LOVE, LOSS AND LIFE BETWEEN by Suzanne Rogerson @rogersonsm #TuesdayBookBlog #RBRT

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
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: Short Story collection, as per the title.

Ten short stories from fantasy author Suzanne Rogerson, snapshots of lives, some with happy endings, others bittersweet.

My favourite was the first one, Spirit Song, about an old lady called Cecilia and her lute.  Short, so atmospheric; I loved it.  I also liked Goodbye Forever, in which an abused wife makes her escape.  This was most exciting and fast-paced, and I whipped through it.  Another favourite was Garden Therapy, with its unexpected plot that unfolded so gradually, and I liked Catalyst, too.

As with many short story collections there were some that appealed more than other; I preferred those with a little glimpse of 'outside this world', rather than the straightforward love stories.  I would say Ms Rogerson's talent is in writing the benign paranormal, for sure!

THE WAY THE LIGHT BENDS by Lorraine Wilson #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

 4 out of 5 stars

Publishing on Amazon on August 2nd
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: Love, loss and the supernatural

An interesting and unusual book that centres around two sisters: the unconvential, wildhearted Tamsin who cannot come to terms with the death of her twin brother, Rob, and perfect Freya, the older sibling with the perfect husand and perfect job.  Then, a year after Rob's death, Tamsin disappears without trace, as does her boyfriend, a curious and shadowy figure about whom nobody knows anything much at all.

The book is written in two time frames, and from two points of view - Tamsin tells her story in the first person, gradually letting the reader into the turmoil in her mind, and showing what led up to her disappearance.  Freya's sections are told in the third person - these are good choices, just right for the story.  Freya's account shows her own, deepening turmoil as she grieves for Rob and becomes obsessed with finding Tamsin; she feels increasingly isolated, and begins to question everything about the way her family lives.  

The setting is Scotland; Perth, St Andrews and a couple of other locations. Tamsin and her friends worked in the grounds of old country house, and ran 'forest schools' for children; I loved all the detail about this.  The novel is beautifully written and flows so well.

Any negatives?  Sometimes I felt the descriptive passages were a little long-winded, when I wanted to get on with the story and find out what Tamsin's mysterious boyfriend was all about, and I was underwhelmed by the ending, which I thought a little wishy-washy after the build-up, but I did enjoy reading this book; much of the prose has an almost poetic, ethereal quality to it, reflecting the subject matter, and certainly the author should be proud of it.

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.