Mini reviews: Three Aussie books

 

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage

When Lexi Villiers' father and brother are killed while skiing, she suddenly finds herself whisked off to London to take up her place in the succession to the the throne. Princess Alexandrina had walked away from the royal family years before and was living in Tasmania and studying to be a doctor. Now she needs to decide does she want everything that being royal means (both the good and the bad) or does she want to live a normal life.

This is the royal family but not as we know it. The starting point is that Charles II makes his mistress Barbara Villiers his queen and the crown passes down through the Villiers family. It is a really interesting premise to base a story on! Even though it is a fictionalised royal family, you can definitely see where it has been inspired by the real royal family. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story, although it was probably too long. 

Rating 4/5

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

This is the third book in the Ernest Cunningham series and as you might surmise from the title this time the story is set at Christmas time. Ernest gets a phone call from his ex-wife whose new partner has just been found dead and she is the prime suspect. Soon Ernest is trying to solve a murder where there everyone has a secret, where sleight of hand and magic are the everyday business of some of the suspect and where nothing is quite as it seems. 

This was shorter than a normal book but longer than a novella and at times it felt a bit rushed, but it also has a fun advent calendar style format! Already looking forward to the next book! And I have just found out that Benjamin Stevenson is coming to my local library in May so I have booked tickets for that!

Rating 4/5

Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon by Sophie Green

I have been meaning to read Sophie Green's books for several years now but I just hadn't been able to fit one in! This book tells the story of four women who are all at different stages of their lives who all come together in a hairdressing salon in a small town on the Central Coast of NSW. What they all have in common in addition to the salon is that they are all trying to find themselves.

Trudy is a widow who is the owner of the salon. Since her husband died she has sort of been going through the motions. She doesn't really connect well with her only son, but the people in her salon are almost like family to her. 

Single mum Evie has never really had much luck with relationships. She is trying to balance work with raising her son but really her secret desire is to fall in love. Could the new male hairdresser Sam finally bring love into her live.

Anna is feeling neglected in her marriage and so she separates from her husband Gary. She brings her mother into the salon regularly but could changing her life start with changing her hair.

Finally, there is Josie who joins the salon as an apprentice. She has been bought up in a very strict household and so when she meets a young man, she needs to keep everything a secret!

I had so much fun with this one. It is set in the mid 1980s and there were so many nods to music, pop culture, world events and of course hairstyles!

This one counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host

Rating 4/5

This week....

 I'm reading

I am feeling the pressure of the end of month at the moment. I have set myself the goal of finishing all the categories in the Goodreads Challenges, I have library books due back and book club is next week. I then have several review books due in the first week of April. I do feel like I made quite a bit of progress this week though.

One of the book I needed to finish was my first Classics Club Spin selection which was The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I read most of this on the plane last week so I was able to finish it off and write my review this week! Go me!

I had started Heir Apparent by Australian author Rebecca Armitage before I went away but I had to return the library book when I was only half way through. I ended up buying it so I could finish it. I ended up having a bit of fun with it. This was my selection for the Star Selection category of the Goodreads Challenge.

Then I needed to reread The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs. This is the current Cook the Books selection. I have decided what I am going to cook, and when I say I I actually mean what Robert will cook, and just need to finish the post ready for next week. A quick look at the top of this post might give you some idea what direction my thinking is going.

My next two reads were both for the Goodreads Challenge. For the Persona Picks category I read We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida and for Choice Archive category I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

I started reading The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport as my selection for Her Story in the middle of the night on Saturday night. I am not sure if non fiction books should be middle of the night reading really!  

I also started reading Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett for my book club selection. The theme this month is books you have borrowed from someone. I borrowed this from Bree at All the Books I Can Read more than 10 years ago so it is probably time I finally read it!

I'm watching


Nothing really


Life

I have picked up a cold/flu/infection on my travels which I could have done without. I have felt very average all week and today my ears are blocked so I don't think it is quite done with me yet!


I did take some time this weekend to say farewelling  to Jane who used to blog from Janezworld (also Life at Number 8 and a blog/zine thing that was A String of Pearls). She passed away last week. I actually met Jane pre-blogging days on the Oprah Book Club boards. Jane and I almost met in person a couple of times but it didn't quite happen. She was, however, always very supportive of me and I was sad to hear of her passing. 

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Green Book Covers
James by Percival Everett
Weekend Cooking: What I Ate in India
Classics Club Spin: The Leopard by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa





I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week..

I'm reading

In what was a complete coincidence I found myself reading two Christmassy books this week. I started reading B K Borison's Lovelight Farm book because it has been on my shelf for months, and it fits for one of the Goodreads challenge prompts! I really loved it and have requested the next book in the series from the library. 

Then I picked up Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson which is the third book in the Ernest Cunningham series. The fourth book is waiting for me to pick up at the library and then I will be all caught up with this series. 

In answer to the question above, it usually is too early, but in the case of these two books I have made an exception!

I did also finish reading The Strawberry House by Rachel Burton, which I really enjoyed. My review is here.

I also then read a couple of chapters of James by Percival Everett. It is my intention to try and get this read while I am away. 

I also started The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage which I was desperately trying to finish before I left but it isn't going to happen. I have to return the book to the library, so I am going to have to buy it so that I can finish it on the plane. Both James and this book fit Goodreads Challenge prompts too. 

The other book that I am intending to read while I am away is my Classics Spin selection, The Leopard by Tomasi de Lampedusa. The hardest part of travelling is always deciding what you are going to read while you are away!

I'm watching


I started watching Neil & Martin's Bon Voyage which is a British travelogue featuring Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunes who starred in a show together back in the 1990s. Morrissey now lives in France, so Clunes joins him and travels to various destinations. So far, it isn't all your normal French destinations. I will watch more at some point.

Life


I went to a library talk for International Women's Day. The talk was about Australian Women's Land Army which operated during WWII, and got very little acknowledgement after the war. They weren't really treated all that well during the war either! It was a very interesting talk. 

On Saturday, I went with some friends to see the Vivianne Westwood/Rei Kawakubo exhibition that is currently on at National Gallery of Victoria. I thought it was interesting, although I don't enjoy the fashion exhibitions as much as I do when it is art. It was interesting seeing so many iconic Westwood looks and some really famous items on display. Of the two, Westwood was more recognisable but Kawakubo was more interesting because her clothes are really, really different. The items there were not anything that you would see someone wearing on the street! Maybe abstract is a word I would use. 

We are also going to a farewell for a friend who is moving to Queensland and a wedding on Sunday afternoon. The wedding is formal and so I have been stressing for a couple of months about what to wear and getting shoes that I could wear for several hours. I have trouble buying shoes because I have big feet and they are very wide. Ankle straps are a no no because my ankles swell so I have ended up with a slingback. I realised at 5 o'clock on Sunday morning that I haven't thought about jewellery. 

I mentioned that I am going away for work. I am headed to Kolkata in India on Monday. I am very excited for several reasons including that I have never been to India and I never imagined that I would get such an opportunity in my line of work. Most excitingly, I am flying business class which is a first for me. Yes, I am going to be that person taking all the pictures in business class!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Cooking the Books!

Blog Tour: The Strawberry House by Rachel Burton

In My Kitchen: March

Six Degrees: Wuthering Heights to The Secrets of the Huon Wren




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings