Love For Books

No More Tomorrows: The Compelling True Story of an Innocent Woman Sentenced to Twenty Years in a Hellhole Bali Prison by Shapelle Corby,Kathryn Bonella

It was supposed to be a two-week holiday where they would celebrate her sister’s birthday, but for Schapelle Corby it ended up complete nightmare. She was arrested at Denpasar airport after security found marijuana in her luggage. More than four kilograms of marijuana had been planted in her luggage after she had checked it in; Schapelle was forced to face the terrifying consequences of somebody else’s crime in a country where the penalties for drug smuggling are among the harshest in the world. Schapelle’s trial and then conviction was one of the biggest news stories of the decade. Her family watched in horror when she was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Despite the tremendous media coverage the case had, Shapelle’s voice was never properly heard. In this compelling book, Sharpelle is able to tell her own story, where she was one minute returning from a holiday and the next and she was thrown in a smelly police cell. She tells us how she learnt to survive in the horrific conditions and violence in an Indonesian jail.

A terrible shocking story that is hard to believe can happen to someone so normal. Once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down its very moving and I would highly recommend.

The book thief by Marcus Zusak

Its 1939 in Nazi Germany and the whole country is holding its breath. Death is everywhere. A nine year old girl named Liesel, lives on Himmel Street with a foster family. Her parents were taken away to a concentration camp. Little Liesel steals books. This book is her story and the other people of her street. There is some important information that you should know when reading this book- the story is narrated by death, which will visit three times during the book.

When I first started reading this book it didn’t really make much sense to me and I was tempted to just give up and read another book. I kept on reading a bit further and eventually I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. The author writes in a brilliant way telling you the ending but not giving anything away. Little Liesel lives in such terrible conditions but is so innocent she is still so happy. I loved how death tells the story in this book. It is an excellent read which I would highly recommend, if you do read it make sure that you don’t give up at the start as you will soon be gripped.

A daughters journey by Lyn Andrews

Little Angela O’Rourke was just six years old when her mother and father hand her over to her auntie and uncle who live in a far away village. It was normal practice in Ireland the 1950’s for big families who don’t have any money, but this didn’t make it any easier for Angela. Angela just took it as meaning that her parents did not love her any more.

She led a comfortable life in her new home until she was sixteen, when her uncle starts drinking a lot and starts to take an unhealthy interest in her; Angela has to get out as it is UN safe for her to live there anymore. It’s now the early 1960’s, Angela then moves to Liverpool to train to be a nurse, but not for long as she decides to join the exciting world of fashion design and becomes very successful. After a disastrous love affair the pain is just too much for her and she heads back home to Ireland where her aunt has just passed away.
As Angela is sorting through all the paper work she makes a shocking discovery, from which she learns the truth about her past.

 A lovely read that I would definitely recommend.

Call Me Elizabeth by Dawn Annandale

When Dawn Annandale’s marriage began to fall apart and she was faced with overwhelming debts she was determined that her children would not suffer. She had no family to turn to for help , after searching desperately for ways to make money she decided to become an escort. Dawn is bright and well educated but in a desperate situation she felt she had to do this in order to keep her children from suffering.

This book shows how many other women are in the same situation with no one to turn to they feel their only option is the sex industry.

It’s a very honest book ,which in parts is funny ,frightening and sad. It’s a fascinating read . Some people may judge the author, as it’s hard to understand if you’re not in the same situation yourself. I see Dawn as a woman that wants to make sure her children do not do without because her past mistakes.
 
I borrowed this book from my friend as she couldn’t put it down. This book really impressed me and I couldn’t put it down either! It shows just how much a woman will sacrifice for her children. A very memorable read.

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Gretchen Lowell is beautiful and also a serial killer! When she captured her previous victim who was the  man in charge of finding her; she soon realised who really was in control of the investigation. So why on earth  , after several days of terrifying mental and physical torture, did she then set free Detective Archie Sheridan from close to death and then hand herself in? Archie thought that he saw a bit of emotion in her eyes, but he blinked and then it was gone. ‘Whatever you think this is going to be like,’ she whispers, ‘it’s going to be worse.’
 
Two years later, Archie returned to head the search for another killer, these killers’ attacks on young girls had left the city of Portland angry and shocked. Working with reporter Susan Ward who is young and vulnerable, he knows that only one person can really help him to get inside the mind of this psychopath killer. But the problem is, can he manage finally to confront the past and all the demons without being totally consumed by them.

An excellent read very dark and disturbing, I found it very hard to put the book down as it was so addictive

James Long

Until the end of the 1980’s James Long was a BBC TV news correspondent. After two years of running an international TV station from Zurich, he returned back to England where he could concentrate on writing, which was always his first love. He first wrote four thrillers, he then returned to a story he had begun writing many years previously and which became Ferney. The story was originally born from his disappointment at being unable to purchase an old run down cottage which he had found near the village of Penselwood this cottage then became the centre of the book. Lots more books followed, which included two which were written under the pseudonym ‘Will Davenport.’ He later moved onto historical non-fiction in 2007 with The Plot against Pepys, which he co-wrote with his eldest son, Ben. Since then, he has co-written a play with his middle son, Harry.
James lives with his wife, Annie and daughter Matilda in Totnes, Devon. His interests vary from archaeology to motor racing. He is also actively involved in the creative writing charity, the Arvon Foundation he tutors from sometimes on Arvon courses. He is also a patron and adviser to the Dartington Literary Festival, ‘Ways with Words.’

River Run Deep by rachael Treasure

When Rebecca has an awful argument with her father over the family property she throws her things into the back of her car and travels north with just her sheepdogs for company. She lands the job of a trainee farmhand which takes her into a different world, one which is full of country dances, alcohol and boys. When she finally settles down to study at agricultural college, her life is then turned upside down by the very good-looking, Charlie Lewis who is also a drunken party animal.

She now has some very important decisions to make which will change the course of her life, should she choose the life of farming in vast open fields with the handsome Charlie, or should she return home to her roots to her family, the mountains and help fight for the land and the river that she dearly cares about.

When tragedy strikes and shatters her world Rebecca somehow finds the courage and strength which she didn’t know existed in her.

A fabulous book which is packed full of love, heartbreak and adventure. A really good read which I enjoyed from start to finish. The author is from Australia and was also a farm hand.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller

I found this book to be very inspiring and compelling; it is an unforgettable first novel that definitely pulls on your heart strings. The writing is of real quality, everything just seems to fit with not even a single word out of place. The plot is excellent it’s very quirky with stylish wit and loads of emotional ups and downs; it’s one of those books than you wish would never end. Pippa is an unforgettable woman and the flashbacks to her less than ordinary childhood are cleverly intertwined with her life now with an elderly husband, 30 years her senior, who she is utterly devoted to.

Pippa Lee was always the devoted wife of a fabulous man who is thirty years older than her, she is the very proud mother of her twins whom are now grown up, and she is adored by her friends and her neighbours. Pippa was always happy and content with her life, but she now sees her life beginning to unravel before her. Amongst the lawnmowers and coffee mornings, she starts wondering, how she found herself living this life in this place. A lovely book, very well written for a debut novel. I loved it and would definitely recommend it.

The Pirate’s Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

This book an adventure and love story rolled into one. It’s very well balanced between narrative, description and comment with an interesting tale set around the history of Jamaica. It tells the story of the illegitimate child of Errol Flynn. It is very glamorous and has some real character appearances (Noel Coward, Princess Margaret). It follows three different generations of women all born into the same family. Its starts from the early 1940s and goes right up to the present day but mainly it are set around the era which led up to Jamaica’s independence. Using the historical events as a framework for the story in a captivating, compulsive read with lots of characters and colour to it.
In 1946, Erroll Flynn was washed ashore in Jamaica, where he decided to start a new life. Ida Joseph was a local girl who had set her heart on meeting the legendary swashbuckler. Their meeting is one that will change the course of Ida’s life forever.

THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER is an excellent read; it’s an unforgettable account of love and adventure, of the collision between two different worlds -Jamaica and Hollywood – and of a mother and her daughter’s battle to protect an extraordinary legacy.