BLOG TOUR: Old Bones - Helen Kitson

 

Diana and her sister Antonia are house-sharing spinsters who have never got over their respective first loves. Diana owns a gift shop, but rarely works there. Antonia is unemployed, having lost her teaching job at an all girls’ school following a shocking outburst in the classroom after enduring years of torment. Diana is a regular at the local library, Antonia enjoys her “nice” magazines, and they treat themselves to coffee and cake once a week in the village café.

Naomi lives alone, haunted by the failure of her two marriages. She works in the library, doesn’t get on with her younger colleagues, and rarely cooks herself a proper meal. Secretly she longs for a Boden frock.

When a body is discovered in the local quarry, all three women’s lives are turned upside down. And when Diana’s old flame Gill turns up unexpectedly, tensions finally spill over and threaten to destroy the outwardly peaceful lives all three women have carefully constructed around themselves.

Helen takes us back to the fictional Shropshire village of Morevale in this, her brilliant second novel which exposes the fragilities and strengths of three remarkably unremarkable elderly women.

What did I think?

Old Bones is a bit of a change of pace from books I've been reading lately and it's nice to sit back and relax with a good book rather than being perched on the edge of your seat.  I think I'd call this book alluring rather than addictive; it certainly drew me in and caught me in its spell as I untangled the stories of the three main characters.

The title of Old Bones could actually have a double meaning; not only the bones found in the local quarry but the weary sixty year old bones of Diana, Antonia and Naomi.  Although the characters are in their sixties, it certainly doesn't feel like they are that age and I think that has something to do with how you seem to regress to your childhood when you return home.  Spinster siblings Diana and Antonia are living together in the family home and Naomi is someone they have known since childhood, which means that there are old scores to be settled in a kind of schoolyard 'I'm not your friend anymore'.

With such wonderfully complex and completely flawed characters there is a lot to discover about these women, especially some secrets that they would prefer to keep hidden.  Unreliability of memory is explored as memories from childhood are revealed and I always find this a very interesting subject.  Our brains can bury memories that are painful to us and it can also fill in any blanks with the best fit scenario so any distant memory has to have some element of unreliability about it.

I actually felt quite sorry for Diana, Antonia and Naomi as life has not turned out quite the way they expected.  Diana is haunted by a lost love (and don't get me started on Gill whose selfishness infuriated me), Antonia is scarred by a devastating event in her past and Naomi is tortured by a deeply buried secret.  So much mystery and intrigue, and that's without the discovery of the bones!

Old Bones is a wonderfully alluring character driven story filled with mystery, intrigue and buried secrets.  I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking out for more Helen Kitson books.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

Louise Walters Books

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Foyles

Waterstones

Amazon US

About the author:

Helen lives in Worcester with her husband, two teenaged children and two rescue cats. Her first poetry collection was nominated for the Forward Best First Collection Prize. She has published three other poetry collections and her short fiction has appeared in magazines including Ambit, Feminist Review and Stand. She holds a BA (Hons) in Humanities.

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Helen's debut novel The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson was published in March 2019. Her second "Morevale" novel, Old Bones, will be published on 16 January 2021.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jemima_Mae_7 

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Away with the Penguins - Hazel Prior

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach ('people who litter the countryside should be shot'), trying to locate her glasses ('someone must have moved them') or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen ('Eileen, door!').

Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this. 

What did I think?

I discovered Away with the Penguins when it popped up on my Twitter feed one day and as soon as I saw the fabulous cover I didn't need any further encouragement to buy myself a copy.  I was so eager to read it that it jumped straight to the top of my reading queue and it's such compulsive reading that I devoured it within a period of 24 hours.

I absolutely loved the main character of mid-octogenarian Veronica McCreedy.  Veronica isn't exactly cuddly granny material but she's very strong willed, a little bit naughty and sharp as a tack.  From first appearances, some people might think that Veronica has been lucky in life; she lives in a mansion but she's all alone and has a heartbreaking backstory.  I loved reading the flashbacks to Veronica's childhood, living through World War II and the devastating effects of the war which made her into the woman she is today.

The storyline is absolutely perfect and I don't want to say too much in case I release any spoilers as it's such a wonderful story to experience first-hand for yourself.  It's impossible to put down once you start reading and there are some amazing characters, both human and penguin, that you can't help but take into your heart.  

Away with the Penguins is completely wonderful and incredibly heart-warming.  Delightfully quirky, extraordinarily charming and tremendously uplifting, Away with the Penguins is an absolute must read and well deserving of five shiny stars.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.bookshop.org

Amazon

BLOG TOUR: The Great Unexpected - Dan Mooney

“If you’re going to end it, you better make it big. No slipping off bridges, it’s undignified for men of our vintage. Go big or don’t bother.”

Joel lives in a nursing home and he’s not one bit happy about it. He doesn’t like being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. In fact, he doesn’t like living at all, and he’s decided he’s going to end his life on his terms.

When he tells retired soap-actor Frank about his dark plan, Frank urges him to go out with a bang. Together, they embark on a mission to find the perfect suicide, and along the way, discover the strength of friendship when you really feel alone.

What did I think?

Well this book was an unexpected surprise; it really is unexpected by name and unexpected by nature as I laughed, smiled and cried my way through this beautiful story of growing old disgracefully.

Joel isn't exactly everyone's favourite Grandad; he's miserable, argumentative and disruptive and just wants to die to put an end to his misery.  Joel is imprisoned in a nursing home and he's clearly still grieving for his wife Lucey, whose bed is now occupied by another resident.  The only positive for Joel is that his roommate, Mr Miller, is unconscious so Joel is left in peace to wallow in his misery...until the day that Mr Miller checks out and a new roommate moves in.  

Frank De Selby or Frank Adams, depending on which persona he adopts, is like Joel's personal antidepressant and we know Joel doesn't like taking his pills.  Frank is so virile, flamboyant and outgoing that it isn't long before Joel is swept along on an adventure that he will never forget.  Frank is a very clever chap as rather than talk Joel out of his suicide mission, he vows to help him come up with the perfect suicide.  I think he knew fine well from the start that he would show Joel that life is worth living after all.  I was in kinks of laughter as the pair hatched an escape plan that enabled them to escape from the nursing home and gallivant around town.  What a night on the town they had...it sounded better than any nights out that I have ever had.

My heart swelled with emotion as I saw Joel's fractured relationships with his daughter and grandchildren gradually being repaired.  Joel had been so caught up in his own grief that he couldn't see that his family were grieving too, but together they could help each other through this difficult time.  It's amazing yet sad to think that if Lucey hadn't died, Joel would never have met Frank and he would never have unearthed the love that his family have for him.  Fate is a cruel mistress sometimes but dying is unfortunately a part of life.

As disgruntledly charming as Ove, The Great Unexpected's Joel Monroe is my new favourite grumpy old man.  I laughed and cried at Joel and Frank's escapades but more than anything, they taught me a very valuable lesson: you only get one shot at life, so you have to make the most of it.

The Great Unexpected is one of those ageless books that appeal to both young and old and I would absolutely love to see this made into a film.  To see Frank and Joel strutting their stuff on the dancefloor would be absolute comedy gold.  I'm definitely going to read this book again and I can see it becoming one of my go-to books when I'm in need of a pick-me-up.  I am completely astounded at how uplifted I felt by this book; evoking such surprising emotions, it really is perfectly named as The Great Unexpected.

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

My rating:

Find out more at Legend Press

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Dan Mooney is a writer, air traffic controller and amateur filmmaker, with one of his short films broadcast on national TV. Dan is also a fan of amateur dramatics, rugby and is a friend to many cats. He wrote his first piece of fiction for a child-operated local newspaper at age ten and has been writing ever since.

He is the author of Me, Myself and Them (June 2017) and The Great Unexpected (2018).

Follow Dan on Twitter @danielmoonbags

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The One in a Million Boy - Monica Wood

Miss Ona Vitkus has - aside from three months in the summer of 1914 - lived unobtrusively, her secrets fiercely protected.

The boy, with his passion for world records, changes all that. He is eleven. She is one hundred and four years, one hundred and thirty three days old (they are counting). And he makes her feel like she might be really special after all. Better late than never...

Only it's been two weeks now since he last visited, and she's starting to think he's not so different from all the rest.

Then the boy's father comes, for some reason determined to finish his son's good deed. And Ona must show this new stranger that not only are there odd jobs to be done, but a life's ambition to complete . . .

What did I think?

I think this will be one of those quirky books that divides opinion.  Headline have certainly put a lot of effort into the publicity of this book and I do think it is deserved, although it didn't have as much of a magical effect on me as I had hoped.

Ona is a fabulous character - I described the book as quirky and Ona accounts for most of that quirkiness, along with the 'boy' in the title.  Ona is 104 years old and is helped by the local scout group, which is how she meets 'the boy', after unsuccessfully trialling several scouts.  They hit it off immediately and become firm friends, but one day 'the boy' doesn't show up and his father comes instead.  Ona is determined not to like him but fate has other ideas and the two hit it off, showing Quinn that his son was more like him than he realised.

I struggled slightly with 'the boy' - everyone calls him 'the boy' and it's almost as if he doesn't have a name.  It just seems so impersonal when he made such an impression on so many lives, but at the same time it makes sense as it's how Ona refers to him and the book is written mainly from her perspective.  It's probably because she can't remember his name, which is the reason I've heard some older people use such a reference.  So nothing against the book, it's simply because it annoys me in real life too!

One thing that amazed me, and it is testament to Monica Wood's exceptional writing skills, was that my brain could hear the boy's words in the one sided interview transcript with Ona.  I even didn't realise I was filling in the gaps at first, but, without realising it, 'the boy' had gotten under my skin too.

I really enjoyed the boy's obsession with the Guinness World Records.  His enthusiasm was caught by Ona and certainly gave her a new lease of life.  Reading the records at the end, you just knew that the boy's family had a huge part to play in them.

Despite the sad subject matter, I did get a warm glow at the end of the book.  I think it just goes to show that a short life can have a massive effect.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Headline, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Published 5 April 2016 - pre-order from Amazon