JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Champagne War by Fiona McIntosh

In the summer of 1914, vigneron Jerome Méa heads off to war, certain he’ll be home by Christmas. His new bride Sophie, a fifth generation champenoise, is determined to ensure the forthcoming vintages will be testament to their love and the power of the people of Épernay, especially its strong women. But as the years drag on, authorities advise that Jerome is missing, considered dead.

When poison gas is first used in Belgium by the Germans, British chemist Charles Nash jumps to enlist. After he is injured, he is brought to Reims, where Sophie has helped to set up an underground hospital to care for the wounded. In the dark, ancient champagne cellars, their stirring emotions take them both by surprise.

While Sophie battles to keep her vineyard going through the bombings, a critical sugar shortage forces her to strike a dangerous bargain with an untrustworthy acquaintance – but nothing will test her courage more than the news that filters through to her about the fate of her heroic Jerome.

Set during World War I, Fiona McIntosh’s The Champagne War is a sweeping saga about lost love, legacy, survival and and of course, champagne. Set amongst the gorgeous sun-kissed vineyards of rural France, and the tumultuous battle grounds in Belgium, Fiona’s latest novel follows a newly married couple torn apart by war.

This is my first time reading a Fiona McIntosh book, which is a little baffling considering how much I love historical fiction. The premise is exactly the kind of read I knew I’d love, and I was not disappointed.

Fiona’s prose is delectable. Written in third person, Fiona captures each character’s voice and personality with ease. Dialogue is rich and realistic, and the pacing maintains consistency throughout. Setting is a huge part of the book, like most historical fiction. Fiona guides you through France and Europe, exploring the different facets of the war and how people in different locations were affected by the fighting.

“In the time she’d stood here, how many men had been hit by bullets? How many men had died from artillery? Or shrapnel wounds? A new battle was now raging in Belgium. Flanders was aflame again, and the French soldiers were bogged in trenches alongside their allies.”

At its core, The Champagne War is a love story between Sophie and Jerome. It’s about hope and perseverance, and the strive that one has to return home to their loved ones. But The Champagne War is also about Sophie’s independence and determination to continue managing her vineyards even during such a tumultuous time. She’s a wealthy woman, and intelligent, and even during the war she works hard to produce the champagne she loves so much. Even if it means striking a bargain with someone she despises.

The Champagne War highlights the far-reaching effects of war and its unfortunate soldiers. It’s not just about the men on the battle grounds — it’s also their family and friends, their loved ones, and their children. How must they go about their lives when war is raging? When they’ve lost someone they care about? Sophie spends many years in disbelief that Jerome has died in battle. She fights for evidence. She fights for the truth. But when the gorgeous Charlie crosses her path, and she feels attraction towards him, she feels deep guilt. She feels like she’s abandoning her husband, even though he’s been gone for many years. How many other women felt like this?

“Sophie let out a sighing breath and forced herself to stand, shake out her tense shoulders, and move on to another task. She knew the time was fast approaching to let Jerome go, let him live on in her memory…through his vines and the champagne with which she would honour him.”

The presence of champagne and its significance in the book adds a bountiful joy to the story. It’s clear that a lot of research went into writing this book, from the locations to the war, to the details around growing, bottling, and producing champagne amidst all that chaos. Fiona brings authenticity to the novel, and readers will appreciate all the insights into the vineyards and the champagne.

“The woman in front of Sophie looked over her shoulder and caught her attention. For over two hours they had been riddling the champagne bottles, angled into the shelves they called pupitres. It needed focused diligence to carefully turn thousands of bottles one eights forwards from yesterday’s position.”

Recommended for fans of historical fiction, romance, and sweeping sagas tracking generations. Readership skews female, 20+

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

The Champagne War
Fiona McIntosh
November 2020
Penguin Random House Publishers

The Two Lost Mountains by Matthew Reilly

Against all the odds, Jack West Jr found the Three Secret Cities but at a heartbreaking cost. His beloved daughter Lily, it appeared, was slaughtered by Sphinx in a cruel ancient ritual.

With his rivals far ahead of him, Jack must now get to one of the five iron mountains – two of which have never been found – and perform a mysterious feat known only as ‘The Fall’.

Although what is this object on the moon that is connected to it?

Amid all this, Jack will discover that a new player has entered the race, a general so feared by the four legendary kingdoms they had him locked away in their deepest dungeon.

Only now this general has escaped and he has a horrifying plan of his own…

Matthew Reilly’s The Two Lost Mountains is the sixth and second-last novel in the Jack West series, a rollicking, fast-paced, energised adventure series for adults.

In The Two Lost Mountains, the penultimate book in the series, Captain Jack West undertakes tasks and quests to hunt the labyrinth. Additionally, when the villain Sphinx steals the Siren bells that have disastrous effect on locals, Jack West races against the clock to defeat an unstoppable enemy force.

This latest installment will please loyal fans of the series. You’ll once again meet the familiar cast of characters you’ve come to love in the previous five books, and once again Matthew Reilly has thrust them into a high-intensity environment that tests their resolve.

“Jack wanted to retrieve some ancient texts and files he kept in a bio-secure vault there. In particular, he was after a collection of documents related to his very first mission with Lily, the one involving the Great Pyramid at Giza and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.”

Readers will find themselves enthralled by the well-researched, rich history of the story, as well as the unpredictable twists on ancient mythology.

Stylistically, the plot maintains the interest of the reader. The dialogue is consistently realistic and relatable, the surprises unforeseen, and with each passing chapter the reader will find themselves enraptured by the storytelling.

“Moving quickly by the light of a small flashlight, he wended his way down several dark passageways, moving ever deeper into the ancient prison until at last he came to the innermost dungeon of the whole ghastly place.”

Admittedly, the pacing in The Two Lost Mountains could’ve benefited from being slower at times. A lot of scenes are truncated and punchy, and everything races along so fast that there’s not always enough description or details. You don’t always need this, but the novel would’ve helped to have a bit more of this embedded within.

“Lily saw the reactions immediately. A garbage truck beneath her veered off the road and slammed into a building. Cars collided on the ring road. The buses on the boulevards crashed into light poles, traffic lights and shopfronts. Lily watched in helpless horror.”

Fans of this series will be satisfied with the last installment. Now all we have to do is wait for the final one.

Recommended for fans of thriller, mystery, action and adventure. Readership skews male 14+.

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

The Two Lost Mountains
Matthew Reilly
October 2020
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Strange things are happening in Nevermoor…

Morrigan Crow faces her most dangerous challenge yet in her latest Wundrous adventure. The highly anticipated third book in the award-winning Nevermoor series from one of Australia’s best selling and most loved authors.

Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to master the mysterious Wretched Arts of the Accomplished Wundersmith, and control the power that threatens to consume her.

But a strange illness has taken hold of Nevermoor, turning its peaceable Wunimals into mindless, vicious unnimals on the hunt. As victims of the Hollowpox multiply, panic spreads. And with the city she loves in a state of fear, Morrigan quickly realises it is up to her to find a cure for the Hollowpox, even if it will put her – and the rest of Nevermoor – in more danger than ever before . . .

The third book in Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor series, Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow is a highly anticipated read for children and adults alike.

When Morrigan and her friends return to The Wundrous Society, a devastating illness starts spreading through Nevermoor. No one knows where it came from, how it’s spreading so fast, or how to cure it. And every passing week, it’s claiming more and more victims…the plot feels eerily similar to the state of the world right now, that’s for sure.

Small note: I’m still not entirely sure what “The Hunt for Morrigan Crow” is referring to. The hunt for the cure? The hunt for the illness? Unsure. Quite odd.

“Today, though, they’d mostly been Jupiter-watching — partly for entertainment, and partly out of a genuine concern for his safety. He’d gone a bit mad on tinsel, carols and eggnog, and Jack was worried that his uncle’s Christmas spirit had risen to such dizzying heights that he just might…burst a valve, or something.”

The strengths in the book are similar to what I loved in the previous books — the quirky and loveable Jupiter North, the hilarious banter between Morrigan’s friends (but hardly ever Morrigan – she’s not a very funny character), and the unique world that is Nevermoor.

Morrigan is just as determined and independent in book three as she was in the previous two reads. Like a lot of children’s novels, she’s surrounded by adults who don’t seem to be overly transparent. She has insight into the dreaded Hollowpox but no one will listen to her, and she just wants to help. Morrigan takes it upon herself to uncover the truth about the illness, and work to stop it before it claims too many unsuspecting victims.

“One by one the group members were called on and ran eagerly to the front, where they showed off an eclectic, extraordinary range of skills. One plucked a shadow from the wall and draped himself in it like a cape of darkness. Another made a collection of three-dimensional, glowing, brightly coloured shapes seemingly from nothing, and sent them dancing through the air in formation.”

Admittedly, Hollowpox has me conflicted. On the one hand, it’s quick and witty, fun and energetic, with the same cast of familiar characters we’ve loved since book one. On the other hand, the plot in this book seems fairly slow and, I’ll dare admit, a little boring.

It felt like quite some time before the dreaded Hollowpox thread started weaving its way into the story, and even when it dominated the novel, I never really felt like it was as enthralling as I anticipated. Most of the characters infected with Hollowpox were characters we weren’t that close to, so I didn’t feel much of an emotional investment in their sudden ailment.

The plot also felt a little over the place. We weave in and out of the illness so much that the stakes didn’t feel heightened enough. Plus, a significant element of the book is Morrigan developing her powers but at quite a slow rate, so the magical and mythical elements feel a little diluted by the end.

Truthfully, I felt like Hollowpox fell flat compared with its two predecessors.

“A Red Alert Tricksy Lane meant high-danger trickery and likelihood of damage to person on entry. Morrigan had to make a choice: risk unknown danger down a Tricksy Lane, or the absolute certain danger that when her body tired out, she would be mauled by a vicious nine-foot bearwun with claws the size of pocketknives.”

I’m still going to keep reading the series. I’ve already read these first three books and I believe in the world that Jessica Townsend has created. Just hoping the plot of the next book is a little more enrapturing.

Recommended for readers aged 10+

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

Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow
Jessica Townsend
October 2020
Hachette Book Publishers

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Dawn Edelstein knows everything there is to know about dying. She specialises in helping her clients make peace with the end of their lives. But as she’s flying home from her latest case, she is forced to confront her own mortality for the first time.

Instead of seeing her brilliant quantum physicist husband and their beloved daughter flash before her eyes in what she assumes are her last moments, only one face is shockingly clear: Wyatt Armstrong.

Safely on the ground, Dawn now faces a desperate decision. Should she return to Boston, her family and the life she knows, or journey back to an Egyptian archaeological site she left over a decade earlier, reconnect with Wyatt, and finally finish her abandoned magnum opus, The Book of Two Ways?

As the story unfolds, Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly answered: What does a life well-lived look like? When we depart this earth, what do we leave behind of ourselves? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

Another book that delves into human morality and the intricacies of life, Jodi Picoult’s latest novel The Book of Two Ways explores the power of choices, destiny, and the temptation of exploring another path.

When Dawn survives a plane crash, the experience prompts her to flee to Egypt to reconnect with her long lost love, temporarily abandoning her husband and daughter in the process.

The chronology of the book is, at times, incredibly confusing. It moves between Egypt, where Dawn is reconnecting with her ex-boyfriend, and the present, after Dawn has returned home to Boston and is living through a stale and forced marriage with quantum physicist Brian. But, scattered throughout, there are also flashbacks to much further in the past, when Dawn was a graduate student in Egyptology and falling in love, when her mother died unexpectedly and she had to quit her career and her relationship in order to take care of her thirteen-year-old brother Kieran.

Truthfully, there was quite a fair chunk of time where I couldn’t work out whether the Egypt timeline was in the past, or in the present and therefore perhaps the Boston storyline was the past. Perhaps this was deliberate, but it was still quite the confusing read.

“Here’s the insane thing about resuming your old life when it’s nearly ended: it is business as usual. Your heart may be broken, your nerves may be shattered, but the trash needs to be taken out. Groceries must be bought. You have to fill your car with gas. People still depend on you.”

Fans of Jodi Picoult will recognise themes from her earlier works — parenthood, obligation, motherhood, the limits of love, and the complex, multi-layered nature of a relationship. At times, it’s hard to know which man we want Dawn to choose, but this book is so much more than that.

There’s a lot of death in it — a lot. Dawn now works as a death doula, helping people organise the perfect death, and she’s confronted with mortality everyday. Readers can’t help but contemplate their own life choices, and perhaps you’ll be left wondering how your life might’ve been different if you made different decisions. It’s a beast of a theme to tackle in a book, incredibly high-concept, but I think Jodi does it quite well.

“Even without looking, I can feel him staring at me. The air feels heavier. And then, as if someone has broken the glass of a window during an inferno, I can suddenly breathe.”

At its core, The Book of Two Ways explores love and romance. We meet Dawn and Brian after they’ve been together for 15 years, having raised a child. Their relationship is a routine, it’s comfortable, not overly exciting. But we also meet Dawn and Wyatt in the past, when their relationship is budding — it’s a lot more inviting, exciting and emotional. It’s two young adults with a lot more in common falling in love, and then being torn apart when the real world comes calling.

“It is virtually impossible to put a price on a good death. Right now, death doulas are for people who can afford them, because Medicare doesn’t have the good sense to cover our services the way they cover hospice care.”

Admittedly, Dawn isn’t overly relatable and can be a pretty unlikable character at times. No spoilers, but her decisions are…questionable at best. Also, there are quite a lot of info dumps in the book — intense, excessive dialogue about philosophy, or Egyptology, parallel wolds or physics. Perhaps realistic to the conversation happening, but not always necessary to include?

Moving, insightful, and encouraging readers to contemplate their own morality and life choices, The Book of Two Ways, is recommended for fans of literary fiction, women’s fiction, family sagas, and historical fiction. Bonus points if you have an interest in ancient Egypt.

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

The Book of Two Ways
Jodi Picoult
October 2020
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington

This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived…

Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus.

Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child… But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again?

Poetic, literary fiction that transcends generations, Nydia Hetherington’s A Girl Made of Air will captivate and entice readers.

Told from the perspective of a nameless narrator — she’s only ever nicknamed Mouse — A Girl Made of Air is primarily set within a circus. Our female narrator is born into a famous circus family. Her mother is a beautiful, revered and coveted performer, but is scarred from the birth of her child. After giving birth to the narrator, she is mentally unable to connect with her and does very little in her role as mother. The narrator’s only connection with a blood relative is her father, who is kind and communicative, but not overly forthcoming or parental in his nature.

The narrator bonds with a red-haired funambulist named Serendipity Wilson, and the two form a strong friendship. Serendipity’s training allows the narrator to achieve levels of success and fame that would not have been possible otherwise.

“I’ve grown tall like my mother, limbs stretched and long, but I’m ungainly. I don’t know how to manage my body, which, at now eleven years old (or thereabouts), has outgrown me. My walk is clumsy, off-kilter; my hands great shovels that swing hopelessly about, propelled seemingly without my instruction by over-long arms.”

The book follows an interesting structure. It opens in present day 1983, where the protagonist is well-known for her performative success. She’s in the midst of an interview with a journalist from The New York Times, talking about her career but also her connection with the mysterious Serendipity Wilson. After the interview is cut short, the protagonist then writes down the story of her life to date — emanating the feel of a memoir or a long-form letter, told chronologically. Interwoven throughout the novel are mythical tales that Serendipity herself passed along to our main character.

A chronological retelling felt like the most suitable structure for this book, because it allowed the present-day-protagonist to reflect on her past as she was telling her story. Interspersed throughout moments of memories, the protagonist will offer readers glimpses of insight. The ‘voice’ is mature and intelligent, and her reflection and hindsight allows for an engaging and attentive read.

“There are several blank pages after this. It’s odd that I should have left the pages blank. Maybe it was a statement, something about life being empty; the sort of thing young people do. This isn’t how I remember things. The events happened exactly as they’re written, yet I cannot find myself in the words.”

A Girl Made of Air features a strong cast of characters, sometimes so vibrant and lively they feel crafted as cartoons — Fausto the Ringmaster, Manu, Marina, Big Gen, and of course, the notorious Serendipity Wilson, who always feels a little out of reach and never fully understood (not a bad thing).

Serendipity is by far the most intriguing of the secondary characters. We only ever interact with her through the protagonist’s memories, so there are definitely holes in her personality, her backstory, and her feelings towards the man character that we never fully understand.

For a time, Serendipity is like a mother figure for our protagonist — attentive and maternal. But she’s also free and spritely, and galavants around on her own to live her own fantastical adventures. There’s definitely an obsession that forms, from our protagonist. She meddles in Serendipity’s life in ways that have ramifications many years after.

“I sat for a moment on a colourful lion, stroked its chipped nose. From there I could see over the encampment. The big top — a round, blue-and-white-striped leviathan with pointed tip, topped off with a jolly yellow flag that called to passers-by as it flapped in the breeze — dominated everything.”

Our protagonist may be flawed, but she’s also a child for most of the book so the reader empathises for her. She was raised in less-than-ideal circumstances, with a distanced and reclusive mother who never really loved her. You warm to the protagonist very early on, and you keep reading to find out how her tale progresses.

A Girl Made of Air is quirky and unusual, but also dark and inviting. Mythical and magical, and reflective of an apology — a plea for redemption. A Girl Made of Air is recommended for all readers.

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

A Girl Made of Air
Nydia Hetherington
September 2020
Hachette Book Publishers