Book Review: Someone New by Zoe Miller

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My Synopsis. 

Imagine This: You broke up with your long-term boyfriend a few weeks before Christmas. Because deep down, no matter how perfect your sister who hooked you two up thinks he is, no matter how perfect your parents think he is, no matter how perfect YOU think he is, you know he's not the one for you.

Then a leather-wearing, jean-clad, biker walks into your life. He teaches you a lot about life—living in the moment, pursuing your dreams—that he feels so right than the boyfriend you've spent the longest time with. Even though, he tells you nothing. You know nothing about him. You let him into your life, your apartment, give him access to way more than your heart.

Then he dies.

You're in so much shock you can't believe he's gone. But what if, really, he isn't? What's the explanation for the bike that keeps following you around, the threatening mails you've been receiving? And why do the police and your family not believe that someone's on your tail?

My Review. 

I liked this book. Good storyline. The blurb, a summary of all the above. Just reeled me in. A star to the storyline—★
Relatable characters. The characters in this title are the kind you'll find next-door, in your circle of friends, in you even.—★★

There's also the suspense. The questions you keep asking yourself about the strange Danny. Why is he hiding things, what's going on here?—★★★

And as always, Zoe Miller's good writing. Something about it. She makes the abstract take on the body of concrete. How she's so good at explaining emotions, personifying them, making them take the shape of people themselves! Another of the features of her writing that keeps me coming back.—★★★★

But sadly, my praises for this title ends here. I liked it. But it wasn't as good as he previous titles. A Husband's Confession and a Question of Betrayal. I just wanted so much more. Enough to make me forget how great her other unforgettable titles were.

I recommend this novel to fans of women's fiction with mystery elements. If you also want something with characters that are so true-to-life, pick this.

Summer Book Review: A Question of Betrayal by Zoe Miller

PURCHASE| GOODREADS

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: Five years since your parents died and you are not in grief mode. Heck, even if you are you do not want to admit it. Their death has created a giant hole in your life, as well as your heart. You find yourself not committing to anything in your professional life, or your social life. You are just staying alive, not so much living.

The only one person you valued in your life has packed out and left. Mostly because you drove him out, and partly because you are not exactly the type to communicate your feelings or even revisit the night of your parents’ death.

Apparently, secrets buried deep are bound to surface. You find out your mum, who so much claimed to be in love with your father was cheating on him when she was a newly-wed. Now this man she had an affair with has something important to tell you. Of course, you do not want to meet him—what with your own fears and your inability to believe your mum did the unthinkable.

Except this man hasn’t anytime left. He’d be dying soon. If he dies, he dies with all his secrets. You tell yourself you wouldn’t see him. But then you man up and fly to Switzerland.

Of course, you have no idea what you are in for. One secret leads to another and another becoming a whole mess of complications you can never believe an easy-going person such as your mother would put away these ghosts in her pasts for such a long time.

But be careful, there’s someone out there who doesn’t want you to uncover these secrets. Because doing so would lead to their demise, and they’d rather have you silenced forever.

Carrie Cassidy’s complicated and messy life laden with secrets and dark pasts summarized for your delight.

MY REVIEW

GO BUY THIS BOOK!

First of all, Zoe Miller carves a complicated storyline that looks simple from reading the opening hundred pages (or so). A storyline I rolled my eyes at, I must admit, thinking this might be so predictable, you know what secrets would be revealed…. Blah blah. But then I forgot Zoe’s excellence, her very rare talent of making the reader carve out their own storyline and throwing the reader off course with shocking revelations that make her titles hard to predict anymore. All I am saying is, this book doesn’t seem as easy as it is on first glance. And the storyline you might be creating for it, would be so different from what you find out! A star!── ★

Secondly, there’s great character development. It was hard to fall in love with the main character at first, because I found her so dull. At times I’d closed the book and wonder what was off with Zoe’s lead character this time (as I very much loved the main characters of her previous title). But when our lead begins to face her fears, begins finding joy in little things, begins living and learning to confront all stages of grief, she leaps off the page and become lovable—one every person who’s gone through the loss of someone they loved (five years earlier!) can relate to! A star.── ★★

Other characters make this book great too. There’s Mark, the adorable guy our lead has hurt so much you could feel his anger simmering over the pages with any argument they have. There’s Sylvie, our lead’s mum who for most of the story we think she’s someone else till she surprises us and leaves us shocked. There’s Beth, the timid Beth whose inactions you would find yourself enraged by, but she inadvertently becomes the smartest and bravest character in the book. There’s Adam, the bad guy who’d do anything to make sure Carrie doesn’t discover past secrets. A star to these characters.

Zoe Miller offers a beautiful portrayal of Ireland in the eighties and Ireland now you cannot help but adore the past and present narratives of this book. Heck, for most part I adored the past when our lead wasn’t delivering in the opening pages.── ★★★

This book is laced with romance and some very good love-making that is so sensual (and not the tacky kind you’d find yourself skipping). The mystery would get you so confused you’d find yourself wondering why you ever tried predicting its outcome anyway. And the suspense… marvellous!── ★★★★

These are one of the many reasons I love Zoe Miller: she shows chick-lit/women’s fiction can embrace other genres without totally altering their chick-lit/women’s fiction sense. Beautiful.── ★★★★★

My rating: I am tempted to slash half of the stars I intended for the book because it really began at a slow pace. But upon further deliberations, I found out its pace was relevant and significant to our lead character’s development. Her growth wouldn’t have been significant, if the story wasn’t plotted that way. So five stars!

Zoe Miller’s amazing and different(—you always want that in a book!) story is up on amazing. Just go get it!

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their women’s fiction with a slice of dark. Anyone who wants something to keep them on their thinking feet trying to connect dots before the writer reaches her resolution should go get this! Anyone who loves Zoe Miller should go get this book as she doesn’t disappoint!

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

Ground-Breaking Titles of 2014: Books That Changed The Face of Chick-lit

I had been meaning to post this way back when I had too much time on my hands but never got around to. So as I have taken a mini-blogging break, I would leave you with my list of:

GROUND-BREAKING Books of 2014: BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF CHICK-LIT.

(Not listed in any order)

The List by Joanna Bolouri.

Following the adventures of one shy girl with a naughty list, this book has a plot that sets it apart from all other chick-lit titles you’ve ever read. Told in the form of a diary, this book has lots to keep you engaged and SO MUCH MORE TO KEEP YOU GASPING FOR SHOCK! Not to mention it’s funny as hell, and of course sexy as Helen Mirren.  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

An Open Marriage by Tess Stimson.

I love Tess Stimson because she’s not afraid to use the letters on her keyboard to talk about issues a lot of society frowns upon (except for the old who are now embracing a YOLO approach to life). Focusing on the much hush-hushed swinging life of older marriages, Tess Stimson pens an emotionally steamy novel stacked with lots of lessons to learn from in our rapidly-changing society blurring the lines between adultery and fidelity as well as morality and immorality.  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

Christmas In The Snow by Karen Swan.

This book puts down the notion that Chick-lit cannot be fast-paced and very intriguing without guns and women sleuths. Karen Swan speaks on issues of feminism and women in high-ranking positions where male-domination is the opposite of what’s said in a Beyoncé track. Now, a book about ‘dark family secrets’ with dark, twisted family secrets! Absolutely ground-breaking! .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

A Husband’s  Confession by Zoe Miller.

This is not your ordinary infidelity book! I never thought the main issue behind a book about infidelity could be something besides the ‘Oh, well, he cheated’ fact. Laced with family rivalry, intrigue, suspense and lots of ‘when the fuck is he going to cheat?’ moments, this book is told in present day and past day narratives that gives it a hallmark character! .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

Courting Trouble by Kathy Lette.

Listed as the funniest book of 2014, Kathy Lette’s latest release isn’t all about one big book with so much chemistry between the protagonists and too much to laugh at. Putting across issues such as battling rape and its repercussions for feminists and rape-haters all-alike, Kathy Lette tells a remarkable story laden with suspense and so many issues of sexism swept under the carpet. .  PURCHASE| READ REVIEW

So there you have it. And you can vouch that as it appears on this blog, these books have NEVER, EVER, EVER BEEN DONE in chick-lit/women’s fiction. These titles demonstrate chick-lit is not all about ‘That Pink Book’! And by these titles, CHICK-LIT WOULD NEVER, EVER, EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!

Book Review: A Husband's Confession by Zoe Miller.

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: Your life could be described as perfect. You have an adorable husband who you’ve been married to for twenty-years––very happily-married. Two kids who are amazing at school and at home. And as if that’s not enough, there’s a successful bakery which you manage with your husband as chief baker. Your life has seen successful balance for over ten years and there can be no reason you can say you are not content.

Over the other side of the picture lies your brother-in-law and his amazing wife who he’s also been married to for quite as long as you have been married with one beautiful daughter to flourish their union. You could have called them happily-married once, but lately things have gone a bit rocky in their relationship with your brother-in-law losing his job and growing sulky every passing day.

You see, there’s competition between you two couples and this rivalry has existed since the wee years of your husband. There’s rivalry over which couple is more successful, which couple has a more stable financial backing, which couple has the greatest kids.

For over a year, you two couples have never met as a family to celebrate any holiday. Beneath the smiles at the dining table there’s way too much tension that could snap the face of a Botoxed Real Housewife.

Then one Saturday night, a dinner is proposed by your brother-in-law. You and your husband feel reluctant to go considering the bad blood. But you decide to just get over it over and done with.

But oblivious to you two, the events taking place during this dinner and after would completely turn your life from paradise to hell. And in just one week you would lose everything (––be prepared for it, I mean, everything!––) you’ve come to love and call your own

That’s when Ali’s story begins and possibly ends.

MY REVIEW

Did I freaking love this book and would be yelling at you to go bang on the glass windows of a bookshop near you threatening if they do not have a copy they might as well not open the shop that day? Yes, yes, I would.

(I had to tuck myself in a corner at my faculty’s lecture theatre in order to read hundred pages a day of this delight so no one bothers me!) What the hell is up with this book story-line? Perfection beyond reasoning. I ah-dored it! So Girl and Husband living happily-married, Husband’s Brother and Wife in a rut of late, there’s envy in the picture, loads of secrets away before your life gets shattered, one Saturday night––one day of hell. Who knew a family dinner could be so damaging? A huge star to this story-line.── ★

(Stocked with wheat bread and bottled water, I devoured this book in four days) The main characters, oh, fuck me, were stunning! It’s hard to read a book focusing on four mains who are well-developed and bear resemblance to real-life persons it isn’t hard relating (or not) to them–––most authors can’t achieve this! You find yourself splitting between the couples who should get more of your love or more of your rage, or sometimes, making this distinction between the individual characters. Ali was amazing, my favourite! You would completely revere her for her soft exterior yet the warrior living inside of her as she struggles to get her family, her life, her career, her emotions under control! Jo, the brother-in-law’s wife, also my favourite! Loved for her sophistication, her poise even in the threatening times that promise to wreck her life and marriage. Max, Ali’s husband, you women would stab at his name declaring this is the kind of man you would (have) want(ed) to get married to. Finn, the brother-in-law, who would gain your hatred for most part of the novel thanks to the level of asshole Zoe Miller portrayed him to be. Unbelievable main characters. A star to all four.── ★★

(At one point I was nodding, at a point I was nodding too much, at another point I just had to close this book, close my eyes for some seconds and wonder why everything was just so right) Isn’t it amazing when you read women’s fiction that talks about issues that are timeless? Infidelity, sibling-rivalry! I have never read a book that portrays infidelity the way Ms. Miller does it in this title. Do not roll your eyes, this isn’t another book where the main character’s life shatters after finding her husband in bed with a woman with boobs as ginormous as size ten feet (where the hell do I get my comparisons from??) . It goes to show there’s more to infidelity than authors can go on and on yapping about. And you have never read a book with sibling-rivalry leading to couple-rivalry that is this amazing! Star, star, star!── ★★★

The other characters in this book, were marvellous! From Debbie, the woman from Max's childhood Ali has been threatened of for ages. Jessica, Ali’s daughter keeping secrets of her own, far from the perfect daughter everyone assumes she is. Tom, Ali’s young son who’s the coolest boy you could ever have for a son. Grace, Jo and Finn’s daughter, having a background that would shock the reader.── ★★★★

(At a point in this book, I couldn’t stand it anymore, “Bread, bread! I need more bread!”) The suspense in this book was gripping. Very, very gripping I sat in different positions in the not-so-comfy chairs in the auditorium. Wondering how one writer could break all the rules of Women’s fiction and provide something totally different from the norm! If I had succumbed to the suspense brought about as a result of the writing technique (current day→flashback→current day) I would have keeled over before I even thought of writing this review. Talking of the beautiful writing, should I say this book was set in moments that took and shook the world (World Cups, 9/11) giving this book more girth and making it all so relatable and real to the reader? Marvellous.── ★★★★★

Oh, and the romance… J── ★★★★★

So it’s obvious this book gets a… frigging… six over five stars!! (6/5)

I would never put Zoe Miller as one of my favourite writers, because she’d forever be the woman who changed my perception of women’s fiction and threw away all the rules to pen this masterpiece. (I am very British––a strict fan of conventions).

A Husband’s Confession is available on amazon. If you miss it I’d have to club you.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves writers who break all the rules yet emerge very successful, anyone who wants a title about infidelity portrayed so differently it boggles the mind, anyone who wants to be reaching for the Kleenex to wipe away the sweat from their foreheads. This might be the best book I ever read this year!

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