A delightful story, part romance, part ghost hunt and wholly enjoyable. Ginger Malhaven is a hot-tempered young girl from Atlanta, Georgia who finds herself packed off to live with her relatives in Montana following a regrettable incident involving her ex-boyfriend. She refuses to let this seeming disaster ruin her life and, instead, throws herself into her studies with single-minded focus. By the time she has earned a double degree, in Architecture and Engineering, she is 21, intelligent, beautiful and free to return to her life in Atlanta, yet she hesitates to do so until events force her hand.
The storyline is compelling, the writing at times lyrical, at times fast moving and always clearly well researched. The tempo changes throughout the book, so that the reader never quite knows what to expect, until the final, breathtaking denouement which happily ties all the loose ends together. The romance aspects are cleverly done so that there is a lot of tension but all handled with great restraint and, very rare nowadays, no bad language to spoil the narrative. |
Above all, Angie West has a true gift for dialogue and her characters fairly jump out of the pages because of the authenticity and immediacy of their conversations. At times it felt like watching a television sitcom, the exchanges were that convincing, and the ghost investigation has an almost journalistic quality.
A difficult, heart-wrenching read to say the least, focusing on the aftermath of a week-long kidnap which nearly ended in a murder. The story narrates in micro-detail Hannah's slow and painful recovery and exposes the potentially lifelong effects of such a trauma. The subject is one that needs to be aired. It's all too easy for crimes involving sexual assault and forced confinement to be dismissed as “a bad experience to be forgotten” once the victim is returned to her (or his) previous normal life. So I applaud the author for this courageous narrative. The book moves along at a pace which is appropriate for the subject matter. As the prologue warns, it is not an action-packed thriller, but rather a raw, emotional delving into the nature of fear, courage, and the resilience of the human spirit.
The writing is a bit flat and clumsy, plagued by annoying repetition of favourite phrases and expressions, and generally lacking in polish and originality. Character development is good, especially for the principal actors, although some of the secondary ones are a bit indistinct. At least the author avoids easy stereotyping. |
I very much liked the heroine. Hannah is a complex character with a lot of baggage. Her eventual decision to seek the help of a psychiatrist allows a look into the long and painstaking process of psychological recovery. Eli, the boyfriend, is wonderful, perhaps a little too perfect, and the same goes for her father and a close family friend, but I'm not complaining. Love is a great motivator.
Some aspects stretch belief: not having read the first book, I don't know if this is true of her before the kidnap, but it struck me that, post-trauma, Hannah behaves, and is treated by her close circle, more like a teenager than a 24-year-old woman. Unfortunately, many victims may never have the benefit of therapy, so she is extremely lucky to have an unusually large support group, who are incredibly dedicated to her recovery. A curious aside: all the people in the story spend their free time eating junk food and binge-watching movies. Really? Although not exactly enjoyable, due to the tragic subject matter, I did find the story engaging and realistic, and I think a highly dramatic subject was treated with admirable restraint.
Some aspects stretch belief: not having read the first book, I don't know if this is true of her before the kidnap, but it struck me that, post-trauma, Hannah behaves, and is treated by her close circle, more like a teenager than a 24-year-old woman. Unfortunately, many victims may never have the benefit of therapy, so she is extremely lucky to have an unusually large support group, who are incredibly dedicated to her recovery. A curious aside: all the people in the story spend their free time eating junk food and binge-watching movies. Really? Although not exactly enjoyable, due to the tragic subject matter, I did find the story engaging and realistic, and I think a highly dramatic subject was treated with admirable restraint.
Being a perfectionist is a curse I have known all my life, and which I tended to view as a quirk in my character, as much a part of me as my nose, but now I see that it is also a roadblock that can stop all progress, and an excuse for avoiding a task I don't feel up to. It is also a bartering chip that can be assigned variable value. This is just one of the nuggets of wisdom I found in this brief but very well written life manual.
It is part of the 15-minute series, something I was introduced to by this author when he proposed his book for my attention. I don't know what the rest is like but this little tome helped me face up to some truths that are not only uncomfortable but also detrimental to my daily state of mind. I'm not heavily into the inspirational side of things, but it was encouraging to be reminded of the many extraordinary people who at one time experienced rejection and, yes, failure but went on to excel in their chosen field. If they had given up in the face of unfavourable odds, the whole world would be the poorer for it. |
Without giving the contents away, I will say that simply revisiting the definition of “failure” can be hugely empowering. Just like a candid chat with a good friend can help us accept something we already knew but emotionally rejected, the condensed wisdom in this book has given me a push in the right direction. Verbosity, repetition and redundancy are happily missing so don't let the small size put you off. And if you finish reading and think, I already knew all that, ask yourself why are you still allowing the fear of failure to immobilize you?
A great example of a book where the “Look Inside” got me hooked with its wicked humour and an easy, engaging style which impressed me. I was so busy enjoying the camp charm of the main characters that I did not notice the horror classification. I can't remember the last time I read horror literature, but this short story has so many themes going that it works on many levels.
Tom needs peace and quiet to finish a screenplay. He books into a remote, picturesque country inn for a weekend of rest and relaxation, taking along his boyfriend Dan. After their long car trip, a walk in the woods introduces the two to their idyllic surroundings, but on coming back to the beautiful old house they are staying in, they find the door open and the owners inside, eager to welcome them. Tom and Dan prepare to turn in for the night, when odd things start to happen. |
A wildly genre-hopping ride which builds momentum relentlessly towards a grisly series of events that will keep the most dedicated horror fan spellbound. But there is so much more than guts and gore; there is an intelligent plot, a developmental arc for the hero, a social commentary about tolerance, and even a satisfying end with a redemptive message. This is a debut short story from a gifted young writer. I hope to see more from Clive Matthews; it's rare to find such a naturally humorous style that doesn't try too hard to be funny, combined with a gripping storyline. Not for the faint of heart, although the blue language is very amusing.
A lovely read which I found extra interesting for its authentic French content. The author clearly has personal experience of the locale and understands the French psyche, and so she succeeds beautifully in placing us right in the middle of everyday Paris, showing us the high life of a successful mergers-and-acquisitions specialist, the middle-class social circle of a group of ambitious young professionals, and the modest living conditions of a young aspiring artist. The book is all the richer for this honest immersion into Parisian culture. The love story develops slowly; as the title suggests, it starts as an unlikely friendship between a French man and an American girl with virtually nothing in common, except that they are both dealing with a recent emotional wound and they have both lost their mothers while very young.
April (our young heroine) speaks almost no French, but luckily the art course she attends is conducted in English and most of the people she comes across are well educated and willing to speak her language. That part is perhaps a bit of a stretch, in my personal experience, but whatever. The storyline has some original elements, and the narration is captivating. Good character development and enough secondary players to keep things interesting. My favourite is Mishou, Victor’s grandmother, the voice of wisdom and unwavering affection. The romance is squeaky clean, and my only criticism is that it lacks a certain warmth. When a story has a predictable outcome, the journey is important, and I would have liked a little more commitment from the heroine on her way to her HEA.
April (our young heroine) speaks almost no French, but luckily the art course she attends is conducted in English and most of the people she comes across are well educated and willing to speak her language. That part is perhaps a bit of a stretch, in my personal experience, but whatever. The storyline has some original elements, and the narration is captivating. Good character development and enough secondary players to keep things interesting. My favourite is Mishou, Victor’s grandmother, the voice of wisdom and unwavering affection. The romance is squeaky clean, and my only criticism is that it lacks a certain warmth. When a story has a predictable outcome, the journey is important, and I would have liked a little more commitment from the heroine on her way to her HEA.