**A Review of the Week 3/10/16**

There have been so many things happening this week I have decided to put it all in one post so as not to drive you too crazy with a frenzy of tweeting! Here's a round up of all I reviewed this week in case you missed anything!

Hope there's something here to catch your eye! Do let me know in the comments below if you are reading any of these books too!


"Death at the Seaside" Frances Brody published 6th October
4/5 stars from me
On Monday I was lucky enough to be on the Blog Tour for this fabulous "cosy crime" thriller set in the 1920s and published by Little, Brown Book Group on 6th October 2016. This is a totally charming read with a great sense of historical setting and a juicy enough mystery to fill your afternoon tea sandwiches with! Kate Shackleton is a lively and interesting protagonist who looks to take the sleuthing world by storm! Here's my full review:

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-tour-death-at-seaside-frances-brody.html


"Sins of the Father" Emily Organ published 4th October.
4/5 stars from me
I've been a big fan of Emily Organ's books since the first instalment in this trilogy was published a few years ago so I was delighted to read the final instalment. Organ's adventure, set in 1351, is full of strong female characters, villainous baddies and plenty of twists and turns. Her attention to historical detail is impressive; her prose reading as fluently as any contemporary psychological thriller. For my full review click here:

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/sins-of-father-emily-organ.html


On Wednesday, I was delighted to be able to share an extract from Casey Kelleher's "The Taken" which you can read here....if you dare!!! Her book is a gritty, twisted thriller not for the fainthearted!

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/exclusive-extractthe-taken-casey.html



"The Secret Letters" by Catherine Law was published on 6th October by Bonnier Zaffre
3/5 stars from me
This is an engaging story about love, loss and sacrifice set in the second world war. I was intrigued by the story and wanted to know how things would pan out for the characters. Law has written a pleasing and satisfying debut. For my full review click here:

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-secret-letters-catherine-law.html



This ghost story published on 6th October and I would highly recommend it! It is dark, chilling and vey gripping! Short and very easy to read in a few sittings. Paver is a talented writer. My review is here:

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/07/thin-air-michelle-paver.html



Graham Norton's first novel was published on the 6th October too. I really enjoyed "Holding" and gave 4/5 stars. It was gently humorous, entertaining, full of well conceived characters and a good, strong plot. Recommend!

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/holding-graham-norton.html


Fleur Hitchcock's children's fiction novel "Murder in Midwinter" was also published this week. It is a great mystery thriller set in deep Wales and an excellent introduction to crime and murder novels for a younger audience. I really enjoyed it and will be buying for lots of children I know this Christmas!

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/childrens-fiction-murder-in-midwinter.html




The fantastic thriller from Deborah O'Connor came out in paperback on Thursday and I would urge you to buy it if you've not yet read it! It's a great story and a fantastic debut. Highly recommend!



This also came out in paperback this week and is perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and David Nichols. Another great debut from Bonnier Zaffre which looks at marriage from different view points.


I ended the week by being on the blog tour with this chick lit novel which is a kind of Bridget Jones meet Emma! Enjoyable and recommend!

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-tour-losing-it-emma-rathbone.html


I also read this book and was very moved by the illustrations and content. It is being sold for War Child charity and will make a great gift for all young people this Christmas.

http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/refuge-retelling-of-nativity-from-nosy.html

**BLOG TOUR** "Losing It" Emma Rathbone

 

It is my pleasure to be part of the Blog Tour for Emma Rathbone's "Losing It" today! Thanks so much to @HQStories for inviting me to join in!

This book is about just that - losing "it". "It" is 26 year old Julia Greenfield's virginity. Somehow, she has made it through life so far without losing it, even having been to college and hung out at parties; she's had boyfriends and she's tried to take things to that final stage on several occasions, but it just doesn't seem to be that easy. And now she is totally fixated about "losing it". This is a woman obsessed and a woman on a mission.

To inject a bit of excitement and attempt to shake up her stalled life, she decides to go to North Carolina and spend the summer with her 58 year old aunt Vivienne. Whilst there, she unearths a shocking secret  - that's it, you've guessed it; she discovers Vivienne is also a virgin! Horrified Julia is desperate to find out how and why this is, mainly so she can make sure she avoids the same "terrible" fate. Then there follows an entertaining story of Julia's attempts not just to lose her own virginity, but to help her aunt lose hers as well!

From the moment we meet Julia, all the information, anecdotes and descriptions of friendships are built around her still intact virginity. She frequently reminisces about the unfairness of her friends getting there before she has.

"Chelsea's face was folded and smug, like she was in possession of a secret I couldn't possibly fathom and she had to crowd around it and protect it."

She describes her obsessive need to "lose it" as a kind of helpless desperation, as an anger and a strain -one of several "strains of being an adult" she comes to realise over the course of the summer. Her almost mathematical analysis of dates, attraction and body language are gently humorous as the irony of her actions felt by the reader. Although I feel we are laughing alongside her empathetically rather than at her and I liked that Rathbone does not resort to slapstick cheap cliched scenes to engage and entertain her readers.

Julia doesn't have a lot else going for her really. She seems to have lost her drive, ambition and direction since leaving college. She doesn't enjoy her job and states that soon she will go back home to her apartment, "microwave a dinner that would burn the top of my mouth, then float facedown in the internet for a while before going to bed even though I wasn't tired." She's made the wrong choice about where to live as she didn't realise there were specific neighbourhoods young people were supposed to live. She's been duped by the website blurb and taken a flat in the "charming downtown of a sub-city called Arlington" which actually turns out to be in an "unworkable mile of overpasses and parking garages." Like her relationships, Julia has just missed the mark and once again gets a little more left behind. Staring out in the world of work and independence hasn't quite worked out as she had expected. I can relate to that!

I liked Julia. I did find her fixation with "losing it" rather obsessive but I think Rathbone has tapped into something that does bother all women - not necessarily concerns with their virginity, but that holy grail of being in a relationship or as "Bridget Jones" would say, a "smug married". However, Julia's obsession is pretty severe:

"My virginity composed about 99 percent of my thought traffic. I concentrated on it - trying to drill it down to its powder, its particle elements, trying to recatergorize it, impose different narratives on why this had happened."

I can see that this could become irritating to some readers and I appreciate I am probably not the desired target audience for this novel. But if you can accept Julia's one track line of thought and push on to the second half of the novel which focuses more on Aunt Vivienne and her back story then you will be rewarded. This thread of the storyline was interesting and Vivienne's character perhaps a bit more complex. Julia's interaction with her Aunt and the journey of their relationship is well observed.
Julia is not a completely vacuous character. She's not bothered about getting a high powered job - interviews and offices are merely a place to meet men and orchestrate situations that might lead to achieving her goal; but sometimes there are moments of poignancy, understanding and insight - particularly regarding her relationship with her Aunt.

Rathbone's writing is gentle. It flows with appropriate dialogue, humour and descriptions for this kind of novel. There are some charming moments and some good use of language. There are some lovely glimpses of characterisation, for example when Julia sees the ancient Caroline asleep in her chair she says:

"She was positioned like a rag doll that had been thrown from across the room and happened to land that way - one hand, resting in her lap, the other dangling down by her side. Her legs were lolling open under her dress. She looked deflated, inanimate."

And then towards the end she writes:

"The rest of our afternoon was like an Impressionist painting - our colours swirling together as we glided out of the basement and out onto the wooden swing, sitting together."

My favourite phrase when one character wryly stated: "I don't sit there and twist myself into a pretzel trying to figure out how it got to be that way."

Rathbone can write and she can tell a good romantic, comedic, coming of age novel for the twenty something generation. There were many echoes of other American authors' voices in these pages and it will easily slip in amongst other chick lit novels that are either set in small towns or focus on boy-meets-girl type plots. It was a little predictable, a little contrived but I liked its fluency and on the whole, the characterisation.

This is kind of "Bridget Jones" meets Austen's "Emma" - a mismatching matchmaker whose desperation, obsession and cringing dates culminate in an easy, light, entertaining and finally heartwarming novel.

My thanks to HQ Stories and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

To find out more about "Losing It" and Emma Rathbone on Twitter, search #LosingIt or follow @HQStories  and  @EmmaRathbone  

Author info:Emma Rathbone is the author of the novel The Patterns of Paper Monsters. She is the recipient of a Christopher Isherwood Grant in Fiction, and her work can also be seen in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. She is also a writer for the upcoming Netflix comedy, G.L.O.W. She lives in Los Angeles.




If you've enjoyed this review then please follow me on Twitter for more recommendations @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"Refuge- A Retelling of the Nativity" from Nosy Crow

REFUGE - A RETELLING OF THE NATIVITY STORY WITH A REFUGEE FAMILY 

ANNE BOOTH & SAM USHER 

PROCEEDS TO WAR CHILD 

“Every day one in every 200 children wakes as a refugee having been forced to flee their homeland. In this new book, which beautifully adapts the nativity story to a setting of today’s refugee crisis, readers can find a message of hope about a vulnerable family that is met with kindness and warmth."

Rob Williams, War Child

On 6 October 2016, multi-award winning independent children’s publisher, Nosy Crow, will release the paperback edition of Refuge, which has so far raised £30,000 for the charity War Child. 

The hardback sold out its original print run in two weeks last Christmas, and the publisher aims to keep the book in print and the donations to War Child coming with this new edition. As we approach the Christmas season, the book is a reminder of the more important things in life as well as a gentle, thought-provoking way of discussing the subject of refugees with younger children.

Refuge is a retelling of the Christmas story, but one with a difference: the focus of this short, lyrical picture book is that, after the birth of Jesus, the family become refugees from Herod’s soldiers as they make their way to safety in Egypt. 

To emphasise the parallels with refugees around the world, the story is told from the point of view of a donkey that travels with them: to the donkey they are just a ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘child’. The intention of the book is to help parents with young children broach the difficult subject of the refugee crisis as children begin asking questions about the news pictures they see of boys and girls their own age in unimaginable circumstances.

Author Anne Booth said about the book: “Whenever I think about refugees I think about what happened directly after the first Christmas. I hoped that retelling this part of the story would help people empathise with refugees today. I’m delighted Nosy Crow and War Child agreed.” 

Just before illustrating the book, Sam Usher had visited the “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais travelling with a friend who was delivering supplies to refugees, and saw for himself the misery of the refugees there.

Rob Williams of War Child explained how the charity “supports more than 125,000 children and their families around the world who have been affected by conflict, often providing the much needed support and refuge. We’re delighted that this book has already made so much for us and I’d like to thank Nosy Crow for their generosity in helping and would encourage every family to add this to their Christmas wish list.”

The hardback edition of Refuge, written by Anne Booth and illustrated by Sam Usher, was published on 12 November 2015, just seven weeks after Anne Booth’s story arrived at the publisher’s office. Anne Booth and Sam Usher waived royalties, and Nosy Crow ensured £5 from each copy sold was donated to War Child, by taking no profit, and asking suppliers and booksellers to take no profit or minimise costs. The book sold out the 6,000 copies printed in two weeks, raising £30,000 for War Child.

For every copy of the paperback sold, Nosy Crow will donate £1 to War Child, and the publisher aims to keep the book in print and the donations to War Child coming as the book becomes a new Christmas classic.

Kate Wilson, Managing Director of Nosy Crow, said: “In a 30-year career in publishing, and having published books as diverse as The Gruffalo and Horrible Histories, Refuge is one of the books I am most proud of. Anne’s story, complemented by Sam’s beautiful illustrations, is a simple way to help children understand what it might mean to be a refugee by linking it to a story that is familiar to so many of us, particularly as we begin to think about Christmas. Publishing Refuge in paperback gives us a sustainable way of communicating the message and continuing to support the excellent work of War Child.”

Refuge is published in paperback on 6 October at £7.99 by Nosy Crow

Anne Booth:
Anne’s debut novel Girl with a White Dog was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize. She lives with her husband, four teenage children and two dogs.

Sam Usher:
Sam’s debut Can You See Sassoon? was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize and the Red House Children’s Book Award and Snow was nominated for the 2016 Greenaway Award.

War Child:
War Child is striving for a world where children’s lives are no longer torn apart by war.
We are the only specialist charity for children in conflict, delivering high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution - from supporting Syrian children to access education, to reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and enabling girls to escape life on the streets in the DRC.
We aim to reach children early in the conflict cycle and stay to support them through their recovery, providing education and protection services and also building longer-term livelihood opportunities. We support children to deal with the traumas of armed conflict, equipping

them with the skills and knowledge to go back to school, and providing training to young people so they can support themselves.
We believe that children and young people know what matters to them and that their voices and demands should be heard – we work with them to build their confidence as advocates and to mobilise others to take action in support of them.

Web: https://www.warchild.org.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warchilduk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarChildUK Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warchilduk/
Charity number: 1071659

Nosy Crow:
Nosy Crow is currently the Independent Publisher’s Guild’s Independent Publisher of the Year. The company has won a range of business, industry and book- and app-specific awards, and is, after just less than 6 years of publishing, the 13th biggest publisher of children’s books in the UK. Nosy Crow believes in encouraging children to read for pleasure, whatever reading material and whatever reading experience they choose.
www.nosycrow.com

Children's Fiction: "Murder in Midwinter" Fleur Hitchcock

Maya is travelling on a bus in Central London trying to take photos on her phone of the beautifully festive shop windows when a couple step into her viewfinder and start arguing. Through the camera flashes as Maya clicks away trying to get a decent photo for her sister, a glint of something else catches her eyes. The man has a gun. As Maya's flash releases, the man disappears. But not before he's seen her. 

Then a dead body appears. 

Sharing her eye witness account with the police puts Maya's safety under threat. She is sent away to her Aunt's farm in the Welsh mountains with police protection but Maya is determined to solve the mystery and won't rest until the man she saw is arrested. 

Snow falls. They are trapped in the hills. But are they safe?

This is a gripping story, full of drama, mystery and excitement that will capture the imagination of any young sleuth or any young reader that wants to delve into the world of crime fiction for the first time.

Hitchcock has created a great protagonist that will appeal to her readers. Maya is sharp, funny, brave and strong. The story is told in the first person and Maya's narrative is engaging, authentic and enjoyable. Even from the start, we know there is something special about her - her Mallen streak:

"I know it's unusual, but I like it. It makes us special, me and Zahra and Dad. Black hair, white streak. Hereditary. Like skunks, or Cruella de Vil."

The opening of the story introduces to us a girl who is interested in clothes, friends and her family. The exciting event which she witnesses happens immediately on the third page, pulling us straight into the thick of the story and ensuring a dramatic and tense pace which is maintained throughout the whole novel.

I liked that Maya is believed by the police, despite difficulties with evidence and proof. Although she is sent away to her Aunt's farm, it is not upsetting or threatening for the readers and Maya is a girl able to take everything in her stride.

Her cousin Ollie is not impressed with his new house guest. The interchange between the two is very amusing and once again, Maya makes us smile with her quick witted replies and her ability not to be put down or intimidated. For example, Maya is not really equipped for life in the countryside coming from London and finds herself a little unprepared for walking in the mountains or even around the farm:

"Haven't you got anything more sensible?" she asks looking at my low heeled boots. 
Ollie lets out a long and exaggerated sigh. "Expect she only wears glass slippers." 
"I do that on Tuesdays," I say, "not Saturdays." 

The relationship between Ollie and Maya is well handled as they become involved in solving the mystery and various dramatic moments of high adventure!

It is a great thriller for the winter. The setting and atmosphere are perfect in creating tension and suspense. The characters are well drawn and full of spark and the family dynamics are heartwarming.

I would recommend this for any readers aged 8-12 and thing it is a well paced story with a satisfying balance between chills, thrills and humour. It is not scary or frightening but includes enough suspense to engage and excite readers.

My thanks to Nosy Crow publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for a fair review.

"Murder in Midwinter" by Fleur Hitchcock is published on 6th October 2016.

FLEUR HITCHCOCK
Born in Cobham, by an airfield, and raised outside Winchester on the banks of the river Itchen, Fleur grew up as the youngest of three children. She spent her smallest years reading Tintin and Batman under her brother's bed and searching for King Alfred's treasure in the river. She grew up a little, went away to school near Farnham, studied English in Wales and for the next twenty years sold Applied Art in the city of Bath. When her youngest child was 7, she embarked on the Writing for Young People MA at Bath Spa and graduated with a distinction. Now she lives just outside Bath with her family working with her husband who is a toymaker, looks after other people's gardens and tries to grow vegetables. She is also the author of Dear Scarlet and Saving Sophia. 

For more recommendations and reviews, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"Holding" Graham Norton

So it's obvious why I wanted to read this! We are all very familiar with celebrity comic Graham Norton and this is his first foray into fiction writing. It's clear from his television work that Norton is a bright, sharp, intelligent guy so I was intrigued to see what kind of novel he might produce - while simultaneously not trying to raise my expectations too high or put too much pressure on Mr Norton!

Here's a quick synopsis for those not familiar with the book blurb:

The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn't always been this overweight; mother of­ two Brid Riordan hasn't always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn't always felt that her life was a total waste.

So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke - a former­ love of both Brid and Evelyn - the village's dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community's worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.

This book reflects a different side of Norton - his wit lies more unassumingly between the lines; less obvious, more heartwarming and perhaps more sincere than that of his bold, cheeky, upfront persona presented on screen.  In "Holding" he reveals a depth to his writing that shows an assured understanding of people, emotional journeys, choices and dilemmas -which is probably what makes him such an appealing and successful interviewer and chat show host.

"Holding" has the accomplished feel of an established Irish author and keeps very comfortably within the tradition of Irish Contemporary Popular Fiction. Norton clearly feels very at ease with this genre and I was impressed with the conviction of his character's voices, particularly the women.

The book feels very effortless and it is very fluent. The town of Duneen is described in a soft, mocking tone and Norton easily establishes an atmosphere and setting with a few wry sentences:

"People didn't stop in Duneen. In defence of the casual traveller, there was little reason why they should.....Time didn't pass in Duneen; it seeped away."

There are many characters in this novel - the setting of a small village automatically provides Norton with a cast of protagonists whom he breathes much life and colour into. Each character is three dimensional, complex and most definitely relatable and believable. They are engaging and entertaining; PJ particularly, is a character of which the reader can not help but grow fond.

"It was still quite unsettling for the village that their safety depended on a man who broke into a sweat walking up from communion."

And there's a lovely balance between mocking the folk of Duneen without being crass, unkind or creating caricatures for a cheap laugh. For example, PJ's struggle to take the reins on a real crime are well captured:

"Somebody knew......Was there a conspiracy of silence amongst the good people of Duneen? They seemed sheepish and furtive....Did they all have something to hide or were they just unsure of how to treat him now that he finally had a real crime to investigate?"

Norton's descriptions are adept, original and expertly fitting. He talks about Susan Hickey's "small round face with its mouth pursed like a balloon knot ....red and shiny from a mixture of heat and excitement". It's a book full of chuckles and smiles.

As the story progresses there are passages of extremely accomplished description. Norton's humour and initial light, delightful voice adapts with the plot to match the shift in atmosphere as the deepening police investigation reveals more sinister and more emotional past events. He can ably create tension, suspense and mystery giving the book a more involved plot.

"It might have been a ghost, but then the crunch of a heel against some loose grit on the road betrayed that it was a living soul. Someone was walking with a steady confidence through the darkness up the hill past the primary school. One foot in front of the other, both hands clutching the collar of their coat to their throat though it was a mild, windless night."

Norton's writing is gently charming and humorous but he is also capable of very powerful, darker imagery. The quote below epitomises how the religion culture still underpins these Irish communities and it captures the sense of appearance and judgement which haunts (or controls) some of them. Norton is capable of great empathy and can imply much characterisation with a few deft strokes of subtle suggestion.

"A vision drifted into her mind where she was nailed to the big cross that sat behind the altar. She saw  her grey haired head slumped to one side, the blood from the crown of thorns trickling down her face, her body draped in a silky dressing gown. All the people of the village she had ever known, alive or dead, sat in the pews and glared at her, their eyes full of unforgiving judgement."

I found the story lines of some of the characters really moving and well written. I liked the story arc and how everything became interwoven. It was a hugely enjoyable read - quick, light but with enough thought provoking moments and enough troubled characters to stay with you once the final page is read. It's a very satisfying read.

I loved the ending -an inspirational metaphor!

"PJ flicked through the pages of a life not yet lived. He thought he liked the sound of this chapter."

I like the sound of this chapter too. Does this mean "Holding" is the start of a series and we will see PJ again in another novel from Norton? I hope so. I really hope so!

My thanks to NetGalley for approving my request for an ARC of this book in return for a fair review.

If you have enjoyed my review then follow me on Twitter for more reviews and recommendations @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"The Secret Letters" Catherine Law

"In her hands were his letters to her: unread, unknown, unearthed forty six years after she had last seen his face."

The prologue of "The Secret Letters" immediately drew me in. I had already been very tempted by the blurb - any story combining undiscovered letters that have been hidden, unopened for nearly 50 years and a setting of the Second World War suggests a great historical drama of romance, tragedy and survival. And Law does not disappoint.

The prologue sets up lots of questions as we are introduced to Rose, her mysterious pile of letters and her daughters as they prepare themselves for a trip to Prague. Law ably establishes a scene which awakens the reader's sense of curiosity. It's clear there is a dark, painful secret lurking within Rose and maybe even a life or a side to her that her family have never known about. The way Rose handles the letters reveals quite a lot of information so the reader can take guess at what story might unfold but there is still enough of a sense of secrecy to make you want to read on.

"Rose could not look her daughter in the eye as she reached for the letters with a surprisingly steady hand. Cradling Krystof's letters, so fragile, so light, she noticed how they were disintegrating at the folds, a little torn. Like me, she thought. His looping hand was off-venter, the inked postmark, Praha 9 June 1946, fading. Once again, her mind was lame. She could not bear to think. She wrapped them tenderly back up in her scarf and stowed them in a corner of her suitcase." 

There's also an implication that Rose's world has become very limited and so the idea of her suddenly travelling to Prague feels out of character and perhaps physically demanding which accentuates the tension and atmosphere of expectation.

Small details are added into the conversation between Rose and her daughters, once more hinting at more secrets and hidden truths.

"'It's so small I've never noticed [the small crescent shaped mark on Rose's cheek] It's always been part of your face. It's not important, Mum.'
Rose pressed her lips together. Nancy didn't know how wrong she was." 

Rose is an intriguing protagonist. Appearing so ordinary, almost retiring but obviously a woman burdened. Her stoic mannerisms beg a flurry of answers and I was certainly curious to find out what this unassuming woman had seen or suffered. She's clearly put her parenting and happiness of her family above everything else but now it feels as if a day of reckoning is near. Her fear of constantly being discovered is implied by Nancy's throw away comment about things buried in her subconscious and then further heightened by Rose's admission that:

"Her daughters had never been aware of the chilling, draining emptiness of the rooms once their playing was over and they were tucked up in bed; the creeping loneliness that followed her solitary figure upstairs every night." 

We are then transported to the Second World War and Rose's life as a young girl, only daughter and engaged to Will - a very controlling character who fits the desired requirements of her parents. Already Rose feels like a girl trapped and frustrated.

I enjoyed the story as it followed Rose to her new home on a farm. Ignoring her parents and Will, she does her bit for the War by taking up the position as a Land Girl. This section was very reminiscent of lots of TV adaptions and particularly for me, it echoed the 1998 film "The Land Girls" with McCormack, Friel and Weisz which I liked as despite the book's historical context, it felt very alive and relatable. I liked the sparky character of Mel - refreshing company for Rose - and the homely, gentle character of Betony the farmer's wife and of course, Ted, the farmer whose initial gruffness gives way to a man full of empathy and kindness. They become her new family; her nickname "Ginge" almost releasing her from her past life and helping her assert herself as a more gregarious, independent and adventurous woman.

And while at the farm, she meets Krystof, a Czechoslovakian officer in the army and falls deeply in love.

But it is the war so tragedy then starts to strike. First Krystof is posted away, then Rosie is called home. I thought the description of Rose's return to her street was very evocative and visual.

"Her mother's enamel colander lay in the vegetable patch alongside a dented tin of milk, discarded among her father's charred cabbages. It was as if the soil was belching out random bits of rubbish. The chicken coop was a tangle of wire and singed straw; she spotted the brown corpse of a hen, feathers lifted by the breeze........The black and white bathroom tiles looked as pristine as ever and yet the wall they were attached to was bulging like a distended stomach. Her parents' bed was sheathed into sticks, lying on the parlour floor; pages of the Radio Times flicked over and over, as if being read by the wind." 

I think that last line about the Radio Times is excellent. 

In the turmoil that follows this devastating event, Rose makes some ill judged decisions. Will reappears and takes advantage of her weakened state. He is menacing and the repetition of words like "knowing" and "knew" highlight how much Rose has changed and how ill suited the couple are. 

"'I knew it, Rosebud,' he whispered to her in the semi darkness. "I knew you'd one day be mine.'"

Will is a perfect "baddie". He's a villain that makes you want to shout out and save Rose from him. There is very little that is redeeming about him and therefore the contrast between the him and Krystof are very obvious. When Will moves Rose into their new home, Law's description of the house captures Rose's emotional state of mind and her inward knowledge that she is desperately unhappy.

"....the Old Vicarage stood in its dripping garden, its windows blank and unwelcoming. Paint peeled and bubbled on the front door and moss carpeted the stone steps. Rose shivered in the hallway.... the stairs rose in front of her into darkness...her nose twitched at the smell of unlived-in spaces, undusted nooks, the aroma of mouse.......dust on table....grime on shelves.....stale smell...." 

But Rose is a fighter and sets out to follow Krystof to Prague, chasing hopes of a happier life.

The story of Krystof and Rose is heartbreaking, tender and very moving. Their story is one of love, longing, loss and sacrifice. Law manages the plot well, capturing the decisions and dilemmas that faced people at this time convincingly and with sympathy. There are some nail biting moments and some moments of high tension as well as moments of poignancy and sadness.

I enjoyed the actual war time story more than the plot line set in 1992 following Rose as an older woman, although it was interesting to see Law knit all the threads and characters together and resolve the relationship between Rose and her daughters as they discover the truth about their mother. This is quite a romantic read, tear-jerking at times and will appeal to people who like that kind of genre.

My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in return for a fair and honest review.

"The Secret Letters" is published by Bonnier Zaffre on 6th October 2016.

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

**EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT**"The Taken" Casey Kelleher

     

When you’ve lost everything, you’ll do anything to survive.

Saskia Frost’s world is blown apart when her dad dies. Without any family, she’s on her own now and up to her eyeballs in her father’s debts. He owed a lot of money to some very dangerous men – Joshua and Vincent Harper. Before long, aspiring ballerina Saskia finds herself lap-dancing in a London club to survive. A club run by the infamous Harper brothers. Saskia is now their property and they’re going to make her pay every penny back. 

Teenager Lena Cona has fled a cruel and controlling marriage. She arrives in England with her newborn daughter, desperately relying on strangers for help. But she soon learns that not everyone can be trusted as she finds herself caught in the clutches of Colin Jefferies, a twisted individual obsessed by his own sinister secrets. As the sickening truth is revealed, Lena is forced to fight for her life - and her baby’s. 

When their worlds collide, Lena and Saskia form an unlikely friendship. But with the terrifying Harper brothers on their tail, as well as Lena’s vengeful and violent husband, can they escape with their lives?

"THE TAKEN" by Casey Kelleher is published on the 5th October by Bookouture and I am thrilled that today on my blog I am able to share with you an exclusive extract from the opening pages!

As if you weren't already excited enough from the blurb and hype surrounding this novel billed as "A twisted, gripping crime thriller - not for the faint hearted", then I'm sure the extract below will have you clicking on Amazon before you finish the last sentence!

So here you go.......

THE TAKEN

By Casey Kelleher

Prologue

Albania: One year earlier

‘Tariq?’

Whimpering, Lena Cona looked down at the ground to where her brother lay.

The two men were shouting now, their voices angry, intimidating.

She tried to comprehend what they were saying, but their jumbled words were muted, merging into background noise as her ears began to ring loudly, a high-pitched screech filling her head.

She was in shock.

Unable to think straight, Lena tried to move, but she couldn’t.

Her legs were shaking, but her feet felt weighed down, as if her shoes were filled with lead.

She was afraid. Paralysed to the spot, all she could do was stare; her eyes fixated on the thick stream of blood that oozed out from the gash at the back of Tariq’s head.

He’d been hit.

The taller of the men had whacked him around the head with the butt of his gun.

They had a gun!

Panic ripped through her at the sudden realisation.

Lena tried to shout out; opening her mouth, a strained squeak barely louder than a whisper was the only noise that crept out.

‘Get in the car.’

The man pointed his gun at her now. Aiming it straight at her. His words were devoid of emotion, reflecting the same vacant hollowness that she could see in his eyes.

Stepping closer, he shoved the barrel against Lena’s chest.

‘Now!’ This time he bellowed, his face twisting in anger as he pushed the gun harder against her skin.

Lena could see his finger hovering threateningly over the trigger. This wasn’t an empty threat. She knew he was dangerous, but still she couldn’t move.

A few minutes ago she and her brother had been laughing and joking together.

Tariq had been walking her home from school.

That was her parents’ order: that her brother would walk her to and from school every day.

Lena had thought her parents were overreacting. Of course there were risks, but they didn’t apply to her, surely. Now she’d realised she’d been stupid, naïve. She remembered, with increasing terror, Néné’s harrowing tales of girls from Shkodër being snatched. Abducted and taken to the city’s main port, Vlorë, before being shipped off on speedboats across the Adriatic Sea, never to be seen again.

Her parents had pleaded with her to stay at home, to accept the traditional life of a normal Albanian girl just as many of her peers had done, but Lena was anything but normal.

Strong-willed. Defiant. Unlike most of the other girls in her class who had left school at the age of twelve or thirteen due to the pressures that their families had bestowed on them, Lena had refused to follow suit, insisting on completing her education. Why should she be penalised just for being born female? Why should she submit to a life doing what was expected of her? Instead, adamant to remain, schooled in a classroom of eleven boys, Lena had strived to be top of her class.

Not only had Lena excelled in mathematics, but she was also fluent in English. Her teacher had been impressed. He had told Lena that she had mastered the language so well that, eventually, she’d be able to teach it herself.

Lena had loved that idea. Travelling the world, working as a teacher or a translator. Practising daily, she’d even started to educate her parents and her brother. Just the basic words of salutation, or naming the food they ate.

She wanted to learn as much as she possibly could, so that, one day, she could have more than just what her parents had chosen for her. She didn’t want to be stuck here in Albania as just somebody’s wife, or somebody’s mother.

It may have been enough for Néné, but it would never be enough for her. Lena wanted so much more: to be treated as an equal; to experience the same opportunities and freedom that her brother had.

Unwilling to back down, she’d argued so intently that her parents had finally given in; insisting, in the end, that if Lena must continue with her schooling until she was nineteen then she could, on the condition that Tariq chaperone her.

Only now it seemed that fate had played out a cruel hand. Staring down at him she could see that Tariq was hurt, maybe dead.

And it’s all my fault, a voice screamed in Lena’s head.

‘Help me! Please, somebody?’ Shouting hysterically, Lena finally found her voice as she prayed that someone would come to her aid.

‘Help me, please… ’

Lena caught the gaze of a woman across the road, her eyes pleading with her to help her, but all that stared back at her was the woman’s fear. With an apologetic look, the woman put her head down and kept walking, pretending that she hadn’t seen.

Crying now, desperate, Lena scoured the street, looking for anyone that might help her, but the dusty road was almost deserted. School had finished; people were already indoors, evading the mid-afternoon scorching heat.

A single car passed by. Slowing down, the people inside stared out from behind the glass windows, but they didn’t stop to help her. They didn’t dare.

‘Pick her up,’ the taller man shouted now, directing the shorter man.

He did as he was told: grabbing her roughly from behind, clamping his hand over her mouth to mute her cries.

Lena saw their car. It was a battered-looking bright blue Mercedes, covered in flaky patches of orange rust. The back door was wide open; the engine running.

They are going to take me?

Gripped with fear, Lena dug her heels into the dry mud, trying her hardest to resist as one of the two men tried to grab at her feet, but it was no use. The men were much stronger than her.

Overpowering her, they lifted her off the ground, hauling her over to their car.

A hand came from behind her, clamping tightly across her mouth, making her gag for breath. Silencing her. Lena struggled to break free but her attempts only caused the men to hold on to her tighter.

‘Stay still, you stupid bitch!’

The man’s voice was commanding. He was losing patience. The sternness of his tone indicated that he’d had enough of her not complying. ‘Do as you are told, or you will be punished.’

Punished?

Lena twisted her head back to where her brother lay sprawled out on the ground, motionless.

Hadn’t they punished her enough already?

She had no idea who they were or what they wanted. All she knew was that she couldn’t let them take her.

Her brother needed her. Despite feeling helpless, Lena couldn’t just leave him like this.

Kicking and clawing at the men like a wildcat as they tried to force her onto the back seat, her body convulsing, Lena fought to break free from her abductors.

If she got inside this car, maybe she’d suffer the same fate as all the girls before her.

She had to fight.

Kicking out her heel, her foot connected with the shorter man’s face. She startled him, just enough for him to lose his footing and his grip. Stumbling, he dropped her legs. But her small victory was short-lived.

A massive thud exploded at the back of her skull. The almighty blow from the man behind her immobilised her in an instant.

‘I warned you.’

Lena flopped forward like a rag doll.

She felt the man grab at her roughly, breaking her fall just before she hit the ground.

She felt herself being lifted up, thrown into the back of the car. She was dizzy, her head pounding.

A sharp burn of her scalp as the man seized a fistful of her long auburn hair. Wrapping it around his fist, he twisted her around to face him.

He was just inches away from her now; his face almost touching hers. He was so close that she could smell his stale rancid breath, see the glistening beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His face was puce from the heat and the struggle to get her into the car.

Still woozy from the blow she’d received to the back of her head, she tried to focus. Her vision blurred; she was surprised at how young her abductor looked. She had expected someone older. This man looked only a few years older than Tariq. No more than twenty, she guessed.

‘So, you think you’re a wild one huh?’

The man’s steely grey eyes flickered then, and Lena thought that she saw the tiniest hint of amusement behind them as he yanked at her hair even harder, ripping a clump from her scalp as he did so. The pain so acute, it forced Lena alert once more.

‘Well, it won’t take me long to tame you.’

Lena kept eye contact. Refused to let him see her pain; she stared back at him with nothing but pure contempt.

‘Stupid little girl.’

He punched her again, this time his fist locking hard with her cheek, her neck snapping back, her head smacking against the window behind her.

Slumped in the car now, Lena had nothing left. She was exhausted; her body weak and broken.

‘Tie her up,’ the man commanded, as the shorter of the men slid in beside her.

The man did as he was told. He bound her legs together tightly with coarse brown rope before wrapping thick black strips of tape firmly around her wrists. He was obviously taking no more chances with her.

The car began to move.

Petrified, Lena sat slumped in silence as she stared out of the window. Her gaze fixed on Tariq’s body, motionless, on the ground.

Move! Please, let me know that you’re okay?

Only Tariq didn’t. He remained completely still, lifeless, as the car continued off into the distance.

Lena watched until her brother was completely out of sight. All hope from her now gone.

She could feel the stream of blood pouring from her nose; the metallic taste mixed with the saltiness of her tears, filling her mouth.

Silent tears ran down her face as she wondered what fate was ahead of her.

She thought of Néné’s words once more.

About those girls. About what happened to them after they were taken.

How they were trafficked around Europe like cattle.

Her mother hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell her young daughter why the girls had been taken, but Lena knew. Rumours in Shkodër were rife. People in the village had spoken of how the girls that were taken were used for sex. Forced to earn money for men in ways so disgusting it was almost unimaginable to Lena.

Except maybe now she didn’t have to imagine it.

Maybe she was destined to experience the horror of it all herself, first hand.

Lena sobbed as she thought how she should have listened to her parents.

They only wanted the best for her, to keep her safe, but she’d been so foolish, so pig-headed. She’d put Tariq in danger.

These men were savages, animals.

Capable of anything.

Resting her head on the window as the car made its way out of Shkodër, out towards the rural mountains of the countryside, Lena closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.

She had no idea what fate lay ahead of her, but one thing she knew for certain, her nightmare was only just beginning.

THE TAKEN by Casey Kelleher out on 5^th October

UK: http://amzn.to/2aWAuYC

US: http://amzn.to/2aIO1DH

Born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, Casey Kelleher grew up as an avid reader and a huge fan of author Martina Cole.

Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up her three children together with her Husband, Casey penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that she could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time.

www.caseykelleher.co.uk

www.facebook.com/OfficialCaseyKelleher

www.twitter.com/CaseyKelleher

My thanks to Bookouture for the generous offer of sharing an extract from "The Taken" on my blog and including me in the launch day of Kelleher's book.

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)