beate251's reviews
436 reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

The main character of this story is Lily, artist and teacher who is still battling scars from an initially undisclosed childhood drama involving her neglectful alcoholic single mother and eight years younger sister Violet who has grown up as damaged as her but uses drugs as crutches while Lily pours all her anguish into painting.

Her best friend is half-Danish Inga who she met at art college. Lily has learned to keep her feelings and her needs to herself and to avoid conflict at all costs. Therefore, when she and Inga one night meet friends Alex and Matt in a bar, she defers to Inga's preference for Matt and doesn't listen to her own feelings. The four of them become two very close couples.

The book chronicles the relationships between these four people in a very engaging way, making us care about them all. Lily has always known that she doesn't want children and it leads to friction between her and Alex. Will Lily and Inga's friendship survive Inga's treatment of Max and refusal to take responsibility for her  actions and Lily's refusal to share her demons with her friends?

Then her sister Violet turns up unannounced, and Lily is forced to confront her childhood trauma and mental health once and for all, especially when Violet finds their mother, living in a commune in Scotland. Will she be able to put the past to rest and deal with her growing feelings for Matt?

NetGalley has already given me Prickly Company by the same author which was a five star read for me. This isn't much different. The book is about relatable, complex and flawed characters that don't always act in a mature way, and teaches us not to get ruled by our childhood, stand up to people and ask fearlessly for what we want.

It's a compelling and emotional novel about love, friendship and forging your own way. It is fantastically written and explores the issues of (not) having children with sensitivity, and how important it is to give new mothers the support they need. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an intelligent story that's not predictable or fluffy but gives us great characters. I was rooting for Lily and Max all the way through to get the ending they deserve. The cover is lovely but somehow  doesn't do the story justice!

"Fire that's closest kept burns most of all."

Claire is a serial killer and has been for a long time. There is deep seated childhood trauma through a mean, neglectful mother and an overindulgent father.

When her beloved Dad dies, she finds herself in a bereavement group with a handful of weird characters bemoaning the loss of a loved one. There are Jemma, Christiana, Evelyn,  Welshman and Weird Little Man because Claire doesn't bother learning the names of people she isn't really interested in.

Her life begins to unravel when she kills Lucas, a man who overlooked her for an art prize or something and then Jemma from her bereavement group visits her at home and tells her that she and him were blackmailing people and she saw him disappear into her house and never come out.

The plot is way too complicated for me to detail here but it involves murders, planned murders, Jemma's sister Helen and regular visits to a posh care home.

Claire's acerbic inner commentary is hilarious. She knows she is not like other people. She constantly refers to how ordinary people would react or what they would say. The first person POV works really well to show what a sociopath she is. The flashbacks to her childhood are illuminating and disturbing in equal measures.

The book is darkly funny but also unsettling as there is no remorse or character development for Claire. She's simply too damaged to ever be normal again so the only questions are, will she be found out and will we want her to be?

The cover reminds me a lot of Eat Slay Love by Julie Mae Cohen, whereas the title reminds me a lot of I Bet You'd Look Good in a Coffin by Katy Brent, both authors I love. I'm usually a fan of female serial killers in books but Claire is a bit too unhinged for me, killing men and women alike for the slightest transgressions.

It was nevertheless a well-written intriguing, tense read with a lot of twists and turns that made the book fun. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

Thea is a normal 26 year old who hates her boss Zara and loves her gay BFF Ruth. Her parents died in a car accident when she was eight, and she was brought up by her lovely Grandad who has always tried to instil the difference between right and wrong in her.

One day when she touches Ruth's arm she suddenly gets a flash telling her that Ruth will die tonight at a specific time. But that's not all. When Ruth gets a head wound in a bar that night Thea accidentally touches the man who shoved her over and transfers his remaining life into Ruth. He dies and Ruth lives.

What do you do when you discover you have the ability to play God and redistribute lifespans, either by killing someone or decimating their given years to pass on to other people?

Thea reacts by creating an Ethical Guide to Murder, with the premise of only killing really bad people and giving their years to really good, deserving people. Every chapter starts with an excerpt from this guide, justifying her reasons.

But how do you know whether someone is all good or all bad? Thea's superpower creates all kinds of ethical dilemmas and unforeseen repercussions, because people aren't always what they seem. A case in point is what happens when Thea finally finds the person responsible for causing the fatal car crash in which her parents died. Oh, and the charity guy who seemed so deserving at first.

This is an at times uncomfortable book that constantly makes you examine your own morals and question what you would have done with this ability. I didn't find a lot of dark humour and I felt this book was very different to my usual revenge or serial killer reads. There is an undercurrent of rage at the unfairness of life, which seems to reward a lot of undeserving people while punishing deserving ones. So why not redress the balance?

The premise of the book is intriguing but then it gets bogged down by moral questions and some inconsistencies in how Thea's talent works, slowing the pace down. There weren't a lot of characters I actively liked, except Grandad. Especially manipulative lawyer Sam and the awful guy we first think is a hero are pretty hard to stomach, but everyone else is flawed too.

I can't say that I saw the ending coming and I'm not sure how I feel about it. At least Thea is consistent in how she approaches retribution and making amends. If you're expecting a deranged serial killer, this isn't her. She honestly tries to do good but it becomes a curse to her.

I liked the writing style and that the book makes you think. It's a very unique story examinig what would happen if we could suddenly decide other people's lifespan and why. Points for originality in this interesting debut novel!

"Right and wrong are not mutually exclusive concepts. Having a good reason to do a terrible thing doesn’t make it any less terrible. Especially if you’re the one deciding what’s moral and what’s not."

Bella lives in her grandparents' old house in Wynbridge with her dog Tink. She has a small business creating fairies and looks forward to Christmas which she adores. She is a commitment phobe who likes men not to hang around too long. Of course she will get cured of that in this story.

Freelance author Jude is writing a book about the history of Wynthorpe Hall and has been given accommodation there, but it is too noisy there for him to concentrate, so the family ask Bella to rent him part of her big-ish house to work in for a month. Of course Jude hates Christmas and of course Bella will effortlessly manage to cure him of that.

This is very readable but full of clichés and tropes that I hate. It's formulaic and predictable and has too many characters I'm supposed to remember from previous books set in fictional Wynbridge.

Both main characters are annoying in their refusal to properly communicate. Many misunderstandings might have been avoided. Also, I didn't like the constant referral to "a fling".

The cover is lovely but there is no fairy on it which feels like an omission seeing what the FMC does for a living,  which btw is ridiculous. How many silly but ever so creative jobs that only pay well in fairyland must romance characters have before they are allowed a normal job?

This is sufficiently Christmassy and cosy to appeal to most romance readers at this time of year. It is well-written and regular readers of Heidi Swain will appreciate knowing exactly what they are going to get.

It is 1927. Agnes Humphries, blunt and opiniated but kind owner and landlady of No. 23 Burlington Square, is in search of a new tenant for the second floor. She has to choose between her young niece Clara Goodwin, nervous widow Mercy Mayweather and bank clerk Stephen Thompson.

Her other tenants are Gilbert, a socially awkward photographer in the attic, and Alexander Gorski, an elderly Polish gentleman and former musician on the first floor, plus the poor Smith family with their three young girls in the basement.

What follows are three alternative timelines in which Agnes offers the room to Clara then Stephen then Mercy. Each timeline concentrates on that tenant, with the others being in the background, however their stories unfold differently each time. At the same time, Agnes's own story is slowly revealed throughout the book.

Even though those timelines are not consecutive, there is little repetition which speaks for the author's talent. In each timeline the reader learns certain things about the protagonists and takes that knowledge into the next timeline.

I enjoyed unconventional Bright Young Thing Clara's story the most. Those who suggest her story is only there for the diversity element can get in the bin. There are three love stories that are being juggled and many secrets being revealed. No one is quite as they seem and everyone lies and hides things. 

Wild child Clara had an indiscretion with a groom - or did she? Mercy's husband died in the war - or did he? Stephen has a respectable job - or has he? What is Gilbert really photographing and why, what secret does Mr Gorski have, and will Jemima Smith ever escape her domestic drudgery? And why did Mr Blandford really die so suddenly? The answers will surprise you.

This is a compelling story about love, loss, friendship and grief, and the emotional impact from turning unhappy people caught in the prejudices of their time into happy ones is high. The last Sliding Doors timeline thankfully gets it right for everyone involved, which I was immensely glad about, as I had grown fond of them all (with one exception). The epilogue is simply wonderful. Highly recommended.

Kate, 43, has made a New Year's Eve resolution to find a man - someone to kiss. Her BFF Julie helps her with a dating profile, but it doesn't start promising.

There are a lot of funny dating situations like the big speed dating event, but this book effortlessly goes deeper, giving us real people with depth and complicated feelings of depression, anxiety and worthlessness but also love and friendship.

Kate has low self-esteem which leads to being clingy and not standing up for herself, be it with men or at work, where her boss Terry takes advantage of her at every turn. I don't know why no one nicknames him Terry the Terrible!

Luckily she has her cat Mittens and Julie's brother Ben is always there to help - or could he be more than a friend?

There is a sequel to this book called "Love, Julie", which is Julie's story of trying to recover from alcoholism. I mistakenly read it first and was blown away by the raw emotions of the story. I would recommend though to read these in order as Julie gets a lot of airtime here too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for this ARC.

Lena and her ginger cat Scully move to Freiburg from Hannover within Germany shortly before Christmas and soon Lena finds little gifts in front of the door. She thinks she has very welcoming neighbours but then she discovers that her cat has stolen them all from her neighbour Caro.

I'm German and to find a festive romance set not only in my home country but also my exact federal state was an amazing surprise, especially with all the talk about regional food. I got a real hankering for meat fondue again. And pancakes with (obviously white) asparagus is a dish I have mastered too and is typical for the region.

I found a small reading companion article online which really helps to visualise the story:
https://jae-fiction.com/a-purrfect-gift-reading-companion/

The one thing I didn't like was the American English but unfortunately German schools teach it more than British English.

This is a 77 pages short novella and I wish it had been longer. I loved the main characters and the matchmaking cat so much! I'm usually reluctant to use words like "sweet" or "cute" but this really was sweet without being saccharine.

It is the purrfect fluffy, feel-good and festive romance, especially if you're queer and you like klepto kitties. Recommended as a Christmas appetizer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dialogue Books for this ARC.

Gem loves Bollywood dancing and experimental toastie flavours and frequently gets the ick when dating, calling it intuition, warning her off an incompatible man before it's too late.

Her flatmate Shanti who is studying to become a clinical psychologist finds this hilarious and wants to include her on a paid study about whether the ick is real and serves a real purpose. She creates a contract that Gem needs to go on more dates with the same person over the next six weeks and spend time with him to see whether icks can be overcome or whether they have been a sensible warning from the start.

Gem only reluctantly participates because it will enable her to buy an all-singing all-dancing wheelchair for her mother Georgie so she has to worry less about her.

Enter Atlas: he is good-looking, with amazing hair and mesmerizing blue eyes, he dresses impeccably and is in any way perfect. Well, almost. His name is Atlas, he carries an embarrassingly large bag around, eats soup for lunch and loves football. Ick, ick, ick, ick.

This is an extremely predictable plot using the forced proximity trope to bring two people together who normally wouldn't have had more than one date. It is however done with charm, and both main characters as well as several side characters are well-rounded and interesting. Gem's caring relationship with her mother and Uncle Mike is explored well.

There is also an amusing and longstanding competition between Gem and Shanti going on to get scowly Jay from the cornershop to smile - just once will do!

This reads well and fast. Recommended for being fun and witty and exploring the high expectations we have of ourselves and others. I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.

I would normally start a review by saying something about the plot, but I have no idea what the plot is.

This was too literary for me, too confusing and fragmented. It's basically a stream of consciousness by a woman called Hero.

I didn't like the writing style. I never knew whether we were in the past or the present, whether she was talking about herself or someone else or just generally what was going on. There's a lot of talk about what women have suffered throughout history and she tries to figure out how she feels about someone, but the story, if you can call it that, is open-ended.

Sorry but this wasn't for me. Mercifully, it's short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for this ARC.

The title does what it says on the tin: the story takes place over three days in June. Gail, 61, is a divorced assistant head mistress, who has been told she lacks people skills when she is overlooked for a promotion so in a fit of pique, she quits her job.

It's her daughter Debbie's wedding the next day and suddenly her ex-husband Max is standing in front of her door, with a cat in tow. The cat is apparently the reason he can't stay with Debbie for the wedding as her husband-to-be is allergic to cats. Then some drama regarding the groom surfaces which makes Gail and Max reflect on their own marriage and the mistakes they made.

This is dialogue heavy with not much plot but it never gets boring. There are a lot of sharp observations about marriages, weddings and divorced couples. The story is open-ended with no real conclusion to Kenneth's indiscretion or Max and Gail's relationship but the snapshot we got is nevertheless satisfying.
 
This character study of some ordinary flawed people is well-written, funny and just the right length for me. I'm new to Anne Tyler's book but I'd be happy to read more.