JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Bourland

When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of high-concept magazine RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin.

But two months later, a cryptic note in her handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, leading Det. Mark Hutton straight into the glamorous life of hardworking RAGE editor Catherine Ono, who insists on joining the investigation.

Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half-dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturiser that changes their lives forever.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead is The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City meets an episode of Criminal Minds. With a murderous twist and mysterious clues abundant throughout the book, it’s hard not to get sucked into this story and these characters.

The book is really interesting for anyone who doesn’t work in the fashion industry (like me!). I’m sure there are lots of things about this book that are factually inaccurate but at the same time, we read it feeling like we’re gaining an insight into the glamorous world of elite fashion magazines. I imagine Calista Flockhart in the role of Catherine Ono — strong, determined, intelligent, but also gorgeous.

At 11:00am the editors of RAGE Fashion Book filed in and took their places around Margot’s office, each unfolding one of the custom camp stools that were stacked next to the door.
“We are losing our edge.”

I really love love loved this book — the murder mystery was intriguing enough to pull me in, but I stayed for the world that Barbara built. The glamour and the clothes and the characters were amazing and I absolutely devoured this book. Additionally, some parts of the novel are a rampant satire of the fashion industry. Detective Mark Hutton, an outsider, makes generalised comments about the RAGE work environment because of what he thinks it would be like, and he assumes Hillary Whitney died from anorexia when really there are clues to suggest that anorexia was not the cause of death.

“Every weekday morning, as the sun rose above Sixth Avenue, a peerless crop of women —frames poised, behaviour polished, networks connected, and bodies generally buffed to a high sheen — were herded by the cattle prod of their now ambition to on particular building.”

On some level, I think you have to have a particularly keen interest in fashion in order to enjoy this book as much as I did. I don’t work in the fashion industry, nor would I want to. I am also not a model. But there’s something about luxurious fashion magazines that I just love — the editorial layout, the women, the clothes and the feel of the whole thing. I become completely absorbed in that whole world. So for me, I loved reading I’ll Eat When I’m Dead because of my keen interest in where the book is set and all the glamorous women that drive the plot.

Cat is incredibly flawed but also incredibly beautiful (inside and out). She’s bold and brave but also intelligent and driven and passionate and as a reader I admired her.

“Cat’s makeup was indeed literally flawless, her face a perfect mask shellacked to require no photoshop. It was flawless every day now; Cooper sent hair and makeup artists any time she would be expected int eh office or at an event.”

Amongst other things, this book also highlights the reach of social media and how it is affecting print publications. RAGE isn’t doing as well because of their competitors, who happen to be run on an online platform by much younger people.

The murder of Hillary Whitney is the focal point of the novel, and we see this through the POV of Detective Mark Hutton. He’s cute and single, and instantly takes a liking to Catherine Ono. At the beginning, it’s clear that he’s out of his depth. He doesn’t understand the fashion world and he doesn’t understand the cryptic clues that seem to suggest that Hillary Whitney was murdered and didn’t die of her own accord.

“After helping Cat into her building, Hutton caught the train back to Manhattan…Her big brown eyes, both kind and sharp. He’d never met someone so…studied, who was also smart.”

Slowly, he learns to trust Catherine and let her help him solve the case because after all, she’s the one who is already inside that environment. She knows the comings and goings of RAGE and would be able to discover something ‘unusual’ far sooner than Mark could.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead is about a murder, but it’s also about the fashion industry. It’s entertaining, fun, smart and sexy. I highly highly recommend it.

As Kirkus Reviews put it, death by beauty was never so much fun.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead
Barbara Bourland
May 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

Troubadour by Isolde Martyn

Forced to flee the English court after the lecherous King John attacks her, Adela, the queen’s hairbraider, finds employment in the entourage of Lady Alys. Alys is on her way to marry the Lord of Mirascon, a fiefdom in southern France. However, the south is under threat from Pope Innocent III’s military crusade against the heretics.

After trying in vain to rally his fellow lords against invasion, Richart, Vicomte de Mirascon, makes an alliance with King John. A political marriage to the Lady Alys – the king’s discarded mistress – will allow Richart to safeguard his people from a merciless land grab and cruel slaughter.

When the bridal party is ambushed, Adela is mistaken for her dead mistress by the people of Mirascon. Adela knows she must tell Richart that she is not his betrothed, but as she is dragged deeper into the deception, she is also powerfully drawn to the beleaguered man trying to protect his people and his culture. As the savage army marches south, can Richart and Adela overcome a web of deceit and treachery and evade the bonfires of the crusaders, or will their land of troubadours and tolerance be destroyed forever?

At first, this novel is a case of mistaken identity. Adela is mistaken for the dead Lady Alys and finds herself engaged to the one man she’s been hoping to unite with since she met him at the English court: Richart. She’s happy she’s with him, but she desperately wants to tell him the truth. And then quite early on in the novel, Richart finds out for himself. The two are separated. And then it becomes a novel about survival and uncovering betrayal.

Adela is a strong, resilient character, capable of surviving even in the most dire of times. Isolde Martyn has crafted a fantastic protagonist for this book, drawing us in with her plight and her dimensional construct.

“After she had scrubbed the first of Lady Alys’ underskirts, she sat back and drew her hand across her perspiring brow. Her presence had disturbed the stream’s tiny dwellers but now a damselfly clad in iridescent armour returned, then a trio of water skaters came skimming back, anxious to reclaim their manor.”

Troubadour is a lengthy book with plenty of action and plot and underpinned by truly wonderful characters that I loved reading about. I was enthralled throughout the book, eagerly turning each page to keep reading and thoroughly enjoying every chapter. The book is filled with historical information and an engaging cast of characters. This novel has betrayal, love, trickery, and gutsy courage – everything you could want in a historical fiction novel.

Adela and Richart are star characters, as are Maud and the hilarious Derwent. Right from the beginning, you’re backing Adela. You want her to succeed and flourish and you want her to survive. She’s young and naive, but she’s also strong and intelligent and compassionate.

“Adela received him courteously, but she would have preferred to swim a filthy moat rather than describe the massacre again.”

There were a few times in the book that were heavy with historical information and I felt like it was hard to grasp. A lot of the book is based on actual events and so a lot of explaining and information dumping was needed in order for the reader to get the historical significance of what was happening. I did, at times, feel like Isolde could’ve woven the historical information into the book a little more seamlessly so that it wasn’t as confusing and heavy for the reader to understand.

What I loved most about this book is that it’s a standalone, unlike a lot of other epic fantasy books where there are a minimum of six books in the series and it’s a huge investment to keep going. This novel had perfect pacing and was the perfect length to keep me entertained, and the conclusion to the novel was satisfying and engaging. I loved that this was just one novel and not a long-winded series that you had to read to find out the fate of the characters.

I recommend this to fantasy lovers and those of you who love Game of Thrones, but I also recommend this to readers who are perhaps looking to dabble in a bit of fantasy and don’t want to commit to something too heavy. This is a really enjoyable read, and I would highly recommend Isolde Martyn.

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Troubadour
Isolde Martyn
March 2017
Harlequin Publishers

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson

In a tiny two-bed flat above a Turkish café on Neal Street lives Anna Treadway, a young dresser at the Galaxy Theatre.

When the American actress Iolanthe Green disappears after an evening’s performance at the Galaxy, the newspapers are wild with speculation about her fate. But as the news grows old and the case grows colder, it seems Anna is the only person left determined to find out the truth.

Her search for the missing actress will take her into an England she did not know existed: an England of jazz clubs and prison cells, backstreet doctors and seaside ghost towns, where her carefully calibrated existence will be upended by violence but also, perhaps, by love.

Set in London in the 1960s, Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is mostly a mystery novel, with young dresser Anna Treadway taking it upon herself to search for the missing actress Lolanthe Green. It’s quite a clever novel, because it’s actually not just about the disappearance of Lolanthe, but it also an exploration about minorities in London and their experiences in the town.

“You’re sure she ran away?” Helen asked her.
“I have to believe it.”
“From what, though?”
“From us?” Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. Money trouble.”
“Men,” said Rachel.

Through Anna’s detective work, we meet all kinds of characters, including Brennan, Orla and their daughter Gracie. Anna intersects with Leonard, who is gay and is struggling to live with that because it’s illegal. Ottamar is a Turkish cafe owner who is overworked and overly worried about his daughter Samira. She seems to be disconnecting with the family and spending all of her time away from them, and Ottamar worries about what this could mean for the family. Finally, we meet Aloysius, who is well-spoken and is helpful to Anna in her quest to find Lolanthe, but he’s subjected to appalling racism and police brutality because of the colour of his skin.

“Ottmar’s mind drifted free of the assembled group and took him back to Melanippus’ vast living room in Nicosia with its marble floor and long dark leather seats. In a former life he’d written book reviews for a Greek magazine in his native Cyprus. The only Turk on the staff, he’d spent his evenings smoking cigarettes and talking about art and philosophy and life with all the other twenty-somethings who dreamed of flying away to a life of avant-garde delights in Paris or Berlin.”

Miranda has a talent for weaving lots of different characters together and moulding them in the one scene. The reader doesn’t feel confused or unsure of who is talking or who is the focus of the chapter — all the characters blend well together. Miranda has also taken us on a journey through the good and bad parts of history. We’re led through the streets of backdoor abortion and side street racism, but we’re also witnesses to the beautiful familial bond that some of the characters have, and the support that they have for each other. Some of the characters help Anna when she’s in need, and it’s great to see their friendships and relationships form.


“The police had beaten Aloysius and walked away from it. And somehow the overturning of one institution has cast all the rest into doubt. If the police were not what she supposed them to be, were the lawyers, were the priests, were the politicians?”

Miranda has done a wonderful job of capturing 1960s London, with the evocative description of the setting and the cultural relations between the characters. Set in London, we bear witness to the hopes and dreams of people in the arts. Some of them are past their prime and coming to terms with their ageing looks. Some are aware that their skin colour will probably always be a barrier for them in life and that their dreams may be farther than they thought.

“Look out into the darkness,” Lolanthe had told her. “Look out into the darkness and you’ll see them.”

Despite how lyrical and intriguing this story is, I did find my attention waning. I couldn’t help but feel like the story went on tangents and the origin of the novel and the reason we were drawn into the story (the disappearance of ‘Lanny’ Green) got a little lost along the way. Things became a little convoluted, and I got a little bit confused.

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is a novel about fitting in, in a city that’s not very forgiving to outsiders and is not welcoming for newcomers. It’s a tough decade for the characters, and finding Iolanthe Green has plenty of roadblocks. London is filled with casual racism, police brutality, immigration, loneliness and characters dreaming of more.

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars
Miranda Emmerson
January 2017
HarperCollins Publishers

The End of the Day by Claire North

Charlie has a new job. He gets to travel, and he meets interesting people, some of whom are actually pleased to see him.

It’s good to have a friendly face, you see. At the end.

But the end of all things is coming. Charlie’s boss and his three associates are riding out, and it’s Charlie’s job to go before.

Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which.

The End of the Day is an adult fiction novel about The Harbinger of Death, also known as Charlie. He meets everyone — but only once. You might meet him in a hospital, in a warren, or at the scene of a traffic accident. Then again, you might meet him at the North Pole — he gets everywhere, our Charlie. Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which.

You see, Charlie is the person who visits you before Death does. Sometimes it’s because you’re going to die, but sometimes it’s because he needs to gift you something. In one instance, Charlie had to gift someone a helmet. That person then wore the helmet and it was the only thing that kept him alive when he was hit by a car. And so Death passed him on by, no longer needing to collect him.

Charlie learns a lot from his new job as the Harbinger of Death. He sees new places and learns so much about the world — he opens his eyes. He is also sees the horrors of the world. In one part of the book, he is in Africa with a female comedian and a group of men approach them, intending to sexually assault her. They get away, but when Charlie reports it to the police, they pretend it didn’t happen and they make excuses for the man.

“You don’t know much about our country, do you?” breathed the older man, not unkindly. “That’s all right. Not many people do. They talk about this continent — Africa — as if it was one big place, as if your Scotland was the same as Greece. It’s Africa, they say, it’s just how Africa is.”

The End of the Day is quite poetic and lyrical, with shortened sentences and experimentation of punctuation. There are almost 100 chapters in this book, with some chapters only being half a page or less. It allows the reader to go through the book quickly, reading the story in short bursts.

The novel is broken up into nine parts, each separated an even amount. I found this quite useful, because in addition to the chapters, breaking the book up into parts allowed me to easily bookmark where I was up to and come back to it. Each part of the book really focused on a different aspect of Charlie’s life, so if you took some time between reading each part, it wouldn’t matter. You’d still be able to follow what was happening.

“A man lay on the ice.
He lay like one sleeping, a peaceful child, his knees tucked in, his head resting on his hands, his eyes closed. He was, Charlie was absolutely certain, dead.”

Charlie forms his own questions on his journey. What is death? Why is death? What role does he really play in death? A few times in the novel, Charlie is kidnapped and asked those questions. He can’t really answer, because he’s still struggling to understand it himself.

The End of the Day is a novel to be savoured — the writing is beautiful and the characterisation thick with layers. There’s definitely more at play here. The book is making a comment on the world, and the rapid decline of it. The book is making a social commentary about all the different aspects of the world and all the things that impact it negatively, from Death to War to Pestilence to Famine. There’s a Harbinger for all of them, and Charlie crosses paths with them too in the novel.

“Rock far rock far
still far
near now?
near yet far
the ice roars the ice is breaking the ice is breaking beneath your feet walk and
a thundering behind, the world growing short again, the collapse chasing them as they moved”

I really loved this novel, but it is an investment for readers. It’s long and it requires a fair bit extra to unpack it — more than your usual fiction novel. Read this if you love your literary fiction. Read this is if you’re looking for something that’s just a little bit different (in both plot and writing structure).

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The End of the Day
Claire North
April 2017
Hachette Publishers

Her Mother’s Secret by Natasha Lester

1918, England. Armistice Day should bring peace into Leonora’s life. Rather than secretly making cosmetics in her father’s chemist shop to sell to army nurses such as Joan, her adventurous Australian friend, Leo hopes to now display her wares openly. Instead, Spanish flu arrives in the village, claiming her father’s life.

Determined to start over, she boards a ship to New York City. On the way she meets debonair department store heir Everett Forsyth . . . In Manhattan, Leo works hard to make her cosmetics dream come true, but she’s a woman alone with a small salary and a society that deems make-up scandalous.

1939, New York City. Everett’s daughter, Alice, a promising ballerina, receives a mysterious letter inviting her to star in a series of advertisements for a cosmetics line. If she accepts she will be immortalized like dancers such as Zelda Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Ginger Rogers. Why, then, are her parents so quick to forbid it?

Her Mother’s Secret is a historical fiction novel set in America in the early 1900s. Leo’s father has recently died and she’s boarded a ship to NYC to start over. She dreams that her cosmetic creations will be stocked in department stores. She’s crafted lipsticks, glosses and mascaras and despite judgement and scolding, she knows that beautiful, glamorous makeup is what women will want.

Prior to boarding the ship, Leo meets Everett Forsyth. He’s gorgeous, captivating and the two of them share one night together. But then Leo meets Everett’s fiancé, and any hope she had of the two of them being together is lost. Leo realises that even though they may be soulmates and he may be the love of her life, she needs to venture out on her own. The two of them part ways.

“Leo searched for the right words to describe her encounter with Everett. He was the first man who’d kissed her with passion, open-mouthed; the first man who’d brought her body fully to life. The first man who’d made her understand what love was. But she couldn’t say that.”

Natasha Lester’s writing style is accessible and easy to read. The characters are inviting and relatable, and we are engaged throughout the entire book. Leo is strong, smart and determined, but she is forced to fight society’s perception of her and society’s gender inequality. Despite being set in the early 1900s, this inequality can definitely still be found in the world today. It was humbling to read about someone who carved her own future despite all the odds being stacked against her.

“So Leo does have something of value.”
“Besides a propensity to sleep with men she shouldn’t,” Faye bit back.
“Didn’t you once say you’d followed a rake to England? I assume you didn’t just hold his hand,” Leo said.

Despite some of the characters being incredibly flawed, Natasha has put together an ensemble cast that compliment each other and really help drive the story. I really sympathised for Leo, who had to work so hard and who had to compromise with other people who didn’t really work hard at all. But, despite this, Leo forms a strong bond with two other women: Jia and Lottie. Together they plan and create the products. They’re not just Leo’s colleagues — they’re her friends. The two of them help Leo through some really tough times, and it was great to see their friendship grow over the course of the novel.

“The salon opened its doors in September 1920. On that day, Leo stood in the main room with Jia and Lottie, eyeing what they’ve done, feeling so proud.”

The factual events in the book highlight Natasha’s research, for example Elizabeth Arden and the Red Door Studio. There is also a lot of information about how Leo makes her cosmetics and the chemistry and science behind them. It’s actually really interesting and intriguing if you don’t know anything about it (like me!) and getting a glimpse into all this behind-the-scenes information was my favourite part of the book (as well as the romance, of course!).

Natasha has crafted a really glamorous, envious setting for most of the book. The people that Leo meets and the connections she makes opens her up to a lot of opportunities she didn’t otherwise have. Yes, she goes through her fair share of struggles but she also paves her own way through a very elite and glamorous group of wealthy people. She’s also a very intelligent woman with a very strategic mind.

Her Mother’s Secret is fun, fabulous and bold. The characters are wonderful, and they make the story pop. I loved this book so much that upon finishing it, I immediately went and bought Natasha’s previous book A Kiss from Mr. Fitzgerald. There have been very few books that I’ve adored so much that I’ve gone and bought backlist without a second thought.

Natasha was inspired to write the book after working as the marketing manager for the head office of L’Oreal. If you want to know more, Natasha has written a fantastic blog post series on her website about writing this book. I highly recommend you give it a read HERE.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Her Mother’s Secret
Natasha Lester
April 2017
Hachette Publishers

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