JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

A Hero in France by Alan Furst

A Hero in France by Alan Furst is a riveting thriller set during the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris. Alan Furst is a master espionage writer, but this is the first novel of his I’ve read.

Taking place in 1941, Mathieu is the leader of the French Resistance and helps downed British airmen escape back to England. He is highly intelligent, wary, methodical and organised, and his ring of associates together help fight the Nazis during the war. Aiding Mathieu as part of his covert network are Lisette, a seventeen-year-old student and courier; Max de Lyon, an arms dealer turned nightclub owner; Chantal, a woman of class and confidence; Daniel, a Jewish teacher fueled by revenge; Joëlle, who falls in love with Mathieu; and Annemarie, a willful aristocrat with deep roots in France, and a desire to act.

This book contains sections, not chapters, and each section switches between focus characters. For a couple of pages, Mathieu will be the focus character, weaving through underground drains to save British pilots stranded in Europe. And then the section will switch focus to one of his lovers, or helpers, or pilots, or associates, and this new angle provides a different element to the story that is both enlightening and intriguing.

The novel travels between farmhouses, barns and churches of the French countryside, all housing people that are determined to take down the occupying forces of Adolf Hitler. Mathieu is their leader, and he solves hurdles and complications with ease and efficiency.

A Hero In France is fast-paced with slow building suspense and a fantastic plot. Alan writes with as few words as possible, allowing the reader to join the dots themselves and use their imagination. He encapsulates one of the classic writing rules: show don’t tell. Alan captures the time period perfectly with historical accuracy and realistic characters.

As the novel progresses, a new threat develops. A spy is tasked with infiltrating the French Resistance to capture Mathieu and his associates, and their lives all start to intersect. I recommend this novel to all readers interested in thrillers and crime novels. It requires some concentration and some prior knowledge of the French Resistance to fully enjoy the story.

Thank you to Hachette for sending me a review copy of this book.

Who’s That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane

What’s the one thing you DON’T do at a wedding? Kiss the groom!

What a gloriously enjoyable story with a dash of Bridget Jones and a pinch of a Hugh Grant rom com.

Edie is secretly in love with her colleague Jack, and they’re caught kissing at his wedding. She’s distraught, confused, humiliated, and she escapes back home to Nottingham to escape all of the online hatred towards her. She can’t go back to work because Jack’s wife – who has forgiven Jack – also works there, and Edie is in the minority. She’s shunned and her boss forces her to work out of the office.

Jack keeps on going with his life claiming innocence, because Edie is apparently the only person to blame for the kiss. To take her mind off the situation, Edie takes a job as a ghost-writer on an autobiography for hot new acting talent, Elliot Owen.

This book is witty, creative, unique and hilarious. The dialogue between Edie and her family is thoroughly enjoyable, and the budding romance between her and Elliot is wonderful. It is only after Edie spends time bonding with her family and overcoming any issues they have that Edie comes to understand who she is and what she wants. She grows a backbone, understands what her feelings for her colleague are, and she begins to stand up for herself. Edie comes to know what she is worth and evolves over the course of the novel.

Mhairi illustrates the effects of gossip and social media and how it affects people, but she also uses Edie’s mistakes to illustrate her need to discover her own identity. Edie needs to return to her roots to pull herself together and grow and mature. She is vulnerable, kind, bold and hilarious, and she is a fantastic protagonist. The romance between her and Elliot was subtle but also enjoyable.

Who’s that Girl is a long novel, but a rewarding one. It’s light-hearted but has moments of heartbreak and seriousness, but those moments are reprieved with a quick pace and unique plot points and sarcastic remarks between characters.

The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern


A forgotten childhood. A discovered life.
What if you only had one day to find out who you really were?

When Sabrina Boggs stumbles upon a mysterious collection of her father’s possessions, she discovers a truth where she never knew there was a lie. The familiar man she grew up with is suddenly a stranger to her.

The Marble Collector is the latest adult fiction novel from Cecilia Ahern, with lyrical prose and seamlessly woven transitions between past and present that is reminiscent of some of her earlier work.

The Marble Collector follows Sabrina Boggs, a young woman who discovers a box of marbles that belonged to her father Fergus. Both she and her mother, who has been divorced from her father for over a decade, didn’t even know that Fergus played marbles. A few of the expensive marbles from the box are missing, and so begins a quest for Sabrina to uncover information about Fergus’ past and track down the missing marbles. She uncovers stories, people and memories from his past and learns things about him that she never knew and doesn’t understand.

The chapters in the novel alternate between Sabrina’s present and Fergus’ past. Cecilia explores Fergus’ childhood, his discovery of marbles, his love for the game, his heartbreaking childhood, and his need to hide his hobby from his wife and child.

Through the two parallel storylines, Cecilia explores the doubts and heartbreak that plagues not only Sabrina’s life but also casts a shadow on her father’s life. The Marble Collector is thought-provoking and beautifully written and illustrates that shining a light on someone else can help you truly understand yourself. Sabrina begins to confront her own doubts and her own marital issues only after discovering that her father had similar problems when he was younger.

This book had a certain type of melancholic atmosphere to it – Sabrina’s frayed disconnect with both of her parents is jolting but a little devastating. And her father’s childhood is filled with guilt and mistakes but also innocence and naivety. The relationship between Fergus and his siblings allows the reader to reminisce about their own childhood and their own relationship with their family.

This isn’t a fast-paced book – it progresses gradually. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The book is wonderfully written and should be savoured and not rushed. I recommend this to readers both young and old. The parallel timelines allow readers to relate to different characters in the book, whilst also being intrigued and interested in the different storylines.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes


Me Before You is a heartbreaking novel and the cause of devastated readers everywhere. There’s no doubt that the film adaptation, which is being released this month, will leave viewers feeling the same way.

The protagonist of this novel is Lou Clark, who is confident, sassy, bold and very knowledgeable. She has lived in the same small town her whole life and has rarely travelled, and that has worked out well for her. But when she loses her job and when it becomes increasingly obvious to her that she is no longer in love with her boyfriend Patrick, she becomes a little lost. And then she takes up a new job caring for Will Traynor, a paraplegic whose motorcycle accident took away his desire to live.

This book is devastating, not just because of Will’s accident and the difficult time that he’s having with his disability, but because of how Will’s accident has affected his family and his friends and how his disability affects his relationship with Lou.

Me Before You is a slow burner. You get snippets of Will Traynor for the first half of the book but you are overloaded with Lou’s life – her boyfriend, her parents, her sister, her career, and the expectations that her family put on her to help them survive with the little money that they are all earning. She’s lost but she doesn’t realise it. She’s unhappy but she masks it.

And then, halfway through the novel, Lou and Will’s characters start to blend. Their characters begin to understand more about themselves. They both grow and adapt to their situation. Lou distracts herself by being determined to turn Will’s life around, but the reader becomes increasingly aware that Will won’t change. He won’t make the most of his situation and that’s not because he doesn’t want to, but because he can’t. It’s not who he is. He used to love adventure and travel – the opposite of Lou – and she can’t convince him that he still has a life worth living.

They both learn from each other and they both grow as characters. And chapter by chapter, the reader comes to understand their motivations, fears, worries and their doubts simply by how they interact. And the closer Lou and Will get, the clearer it becomes that even though they’re well suited for each other, Will’s permanent disability will stop anything from eventuating.

I highly recommend this book. Yes, it’s sad. But Lou is a wonderful character and she propels the story forward with her wit and her charm and her light. She makes for a great story, and during those brief moments in the story where there is hope and optimism, it’s enjoyable and rewarding for the reader.

Lily and the Octopus by Stephen Rowley

Lily and the Octopus is such a sweet tale. It’s quite heartbreaking and melancholic, but it’s beautifully written and the prose weaves together effortlessly to create an enjoyable story.

This book is about the strong bond between the main character, Ted Flask, and his dog Lily. Unfortunately, there is an octopus growing in Lily’s head. And no, not a real octopus. A tumour. Ted merely refers to it as an octopus so that Lily won’t get upset. And perhaps on some level, he can’t accept it himself. He doesn’t want to admit to himself that Lily could die. Ted is a sympathetic, caring character. In fact, he cares the most for Lily. Even when we read flashbacks from his earlier life, the reader can see that Ted has always put Lily first, before family and relationships. He’s a relatable character in these instances. He’s not a perfect character. He has flaws. But through his relationship with Lily, the reader sees his empathetic and caring side, and we come to understand him.

Lily and the Octopus highlights the bond that humans can have with pets, and the emotional heartache it can cause when that pet isn’t well. Lily’s octopus will not go away, and it starts to take control over Lily’s brain. It even speaks to Ted and has its own distinct, snarky voice that the reader dislikes. Lily becomes less Lily and more the nasty octopus taking control over the dog’s body.

Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love a pet and how difficult it can be to let go. Stephen Rowley’s book also reminds us how devastating it can be to accept that you’re going to outlive that pet. This book is at times heartbreaking but at times funny and adventurous and uplifting. Stephen has written this story with flowing prose and lots of imagery and metaphors, so that it feels somewhat fantastical. This book takes you on a journey, and it is quite magnificent.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for supplying me with a review copy.