Meet Me At the Museum by Anne Youngson

review by Maryom

Tina Hopgood is a middle-aged farmer's wife. Her life so far has been quiet and uneventful, but the death of her one close friend leaves her feeling regretful about opportunities she's missed. One of these was a visit, much talked about with her friend but never taken, to visit Silkeborg museum and view the remains of the famous 'bog body', Tollund Man, so she writes to the professor who sparked their interest long ago, and receives an answer from his successor. This casual exchange of letters sparks a correspondence that becomes more personal, sharing their lives, regrets, hopes, and gradually moving beyond friendship to something deeper.

To be honest, after the build up I'd seen from publicists and bloggers on social media, I was a little disappointed with this book. It's nice enough; a gently-blossoming romance between two middle-aged people, charted through the letters they write to each other, but it didn't really grab me. Everything plods along much as you'd expect it to. No curveballs, no plot twists (I'd have loved it if Anders had turned out to be lying and still married!)
I think one of my problems was with the character of Tina, and a feeling that somehow she's supposed to represent ALL middle-aged women. Well, I'm Tina's age, and tbh she struck me as meek, dull and old - not someone I could sympathise with, and I think this influenced my view of the novel as a whole.

Still, it's not bad, and if you like gentle romance you'll probably like this. It just wasn't for me.

Maryom's review - 3 stars

Publisher - Doubleday

Genre - adult, romantic fiction, 

The Statistical Probablity of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

review by Maryom

Hadley is flying to London to be a bridesmaid at her dad's wedding. She's not looking forward to this at all, as it will put the final seal on the end of her parents' marriage, so maybe it isn't completely accidental that she misses her flight by the smallest of margins. If she hadn't missed it though, she'd never have met Oliver. A Brit studying in the US, he's also heading to London for a family event, and, as he helps while away the tedious hours  waiting for her re-scheduled flight and distracts Hadley from her fears on the flight itself, they start to form a connection that surely can't be broken as they leave the plane...

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is, as you might expect, a story of falling in love at, not quite but almost, first sight; a feelgood teen romance of missing connections and making new ones. It's fairly obvious where the story is going but there are enough hitches and obstacles put in Hadley and Oliver's way to keep an element of doubt. It's delightful and light without being fluffy or overly-sentimental. If there's a downside, it's that, like me, you'll want to read it in one sitting - and then be left with nothing to read.

I somehow missed this book when it was first out and worked my way round to it through This Is What Happy Looks Like and The Geography of You and Me so I sort of knew what to expect from the author and I think it had less of an impact than if I'd read it first.

Maryom's review -  4 stars

Publisher - Headline  
Genre - rom com, teen/YA

Spare Brides by Adele Parks

 review by Maryom

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll remember me singing the praises of Spare Brides when it was first published back in February. Now, for anyone who missed it or read and loved a library copy, it's out in paperback!

Beginning on New Year's Eve 1920, Spare Brides is the story of four very different friends; of how, in a world radically altered by the First World War, their lives, hopes and expectations have changed too. All come from privileged, wealthy backgrounds but there the similarities end. One is a widow, one rather dully married, one not interested in the marriage market and one desperate to find anyone to love.

 "Spare Brides has got everything you expect from a conventional romantic novel - glamorous parties, gorgeous clothes, an enigmatic hero and a passionate love affair - but it's far from a piece of light fluff. Alongside the glitz and glamour lies the heartbreak and devastation of the War, and it's continuing emotional impact. The story also takes a shrewd look at the changing roles and expectations of women in this period. All four women have been brought up to believe that their role in life will be as wife and mother, nothing more. But times are changing; husbands are few and far between, and women have more freedom and possibilities; hopes and ambitions need no longer be confined to the drawing room and nursery.
It's another great, absorbing read from Adele Parks. One that once started you won't want to put down, I certainly didn't.
The ending might be a little predictable but so what? Show me a Jane Austen ending that wasn't obvious a mile off!"

If you're intrigued, you can find out more on the author's blog

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult, historical romance,

Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Review by The Mole

Hannah and her friends have just two things to focus on this summer - their 'A' Level results and losing their virginity. But Hannah is sure she has made a mess of her history exam and she has a big bust-up with Freddie at Stella's party. Stella is a long term friend and Hannah is devoted to her. But the party starts to get weird when she meets Sam in the toilet and although the meeting is brief she can't stop thinking about him. Has she found her "Lobster"? Freddie's place as "Lobster" has certainly been vacated!

The title of this book comes from the idea that lobsters mate for life so "Mr/Mrs Right" are now referred to as a lobsters. (I didn't know this!!) Hannah learns from Casper - a boy she meets in Kavos and strikes up a platonic friendship with - that they don't mate for life anyway! While in Kavos she also meets Pax, a tall 'fit' young man  who shows a lot of interest in her but she doesn't really want to get involved with. She meets Sam and Pax a few more times and it's not all plain sailing. Can there be a happy ending?

There is a lot going on in this book and I have to admit that I was a little concerned, having a daughter doing A levels at the moment. Is this really what obsesses girls and boys of this age? I don't recollect it being the dominant force in my life but then I'm now very old - or so my daughter tells me. The whole story has parallels in the TV series "The Inbetweeners" with some of the characters having their counterparts in the book - but here the story is told alternately by Hannah and Sam. The book, as a result, has many amusing moments but it also has many deeper and tragic moments making it, in my opinion, a better story.

I really enjoyed this book, finding it easy to read and not so easy to put down but I did find, that as a father, I was wondering what is going on in my daughter's head...  Although aimed at the 15+ reader I am sure it will appeal to the many fans of "The Inbetweeners" as well.

Publisher - Chicken House
Genre - Teen (15+) romantic comedy

Buy Lobsters from Amazon

In The Summer Time by Judy Astley

review by Maryom

I first reviewed In the Summer Time last Summer when it came out in hardback - now it's being published in paperback by Black Swan just in time for this Summer.

"In the Summer Time is funny and smart and, despite the romance, avoids being too sickly sweet. It's a bit predictable at times but very readable. A lovely light-hearted summer read that's ideal for your own beach-side holiday." Read more of my original review here

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith

review by Maryom

Despite living in the same apartment block, in the normal course of events Owen and Lucy would never have met. He lives in the basement with his newly-widowed father, the building's superintendent; she lives up on the 24th floor, with her rarely present jet-setting parents. But fate decides to take a hand in the form of a power cut - and when two people are stranded together in a lift, they can't help but say hello.With both of them left 'home alone', they decide to spend the rest of the blackout together and start out on the first steps to falling in love.
Having thrown them together, fate then decides to tear them apart - Lucy's parents insist she joins them in London, where she learns that they're to relocate from New York to Edinburgh; Owen meanwhile sets outs on a roadtrip across the US with his dad - echoing the one his parents took when they first met. They try to remain in touch through postcards and the odd e-mail but circumstances seem really set against them.

Despite starting with one of my most dreadful nightmares - being stuck in a lift - this is an absolutely delightful read. Yes, it's unashamedly romantic fiction, but without being gushy and sentimental, and although aimed at the teen market, I really enjoyed it.
It's not without it's darker, sadder side - Owen's mother has recently died and both he and his father are still trying to come to terms with their loss and grief. Both are in limbo - unable to come to terms with what's happened and move on with their lives - and so the road trip idea takes shape as a way to say 'goodbye' and look to the future. Their closeness is something that Lucy has never experienced - her parents have always been happy to leave her and her brothers in the care of nannies when younger or alone as they grew up - but in Europe she discovers a new family bond.
I loved the author's previous novel  This Is What Happy Looks Like and The Geography of You and Me is another irresistible romantic read.

Maryom's review -  4.5 stars

Publisher - Headline  
Genre - rom com, teen/YA 

 Buy The Geography Of You And Me from Amazon

Spare Brides by Adele Parks

 review by Maryom

It's New Year's Eve, 1920 and four friends are getting ready for an extravagant ball to usher in the new decade. There's hope that it's now time to move on to happier, more hopeful times, but the shadow of the War still lingers in the horrendous loss of so many lives and the guilt felt by the survivors.
Spare Brides is the story of four very different friends; of how, in a world radically altered by the First World War, their lives, hopes and expectations have changed too. All come from privileged, wealthy backgrounds but there the similarities end. Ava is the daughter of an industrialist, made richer by the War; glamorous and fashionable, she turns heads where-ever she goes and can get away with almost anything but her life of parties and shallow love affairs is beginning to pale. Lydia, married to the Hon. Lawrence Chatfield, is sheltered and cosseted, living a life where harsh realities rarely intrude except for her one big disappointment, that after 8 years of marriage she remains childless. Sisters Sarah and Bea live very differently; after the death of first their parents, then Sarah's husband, they are now dependant on their crippled brother for house and home. Sarah with a war-widow's pension and two children is slightly better off but feels that life is over for her. Bea's life never really got started - all her dreams of marriage and a home of her own went out of the window with the death of her only suitor; she's too tall and too plain to find another in a world where eligible bachelors are in such short supply and so poor that she has to alter her old dresses to fit new fashions, . Their pre-war connections still see the sisters invited to fashionable parties but only out of sympathy and as favours to their richer friends.
What does the new decade hold for them? These are desperate times, when a woman needs to catch at every chance of happiness no matter where it may lead, so a chance meeting with a mysterious, extraordinarily attractive soldier shouldn't be overlooked.

Spare Brides has got everything you expect from a conventional romantic novel - glamorous parties, gorgeous clothes, an enigmatic hero and a passionate love affair - but it's far from a piece of light fluff. Alongside the glitz and glamour lies the heartbreak and devastation of the War, and it's continuing emotional impact. The story also takes a shrewd look at the changing roles and expectations of women in this period. All four women have been brought up to believe that their role in life will be as wife and mother, nothing more. But times are changing; husbands are few and far between, and women have more freedom and possibilities; hopes and ambitions need no longer be confined to the drawing room and nursery.
It's another great, absorbing read from Adele Parks. One that once started you won't want to put down, I certainly didn't.
The ending might be a little predictable but so what? Show me a Jane Austen ending that wasn't obvious a mile off!

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult romantic historical fiction

How To Love by Katie Cotugno

review by Maryom

Serena always had big plans for her life - to leave her Florida home, go to college, travel the world and write about her journey. What her plans didn't include was getting pregnant at 16 while her boyfriend Sawyer took off leaving no word! Move on a few years and Serena has a toddler Hannah, and a new steady boyfriend Aaron. Then Sawyer breezes back as if nothing happened, wanting to pick up where they left off. Serena and Sawyer had only been together for a few months but he'd been the love of her life. Is she willing to take him back now?

This is a really readable, entertaining story but a little too light and fluffy for my taste. It's definitely got an unusual twist for a teen-romance....but...somehow it seems to be giving the wrong message to a teenage readership. There's none of the gritty 'bringing up baby' realism of Malorie Blackman's Boy's Don't Cry or the emotional impact of Juno , no real feel of the responsibilities and pressures brought about by having a child, particularly alone.
It's very much a 'true love conquers all' story and although I'm sure many readers will love the ending, I wasn't happy. How To Love is fine as an escapist love story but please don't treat it as anything else.

Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Quercus
Genre - teen romance

Buy How to Love from Amazon

The Rose Garden by Marita Conlon-McKenna

review by Maryom

Her husband's sudden death has left Molly Hennessy adrift and alone in the large country house they were restoring. Her two daughters have grown up and left home, the bank is pressurising for loan repayments; it seems like the sensible thing to do is sell up and downsize. But Molly loves her home, Mossbawn, and doesn't want to leave. Meanwhile, her niece, Kim is down on her luck - she's lost her job, her boyfriend and her home. Mossbawn where she spent so many idyllic hours as a child seems like the perfect place to escape to. When Molly buries her grief in restoring a long-forgotten rose garden on the property, she might have found a way for them both to put the past behind them and move forward.

I thought this sounded like it would be an interesting read but sadly I found it a bit shallow and predictable - and above all 'nice'. The development of Molly's character was quite interesting, as she goes from someone who relied on her husband to organise almost everything in their lives, to an independent person, capable of standing on her own two feet.  I think mainly this just isn't my sort of book - I prefer them edgier - but I'm sure lovers of romantic fiction will enjoy it.

Maryom's review -  3 stars

Publisher - Transworld

Genre - adult fiction, romantic fiction, 

Buy The Rose Garden from Amazon

In The Summer Time by Judy Astley

review by Maryom

It's 20 years since Miranda visited the Cornish seaside village of Chapel Creek - back then it was the place where her family spent all their summers, where the teenage Miranda swam and sailed, flirted and fell in love. Now she's returning with her own teenagers and her mother Clare, to scatter the ashes of her stepfather in the sea overlooked by their old holiday home. The village seems remarkably unchanged with many of the old familiar faces still there. Should Miranda rekindle her teenage romance or is she just longing to be young again?

In The Summertime is an unashamedly romantic novel with seemingly everyone looking for love - divorced Miranda wonders what happened to her summer-fling boyfriend of her sixteenth year, her mother Clare is getting over the death of her husband and happy to get reacquainted with someone she too knew twenty years before, sister Harriet finds the best antidote to being dumped by a footballer is to find another one and teenaged Silva just hopes to attract the attention of the coolest surf-dude on the beach. It's a dead-cert that at least one of them will find true love!
In the Summer Time is funny and smart and, despite the romance, avoids being too sickly sweet. It's a bit predictable at times but very readable. A lovely light-hearted summer read that's ideal for your own beach-side holiday.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Bantam Press
Genre - adult, romantic fiction

Buy In the Summertime from Amazon

Some Day I'll Find You by Richard Madeley

  review by Maryom

" James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared. Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child. Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape..."

I must admit I was intrigued when I saw that Richard Madeley had written a novel - after all as co-host of the long-running Richard + Judy Book Club he must have developed some idea of what he likes and what makes a good book. So what would his offering be like?
Well, curiously it feels like the sort of story that gets labelled 'women's fiction' - a tale of love and deceit  moving from the English countryside at the start of WW2 to the glamorous setting of the French Riviera in the 50s. It's a great plot outline but unfortunately the style of writing didn't really 'grab' me. I found the characters a bit flat and the plot too predictable, especially after reading the publishers' synopsis quoted above.
I'm sure there are lots of readers who will love it - my mum for one -
but I'm not one of them.

Maryom's review - 3 stars
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Genre - romantic fiction

Buy Some Day I'll Find You from Amazon

Neptune's Tears by Susan Waggoner

Review by The Mole

Zee McAdams is a healing empath in a 23rd century world. She is allocated a rather unusual patient, a man who refuses medical help after a head injury. She finds she cannot easily walk away from this patient. Later when a terrorist attack happens he reappears in her life giving assistance to the injured. "What would you risk for love?" the cover asks.

Fully aware of the warnings on the cover that love was a significant theme, I picked this up to read it as there seemed to be a strong sci-fi element to it. And there is! After a second terrorist incident it becomes apparent that Zee's abilities stretch way beyond empathy and the foundations for an exciting sci-fi story are reinforced. Sadly for me it ended with the main focus on the love story and the action scenes are rushed through as a secondary issue. It is a well told love story though - which is what it is claiming to be - but I just felt a great opportunity was missed. However it sets itself up for book 2 and there is scope in there for my sci-fi adventure in it.

Publisher - Piccadilly
Genre - Sci-Fi, Romance, Teen

Buy Neptune's Tears (Timedance) from Amazon

Daughters of The Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick

Review by Maryom

"Thirteenth century France. Bridget has grown up mastering the mystical gifts of her ancestor, Mary Magdalene, whose unbroken female lineage has kept a legacy of wisdom alive for a thousand years. But the all-powerful Catholic Church has sworn to destroy Bridget for using her healing talents and supernatural abilities.
Bridget's duty to continue the bloodline leads her into the arms of Raoul de Montvallant - a Catholic. But when the Church's savage religious intolerance causes Raoul to turn rebel, a terrible vengeance is exacted by Simon de Montfort, the unstoppable Catholic leader ..."

That's the back-of-the-book blurb but I feel the story of Raoul and his young wife Claire deserves more of a mention. Looking forward to a pleasant, peaceful life their expectations are shattered when the south of France is effectively invaded by northerners who've signed up for the Pope's crusade against the Cathars. Their differing responses to the invasion of their lands pushes their marriage to breaking point. He takes up arms and fiercely opposes the French, she turns her back on all violence from whatever source and finds consolation and strength in the peaceful non-resistance of the Cathar beliefs.
I discovered this book through someone's recommendation while I was reading Labyrinth by Kate Mosse  and Troubadour by Mary Hoffman both set in the same time-frame of The Albigensian crusade. While Daughters of the Grail definitely falls into the 'romantic fiction' category - with quite a few 'bodice-ripping' moments - it's also a moving look at the devastation that war brings - at personal and wider levels.
While not within my normal reading genres, Daughters of the Grail was an enjoyable novel that captured the happenings and atmosphere of the time really well without over-crowding the story-line with dry facts. Definitely one for the historical romance fans out there!

Maryom's Review - 4 stars
Publisher - Sphere 
Genre - Adult Historical Romance

Winter Warmers by Carole Matthews

review by Maryom

A collection of three short stories brought together as a free Christmas download;
 All I Want for Christmas is You  - Maria is facing another year of Christmas parties without a boyfriend - essential for all those 'plus 1'  invites. Then a secret admirer starts leaving her gifts and poems...
Cold Turkey - Tara is facing a lonely Christmas as her married lover spends the holidays with his family, but an accidental meeting with someone in the same situation changes everything...
About Gardening  - a couple's relationship has grown dull and boring. Can they find a way to get back together?

There are a lot of free downloads to be found but this is one of the more enjoyable I've read this Christmas. Winter Warmers is a short but pleasant collection of romantic fiction. A lovely read if you're looking for something light and seasonal; a little predictable but not too sickly sweet. I'm not a great reader of romantic fiction and I must admit I hadn't actually read anything by Carole Matthews before I downloaded this but now think I should.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Hachette Digital
Genre - romantic fiction, short stories

Buy Winter Warmers: A Gift for you from Carole Matthews from Amazon

Olympic Flames by Emma Lee Potter

review by Maryom

At only 22, Mimi Carter is the youngest member of the British Olympic Show-jumping team - and the only woman. She's worked her way up to this position the hard way, through mucking out stables just to be around horses and now she can hardly believe her luck to have been chosen for the Olympic team. The one fly in the ointment is the sudden reappearance of ex-boyfriend US show-jumper Jack Stone who walked out on Mimi 4 years ago without a word of explanation. She's determined that he's not going distract her from her Olympic dream but how long can she resist him? All is going well and Mimi's dreams look like coming true till her horse is spooked by a protester and Mimi ends up in hospital. Is this the end of her Olympic dreams?

Olympic Flames is a story of love and horses that should appeal to anyone, adult or teen, passionate about horses. There's enough explanation of horsey-jargon to not leave 'outsiders' flummoxed but not so much as to get in the way. At 60 pages there isn't time or space for in depth character and plot development but it's an enjoyable light 'chick lit' read to fill in the gaps between Olympic events.

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

Since I read and reviewed this novella, it's had a change or two - a new cover and a new name.

Publisher - Endeavour Press

Genre - teen/ adult fiction,  chick lit/rom com

Buy Love's Hurdles from Amazon on Kindle only

Every Step of The Way by Kit Domino

Review by The Mole

It's 1952 and Beth is 16 and living in London. It's a time when smog frequently chokes London and causes untold deaths. Pollution coupled with bad weather are the cause and it is so bad that garden fences cannot be seen from house windows. Beth is struggling to find a way in life that will challenge her and give her enjoyment but instead has to take work waitressing where she meets Terry.

As I started to read this book I found a powerful story of life in London during the 1950s. I grew up in the 1960s but still saw a lot I could identify with and enjoyed the story telling. I could not make out where the story was going to go and what it's genre truly was as we were told of so many issues affecting young women of the time and the story jumped around. I would say that one of the most significant points to me was how you couldn't just get hold of someone. No phones in houses let alone mobiles and 2 days for a letter to arrive - yes I grew up like that but Domino brought back to me what I had long since forgotten. The issues for young women however, made apparent through Beth's frustrations, are mostly as relevant today as they were then.

Sadly the latter part of the book lacked the power and style of the early part of the book as it settled down into what I can only describe as 'A Woman's Novel' - if that is not too patronising. In part romance, part fairy tale, part happy families.

Publisher - Thornberry Publishing Ltd
Genre - Adult Fiction, Romance

Buy Every Step of the Way from Amazon

Secret of The Sands by Sara Sheridan

review by Maryom

In 1833 although slavery has recently been abolished in Britain, elsewhere it is still flourishing. Zena, an Abyssinian beauty, is captured and taken to the slave market of Muscat in Arabia where her captors expect to raise a high price for her. Passing through different hands she is given to Lt James Wellstead, a British naval officer involved in mapping the coastline of the Arabian Peninsula and about to embark on an arduous trip into the desert in search of two missing fellow officers. In charge of the rescue party, though, are the two slave traders who captured Zena. Their knowledge of the desert makes them ideal guides but not the best companions.

Secret of the Sands is a book I came across through a Twitter friendship with the author. Initially I wasn't sure that it would be my kind of book as I'm not really a reader of romantic fiction but I decided to borrow it from the library and give it a go. I'm glad I did, finding it to be an exciting adventure story rather than a purely romantic one.
The starting point for the novel was an account of the real life adventures of James Wellstead - maybe not quite as exciting as this fictionalised account but something that lends a good historical backing to the novel.
The telling alternates between the viewpoints of Zena, Wellstead and the 2 missing officers - conjuring up the atmosphere of 19th century Arabia, of bustling towns and sea-ports backing onto the endless, empty desert. A world peopled with a large cast of diverse plausible characters - not all the bad guys are totally bad, and the good ones aren't too good to be true!


Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - HarperCollins
Genre - romance, historical fiction 

Buy Secret of the Sands from Amazon

The Very Picture Of You by Isabel Wolff

Family Affairs
review by Maryom

Ella Graham is a portrait painter. The way to achieve a stunning likeness in which the character of the subject shines through, she believes, is to get to know them. As she paints, she chats with her sitters and they maybe reveal more than they'd expected to. When her younger newly-engaged sister Chloe asks her to paint fiancé Nate, Ella is dismayed. The little she knows of him is not good, will her opinion change as she gets to know him better? How much of her attitude will be revealed in the portrait? Further turmoil is created for Ells when the father she believed to have abandoned her as a child tries to make contact. As the date for Chloe and Nate's wedding rapidly approaches, should Ella reveal the home-truths she's learned or keep them a secret for everyone's good?
The Very Picture Of You is a gentle romantic story of two sisters and the man who might drive them apart. This plot line is to be honest a little on the predictable side and I actually found myself more engrossed in the emerging family history than in Ella and Nate's changing relationship. The star of the novel is surely Ella's mother - her ability to ignore anything she doesn't wish to talk about and manipulate facts to suit her purpose, make her a middle-class Machiavellian monster. For years she's managed to mislead everyone, including her husband and daughters, but the truth is about to be revealed.
A good 'holiday read' for any fans of romantic fiction.

Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - HarperCollins
Genre - Adult, romantic fiction

Buy The Very Picture of You from Amazon

Noughts And Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Not Just Black And White
review by Maryom

Sephy and Callum live in a society split into two distinct classes - the dark-skinned Crosses, who are in charge and who have all the well paid jobs and big houses, and the pale Noughts, who are second-class citizens limited to menial, low paid work and substandard housing. This society doesn't approve of their friendship for Sephy is a Cross and Callum a nought, and the two classes should never mix. As they grow up and their relationship becomes more than friendship, they begin to wonder how it will ever be possible to be together. Against a background of increasing racial tension and violence, they try to find a way....

I won this book a while ago - a signed copy, as well! - and ever since it's sat on the To Be Read pile while I've read books that came in for review or from the library. Going away on holiday recently, I decided to take it with me as something the Teen could read as well if she liked. Now I wish I hadn't left it so long. I think that because I'd heard so much about it in through magazines, the web, library posters etc, as a sort of cross-racial Romeo and Juliet that I felt I had a pretty good idea of what to expect - but it outdid all my expectations.
Noughts and Crosses is an absolutely brilliant, devastating tale of love against the odds. Using first person narrative alternating between Sephy and Callum, Malorie Blackman allows the reader to see inside the minds of the characters, to contrast Sephy's comparative naiveté with Callum's greater awareness of social stereotyping and bigotry, and to see both sides of their misunderstandings. The reader is made to face up to the dreadful realities of racial segregation and, as Callum is drawn into his brother's world of political activism, the story moves to a dramatic, heart-stopping ending.
An absolute 'must read' for anyone, not merely teens.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Corgi (Random House)
Genre - Romance/Thriller, Teen


Buy Noughts And Crosses (Part1 of Noughts & Crosses Trilogy) from Amazon

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

Treachery, Romance and a just a little Magic
review by Maryom

Paris 1789 - although everything still appears normal, revolution is brewing.
Yann Margoza was born with the gift of reading minds and along with his friend and mentor, Tetu the dwarf he assists with the theatrical performances of Topolain the magician. An invitation to perform at the chateau of the Marquis of Villeduval leads them to an old enemy now calling himself Count Kalliovski. When he becomes aware that he has been recognised, the Count vows to hunt them down and kill them. It also leads though to a meeting between Yann and the Marquis's neglected daughter, Sido. Although Yann is forced to flee to safety in England, he never forgets this beautiful, lonely girl and as murder and mayhem are loosened on the streets of Paris he knows he must risk his own safety to help her.
I think "A Story of the French Revolution" as a tag line makes this seem as if it could be quite dry and dull. Far from it! The Red Necklace is a wonderful historical adventure, full of period detail from the Marquis's parties to the rioting in the streets, with a young handsome hero, a girl kept almost prisoner in her own home and a dastardly villain intent on manipulating people for his own ends. It's breathlessly exciting as Yann and his friends desperately attempt to save Sido from both the villainous Count and the angry Paris mob. I absolutely loved it and once started, couldn't bear to put it down! I'd recommend it for anyone, though mainly teenagers, with a liking for historical fiction

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Orion
Genre - Teen Fiction, Historical, Romance,

Buy The Red Necklace from Amazon