The third book I chose to read was ‘The Secrets Between Us’ by Louise Douglas.

It’s not the type of book that I would pick up in a book shop, based on the cover, but had I read the blurb on the back, I would’ve been intrigued.

The lead character, Sarah, is recovering from some traumatic personal issues and, on a holiday, she meets Alex, who she connects with. Reluctant to go home, Alex makes her an offer she can’t refuse and she goes to live with him and his son. She is appointed as housekeeper, but it’s clear that there was more than that in her mind. Alex’s popular wife is missing, supposedly having walked out, but as time passes, people being to fear the worst…

This was a very readable book. I enjoyed Louise Douglas’s writing style, although it was over-descriptive at times, and despite guessing what happened in the first third of the book, I was happy to read on (in the hope of being proved right). I was. The characters felt real and well-rounded, and I did care what became of them.

There were a few things that nagged at me about this book, though they aren’t really negatives: the book could have been about 100 pages shorter and still told the same story; there was a little confusion about the book’s direction – at one point, I thought this may be a ghost story, but this didn’t really pan out; finally, I felt that the book was set in the wrong time period, as though the author had wanted to write in, say, the Victorian period, but this wouldn’t fit in with the logistics of the storyline – when I read the acknowledgments, this made sense to me.

Again, this is not a book I would have read, but I would look out for this author again, based on The Secrets Between Us. I’d give this book 7 out of 10: had it chosen to be a ghost story or a thriller, it would have been more.

You’re going to get two posts today, lucky people, and both are book (or writing) related!

Firstly, tomorrow is my first Creative Writing class and I’m nervous for several reasons:

1. I am very shy around new people, and given the amount of time my ME/CFS makes me spend on my own, I’m not very good at socialising.
2. I have no idea what a class like this consists of, so don’t know what to expect.

I’ll try and update you tomorrow, if I don’t just sleep for the remainder of the day (it starts at 9.30am which, as you know, is not a good time for me). Oh, and the outfit arrived for ‘Paige’ for the cover of my Kindle edition of Karma – hoping to get that sorted out in October (along with another OU course). Must keep the mind occupied when the body wants to hibernate!

The second book I chose in the Reading Challenge was ‘Teacher, Teacher!’ by Jack Sheffield.

The story (or is it a memoir) is based on a year in the life of a newly appointed headmaster at a small village school. It’s an unofficial account, based on the Headmaster’s alternative log book, of the ups and downs of school (and village) life. It captures the essence of residing and working in a Northern village, in the seventies.

Where to start? If I judged this book by its cover, there would be two problems:

1. The cover is very unappealing (and, dare I say, dull?)
2. The tagline describes this book as ‘hilarious’ – this gives the reader certain expectations, and I’m sorry to say, I was disappointed. Very disappointed.

While this book is not hilarious (I would expect to laugh out loud at a hilarious book), some of the characters and situations gave rise to a smile. I’d describe the book as warm and gentle, rather than humorous. I really wanted to like this book, as Jack Sheffield is a very good storyteller; unfortunately, his story just did not appeal to me and I found it rather slow. I didn’t really want to read on (not that there was much follow-through from chapter to chapter – it’s more of a collection of separate incidents, I felt). I rarely give up on a book, though, and did finish it. I was relieved to do so.

I feel it harsh to criticise the book so much, as don’t think that it was aimed at me. If I remembered the seventies, I’d probably be able to relate more to the scenarios within, and to the characters. I must say that I did shed a tear at a particularly touching moment or two, which shows that the author is very skilled at conveying emotional situations (or that I’m a softy where children are concerned) – but I didn’t particularly care about the characters themselves. I felt disconnected from them. I also didn’t appreciate the excess use of the Northern dialect – I understand that Mr Sheffield was trying to emphasise the sense of being in Yorkshire, but it was just too much (and as you know, I’m from Up North, myself).

I think that someone in their fifties or upwards, who was either at primary school in the seventies or had children at school during this time, would get more out of this book than I did. This book is the literary equivalent of your favourite male relative sitting you down and relaying tales of his younger days. I’d give this book 6 out of 10: well-written but I wouldn’t read more of the series.

икониMy first book to review is Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson. I selected this because it looked like the kind of book I’d pick up in a shop, if I felt like trying a new author.

The premise of the book is that Chelsea, the main female character, is a wannabe actress, struggling to find more than the most mediocre of parts. She comes to Seattle to work as an assistant to a recouperating NHL star, in order to raise funds for a breast augmentation. She needs to keep her job to gain a bonus and fund her operation, whereas he makes it clear that he doesn’t need help and attempts to get rid of her.

I believe that this is one of a series of books and, maybe, I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the other books and had a sense of background to those involved. The book almost lost me at the first chapter, as it was quite heavily ice-hockey based. I understand that this has a big following overseas, so can understand people being drawn to it, but there was just too much ‘sports talk’ for my liking. Thankfully, the story was also about relationships and being drawn to people you shouldn’t be. Without spilling too many beans, I found the change in circumstances believable, but not in the space of time given in the book. It felt very rushed. Unfortunately, the characters felt a little flat and I didn’t have a sense of their individual history, so it was hard to feel involved in their relationship – it felt I hadn’t been given the chance to ‘know’ them by the author.

My one pet hate, and I’ve noticed this in a lot of US novels, is the littering of pages with brand names – Gatorade, Vicodin, etc, etc. This happened throughout this book and it felt like advertising!

In essence, it was quite a raunchy book (not quite erotic fiction, but almost) and it was the perfect read for a holiday: fairly engaging, a bit naughty, not too much thinking required and a satisfying conclusion. I’d give this book 6.5/10.