Sylvia Day is a multi-million bestselling author primarily known for her romance novels. Her bestselling Crossfire series has sold over 13 million copies. Her new book, Butterfly In Frost, introduces readers to a host of new characters, the protagonists being Teagan and Garrett.
Teagan is a successful reality-TV surgeon who moved from NYC to the state of Washington after a lot of personal trauma, including a divorce from a famous actor. She isn't quite agoraphobic but she has to work quite hard to take small steps, including going outside. However, her quiet world is turned upside down when Garrett Frost, a photographer and artist, moves next door. They literally collide into each other on their first meeting and, despite his simmering anger, sexual tension immediately simmers between them. It's not long before Garrett barges into her life and sweeps her off her feet. Teagan is not the only one who is hurting, though, and she fears opening herself up to Garrett when he is clearly battling demons as well.
The romance between them builds up slowly but intensely. The description of their relationship will surely be a delight for any romance fiction fan, but there are deeper layers to the story as well, as they reveal more about their pasts and entrust their secrets to each other.
There is an unexpected ending, however, and I did not see this twist coming at all. In fact, afterwards I did a quick scan of the whole book again to see how I could have missed the clues.
If you are a fan of steamy romance fiction with a good story and happy ending then this book will definitely be for you.
Friday, 30 August 2019
Monday, 26 August 2019
Upcoming Review: Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day
I'm taking part in the blog tour for this upcoming release! Come back on Friday for my review.
Review: We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Shirley Jackson
This was one of the books suggested to me by the librarian of the school I work at as a History teacher. I'd never read any of Jackson's work before, although I had heard of "The Haunting of Hill House", thanks to the Netflix adaptation.
For those whom have not read this book either, We Have Always Lived In The Castle centres around the remaining three members of Blackwood family. I say remaining, because the rest were murdered six years before the beginning of this book. The beginning of it perhaps inspired the start of another book, I Capture The Castle, as the two seemed very similar in tone, although the protagonists artre very different.
Mary Katherine, called 'Merricat' by her sister, Constance, is the only one of the Blackwood family to leave the house since the murder. She meticulously documents the family's weekly routine. Tuesdays and Fridays are the worst days, she explains, as she has to go to the village for groceries and books. Most of the villagers believe that Constance, accused but acquitted of the murders, is responsible, and as such they treat Merricat with the same contempt. She treats her walks to the village like a game, and she wins if she makes the round trip without anyone tormenting her. If they do, she imagines the harm she would do to them with alarming detail.
Uncle Julian is the last of the three of the surviving Blackwoods. He seems to be senile, whether that's from old age or the lingering effects of the arsenic (the murder was committed through someone putting arsenic in the sugar bowl) but is determined to document the whole event and write it in a book.
Their comfortable existence is soon disrupted by an apparent cousin called Charles. Merricat dislikes him straight away, calling him a ghost and a demon. He has more luck charming Constance, but is no match for Merricat and Uncle Julian, although he does slyly threaten to turn Merricat out of the house. It seems his only motive to be there is not to reacquaint with the family but to try and get his hands on the Blackwood fortune.
For a short book, (only 146 pages), it packs a hell of a punch. The small world consisting, (apart from the walk through the village at the start), solely of the house is built up room by room and the grounds around. There is even a jaunt to the ruined summerhouse in which Merricat enacts in her mind a dinner, of sorts, with her deceased ancestors, in which they treat her as she imagines they should have done.
The twist at the end is not altogether shocking - the book builds it up piece by piece throughout - but the rest of the story, particularly Merricat's inner mind, makes more sense once that piece of knowledge is secure.
It's a commanding, strange, and (at times) whimsical piece of fiction, with enduring and endearing (in Uncle Julian) characters. It's hard to guess at an ending for this kind of story but it is done remarkably well - I'll leave it for you to find out.
For those whom have not read this book either, We Have Always Lived In The Castle centres around the remaining three members of Blackwood family. I say remaining, because the rest were murdered six years before the beginning of this book. The beginning of it perhaps inspired the start of another book, I Capture The Castle, as the two seemed very similar in tone, although the protagonists artre very different.
Mary Katherine, called 'Merricat' by her sister, Constance, is the only one of the Blackwood family to leave the house since the murder. She meticulously documents the family's weekly routine. Tuesdays and Fridays are the worst days, she explains, as she has to go to the village for groceries and books. Most of the villagers believe that Constance, accused but acquitted of the murders, is responsible, and as such they treat Merricat with the same contempt. She treats her walks to the village like a game, and she wins if she makes the round trip without anyone tormenting her. If they do, she imagines the harm she would do to them with alarming detail.
Uncle Julian is the last of the three of the surviving Blackwoods. He seems to be senile, whether that's from old age or the lingering effects of the arsenic (the murder was committed through someone putting arsenic in the sugar bowl) but is determined to document the whole event and write it in a book.
Their comfortable existence is soon disrupted by an apparent cousin called Charles. Merricat dislikes him straight away, calling him a ghost and a demon. He has more luck charming Constance, but is no match for Merricat and Uncle Julian, although he does slyly threaten to turn Merricat out of the house. It seems his only motive to be there is not to reacquaint with the family but to try and get his hands on the Blackwood fortune.
For a short book, (only 146 pages), it packs a hell of a punch. The small world consisting, (apart from the walk through the village at the start), solely of the house is built up room by room and the grounds around. There is even a jaunt to the ruined summerhouse in which Merricat enacts in her mind a dinner, of sorts, with her deceased ancestors, in which they treat her as she imagines they should have done.
The twist at the end is not altogether shocking - the book builds it up piece by piece throughout - but the rest of the story, particularly Merricat's inner mind, makes more sense once that piece of knowledge is secure.
It's a commanding, strange, and (at times) whimsical piece of fiction, with enduring and endearing (in Uncle Julian) characters. It's hard to guess at an ending for this kind of story but it is done remarkably well - I'll leave it for you to find out.
Friday, 19 July 2019
New Review: The Thunder Girls, Melanie Blake
Melanie Blake is an author, playwright, TV critic, and former music manager - one of the best in the industry. Hers is a true rags to riches story, and she uses the richness of material from her career to write a thoroughy enjoyable, nostalgia-inducing, and shocking story about a girl band called The Thunder Girls. She writes in her book that none of the characters are based on real life people, but everything that happens in the book - good, bad, and ugly - has happened in the music industry, and then some.
It starts with betrayal. Chrissie, Roxanne, Carly and Anita are at the top of their game, until Chrissie sells out the rest of the girls. She signs a contract as a solo artist and the Thunder Girls are no more.
Thirty years later. Chrissie arrives home from her honeymoon to find out that her new husband has taken her for a ride - persuading her to open joint accounts, he has quite literally drained all of her wealth and done a runner. Chrissie is at risk of destitution, until her manager, Jack, offers her a way out.
The idea is to reunite the Thunder Girls for a huge eighties gig at Wembley. It comes with the promise of renewed fame and fortune, but at a cost. Chrissie will have to get down on her knees and grovel - hard. Meanwhile, Jack's sudden interest in their renewal isn't at wholesome as it seems.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. There was never a dull moment. Melanie Blake's experience of the industry pours out from every page and, even though this is technically a work of fiction, the fact that she said the music industry is all of this and more makes you think about how much more rough of a business it is than what we see. All we get, as consumers, is the end product. We don't see the behind the scenes battles between artists, producers, managers, and execs. We don't see the power plays, unless it comes out on social media. The recent exposure by Taylor Swift of how hard it is for writers and artists to own their work, even if they have the money to pay for it, is just one small example.
Melanie writes with flair, aplomb, and compassion as well. As a manager, she will no doubt had to support people in the valleys as well as on the mountains, and it shows. Despite the flaws of these characters, you can't help but feel sympathy for them - even Chrissie, begrudgingly at times - and you root for them, knowing that as teenagers they were pawns in a much bigger game but, with the benefit of experience, they have learned to fight for themselves.
And that's what Chrissie, Anita, Carly, and Roxanne do. They come out fighting. I really loved this book, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it, particularly as it's coming up to the summer holidays. It's a perfect summer read.
Wednesday, 29 May 2019
New Review: Concerto, Hannah Fielding
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
"Concerto follows Catriona, a young music therapist, who must honour an opera diva’s dying request to help her son, Umberto Rolando Monteverdi, recover his musical gift after a car accident robbed him of his sight. Ten years previously, Catriona shared a night of passion with the handsome musician that led to unexpected circumstances. Arriving at Umberto’s mansion in Lake Como, she finds him resistant to her every effort. Catriona discovers her feelings toward the blind musician are as strong as ever while battling her own secrets and the dark forces that threaten Umberto’s life – for the second time."
This gorgeous romance novel is a sumptuous read - there's really not another word for it. It's set against the backdrops of Nice and Italy, with classical music serving as the main vehicle for the plot.
Catriona, aged eighteen, has the world at her feet. She's on course to win a competition that will give her a place at the most prestigious of music conservatoires, when she meets a composer and pianist whose fame is quickly rising. She meets him and they spend a single, passionate night together before he unexpectedly leaves for a tour in America. He leaves her with something else unexpected, too - a pregnancy with which she follows through. Ten years later, Umberto's mother begs Catriona to help her son after he loses his sight.
It takes some persuasion, but Catriona finally agrees. When she reaches Umberto in Lake Como, however, she has to decide whether or not she will reveal the truth about herself and her son - Umberto's son. He is not the only factor at play, though. Umberto's cousin and a childhood friend/ex-lover, makes things even more tense and awkward.
Umberto finally figures out who Catriona is, though, and they pick up exactly where they left off ten years previously. Catriona, however, still cannot figure out a way to reveal the truth about the son. Meanwhile, the stakes are only getting higher and higher.
This book was a passionate, sweeping love story from start to finish, full of hedonism, romance, and gorgeous descriptions of some of the world's most luxurious and beautiful places. If you enjoy romance novels, then this book will appeal and then some. It's a long read, but it doesn't feel that way. Every chapter, the author introduces some new intrigue or plot twist that makes the larger story even more of a mystery with satisfying payoffs.
An exceptionally beautiful and heart-touching read which will stay with you long after you finish.
"Concerto follows Catriona, a young music therapist, who must honour an opera diva’s dying request to help her son, Umberto Rolando Monteverdi, recover his musical gift after a car accident robbed him of his sight. Ten years previously, Catriona shared a night of passion with the handsome musician that led to unexpected circumstances. Arriving at Umberto’s mansion in Lake Como, she finds him resistant to her every effort. Catriona discovers her feelings toward the blind musician are as strong as ever while battling her own secrets and the dark forces that threaten Umberto’s life – for the second time."
This gorgeous romance novel is a sumptuous read - there's really not another word for it. It's set against the backdrops of Nice and Italy, with classical music serving as the main vehicle for the plot.
Catriona, aged eighteen, has the world at her feet. She's on course to win a competition that will give her a place at the most prestigious of music conservatoires, when she meets a composer and pianist whose fame is quickly rising. She meets him and they spend a single, passionate night together before he unexpectedly leaves for a tour in America. He leaves her with something else unexpected, too - a pregnancy with which she follows through. Ten years later, Umberto's mother begs Catriona to help her son after he loses his sight.
It takes some persuasion, but Catriona finally agrees. When she reaches Umberto in Lake Como, however, she has to decide whether or not she will reveal the truth about herself and her son - Umberto's son. He is not the only factor at play, though. Umberto's cousin and a childhood friend/ex-lover, makes things even more tense and awkward.
Umberto finally figures out who Catriona is, though, and they pick up exactly where they left off ten years previously. Catriona, however, still cannot figure out a way to reveal the truth about the son. Meanwhile, the stakes are only getting higher and higher.
This book was a passionate, sweeping love story from start to finish, full of hedonism, romance, and gorgeous descriptions of some of the world's most luxurious and beautiful places. If you enjoy romance novels, then this book will appeal and then some. It's a long read, but it doesn't feel that way. Every chapter, the author introduces some new intrigue or plot twist that makes the larger story even more of a mystery with satisfying payoffs.
An exceptionally beautiful and heart-touching read which will stay with you long after you finish.
Thursday, 23 May 2019
New review: Kingsbane, Claire Legrand
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Kingsbane is the sequel to Legrand's New York Times bestseller, Furyborn. Although I hadn't read Furyborn before starting Kingsbane, a quick read through of some other reviews gave me a general gist - but I do recommend reading the books in order and I intend to go back and read Furyborn so questions I have about its sequel make more sense. I wasn't sure what to expect as reviews of Furyborn were very polarising, but I'm happy to say that I've been thrilled as a reader with this novel.
Anyway. Kingsbane starts with one of its two protagonists, Rielle, having been proclaimed the Sun Queen. She is an elemental - meaning she can manipulate the elements. Only she is unusual - and special - because she can manipulate all four as opposed to one, which is most common among elementals. She is making a tour of the kingdoms, but not all is well. Controversies seemed to have reigned through her journey to becoming the Sun Queen (reading Furyborn will make more sense of that, it seems) and she is battling with her seemingly would-be lover and arch enemy, an angel called Corien. Rielle becomes aware that the Gate that separates the human world from the world of the Deep, a void to which the angels got banished during a war between angels and humans, is fracturing. It can only be repaired if she finds the original castings with which the Gate was made, although the effort and power involved could kill her.
The second protagonist, Eliana, is Rielle's daughter - except that they are separated by a thousand years. She was brought up in an adopted family and is a trained assassin. She finds it hard to accept any of her new powers and what is expected of her - namely, that she will save the world. She struggles with her mother's legacy - her mother became known as the Blood Queen (lots of murder implied with that title, though I'm not sure if that context has been provided in Furyborn or will be in Kingsbane).
This is pure high fantasy, and I am devouring it. Rielle and Eliana are incredibly complex and richly drawn characters, although Eliana falls into the YA female lead tropes at times. There is also some LGBT+ representation in the book, which - while refreshing - is also not forced in as points for diversity and inclusion.
There is a huge supporting cast of characters and plots as well. I would very much be interested to see the spreadsheets or mind maps Legrand used to keep track of them all! She holds all the threads of the story together, so even though the plot may seem sprawling at times - on several occasions I had to flick back to previous chapters to pick up the thread of a plot point I'd missed - as a writer she seems in control of it all.
Kingsbane has all the markings of a great fantasy - magic, monsters, implicit history, excellent worldbuilding - while also making it all seem new. It has reinvented the wheel, as most fantasies do, in a compelling and page-turning way. Already I'm impatient to read the conclusion to this rich tapestry of a story.
Thursday, 16 May 2019
Upcoming review - Kingsbane Blog Tour
I'm excited to be a part of the upcoming Kingsbane Blog Tour!
Kinsgbane follows two fiercely independent queens, Rielle Dardenne and Eliana Ferracora, who, although separated by a thousand years, are connected by secrets and lies. Both Rielle and Eliana must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals, which will test their strength, their hearts, and their power, as they are faced with the choice of saving the world…or dooming it.
Although Claire Legrand, the author, was inspired by the world building in the classic fantasy novels of Philip Pullman and J.R Tolkein, she recognised their books often followed heteronormative and Eurocentric narratives. Claire wanted to create a landscape in which the characters reflected the world she saw, leading to the birth of fiercely feminist epic Empiruim series, where complex bi-sexual heroines, female sexuality and minority and LGBTQ characters are celebrated through their inmate and intricate depictions, within an epic new fantasy world.
Look out for my review on the 23rd May!
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