Theresa Smith's Blog, page 53
June 8, 2021
Book Review: Retrospective by Kelly Van Nelson
From the #1 bestselling author of Graffiti Lane and Punch and Judy comes another edgy poetry collection packed with explosive emotion and pulsing with candid insights into the underbelly of urban life.
Retrospective takes a raw trip down memory lane, delving into the mind of a child navigating the streets of a council estate in northern England, stripping back the layers of young adulthood in the search for love and acceptance beneath the glare of the city neon lights, and finally crossing the bridge to a place where troubled past meets optimistic future in a literary celebration of transformative determination and steely inner strength.
My Thoughts:Razor sharp hindsight is infused throughout this entire collection and I could feel the anger simmering beneath the words. Retrospective is an autobiographical poetry collection, deeply honest and raw, at times painful to contemplate, but ultimately empowering. Written against a Covid backdrop, Kelly Van Nelson has created a new and vibrant poetry collection that will take those of us who were children in the 70s and 80s on a journey back through time. Kelly Van Nelson has such talent as a poet, her ability to convey so much in just a few words of prose is remarkable and inspiring. Fans of contemporary poetry will rejoice in this new collection.
Tribe
loved ones in brood
who make up a home
friends in your circle
ensure never alone
people you meet
create like-minded vibe
wind under wings
make a powerful tribe
Thanks is extended to the author for providing me with a copy of Retrospective for review.
June 7, 2021
Book Review: Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Betrayal. Magic. Murder.
A tale of three siblings and three deadly sins.
King Cador’s children inherit a land abandoned by the Romans, torn by warring tribes. Riva can cure others, but can’t heal her own scars. Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, although born a daughter. And Sinne dreams of love, longing for adventure.
All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky – bringing Myrdhin, meddler and magician. The siblings discover the power that lies within them and the land. But fate also brings Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart.
Riva, Keyne and Sinne become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths. It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.
Sistersong by Lucy Holland retells the folk ballad, ‘The Two Sisters’ – now including the perspective of the sibling ‘that time forgot’. It’s a powerfully moving story, perfect for fans of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale.
My Thoughts:Sistersong is nothing short of brilliant. I loved this novel so much. It has such a strong sense of time and place, yet, its core themes are contemporarily relevant. The writing is beautiful, the story is captivating, and the character journeys will make you weep. Ancient history intertwined with magical realism. Sistersong might just be my favourite novel of all time.
Quotable Quotes:
‘…it’s no small thing putting a god aside.’
~~~
‘We’d all seen the signs – the cold, the wet, even the ash rain. But no one wanted to believe they heralded anything other than a bout of poor weather. No one wanted to believe that this was due to our king’s neglect. The price of change; the price of embracing a new religion and forsaking an age-old bond with the land.’
~~~
‘A woman can fight and is no less a woman. A man can be a woman. A woman can be a man. And then there are those who choose to be both or neither. Do you see now, Keyne, how foolish are the names we force on people before they’re even able to speak?’
~~~
‘I sense something growing, something forceful, unstoppable. A new God is opening His eyes amongst us. And I don’t think they can be closed again.’
~~~
‘I realise I’m seeing more than a simple absence of magic. I’m seeing magic’s opposite: a potent belief in human strength alone, a world where magic does not and cannot exist. It is terrifying.’
~~~
‘The longer I stare, the stronger grows my unease. It is dangerously beautiful in the way that a sword is beautiful, or a storm, or a thorned rose. But a sword is meant for killing, a storm can sink the best-made ship, and a rose’s thorns pierce unwary hands. The harp’s strings are golden, a familiar gold, and its frame is white, its pins so delicate. It has a graceful neck and shoulder…and I fear it, with every fibre of my flesh.’
~~~
‘The silence is charged, as if we stand at the peak of a storyteller’s tale and no one knows how the story will end. They hope it will end the way they want it to. But this is my story. And here, in this hall that has witnessed the death of a king and the birth of another, I am the storyteller.’
~~~
‘The last notes fade. I know I will never sing them again. After we part this night, the only song people will remember is the other song, the sistersong, with its easy rhyme and grisly story that ends in blood. That is what the world understands. Unless one day it understands more.’
Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of Sistersong for review.
About the Author:Lucy Holland works for Waterstones and has a BA in English & Creative Writing from Royal Holloway. She went on to complete an MA in Creative Writing under Andrew Motion in 2010. Lucy lives in Devon and co-hosts Breaking the Glass Slipper, an award-winning feminist podcast. You can find her on twitter @silvanhistorian
Sistersong
Published by Pan Macmillan Australia
Released 27th April 2021
June 6, 2021
Bookish TV: Panic by Lauren Oliver
Over the weekend, I binged Panic, a ten episode series (Amazon Prime) based on the book of the same name written by Lauren Oliver, who also created and wrote the series. I watched it with my 15yo son and we both loved it.
Every summer in a small Texas town, graduating seniors compete in a series of challenges, which they believe is their only chance to escape their circumstances and make their lives better.
I read the book when it first came out as I was a bit of a fan of Lauren Oliver at the time. While I remembered the basic outline of the plot, nothing specific was left with me so watching the show was quite gripping. I honestly had no idea what was going to happen, I couldn’t even remember the ending. Looking back at Goodreads, I can see I gave this book five stars. I hadn’t quite started reviewing back in 2014, only just beginning to leave a few thoughts on Goodreads for each book I read, so here are my thoughts on the book from back then.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the characters believable and liked them enough to care about what was happening to them. The game Panic was equally believable within the confines of the town of Carp. The story moved along at a good pace, not too many important details revealed too soon and it finished with a great ending. Well done Lauren on another fantastic YA novel.
Both the book and the show get from me!
Book Review: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
In one of the most famous Greek myths, Ariadne betrayed her father, King Minos, to help Theseus defeat the Minotaur. But Theseus in turn betrayed her. This is her story.
A mesmerising retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS.
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother – demands blood every year.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods – drawing their attention can cost you everything.
In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?
ARIADNE gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is an exceptional debut novel.
My Thoughts:For a person who owns a dog named Zeus, I know very little about Ancient Greek mythology. But this didn’t hamper my enjoyment of this novel at all. Ariadne tells the story of the daughters of King Minos, Ariadne and Phaedra. It’s a story of love and betrayal and the ways in which women fall victim to the egos of the men in their lives. It’s also a story of sisterhood, with fates intersecting in the most tragic of ways. Of Gods and mortals, Ariadne is an unforgettable novel of female agency, immortal love, and the gripping intoxication of power.
Quotable Quotes:‘What I did not know was that I had hit upon a truth of womanhood: however blameless a life we led, the passions and the greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do.’
~~~
‘I have walked amongst mortals for many years and I know the dizzying joys of humanity: the fragile, ferocious power of human love and the savage force of grief.’
~~~
‘I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself.’
~~~
‘The price we paid for the resentment, the lust and the greed of arrogant men was our pain, shining and bright like the blade of a newly honed knife.’
Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of Ariadne for review.
About the Author:Due to a lifelong fascination with Ancient Greek mythology, Jennifer Saint read Classical Studies at King’s College, London. She spent the next thirteen years as an English teacher, sharing a love of literature and creative writing with her students. ARIADNE is her first novel and she is working on another retelling of ancient myth for her second.
Ariadne
Published by Hachette Australia – Wildfire
Released 30th March 2021
June 2, 2021
Book Review: The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell
As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another… Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?
Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them.
But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back…
My Thoughts:There are few authors that astonish me with their imagination; Laura Purcell sits among these few. Her gothic horror tales of historical fiction are exactly my jam. She writes with such a finely tuned atmosphere; I was walking the streets of Victorian Bath alongside Agnes, all four senses alive with my surrounds. But this is not the Bath of Austen times. This Bath is firmly wearing the effects of Industrialisation, its glamour faded, its inhabitants ground down. More Dickens than Austen, with some Bram Stoker thrown in.
‘This is what her beautiful city has come to: the beau monde and the dandies have fled, leaving only the spinsters, the soot and the ghosts behind.’
I’ve read a few books now on Spiritualism during the Victorian era and beyond. It’s a fascinating topic and was a trade ripe for the pickings if you were able to manipulate the dark arts with some form of sensation. While for the most part, the unexplained could always be explained, to those desperate to connect with the ones they lost, belief was not rationale, as we see here, in The Shape of Darkness. The lengths mediums went to in order to create believability varied, but at times, were quite extraordinary. Pearl’s situation within this story is horrifically all too common. As a child without parents, reliant on her sister, she was at the mercy of the worst of humanity, exacerbated by her albinism. In Victorian times, to have a condition that marked you different was to be subjected to the whims of whoever was in control of you: you could be sold to a circus, put into a cage for charged viewings, or, you could be transformed into a medium.
‘This is not the first time she has heard of spiritualists, although she usually keeps such talk at a distance by saying she does not believe. A more honest statement would be that she does not want to believe. She wants the dead safely caged in Heaven or Hell, not wandering, watching her through the cloudy eyes of a corpse.’
When you scratch the surface of the Victorian era, it’s not hard to find horror. Industrialisation was not initially paced with employee safety, sanitation, or even laws of public safety. Children and women were not protected, neither from labour nor the more nefarious motivations of their family. One form of desperation stems from another, and so on down the line. I had some sympathy, up to a point, for Pearl’s older sister. Her burden from a young age was great, coupled with grief, her actions were not those of a rational person because she no longer had the capability to be rational; desperation within her circumstances warped her judgement, grief had traumatised her sensitivity. I really liked the way in which Laura Purcell set up this family dynamic. The horror of what evolves cannot be denied, but it is a direct by-product of the era.
Themes of grief and trauma are knitted tightly throughout this entire novel, not just within Pearl’s family. It is the very fabric that Agnes is made up of; it influences Simon’s actions and decisions, much to his own detriment. The link between grief and trauma is well established and within this novel, Laura Purcell digs deeper into that trauma and the way in which it might break a person’s rationale and affect their sanity. As well being a slasher horror story with paranormal chills galore, The Shape of Darkness is also a desperately sad study on humanity within the Victorian era. It isn’t pretty historical fiction, but it is excellent, brilliantly crafted and precisely executed. The Shape of Darkness will thrill and chill in equal measure and leave you craving for more of Laura Purcell, an author who is simply a genius within her genre.
Thanks is extended to Bloomsbury Australia for providing me with a copy of The Shape of Darkness for review.
About the Author:Laura Purcell is a former bookseller, she lives in Colchester with her husband and pet guinea pigs. Her first novel for Bloomsbury, The Silent Companions, was a Radio 2 Book Club pick, was selected for the Zoe Ball ITV Book Club and was the winner of the Thumping Good Read Award.
laurapurcell.com
@spookypurcell
The Shape of Darkness
Published by Bloomsbury Australia
Released 2nd February 2021
June 1, 2021
A Month of Reading: May
Books read in May = 10
Inching closer to that 12 books a month goal.
Until next month… 
May 31, 2021
Book Review: Mrs England by Stacey Halls
From the bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling comes Stacey Halls’ most compelling and ambitious novel to date.
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.
Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.
Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, weaving an enthralling story of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception. Set against the atmospheric landscape of West Yorkshire, Stacey Halls’ third novel proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our times.
My Thoughts:Stacey Halls is a marvellous author of historical fiction. I’ve read each of her novels and loved them fiercely: The Familiars, The Foundling, and now, Mrs England. I found this to be quite an empowering read, to be honest, and I admired both Ruby, the main character, and Mrs England herself, who we get to know through Ruby’s perspective.
‘There were so many things I wanted to ask her – what Mr Sheldrake put in his letter; why her husband locked her in her room. Why she had such disdain for her entire family; why she was, as her mother put it, like lint swept into a corner, brittle and lonely. Why nobody came to the house; why she never left it.’
Ruby was a complex character with a complex history that was revealed in pieces. Mrs England was perhaps more straightforward, at the mercy of her family to marry well, as high-born women were, and then passed on as property to the husband of their choosing. At first, a wall existed between these two vastly different women, but slowly, as events within the England’s home became odder, and more sinister, that wall began to crumble.
‘For a long time I’d struggled with people’s sympathy. They would always insist on giving it to me, but it was so heavy, and I had no wish to be burdened with it.’
This novel is a brilliantly crafted story of that most insidious and vile form of domestic violence: gas lighting. Within this story, the author has demonstrated the wide reaching and cataclysmic effects it can have on an entire household. Mrs England is my highlight novel of the year, completely living up to my high expectations of Stacey Halls and topping even her previous two as favourites. I absolutely loved the way this novel ends for both of these women, particularly that very last exchange between Ruby and Mrs England. It doesn’t get better than this for historical fiction fans.
‘For the first time in my life, I was in charge, and I would savour every moment.’
Thanks is extended to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a copy of Mrs England for review.
About the Author:Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has written for publications including the Guardian, Stylist, Psychologies, the Independent, the Sun and Fabulous. Her first book, The Familiars, was the bestselling debut hardback novel of 2019, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ Debut Book of the Year.
Mrs England
Published by Bonnier – Manilla
Released on 1st June 2021
May 29, 2021
The Week That Was…
This week has shaped up to be a good one indeed!
There are no more mice!Remember how my lovely new car was damaged when a rain filled gazebo collapsed onto the roof? Well, it’s currently in getting repaired! And I have a car provided by my insurer to drive for the duration, so I’m not even inconvenienced.I got to listen to myself on a podcast talking about the Australian Women Writers Challenge. So much fun and surprisingly, not embarrassing! You can listen at Australian Book Lovers if you’re keen on bookish podcasts.I got a new job, an ideal part-time one that I will be able to fit around my study next year. I start Thursday! My youngest son and I went to see John Butler on Thursday night. He was all shades of excellent and our seats were this close!
~~~
Joke of the week:
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What I’ve been watching:
This was terrific, so much fun to watch. I loved Friends but have never rewatched it. This made me remember how much I used to love it and also reminded me of being young! So long ago…
Domina tells the story Livia Drusilla, the woman who became Roman Empress Julia Augusta. It’s terrific, an absolute must watch for history fans.
~~~
What I’ve been reading:
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Until next week…
May 22, 2021
The Week That Was…
Well, this was some week! We headed into the week with great sadness, farewelling our beautiful old girl, Diva, who we had the privilege of loving for almost 12 years. She had been deteriorating over the last year, more so in the last few months, as very old dogs do – German Shepherds have a shorter lifespan than many other breeds, sadly. She was a brilliant dog, loyal, stubborn at times but also obedient when you needed her to be – except when it came to going to the vet. There was no way she was ever backing down and walking in there herself. I always knew she would go until the end, just lie down one day after playing and not get up; which is exactly what she did. At least she left us while in her favourite place with her favourite people and her favourite dog companion by her side.
Losing her, no matter how ‘expected’, was a blow, and not just to us. Zeus, our husky, was adopted in 2017 specifically as company for Diva. He’s missing her terribly and we are spoiling him a bit at present – it’s sort of a mutually therapeutic coping mechanism. Here he is on his new outdoor bed – the deck gets cold in winter and he does love it up there, looking out over the yard, onto the neighbours deck, and inside into the living room, all from the one spot. It’s an adjustment for all of us, not having Diva around.
Remember that scratching in the ceiling I mentioned last week? Well it got worse before it got better. After a couple of sleepless nights panicking about what it is – I am generally extremely anxious about rodents, to the point where I will have a panic attack at the thought of encountering one. They’re probably the only thing I’m actually scared of and this has been a lifelong fear. I’m actually worse when they are dead. Cannot even look at a dead rodent. So I hired an exterminator to deal with all of it for me. Honestly, the peace of mind alone was worth it. Someone else to get up into the ceiling, confirm what is was – a few mice, not a godzilla sized rat – and then just take care of it by exterminating them. Clearly, the timing of this happening while dealing with my beloved Diva passing away was not ideal and probably accounts for the high levels of anxiety I’ve had all week. The benefit of this anxiousness is that I kept very busy as I was unable to be still. My house now has every gap around every pipe under all the sinks sealed and the bottoms of doors have been weather proofed to keep pests out. I’ve already noticed a drop in cockroaches and geckos, so that’s a win! The downside of all this anxious busyness…
What I’ve been reading:
Only one book for the entire week and it wasn’t one that grabbed me either. I really struggled to get through it, actually, despite the rave reviews of many.
In an effort to get my reading back on track, I’ve picked up this upcoming release by Stacey Halls, in the hopes of a guaranteed brilliant read. I’ve loved all her books so far, so this one should do the trick.
Here’s to a more upbeat week next week. To finish on a high note, my new lounge, which had been on order for a few months, was delivered Saturday afternoon. And it’s all that I had hoped it would be. Seeing my living room all set up at last has made me feel enormously satisfied, as though I’ve finally reached the end of a long journey. We are well and truly settled back home again, even if we are now missing one of us. But at least Diva had her final months back home, in the very same house where she first joined our family as an overexcited enormous puppy. I like to think she knew she was back where she was meant to be before letting go.
Until next week…
May 20, 2021
Book Review: Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
This is not just another novel about a dead girl.
When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city’s latest Jane Doe, an unidentified murder victim.
Ruby Jones is also trying to start over; she travelled halfway around the world only to find herself lonelier than ever. Until she finds Alice’s body by the Hudson River.
From this first, devastating encounter, the two women form an unbreakable bond. Alice is sure that Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her life – and death. And Ruby – struggling to forget what she saw that morning – finds herself unable to let Alice go. Not until she is given the ending she deserves.
Before You Knew My Name doesn’t ask whodunnit. Instead, this powerful, hopeful novel asks: Who was she? And what did she leave behind? The answers might surprise you.
My Thoughts:‘I allow myself to believe I deserve what comes next. The beginning of a life where I take up space, where I belong.’
Before You Knew My Name is not your usual crime novel. Narrated by the victim, this is very much a story about femicide and toxic masculinity. It’s a timely release and the author writes with a unique blend of poetic beauty and thematic impact. The story itself is not plot driven – there is resolution with regards to the crime committed – but rather a slow burn character study on the victim and the woman who discovered her body.
‘And then, one early morning, it ends. There was an I, and it was me. I was at the centre, looking out. Until someone decided to enter the space I had created for myself, take it over.’
More than anything, this novel made me feel sad, and fearful for my daughter and my nieces, that all women still have to take responsibility for their own safety, how they dress, where they choose to jog, what time they go out, in case they accidentally ask to be assaulted, raped or murdered. Through her victim narration, the author has given us all a chance to consider the life attached to a body found by a river. The ripples of her existence and the many ways in which she mattered and still does. She is more than a Jane Doe, particularly to the woman who discovered her body and now has to live with that trauma.
‘For the first time, I understand it’s not only the dead who have lives they don’t get to live out. The people left behind have as many versions of themselves unexplored, as many possible paths that close off.’
I wasn’t as impressed with this novel on a whole as many others have been. I liked its intent, I liked the narrative technique used, and I very much admire the way this author writes. What didn’t work for me so much was the slow pacing with the heavy foreshadowing and I really just didn’t like Ruby at all. I found it hard to tap into any empathy for her. She moved to another country to distance herself from a man, yet didn’t block his number? There were other things about her that bothered me as well and unfortunately it was enough to lessen the grips this story should have had on me. But I am very much in the minority here. If you look up this novel on Goodreads, you’ll see it has an overwhelming number of five and four star reviews. Not bad for a debut! I recommend this one as an ideal choice for book clubs – there is plenty to unpack and linger over.
‘Nothing will ever again be true for this woman. It is never just one life these young men destroy.’
Thanks is extended to for providing me with a copy of Before You Knew My Name for review.
About the Author:Jacqueline ‘Rock’ Bublitz is a writer, feminist, and arachnophobe, who lives between Melbourne, Australia and her hometown on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. She wrote her debut novel Before You Knew My Name after spending a summer in New York, where she hung around morgues and the dark corners of city parks (and the human psyche) far too often. She is now working on her second novel, where she continues to explore the grand themes of love, loss and connection.
Before You Knew My Name
Published by
Released 4th May 2021
