BOOK REVIEW: Pleasure Island by Anna Lou Weatherley

Secrets. Scandal. Betrayal. In Paradise, pleasure comes at a dangerously high price...
The host: Martin McKenzie, global billionaire and media mogul. Charismatic, powerful and always gets what he wants.
The location: A breathtakingly beautiful undiscovered island, nestled in the Aegean Sea. Private, secluded and not quite as it seems.
The details: Seven  days of pure hedonism, five-star luxury tailored to every desire, also includes... secrets, lies and infidelity.
As the guests begin to enjoy everything the luxury island has to offer, cracks begin to surface between the three couples. But that is not all. Someone is watching them. When they discover the truth- it will be explosive in more ways than they can ever imagine. 

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 340

Pleasure Island by Anna Lou Weatherley is such a fun read. It really reminded me of books I have read by Victoria Fox; it is a perfect holiday read as it will keep you entertained from start to finish.
Martin McKenzie is a billionaire and media mogul. Hugely successful but also hugely disliked; he rarely does something unless it will benefit himself. So it comes as a surprise when he invites three couples to Pleasure Island for an all expenses paid trip of utter luxury and hedonism. All three couples are obviously wary but how will they react when they discover that they are being watched and what will the consequences of that be?
Pleasure Island has a very good pace, I was so shocked by the events of the first few chapters that I just had to keep on reading. I think the shock at the start of the book makes it stand out from others in this genre. I was not expecting it at all and it added another element to the book.
Pleasure Island is heavily concerned with secrets, scandals and betrayal so many of the characters are not very nice. Often though, I find that villains are usually the more interesting characters and Pleasure Island definitely has it's fair share.
Anna Lou Weatherley has written a brilliantly engaging and entertaining book which looks at the lengths people will go to in order to achieve fame and success. Pleasure Island will shock and surprise you and I recommend you read it, another great book from Bookouture.

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

One abandoned baby. Two sisters with a secret. One chance to rewrite the past.
Over seventy years have passed since sisters Rose and Connie Doughty found an abandoned baby near their home on the island of Scribbly Gum. With no one to take care of it, Rose and Connie took the baby in as their own.
Since then the 'Munro Baby Mystery' has brought fame and fortune, putting Scribbly Gum on the tourist map, especially for the Island's annual celebration.
But now, with Connie dead and outsider Sophie Honeywell about to move into her home, Rose beings to wonder if they made the right decision all those years ago. How much longer can they cover up the lie that has sustained their community for generations? And what other secrets are about to be revealed?

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 416

Liane Moriarty is fast becoming the Queen of secrets and lies! All of her books revolve around characters keeping information from each other or bending the truth in some way and The Last Anniversary is no exception.
Sister's Connie and Rose are at the centre of 'The Munro Baby Mystery' the sister's found Alice and Jack Munro's house abandoned and their tiny baby sleeping in the crib. Nobody came forward to claim her so they brought Baby Enigma up as their own.
The sisters and Enigma's children and grandchildren all live in Scribbly Gum Island which has become a very lucrative tourist spot due to the Munro mystery.
It is all thrown into disarray when Connie dies; she leaves her house to Sophie Honeywell, a complete outsider but one who is fascinated by the Island's secrets. Rose, the sister left behind is no longer constrained by Connie to keep the secrets that have been fuelling the island for over seventy years. Rose is tired of the lies but how will the family react to her revelations?
Liane Moriarty is fabulous at drawing the reader into the story from the very beginning. The Last Anniversary is very clever in the way it has a very subtle  but sinister undertone running through it. You know that this twee little island run by two twee little old ladies is not all it seems and then you are intrigued to find out the truth. Moriarty throws in several twists at the end, making this a very memorable book.
The Last Anniversary has been a great start to my reading in the New Year. I very much enjoyed the mystery element of the book and I felt that Liane Moriarty looked at some particularly interesting and serious ideas. I hope that this author has a new book out soon and she just gets better and better.

Many thanks to Katie at Penguin for sending me a copy of the book to review, The Last Anniversary is out now. 

BOOK REVIEW: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

A whirlwind romance.
A perfect marriage.
Hannah Reilly has seized her chance at happiness. Until the day her husband doesn't come home...
Can you ever really know what happened before you met?

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 276

This book is very difficult to review without giving the plot away but I will try my best.
Hannah Reilly married Mark and has moved back to the UK from New York after a whirlw
ind romance. She is madly in love and settling into her new role until Mark doesn't come home. He was supposed to be in New York but his assistant thought he had taken Hannah to Rome. Can you really trust someone you've not known long, even if he is your husband?
Before We Met took me a little while to get into but the plot was well thought out and the characters very believable, especially Hannah's husband Mark. I felt that Hannah was very closed off as a character but as I got to the end of the book I felt that it explained her relationship with Mark and how she reacted to him.
The last few chapters were gripping and there were a few surprises thrown in to. Lucie Whitehouse has built up a huge amount of tension , I was almost pleased that the book finished as I felt as though I was holding my breath.
If you're a fan of Lucie Whitehouse's books then I'm sure you will enjoy this one. Before We Met is quite an edgy read and poses a lot of questions about the people we love.

Book Review: Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent

Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. He lives a life of enviable privilege and ease with his wife, Alice. Enviable until, one evening after dinner, Oliver attacks Alice so viciously that he beats her into a coma.
Oliver is stunned by his own actions. In the aftermath, as everyone tries to make sense of this astonishing act of savagery, he tells his story. So do those whose paths he has crossed over five decades.
What unfolds is both tragic and monstrous, a story of shame, envy, breath taking deception and masterful manipulation.
Only Oliver knows what he had to do to get the life he craved and to which he felt entitled. But even he is in for a shock when the past finally catches up with him. 

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 231

Unravelling Oliver was a particularly interesting read. Oliver Ryan is a shocking character and I know that I will be thinking about this book for a long time. The opening line of the book immediately grabs you and draws you into the story:

I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.

At this point we don't know Oliver or Alice so you have no idea what has happened or why. The rest of the book explores Oliver's character an why he h
as physically assaulted his wife.
Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective, the only character we don't hear from is Alice. I loved this style of narration as it slowly built up a picture of Oliver and the monstrous acts he had committed throughout his life. I didn't feel that I came to any real conclusions about Oliver, he clearly suffered a loveless childhood but I didn't necessarily feel that this warranted his treatment of others, especially Alice.
Liz Nugent tells her story beautifully, it felt like quite a traditional story. She subtly built it up layer by layer; it felt effortless and it was very easy to immerse yourself in the tale.
Unravelling Oliver is an accomplished debut novel, Liz Nugent's writing is beautiful and captivating and I hope there will be more.

Many thanks to Penguin for sending me a copy of this book to review. 

Book Review: Someday I'll Find You by Richard Madeley

James Blackwell is handsome, sexy, with an element of mystery about him. He's a fighter pilot- every girl's dream. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother John first introduces them. They marry in haste, one summer morning in 1940, and Diana is still wearing her wedding dress when her new husband and John are summoned back to base to fly their next, terrifying mission.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists; James, that very day is show down over Northern France. Diana is left a widow- and pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, living in the South of France with her new husband and a daughter who will never know her real father. Diana is content and flourishing in the Provençal sunshine. Until one morning, sipping her coffee in the town square, she hears something that makes her blood run cold: the voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her, and from whom there can only be one means of escape...

Someday I'll Find You is a brilliant fictional debut from Richard Madeley. I don't read many books by male authors but I am a big fan of Richard and Judy so I was intrigued.
Diana Arnold is drawn to James Blackwell when they are introduced by her brother who is in the same flying squadron. They have a whirlwind romance and marry in the summer of 1940. However, fate intervenes  and James is shot down on their wedding night. Diana finds herself a pregnant widow, one of many women in that situation at the time. Ten years later, Diana is living in the South of France with her new husband. One morning in the village square she hears the voice of James Blackwell, but he died more than a decade ago, if not then where has he been all this time?
I was completely riveted by the story as it unfolded. Richard Madeley jumps back between the past and the present. We learn about how Diana and James met and Diana's life after the war. James really is a horrible character; Richard Madeley has created such an interesting villain. Diana's initial excitement at hearing his voice again soon turns to disbelief  as to how she could ever have married and lo
ved such a man.
I enjoyed Madeley's writing style, his chapters are short and snappy and I read this book over a couple of days, really struggling to put it down on several occasions.
Someday I'll Find You is a refreshing take on a classic World War II love story; Richard Madeley questions how you would feel if your loved ones did come back from the dead, especially if you don't really know the true person.
I will definitely read Richard Madeley's books in the future, he has a real knack for story-telling and I highly recommend this book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Pages: 416

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now!

Book Review: The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison

Todd and Jodie have been together for more than twenty years. They are both aware their world is in  crisis, though neither is willing to admit it.
Todd is living a dual existence, while Jodie is living in denial. But she also likes to settle scores. When it becomes clear their affluent Chicago lifestyle could disintegrate at any moment, Jodie knows everything is at stake. It's only now she will discover how much she's truly capable of...

The Silent Wife is being talked about a lot and after reading it, I can see why.
The beginning feels a little slow but once I had got into the book I could see how clever the beginning was. A.S.A. Harrison paints Todd and Jodie's domestic life in great detail. As we learn of Todd's infidelity you can understand why he has strayed yet also why he doesn't want to lose everything he already has.
Jodie is a fascinating character, she is very cold and calculated and although we learn a lot about her, I can't say that I grew to like her in any way. We learn of Jodie's past through the transcriptions of her therapy sessions. I don't this necessarily explains Jodie's behaviour though. I was left wondering if Jodie really was in control of her actions.
I loved the atmosphere that A.S.A Harrison creates in the book. There is an impending sense that something awful is going to happen, I couldn't stop reading as I needed to know how events would unfold.
The Silent Wife swaps between the perspectives of Jodie and Todd. Todd's narration felt a little more helpless though. His behaviour is inexcusable but as a reader I saw him as being quite vulnerable. He is going about his daily life with no idea as to what Jodie is thinking and working herself up to; you almost want to warn him to watch his back.
The Silent Wife is such an interesting read, I felt that it really explored the nature of relationships; the roles we fulfil and what we are capable of when hurt by those we love. I think that A.S.A Harrison has written a strong, psychological thriller. It's a great legacy but also a great shame that this will be her only book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Pages: 384

Publisher: Headline

Many thanks to the lovely Ben at Headline Review for sending me a copy of this book, The Silent Wife is out now.

Book Review: The Accidental Husband by Jane Green

Maggie and Sylvie are perfect strangers: two very different women, living very different lives on opposite coasts. But they share more in common than they could ever imagine.
Both women have beautiful children on the verge of flying the nest, the home they worked hard to build and always longed for, and a handsome and devoted husband that they can't believe belongs to them. Both women think their lives are seamlessly secure, but they couldn't be more wrong...
For each is about to discover a secret that will shake their world to the very core, throwing into doubt everything they ever thought they knew, and bringing Maggie and Sylvie together in the most unexpected way.

The Accidental Husband by Jane Green is one of my favourite books of 2013 so far! I literally flew through it, completely gripped by the story and characters.
I don't want to spoil the plot so I shall try and discuss the plot without giving too much away. Sylvie and Maggie live two very different lives on the opposite coasts of America. Sylvie has her teenage daughter Evie from her first marriage which ended tragically with her husband's death. Sylvie's new husband travels a lot with work so she's trying to keep herself busy as she knows things will be a lot quieter when Evie leaves for university. She also begins to question why Mark has to travel so much, surely he could be at home a lot more?
Maggie is the perfect trophy wife, everything about her is immaculate; her appearance, her home, her marriage, or so she thought. She has three children and enough money in the bank to buy whatever she wants. Her whole world is about appearances so when it all comes crashing down, she very quickly finds out who her real friends are.
Jane Green's story telling captured me from the very beginning. I quickly worked out the connection between Sylvie and Maggie but I wasn't disappointed as I was intrigued as to how they would find out and more importantly, what they would do once they kne
w.
The book is mainly written from Maggie and Sylvie's perspectives with some input from other characters towards the end. This made the book very personal and I quickly got a good picture of these two women.
I took to the character of Sylvie more but I think that is because she is more independent than Maggie and not defined by her marriage. Maggie on the other hand was exactly the kind of woman I can't stand, she focuses on how everything appears rather than appreciating the important things in life. Maggie is the character who changes the most and I did like her more towards the end of the book but I did wonder if she would have just carried on as she was if she hadn't discovered her husband's secret?
The storyline and character that really got to me was Sylvie's daughter Evie. She is already struggling before everything happens but once the secret is out, she completely falls apart. What started as a but to lose a little bit of weight has developed into a full blown eating disorder. I thought that Jane Green handeld this issue so well. I have experience of this myself and I think she really showed the control element of an eating disorder plus the reality that only the individual can get themselves back on track. Sylvie is hugely supportive to Evie but until she wants to be well again, there is not much that she can do. Towards the end of the book, this storyline had me in tears and I have huge admiration for Jane Green and the way she presented it.
The Accidental Husband is a truly brilliant read. The characters and story lines had a depth that I wasn't really expecting. I'm embarrassed to admit that this is the first book by Jane Green that I have read but I shall definitely be checking out her back catalogue and future releases.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely Katie at Penguin for sending me a copy of this book to review, The Accidental Husband is out now!

Book Review: Husband, Missing by Polly Williams

When you know, you know.
This is what Gina told friends when she married Rex six months after meeting him. Passionately in love, Gina feels like the luckiest woman on the planet.
Until Rex vanishes without a trace on holiday abroad. Her dream new marriage slipping into a nightmare, Gina never wavers in her belief that he's alive. That she'll find him. When her frantic search unearths troubling secrets from Rex's past, Gina begins to questions how well she really knows her beloved husband. But sometimes when all seems lost, unexpected, wonderful things are found...

I have read and very much enjoyed Polly Williams' last two books, It Happened One Summer and The Angel at No. 33 but I think that this is her best yet. I read Husband, Missing in just over a day, I was completely addicted to the story and characters.
Gina married Rex just six months after meeting him, believing herself and having to convince others that he was definitely the one. She is passionately in love with her new husband and so is completely devastated when she hears that he has disappeared whilst on a lad's holiday. All Gina knows is that Rex decided to go windsurfing in the early hours of the morning and didn't return. Whilst there is no body, Gina refuses to believe that her husband is dead ev
en though she is fully aware that her friends and family have already begun mourning.
Gina considers herself to be Rex's soul mate but as she begins looking in to their affairs and asking questions, she begins to wonder who exactly she was married to. More and more people come forward with a very different description of Rex's character than the one she knows, she still wants his back but wonders if she had the real Rex in her life?
Through all of this turmoil, Gina relies heavily on Rex's younger brother, Jake. Rex had always kept him at arms length but he does nothing but care for Gina, She knows he believes that Rex is alive too and is one of the few who will still help her look for him. Gina is confused by her relationship with Jake too, is it right to feel so close to Rex's brother and why did Rex keep such a distance from him?
As I said, I have really enjoyed Polly Williams last two books but Husband, Missing felt slightly different; perhaps slightly darker and a little more grown up. The author makes you feel like you are there in the situation with the characters which is no easy feat. I was completely gripped by Gina's situation from the start but as she discovered more and more about Rex, I just couldn't put the book down, I had to know what would happen next.
Husband, Missing is a fantastic read, the story has terrific pace and you will now be able to stop turning the pages, I highly recommend it.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely Caitlin at Headline Review for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now.

Book Review: The Light Behind the Window by Lucinda Riley

The Present
Emilie de la Martinieres has always fought against her aristocratic background, but after the death of her glamorous, distant mother, she finds herself alone in the world and sole inheritor of her grand childhood home in the South of France. An old notebook of poems leads her in search of the mysterious and beautiful Sophia, whose tragic love affair changed the course of her family history. As Emilie unravels the story, she too embarks on her own journey of discovery, realising that the chateau may provide clues to her own difficult past and finally unlock the future.
The Past
London 1943. A young office clerk, Constance Carruthers is drafted in the SOE, arriving in occupied Paris during the climax of the conflict. Separated from her contact in her very first hours in France, she stumbles in to the heart of a wealthy family who are caught up in a deadly game of secrets and lies. Forced to surrender her identity and all ties to her homeland and her beloved husband, Constance finds herself drawn into a complex web of deception, the repercussions of which will affect generations to come. 

I have read and enjoyed all of Lucinda Riley's books but in my opinion The Light Behind the Window is by far her best.
At 529 pages, it is quite a lengthy read but I flew through it. I was entertained and captivated by the story from the very beginning, right until the final page.
I had become so interested in the characters that I really did not want their story to end.
The story is split between the present and the past  but the two are expertly woven  together. Constance Carruthers is an office clerk in 1943, her husband Lawrence is missing in action so when she is called to serve her country by travelling to Paris, she almost has nothing to lose. However, Connie's mission does not go to plan and instead she becomes embroiled in the lives of the aristocratic de la Martinieres family. They offer her refuge in Paris but they also change the course of her and her family's lives forever.
Meanwhile in the present day, Emilie de la Martinieres has just lost her mother. She was a very distant figure in her life and so Emilie is left confused about her feelings over her death. Emilie's life is about to change too as she is the sole heir of the Martiniere's fortune and estate. She has always fought against her background but now she has to face up to her family's tremendous history and decide how and if she will preserve it for the future. Emilie meets Sebastian at this time and he is eager to help her organise the estate. Can she  trust him, is it finally time to allow someone in to her life to love her properly?
I don't think I will be able to do this book justice in my review. I found both stories so interesting and I loved the way in which they gradually came together and interlinked. I enjoyed the past and the present aspects of the book equally. Emilie's story reminded me a little of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. She has to question everything and everyone around her as it is not just herself that she has to protect but also her family's legacy.
The past aspect of the book was brilliant, Lucinda Riley explored and captured war time Paris and I think she showed just how far people were prepared to go in order to protect their country. I think a lot of books that discuss the war focus on those fighting at the front line but The Light Behind the Window highlights the many men and women who risked everything for little or no recognition.
Lucinda Riley has written a fabulous book. Her stories are always captivating and intricate with characters that you come to know and believe in. I highly recommend The Light Behind the Window but make sure that you have some spare time as you will not want to stop reading once you have begun.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of the book to review.

Book Review: The First Time I Saw Your Face by Hazel Osmond

Jennifer had it all. But a terrible accident has taken almost everything. Moving back home, her future isn't looking too bright. Until she meets Mack.
Sexy, dishevelled and just a little clumsy, he starts to make her believe that she can move on from the past and embrace life all over again. But he has a secret he'd do anything to protect and he'll have to betray her to keep it...

The First Time I Saw Your Face explores what happens when you betray those that you love. Mack Stone is a freelance journalist, he is blackmailed into taking on a job which will mean him betraying someone in the worst possible way.
Mack travels to Northumberland under the guise of Matt Harper, a writer writer working on a new book about walking in the area. His real aim is to befriend Jennifer Roseby; she is the cousin of Cressida Chartwell, a  Hollywood starlet. Mack needs to gain Jennifer's trust in order to find out who Cressida is sleeping with in America. Gaining Jennifer's trust will not be easy. Mack was not informed about her accident, a car accident that has disfigured her face and stripped her of any confidence. Mack did not want to take the job in the first place but he has no choice. However, he had no idea that he would fall in love with Jennifer and still have to betray her.
This book is 501 pages long but I read it very quickly. The book is clearly set out to deal with Mack being given the job, carrying it out and falling in love with Jennifer and then finally, the aftermath and consequences of his betrayal.
What Mack does is truly horrible but I did have sympathy for him. I don't think he would have taken the job on unless he had been blackmailed and he really didn't expect to fall for Jennifer. Regardless of what he has done in the past, Mack is clearly a good guy and he is completely devastated to hurt those close to him. Jennifer is quite a complex character, the injuries she sustained in the accident have obviously changed her life. But her interactions with Mack show us glimpses of the woman she used to be. They are only brief glimpses but Jen cannot believe how different he makes her feel, which makes his duplicity even worse.
Hazel Osmond gives you a lot to think about and she keeps you guessing right to the very end as to whether Jennifer will be able to forgive Mack.
As I said, I did read this book very quickly, there was a lot going on to keep me interested. You want to know how Mack will gain Jennifer's trust, will she allow him in, can he really betray someone he has fallen in love with, will Jen ever be able to forgive Mack and face the world again?
The First Time I Saw Your Face is a book that I would highly recommend.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Quercus for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now!