This is What Happy Looks Like

 

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

(Proof Copy)

Published 4 April 2013 Headline

 

Graham is a hot Hollywood actor with the world at his feet. Ellie is a small-town girl serving ice-cream to tourists and dreaming of Harvard. When an e-mail from Graham is sent to Ellie by mistake, two very different worlds collide!

 

Ellie and Graham are a very cute literary couple but #Happy Looks Like is more than romantic YA fiction. Jennifer E. Smith is (in my eyes) the Queen of romance - proper romance. Her books, her characters are simplistic yet beautifully executed. No flashy trashiness here, the storylines are pure and blissful to read.

 

I first came across her after reading (in one sitting) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and I shall beg, borrow (but not steal 'cause its naughty) anything she writes in future.

 

This is What Happy Looks Like is utterly charming, simply delicious...I could gush for pages. Read it!

 

 ***The hugest of thank you's to Headline for sending the proof***

 



The Villa

 

The Villa by Rosanna Ley

Published 31 May 2012 Quercus

 

 

I really enjoyed reading The Villa. The best part? Wonderfully evocative descriptions of Sicily, her people and of course, the food! Bliss. Sicily is definitely on my to-travel-to list.

 

The Villa is a well-crafted multi-generational tale of family, of the bonds between mother and daughter, and of love.

 

Switching seamlessly between the past and the present, Sicily and the UK, we are introduced to grandmother Flavia, daughter Tess and granddaughter Ginny. It tells a tale of forbidden love, lost love and grief. Yet amongst this is romance, discovery and hope.

 

Tess has been bequeathed a villa in Sicily by Edward Westerman - a man she has never met and her mother's former employer. Tess travels to Sicily to see (and fall in love with) the Villa Sirena and finds more than she bargained for...

 

Tess is a likeable character. Single parent to Ginny she gains gumption. We see her grow as a person as the story develops.

Flavia is a gem! Her wonderful Sicilian recipes are included throughout the story.

Ginny is a typical teen, struggling with who she is and who she wants to be. The only downside I found was Ginny's "jumping jellyfish" and "stuttering sealions" malarkey. I don't know a teen that thinks, let alone says phrases like that - it didn't sit well with me.

 

The Villa is a perfect Summer read. Think sun-drenched terraces, draping bougainvillea, citrus-scented air, gorgeous Sicilian men.... are you convinced?!   

This Week's Books

                         

 

                        

 

 

                 

 

 

Well, what a week for books!

 

The Poison Boy by Fletcher Moss I won. It is the winner of the Times Children's Fiction competition 2012. Published by Chicken House. It sounds awesome! I've already done CH's "Try it! Read page 22" - hooked!

 

Girl Least Likely To by Liz Jones. Published by Simon and Schuster. "30 years of fashion, fasting and Fleet Street." This was a surprise review copy. Liz is like Marmite. I will give it a go so look out for a review.

 

Storybook Favourites in Cross-Stitch by Gillian Souter is delightful. Published by Little, Brown it is chock full of the cutest cross stitch patterns for Beatrix Potter characters, Rupert, Babar, Paddington Bear, Angelina Ballerina, Spot, Blinky Bill, Miffy, Duck, Peter Pan and Apple Tree Farm. Before I moved house I used to cross stitch often. The kit is still in a box somewhere so I'm saving the book for when I dig that out. The best part? Got this from a charity shop - £1.50 *happy dance*.

 

New England Rocks by Christina Courtenay is very exciting! It is the first in a YA series from Choc Lit called Choc Lit Rocks and I really hope it does.

 

I won the copy of Midsummer Magic by Julia Williams. Published by Avon books it looks the perfect Summer read.

 

I was THRILLED to find Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer sitting on a shelf in Poundland - yes, Poundland! I have already read it and LOVED it SO MUCH I bought its sequel Every Seventh Wave so I had the second but not the first...until now. Published by Maclehose Press its a fantastic romantic e-mail novel. Review being posted shortly.

 

I cannot wait to read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo published by Indigo. Somehow I missed out on the whole Grisha thing and after admitting so on Twitter a very kind soul took pity on me and sent me this!

 

Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall was another Poundland purchase. I have a bit of a thing for books set in Russia and at that price I thought why not?

 

Maggie's Tree by Julie Walters is an audiobook that was kindly sent out after a Twitter lucky dip! How lucky was that?! Its even read by Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley for you Potter fans). Am looking forward to being read to for a change!

 

I have never read The Colour Purple by Alice Walker and so thought it was about time to buy a copy. Its a classic.

 

The King of Vodka by Linda Himelstein is Poundland's fault but - as I said earlier, I have a bit of a thing for books set in Russia. It is the story of Pyotr Smirnov and the upheaval of an Empire. "A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end - and in the meantime, it is good to drink a sip of vodka." Old Russian proverb.

 

That's all for today so cin cin! I'm going to settle back in my garden chair with a Crabbies Ginger Beer and Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.

 



The Library of Unrequited Love

 

The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry

Published 14 February 2013 Maclehose Press

 

 

I work in a library and so upon seeing this book I had to read it. Now I have read it, I have to own it.

 

Its a quirky little novel - a one-way conversation really, between the mature female Librarian in charge of Geography in the basement of a French Public Library, and a member of the public who happened to be locked in overnight (yes it can happen so please leave when we ask you to!). We get to explore all of her unrequited loves.

 

I laughed aloud many times (shhh!) whilst reading this literary short - it is delicious! -but perhaps only for those of us lucky to work in libraries? It describes a view of libraries few experience and includes some interesting historical detail about French libraries.

 

Well done to all involved in bringing us this little treasure.

 

Sophie Divry lives in Lyon, France. The Library of Unrequited Love is her first novel.

 



Gone Girl

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Published 24 May 2012 Phoenix

 

 

Read this thriller whilst under the weather which may have impaired my opinion of the book.

 

Good story with an intricate plot, strong characters and well-paced narrative. I found it clever. Intelligent.

 

The Observer newspaper describes Gone Girl as "Thriller of the Year". Well, it will not be making one of my best books lists. I remember hearing good things when the hardback was published and there was a loooooong reserve list for it at work so I waited for the paperback (as the hype continued to grow) and I have to admit, I was disappointed. I needed something...more.

 

I liked Nick from the start and found myself rooting for him throughout the book (which I doubt is the idea). I could never warm to Amazing Amy - there was just something...off. Can't say too much as I will give the game away!

 

The novel left me wondering just how well do you ever know someone?

 

This thriller would be great for readers groups. There could be plenty of discussion over pop and biscuits.

 

Gillian Flynn lives in Chicago. Gone Girl is her third novel.

The Messenger Bird

 

 

The Messenger Bird by Ruth Eastham

Published 3 May 2012 Scholastic

 

"The truth can be a dangerous thing."

 

Nathan's father is arrested for selling Government information and breaking the Official Secrets Act. As police drag him away, he shouts back at Nathan to "follow Lily's trail". The trail leads Nathan to Bletchley Park during World War II. How will this help him save his father? Read it and find out!

 

Ruth Eastham, of 'The Memory Cage' fame, has written another wonderful junior fiction novel full of adventure and mystery. i love the strong bond between Nathan and his dad. Look out for the tense explosive ending!

 

The book is fascinatingly linked to Bletchley, the Enigma code and the Coventry Blitz - Coventry Cathedral's ruin is featured on the cover. Nice web links included for those wishing to know more about Bletchley.



The Potter's Hand

The Potter's Hand by A. N. Wilson
Published 1 September 2012 Atlantic Books

Historical literary saga of the Wedgwood family. Begins at the height of Josiah Wedgwood's career as he is completing the thousand piece Frog Service for Catherine the Great of Russia.

 

This is a hefty tome (502 pages). I found it tough, especially towards the end but persevered. Do watch out for the passages in dialect!

 

It is an illustration of eighteenth-century English family life, from the bargee to the new-monied toff. Sprinkled with illustrious Georgians such as Erasmus, Darwin and Coleridge.

 

An extraordinary tale.

 

The author's father was Managing Director of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons.

A. N. Wilson describes the book as "...an act of homage to one of the great men of our history.", and it is.