BLOG TOUR: Wonderful - Louise Beech

A Hollywood idol. The Virgin Mary. An everyday girl from Hull.

Three women, three eras, surprising things in common...

On 4th August 1962, the night she should have died, Marilyn Monroe – the biggest star in the world – receives a visitor who changes the course of her destiny. The Virgin Mary appears in her kitchen with a curious message. Inspired, Marilyn abandons her home, her life, her fame, and disappears into the night…

Fifty-four years later, in a Hull kitchen, Flora Baker finds Mary, bathed in light. She has a similar message for the working class woman who is on the poverty line and dreaming of a better life. Flora begins to make changes that impact not only her life but the lives of those around her…

Do Marilyn and Flora have more in common than just Mary’s visit? Are they somehow linked across time? And is Mary’s message for all the women of the world?

Wonderful is about the way women are portrayed in both history and the world of celebrity, about women not being quiet, and about women united by the shared stories that shape them.

 

What did I think?

I do love turning the first page of a Louise Beech book as you just never know what you're going to get and Wonderful is certainly unusual with characters including Marilyn Monroe and The Virgin Mary.  It sounds crazy but it really works and I absolutely loved it.

Louise Beech writes with such warmth, wit and passion as she brings Marilyn Monroe back to life on what would have been the star's centenary year.  I think it's the first time that I have read about Marilyn and not felt such devastation at her early demise as this alternative history is a much better story.

The way the characters link together is nothing short of magnificent as the threads of the story weave a magical 'what if' tale that entertained and delighted me.  Marilyn Monroe is iconic (as is The Virgin Mary, of course) and it was so refreshing to see the side of her that was often hidden from the cameras.

Incredibly powerful and thought-provoking, Wonderful is an unforgettable and unmissable novel.  Louise Beech scoops all the stars again; an easy five stars for this very highly recommended read.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: Parklife - Lucy Nichol

Dumped, drunk and desperate for oblivion…

It’s 1996. Emma’s been rejected by the man she loves and sacked from the job she hates. Feeling like she’s hit a new low, she finds herself serving ice-cream and phoney smiles at the park.

Best mate Dave’s loved up, and her dad’s finally emerging from years of unemployment. Everyone’s life is on the up while Emma’s plummeting towards rock bottom. 

Every day she gives a free ‘99 to the lonely old man who sits on the park bench and reminds herself that life could be much worse.

But soon, even sprinkles and monkey’s blood can’t hide the truth. She’s in deep trouble and losing sight of the edge. Who will help her up when she falls?

What did I think?

Sometimes you know you want to read a book without even reading the blurb and that was definitely the case for me with Parklife.  I mean, just that dropped ice cream on the cover sums up the feeling of the book as Emma is definitely down on her luck.

I was delighted to catch up with Emma again after reading and loving The Twenty Seven Club so it was heartbreaking to see her in such a bad place.  Emma is an addict, hooked on booze and pills, but she doesn't think she has a problem.  Her boyfriend John has broken up with her and even her whippet Trev would rather stay with Emma's best mate Dave.  When she loses her job too, she thinks she can't sink any lower...but unfortunately she can.

I love Lucy Nichol's writing; it's proper Yorkshire as she says it how it is.  I felt very emotional reading Emma's story as there are so many people like her in real life, many of whom won't be lucky enough to have a support network around them.  Although it's quite a dark storyline, it's lightened up with Emma's blossoming friendship with Les, who visits the park each day to feed the ducks, and some musical entertainment down The Angel.

Of course, I couldn't miss Trev out of my review and it always puts a smile on my face to read about my favourite whippet.  It's almost like you could feel how worried he is about Emma too.  Best mate Dave and landlady Dor are on fine form and their affection for Emma is heartwarming to see.  I absolutely loved reading this book and could write so much more about it but I urge you to experience it for yourself.

Raw, honest and hopeful, Parklife is a sensitive portrayal of addiction and how it can hurt those you love the most, but they never stop loving you.  It's so beautifully written and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Lucy is a mental health campaigner and PR consultant, and a former columnist with Sarah Millican's Standard Issue magazine.  She has written for The Independent, The I Paper, NME, Red Magazine, Den of Geek, Men’s Fitness, Metro and Huff Post.  Lucy has worked with several mental health and recovery charities over the years including Recovery Connections, The Road to Recovery Trust, Mind, Time to Change and Action on Postpartum Psychosis.

You can also sign up to Lucy’s author newsletter.

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BLOG TOUR: The Winter's Child - Cassandra Parkin

The nights are drawing in and winter is around the corner, so I am delighted to be taking part in The Winter's Child blog tour.  Not only do I have my review, I have a fantastic giveaway courtesy of Legend Press where you can win your very own paperback copy.  So do make you sure you scroll to the end of my post to enter!

Five years ago, Susannah Harper's son Joel went missing without trace. Bereft of her son and then of her husband, Susannah tries to accept that she may never know for certain what has happened to her lost loved ones. She has rebuilt her life around a simple selfless mission: to help others who, like her, must learn to live without hope.

But then, on the last night of Hull Fair, a fortune-teller makes an eerie prediction. She tells her that this Christmas Eve, Joel will finally come back to her.

As her carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, Susannah is drawn into a world of psychics and charlatans, half-truths and hauntings, friendships and betrayals, forcing her to confront the buried truths of her family's past, where nothing and no one are quite as they seem.

A ghostly winter read with a modern gothic flavour. A tale of twisted love, family secrets and hauntings.

What did I think?

I've always been intrigued by fortune tellers and psychics, although I have never been to see one, so the opening pages of The Winter's Child sucked me right in.  From that moment on, I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to know what had happened to Susannah's son and whether Susannah had finally received an accurate prediction from the people she brands as charlatans on her blog.

As much as she thinks they are charlatans, Susannah can't help but be drawn to people with such gifts as she is desperate to find out what happened to her son, Joel, who has been missing for 5 years.  On a visit to Hull Fair with her sister and her kids, Susannah sneaks off to a fortune teller who tells her that she'll finally be reunited with Joel on Christmas Eve.  Susannah is torn: she thinks these people are tricksters but she so wants to believe and I think this prediction started the unravelling of Susannah.

Susannah starts to hear Joel calling for her, she sees strange things, can smell mud and feels as if she is being drowned.  I think I even held my breath when Susannah was underwater, even though I didn't know whether it was actually happening to her or if it was all in her head.  It felt real to Susannah and it sure felt real to me!  The creepy goings on had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and my arms were plagued with the prickle of goosebumps.  

The pain that Susannah felt with the loss of her child was palpable and I really felt for her when I thought she was going mad with grief or even inability to grieve as she clutched at the last, almost transparent, threads of hope slipping through her fingers.  When we start to learn more about Joel himself, I don't mind telling you, my heart was broken into a million pieces.  I'm not giving away any spoilers but I just wanted to bundle Joel up and keep him safe, which is all Susannah ever wanted to do.  Susannah definitely has a special bond with Joel and it is clear that she will do anything for her precious boy, even at the risk of destroying her marriage.  I really couldn't read fast enough to get the answers that Susannah, and I, craved.

The Winter's Child is a dark, disturbing, creepy book; so beautifully written that it draws the reader into the tangled web that Cassandra Parkin has intricately woven.  It is deeply affecting and moving, haunting and haunted; quite simply a stunning piece of fiction.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

GIVEAWAY!

The giveaway opens on 28th October and closes at midnight on Hallowe'en 31st October.

The competition is open to entrants in UK only and the winner will be contacted via email shortly after.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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BLOG TOUR: Maria in the Moon - Louise Beech

I'm thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for the amazing Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech.  If you haven't yet read a book by Louise Beech, you are really missing out on a treat.  Louise's books are so unique and you know that you're reading something truly special that is both uplifting and heart-breaking.  The achingly beautiful Maria in the Moon follows in the stellar footsteps of How To Be Brave and The Mountain in My Shoe and I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour.

Long ago my beloved Nanny Eve chose my name. Then one day she stopped calling me it. I try now to remember why, but I just can't.' Thirty-two-year-old Catherine Hope has a great memory. But she can't remember everything. She can't remember her ninth year. She can't remember when her insomnia started. And she can't remember why everyone stopped calling her Catherine-Maria. With a promiscuous past, and licking her wounds after a painful breakup, Catherine wonders why she resists anything approaching real love. But when she loses her home to the devastating deluge of 2007 and volunteers at Flood Crisis, a devastating memory emerges ... and changes everything. Dark, poignant and deeply moving, Maria in the Moon is an examination of the nature of memory and truth, and the defences we build to protect ourselves, when we can no longer hide...

What did I think?

Where do you start with reviewing a book that has taken over so much of your heart that you don't want to part with a single piece of it? Part with it I must for just a short while, if I am to tell you how heart-achingly beautiful this story is.  Louise Beech manages to write characters that are deeper than the (rather aptly named) Mariana Trench to the point where I felt every emotion that they felt.  I had to put down the book near the end because of the depth of emotion that I was feeling.  So I feel rather inept at trying to describe Maria in the Moon when all I really want to say is: 'You really must read this wonderful book.'

Catherine-Maria is quite a quirky character; she has very few friends and doesn't let people get close to her.  It's just how she is, or is there a deeper reason?  Why can't she remember her ninth year?  She knows that she broke her Nanny Eve's precious Virgin Mary and the 'Maria' was promptly dropped from her name, leaving her known as just Catherine.  She never really got on with her 'mother' and Catherine admits she was a difficult child after her Dad died when she was 8 years old.

Following the floods in Hull in 2007, Catherine moves in with a friend while her home is being repaired.  Having worked in a crisis centre before, she is a natural choice to help with the phones in the flood crisis centre.  Helpline volunteers are warned about getting too close to the people who call in but Catherine soon has some favourites who call especially to speak to her.  Through this talking to others, certain memories start to reappear out of the mist and Catherine's ninth year may not be a mystery for much longer...but will she wish she had left it buried?

Catherine-Maria is such an exceptional character that I found myself laughing and crying with her.  I too remember sitting on the floor at my Nanna's feet while she taught me to knit - although I called the needles 'sticks' as opposed to what Catherine-Maria called them!  All too often we have seen the devastation on the news following floods in the UK and people must have really plunged to the depths of despair after losing everything.  The book doesn't dwell too much on the negative side of things, but rather shows us that the sun can always appear behind every grey cloud.  As Catherine's house was repaired, I felt her soul being repaired at the same time, helped immensely by her budding relationship with the thoughtful, caring Christopher.

Filled with emotion and exquisite prose in Louise Beech's inimitable style, Maria in the Moon left me speechless and completely thunderstruck.  Louise Beech hasn't just aimed for the stars, she's shot past them and given us the moon on a stick: Maria in the Moon is the very pinnacle of perfection.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Louise Beech remembers sitting in her father's cross-legged lap while he tried to show her his guitar's chords. He's a musician. Her small fingers stumbled and gave up. She was three. His music sheets fascinated her - such strange language that translated into music. Her mother teaches languages, French and English, so her fluency with words fired Louise's interest. She knew from being small that she wanted to write, to create, to make magic. 

She loves all forms of writing. Her short stories have won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting twice for the Bridport Prize and being published in a variety of UK magazines. Her first play, Afloat, was performed at Hull Truck Theatre in 2012. She also wrote a ten-year newspaper column for the Hull Daily Mail about being a parent, garnering love/hate criticism. Her debut novel was a Guardian Readers' pick for 2015. 

She is inspired by life, history, survival and love, and always has a story in her head. Her debut novel, How to be Brave, came from truth - when Louise's daughter got Type 1 Diabetes she helped her cope by sharing her grandad's real life sea survival story. Her second novel, The Mountain in my Shoe, was released in September 2016 and was inspired by her time working with children in the care system.

When she was fifteen Louise bet her mother ten pounds she'd be published by the time she was thirty. She missed this self-set deadline by two months. Her mother is still waiting for the money.

Link to Louise's website - http://louisebeech.co.uk/

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