OUTBACK OUTBREAK by Frank Tayell

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read a lot of books by this author, so Amazon recommends others!

In a Nutshell: Beginning of zombie apocalypse, in Australian Outback.  

Frank Tayell has written extensively about the same zombie apocalypse, a main series (Suviving The Evacuation) that started about ten years ago and is up to Book 21, and the other related collections, set in different places.  Kind of like The Walking Dead with all its spin-offs!

This first book of the Surviving The Evacuation: Life Goes On series is set in Australia, in which a carpet salesman from Indiana called Pete Guinn goes on a mission to find his oddly elusive sister, where she works mending fences in the Outback.  The events of the first chapters were labelled as '18 hours before the outbreak', etc - the suspense building even though Pete didn't know it!  As well as breakdown of civilisation and the zombies, rich evil cartel type people provide Pete, Corrie and their friends yet more headaches.

I very much liked going back to the beginning of the apocalypse (I've only read up to about Book 8 of the original series), and enjoyed Pete's shock at the reality of trying to exist in the Outback, even before the zombies appear.  It's a good story and I did like it, but my interest waned with the original because the characters' conversations became too information-dump-ish, as though the dialogue is being used primarily as a vehicle for giving information to the reader, rather than as an expression of character, and I felt the same creeping in here.  This can result in the characters coming across a bit one-dimensional, or all speaking in the same 'voice'.  This wasn't the case in the earlier books (my review of Book 1, written 9 years ago, HERE).

Anyway, I still liked it!  Mr Tayell is a fine judge of pace, creator of plot, builder of suspense, etc - and, in case you ever read this, Frank, I laughed at this: He didn't know much about hotels, motels or any variation in between, but he knew carpet and the one beneath his feet was expensive.  A hard-wearing, two-ply, eighty per cent wool mix with a polyester coating to ease cleaning.  I used to know a chap who sold carpets, and he was not dissimilar.  We'd be watching telly and he'd point at the screen during a really dramatic scene, and say, "That's a nice bit of Worsted fibre bonded.  Made by Danflor, if I'm not mistaken'.

CONVERSION: THE FALL #1 by ST Campitelli @stcampitelli #TuesdayBookBlog

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter

In a Nutshell: Post-apocalyptic thriller set in Australia

The story begins a couple of years after 'The Fall', when Australia is already divided into warring factions - the well-defended 'wallcoms' - communities in which people can live a life that resembles the 'before', and those who have chosen to live outside the relatively safe walls.  Many of the original wallcoms have now fallen, overrun by the infected, feral beings with white skin.  Once bitten, it's only a matter of time before you become a 'jack'.

Then there is the Headhunter - the standard post-apoc psycho baddie.  A trope that never gets old - every book of this genre needs at least one!

The author concentrates on several main characters, each one of whom tells the story from their POV, always in the third person.  John Bradley is a regular guy who goes out with the scavenging teams, though wife Helen wishes he would choose a safer occupation.  Reading this, though, I couldn't help thinking that I'd want to do what John does, too, instead of hiding behind the walls in an illusion of safety.  The sense of adventure is full-on, with missions described in detail.  Anyone who has fantasies of living in a post-apoc world (that's me with my hand up) will be drawn to this.  

The book is plot- rather than character-driven, which meant that I sometimes had trouble remembering who everyone was, but the dialogue totally works and the writing is such that some characters were still three-dimensional to me: John, his mate Matt, rockers Skylar and Harley (loved them!), and the Headhunter.  I loved the inventive details about the technology, the spectacularly good world-building, and the chapters from the POV of the infected. 

Good stuff, post-apoc lovers.  Book #2 is also available, and I believe Book #3 is in progress.

THE LOST BLACKBIRD by Liza Perrat @LizaPerrat

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

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

In A Nutshell: fiction based on true life events, about the appalling mistreatment of children sent to Australia from English childrens' homes, in the 1960s.

This book is certainly an eye-opener.  In the 1950s and 60s (and as late as 1970), children were taken from English children's homes for a 'better life' in Australia.  Sometimes the children were orphans, other times they were in care because the parents were temporarily unable to look after them, and they were shipped off without parental consent.  A few were fortunate, and were adopted by families, but most were used as slave labour on farms, until they were sixteen, when they would be sent to cattle stations to serve an 'apprenticeship' - more slave labour.  Most suffered permanent separation from siblings and families in England.

This is the fictional story of Londoners Lucy and Charly Rivers who ended up in 'care' (a brutal, regimental establishment) after their mother was wrongly convicted of having killed their father.  When Charly was six and Lucy ten, they were put on a boat with many others, to sail to the other side of the world.

The story alternates between that of Lucy and Charly, who fare very differently.  I found Charly's story absolutely fascinating, and it was so well written by Ms Perrat; it involved a slow brainwashing until by the time she was sixteen she was not sure what was a memory and what a fantasy or dream; the way in which she tried to capture fleeting images was perfectly illustrated, as was the behaviour of the people who perpetrated this; the gradual unravelling was riveting stuff.  Lucy's story was so tragic and I was equally engrossed in the first two thirds or so, though I was less convinced by a couple of developments later on.

The book is certainly a page-turner, nicely structured, making me eager to know what would happen next, as hope twinkles in the distance for the characters, then disappears. The writing flows well, and I'd definitely recommend it to any readers who enjoy emotional dramas based on true life events - the fact that all this stuff actually happened gives a hugely compelling slant to the whole story.  At the end of the book, Ms Perrat writes about her research process, giving details of some of the books she used for reference, which has now added to my reading list, too!  I give her a round of applause for bringing these heinous crimes to light in this highly readable novel.

 

 

FRIENDS & OTHER STRANGERS by Liza Perrat @LizaPerrat

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I loved Liza Perrat's two novels set in 1970s Australia, so downloaded these when I noticed they were on offer.

In a nutshell: Short stories and essays on life, mostly set in small town Australia from the 1950s to the present day.

These were great; there aren't any weak ones.  Many of them were either submitted or shortlisted for various short story awards, or actually won.  They're not all stories in the sense of having a beginning middle and end; some are more snapshots of a life lived.  They're all beautifully atmospheric, though; a fine collection.

My favourites were Daughter of Atlas, about a Greek family who emigrated to Aus in the 1950s, Corner of Acacia and Beach Streets, a heartrending tale of loss (in more ways than one), and Santa Never Made It, about a Christmas time cyclone in Darwin.

THE SWOOPING MAGPIE by Liza Perrat @LizaPerrat

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

 
How I discovered this book: I loved Liza Perrat's other book set in 1970s Australia, The Silent Kookaburra, so I pounced on this as soon as it came out!  Also reviewing it for Rosie Amber's Review Team.

In a nutshell: Emotional drama about the plight of unmarried mothers in 1970s Australia, based on true life events.

This is a fictional story about the terrible injustices committed towards young, unmarried mothers in Australia until the 1980s, when they were forced into homes and made to sign papers to give their babies up for adoption, often without even seeing them.  It's hard to imagine such a crime now, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when this book is set, a teenage, out-of-wedlock pregnancy was seen as a disgrace to a family, with the girls made to feel like the lowest of the low.  No consideration was given to their feelings, or the resulting trauma they would experience throughout the rest of their lives.  Liza Perrat lists her research material at the back of the book.

Headstrong, pretty and popular Lindsay Townsend has an unhappy childhood with a weak mother and a bully for a father, when she begins an affair with Jon Halliwell, a teacher at her school.  The first half of the book describes not only the passage of the affair and her belief that Jon truly loved her (I loved this part of the book!), but also her time at the home, during which she is finally beaten down.  On a happier note, though, it is there that she made lifelong friends with the other girls who shared her plight.

Jon's treachery is worse than she knows, as the middle of the book shows us, with a truly shocking twist; I was gripped.  We then move to the immediate aftermath of Lindsay's loss, and then to the early 1990s and finally to 2013, as she and her friends aim to right the wrongs done to them.

The books is dialogue-led, with much of the story told in conversation.  The emotions are real, and well-portrayed, and there is no doubt that Liza Perrat has in no way exaggerated the effect on the women who were at the home with Lindsay; I admit to shedding a tear or two during the final ten per cent of the book.  Most of all, though, for anyone who might think, 'well, I wouldn't let that happen to me', Ms Perrat has depicted so well the hopelessness, the reality of being completely trapped and without options, that the girls experienced.  It was, indeed, a different world.  Well worth a read.

 

UNFORGIVABLE by Sharon Robards

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: bought after reading this review by Tom Williams; he'd told me how good the book was.

Genre: 1960s drama, about unmarried mothers, and adoption.

Set Australia, this novel is about Sylvia, who, in 1966, is sent by her mother to a Catholic home for unmarried mothers, her baby to be given up for adoption as soon as it is born.

Sylvia resists the often mentally brutal treatment by the nuns, in the belief that her life, her body and her baby should be her own to do with as she pleases, and that her boyfriend, Tommy, will stick by her.  The book is written from alternating third person points of view, that of Sylvia and a young nun, Sister Gregory, who is confused about her committment to the life she has chosen.  Both scenarios work well against the backdrop of the societal changes that were taking place in the 1960s.

The book made me feel a frustrated sort of anger, mostly about how organised religion is used as a method of control, the guilt and self-doubt it induces and the misery caused by these establishments; I felt sure that the author knew her stuff, and I know the reality can be a lot worse than in this story.  Sylvia's plight was heartbreaking, and I wanted so much for things to work out for her; she is so well-written.  Sister Gregory's dilemmas interested me less, but that's just a personal viewpoint; she was equally well-drawn, but I would have enjoyed it more if there had been less about her and more about Sylvia's circumstances.

One of the other 'waiting girls' at the hospital, Kim, is a secondary character in the story, and is the focus of both the prologue and epilogue - in the 1990s, when she is reunited with her adopted child.  I could see why this was done, though it was a bit of anticlimax as I wanted to know what happened to Sylvia, and to a lesser extent Sister Gregory, but this remained a mystery.  On the whole, though, I'd most definitely recommend this book if this is a subject you'd like to read about.  Unless the whole religion bit makes you too angry.  But it's good.  And I do hope Sylvia was okay.  😕

A SMALLER COUNTRY by Phillip Tennison

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse.  I downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited.

Genre: Post apocalyptic, Australia.

I fancied a nice end-of-world survival scenario to read, and this was the third I tried of those I've downloaded recently.   The others had the super-duper professional, currently apt covers for the genre, but what was inside didn't live up to them.  This one, with the quieter, more simple cover, kept me reading.

At first I thought it was a novel by someone who just wanted to write all he knows about guns.  There are a LOT of guns in this, and to be frank I skimmed much of the weapons detail because it doesn't interest me and wasn't always needed for the story.  The book starts when John Timms, ex-cop survivalist and hero of the story is some way into life post-virus.  I was disappointed that the whole build-up to the virus and what happened during was dealt with in a matter of two pages, and in the briefest newspaper-style reporting; I nearly abandoned at that point.  But I didn't, and started to realise that the matter-of-fact, spare style of writing suited the mood of the book.  People have lost everything, and are just trying to survive.  Sometimes terrible things happen, and they're numb to them.  

As is usual in 'road trip' stories of this genre, John is trying to get to a place of perceived safety, and meets up with others; in this case, his early companions happen to be two very fit female soldiers; well, the author is male!  But, generally, it's not over-dramatised or Hollywoodised.  A lot of their troubles come from Indonesians, who have paid their life savings to sharks for a passage to Aus, having been told that it's safe there.  The factual detail about survival techniques is clearly well researched and was of interest to me, though I was a bit 'hmm' about where all the fuel came from.  The characters work; the author clearly has that thing-you-can't-learn, ie, being able to write three dimensional characters with very little description.  The one that kept me reading was Rosie, a big, tattooed, hooch-distilling farm guy who feels suited to the new world; he said he wasn't a very good farmer but made a great caveman, or words to that effect. 

The other downside to the book was the punctuation; whoever proofread it needs to learn about vocative commas, as they're aren't any ("What are you doing Abi?" "John can you chuck me a towel?" "I know what you mean Sam").  But it's pretty good.  If you like books of this genre in which the factual stuff seems real, and the characters don't act like King Ezekiel, pre-Saviours slaughter, you'll probably like it.

AFTERMATH (Invasion of the Dead Book 1) by Owen Baillie

3 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse.

I'm always looking for good new post apocalyptic/zombie books to read, so thought I'd give this a go. I thought it was really promising at first; I liked that it's set in Australia, and the scenario about the five friends coming back from a trip into the wild, not knowing that the outbreak has taken place. I loved their first realisation that something was amiss, when they got to the petrol station. At that point, it was most atmospheric, and building up nicely. I also liked that the author gave background about the relationships between Callan, Kristy, Sherry, Greg and Dylan, so they weren't just a bunch of random names.

Alas, the first 15% was the best bit. The characterisation was reasonable, but a little bit stiff. I felt we were supposed to like Kristy the most, but she was just irritating in her 'oh my God, I've got to go and help because I'm a doctor, even if it means great danger' - and, hang on, yet another zombie survival group who just happen to have a qualified doctor amongst them? No, really? 

Then the group were driving through their devastated hometown with the possibility of finding their loved ones turned into flesh eating monsters, and a couple of them were talking about their love life....once it started getting into the zombie fights I'm afraid I began to lose interest - they're supposed to have seen all the films/TV series, but didn't know about bashing them in the head... then it's zombie fight followed by zombie fight, and it all got a bit samey; I couldn't picture the town. I started skip-reading at about 40%. Having said that, I might go back to it, if only to find out what happens with Callan and Sherry, which was by far the most interesting of the human sub-plots, and to see how the sinster beginning with the guy in the bunker whose name I can't remember, plays out.

I think it would have been better if the beginning was twice as long, so we really got to know the characters and thus cared more what happened to them, and if the uncovering of what had gone on in their absence had been slower. It's not a bad book, it's quite good, but I think 3* is a reasonable rating; if I had nothing else to read I'd have persevered with it. Possibly.

LION: A LONG WAY HOME by Saroo Brierley @brierley_saroo

5 out of 5 stars

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

How I discovered this book:  My sister recommended the film Lion to me, and I was blown away not just by the film itself, but by the story.  I thought about it for days after ~ I had to read the book.

In the mid 1980s, Saroo was a five year old boy living in poverty in an Indian village with his mother and siblings.  On a railway station, some way from the village, he became separated from his older brother, boarded an empty, stationary train and fell asleep.  When he woke up, he was miles away, and unable to get out of the train.  He ended up travelling 1600 kilometres, to the other side of the country and Calcutta, in just the clothes he stood up in, hungry and unable to speak the language.  

Saroo's story is incredible, and made me think about the survival instinct in every human, even a five year old child, much more so than the film did.  The account of how he stayed alive, and the instinct he developed for danger, is far more detailed than in the film.  Eventually (and I won't tell you the whole story because you should read it for yourself), he was adopted by a couple from Hobart, Tasmania, who have given him a wonderful life.

As he grew up, he thought more and more about his Indian family.  Alas, he remembered the name of his village wrongly, knew his mother only as 'Mum', and had no idea of the places through which he'd travelled to get to Calcutta.  Although searches were made, no one could ever trace his family.  As a young adult, Saroo became increasingly obsessed with the idea of finding them.  Using the new site Google Earth, he started to investigate rural India, sure that he could find the village he came from.  It was a mammoth task that took over his life.

After years of searching without success, mostly because he hadn't realised how far he had travelled, he at last found the village in which he'd spent those first years of his life.  Of course, he went back ~ the reunion between him and his family had me in floods when I watched the film, and it's very touching in the book, too.   His mother had never moved away from the area, because she felt sure he would return one day.

It's a beautifully and simply written book, and taught me much I didn't know about how the poor in India live.   What struck me most, though, was how happy Saroo's childhood was, despite being constantly hungry and living, day to day, with the sort of deprivation we can't imagine.  The story of his adoptive parents is one that would give anyone faith in humankind; Saroo talks about his good fortune in finding people who helped him, and how easily he could have disappeared into the dangerous underworld of the Calcutta streets, forever.

Highly recommended.   

THE PLANTER'S DAUGHTER by Jo Carroll @jomcarroll

4.5 out of 5 stars

19th century historical fiction based on fact

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

This is an interesting and unusual novel that begins as a good, solid and readable story and gets better and better as it goes on.  The Planter's Daughter tells the story of Sara Weldon, a girl from Ireland who leaves her family in the middle of the mid 19th century potato famine to stay with an unknown, well-to-do aunt in Ireland, before falling from favour and being transported to the other side of the world.

The first chapter is told from the point of view of Kitty, the kitchen maid at the aunt's house who finds Sara on the doorstep.  This section of the book reminded me of those historical rags to riches (or riches to rags and back again) blockbusters that were so popular in the 1980s by people like Barbara Taylor Bradford, with the heroine to whom wrong is done, who vows revenge, while those who meet her are struck by not only her beauty (may or may not include tiny waist and head of auburn/raven tousled curls), but also the steely determination in her flashing emerald/sapphire eyes.  However, I always liked this sub-sub-genre, so was happy to read on!

For the second part the story moves to Australia, and a new character's point of view ~ devoutly religious Grace, who lives on a dusty small-holding/forge in the rural area near Melborne with her stepsons and own children, and takes Sara in as a maid.  Well written, well researched and highly readable, the only downside being this: I thought, "but I don't want to read about Grace's path to Australia, I want to read about Sara's."

I had it all wrong.  This is where the novel really 'kicks in', if you like.

Half way through Grace I realised I was completely engrossed, and I began to appreciate the structure.  Grace is fascinating, really quite horrible.  She's pious, more than a little self-satisfied, unable to see any views but her own.  She wears her religion like a badge, cloaking her selfishness in her delusion that she is showing others the path of righteousness.  She thinks she loves Sara, but in fact she loves only the image of her that she has created to fill the gaps in her own life.  During this chapter my inner rating hat added another star to my eventual review; it's really, really good.

Then we get to New Zealand, and Grenville, the magistrate who falls in love with Sara.  Like Grace, he is obsessed with his own image of the girl, and this obsession brings only woe to everyone concerned.  I loved this chapter; I felt that Jo Carroll really got into her stride with Grenville; her writing actually improves over the course of the book.

I very much like the showing of one character's story through the viewpoints of others, and Jo Carroll has executed this challenging format very well, though I did wish that there had been a little variation in the three chosen characters' feelings about Sara; all three adored her, longed to still her butterfly wings (sorry, getting a bit BTB saga, there), but didn't understand her at all.  I didn't know if I did, either; I hadn't met her yet.

I was in for a pleasant surprise.

In the last party we finally get to meet Sara: it's about her childhood in Ireland, life during 'the hunger', and her path to Belfast to get a ship to Liverpool.  The last part, about this journey, was outstanding, and the highlight of the book; it made sense of the whole story.  Sara was not a likeable girl at all, but seeing her as she began put it all into perspective, and I understood how clever the book is.

I had a few issues with style/format, but this is normal for a debut novel, and no one likes every single part of even their all-time favourites.  The research that has gone into this novel is apparent without ever being intrusive.  The idea comes from a true life story, and Sara's ending is shocking and surprising (don't read about the real life story first!); I was waiting for something more in line with yer typical historical saga, but it didn't happen - well, who needs predictability, after all?  The Planter's Daughter is a 'slow burner' and so much more than the tale-of-love-determination-and-revenge-across-three-continents, Taylor Bradfordesque epic that I thought it was going to be at first.  Read it.  You'll be pleased you did.  

THE RED DOOR by Rosa Fedele

3.5 out of 5 stars

Australian mystery

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

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Review Team
 
The Red Door is a dark mystery set in Australia, and the main character is artist Maddie who has bought a mansion, 'Rosalind', letting out apartments to tenants.  As she is completing her renovations, she begins to have suspicions about the tenant in number three, who won't let her in.  This is all linked to some local murders that occurred in the 1950s.  There are unanswered questions surrounding Maddie herself, too. 

The book is illustrated by Ms Fedele, and these pictures are really lovely; I just wished my kindle was bigger so I could see them better.  Honestly, they're gorgeous.  She's a very good writer, too; her dialogue is realistic, sharp and often amusing (thank you for 'blessed are the cheese makers'!), with each character cleverly observed and clearly defined.  I was immediately entertained by Maddie's friends, unconventional Annie and bitchy, self-obsessed Monique, and tenant Mrs Hewitson; her dialogue was excellent.  Maddie has a young friend, a schoolgirl called Claudia; there is intrigue surrounding her, and her apparently unpleasant family situation, from the beginning.  There's room for a secret love affair or two, as well...

Some of the writing is a real joy to read.  The problem I had with the book is that it's very disjointed, with new characters/situations/locations appearing every few pages.  It switches between points of view without any introduction, as though the author had stuck in bits in as she thought of them without any thought for structure.  One minute I'd be reading from Maddie, in the first person, and then after just a tiny line of asterisks I'd find I was reading a third person conversation between Annie and Monique ABOUT Maddie, then it would be back to the main character in the first person talking to Jo about Monique and some other characters, then Birgitta would appear and talk about a lot of new people, and hang on, who are we with now?  Oh, I see, it's Claudia, in the third person, and some more names to remember.... if my eyes missed the tiny asterisks, as they did on occasion, I'd be left thinking, eh?  What's going on here? 

Ms Fedele is clearly a very talented artist and writer; the plot's clever, the writing is atmospheric, intelligent and sometimes quite beautiful—for this itself the book is worthy of 4.5 or 5*.  The problem was that it was difficult to read, with such a confusing and jerky structure that I couldn't enjoy it properly.  If you can get past this, it's great, and the chopping and changing does lessen after the first third; I think it just needs planning out better and a really good edit to streamline and perhaps trim out some of the unnecessary information.  Then, I think it would be the really terrific book it deserves to be.

OUTBACK PROMISE by Maggie Bolitho

4.5 out of 5 stars

Contemporary drama, Australia

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

I liked this book a lot.  Maggie Bolitho has the sort of innate gift for the written word that makes my editing/critiquing hat fall off unnoticed, allowing me to just read and enjoy, which is, of course, the best way.

Outback Promise is about the marriage of Ros and Grady.  Six years after their four year old son, Cadel, was killed in a tragic accident, their marriage has faltered, and they decide to go on a three month trip across the Australian Outback to 'find each other' again.   This story was not one that immediately appealed to me as the subject matter of a family losing a child is possibly the last I'd want to read about (I am childfree and like to read for escapism, mostly!), but the Outback aspect appealed a great deal, as it's something I'd love to do. 

I was pleasantly surprised.  The first half of the book follows one of my favourite structures: alternating chapters between past and present, to show how the characters got to where they're at now.  I didn't find the bits about Cadel's death and Ros and Grady's subsequent pain to be something I had to wade through at all, as I'd feared; Ms Bolitho's writing is clear and spare, never wordy or contrived, and it was actually very moving.

The Outback trip starts approximately half way through and at first I worried that I was about to read pages and pages of emotional zig-zagging, but it picked up quickly, with two notable highlights: a ghastly couple called Nestor and Max who they met at one campsite (I loved them, a terrific piece of writing, they were drawn so perfectly I could actually see them!), and an encounter with a couple of poachers.

I very much enjoyed reading about the trip.  My favourite characters tended to be the secondary ones, but they all 'worked'.  I didn't particularly warm to Grady, and only a little more to Ros, who I found a trifle self-absorbed, though this isn't a criticism of the book; Ros is a woman with much 'baggage', and she began to understand herself better as the story came to a close.  There was one incident near the end that really spoke to me.  Grady had been out on a boat with friends, she'd stayed behind because she suffered from seasickness.  Afterwards she was expecting him home and wanted to do the romantic dinner thing, but he stayed in the pub, having a rip-roaring time with his friends.  He wanted her to join him, but she said no, because it didn't fit in with her idealistic image of how their evening would be.  I wanted to shout at her, "Go!  He wants you to be there, think about what he wants and be spontaneous!" ~ because Grady didn't want a 'romantic' meal, he just wanted her to join him.  

I was completely absorbed in the story all the time I was reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-written, contemporary, relationship-based drama.  I'll certainly read more by this author.