader reviews on social media and websites like GoodReads. In fact, the only other Australian bestselling author I’ve seen thank individual readers on such a grand scale is Kate Forsyth. Do you enjoy the publicity and engaging with readers on multiple platforms? Or are you secretly waiting for the time you can bunker down with your writing again?
It wouldn’t be much of a secret if I told you! I’m a bit of a social media addict, so chatting with readers gives me the excuse to log on. Their feedback is very useful in shaping future books, and it makes me happy that they seem so excited to hear from the author. But I feel that social media is an unhealthy distraction from my writing and editing. So I’m looking forward to when the publicity dies down and I can focus on what I really enjoy. Kate Forsyth, by the way, is generous both online and off. We first met at a festival, when I had literally zero dollars in my bank account because the preemptive charge for incidentals at the hotel had cleaned me out. With no other way to pay for food, I was so hungry. Kate convinced her publisher that I—again, a stranger—was a rising star, and they shouted me an amazing dinner at a very fancy restaurant.

Is it true you have a weak stomach and once fainted reading a book by Paul Cleave?
Fainted and vomited. In public. Not a pleasant experience, but very memorable. Words have power! People don’t believe this story, because Hangman and Hunter are so gruesome. But every murder I write makes me a little less squeamish, a little less afraid. Writing is therapy for me. I recently made it through Paul Cleave’s new book Trust No One without losing consciousness, and was very pleased with myself. Maybe I was better prepared.

What’s with the riddles at the beginning of each chapter in Hangman and Hunter?
Blake has a side-hustle slash money-laundering scam solving riddles for cash. Hangman was full of riddles, and my agent suggested putting one at the start of each chapter. I themed them, so a clue to each riddle is hidden within the chapter that succeeds it. This turned out to be a great idea—readers always tell me how much they love the riddles! They’re infuriated if they can’t work out the answers, though.

No way! I never noticed the riddles were themed or that each chapter has a clue. I'm going to have to go back and check now. Having written more than 25 books now, what’s your favourite part of the writing/publishing process?
Every stage of the process—daydreaming, outlining, writing, editing, proofreading, promoting—has its joys and its frustrations. These days my favourite part tends to be the final proofread. That’s when you can see the book as a reader will and marvel at how well it all came together, despite the clumsy, fragile process that led here. I’m proofreading my thirtieth book now—LIARS: Lockdown—and while I’m making plenty of notes, I’m also loving the ride.

Do you have any writing rituals?
If I’m struggling, I go to my local café and sit at the same table, if it’s available. I put my headphones on even if I’m not listening to music. I have a perfectly good office at home, but I spend more than $2,000 per year at that café, and it’s worth it. I can get more done in an hour there than in three hours at home.

What’s your secret reading pleasure?
I try to read as diversely as possible, in terms of genre, era and the background of the author. I also try to avoid bestsellers, knowing that everyone else is reading them too, and fearing that I will start to write like everyone else. I even try to limit myself to reading only one book per author, so I can discover as many writers as possible before I die. But my guilty pleasure is the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. I’ve read more than twenty of them, maybe all of them. I don’t even know why.

One book per author is something I do too but for a different reason. If a book is an average read I'm unlikely to read anything further from that author given there are so many great authors/books out there waiting to be discovered. However, if I adore a book, then I keep an eye out for their next one. What are you reading this month?
I just finished Home by Harlan Coben and Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. Now I’m reading The Orchardist’s Daughter by Karen Viggers, and next will be Injustice: Gods Among Us, Year Two by Tom Taylor.

Do you have a favourite bookshop in Canberra?
I used to work at Dymocks Belconnen before my writing career really took off—which it did in part because of the support they gave me. I still love the store, and I go in at least once a week.

What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I just had a quick look, and Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi is probably the one which would seem most out of place. Then again, the main character is a psychopath, so maybe it’s exactly what you’d expect.

What's next for Timothy Blake?
I just submitted an outline for another Blake book, this time with a more remote, claustrophobic setting. An Agatha Christie-ish limited-suspects whodunnit type thing. If the publisher goes for it, I’d hope to have it written by the end of the year and published in 2020.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Thanks, but I have to get back to proofreading!

Thanks Jack, and fingers crossed your outline is given the stamp of approval. I'm sure I'm not alone in needing another Timothy Blake taste fix next year. Find out more about the author at jackheath.com.au and read a sample chapter of Hunter here.

Bumper Birthday Stack Giveaway 2019

It’s my birthday in March and other than deciding I’m going to start reading Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor, I’m also excited to bring you another bumper birthday stack giveaway. Hip hip hooray!! Historically this has been my most popular giveaway in any given year so let's do it again.

You might be wondering where the books in this 'fat stack' come from. I'm fortunate enough to receive a number of unsolicited books from publishers each month and there's just no way I can get to them all. In some cases, they're also not for me. So to celebrate my birthday I'm sharing this curated stack of books with you.

To win the book of your choice from the pile, just select your favourite using the embedded form below. Simple as that! 

Depending on the number of entries, I may decide to choose a second winner. (Let's face it, I probably will).

Entries close midnight AEST Sunday 31 March 2019 so good luck and I hope you'll help me spread the birthday bookish cheer 😊

This giveaway has now closed.

Apple Island Wife winner announced

Thanks to those who entered last week’s giveaway to win a copy of travel memoir Apple Island Wife - Slow Living in Tasmania by Fiona Stocker. During the giveaway the book hit #1 in Travel books Australia and the giveaway was included in Ganeing Ground Tasmania Daily News which was exciting.

The winner was drawn today and congratulations go to:

May

This is the ninth giveaway May has entered so I was pleased when her name finally came up. Congratulations May! I’ll be sending you an email shortly with the details.

Stay tuned for more chances to win with my bumper birthday stack giveaway coming in March and a children's picture book giveaway coming soon! Hopefully there'll be something for everyone. If you want to see giveaway dates as soon as they're locked in, you can check my Giveaways page.

Review: The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *

I'm embarrassed to say I received this book for review back in 2015 and it's languished on my unsolicited TBR pile since then. In an effort to get through some of the backlog, I picked up The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens this month with the intention of reading just 10 pages before deciding if it was for me or not. I certainly wasn't expecting to be hooked by page 2, that's for sure!

Wolf is an experienced hiker and heads to the mountain overlooking Palm Springs to take his own life. However after a series of random events, he finds himself lost with three women on the mountain. Forced to survive gruelling conditions, Wolf is finally coming clean years later about what really happened during their five days on the mountain.

This was a gripping survival story and we know from the blurb that only three of the four hikers will survive. The tension comes from not knowing which of the hikers will succumb to the bitter conditions in the isolated wilderness.

I enjoyed the interactions between the characters and of course learning Wolf's backstory. The ending was unexpected, yet strangely satisfying too.

My only regret is not getting to this sooner.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Binding by Bridget Collins

The Binding by Bridget Collins is one of my most anticipated reads for 2019 and it didn't disappoint. Collins has created a world where books are forbidden and the profession of bookbinder is akin to that of a witch. A binder has the power to take a traumatic memory - or series of memories - and erase it from your mind by binding it into a book. Many people suffering grief and trauma seek their services, despite being shrouded in superstition and plagued by prejudice.

Emmett comes from a farming family and he’s bedridden with a mysterious illness when a letter arrives summoning him to become apprentice to a bookbinder. His parents mysteriously say they have no choice, and Emmett swiftly finds himself plucked from his life into an unknown and uncertain future.

Emmett's master is Seredith, an old woman living alone on the marshes. Slowly but surely Seredith teaches Emmett the tradesman skills required to bind books. Working with vellum, paper, leather scraps, gold foiling, glue and more, this was by far my favourite part of the story. I was pleasantly surprised to learn Collins is an amateur bookbinder herself and her experience clearly shines through. As Emmett learned these same skills, I yearned - along with him - to discover more about the process of binding a person's memories.

I was happy for the entire book to be about Emmett, his apprenticeship and relationship with Seredith however we were soon jerked out of that story and thrust in a new direction. Ahhhh! In fact, I'm still mourning the early trajectory of the novel, and can only hope Collins pens another novel in this world, and completes the reader's desire to know absolutely everything about the bookbinding process.

The Binding is a combination of fantasy and historical fiction or historical fiction meets urban fantasy. It doesn't clearly straddle either genre and I loved that it contained hints of folklore and myth whilst remaining rooted in reality.

And that cover, wow! I have to comment on the overall presentation, because it's an absolute masterpiece. The Binding is a stunning book to hold in your hands. Deckled edged pages are bound in a glorious spine with gold foiling designed to look like an embossed leather tome. The cover design is deliciously intricate and the French flap adds even further to the appeal. It's sublime and to truly enjoy reading The Binding, you simply must read a physical copy.

I loved The Binding - in spite of the altered direction - and can't wait to see what Bridget Collins writes next.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Friday Freebie: WIN a copy of Apple Island Wife – Slow Living in Tasmania by Fiona Stocker

Today's Friday Freebie is travel memoir Apple Island Wife - Slow Living in Tasmania by Fiona Stocker. Please enter below for your chance to win. Open internationally and entries close Sunday 17 March. Good luck!

Blurb
What happens when you leave city life and move to five acres on a hunch, with a husband who’s an aspiring alpaca-whisperer, and a feral cockerel for company? Can you eat the cockerel for dinner? Or has it got rigor mortis?

In search of a good life and a slower pace, Fiona Stocker upped-sticks and moved to Tasmania, a land of promise, wilderness, and family homes of uncertain build quality. It was the lifestyle change that many dream of and most are too sensible to attempt.

Wife, mother and now reluctant alpaca owner, Fiona jumped in at the deep end. Gradually Tasmania got under her skin as she learned to stack wood, round up the kids with a retired lady sheepdog, and stand on a scorpion without getting stung.

This charming tale captures the tussles and euphoria of living on the land in a place of untrammelled beauty, raising your family where you want to and seeing your husband in a whole new light. Not just a memoir but an everywoman’s story, and a paean to a new, slower age.

Author bio
Fiona Stocker was born in Australia and raised in the north-west of England. After graduating in the arts, she worked in London and Brisbane in the fields of theatre, advertising, education and recruitment. A circuitous route and a sense of adventure took her to Tasmania in 2006, where she and her husband established Langdale Farm, a tiny free range pig farm with accommodation. Who knew? Fiona writes freelance and edits other people’s books. Apple Island Wife is her first travel memoir. She lives in the Tamar Valley of northern Tasmania with her husband, two children, a retired sheepdog and around forty-five pigs. Read more at www.fionastocker.com

Giveaway

This giveaway has now closed.

Winner of the writing gloves from Literary Book Gifts announced

Thanks to everyone who entered last week’s 'handy' giveaway to win a pair of cashmere writing gloves from Literary Book Gifts valued at $52USD. This was a popular giveaway and the top colour choices were: electric blue, wine red, black and heather navy blue.

The winner was drawn today and congratulations go to:

Krystal

Congratulations Krystal! You chose dark green as your preferred colour and will receive an email shortly with the details. Thanks to Literary Book Gifts for the prize.

For those who didn't win, I'm running another giveaway on Friday so please stay tuned for more chances to win with Carpe Librum! Check out my giveaways page for a sneak peek.

Literary Book Gifts
Cashmere writing gloves

Review and personal mention in Hunter by Jack Heath

RRP $29.99AUD
Published 4 March 2019
Allen & Unwin

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

I have exciting news to share, I've been mentioned in the praise section of Hunter by Jack Heath, published by Allen & Unwin and available in bookstores today! But let me back up a minute.

Hunter is the second in the series to feature Timothy Blake and which began with Hangman. I was a huge fan of Hangman and some of you might remember I published a recipe style review last year which Allen & Unwin really enjoyed. 

Since then, I've been eagerly awaiting the next novel in the series but had no idea an excerpt of my Hangman review was going to be published in the praise section at the beginning of Hunter. I was stoked to receive an advance copy and when I saw Carpe Librum mentioned, my reaction was immediate and visceral. Wooohoooo!!! It's been a dream come true and I'm elated that I can now share it with you.

Naturally I've been on cloud nine since then, however I was also understandably nervous that Hunter would live up to expectations. I'm relieved to say it did!

The riddles at the beginning of each chapter are back and continued to do my head in, although I think I had a better solve rate this time. Blake is officially no longer a consultant for the FBI and when Hunter opens, we find him involved in body disposal for a local crime lord. He still sees FBI agent Reese Thistle, but when he stumbles across a body that has nothing to do with his new 'role' he finds himself in quite the predicament.

Praise section of Hunter by Jack Heath
Note the quote from Carpe Librum blog

I enjoyed Blake's character development in Hunter. He continues to develop feelings for Thistle and vows to be a better man so that she never has to discover his dark secret.

Blake remains the likeable bad guy protagonist, and Aussie author Jack Heath does an astonishing job of continuing to make the reader root for the cannibal detective. Hunter is a solid follow up to the first in the series, with no perceivable drop off in writing, tension, action or body count.

Highly recommended!

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

P.S. Read a FREE sample of Hunter and see the Carpe Librum mention on page 4.

Review: Claude & Camille - A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell

After reading Claude & Camille - A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell, I've decided Monet was a detestable fellow and a sponge on all who knew him. There, I've said it!

Reading a fictionalised account of the life of a favourite artist is a risk and unfortunately it didn't pay off for me this time. I will continue to admire Monet's artwork but this insight into the man revealed an unlikeable artist who repeatedly made decisions that infuriated me.

Of course I knew he and his first wife Camille lived in poverty, but I didn't realise how proud he was, how he was constantly in denial about his mounting debts and often ran away to escape them. During periods of greatest financial need, he was often too upset or worried to paint; his only source of income.

The frequent mention of impressionist artists was to be expected and Renoir, Bazille, Sisley, Degas, Cezanne and Pissarro all feature in Monet's life.

While I didn't like Claude Monet and therefore wasn't terribly interested in his life, this is not a reflection of the author's writing. Stephanie Cowell has done a great job bringing Monet's story to life and her detailed research shines through.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!

Review: Green Is The New Black - Inside Australia's Hardest Women's Jails by James Phelps

Australian author James Phelps takes a look at some of the most violent and notorious female prisoners behind bars in Green Is The New Black: Inside Australia's Hardest Women's Jails.

Phelps doesn't hold back describing the lives of the inmates so this isn't for readers with a weak stomach. Occasionally the writing appeared salacious and the shock factor swiftly wore off for me. I soon became disgusted by the practices of the inmates as well as the stories and encounters re-told in this book.

Particular stories felt sensationalised and despite some of the well-known prisoners and infamous true crimes mentioned, I lost interest early on.

Just as he did in Australia's Most Murderous Prison - Behind the Walls of Goulburn Jail, Phelps occasionally inserted a narrative nonfiction style of writing, which seemed to fictionalise an inmate's experience as if it was taking place right now. There was no consistency to these changes in writing style, which left these sections oddly juxtaposed with the standard non fiction delivery.

Only recommended for hard core true crime fans with an interest in Australian prison life for female inmates. I'm sure there are better books out there for those wanting to read about the individual inmates mentioned.

My rating = *

Carpe Librum!

WIN a pair of cashmere writing gloves from Literary Book Gifts valued at $52USD

I've teamed up with Literary Book Gifts to bring you the first Carpe Librum giveaway for 2019. While it's summer in Australia, the northern hemisphere has experienced a record breaking winter and are doing everything they can to keep warm.

Enter below to win a pair of cashmere writing gloves from Literary Book Gifts valued at $52USD (plus free international shipping) in your choice of 13 colours.

Available in 13 colours
Literary Book Gifts

These soft fingerless cashmere knit gloves are perfect for writing, reading, crafting and more. You can wear them while typing on your keyboard or using touch screens. Keep your hands warm in winter and maintain full dexterity.

The gloves are made of a breathable cashmere knit of about 35% cashmere wool, with cotton, polyester and microfibre blended in for durability. These gloves measure approximately 17.5 cm in length and are available in 13 different colours.

Good luck and feel free to browse their website and check out their gift ideas for book lovers, readers, writers and librarians. 

This giveaway has now closed.

Review: Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward

RRP $29.99AUD

Published in October 2018

Allen & Unwin

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

Our main character Caroline, is reeling after a messy break up with her husband. His controlling behaviour led to Caroline losing her herself and her kids and she's now alone with a drinking problem. One day a delivery to the door sparks an opportunity to get to the bottom of her ex husband's secretive behaviour and expose Jack for the type of man he really is.

Perfect Ten is a tense domestic noir novel exploring themes of revenge and retribution against a backdrop of danger and uncertainty. I haven't been this tense watching a female character obsess about a man since reading The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton.

Caroline uses the power of social media to bring down Jack and while I would have executed a different plan, I think that's the point. Caroline is a wrecking ball in her own life, and the reader is left to find out whether she can come out of it on top or not.

Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward is recommended for psychological thriller fans and readers who enjoy domestic noir. However I advise readers to ignore the tagline: rage before beauty. It had nothing to do with the plot in my opinion.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Review: Threads of Life - A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

I've been enjoying cross stitch for many years now and while it will always remain secondary to my passion for books and reading, it's an activity I thoroughly enjoy. I find it relaxing and rewarding to watch a piece take shape, stitch by stitch and thread by thread.

After seeing some ecclesiastical needlework and medieval tapestries at the Victoria and Albert Museum last year, I was keen to learn more about the history of needlework. Threads of Life - A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter was a great place to start.

Packed with historical fact - sometimes a little too much - Threads of Life certainly does attempt to take on the history of the world.

I enjoyed learning more about the Bayeux Tapestry, the stitching completed by Mary, Queen of Scots and WWI soldiers suffering from PTSD. I was stunned to read about the Northern Ireland Game of Thrones® Tapestry, and put the book down to watch the 30 minute coverage of the entire tapestry on YouTube. It was impressive and I hope to see it one day.

In fact, I often had to stop reading to go and look up certain artworks and artists like Mary Delany, Mary Linwood and more. I dearly wished the publisher had considered including photographs of any sort to complement the content within. Needlework is such a visual art and without any photographs or sketches (colour or black and white) I felt the book was lacking.

Threads of Life is recommended for readers interested in any of the ways needlework has been used to communicate a message, create desirable artwork, delineate between the rich and the poor, raise women out of poverty, provide captives with hope and the damaged a way to heal.

My rating = ***1/2

Carpe Librum!

Literary Map for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is here and to get you in the mood Global English Editing has compiled this epic literary map showcasing the most romantic books from around the world.

Although I don't read a lot of it, romance continues to be one of the world's bestselling genres and whilst you may already know some of the books listed, hopefully there'll be a few new ones to discover.

Do you have a favourite book on the map? Are any of the books mentioned languishing on your TBR pile? If you want more info on the books, Global English Editing provide a brief synopsis of each story here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Review: The Familiars by Stacey Halls

RRP $29.99 AUD
Published 4 February 2019

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

The Familiars by Stacey Halls is an historical fiction tale featuring Fleetwood Shuttleworth in the time of the Pendle witch trials of 1612. Based on real characters from history in Lancashire England, Fleetwood is 17 years old, married and pregnant again after failing to carry her three previous pregnancies to term.

Fleetwood is mistress at Gawthorpe Hall and meets Alice Gray, a wise woman and midwife. Alice agrees to help Fleetwood deliver her baby safely but soon finds herself swept up in accusations of witchcraft.

Despite being fiction, I love that the characters, locations and events in The Familiars were based on historical fact. It was a fascinating insight into the period and the characters and I was instantly caught up in their stories. Fleetwood and Alice depend on each other for survival and their plight highlights the limitations placed on women at the time and the ridiculous accusations - and fear - of witchcraft.

If that wasn't enough, The Familiars is a physically stunning book. I adore the cover design with bronze foiling, forest foliage and the spot UV noose that encircles our main character. The title page and map immediately dropped me into the time period and the images of the fox and sprigs of lavender throughout the novel kept the level of enchantment full to overflowing.

It's not often that an unsolicited book from a publisher results in a five star reading experience, but The Familiars by Stacey Halls is an exception to the rule. I absolutely loved it!

Highly recommended.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Review: An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

Many of you will remember that The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma was one of my favourite books in 2015 and I couldn't stop talking about it. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and I was disappointed when it didn't win. Since then, Chigozie Obioma has been busy writing An Orchestra of Minorities and you can imagine how excited I was to read this; just holding it filled me with giddy anticipation.

Our main character Chinonso is a young poultry farmer living in Nigeria and his story is narrated by his chi or guardian spirit. The novel is bursting with Igbo cosmology and Chinonso's chi has come to plead the case of his host before Chukwu, Creator of All at the magnificent court of Bechukwu, in Eluigwe. In telling his host's story to the court, we learn about Chinonso and the foreshadowing that his life is about to undertake a tragic turn.

Chinonso is a poor farmer and after thwarting Ndali's suicide attempt, they fall in love. Ndali is educated and from the upper classes and her family vehemently oppose the match. This is a powerful story of love, heartache, misfortune and tragedy and covers a multitude of topics, including the westernisation of Nigeria, the disparity between classes, the notions of revenge and forgiveness and the complexities of love.

The entire book is narrated by Chinonso’s chi, who is testifying to the ‘elders/spirits’ on behalf of his host because of a crime he may have committed. The chi goes into great detail to paint the picture leading up to the event, however by the end of the book we’re left completely hanging. We learn about the event that was foreshadowed early in the book, however we never learn the outcome for Ndali or Chinonso.

What I found even more baffling is that we never hear a response from the court of elder spirits to the testimony provided by Chinonso's chi. There is no judgement - or response - provided at all. Given the chi’s testimony (the book) goes into so much detail about Chinonso’s life, to have the entire situation completely unresolved at the end of 500+ pages was quite a shock.

In fact, I was so rattled that I asked the publisher if I was missing something, or if there was going to be a sequel. I received the following info which I think is worth sharing here: It is purposefully ambiguous and intended to play upon the reader’s mind. Fiction, much like life, has no easy, neat and tidy, resolution.

I understand messy and ambiguous endings, but this story was cut short before we found out where it was going to end up. I was looking forward to the wisdom of the elder spirits and Chukwu, but sadly this never came.

Ultimately, An Orchestra of Minorities was just too open-ended for me and the lack of a conclusion greatly affected what had been a 4 or 5 star read until that point.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Au Pair by Emma Rous

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

The Au Pair by Emma Rous is the perfect blend of atmospheric tension, mystery, twins, dark family secrets and folklore surrounding a large family estate on the Norfolk coast known as Summerbourne.

Unfolding in two narratives, present day Seraphine is a twin exploring the mysterious suicide of her mother the day she and her brother were born at Summerbourne. Seraphine believes the au pair - who disappeared after the suicide - may have information and seeks to track her down.

The second narrator is the au pair Laura and we read about the lead up to Seraphine's birth in the early 1990s from her perspective. This reads like an historical fiction novel, but given the alternate time line is set in the 1990s I guess it really isn't. 

There is an underlying feeling of menace as Seraphine is warned against digging into the past and questioning a photo she found of her mother holding just one baby the day of her birth.

This was the perfect read for me and my only criticism is the cover art. I'd go so far as to say I wouldn't have picked this up in a bookshop based on the cover alone. It just doesn't do the novel justice in my opinion.

The Au Pair by Emma Rous is described as perfect for fans of Kate Morton and I heartily agree. The author gently pulls the reader along on the mystery and I was heavily invested in the story.

Highly recommended!

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Review: In Miniature - How Small Things Illuminate the World by Simon Garfield

RRP $29.99 AUD
Published October 2018

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

Miniatures always inspire awe and wonder and Simon Garfield has turned his sharp focus on the world of miniatures in his latest offering In Miniature - How Small Things Illuminate the World.

I've always admired the workmanship of modellers and creators of miniatures, whether they be doll houses, matchstick ships, micro sculptures or tiny models. In the 1990s I wore a treasured pendant that contained a grain of rice with my name on it. The skill, determination and creativity of miniature artists never ceases to amaze me.

Seeing Queen Mary's Dolls' House in 2012 was definitely a highlight, and reading here about the process of inviting the country's best artisans to contribute to the house was illuminating.

Simon Garfield covers some of my favourite topics in the world of miniatures here, including Rod Stewart's famous model train collection, the popularity of the YouTube micro cooking channel Miniature Space as well as the work of artists Slinkachu and Tatsuya Tanaka. I also love the lead pencil sculptures and art in the eye of a needle.

The clever cover design of this book is to be commended. The hardcover image is complemented by the creative and eye-pleasing partial dust jacket that transforms the image to make it look like an open box of matches. Brilliant! Having said that, I wish the photographs inside had been in colour, or at least of a better quality. The ink on the black and white photographs came off onto my fingers while reading and given I read in a bed with white linen, this was bad news.

In Miniature offers more than an overview on the world of miniatures. Garfield examines the world of miniatures in an essay writing style. This meant that I dipped in and out of it, sampling a chapter or more at a time. In Miniature is recommended reading for anyone interested in the world of miniatures. Whether you're an aspiring artist or hobbyist creator, a collector, an enthusiast or just in awe of the work, I think you'll enjoy this.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Check out my review of Just My Type by Simon Garfield.

For more on dolls houses, check out my review of Dolls' Houses from the V&A Museum of Childhood by Halina Pasierbska, also courtesy of Allen & Unwin.