Summer Book Review: The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish

Purchase|Goodreads

My Synopsis 

Imagine This: You just threw in all your savings, borrowed from your parents and purchased a monstrous house going at a surprisingly low rate on Lime Park Road, the neighborhood every family wants to move into.

But you are not exactly living the suburbia dream. None of your neighbours have come out to introduce themselves. And the ones far off your property aren't exactly warming up to you because they have no idea why you look down on them for giving up a chance at a possible career to be a stay-at-home(—you really hadn't intended to do this, there are really only a few ways to hide shock.)

Apparently, the old residents of your house upped and left after less than a year of moving in. Everyone loved them. Hence, perhaps, no one can take a liking to you and your husband for taking their place?

Far from your assumptions, this neighborhood is keeping a secret. A secret about the reason the old neighbours suddenly moved. And though your husband tells you to use your free time for something useful, you can't help but watch behind a curtain, as the mystery unravels.

Soon, you'd be dealing with threats from a bad-tempered neighbour next door, the mysterious story of the woman whose place you live in, whose leftover jewelry you wear around, who in the course of a few months made Lime Park Road the neighbourhood no one wants to remain in.

Christy Davenport's life summed up for your delight.

My Review.

I adored this book so much you know in my review I'd be telling you to ditch every summer book you are reading this year and get into the Lime Park Road mystery.

I very much loved the storyline! I read the blurb of this book and gasped! It was so Desperate Housewives, I thought (a series I'm praying ABC would do a remake of). Imagine Wisteria Lane gone quiet (you'd have to kill Libby), everyone is keeping a secret about the old residents' home which was the entertainment center of the neighbourhood, and no one is talking to the newbies because they want to give nothing away. A star!──★

The book begins with an undercurrent of mystery that made me position myself at the edge of my seat right from the start. Why did the Frasers leave? you'd ask yourself. And why's everyone being so distant to the newbies? Why are there no signs of life in the neighborhood? A star!──★★

I loved the main characters. The story is told in two point-of-views. There's Amber Fraser, the previous resident of number 40, who wins you over with her first-person narration that has so much character adding a layer of complexity to the already complex, mysterious character she is. You'd also love Christy Davenport, the new resident of number 40, who's account is told in third-person and reveals a woman dull in contrast to her predecessor who wants to find answers to the puzzling questions about the neighborhood and the old residents. A star!──★★★

Other characters in this title add to its perfection. There's Rob, the surly neighbour in Christy's account and the enigmatic heart-throb in Amber's account. There's Caroline, the Mummy Bee in charge of running the lives of the neighbourhood wives. There's Felicity, the senior citizen who reminds me a lot of Mrs. McCluskey but a lot less nosy and very suspicious of Amber Fraser's flawlessness. There's Joe, Christy's husband who has a job that wears him out and is vaguely intrigued by his wife's stories as neighborhood spy (—though not for long). Jeremy Fraser, Amber's husband who's so rich, loving and caring to a fault! A star──★★★★

I would always love this book because it rekindled a missing-Desperate-Housewives emotion I was trying to put off with Pretty Little Liars (another horrible neighborhood drama). A star!──★★★★★

Oh, I adored how it ended! The whole mystery unravelling with time at an unenviable pace. An end, which has too much sequel-ability, I would be ecstatic if, Candlish began the Lime Park Road series. ──★★★★★

My rating: 5/5 stars. 

Louise Candlish's amazing The Sudden Departure of the Frasers is available on Amazon. 

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Domestic Thrillers! Anyone who wants a book that would get them reading into the soft hours even if they have so much commitment the following Day. Anyone who loved Desperate Housewives and the shenanigans of the people of Wisteria Lane like I did, should go grab this! A fab summer read you could easily juggle around your daily routine, putting your legs up for more excitement anytime you deem to resume.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on goodreads and Amazon 

Summer Book Review: The Good Girl by Fiona Neill

Purchase| Goodreads 

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are the mother of three amazing children. Though they hate you for being headmistress of their school who brought into effect the appropriate length of school-uniform skirts and a ban on mobile phones being used in the classroom.

Everything’s going perfect, really. Your husband, a neuroscientist, is being supportive at home picking up your children and having dinner on the table before you get back from work. You admit your working hours doesn’t favour you putting your youngest to sleep but you could work around it.

Then the storm hits. A video is brought to your complaint. A sex video in which your perfect straight-A daughter is the lead actress starring alongside a penis. Then suddenly, everything isn’t as it seems.

Who’s the owner of this penis? Why can’t you take the video off the internet? Why does the world have a fetish for children under the age of seventeen engaging in immoral sexual acts?

Most importantly, why did you daughter do this?—a question which leads to powerful secrets you thought you’d shut the lid on after you began a new life.

Ailsa Field’s puzzling and tragic life summed up for your delight.

MY REVIEW

Whew! Thank God, I finally let go off this book to write this review informing you to go buy the hell out of it!

Fantastic Storyline. I am so ashamed I have never read anything by Fiona Neill. She’s brilliant… as you all might know already. But this book is something else.  So Woman’s battling to make her life seem perfect. She has everything together. Until the new neighbours move in. And her family would never be the same again. Of course, it’s easy to shift the blame on the new neighbours. But unknowingly, she finds the new neighbours were just a catalyst for what was already bound to happen. Amazing storyline.── ★

This is one of the few well-researched novels out there, people! It has so much info on the innings of the brain I wondered if I’d stepped into a wrong lecture and was being rewarded (not bombarded) with so much enlightening stuff. I also wondered how long Fiona Neill took to cram all that stuff into penning this insightful novel—I imagined her editors persistently emailing her for her first 10,000. Brilliant information on neuroscience, slut-shaming and the woes of the internet age. A star.── ★★

It’s one of the few books that would make you love internal monologue! Told in the voices of a mother reacting to events before and after the catastrophe—in third person, and a daughter giving her honest view of what her parents are not aware of—first person, it’s engaging and captivating!── ★★★

The two main characters were brilliant! You’d love, Ailsa (which for a larger part of the novel I’d misread as ‘Alisa’) , the headmistress and past English teacher for being very reserved, very supportive of her family and mostly being the man in her family when her husband has failed to man up to situations. She’s the kind of mother you’d relate to and adore. Also, there’s Romy, her clever daughter you’d wish was your own… until she makes the dreadful mistake of shattering her future. A star.── ★★★★

Other characters make this book enjoyable as well. In fact, all the characters! There’s Harry, the supportive husband who’s always looking for a compliment on the meals he cooks. There’s Luke, the son with no direction, bringing as many girls as he can home for the night. There’s Ben, the weird, adorable, err, peculiar youngest son who always hoards the last portion of food in his room. There’s Adam, Ailsa’s father who drinks more than he speaks. Rachael, Ailsa’s sister whose love-life is a mess.  There’s the Fairports—the new neighbours who are sex therapists and their sons. A star to all these characters and the ones I can’t mention because of the length this review is bordering on.

This book is suspenseful! Engaging! I read four hundred pages in a day! That’s double my reading limit! I couldn’t put it down even when I had to break to do my laundry—I was balancing it over a box of detergent and a huge pile of clothes. So many OMG-moments at one point I rolled my eyes at the ceiling wondering when Fiona Neill would keep surprising the hell out of me! You read loads of titles about family secrets, but I assure you, they do not come as close! A star!── ★★★★★

My rating: Six/five stars (6/5 stars)! 

Fiona Neill’s breath-taking latest is available on amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a title that would keep them on their toes this summer! Anyone who can handle a little more than enough suspense should go get this title! 

Anyone who wants a book part insightful, part subversive, thoroughly entertaining must run to the bookshops now with the title of this book on their lips—The Good Girl by Fiona Neill (—the good writer! Yeah, I’m cheesy like that!)

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads and shitty amazon who would make me cut a chunk of this review.

Summer Book Review: TechBitch by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

AMAZON| GOODREADS

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You’ve taken a ‘sabbatical’—which everyone in fashion knows is a term used when you’re recovering from going under a blade—from your job as Editor-In-Chief of one of the most popular fashion magazines. Only to come back to work to find your assistant twirling around in your office chair—in clothes that do not look like they are from the supply closet.

Turns out, she’s fired all your editors, replaced them with twenty-somethings who do not acknowledge your presence when you walk into the conference room because they are too busy on their phones, she’s banging on about organic traffic, referral traffic and other kinds of traffic you have no idea about. And most importantly, she’s turning your magazine into an app. An idea you’d later find out your publishing executive is on board with.

As Editor-in-Chief of your magazine (now becoming an app), it’s obvious you are supposed to call the shots. But what do you do when you have no idea about tech stuff, when you used to have your assistant print out your all emails, when you’ve updated your status on Facebook three times since you created it (a long time ago).

It’s no news your assistant, now Editorial Director, wants to prove you redundant enough to get you to lose your job. But you wouldn’t let that happen. Not if you could tell the difference between an instagram and a tweet before your magazine turns into an app.

But watch out, your assistant wouldn’t wait around for you to catch up. No. Not if she has anything to do with it.

Imogen Tate’s life summed up for your delight.

MY REVIEW

Go buy this book before I can afford a Louboutin in time to hurl one at you! I loved, loved this book!

Fantastic storyline! Woman survives breast cancer only to come back to work battling a force that might be so powerful than cancer: a back-stabbing assistant. Woman tries all she can to get with the times or find herself with no job in the cutthroat world of fashion. Woman needs to stand her assistant who has now become a version of Anna Wintour with everyone in the office tiptoeing around her. Beautiful! A star to the storyline.── ★

It’s so nice when a book transcends the vision a reader has for it! This was more than a book about fashion, to my surprise! It’s more of the handbook every woman in business must own to stay on top of things. It talks about a new age where twenty-somethings (like me!) are getting all the jobs at high places because they have all the knowledge about using technology to boost sales and you, like our main character, might be trying to wrap your head around Facebook only to find out now everyone is popularizing a new app called ‘Instagram’ more. Mothers dealing with the negative effects of technology on their children! So much more lessons for the contemporary woman! You can be sure this book is a book of the times and would never be irrelevant for thousands of years to come. Consider it a classic! A star!── ★★

You would love the main character Imogen. An epitome of class and style! You’d expect her to eat off her assistant’s head right when the latter is being a bitch, but she handles it with a dismissive nonchalant manner that makes her assistant more pissed off. Like I am calling this woman an old mare that has to be put out to pasture, why isn’t she reacting?! She’s not your stereotypical fashion bitchy boss—she listens(!), she’s the mother who’s always sneaking out of the office in time to go read her children to sleep. I loved her!── ★★★

Other characters made this book fab! There’s Eve, the assistant now Editorial Director who is such a bitch you’d find yourself plotting Imogen’s revenge and asking yourself why they hell isn’t Imogen taking your advice to end her. There’s Alex, Imogen’s adorable husband who’s so supportive and kind of the husband you ladies would dream of having if you have high-powered jobs—one who works like crazy and finds time for his family like crazy. There’s Annabel, Imogen’s adorable daughter who’s a Youtube sensation in some circles and posts videos of herself making smoothies—aww! There’s Rashid, the multi-million tech geek who’s Imogen’s go-to person for anything she doesn’t understand in tech. There’s Addison Cao the fashion journalist who always wants to get scoop of something juicy. There’s so much characters yoi wouldn’t find redundant including real-life stars making appearances. A star!── ★★★★

Reading this book is like watching a candle dissolve into wax (do I even get my analogies??), you do it slowly because you are scared it would end leaving you with the worst book hangover (not that watching candle wax could gives you any hangover). You are so enamoured by the world of fashion and its (the book’s) setting you are in no rush to finish it. You can trust that if I wasn’t a book blogger I would have read it a page a day! A star.── ★★★★★

My rating: I could give this book eighty-eight out of five stars (88/5) if my math teacher wouldn’t come clubbing me to death.

TechBitch by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza is available on amazon! Go get it! These kind of books come out a few times in a millennium—revolutionary books that would be made into movies five years (or sooner!) later. I wouldn’t be surprised if this book is the next biggest fashion motion picture since The Devil Wears Prada.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their chick-lit oh-so-true! Anyone who wants a book that fits with the times! Anyone who wants a book they could do over and over again—like when we book geeks say ‘I read  that book like five times and I still love it!’. Anyone who wants a chick-lit title that’s two words made into one… fan-frigging-tastic!

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads and (shitty) amazon (that would make me edit a chunk of this review! L)

Summer Book Review: The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are the best masseuse the Massage Industry(??) could ever get. Except lately, you’ve been so tired. It’s really not easy relieving people of the toughest kinks that ever existed. As if that is all, you are running all over London because of financial problems massaging in rented rooms all over the place. You really have no time for yourself.

Your friends keep telling you, you need a boyfriend, you need to get laid, what has it been like thirty-years since you ever had sex? Pressure is mounted on you at every angle. And you really could do with some massage yourself.

Then a Knight In Shining Armour walks into your life. (Only he’s not in real Armour, but I’ve always hated when people exchange a classic phrase for one that has ‘Armani’ in it!)

Anyway, he’s the guy of your dreams. He’s all you’ve ever dreamt of and more. He’s rich, he’s changing every part of your professional life. You two have the best chemistry, he’s making all those thirty years of waiting worth it.

But of late, you are worrying he’s been cheating. And let’s face it, you are a tad too possessive thanks to a childhood event that marred your life. What’s more annoying, your friends find something iffy about him too.

You need help! You need real help! But your one best friend has disappeared from the face of the earth? Where is Kate? And why isn’t she here to help you out of this dilemma?

Except Kate has a secret too. And she’s running away.

Annie Mulholland’s mysterious, romantic love-life summarised for your delight.

MY REVIEW

Oh, no! Do not read this book! Do not read this book if you cannot stand the MOTHER of OMG MOMENTS! I’d say this outright before I start this review! You would never see the twist and hits you like, um, a punch! Boom! And you are so surprised an author could ever have that effect on you. Obviously this title is finding its way into my Greatest Chick-Lit OMG Moments list! Fantastic! A star to OMG-moments.── ★

I loved, loved the storyline. Kate is running away! But what from? Annie is running away! But why can’t she make up her mind and just leave already! So beautiful. Kate’s storyline laden with secrets is so fascinating than Annie’s I must admit. Plus the fast-developing romantic interests in Annie’s life than Katie’s make this book all-so-worth reading! Fabulous storyline. A star!── ★★

You would love the two main characters. This book is told in first-person perspective of two different characters. Kate and Annie. You would love Annie for being… a great masseuse, for being, um, other things I am not sure I can admire of her: soft, needing guidance. But you’d definitely fall for her for following her heart! And the amazing OMG moment she pulls at the end which would get you rooting for more for her than you would Kate. OK, so let’s face it, it’s really hard not to take sides in this book. So Kate is my favourite! She’s funny, she’s daring, she’s IRISH!!! What’s not to love? And escaping to an eventing farm where she has no idea about horses? It’s just plain lovable and room for lots of comic scenes! A star!── ★★★

You would also adore other characters! There’s Becca, the bullshit-talking groom (of horses) in Kate’s life who’s teaching her to get the grips of horse-life in order to keep her job and stay in hiding at the farm. There’s Joe, the man-ho groom (also of horses) who’s just so funny and horny you can’t help but adore! There’s Mark, the brooding owner of the eventing company and Olympic star who is so good at pushing everyone away… but not so with the (persistent) Kate. There’s Claudine a friend of Anna’s who’s French, and well, hard. There’s Lizzie, the sister juggling loads of boyfriends. There’s Tim, the shrink who’s rumoured to secretly have the hots for Annie. There’s also Stephen the boyfriend who would be really much adored. So much other characters I loved I cannot make the review lengthy by mentioning. But really, you would find none of them redundant. A star!── ★★★★

There’s really lots of humour in this book. You’d laugh a lot. Suspense as well. Hell, suspense for most part of it. I really still cannot get the whole reason this author would just make me lose grips on my power to predict how a novel would turn out. God, the writing is so light and airy, you do not see the OMG-moment really coming at all! I still have nightmares of this author forcefully pulling the rag from under my feet and making me second-guess my ability to tell a book to the end after reading the first fifty pages (sometimes ten, sometimes five or just by reading the blurb). This shows if you are a reader who wants to put a finger on this book from the start, you’d be badly misled by your (poor) prediction ability.── ★★★★★

MY rating is definitely a six out of five stars! (6/5 stars!)

Lucy Robison’s amazing latest is available on amazon! Go grab it!

I recommend this book for anyone who loves their chick-lit romantic! Anyone who loves their chick-lit suspenseful! Anyone who wants something that would make them stay glued to the sun-lounger for hours! Anyone who simply loves Lucy Robinson should go get this book as she really never disappoints in this title as well!

My work not done here! Off to post my review on Goodreads as well as (shitty) 

Amazon (who would make me cut a chunk of this review!)

Book Review: Daughter by Jane Shemilt

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are the mother of three hormonal teenagers. And a surgeon whose job demands she spends little time with her kids. A neurosurgeon for a husband who’s good at sneaking into your bed late at night for some good-loving at a bad timing––when you just want to doze off. You wish you could spend more time with your kids. You wished your eldest daughter wouldn’t be watching you with eyes that say, you have no clue whatsoever. You wished the oldest of your boys wouldn’t stare at you with so much distaste. They want their independence, you keep consoling yourself. They would appreciate you more when they get older and attempt to strike the perfect work-family balance like you have.

Your life isn’t perfect. But you are working on it.

Until your daughter gets missing, adopted, raped, murdered, does anyone have the answers? She’s just nowhere to be found, and amidst the fear and the worry and dealing with the police who keep looking in all the wrong places, you keep asking yourself whether you’ve got the whole motherhood thing wrong from the start.

Everyone seems to be lying. Everyone you thought you could trust. If anyone knows what happened on the night your daughter, their daughter, their sister disappeared, they are not saying.

And as if that isn’t enough all the blame is being shifted to you for being the bad guy when all you want to do is help the police find your daughter and keep your family from gradually falling apart as a result of this crisis.

What’s more, the police’s findings keep coming up. And you should be relieved because they are always one-step-closer to finding your daughter. But the closer they get with these findings, the more you are sure this couldn’t be the daughter you raised.

Jenny Malcolm’s dilemma summed for your delight.

MY REVIEW

Another great storyline for a psychological thriller to keep you on your toes (seat, whatever position you prefer when reading). What’s so different about this title from just every other title with a character disappearing is how differently Jane Shemilt penned this. The presentation of flashbacks at appropriate moments whilst telling life a year after the character’s disappearance is what makes this title special. Throughout the opening pages you’d be on your toes (again, whatever position you prefer) to know if the main character found her daughter in the present day’s account. Another feature that makes this title different from others is how confused the main character gets as the police discovers details about her daughter, details she’s just so sure the police might be mixing up someone else’s missing daughter with hers. Fab storyline. ── ★

Jenny Malcolm is a character every mother out there would relate to. Jane Shemilt portrayed her main with the exactness another mother going through the same predicament would react. The kind of character who could win an actress an Oscar. The paranoia, the fear, the dreams, the visions, the moments when you want to keep it together but just don’t find the courage to when your daughter is out there being battered to death, raped, buried alive, all the worst case scenarios you see on Medical Detectives. You would adore Jen’s strength, her perseverance, her will to cast aside various shocking lapses of other characters to focus on finding her daughter. Throughout the novel, you’d be the hand reaching out to pat her on the back, sympathizing with her.  A star to her. ── ★★

Other characters you would revere are Naomi, the missing daughter whose smug smiles keep flashing everywhere you cannot help but wonder if she planned this whole ordeal; Michael, the cop heading the investigation; Theo, the only son who sees his mum as a super-hero, Mary; the old woman next-door filled with self-deprecating wisecracks to make her audience chuckle. A star to these characters. ── ★★★

The suspense in this novel is unsettling, way too many plot complications, too many useless leads going nowhere, enough to keep you glued to your seat. The ending was also… different and mind-boggling (not in the confusing way, the thought-provoking way) ── ★★★★

My rating: Four-stars. (4/5 stars).

Jane Shemilt’s psychological thriller with all the features akin to huge Hollywood motion-pictures is available on amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their psychological thrillers thrilling enough, anyone who wants a book with a main character and an issue they could absolutely relate to, and anyone who wants a title that keeps them intrigued as (or even when) the plot keeps unravelling.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.