Sugar And Snails By Anne Goodwin

Sugar and Snails by Anne Goodwin. Advance Reader Copy included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

When Anne Goodwin sent me the blurb of her novel Sugar and Snails and asked if I would be interested in reviewing it I was intrigued. It deals with issues that are important to me; mental health and LGBTQ+ experiences. I enjoyed Sugar and Snails so much I’m pleased to take part in the blog tour to celebrate the first anniversary of its release.

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A trip to Cairo changed Diana Dodsworth’s life when she was fifteen. A change that has resulted in Diana keeping people at a distance ever since. This was working until she met Simon Jenkins. He’s heading to Cairo soon and wants Diana to fly out for a visit. Diana doesn’t want to return to Cairo, but she can’t tell Simon the reason why.

It’s difficult to talk about this novel fully without giving too much away. Although set in the present, the inclusion of flashbacks to Diana’s adolescence and the fateful trip to Cairo give the reader a broader picture of Diana. Even if they don’t yet fully understand what happened. Telling the story this way allows the reader to pick up on clues before the big reveal. The big reveal isn’t the end of the story. It is very much the beginning of a new chapter in Diana’s life.

Anne Goodwin’s writing is clever, a couple of times I thought I had things figured out but was proven wrong. When the penny did drop I was impressed with the layers Goodwin wrapped the plot in. It’s possible that different readers will guess what’s going on at different points throughout the novel. Some may not figure it out for themselves. Either way, Sugar and Snails is a novel that while slow moving grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.

To say Sugar and Snails is a coming-of-age story doesn’t quite do it justice, but it’s the closest comparison I can think of. Anne Goodwin writes about LGBTQ+ experiences and mental health with great empathy and insight and Diana Dodsworth is a character that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page.

About the author

Anne Goodwin’s debut novel, Sugar and Snails, about a woman who has kept her past identity a secret for thirty years, was published in July 2015 by Inspired Quill and longlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Her second novel, Underneath, about a man who keeps a woman captive in his cellar, is scheduled for publication in May 2017. Anne is also a book blogger and author of over 60 published short stories. Catch up on her website: annethology or on Twitter @Annecdotist.

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The Museum Of You By Carys Bray

The Museum of You by Carys Bray. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) from the publisher via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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“When you grow up in the saddest chapter of someone else’s story, you’re forever skating on the thin ice of their memories.”

Clover Quinn was raised by her Dad. Her mother died when Clover was a baby and Darren has done his best to be everything his daughter needs. Their relationship is close, but Clover doesn’t want to upset him by asking too many questions about her mother. She has lots of questions. Questions that cut to the heart of who she is and whether her birth really was the pleasant surprise her Dad says it was.

In a search for answers, Clover decides to spend the summer sorting through the second bedroom which is full of her mother’s belongings. Darren never quite managed to get rid of them and the room as remained untouched for years. Clover hopes to discover the type of person her mother was. She’s looking for the full story about her parents’ life and relationship before she was born. She’s trying to figure out what kind of person she will become.

The chapters switch between Clover and Darren’s points of view. This works really well and adds a depth to the father – daughter relationship that’s often missing from other depictions. They’re fully formed characters in their own right. As a reader you’re invested in them both. You want things to work out alright, even when you’re not quite sure what an alright outcome looks like.

The Museum of You is a thoughtful exploration of grief, family, mental ill-health and the role that memories play in our lives. Carys Bray’s writing is funny, clever, tender and at times heartbreaking. Clover is a character that will linger in my mind for a long time.

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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“My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.”

Now, there’s an opening line that packs a punch and it’s just the beginning. Lydia and Andrew Fitzsimons appear to have it all; good money, a lovely home and son who wants for nothing.

Andrew is a respected judge; a judge who loses the family money and in an effort to avoid bankruptcy agrees to a scheme thought up by his wife. A scheme that leaves them with a body to conceal.

Lydia is hell bent on protecting her social status, her home, the reputation of her husband and her son. No matter what the cost. As the years pass, Lydia proves just what lengths she will go to in order come up smelling of roses.

Told from multiple points of view; Liz Nugent skilfully weaves a web of deceit, showing the fallout one incident has for two families. Just when you think you’ve figured everything out, Nugent takes the story in a different direction.

Lying in Wait holds the reader’s attention right to the end. Liz Nugent has once again written a world full of complexity, depravity, secrets and the central question of whether ‘badness’ is a case of nature or nurture.

Lying in Wait is an engrossing psychological thriller that is sure to feature on a number of best books of 2016 lists. It has certainly earned a place on mine.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

The Woman In Cabin 10 By Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Travel journalist Lo Blackwood is heading off on what many people would deem the press trip of a lifetime; seeing The Northern Lights on-board a boutique cruise ship.

The assignment couldn’t have come at a better time. Lo’s flat was broken into a days earlier and she’s pretty shaken up. Time away is just what she needs.

When Lo witnesses the aftermath of a murder, she is informed that no guest ever checked into that cabin and no no-one is missing from the ship.

Lo Blackwood is a woman full of complexities, which shouldn’t be surprising considering most of us are but sometimes this leads to fictional characters (mainly women) being described as “unlikeable” as if likability is the only thing women should aspire to. Lo is relatable, even during the moments when you might not agree with her actions.

Like Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard, The Woman in Cabin 10 uses the difficulties with investigating crimes on a cruise ship to its advantage. What happens when a crime occurs on a cruise ship? What happens when even the ship’s security team doubt your version of events? How can you catch a killer when you’re in the middle of the ocean and no-one else believes a murder took place? Ruth Ware has crafted an Agatha Christie-esque style whodunit; a group of people in a confined space meaning the killer must be amongst them.

Full of tension and at times claustrophobic, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a clever thriller that sucks the reader in right from the get-go. This is one for the to-read list, especially if you’re a fan of crime fiction.

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My Girl By Jack Jordan

My Girl by Jack Jordan. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Paige Dawson’s addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers is slowly killing her. But it’s the only way Paige can deal with her grief. Ten years ago her 14-year-old daughter, Chloe, was murdered. All they found was her arm. And now Paige is a widow, her husband having died by suicide.

During her moments of lucidity Paige notices that strange things are happening. Someone has put her husband’s things away and then they disappear completely. All his belongings are gone and his face has been scratched out of every photo. Paige confronts her mother-in-law, the only other person with a key, who insists it wasn’t her. Paige must have done it while drunk and high, right? But surely she would remember doing something so important. She would remember, wouldn’t she?

I’m a fan of unreliable narrators. I enjoy second guessing what a character has told me. In this instance, there is a lot of second guessing as Paige seems to further lose her grip on reality.

Judging by the reviews I’ve seen so far, I’m in the minority but I much preferred the first section of My Girl. Instead of being the psychological thriller about one woman’s struggle to get over the murder of her daughter and the subsequent death of her husband, My Girl became much more shock and awe.

There are elements of the storyline that do not require nuance. Things become pretty clear cut, in terms of who the perpetrator is. That doesn’t make it any easier to read, content wise and it doesn’t make it any less one dimensional in places. The depth I loved in the initial section disappears completely.

My Girl is a thriller with potential. Jack Jordan’s writing is clear and concise. Jordan has shown he can write with incredible depth. While My Girl lost its way in parts, Jack Jordan is definitely a writer to keep an eye on.

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Distress Signals By Catherine Ryan Howard

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard. Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Things are finally looking up for Adam Dunne. There has been some interest in his script and he can’t wait to celebrate with Sarah, his girlfriend, when she returns from a business trip to Barcelona. But Sarah doesn’t return and Adam’s life begins to fall apart.

A few days later, Sarah’s passport arrives in the post with a note that reads “I’m sorry – S”. An already worried Adam becomes even more concerned for Sarah’s safety. The police, however, conclude that Sarah chose to leave and they won’t investigate any further.

Adam realises that it’s up to him to find Sarah and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes.

Catherine Ryan Howard is a master storyteller. She beautifully crafts a narrative full of tales of relationships gone wrong, missed opportunities, secrets and intrigue.

As events unfold, the depth of Howard’s skill is showcased beautifully. On numerous occasions I thought I’d figured out what happened to Sarah only to be proven wrong. Yet, nothing about Distress Signals seems forced or unnecessary.

Distress Signals is well paced and full of tension; what makes it stand out is the significant role the cruise ship plays. What happens when a crime happens on a cruise ship? Which country has jurisdiction and how many resources do they actually dedicate to crimes committed miles from land? These are the issues that Adam finds himself up against. These are questions that add an extra layer of intrigue to Catherine Ryan Howard’s confident fiction debut. Distress Signals is a must read for fans of crime fiction.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

The Girls By Emma Cline

The Girls by Emma Cline. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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It’s the summer of ’69 and 14 year-old Evie Boyd is trying to figure out where she fits in. Then she meets Suzanne. Suzanne is the otherworldly cool girl and Evie is drawn to her in ways she doesn’t fully understand. When Suzanne introduces Evie to Russell and everyone else who lives at “the farm” Evie’s life is changed forever.

The Girls is an exploration of longing, pleasure, love, obsession and the lengths people will go to satisfy others. It is about the relationships between teenage girls, the things they do for men and the roles they play for each other.

Emma Cline’s writing is lyrical and brilliantly captures the tone of a teenage girl who, above all else, wants to be noticed.

The story is told retrospectively. We meet Evie in middle age; we know how her story ends almost before we fully understand what the story is. This removes some of the tension from the latter stages of ’69 section.

When in the company of present day Evie I wished I was back in 1969 with teenage Evie. Modern day Evie felt like an unnecessary distraction. The sense of place wasn’t as strong.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding The Girls, so by now you’re probably aware that Cline’s debut novel is inspired by the Manson Family and the murder of Sharon Tate, her unborn child and her friends.

It’s not hard to see why Cline was inspired by these horrific real life events. Trying to understand why people are drawn to figures like Manson is a breeding ground for exploring obsession and morality.

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The Accidental Life Of Greg Millar By Aimee Alexander

I read The Accidental Life of Greg Millar by Aimee Alexander (the pen name of bestselling author Denise Deegan) last year when it was on special offer on Kindle, but it’s released in paperback on April 26th so now seems like the perfect time to review it.

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Lucy Arigho is not the kind of person to be swept off her feet, but that all changes when she meets Greg Millar. She is drawn to him in a way she didn’t expect, especially after the death of her fiancé Brendan. But when Greg talks about getting married, Lucy doesn’t immediately say no but she does want to take things a bit slower.

At first I thought this was going to be a standard romance novel, but alarm bells soon began to ring about Greg. He was impulsive and manipulative, I fully expected him to turn abusive.

Instead what unfolds is a sensitive, yet realistic look at how mental illness affects not only the person with the illness but everyone around them.

Alexander writes with great empathy and fully understands the complexities of the world she has created. There are no one dimensional characters here, which is a relief when it comes to topics like mental illness.

I was left teary-eyed more than once and genuinely wished things would work out for Lucy, Greg and their families.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

The Madwoman Upstairs By Catherine Lowell

The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Samantha Whipple is the last remaining descendent of the Brontë family, a connection she isn’t exactly thrilled about. Following the death of her father, it falls on Samantha to protect the Brontë legacy. A legacy the world assumes includes a grand inheritance, an abundance of diaries, paintings, letters, and early novel drafts passed down from the Brontë family. Samantha has never seen this alleged estate; to her it is as fictional as the Brontë novels themselves.

Everything changes when Samantha moves to the UK to attend Oxford. Objects from her past start turning up in mysterious circumstances, novels belonging to her father that should have been destroyed in the fire that killed him. Samantha soon finds herself on a scavenger hunt, where her only clues are hidden in the pages of the Brontë novels.

Things I like about The Madwoman Upstairs; the literary theory that is dotted throughout the story. The discussions about the role of the reader versus the author in interpreting literature are fascinating and thought-provoking. I could happily have read many more of these.

Things I dislike about The Madwoman Upstairs; I’ve never been to Oxford, but this reads like a one dimensional portrayal of the place written by an author who hasn’t been there either. Yes, we’re supposed to be experiencing things through Samantha’s eyes as she explores Oxford for the first time but this is all surface level stuff. There is nothing to make you feel like you are actually there.

The relationship between Samantha and her professor, Dr. James Orville III, is frustrating in the extreme. It’s also damaging. It’s emotionally abusive, except we’re not supposed to see it like that because it’s romantic. Their relationship is very Brontë-esque, but that’s not an ideal to strive for.

There is no denying The Madwoman Upstairs is a page-turner. A frustrating one, but a page-turner nonetheless.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

Nowhere Girl By Susan Strecker

Nowhere Girl by Susan Strecker. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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When Cady (Cadence) was in high school her identical twin Savannah was murdered. Now Cady is a bestselling crime novelist, who spends her time researching and interviewing killers. With each interview Cady hopes to better understand what happened to her sister and how the murderer has never been caught.

Despite Savannah’s death, the bond between the sisters has never fully been broken and Savannah still comes to Cady via dreams. Cady is sure that Savannah is trying to help her find the truth about Savannah’s death and catch a killer. However, the clues Savannah sends don’t fully add up and it’s not until Cady is researching her latest book that things begin to fall into place.

Things I like about Nowhere Girl; the sense of loss and the inability of Cady and her brother to fully move on without knowing what happened to Savannah was woven into the story really well. Cady’s actions, in particular, may not always seem rational but you understood the drive behind them.

Things I didn’t like about Nowhere Girl; the ending. I saw elements of it, but not all of it, coming. After getting sucked into Cady’s need to find Savannah’s killer it felt like a letdown.

Overall, Nowhere Girl is a well written page turner with an ending that I suspect will divide opinion. Or I could be entirely on my own by disliking the ending. That’s the beauty of books; everyone has different opinions about them.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

Find Her By Lisa Gardner

Find Her by Lisa Gardner. Advance Reader Copy (ARC), from Headline, via Bookbridgr included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Flora Dane was kidnapped and kept captive for 472 days before she was found. Much of that time was spent in a wooden coffin. Flora has spent the five years since her release readjusting to her life. This isn’t easy because everything has changed. Flora isn’t the same person she was before she disappeared. She is a survivor.

Flora knows that the world is full of predators and she is determined to do everything she can to stop them. When she disappears for the second time Detective D.D. Warren is left asking whether, this time, Flora is a victim or a vigilante.

What happens over the course of almost 400 pages is an emotional roller-coaster of a chilling, creepy and twisted tale. The claustrophobia, the fear, the physical and psychological damage felt by kidnapping victims is laid bare.

What lengths will a victim go to in order to survive? What lengths will a survivor go to in order to ensure no-one else has to endure what they did? Can Detective Warren and her colleagues connect the pieces and find Flora and the other missing women before it’s too late?

Find Her is the eighth book in Lisa Gardner’s Detective D.D. Warren series, but they work as standalone novels. Find Her is a tense, well paced, disturbing and compelling read.

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Hot Feminist by Polly Vernon

Hot Feminist by Polly Vernon. Advance Reader Copy (ARC), from Hodder & Stoughton, via Bookbridgr included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Hot Feminist written by journalist Polly Vernon is part memoir, part fashion guide and part wannabe guide to modern feminism. Polly Vernon’s main premise is that it’s possible to be a feminist and be interested in how you look. It is possible to be feminine and a feminist. But we knew that already, right?

Hot feminism is a version of feminism, in which women believe it is possible to be a feminist while also displaying femininity, being sex positive and doing things that previous generations of feminism were seen not to be in favour of. Sound familiar? That’s because there is little new here, hot feminism is basically lipstick feminism or stiletto feminism by another name. A name Polly Vernon feels more comfortable with.

From the outset Vernon makes clear that she has no time for the smaller issues that modern day feminism spends its time on. She has no time for call-out culture and online rage just for the sake of it. To her feminism is about the gender pay gap, the number of girls and women being raped and sexually assaulted and the growing attempts by the anti-choice movement to limit the right to legal and safe abortion. Everything else is just noise.

I agree that these are three vital issues for feminism, but I’m not sure everything else can be dismissed. Rape culture is real, prevalent and needs to be tackled. Rape culture is the reason why society spends so much time blaming women and excusing men for violence.

Unlike Vernon,  I can’t switch off the knock on effects of everyday things (jokes, TV shows etc.) that feed into a notion that violence against women is normal. Can it be infuriating? Yes. Can it be draining? Yes. But that doesn’t mean we should stop striving to do better.

I also don’t think every act of calling someone out for problematic things they’ve said or done is outrage for the sake of it. We learn by listening to others. We learn by hearing other people’s experiences. Even women have different experiences based on their race, sexuality and/or socio-economic background.

Is social media always the most conducive environment for discussions about intersectionality? No. Again, that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to do better though.

Hot Feminist reminded me of reading Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies by Hadley Freeman, they’re both style over substance. There were moments in them that made laugh and moments that had me nodding my head in agreement, but they barely scratch the surface of what feminism is and there is hardly an intersection in sight.

While I agree with Polly Vernon’s underlying theme that we should all be a little bit kinder to ourselves and to others, overall Hot Feminist left me feeling a bit flat and frustrated. It is a very singular view of feminism, a view that I can’t wholly subscribe to.

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All the Rage By Courtney Summers

All the Rage by Courtney Summers. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Romy Grey is doing her best to simply get through the days. Romy has been raped. She has also been branded a liar by almost everyone in town. School is unbearable. Her escape is her job at a diner outside of town, where no one really knows her.

When something happens after a big party, the town is left in shock and Romy must decide whether to stay silent about her past or speak up and do her best to fight.

But just because something starts out sweet doesn’t mean it won’t push itself so far past anything you could call sweet anymore. And if it all starts like this, how do you see what’s coming?

All the Rage by Courtney Summers deftly deals with the issues of consent, rape culture, victim blaming, the politics of teenage girls and ultimately what happens when an entire town turns a blind eye.

It is aptly titled. I was left shaking with rage when I finished it and I know Romy Grey is someone I’ll find myself thinking about for a long time to come.

Like Asking for It by Louise O’Neill, All the Rage may not be an easy read subject wise, but it is a necessary one. Go read it and make sure every teenager you know reads it as well. The conversations it will start are essential.

I am often asked why I read Young Action Fiction and books like All the Rage are why. It’s a powerful look at serious issues affecting the lives of young girls and women. That it’s aimed at young people makes it all the better.

I don’t use affiliate links, but if you like what I do you can show your support by buying me a coffee here.

This Is Where It Ends By Marieke Nijkamp

This Is Where It Ends by Marueke Nijkamp is published on January 5th. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) via Netgalley included. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

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Told through the eyes of four students This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp is an unflinching look at what it’s like to be caught up in a high school shooting. As the tagline states, everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun.

The lives of Autumn, Claire, Sylv, and Tomas are already intertwined but there is no escaping their connections once Tyler Browne starts shooting. Their lives and the lives of the wider community will be changed beyond recognition by his actions.

Spanning 54 minutes, This Is Where It Ends is both fast paced and never ending, which is how I imagine being caught in a traumatic situation feels. Every moment feels like a lifetime, yet things are actually happening quite quickly.

We never see things from Tyler’s point of view. As destruction and devastation is going on around them various characters try to understand what lead to this point, but we never really learn the truth.

I respect this; I read it as Nijkamp’s way of showing that we don’t get to understand the reasons why something so awful happens. Sometimes there’s a concrete reason. Sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes the real reason is never truly known or understood. Sometimes all we are left with is a bunch of speculation and what ifs.

Nijkamp’s storytelling is simplistic yet powerful, she doesn’t shy away from difficult topics or diverse characters. Here we have LGBTQ+ characters, people of colour and people with chronic illnesses. This may seem like a lot when written down as a list, but that’s because these characters are so often missing from other stories. Some characters work better than others, just because for me some were better developed than others.

There is no doubt that some people will view This Is Where It Ends as a controversial book. I think it’s a compelling and necessary read.