My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon

Out Now

Published by: Michael Joseph, Penguin Books

Purchase from Amazon here

The Blurb:

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care. He won't just think, 'Oh good'.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert's back since they got together as drama students.
She gave up her dreams so he could make it.
Now he's one of the nation's most popular actors.
And Paula's just discovered he's having an affair.

She's going to remind Robert just what he's sacrificing.
And then she's going to break his heart like he broke hers.
It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet.
Isn't it?

My review:

It is a long time since I have read a book by Jane Fallon, but it won’t be a long time until I read the next. I devoured My Sweet Revenge, and struggled to put it down. Having gone through a similar experience where I found my long-term partner cheating on me this appealed to me, and I couldn’t wait to see how her revenge would pan out.

I started off both feeling sorry for, and rooting for Paula. It is clear that she had been a loving and devoted wife who had put her dreams to one side to dedicate herself to her family. Years and security have taken their toll and she isn’t the woman she used to be as she has become complacent. However, when she discovers her husband is having an affair rather than roll over and let it break her, Paula decides she is going to make Robert see her through fresh eyes, lure him back, and then chuck him to show him how it feels.

Add into the mix that she knows the woman she suspects he is having an affair with, she puts a plan into action – and so let the shenanigans commence!

The book is divided into two parts, and if I am honest, I enjoyed the first part and all that planning and positive change the best. We follow Paula as she sets the wheels into motion and it is great fun! Not only does she work on herself, but we get to see her start to set plans in motion to mess with her husband and his mistress.

I felt real empathy for Paula and I imagine many women reading will feel the same. I really enjoyed that she didn’t roll over, but was empowered and began to make changes that would enhance her life and happiness. Whilst heartbreak hurts it doesn’t mean that we always fall apart. Sometimes it can be the trigger that becomes the making of us, and I liked that this is Paula’s approach also, even if revenge is her driver.

The second half of the book ramps up the actual act of revenge, and events transpire that lead Paula to doubt decisions, actions and others. The only negative I would have about this book is around some of the actions. But then, hell, it is fiction, and that is the point of escapism, right? It is not a blue print on how to enact revenge. But it is nice to dream J

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the authors writing, and for me she has skilfully crafted a book that delivers a compelling plot, emotion, inspiration and a wry smirk. This book hit the spot for me and my circumstance, and for those of us who believe in concentrating on our own life and happiness, it was a nice chance to fantasise!

Loved this book and would certainly recommend it to others.

The Food of Love by Amanda Prowse

Out Now

Published by Lake Union Publishing

Purchase from Amazon here 

The Blurb:

A loving mother. A perfect family. A shock wave that could shatter everything.

Freya Braithwaite knows she is lucky. Nineteen years of marriage to a man who still warms her soul and two beautiful teenage daughters to show for it: confident Charlotte and thoughtful Lexi. Her home is filled with love and laughter.

But when Lexi’s struggles with weight take control of her life, everything Freya once took for granted falls apart, leaving the whole family with a sense of helplessness that can only be confronted with understanding, unity and, above all, love.

In this compelling and heart-wrenching new work by bestselling author Amanda Prowse, one ordinary family tackles unexpected difficulties and discovers that love can find its way through life’s darkest moments.

My Review:

I am a relative newbie to Amanda Prowse and her work, but wow, wow, wow! This woman sure knows how to write a powerful book about hard hitting subjects that affect many people every day. The theme of The Food of Love the still much misunderstood and hidden taboo of anorexia.

What did I love most about this book? The way that the author has bought to life an illness that for many families is all too real, and something they live with everyday. She has done it in a way that is sensitive, moving and for me very educational and thought provoking. I don’t mind saying that this book gripped me in a way that not many others have. I found it very very hard to walk away from and really didn’t know right up until the very last chapter how it would end.

Being a voyeur I gained an insight into eating disorders in a way that I hadn’t really considered in the past. The helplessness and despair that the family felt jumped off the page and I could also feel those emotions manifesting in me.

I loved (it feels wrong to say love, but you know what I mean hopefully) the way that as a reader we can see not only how it affects the person with the problem, but also the impact on the family, particularly Freya, Lexi’s Mum. That sense of frustration, despair, helplessness and anger were all encompassing for me. So wonderfully put on to paper but bought to life, more than just words on a page.

I have been fortunate that I have never really known a person who has an eating disorder, and whilst thinking I could have some understanding it was only after reading this book that I encountered someone with a severe eating disorder. I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day and there was someone sitting opposite me who was incredibly anxious, and very obviously very underweight. To sit there watching them obsessed with watching others eat and drink whilst constantly checking that their own stomach was perfectly concave bought me back to this book and bought tears to my eyes. To eventually see the person stand up and be able to proudly pull their stomach in to almost meet their spine was chilling.

The book is a story of family, love and I am sure it will be one that as a reader you will be absorbed in and deeply moved by. It is certainly a book that will always stay with me.

Amanda writes books that are beautiful and I cannot recommend them enough. Her writing is down to earth, realistic, and her ability to develop characters that touch your heart, and have you reaching for tissues. Her books will definitely have you riding an emotional rollercaster. I am off to purchase all her back catalogue!

Last Breath by Robert Bryndza

Publication date: 12 April 2017

Published by: Bookouture

Purchase from Amazon here

The Blurb:

He’s your perfect date. You’re his next victim.

When the tortured body of a young woman is found in a dumpster, her eyes swollen shut and her clothes soaked with blood, Detective Erika Foster is one of the first at the crime scene. The trouble is, this time, it’s not her case. 

While she fights to secure her place on the investigation team, Erika can’t help but get involved and quickly finds a link to the unsolved murder of a woman four months earlier. Dumped in a similar location, both women have identical wounds – a fatal incision to their femoral artery. 

Stalking his victims online, the killer is preying on young pretty women using a fake identity. How will Erika catch a murderer who doesn’t seem to exist? 

Then another girl is abducted while waiting for a date. Erika and her team must get to her before she becomes another dead victim, and, come face to face with a terrifyingly sadistic individual.

Gripping, tense and impossible to put down, Last Breath will have you on the edge of your seat, racing to the final dramatic page. 

My Review:

Woo hoo, stop everything because Erika Foster is back, and back with a bang. Last Breath is the fourth and best book of the series so far. I cannot tell you how much I loved it!  If you are a fan of Erika then stop everything and get reading. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading this series yet – what is wrong with you? You need to rectify that!!

If you like a thriller / crime / police procedural book then this may be the perfect series for you. Erika is a ballsy, sassy, gritty detective who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty or fly close to the wind in order to get the job done. So much so that when she comes face to face with the scene of a murder she will stop at nothing to get herself on to the investigation team, no matter what she has to do or who she upsets.  

This book picked me up by the scruff of the neck, whirled me around and didn’t release me again until I had turned the last page. I was transported into a whirlwind of action, drama and suspense that was relentless.

The premise of the book is around a serial killer who stalks his victims online before taking them and torturing them before they meet a grisly end. I tell you what, it made me think about just how much information I put online and just how accessible it is. It is quite scary to think that this is the ‘norm’ and to think of the potential for misuse. I am glad I didn’t grow up in the digital age!

Last Breath is full of drama and had me totally engrossed from start to finish. Would Erika be able to solve the puzzle and capture the killer, or would the body count continue to grow? Alongside the killings there is also drama in Erika’s personal and professional life. This book made me feel like I got to see not only her professional Detective face, but also delved deeper inside the skin of her personality and other dimensions of her identity. I feel like there could still be so much more for Erika to give to me as a reader. This is a series I would be happy to see run and run.

Last Breath definitely took my breath away! With descriptive writing that developed a dark central character who is a real nasty, it moved at a pace, and grew in urgency that had me captivated and rushing to turn the page. A truly gritty and at times gruesome book I was on the edge of my seat and loved every second!

Roll on book five…….