Coming Soon: You Came Back by Christopher Coake

Mark is in his 30s and finally finding happiness again, having endured the loss of his 7 year old son and the subsequent break up of his marriage. Having hit a low while grieving for Brendan he has now moved on and is in love with Allison. He is on the verge of proposing when an unwelcome woman comes barging into his life. 


She lives in the house where his son's accident occurred and claims he is haunting the house. Mark's father is very logical and has raised him to be the same, so he tries to ignore her. However ex-wife Chloe is more willing to believe and, trying to support her Mark finds himself in a downward spiral. Reliving the events of seven years prior changes him and his life is quickly unravelling once again as he faces sacrificing the present and the future for the past.


I have had this book on my kindle for a while and read it without revisiting the blurb. When I pulled it up on screen before writing this I was stunned to see that this is the author's first novel. I loved this book and am impressed by this debut. This isn't a ghost story per se, instead it is about relationships, love and how much people will change if they want something badly enough. I found myself cast in the role of cynic, doubting that the house was haunted, and read on to see whether I was going to be right or wrong. Mark's best friend Lew at one point provides a very helpful list of all the possible explanations of the chain of events which is similar to the thoughts I'd been having as I read and served as a good summary. There isn't a lot of action, but there is a lot of conflict as Mark tries (and mostly fails) to make the right decisions for himself and those he loves.


Mark has already been through the wringer and as we read about how he struggled to move on and see him rebuilding a good life for himself it makes the descent back into despair that much more stark. While at points I doubted her motives I felt for ex-wife Chloe as well as wife-to-be Allison. And despite his best efforts to mess up virtually every relationship he has I still felt for Mark. My favourite character though was his straight-talking and sage father, Sam. He is the voice of reason, but has plenty of charm and some hard stories of his own to tell.


I enjoyed the writing which flowed nicely, written in a way that allowed me to become engrossed by the story rather than noticing the style too much. The ending leaves some room for imagination, which in this case was a good thing.


This is the best book I have read in a while. I felt so much for Mark that at one point I almost got up to go and cuddle my sleeping daughter, imagining how awful experiences like his must be. It's not often that I am moved like that by a book. 


Format: Kindle, ARC from Netgalley, due for release 28th June 2012
Publisher: Penguin
My Rating: 5*

Growing Up Wired by David Wallace Fleming

From Amazon - "Can meaningful relationships survive a world of instant gratification? While on his computer, Victor Hastings admires the provocative pictures of the girl he's dating. Meanwhile, she's posting more and more on Facebook and all the social sites. Now everyone in his cramped college housing is competing for her attention. What kind of love is this? ...the wired kind. Growing up Wired - a coming-of-age, social media "love" story" 


This sounded like a parable for modern times and something that would provide some interesting thought provoking material. I like something a bit challenging so had high hopes for this book.


Victor is an Alpha boy, living in a frat house with other young men most of whom are far more adept with women than him. In the brave new age of the internet he passes his time surfing the web for porn. Soon many of his friends are browsing MySpace to find sexually suggestive pictures of the girls on campus. Victor is blamed for the frat house becoming insular and computer obssessed rather than full of visiting girlfriends. He is guided into a relationship with plenty of help from his more outgoing friends but finds himself questionning why she makes herself so available online yet so distant in person.


This book definitely gave me pause for thought, and made me think particularly about teenage girls I know who post pictures of themselves without apparently thinking about how wide the audience is. The world has changed with the advent of the internet and it's interesting to consdier how it is affecting some people's lives. However I found it took me a while to get into the book and when I did I couldn't really connect with the characters. They were a bit stereotypical and I didn't know enough about their backgrounds to begin to understand the main players. The story centres around the frat house which is something I know very little about as a Brit and perhaps that was part of the reason for the disconnect. While things happen in the book it felt like nothing really happened, and I was pleased when the narrative took the form of instant messages for a while as it picked up the pace a bit.


This book has some great reviews but I'm afraid the above combined with a sprinkling of typos meant it missed the spot for me.


Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 2*

Powder Dreams by David Ward-Nanney

Bo Grayson has spent eight years travelling around living the life of a ski bum. His prep school shrink refers to his lifestyle as "fantasyland" and warns against dedicating his life to finding fresh powder. Gradually, spurred on by new relationships and the success of old friends, Bo decides to become a serious grown up and becomes a Chicago trader in search of the really big money. However he has always been interested in psychology and eventually turns to a Jungian analyst to try and make sense of his life. 

I was initially attracted to this book as someone who had spent some time working in ski resorts. In fact the first part of the book was so familiar to me. Bo could have been any number of people I worked with in the past, and I remember sharing his musings about whether one should do what is expected; go to university, get a good job, buy a big house and have a family, or whether living on the breadline but having a lot of fun could be equally fulfilling. It was a vivid reminder of a very alluring lifestyle


The second part charts Bo's move into the "real" world and explores his relationships with old school friends. Some have been wildly successful in monetary terms but appear lacking in other ways. He dwells more and more on who he is and how he should be living his life, and in the third part he finally addresses all the internal conflicts causing his ongoing depression. I found the ideas on psychology interesting and presented in a way that was, to me with very limited knowledge on the subject, accessible. The latter parts had a very different feel to the first, probably a reflection on Bo's state of mind but it felt a little disconnected to me. This book was almost the negative image of Adelaide MacKenzie Fuss' The Watermen, which I read and reviewed last year. The themes are certainly similar, although this book tackles them in a more academic way.


I liked Bo and was able to empathise with his somewhat familiar dilemma early on in the book. As he knuckled down to life as a city trader I was interested to see whether he would end up with a seven figure salary and a trophy wife or whether he would choose a different measure of success. The supporting characters made for an interesting cast. I found myself compelled to pick the book up and keep reading to find out what would happen to more than one of them.


I enjoyed this read which provided a bit of snow covered escapism and some interesting psychology. I've struggled to decide what rating to give it, but decided that having to think about it rather than having a really strong positive reaction probably meant I should go with the rating given. A good piece of nicely written contemporary fiction.


Format: Kindle, review copy
Publisher: Mud Season Publishing
My Rating: 3*

Book Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho's is a name I haven't missed, but somehow up until now I have never put my mitts on one of his books. I think it might have been an omen that in the day before I went to the library I saw two pieces about him and his work, walked into the library, randomly picked a shelf to browse and there his books were. If you haven't already read this book it might become clear why this omen tickled me having finished it.

A young Spanish shepherd has chosen a life that has allowed him to travel, rather than be cloistered within the walls of a seminary. He has a recurrent dream that he will find treasure in the Egyptian pyramids, one that he would not have acted on but for a meeting with a man who somehow knows a lot about the shepherd. He convinces him that he should follow his dreams, and that if he looks out for the omens he will be guided to success. The shepherd goes ahead and sells his flock and heads to Africa. While travelling to Egypt he meets various messengers including the alchemist who can turn lead into gold. The alchemist becomes his mentor and he learns about the Soul of the World. By the end of the book the shepherd has learnt valuable lessons, and has found his treasure in an unlikely place.

I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed by this book, possibly I was expecting too much thanks to the author's reputation. I didn't really connect with the shepherd, who is referred to as Boy throughout, or any of the other characters who cross his path. I did enjoy watching him working through all the things he learned and applying them to his life though. The tale is written in simple language and short sentences and was an easy read, although all the discussions on the Soul of the World and how everything is one thing, and the references to religion gave the book some substance. However overall my feeling was that this book was probably well suited to a much younger reader than me, with a gentle spiritual and philosophical bent.

It definitely gave me something to muse on while I was reading, and it was a quick and enjoyable read, but I wouldn't highly recommend it.

Format: Paperback, borrowed from the library

My Rating: 3*

Coming Soon Book Review: The Memory of Water by J T Lawrence

Slade Harris is an author who likes to experience life's highs and lows to feed his writing. He still carries around the scars from a family tragedy - as a child his younger sister drowns, and the family are torn apart. He finds himself struck by writers block and with the pressure on to produce his next work he finds something new to motivate him. He plots the murder of his friend and would be lover Eve. When she is then killed in the same manner as he planned suspicion soon falls on him. Did he do it, was he framed and will he be able to save his home, car, life and freedom?

I loved the style of this contemporary crime novel, quite literary with plenty of modern and classic cultural references. The story moves along at quite a pace, with a twisting and turning ending that caught me off guard. Set in South Africa there are hints of the locale in the language and the places depicted, enough to add some colour without too much focus on the country and the problems it has faced in recent years. 


Slade isn't the most sympathetic of characters, something of a hedonist who is too self-absorbed to be lovable. He sees himself as a Jay Gatsby character. His past seems a little shady, with previous brushes with the law and a vagueness about his sister's death that made me wonder what exactly happened and how that might have affected the Slade we meet.  By the end the truth emerges about both Eve's and sister Emily's deaths which made me re-assess Slade.


I loved it this literary approach to the crime novel, and thought the author spun a clever tale. Slade makes for a strangely enticing protagonist, quite impressive considering. I would happily recommend this book.


Format: Kindle, ARC, anticipated release 1st Dec 2011
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: The Vagabond King by James Conway

Chris found out, courtesy of his unwitting rowing parents, that the man he thought was his father was not. After his mum dies the 16 year old is haunted by a being urging him to look deeper at himself. His adoptive father is a no - nonsense kind of man who doesn't have any time for finding oneself and Chris leaves home. He seeks out  acquaintance & middle-aged waitress Magda, envisioning her as both a lover and guide in life. The reality is that she lives with her immigrant Hungarian father, a man lost in the past, with nothing more in his life than beer and the Blues.

This is a story about young man finding his way in life, and also about how history repeats itself. Magda is well read and teaches Chris about various deities and the common threads running through many religions and belief systems. She is teasing yet seems to have an affection for the young man they take in. The Old Man shares his life story and Chris, initially repulsed by him, gradually begins to understand him. His stories about the events leading up to his flight from Hungary paint a picture of a survivor. I liked Chris, who battles between wanting the bright future his father sees for him and the need to discover who he really is, and his desire to travel to Europe.

I found this book an absorbing read, and while I can't quite put my finger on it there is something special about it. Perhaps it is the merger of beliefs and mythology with the gritty details of a life hard lived, played out with a background of soulful Blues. In places it felt a little repetitive, but that may have been an intentional echo of the call and response style of the Blues. The end caught me unawares and added another dimension to the story.

I really enjoyed this book and the feelings it evoked as I read. It also made me think as I read, no bad thing!

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Space by Emily Sue Harvey

Although it isn't one of the main genres I read I do enjoy inspirational fiction now and then, and when I had the opportunity to take part in Emily Sue Harvey's blog tour for her book Space I was keen to review the book.

Dan and Deede Stowe are a solid couple who have raised their much desired miracle daughter Faith and are now looking forward to reaping the rewards of their hard work and enjoying retirement together. These plans go very much awry when their  recovering drug addict Faith moves back in with them. She is divorced with a daughter of her own and for reasons incomprehensible to her parents has spiralled into an addiction that has nearly killed her more than once.

Dan and Deede are both religious and find strength in their faith. However they find themselves with opposing views on how to deal with their daughter, her unreasonable behaviour, the financial burden, the impact of the stress on their health and the loss of their own space. What should they do to save their daughter, and themselves?

I found this a very moving story that painted a picture of a devoted couple who should be relaxing and enjoying life instead having to fund and support Faith to try and stop her killing herself. There is no graphic details of her drug use, and in this case what is unsaid is almost as powerful. I thought that while some might find the religious aspect a little off-putting for me the fact they had both their faith and a very supportive family to fall back on yet still struggled to cope highlighted how difficult a situation it must be. It must be any parent's nightmare and I found it hard to put down as I wanted to find out how it turned out for their family. Most of the story is told from Deede's viewpoint, but there are some parts written from Faith's perspective to help her mother understand why she became an addict. This was a really clever device and helped me as a reader get a better idea of how they found themselves where they did.

This was a touching yet enjoyable read and I'll be looking up the author's other books.

Format: Paperback, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith

Alison Temple's life is full of colourful characters, like her psychic postman, club manager friend Taron whose mother is a witch, and inventor lodger slash might be boyfriend Jeff. After using Fitzgerald's Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I) to catch out her cheating husband she takes a job there. It primarily comprises dull temping jobs to get the goods on other women's cheating husbands but now the boss, Ella Fitzgerald, is on to something big, related to animal experimentation taking place in the South West of England.

The plot basically involves the investigation into what is going on in the South West, and Taron's search for an abandoned baby to become an apprentice to her mother. However these elements really feels like a backdrop for the goings on of the author's zany characters. Alison seems lost and has plenty of opportunity to ponder those strange little things in life, with myriads quirky observations that made me smile or nod, and wonder along with her. Alison doesn't seem like much of a PI but she is warm, funny and full of interesting thoughts.

This book encompasses some very diverse characters, lots of drugs and even bestiality, but despite this it is a quick, light read with a quirky sense of humour. I'm still wondering what the meat of a shig (sheep/pig) would taste like and what sauce you'd have with it. Don't read it expecting a crime story or any obvious Alice in Wonderland connections, but do expect some humour and some soul-searching as Alison tries to move forward after her divorce.

I have read a couple of Helen's other books before this, but this was her first. I think her later works are probably more honed and show a wonderful development of the author's descriptive talent, but Alison is a strangely likable character and I found it an enjoyable read.

Format: Kindle, I think I won this book in a giveaway
My Rating: 3*

Book Review: An Epitaph for Coyote by Bryan R Dennis

Henry Pluck is a dream employee, devoted to his job, always early and never one to indulge in chit chat with his colleagues. His home is spartan and orderly, his diet predictable and his leisure time unusual for a young single man - he visits a nursing home. He is living the dream, and remembering his mum's pearls of wisdom to make his way in the world. That is until his world collides with that of bug exterminator Rosa Santana.

He's attracted by her manner from the word go, but as he gets to know her realises she is a free spirit who thinks way outside the corporate box. She's firmly in the driving seat in their relationship and introduces him to a world he had never really stopped to take time to appreciate. Until they met he hadn't paid any really attention to the desert surrounding Las Vegas, the moon or the impact of urban sprawl. Henry starts to question what he is doing with his life and how to make it better.

At the start of the book Henry was presented as a deeply unsympathetic character, a man whose life is so regulated and perfect I couldn't see myself liking him. However Rosa makes him take a good look at himself and he grows a lot in the course of the book, and also reveals a sense of humour and compassion on the way. Rather than being dull and overly perfectionist he becomes quirky and caring. Rosa is completely off the wall compared to Henry, has a real sense of fun yet is serious and has much wider world view than he does. I liked her immediately and found that she retained a degree of mystery that made her intriguing.

This is a story of human nature and the quest for meaning among other things. It presents a different side of Las Vegas to the one we see so often. It is beautifully written and I loved the amazing imagery the author uses. His descriptions of many things rang so true I could see those things right before my eyes. His observations and way of putting them into words were just spot on and often beautiful.

The only negative I could come up with was the small number of typos including the repeated use of queue rather than cue. However it was a minor issue in the grand scheme of things. I'd love to read more from this author.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: The Water Men by Adelaide MacKenzie Fuss

A life in California, surfing in the Pacific, to me sounds perfect. Devon, England is hardly the West Coast. My view of the lifestyle has probably been distorted by too many American TV shows so this book sounded like a bit of an antidote.

Shawn McGuire was living the American dream, but it has now faded and he's wide awake. He has retired at the age of 36, a multi-millionaire, and returned to his home town of Newport Beach. His plan is to surf and to find some sort of spiritual nourishment. His mum hasn't seen him for years and is a prickly lady to deal with. His neighbours are mostly in a similar position, millionaires with time on their hands and not much in the way of a plan. He realises his mum is one of the things drawing him back, the unsolved disappearance of a former schoolmate is another.

This story charts about a year in Shawn's life, although until near the end the timescale isn't clear which gave me the same sort of drifting, unanchored feeling I imagine Shawn would have after a life in the hectic business world. He find some sort of purpose in his life when he rescues abandoned dog Oliver, who leads him to the woman he marries. Theirs isn't a conventional marriage though and Shawn focuses more time on rescuing alcoholic neighbour Russ and former surgeon Jimmy. He also finds a way to try and do some good for the community. While doing all of this things start to come together for him.

With the description talking about Shawn searching for missing pieces of his soul I did wonder whether this might be a little too philosophical and highbrow to be a really enjoyable read. I turned out to be totally wrong. Shawn is a nice guy who has made good and is now searching for meaning beyond his value in $$$s. As a character I really warmed to him and the good things he was doing in his search for a better life. The author's descriptions of the Pacific and the surf lifestyle, while blunt about the potential dangers, has made me determined to make it as far as the West coast one day. It sounds amazing.

This is a wonderful piece of contemporary fiction that I have been thinking about since I finished it yesterday. I think it is one of those books that will stay with me for longer than most as I continue to think about what is really important in life and what brings a person meaning. This may make it sound like a heavy read but it really wasn't, and although it's a reasonable length it was the work of a day to read it. Love it!

Format: Paperback, review copy
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: Walking Through Shadows by Tara Manuel

Small towns always seem to offer a range of distinctive characters, and more often than not you can trace the links between them. That is exactly what Tara Manual does in this book. It is effectively a collection of short stories, each revolving around one of these characters, with some of the stories and people being connected in various often unexpected ways.

Spider Girl is a lonely teen who has built up a fantasy life and is vulnerable to online predators, predators like her seedy teacher Don Wand. The self-styled White Prince is a noted member of the community but disliked by many around him, including the young man whose father's life he has destroyed, and the committee member who sees through his facade.

The individual stories are beautifully crafted but the way they work together is brilliant. I'm not sure whether to consider it a novel, or an anthology, either way it is a clever work. The author has peeled back the respectable veneer of a religious small town and picked some fascinating characters to introduce to the reader. This piece of fairly dark contemporary fiction really engaged me and for anyone who likes short stories and fiction with a hint of noir I would highly recommend this book.

Format: E-book, review copy (only available in paperback at present)
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu

There can't be many places in the world that are as fierce about trying to control foreign interest as Zimbabwe. Many of us undoubtedly know the headlines but little about the daily life of the country. I love novels set abroad and find those set in Africa particularly interesting, and as Zimbabwe is something of a mystery this was an alluring offering.

Vimbai is the queen of Mrs Khumalo's salon, revelling in her reputation and enjoying esteemed clientele. Her position is threatened when Dumisani is taken on. She tries to remain immune to his charm but when he can no longer afford his rent she takes him in as a lodger. She gradually comes to see him as a friend, and when she attends his brother's wedding with him in an attempt to heal a family rift she is surprised to find out he is from a wealthy family. Despite her lowly roots, and her status as the mother of an illegitimate child, they welcome her into their family. Their relationship gradually changes but the pair are moving in different directions, and the future becomes perilous when a secret blows their world apart.

The early part of this book provides a picture of daily life for the ladies in the salon and while politics influences so many aspects of their life it isn't explicitly discussed. Hyperinflation is so much the norm it barely rates a mention. Despite the country's problems there is humour too. The story gradually picks up pace and starts to address more serious issues, such as racial intolerance and homophobia, as it progresses. While the secret that changes the course of Vimbai and Dumisani's lives came as no surprise to me the results of the revelation were dramatic and saddening.

I thought this was a beautifully written novel, especially for a debut, and the author's style feels polished and accomplished. Despite an economy with descriptive prose I could almost imagine the places Vimbai frequents. The use of local lingo threw me to start with, but once I accepted there was no need for interpretation, just a sense of the meanings, it added to the feel of the book. The violence and narrow-mindedness was astonishing to me, but values are relative and while Vimbai's initial response to Dumi's secret shocked me I found myself trying to look at the situation through different eyes and with a different upbringing.

I devoured this book over the course of two days in a matter of hours, and am struggling to find any criticisms to level at it. This is a great piece of contemporary fiction.

Format: Review e-book copy
My Rating: 5*

Book Review: The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

I noticed this book on Netgalley with a note that a portion of the proceeds will go towards Japan Disaster Relief, so if nothing else it caught my eye for that. I like fiction set in Japan and China but in the past have read mostly historical rather than contemporary fiction.

I was glad when I finished the book and went online to get all the details to do this review that I hadn't re-read the blurb as it gives away one of the key points of the plot and would have been a real spoiler if my memory was better. Chihiro moves from the small town she was brought up in to Tokyo after the death of her mother. Her parents were unmarried and did not have a conventional relationship, she the mama-san of a club, he a prominent businessman, Chihiro pigeonholed by others on the basis of her parentage. Tokyo is to be a fresh start and an escape. The book tells the story of her growing relationship with the man she sees looking out of her window, whose past holds a dark secret.

The prose is simple and beautiful, the story of the young couple and his friends is sweet and sad, and it was refreshing to read a story where the relationship develops slowly and cautiously, isn't based on looks and passion and where are a different, more comfortable partnership is the key to happiness. They are no poster couple for the romantic ideal. The characters are all quirky and complicated.

I'm not sure whether this was a long novella or a short novel but it took me less than 3 hours to read. It certainly didn't seem like a full length novel. I can't put my finger on why but something about this book had me entranced and I'll be looking up other works by the same author.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 5*