Tag Archives: novel

Sep3

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Homemade God By Rachel Joyce Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Homemade God By Rachel Joyce Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! In a spoiler free setting, as always, we will be discussing the newest novel by Rachel Joyce called The Homemade God. Like my last book club review, this was a far cry from my normal thrillers but an absolutely delightful read. I already knew I was in for a treat before even reading the first page because Rachel Joyce authored one of my all time favorite books, The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry. Of course, nothing will beat the best of the best but I very much enjoyed The Homemade God! Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning for addiction, self harm, miscarriage, and the death of a parent. Now, let’s get to it:

Netta, Susan, Goose (Gustav), and Iris are quite possibly the closest siblings you will ever meet. They talk on the phone constantly, see each other as often as humanly possible, and know each other better than they know themselves. This close knit group is held together by the glue of the family, their father who is a world famous artist named Vic. Perhaps, they are held together in spite of him. As their mother died when the children were young, Vic was the only parent they knew but he was an absent one.

In their youth, Vic would be gone for days on end. He could be on a bender. He could be locked away in his studio drunk and working on a painting. This left the care of the siblings up to the eldest child, Netta, and in each of their own ways they were parenting their own parent too. As adults, this sentiment remains the same because Vic is still an alcoholic and when they speak, it is usually about him. Regardless of their sad upbringing, each child fully believes that the world revolves around their dad and his world revolves around them and his art. Until it doesn’t.

At a family lunch, Vic declares that he is in love, getting married, and will be creating a new masterpiece. The children are dumbstruck as they didn’t even know their father was dating. But it gets worse. His bride to be, Bella-Mae, is only twenty-seven years old and they have only been together for six weeks. Their pleas to reconsider are meaningless to seventy-six year old Vic because his mind has already been made up. He and Bella-Mae will be married at their beautiful villa on Lake Orta in Italy and when his kids meet her, they will be crazy about her too.

The only problem is, the children don’t meet her. Every plan for luncheons or tea are foiled to last minute cancellations and their minds begin to swim. Is she a grifter who is eager for Vic’s substantial fortune? Is she forcing him into something he doesn’t truly want? For all they know and which they really do consider, she could be a porn star. The siblings decide that the best thing to do is to drop contact with their father. The fling will fizz out, he will realize he was being ridiculous, and will eventually return to them when he has dealt with the embarrassment. Vic does contact his kids again. With an invitation to Lake Orta to celebrate the wedding that has already transpired.

Of course, the siblings have no intention of traveling to their home away from home until their hands are forced. Vic has died and it is up to them to arrange for his body to be transported back to England and finally meet Bella-Mae. They do have their inheritances to sort out, after all. Heartbroken and exhausted, the kids arrive at Lake Orta and can’t help but to be suspicious. Their father died of unusual circumstances and Bella-Mae’s eccentric cousin has made himself at home in the villa. Who is this mysterious woman who is now their father’s widow? And is she the one to blame for his death? Read The Homemade God to find out!

The Homemade God was a wonderful study on the inner workings of a dysfunctional family. The toils, the tender moments, downfalls, and reunions that can change the trajectory of the lives of all effected. Rachel Joyce did an incredible job of creating the characters of the children of the eccentric but deeply troubled father. While some were larger than life than others, it was easy to see yourself in at least one of them. Are you strong willed and brazen like Netta? Maybe you are more of a follower like Susan. Could you be approval seeking like Goose? Or perhaps you are like Iris, a delicate flower who has yet to fully bloom. Their individual relationships with their dad molded them into the caricatures they are today and his death allows them to discover themselves for the very first time.

There were plenty of sad parts to go around in The Homemade God but there was so much good too. The way the light hits the lake surrounding the villa, the stories the children share that still makes them laugh, and the confirmation that life will continue to go on in any way you choose. The Homemade God is also a friendly reminder to never judge a book by its cover with an ending that I considered to be perfect. An ending that invites new beginnings and a celebration of life, art, and love.

Overall, I am going to rate The Homemade God with a seven out of ten stars. I don’t think it was one of Rachel Joyce’s strongest novels and I have read almost all of hers. It is, however, well worth the read especially if you are a fan of her work!

What are you currently reading? What is one of your favorite books? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar27

Lil Red’s Book Club: A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as per ushe, we will be discussing Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. I am genuinely unsure as to why I haven’t read this book until now and am kicking myself in the butt for it because it was SO good. This bittersweet tale made me laugh, cry, and fall in love with the old curmudgeon and the people who consistently bothered him. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning for terminal illness, suicide attempts, and miscarriages. Now, let’s get started:

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Widower Ove lives in a tidy development of row houses and is convinced that he is surrounded by idiots. There is a right and wrong way to do things and rules to follow, according to Ove, and if you can’t do that… Well, you’re the one in the wrong. Ove lived a life of hardship and tragedy and losing his beloved wife, Sonja, was the final straw. Forced into retirement with not even his job to keep him occupied and an empty house, Ove is ready to die and be reunited with the only person who he loved and who saw him fully and completely. If only his neighbors would leave him in peace, he would have been with Sonja days ago.

The disturbances begin with the arrival of Ove’s new neighbors “The Pregnant One” and “The Lanky One” or Parvaneh and Patrick, respectively. With two little girls in tow, they moved into the development with a bang by destroying Ove’s flowerbeds and mail box. Every suicide attempt is foiled by Parvaneh’s impeccable timing with requests to borrow tools, needing a ride, or delivering a meal to his doorstep. It’s not like Ove hates the new family, but he doesn’t like them very much. However, the new couple and their little girls take a shine to him.

Every day, Ove prepares himself to die and every day he holds off because of a new way that he has been bothered. There’s the mangy cat he begrudgingly became the owner of, his neighborhood that he closely monitors, his annoying neighbors, and an evil man who drives a Skoda. And, of course, Parvaneh and her family won’t leave him alone to the point where the unthinkable happens; He begins to grow fond of them too.

Bold, sweet, pregnant Parvaneh is quite possibly the only person in the world who refuses to let Ove speak out of line and scolds him when he is being rude. She quickly becomes friends with other people in the neighborhood and before you know it, Ove’s house feels like a hotel with people and the cat coming in and out. Parvaneh fills Ove’s life with new people and projects and he doesn’t have the time to die anymore… There is a war coming.

Anita and Rune were Ove and Sonja’s best friends and neighbors. Anita and Sonja got on like two peas in a pod and Rune and Ove enjoyed tinkering in the shed together in silence. No one knows exactly how the feud between Rune and Ove began, but two close friends turned into bitter rivals seemingly over night. It’s a mystery the last time Ove spoke to Rune and he had no idea until Anita knocked on his door that he has Alzheimer’s. It turns out the evil man in the Skoda who can’t follow rules is there to take Rune into a home claiming that Anita no longer can care for him herself.

Ove knows what must be done and him and his new friends form a task force to keep Rune at home. He even finds it somewhere in his heart to forgive. Ove is not the same man who was ready and willing to die every day because he finally found other people to live for. What will become of Ove and his companions who brought him back to life? Read A Man Called Ove to find out!

Saying that I loved A Man Called Ove is a severe understatement and I think that every single person should read this book. There were no twists and turns in A Man Called Ove and it was very easy to see where the story was going. This was just fine with me because the book was about the journey more than the ending. The journey of a man who was ready to die that learned how to smile again thanks to people who he used to find bothersome.

There were plenty of parts in A Man Called Ove that made me incredibly sad, but so many more that were absolutely joyous. Maybe not in as boisterous of a way as the darling Parvaneh – just in a way that was simply Ove. This book was like a textbook of how Ove became who he is and you learn that he is not a bitter old man like people believe. He is a man who bad things happened to, a man who likes things just so, and a man who still has some fight in him yet.

Other than the evil man in the Skoda, you will be enamored with the zany cast of players who weave their way into Ove’s life. People who he never would have associated with before he began seeing the world differently. Each person sees Ove so very differently than he sees himself and through their infernal pestering, he learns to accept company from someone who isn’t Sonja. Ove still misses his beloved more than words can say, but his new friends and perspective gave him a new lease on life, which he rolled his eyes and took.

I couldn’t imagine awarding A Man Called Ove with anything less than ten out of ten stars. If you are late to the party on reading this book like I was, READ IT IMMEDIATELY. Now, I am all set to see A Man Called Otto with America’s sweetheart, Tom Hanks! 😀

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug4

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Last Flight By Julie Clark Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Last Flight By Julie Clark Edition

Howdy and welcome to a new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we are going to be discussing the thriller that I just finished called The Last Flight by Julie Clark – without giving any spoilers away, of course. Right from the start, The Last Flight had me on the edge of my seat and it was an unputdownable read revolving around two strong women. Now, let’s get to it but, first, I will be putting a trigger warning on this book as it deals with spousal abuse:

If you saw Claire Cook in the news or in a gossip rag, you would think she had it all. She is married into the powerful Cook family and her husband, Rory, is about to begin his campaign to become a New York senator. What you don’t see in the pictures, however, are Claire’s expertly covered bruises and utterly fake smile as she tip toes around her husband to keep him from losing his temper. The beatings have worsened and an incident unraveling from Rory’s past leave Claire fearing for her life. The only thing she can do now, is plan her escape.

On the opposite end of the country in California, there is Eva James. If you were a student on the Berkeley campus, you would be sure to have seen Eva skulking about and would brush her off as a loner just trying to get by. Eva’s hard facade is not by choice but, rather, out of necessity. If you passed Eva on the street, you would never guess that she is the chemist for a drug lord named Fish. With a DEA agent hot on her trail and murders being linked to Fish, Eva very well could be next. The only thing she can do now, is plan her escape.

After months upon months of creating a master plan, Claire and Eva are ready to execute them and come to find themselves in the same airport. A chance encounter brings them together and they decide to add one more curve ball to the mix: They are going to swap plane tickets. Will the escape of Claire and Eva be successful? Or will they wind up even worse off than they were before? Read The Last Flight to find out!

If you have read any Lil Red’s Book Club posts before, then you will know that I am partial to the back and forth narrator thrillers. The Last Flight alternated between Claire and Eva each chapter, which made it so hard to put down because I couldn’t read about one without reading about the other too! I devoured this Julie Clark novel and my only regret is that it wasn’t longer because I thought it was excellent.

In the world of “unstable narrator” suspense novels, it is rare to find one that revolves around two women who are both in a sane state of mind. The very real threat of danger for Claire and Eva rather than something possibly imagined added such a sense of urgency to The Last Flight because their lives are completely dependent on the success of their ticket swap. Each page introduced new twists and turns and it was exciting to read how Claire and Eva used their intelligence to evade their problems.

Although both of these women have their flaws, you will find yourself rooting for them the entire time and will be blown away by the outcome of The Last Flight. I highly recommend this read and will be awarding it with an eight out of ten stars for the fresh story line, strong heroines, and the anticipation I felt with every turn of the page.

What are you currently reading? Which book should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Oct23

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Death Of Mrs. Westaway Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Death Of Mrs. Westaway Edition

Helloooo everyone! I recently just finished the fifth book out right now by Ruth Ware called The Death Of Mrs. Westaway. I, for the most part, have had a very positive experience with this author. Though there were a few books like The Woman In Cabin 10 and In A Dark Dark Wood that I wasn’t wild about, I highly enjoyed The Turn Of The Key and The Lying Game. Unfortunately, The Death Of Mrs. Westaway was a big miss for me with the grand reveal so, without giving any spoilers away, let’s discuss:

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The Death Of Mrs. Westaway revolves around twenty-one year old Harriet AKA Hal, a tarot card reader who runs a small stand on Brighton Pier. She inherited the shop from her mother after she was killed in a car accident and needed to take up shop immediately to try to make ends meet. Young, broke, orphaned (she doesn’t know who her father is), and owing money to a dangerous loan shark Hal is in way over her head when bills pile up, her stand is lacking customers in the winter season, and the threats from the man she owes to turns dangerous.

Hal feels the need to escape and she can do that if she can swing fooling an entire family into believing she’s related to them. When she receives a letter in the mail claiming that she is the recipient of a substantial inheritance from the deceased Mrs. Westaway, it seems almost too good to be true – especially considering that she believed her grandparents to be dead. Despite committing a major act of fraud, Hal has nothing left to lose and everything to gain and heads to the funeral with the claim that she is the daughter of the deceased woman’s daughter, Maud.

At the funeral, Hal encounters the three brothers of her “mother” and, though lots of questions are raised, she is supposedly in with a family that she seemingly has no connection to. Or so she thinks. Because when she discovers her real mother in a photo of the siblings at their elaborate Victorian manor, everything she thinks she knows about herself and her mother becomes flipped. Does this family know who her father is? What is Hal’s mother’s relation to them? Is she a rightful heir to the inheritance after all? Read the book and find out!

I am not sure how to feel about The Death Of Mrs. Westaway. I actually loved it until the grand reveal and, although I saw it coming, I was disappointed with the outcome. I genuinely can’t say anything more than that without giving it completely away. But, what I will say, is that I did enjoy a solid ninety percent of the book. It was well written, suspenseful, downright sinister at times, and I liked almost all of the characters.

I appreciated Hal’s bravery throughout the novel and I liked that she didn’t back down to find the answers that directly pertained to her. She was able to play herself off as the mousy long lost niece and all the while she was making plans and using her intuition to solve the mystery of her own life. She was a heroine that I rooted for the entire time and I wish that the grand reveal did her more justice.

All in all, I’m going to rate this book with a six out of ten. I did not hate it but it was certainly not my favorite Ruth Ware novel by any means. I feel like I ended my reading journey with her on a sour note and am looking forward to a new book by her so that redemption can possibly happen.

What are you reading right now? How did you feel about The Death Of Mrs. Westaway if you read it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep9

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Lying Game Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Lying Game Edition

Howdy! I recently finished another Ruth Ware novel called The Lying Game and have read The Woman In Cabin 10 and In A Dark, Dark Wood by her this summer, too. I have to say, I wasn’t overly impressed with either of those books but The Lying Game was a great read and I am happy that I chose to give Ware one more try before calling it quits and finding another author to read. So, without giving any spoilers away, let’s discuss:

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The Lying Game revolves around new mother, Isa, and her three best girlfriends from high school, Kate, Thea (Whose name I’m still not sure how to pronounce!), and Fatima. At their boarding school, the girls reveled in what they called “The Lying Game” and would keep a scoreboard to record the points from the tall tales that they would spin based on the quality and if people actually believed them. The game was supposed to be all in good fun and the rules were simple, including “never lie to your friends” and “know when to stop the lie”.

The girls spent one year at the boarding school together, which came to an abrupt halt when they were asked to leave quietly in the wakes of a possible scandal that directly involved them. And, although it’s a rarity that they talk now as they are all in their thirties, when a friend texts the three words of “I need you” the now women drop their responsibilities immediately and flock to the one in distress.

So, when Kate sends Isa the call to action, she packs up her belongings with her six month old daughter in tow and makes the journey to her, near the old boarding school. The text was indeed an urgent one because once the ladies arrive to Kate’s, it is revealed that a human bone was found in the sea – a result of their “game” being taken too far. With a police investigation nipping at their heals, the once best friends have to come up with a plan and unravel the truth behind their lies before an arrest is made. Were they murderers? Covering something up? Or just plain stupid? Read the book and find out!

I absolutely adored The Lying Game and devoured it in a matter of days. It was so refreshing to read a book with a tangible plot and told from the perspective of someone with a sound mind. Because, let’s be honest, the unstable narrator shtick has been hopelessly drawn out. The Lying Game was filled with twists and turns that actually seemed plausible and I really had no idea what the end result was going to be.

It was interesting to see how a mistake that happened in their teenage years has haunted each woman in the almost two decades since it happened. Each one dealt with the trauma in a different way and it made for fascinating characters with realistic flaws and personalities. The Lying Game was a wild ride and I am now ready to tuck into another Ruth Ware novel ASAFP!

And, now for the star rating…. I award The Lying Game with an eight out of ten. The plot was riveting, the characters were all likeable in their own ways, and I genuinely enjoyed myself while reading it. Highly recommend.

Has anyone read The Lying Game? What were your thoughts on it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah