SAFE WITH ME by Grace Lowrie

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Safe With Me is a contemporary romantic drama involving themes of fostered children and domestic abuse.  The story alternates between the points of view of Katerina (sometimes Kat, sometimes Rina), and Jamie. 

The novel opens with Kat in a deeply depressing situation.  After a terrible childhood in and out of foster homes, then life on the streets, she has been married for many years to Vic, a criminal who owns a greasy spoon café on a London market.  Her life is one of imprisonment, abuse and drudgery, as she works in the café all day every day, and spends her evenings tiptoeing round Vic's temper.  She hates him, but is completely worn down and unable to see a way out.   The one light in her life is her memory of Jamie, the little boy with whom she was fostered as a child.  I thought this part of the book was written very well indeed, I was most impressed.  I felt every moment of Kat's fear and hopelessness. 

Jamie, by contrast, has led a happy life, but always longed to see Kat again.  When they meet up, completely by accident, neither of them have any idea who the other is.  This novel turns on its head the current trend for unguessable plot twists, which I liked very much: in Safe With Me, the reader knows what's going on, but the characters don't.  It really worked, because I found myself wondering how they were going to discover each other's identities; the 'reveal' is well done, and is unexpected; I liked it. 

Ms Lowrie has a nice, easily accessible style of writing, very readable.  I did prefer the first half of the book, which, for me, had more atmosphere and realism.  The second half is centred round the relationship between Kat and Jamie, and Kat's road to recovery; it's done well but, for me, the climax of the book came too soon.  This is just a personal preference, of course.  Conflict/tension is provided by Jamie's ex-girlfriend, and the uncovering of some secrets of Jamie and Kat's past, but I thought the Vic situation was disposed of too easily, and sometimes descriptive passages slowed the momentum; I think it needed a better edit.   

This novel has much to commend it; on the whole, I'd say it's a book for readers who like the gradual unfolding of emotions to ponder over, rather than page-turning drama. 

SPIRIT OF LOST ANGELS by Liza Perrat @LizaPerrat

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.  I've read two of the author's other books, Blood Rose Angel and my very favourite, The Silent Kookaburra.

Spirit of Lost Angels is Liza Perrat's debut novel, and revolves around Victoire Charpentier, a peasant living in the village of Lucie-sur-Vionne.  It is linked to the later book, Blood Rose Angel, by the bone angel talisman passed down through generations.  This first novel in the trilogy takes place in the years leading up to the French Revolution.

Victoire's life is one of tragic events indeed, as she loses those she loves to accident, illness, the danger and politics of the times, and at the careless hands of the nobility.  Cast into a brutal Parisian prison, she meets the notorious Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Remy who inspires within her the fire of revolution; I liked the inclusion of a real-life character in this work of fiction.  All the way through the book I appreciated the amount of research that has gone into writing this novel ~ such an entertaining way to fill in the gaps in my education.  I enjoyed reading about the lives of the rural peasants in the beginning of the book, and comparing this with the medieval life in Lucie, four hundred years earlier, in Blood Rose Angel. 

Throughout the book, the gaping chasm between the lives of the poor and those of the ludicrously self-indulgent aristocracy is always evident; it was most interesting to read the thoughts of the time about the general lot of women, and, as in the medieval story, the restrictions due to social mores and religious belief/superstition.  Victoire lives many lives in her short one, and I was pleased to see her return to Lucie, and reunite with the family she had longed for, for so many years, and to see wrongs overturned.  

Showing the history of a country via the changes in one village over a period of six hundred years is such a great idea, and I now look forward to reading the third book in the trilogy, Wolfsangel, which is set during World War Two.

PLAYING THE ODDS by Kate L Mary @kmary0622

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I've read loads of Kate Mary's zombie apocalypse novels, novellas and short stories (click tag at end of review for more), and downloaded this one when I fancied a nice, light, entertaining book that I was pretty sure wouldn't be a disappointment.  I first discovered her via an Amazon browse, and this is the third in her series of novella-length, zombie apocalypse love stories.  Yep, you read that right.

Cole is (was) a professional poker player who breaks into a winery in the Napa Valley, which happens to be already occupied by Alessa, who happens to be totally hot and the only survivor of her Italian vintner family, aside from Antonio, her over-protective, football playing cousin who is built like a brick s**t-house and resents Cole's interest in Alessa.

Enter zombies, and several waifs and strays who are invited to join them at the vineyard, including dodgy Daren, who Cole is suspicious of from the word 'go'.  

Kate Mary's characterisation is always spot on.  This is told from alternating points of view of Cole and Alessa, and I like the way she made Alessa's attraction to Cole sexually orientated but romantic, whereas Cole was initially just doing the sexual bit; she never falls into the trap of writing men out of the head of a woman.   There's more pulsating desire/rampant pheromones and less post apoc survival in this novella than in the first one of this series (More Than Survival, which I loved), but it's still a well-told story, and I enjoyed it.  

Two other points I liked; firstly, the grapes and dice graphics at the beginning of each chapter.   Also, there are instances of spoken Italian in this.  The author's note says that she did this by internet translation as she doesn't speak it or know anyone who could help her with it, so apologises if she has made any errors.  I wouldn't have a clue if she has or not, but I thought this was a nice touch.  Like, "I did my best, and if there are errors, so be it, but please don't complain; you have been warned."    

THE BURIED FEW by M J Lau

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

The Buried Few is set in 2030, when wars have left many children in America without parents.  Adults can be 'Creators', ie, give birth to children, which means being watched at all times, or 'Guardians': adoptive parents.  There are many rules governing the status of the parent and their suitability.  Unclaimed children face an uncertain future, to be shipped off to other countries where they may be adopted, or drift from orphanage to orphanage until adulthood.  

Daniel, a computer security specialist, has a broken relationship with Renee, as there are stumbling blocks about their parental future.  He finds an abandoned baby he wants to keep as his own, which sets the couple down a difficult path as they come up against Gozzum, a government agent who has his own issues after a turbulent childhood.

There was much I liked about this book, but I think it needs the hand of an experienced editor.  The beginning was the weakest area and seemed disjointed; if I hadn't been reading it for the purpose of reviewing, I'd have abandoned it, which would have been a shame, because I soon began to like it much more.  It starts with a long prologue told from the point of view of Raina, a small child, containing scenes from her imaginary world that had no bearing on the actual plot; to me, this was as pointless as detailed dream sequences, and not the stuff of which reader-hooking openings are made.  Then the novel proper begins: we meet Daniel.  We see him meeting Renee, then finding the abandoned baby.  I found the first 15% confusing, with little explanation, so I could only guess at what was going on, though I enjoyed some excellent character cameos (feedback for author: Selah and J!).

The 'world-building' continued to be sketchy, and it took until at least 30% before I was clear about the whole parent-child situation (and even then I wasn't quite sure).  However, so much of the characterisation is extremely good, the dialogue is excellent, for the most part, and some passages I loved (feedback for author: the 'typical tale of heartbreak.  Boy meets girl at flash mob', etc, and the backstory about Gozzum's father).  There are many beautifully descriptive sentences, but maybe too many.  Sometimes, they held up the plot.

New characters are brought in at regular intervals, and there was a lot to keep in my head as it was not clear at first how they all linked up.  I loved the story of Ten, a Native American, and I particularly liked M J Lau's ideas about the fate of her people.  There are some good observations later on about how the government uses the internet to collect data about the population, how/why the population give it up willingly, and that if they have enough opportunity to 'vent' on social media, they are less likely to actually do anything about social injustices; so, so right, and enough said.  Suffice to say that the author and I are singing from the same hymn sheet 😉.

To sum up: there is no doubt that M J Lau can write, but I think he needs to learn when less can be more.  My opinion is that this is a good novel that could have been much better; it's all there, it just needs restructuring.

IRELAND: Surviving The Evacuation Book 9 by Frank Tayell @FrankTayell

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I came across Frank Tayell's zombie apocalypse series during an Amazon browse, and have since read most of them; for other reviews of books in this series, please click the 'Frank Tayell' tag at the end of the review.

I've missed a few of the more recent instalments, simply because of the 'so many books, so little time' factor, but wanted to catch up with it.  Although these books are not stand alones, it was easy enough to get the basic gist of the story threads I've missed, and enjoy the book for itself; might be useful for other readers to know.

I enjoyed Mr Tayell's writing, as ever, and I'm a total post-disaster/danger survival addict, so loved all the detail about what Bill, Kim and their friends must do, to this end.  In Book Nine of the series, they're in south west Ireland, and need to get back to the safe haven of Anglesey - but this means travelling across a couple of hundred miles of zombie infested country.  Sailing seems like the best option.  One thing I really liked was the way that every time Bill's group came upon a new situation, any large building where it was obvious that people had sought refuge, they assessed what happened to those people and how they might have been killed.  Later, they meet a new group, amongst which is Siobhan, a former policewoman, who is able to suggest exact time frames to him from her experience in forensics.

I felt this book could have done with a better edit; there are lots of instances where the word 'I' has been used when it should have been 'me', which drives me nuts ('she'd refused to let Sholto and I row from Menai Bridge to Bangor'), and much of the conversation is unrealistically information heavy, but that mattered to me less than it would normally, possibly because it gave me the information I needed, even if it wasn't how people really talk to each other.  There is a section late in the book in which Bill talks to himself a lot, which was completely unrealistic and would have been better written as inner dialogue.  All this being said, though, I still enjoyed the book; these comments go to show how much dodgy stuff you can get away with, if you're basically a talented writer with a great story.

I'm looking forward to the Book Ten, which I have already bought and hope to get to before long.

WALLS OF SILENCE by Helen Pryke

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

I was not sure how to review this book at first, because it's a strange one; my opinion of it varied so much, all the way through.  It's a long novella (or a very short novel - I am sure it is no longer than 50K words, maximum). 

Warning: this review includes plot spoilers.  

Set in northern Italy, the story opens with Pietro, heartbroken over the loss of his wife, Maria, who has just died from cancer.  It then goes back to Maria's childhood in Sicily, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Maria lived in a small village, where life rolled by at the slow pace of fifty years before, and the Roman Catholic church and the family were the main focus.  I adored every word of this part; it's beautifully written, and I felt so sad when Maria's mother died, even though I'd met her only briefly.  Yes, the characterisation is that good.  The atmosphere of the time is simply yet vividly portrayed, and I was completely engrossed in the story. 

Maria's childhood takes a darker turn when her father remarries, and her 'uncle' Salvo comes to live with them.  Her account of the abuse she suffered is raw, poignant and utterly believable, and I loved that this part of the book showed not only the reasons for her silence, but also the way in which the simple, ill-educated population were manipulated by the rigours of formal Catholicism.  Stunningly good.  At this point I was going to give the book 5*, which is not a rating I give often. 

Skipping forward, a marriage is arranged between Maria and Vincenzo, when she is sixteen and he is in his late twenties.  They go to live in Milan, and the marriage is difficult, interspersed with brief moments of happiness.  They live in a squalid apartment, Vinny struggles with the prejudices of the northern Italians, he gambles, drinks, and eventually abuses her physically.  I felt this part was a little rushed, and I was sometimes a bit 'hmm' about Maria's reactions, but I was still enjoying it.  Eventually, Vinny's gambling spirals out of control, and he offers Maria up as a final wager in desperation to recoup his losses.  He loses, and Maria has to leave the house with her new protector, Matteo. 

It's now that the book trails off.  Maria is forced into prositution.  At one point, her flat mate, Lisa, gives her a tablet 'to take the edge off', which turns out to be LSD.  Girls in that situation are usually given (or choose to take) heroin or cocaine (or possibly dexedrine, in the 1960s), which give the illusion of wellbeing, not LSD, which is a powerful hallucinogenic and produces a 'trip', not the sort of drug that would be offered to 'take the edge' off anything; I suspected Ms Pryke had not done her research.  After a terrible few months, Maria meets Pietro, a young, professional man who falls instantly in love with her during their brief afternoon/early evening meetings.  Despite the danger involved with going up against Italian gangsters and the fact that he hardly knows her, Pietro hatches a plan to aid her escape, which involves them faking their own deaths and changing their identities.  For some reason I couldn't fathom, his parents (who, in the staid Italian 1960s, are perfectly okay about him potentially ruining his life for the sake of a prostitute he hardly knows) agree to orchestrate this preposterous plan.  I am afraid I could no longer suspend my disbelief at this point; I thought of at least three more convincing ways to end the Matteo section even as I was reading it. 

The book is wrapped up quickly, with details about Pietro and Maria's happy new life, her return to Sicily and reunion with her family.  Again, it was over too soon.  The reunion with Guisy should have been hugely emotional, but it felt raced through, with all information given about the people of Maria's childhood like a quick report. 

I am giving this book 3.5* but rounding it up to 4* on Amazon because the beginning was so very, very good, and because Ms Pryke can certainly write; I read it in one day and looked forward to getting back to it each time.  The main problem is that for the depth of plot it needs to be a novel the reader can become immersed in emotionally, not a short catalogue of disastrous events.  Had the second part, with Vinny, been extended, and the prostitution plot been less outlandish, it could have been a terrific book.  Sometimes, less is more; this author is talented enough not to need car chases and faked deaths.  The atmosphere of Sicily, the stark contrast between the 1960s and the 21st century, the characterisation and her simple knack of writing good sentences that keep the reader wanting to turn the pages, are enough.  And I'd definitely read something else by her.