Petrina Binney's Blog, page 12
October 10, 2021
Book Review – Lullaby Beach by Stella Duffy
Book Review – Lullaby Beach by Stella Duffy
First published, 2020
Oh, there should be more than five stars available. It’s rare you find a book that completely wipes the floor with you.
This is one of those books.
The story follows sisters, Sara and Beth, as they untangle the knot of secrets surrounding their family and the local clan who’ve been responsible for much of their pain across three generations. In the wake of familial tragedy, the sisters follow what clues they can find to bring justice to the Nelsons after a lifetime of being used, abused and exploited by their treacherous lovers and tormentors.
The subject matter is not easy, dealing as it does with domestic violence as well as emotional and sexual abuse, but the story is so well-written, this book is vital.
I’m a big film fan and ran Movie Night at my local Legion Club for eight years, so I can tell you: there are some films that are not diverting, or entertaining in the jolly, let’s-all-have-a-choc-ice sense, but they’re important. When it’s a matter of history and the atrocities therein, we might well feel the echoes some decades after the actual events depicted on screen, but that doesn’t make them easy. We might not be laughing, or at times even breathing, but sometimes we just know we’re witnessing something that truly matters. Well, that’s what this book is.
Kitty is a young woman, bored with her provincial little life in coastal Westmere, who rushes off to the excitement of 1950s London, with her rather flash boyfriend and his ambition. Little does she know, it’ll be a lot of years before she’s that hopeful again.
There’s an escalation of violence and heartache through the narrative, but one of the finest moments for all the women is when they stop apologising and start getting angry. I’m not talking about destructive, go-nowhere anger here, but rather a type of rage that acts as a catalyst to push the character forward and through some of their grief.
This is the best book I’ve read this year. The writing was strong and clear, the characters’ power, vulnerability, venom and love came off the pages in waves that almost knocked me off my sofa. I cannot tell you how utterly struck I was by this story but I’ll say this right now: if Stella Duffy writes a shopping list, I want to read it.
“‘But you don’t need to leave home. You can see Danny and stay here. We haven’t stopped you, have we? He’s older than I’d like, but when you’re both in your twenties it won’t seem such a lot. If you go up to London…’ She faltered, shook her head, stuffed the pillow into the starched pillowcase and continued, ‘There’s no getting round it, people will think you’re sleeping with him. They’ll think you’re a tart.’
“Kitty pulled up the candlewick bedspread on the single bed beneath the gable window. She ran her finger along a line of the pattern, followed the loop between two tufted rows of faded pale green. She wanted to tell her mother that they had slept together, that it was amazing, terrific, when they slept together she felt so happy in her body and alive. She smoothed the bedspread and pulled it up over the pillow. Her mother was proud of these new pillows. Kitty never wanted to be proud of pillows.”
16% in, Chapter Seven, Lullaby Beach by Stella Duffy
October 8, 2021
Book Review – The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies Book One) by KJ Charles
Book Review – The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies Book One) by KJ Charles
First published, 2013
The story follows Lucien, newly returned from China after twenty years with his gentleman’s gentleman, Merrick. Having been thrown out of England two decades prior by his father, Lucien has lived exactly as he pleased in the Far East. But now that his reprobate and criminal brother is dead, as is his defensive and misguided father, Lucien is forced to return to the family pile to deal with the estate.
A chance meeting with Stephen Day, a practitioner of magic and lawman in the magical world soon leads to a tale of intrigue, ethereality and burgeoning romance. But when everyone in the county hates his family and mistrusts the new Lord Crane, will small-boned, slightly-built Stephen be strong enough to save the man his loves from forces unknown? And why do the magpie flock to the new Lord of Piper?
I don’t read a huge amount of male-male romance but I really enjoyed this story from KJ Charles. The characters were well-written, with lots of pathos and humour, and the story was evocative and stunningly realised.
“‘Mr. Day!’ Yelled Merrick from the first-class carriages, waving, and Stephen ducked under a protesting guard’s arm, threw his bag into the carriage, and made it onto the train a full four seconds before the wheels began to turn.
“He slammed the door and collapsed onto a seat, trying not to suck in breath too noisily.
“‘You cut that fine,’ remarked Crane. ‘This is a surprise, I must say.’ He was wearing a superbly cut light-grey suit that matched the grey of his eyes, and looked cool and patrician and unruffled, as befitted a man who owned a sizeable part of Gloucestershire and could afford people to carry his bags. Stephen had run from Baker Street (to Paddington Station). He knew his face was glowing and sweat-damp.
“‘I got held up.’ “
16% in, Chapter Five, The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies, Book One) by KJ Charles
Sex scenes were a precise for me, but I’m not really the intended audience.
Book Review – The Haunting of Sunshine House (Ghosts of Los Angeles Book One) by Dominika Best
Book Review – The Haunting of Sunshine House (Ghosts of Los Angeles Book One) by Dominika Best
First published, 2018
The story takes place in an assisted living facility in Los Angeles. A former venue for drinking and good times, the old hotel has long been allegedly haunted by many of the luminaries who used to stalk the halls and bar in years gone by. However, as much as none of the current living residents would mind running into Marilyn Monroe on the way to the Day Room, the hauntings have taken a sinister turn of late with a number of the old folks turning up dead from suspected heart attacks. But what is the unexplained needle mark found on the latest victim? And when loveable rogue and resident Barney brings in a team of ghost hunters, will they find the real threat comes from the living or the dead? Is it more a question of a haunted individual than a haunted hotel?
I really enjoyed this novel from Dominika Best. It’s always jolly to discover an author with the first of a series of books. The writing was startling and fresh, the darker elements were shudder-worthy and the characters were evocatively captured. The scenes set in war time Poland were devastatingly powerful. I also felt that the haunting of Nurse Lou was very well captured.
“Lou Fairbanks’ eyes opened to complete darkness. An unseen force pinned her body to the bed. She craned her head around to see what sat on her chest, but she had no control over her body. The fear paralyzed her. A woman’s giggle came from somewhere to her right and then the click clack of heels rushed toward her.
“She choked on her own spit, trying to scream. A gargle was all that came out. Lou strained as hard as she could to turn her head, but her body would not obey. A pathetic scream finally wheezed out of her as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“The footsteps closed in, and the evil leaned over her. Her time had come. Death grasped her throat and forced her mouth open. She screamed.
“Lou woke to the sound of her screams, her body sprawled on the landing of the staircase. The harsh light from the wall sconce drove daggers into her eyes, and she closed them against the pain. The back of her head throbbed. Another concussion but not the worst she’d had.”
12% in, Chapter Five – Midnight Wanderings, The Haunting of Sunshine House (Ghosts of Los Angeles Book One) by Dominika Best
I knocked a star off for extraneous and misplaced apostrophes (‘parent’s’ when referring to something belonging to both parents, ‘Nazi’s’ as a collective, ‘DVD’s’ and ’80’s’, for example), the moving accent on the word ‘séance’, and a German couple whose last name started as ’Schreiber’ but somewhere along the way turned into ’Schrieber’.
Ignoring the minor editing issues, a promising start to the series.
October 4, 2021
Book Review – Letters From Alice by Petrina Banfield
Book Review – Letters From Alice by Petrina Banfield
First published, 2018
The story follows Alice, a twenty-eight-year-old almoner (a sort of hospital-based social worker), living in East London in the early 1920s.
As Alice finds herself in the middle of an intrigue between a teenage mother, a doctor with misgivings about the almoner (and women, generally), a charming fundraiser and an elderly couple struggling in poverty, she must do whatever she can to assist. But in a time before the NHS, when depending on their means people had to pay towards their care costs, there is precious little known about mental health and little provision for women’s specific needs, let alone their autonomy. So how will Alice manage such a case load? And are the people around her really what they seem?
What comes over in this novel is a well-written story with some documentary aspects – lots of solid information and quotes, as well as some very memorable characters.
It’s clearly a love letter to the almoners – a group of people and a type of work I didn’t know much about before reading this book. I liked Alice’s can-do, whatever-it-takes attitude at the beginning of the book, but grew impatient with her when she decided on a course of enthusiastic amateur detective work.
That said, this was a very informative book with beautifully constructed scenes. One of my favourite parts was:
“Alice picked up pace, the bells of Southwark Cathedral jangling in time with her steps. As they neared Whitechapel, walking in the same streets stalked by Jack the Ripper a few decades earlier, they passed several tenements, silent but for the distant yowls of a stray dog. With shoeless children using stones for marbles on the icy pavements and coatless beggars huddling against crumbling walls, it was an area well known to the almoners.”
5% in, Chapter One, Letters From Alice by Petrina Banfield
September 26, 2021
Book Review – Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman
Book Review – Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman
First published, 2020
“People tell me things. I learned that useful lesson freshman year. I guess I am trustworthy, not caring about gossip or rumors; I don’t feel the urge to tell secrets to get attention. Maybe I am so good at masking my judgments and opinions that they feel comfortable spewing their innermost thoughts. I never tell them what I actually think. They probably wouldn’t like it. I used to find it annoying, everyone’s opinions and feelings, a burden I didn’t want to carry. Now it comes in handy. I am the secret-keeper of our little group.”
p140, Chapter Eighteen, Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman
The story follows Malin, a Texan student at Hawthorne College, as she works her way through the halls of New England academia and the thorny world of young adult friendships.
Having never been entirely comfortable with social interactions and having spent her life as something of a loner, Malin uses the opportunities afforded her by her relocation to reinvent herself as the ultimate best friend.
Being at the centre of her small collective of college buddies, Malin ingratiates herself into the hearts and secrets of her friends until she not only knows everything about them, but everything they should be doing. But should anyone really know you that well? And how will Malin cope if her advice goes unheeded?
It took me the first half of the book to get a grip on Malin’s character. There was something just a little – off – about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it until towards the end – which I won’t spoil for you but it’s pretty explosive. Supporting cast of Gemma, Ruby, John, Max and Khaled were all very well-rounded. I especially liked Gemma; there’s something about a dramatic, drunken English student, lying to make herself more interesting that just appeals to me.
I liked the dynamic between Malin and Hale, the assistant professor/potential boyfriend, who tries to direct her towards a post graduate degree in English and forgo the law. It was fun to see how she liked someone tinkering in her life.
And the – again, no spoilers – but the bad guy characters were so well-written. I found the childhood bad guy particularly riveting, although animal lovers will want to get through some of his scenes as quickly as possible.
The story is told through various time periods, from Malin’s childhood in Texas to her New England graduation and beyond. I really like this style as a reader because it keeps me engaged and putting things together. Although as a reader in the UK, I struggled a bit with the school years. I left school at 16 and our school year names/grades are very different to anything you’d find in the States. As such, I had to google the ages for Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. That said, if you’re prepared to just read the book without knowing which class is which, I’m sure you’ll still have an enjoyable, unexpected, and haunting reading experience.
September 25, 2021
Book Review – Point Horror Collection 1 by A. Bates, Diane Hoh and R. L. Stine
Point Horror Collection #1 by A. Bates, Diane Hoh, and R. L. Stine
First published, 1993
Mother’s Helper by A. Bates
An interesting choice for the first story in this collection. I spent my early teens devouring Point Horror Books. I borrowed as many as I could lay my hands on from the library and incurred endless late fees because I couldn’t bear to give them back. All this is to say that my expectations were pretty darned high when I picked up this book.
Mother’s Helper is a complete story (beginning, middle and end) with some twists and turns that would have, I’m sure, surprised me when I was younger. Whether I actually read this one when I was thirteen, I can’t be sure. That was a lot of years ago. As such, I can’t really be surprised that the main character’s internal monologue doesn’t take place in italics. It might have been a nice formatting choice, just to give the reader a chance to understand who’s speaking, or whether or not they’re speaking to the reader. But maybe I was just smarter when I was a kid and didn’t need all that explaining through the use of slanted letters?
There are moments in the story where I’m sure my young self would have thought the teenager had outwitted the adult, where now I can see that although the adult absolutely underestimates the teenager, they are firmly in control. The story might be a little bit ‘soap opera’, but it ticks the boxes for a 1990s teenage horror. Anything with a doll collection is immediately terrifying to me so I’m cautiously optimistic about the rest of the book.
The Invitation by Diane Hoh
Now, this is more like it. When Sarah and the rest of her unpopular friends are miraculously invited to the fanciest house in town for the party event of the year, they experience all kinds of reactions from desperate, clawing excitement to outright scepticism. But as their siblings become jealous, and some of the mothers are almost more excited than the invitees, Sarah Drew is sure something else is happening. Cass Rockham just doesn’t spend time with her and probably couldn’t pick her out of a crowd.
“’I said I was invited, Ellie. I never said I was going.’
“Sarah heard nothing but a shocked silence at the other end of the telephone line.
“Envisioning the horrified expression on Ellie’s face, Sarah laughed. ‘Look,’ she said, sinking into a wooden chair at the round kitchen table, ‘it’s probably a mistake. One of Mr. Rockham’s secretaries must have goofed and invited the whole junior class by mistake. Cass will probably have her fired. Maybe killed.’”
P 174, Chapter Two, The Invitation by Diane Hoh
But when the magical night arrives and Sarah and her friends appear in all their finery, they can’t possibly know that what’s in store for them might seem like a childish game, but it’ll soon have deadly consequences.
A brilliant story, really well-told. I loved the characters and their angst; seemingly something went wrong at every turn and that really appealed to me.
Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And this is where memory has let me down. There is no doubt that R. L. Stine is one of the great storytellers of our time. His is the name I always associate with Point Horror and he’s long been one of my favourite authors.
But this was a proper let-down.
Karen is spending the summer in her father’s beach house with her pal, Ann-Marie who is visiting from New York. They meet a whole bunch of young people on the boardwalk and on the sand, and it isn’t long before Karen – trying to put ex Mike behind her when he won’t let her go, and toying with the idea of gang leader Vince, before falling for “good guy” Jerry.
My problem is this: Mike is clearly a stalker. During their first encounter, Vince backed up by his gang, threatens Karen and her friend with sexual assault, at the very least some form of masculine intimidation – whereupon, “She realized that she was attracted to him, the way she was always attracted to danger, to excitement, the way she often was driven to pursue things she knew might not be good for her.”
P 357, Chapter Three, Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And, lest we forget, “good guy” Jerry has a girlfriend. A mean one called Renee, who might have had a crack at drowning Karen but frankly, I’m with Renee on this one.
Are you kidding me?
All in all, this collection contains some big names and a very good example of the style of writing contained in Point Horror Books, and although I was a little let down by some of the character’s attitudes, I still plan to continue with these collections. There’s nothing quite like a healthy dose of nostalgia.
September 24, 2021
Book Review – Redemption (City of the Gods Book 3) by S. J. McMillan
Book Review – Redemption (City of the Gods Book 3) by S. J. McMillan
First published, 2016
In this third and final instalment of the City of the Gods series, we follow our intrepid gang of good guys, and reformed baddies, as they go into the final fight with the High Priest.
Stalking the city and wreaking destruction on a massive scale, Ranier is a nasty piece of work, living for everybody else’s pain and misery, and even his own. But will Katalina manage to patch things up with one of her closest friends before the screaming starts? And will she really be able to fight against someone who thinks of himself as a God?
As I said last time, the story is all important to me. The story in this book was full and rounded, the characters went through an enormous amount and I was right there with them. A slightly shorter book than the second in the series, there were fewer instances of ‘crossed his/her arms over his/her chest’ and ‘folded his/her arms over his/her chest’. Though, being me, I did count, and there were twenty-three of them.
My own hang-ups aside, I’ve enjoyed this series and if you’re in the mood for some arm-folding in urban fantasy, this is just the thing.
September 23, 2021
Book Review – The Betrayal (City of the Gods Book 2) by S. J. McMillan
Book Review – The Betrayal (City of the Gods Book 2) by S. J. McMillan
First published, 2014
Technically, I’d give this 2.5 stars.
In The Betrayal, Kat and her friends continue their search for the High Priest, whom they must defeat in order to save their civilisation. We follow Vivian, the witch, as she desperately seeks out ingredients for a spell to save her brother from the memories and personality-invasion of the accursed Damian, and get to know an excellent new character called Marcus, a warrior and hunter of witches and warlocks.
As a reviewer, I’m often asked which is more irritating – a good story with weak writing, or good writing with a weak story. I think this is one of those questions that we all have an opinion on. I tend to say that a good story will rise above lacklustre writing where even the most skilful author’s voice will struggle with an empty narrative.
In this, the second instalment of the City of the Gods series, we have an excellent story, which I really enjoyed – some terrific characters, old and new, and some great suspense. The writing, however, is not good.
There are missing words, for example, ‘to’ and ‘the’ have been left out of – I suspect rapidly-read sentences, a number of missing apostrophes, misspellings (‘shown’ for ‘shone’, ‘weights’ for ‘weighs’, ‘dumfounded’ for ‘dumbfounded’, ‘drug’ for ‘dragged’, ‘causalities’ for ‘casualties’ and ‘obliviously’ for ‘obviously’) and a startling overuse of some words – back, door, potion, and hands seeming to be most popular. It was frustrating to read the phrase ‘crossed his arms over his/her chest’ and ‘folded his arms over his/her chest’ for the thirtieth time. Yes, I’m pathetic. I counted. And when the warlock first made his appearance he was referred to as ‘the warlock’ so often, the words lost all meaning. Ditto ‘the prisoner’, ditto ‘the foreigner’.
A great story which, unfortunately reads like a first draft.
September 21, 2021
Book Review – The Descendant (City of the Gods Book 1) by S. J. McMillan
Book Review – The Descendant (City of the Gods Book 1) by S. J. McMillan
First published, 2012
“Katalina was not prone to homicidal tendencies, but if she could morally make an exception for just one day, well, today would be that day.”
The first line, Chapter One, The Descendant (City of the Gods Book 1) by S. J. McMillan
In this first instalment of the City of the Gods series, we meet Katalina, a young woman about town who has few friends, no family, but many layers. A talented singer, she is pushed into an audition at a local nightclub and soon hits it off with the handsome new owner, Tristan. Little does Kat know that Tristan is well-acquainted with her long-term best friends, Vivian and Sabine, and this is no mere chance encounter.
But when the night turns to terror in an alleyway, who will save Katalina? And who is the mysterious stranger with the huge scar and the ability to make people his servants? And is Kat prepared for the biggest shock of all (which I’m not going to ruin for you because I don’t do that)?
There was a moment in this book where I actually cried. Now, that takes some doing. Again, I’ll not spoil the scene for you but Kat finds herself on a beach and I found it profoundly moving. A couple of minor spelling errors (‘the tyres squalled’, ‘distain’, ‘the images plagued him very night’) marred the reading a little and I still haven’t come to terms with ‘off of’, but I think we all know that’s never going to happen.
All that to one side, this was an enjoyable read. Recommended, especially if you enjoy urban fantasy with some whip-smart dialogue and memorable characters. And I’m going to get better at finishing series so hold onto your hats.
September 20, 2021
Book Review – Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
Book Review – Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
First published, 2021
The story follows seventeen-year-old Grey, sometime resident of La Cachette, Louisiana, as she returns to the bayou to meet up with the rest of the Summer Children – a group of ten kids who were born the same year in the Louisiana swamp. The area is known for its psychics and mediums and you’d think it would be very difficult, perhaps impossible, to keep a secret, especially a dark and troubling one, in such a place. But it turns out: you can, if it’s a community-wide secret.
After Grey’s best friend, and soul twin (a beautiful concept), Elora disappears and is presumed dead in the murky, gator-infested waters, Grey will stop at nothing to find the answers with her closest bunch of friends. But are there secrets she isn’t privy to? And who can she really trust when so much has been kept from her?
Oh, but I liked this one. There’s something about stories set in the bayou. The heat and sultriness of the air just wafts from the page. Whether its the scenery or the near-impossibility of survival in such a treacherous landscape, or maybe its just the tone of voice and the exoticism of the Creole language (stunningly captured in this story), I don’t know, but I love it.
The narrative was full of twists and turns. There are a lot of characters but I was surprised that I was able to keep hold of each one in my mind and knew who they were as soon as they reappeared on the page. The author’s voice is strong and the writing is powerful.
“Sweat stings the corners of my eyes, and I pull up the collar of my T-shirt to dab it away. Barely eight thirty in the morning and already a million degrees with 500 percent humidity. I lived down here full-time till I was almost nine years old, so you’d think I’d be used to it, but it always takes me a while to reacclimate after spending the school year up in Arkansas with my dad. I mean, it’s hot there, too… but not like this.
“Nowhere is hot like this. Or wet like this. Spending the summer in La Cachette is like living inside someone’s mouth for three months out of the year.”
p 6, Chapter One, Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
I’ll look forward to reading more from Ms Myers Sain in future.
An absolute must-read.
