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A Brahminy Sunrise by Maggie Christensen @MaggieChriste33 #Book Review #RomanticFiction #amreading

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My Review:

This was an enchanting book. It’s a novella length story but it had enough depth to make it a most satisfying read.

Once again this author has done what she has already proved very good at. She has taken a couple of minor characters from a previous book – in this case from Champagne for Breakfast – and told their story. And, as before, it works beautifully.

The main characters of academic Alex and former stockbroker Jack could easily have been stereotypes – however, they are far from that. Both are seeking new paths following traumatic events in their personal lives and both are rather lost and lonely. Jack, although displaying lots of masculine traits, also has a caring and gentle side – as shown, for example, by his care for his elderly clients. And Alex who is a self-sufficient, hard-working and professional university lecturer also finds time to be a good aunt to her young niece and a good friend to her elderly neighbour and to a former colleague.

But when Jack and Alex first meet it seems unlikely they’ll have any sort of romantic future together despite a reluctant attraction between them. They both have other seemingly more important things going on in their lives which suggest a relationship isn’t going to happen. And it’s this will-they-won’t they that keeps the reader hooked.

The setting of the story on Australia’s vividly described Sunshine Coast added even more interest for me as a UK reader. And as to the significance of the Brahminy in the title – well, it’s a bird – specifically, a red-backed sea-eagle of the kite family – and which is native to Australia. But you’ll have to read the book to understand its lovely, romantic significance. And I recommend that you do.

From the backcover:

Drawn together by fate, can this midlife couple find happiness?

University lecturer Alex Carter is devastated when her partner ends their long-term relationship. Accepting a position at a university on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she plans to spend time with her family, renovate her beach cottage and forget all about men.

But, as she is making a new life for herself, the past rises up to throw a spanner in the works and she has to make a determined effort to reset her compass.

Shocked by a colleague’s suicide, Jack Russo leaves his high-powered city career and travels north, settling in a coastal town in an attempt to simplify his life. Yet, even here, he discovers, everything isn’t what it seems. When his fledgling handyman business appears to be in danger of collapsing, he is forced to make some hard decisions.

A feel-good story of discovering that there can be second chances if only you can learn to trust again.

A Brahminy Sunrise will be published as an ebook on 15th January 2019 and it can be pre-ordered here if you’re in the UK or from the online store local to you.

I received a free ARC copy of this book with no obligation to review.

Smash All the Windows by Jane Davis @janedavisauthor #bookreview #MondayBlogs #amreading

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Smash All the Windows

This novel is contemporary literary fiction at its best. It has humanity, emotion and a great story at its heart.

From the back cover:  
It has taken conviction to right the wrongs.

It will take courage to learn how to live again.

For the families of the victims of the St Botolph and Old Billingsgate disaster, the undoing of a miscarriage of justice should be a cause for rejoicing. For more than thirteen years, the search for truth has eaten up everything. Marriages, families, health, careers and finances.

Finally, the coroner has ruled that the crowd did not contribute to their own deaths. Finally, now that lies have been unravelled and hypocrisies exposed, they can all get back to their lives.

If only it were that simple.

Tapping into the issues of the day, Davis delivers a highly charged work of fiction, a compelling testament to the human condition and the healing power of art. Written with immediacy, style and an overwhelming sense of empathy, Smash all the Windows will be enjoyed by readers of How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall and How to be Both by Ali Smith.

My Review:

This is a wonderful book. It has resonances with real life disasters and what happens afterwards. It’s a tribute to the human capacity to survive and heal and to the power of love that endures after death.

The story deals with the aftermath of an accident on an escalator on the London Underground. It tells of the traumatic effects on some of the victims and their loved ones. The author gradually draws you into each character’s story and she does it with such sympathy, empathy and insight that it makes for a gripping and emotional read. I liked how the grieving process was so honestly portrayed as messy and unpredictable and, at times, all-consuming. The characters couldn’t move on while they waited years for the revised official ruling into what caused the accident. But then even after that happens, comes the realisation that grief doesn’t conveniently stop. And this is portrayed quite beautifully.

A thought-provoking, poignant and uplifting read.

Smash All the Windows is available as a paperback and as an ebook.

Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

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Genre: Crime Fiction

This intriguing story is told not just from the point of view of the police investigating the crime at its heart, but also from the point of view of those involved in that incident. So we get the police procedural side and the complex human side as well. And it all adds up to an intriguing read.

The story opens with a life-changing accident that leads to Jenna, the main (civilian) character, leaving her life in Bristol and going to live in a remote coastal area of Wales. The author uses the wildness of the new landscape to good effect in reflecting Jenna’s state of mind. The clifftops, the beaches and the countryside are made easy for the reader to visualise.

The characters are well drawn too. Jenna herself, with her combination of strength and frailty is a very sympathetic lead. The police characters of DI Ray Stevens and DC Kate Evans are also presented as complex, real and all too human. I liked the background story of Ray’s home life and its stresses although I wasn’t entirely convinced by his act of infidelity. The supporting cast of characters who befriend Jenna in her new life in Wales were likeable and convincing and that includes Beau the dog. The villain is also excellently portrayed––shocking, chilling and very scary.

The plot moves between Jenna’s story and the progress––or not––of the police investigation. There’s Jenna’s grief, guilt and fear that haunts her from the past and the hope of new life and love in the future. And there are the pressures of modern policing, the need to get quick results and move on for the sake of politics and the stress this causes for the detectives on this difficult to solve case. There’s the obligatory red herring and twist, but spoilers prevent me saying any more on that score.

All the intricacies of character, plot and setting are well handled by the author and it all adds up to a first-class read.

Type of Read: Don’t read in bed at night if you a) want to sleep afterwards, b) want to put the light out at a reasonable time. Do read when you’ve plenty time. You’ll probably want to binge read it as it’s a true page turner – so plenty tea and biscuits, or wine and chocolate to hand. Great holiday read.

 

Back Cover Blurb:

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she? In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .

 

I Let You Go is published by Sphere,  an imprint of Little, Brown. It is available as an e-book, paperback and in audio format.