Island of Lost Girls

Island Of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

Paperback, 255 pages

Published 3rd September 2009 by Sphere

(First published 1st January 2008)

Shelves: abuse, books-i-own, contemporary, crime-thriller-mystery, disliked, read, read-in-2021, realistic-fiction

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognises it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before. For this is not the only white rabbit Rhonda has known - there was another in her childhood; one she feels she has been chasing all her life. The rabbit of her past holds the key to a mystery that has stained the lives of Rhonda and her friends, and now she must track him down - even if it means following where she doesn't want to go ...From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.

When I started Island of Lost Girls, I had quite high hopes for it. I thought that the premise was really intriguing and I enjoyed the opening section. Our protagonist, Rhonda is at a gas station when she witnesses the abduction of a child by a person wearing a rabbit costume. Following this, she decides to find out what happened to the child and who the person in the costume was.The event also leads us to learn about the unsolved disappearance of Rhonda's childhood friend, Lizzy. 

I enjoyed some of the writing and when we were first introduced to the child's imaginative  setting of the 'submarine' (a car in the backyard), I was originally quite impressed and enjoyed it, but unfortunately the novelty quickly wore off. The author takes us into this fictional world of the submarine, which is nice and novel but didn't really end up having much significance. As well as the submarine, the book also explored a rabbit theme and a Peter Pan theme but unfortunately these didn't work very well. These sections of the book felt like the author was just trying too hard to try and be elaborate and quite honestly, the book would have been better without them. It almost felt as though the author was trying too hard.

Though the book wasn't very thick, it felt as the author was trying to fit in as much as possible meaning that it was quite difficult to keep focus on one part of the story. There are two missing person stories going on at the same time alongside all of the discussions of childhood play. The story itself was very predictable, so that made it slightly easier to follow. There is a deeper, very dark storyline weaved within the story of the children's group which had potential to be interesting but was just far too predictable to redeem the book. 

Overall, this isn't a book that I would recommend. Unfortunately the book couldn't keep my attention and it was neither creepy or intriguing enough.

From The Review Pile (82)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop!

This book was released in perfect time for Christmas, but it's just a book that I regrettably didn't have time to read at the end of last year. Though I do own the book, I'm still yet to read the first in this series which I really should do before next Christmas, so I can pick up and hopefully enjoy this one later this year!  

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop

Paperback, 400 pages

Published 7th November 2013 by Sphere

Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of Lipton, buried under a thick blanket of snow. Her sweetshop is festooned with striped candy canes, large tempting piles of Turkish Delight, crinkling selection boxes and happy, sticky children. She's going to be spending it with her boyfriend, Stephen, and her family, flying in from Australia. She can't wait.

But when a tragedy strikes at the heart of their little community, all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the sweetshop also what's best for Rosie?

Treat yourself and your sweet-toothed friends to Jenny Colgan's heart-warming new novel. The irresistibly delicious recipes are guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit and will warm up your Christmas celebrations.

Calling Mrs Christmas

Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews

Paperback, 452 pages

Published 24th October 2013 by Sphere

Shelves: adult-fiction, arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, chick-lit, christmas-books, mums-books, read-in-2013, really-good

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating. She's soon in huge demand and Cassie's business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.

Carter Randall wants to make Christmas special for his children so he enlists Cassie's help, and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she can rely on her partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.

When Carter asks Cassie to join them on a trip to Lapland, she knows she shouldn't go. As much as tries, Cassie can't deny how drawn she is to Carter and everything he has to offer, but she still loves her warm-hearted Jim. Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking choice that could change her entire life.

Without much doubt, Calling Mrs Christmas was the stand-out book of Winter 2013 for me. Previously, I hadn't read any books written by Carole Matthews, but after reading this one, I was absolutely desperate to read more! It may no longer be the festive period, but I still believe that it's still a good time to pick up Calling Mrs Christmas if you haven't already. With scenes in dark and dreary England and the almost magical Lapland, this is the perfect book to cosy up with.

I'm still somewhat finding my footing with chick-lit authors, but it within a few chapters of this book, I knew that Matthews would become a firm go-to author within this genre. She managed to put everything that I wanted into this book - spectacular settings, strong characters and both heart wrenching and humorous moments. This is one of those books that would be lovely to sit and spend an evening reading, it's such a page turner and the writing flows so easily. 

This book revolves around our protagonist, Cassie, who decides to start up her own business, Calling Mrs Christmas!, helping people to organise their festivities. Cassie lives in a flat with her long time partner, Jim, who works with young offenders at a prison. Cassie's business  quickly becomes successful and she is hired by a rich and very charming client, Carter, who wants her to plan the perfect Christmas trip for his two children. Cassie plans a trip to Lapland, and is happily surprised when asked to attend the trip with them. Jim is left at home, continuing his work at the prison and specially taking two young lads, Smudge and Rozza, under his wing, helping them to adjust to leaving prison. Jim and the two boys both help out and do some of Cassie's work whilst away.  During Cassie's trip to Lapland, she forms a strong bond with Carter's children and a complex relationship with Carter himself, leading her to question her relationship with Jim. 

I had real affection for Cassie and Jim, so you can easily guess who I was rooting for. Jim and Cassie's relationship seemed very sincere and I could feel their chemistry. Both characters were easy to connect with and seemed very real, down-to-earth. Though he wasn't the main character, Jim was definitely a star of the book in his own right - I was just as interested in him as I was in Cassie and his bond with the two young offenders was really heartwarming to read about. I loved seeing how the four interacted together, even through the most testing of times.

Carter was a charming man, but mostly I appreciated his contribution of the trip to Lapland which provided us with exploration, education, fun and majestic settings. We got to experience sledging with huskies, the Ice Hotel and the Northern Lights amongst other atmospheric activities. I can understand why Cassie was swayed by him, but real moral, the question of the book was materialism vs love. To me, it was obvious who would 'win', but the questions and quandaries that were explored during Cassie's break were well handled and actually did have me seriously considering both options.

Overall, I absolutely loved Calling Mrs Christmas, and after finishing it, I immediately picked up and started reading another book by Carole Matthews (review to be posted soon!) who is definitely a new favourite author. A perfect winter page-turner, and something that I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes chick lit, or anybody who just wants to relax and get lost with an easy to read story. 

From the Review Pile (81)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase Wrapped Up In You!

This book was released some time ago yet I still haven't gotten around to reading it, despite my festive indulgence! I think that I bought this book last year. I plan to read the latest book by this author soon, so I'm hoping that I like her writing!

Wrapped Up In You by Carole Matthews

Paperback, 384 pages

Published 27th October 2011 by Sphere

A Christmas fling, or has Janie found the real thing? Thirty-something hairdresser Janie Johnson's single status is a constant source of gossip for her friends and clients. So after too many nights in with her cat, a blind date disaster and news that her ex is getting married, Janie realises it's time to do something dramatic with her life. It's time for an adventure! Leaving winter behind, Janie takes the plunge and books an exotic trip to Africa. Her friends think she's mad and Janie thinks they may very well be right ...but then she falls head over heels for her tour guide and fully fledged Maasai Warrior Dominic. But can Janie now face spending a snowy Christmas back home without him? Packed with unforgettable characters, romance and laughter, Wrapped Up In You is your very own perfect Christmas Carole!

From The Review Pile (78)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase The Cuckoo's Calling!

Although this book was released quite a while ago, I still haven't picked it up, even with the huge hype around it. After being  - if I'm honest - slightly disappointed with The Casual Vacancy, I'm hoping that this is more impressive.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Hardback, 449 pages

Published 18th April 2013 by Sphere

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: his sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

From The Review Pile (77)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase Christmas at the Cupcake Café!

I'm featuring this festive book this week - I actually had this book last Christmas but unfortunately never got around to reading it as I hadn't read the book that goes first in this set of books. I don't think it matters, but I'm very particular about reading books in order!

Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan 

Hardback, 351 pages

Published October 2012 by Sphere

Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn't be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don't seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another...

The Ice Cream Girls

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

Paperback, 452 pages

First Published 1st January 2010 

Shelves:  adult-fiction, books-i-own, chick-lit, crime-thriller-mystery, movies-or-tv, mum-has, read, read-in-2013, realistic-fiction

My rating:  3 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again...

The Ice Cream Girls is a book that has been sitting on my bookshelves for years. One of my mother's favourite authors is Dorothy Koomson and out of all of her books, this is the one that I thought sounded the most interesting, so I picked it up and put it aside. There it lay for a very long time, until I saw an advert for the drama adaptation of The Ice Cream Girls on TV - it was definitely time to dust down the cover and start reading.

Unfortunately, I didn't read quickly enough and I did watch the TV adaptation before I had finished the book. As I was watching and reading the two interpretations alongside each other, it was really difficult not to judge one from the other or to fully appreciate either. I do want to make it clear that it was my fault of taking in both together that lessened my enjoyment of The Ice Cream Girls. I would really recommend reading the book before or well after watching the TV drama. The comparisons started to become quite frustrating! 

Alone and un-compared, The Ice Cream Girls stands as a well written novel with an intriguing and somewhat mysterious storyline. Poppy and Serena were two teenagers branded as 'The Ice Cream Girls' whilst they were on trial for murdering  a teacher, Marcus. After the trial, Poppy was imprisoned for several years and Serena made a new life for herself. We meet both characters as Poppy leaves prison, determined to clear her name - Poppy didn't kill Marcus, so she must find Serena who she assumes was the real killer. 

Discovering the differences between the lives of the two girls was very interesting. Poppy has spent years in prison and found herself at a distance from her family. When released, Poppy doesn't have all that much to fall back on and seems alone in the world, her only friend being another woman in prison. I really loved reading about her friendship inside the prison and the letters that she received. There was something really raw about it, something very real behind the emotion of their communication. Though I found Poppy's relationship with Alain to be quite predictable, I did warm to them towards the end. For me, Poppy was the more prominent and more interesting character in this novel, the character that was easier to connect with. 

In contrast, to Poppy, Serena is certainly not lacking in companionship - she has a husband, children and gets on well with her sisters. Everything looks great for Serena as she is planning her dream wedding, but soon things change as her past life is brought back to attention. It is certainly the unravelling of her past life to her family which is most interesting to watch. I will admit that I found it a little unbelievable that her family (her husband and children) didn't know anything about her past, despite the apparent huge media-storm that had occured around the murder trial. Things don't go well when the connection is revealed and the reaction is also fairly written.

Despite their differences, Poppy and Serena also have a lot in common - they are both still haunted by Marcus. When Serena was a teenager, she fell in love with Marcus, her history teacher. At the same time, Poppy also met Marcus and fell in love with him. Despite what the press made of their relationship, Poppy and Serena were never friends, but they were in love with the same man. Marcus, a grown man, used and abused both Poppy and Serena, demanding things from them and abusing them at his own will. From what we learn as readers, it is clear that Poppy and Serena were victims, but the media never portrayed them that way, branding them both as killers. Marcus was written well, he was a conniving character who masterfully played with two vulnerable children.  

Overall, the book was well written and there was a good idea behind it. There was a twist at the end, which was different to the adaptation I'd watched and so it was nice to have a bit of a surprise! There was just something missing from this book for me - I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't completely grab me, it wasn't something that I was desperate to return to. I think that the book could have perhaps been more realistic - the media storm of the murder and then the lack of coverage on the release of Poppy or the ease that Selena had hiding the whole situation just wasn't believable. I also found that the ending was a bit too rushed and so again, unbelievable. However, for the most part, the book was an entertaining read. I would definitely like to read more of Koomson's books in the future as I can see a lot of potential. 

The Secret of Ella and Micha

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

Paperback, 320 pages

Expected Publication: 11th April 2013 by Sphere

Shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, contemporary, new-adult, read, read-in-2013, realistic-fiction, suicide

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

The girl he thinks he loves needs to disappear. I don't want tonight to be irreversible, so I pull away, breathing him in one last time.

Ella and Micha have been best friends since childhood, until one tragic night shatters their relationship and Ella decides to leave everything behind to start a new life at college, including Micha.

But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home. Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella's skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he's determined to win back the girl he lost, no matter what it takes.

The Secret of Ella and Micha is both the first 'New Adult' book that I have read, and the first book written by Jessica Sorenson that I have read - thankfully, it didn't disappoint! To be honest, like a lot of people, I'm a little confused by the term New Adult, so it's probably easier for me to say that both young adults and adults alike should enjoy this book, personally, I think it is most ideal for older young adults.

The Secret of Ella and Micha is about, you guessed it, two characters called Ella and Micha! At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Ella. We only really get a vague idea of who Ella is at the start - she left her home months ago  after years of trouble and a particularly difficult night and is now trying to be a different person. However, soon after we meet her, Ella returns to her home neighbourhood and her true identity starts to show - especially when she is around her almost lifelong friend - Micha.

It is undeniable that there is huge chemistry between Ella and Micha, it is so easy to see that they are connected and suited to each other. Sorensen has done an amazing job of portraying their relationship and managed to get the tension between them, sexual and otherwise, just right. Ella and Micha are clearly two different people with two different personalities, but they fit perfectly together. Some people may find the whole 'soulmate' idea a little too saccharine, but I was surprised with how well the idea worked within the book, probably as the romance was quite angst filled and balanced out with other issues alongside it.

As well as love, this book also about loss. Ella and Micha have both had their own troubles and are coming to terms with them. We are not fully aware of their problems at the start of the book which gave it a certain sense of vagueness that I must admit, I struggled with at first. Micha has an absent father who seems to always be in the back of his mind and Ella lost her mother when she committed suicide, leaving her to deal with her alcoholic father. Their problems are unresolved and it's clear that they have certainly had an impact on their relationship. As they both come to terms with their issues, they become even closer and things for both the characters and us as readers seem much clearer.

As you can tell, I enjoyed this book and I thought that Sorensen did a very good job of portraying what she wanted to. There was, at points, sometimes a little too much vagueness in this book for me and sometimes I had a little problem with how it flowed, but overall the book seemed well written and for the most part, enjoyable. I would definitely be willing to read anything else that Sorensen offers in the future and think that this will be a great hit for both young adults and adults alike. 

From the Review Pile (33)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

-----------------------------------

This week, I'm going to showcase Christmas at the Cupcake Café!

Though I absolutely love the look of this book, unfortunately I think it will have to wait until next year to be read. Christmas at the Cupcake Café is a follow on from Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe which I'm yet to read. When I finally manage to get my hands on a copy of the first book, I'll have to read it straight away!

Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

Hardback, 351 pages

Published 25th October 2012 by Sphere

Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn't be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don't seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another...