JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

Just one more night. Then I’ll end it.

Alison drinks too much. She’s neglecting her family. And she’s having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.

Alison’s client doesn’t deny that she stabbed her husband – she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing.

But someone knows Alison’s secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who won’t stop until she’s lost everything….

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce is a debut thriller novel about murder, sex and family, and one woman’s messy life — personally and professionally.

After working for 15 years, British barrister Alison Wood has just been assigned her first murder case. Madeleine Smith is accused of murdering her husband after she was found next to his body, covered in his blood. Madeleine is ready to confess, and is not interested in a defence. But Alison convinces her otherwise. She knows there’s more to the story, and she’s determined to work hard on the case.

Alison is harbouring a very severe alcohol problem, drinking heavily every night and often coming home very drunk. Her husband Carl is the main carer for their 6-year-old daughter Matilda and he spends most of his time being disappointed in his wife for her behaviour. She’s incredibly neglectful. At one point in the novel, Carl’s friends come over for dinner and Alison gets drunk and screeches out terrible karaoke, and the two guests leave early, embarrassed.

“I look at the dresses hanging up in my wardrobe and pull one out, a wrap dress I’ve always liked. Carl’s never been that keen on it — something about the length — but I think it suits me. I fold it and put it into the bad I’ve laid on the bed…I pull the wrap dress out of the bag and hang it back up again. Then I take out the dress he bought me a couple of Christmases ago, the time we screamed at each other for hours after we’d finished dinner.”

I think some blurb re-wording is needed. In the synopsis, it says Alison has a ‘doting husband’. That should actually read ‘a manipulative, controlling and angry husband’ because that’s no plot twist. It’s clear from the first page we meet him. Actually, at no point in the novel is he ‘doting’. Infuriating, yes. But not doting.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think Alison is ever a likeable character. She’s too much of a mess to really sympathise for, and her career success is not redeeming enough to make the reader really care for her. She neglects her daughter a lot, and part of me is surprised she’s managed to hold down her job for as long as she has —and be good at it.

Her husband Carl is also not a likeable character, and neither is Alison’s boss Patrick. Alison and Patrick have been having an affair for some time, having rough sex after work and sometimes on weekends. Alison spends too much time wondering if Patrick is seeing anybody else, or sleeping with other women. She spends too much time hoping he’ll text her, or getting mad at him when he doesn’t return her texts or calls. At times, she acts like a teenager with a crush.

When someone finds out about her affair with Patrick and starts sending Alison anonymous, hateful messages as blackmail, she starts to worry for her safety.

“Carl doesn’t say if he’s talked to his mother about looking after Matilda for the night but I don’t want to push it — I know he’ll come around to the idea in his own time. He can see that I mean it, that I’m trying.”

What lets this book down is the obvious, not-at-all subtle hints about Alison’s psychotherapist husband, Carl. He’s clearly gas lighting her. And he’s *SPOILER ALERT* so clearly drugging her at night. She drinks alcohol, he serves her tea or water, and then she blacks out, and then she wakes up the next morning and he tells her she blacked out from the alcohol and makes her feel guilty. It was such an obvious move that I kept rolling my eyes when Alison didn’t realise. Here’s this incredibly talented, hot-shot attorney who completely owns the courtroom, and yet she can’t work out her husband is drugging her?

Additionally, the ‘twist’ in Madeleine Smith’s case was also obvious from when we first meet her and the details of the case are read out. There are just too many clues pasted throughout the novel for the reader not to see these twists coming.

Not a spoiler, but the ending — in relation to Carl — is so quick I had to reread it four times just to check I had understood correctly what had happened. In 2-3 pages, something major happens and it’s so random and personally, I felt that it didn’t fit the book at all. It’s not credible, and is so rushed. And it also means that all of Alison’s problems are solved without her having to doing anything or work that hard to fix things, and that feels like a cop out.

There are a lot of readers out there who will love this — who will love the disastrous, self-destructing marriage between Alison and Carl, and her affair with her boss. There’s a lot of people who have actually loved this book, as I can see from online reviews. But personally, this novel felt really underdeveloped and too chaotic.

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

Blood Orange
Harriet Tyce
March 2019
Hachette Books Australia

A Dog’s Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

From W. Bruce Cameron, author of the beloved bestseller and major Hollywood movie A Dog’s Purpose, comes this beautifully told, charming tale that explores the unbreakable bond between us and our pets.

Lucas Ray is shocked when, while attempting to rescue stray cats from an abandoned building slated for demolition, an adorable puppy jumps out of a crawl space and into his arms. Even though the apartment he shares with his mother, a disabled veteran, doesn’t allow dogs, Lucas can’t resist taking Bella home.

Bella is inexplicably drawn to Lucas, even if she doesn’t understand the necessity of games like No Barks. As it becomes more difficult to hide her rapidly growing presence from neighbours, Lucas begins to sneak Bella into the veteran’s hospital where he works and his mother receives treatment. There, the happy-go-lucky dog naturally brings joy and comfort where it is needed most.

After Bella is picked up by Animal Control for being a pit bull, a breed banned in Denver, Lucas has no choice but to send her to a foster home until he can figure out what to do. But Bella, distraught at the separation, doesn’t plan to wait. With four hundred miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness between her and Lucas, Bella sets off on a seemingly impossible and completely unforgettable adventure home.

A classic story of unwavering loyalty and incredible devotion, A Dog’s Way Home is a fantastic and exhilarating journey of the heart.

A Dog’s Way Home by Bruce Cameron is a novel about a young pup’s journey home after he is separated from his owner in the United States.

The plot is not a unique one, and reminded me of many movies I watched as a child. A young dog is hundreds of miles away from its owner and sets out on foot to return to its family, meeting many interesting animals and humans along the way. This book reminded me of the Homeward Bound movies that I loved as a child, and also Napoleon.

“The little kitties were mewing in distress. Their appeals saddened me, because I was their big sister, but I could do nothing to help them. I expected that our mother would soon be joining them, and knew they would feel better then.”

I think this book has been incorrectly categorised as an adult fiction novel, when it actually reads like a children’s book. The young puppy’s voice is very similar to a child’s voice, so the book at times feels very juvenile and silly and just very ‘young’.

I can imagine any young child who adores dogs and puppies would devour this story, but adults may lose interest in the story and the writing style after some time. I imagine the major motion picture set to release in 2019 will appeal to adults more than the book that inspired it.

“The route I took roughly tracked the commingled scents of Big Kitten and the huge dead cat, retracing their steps. The going was not easy, but the trail when in a fairly straight line away from the angry men. I could smell them and the blood now, the breeze cooler under my tail than on my nose.”

Despite this, it’s a really sweet story. Bella and Lucas share a special bond that any dog owner will recognise. But they will also understand and recognise the struggles that Lucas faces as Bella’s owner. He’s not allowed dogs in his building, and Bella won’t stop barking. They try to sneak her in and out of the building, and they try to teach her not to bark, but she gets confused easily and sooner or later they’re found out.

Additionally, pit bulls are not allowed in Denver because the city council passed a ban on them after a young child was killed by a pit bull in the neighbourhood. As a result, animal control are allowed to seize and destroy pit bulls, and they have a personal gripe against Lucas and his pet Bella.

Lucas loves Bella, and does his best to train her. He also leaves Bella with a couple of friends while he finds a new place to live. But Bella doesn’t understand what’s happening, so she jumps the fence and over the course of two years, makes the trek home to Lucas.

“Bella’s up against the government. I’m afraid the law in Denver is irrational on this subject. Did you know there’s not even such a thing as a specific AKC breed called a pit bull? It’s a whole class of dog, like retriever.”

Recommended for younger readers who love dogs and puppies.

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

A Dog’s Way Home
W. Bruce Cameron
December 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband by Barbara Toner

It’s September 1919. The war is over, and everyone who was going to die from the flu has done so. But there’s a shortage of husbands and women in strife will flounder without a male to act on their behalf.

And in the southern NSW town of Prospect, four ladies bereft of men have problems that threaten to overwhelm them.

Beautiful Louisa Worthington, whose dashing husband died for King and Country, is being ruined by the debts he left behind. Young Maggie O’Connell, who lost her mother in childbirth and her father to a redhead, is raising her two wayward brothers and fighting for land she can’t prove is hers. Adelaide Nightingale has a husband, but he’s returned from the war in a rage and is refusing to tackle the thieving manager of their famous family store. Pearl McLeary, Adelaide’s new housekeeper, must find her missing fiancé before it’s too late and someone dies.

Thank God these desperate ladies have a solution- a part-time husband who will rescue them all. To find him, they’ll advertise. To afford him, they’ll share . . .

Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband by Barbara Toner is a historical fiction novel set in the small country town of Prospect in 1919.

The war and the Spanish flu are over, but four women in town are struggling. They each face different dilemmas and they need help. Louise needs to clear the debt left behind by her deceased husband, Maggie needs help fighting for land, Adelaide’s family store is being pilfered by their manager, and Pearl’s fiancé is missing and she needs help tracking him down.

These troubles mount on the women each and every day, and they don’t have support from the town. They advertise for an external party — a part-time husband to help solve each of their problems. Enter Martin Duffy.

“Martin Duffy, so much more to Maggie’s taste than the Mayor, was having a very early lunch in the sunny corner of Mrs Quirk’s pub, writing his mother an amusing letter about the ladies’ hopes for him, which he had every intention of fulfilling.”

This is a novel about female friendship and identity. At a time where women were laughed at or cast aside, these women team up to take charge. They refuse to roll over and let others force them to give up what they want. These woman are confident, decisive and ballsy.

At first, they don’t like each other. They have preconceived notions about each other, and so there are a lot of arguments and disagreements over the course of the novel. But, over time, they bond and put aside their differences because they both want and need the same thing.

Four Respectable Ladies is charming and witty, filled with all sorts of characters. However, the novel fell flat for me. I think there were too many characters, contributing to an overly complicated and convoluted plot. At times, it was hard to follow the storyline, and we didn’t spend enough time with each of the four women to really warm to them.

At certain points in the novel, the women started to blur together. Additionally, Martin Duffy was quite an underwhelming character, not really dominating the book like I thought he would. Instead, I felt like he didn’t make enough of an impact in the town and he was quite disappointing.

I was initially drawn to this book because of its gorgeous cover. It captures the flirty, fun nature of some of the characters, whilst also making it clear that it’s historical fiction.

The setting has been captured well, highlighting that period in history where the war is over and yet life is not perfect. People are still recovering from the war, and they’re learning how to move on with their lives.

“Maggie smiled quietly to herself. Martin Duffy wasn’t a man who expected modesty, she was pretty sure of that. He was a man who liked a bit of spirit and she intended to show him that she had plenty.”

The biggest strength of this book was actually the secondary characters, not the four women. I particularly liked Florence Mayberry — the Mayor’s wife — who provides quite a bit of humour for the reader and whose relationship with her husband is entertaining to read.

Additionally, Barbara Toner has done a fantastic job of capturing dialogue. This book is really dialogue heavy, but Barbara illustrates all of the individual voices really well and so the conversations don’t get muddled. It was easy to follow who was speaking, even when there were multiple people in one scene.

I recommend this book to readers who love historical fiction, but know that this isn’t a typical historical fiction novel. Romance doesn’t drive the plot, and there are many many characters. It’s really a book about a town of people, not just four women and one part-time husband. This isn’t my favourite book, but I do think there is a market for this. Many readers will love the town of Prospect, and all the drama within it.

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

Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband
Barbara Toner
February 2018
Penguin Random House Australia

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

I still don’t know what I think of this book. I heard so much about it on Twitter and read some great reviews – I haven’t yet read the sequel to this, so maybe I need to in order to understand all the hype. But for me, the story was good, but not oh-my-god-fantastic.

I didn’t understand the implied romance between Kestrel and Arin. I found their characters to be like cardboard cut outs – they were acting out the motions but I couldn’t sympathise for them or understand them, and therefore, I didn’t really care about them. I found myself finishing the novel because I was curious about the direction, but I wasn’t curious about the character development or the potential relationship development.

Despite these flaws, I did love the setting of this novel. The author has done a wonderful job of world-building and establishing an imaginative environment. Also, Kestrel is a strong and badass main character and quite refreshing for the YA genre. I’m interested enough in the storyline and the world and the plot to read the second in the series, but I do hope that the characters grow and develop.

My Score: 5/10
Buy at BOOKTOPIA or BOOKWORLD

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

What if you grew up to realise that your father had used your childhood as an experiment?

Rosemary doesn’t talk very much, and about certain things she’s silent. She had a sister, Fern, her whirlwind other half, who vanished from her life in circumstances she wishes she could forget. And it’s been ten years since she last saw her beloved older brother Lowell.

Now at college, Rosemary starts to see that she can’t go forward without going back, back to the time when, aged five, she was sent away from home to her grandparents and returned to find Fern gone.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love this book. I finished it, but I didn’t finish it eagerly. It was more a case of ‘well I’ll finish it because it’s not a long book and it was nominated for the Man Booker and I’m actually almost at the end’.

The plot was a little slow and dull and kept jumping back and forth between past and present so much that I often lost track of where I was up to. I didn’t care for the characters as much as I should. Rosemary seemed too distant from the reader and I couldn’t relate to her at all. She is weak and comes across as whiny. Although the author unveils so many issues surrounding animal cruelty and animal/human dynamic, the characters weren’t strong enough for me to enjoy the story.

On the front of the book, there’s a quote about how there’s an amazing ‘twist’ in this book. What you don’t realise is that this twist comes 1/3 of the way through the novel and not at the end of it. So the only part in the novel where you’re actually intrigued enough to keep reading is when that twist is revealed. But then after another 50 pages, you’re bored again with the plot and the rest of the novel is just slow and there’s not enough drive for the reader to want to keep going.

I don’t regret reading this novel because the plot is unique, but it didn’t engage me enough to reread it or recommend that others read it. Harsh, but true.

My Score: 5/10
Buy at BOOKWORLD or BOOKTOPIA