Month: January 2017

4.5*, book review

Book review: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris.

if only I could read faster

 

the-breakdown
The Breakdown by B.A. Paris.

 

Ok, so I have to admit that in order to read this book as soon as I possibly could I became something of a stalker. Regular readers of If only I could read faster will know that I loved Behind Closed Doors, B.A. Paris’ debut book that was my book of the year 2016. So when I knew that her second book was available to reviewers I wanted it, badly. I don’t normally bother and if I want to read a book and can’t easily get it to review then I pre-order it and wait like everyone else, but I just couldn’t wait to read this book! Thankfully the author herself came to my rescue when she heard how much I loved her first book. So thank you B.A. Paris for helping me get a copy of your book!

My 4.5* review:

The Breakdown had a lot to live up to, I absolutely loved the author’s debut novel Behind Closed Doors, and was desperate to read this book. I was worried that I would be disappointed, as so often happens when you have really high expectations, but whenever I heard from anyone who had read it it was all positive so I was excited to read it.

Cass sees a car stopped on the side of a remote road during a huge storm, she pulls over but worried for her own safety she doesn’t get out of her car and as the driver of the other car doesn’t get out or signal to Cass she decides to drive home and call someone from there. On arriving home Cass gets distracted and never makes that phone call.

When the next morning news spreads of a murder on the very same road Cass is flooded with guilt when she learns that it was the driver of the car that she saw that had been killed. Cass decides to keep it a secret, scared that she will be judged by others for not helping the driver.

With the murder so close to Cass’ isolated home it is not surprising that she feels jumpy but as time goes on Cass is sure that she is being watched and becomes convinced that the killer saw her on that fateful night and is going to come after her.

At the same time Cass starts to find her memory going, her mother had early onset dementia and it appears that the same is happening to Cass. She does her best to hide it but her husband can’t help but get frustrated at her and gradually Cass comes to accept that she is heading the same route as her mother.

The combination of her memory loss and the guilt that she feels over not helping the murdered woman causes Cass to crumble and without the support of her husband and best friend she knows that things would be even worse.

But is everything as it seems?

This book is totally different to the author’s debut which is definitely a good thing, it is an enjoyable and easy to read book, that keeps you guessing and wanting to know what will happen. I felt that the ending was rushed which was a real shame but it gets a solid 4.5*’s from me. I loved how the story took you in and you were never quite sure about what was going on. Now I have to wait for the authors next book!

Blurb:

THE NEW CHILLING, PROPULSIVE NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…

The Breakdown is out on 9th February 2017 and is available to pre-order now from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

blog tours, book extract

Blog Tour: Games People Play by Owen Mullen.

if only I could read faster

gamespeopleplay

Today is the final stop on the blog tour for Games People Play by Owen Mullen. I have content from the book and my extract carries on from where Emma The Little Bookworm left off.

Extract:

‘The water was freezing. What the hell had Jen been thinking? This was Scotland, for Christ’s sake. He swam to where he’d last seen her and went under. Mark was a good swimmer but it was dark. His frantic fingers searched until the pressure in his chest forced him to the surface. He took in as much air as he could and went back. Something bumped against him. He grabbed hold and dragged it up. Two boys ran into the water to help: the footballers.

They hauled her body the last few yards and Mark fell to his knees. Jennifer wasn’t breathing. People appeared on the beach, silent witnesses to the nightmare the day had become. Where had they been when he needed them? He shouted, half in anger half in desperation. ‘Somebody call an ambulance!’ The crowd kept a respectful distance, they believed what he believed, that he’d lost her. Jennifer’s face was white. Mark covered her mouth with his and breathed into her. His hands pressed against her chest demanding she come back to him. One of the boys took over with no better luck. Mark tried again, refusing to let her go. He pumped her heart, whimpering like a child, sobbing for himself as well as his wife. Jennifer’s eyes fluttered; she retched and vomited water. Mark turned her on her side and rubbed her back, whispering reassurance, blinded by tears, aware his prayers had been answered. A siren sounded in the distance; it was going to be alright. She was safe. They would be together again. The three of them. He raised his head and saw ambulance-men racing towards him across the sand. Mark jumped to his feet. They must have drifted… except the boat was there. His voice rose from a cry to a scream. ‘Lily. Lily!’ He spoke to the group who had offered nothing. ‘I left a baby here, somebody must’ve seen her.’ They stared, no idea what he was talking about. A new terror seized him. He ran a few steps up and down the beach, lost and afraid. The bag lay where Jennifer dropped it. But no push-chair. No sign his daughter had ever been there. Lily was gone.’

Sounds good doesn’t it?!! Games People Play by Owen Mullen is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blurb:

A powerful new crime thriller:

Thirteen-month-old Lily Hamilton is abducted from Ayr beach in Scotland while her parents are just yards away.

Three days later the distraught father turns up at private investigator Charlie Cameron’s office. Mark Hamilton believes he knows who has stolen his daughter. And why.

Against his better judgment Charlie gets involved In the case and when more bodies are discovered the awful truth dawns: there is a serial killer whose work has gone undetected for decades.

Is baby Lily the latest victim of a madman?

For Charlie it’s too late, he can’t let go. His demons won’t let him.

 

5*, book review

Book review: The Mountain in my Shoe by Louise Beech.

if only I could read faster

 

themountaininmyshoe
The Mountain in my Shoe by Louise Beech.

My 5* review:

I’ve heard a lot about Louise Beech, I have even met her at a book event when she was talking about this book when it was released. Her book, How To Be Brave, has been on my tbr pile for quite some time, but never quite made it to the top. I was determined to read one of her books and so, a little unsure about what to expect, I started to read The Mountain in my Shoe.

What I found was a truly wonderful story, it was a real treat. A book like this does not come along very often.

Bernadette is the main storyteller, she is a character who is stuck in a loveless marriage and is truly isolated from the world around her. We find her desperately searching for a book, what book it is we are not yet sure, but it is missing. Then her husband, who arrives home regular as clockwork at 6pm doesn’t come home and while Bernadette is waiting for him the phone rings and she is told that Conor is also missing.

Conor takes priority and Bernadette calls a taxi to take her to find him, the taxi driver clearly knows her and her routine well and is concerned by her out of character behaviour. The relationship between the two is unexpected and often made me smile.

We soon find out that Bernadette has not been sitting at home waiting for her husband as he thinks she is, instead she has volunteered to befriend a child in care and from that she met Conor, a little boy who she has grown to love in the five years that she has known him. The story of Conor is told by Bernadette, Conor and his foster carer Anne, but also by Conor’s lifebook, a book created by those involved with Conor and his care while he is a looked after child and it is this lifebook that is missing.

The unusual way of telling Conor’s story works incredibly well, different voices give different things to the story and gradually the sad story of Conor’s childhood, from why he was removed from his mother to his various foster families becomes known to the reader. It is beautifully revealed and I think that the reader can’t help but fall in love with little Conor, he is a truly wonderful character and so real that I am sure that he must exist somewhere.

The majority of the book takes place over the evening that Conor, the book and Bernadette’s husband all went missing. The reader pieces the story together as the book goes along, and while some of it was pretty obvious, I loved just about every moment of reading this book.

Apart from one rather large medical mistake, this book is pretty much faultless, Louise Beech is a fabulous storyteller with a real talent. I will definitely be reading How to be Brave soon.

The Mountain in my Shoe by Louise Beech is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blurb:

A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself. On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving, he doesn’t come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she’s befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor’s foster mum, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband’s secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all. Exquisitely written and deeply touching, The Mountain in My Shoe is both a gripping psychological thriller and a powerful and emotive examination of the meaning of family … and just how far we’re willing to go for the people we love

 

 

 

5*, blog tours, book review

Blog Tour & Review: A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart.

if only I could read faster

 

aboymadeofblocks
A Boy Made of Blogs by Keith Stuart.

 

Today is my stop on the blog tour for a very special book. A Boy Made of Blocks has been out for some time in eBook but the publishers are doing a tour to mark the release in paperback.

My 5* review:

It isn’t often that I give a book 5 stars when I nearly gave up reading it. When the book starts it seems like it is going to be very similar to another book, Shtum, a book that was ok but in my opinion (which seems different to many others), not great. I was not keen to read a book that was so alike. I kept going though and I’m so pleased that I did, sure it was a bit slow to get going but once I got into it I loved it.

A Boy Made of Blocks tells the story of Alex, his wife has asked him to leave, she needs some space and time to work out what she wants from the relationship. Sleeping on the floor in a friend’s spare room Alex finds that maybe it was him that needed the time apart to get himself together.

Alex has spent his life running, running from the haunting memories of his brother’s death as a child and the guilt that he carries as a result. His relationship with Jody was fast forwarded when she got pregnant and Alex found himself with a mortgage and a baby who as he grew became more and more difficult until finally the diagnosis of autism was given.

So when Alex found himself lying on the floor and thinking about his life he was forced to face the reality of how he had thrown himself into a job that he hated but was rather good at, in order to keep himself from dealing with his son, Sam, and the consequences of his diagnosis.

The author clearly has personal experience of autism, and I loved how he wrote about it in this book, it was very matter of fact and honest. If I’d known how much the book talks about the computer game Minecraft then I might have been further put off reading it, but I didn’t know for that I’m grateful. I still only know what the book told me about it but the game became a character in itself in the book, it was very well written.

I’m sure that you won’t be surprised to read that Alex changed as the book went on, that his relationship with Sam changed, it was so beautiful to read about Alex’s journey of self-discovery and love for his son. In fact, as Alex found his love for his son so did I as the reader.

I could gush a bit more but I won’t. A Boy Made of Blocks is a well written debut that takes the reader on a journey with the characters. It really is something special.

I received a copy of A Boy Made of Blocks from the publishers but I was under no obligation to review it.

A Boy Made of Blocks is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blurb:

In the tradition of Nick Hornby and David Nicholls comes a warm and tender novel in which a father and his autistic son connect over the game of Minecraft.

Alex loves his family, and yet he struggles to connect with his eight-year-old autistic son, Sam. The strain has pushed his marriage to the breaking point. So Alex moves in with his merrily irresponsible best friend on the world’s most uncomfortable blow-up bed.

As Alex navigates single life, long-buried family secrets, and part-time fatherhood, his son begins playing Minecraft. Sam’s imagination blossoms and the game opens up a whole new world for father and son to share. Together, they discover that sometimes life must fall apart before you can build a better one.

Inspired by the author’s own relationship with his autistic son, A Boy Made of Blocks is a tear-jerking, funny, and, most, of all true-to-life novel about the power of difference and one very special little boy.

4.5*, book review, young adult

Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr.

if only I could read faster

 

florabanks
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr.

 

My 4.5* review:

I haven’t read an Emily Barr book for years, the first book of hers that I read was Backpack, a book that I loved back in 2001. After that, I read a few more books by the author but then she seemed to disappear under my radar and I actually thought that she had stopped writing. A look at the author’s page on Amazon tells me that she hadn’t disappeared at all.

I heard a bit about The One Memory of Flora Banks and when I realised who the author was I requested it to read on Netgalley and was happy to be approved. This was Emily Barr’s first book aimed at young adults, but as I enjoy reading that genre it didn’t put me off, and I hope that it won’t put you off either. When a friend told me how much she’d enjoyed this book I quickly bumped it up my tbr pile and I’m so pleased that I did.

Seventeen year old Flora is a wonderful character, she copes with short term memory loss by writing on her arms and hands, making sure that when she suddenly finds herself somewhere believing she is ten years old she can quickly see the information that she needs to know. As well as writing on her arms Flora has one tattoo, it says ‘be brave’ which becomes Flora’s moto and at times, her mantra.

Understandably, Flora’s mum is very protective of her but when Flora’s estranged brother is suddenly taken very ill in France her parents decide to leave Flora at home with her best friend while they go to be with him. Unknown to Flora’s parents, her best friend is no longer speaking to her after finding out that Flora had kissed her boyfriend at a party.

Suddenly alone in her house Flora appears to go slightly crazy. She remembers kissing the boy so clearly, yet she has no other memories at all after the age of ten. Believing that only true love would cause her to remember something she becomes obsessed with Drake and determined to find him, even though he is now at university in Norway. Flora proves to be remarkably resourceful and thanks to numerous post-it notes around her home she remembers to keep up the pretence to her parents that she is not alone and all is fine.

I loved the character of Flora, she is so strong and capable, it would be so easy to give up in her situation but instead she fights and she finds ways to get around her short term memory loss. The way that she is written is so believable and real, I have no idea how Barr managed to portray such a complex character so well.

Flora is clearly a special person, everyone she meets seems to be endeared to her and wants to help. This proves particularly useful when Flora manages to get herself to Norway, determined to find Drake. In a completely unknown and foreign world, Flora struggles, the constant daylight confusing her body as well as her mind and unlike home, where she has memories from before the age of ten, here she remembers nothing, relying on the writing on her arms to guide her. She meets some right characters along the way, they soon realise that there is something different about Flora, but they see her spirit and so endeavour to help her where they can.

I could go on and on about the book, the storyline and Flora but I don’t want to give too much away. The book is a joy to read, I just loved Flora’s fighting spirit and how with the help of other’s she is able to overcome her difficulties and fight against her mothers’ control. Flora really has to be one of my favourite ever characters in a book and I hope that I remember her for a long time. Be Brave might just become my new moto too.

I received a copy of The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr from Netgalley but I was under no obligation to review it.

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr is out now and available from Amazon UK. In America, you can pre-order the book from Amazon US or it is available now on audiobook.

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Flora Banks has no short-term memory. Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is, until she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through Flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced that Drake is responsible for restoring her memory and making her whole again. So when an encouraging email from Drake suggests she meet him on the other side of the world, Flora knows with certainty that this is the first step toward reclaiming her life.

With little more than the words “be brave” inked into her skin, and written reminders of who she is and why her memory is so limited, Flora sets off on an impossible journey to Svalbard, Norway, the land of the midnight sun, determined to find Drake. But from the moment she arrives in the arctic, nothing is quite as it seems, and Flora must “be brave” if she is ever to learn the truth about herself, and to make it safely home.

book review

Book Review: The Gift by Louise Jensen.

if only I could read faster

 

thegift
The Gift by Louise Jensen.

 

My 4* review:

Jenna was happily living her life, she was a vet nurse and in a happy relationship with Sam. But all that changed in a flash when Jenna got sick, so sick that her heart was giving up and she needed to have a heart transplant. Having been happy and healthy, life is suddenly very different for Jenna, she’s reliant on medication that has difficult side effects, the strain of her illness caused her parents to separate and for Jenna to break up with Sam, believing that he was better off without her.

Jenna also wants to know more about her donor, whose heart now beats in her chest? Frustrated with the boundaries that rule any official contact between the recipient and the donors family Jenna hires a private investigator and contacts the donors family herself. At first she feels positive about this, she just wants to know more about Callie, the donor, and there can’t be too much wrong with that?

But gradually Jenna starts to loose her grip on reality, she is having dreams and flashbacks that she is sure are Callie’s memories. Is Callie trying to tell her something? Jenna researches this and comes across cellular memory a theory that supports Jenna’s belief that she is experiencing Callie’s memories. Everyone Jenna tries to tell about this thinks that she is simply experiencing the side effects of her medicine but she remains convinced that Callie is trying to tell her something, especially when she learns that there are some questions around how Callie died.

I found the premise of The Gift really interesting, I firmly support organ donation and both myself and my children are on the register for this, and the idea that the recipient changes because of the donor’s organ is fascinating.

I have to admit that when I was reading The Gift I couldn’t help but think that it would not be a good book for someone who is waiting for an organ to read, and I did wonder whether it would put people off donating. However, I have read that the author has been contacted by people who say that after reading The Gift they have joined the register which is blooming fantastic.

As the book progresses Jenna really loses her grip on reality, she thinks that she is being followed, she is obsessed with Callie and her fiance Nathan and she can think of little else. An attempt at returning to work doesn’t go well and Jenna is gradually pushing everyone around her away.

Things come to a head in a gripping finale and I have little doubt that by the end of the book Jenna wishes that she had respected the boundaries when contacting Callie’s family. It is definitely a case of all not being as it seems.

The Gift is a great read, it is gripping and keeps the reader guessing. Definitely a good choice for any fan of the psychological thriller genre. Louise Jensen skillfully weaves a tale that keeps the reader engaged and wondering.

I received a copy of The Gift from the publishers, Bookouture, via Netgalley but was under no obligation to review the book. All thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

The perfect daughter is dead. And a secret is eating her family alive…

Jenna is given another shot at life when she receives a donor heart from a girl called Callie. Eternally grateful to Callie and her family, Jenna gets closer to them, but she soon discovers that Callie’s perfect family is hiding some very dark secrets …

Callie’s parents are grieving, yet Jenna knows they’re only telling her half the story. Where is Callie’s sister Sophie? She’s been ‘abroad’ since her sister’s death but something about her absence doesn’t add up. And when Jenna meets Callie’s boyfriend Nathan, she makes a shocking discovery.

Jenna knows that Callie didn’t die in an accident. But how did she die? Jenna is determined to discover the truth but it could cost her everything; her loved ones, her sanity, even her life.

A compelling, gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist from the author of the Number One bestseller The Sister

The Gift is out now and available to buy from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4*, book review

Book Review: Never Alone by Elizabeth Haynes.

if only I could read faster

 

neveralone
Never Alone by Elizabeth Haynes.

 

My 4* review:

One of my all time favourite books is Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, it is an incredibly written psychological thriller. It was the first book that I had read by Elizabeth Haynes and set the bar very high. While I’ve enjoyed subsequent books by the author, none have come anywhere near to emulating her first book.

Never Alone tells the story of Sarah, a widow who lives alone in an isolated farmhouse in Yorkshire. An old flame comes back into her life after years of no contact, he rents a small cottage on Sarah’s land, but it is quickly clear that Aiden has secrets. When things start happening that spook Sarah the reader isn’t sure whether Aiden is responsible, or perhaps it is Will, a young man who has recently returned to the area. Or is Sarah just imagining things?

When Sarah’s best friend disappears and no one can find her things get complicated when heavy snow falls. The book becomes a tense read at this point, with the reader unsure who to trust, I really don’t want to give too much away as I’ll only ruin it for you but there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

While Never Alone doesn’t match Into the Darkest Corner it is still a very good psychological thriller and one that I enjoyed reading very much. I’d definitely recommend it to all fans of this genre.

The book really builds the tension and I loved the characters of Sarah’s two dogs, each of them had their own characteristics and became part of the story (and if you’re a dog lover, the tension).

Overall Never Alone is a solid read with great characters and plenty of tension. Enjoy!

Never Alone is available now from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blurb:

Elizabeth Haynes’ new psychological thriller is a brilliantly suspenseful and shocking story in which nothing is at it seems, but everything is at stake.

Sarah Carpenter lives in an isolated farmhouse in North Yorkshire and for the first time, after the death of her husband some years ago and her children, Louis and Kitty, leaving for university, she’s living alone. But she doesn’t consider herself lonely. She has two dogs, a wide network of friends and the support of her best friend, Sophie.

When an old acquaintance, Aiden Beck, needs somewhere to stay for a while, Sarah’s cottage seems ideal; and renewing her relationship with Aiden gives her a reason to smile again. It’s supposed to be temporary, but not everyone is comfortable with the arrangement: her children are wary of his motives, and Will Brewer, an old friend of her son’s, seems to have taken it upon himself to check up on Sarah at every opportunity. Even Sophie has grown remote and distant.

After Sophie disappears, it’s clear she hasn’t been entirely honest with anyone, including Will, who seems more concerned for Sarah’s safety than anyone else. As the weather closes in, events take a dramatic turn and Kitty too goes missing. Suddenly Sarah finds herself in terrible danger, unsure of who she can still trust.

But she isn’t facing this alone; she has Aiden, and Aiden offers the protection that Sarah needs. Doesn’t he?

 

5*, book review, debut author

Book review: Ragdoll by Daniel Cole.

if only I could read faster

 

ragdoll
Ragdoll by Daniel Cole.

 

This book is a belter and what a way to start 2017 on If only I could read faster! I have a strong suspicion that this book will be in my top reads of the year.

My 5* review:

I’d heard a fair bit of rumbling about Ragdoll before I read it, all of it positive but I had avoided reading too much about it as I do like to avoid the hype and building my expectations too high.

I loved how Ragdoll started. The author, Daniel Cole, told us how the book had come about. He told us about years of knockbacks and rejections and how he wrote many, many, short stories. But one story stayed with him and he decided to turn it into a book. And that book is Ragdoll.

Reading Ragdoll reminded me of books that I used to read, real proper police procedural, crime books. A bit like Patricia Cornwell in the early days when her books were gripping and wonderful to read. I loved so much about this book! The crime that kicks it off is suitably gruesome and unpleasant and as the police try to untangle the crime and who is behind it suspicion turns to one of their own, pulling the team apart and making them question everything.

The way that the story unfolds with a time pressure with lives at stake makes it a gripping read, who will survive? Will the police catch the killer in time? Who can they trust?

The writing was good and solid, the characters were really well developed and interesting, everyone gave something to the story. And they are characters that I’d very much like to read about again, and soon. It would appear that this book is the first in a new detective series which makes me very happy, I cannot wait to find out what happens to detective William Faulks next! If this is the author’s debut book then we are surely in for an outstanding series.

I’m trying hard not to give too much away, but if you like crime books then read this. I am sure that you won’t be disappointed. Seriously, this is without a doubt one of the best crime books that I have read and I am now waiting (im)patiently for part two.

I received a copy of Ragdoll from the publishers via Netgalley but was under no obligation to review it.

Blurb:

A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the ‘ragdoll’.

Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.

The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.

With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

Ragdoll is set to be released on February 23rd, 2017 by Trapeze and is available to pre-order now on Amazon UK and Amazon US.