Rachel´s Random Resources: Teacakes and Tangos by Rosie Green

I love books featuring women trying to write their own stories, and although the (happy) ending may differ a bit from the struggles encountered in real life, it still fulfills the reader with a feeling of deep hope.

Rosie Green is an author I featured on my blog around one year ago, and her newest, Teacakes and Tangos, doesn´t disappoint either. Lovely characters and action-packed story and an incredible female friendship; best ingredients for some pleasant couple of reading hours.

Clara is about the open her dance school and Anika is just trying to find her personal and professional pathway. While Clara is doing her best to turn her project into a success story, she may notice that both her sister and her long term partner are far from really supportive, which adds additional layers of stress to her already full basket. 

Although it is a ´feel good´ story, the setting is very realistic, taking into account all the worries and anxieties that women trying to suceed may encounter. The situations and feelings reflected do resonate with situations that many of us may already survived.

Teacakes and Tangos is a recommended read if you are looking for some funny read, with relatable characters and situations and a soothing ´happy ending´.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman

 ´It´s 6:47 and there´s a dead body on my bed´.

An author at the crossroads of his career, single and not in his best financial shape, David is fighting anxiety and personal vulnerability. But his real troubles start as his date, one of the best in a very long time, dies in his bed. A stranger that promised so much. Together with his adventurous literary agent Stacey, he is starting an adventure across the city trying to figure out who really this mysterious Grindr date was. And especially, who killed him - was it him or who else?

I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman, his third book - just like our character - but his adult novel debut - is a dark comedy with the thrill of a crime novel in the making. As we are advancing into the reading, there are more and more turns of events that are twisting the course and pace of the story. 

David, the main character - and my favorite one - is fun, vulnerable, curious and anxious - not my favorite feature. His (mis)adventures may be for a good reason, saving his career and turning his story into that novel everyone is waiting for. Stacey is a good match for David, and her success-driven mindset is balancing the David´s bohemian mind and indecision. 

Also, the cover deserves a special mention, as it is spectacular, with the dosis of dark humour that makes the writing and the story itself so catchy. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

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

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam

"It was American. If she couldn´t be rich, she could at least possess some of what rich people did".

Some topics may not be of interest for me, unless magistrally written, but when I looked over the list of popular books this year Entitlement was on the top and although the match with the previous book by Alam was a match made in hell, I insisted to read it. (Full disclosure, I had the patience to watch the Netflix movie made after Leave the World Behind and was even worse than the book).

It is very popular to talk about money and entitlement in NYC (elections are coming, some candidates entitled themselves want to take away any entitlement etc.). A 30-something failed teacher, Brooke is becoming obsessed with a billionaire giving away his wealth. Black, adopted by a white family, she starts working for his foundation, turning into his main protegée. 

She is lured by her own projections of wealth and success, through the mirrors of the people she is getting in contact through her assignments. Brooke is not poor, she is middle class, but being close to the super rich may push her to want more and more. A big house, that is her own. Expensive dinners, paid with the company card. Expensive bags. Dreams of becoming rich overnight, being entitled, even with the risk of defrauding.

It´s a false premise and a grotesque mise-en-scene. Brooke is representative only for herself and assuming that American dream is dreaming about money and possession, as a putrid capitalist nightmare is a wishful thinking for the sake of social-critique. It serves the discourse but disconsiders the reality. Plus, personally I am never impressed about anti-capitalist stances only for the sake of being in sync with great topics. 

But what really annoyed me the most by this book was the writing as such. The thinking flow and the dialogues do not make any sense, any continuity and they are talking and thinking like robots in develpment stage. 

I promise myself to give up this writer, no matter what literary recommendations may try to convince me otherwise.

Rating: 2 stars

The Self-Made Widow by Fabian Nicieza

´I don´t care if it´s a stranger or a friend, we look for evidence and we follow that evidence to whatever the truth bears out´.

I spend every month an impressive amount of time reading - maybe thousand of pages worth - crime novels. From locked-rooms to innovative crime plots, nothing leave me indifferent. And on the side, I enjoy discovering new authors and their creative takes on crime. 

While spending a well-deserved vacation in the middle of the German countryside, The Self-Made Widow by Argentinian-American screenplayer and comics creator Fabian Nicieza added more suspense to my quiet retreat.

As Molly´s husband unexpectedly dies, it just seems to be the predictable end of a life struggle of a weak heart. But as the courageous Andrea, a four-time mother with a husband that may not be a stranger of Molly´s husband failures, and the curious journalist Kenneth Lee are tracing the circumstances of the crime, there may be more to the medical condition. Stubbornly, they will team up with other characters to figure out what really happens. 

It is the kind of crime novel placed in a claustrophobic place of West Windsor, a township in New Jersey, where everyone knows about everyone, without really being aware of the genuine nature of their so-called friends. Carefully observing the characters and their intentions, with the accuracy of the screenplayer, the author is constantly fuelling the curiosity with new elements about the very flawed characters. No one seems to be ethically fine in this book, even Andrea´s cohort of small children do have some mischievious intentions.

I personally enjoyed exploring this book - it is the second installment in the series, but for me it worked very well as a stand alone - although the many details may be overwhelming. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

Since her debut, Marie Benedict is a writer that is challenging the narrative on women writing. Her characters are women, many of those forgotten ones, whose voices were hidden or obliterated. She is doing it with grace, through crafted and well-documented prose that is captivating while asking serious questions.

Her latest, The Queens of Crime, was such a delightful read that made me question what happened with my hectic reading schedule and haven´t spent enough time reading all the other books she published to date? 

As usual, her topic and characters do have their own non-fictional reality. Also, the crime that the brave crime writers reunited in The Queens of Crime - Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham (some of them are forgotten and it´s Benedict´s great merit to bring their lives and literary works back to life) - do want to solve, was also real. A work of fiction inspired by real events is sometimes an act of restitution but also a way to remember.

The action is taking place in the 1930s and the ambiance, as well as the language do reflect the times, although sometimes just felt out-of-time, without very specific atmospheric details. The Queens, who are facing the limitations of their age and gender, despite their talent and relatively stable social status, do need the professional and intellectual recognition. 

While trying to solved the murder of the nurse May Daniels - in the key of a locked-room mystery - they are also discovering and exploring their own circumstances and bravely face the social distrust. Thus, the book has more than one layer, which are coming along in a very smooth way, creating not only the context for the main story - crime solving - but also raising awareness and outlining issues related to women that may still haunt the contemporary mentality.

I loved The Queens of Crime for both its historical and crime relevance. It also shows the literary resources Benedict possesses by incorporating so wisely the classical crime writing, to a very elaborated historical fiction background. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

Geordnete Verhältnisse by Lana Lux

I´ve read everything Lana Lux published until now and I am never disappointed, particularly due to her deep understanding of human feelings in extreme circumstances and the unique insights on abuse and abusive relationships.

Her latest, Geordnete Verhältnisse - my approximate translation is Ordinary circumstances, but I am not a German literary translator so always happy for better variants - has as main topic an abusive relationship. Faina is an innocent immigrant from the ex-Soviet Union who moved in a remote locality in Germany. There she met Philipp, a bizarre young man, with an alcoholic abusive single mother and a precarious anger management and an obsession for order.

The story is told chronologically, from each of the two main participants, and each side has an intensive, emotionally-fuelled story to tell. It follows at certain extents the pattern of abuse that may appear only later in a relationship: screening the weaknesses, exploiting the needs, using bits of private information, stalking of all kinds. Abusive relationship do not happen over night, and in this case, it is the result of an elaborate work of emotional manipulations. 

Lana Lux is wasting no time in terms of building the ambiance and the connections between characters, in such elaborated ways that the building of abuse is so obvious and clear to anyone who may wander how does it actually happens. Without acknowledging it until it is too late. She has a special deep knowledge on abuse and the different ways in which individuals, especially women, may react or submit to it. 

The topic is hard and emotionally loaded, by extremely well written and storified. Wish it was included in this year´s German Booker longlist. 

Rating: 5 stars

Compulsive Readers Booktour: Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

 

The diversity of various societies reflects often in the subjects of psychological thrillers. Topics like migration and trauma do offer many opportunities for stories packed with thrilling action and unexpected thrills.

Kiss Her Goodbye by NYTimes bestseller author Lisa Gardner caught my attention for the mix between thriller and everyday topics. Sabera used to have a happy childhood until the Talibans destroyed her peace and forced she and her family to become refugees. The longing and trauma will follow her for the rest of her life.

As she suddenly disappeared, Frankie Elkin, itinerant sleuth that resonates with her story, is decided to make light into her whereabouts. While searching for her, there is a complex background of family bonds and immigrant tragic experience that amplifies the details of the story. 

With a story where mystery and violence are weaving the narrative frame, there is enough place for characters whose features are slowly revealed as the story unfolds. There is a fair balance between the character and narrative developments, that kept me interested while enjoying the good reading.

Kiss Her Goodbye is the fourth in the series having Frankie Elkin as the main character, but the book can be easily read as a stand alone. From the beginning, she is introduced to the readers connecting the dots of her personal story - not a happy and careless one, to say the least - with the destiny of the other characters, particularly Sabera Ahmadi.

A must read for anyone looking to better understand who may does it feel to have family bonds broken and what an existential risk it may represent for someone´s life. Also, the action/thriller part did not disappoint either.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Love or Your Money Back by Suzy K. Quinn

There should be a project for everything. In business or...in love, without a plan we will not succeed. I am telling you from my experience. Being perfectly integrated in Germany, the country where there are rules to enjoy and to obey, I may have something extra to share about healthy planning habits. 

Kat is 34 and has a plan: to get married before she hit 35. That was her plan and it was a successful candidate on the pipeline as well, until he run with the life coach. 21-year old coach, she. But Kat does not have time to lick her wounds. She has a project and she wants to get married and time is ticking. Hence, her interest to hire a marketing guru. Freddy, who is ruthless and has an impressive successful track record.

Will Freddy be able to help her? With or without a rebranding, she doesn´t have the choice. Hence the high stakes for Freddy to get her aim reached.

Love or Your Money Back by best-seller writer Suzy K. Quinn is a delicious romantic comedy. I did not know what to expect, but I loved every bit of it. Indeed, there is the race Kat is determined to win, but there are also the challenges and the expectations, the society and family pressure and the age element who seemed to have been so important for her fiancé.

There is tension and some salty tears between the laughs, but I couldn´t stop reading the story. If you are in your 30s, you may for sure find yourself in Kat, no matter where do you live. She was, so far, my favorite character and a brave woman who doesn´t want to give up on love. And marriage too.

A recommended book for the romantic at heart among you who do not believe in the accident of events and cannot resist the appeal of a plan. Definitely, there are so many ways to look at love with optimism and as a life fulfillment. I loved that the title mention ´love´ instead of marriage, and implies that the two conditions can happily co-exist. Ask Kat how she got there.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Single Mom Supper Club by Jacinta Nandi

 

I am a big fan of Jacinta Nandi´s humour, therefore, her newest, Single Mom Supper Club, her first novel, instantly made it to the top of my TBR. On the road to my first holiday stop, I couldn´t let it down and even shared my first thoughts on Instagram about it. 

Set in Berlin, it features a hilarious mix of German and post-Brexit British expat (single) moms, gettting together to have supper, no-cis men allowed, randomly doing some coke once in a while. Some are relatively well doing - thanks to the rent coming out of that Nothing Hill apartment, some are tricking the JobCenter, one just may wish to catch a Sugar Daddy to inherit his datcha. Their kids do struggle, are a bit different, and even are taken away by Jugendamt - the much feared children welfare authority, a manifested nightmare of non-Germans (although personally I may have a different take).

But beyond the laughing out loud characters and events, there is a deep political line ongoing, taking over the gaps between rich and poor, ethnic perception and your everyday racism and a lot of thoughts about the condition of single moms in Berlin and German post-war social history. Also, toxic masculinity and the Johnny Deep-Amber Heard clash.

Nandi´s writing power is to storify all those elements in a quite relatable novel that makes you laugh with one eye and cry with the other. If you ever had to do with single moms problems in this enjoyable city, you may spot the topics, the attitudes and the denial as well.

If you are trying to improve your German, this book is as well a good source for learning some everyday slang and start behaving as a real local. Especially if you are planning soon to be a single mom in Neukölln, it will instantly upgrade your speaking skills.

A recommended summer read, not because it is easy, but because on vacation we have more time to reflect on Berlin life and its struggles.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Murder on an Italian Island by T.A.Williams

 

Another adventure, another case for Dan Armstrong. If you don´t know who he is, I may refer you to my previous review of Murder in the Tuscan Hills. 

This time Dan is on vacation and as I am myself on vacation right now, I fully understood his partner´s expectations that this time he may stay away of any work-related pressure. He promised to Anna but fate is following him no matter what. A sudden suspicious death happens on Elba and the case is becoming more complicated once his friend Virgilio and his wife are joining them, as Virgilio may have some connections with the victim.

I enjoyed the relaxed pace of the story - it suited vacation time, both for the reader and for the action itself - while keeping me alert about the crime episode. The enchanting landscape and the luxury hotel ambiance may distract you, hence the surprising turns the story takes, in ways one may not expect to happen in such a landscape. 

The twists are very intelligent and surprising, and loved delving in this book. The characters and the plot development do not disappoint and besides increasing my longing for Italy, it kept me entertained and focused, with the right measure someone will expect from free time activities during the long days of August.

The book is part of a series with Dan Armstrong as the main character, but it can be also read as a stand alone. Although it is hard to resist the temptation of reading more from the series, most of them set in the beautiful corners and cities of Italy.

A recommended read all round the year, but especially for those in love with good crime stories.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Die Tochter des Kommunisten by Aroa Moreno Durán translated into German by Marianne Gareis La hija del comunista

The echoes of Spanish civil war and the Franco dictatorship into the European history and literature is a topic that I am very much interested to explore more, also  as part of my efforts to keep my Spanish atop. 

This time though, I´ve chosen a book translated from Spanish: Die Tochter des Kommunisten - The Communist´s Daughter, the translation of the title is all mine; the original title is La hija del comunista - by Aroa Moreno Durán, translated into German by Marianne Gareis. 

The book is very short - and probably would have match my attention span for reading in Spanish - but will maybe address this topic another time.

As for the book, it follows the story of Katia, the daugher of a family of Spanish refugees in Eastern Germany. In her early 20s, she fell in love with a mysterious German man from the West. She left everything behind escaping on the other side of the Wall, and will end up in an unhappy marriage with her playing the role of a housewife - she established in the South of Germany. When she is back - broken, divorced, feeling guilty for not being there when her father died - the Wall went down and the dirty secrets of the People´s Republic where out, and so her own family story.

The story follows a predictable and at certain extents realistic, story frame related to the post-war Germany, both historically and in terms of mentalities. Some may say it continues in certain parts of Germany until today - recently I´ve visited Eastern part of Germany, and watched a movie in a museum where the voice off said something like ´some may say the re-unification of Germany was a mistake´ and one of the participants, in his 60s, loudly agreed. 

Katia, as a character, is the main storyteller, but although she is a character with clear agent and intentions - she decided to leave as she decided to divorce, but in between those moments there is a huge hiatus where she is lost - is non-existent, non-cognitive. Her development stagnates and turned her as thin as a piece of paper. 

One of the strongest and elaborated although short is the meeting between her and her ailing mother, in the apartment where she grew up. Stuck in time, but so different, withough any future though.

Both story and characters do have a potential that it is not reached unfortunately, but it does have a story direction and a very reflective ending. The young Spanish literature nowadays is such a gem that deserves more attention and more space on my blog. Working on it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Dishonour by Kerry Kaya

´The wrong son had died and nothing and no one would ever be able to swag his mind on that matter´.

A violent story of gangland conflicts and broken humans, Dishonour by Kerry Kaya published by Boldwood Books is throwing the reader from the first line into a violent world. A world where death and violence are the rule of the day, including within the same family.

When the favourite son, Dylan was killed in terrible circumstances, his brother Damien is keen to find the truth about the circumstances surrouding his death, no matter what, even if it may include forging alliances with the people he may have to hate and distrust first. Navigating the complex gangland structures and the dishonour between thieves, 

This book is not for the faint of heart, either in terms of the story, descriptions of different situations and language. The characters are rough and violent, unable to control their feelings and with no sense of loyalty of honour. I was particularly impressed by the ways in which the characters evoluate towards the story, although I may have expected more dialogues and engagement between them other than from the back off voice of the storyteller.

Dishonour is a well planned gangland thriller, with many violent unexpected turns and a very rough view of life. With a high potential of a movie picture, it opens the doors and eyes to a world rarely opening to the outside world.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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