ME BEFORE YOU by JOJO MOYES

ME BEFORE YOU

BY JOJO MOYES

THE BLURB:-

Lou Clark knows lots of things.

She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou Doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorbike accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now, and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his life in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change each other for all time.

THE REALITY:-

This is a real tearjerker. Girls, do not read this if a) you are feeling a bit down or b) you have PMT, as you will end up crying buckets.

This is one of those romantic stories that makes you stop and think, and you get an immensely strong feel for the sheer hopelessness of the situation. It does make you question whether some people would be better off dead, as their quality of life is so poor- and if so, should they be allowed to end their lives with dignity?

The writer has not shirked away from the realities of life for someone who is quadriplegic; how even the most basic tasks are impossible to complete unaided, the daily medications, the constant problems with severe pain, muscle spasms and the ongoing threat of infection. You learn very quickly that being in this severely reduced state is not just about sitting in a wheelchair with no feeling in the body. She also describes how super-active Will was before his accident and how bloody unfair life can be.

Set against a lovely castle backdrop, there is a big social contrast between well-off Will and his family and (former) friends and working class Lou. Lou, who is a riot of colour, and her family really cheer the novel up, otherwise it might have become just too depressing.

Brutal in its honesty, this is a very unusual romantic tale that everyone should read.  And those of us that are in good health should be so grateful that we are so blessed.

MY LAST DUCHESS by DAISY GOODWIN

MY LAST DUCHESS

BY DAISY GOODWIN

THE BLURB:-

Cora Cash, possibly the wealthiest heiress in 1890s America, has been raised to believe that money will open every door to her.

But when her mother whisks her to England to secure her an aristocratic match, Cora is dismayed by the welcome she at first receives. The great houses in which she is entertained are frosty and forbidding, dogged with intrigue above stairs, and gossip below. And it is only when she loses her heart- to a man she barely knows- that Cora realises the game she is playing is one she does not fully understand, and that her own happiness could be the prize.

THE REALITY:-

Okay, I know I said I wouldn't be doing as much reading or reviewing, but I'm not in a position to be a full time writer yet (although that day will come) and need something to read on the bus/ train to work!

Fans of Downton Abbey will love this one. In fact, if the book hadn't been published in 2010- the same time as Downton's first appearance on our screens- I would say that it was inspired by it (even our heroine is called Cora!) Set in 1893, it flits between Rhode Island, London and a beautiful country estate in Dorset.

This is a great upstairs/ downstairs comparison between the upper and lower classes and also highlights the differences between American (new money) etiquette and English (old money) ways. We also get to see how a mixed race relationship would be treated in the nineteenth century- badly in the USA, where slavery was, no doubt, fresh in people's minds, and with a bit less prejudice in England.

It's great to see our heroine marry for love, after she and her duke meet in a quite romantic way, and interesting to note that, despite holding a warm place in his heart, she cannot control him. Women did not rule the roost in that day and age. The sheer ridiculousness of some of society's expectations, and also some of the characters made me laugh out loud- especially Cora's mother and her mother-in-law, the “Double Duchess”.

There is a good “secret” thread running throughout the storyline, but my one criticism would be that the strange and possibly kinky relationship between Charlotte and her odious husband was not explored enough. Now that would have been really interesting...

Nothing to set the literary world alight, but a good read, nonetheless.

THE REJECT'S CLUB...

I am going to be blogging and reviewing less and concentrating on my next novel now.  It has the working title of "Lydia Darling" and is in its preliminary stages.  If you get bored, you can always read my first novel...

Product Description

Middlingham- or “Middle-of-nowhere” as Caroline Vallely nicknames it- is a town in Norfolk, home to teenage Caroline and her closest friends, Elizabeth and Hayley. The story begins in the late 1980’s as all three girls find themselves rejected, to varying degrees, by the people who are supposed to love them the most- their parents.

Caroline has always had a difficult relationship with her mother and father, and takes cynical pride in being the black sheep of the family. Elizabeth refuses to follow the choice of profession that’s been laid out for her and Hayley goes for the oldest story in the book- she gets herself pregnant. ‘We should call ourselves “The Reject’s Club.” Three unwanted darlings together,’ Caroline flutters her eyelashes theatrically and raises her glass. And so the girls own little private coterie is born.

As they grow into adults, the trio all strive for a happier life, but nothing can ever be straightforward. For romantic Hayley, who’s dreamt of nothing more than love and motherhood, she discovers that marriage can be a very unhappy state of being. Elizabeth is surprised find the fashion industry she so desperately wants to be a part of a rather stupid place and sets about finding her own lodestar. And workaholic Caroline wants to thumb her nose at all the people who have ever put her down in her life by becoming successful, rich and famous. And she achieves it through her writing career. But the route she takes is often the seediest way, as she desperately tries to shore up her destroyed sense of self-esteem.

Eventuality the three women all achieve some level of contentment. But the past has already happened, and one of the girls is shocked to discover a devastating family secret that links her with someone so close. And Caroline, after years of estrangement, must go back to confront her parents about why they treated her so disdainfully, before she leaves the country for a new life...

You can buy The Reject's Club from Amazon, via this link:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rejects-Club-Elaine-Rockett-ebook/dp/B00DQDBMZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394198298&sr=8-1&keywords=rejects+club

THE NOVEL IN THE VIOLA by NATASHA SOLOMONS

THE NOVEL IN THE VIOLA

BY NATASHA SOLOMONS

THE BLURB:-

In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna, forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won't like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother's pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming, the world is changing, and Elise must change with it.

At Tyneford she learns that you can love more than one person- and that you can love more than once.

THE REALITY:-

An unusual novel with an unusual title. We all know the gist of what went on during the Second World War, but it's always interesting to learn personal stories, especially those you may not have considered before (in this case, an Austrian Jewess from a good echelon of society coming to work, as a refugee, as a maid in an English household).

The characters were all highly believable and I loved the idea of a “ghost village” that was requisitioned during the war, never re-occupied and then left to rot in its original 1940s style. Like the author, I found this concept haunting (so much so that I would like to visit Tyneham, the real place on which the book was based) and a brilliant springboard for a novel.

Maybe it would have been nice for the novel in the viola to have not faded, so that we can read Julian's last work. But I suppose that would defeat the basic point of the book, where Elise writes her own life story, through the medium of her altered circumstances. I am also glad to have learnt a new word- palimpsest:- writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for other writing. I am going to make it my business to learn a new word every day!

I'm glad Elise got a happy ending- or as near to happy as she could under the circumstances. That essential point is driven home, which is good, as we all know that this period of history was somewhere between difficult and horrific, for so many people.

Recommended as a good summer read.

CREASY DRESS...

Slung this dress on when I went swimming today (no, not in the pool, for the journey there and back!)

It's from the BHS Olive and Olivia range and I picked it up at half price, for £16, either last year or the year before.

I love the red background and the bird print, and have always liked witchy hems, but apart from that, it's not really my kind of thing.  The neckline is a bit too "flappy" for my liking- I prefer something simpler- but it serves its purpose.

Its 100% viscose and creased TERRIBLY.  I had to fold it up to get it in the locker and it came out looking more "hobo" than "boho"!

RED SWIMSUITS AND CROSS-DRESSING

I recently bought this lovely red swimsuit from Sainsburys.  I get more and more impressed by supermarket ranges.  Good value for money and they seem to know what they are doing nowadays.

  If the weather stays warm today, I might go for a swim in the local pool.  It's indoors, but I always feel that the day has to be hot for you to really appreciate the water.

I bought this Baywatch Babe bikini from New Look a few years back, but haven't yet had the audacity to wear it out (probably as I'm about as far from a "Baywatch Babe" as you can get!!!!)

I remember showing it to the guy I was seeing, then sticking it in my underwear drawer.  Much later, we were sitting having a nice glass of wine at the kitchen table when he suddenly disappeared for ages.  Hearing rustling coming from the bedroom I walked in, to find him trying on my bikini!  It looked quite good on him, and he'll thank me for no longer having the photo to post on here!!!!

BEAUTIFUL FROM THE INSIDE OUT...

Here is the lovely underwear set I bought today, in the Ann Summers sale (that's not me in the photographs, sadly!)

The design is called Klaudia, the bra is £15 and the thong £5.

They both appear to be quite nice in terms of quality.  The old joke used to be, "Don't buy Ann Summers crotchless knickers- buy the normal ones as they'll fall to bits and be crotchless within a week!"   Indeed, I once owned a dress of theirs that had a sequin waistband, and I had to sew the waistband back onto the jersey material of the dress after every wash.  Great to see that the brand has improved its manufacturing standards.

I own these two La Senza leopard print lovelies, with matching thongs.

I think it's very important, for looking and feeling great, to look beautiful from the inside out.  And that means ABSOLUTELY NO big knickers and granny pants.  It's another area in which "sensible" friends have criticized me, extolled the virtues of comfort over style, and called me tacky.
Well, I like being tacky.  I also like being able to give a man a boner at 20 feet, which their old ladies' flesh coloured, greying, Ashley Cole-esque, droopy knickers will never be able to do (unless he's seriously kinky, and that's another story....)