Blog Tour: Summer in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

I have been reading Maggie Christensen's Granite Springs mature age romance series for just over a year now. I love that they are consistently good and very comfortable reads, so I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I heard that the series was coming to an end, despite the fact that I still have a few books in the series to read.

It turns out though that there was no need to worry because she is now writing a new series set in a town on Queensland's Sunshine Coast called Bellbird Bay and it has all of the same elements that I love. Where Granite Springs is set in a university town, Bellbird Bay is a beachside town. There is a slight link to Granite Spring series, in that the main character, Ailsa McNeil is the sister of one of the characters who got their happily ever after in the previous series. However, that is really the only link so you don't have to read all nine books in the Granite Springs series to appreciate this book.

Ailsa McNeil's life has been turned on it's head unexpectedly after her husband says that the marriage is over. She needs some time and space to think things through, so she takes advantage of a standing invitation from her old friend, Bev Cooper, to visit her home in Bellbird Bay, leaving her husband and grown sons behind.  Long walks on the beach in a town where no one knows her sounds perfect, especially seeing as she is not ready to talk through what has happened in her life with anyone. And it was ideal until Bev's brother Martin suddenly announces that he is coming home. No one really knows why and Martin is not ready to talk about why he is returning to the town that he left many years ago. Ailsa has never told Bev about the spark that she felt for Martin as a teenager.

Martin is a successful photographer. His work has taken him to many out of the way places and he has worked hard to build a career that is enviable to his peers. What he has never been good at is relationships with women. His latest romantic partner moved on to someone else as soon as his career took a nosedive in controversial circumstances. Now he is back in the town that he grew up in hiding from the world. It is, however, hard to hide when you are something of a local celebrity, and many of the people in the town are the people that you grew up with. He really doesn't see the attraction of staying in the town like his old mates have.

When Bev hurts herself, Martin and Ailsa are forced to spend time together working hard to keep her garden centre and cafe going while she recovers. And spending time with Martin brings that spark back to life, but Ailsa still has to deal with her marriage and work out what her future is going to look like.

One of the things I found myself thinking about as a read this book was about the idea of coming home. I have lived in several cities now. I started in Perth, then moved to Adelaide when I was ten and lived there until my early twenties, went overseas for five years, back to Adelaide and then moved to Melbourne around twenty years ago. It's odd to me that for all the time I lived in Adelaide, Perth was still home to me (mainly because most of my family still lived in Perth) but as soon as I moved to Melbourne that felt like home. I do still love visiting Perth and there are certain things that very much make me think of it with fond memories even now. 

One of the things that I love about these books is that the romances are for mature people. As much as I love to read about twenty somethings falling in love, I do enjoy reading stories where people my age or older are getting the chance to meet that someone special. After all, I was lucky enough to meet someone amazing in my mid 40s.

There was an interesting cast of secondary characters in this book, and it is clear to me that at least some of these will become the primary characters in their own stories in the series. The next book, Coming Home to Bellbird Bay is out in May and I am already looking forward to it. In the mean time, I am reading all the Granite Springs books I haven't yet read. I've read two this week alone!

Rating 4.5/5

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy of this book

About the book:

Summer in Bellbird Bay


Can Bellbird Bay provide solace to these two broken souls?

 

When Ailsa McNeil’s marriage falls apart, an invitation to spend the summer with an old friend in Bellbird Bay offers her the opportunity to escape and regroup. What she doesn’t expect is to meet her friend’s twin brother, the first man to stir her emotions when she was an impressionable nineteen-year-old.

 

As a young man, Martin Cooper couldn’t wait to leave Bellbird Bay. He has spent the past thirty years travelling the world and has accomplished his dream of becoming a celebrated travel photographer. But it has come at a price and, when his career and personal life take a downward turn, he returns to his hometown to consider his future.

 

When an accident thrusts the two together, their earlier attraction resurfaces. Torn between the desire to protect herself from further hurt and her renewed feelings for the man she’s never forgotten, can Ailsa find happiness again or is it too late?

 

A heartwarming tale of family, friends, and how a second chance at love can happen when you least expect it.

Purchase Link - getbook.at/SummerinBellbirdBay

 

About the Author –

After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea. It is warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.

From the small town in Scotland where she grew up Scotland, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!

 

Social Media Links –

Facebook           https://www.facebook.com/maggiechristensenauthor

Twitter                https://twitter.com/MaggieChriste33

Goodreads   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120020.Maggie_Christensen

Instagram          https://www.instagram.com/maggiechriste33/

Bookbub            https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maggie-christensen

Website              https://maggiechristensenauthor.com/

Blog Tour: The Girl from Paris by Ella Carey

Do you have authors that you don't really worry too much about reading the blurb to see what the book is going to be about because you know that you are going to read the book anyway? Ella Carey is one of those authors for me. Sometimes though, you get surprised and that has happened to me the last two times I read her books. 

I started merrily reading along about the characters called Vianne who lived in Paris with her parents and loved fashion, until suddenly

this book is set during WWI and the immediate aftermath!  Not in WWII, which is what I had assumed!

This book is the third book in the Daughters of New York trilogy which I think have consistently been Ella Carey's best books. We met Vianne in the first book where she was the trailblazing, successful businesswoman who provided inspiration to the main character, Lily Rose. Now, we learn Vianne's history, how she came to be who she is, and the events that shaped her.

Vianne lives with her parents in Paris. Her brother is off fighting, her older sister Anais is a battlefield nurse and her parents run a very successful antiques business. She has always been surrounded by beautiful things and she brings this love of beauty into her passion for designing clothes. More than anything she wants to work in the fashion industry. In the mean time, she designs dresses for her mother, sketching ideas for a career and life after the war is over that may never come to fruition.

In 1918, The family is gathered together for a rare celebration when tragedy strikes. Her sister and mother are killed in a bombing of their local church, and the tragedy breaks her father. Vianne singlehandedly keeps the antiques business running, until her brother comes home with a new wife and tells Vianne that she is no longer welcome in the family home or business.

Vianne decides to move to the bright lights of New York. Whilst on the ship, she has a chance meeting with influential society ladies who give her an introduction to the owner of an atelier (fashion house) in the city, and soon Vianne is making a name for herself as a designer.

Whilst living in New York brings success and a degree of freedom, there are still restrictions due to the differences in class between the women who work in the fashion house and those who are customers. One of those rules is that there can be no carousing with clients.  This is bad news for Vianne who is instantly attracted to Giorgio, the son of one of her clients, and someone who is well out of her class.

As Vianne navigates the difference between class, a forbidden relationship, the cutthroat world of fashion and making a new life in a new country, suddenly there is news from home that changes everything. 

I really enjoyed reading Vianne's story. We also got a few cameos from some of the older characters from the first book. I even enjoyed all the fashion talk. I am not that fussed about fashion at the best of times, and there have been times when I read books where the main character is a name dropping fashionista and I just feel a bit lost as they talk about famous designers, but while there was a lot of talk about fabric, patterns and accessories, it was still interesting to me in this book.

One of the thoughts that did cross my mind while I was reading is why aren't there more books that follow a character through both WW1 and WWII. I mean, Vianne is very young (let's say 18 or so) in 1918 then she would only be 39 at the commencement of the next war. Maybe it is that readers don't want to hear about people struggling through both of those experiences?

Rating 4/5

Thanks to Bookoutoure and Netgalley for my review copy

About the book:

Vianne rushes through the crowded streets of Paris as the German bombs begin to fall. As she rounds the corner she sees the familiar spires of the old church burst into flames. Too late, she realizes that her mother and sister are trapped inside…

Paris, 1918. The end of war is in sight, and young seamstress Vianne Mercier is longing for the day when she can stop sewing military uniforms and start creating the beautiful dresses that she has been dreaming up in her head.

But just when it seems like peace is within reach, Vianne’s mother and sister are killed in a terrible air raid. To make matters worse, Vianne’s brother has returned home a changed man. Controlling and cruel, he presents Vianne with an ultimatum; give up her dreams of becoming a designer, or be forced onto the streets, penniless and alone.

With nothing left for her in Paris but sad memories, she decides to sail for New York. Determined not to look back, she throws herself into her new life—spending her days sewing dresses for wealthy Upper East Side women, and her evenings dancing the Charleston to Duke Ellington in the new downtown clubs. When Vianne meets handsome Italian Giorgio Conti, he encourages her career, and she feels safe for the first time since she lost her family.

Then news of a terrible accident compels Vianne to suddenly return to France, where she discovers proof of a wartime secret that changes everything she thought she knew about her family. Facing the threat of sickness and ruin, the people who forced Vianne out of her home now suddenly need her help.

Will Vianne find the courage to follow her heart, return to New York and her life with Giorgio? Or will duty bind her to the family she had left behind and force her to remain in France?

From Amazon Charts bestseller Ella Carey comes an utterly gripping and emotional historical wartime novel about the terrible choices people made during humanity’s darkest days. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Rhys Bowen and The Nightingale will adore this novel.

About the Author:


Ella Carey is the USA Today and Amazon charts bestselling author of eight novels of historical fiction, including the Secrets of Paris Series, published with Hachette imprint, Bookouture. Ella’s novels have reached over one million readers and have been translated into fourteen languages. Ella has recently signed a six book deal in Germany and a nine book deal in Denmark. Ella’s latest novels are A New York Secret, and The Lost Girl of Berlin, both published with Bookouture in 2021. The Girl from Paris is the third novel in this new series, and will publish in January, 2022. Ella has a music degree in classical piano, and an arts degree majoring in English and history. Her novels have been shortlisted for ARRA awards. For further information:

 
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram



Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3el9K4o


Audio Links:
UK: zpr.io/xx93EppYYZm2
US: zpr.io/czed4tyX3wJY
https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-girl-from-paris-by-ella-carey-narrated-by-laurence-bouvard

This Week....

I'm reading....

Recently at work one of my friends mentioned a book called Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson and suggested that I would like it, so I promptly requested it from the library. I like music and books so it did seem like a book that I would like. It was only when I picked the book up and actually read the blurb that I realised that it was set in two places - Sheffield in the UK and Adelaide in Australia. Coincidentally I lived in Sheffield for 4 years in the late 90s and I lived in Adelaide from the time I was 10 to around 23 and then for another couple of years after I came back to Australia before I moved to Melbourne.

I also started and finished listening to The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. I haven't really listened to much Pratchett, mainly because I wasn't sure how all the footnotes would work. Recently there was a new unabridged version released and I thought I would give it a go, and I really enjoyed it. The narrators were Sian Clifford, Bill Nighy for the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Death. I can definitely see myself listening to this again in the future. It's a perfect listen for this time of year.

Yesterday, I had to take my mother for a COVID test so she can go back to Adelaide and spent 4 hours in the queue. I started listening to Richard Flanagan's The Living Sea of Waking Dreams while waiting. I've heard a lot about Flanagan but I haven't actually read him before.

This will be one of my first reads for the Aussie Author Challenge hosted at Booklover Book Reviews which I last participated in several years ago.  For years, I have been done the Aussie Women Writers Challenge. That challenge is changing next year to focus on 18th and 19th century writers, which I am not really interested in. I have really enjoyed focussing on women writers, but more particularly on Aussie authors, so I am going to sign up for the Aussie Author Challenge in 2022. I am going to sign up at the Wallaroo level, the definition of which is

Read and review 6 books written by Australian authors, of which at least 2 of those authors are female, at least 2 of those authors are male, and at least 2 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, at least 2 different genre.

The challenge for me, other than reviewing, is finding male authors. The female and Australian part  is easy, but male not so much!!

Speaking of reading challenges, don't forget about the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. The sign up post is here

I'm watching...

It's been out a few weeks but we finally started watching The Great! and it is as good as the first season. I think we will finish it later today.

On the festive front, we watched Christmas on the Farm, an Australian Christmas movie. I actually enjoyed it for the most part. It certainly isn't the worst  Christmas movie I have ever watched.

On the other hand, I was super keen to watch Christmas in Paris because, you know, Christmas and Paris, but it really wasn't that great. We won't talk about the fact that more of the movie was in Montana than in Paris, but the bits that were there were beautiful. I am hoping we might make it to Paris for Christmas next year, but we will see.

On Christmas night we wathed The Abominable Snow Baby which is based on a story by Terry Pratchett. It wasn't really what I thought it might  be but it was a nice way to spend 30 minutes or so.

I also gave myself a treat and watched the final two episodes of The Vicar of Dibley, the ones where she marries Richard Armitage. It's been a couple of years since I have watched it but I do like to watch it at this time of year!! It doesn't matter how many times I watch it, I still laugh.

Life

Well Christmas has been and gone with everything associated with that. My brother, nephew and mother have been here to visit so it was nice to gather together, along with my brother in law's  aunt and cousins.

The week before Christmas I went to the Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto exhibition which is currently on. I am not really a fashionista so I was done much quicker than my firends but it was still an interesting exhibition. There was also an exhibition called Bark Ladies which featured indigenous artists which I liked too

I now have a few days off so I am looking forward to some chill time.

Festive treats...

Not a lot of time for new festive treats this week.  The only thing I got to watch was Christmas in Rome. I needed to prove that I am not all about Paris. Not all of the time!

Here are the festive treats I have read, listened and watched so far this year:

1. Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin

2. The Happiest Season 

3. The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan

4. Love Harder 

5. A Castle for Christmas

6. Hawkeye

7.  Christmas Train - Paul Kelly

8. Christmas with my Father

9. Wintertime Dreams: A Parisian Christmas- Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band

10. Single all the Way

11. Christmas in Rome

12. Christmas in Paris

13. The Hogfather

14. Christmas on the Farm

Posts from the last two weeks

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Summer TBR

Christmas Quotes: From the Last Charm

Christmas Quotes: The Christmas Cactus

Weekend Cooking: Baking Kit Crazy

Christmas Quotes: Bringing Hope

Christmas Quotes: What Will the Neighbours Think?

Christmas Quotes: The Christmas Ornament

Weekend Cooking: Merry Christmas

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Weekend Cooking: Food through history

I find series that look back through time at food history totally fascinating. Over the years I have watched a few of them, including the funny British show Supersizers Go where the hosts go back to a particular time and eat as people would have done, and then look at what the effect on their bodies has been. Another one I enjoyed was a series set in Italy looking at the role of food in Italian history, including where pasta comes from and the humble origins of pizza. So fascinating.

Recently we have been watching an Australian series called Back in Time for Dinner. The premise is that a family has the living areas of their home restyled to show what life was like in each decade starting in the 1950's, moving through to the 2000's and beyond into the future. In each episode the family learned what food was like, what their individual roles would have been in the family structure, with particular emphasis on the slowly changing roles of women across the last 70 or so years, important historical events and the rapidly changing role of technology. The kids were very excited when the 80s came and they got a home computer.

The episodes from the 1980's on were probably the most interesting for us, because that is the era that we grew up in, and there were many times through these episodes where there was something that we remembered or that prompted conversations about how we lived and worked and ate.

There were some truly awful food things presented. The modern kids were not at all impressed with their first meal in the 1950s which was tripe in white sauce, but some of the other lowlights included a liver sausage sculpted into the shape of a pineapple, complete with a yellow coloured mayonnaise to complete the illusion, as well as food from the future which has been transformed into small gummy shapes. It may kind of taste like meat and 3 veg but it just doesn't sound very tasty or appetising.

It was very interesting to look at the way that food has changed over the years. In the 1950's the food was all fresh, but as they progressed through the decades we saw how food changed with the advent of frozen meals and microwave convenience meals but now, it seems as though we are coming full circle with the focus moving back towards fresh, and preferably local, ingredients.

The other thing that was interesting was how waves of immigrants slowly changed the food landscape here, from the first spaghetti bolognaise recipe in the Australian Women's Weekly, to the coming of Chinese food, to Thai and beyond. It was a fun series to watch.

I haven't read as much food history, but when I do I find it just as interesting. Over the last few weeks I have been browsing through A Timeline of Australian Food; From Mutton to Masterchef. It is actually a similar premise to the TV series. Each chapter is a new decade starting from the 1860's through to 2009.

This book doesn't have a narrative as such, but rather has paragraph sized snippets about the food that we were eating, the technology at the time, historical events, the origins of many of the brand names and advertising slogans (like Yoplait is French for Yoghurt) that are Australian icons and so much more.

I found it very interesting because there were plenty of snippets which I could feel a connection with. Having spent a lot of time growing up in Adelaide and in the Salvation Army, I found the fact that the first 'fair trade' tea was sold by the Salvation Army in 1888, the same year that the site the company that became Western Star began producing butter. The Adelaide Central Market opened in 1869, which is a good 9 years before the Queen Victoria Markets opened here in Melbourne.

There were some quintessentially Australian facts. For example,  there is a story about how Queen Victoria's son Prince Albert was visiting the country, so there was a big catered picnic organised, but the Prince was running late and so the crowd became rambunctious and ended up raiding all the catering. There were also strikes to protest against the early closing of pubs or when they tried unsuccessfully to change the name of Vegemite to Parwill. About 10 years ago, the makers of Vegemite tried to change things up a bit and launched a version of Vegemite that was called iSnack 2.0 which unsurprisingly was not particularly successful, but I had no idea that it wasn't the first time that there had been a spectacular marketing disaster involving Vegemite. Doesn't really matter what it is called, I am not going to be eating it! Bleugh!

A couple of other interesting facts...whilst peanut butter originally came from the U.S,  the first commercially produced versions were actually produced here in Australia in 1898. There is a brand of tomato paste here made by a company called Leggos. I would have sworn black and blue that this was a company with Italian origins but it actually was founded by a Welsh man named Leggo. In the 1970s the company even hired Gina Lollobrigida to promote the brand.

One interesting story was about one of the most iconically Australian songs - Waltzing Matilda. I had no idea that the words were changed in 1903 to be used as a theme song for a Tea company, and this is the version that we know now. Apparently the swagman wasn't originally jolly or didn't need to wait until his billy boiled!!

This was the perfect book to browse through at night, a decade at a time, and there were lots of fascinating new to me facts!

I am also linking this review to Australian Women Writers Challenge.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Baked Zucchini, Tomato and Parmesan Risotto

A couple of months ago I decide to borrow a cookbook from the library which, according to the cover, showcased the best of Bill Granger's recipes. It was only once I started looking for an online version of one of the recipes that I realised that there had been a bit of drama around the release of this cookbook and that it was basically repackaging recipes from existing cookbooks and putting them out in this new book. There was a big court case about it all. In short ...  lots of drama.

What having this book out from the library did do is encourage me to get the two Bill Granger cookbooks that I do already own off of the dusty bookshelf and take a look through them. There were a number of recipes that I had marked in the best of collection as recipes I might try, but it was only once I took the time to look at the recipes closely that I realised that I already had that recipe in one of my existing cookbooks.

Since that time I have tried a couple of the recipes.  Previous to this rediscovery the only recipe I had cooked of Bill's was for his Choc Banana Bread, but over the last couple of months I have tried White Bean and Chorizo Soup, his chocolate brownie recipe, scones and just last week a recipe for Baked Zucchini, Tomato and Parmesan Risotto which I am sharing today.

There are also a number of other recipes that I found both in the library book and the books that I already own including a Chorizo, Potato and Red Capsicum Frittata, Beef and Asian Greens stir fry and Herbed Chicken Schnitzel! Have to love it when the recipes are for food that sound tasty and achievable!

I think I am going to have to borrow some more of Bill's books from the library to see what else I can find to cook!

Baked risotto with zucchini, tomato and parmesan


Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
180 g (1 cup) arborio rice
375 ml (11/2 cups) chicken stock or water
400 g (14 oz) can chopped Roma (plum) tomatoes
3 zucchini (courgettes), finely sliced
60 g (21/4 oz) freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Shavings of Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Heat a 3 litre (12 cup) capacity ovenproof dish (with a lid) over a medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion and sea salt and stir for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the rice to the dish and stir for another minute.

Add the stock or water and the chopped tomatoes and bring to simmering point. Stir in the zucchini and sprinkle with Parmesan and black pepper. Cover the dish and bake the risotto for 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked. Scatter parsley over the top, sprinkle with Parmesan shavings if desired, and serve in the dish.

Serves 4

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Sunday Salon: April Reading Reflections

After missing Sunday Salon last week because I was away, I didn't yet get around to sharing my April reads, so that is what I am going to do this week.

Here's what I read during April:


A Trifle Dead by Livia Day 4/5
Private Practice by Samanthe Beck 4/5
Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra 3/5
1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham 4/5
Thank You for Riding by Meg Maguire 4/5
Ticket Home by Serena Bell 3.5/5
Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper by India Grey 4/5
From the Kitchen of Half Truths by Maria Goodin 4/5
Marital Bitch by J C Emery 2.5/5
Daughter of the Sky by Michelle Diener 4.5/5
Venetia by Georgette Heyer 4.5/5 (audiobook - relisten)
Stealing Picasso by Anson Cameron 2/5
The Chevalier by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4.5/5
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen 4/5
The Clover House by Henriette Laziridis Power 4/5
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 4.5/5 (audiobook)
Thrown by a Curve by Jaci Burton 4/5
Giving Chase by Lauren Dane 3/5
Saved by the Bride by Fiona Lowe 4/5
Real Men Don't Break Hearts by Coleen Kwan 4/5
Real Men Don't Quit by Coleen Kwan 4/5
Just One Taste by Louisa Edwards 4/5
The Chocolate Rose by Laura Florand 4/5
Turning up the Heat by Laura Florand 4/5
Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich 3/5
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty 4/5

Challenge Update

Australian Women Writers Challenge - A Trifle Dead, Tuscan Rose, Daughter of the Sky, Saved by the Bride, Real Men Don't Break Hearts, Real Men Don't Quit, The Hypnotist's Love Story

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - Tuscan Rose, Daughter of the Sky

Aussie Author Challenge - Stealing Picasso 

What's in a Name Challenge - Turning Up the Heat

Once Upon a Time - 1001 Nights of Snowfall, From the Kitchen of Half Truths

Currently Reading

Seduction by M J Rose, Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and listening to Paper Towns by John Green.

Up Next

Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany

Sunday Salon: January Reading Reflections

The end of each month seems to come around so quickly, and this month that is definitely true, I think partially because I was away for part of it. At least, it doesn't feel like I have been at work much and I am pretty sure my boss will be relieved when I put in three or four full weeks in a row!

Here's what I read in January:

Addition by Toni Jordan 4.5/5
The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley 4.5/5
The Year of the Unexpected by Erica Bauermeister 3.5/5
Wookie Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook by Robin Davis 4/5
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys 4/5
Fables 7: Arabian Nights (and Days) by Bill Willingham 4/5
The Falcons of Montabard by Elizabeth Chadwick 4.5/5
Vanity Fare by Megan Caldwell 2.5/5
Free-Falling by Nicola Moriarty 4/5
The Lady Most Likely by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway 4/5
Gallipoli: Our Last Man Standing - the extraordinary life of Alec Campbell by Jonathan King 4/5
Unforgettable by Elise K Ackers 4/5
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo 4/5
One Little White Lie by Loretta Hill 4/5
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton 4.5/5
The Captive Sun by Irena Karafilly 4/5
The Wanderer by Robyn Carr 4/5
Drawing Closer by Jenny Schwartz 3/5
The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs 4.5/5
All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey 4/5
Portrait of a Scandal by Danielle Lisle 4/5
Mistaken Engagement by Jenny Schwartz 4/5
The One That Got Away by Kelly Hunter 4.5/5
The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry 4.5/5
The Fine Colour of Rust by P A O'Reilly 4.5/5
The House at Salvation Creek by Susan Duncan 4.5/5
How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox 4/5 (reread)
A Lady Never Lies by Juliana Gray 4/5

Whoops, this clearly shows I got a bit slack on the reviewing thing in the last half of the month!

I have been trying to figure out the best way to take keep my challenges up to date in these posts, so I think I am going to try a couple of different ways until I find something that works. For now, I will go with lists!

Australian Women Writer's Challenge - Just like last year, the AWW Challenge continues to be a large focus of my reading.

Addition, Free-Falling, Unforgettable, One Little White Lie, The Secret Keeper, Drawing Closer, The Wedding Shroud, Portrait of a Scandal, Mistaken Engagement, The One That Got Away, The Other Side of Us, The Fine Colour of Rust and The House at Salvation Creek.

Aussie Author Challenge - In order to complete the challenge I need to read some female authors but from now on all the authors I read for this challenge will be male.

Addition, Gallipoli: Our Last Man Standing - the extraordinary life of Alec Campbell, Unforgettable, The House at Salvation Creek

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - I am only counting historical fiction written by Australian authors for this challenge this year.

The Secret Keeper

What's in a Name - Two categories down, four to go!

The Firebird (a book with fire in the title), Les Miserables (a book with in emotion in the title)

Sci-fi Experience - Must find the time to read the books I wanted to read for this challenge!

Wookie Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook

Currently Reading

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. Night Music by Jojo Moyes (audiobook)

Up Next

The case of the man who died laughing : a Vish Puri mystery by Hall, Tarquin, Lifesaving for Beginners by Ciara Geraghty, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Addition by Toni Jordan

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts....everything. Her life is very precisely ordered. She gets out of her single bed at the exact same time of the morning everyday, she always goes to the same cafe, and she always orders the same cake (orange poppyseed) which she always cuts into precisely the same number of pieces. She always buys exactly the same number of chicken breasts, potatoes, bananas when she does her food shopping. She always counts her steps, she has been known to count the number of alfalfa sprouts that she puts on her lunch time sandwich. She always speaks to her mother at precisely the same time each Sunday night follow shortly after by a conversation with her sister.

She is also obsessed with the life story of inventor Nicola Testa, who is famous inventor, most well known for his contribution to the development of electricity.

What we know as a reader fairly early on is that this obsession has affected Grace's degree to such an extent that she doesn't function as a 'normal' person does. She no longer can drive a vehicle or work in her job as a teacher. She has very limited social interactions and those that she does have are in very rigid environs - like the woman in the coffee shop that Grace orders her cake and hot chocolate from every day.

One day, when Grace is at the supermarket, she has a bit of a problem:

My shopping trolley has 2 trays of chicken thighs, fat and glossy, each tray containing 5. A carton of eggs marked as a dozen. (Each week I assure ecstasy-boy or high-pain-threshold-girl, a Kiwi backpacker with seven piercings in each ear, that I have already checked the eggs. This is so they won’t open the carton and notice I have removed 2 and left them in the assorted spices.) Plastic bags containing 100 beans (that’s a pain), 10 carrots, 10 baby potatoes, 10 small onions. 100 grams of salad mix. (I refuse to shop in a supermarket without a digital scale.) 10 little tins of tuna. 10 orange bottles of shampoo. 9 bananas.

What?

Count again.

How the fuck did I get 9 bananas in my trolley?

After a brief panic, Grace comes up with a solution. There is a man behind her who has a solitary banana in his shopping. All she needs is to create a distraction and surreptitiously acquire his banana. She thinks that she has gotten away with it, until he confronts her outside and asks why she stole his banana. This is the first interaction with Seamus Joseph O'Reilly, but he is determined that it is not going to be the last.

After a slow start involving Seamus being stood up while Grace counted the bristles on her toothbrush, a relationship between the two of them develops. The attraction between the two of them is strong, and they make each other laugh, and it doesn't take Seamus long to realise that there is something different about Grace and that part of what makes her interesting is the difference! As for Grace, she soon realises that she forgets to count when Seamus is around.

Seamus is an ordinary man, with an ordinary job, and he knows that Grace is something special to him, but he also wants to see her happy and so the two of them begin to talk about treatments. Seamus was a fantastic leading man to read about. I would be quite happy to find a Seamus myself, but I am not sure I am about to start stealing vegetables from other people's shopping at the supermarket!

While there is a strong romantic element to the book, really it is a story that is all about Grace - about why she is the way she is stemming from a childhood incident, to how she lost her job, her relationships with her family and how her life is affected when she meets a man like Seamus. It is funny and tender, and was so enjoyable to listen to. I have seen this referred to as thinking woman's chick lit, which fits to a degree. It is about Grace's journey so it does have that in common with chick lit, but it also tackles in depth issues in a way that is funny and emotional. The reader shouldn't go into it expecting to read about fashion, shopping, brand names or anything like that.

One of the most interesting aspects of this story was the focus on an unusual example of a mental health issue. Grace knows that the counting rules her life - how can she not? - but she is also determined that she is not like "those crazy handwashers". As she and Seamus talk through her issues and as she starts the treatments, she is looking forward to being normal, whatever that means, but it soon becomes clear that rather than bringing more to her life, she loses herself in the process. It was heartbreaking to read this part of the novel and had me thinking a lot about why it is that the process that she was going on was about making Grace the same as everyone else, rather than modifying the behaviour to enable functionality but still allowing Grace the space to be her unique self.

Without giving too much away, I loved the way that the author was able to end this story in a way that did allow Grace the freedom to be herself.

As I mentioned before, I listened to this on audiobook, mainly because I went to an author event where Toni Jordan was present at a couple of months ago and won a doorprize which was this audiobook. It is the first audiobook that I listened to after completing listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon which was 48 (!) CDs long and took me about three months to listen to. It was therefore something of a shock initially to find myself listening not to Scottish and American accents but rather listening to an Australian narrator (Caroline Lee) tell an Australian story, but one with themes that I suspect will be recognised universally. For the most part I liked the narration even though I found the voice kind of girlish, maybe too young. There were a couple of characters that I didn't think worked in terms of the inflections and tones, one of which was the group therapy facilitator (whose name I can't remember right now)

This was the first book that I finished reading/listening to this year, and it was a good place to start my reading year. I am looking forward to reading Toni Jordan's next book, Fall Girl, and really looking forward to reading her latest book which is set again in Melbourne but during World War II!

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts. The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local café (920); the number of poppy seeds on her slice of orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she'll take to finish it. Grace counts everything, because numbers hold the world together. And she needs to keep an eye on how they're doing.

Seamus Joseph O'Reilly (also a 19, with the sexiest hands Grace has ever seen) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her kitchen cupboards without conducting an inventory, or make a sandwich containing an unknown number of sprouts. Grace's problem is that Seamus doesn't count.

This book counts for the following challenges

Unforgettable by Elise K Ackers

Connor and Emma have a history, first as friends and then as lovers, but when he awakens from a coma following an accident he has lost 3 years of memory, and he has no clue who the two women waiting by his bedside are. One is his girlfriend, Asha, and the other is Emma. Emma knows that no one knows Connor as well as she does, especially not his high maintenance 'girlfriend'.

Emma is determined to help Connor with his return to normal life, including back to work, as soon as possible, partially because of her strong connection to him but also from a sense of guilt.

While Connor doesn't remember Emma, he does know that he is instantly drawn to her and that he intrinsically trusts her. He also knows that she was important to him in the past, because otherwise how come she would have have a key to his house or she would know so much about him.

Emma agrees to help Connor as much as she can, but she is also aware that one of the issues that they faced previously is that they worked closely together. While all the co-workers on the building site they work on knew that Emma and Connor were really good friends, no one knew that they were romantically involved and it needs to stay that way, mainly to keep their professional reputations intact.

While he has been off work due to the injuries he suffered in his car accident, he has been temporarily replaced and while everyone loves Connor thanks to his abilities in the workplace and his friendly manner, his replacement Mark is someone who gets on Connor's nerves, and everyone else's as well. Mark, Emma and Connor need to work closely together to bring Connor up to speed on the project as soon as possible.

The more time that Emma and Connor spend together, the more he realises that while he may not remember why they weren't together anymore, he does value Emma for more than just her friendship. He is falling in love again. For Emma though, there are two things that are stopping her from taking her second chance at love. The first thing is that she knows that he can't remember why they broke up the first time and the second is that she was there the night of the accident, and she knows exactly what happened. As Connor starts to remember more and more of his forgotten years, it is only a matter of time before he remembers more and Emma has a fairly strong idea of how he will react when he does.

While I really enjoyed the setting and somewhat surprisingly the premise (I am not usually a huge fan of the whole amnesia thing) there was element to the plot that I didn't think was particularly strong, and that is the big secret that Emma is hiding. It really felt like the need for the secret to be so secret was a bit odd, and then Connor's reaction to said secret seemed to be quite over the top.

One of the pleasures of the new digital romances that are currently being published in Australia (in this case for Escape Publishing) are that we get to read romances that feature Australian characters in Australian settings and this is no exception. The building site that Emma and Connor are working at is the refurbishment of Hamer Hall, one of Melbourne's premier concert venues. This is a refurbishment that was recently completed, with new interiors being installed and a whole heap of new spaces opened up along the riverside, which now house restaurants and cafes. It was very interesting to read about this because I can walk past the Hall on an given day. In fact I did that just a couple of days ago, just to take a couple of photos.

With the exception of the conflict which wasn't as strong as it could have been, I did enjoy this quite a bit. I look forward to reading more from this author in future.

Rating 4/5

In hospital following a near-fatal accident, Connor has temporary retrograde amnesia, and there's a blank slate where the last three years of his life should be. It's a woman with haunted eyes and secrets who offers to help him rediscover his past.

Colleague, friend and ex-lover, Emma warns Connor they must be discreet. No one knows about their past relationship, and for the sake of their jobs, no one can. She reintroduces him to his life and the fascinating redevelopment project they are working on, and the more time Connor spends with her, the more he wants a future with her in it.

But Emma blames herself for Connor's accident and she won't confess to what broke their relationship in the past. Now Connor is fighting for love, for his job, and for another chance.

A story about second chances, a second look, and the futility of fighting fate, Unforgettable explores the concept of walking a path already travelled and learning from your mistakes.

I read this book for the following challenges:

Stand-In Star by Rachael Johns

Holly McCartney arrives in Hollywood in order to attend a big Hollywood award ceremony on behalf of her dead sister Daisy. What she expects is that she will wander into LA International Airport, catch a shuttle to a hostel, find a dress, attend the Oscars, possibly pick up the award on her sister's behalf and then go home again.

Unfortunately, the media are intrigued by the story of the dead movie star and her family who have been estranged for years and so she is mobbed at the airport by the paparazzi. She is glad to be rescued by her sister's friend Nate Devlin, a photographer who unfortunately seems to have a less than stellar opinion of her, despite the fact that they have never met before.

Nate is a photographer now, but he is more than familiar with the ways of the Hollywood paparazzi. While he intended to only save her from the jackals at the airport, it is clear that once they arrive at the hostel that Holly is not going to be able to stay there, so he offers her his home to stay in and his protection.

Holly is a little naive about life in Hollywood. She has grown up in suburban Australia, always in the shadow of her older sister. While Daisy went on to have the glittering Hollywood career, Holly has forged her own identity as an anthropologist. She doesn't do the glamourous lifestyle at all, to the point where she hasn't even organised a dress to wear to the ceremony, assuming that she will be able to just pop into the shops on Rodeo Drive and pick something up.

Once again, Nate is able to assist Daisy, setting her up with his up and coming designer sister to make a fabulous dress, and then also hair and makeup ready for the big night. Even though he has made it clear that he doesn't think much of Daisy, she isn't actually what he expected her to be and he can't seem to help himself when it comes to assisting her and also he can't seem to stop thinking about her.

As they talk more, he begins to understand exactly what it is that caused the estrangement between Daisy and her family and has to reevaluate his feelings, while they both have to deal with their own issues. For Holly this is wrapped up in the idea that she was never enough compared to her sister and that she can never be enough for Nate given that he could have his choice of any woman in Hollywood and for Nate his family's past and a need to always be responsible for those around him cause him to have commitment issues. In the past he has only had superficial relationships with women, but he finds himself wanting more with Holly. He is just not sure how that feels, or what to do with those emotions especially as Holly has a life to return to back in Australia.

The chemistry between the two main characters was very strong. It took them a while to get going but once they did...phew!

I own a couple of Rachael Johns' books, one of which I bought months ago, but this was the first time I had actually read one, and I have to say I really enjoyed it! I thought it was a fun story that had a contemporary fairytale quality and had me crying, laughing and sighing in all the best ways as I read it. I started reading this late at night and ended up finishing it at 2am which might also explain my emotional reaction to the book.

I also really loved the way that Johns' was able to come up with an ending that still left plenty of scope for the characters to grow together.

If you are looking for a fun read, then keep this book in mind. Now I need to read the other Rachael Johns books I own!

Rating 4/5


Synopsis

As an anthropologist, Holly McCartney is more comfortable in a museum than shopping on Rodeo Drive. She isn’t prepared for the media frenzy on her arrival in L.A. to accept a posthumous acting award for her late sister….or for her sister’s gorgeous friend Nate Devlin to come to her rescue. Though he resents her for some reason, she can’t fight their irresistible chemistry—especially when the paparazzi force her to stay at his mansion.

Photographer Nate only agrees to help Holly survive Hollywood for her sister’s sake, but she soon gets under his skin in a way no other woman has. The more time he spends with her, the more his attraction grows and he finds himself opening up to her in ways he never expected. But will ghosts of the past stand in the way of their perfect Hollywood ending?

I was sent a copy of this book for review by the author. This did not influence my opinion of the book. The book will be released on 1 January by Carina Press

I read this book for the following reading challenges: