Review: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

Miss Pettigrew, an approaching-middle-age governess, was accustomed to a household of unruly English children. When her employment agency sends her to the wrong address, her life takes an unexpected turn. The alluring nightclub singer, Delysia LaFosse, becomes her new employer, and Miss Pettigrew encounters a kind of glamour that she had only met before at the movies. Over the course of a single day, both women are changed forever.

Sometimes, there is a moment in your life when a book collides with your emotions, and puts everything you’re feeling into some kind of gorgeous sense, and makes you feel even happier than you did to begin with. For me, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was exactly that book. My picking it up coincided with one of the happiest weeks of my life, and I literally hugged the book when I finished it!

I finished this glorious novel in lightning speed, mostly because I HAD to find out what happened at the end! I adored Miss Pettigrew and all her new friends, and felt myself utterly gravitating towards the women of the novel. It is such a shame that this work isn’t given more credit, and remains somewhat elusive, as it is truly up there with the very best feel-good novels I’ve ever read. Thank you to Persephone for re-publishing this darling novel!

At first, I was so worried that something bad would happen to spoil the Cinderella story, and felt myself cringing internally, which was enough to make me put down the book after a few chapters. However, I strode gallantly on, because I felt like Miss Pettigrew needed me to follow her. I am so very glad that I did push on, because it was really worth it.

The relationships between men and women are decidedly cynical, and Watson has managed to play the boundary between cynicism and faith very well. Though some of the ideas in the novel are very questionable (especially in regard to race- there are some very outdated views in it that wouldn’t go down well if the book were released now, and for a good reason) we see how well Watson understood the relations between genders at this point in time, and some remain very current.Of course, there are some good male characters, but even the one portrayed as “good” isn’t exactly a decent person- his first introduction into the novel involved some domestic violence. When you consider the era, these questionable antics are kind of negated, but some recent readers and reviewers have definitely taken offence to it.

What interested me most, however, was the relationships between women portrayed in the novel. We have Guinevere Pettigrew and Miss LaFosse, who are mutually supportive, then Miss LaFosse and Miss DuBarry, who seem to rely on each other to maintain themselves and their image. Then you have Angela, who walks into a room and instantly despises all other women due to her own jealousy and insecurity. Most of us ladies have come across at least one Angela in our lives!

Yes, it’s a light and bubbly adult fairytale, but so what? I love a good light hearted fairy tale of a book! I read way too much “serious” novels, so a nice light, fun read is a really nice break. I read this at precisely the right moment. Sometimes, one enjoys a fairy tale when you feel like you’re having your own little love story at the same time! I’m told this was made into a movie as well, so I’m going to be trying to watch it soon!

5/5 Stars and LeoGatsbyWineFireworkMan!

Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James

London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she’s been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter.

Ellie doesn’t contact the dead—at least, not anymore. She specializes in miraculously finding lost items. Still, she can’t refuse the final request of the only other true psychic she has known. Now Ellie must delve into Gloria’s secrets and plunge back into the world of hucksters, lowlifes, and fakes. Worse, she cannot shake the attentions of handsome James Hawley, a damaged war veteran who has dedicated himself to debunking psychics.

As Ellie and James uncover the sinister mysteries of Gloria’s life and death, Ellie is tormented by nightmarish visions that herald the grisly murders of those in Gloria’s circle. And as Ellie’s uneasy partnership with James turns dangerously intimate, an insidious evil force begins to undermine their quest for clues, a force determined to bury the truth, and whoever seeks to expose it…

Oh, Simone. I had such high hopes.

I love Simone St. James’ books and had waited for this with bated breath. I then realised that I had an assignment due on the days following the release, so I had to wait even longer to be able to get stuck into it. The horror!

I think that maybe it was the high hopes that killed some of the enjoyment for me. If this had been written by someone else, I’d likely be saying very different things in this review. So I’ve left it a little bit to actually write about it, so that I could let my mind settle a bit… now that it has, I’ve noted more things that stick out as problems.

I’ve notice that St. James has a sort of penchant for dropping a heroine into weird situations, but not really having too many different characteristics to differentiate them from each other- they’re all quiet, lonely, a bit on the weird side, have low self confidence and seem to need rescuing a lot. Ellie is not much different, except this time, she has psychic abilities, where the others were just your average female. She does get ballsy and is generally likeable though, so even if she’s a carbon copy, she’s a likeable one!

The male love interest was also a carbon copy of the others, except maybe Matthew in The Haunting of Maddy Clare, who had a bit more to separate him. James still had elements of his qualities- they’re all sensitive, damaged war veterans trying to make sense of their experiences. It was great the first few times, but now she needs to move on a bit. But hey, in this one we get Merrikin back for a while!

I feel that the plot twist at the end was a bit convenient. I won’t say it here, but it just made the whole thing fall in very nicely and I really didn’t buy it.

As for the story as a whole, it was fine. I found it a bit difficult to suspend my disbelief at times, and it sometimes felt a bit rushed or too convenient, but otherwise it was good. Good, but not great, and certainly not in line with her previous novels, which I was literally glued to for their entirety. This one didn’t have the same pull or the same element of fear and danger. I think I missed the ghostly threat too much to really get stuck into it. Yes, the human danger was pretty intense, but the others also had the supernatural element too. Yes, Ellie is a psychic, but her sightings of ghosts (that really did nothing) weren’t all that scary. It did have elements of crime fiction though, which was interesting because I can’t think of another book that combined all these threads in this way before… well, any that I’ve read, anyway.

The sex was toned down, but still sexy. I quite liked that it was there in small doses rather than being too influential on the plot or getting in the way of things- not that St. James ever does this, but other authors in this genre fall victim to it frequently.

Can I just say that I’m freaking glad she does stand alones? I’m so sick of series, I’m going to scream. It feels like every time I think a book looks interesting, it turns out to be the fifth in a series or some rubbish. Stand alone novels are the freaking best. St. James links with some recurring characters, but I just get excited to see old friends again in her case.

It pains me to give a somewhat negative review for Simone St. James. I’m just really disappointed in this book. It’s kind of like the sadness I felt when I wasn’t too crash hot on Kate Morton’s The Distant Hours. It’s a horrible form of bookish melancholy that I wish never existed.

Sorry, Simone. This time I’m just not sold. I have faith in you though!

If you are waiting to read this, or thinking of reading it, please do. If it was written by someone else, I’d probably say this was really quite good. It’s just that I know she can be so much better that I criticise this one. If you’re a historical fiction buff who likes a side of the supernatural, I couldn’t recommend Simone St. James highly enough!

But hey! She has another book to be published in 2016! Someone help me pass the time while I wait…

3/5 Stars

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

The problem with fairytale retellings is that they’re really predictable. We already know the story, so the element of suspense isn’t really there. That coloured my opinion of this book, but really, it’s going to be a problem no matter what the author does. I think this book could have been improved by losing the retelling aspect, because the idea could have stood on its own, as it’s a really original premise.

I read this super quickly. It only took me an evening, but I couldn’t put it down, even though I had stuff I had to be reading instead, because I had a big meeting with my supervisor… so of course, I picked this up instead.

I liked Cinder quite a lot. She’s a fun character, who was quite spunky but also fragile. She had quite a non-traditional occupation (mechanic), which fitted well with the whole Cinderella thing. My heart broke for her several times… she had such a cruel life. I wish we’d got more of the whole fairy godmother, Cinderella makeover thing, because that’s always my favourite part! She did do some really stupid things, but who wouldn’t in her situation?

I couldn’t actually picture what Cinder looks like… I don’t know if anyone else had that problem, but where I could imagine everyone else in the story, Cinder was kind of a blank, faceless thing. It’s really unusual to not be able to actually picture a main character, even if they’re not exactly what they were described as… Weird. It didn’t put me off a huge amount, but it’s a weird thing.

I really didn’t feel the romance with Kai though. I liked him, he was pretty cool and quite well drawn, but I just wasn’t convinced about the romance side or his ability to be an Emperor… I kind of felt like they should just have been friends and bucked the whole fairytale thing, but of course, that’s never going to happen with a fairytale retelling.

It kind of bugs me that when an author wants their (usually female) character to be “non-traditional” or challenge the status quo, they stick them in a job like being an engineer or a mechanic. As if girls can’t be a teacher or a nurse without challenging anything! Of course, if they have a male in a non-traditional occupation, like say… a dressmaker, he’s always gay. Ditto the female mechanic is usually a lesbian (though in this case she isn’t). Like people can’t possibly just do a job they like, like normal humans in real life! *rant complete*

I felt like Queen Levana was a cardboard cutout villain… wasn’t really convinced by her. Maybe she’ll become more of a legitimate threat in the next few books, but in this she just didn’t really feel like much at all. She seemed to just stand there and make threats and just be evil in general, but not much more. The evil stepmother, Adri, was far more compelling and horrible. I really wanted her to be defeated and turned into a lily pad.

Another little issue for me is that I didn’t look ahead to see what the rest of the series is based on, but I’ve already worked out what happens and who is doing what. It really doesn’t make me too enthusiastic to carry on! I’ve heard really good things about the third book, Cress, which I may read at some point since this was fun… but I’ve already worked out who she is. The element of mystery isn’t there, which kind of bothers me. I also worked out the plot twist really, really quickly… like a couple of chapters in quickly.

Some aspects which should have been explained further just weren’t…. like why are cyborgs treated like second class citizens?! We’re told over and over again that Cinder is Adri’s property, that she can’t buy things from certain shops and that cyborgs are generally treated like dirt… but why? It’s never explained. Why is it “New Beijing”? What happened to the old city? Was it the war? You wouldn’t even know this is set in China, other than Kai being an Emperor and a brief mention of Chinese foods.

I really don’t think this busted too many stereotypes at all, which it could have done, but I think the author was limited by the process of retelling the fairytale. Cinderella in particular has been done SO MANY different ways before. This is definitely different to any other retelling I’ve seen, I will give it that. The cover was pretty funky too, though I wasn’t too crash hot on the font they used, but meh… not a huge deal.

Cinder was definitely a fun evening’s entertainment and a good fluffy YA novel, but I think it has so much more potential. Perhaps that potential is realised further into the series, which I’ll probably read at some point. There’s a few major plot holes but I kind of forgave them since it’s just a YA book and not some kind of great work of fiction, but they were pretty glaring. If you go into it just wanting something escapist, it’s fine and will truly serve that purpose… but I don’t think it’s much more than that. If I was 10 years younger I would have been all over this like a rash!

3 Stars

Buy from The Book Depository

Review: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich

“I used to be probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service, and to everyone else as the Filth…”

Meet DC Peter Grant. He will show you his city. But it’s not the capital that you see as you make your way from tube to bus, from Elephant to Castle. It’s a city that under its dark surface is packed full of crime. And of magic. A city that you never suspected…

Gran’t story starts when he tries to take a witness statement from a man who was already dead. And take him down a twisting, turning centuries’ old mystery that reckons to set London on fire…

Okay guys… the long and short of it is… ohmygodwhatareyoudoinggetyourhandsonthisbook.

THIS is what I wanted Neverwhere to be. THIS IS IT GUYS.

I really liked Peter, he was a great protagonist. He was fun to follow around- not super clever but not so stupid that he could make me really annoyed. He’s a total every man, who got thrown into an absolutely insane situation, but kind of one that was really cool… I mean, who doesn’t want some random wizard telling you you have magical powers?! I love that he plays with his magic and is really eager to learn, because I really want to learn with him. I also loved that his reaction was so very human: “Fuck me, I thought. I can do magic”.

I also LOVED the character of Nightingale. I totally pictured him as a super suave, top and tails man. I’m so excited to get further into his character and find out more about him, as well as the magic system in this series.

I probably could have done without the vague romance, but since it wasn’t really a huge aspect it was okay. Straight away I felt like I didn’t want Peter and Lesley to get together- not because I don’t like them, but because I really wanted a crime fighting male/female duo without the romance… I’m still in recovery from the later seasons of Bones. It was why I really liked the relationship of Robin and Cormoran in The Cuckoo’s Calling. 

I also found this book to be laugh out loud funny at many points. I don’t do that all too frequently, so it was pretty good. I really, really enjoy British humour, so that’s definitely part of it.

“Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the “London once-over” – a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport – like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling.”

The setting of London here is so well done… I always find it fun to be able to pinpoint where things are, especially when I’ve been there. I got super excited because I bought my favourite notebook from the Paperchase in Covent Garden, which got briefly mentioned. You Brits are so lucky, by the way… Paperchase is a true gift from the gods of stationery. I got a notebook with CRAYFISH on it for heaven’s sake!

I wish I’d read this book earlier, I can’t believe it’s been out since 2011 and I’ve missed it! I’m pretty sure I’m going to devour the next book soon, then most likely the rest of the series. I’m hoping my favourites make a comeback and stay awesome… please, please don’t let me down!

5/5 Stars and Leo.

Buy from The Book Depository

Review: The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton

I bought this on my Kindle whilst on my quest for easy but good books to read while in my current state of brain pain and this one has completely fit the bill! Its price on Amazon was even better- it’s awesome to find a great self published novel for a really good price ($3.20 AUD)

The Heiress of Linn Hagh is the first in the Detective Lavender series. It is a detective novel set in Regency England, with the detectives Stephen Lavender and Constable Wood on the case of a missing heiress, who disappeared from a locked room in the tallest tower of her castle. In solving the mystery, Lavender and Woods discover that the family at Linn Hagh are despicably twisted and hide a multitude of secrets in their isolated estate. Will they be able to find Helen Carnaby, or is it already too late?

I really liked that for a historical crime novel, it didn’t shy away from dealing with tough topics. Sometimes, I find that they skirt around being straight with the nastier side of humanity, simply because they deal with a period where these things were kept on the down low. The author has dealt with insanity, rape, domestic abuse, murder, violence and racial prejudice in a fair way, bringing a greater sense of reality into the story and making me fear for Helen far more than a sanitised version of historical mystery could.

I also found it really cool that Charlton has based some of the aspects of this novel on real events in her family history, and that Lavender was a real person. I didn’t realise this until right at the end in the author’s notes, and I really admire her for doing justice to Lavender. Fitting these factual tidbits didn’t come at the expense of the story, which makes me really admire the level of work that has gone into this book.

I worked out much of what the ending would be long before the detectives did, by noticing the little clues left by the author, but even saying that, I didn’t expect some of the details. So while I had the general idea of the ending, I was still surprised. I also feel that the general level of impending doom and menace made me stay on the edge of my seat- I was beginning to get really worried that justice wouldn’t be served!

There’s plenty of action as well but the story is well paced, so it doesn’t feel like the author has thrown in gunfights and arguments in just for the sake of it.

Overall, I’m really impressed by this novel. I went in not expecting much, despite its high review ratings on Amazon and Goodreads, which I think has helped me to be really pleasantly surprised by this! I can’t wait for another book in this series to be released… I hope I don’t have to wait too long!

4.5/5 Stars and an honorary Leonardo DiCaprio!

Review: Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

It was so lovely to catch up with the characters from the BBC series of “Call The Midwife”. I particularly adore Chummy, she’s just too cute!

This book was fantastic! I didn’t realise the show was based off a memoir until partway through the first season, a few years ago. I somehow put off reading the book, but decided to read it for my Top Ten Tuesday winter book list. I’m so glad I did, as this book made me laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously.

If you’ve watched the show, you know the story, for the most part. Some things have been changed (not as much Jimmy or Chummy… sigh.) but the essential character of Jennifer Worth’s memoir is in the show. It’s so warm and all the characters feel like friends, even when they only grace the page for a short time. I want to be adopted by Len and Conchita. I want to love Mrs Jenkins and watch the pigs get randy under Sister Julienne’s watchful eye. You really feel like you’re riding along with Jennifer, through the Docklands of London’s East End.

For those who haven’t watched the TV programme, Call the Midwife is about a young nurse negotiating her first years working as a midwife in London’s poor East End. She’s living and working in a convent, Nonnatus House, under the watchful eyes of Anglican sisters, who are also nurses and midwives. She meets a cast of fascinating people and shares her experiences working amongst the poorest of the poor, prostitutes, ex workhouse inmates and many more.

This book didn’t make me cry as much as the show does-  invariably I’m a snotty, sobbing mess by the end of each episode. I was restraining tears on the train the other day though, and today I had to pretend I was coughing so my mother wouldn’t notice me swallowing a sob! I also laughed so many times, particularly with lovely (and slightly senile) Sister Monica Joan. At one point, she calls Sister Evangelina “The Dong with the Luminous Nose” and that just made me lose it. I was luckily at home, otherwise I would have got some really strange looks! Her cheeky, sneaky and naughty elderly behaviour reminded me so much of my Granny, except she hasn’t taken religious vows! The book moves through the patients of Nonnatus house and the different issues facing those living in the East End during this period.

On the subject of medical procedures in this book, I will warn those who find such things disturbing that they possibly should skip this one. There’s no flies on Jenny. She doesn’t sugarcoat it and some sections are quite graphic. So if graphic depictions of childbirth or nasty wounds are not something you can deal with, this won’t be for you. There is also some talk of rape, domestic violence and child abuse. Life in this time and place wasn’t pretty and neither is childbirth, when you think about it. I have a very strong stomach for medical procedures, having had far too many myself and working as a nurse for a short time, so I didn’t find it too graphic, but I know others will find these subjects confronting and possibly disturbing.

The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good and everyone is just so wonderfully written. And what’s more- it’s true. What better way to understand more social history as well as medical advances and practices? It also has a very interesting section on the Cockney dialect, as well as a glossary for the medical terms the average reader might be unfamiliar with, which I unfortunately discovered when I finished, so my only critique has been quashed! There are several other books written by Jennifer Worth, which I am looking forward to reading in the future.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5.