ENEMIES OF THE HEART by REBECCA DEAN

ENEMIES OF THE HEART

BY REBECCA DEAN

THE BLURB:-

Berlin 1909, cousins Zelda and Vicky are about to meet the Remer brothers- an evening that will change their lives forever...

Vicky Hudson is only seventeen when she marries Berthold and moves from her idyllic Yorkshire home to Berlin. Adjusting to her new life isn't easy, not least when she discovers that the Remer family are producing weaponry for the German army. With war looming, Vicky flees with her children, leaving Berlin, and her husband, behind.

Striking dark-haired beauty Zelda Wallace is eager to meld into Berlin's high society and sever all ties with her American identity. But beneath her exotic looks, Zelda holds a deeply hidden secret that if revealed, could threaten everything that she holds dear...

Spanning four decades, from the decadence of early twentieth century Berlin, to the horror and devastation of war, Enemies of the Heart is a sweeping international epic that will hold you mesmerized from the first page until the last.

THE REALITY:-

Gawd, remind me not to read another drama set in wartime for a while, as parts of this novel are just too damn depressing.

But then, so they should be- the layers and layers and layers of suffering that went on during WWII, and how many millions of people that were affected, are something we all should know about. There was never going to be a totally happy ending with a book with this subject matter, yet it was a book that you couldn't put down.

This was beautifully researched and came from the interesting angle of an English family with American connections marrying into a German family and also gaining a Jewish in-law. You were curious as to how the interpersonal relationships would all pan out.

The characters were strong and varied- all of them came across as really human and dimensional, and it was interesting to see how they grew as individuals as the situation in Europe worsened- and worsened.

This novel is a good study of both history and geography, as you find out what life was really like within both Berlin high society, and Yorkshire country society, with great descriptions setting the scenes.

As a bit of a fashionista, Lotti was my favourite fashion character, with her kooky (and quite tarty) style of dressing, and I also liked Zelda, with her exotic looks and carefully put together outfits (trust me to find the sartorial element within such a serious book!)  She was someone who defiantly held her head up high, whatever the situation, and someone who embraced Berlin culture and totally tried to eradicate her former American life. There's nothing wrong with reinventing oneself- we should all do it, when need be, and if you are not happy with a situation, sometimes it's better to let the axe fall upon it and move on.

Like The Women In His Life (Barbara Taylor Bradford), Heart Of The Night (Judith Lennox) and A Week In Paris (Rachel Hore) this book tells it like it is and is all the better for it as wartime is not something you can soft-soap. With as happy an ending as possible (have to say, I always prefer a happy conclusion!) this book comes highly recommended. 

WATERMELON by MARIAN KEYES

WATERMELON

BY MARIAN KEYES

THE BLURB:-

Claire's husband left her the day he was at the birth of their first child- I mean, if he thought it was going to upset him that much he should have just stayed at home- but to rub salt into the episiotomy, he didn't even have the decency to leave her for someone skinny!

He's just absconded, leaving Claire with a newborn baby, a broken heart, two extra stone and an er... birth canal ten times its normal size.

In the absence of any better offers, Claire goes home to her family. To her beautiful sister Helen, her soap-watching mother, her bewildered father. And in a story that's both hilarious and bitter sweet, Claire gets better. A lot better.

In fact so much better that when James slithers back into her life she's in for a bit of a surprise.

THE REALITY:-

After having a bit of a hard time with Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (another Marian Keyes novel) I decided to give Watermelon a go as the blurb made it sound like a much better story, even though I knew it would sit within the same, disliked, annoying, genre of “chick lit.”

This was not bad, and a far easier read. Marian Keyes is definitely a good writer and all the characters here, especially the principal ones, had a lot more depth to them.

Long winded and in need of a little speed reading in parts, it nevertheless painted a very good picture of cohabiting life in London and a rich family life in Dublin.

As a study in a relationship breakdown, you can't help but like Claire and feel for her “if it wasn't so absurd I'd cry rather than laugh" predicament. Being dumped just after having had your first baby cannot be anything apart from heartbreaking, but the writer manages to add depth and humour to the situation and to Claire herself.

It's interesting to see the different stages Claire goes through in her quest for recovery, and it's great to see her winning, with the help of her lovable family and a bit of eye-candy in the shape of Adam.

But it's with the slimeball known as James, the shit who has an affair with a fat neighbour, and then has the audacity to blame Claire for pushing him into it due to her shortcomings, that really allows the writer to shine. Every annoying aspect of him comes across on the page well, and you just want Claire to stick up to this twat- which she eventually does. James is a bully who feeds off other people by undermining them so that they lose their confidence and become dependent on their aggressor for approval. We've all suffered someone like this, at some time or other in my life (I had to put up with someone like this at home, as a child) and ultimately, we end up (hopefully) finding our self esteem and rejecting them.

I'm glad Claire gives James the big fuck off. This is chick lit that's managed to arouse emotions in me, so brownie points to it! 

BEAUTIFUL BOW BANGLE AND EARRINGS...

Here is the wonderful Charlie the Chocolate Magic Monkey (CCMM) doing his modelling stint again...

These little trinkets came from Quiz Clothing in the sale- the bow bracelet was £10, reduced from 15, and the earrings were £5, reduced from £15.

They are just lovely- like my cuddly model!

NETHERWOOD by JANE SANDERSON

NETHERWOOD

BY JANE SANDERSON

THE BLURB:-

Above stairs:- Lord Netherwood keeps his considerable fortune, and the upkeep of Netherwood Hall, ticking over with the profits from his three coal mines. The welfare of his employees isn't a pressing concern- more important is keeping his wife and daughters happy and ensuring the heir to the family wealth, the charming but feckless Tobias, stays out of trouble.

Below stairs:- Eve Williams is the wife of one of Lord Netherwood's employees. When her life is brought crashing down, Eve must look to her own self-sufficiency and talent to provide for her three young children. And it's then that upstairs and downstairs collide in truly dramatic fashion...

THE REALITY:-

This novel was a wonderful and elaborate study of life in a Yorkshire mining town during the reign of Edward VII. Gloriously detailed and inspiring, the writer sketches all the quirks of this life; the job of mining itself, the union movement, and the lives of the miners' wives, with finite precision.

You can't help but get a great feel for all of the characters, as everyone seems real, with good points and shortcomings. There is a good mix here, and not just in the contrast of “upstairs and downstairs”. You can't help but like the super-talented but uncertain Eve and the industrious Anna. And you can't help but hate the smarmy, snake-in-the-grass bully that is pub landlord Harry, and the very singular and nasty Absalom.

Various worlds collide as you learn about Anna's previous, wealthy Russian lifestyle and get taken down to the London house with its set-in-its-ways and almost cruel bunch of staff.

It's lovely to see the upper class- often portrayed as inhumane and selfish- shown as normal, fun people who, despite being against vast union movement are all for the cause of people trying to better themselves. It was also fun to read of the masculine Henrietta's antics (and feel her frustration) and the fornications of naughty Tobias certainly delivered a laugh. Their younger, manipulative, spoilt sister, Isabella, was another unlikeable character, one that needed a good slap.

It was great that Eve's cookery was discussed in detail as that was really what the novel was all about. But I was disappointed when the novel ended abruptly, without really coming to a conclusion. Then I learned that there are, in fact, two sequels to this book. Ah well, so the author is being clever and encouraging readers to fork out on two further books. You know, I might just do that! A charming novel and a bloody good read.

THE MOMENT YOU WERE GONE by NICCI GERRARD

THE MOMENT YOU WERE GONE

BY NICCI GERRARD

THE BLURB:-

Gaby and Nancy were inseparable when they were young. They had no secrets and believed nothing would break up their friendship, even when each found love- Gaby with Connor and Nancy with Gaby's brother Stefan.

Then one day Nancy left Stefan and walked out of all their lives. Gaby has not seen her now for nearly twenty years, and in all that time she has never known where Nancy went or why.

Now long married to Connor, Gaby is preparing to take their only son Ethan to university for the first term when, quite by chance, she spots Nancy on a television report about a flood in a tiny village in Cornwall. And in a recklessly impulsive moment, she turns up on Nancy's doorstep, unannounced.

Nancy's secret explodes into all their lives, wreaking havoc on long-held assumptions and beliefs, and Gaby is forced to examine her own past in order to try to save what is precious to her.

THE REALITY:-

I've read Nicci Gerrard before, but only as part of Nicci French- her writing double act with her husband, Sean French. I remember the crime chiller Killing Me Softly (although the film was a load of unadulterated shite), Beneath The Skin (think that appeared as an okay TV mini-series) and The Memory Game. I maybe also read one or two more, but I can't remember much about them. I do, however, remember that they were good!

This book deals with the subject of middle class affairs, and also the horrible issue of having your friend sleep with you husband. I recently read a book which sprang from a very similar storyline, and the trouble with both novels was that the actual sex bit seemed meaningless and unspectacular. Which is probably the point- that out of something pretty base, a massive trail of destruction can occur.

The characters are vividly described and the “secret” that causes Nancy to disappear does make you want to read on and on until you find out why. Us human beings are curious, nosey sods, which is why intriguing novels like this sell!

I think that from the discovery of the secret though, the book does go a bit downhill. One the suspense has gone, the story, although never boring, does go into freefall, and the fallout doesn't come across as being that massive (another symptom of middle class affairs). I did question whether we needed to know quite so much about Ethan, but then I suppose that the story had to be fleshed out.

I would definitely read Nicci Gerrard again. This book was likeable and sometimes intense, but next time I'm expecting something better!

LUCY SULLIVAN IS GETTING MARRIED by MARIAN KEYES

LUCY SULLIVAN IS GETTING MARRIED

BY MARIAN KEYES

THE BLURB:-

...Or is she? Lucy doesn't even have a boyfriend (to be honest, Lucy isn't that lucky in love). But Mrs. Nolan has read her tarot cards and predicted that Lucy will be walking up the aisle within the year.

Lucy's flatmates are appalled at the news. If Lucy leaves it could disrupt their lovely lifestyle of eating takeaways, drinking too much wine, bringing men home and never hoovering. But Lucy reassures them that she's far too bust arguing with her mother and taking care of her irresponsible father to even think about getting married.

And then there's the small matter of no boyfriend. But then Lucy meets Gus, gorgeous unreliable Gus, and she starts to wonder- could he be the future Mr. Lucy Sullivan? Or could it be Chuck, the handsome American? Or Daniel, the world's biggest flirt? Or even cute Jed, the new boy at work?

Will Lucy find her soulmate? Read this book if you want to laugh, cry and do no work for a week.

THE REALITY:-

I picked this book up in a charity shop, purely because I remember the TV series from the late 1990s/ early 2000s. It was on late at night and I thought it was charming. It starred Letitia Dean, at the time one of my favourite actresses from Eastenders and Sarah Stockbridge, model and muse of the best fashion designer in the world, Vivienne Westwood.

I should have known better than to bother reading the book. It's “chick lit”... yuk, yuk, yuk, BIG yuk.

This is really not my genre. I have never been a girls' girl and have always been a bit of a geezerbird. I cannot stand the cliquey, girly, gossipy, bitchy “all girls together” mentality, and I find it extremely hard to tolerate female insecurities, jealousy and bitchiness.  Okay, I'm not perfect myself, and have been known to behave like these unlikeable cows from time to time.  But if you lay down with dogs then you get fleas.  I have never lived with a gaggle of women (heaven forbid) and don't get obsessed with dating, dieting and shopping. I've never really dated (more “hooked up”) refuse to diet as I'm an ex-bulimic and know where that can lead, and hate shopping with a passion.

There is nothing wrong with this book- Marian Keyes is an acclaimed author, and I can see why. At 740 pages long, I did speed read some sections, but also found some parts endearing. I found the chapters dealing with Lucy's dad really moving, and they hit a raw nerve as I was brought up with alcoholism in the family. And I'm so glad Lucy found her balls and stood up the the user that was Gus and her bully of a flatmate, Karen.

This is a well-written book if you like this sort of thing- unfortunately, I don't.

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL by DOROTHY KOOMSON

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL

BY DOROTHY KOOMSON

THE BLURB:-

Best friends Kamryn Matika and Adele Brannon thought nothing could come between them- until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn's fiancé Nate. Worse still, she got pregnant and had his child. When Kamryn discovered the truth about their betrayal she vowed never to see any of them ever again.

Years later, Kamryn receives a letter from Adele asking her to visit her in hospital. Adele is dying and asks Adele to adopt her daughter Tegan. With a great job and a hectic social life, the last thing Kamryn needs is a five-year-old to disrupt things. Especially not one who reminds her of Nate. But with no one else to take care of Tegan and Adele fading fast, does she have any other choice? So begins a difficult journey that leads Kamryn towards forgiveness, love, responsibility and, ultimately, a better understanding of herself.

THE REALITY:-

This will have you crying intermittently throughout. We've all been hurt and betrayed- and sometimes that action comes as a complete and utter shock, as it does to our Kamryn. But there is more to it than meets the eye, and this novel deals with the reasons behind the infidelity as much as the infidelity itself. The emotions Kamryn has to deal with regarding Adele- her once-best-friend, who is dying, come across in a blur of pain. This character should probably have got to the bottom of her issues with her fiancé, Nate, and Adele a long time ago, for her own sanity.

There are some very real characters in this book, the most awful being Adele's father and stepmother. It makes you question how their abuse towards both Adele and Tegan could go unnoticed in this day and age. It's quite fun watching Kamryn transcend from being a party girl to a mummy, and also a career woman to someone whose work plays second fiddle to her daughter, and it's also interesting looking at her difficult relationship with her new boss, how she deals with it, and how things develop between them.

The fact that Kamryn is a black woman who is trying to adopt a white child is not dealt with in depth, and that's good- I wouldn't have wanted racial differences to become an important part of this book as they don't seem highly relevant to me, whereas Kamryn's love for Tegan is. The story moves towards its conclusion with Nate and Kamryn having the talk that should have occurred WAY back, and dealing with the fall-out. And you are made to face up to facts- that some things can't be repaired, and perhaps weren't meant to be.