Multiple POVs, time skips, a dominant narrator who is blackout-drunk a large proportion of the time, this is a thriller in a new mould. During the last year, I saw large numbers of people on my regular commute (train, in a nice complement) reading A Girl on the Train and, having heard good things (plus having seen that Emily Blunt was starring in the film), decided to give it a crack myself and somehow convinced my book club to put this on the list for […]
Almost enough to make you sign up for a baking competition
Paul Hollywood has baked for the Queen. He was Head Baker at the Dorchester and supplies bread to Harrods. Basically, the man can bake. He’s also known for his steely blue-eyed stare at hapless contestants on The Great British Bake-Off, a.k.a. cooking show crack. Generally, I read cookery books to entreat myself to make something more interesting for dinner one night, c’mon you can do it, and ooh look at the pretty pictures. This is possibly the first time I have ever read a cookery book […]
Side character gets a starring role
Continuing my New Year’s historical fiction binge, I decided that Turner #1 was enjoyable enough to read the rest of the Turner series, and did so in fairly short order – about a week, I believe. Unlocked is book #1.5, strictly speaking a novella and a quick, fairly enjoyable read. Unlocked takes a helpful but dimly-painted secondary character from another book in the series (her major feature in her first appearance appears to be her spinsterhood and to be honest was so forgettable that I […]
Trashy romance, but good
Last year I tore through half a dozen of Courtney Milan’s books, finding them easy to read and with enjoyably modern, independent women, with similarly anachronistic men. After a fairly stressful Christmas/New Year, I turned to Ms. Milan for some comfort reading (and take advantage of the fact that my local library had gotten a new stack of her books). Enter: the Turner series. Turner #1 (Unveiled) is the story of Ash Turner (real name: And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under […]