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JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

December 28, 2020

Tell Me Lies by J.P Pomare

December 28, 2020

Psychologist Margot Scott has a picture-perfect life: a nice house in the suburbs, a husband, two children and a successful career.

On a warm spring morning Margot approaches one of her clients on a busy train platform. He is looking down at his phone, with his duffel bag in hand as the train approaches. That’s when she slams into his back and he falls in front of the train.

Margot’s clients all lie to her, but one lie cost her family and freedom.

J.P Pomare’s Tell Me Lies is a fast-paced, high-intensity psychological thriller about a seemingly perfect psychologist, her shameful secret, and the client determined to ruin her life and expose her.

The story begins when someone deliberately sets fire to Margot’s house — what ensues is a series of deliberate attempts to unravel her life. The prose and dialogue is sleek and enticing, drawing the reader in with flawed characters, delectable mysteries and cloaked pasts, all bubbling to the surface.

The real strength of the story is plot, as it should be when writing in this genre. Readers will find themselves ripping through the chapters with eagerness, desperate to find out more. What is Margot hiding? What are her client’s hiding? With each new clue and twist in the story, the stakes rise higher and higher, threatening everything Margot has worked so hard to build.

“We’re all on the curb, one officer is talking to me, another is talking to Gabe. The children are nearby but they’ve separated us to gather statements. The window to my home office was smashed and fire fighters, I’m certain, will confirm the blaze started there. Someone threw something through the window and it set the house on fire.”

Tell Me Lies plays with structure to engage the reader. In the prologue, Margot approaches one of her clients on a Melbourne train station platform — we don’t know which client — where she deliberately pushes him onto the track, instantly killing him. Then, we’re thrust back one month to the start of the story.

Interwoven throughout the novel are media reports and interview transcripts between an unnamed prosecutor and Detective Simms, the man investigating the fire that destroyed Margot’s home. These structural elements are commonly found in thrillers and crime novels, but are a useful tactic. We’re able to find out important events within a short space of time, and interview transcripts allow us to get a glimpse into the future — we get a brief moment to try and uncover where our protagonist might end up.

“A knot appeared at his jaw, I could see a decision being made. Sparks of metal on metal behind his eyes as two opposing ideas clashed: he knew he couldn’t just wait it out, but he also knew he couldn’t risk me or anyone else getting hurt.”

Margot is an unstable character, that much is easy to spot from the outset. She’s intelligent and determined, but she’s also easily deceived. She thinks she’s sly — like sitting in a coffee shop for hours and thinking the barista won’t notice her — but she’s actually a little hopeless. She pesters the detective with her theories, to the point where she comes across as paranoid (even if her theories are right).

When she crosses ethical lines in her job, which happens a few times throughout the novel, she comes across as unlikeable, which I think might taint some readers’ opinions of her. She does get lost a little in the novel — we’re thrust into such a heavy plot, I never really felt like I grew to understand Margot. She felt a little underdeveloped for me, which made the twist at the end of the novel less impactful than perhaps intended.

“I’m engrossed, his story has taken me away from my own problems. Childhood trauma shapes so much of our adult biases; it forms the people we become. Cormac is reckless but brilliant. He’s resentful of wealth and the powers that be. I’m seeing a pattern emerging.”

Recommended for fans of crime, thriller and mystery novels. A great gift for a relative, that person in your family who rarely reads, but perhaps will read on holiday. A safe bet.

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

Tell Me Lies
J.P Pomare
December 2020
Hachette Book Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 9/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Thriller Tagged: adult fiction, book review, crime, fiction, mystery, review, thriller

December 22, 2020

The Charleston Scandal by Pamela Hart

December 22, 2020

London, 1920s: Kit Scott, a privileged young Australian aiming to become a star, arrives in the city to find the Jazz Age in full swing. Cast in a West End play opposite another young hopeful, Canadian Zeke Gardiner, she dances blithely into the heady lifestyle of English high society and the London theatre set, from Noel Coward to Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele.

When Kit is photographed dancing the Charleston alongside the Prince of Wales, she finds herself at the centre of a major scandal, sending the Palace into damage control and Kit to her aristocratic English relatives – and into the arms of the hedonistic Lord Henry Carleton. Amid the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, both Zeke and Kit are faced with temptations – and make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever.

Pamela Hart’s The Charleston Scandal is a step away from the heartfelt war novels that her readers will be familiar with, and is instead an immersive story set during the roaring 1920s London after the war has ended and women are beginning to realise they can hold a place in this world.

Be transported to the glorious 1920s, where status is everything and parties are prevalent. It’s not what you know, but who you know.

The Charleston Scandal features an interesting array of characters, evocatively capturing the setting with fashion, culture, status and connections. Kit’s journey not only illustrates life in the 1920s, but it also highlights the difficulty for women – and actresses – to find work at the time. They weren’t taken seriously, and it took a strong, determined woman to defy society’s expectations and maintain that career path.

“He was – rather surprisingly – dressed in the most conservative suit Kit had ever seen. No tan with brown shoes here. Not even light grey. This was a proper navy pinstripe, complete with black shoes and a regimental tie. Surely that couldn’t be right?”

Written in third person and switching perspectives between a couple of different characters, The Charleston Scandal puts women at the centre of the narrative, exploring their struggles and triumphs in a time where women were not seen as equal to men.

While Kit is a little insipid at times, perhaps a little too forgettable, she is determined and she grows confident over the course of the novel. By the end, she knows exactly who and what she wants in life and she won’t let anyone’s opinions of her change that.

Themes explored in the novel include alcoholism, domestic abuse, women’s rights, equality and determination for a career that’s more than just socialising.

“She sailed off feeling momentarily on top of the world, until she recalled Lady Bridlingham’s curl of the lip. No matter who her escort or how nice her frock, that curl said she didn’t belong there and she never would.”

Admittedly, there doesn’t feel like there is a lot of tension in this novel. It just feels like party after party after party, and then some theatre/acting scenes thrown in. After a while, the plot felt a bit same-same. Zeke and Kit’s friendship felt like it was on the backburner for too long in the novel, so by the time anything significant happens between them, it almost doesn’t feel substantial enough? I think romance readers might be disappointed with this novel.

Very small thing, but Hitler is name-dropped towards the end of the novel. The book is set during the 1920s and my understanding is that Hitler didn’t really rise to ‘fame’ or power until at least 1933. It felt a little bit jarring – perhaps premature – to mention him in this story.

“He had more than one. She lost track; she had given herself a three-drink limit at the start of the night, although getting anything other than champagne from the waiter was a herculean effort.”

For fans of historical fiction.

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

The Charleston Scandal
Pamela Hart
December 2020
Hachette Book Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 6/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews Tagged: adult fiction, book review, fiction, historical fiction, review

December 19, 2020

Together by Christmas by Karen Swan

December 19, 2020

When Lee first came to Amsterdam, it was with a newborn baby and a secret. Five years later, her life is approaching normal: her career as a celebrity photographer is flourishing, her son Jasper is growing up, and they are enjoying the run-up to Christmas with their tight circle of close friends.

But all this changes one morning when Lee finds a book in the basket of her bicycle – and scrawled inside it, a desperate message. Who left it for her, and why? Lee feels compelled to help and tracks down the book’s author, Sam. With an instant, undeniable connection it seems they might have a shot at a real future together.

Until her past comes calling. As the snow falls and ice thickens on the city’s canals, the secret Lee has never told resurfaces. Suddenly everything she holds dear hangs in the balance. Christmas is a time for being together – but what if the truth means she ends up alone?

Together by Christmas is Karen Swan’s latest festive read, this time predominantly set in the brisk cold winter of Amsterdam, and following a guarded and reserved photographer with a hidden past.

Lee used to be a Pulitzer prize-winning war photographer, but now she photographs for magazines and editorial articles — her life is a far cry from what it used to be, and there’s a lot of pain she’s been hiding from.

Together by Christmas definitely deals with much heavier themes, compared with Karen’s recent novels. A female photographer working in Syria and Turkey means there’s heightened danger for that character, and Lee’s involvement in the Middle East certainly accounts for her inability to form relationships. She’s suffering from PTSD and is a bit of a loner, only spending time with her son and colleagues — she struggles to date, or form romantic connections with men. Slowly, over the course of the novel, we find out why.

“She might have expected many reactions to her behaviour yesterday, but tenderness hadn’t been one of them. The ground kept moving beneath their feet and she never quite knew where things were between them.”

Stylistically, this novel is much like Karen’s previous works. Written in third person, Karen always includes a lot of exposition and internal monologue within her chapters — this may not be for everyone, but I always enjoy it. I feel it gives the characters more depth, and the reader gets more insight into their characterisation.

Except for the novel being set at Christmas time, it’s doesn’t really feel like a Christmas read. Although there are some messages in the novel that resonate with this time of year — being with family is more important than being alone, Christmas is more than just gifts, it’s important to reach out to those who are alone or struggling, and the importance of making amends and processing trauma is also a key takeaway in the book.

“She sat there for several moments more, trying to still her wildly beating heart, knowing she couldn’t stay out here, knowing she had to go back in there and eat with all those guests.”

I love Karen’s novels, but this was the first time where I felt like the elements in the story didn’t really gel together — Lee and Harry’s backstory in Syria, Lee’s job in present day Amsterdam, Sam, his family’s particular sporting obsession, Harry’s new wife, the mysterious couple that lives next door, the note in the basket. Truthfully, it took me quite a while to make my way through this book.

I’m normally drawn in by the romance in these novels but the story of Lee and Sam seemed drowned out by an array of other plot points. Was there too much happening? Perhaps. Karen talks in the author’s note about how she struggled with this book in particular, and the plot, and I felt like that was quite evident when I was making my way through the story.

I wonder if the sub-plot about Sam’s family — which I think was put in there to create some tension between them, and the need for a fight and subsequent reconciliation — could’ve been removed to allow for a more streamlined story. And also the storyline about the neighbours felt a bit crammed in, only really relevant right at the end of the book. I’m not sure it was as seamless as it could’ve been

“For several long seconds, they stood there, eyes locked, feeling the energy flow between them. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him again, once, twice, feeling his lips respond, his barriers weakening, chivalry collapsing…”

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

Together by Christmas
Karen Swan
November 2020
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 6/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews Tagged: adult fiction, book review, fiction, review

November 20, 2020

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Life After Truth by Ceridwen Dovey

November 20, 2020

Fifteen years after graduating from Harvard, five close friends on the cusp of middle age are still pursuing an elusive happiness and wondering if they’ve wasted their youthful opportunities. Jules, already a famous actor when she arrived on campus, is changing in mysterious ways but won’t share what is haunting her. Mariam and Rowan, who married young, are struggling with the demands of family life and starting to regret prioritising meaning over wealth in their careers. Eloise, now a professor who studies the psychology of happiness, is troubled by her younger wife’s radical politics. And Jomo, founder of a luxury jewellery company, has been carrying an engagement ring around for months, unsure whether his girlfriend is the one.

The soul searching begins in earnest at their much-anticipated college reunion weekend on the Harvard campus, when the most infamous member of their class, Frederick – senior advisor and son of the recently elected and loathed US president – turns up dead.

Set in 2018, Ceridwen Dovey’s Life After Truth is contemporary fiction centred around a 15-year Harvard college reunion, and how the weekend of re-connection affects a diverse group of five friends.

Reunions evoke soul-searching in even the most secure of people — reflecting on your past life, what you’ve become, have you reached your full potential? Are you where you thought you’d be?

The premise of this novel is a catalyst for a lot of emotional growth in a character, and in this novel there are five of them. Ceridwen’s novel is a breeding ground for a group of people who are forced to decide what they want in their life, and cast away what they don’t. The book explores raw, emotional issues that many readers will be able to relate to — parenthood, marriage, relationships, desire, regret.

“Eloise had made up her mind, back then, that when Jules was with her she’d let her feel free to be nothing much at all — as her friend, she could be a refuge from all the demands other people made on her. They could talk or not talk, be silly or serious, silent or boisterous, share dirty jokes or painful childhood memories.”

Narrated in third person and moving between each of the characters, most of the book is reflecting on the past. Delicately constructed chapters weave a tale of past mistakes, reflections and altercations. The five friends share an intricate past, and tensions rise when they meet for the Harvard reunion.

Ceridwen has a real talent for carving out a characters’ nature using glimpses of their past. Events from their youth have shaped who these five have become today — their attitudes and personalities, but also their worries and concerns, their trigger points. There are moments of bitterness, jealousy, misunderstanding.

By learning about their past selves, we come to understand how these relationships and friendships have evolved over time. Some have dwindled, some have strengthened. Some are on the cusp of something great. There are a couple of connections that threaten to break — secrets left unsaid, tensions unresolved. It’s a fascinating exploration of human society and the middle class. A worthy choice for a book club.

“He hadn’t seen Jules in a while, not since Thanksgiving. He wondered if she had anybody in her life to come home to in the evenings. She was a person who did not naturally share this kind of information even with her closest friends; whether it was because of her nature or her fame, it was hard to tell.”

I think there was room for a little more humour — more lightness. The mood of the novel is a sombre one, very thoughtful. And surprisingly, this novel isn’t really the crime or thriller novel that the blurb suggests. Frederick’s death is discovered at the beginning of the novel, and then it’s resolved again in the very final pages. In between, the story is all about the past. At times, the reflection felt a little overwhelming. I would’ve loved a bit more plot in the present — a bit more interaction between the characters of now, not just the characters from years past.

Other than that, Ceridwen has crafted a novel that really forces a reader to ponder their own life — if you’re thrust back into another time from your life, mingling with people who you spent your youth with, how would you feel about the person you are now? The life you lead?

“Rowan had not really ever had much to elevate him above his similarly brilliant, overachieving peers except that he’d had the great good fortune to meet his ‘soul mate’ on the very first night of college, when he’d laid eyes on Mariam at the freshman ice-cream social held in the Yard.”

Recommended for fans of literary fiction.

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

Life After Truth
Ceridwen Dovey
November 2020
Penguin Random House Publishers

***

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH CERIDWEN DOVEY

Life After Truth switches focus between numerous characters, all with their own distinct voice. How did you manage the task of crafting the story and capturing each character authentically? Were there difficulties illustrating the timeline for each of these storylines?
This was the first time I’ve ever written using alternating third-person focalized narration (in other words, while inside that character’s consciousness, even though it’s third-person narration, I wouldn’t let them know or be able to express what any of the other characters were thinking in those same scenes/sections). While I’m still quite partial to first-person narration, I really loved writing these different voices like this – something about the third-person helps to give you, as the author, a bit of distance and perspective on the character. It’s not that relentlessly personal “I.” You can play a little more with what the character knows and what only you know as their creator. I didn’t worry too much, while I was writing, about making each voice sound different or distinctive on the page in terms of word and sentence choice, but really just focused on creating equally rich and interesting back stories and emotional dilemmas for them. I did have to be careful with the timeline, especially with Jomo’s sections, which are so crucial to understanding the choices Jules (from whom we never hear directly) makes in the end.


Reflection is a major part of the novel – thinking back on where you once were, and questioning where you are now. Are any events in the novel based on life experiences? 

You’re right that reflection and reassessing one’s own past in relation to others is a key theme in the novel. All the characters are approaching middle age, and there’s nothing like a reunion to throw a spanner in the existential works and make you question all your life choices! I structured the novel over the reunion weekend so that there would be certain scenes in the immediate present (reunion events, etc.) but with plenty of space and time for each character to be casting his/her thoughts backwards, trying to remember who they had once been on that same campus. There are bits and pieces from life experience that I’ve used – I did once think I was actually going to be killed by feral bush pigs while camping above the Ngorongoro Crater, for instance! – but the wonderful thing about writing fiction, as any writer out there knows, is that it never takes the same form on the page as it does in real life. If anything, I would say it was the emotional cadences of my own Harvard reunions that I drew on the most and tried to render in language: the highs and lows, the constant internal monologue interspersed with the forced high sociality of these reunion events, the way they make you look both backwards and into the future in a way that can be very confronting, and also moving or inspiring.

What motivates you to write?

I started quite young on this journey as a writer – I wrote my first novel when I was 23. And I turn 40 this week! So I’ve had a lot of years now to try to answer that question, and I have to admit I still don’t really know. If I have to justify it in concrete terms, I’d say something about the cathartic effect of shaping the messiness of lived experience, or the way I don’t know what I feel or think until I’ve put it into words, or the sense of always standing slightly outside of the normal passage of time and life, peering in, and writing lets me translate that disconnection into connection at a remove. Yet I’ve come to see there’s also something mysterious about what draws a person to write fiction, and thinking about the ‘why’ of it too deeply is a bit like asking a centipede how many legs it has and then expecting it to continue walking on all those legs unselfconsciously. You have to guard the most intimate motivations for why you write fiction otherwise I suspect you’d lose all will to do it in the first place…

Would you be able to delve into your editing process. Once you’ve written the first draft, and you’re ready to tackle the second, third, fourth draft etc, what is your process? How do you mould your first draft into your final one?

Life After Truth is my fourth work of fiction, and with every single one I’ve had a completely different writing and editing process (I think this is why I find writing so addictive: every time, I am literally starting over from scratch with a new method or process, and feel like I don’t know what on earth I’m doing – and as a result, it also always feels like an unknown and exciting adventure). But one thing I have been surprised to learn over the years is how radically different the drafting process (the messy, pour-it-down-on-the-page creation phase) is to the crafting process (the more reasoned and critical let-it-cool-down-and-then-carve-it editing phase). It’s amazing that we expect one human to have both capacities, as they often strike me as drawing on very different skillsets and sensibilities. During drafting, you have to give yourself permission to speak – which is much harder than it sounds! – and switch off every critical faculty in your brain so that you’re not paralyzed by uncertainty or lack of confidence. But then, in the editing phase, you have to be your own harshest critic, be ruthless and severe, and look at what you’ve created with a sceptical eye in the cold light of day. With Life After Truth, this editing process was not quite as devastating as it has been for past projects (where I’ve been trying to excavate my own psyche) because all of the characters were invented, and the stakes weren’t quite as high in an ethical sense, so I found it quite satisfying to hone the narrative. But I think that’s also because the drafting process was so much fun for this novel, and came relatively easily, so in the editing phase I didn’t feel that I had to craft a sculpture out of a lump of clay (as I have felt sometimes in the past) – it was more like just using a tool to refine and polish.

If you could go back in time to when you were working on your first novel, what writing advice or guidance would you give your younger self?
I would tell the early-20-something me, just starting out, incredibly anxious about my ‘right’ to write, to enjoy that experience more. There’s nothing like writing your first novel, because you are writing it for yourself alone, in a fundamental sense – you are writing it with no idea or sense that anybody else will one day read it (even if that is your hope). You only get to experience that once, because after that first novel is published, you are always aware that – even though not all drafts of novels live to find an audience – there is a chance that it might become a public document at some stage. That does something weird to your mind, and I think that’s why the notorious second novel is such a challenge: you’ve lost the feeling of doing something very private and secretive and personal; you’ve lost the sense of writing to figure something out for yourself alone.

Leave a Comment · Labels: 8/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Interviews Tagged: adult fiction, author interview, book review, fiction, interview, literary fiction, review

November 7, 2020

The Champagne War by Fiona McIntosh

November 7, 2020

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

Leave a Comment · Labels: 8/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews Tagged: adult fiction, book review, fiction, historical fiction, review, romance

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