THE THUNDER GIRLS by MELANIE BLAKE

 THE THUNDER GIRLS

BY MELANIE BLAKE

THE BLURB:-

The

Chrissie, Roxanne, Carly and Anita: an Eighties pop sensation outselling and outclassing their competition. Until it all comes to an abrupt end and three of their careers are over, along with their friendship.

Thunder

Thirty years later, their old record label wants the band back together for a huge money making concert. But the wounds are deep and some need this gig more than others.

Girls

In those decades apart, life was far from the dream that they had been living as members of the Thunder Girls. Breakdowns, bankruptcy, addiction and divorce played a constant part in their lives. They've been to hell and back, and some of them are still there.

Can the past be laid to rest for a price? Or is there more to this reunion than any of them could possibly know? While they all hunger for a taste of success a second time around, someone is plotting their downfall in the deadliest way possible...

THE REALITY:-

Light, bright and trite in the nicest possible way, my SuperDean gave this to me to read as he thought I'd like it, as it's a book about four rock chicks who are roughly my age, and therefore my contemporaries. He wasn't wrong!

The author has been described as the “new Jackie Collins-” well, it's a long time since I've read Jackie Collins so I'm not quite sure about that, but I will say that it didn't come off as quite as glamorous as Ms Collins' offerings. But I think that's maybe because of the setting- to me, the UK is never going to be as enthralling as foreign soil, and the Collins world of Los Angeles society.

This certainly had a lot going on, in many layers, with a real mixture of characters. I have to say, I remain untouched by any of them, although they entertained me. I didn't quite get the defeatism of the three rejected Thunder Girls. Had I been writing the book, I would have had them forming their own triplet, maybe calling themselves the Thunder Queens, writing their own music and wiping the floor with the so-called charismatic “leader” of the gang. But then that would be a different story.

The author worked in the music business for real, so it's interesting that this is no doubt based upon autobiographical fiction and real people, as that's something I do too. There is a Thunder Girls play, which I will make a point of seeing (should things ever get back to normal). Another review I've seen mentioned the over-use of references to putting on lip gloss, and I have to say, enough of the lip gloss, already! I wish I had counted them, as there were way too many and seriously annoyed me.

But do make time for this good, easy read.

THE LAKE OF DREAMS by KIM EDWARDS

 

THE LAKE OF DREAMS

BY KIM EDWARDS

THE BLURB:-

The darkest secrets are the ones we hide from ourselves...

Ten years ago, traumatised by her father's death, Lucy left her home and her country. Now she returns to her family's rambling lakeside home to lay old ghosts to rest.

Sleepless one night, Lucy makes a momentous discovery. Locked in a moonlit window seat is a collection of family heirlooms- objects whose secrets no one was ever supposed to find. Piecing together her family's true history, she realises that the story she has always been told was a fiction.

Mesmerising and haunting, The Lake of Dreams is a startling story of family secrets and lies, lost love and redemption, and of the many puzzles and pieces that make up a life.

THE REALITY:-

Again, this book took me some time to devour as I read it towards the end of my MA course, and theoretical coursework reading had to take priority.

Sensual. Yes, I would describe this book as sensual, with every nuance of Lucy's connection with her environment in Japan and New York State brought to life with detailed descriptions covering all of the senses. Through characterisation, we got a real feel for Lucy's connection with the facets that make up a planet. I say through characterisation, as Lucy's a hydrologist, so I suppose she would be interested in natural geography. Art was also covered, through the beautifully designed historical stained glass windows we get to see, described in fine detail, and astrology too, as Haley's Comet makes an appearance, in 1910. Incidentally, I think I may have seen it when it returned, in 1986. I can't be sure- it was well covered in the news at the time, I was 14 and did look up to the sky that evening to see if I could spot it, having always been interested in astronomy after seeing a total eclipse of the moon circa 1981. Did I see Haley's Comet? I'm not sure. Maybe. But the sparkling thing in the sky could just have well have been an aeroplane!

Back to the novel, and it certainly grabbed me whenever I was able to catch up with it, although the distance in times between picking it up meant I had to backtrack more than once. Told, in parts, in the epistolary style, with letters mainly from Rose, the “hidden” ancestor (hidden as she had an illegitimate child), it wove beautiful tale towards a satisfying conclusion. There were many great characters in this book- I liked artistic Keegan, Lucy's first love, Reverend Suzi and Lucy's mother. I also adored the idea of a moon garden, planted with ethereal fauna and flora, and part-inspired by a Virginia Woolf quote. I also enjoyed reading about not-so-pleasant people, such as Lucy's cousin Joey, and her uncle with his dark secret (nope, I'm not going to do a spoiler alert!) I also enjoyed the theme of the family's locksmith company, and the fact that most of them could have alternative careers as safe breakers if they so desired!

However... (there has to be a “however,” doesn't there?) there were discrepancies. If Avery is running a vegetarian restaurant, then why was it serving up turkey sandwiches? The last time I checked, turkeys were not considered to be vegetarian. Also, was it really necessary to have four generations of men called Joseph Arthur? Talk about confusing the issue. There was also a family tree at the back of the novel (a strange place to put it), but I think there was a reason why it was stuffed at the back. Joseph Arthur Jarrett I died in 1970. Joseph Arthur Jarrett II (his son) in 1972. Why then, on page 323, was the will of Arthur Jarrett I mentioned to be written in 1972? It's a bit hard for dead people to write wills, so maybe the author/ publisher realised there was a cock-up and shoved the family tree at the back at the eleventh hour. Also, Rose's relationship with Frank was hinted at; she had tuberculosis in 1938, so it was assumed (by me) that that was what killed her, in 1942. Frank also died that year. Was his demise down to the same condition? That was something that was never explained, and it needed to be.

A good read, but discrepancies such as these need to be addressed.