Review - The Loving Husband

So, my first read of 2017 was Christobel Kent's The Loving Husband. This book had been recommended to me by a friend and had been on my to-read list for quite a while. A Sunday Times Bestseller and popular among various book clubs and social media, I finally decided to read it.

Blurb (courtesy of Amazon):

Fran Hall and her husband Nathan have moved with their two children to a farmhouse on the edge of the Fens - a chance to get away from London and have a fresh start.

But when Fran wakes one night to find Nathan gone, she makes a devastating discovery. As questions about her husband and her relationships start to mount, Fran's life begins to spiral out of control.

What is she hiding from the police about her marriage, and does she really know the man she shared her bed with?

I am a huge fan of this 'domestic thriller' genre and with blockbusters such as The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl making such a huge impact over the last 12 months or so, it seems I am not alone in favouring this category. As such, I have read quite a few books in 2016 of a similar nature and enjoy them immensely. The Loving Husband should have been no different.

Unfortunately it missed the mark by a long shot.

The plot was great, and the developing story line was, overall, brilliant. It just lacked depth. I like to feel like I am getting to know the characters and really experience what they are going through but Fran was totally one dimensional. The author's style really threw me and I found myself struggling to keep up with the erratic switching between present and past. 

Of course, it wasn't all bad. There are a few 'WTF...' moments!! A few good plot twists and plenty of moments where you think you may have guessed only to be back to square one by the next paragraph!

I felt truly disappointed at the end. The plot was dragged and stretched out through the book and rather abruptly came to an end, with everything being explained hurriedly in just a few pages. I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted and willed it to get better with every chapter; it just didn't.

Of course, this is just my opinion! I had read a few Amazon reviews beforehand and seen many positive reviews. The Kindle version is on sale at the moment, and for only 99p, it's probably worth a read to make your own mind up.

Until next time,

Rachael xo

I'm still here!

So as it's been about 3 weeks since my last post I thought I had better jump back on the wagon! As any parent knows, the summer holidays are super busy, especially when you're a parent of 3! They have kept me immensely busy the past few weeks but I have also been busy delving into some amazing books. I am currently reading another offering from Liane Moriarty which I will review after I have finished. The main one that I would like to review next is very different from what you may have come to expect from me.

As well as being a busy mum-of-3 and a complete bookworm I am also a huge motorsports fan. Speedway in particular. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, it involves 4 riders racing on an oval shaped shale track for 4 laps on bikes up to 500cc with no brakes and capable of hitting 60mph faster than a Formula 1 car. It is a highly dangerous but breathtakingly exciting sport to watch. Take a look at some examples on YouTube here.

The reason for my explanation of my other hobby is my choice of book review. Despite being a huge fan of Speedway for more than 18 years I have never read a book on the subject until now. I came across Tragedy: The Kenny Carter Story on a Speedway related Facebook group and the story appealed to me despite not being my usual choice of genre.

I can without any hesitation say that this is one of, if not the best book I have read so far this year. As the title suggests it is indeed a tragic story. One of early childhood heartache, growing up too fast, International success and fame at a young age and perhaps inevitably, jealousy, rage and murder-suicide.

It is very well written in a chronological fashion to really let the reader travel through time and understand the man behind the name. The boy who grew up to be an international Speedway icon and would have undoubtedly gone on to become World Champion and be a huge influence within the sport had the tragic events of his past not taken place.

I finished this lengthy read in just a few short days. I literally couldn't put it down. Despite the subject matter I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are dark elements for sure but the hilarious anecdotes and fond memories relayed throughout helped to lift the overall tone of the book.

I highly recommend reading it, even if you have never heard of the sport. I promise it is worth the read. It is available in paperback and kindle format from Amazon today.

Big Little Lies

Well, it's been a crazy few days since my last post. It's the Summer Holidays here in the UK and so my three little darlings are at home taking up what precious little time I have for blogging and other such activities! Although we have had heaps of fun so far in between the outbreaks of rain! (Another perk of living in Wales!)

Today I finished Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I loved it! To begin with I was a little apprehensive about my choice as it is not the usual genre that I enjoy reading. I am very much a True Crime / Thriller girl at heart. I chose this particular book because I am currently participating in a Reading Challenge that I stumbled across on Goodreads. The challenge is comprised of 52 books, one per week, with a different topic for each book. This week's topic was a book with antonyms in the title and Big Little Liars was one of the more popular choices with the other challengers in the group. 

The first few chapters were a little slow, introducing the characters and setting the scene, but it was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading and I am so glad I did. After those initial doubts I could barely put it down. It is very well written and has a format that I have not encountered before. There is a sort of dialogue / narrative running alongside throughout the whole story which at first was a little off-putting and distracting but it grew on me as the book progressed. Once the purpose of it was clear it suddenly occurred to me how brilliant it was.

The rest of the story did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing on the similarities between my own life as a school run Mum and those of the characters in the book. At times it almost felt that I was reading about our own group of friends and it definitely raised a laugh or two, (and some heartaches). I had read some reviews before starting it and a few mentioned about it being the funniest book they had ever read about the subject of domestic violence. My initial thoughts were 'how could a book about domestic violence possibly be funny?' but it just works. Most of the main characters have a great depth to them and by the end, as is true for all great books, you feel that you really know them inside out.

I admit that it seems like a strange mix of genres to include elements of comedy, mystery, romance, parenting and violence in one book but I think that's what makes it seem all the more like real life. As a parent especially, many of the above are experienced on a daily basis without the need for a novel! 

I absolutely recommend Big Little Lies and I am looking forward to reading more from Liane Moriarty. In fact I have already started The Husband's Secret for this week's book. The theme this week is to read a book from a place you have always wanted to visit. It is set in Australia and I am definitely planning to visit there before I'm much older!

Until next time!

Rachael x