Guest Review | My Sweet Revenge ~ Jane Fallon

My Sweet Revenge

Jane Fallon

Penguin UK - Michael Joseph

January 2017

Rated 5/5

               

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care. He won't just think, 'Oh good'.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert's back since they got together as drama students. She gave up her dreams so he could make it. Now he's one of the nation's most popular actors. And Paula's just discovered he's having an affair.

She's going to remind Robert just what he's sacrificing. And then she's going to break his heart like he broke hers. It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet. Isn't it?

             

I am a big Jane Fallon fan, so when I found out that she was releasing a new book, I knew I had to read it immediately. After Laura’s request on NetGalley was accepted (thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin UK), I was thrilled to be able to delve into the book straight away - it definitely didn’t disappoint.

My Sweet Revenge centres around Paula, who finds out that her husband Robert is having an affair. Instead of confronting him about it, she decides to take revenge on him instead. The book follows her journey as she plots her sweet revenge. Not only does she befriend Saskia, Robert’s lover, but she also undergoes a physical transformation.

Immediately you find yourself rooting for Paula, who at the beginning is overweight and lacks confidence. As the plot thickens, you see Paula develop into a strong woman and you hope to yourself that she can pull off her revenge. I’m not sure how many women would be able to keep their cool as well as Paula did throughout, especially when things didn’t always go to plan. However, the character transformation is brilliant, and it’s great to see Paula regaining her confidence.

Jane Fallon is great at developing characters that we either despise or empathise with. The characters of Robert and Saskia are horrid - Robert is portrayed as a lying, pathetic weasel, and Saskia is the ultimate bitch, which is emphasised in the second part of the book as it is partly in her narrative. It’s pretty easy to hate both characters. There are plenty of minor characters throughout the book too, all of whom add a little something to the main plot.

My Sweet Revenge is full of quick wit and laugh-out-loud moments, as well as some shocking turns. As with a lot of Jane’s books, just when you think you know how everything will pan out, she throws in a plot twist. The second part of the book is full of them and I was kept guessing until the very end.

Jane Fallon is the queen of chick lit with an edge, and My Sweet Revenge stands tall as one of her best books. I devoured the book over two nights, and whilst I’m a sucker for chick lit in general, what I love the most about Jane’s work is the sass throughout. There’s no soppy love story here, just a feisty and witty tale of betrayal and the ultimate revenge. I would definitely recommend My Sweet Revenge to anyone who wants a different take on your standard chick lit - prepare to be hooked!

       

Guest Review | The Butterfly Summer ~ Harriet Evans

The Butterfly Summer

Published by: Headline Review

Date: 19th May 2016

Amazon

Waterstones

What magic is this?

You follow the hidden creek towards a long-forgotten house.

They call it Keepsake, a place full of wonder ... and danger. Locked inside the crumbling elegance of its walls lies the story of the Butterfly Summer, a story you've been waiting all your life to hear.

This house is Nina Parr's birthright. It holds the truth about her family - and a chance to put everything right at last.

The Butterfly Summer is the first novel I've read by Harriet Evans. In all honesty, the blurb alone confirmed that this isn't the type of book that I would normally read but I decided to give it a go anyway as there was something intriguing about it.

The book tells us the story of Nina Parr, who's father died when she was little. She grew up knowing next to nothing about her father, until one day she bumps into an old lady in the library who seems to know a lot about her. This leads to Nina trying to discover her past, and soon enough, everything she thought she knew starts to unravel in front of her. 

The Butterfly Summer is written from two perspectives: Nina's, and her grandmother Teddy's, therefore going back and forth in time. It is Teddy's story that is most intriguing, as we find out about Keepsake and the tragic and disturbing history surrounding the house, although Nina's perspective is far more readable and concise. It's difficult to talk too much about the story without spoiling anything, but whilst the book feels rather stilted at the beginning, slowly but surely it becomes clearer how the two stories are intertwined. 

To be honest, I struggled with The Butterfly Summer to begin with. It took me a while to get into the flow of the book, especially as it is written from two perspectives. I found myself plodding along through the first part, wondering if I would ever make it through the book. However, things definitely picked up from the second part onwards and I managed to devour the rest whilst on a train journey.

The concept of the book was very interesting however, at times I felt that it was a bit long winded. There were plenty of twists and turns which kept the latter half, in particular, interesting, although I do believe that there were a couple of unnecessary twists in the book which didn't add anything. 

One of the best things about the book was seeing the links develop between the characters as the story went on. Whilst it was confusing at the beginning to place each character, they were all very carefully woven into the story and some connections we very clever. I did find myself working out some mysteries as the book went on however, there was still an element of surprise. 

There was a lot of intricate detailing to the story - from the vivid descriptions of Keepsake, to the character connections, it's clear to see that Harriet Evans has put a lot of thought into laying out The Butterfly Summer. The book also covers a wide variety of topics, including the war, the London riots, failed relationships, family secrets, deception and a few others that I won't mention as they might spoil the suspense!

I wish that I could say that I loved this book, but unfortunately I didn't. Once I got into the book, the pace definitely picked up and I found myself enjoying it more but I didn't feel that the story impacted on me as much as it should have. I'm putting this down to the fact that it's not my usual genre of book, however, I am glad that I persevered with it. If you enjoy novels with family history at the heart of it, then it's worth giving The Butterfly Summer a go.

Rating 3/5

I would like to thank both Katrina for her honest review,

and to Headline Review for providing a proof copy of

A Butterfly Summer.

Guest Review | Here We Lie ~ Sophie McKenzie

BUY

Kindle

Paperback

On holiday with family and her adoring fiancé, Jed, Emily couldn't be happier. But overnight, the idyllic trip turns into a waking nightmare when one of the group is found dead in what appears to be a terrible accident. 

The devastated party returns to London to cope with their loss while trying to resume their normal lives. But new revelations shed a shocking light on the holiday tragedy and set Emily on a perilous journey to discover the truth about what happened. Soon a terrifying series of threats and lies bring her face to face with the dark truths at the heart of her family - and into life-threatening danger...

I'm not really sure what possessed me to pick up this book - I've never read anything by Sophie McKenzie before, and I generally prefer chick-lit to thrillers, however I am SO glad that I did. I have never been so gripped by a book, and all of its unexpected twists and turns.

The main character Emily is on holiday with her family and fiancé Jed. All is going well until one morning, a member of the group is found dead in what seems like a tragic accident. This is when Emily tries to discover the truth, and her perfect life unravels around her.

This was an incredibly tense read, and every chapter left me desperate to know what happened next. The chapters are mainly written in the present time, through the eyes of Emily however there are also diary entries from the dead character which pieces bits of the story together. There are also some 'throwback' chapters which feature Emily's siblings.

At one point, I did come to the correct conclusion about the character death, however I doubted myself until the very end, thanks to Sophie's excellent plot twists. Even when you could work out the truth, there was still a shock at the end.  I found myself continuously gasping and shaking my head in awe - it's so rare to come across a book that sucks you right in, but this book is an absolute gem. I finished the book in a matter of hours as it was such a compelling read. I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future.

The characters are so well written - I found myself urging Emily to discover the truth, and I took a great dislike to the 'evil' people in the book. With such a captivating plot and set of characters, I definitely think 'Here We Lie' would make an excellent blockbuster.

In all honesty, I don't think my words do this book justice, and it's difficult to express how incredible it is without spoiling anything from it.  What I will say, is whether thrillers are your preferred genre of book or not, I highly recommend this gripping and well plotted read to anyone who wants to be completely sucked in by a book. 'Here We Lie' will leave you tearing your hair out and reading on in utter despair (but it's definitely worth every minute of stress!)

5 (thousand) flowers 

I would like to thank Katrina for her amazing review and in light of her flower rating I feel it would be utterly wrong of me not to award the PowerFlower status and add this book to our extra special books page!