Review - See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

See What I have Done by Sarah Schmidt
Publisher: Tinder Press
Release date: 2 May
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb:

Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her Mother Forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done she gave her Father forty-one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purposefully I hadn’t read anything about the Borden murder case prior to reading See What I have Done, and I’m not even sure that I will now. Although I will admit that I do have a bit of a morbid curiosity about the finer detail.

This is a perfect debut novel. It can be tricky to base historical fiction on events that have actually happened, but Schmidt does so with ease.

I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to loathe Lizzie Borden. But in actual fact it was her sister Emma that I didn’t like, for reasons that I can’t quite put my finger on if I’m honest.

See What I have Done is the tale of Andrew and Abby Borden are found murdered on 4 August 1892 by their youngest daughter Lizzie (who is actually Abby’s step daughter). Their other daughter Emma is quickly summoned home by Lizzie. 

Father hurt. Mrs Borden missing. A terrible accident. Come home.

There are two significant things about this, the first is ‘Father hurt’ when it is tragically so much more serious than that. The second, ‘Mrs Borden’, at some point for reasons that are never exactly clear Lizzie stops referring to her Step Mother as Abby and starts calling her Mrs. Borden.

 

Lizzie had embraced her Step Mother's arrival at first, years younger than her sister Emma, she was more accepting of a new Mother figure into the family after her own Mother's tragic death, but as the years go by the whole family dynamic changes, and we meet the Borden's of the murder house...

 

I can't say too much more, as you need to discover See What I Have Done for yourself, its; an intriguing novel, and an impressive debut. A must read.

 

See What I Have Done is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

Thank You to the publishers who sent me an advanced proof copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review: The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

Publisher: Tinder Press

Release date: 14 July 2016
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: It is 1837 and the city streets teem with life, atmosphere and the stench of London. Sarah Gale, a seamstress and mother, has been sentenced to hang for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown on the eve of her wedding. Edmund Fleetwood, an idealistic lawyer, is appointed to investigate Sarah’s petition for mercy and consider whether justice has been done. Struggling with his own demons, he is determined to seek out the truth, yet Sarah refuses to help him. Edmund knows she’s hiding something, but needs to discover just why she’s maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone with a child would go willingly to their own death?

London. 1837. Hannah Brown has been brutally murdered, her ex fiancée James Greenacre and his lover, Sarah Gale, are the prime suspects.

James Greenacre has confessed, but Sarah Gale has maintained a stubborn silence throughout her trial before deciding to raise a petition, appealing her prison (and ultimately her death) sentence. 

Despite her obvious connection with James, Sarah claims to know nothing about Hannah’s murder, perhaps explaining her previous silence during the case.

Local lawyer, Edmund Fleetwood is bought in by the Home Secretary to oversee Sarah Gale's appeal. He is reluctant to accept the case when he discovers that his Father "recommended" him, but he cannot deny his curiosity to the case that he has followed since its first day.

Edmund realises quickly that there is more to Sarah Gale than meets the eye. After all she has remained silent throughout the gruesome details of the trial neither proclaiming guilt nor protesting her innocence. 

Why appeal now?

Edmund is certain that she is hiding something, and he is determined to find out what, no matter the trouble it may cause.

After all both Sarah’s life, and his career depend on the outcome…

An exciting new voice in historical fiction, Anna Mazzola is definitely an author to watch.

The Unseeing is available from 14 July 2016. You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and Tinder Press.
  Thank You to lovereading.co.uk and Tinder Press who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: A place called Winter by Patrick Gale

A place called Winter by Patrick Gale
Publisher: Tinder Press
Release date: 24 March 2015
Rating: *****
Back cover blurb: In the golden 1900s, Harry Cane, a shy, eligible gentleman of leisure is drawn from a life of quiet routine into courting and marrying Winnie, eldest daughter of the fatherless Wells clan, who are not quite as respectable as they would appear. They settle by the sea and have a daughter and conventional marriage does not seem such a tumultuous change after all. When a chance encounter awakens scandalous desires never acknowledged until now, however, Harry is forced to forsake the land and people he loves for a harsh new life as a homesteader on the newly colonized Canadian prairies. There, in a place called Winter, he will come to find a deep love within an alternative family, a love imperiled by war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism.

  

Firstly I must apologise to Patrick because the review that’s about to follow could never do this novel the justice it deserves.

 

I also need to apologise for not having read any of his previous novels. Where have I been?

 

A place called Winter is a novel that can only be described as a masterpiece. When I read on Patrick’s website that it had been inspired in part by family history, well I fell in love with the novel just a little bit more.

 

Harry Cane (Hurricane, Windy – yes he’s heard all the jokes!) is a shy, caring man with a stutter that endears the reader to him even more. Brother to Jack, Wife to Winnie and Father to Phyllis. Harry appears to have it all. But the opening pages of the novel tell a different tale. Harry’s departure from a Canadian mental asylum to an experimental therapeutic centre under the watchful eyes of Dr Gideon Ormshaw shows us a man traumatised by the procedures he has been subjected to.

 

How exactly did Harry end up in Bethel? 

 

A place called Winter alternates between two time periods in Harry’s life. His life within in the asylum and later, Bethel, and the events of his life prior to the asylum; his early life in England, his emigration to Canada minus his family and his settlement in Canada.

 

Harry’s life begins ordinarily enough, left his father’s omnibus fortune, Harry is comfortable with his life as a bachelor, living with his brother Jack. But then Jack meets George, Harry is introduced to George’s sister, Winnie and everything changes.

 

Harry begins his married life happily enough, until he meets a stranger who unwittingly changes Harry’s future in a way that nobody could have foreseen. Harry is forced into a situation where he must make a devastating decision; leave his family, or risk losing everything including his reputation.

 

Harry agonises over his decision and on a whim decides to emigrate to Canada. On board the ship over he meets Troels Munck, yet another individual who is set to change Harry’s life. Upon arrival in Canada, Harry must learn how to farm before he is able to purchase his own land, which he does with commitment and a strength he never knew he had. Soon he is on his way to a place called Winter, where he decides to settle.

 

Here he meets the Slaymakers, Paul and Petra, brother and sister, who are no strangers to the situation that Harry has found himself in, and we begin to understand here, the path that the novel may take.

 

I don’t want to say too much more and spoil the novel for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of reading it. I suppose however I should say that Harry’s life in Canada is determined by three people, Petra, Paul and Troels Munck. The relationships with the former two and the actions of the latter set Harry’s life on a course that could never have been predicted.

 

And the ending? Well we all deserve a little happiness from time to time, and for me, it’s the perfect end to the perfect novel.

 

A place called Winter deserves every little bit of advance praise that it has gathered and is a truly exceptional novel. I guarantee you will fall in love with it.

A place called Winter is available from 24 March 2015. You can pre-order it now from Tinder Press and Amazon online. 

    Huge thanks to Georgina Moore who sent me an advanced proof copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel

If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel
Publisher: Tinder Press
Release date: 30 October 2014
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: Katie and her young friends face a changing world, with prospects very different from those presented to their parents. The Vietnam War seems pointless to many but has devastated lives that remain broken even after the fighting is over. As, with bitter-sweet humour, the characters' experiences unfold, daily events mirror bigger issues: an illegal abortion is plotted; the town is sinking into an economic abyss forcing Katie's friends to leave in search of more promising horizons; drugs claim the lives of those often too high to recognise the danger until it is too late; and Katie dreams of a boy back from 'Nam who's still fighting a battle she doesn't understand. 

Ever since I saw the front cover (and epic title) of this novel on Twitter, I knew it was a novel that I just had to read.

#ThisBeautiful - to use the publishers Twitter abbreviation is a beautifully written tale of 1970s America.

Told to us through the eyes of Katie; a young woman about to finish High School with the rest of her life ahead of her.

Residing in Elephant Beach, a fictional Long Island town, Katie and the rest of her friends are eager to spend one 'last' summer together, before they truly settle into adulthood. And this summer is spent, in the way that many teenagers summer's are, by drinking too much, smoking too much and having (unprotected) sex with people that probably you shouldn't.

At times they appear oblivious to the ever changing world around them, but we must remember that they are teenagers and largely uninterested in the economic state of their home town. Many of Katie's friends are eager to leave Elephant Beach, but Katie herself is comfortable where she is, and more importantly comfortable with who she is, although she herself wouldn't see this.

Yet there is only one thing that Katie truly yearns for, that seems unobtainable to her, and that is Luke, a former student at her High School and a Vietnam 'veteran'.

The Vietnam war and it's survivors feature prominently and there are also other major life issues dealt with in #ThisBeautiful and all of them are written beautifully and tackled sensitively. 

If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

    Many thanks to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Good Children by Roopa Farooki

The Good Children by Roopa Farooki

Publisher: Tinder Press

Release date: 19 June 2014

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: 1940s Lahore, the Punjab. Two brothers and their two younger sisters are brought up to be 'good children', who do what they're told. Beaten and browbeaten by their manipulative mother, to study, honour and obey. Sully, damaged and brilliant, Jakie, irreverent and passionate. Cynical Mae and soft-hearted Lana, outshone and too easily dismissed. The boys escape their repressive home to study medicine abroad, abandoning their sisters to their mother and marriages. Sully falls in love with an unsuitable Indian girl in the States; Jakie with an unsuitable white man in London. Their sisters in Pakistan refuse to remain trophy wives, and disgrace the family while they strike out to build their own lives. As they raise their own families, and return to bury the dead, Sully and Jakie, Mae and Lana, face the consequences of their decisions, and learn that leaving home doesn't mean it will ever leave them.

Roopa Farooki was not a novelist who was familiar to me when I was sent the Good Children. However, since reading the novel, she is definitely one I want to become more familiar with. 

The Good Children is without doubt, one of the best novels I have read so far this year. Beautifully written, it transports us through a vast time frame (1938-2009) and both begins and ends in Lahore, Punjab. 

Told through the eyes of each of the 'good children'; Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana, it takes us through their abusive childhood, their escape into the real world, and their return home in adult hood to bury loved ones.

The Good Children is split into three sections;
GOOD SONS, GOOD DAUGHTERS 1938– 1961
GOOD SISTERS, GOOD BROTHERS 1961– 1997
GOOD FATHERS, GOOD MOTHERS 1961– 2009

Usually I'm not a fan of authors who split their work like this, but in this instance I found it it really worked. Particularly as each chapter was told from a different characters point of view, which some might find difficult to follow. 

Personally I loved hearing from the voice of each character and thought that Farooki did this very well.

The Good Children covers a wide range of emotive subjects, including, rape and domestic violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, cultural differences and the effects on children of parental choices. Each is handled sensitively and explained fully.

Some of the cultural issues/traditions explored may seem shocking to us Westerners, but the reasons for such traditions are explored so brilliantly that we as the reader can perfectly understand the actions, even if we don't agree with them.

The Good Children is a novel that will transport you fully into another world, whilst reminding you of the true value of family. It really teaches us the value of understanding different lifestyles and cultures without being preachy, and I would literally recommend it to everyone.

You will adore it.

The Good Children is available to buy online now and from all good book shops.

      Thank you to the publishers who sent me an advanced proof copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Season to Taste or How to Eat Your Husband by Natalie Young

Season to Taste or How to Eat Your Husband 

by Natalie Young

Publisher: Tinder Press

Release Date: 16 January 2014

Rating: *****  

Back cover blurb: The extraordinary story of the end of a marriage and its very strange aftermath

Regular visitors to my blog will have noticed that I love crime fiction, and Natalie Young's 'Season to Taste or How to Eat Your husband' promised to be the ultimate crime novel, involving murder and cannibalism no less.

The book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but then I'm not too sure exactly what I was expecting… 

It's not every day that you read a novel that casually drops cannibalism (and accompanying recipes) into its content.

But then 'Season to Taste' is no ordinary novel. 

We meet our protagonist Lizzie Prain as she is preparing to start cooking her husband 'he was in the freezer in sixteen bits', having bludgeoned him to death three days earlier with the garden spade. 

Lizzie, as she tells her story is concocting recipes that make use of her dead husband's body parts, as well as describing how one should clean the house and take care of things after the preparation and chosen cooking method. These take a little getting used to at first, as some are quite graphic, but I'm not sure the novel would be the same were they not included.

Its unclear whether Lizzie is trying to make herself feel better by writing the recipes and such down, or if she wants to help others that may have ended up in a situation similar to hers. For, I get the feeling that Lizzie does not see herself in a particularly unusual situation.

Perhaps she has driven herself mad with the scale of the crime that she has committed. Or perhaps she has just deluded herself into believing that she has done nothing wrong. One thing for certain is that Lizzie Prain refuses to go to jail for murdering her husband. She feels that she her broken marriage was sufferance enough, and she is determined once she has finished 'disposing' of his body, that she will begin a new life in Scotland.

Will she make it? Well you'll have to read it to find out.... 

This novel is not for the faint hearted, but if you enjoy a little bit of black humour then you will love it. You just might not see meat in the same light ever again.

You can purchase Season to Taste or How to Eat Your Husband from Amazon online and all good book shops.

A big Thank You to Bookbridgr who approved my request for this novel.

Review: The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh

The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh
Publisher: Tinder Press
Release Date: 27 February 2014
Rating: ****

Back Cover Blurb: (TBC I was sent a proof copy) 

Each summer, Jenn and her husband Greg return to Deia, on Mallorca's dramatic west coast. This year the arrival of Emma, Jenn's stepdaughter, and her new boyfriend Nathan threatens to upset their equilibrium. Beautiful and reckless, Nathan stirs something unexpected in Jenn. As she is increasingly seduced by Nathan's youth and the promise of passion, the line between desire and obsession begins to blur. What follows is a highly-charged liaison that puts lives and relationships in jeopardy. For Jenn, after this summer, nothing can ever be the same. 





The Lemon Grove is a book that has been the top of my 'wish list' for quite some now. Having been lucky enough to read the book before its release date, it is now going straight to the top of my 'books to recommend' list.

From the cover, you could be fooled into thinking that the book is nothing but a fun 'holiday' read. You'd be wrong. The Lemon Grove is an intense novel exploring the complexities of relationships between step families and the consequences of forbidden desire.

Jenn and her husband Gregg have been holidaying in Deia, Mallorca for years. It is their escape from the real world, and Helen Walsh does her best to make you believe that you are there with them, sitting by the pool with a glass of wine and enjoying the sunshine, and the view.

Ah yes, the view.

Jenn is floored by the view of her Step Daughter Emma's Boyfriend Nathan (Nate) when they arrive with each other. She simply cannot believe that he could be so beautiful, yet so young. She feels maternally protective over Emma because she can see that Nathan is more worldly wise than her, and she is not ready to face the fact that she is growing up.

But Jenn is also jealous, because inexplicably Nate stirs something deep inside of her that she hasn't felt before, and she can't help but be drawn to him, although she knows it is wrong. What follows is a beautifully told tale of unexpected and forbidden passion that will leave you wanting to get on the next plane to Mallorca.

The Lemon Grove is available from 27 February 2014.

You can pre-order it now  from Amazon and Tinder Press.

Review: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Publisher: Tinder Press
Release Date:7 January 2014
Rating: ***.5

Back Cover Blurb: Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins ... A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, THE INVENTION OF WINGS evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of righteous people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognise; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.

 

 

 

The Invention of Wings is a historical novel, with a little bit of a difference. 

 

I didn't realise until the end when reading the Authors notes that it is based in part on the real lives of the Grimké sisters. American history wasn't something we studied when I was in Secondary School, but part of me wishes that I had, based on the fascination I now have with the subject matter of this novel.

The Invention of Wings is told in alternate chapters by the two main characters, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké (the slave) and Sarah Grimké (the wealthy plantation owners daughter) over a thirty year period. We meet the two when Hetty is being presented to Sarah as a 'gift' for her Eleventh Birthday. Sarah is appalled by the gesture and immediately tries to refuse her 'present'.

 

"I felt my spirit rise up to meet my will. I would not give up. I would err on the side of audacity. That was what I'd always done".

Despite her strong beliefs Sarah quickly learns that she is unable to do exactly as she pleases, and is forced the following day to accept her 'gift'. Having witnessed one of the family slaves being beaten at an early age, Sarah is determined to protect Hetty in any way that she can, even if this involves being getting into trouble herself.

A close friendship is formed between the two young girls, which grows as Sarah teaches Hetty to read. This was illegal in slave owning states, which shows how committed Sarah was to her cause. As we follow the two girls through to adulthood, we see their relationships change as the world around them changes and different characters are weaved in and out of their lives.

The Invention of Wings is a thought provoking novel which doesn't shy away from the horrors of pre-abolition in the deep south of America. It does make for uncomfortable reading at times, but that is purely down to how well written the novel is. 

 

I found it a little long personally (hence the 3.5 rather than 4 stars) but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. It's a great historical novel that's very informative as well as enjoyable. But don't take my word for it, go and check it out for yourself!

You can purchase The Invention of Wings from Amazon online and all good book shops.       Thank you to the Publishers who approved my request on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review