The Flathunter by Dan Trelfer

Moving is always going to be stressful but when you're in a big city looking for a flat share and facing interviews from a panel of current tenants who all have very different ideas about a new sharer it can only be more difficult. In this book the Flathunter nobly decides to undertake an experiment to come up with guaranteed techniques for successful flat share hunting. To start with it all goes well, but he becomes gradually more random and less focused as strange experiments and personal anecdotes begin to take over.


I had anticipated a non-fiction comedic guide and while it started off quite light and humorous the Flathunter's behaviour became distinctly odd. I found a bit of a disconnect between what I was expecting and what I was getting, which was more of a slightly dark novel. It wasn't so much a comedy guide to finding a new home as a descent into depression as the narrator sees his project veer off track and his personal life start to crumble. Although the narrator reveals a bit about his life and relationship I never felt like I got a proper feel for him and to me this was very much plot driven.


It was well written, there were definite moments that rang bells in relation to stories I've heard from friends, and it raised a few grins. All good stuff. However finding something different to my expectations affected my view of it and as the focus shifted the humour wasn't really the sort that had me laughing along. It was a bit too dark to be madcap, but not black enough to fall into that category. My rating is probably more a matter of taste than a reflection of the quality of the writing or the plot. 


Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating:  2*

Book Review - Casino Shuffle by J. Fields Jr.

If you want all the behind the scenes gossip from a casino who better to go to than the head butler, with his virtually unlimited access to the VIPs and high rollers. Antonio Cruz holds exactly that position at the Native Sun Casino. He has quite a weekend coming up, what with high profile celeb duo Shanndon and regular high roller Max staying at the casino. He is a precise and cultured man who takes pride in making sure the service he and his staff provide is just so. However it takes more than a sex-crazed Eminem wannabe, a determined paparazzo and some serious confusion over his staff to put him off his stride.

This book was humorous in places, with a vein of romance running through it and moments of action. If it was on TV it would be a sit-com, so I suppose if I had to pigeon hole it into a particular genre it would have to be a comedy. I found this a really enjoyable read. I didn't want to put it down and raced through it following the unfolding drama and waiting to see if there was anything that would make the unflappable Antonio flap. That the book starts with brief style notes on his wardrobe choices for the weekend gives you an idea of the type of man he is. There is a will they/won't they element with two of the major characters that I was also keen to see the resolution to.


I thought Antonio was brilliant, with a dry humour and can do approach to everything thrown at him. I also warmed to pro-poker player Max, whose childhood moving around casinos and learning from showgirls has left him something of an outsider. Even secretive starlet Shannon is appealing, turning out to be very different to the expected diva. A lot of the characters play on stereotypes to an extent: the stuffy butler, the geeks in the basement monitoring the CCTV, the fame hungry popstar, but the author has managed to avoid turning them into total cliches.


There were a few minor typos and if you are thinking of picking this book up I'd suggest bypassing the description on Amazon and Goodreads, which gives away too much of the plot for my liking. This was a fun, easy read with a couple of little twists in the tail and I would definitely be happy to see further installments featuring Antonio and his staff.


Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Shut Up: We All Have Issues by Corey Deitz

I picked this up as a freebie when it was randomly brought to my attention at the top of the list of humourous foreign language kindle books on Amazon.es I had never heard of Corey Deitz before (and am now waiting for comments enquiring about what rock I've been hiding under) The description read thus:

"This book is one man's quest to rid himself of all his psychological demons by exorcising them with self-deprecating humor.

By day, Corey Deitz is a radio personality. By night, he's just another poor, neurotic slob curling up in a fetal position and sobbing like a little girl in the corner of a room. Deitz has issues and doesn't mind putting them on display in the hopes the reader will realize in comparison, he or she is not as bad off as previously thought.

This book is a landmark in understanding the human mind and the author should be commended for allowing his pathetic fears, mental ticks, and social anxieties to be put on display like a piece of salmon at Sigmund Freud's favorite delicatessen.

Deitz's philosophy is clear: why pay hundreds of dollars to a shrink with a fancy business card when this book is dirt cheap. In a world full of pretentious psychiatrists and expensive couches, Shut Up: We All Have Issues is a fresh look at getting your head straight at futon prices"

I think it was the title that caught my attention more than anything. I've been a bit of a grump lately over certain people I know who never stop moaning but don't really have anything to moan about!

What I got certainly wasn't what I expected. There was far more humour at the expense of others than self-deprecating humour, and maybe I need to check my sense of humour but I don't find mocking people who hoard dead animals in their freezers all that funny. Yes, in places I found myself agreeing with the author's rants and it raised a smile or two but most of it I found un-funny, and a lot of the American political humour went right over my head. I know a little about US politics but not enough to get the jokes in this book.

As far this book providing a way of getting your head straight at futon prices, up to 85% in the book was just a series of anecdotes that often rambled off on odd tangents. It was only after that point that there was any element of how the book might help the reader (and you need to bear in mind there were shedloads of footnotes so that 15% wasn't all advice)

I wasn't expecting much in the way of a self-help book but I was expecting something that might make me look at my life in a more positive light perhaps. This was a very odd read, and now I've reviewed it I will be deleting it from my kindle.

Format: Kindle, freebie
My Rating: 1*

Book Review: The Desperate Dad's Guide to Getting Some by Jackie Papandrew

In The Desperate Dad's Guide to Getting Some & Other Tales from a Slightly Soiled Marriage the author, humour columnist and contributor to several books including Chicken Soup for the Soul, has provided a short book that women will laugh at and men might finding a revelation.

With chapters including High-Maintenance Woman & Did I Shave My Legs For This? the reader is treated to a comic look at the difference between men and women. Her husband Greg provides plenty of material, but some of the scenarios are so familiar she could have been a fly on the wall at my place. The cutlery rattling Silverware Slam and the argument ending Fine rung particular bells. There is one chapter that might benefit from a little change of phrase for the UK market - fanny doesn't mean bottom to most Brits!

This was a quick fun read full of silly anecdotes that had me smiling along.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*

Book Review: The Wrinkly by Paul Collis

I like a good comedy, and I've seen one or two communities in Florida that have quite frankly scared me with their perfect appearances and promises of idyll, so this seemed like a good read for me.

Mike Lewis is 39, sells TV advertising slots & dates younger women. On a trip to Florida for a conference he discovers a community with wonderful leisure facilities and every class going to enrich a life. All the people he sees look happy. Returning home he checks into his financial affairs and decides to move there, announcing at his 40th birthday party that he's taking early retirement. It's only after he's paid the deposit on a rental home that he realises it's for the over 60s only. He's so sold on the way of life that he decides drastic action is necessary to blag his way in. Once there he finds himself playing plenty of golf, and meeting attractive women of various ages. However keeping up the facade provides good comedy material. While trying to adopt the gait, voice and habits of a man 20 years older he still finds himself fending of advances, ends up in a very confusing romantic situation and finds the golf club is being used by drug dealers.

The basic premise is a bit far-fetched, and at the start I didn't understand why Mike was so easily hooked on the idea of moving to Goldenville, but if you get past that and enjoy the ride there's some good humour to be had from the situation. The author also makes his motivation for the move a little clearer later on in the book. Many of the characters are larger than life and although Mike felt like the only fully developed one the ensemble cast helped make the book.

The plot is pretty simple and provides some nice humour. There is some wonderful description of Mike's encounter with manatees and his visit to the Everglades which I particularly liked, and found so evocative I assume they are close to the author's heart. This wasn't a particularly long book, and it was a nice, easy fun read that left me in a good mood. If I was the sort of person who kept a pile of books for summer/holiday reading this would sit nicely in that pile.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*

Book Review: The Cornerstone by Nick Spalding

For a bored, x-box loving teenage boy the local library doesn't seem like an obvious choice of venue for an afternoon's entertainment. Yet that is where Max Bloom, a boy with "less purpose than an ambivalent sloth" finds himself one drizzly afternoon. Browsing a book he discovers a curious note which leads him to the Cornerstone - no ordinary book. It certainly makes his afternoon more interesting when it transports him to another universe, one which needs help saving itself (and Earth) from the Dwellers. Summoned by beautiful 16 year old Merelie Max is torn - delighted to have reason to talk to a gorgeous girl, but baffled by her insistence he must be able to harness the power of all the books on Earth to wordcraft. Yes, she's lovely but these Dwellers are pretty nasty and he's not convinced he can do magic.

This book is a comic fantasy novel. There's some cracking observational humour that really rings true, and plenty of laughs throughout. With the main protagonist being a seventeen year old the humour isn't too adult but a lot of the humour comes from observations about seventeen year old boys that older people would probably find funnier than teens themselves.

I do like fantasy novels like this one that don't take themselves too seriously, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the author has created a great alternative world and society with means of travel to other places and a form of magic I thought was brilliant. As a keen reader I loved the concept of harnessing the power of words and instead of having a God having a Writer. The action was well-paced and there was plenty going on to keep me interested, although the plot is pretty straightforward.

Max is so stereotypical, perpetually bored (until he meets the Cornerstone), mouthy, embarrassed by his mum, but I couldn't help but be on his side. The other characters aren't as strongly drawn but I reacted to them in the way I suspect the author wanted the reader to. I'd love to know more about Merelie and I thought Max's grandad was great.

Nick Spalding has two other books available, comic autobiographies but this is his first novel. I have Life With No Breaks on my kindle, yet to read it. If the humour is in the same vein and as polished, well formatted and proofed as this I'll definitely enjoy it. I was pleased to see Nick's teaser about potential future installments of the series, and liked his insight into how the book was conceived.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Coffin Dodgers by Gary Marshall

Some time in the not too distant future an ageing population has become even more of an issue. Natural procreation has all but ground to a halt, and young people are massively outnumbered by and subservient to their elders. Wealthy seniors are spending their time, and large amounts of money, in casinos and on the golf course. 20-something Matt and friends Dave and Amy all work in a casino, and spend their free time playing juvenile pranks like writing "Old Farts" on the bowling green with weedkiller. They are as irreverent as the title and Dave's disastrous love life and Matt's crush on best friend Amy are their main concerns, until Matt realises someone tried to kill him in an "accident" When the police refuse to investigate he decides to look further and the trio uncover a sinister plot to pick off young people.

This book was a really quick, fun read. I romped through it, amused by the antics of the threesome and curious to find out what was going on and whether justice would be served. It's set in a world that's not too hard to envisage and the three main characters are the sort of people I could happily sit and chat in the pub with. Written in the first person from Matt's viewpoint the style is chatty and conversational, and the banter felt very familiar. I really warmed to Matt and wanted a HEA (happy ever after) for him and Amy. It had me chuckling away in places, definitely a few LOL moments reading it.

I liked the crime story running through it, it was quite a clever idea especially bearing in mind the book's setting, and a nice variation on a theme I have seen before. The bad guys were a bit stereotypical but in a comedy with such likable good guys that wasn't a problem. Coffin Dodgers is a fun, light-hearted read that doesn't take itself too seriously and Gary Marshall's debut is a well-polished end product. I'll be keeping an eye out for his work in future.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Technically Magic by D C Arnold

I stumbled across this book on Authonomy and enjoyed the first chapter so much I decided to buy the book for my kindle.

Simon is a computer technician, and self-professed geek, who is in turns shocked and overjoyed when he is told he is a wizard. He doesn't get a lot of time to enjoy this revelation though as his mentor is kidnapped on the first day of his apprenticeship and he is left with a sentient book and a demon with an attitude, named Sal, to help him save the world. Getting himself on the Wanted list in pretty short time doesn't improve matters much! Will he be able to get his potential Familiar, Charlotte, on side, figure out how to travel between the moon and earth undetected and prevent oblivion?

The tone of the book is quite conversational and Simon is so self-deprecating I found him likeable and felt like a friend was chatting to me. I also really enjoyed sweet Familiar Charlotte and grumpy Sal. Overall the book is written with a humorous edge and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's just silly enough without undermining the story.

There are some scenes I loved while others I have to admit left me a bit confused. In places I didn't find it totally clear who was doing what and why, and a bit more clarity would have been welcome. One thing that jarred a bit was the continuous references to the iPhone, at times it felt more like product placement than anything else. My final minor moan would be that the formatting isn't great. There are some large gaps between paragraphs and I noticed a few places were just a sentence or couple of words were in the middle of a great bit space.

Despite a few little niggles this book has a real charm about it and a few changes by the author could make it even better. On the strength of the characters and the fun of it I think it has to be a 4* for me.

Format: Kindle, bought by me
My Rating: 4*

Book Review: Royal Wisdom by Kate Petrella

                                                                                I checked the product info for this kindle book earlier and was shocked when I saw the current kindle price of nearly £5! If I had paid that much for it I'd have given it just one star I'd have been that hacked off. I picked this up when it was free as a couple of the quotes mentioned in the synopsis amused me and I've always been a closet Prince Philip fan.

Yes, this book has some fun quotes included, and yes there were some I wasn't familiar with. I hadn't really appreciated how good a (dry) sense of humour Anne and Charles have before either. But, and this is a big but, it is a short book. By the time you have taken out about a quarter of the length for a list of sources and probably the same again for illustrations of various things British and regal you are left with maybe half an hour of reading if you're lucky. Some of the quotes, especially Sarah Ferguson's were quite repetitive, saying the same thing slightly differently and some just weren't very interesting. It also missed some of my fave Prince Philip gaffes, and it really could have done with them. It was also have been better if the quotes at least had the year they were from to give some context. Looking at the sources most people reading this probably could have compiled the quotes online themselves in very little time and saved themselves the money.

This book gave me a few chuckles and as a free book it was ok, but had I paid more than about the 70p you can pick up a lot of great short stories for I'd have been seriously disappointed.

Format: Kindle, freebie
My Rating: 2*

Book review: Learn Me Good by John Pearson

This book takes the form of a series of emails from Jack Woodson to a former colleague, Fred. Jack was made redundant after nearly 4 years at a thermal design firm, and decided to retrain as a teacher. The emails cover his first year as an educator, teaching 3rd grade and while names have been changed to protect the innocent the emails are based on real experiences.

The format of the book meant it was a nice easy read, with the emails creating an equivalent to short chapters. It would have been a nice book to have dipped into when I only had a bit of spare time to read, but in reality I read this over the course of two afternoons.

Due to the nature of the book, while we learn a bit about the background and physical attributes of Jack and some of his class and colleagues, this isn't really a character driven book, it's more of a literary sit-com. There are plenty of anecdotes about what his charges have said or done, and his responses to them. Some of the stories are so shocking you have to laugh and others must have bemused Jack as they certainly puzzled me. It is certainly a funny book and I found myself chuckling quite a lot. However I am also now in a state of fear. What starts in the States often makes it's way to this side of the pond, so I guess by the time my little one starts school I'll have to buy gifts for teacher for all sorts of occasions with no relation to education.

Quips aside it was also interesting to find out incidentally about some of the issues facing urban schools. I suspect a lot of the issues are the same here as in the US, such as teaching kids for whom English isn't a first language and endless testing. Don't expect serious debate though, this is a light hearted, irreverent book that suited my need for a short, humourous read perfectly.

Book Review: The Reluctant Traveller by Bill Lumley

Author Bill is afraid of all sorts of things, and it seems usually has ready-prepared excuses to keep himself out of harm's way. So a climbing trip to find a lost mountain in Ethiopia was never going to be his perfect holiday. Shame he managed to agree to the trip while under the influence and amazing he didn't manage to wheedle his way out of it.

I found this account of his travels in Ethiopia and the hazards he encounters along the way laugh out loud funny, there are some great one liners, but also very interesting. His descriptions of the places may not win him any friends at the tourist board but have painted a picture for me (who definitely doesn't have Ethiopia on her list of places to see) and I now feel like I have a better feel for the geography and climate of the place, as well as what might face the intrepid travellers who do go there. I also picked up a few facts which might come in handy for the pub quiz.

This was a funny, easy read and well worth every penny.

Review: The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland Age 42 and Three Quarters by Barbara Silkstone

It's been a long time since I read Alice in Wonderland but it didn't affect my appreciation of this book one bit. The main character, Alice, is a neurotic, germophobic, anglophile whose life has gone seriously off the rails. Her strange world is full of characters resembling those in Lewis Carroll's book and she's started seeing the Cheshire Cat. She works for a killer who litigates for a hobby, and is being leant on by the shady family of one of his victims to secure a confession from him and testify against him at trial. To try and escape her life in Miami she goes online where she finds Nigel. He seems to be her perfect man, English, witty, eccentric, with an air of John Cleese about him. Unfortunately despite some glaring clues that he is not what he seems Alice is blind to it. He takes her on a jaunt around Europe, where he is attacked by a phantom fish flinger and she is convinced they are being followed. Alice had been hoping to escape the drama in Miami and settle down with Nigel, ideally in the Cotswolds, but things don't look like they are going to go her way.

The book is (unsurprisingly) written in the form of a diary, which has quotes from Carroll's book at the start of each section. I thought the way the quotes were weaved in was clever. The story whips along at quite a pace and is a combination of romance and whodunnit. Despite the fact Alice is a xanax popping mess who needs a good shake to see Nigel for what he really is I still liked her. She isn't a simpering victim, she's got guts and a sense of humour. This is a quirky tale with the sort of humour I associate with comedies like A Fish Called Wanda, perhaps why Alice is so keen to find a John Cleese-alike. All in all a fun modern fairytale, read it and see if Alice gets her happy ending.