Review: Not So Perfect Strangers by L.S. Stratton

 NB: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for a review. 

Blurb: Two strangers – a Black woman and a white woman – who discover that each has a husband she’d be better off without, find their lives entangled in increasingly sinister ways following one fateful encounter, leading to a shocking and violent conclusion.

 

Tasha and Madison may live in different parts of the country and have different everyday realities, but they have one thing in common: marriages they need out of. Tasha and Madison want to help each other, but they have very different ideas of what that means…The women are on a collision course that will end in the case files of the D.C. MPD homicide unit. Unravelling the truth of what really happened may be impossible…and futile. Because what has the truth ever done for women like Tasha and Madison?

 

Combining dark humour with classic domestic thriller tropes, Not So Perfect Strangers offers a fresh take on a classic story, in a brilliantly updated homage to Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. Featuring a cast of diverse female leads living in modern America, L.S. Stratton’s latest release delves into pressing contemporary issues regarding feminism, gender dynamics, racism, and the white saviour complex.  

Trigger warning: the book contains descriptions of domestic violence, grooming, and childhood sexual abuse. Please take care while reading.

From the very first page, this book is a thrilling and fast-paced adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat or sat up straight in bed reading late into the night. 

Madison and Tasha come from very different worlds - Madison is one half of a Washington D.C. power couple, while Tasha is pulling herself up by her bootstraps. What they have in common, though, is that they want to escape their marriages - albeit for different reasons. Madison's husband is serially cheating on her, while Tasha is being emotionally and physically abused by her husband. 

Tasha has just escaped from her husband, taking her son with her, when she discovers that her son has decided to go back home to his father. Tasha, wishing to protect him, follows him home despite knowing what is in store for her. En route, she discovers a desperate Madison wanting to leave her husband.

Sometime later, Madison offers Tasha a shocking proposal - she will kill Tasha's husband if Tasha returns the favour. Shocked, Tasha leaves but with the impression that she has agreed to the deal. When Tasha doesn't reciprocate, Madison becomes increasingly htreatening. 

Tasha and Madison are equally brilliantly written characters. It would be very easy to make them 2D characters - one, the submissive and downtrodden one, and the other, a hysterical psychopath. But the author imbues and layers both characters with much more nuance than that and we have insights into their backgrounds that go someway into explaining how they arrived at their present states. 

The novel flicks between past and present. The opening - NOW - sees Tasha having escaped from Madison's house, now on fire, and her subsequent arrest and investigation. BEFORE shows how Tasha and Madison fell into each other's lives and the deadly consequences of it. 

Despite Madison's character and the objectively awful choices she makes, the completion of her story arc left me feeling defensive on her behalf - to explain why would spoil it, but if you have read HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY by Bella Mackie, you will probably know what I mean. Tasha's story arc feels much more satisfying. 

If you are a fan of dark humour, tragi-comedies, and books like HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY by Bella Mackie, this book is for you. 

Review: A Banker's Journey by Daniel Gross

 This incredibly meticulous and well-researched book takes a look at the life of a man called Edmond Safra, a man who rose from family banking origins in Beirut to become one of the world's most respected and trusted bankers. 

At only 15 years of age, Edmond's father entrusted him to go to Milan, one of the most relatively stable parts of the world at that point, in order to set up new banking and business ventures. Though so young, Edmond showed wisdom, courage, determination, and grit far beyond his years. 

After the horrors of World War 2 and collapse of imperialism in the Middle East - though not without decisions whose ramifications are still being felt to this day - Edmond did what he could to help Jewish communities moving around or leaving the Middle East - particularly Syria and Lebanon - completely. Everywhere he went, he sought out community and helped people as much as he could while setting up lucrative, profitable, yet measured, business and banking institutions wherever he went. From Milan, to Switzerland, to Brazil, and New York, Edmond built up trust, respectability, and wisdom, as well as acquiring huge amounts of knowledge needed that came along with the quick evolution of global financial systems. 

Despite Edmond reaching dizzying heights of success and wealth, he never forgot nor begrudged the responsibility to community instilled in him by his deep sense of faith. From personal gifts (such as paying friends' hospital bills) to institutional giving (demonstrated by the Safra Foundation to oversee the distribution of his wealth after his death) Safra showed both in life and death that wealth and success give one more opportunities to be generous and change countless lives. 

Review: Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday

 Ryan Holiday has just released the second in his series about the four principle Stoic Virtues. The first was "Courage is Calling" and he follows up now with the second virtue - Temperance, referred to in this book as "Discipline".

Using a mix of ancient thought and examples of public figures throughout history, from Roman Emperors to sports players, Ryan Holiday explains why the power of discipline and self-control is so important, in our lives, no matter our station or ambitions. 

The part that impacted me the most was how using this principle of temperance, or self control, in a society so given to distraction and alleviation from boredom, can actually enrich our lives and make it better. I am one of many people who are all too ready to reach for the phone at our fingertips to provide some sort of distraction. Using this practice of self-restraint can release a flow of creativity or thinking about how we want to make our lives better. 

There were some parts of it that I found could have been explored in terms of their nuances more thoroughly, such as the section on Queen Elizabeth II. Her personal characteristics and virtues were extolled wonderfully, but ignored/whitewashed the historical context of empire that is necessary to look at while examining such political figures; (the same for Winston Churchill). 

There were some incredible examples of people going against the grain of current political/intellectual/moral thought, such as when President Jimmy Carter, in 1977, exhorted the U.S. government to act on climate change - how much better would our current climate forecasts look if the world had listened to him??

Another section which I found incredibly meaningful/impactful was not just the importance of determination/persevering, but also knowing when to stop, such as the baseball player, Lou Gehrig. 

Overall, part motivational and part historical, Discipline is Destiny is a wonderful way for us to challenge ourselves and get out of our own way by acting on very straightforward precepts, even if the journey is not always easy. 

Review: The Mortification of Grace Wheeler by Colette Dartford

 No doubt a story that will resonate with many empty nesters, Colette Dartford's debut novel brings the intricacies of a close-knit family into the spotlight and examines what cracks appear when big changes come. 

Grace, the leading character, is struggling when her son, Josh, heads to university. After a shocking revelation from her husband, Cal, Grace is anxious about if she wants to keep pursuing her marriage. Wanting to feel closer to Josh, she signs up for fishing lessons - a great hobby of his - and gets drawn into the orbit of her young, handsome fishing instructor. 

Grace, whom has never had an affair, or done anything outside the box, finds a new thrill to pass her days. But a secret like this will never last long, and soon it threatens to tear apart not just her marriage, but those closest to them. 

Colette Dartford examines the different choices that the characters make without judgement or shame; it's emotional, tense, and deeply empathetic to the situations adults can  find themselves in later in life. It's a story that is well-paced and carries through to an ending that's surprising but fitting. 

Review: The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, by Jack Jewers

 The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys imagines what would have happened after Samuel Pepys had stopped writing his famous diary. 

The start of the novel sees Pepys escaping barely clothed from a brothel in London that has been set on fire. When he eventually returns home - dragging his feet, wanting to avoid confrontation with his wife - he discovers that she has cracked his not-so-cryptic code and finds out how he's been playing around behind her back. 

Shortly after, the Duke of Albermarle gives him a dangerous task - to go to Portsmouth and uncover what he suspects to be corruption, as well as the murder of an agent of the Crown. 

When Samuel arrives in London, along with his assistant Will, they quickly discover that there is far more to this than a simple cover-up. 

Hilarity, chaos, and tensions ensue, not just domestically but with serious threats from aboard. The story quickly evolves from a straightforward whodunnit to a mystery that is reminiscent of Sherlock, though Samuel and Will are not quite so quick off the mark as Sherlock and Watson were. Samuel and Will discover layers and layers of secrecy, not least of all from Charlotte de Vere, a wealthy widow with a lot more to her than meets the eye. 

Described as "Bridgerton meets Sherlock", I would describe this novel as heavy on the Sherlock and not so much on the Bridgerton (there is no romance in it, after all, and takes place way before the Regency period". It's more of a historical mystery with good lashings of the thrill of the chase, topped off with a good illuminati-esque reveal. It's very entertaining, puzzling, with a satisfying reveal at the end. 

Review: How To Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliott

 What could have been the holiday of a lifetime quickly turns into a holiday from which to be rescued...

Georgie, Lissa, and Bronwyn - best friends since university - were inseparable, but Georgie and Lissa even more so. However, circumstances created distance between them all.

Lissa and her husband, Jem, opened a luxury resort on an island in South-East Asia. Georgie worked in New York, and Bron became a stay-at-home-mother after a successful career in accounting. 

All are summoned to this island when Lissa is pronounced dead after witnesses saw her go swimming, never to return. 

Business trickles slowly away, and suspicions arise amongst the remaining guests - all those who knew Lissa. Georgie is the first to air these suspicions, and once the can of worms is opened, nothing will ever be the same. 

The novel is well-paced, laced with adrenaline and red herrings, and utterly readable in one sitting. I wouldn't recommend reading well into the night - you'll start to jump everywhere you look - but it is a perfect combination of a beach read and thriller. 

Review: Here Be Icebergs, Katya Adaui (English translation by Rosalind Harvey)

 This brilliant Peruvian writer has distilled a plethora of different family and relationship dynamics into twelve short stories. 

They range from the ordinary (The Hunger Angel, with 68 distinct memories that coalesce into a stark picture of life from 2 to 68) to the fantastical (Where The Hunt Takes Place, in which a family are contending with a mysterious beast that attacks their house nightly). Some, like We, the Shipwrecked, read more like poetry than prose. 

Every reader will be able to identify with the sharp flashes of memory this collection of short stories invokes, from the most mundane and random, to memories or periods of time we would rather bury (such as This Is The Man). There is no neat ending, or order, per se, to these stories. They are like a series of vignettes that allow us to examine the fictional lives of others and see if they reflect our own experiences. 

Here Be Icebergs is publishes by Charco Press. 

1989: The Narratives - This Love

She stood on the edge of the white cliffs and music drifted around her in the wind. 

The folds of her dress billowed around her while her hair tied itself in knots, caressing her cheeks. She tucked it behind her ears and looked out to sea. 

Clear, blue water glinted in the sun, a deceptive veil hiding its sheer power.  She looked to the tides and followed them as they crept forward. Crests of pure white frothed and churned. She longed to follow the path down to the shore and feel her feet soothed by the sea.

But no, she had to stay where she was, lest she missed it - the first glimpse of the ship that was bringing him back to her. 

She cast her mind back to when she saw the ship for the first time. She placed it now, just so, on the horizon. She heard the sound of its horn signalling its arrival. 

She had been much younger then. Sixteen, fresh-faced, anticipating the return of her father. But then she saw him, glorious him, for the first time. her father had taken him under his wing. But it was years before he truly saw her for the first time. 

And it was just in time. She thought she knew where she was going, but truly she was lost. It took someone whose life was rooted in impermanence to help her struggle through nights that were fraught with uncertainty. 

She remembered the way the lanterns flickered in the trees when he pressed his lips to her cheek for the first time. The smell of the spring rain when he uttered the three words she had been yearning for. The gloomy grey of the clouds when he told her he had to leave. 

The compelling music of his promise to return. And her pain that she couldn't trust it. 

Still, she looked to the horizon. Twisted the silver band around her finger. Felt the life spring within her when she finally spotted the ship that had brought so much more with it than brave men and women. 

Love. Hope. Promises that were kept. She counted the precious hours they had together this time and allowed herself to smile freely.  

Review: Blue Running by Lori Ann Stephens

 In this universe, Texas has seceded from the United States. Texas is now an authoritarian country in its own right, with travel in and out strictly forbidden. Everyone is required, by law, to have a gun. 

Blue grew up with her father, her mother having fled Texas before the changes. Though her mother was desperate to leave as a family, her father kept Blue behind. 

Blue is no stranger to hardship in her life but things get worse when her friend is killed by a gun accident that gets blamed on Blue. Blue decides on the only thing she can do - she runs for the border. She meets a young woman on the way, called Jet, who is fleeing so she can seek an abortion. 

It’s eery that I read this book for review just as the six week abortion restriction was made legal in Texas. It’s also frightening how so many elements of this book weren’t so far away from the truth. While Lori Ann Stephens has written a fantastic YA novel in its own right, it’s almost as important to note the lessons within, that Texas seems on its way down the slippery slope to the world of this novel. The friendship that Blue and Jet have is founded on fear and mutual survival but develops into something much stronger. Though they face many obstacles, they find the strength they need in each other. 

Review: Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday.

 “Ryan Holiday’s Courage is Calling traces the history of courage and its many faces through

the ages and arrives at the present day with an urgent call to arms for each and all of us. As

we battle our enemies within and without, will we choose to rise up to the call of our courage

or blush and bow down to the whispers of our cowardice? Our answer to this question is

about more than our sense of duty, it’s about our freedom. It’s about more than wins and

losses, it’s about our survival. It’s on me, it’s on you, it’s on us. Take the dare we may.”

Matthew McConaughey, Academy Award Winning Actor and New York Times #1 best-

selling author

In this first part of a four part series, drawing on the 4 Stoic virtues, Ryan Holiday examines the virtue of courage - what it means, how we can apply it in our lives, and how we can be inspired by leaders and figures from the past. From Florence Nightingale, who defied Victorian upper-middle-class convention, to the famous stories of the Spartans who stared down the mighty Persian empire, Ryan Holiday emphasises the very much ordinary nature of these people in order to inspire us to make courageous decisions in our own lives. For example, Florence Nightingale didn't immediately rise from obscurity to become one of the world's most famous nurses. It was small decision by small decision, starting with having the courage to defy her family. 

In between each story, Ryan uses his own interpretation of Stoicism and writings on courage to create his own thesis about what modern-day courage looks like, and how it doesn't need to be huge acts to be noteworthy. It can be saying "no" to something you find immoral or unethical. It can be saying "yes" to something that takes you out of your comfort zone. And each courageous decision can accumulate to be life-changing. 

Find more of Ryan's work via @RyanHoliday and @DailyStoic on Twitter, or @ryanholiday and @dailystoic on Instagram. 

The Garfield Conspiracy by Owen Dwyer

 The protagonist of Dwyer’s excellent new novel - part mystery, part examination of a writer in mid life crisis - Richard has his life unwittingly turned upside down when a new research assistant, Jenny, arrives to “help” him finish his book. They both know, though they leave it unspoken, that she’s there on the publishers’ orders to coax him along. 

However, the work is quickly made less of a priority as sparks fly between the pair and they engage in an affair that results in Richard leaving his wife and moving in with Jenny. In the meantime, Richard has started having unwelcome visitations from long-dead American political figures in his bid to find out who killed President Garfield. 

The grounding of an examination of a writer struggling with his legacy and health, along with trying to restore his reputation by writing a novel that would be explosive, makes more absorbing and compelling reading. We want Richard and Jenny to succeed on their literary mission, but outside of this it is much less black and white. It’s well paced, pulls the various strands of the story together well, and reaches an ending that is as shocking as it necessary. 

An excellent voice, not just in Irish fiction, but fiction as a whole. 

Review: Codename Firefly by C. J. Daugherty

 The brilliant sequel to No. 10 sees Gray, the daughter of the Prime Minister, face new but equally intense challenges. Gray has survived an assassination attempt and is now at a highly secure boarding school, working through her trauma while trying to make new friends, and still keeping safe from would-be assassins. Normal teenager problems mixed with an extreme situation, such as knowing her mother’s would be killers are after her, give Gray nightly panic attacks. Unsurprising. 

The school staff reintroduce NIGHT SCHOOL, a self defence class for the highest priority students. Along with Gray is a young man called Dylan, who is surely hiding a secret…

The second in this series is as full of intrigue and suspense as the first. A closed setting packs no less of a punch, and indeed helps build up the tension even more. There are intriguing and interesting new characters to complement the existing ones, and finishes with a huge set piece that does justice to the pace set by the novel. 

Review: The Counterfeit Candidate by Brian Klein

What if Hitler faked his suicide and fled to Argentina like so many leading Nazis? 

That question, and its consequences, form the bedrock of this debut novel from Brian Klein, who Top Gear fans will know as its foremost director. 

2 separate timelines create this story until they converge. The first, being Hitler’s escape from Germany and his long term plan to build a fourth reich. The second is the aftermath of the biggest heist in Argentine history, where three unwitting thieves steal a box that precludes their bloody end. 

This novel is fast-paced, engaging, and cleverly interwoven between timelines, with plenty of clever surprises on the way. It also speaks a lot to where the real power lies, particularly in countries like the USA, and it’s not always with the government. Though the premise of this story is (thankfully) fiction, it still mirrors a sorrowful amount the interplay between politicians and big money, and the devastating consequences that can have. 

Review: KYIV by Graham Hurley

 Starting this review with a trigger warning: there is a very graphic rape scene in this book, so please take care if this affects you. I try not to reveal key points in my reviews unless necessary, but I felt it was important to put a warning in about this. 

Having read and reviewed “Last Flight To Stalingrad”, I was really pleased to have the chance to review Hurley’s latest novel. 

The grand outline of this novel is about Operation Barbarossa, in which Nazi Germany invaded the Ukraine in their larger bid to conquer the Soviet Union and destroy communism. 

But, as seen in Last Flight to Stalingrad, Hurley focuses as well on his characters and their part in the whole, as he does with the research that sets the stories in their place. 

Bella Menzies, previously MI5 but now a defector to the Soviets, on account of her inspiration of the communist ideals, finds herself in a dilemma. Instinct tells her not to go to Moscow, but instead hitch a ride into Kyiv, Ukraine. Very quickly she finds herself hunted by both sides, and discovers the Soviet plot to bomb Kyiv in seemingly random patterns over a period of time, to frustrate and demoralise the Nazis. 

Meanwhile, her lover, Tam Moncrieff, is still with the British intelligence services, knowing Bella’s situation and not giving up on her. He starts to investigate Kim Philby, one of the real-life Cambridge Spies. I’ll leave you to predict how that turns out.

Hurley writes with panache and confidence, thanks to the incredibly detailed research that has been done before putting own to paper. Between them, the cast of characters are charismatic, enigmatic, terrifying, naive, terribly clever, and sympathetic. It’s a novel about the Second World War, so you can make an educated guess about the ending, but the arcs for each character are well, if painfully, resolved. 

Hurley proves himself once again to be a master of historical fiction that enlightens, entertains, and shocks the reader in necessary ways, both from how he creates his characters and storylines, to the real life events and atrocities he weaves in that are essential for the reader to know (you’ll find out what I mean when you read it). 

A fantastic novel, and well worth picking up 

for fans of early 20th century historical fiction. 

Review: Fresh Water For Flowers by Valérie Perrin

 This novel comes highly acclaimed, with over one million copies sold. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy for review. 

The main character, Violette Toussaint, is a caretaker for a cemetery in Bourgogne. She is as highly valued as the priest who conducts funerals, and is perhaps more valuable due to visitors constantly seeing her around, relying on her for gentle conversation, counsel, and a place at her kitchen table if they so need. 

One day, a police chief by the name of Julien Seul arrives, with instructions from his late mother's will to scatter her ashes on the grave of her lover, not her husband. As Violette's and Julien's friendship develops, she discovers not just an interesting story, but something that crosses with her own past. 

The novel weaves effortlessly between narratives - Violette's life as a caretaker, her past life with her fleeting husband and young daughter; Irene (Julien's mother) and Gabriel, and more. 

The novel packs more than one powerful punch. As well as the moving - and often heartbreaking - stories, we discover beyond the surface tragedies of Violette's life, and why she has become so comfortable in - and comforted by - the cemetery. She is a private, shy, and complex woman, a product of tough circumstances, and the circumstances that led to her place at the cemetery are as gutting as they are enigmatic. For part way through the novel, the story takes on the air of a not-quite murder mystery, as we find out there is more to Violette's relationship to her daughter than face value. 

I wish I could read in French so I could experience it in the original language. The English translation was beautiful, and I assume the original text is even more so. 

I'm so glad I got to read this book and I will be following Perrin's future works.  

1989 - The Narratives - Out Of The Woods

With the fire roaring and the comforter wrapped around her, she thumbed through the polaroids. She remembered that this time last year she'd been in this position, on his couch, nestled into his chest and she felt she was home. 

There were doubters, of course. Those predicting, taking bets on their failure. They had been so determined to go against the grain that at times they forgot to see each other for who they really were. They couldn't see themselves for their images, the constructs that were not of their making. 

Not to say that there were not moments of perfect clarity. The paper airplanes. The ring dangling from a chain on her neck. The dancing without music. All the while, asking themselves, asking each other, could they do this? Were they in the clear?

They gave themselves every possible chance. But things bigger than themselves took control. 

The tree in the road. 

The slick, slippery road itself. 

The slightly worn brakes. 

She sat with him all night. As the sun rose, she looked at his sleeping face and wiped a tear, knowing she had never looked upon any face so beautiful and so full of pain. She put her face in her hands. Fate had done this. She would let it run its course. 

No more running. No more hiding. 

No more fighting. 

1989 - The Narratives - Welcome to New York

 The thrill of a new season hung in the air. The city was ready to be renewed - Christmas was a fond, distant memory and the gloominess of post-December winter was packing up to leave. Everyone could breathe a little easier. 

She felt it as she emerged from the subway. The sun was actually shining, and though it wasn't warm enough without a winter coat, people still smiled. The shock of such an occurrence put her in an even better mood, and she even ventured a greeting to a few passers-by.

The small-town girl in the Big Apple - she felt like the heroine of her own story. Luckily, she had already put roots down here, had formed a good community, so the romanticism of her move would be well-balanced by reality. 

Still, the apartment was generous for what she was paying, and she had windows to open. They looked over an alleyway, yes, but there was air to breathe. She dropped her bags and counted how many steps it took to walk the perimeter of her new place, pleased when it  was more than her estimation. 

She'd been invited to dinner that night but put it off until the weekend. She knew how important it was to establish herself on her own terms before starting her new life in relation to her friends, colleagues, and potential lovers.

She took a walk, as for as her legs could carry her, as long as he could take breath. She took only her keys and a few dollars to buy food from street vendors. She wanted to capture the city without anything else demanding her attention. She wanted to see it, smell it, taste it in a way that it could be hers. She wanted to find her own piece of it like the millions who walked around her. The bright lights dazzled her but they didn't deter her. She shuffled her way through a maze of streets and skyscrapers. She bought a hot dog and coffee from a guy on the street and breathed in the familiar smells that seemed altogether different, here.

She knew she could be anyone in this city. There was something more than she wanted, something new she wanted to find. She smiled at the lovers eating dinner, ambling down the street, waiting in line for the club. Men, women, friends, romantics, they were all a picture of a life that could be. A life that would be hers, once she knew herself again. 

1989 - The Narratives - Clean

 For the first time in ten months, the garden was fresh, green, vital. Yet, the memory of the dust remained. It lingered, dry in her throat, refusing to be parched by even the most violent and tumultuous of thunderstorms. 

Her gaze swept over the terracotta pots that were scattered across her handkerchief-sized garden. It rested on the biggest one, th brightest before the drought. It had housed the most sumptuous of roses, violently red like the passion of their love. She closed her eyes, remembering how the perfume had drifted lazily over their bodies as they lay under the watch of the dying sun. 

All those months, back and forth, until she had finally said, enough! One way or the other. 

And he had chosen the other. 

And that was it. The rain stopped falling. The butterflies died and littered her room, decaying awfully to dust. Dry, thirsty, like everything else in this cracked and dying land. 

She looked down at her dress, the one she'd worn on the night of his departure. She could still see the mascara stained teardrops, the smudge of his eyeliner. She had screamed when he left, but no one heard her pain, there was no hero on a white horse to sweep her out of this agony. 

Still looking at her dress, she knew she had to make a change. 

It was a warm day. Sweat already clung to the nape of her neck. She stripped and held the dress in her hand. Slowly, uncertainly, she tore it. After that, it was easy. The shredding was cathartic. She looked at the pieces in her hand and refused to let them represent her. She dropped them, picked up her hammer, and walked over to her foe. The terracotta pot stood defiantly, calling her bluff. She hesitated, felt the hammer slip an inch out of her grip. 

But then she remembered the rains had come. They had wanted her to be clean. She felt something on her scalp and reached up to touch the drops starting to cling to her hair. 

She smiled. She reached into the bottom of the pot for the roots of the thing, and lifted it out - once so majestic, the thing was dead and withered. She walked, carefully, deliberately, to the end of the garden and threw it over the fence.

Turning to the pot, her smile became a grimace. She picked up the hammer once more, and made the first blow. A tiny crack, almost inconsequential, but a crack to be sure. Soon enough, the pot - lie the dress - lay in pieces, wrecked, but she stood tall and glorious. 

This time, when she reached for her glass of water, the memory of the dust disappeared. 

1989 - The Narratives - Wildest Dreams

She painted with the colours she felt, rather than those that had been. Red, matte lips instead of bubble gum pink gloss; doll-like, rosy cheeks in place of her awkward blush; a burnt orange and warm gold sunset to replace the breezy air, the cloud-covered sky. She daubed the beach with painstaking detail, as if one could pick out each individual grain of sand. 

She did it this way not because she was a liar, but because she was a romantic. The true memories would be her most precious, and she did not want to share them - they were the only things that could be truly hers. She replaced a few key details so that when she did pour out her heartache, her friends could sense just enough, but not enough to completely expose her. 

It was a thrill, she couldn't deny it. The fair had been the start of it all. Her friends had left early to go to a party, but as she still kicking back antibiotics from an infection two weeks past, she didn't think alcohol was the best idea. So, she stayed, an invisible stranger amongst the bright lights, squealing children, and candy floss. 

And then he showed up, the brooding, handsome hero. The fact that he was staring at her like Noah looking at Allie Hamilton did not help, but it was everything. One conversation was all it took for her to be swept away. He was honest, which she did not expect, that he was only here for the summer and couldn't make promises beyond that. His honesty was enough, almost worth more than his affection. And so, for five, dreamlike weeks, they were together, a careful distance by day, completely entangled at night. 

And when it came time for him to leave, she felt okay. Not great, and she was sure the heartache would kill later on, but she'd had a time of complete adoration and being made to feel like it was just her. 

When she gave him the painting, he accepted. It helped - she wasn't sure if he would. 

"I'll remember you," he said. "In my wildest dreams, I'll remember you."

Review: Inner Alchemy - The Path of Mastery by Zulma Reyo

 This is an updated edition of the same book that was originally published in 1989. In this book, which crosses the line between a non-fiction and academic text, Zulma Reyo draws on her decades of experience and education in the field of inner alchemy. 

The book itself comprises many things: learning what inner alchemy is; best practices of meditation; connecting with the spiritual plane; and the human energetic anatomy (e.g. The Chakras). A lot of this was very new to me, having known very little to do with this field beforehand, but I was impressed by how rigorous and thoughtful the book is. 

It's not a self-help meditation book, although there are guided meditations in it. It's a comprehensive work about the intangible and energetic parts of the human body. Therefore, it's not a book that can be consumed quickly (although I tried!) It's a book to come back to time and again, and if you have an interest in that field and how it can help you, then it's a perfect fit. 

visit www.zrsoc.com if you're interested to find out more.