JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

You told each other everything. Then she told you too much.

Kit has risen to the top of her profession and is on the brink of achieving everything she wanted. She hasn’t let anything stop her.

But now someone else is standing in her way – Diane. Best friends at seventeen, their shared ambition made them inseparable. Until the day Diane told Kit her secret – the worst thing she’d ever done, the worst thing Kit could imagine – and it blew their friendship apart.

Kit is still the only person who knows what Diane did. And now Diane knows something about Kit that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for.

How far would Kit go, to make the hard work, the sacrifice, worth it in the end? What wouldn’t she give up? Diane thinks Kit is just like her. Maybe she’s right. Ambition: it’s in the blood…

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott is a psychological thriller about two women and the power of a secret.

The novel explores female friendship and how two women can toe the line between friends and enemies. Diane Fleming and Kit Owens haven’t seen each other for over ten years, until Diane shows up at Kit’s work and the two women are forced to co-exist together. But no one can know the real reason why they stopped speaking after high school.

The two women were close friends once, but now seem to be professionals rivals. And since Kit knows Diane’s biggest secret, Kit is worried that Diane feels threatened by that. And if so, what she’ll do to silence Kit. Much more than just their careers are at stake.

“You always wonder, when someone is trying so hard, what it’s really about…Maybe, for Diane, working really hard was a way of crouching low in her grief, of staying under the radar. Of hiding. But in other ways she was impossible to miss.”

Megan Abbott has captured setting incredibly well. Most of this novel takes place within the walls of a science lab, so everything feels very claustrophobic and tense. It’s the perfect setting for Diane and Kit’s reunion.

Kit is a postdoc researcher for Dr. Lena Severin, a well-respected, inspiring mentor. She’s strong and determined and confident. She’s everything Kit wants to be.

There’s an exciting opportunity at the lab — Dr. Severin is spearheading a study of PMDD, which stands for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Everyone wants a spot on that team, but there’s only room for two researchers and there are quite a few colleagues to choose from.

It’s a high-stakes environment and Diane wants this more than anything. But so do her colleagues. And as tensions rise and Diane and Kit’s working relationship starts to fracture, the people around them are starting to notice that something is amiss about the two of them.

“In the car, we don’t speak. She drives carefully. Stopping at all the yellow lights. Every time she turns a corner, her key chain smacks the ignition panel. One of those furry key chain kids used to have swinging from their backpacks.”

Something about this novel just doesn’t hit the mark. Not once did I feel like Diane was going to threaten everything Kit has accomplished. Diane is supposed to be seen as an unpredictable, unstable villain but really she seems like a complicated woman with a tragic secret and a dark mind. And Diane’s ‘secret’ — the author teases it for the first half of the book — is incredibly predictable.

If you’re a lover of crime, thriller or psychological fiction, then this story accomplishes enough to entertain you. You’ll be intrigued by Diane’s secret and the evolution of Kit and Diane’s friendship. Unfortunately, I felt like this novel fell short of what the blurb claimed, but others may enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Give Me Your Hand
Megan Abbott
August 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano

At thirty-eight and a quarter years old, Paris native Camille has everything she needs to be happy: a good job, a loving husband, a wonderful son. Why then does she feel as if happiness has slipped through her fingers? All she wants is to find the path to joy and fulfilment.

When Claude, a Sean Connery look-alike and routinologist, offers his unique advice to help get her there, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.

Camille’s journey is full of surprising escapades and richly meaningful lessons, as she sets out to transform her life and realize her dreams one step at a time. . .

Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano is a charming novel about a young woman who has everyone she needs, but isn’t as happy as she should be. Originally published in French, this is the first time it’s being released in English.

This is a really cute book — bright, fun colours and a gorgeous hardback package. It really shows what kind of story you’ll get between the pages, something uplifting and fun.

“You’re probably suffering from a type of acute routinitis.”
“A what?”
“Acute routinitis. Finding it hard to feel happy despite an abundance of material wealth, a feeling of disillusionment and lethargy, amongst other things.”
“But . . . How do you know all that?”
“I’m a routinologist.”
“A routino-what?”

Thirty-eight year old Parisian Camille overhauls her life with the help of an unconventional therapist. She meets Claude after a minor car accident during a storm, and what results is a series of tasks that she must undertake to find the happiness she feels like she’s missing.

Some of the tasks are small, such as cleaning her home. If the reader chooses, I imagine that they could attempt to follow along with Camille. So even though this is a fictional story, in many ways it could inspire readers to make changes in their own lives too.

Claude is wise and intuitive, without being overbearing. He inspires change in the character and also the reader, and his friendship with Camille is a joyous development in the book. He is both her mentor, and her conscience. He helps guide her when she’s feeling lost or unsure, and he’s a sounding board when she is starting to doubt the choices she’s made in her life.

“That’s perfect, Camille. Now you need to do all you can to focus your attention on your good points rather than on your tiny flaws, which no one really notices anyway. Never forget those women who weren’t particularly pretty and yet were hugely sought after..What’s most important — and I know you know this — is what comes from within.”

Whilst it’s a feel-good story, there’s not enough depth to Camille’s story. This story feels like it skims the surface of Camille’s mindset, and I didn’t feel satisfied by the quick pacing and ultimately fast resolution to her story. I would’ve liked the plot to be developed better, so that Camille’s progress felt more believable.

Whilst this is fiction, this book will appeal to fans of self help books, or those bestselling titles about how best to de-clutter your life. This is Raphaelle’s fiction debut — she’s published non-fiction before and is trained in communication and stress management techniques.

Readers looking for a joyous, fun read will also be pleased.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One
Raphaelle Giordano
July 2018
Penguin Random House Australia

The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart

Amid the Australian Army hospitals of World War I Egypt, two deeply determined individuals find the resilience of their love tested to its limits.

It’s 1911, and 21-year-old Evelyn Northey desperately wants to become a doctor. Her father forbids it, withholding the inheritance that would allow her to attend university. At the outbreak of World War I, Evelyn disobeys her father, enlisting as an army nurse bound for Egypt and the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

Under the blazing desert sun, Evelyn develops feelings for polio survivor Dr William Brent, who believes his disability makes him unfit to marry. For Evelyn, still pursuing her goal of studying medicine, a man has no place in her future. For two such self-reliant people, relying on someone else for happiness may be the hardest challenge of all.

From the casualty tents, fever wards and operating theatres; through the streets of Cairo during Ramadan; to the parched desert and the grim realities of war, Pamela Hart, author of THE WAR BRIDE, tells the heart-wrenching story of four years that changed the world forever.

The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart is a grand love story set during World War I. From 1911 – 1918, we follow headstrong nurse Evelyn Northey as she advances in her medical career and helps treat injured soldiers.

The strength lies in the very believable, detailed information on being a nurse during World War I. It’s very clear how much research went into this book to make sure that the plot was authentic and realistic.

You can really feel the exhaustion and anxiety and tension in those operating wards — the pain and fear that those soldiers felt. You come to understand the pressure placed on doctors and nurses, and the emotional toll on them when they witness injuries, death and amputations.

“Dying men, and men in unendurable pain, call for their mother. Night after night, the calls of ‘Mum…Mam…Mummy…Mama…’ All you could do was hold their hand and whisper gently to them.”

Pamela’s writing is evocative and emotional, allowing the reader to really understand the characters and sympathise for them.

Evelyn is defiant but also trustworthy. She’s compassionate and caring, but she stands up to her controlling father and follows her head and her heart. She knows what she wants, and she knows what’s important to her.

Her father is a very manipulative man, refusing to give her access to her inheritance until she’s thirty. He doesn’t want her to study; he just wants her to work with him. But Evelyn has bigger ideas.

She’s living in a very sexist time in history — it’s a man’s world. But Evelyn is not willing to accept what men tell her to do. She’s career-driven and she doesn’t apologise for that.

“Over the past two weeks the wards had begun emptying, as the casualties stopped coming in and men recovered or were transferred to the rehabilitation facility in Alexandria. The post-surgical ward was only just full, not overflowing, and there was ample space to walk between the beds.”

World War I does not just bring Evelyn injured soldiers, but also fellow nurses who become her friends. They work together over the four years, their paths crossing in many different locations and wards. They share their hopes and their fears, and they form very strong bonds.

Evelyn may not have a strong relationship with her family, but it’s really fantastic to read about her friendship with the other nurses.

“The hospital staff went to the Pyramids properly as a Sunday treat, all the nurses who were off duty. Evelyn rode on a camel (so uncomfortable!) and touched the Sphinx, astonished at its baleful beauty.”

The plot is a little slow and long-winded and perhaps should’ve been edited down. Between Evelyn and William’s many transfers and location changes, I did feel exhausted by the end.

I’d recommend this to historical fiction readers, and romance fans. Anyone with an interest in stories during World War I will love this novel.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.


The Desert Nurse
Pamela Hart
July 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell

At twenty-six, Lillian feels ancient and exhausted. Her marriage to Charles Oberon has not turned out the way she thought it would. To her it seems she is just another beautiful object captured within the walls of Cloudesley, her husband’s Chilterns manor house.

But, with a young step-son and a sister to care for, Lillian accepts there is no way out for her. Then Charles makes an arrangement with an enigmatic artist visiting their home and her world is turned on its head.

Maggie Oberon ran from the hurt and resentment she caused. Half a world away, in Australia, it was easier to forget, to pretend she didn’t care. But when her grandmother, Lillian, falls ill she must head back to Cloudesley. Forced to face her past, she will learn that all she thought was real, all that she held so close, was never as it seemed.

The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell is a compelling story of secrets, betrayals and the consequences of a long-ago summer.

Maggie leaves Australia and returns home to Cloudesley to help her ailing grandmother, and when she learns that her grandmother is in serious debt, she does all she can to save the house. She could sell the land and the property, but she knows how much the manor means to her grandmother. Additionally, Maggie runs into an old boyfriend and she is forced to confront her past.

“She avoids him for two days. Or perhaps he avoids her. Either way, it is a relief not to come upon him in the immediacy of her embarrassing blunder. She busies herself with menus and staffing arrangements.”

The Peacock Summer switches back and forth between Lillian as a young woman in 1955, and Maggie in present day as she tries to restore Cloudesley. Lillian is trapped in an abusive marriage, until she meets the charming and handsome Jack Fincher.

Like many historical fiction novels, The Peacock Summer is a story about lost love, heartache, sacrifice, and family secrets travelling through generations.

“It had become the pattern in their lives: Albie blowing in and out like a leaf on the wind, and the mother she had once known featuring in only the most distant echoes of memories and dreams.”

The cover design of this book is exquisite, and the inside filled with emotion and heartache. The language is evocative and the characters engaging. The lives of Lillian and Maggie do parallel each other and in many ways, they’re similar women.

Both women are flawed. Maggie runs away from difficult decisions, and finds it tough to confront her mistakes, and Lillian always seems to be looking for an excuse not to make a difficult choice, even if it’s the right choice.

Readers will sympathise for both women in the novel, and they’ll find comfort in the close relationships that Hannah has captured. In particular, the relationship between Lillian and her stepson Albie, and of course Maggie and Lillian.

“The further they get from Cloud Green, the more she feels her shoulders relax and her jaw unclench. Away from the flower show, she can feel the mantel of her public self being cast off like a scarf tossed to the wind. It is a relief to be free from the intense scrutiny of the village.”

It’s fascinating to read the timeline from both POV, because it shows you how incorrect someone’s judgment can be. Maggie views Lillian and Charles’ relationship to be one of great, mad love. But she’s misunderstood, and it’s only as we make our way through the novel we realise just how wrong Maggie is. And Maggie realises it too — the pedestal she’d been holding that relationship on was misguided and incorrect.

Despite it being predictable how Lillian and Jack’s relationship would end, I did find myself really invested in their storyline. The mysterious art in the nursery allowed for an element of intrigue and suspense, whilst also putting a timeframe on Lillian and Jack’s love. It made the reader want to keep reading. We could sense the looming deadline, and we want to know how Hannah will deliver the ending.

As hard as I tried, I just wasn’t interested in Maggie’s storyline. She’s a caring granddaughter, desperately trying to hold on to her grandmother’s home. But, I just didn’t connect with her and the scandalous breakup with her ex-boyfriend. I was far more invested in Lillian’s story, and her relationship with the men in the Cloudesley estate.

I’d recommend this to readers of historical fiction. It contains the overused but popular dual timeline of granddaughter and grandmother, and closely kept family secrets, but it’s an interesting and compelling read.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Peacock Summer
Hannah Richell
July 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

The Outsider by Stephen King

When an eleven-year-old boy is found murdered in a town park, reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town’s popular Little League coach, Terry Maitland, as the culprit. DNA evidence and fingerprints confirm the crime was committed by this well-loved family man.

Horrified by the brutal killing, Detective Ralph Anderson, whose own son was once coached by Maitland, orders the suspect to be arrested in a public spectacle. But Maitland has an alibi. And further research confirms he was indeed out of town that day.

As Anderson and the District Attorney trace the clues, the investigation expands from Ohio to Texas. And as horrifying answers begin to emerge, so King’s propulsive story of almost unbearable suspense kicks into high gear.

Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy but there is one rock-hard fact, as unassailable as gravity: a man cannot be in two places at the same time. Can he?

The Outsider by Stephen King is a thriller about the gruesome murder of an eleven year-old boy in America. The novel moves across States, taking the reader from Ohio to Texas. We follow Detective Ralph Anderson as he seeks answers to some pretty impossible questions.

Stephen King captures the reader’s attention right from the first chapter. In the beginning, the novel switches from standard prose to transcript format between detectives and members of society. A little boy has been gruesomely murdered and it’s pretty clear that much-loved Little League coach Terry Maitland is the culprit.

But it is only after Ralph Anderson arrests Terry that doubt starts to descend. Evidence has proven that Terry was away the day the little boy was murdered. But eye witness testimonies also suggest that Terry was in town. So, who really murdered the boy?

The Outsider takes place over a two-week period, covering the arrest of Terry Maitland and the ensuing investigation. There are a cast of characters in this novel, and Stephen King does a masterful job of bringing them to life. Whilst dialogue may not be Stephen King’s strong suit, the characterisation draws the reader in and keeps them intrigued.

Stephen’s novel apparently features characters and references characters from his Hodges Trilogy, but I actually haven’t read those ones so I didn’t pick up on that until I’d completed the novel. If anyone’s wondering, you can read this as a standalone.

“Terry put them out and watched as a new pair of handcuffs was snapped onto his wrists. He looked for Howie, suddenly as anxious as he had been at five, when his mother let go of his hand on his first day of kindergarten.”

My issue with this novel is that Stephen King sets up the storyline to be something of reality. A boy is murdered, and you read the novel thinking someone in the town has committed the crime. However, at least halfway through the novel, supernatural and paranormal elements are thrown into the story and the culprit is something not of this world.

I couldn’t help but feel cheated. With shows like Supernatural, and books of a similar nature, you know straight away that the crime is of a paranormal nature and that the characters will work to find out who or what committed the crime.

However, Stephen King set this up to look like a regular ‘who dunnit’ story. And finding out that the killer is a supernatural creature from a long forgotten legend, you can’t help but feel played. Part of the fun of reading a crime or thriller novel is guessing what you think happened and then reading the novel to find out if you were correct. But finding out near the end that it’s a supernatural, totally-impossible-to-guess creature? It’s a pretty big letdown.

“Was he looking for Mr Maitland specifically, or could it have been anyone? I don’t know for sure, but I think he had Terry Maitland in his sights, because he knew the Maitlands were visiting from another state, far away. The outsider, whether you call him natural or unnatural or supernatural, is like many serial killers in one way. He likes to move around.”

The Outsider is a pretty big investment of a read — 475 pages. Crime and thriller fans will love this novel, but beware that you won’t be able to guess the ending. It’s not the simple ‘crime and prosecution’ that the first half of the novel suggests. There are many twists and turns.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Outsider
Stephen King
June 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

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