Ce Qui Est Perdu by Vincent Delecroix

 

With Small Boat shortlisted for this year Booker´s, Vincent Delecroix is another French author entering the main literary attention. I will most probably read the book in the original French version later, but for now I´ve started with another book by him, that received a good reception in the Francophone realm: Ce qui est perdu - What is lost, in my own translation.

It is a short book, a non-story about a man, whose name we are told halfway through the book is Vincent living in Paris, who is trying to write a book about the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard. He may know a bit of Danish but his efforts to overcome the heartbreak are just efforts. His failed professional and personal life are just a distraction, with no finality. But, philosophically speaking, does philosophy has a practical aim?

This is what will finally happen in the end of the story. The thought of writing and the apparent intellectual familiarity with the philosopher do distance himself for the physical person of the lover. Her letter, that he kept unopened until the right moment, got lost and lost is the way towards each other.

The writing is so sharply chiseled that I just got lost myself into the words. Everything falls in its right place.

I will definitely read more by Vincent Delecroix, a philosopher with a writer´s clarity.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Random Things Tours: The Penthouse by Catherine Cooper

 

Catherine Cooper is an author I´ve featured before on my blog and I am always happy to discover her intelligent twists. A luxury travel writer, her books always have an unique approach to human psychology. The Penthouse, her latest, is following the same complex narrative. However, this time was even more intense, which makes this book one of my favorites so far.

Enola, a rich and famous singer, disappeared suddenly 15 years ago. Now, the members of her band are back to Las Vegas for some concerts, but unfortunate events do affect their schedule and everyday lives. Suddenly, they may think that it has to do at a certain extent with Enola, but they are not prepared to the truth to be revealed to them.

The mystery regarding the case is permanently maintained, as there is an unnamed character who will add a perspective to the story during the coming and going of points of view shared by the different characters. The characters themselves seem to be plagued by deep inimities and jealousy, something to expect in the world of showbiz, but the extent of this is hard to estimate.

I may confess that I´ve found the book pretty addictive, keeping me focused for a long amount of time, playing the crime detective and trying to understand what exactly is happening and if there will be any follow-up regarding Enola´s fate.

The Penthouse is a recommended read to anyong in love with good thrillers, with a hint of mystery and deep insights into human nature. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Le Bastion des Larmes by Abdellah Taïa

 

I had the chance to encounter the nostalgic storytelling of Abdellah Taïa, but until Le Bastion des Larmes - the name of a fortification in Salé, Morocco, erected to counter the cruisaders - I´ve mostly read his books in various translations. Moroccan-born Taïa, who lives in Paris since the 1990s, is a voice in the French-speaking literature from Morocco, many of his books using autobiographical details.

Youssef, currently a teacher in France, returns to his native Salé following the death of his mother. As expected, he is facing fragments of his youth, memories of his opressive and abusive personal experience as a gay man. His return is a juxtaposition of encounters with people and objects, projected into personal journeys, particulary his sisters´, but also fragments of memories of his love interest, turned into a corrupt drug dealer, who made his way through the relationship with an important colonel.

Bastion des Larmes has a concise and evocative prose expressing through both ideas and short encounters the power of words. Through those well chosen words we are empathically brought close to a world mostly in disguise, about destinies broken by the violence of everyday indifference and cruelty. I am sure that will come back soon to this author, probably only in the original French language.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Compulsive Readers Blogtours: The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden

 
Eliza´s world almost got broken into small little pieces as she received an anonymous photo of her dear husband, a career-oriented gentleman, together with another woman. He is her love and life and she wants to save her marriage above everything. A competent marriage therapist may be the best way to fix everything, but instead, it opens up a very dark box of revenge that instead of bringing up the couple together again, may lead to even darker places.

The Marriage Vendetta, the debut novel by Caroline Madden, is successfully going beyond the narrative that one may expect in such a story dynamics: stay-at-home unhappy mom and wife, freak-control successful man, a marriage based on an illusion of love. Instead, the psychological twists do add a different dimension to the story and definitely avoid the risk of the stereotype. 

I particularly liked Eliza, once a successful concert piano player, a character with a special human sensitivity although partially blinded by love. The manipulative role of the psychologist and the games aimed apparently to punish Richard are very interesting to observe, but at least at the beginning hard to appreciate if they are necessary or not and especially if they will lead to anything better, at least from Eliza´s perspective.

The Marriage Vendetta is a very promising debut novel, on a topic that it´s always open to new interpretations and takes. The funniest of all is that there is actually an US-based infidelity expert psychologist with the same name as the author´s. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: Lovers of Franz K. by Burhan Sönmez translated by Sami Hêzil

 

Lovers of Franz K., first novel written in Kurdish by the current PEN International director Burhan Sönmez, translated into English by Sami Hêzil, is a crime mystery with an entincing literary touch. I´ve recently talked about the book, featuring the unique book cover, inspired by the Andy Warhol´s vision on the famous Jewish author, but this time I had the chance to delve into its subject.

Set in the troubled years of the end 1960s, when anti-establishment protests took over the world, it uses the Cold War tensions as the setting to a mysterious crime that may lead the reader to a forgotten - for a good reason - last Kafka´s manuscript. 

I am passionate about this historical period, and I was pleased by the well-researched background, both political and emotional of those times.

There are so many books inspired by Kafka lately - as an individual, as a writer, as a creator of unique characters - and I can only wonder if the times we are living are really calling for it. In the case of Lovers of Franz K. the big question opening has to do with the ways in which the works of an author do belong to the public, even though they may not actually agree to disclose its content for various reasons. In an age of public disclosure and obsessive transparency, should one get involed in revoking decisions about one´s own work, no matter how famous and how relevant for the history of literature that person is?

So many questions and ideas that I am trying to understand right now, introduced to the reader under the disguise of a very well written political crime novel. A book that appeals very well both the crime readers and...well, the lovers of Franz K., obviously.

The book is published by Open Borders Press, an imprint of Orenda Books.  

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett

 

A failed blind date, an unexpected accident of sorts at the iconic Waterloo station in London. Nadia meets Tom and they decide to play the ´fake date´ for the sake of their parents and acquintances. After all, everyone expects you to settle down in your 30s. A lovely connection that grows up by the day, as beautiful as a flower can freely grow.

Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett, an author I´ve featured before, it´s irresistible. I´ve read it in few hours, as I couldn´t keep my mind busy to anything until I´ve reached the end of the book. It´s so much hope and good hearted people, building beautiful bridges between people. For a bit, you may just forget all the wrongs of the world.

Nadia is by far my favorite character of the book. Optimistic, with a big heart, accepting failures as part of her life, analysing what is happening around her, especially her feelings. She gives the tone of the story, leading towards a better moment. People like her do really make a difference, and I wish there are more real life persons in this world like her.

If you are looking for a soothing read, this is the right book that will convince you maybe that love can appear from the most unexpected places. Just keep being good and genuine.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own  

Kukolka by Lana Lux

Even since I´ve read Jägerin und Sammlerin by Lana Lux, I planned to read her debut novel as well, but I am always overwhelmed by my TBR. Kukolka - in Ukainian, Little Doll, a term of endearment for beautiful women - waited around three years to awake my interest again. But once I started the book, I just couldn´t focus on anything else.

It is a book that will boil inside you for a very long time. While reading it was feeling the full blow of my own feelings towards the main character and her horrible circumstances. 

Samira is an orphan in the post-communist city of Dnepropetrovsk - we are randomly mentioned the city more than half into the story, while the country we can only doubt, as it is once mentioned the national currency, hryvnia. As her best friednd got adopted in Germany, she is dreaming to join her and one fateful night, she is literally running out of the orphanage to join her. 

But on the way to the train station, she got into the claws of Rocky, a local gang leader that will use her, altogether with other young orphans, to reach his aims: street singing, purses ´cleaning´ and other illegal actions. She joined when she was 7, lured by a promise of getting enough money to travel to Germany. In few years, there is another milestone happening, as she meets Dima, a charming young man, who will actually take her to Germany, but with what a price for her. 

The story is told by Samira herself, with the innocent voice of a child who is caught into a horrible life, but the only she ever knew. There is an expectation of abuse to happen, but nothing prepared me to the extent of it. The story grows in intensity, with Samira sharing unbearable details about her everyday cruelty, when she is not even 15 yo, but the voice remains kind and focused on the moment, without assuming that this could be the rest of her life. Despite the terrible reality, there are kind people who may accompany her although, at least for the time spent begging near the local central station, I kept asking myself why no one really noticed the street children? It feels at times unbearable to accept living on the same planet with child abusers. Indeed, the book is stirring so many intense feelings.

As many other books in German I´ve recently read, Kukolka deserves as well to be translated into English.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

An academic experiments aimed to explore the psychopathic behavior went terribly wrong, with one student, Chloe being caught in a race against the clock to save herself while hunting a guy who wronged her terribly years ago. A Scooby-Doo gang getting dangerous while being hunted at the same time. 

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian is a complex psychological novel with many unexpected turns, not only related to the action but also regarding biographical details of the characters putting many short episodes into a larger perspective. A carefully curated story, it is using the moral ambiguity of the characters to create suspense and a heavy, sometimes unbreathable, ambiance. 

The characters are young people, some priviledged, some from humble background, identifying themselves as psychopaths. The aim of the program they are in is largely unclear for the most part of the story, but they are expected to report to various checkups and take part of some activities, while doing their own academic schedule. 

But Chloe, who is the main storyteller, is here with a slightly different aim: to satisfy a very human basic emotion - revenge. At the same time, there is a serial murder wandering the campus, and Chloe feels followed. Would she be able to survive or can she with her super psychopathic skills use this situation as an opportunity to reach her goal?

I didn´t know what to expect from this book, but I got relatively easy caught into the story. The observations regarding psychopaths are used to build up the story and the characters, and was a fascinating part. However, I felt that there are many details wasted and there are many episodes lagging the story behind. I felt like the story is hurried towards the end, but the final installment though is playing again with ambiguity which is an inspired choice.

Never Saw Me Coming is Kurian´s debut novel. Since then, she published another book that I would really be curious to read one day.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Orenda Books Blog Tour: Dangerous by Essie Fox

 

Historical fiction needs so many ingredients to be successful: it needs to be reliable in terms of research and historical accuracy, but also to use this well-researched framework for creating authentic unique stories. When the main character of the fiction is a historical character himself, then the challenge is double at least, as it should by relatable, still fictional in its creative touch.

Dangerous by Essie Fox, published by Orenda Books is going exactly in this literary direction. The main character is bigger than life, the famous Lord Byron, in disgrace though, spending his time in the beautiful Venice. No matter how destitute he may be, he still attracts attention, particularly in the suspicious Venitian community. But the attention switches slowly to the chain of crimes targetting local women. All of them found with a strange cut in the neck. As in a movie, the attention will turn again to Lord Byron, whose book The Vampyre opens a dangerous box of suspicion. Could it be a connection between his book and the crimes?

Well written and also very good researched, the book is inspired by real events from Lord Byron´s life and this weave formed by fiction and reality is very well balanced. This combination between reality and fiction happens in the book itself, as the story itself challenges the readers to make the best use of their imagination to separate facts from fiction. The book also combines very skillfully two complex literary genres, historical fiction and mystery novel and the result is very creative, appealing a large category of readers.

I also appreciated the ambiance of the book, an unexpected British Gothic touch that surprisingly suits very well Venice´s ensconced streets.

A special not deserves the cover as well, just another example of the high standards Orenda Books set in terms of publishing, which starts with the stories and ends with the visual presentation.

This book just opened up my curiosity towards more books by this author as well as books where mystery, history and famous literary characters come together beautifully.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own 

People Like Us by Louise Fein

´Who is right? And who is wrong?´

Set in the turbulent times that witnesses the Nazi´s raise to power, People Like Us - published in the US under the title Daughter of the Reich - by Louise Fein is in addition to the forbidden love story, an account of acknowledging the poison of the ideology of antisemitism. 

Inspired by Fein´s own family story, the book features Hetty´s unhappy love story with Walter, a German Jew from Leipzig. Careless, Hetty lives a priviledged life, particularly once her father is getting up on the social ladder, But all is a treachery: the big house they are living belonged to a rich Jewish family and the whole narrative Hetty naively surrounded herself is a lie. And through her dear Walter she will experience a different Germany with a different type of Germans. 

Slowly, extended on over 500 pages, the book shows how education of hate operates at a very young age. Hetty´s evolution and even involvement with resistance groups, coincides with her own growing up, as she is getting freed from the cultish Hitlerist ideology. 

The story is told from Hetty´s perspective, starting from the 1930s, when she was 7, young and careless and saved from drowing by Walter, until our current times, when now an old adult, Hetty´s about to meet the son she had to send away.

There is no black-and-white take, and I am very happy with that, as one of the reasons I avoided for a long time fiction books on such topics was exactly the non-creative simplistic take. The characters and situations in People Like Us leave a lot of space to personal decision and change of perspective. 

The historical context is throughout researched and well tempered. The slow pace allows some unexpected turns to happen which creates a welcomed tension within the story.

This book encouraged me to pay more attention to historical novels set during WWII, in Germany and elsewhere. It gave me hope that there is still so much to understand about human behavior and unheard voices and perspectives.

Rating: 4 stars

Challah la danse by Dalya Daoud

When journalist write literature, literature is ennobled because they bring to the imagination the counterweight of the experience, helping to reveal realities of the everyday life they only knew better. Dalya Daoud is the founder of Rue98 Lyon where she worked as a journalist for 12 years. Her debut novel Challah la danse, published last year, made sensation for her depiction of France périphérique, that space between big cities and no man´s lands.

This area, situated at the periphery of Lyon, is not seen however as a lost place, of social failure, but as a world in itself, worth to write a book about. With fine sociological and anthropological observations, it opens the gate to a micro-space on the move. 

Written as a succession of dated entries, from locations around the areas - including the parking lot - it covers the end of the 1980s. A time when the first generation of France-born immigrants, for instance, were making France their home. The humour and the natural way of being of the characters may remind of Discretion but the characters from Challah la danse do gather from different parts of the world and social status. Their interactions are more genuine and their stories go though beyond an ethnical narrative of any kind. The story of the place is part of the French history in the making from the 1970s onwards. 

The journalistic simplicity may be also the curse of this book, as it does not have necessarily a plot. and when the reporting starts, the reality is also cut. There is no autonomous story.

It is a relatively short book but so enjoyable both in terms of characters, interactions but, last but not least, the colourful vocabulary. If you need to update your everyday French slang, this is the right book to start it.

This was just another good French read, and stay tunned for even more recommendations in the coming days and weeks.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Dirty Business by Evie Hunter

Evie Hunter is no new name for my blog readers, and I am always enjoying her better than life characters and their unexpected turns of events.

Her latest, Dirty Business, has a story that brings to the forefront the usual mixture of human greeds, with a detective-like twist. When Gavin, Callie´s husband, disappears without a trace, the comfortable everyday life in the posh  Frenchurch Falls is under threat. Gavin´s whereabouts may jeopardize not only Callie´s situation, but also other people lives, hence her determination to find the truth. 

What follows, is an intricate encounter of misplaced trust, naivity and acknowledgement of tracheary. Everyone is vulnerable and there are no heroes, but way too many villains. Instead, we are faced with a panopticon of human imperfections. It feels less as a novel but as a daily adventure in the real life of the rotted rich and fabulous.

In this book, women do play a very important role, as even abadoned by their unfaithful men, they do raise and find out new reasons to thrive. Together, and using their smart survival skills, they can overcome any difficulties, be it drug dealers or corrupt policemen. 

The book starts in a very direct way, taking us instantly into the chore of the story. No time to introduce the story and the characters, there are more urgent things to deal with. The language is also very colourful, a good introduction to regional British English if you are trying to upgrade your everyday life vocabulary.

Dirty Business looks like a good inspiration for a movie, as it has the kind of emotions and characters that always do very well on screen. I was very pleased reading this book and I cannot wait to get into her next one. She always delivers what she promises and sometimes, even a bit more.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: No Precious Truth by Chris Nickson

 

Set in the 1941 Leeds, No Precious Truth by historical fiction Chris Nickson is a well-researched historical spy thriller. 

I am lately delving into the literary representations of WWII in various geographical contexts and this book added some eventful layers to my perception. But although the Zeitgeist and the social and political implications at the global and local level are accurately represented, the book is more than informative story from 1941. Instead, it has its own narrative and lively characters.

Police Seargant Cathy Marsden got involved into a spycatcher race, after her brother, a MI5 operatives, disclosed his worries about a German spy network that may endanger England´s situation and even the war operations generally. 

Moderately paced and insightful, the novel takes the reader, to a ride against time to catch the traitor. A timeless adventure that it´s worth following. I´ve read the book in one sitting, as I couldn´t stop not thinking about what will happen next. It was the best way to spend some late evening.

A recommended read if you are into WWII historical novels with a very serious spy interest.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Orenda Books Book Tour: The Cure by Eve Smith

There is a fascination as old as humankind about life without end and youth at all costs. In her new intelligent dystopian thriller, The Cure, published this month by Orenda Books, Eve Smith opens up a full Pandora´s box of challenging topics and ideas.

The genre is very much out of my reading comfort zone, but I´ve read another book by this author before, and the topic interests me a lot. Plus, I will read without any second thoughts any book published by Orenda. The intellectual reward was as expected.

A vaccine against old age diseases is abusively used for extending life until the biblical 120 - a ´genetic upgrade designed to extend lifespan´. Wishful thinking, but think about the whole world overpopulating the planet and the dramatic consequences for societies and economies. No retirement, no new jobs for the ´younger´ brood. With some long-time psychiatric side effects. 

The Cure exposes all those ideas through a very eventful and elaborated story. Mara and Ruth, two women from very different backgrounds, do have their own personal reasons to stop the perpetuation of this condition. In an unexpected team work, they do put together their information and skills to reach out to the source of the new evil.

I always found the topic in itself fascinating, but after reading the book I got even more ideas and inspiration about it. The dystopian ambiance, although at some extent relatable to our modern pace, is very well described. There are fascinating descriptions with a very strong visual impact, my favorites being related to lab designs, an intricacy of technical details that do make so much sense.

I personally loved that book. My plan for 2025 is to challenge myself to try new intellectual pathways and this dystopian thriller showed me how much creativity and valuable ideas are generated by this genre. It just gives reality a different boost.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Le Barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin

This year so far I had the chance to read fantastic newly published multi-awarded books in French. With no exception, there are extraordinary examples of the strength of French literature and the diversity of topics that do concern the French writers.

Le barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin, whose podcast is a recommendation for anyone interested in recent history commentarries, is my latest read. Built around real characters, particularly Frank Meier, the barkeeper of Ritz hotel during the German occupation, it develops into a story about compromise and opportunism.

Meier, a hidden Jew, was part of some initiatives saving French Jews from Shoah, while cashing generous rewards. Played a neutrality game trying curiously or opportunistically to get into the shoes of some big Nazi representatives hosted in the hotel. Like the leadership of the hotel itself, or some of its illustrious residents, like the notorious Coco Chanel, survived, oblivious or just preferring not to know too much about what was happening in the real Paris. Unable to express his feelings, to get involved in his own son´s life. A lukewarm character. 

Meier is the main character of the book, its voice and main storyteller, either through his own account of events, organised chronologically, or through his diary entries. It is a one-sided perspective, therefore I would be a bit careful to name it ´the big novel of the Occupation´, as the world we see is the one seen from the Ritz precincts. However, took from the perspective of the barkeeper from Ritz, it touches upon a diversity of aspects, moral or survival-related - that do explain the behavior under occupation, particularly the German occupation of Paris.

A novel placed in history revealing stories of everyday life anti-heroes.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Random Things Tours: Hunkeler´s Secret by Hansjörg Schneider translated by Astrid Freuler

Now retired, coping with some unexpected medical problems, Basel inspector Hunkeler is brought back to the real action after a local personality in the banking sector, terminally ill, died suddently. Partially asleep he witnessed the moment of his induced death and due to a game of circumstances, he may get bak on the track trying to trace the culprit. Only to reveal a very selective game of reasons and political and economic conditions that lead to the crime.

Compared to other books from the series I´ve read and reviewed before, Hunkeler´s Secret by Swiss crime author Hansjörg Schneider, translated into English by Astrid Freuler has a predominant end-of-life mood, from the thoughts of the characters themselves to the situations they are facing - depression, medical intervention, terminal illness, suicidal thoughts. 

With his unique eye for detail, Hansjörg mirrors the bourgeoise world of Basel and Switzerland in general, with the long-forgotten revolutionary past of some of the main characters, including himself. Those thoughts generate another cycle of cynical thoughts, as well as his deep lectures about WWI. In the microcosme of Basel, the class of classes and cultures may lead to anti-social behavior and understanding those patterns may help us figure out the crime context, which is unexpected but changes 180 degrees the angle of the story.

The story follows a slow or very slow pace, but although it is short from 200 pages it has some moments of tensions that may just wake the reader up while following Hunkeler´s new passions involving goats, world wars and nature or Swiss soul observation. 

A recommended read to anyone keen to learn more about Swiss less-perfect daily world, and curious about contemporary crime novels in this geographic literary realm.

The cover also deserves a mention, for its simple elegance.

Rating: 3.5

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Cover Reveal: First Contact, Second Chances by Fay Abernethy

 

Creating a great cover may involve almost the same energy required for writing a book. The choice of colours, design and lettering requires a lot of attention and dedication that together with the story will ultimately lead to the overall success of the publication.

Hence, my interest in taking part to events aimed to display beautiful covers. I am usually accepting invitations for participating to cover reveal virtual events. I like the excitment of being part of a surprise book cover revelation and I am rarely disappointed.

The topic of the book announced by my current cover reveal is out of my reading comfort zone, but the visual presentation is more than satisfying. 

First Contact, Second Chances by Fay Abernethy is the third in the fantasy solar punk series The Shantivira Book. An ex-British officer, captain of the Shantivira is trying to protect the Earth from an alien invasion. But it seems that the Earth needs to take some radical measures, including an uplift and restructuring of the global economy in order to survive. His mission is difficult and put him in unexpected circumstances, such as fighting against cannibalistic space pirates. Sounds like a lot of fun, isn´t it?

The cover offers this mixture between serious and playful, with a predominant yellow and blue match. The graphic is very elaborated, especially the Zeppelin-like space ship. The lettering is taking control of the space at a certain extent, but in a very smooth way. 

For sure, one of those covers that would catch my eye instantly, before ever trying to find out what is the book about.

Many thanks to Rachel for having me for this event.

Random Things Tours: The Blue Alley by PC Cubitt

 

´How we can stand back when we see children in danger?´

Karen Hamm is an academic like no other. Her professional interests in West Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, may encounter the most non-academic circumstances, like for instance ferocious mafia tugs or traffickers of all sorts. As she spots an odd couple in Amsterdam´s airport: a white Jesuit priest with two black children, she not only took a picture of them, but she embarked on a race to save the children from the hands of the predators. An adventure that will take her from Amsterdam to Spain and Morocco and back to her hometown of Yorkshire.

Karen may be naive sometimes, but she is unstoppable and this is a character threat that may make it pleasant to the reader, although some of her mistakes are outrageous. I mean, who really is about to get the tracks of dangerous mafia boss(es) while sharing her business cards to whom happens to be around. But she is lucky and some of her contacts proved to be very useful later. 

The Blue Alley by PC Cubitt is both suspenseful and a literary testimony of the intricated ways of child trafficking and human smuggling in general. It displays the vulnerability of victims faced with the underground support network of the culprits. A thoughtful inspiration, in addition to the breathtaking action.

PC Cubitt is an academic herself with interests in the African continent.

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women they Destroyed by Maureen Callahan

The Kennedys are considered in the US and worldwide a precious American brand, Especially the couple JFK-Jackie, a dream power team that it´s the representation of wealth, power and prestige. Identified with the modern American spirit, freedom supporter during the Cold War - his ´Ich bin ein Berliner´ said from the balcony of the Schöneberg Cityhall in 1963 remains an important reference.

Being a ´Kennedy´ means belonging to a family who still plays a revered role in the current politics - although Pres. Donald Trump is planning to destroy Jackie´s Rosegarten at the White House; we haven´t heard yet what her nephew, the current controversial Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has to say about it.

But there is another absonded face of Kennedy family: Kennedys - men - as womanizers and eventually as lady killers.

The well documentd book by Maureen Callahan, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women they Destroyed puts the myth into question in a very frontal way. From the beloved JFK and his affairs to the other risk lover members of the family, there is no place for doubt about their behavior and aggressive habits. It is also a book about the women who adored them for all the wrong reasons and put their honor and lives at risk for the illusion they promised. Overall, an interesting material for thinking about the many nice clean faces of the predators.

There were few instances when I felt like there are some parts repeating themselves - especially about Jackie - but it is a myth shaking book that deserves the right attention, both from journalists, psychologists and recent times historians.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Götterfunken by Hannes Köhler

Set between different timelines, Götterfunken - it could be translation as Divine Sparks, but also refers to the Beethoven´s Ode to Joy - by Hamburg-born Berlin-based Hannes Köhler is a story of failed youth utopias. 

How far can a revolution go? And for how long, one started, it is still revolution? What deters an anarchist mindset?

A group of young and very young Spanish, French and German anarchists are roaming the streets of Barcelona in the last years of Franco dictatorship. Friendship, love, drugs and anarchy. Those were the times then, but closer to our times, end 1990s, first two decades of the 2000s, they switched sides, adding up to the bourgeoisie that they hated so much.

The novel, very animated and full of recent historical and social details, particularly about Franco´s Spain, is following those destinies, with a back and forth from one timeline to another, which helps to better understand the facts and motivations as well as the sudden changes of destiny.

It is a rare topic, especially regarding Franco´s reign, for the German-speaking literature, and Köhler is offering a generous context that helps understanding the framework of the story. But the focus is however on the characters, especially their motivations and life pathways, through dialogues and cross-memories adding little by little new elements to the story.

Although I enjoyed the novelty of the topic and the approach, I felt like the story is too much forced to be slowed down and the dialogues, although welcomed, do not necessarily lead to next steps. There is a conversational thread that do not lead to any development into the story. In real life, such ´maintenance´ conversations are necessary to build relationships between people, but the story is much shorter than a lifetime hence the frustration I had few time while reading the book.

I just read that Köhler just published a new novel so would be more than curious to explore it too. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Cover Reveal: The Matchmaker´s Mare by Hywela Lyn

 It is very rare so get to know books where one of my big loves are coming along: horses and Wales. 

The Matchmaker´s Mare by bestseller Welsh author Hywela Lyn will be released soon, but as for now, I invite you to have a look at this appealing book cover. A perfect horse making its way in the midst of an idyllic landscape that it´s half real postcard vibe, half dream-magic mood.

The book follows the story of Megan who after a dramatic heartbreake is moving to the Welsh countryside. As she is getting to know her neighbour, a single dad, with a passion for horses, the sparkle of a possible romance may give her hopes for a new future.

I haven´t read the book yet but the cover has enough hints that may encourage me to do so. And, again, when Wales and horses are together under the same covers, it can only promises a fantastic ride.

Many thanks to Rachel´s Random Resources for the opportunity of being part of this virtual event.

Random Things Tours: Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock

 

Matisse is one of the modern artists I find the most inspiring, but until reading Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock, I had no idea about the important women of his life. I am really thankful lately for so many books focused on the women characters from the life of famous personalities, from Einstein to Mahler. It is still so much to document and write about, in order to change and challenge the official narratives regarding women´s roles in histories of all kinds.

A book with passionate characters, not only about their art, Madame Matisse is based on a true story, is a story of betrayal and genuine passion, set in the tumultous world of the tumultous 1930s in France, especially the French Riviera. 

Amélie, Matisse´s faithful wife, Marguerite, his eldest daughter and Lydia, a Russian immigrant who may find a place in his atelier and incidentally in his life. Each woman may nurture at certain extents his imagination, in their different ways. Women who may have their own inimities and experience betrayal and disappointment, however hard to abandon the man they adore or are just fascinated with. The game of passions and intentions between the characters balances or just escalates the tensions in the story.

Well documented both regarding the history as well as the art history, and written with passion, Madame Matisse is a recommended book to anyone in love with arts and literature. In this book, the words and the images are dancing together creating an unforgettable story.

A special mention for the beautiful cover, that promises a world of magic in the Matisse sense, a promise that the content of the book also delivers beautifully.

Random Things Tours: The Convoy by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse translated by Ruth Diver

Poet and novelist Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse was only 15 when the genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda took place. At that age, many girls from around the world are enjoying their teenage years and all the excitement that comes with. Beata though was fighting for survival, witnessing the brutal killing of people close to her.

30 years after, with a successful life she built in France, she returns to sources and testimonies aimed at recovering those tragic moments. Convoy, translated from French by academic and translator Ruth Diver,  is a dramatic yet necessary account of her experiences and eyewitnesses who were lucky enough to escape.

The Convoy is a true story of inhuman reality, a haunting proof of humanity at its lowest. However, it is so important to share such tragedies with the world, in order to keep the memory of those murdered alive, but also to make people aware of what happens when the rest of the world just watch indifferently.

This is a book very important for any study of genocide in the 20th century, particularly to the case of Rwanda. A recommended read for journalists and historians, but also but anyone who wants to find out more about the Rwandan genocide and deadly conflicts in general. 

This is a book that will haunt me for a very long time.

The Convoy is published in English by Open Borders Press, an imprint of Orenda Books.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: You Know the Drill. The Private Musings of a Dentist by Dr. Bill

´(...) I love the act of performing dentistry, but I hate being a dentist´.

I belong to a very special category of people who were never afraid of dentists. And of doctors, in general. I grew up being surrounded by different categories of doctors, and even wanted once to be one myself. Plus, due to some genetically inherited bad teeth, my visits to the dentist´s started very early in life and continued without a pause even since. 

But I rarely gave too many thoughts about how everyday life of a dentist may actually look and feel like. Thanks to the super hilarious memoir of Dr. Bill who wrote You Know the Drill (I wanted to play the rhyme on purpose). The Private Musings of a Dentist I got to learn a lot not only about the everyday cast of characters a dentist may encounter, but also about the medical school structure in England or the apprenticeship system. 

´Anyway, we live, we learn and we change´.

By far, the strength of this book is the humour, particularly when it comes to describing his interactions with his patients and colleagues. How one cannot laugh to tears when reading such a sequence: ´Tamy´s eyes were rolling like a drunk trying to operate a pinball machine´? 

Any aspiring dentist must read this book in order to be tailor his or her expectations accordingly. Also, if you are a frequent visitor at the dentist´s office, you may also learn how to control oneself, otherwise you may anonymously end up in a book.

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Quiet Sister by Alex Stone

 

Two identical twin sisters with a long story of rivalry. Mia and Chloe are in her late 20s and trying to get back in touch after a long period of separation. But life changed them both and Chloe, the ´quiet one´ is decided this time to not allow her sister to destroy her life. No price is too high for this though...

The Quiet Sister by Alex Stone is an interesting take on twins rivalry, generating a suspenseful psychological thriller where the plot is built up by fragments of memories, thoughts and switched personalities. The network of unconfessed guilt Chloe built as a way of psychological survival plays an important role in the main events. 

´Our lives were complete opposites and yet she wanted the same thing that I did: to feel like she mattered´.

The pace is relatively slow, allowing to Chloe - the main storyteller, whose perspective is shared although the facts she referrs to are not obvious at the first sight - to explain herself, especially her reasons.

´I´d always wanted to be Mia so badly, that it had never occurred to me that I might actually miss being me´. The duality and duplicity between the twins is played very well in the story, pushed at the very extreme limits. 

The male protagonists, Scott and Aaron mostly, do play an unclear at the beginning but definitory role in the end. As the story progresses, they acquire the role of game changers in the story, helping at the same time Chloe to recover her own interests and self, and heal from the past trauma.

I´ve read the book with a lot of interest, and my curiosity was rewarded step by step, as new details about the motivations and especially recent history details were revealed. The idea of how childhood trauma and relationships between parents and children shape the personality of the future adults is a topic I am interested in recently therefore The Quiet Sister helped me to better understand such circumstances. 

A recommended read if you are looking for an intelligent take on sisterhood with a psychological mystery twist.

If you are looking to read more by Alex Stone, feel free to check a previous review of her other book I published two years ago on the blog.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Cover Reveal: Lovers of Franz K. by Burhan Sönmez translated by Sami Hêzil

Set between West Berlin, Istanbul and Tel Aviv, among others, Lovers of Franz K. is a literary mystery and a postumous tribute to the one and only Franz K. Published soon by Open Borders Press, an imprint of Orenda Books, it shows that indeed, even beautiful literature can lead to crime. As usually happens with any idea that it is invested an obsessive passion. 

Until I will be able to present the book - happening soon, no worries - I am honored to be part of the special event of cover reveal of this book with such an unique, unusual topic. 

On the top cover - that it is worth to mention includes the name of the translator together with the author´s - a sepia photograph of Kafka has collage-like add-ons that combine fragments of images with sketches details. It promises some unexpected take bringing Kafka´s personality into the everyday contemporary social and political relevance. Definitely, a catch for someone like me, often buying books for the beautiful covers.

Burhan Sönmez is a Turkey-born Kurdish novelist, currently the president of PEN International. Sami Hêzil  is a translator and teacher of Kurdish language and literature from Northern Kurdistan. 

If I convinced you to purchase the book, here is the link including the bookish websites distributing it: https://geni.us/PAh7ra

Rachel´s Random Resources: Candlelight Dreams in Cosy Cove by Abbey Hicks

When Beth met Jacob none of them was thinking about second chances. Beth, trying to survive a very dramatic breakup, was decided to dedicate her time and energy to her cute artisan candle shop in Cosy Cove. Jacob was visiting on assignment, documenting a story for his newspaper. But love doesn´t need a date, and the rest is just history.

Candlelight Dreams in Cosy Cove is the soothing kind of story you need to restore your trust in love stories. Definitely, some stories may end up badly, but so are some novels too. Some others though, do bring the peace of mind and new chances. 

I firm believer in second, third, fourth...no matter how many... chances, I enjoyed not only the positive note of the story, but also the tension that follows such unexpected encounters. Beth´s fears about being able to fully love again and the risk that notwithstanding comes with opening up to another person. Jacob, on the other side, may put in balance his career that may be affected by the switch to a very small and uneventful place.

Sweet but realistic, Candlelight Dreams in Cosy Cove is a story about taking chances, betting for love and even may offer some comfort, at least between the pages of the book, to even the most sceptial among us when it comes to love´s need in one´s life.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: The Wild Date Palm by Diane Armstrong

 

Set in the onset of the WWI, in the Ottoman Empire, The Wild Date Palm by Australian bestseller author Diane Armstrong is at the same time a historical and spy novel, with a predominant strong and inspiring character. 

Shoshana Adelstein witnesses the Armenian genocide. The cruelty that destroyed so many lives and the complete indifference of the world around, made her think about that maybe the Jews will be next. Instead of being taken over by fear, she decides to do her best, no matter the price and the sacrifice, to save her community. Therefore, supported by her brother and her lover, she set up a spy ring whose aim was to help Britain the win the war.

Based on a true story - the siblings Sarah&Aaron Aaronsohn from Zikhron Yaakov -, the beautifully written and well-researched story wraps the reader into the world of fantasy, showing a dedication that may inspire us, especially nowadays. Shnoshana is a woman with a passion and a timeless dedication to her people, but despite her overwhelming passion, she is able to see practically and boldly what can be done to nurture it. 

The characters as well as the story itself do weave a story of timeless inspiration.

The book´s cover also merits an extra remark: the mosaique/pointillist-style that looks like a stanze from the desert during a sand wind, reflects properly the ambiance of the book as well as the uncertainty of the situation the characters are constantly facing.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Night Shift by Gemma Rogers

 

A book by Gemma Rogers is always an event that keeps me awake late in the night, and The Night Shift is no different. It offers a highly emotional and suspenseful journey, in a cat-and-mouse kind of game that it´s hard to put down.

Nina is working at a self-storage to cover the fees for her studies. It is an easy quiet job, as she is able to do some university work while at her shift. But this Friday is different, as soon as a mysterious man with a big suitcase entered the premises of the Storage Queen. An encounter that may change her life for ever. An unexpected plot which may keep the reader in a permanent state of wonder what will follow next and if this next may be the last.

Survival is the key-word of this locked room thriller. The situation is presented from different perspectives allowing the story to be magnified on different angles. The personal details of the characters, like for instance Nina´s medical condition, may add some extra suspense to a story which is already a race against time. 

Rogers is no stranger of turning an average everyday context into a source of nerve racking suspense, and The Night Shift is an example in this respect. I may reckon that somehow in the middle of the novel I felt that the pace slowed down a little bit, after a very dramatic start, but the suspense re-amplifies towards the end.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh

My love for books comes in different shades and from different locations. Bookshops are usually the perfect setting for starting a new life or a new love - or both - but this time, the action of a psychological thriller was set in a bookshop. A very first for me.

Valerie Keogh is a regular author featured on my blog, and each time the topics and settings are different, however, each book offers through the main woman character a different psychological depths. 

After killing her partner in an apparent self-defense act against constant abuse, Helen Appleby is freed two years into her 4-year prison term. She is decided to close a chapter in her life and start anew, opening her very own bookshop. Her future may look bright but is her past really out of her life for good? 

The story sets slowly, and although from the very beginning we are offered some hints about the psychological background and traumatic upbringing of the main character, there is nothing that may prepare us for the denoument and the page-turning set of events.

The dark mood taking slowly control of the story is also generated by the moral confusion that the reader may deal with: particularly in relationship with taking one´s life. Indeed, the trauma is unbereable and the abuse may push anyone into the darker corners of the mind, but is there no other escape than inflicting an even bigger trauma to get freed?

The author spares no details that may on one hand relate the experience of the places described, and on the other hand on the changing sands of Helen´s mood. Permanently doubting herself and assuming hidden intentions to the others, she may naively be caught up in a net of misplaced trust that in the end however will operate in her interest. 

Helen, always late to make that call, a victim of her father´s abuse, may even violently wish to have a normal life. First though, she may allow her to get cured by all those small lies, perhaps remnants of a self-defence mechanism she acquired in her childhood. However, although we know a lot of Helen and her psychological torments, it is very difficult to imagine her in flesh and body, which is a relative shortcoming of the book for me.

Constantly, the relationship of the characters with books, that may go beyond the expected hope that books will open the gates to a completely new better world, also puts into question the reasons - wrong or not - we may clinch so much to books. 

I enjoyed both the story and the thoughts in generated and I cannot wait to see how this author will surprise us in her next book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Social Kill by Fabian Lenk

Inspired by the daily realities and social media lures of the new generation, Social Kill - Gefährliche Spiele auf TikTok/in my free translation, dangerous games on TikTok/- by Fabian Lenk is a Hamburg-based thriller rich in events and with a very dense cast of characters.

The aparent suicide of a TikTok personality, aired live, put into motion a chain of murders committed by a mysterious team with funny nicknames, wearing various 3D masks. Journalists and police are trying to figure out the circumstances, but as the corpses count increases by the day the riddle of the reasons behind the horrendous killings is becoming more and more difficult to solve. 

But the investigative journalist Finn is always one step ahead of his colleagues, due to a well-paid source in the police. Sooner though, this game will endanger his life, leading to spectacular changes of perspective and with an even less expected final verdict.

I haven´t got into the book from the very beginning, as I was displeased by an inaccuracy, or two related to how the social media operates. For instance, ignoring the fact that the live suicide of a famous TikTok-er with 10 million followers did not get into the news before police and classical new outlets started the new day of work was more than irritating. 

However, as expected, I got caught into the story once there were some journalistic references that were accurate this time, and fully relatable. Including the lonely character of Rahmsauer which may be one of the many ´have beens´ made redundant by the new trends and technologies, with an ugly story of alcoholism. 

The fact that the story was based in Hamburg, my favorite city in Germany, also encouraged to continue the story, although the local references are rather scarce. 

Social Kill is a story of intrigue and revenge, appealing to various generational layers, but with some catchy social media and internal political references. Some clumsy on some social media contemporary issues, but with a well elaborated plot.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Orenda Books Book Tour: Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

Two sisters, Della and Lily are forced to refugiate on a Scottish Island, trying to escape the accusations both online and offline of being the murderesses of their parents, viollently killed. There, on the island, they expect to find peace and comfort, to start anew. This is how a ´happy ending´ kind of story goes, but never expect an author published by the lovely Orenda Books to delivery any sugar-coated story of renewal and bright new beginnings.

Instead, there is a violent world, cruel and abusive. Folktales from time immemorial are brought to life, are actually part of the everyday life, shaping the present and psyche of the place where evil has no limit, seems victorious. 

Told in short installments, alternating between a man and woman´s voice, Small Fires by Ronnie Turner is a Gothic tale of old fears and symbolic encounters, with a repeated motive of women being exposed to abusive men. It is an immersion into the black magic of folktales, with a very strong horror dark Gothic thread. Not necessarily the kind of books I am reading, but the good writing and the tensed story episodes kept me involved until the very end of the story.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own