Book-review post!
Catching up on some reviews of grown-up books read at the start of this year…
Nora Roberts – Local Hero
I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read of Nora Roberts. This is one of her earlier books, so much more straightforward romance than romantic suspense, but still lovely – the story of a single mother and the comic book writer neighbour who moves in upstairs and bonds with her kid. A quick but pleasing, comforting read.
Dave Lordan (ed.) – New Planet Cabaret
This collection of new work from emerging Irish writers is well worth picking up – many of the pieces are quite short, so there’s a huge variety of work here, including stories and poems from Colm Keegan, Kerrie O’Brien, Erin Fornoff, Dave Rudden, Sarah Maria Griffin, Elizabeth Reapy, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Michael Naghten Shanks, Rob Doyle, Jessica Traynor, and Alison Wells, among others.
Susan Choi – My Education
Affairs and academia. So, you know, the usual. This is a story of the two professors – a married couple – that our heroine has affairs with, and is full of gorgeous (if sometimes a tad overwrought) passages and observations about love and intimacy, as well as growing older. It took me a while to get through it – I was definitely aware of its length – but it is a good book.
Chelsea Handler – Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea
This collection of essays from comedian Chelsea Handler left me, honestly, a bit cold. She comes off as just a little too (unintentionally) offensive to be likable, and isn’t funny enough to make up for it. I was surprised because I’d heard great things about this book, but it was certainly not for me.
Sarra Manning – It Felt Like A Kiss
The latest from Sarra Manning features characters from Unsticky, though its focus is in on art buyer Ellie and what happens when the truth is revealed about her parentage. Her father is a rockstar who’s never wanted anything to do with her – but now the story’s been sold to the press and all eyes (including her father’s family’s) are on her. Enter David Gold, whose job it is to control the situation – and who Ellie will, of course, end up falling for. The love story element is not especially original plot-wise, but anyone who’s read Manning’s work will be aware of just how delicious her love stories are. There’s also plenty of pop culture commentary here – particularly in relation to how the media handles the story – which is always territory Manning handles well. A most enjoyable read.
Clodagh Murphy – Some Girls Do
Speaking of enjoyable reads… Clodagh Murphy! Her fourth novel focuses on a girl named Claire (so I was predisposed to like this one) who is a demure bookseller by day and a sex blogger by night. When a London editor declares his interest in developing her blog into a book, she worries that he’s expecting someone sexier and more knowledgeable – someone who hasn’t made it all up. As things progress with him – both publishing-wise and romantically – she recruits the help of a friend-of-a-friend, Luca, who’s great in bed but doesn’t do relationships. Again, relationship-wise, you can see/hope where this is going from the beginning, but it’s still very much a satisfying read. (I did want more sex in there – the moments they have are terrific but there are definitely aspects that could have been developed, and more conversations had about sexy things also – but I suspect that’d veer it towards ‘erotic fiction’ territory, rather than a romantic comedy.)
Chris Binchy – Five Days Apart
College students Alex and David are best friends – until Camille comes along. She’s the girl David can’t quite make a play for but desires, and the girl confident, always-gets-what-he-wants Alex gets. It’s not quite a love story; the dissection of the friendship between these two guys is really what’s going on here. The tension that unfolds, alongside the coming-of-age as David begins his first ‘real job’, is well played out – lots of moments and almosts and reflections and self-deprecations that are sometimes funny but also shrewd.
