JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

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 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

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Victory comes at a price.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power… for all will be tested, but not all will survive.

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard is the fourth and final book in the Red Queen series, bringing the saga to a thrilling and tense conclusion.

Clocking in at 647 pages, War Storm is an epic finale full of politics, war, schemes and new allies. The pacing wavers, but the characters are fleshed out and the tension is high. If you love this series then it’s definitely worth reading War Storm because all of the loose ends are tied up and all narratives concluded.

I’ve recently created a new rule for myself when it comes to YA series, and that’s ‘I will not go back and re-read’. I pick up the sequel and start reading, and eventually I remember what happened in the previous book.

I did that with War Storm and I found it rather easy to jump back into the series, and slowly, all of the events of the previous books came flooding back to me.

“The mountains in the distance loom closer with every passing second. They look more like a wall than any mountains I’ve ever seen. Fear tries to eat at my resolve, but I don’t let it. Instead I narrow my eyes and sharpen my focus on the task at hand, leaving little room for anything else.”

Mare has definitely matured over the course of the series, and I found her internal thoughts to be much more consistent with her characterisation. She’s smart, savvy and she’s strategic.

Evangeline is probably my favourite character in the book, because you feel sympathetic towards her and so you feel emotionally invested in her storyline.

I also think the characterisation of Iris is fantastic — she’s a total badass. She puts herself first and even though she has no regard for anyone other than her family; she really helps propel the story forward and keep the reader guessing.

“The interior fort is an experiment in chaos. By now Cal will have begun his own assault, marching his battalion up and out of the tunnel system Harbor Bay is built on. It is an old city, well preserved through the ages, with deep and twisting roots. The Scarlet Guard knows them all.”

The plot is a little chaotic in the book, so you aren’t too sure where it’s headed. It’s a really long read, and the story drawn out. I think the pacing could’ve been tightened in the middle of the book, because I did feel really exhausted by the time I reached the end of the novel.

In saying that, the conclusion did feel a little rushed and quiet. I was expecting a big showdown between Cal and Maven, but after hundreds of pages of slow pacing, the final conflict in the book wrapped up rather quickly.

“The snarl of transports echoes outside the holding bunker. The soldiers must have returned, and I wonder if they managed to track down anyone in the swamps. The noise filters through the high windows cut into the concrete slab walls. The room is cool, partially underground, bisected by a long aisle dividing two rows of barred cells.”

When sequels come out so far apart, it’s hard to remember everything and if you choose not to go back and re-read like me, then you feel like you’re treading water for 100 pages just trying to remember what’s been going on up until the start of the book.

Readers will only pick this up if they’ve read the first three books in a series, but I would recommend this series to young readers who love fantasy books. Now that the series is complete, you can pick up all of the books and read everything closely together.

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

War Storm
Victoria Aveyard
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland

We all expect our friendships from childhood to last forever…

Libby and Kit have been best friends ever since the day 11-year-old Kit bounded up to Libby’s bedroom window. They’ve seen each other through first kisses, bad break-ups and everything in-between. It’s almost 20 years since Libby moved to Sydney, but they’ve remained close, despite the distance and the different paths their lives have taken.

So when Libby announces she’s moving back to Melbourne, Kit is overjoyed. They’re best friends – practically family – so it doesn’t matter that she and Libby now have different…well, different everything, actually, or so it seems when they’re finally living in the same city again. Or does it?

The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland is a candid novel about the complexities of female friendship. This is a multi-layered story that also explores marriage, careers, parenting, domestic violence and relationships. All of the characters in the novel are flawed, just like people in the real world.

Libby’s life changed direction when she got married and had a son. Her painting has taken a backseat in her life, and her focus has been redirected towards her son Harry and his upbringing.

But now Harry is grown up and in high school, and her husband Cam has been offered a new job in Melbourne. Libby is hesitant about moving, but the perks of the job are impressive. And Cam is a persistent — and in my opinion, controlling — man. And so they move, and Libby is once again living in close proximity to her best friend Kit.

Libby struggles to fit in with the new neighbourhood of Arcadia Lakes — it’s got a very Stepford Wives feel. The men work and the women take care of the children and the home, and it’s hard for Libby to adjust to and it’s also hard for Kit to witness. She’s a bold, outspoken woman who is not afraid to tell Libby what she really thinks. This causes a lot of friction between the women, and cracks start to appear in their once-solid friendship.

This review copy came with a personal note from Lisa, explaining why she wrote the book. Essentially, it’s about what happens when childhood friends grow up.

Plenty of female readers will find the friendship between Libby and Kit incredibly relatable. I’ve got a couple of friends who I’ve known since childhood and we’re still really close today. But I often wonder, if I met them right now, would we be as close? We’re really different and our lives have taken different paths, so I think not. But we share that history together. Those personal jokes and hilarious stories. We have spent decades together, and even though we may not have as much in common anymore, that doesn’t mean we’re not still very close. Female friendship is a complicated beast, and Lisa Ireland captures it really well.

“Coming today had been a mistake. She’d thought spending the day with Libby would be fun. She’d thought it would take her mind off the fact that it was the first time in her life she would be completely without family on Christmas Day.”

I was concerned about the characterisation of Libby’s husband, Cam. In the first half of the novel, I hated him. I found him controlling and manipulative, not really wanting to listen to Libby’s opinion but completely talking over the top of her and dismissing her feelings as unnecessary. In fact, I thought that this novel would explore the breakdown of their marriage just because of how he was portrayed in the beginning of the novel.

“A jolt of anger flashed through her. No wonder things had been great between Cam and her this past month or so. He was getting everything he wanted. Now that she wanted something the pendulum was swinging back the other way.”

And then, rather quickly, Cam becomes a decent guy. He talks sense into Libby and he’s rational and understanding? This felt rather abrupt to me. He was so selfish in the beginning, and the guy in the second half of the novel seemed like a completely different character. Normally, this could be put down to character development, but the novel really isn’t about him. And his change in personality seems so abrupt that it’s not believable.

“Why the hell had she gone there? Even as the question formed in her mind she knew what the answer was. Because she’d wanted to hurt her, that was why. Kit’s words about Harry had stung and she’d retaliated with a barb designed to inflict as much pain as possible.”

This book will appeal to women who have reached a certain point in their lives — they’ve drifted away from old friends, they’ve made new ones, or perhaps they’re trying to do both and maybe it’s working and maybe it’s not. Sometimes you just can’t stay friends with the same people your entire life. You change. They change. It’s life. Anyone who knows what that’s like will really relate to the characters in The Art of Friendship.

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

The Art of Friendship
Lisa Ireland
May 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers Australia

A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Powers

Following his hugely celebrated debut novel, The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers returns to the battlefield and its aftermath, this time in his native Virginia, just before and during the Civil War and ninety years later.

The novel pinpoints with unerring emotional depth the nature of random violence, the necessity of love and compassion, and the fragility and preciousness of life. It will endure as a stunning novel about what we leave behind, what a life is worth, what is said and unsaid, and the fact that ultimately what will survive of us is love.

Set in Virginia during the Civil War and a century beyond, A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Powers is a novel about the brutal legacy of violence and exploitation in American society. At its core, the novel explores power and love.

There are two narrative threads in the novel. The first storyline is set in the 1860s before, during and after the American Civil War. It centres on the Beauvais Plantation and two slaves — Rawls and Nurse. They work for Lucy Reid and her husband Bob, and Rawls has already had his feet ‘docked’ by his previous owner. Rawls falls in love with Nurse, and when she is sold off to a cruel and volatile new owner, Rawls sets off to find her. This storyline then shifts and focuses on the marriage between Emily Reid and Antony Levallois. Their union is not passionate or filled with love. Instead, Emily is young and impressionable and Antony is cruel and unpredictable.

The second storyline is set one century later in 1956 and follows 90-year-old George Seldom — Nurse’s son — as he traces history in an effort to find out where he came from and what happened to his mother.

I don’t think the transition between the two storylines was seamless. At times, Kevin switches between each period so quickly that it jolts the reader and forces them to feel separated from the book.

“He did remember voices in the woods, a noise like rolls of thunder coming sharply and in quick succession. There were cries of pain, too, and a man who only called him ‘friend’ tucking him papooselike into a great gray overcoat against the cold.”

Kevin Power has real control of prose, writing poetic sentences and beautiful imagery and trapping the reader with his masterful use of words and dialogue. I fell in love with the way he weaved sentences together, overcome by how each paragraph flowed.

“He sat bolt upright, spat from the paralysed terror of the void back into a simple, remorseless summer night on earth. His breathing was out of control, shallow and quick. He tried to raise himself up out of the mud only to collapse back into it face-first.”

Unfortunately, I struggled to understand what the reader was supposed to take away from this novel. What are we supposed to feel? Understand? Know? Want to know? The writing was beautiful and the characters intriguing, but I couldn’t help but feel the overall message or purpose of the novel was lost to me.

“Of course Nurse knew. And she did not care what people said, except for the fact that new words being said can sometimes create a new record to measure deeds against.”

I recommend this to lovers of historical fiction — the kind of historical fiction that’s set in the deep south of America during periods of War, not the kind of historical fiction that’s about love or romance. Fans of Westerns will also love this style of storytelling, and the characters within the pages.

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

A Shout in the Ruins
Kevin Powers
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

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