The Kiwi Book Chick

Just What kind of Mother Are You?

By Paula Daly

Book summery

A searing and sinister thriller for readers who liked Gone Girl. What if your best friend's child disappears? And it was all your fault. A searing and sinister thriller for readers who liked Gone Girl.What if your best friend's child disappears? And it was all your fault. This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto, overwhelmed working mother of three, one freezing December in the English Lake District. She takes her eye off the ball for just a moment and her whole world descends into the stuff of nightmares. Because, not only is thirteen-year-old Lucinda missing, and not only is it all Lisa's fault, but she's the second teenage girl to disappear within this small tightknit community over two weeks. The first girl turned up stripped bare, dumped on a busy high street, after suffering from a terrifying ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake and after being publicly blamed by Lucinda's family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. But as she begins peeling away the layers surrounding Lucinda's disappearance, Lisa learns that the small, posh, quiet town she lives in isn't what she thought it was, and her friends may not be who they appear, either.

Review

I was very pleasantly surprised that Just What Kind of a Mother Are You? it was not your normal run of the mill thriller. This contemporary fiction explores the tempestuous relationship between a mother and her daughter and throws in a measure of suspense. Lisa is an exhausted mother of three.

One day she takes her eye off the ball and completely forgets that her 13 year old daughter's friend was supposed to sleep over. That is until she finds out the girl has gone missing. Worse is the knowledge that it happened on her watch, shes living every parents worst nightmare, and shes responsible. To make things worse, there is a rapist on the loose who is targeting young girls. Lisa as the main character is empathic and interesting. Her job running a dog re-homing charity is one which is already a full-time occupation that stretches past her contracted hours. Lisa's typical day will ring bells with many women who are trying to find the elusive work/home balance.

This book had a similar feel to Gone Girl, in that I couldn't put it down, it was an epic story that would make a great movie. it was a real page turner that had me hooked with its snappy dialogue and suspense. Highly recommended. 4.5 Stars

Flame Tree Hill
By Mandy Magro

Summery courtesy of goodreads.com
Kirsty Mitchell is ready to come home. After a tragic accident that left her scarred, she fled overseas. Now, three years later, she’s finally returning to Flame Tree Hill, her beloved family farm.
But at twenty-five Kirsty isn’t prepared for the terrifying new
challenge ahead: breast cancer.Kirsty’s never been a quitter and that’s not about to change. But can her budding romance with local vet Aden bear the strain?
As she battles with chemotherapy and as her past threatens to
overwhelm her, Kirsty realises you can never take anything – or
anyone – for granted. Drawing strength from her family and the
beauty of Far North Queensland, Kirsty finally understands what
she must do.
A lyrical and heartwarming testament to the power of love – and forgiveness.

Review
Congratulations to Mandy Magro on successfully tackling the delicate subject of breast cancer and adding a heart wrenching story that had me hooked from the first chapter, due to its subtle intensity and emotions it invoked. I laughed, I cried and was thoroughly swept away by Adan and Kirsty's story.

Adan - what a man he had strength, he was thoughtful and supplied Kirsty with support, love and the knowledge that he had her back no matter what the outcome. Kirsty - is a fighter, but struggles with her emotions and illness ( and who can blame her) , I loved watching her grow in her confidence and come to realizations that love and life are worth fighting for.
I'd never read Mandy Magro before but she charmed me with her writing and has made me a fan.
Highly recommended.
4.5 Stars

Riddle in Stone

By Robert Evert

Book summery Long after the last of the great heroes of old has died, the Undead King is stirring again, amassing a goblin horde ready to sweep out of the mountains and destroy all of humanity. The only thing preventing utter annihilation is Edmund—a stuttering librarian who knows a secret, a secret that every thief, assassin, and king would kill to have. Fleeing from relentless peril, Edmund wages a solitary battle against an ancient evil. But how can one man succeed when so many before him have failed?

Review

This book surprised me I loved that our hero Edmund, was an overweight, middle-aged stuttering librarian, it made him a more believable and interesting. Edmund yearns for adventure and after reading the kings proclamation, decides that he, with his vast knowledge, is the right person for such a quest. Unfortunately Edmund is captured by goblins,who torture him and hold him prisoner. Most of this book deals with Edmund's incarceration and torture and his various attempts to escape, all while trying or not trying to solve the riddle carved into the wall of a tower. Edmund and a loyal group of friends,journey together,but ultimately, Edmund is forced to rely on himself to survive and to help those he can, with his wits and a little bit of magic and a huge amount of determination.

3.5 stars

Riddle in Stone By Robert Evert Book summery Long after the last of the great heroes of old has died, the Undead King is stirring again, amassing a goblin horde ready to sweep out of the mountains and destroy all of humanity. The only thing preventing utter annihilation is Edmund—a stuttering librarian who knows a secret, a secret that every thief, assassin, and king would kill to have. Fleeing from relentless peril, Edmund wages a solitary battle against an ancient evil. But how can one man succeed when so many before him have failed? Review This book surprised me I loved that our hero Edmund, was an overweight, middle-aged stuttering librarian, it made him a more believable and interesting. Edmund yearns for adventure and after reading the kings proclamation, decides that he, with his vast knowledge, is the right person for such a quest. Unfortunately Edmund is captured by goblins,who torture him and hold him prisoner. Most of this book deals with Edmund's incarceration and torture and his various attempts to escape, all while trying or not trying to solve the riddle carved into the wall of a tower. Edmund and a loyal group of friends,journey together,but ultimately, Edmund is forced to rely on himself to survive and to help those he can, with his wits and a little bit of magic and a huge amount of determination. 3.5 stars(

The Silver Sword By Ian Serraillier Book summery In 1942 Warsaw, World War II is raging, and people live in fear from day to day. Ruth, Bronia, and Edek have to fend for themselves when both of their parents are taken by the Nazis. Can they survive? A gripping story based on true accounts. Review This book was one of my favorites when I was a child.I recently saw it in a book store and bought it for my daughter, I reread it and was transported to war torn Poland where a ragtag group of children outwitted German soldiers in a quest to be reunited with their parents. Ian Serraillier does a masterful job of transporting young readers through one of histories darkest hours in a way that provides them with knowledge and understanding.

Garden of Stones By Sophie Littlefield Book Summery This author weaves a powerful tale of stolen innocence and survival that echoes through generations, reverberating between mothers and daughters. It is a moving chronicle of injustice, triumph and the unspeakable acts we commit in the name of love. Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the Japanese bomb the American fleet anchored at Pearl Harbour. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are taken from their home, with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans-and entered in the Manzanar prison camp. Lucy and Miyako endure blistering heat and harsh living conditions within the camp. Where corruption is rampant and day to day life is a mission for Manzanar to protect her daughter. In Manzanar Lucy witnesses great brutality and prejudice. She bears witness to the rape and continued sexual abuse of her mother, not to mention the sexual abuse of her only friend, sixteen year-old Jessie, at the hands of the men in charge at the camp. She also slowly watches her mother fall into deep depression that results in a horrible accident that will scar Lucy for life, a murder, and then her mother's suicide. With the help of a nun, Lucy is eventually able to leave Manzanar before the war ends. She is given a job as a maid at a small hotel, where she eventually befriends the cook and her family, as well as the owner of the hotel, an injured war veteran, Garvey. Fast forward to 1978 and Lucy's daughter, Patty, is preparing to get married. Days before the wedding is to occur, Lucy is being questioned and investigated as the prime suspect in a murder case. The murder victim just so happens to be one of the men that had been charged with overseeing Manzanar. Patty Takeda is already on edge about the wedding and she knows that her mother is keeping secrets. Will she be able to uncover those secrets in time to save her mother or will those secrets destroy what little peace of mind Lucy has obtained since 1944? This remarkable storyteller has created characters and a story that drew me in from the very beginning. Lucy’s story is told in flashbacks, alternating between 1943-1944 and 1978. Lucy Takeda is a victim of circumstance, but she overcomes her adversity to make a life for herself and her child. Her physical and emotional scars are a testimony to her suffering during her lifetime. If you enjoy historical dramas this will not disappoint, with suspense and hint of romance, Garden of Stones is a must read. Read an excerpt: http://www.sophielittlefield.com/gard... 4 stars

The Rosie Project By Graeme Simsion Book summery “I am thirty-nine years old; single, intelligent, fit, in excellent health and I have a relatively high status and above-average income as an associate professor. Logically, I should be attractive to a wide range of women. In the animal kingdom, I would succeed in reproducing. However, there is something about me that women find unappealing. I have never found it easy to make friends, and it seems that the deficiencies that caused this problem have also affected my attempts at romantic relationships. The Apricot Ice-cream Disaster is a good example.” These are the words of Don Tillman, an odd, charming, highly successful Professor of Genetics, whose long history of ‘not fitting in’ has convinced him that he is not wired for romance. But at weekly dinners with his elderly neighbor and valued new friend, Daphne (Don can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand), she convinces him to re-evaluate his prospects. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he embarks upon The Wife Project, designing a questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner: a punctual, non-drinking, non-smoking female who will fit in with his regimented lifestyle. When Rosie appears on the scene, it is clear that she fits none of his selection criteria: a spontaneous, outspoken barmaid who smokes and curses, and simply adjusts the time on Don’s clock when he complains that they have fallen off his carefully planned schedule. Yet an unlikely partnership blooms when Don agrees to help Rosie search for her biological father. As Rosie pushes Don out of his comfort zone again and again, he finds to his surprise that he may be having fun. But can a real relationship take root if Don isn’t wired to feel emotion like everyone else? Graeme Simsion’s moving and comic novel, sustained by a remarkable narrative voice, takes the reader on an immensely satisfying journey as Don seeks to see more within himself than he ever thought was possible. Review Graeme Simsion has produced a book unlike anything I've ever read before, its quirky, funny, witty and intelligent. The characters were well developed and the writing was compelling and had me super glued to my e reader from the first paragraph. This book had me laughing out loud and then wanting to weep as I turned the page as once again things do not turn out well for Don. My heart went out to this somewhat odd college professor right from the very start as he made his way through life, just slightly out of step from the rest of the world around him. Don Tillman has Asperger’s. He knows he’s ‘wired differently’ (he reminded me of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory),but also knows that he deserves somebody special in his life. After much thought Don creates the Wife Project; a 16-page questionnaire. Don meets Rosie who immediately fails on two Wife Project counts.(she drinks and smokes). Although Don and Rosie have nothing in common they are drawn together in the hunt to find Rosie's biological father. Rosie is a complete contrast to Don,shes modern, unreliable and full of emotion. Rosie's interactions with Don are hysterical,she draws him out of his world and helps him see the world differently which ultimately leads him to finding love and acceptance. I finished it with a smile on my face. 5 plus stars

All Our Yesterdays By Cristin Terrill Book summery You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain. Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice. Review WOW, Cristin Terrill is definitely an author to watch, she's masterfully woven together events to create a novel unlike anything I've ever read before, and she's done it brilliantly. She's created an EPIC read. Now I'm not a fan of books with a time traveling theme as I've never read one that flowed well or wasn't confusing, no such problem here. It was easy to spot the correlation between the characters past and present, with the exception of James, which you discover later. Marina and James, have been next door neighbors and best friends for years. Marina is in love James and hopes one day he will return her feelings, she's rich and privileged and short sighted to events around her. Finn is Jame's wisecracking friend, who has a fool scholarship to the prestigious school, James and Marina attend, he's brave and thoughtful. James is a complex genius who is emotionally damaged due to the death of his parents in a car crash years earlier. Through a series of tragic events this book takes you on a roller coaster ride or danger and adventure.

Jenny Rat By Martin Simons Book summery Jenny, a young girl who has been sexually abused since childhood and now brutally assaulted, has been reduced to utter despair. She is saved by a reclusive, shy young man, Michael, twenty eight years old, who stumbles across her dying in the gutter outside his isolated house. He is a brilliant consultant engineer who works from home with his computers, rarely venturing outside. Profoundly shocked he gets her to hospital and visits her there as she struggles to recover. Mentally she is shattered. He is greatly shaken by the intrusion into his settled life but, full of compassion cannot abandon her. She recognizes in him a hope of refuge and determines to live with him. He welcomes her. They pretend to be sister and brother but this cannot last. She has great talents as a sculptor. He encourages her, providing tools and materials as she grows, constructs and reconstructs her works and her life. She begins to chip at him as she shapes her art. He is compelled to expand outside his self-imposed solitude. She attends school and brings friends to the house. A crisis develops which they overcome with difficulty. They become lovers. As they both continue to develop and grow, their relationship alters. At first he was the stronger, advising her to take control of her own life. She discovers in herself the power to do so and knows she is responsible for changing him too. As they grow further, more changes must be faced. Review Martin Simons has a real talent for world building, hes created a dark gritty plot whose characters drew me in - they were complex and broken, but together Michael and Jenny draw strength and confidence from each other and learn to live again in a normal and healthy way. Jenny and Michael have both suffered through disturbing abuse and neglect. Jenny is a survivor whose father was a twisted man who convinced her there was nothing wrong with the incestuous relationship he had with her. Jenny's mother jealous and broken turns Jenny into a teenage prostitute where she once more is the victim of pedophiles. Alone and on living on the street Jenny is badly beaten and left for dead when Michael finds her and takes her to hospital. Michael is a man who is a consulting engineer who lives alone outside of town because he has agoraphobia. Michael visits Jenny in the hospital and she opens up to him and tells him the sad story that is her life. Michael is drawn to Jenny, he really just wants to help her and show her that all people are not evil and untrustworthy,with the help of social worker, she ends up in his home... Martin Simons has immense talent he has show cased social problems such as incest, domestic violence, prostitution and homeless teens in a real way that wasn't judgmental, but rather he shows the reader the sad progression that people in these situations can fall into. This was a thought provoking read that gave me hope, it also made me laugh and cry, its a complex narrative that EVERYONE SHOULD READ ITS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. A review copy was provided by NetGalley and Martin Simons in exchange for my honest review. 5 Stars flag

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Book summery Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. Review Wow! This book left me speechless,Tahereh Mafi writes with such passion I really, really LOVED IT! The world building in "Shatter Me"! was truly original,consequently the plot twists were totally amazing and dramatic that I didn't see them coming! Juliette doesn’t know who she is, she thinks shes a monster. Because of a terrible ability she possesses, a single touch can cause pain,prolonged touching causes death. Her family has turned their back on her and so has everyone else. Until one day she meets a boy with the most piercing blue eyes she has ever seen and she can’t help but get lost in them. What she does not know is that he just may be her ticket to freedom. Juliette's potential as a weapon is exploited by Warner a sadistic leader of the ruling faction who wants nothing more than to control her and love her but all she wants is to be left alone. She does not want revenge on the people who abandoned her or the people who hurt her. All she wants is to live a normal life. But who can do that when there is a war going on and she is stuck right in the middle of it. She will have to learn how to trust people if she is going to survive. Then there's Adam, whose known Juliette since childhood, hes watched her suffer through neglect and mistrust and indifference. Now hes here to help her - I loved Adam hes everything a hero's supposed to be. He took my breathe away with the care and love he 'showed Juliette. This is a fantastic book- more over The Hunger Games and Divergent, Shatter me is here and its absolutely amazing. 5 Stars

Three Little Words By Susan Mallery book summery Can first love turn into the real deal in a sizzling new Fool's Gold story from New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery? Isabel Carlisle thinks she's cursed in the romance department. Her teenage crush, Ford Hendrix, ignored all her letters. Her husband left her for another...man. So Isabel has come home to dust off her passion for fashion and run the family bridal shop until her parents are ready to sell it. Then she'll pursue her real dreams. At least, that's the plan, until sexy, charming Ford returns and leaves her feeling fourteen all over again.... Seeing Isabel all grown up hits bodyguard trainer Ford like a sucker punch. Back when heartbreak made him join the military, her sweet letters kept him sane. Now he can't take his eyes-or his lips-off her. The man who gave up on love has a reason to stay in Fool's Gold forever-if three little words can convince Isabel to do the same... Review Three Little Words brings us the story of Ford Hendrix and Isabel Beebe. Isabel has loved Ford since she was young teenager, when he was engaged to her sister, an engagement that ended badly and broke Ford’s heart. Ford enlists in the Navy, quickly after, Isabel writes to Ford, pouring out her heart, her wishes and her dreams. Ford never responded to any of Isabel's letters and disillusioned she moves on with her life. Both leaving behind the town of Fool’s Gold, now their both back for very different reasons. She's returned to Fool’s Gold from New York City after her ex husband leaves her for another man. She's back in Fool’s Gold to get her family’s bridal shop ready to sell and polish off her business plan to start a fashion boutique in New York City with a friend. Isabel is embarrassed when she learns Ford has moved back into town and has rented the apartment above her parent’s garage. Ford Hendrix has mixed feeling about moving back to Fool’s Gold, hes excited by the prospect of opening a security business after his career as a Navy Seal. Less appealing is the prospect of living in the same town as his interfering mother, who wants nothing more than to see him settled down with a wife and children. She's pressuring Ford to get him married, but Fords just not ready he's seen some horrific things during his military career and he's sure life as a bachelor is the best path for him. Isabel confronts Ford about her unanswered letters and Ford assures her there is no need for her embarrassment because her letters got him through some really difficult situations, they become friends, and Ford pleads with Isobel to be his pretend girlfriend to appease his mother and decides Isabel is the perfect candidate since she's heading back to New York City soon. A reluctant Isabel is talked into helping Ford, he's charming and funny and she agrees to help him out with his plan. This book touched my heart, and made me laugh - parts of it were hilarious. Susan Mallery did a fantastic job and I'm a fan of her writing, she consistently produces characters that are down-to-earth and real, which I connect with and grow to care about them too. The town of Fool's Gold is one of those places that I will never forget - a small town full of hope and dreams and happy ever afters. Susan Mallory is definitely an author I would highly recommend to other readers. 4.5 Stars(less) flag

I Am Pilgrim By Terry Hayes Book Summery Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. But that book will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. And it will take him to a rundown New York hotel room where the body of a woman is found facedown in a bath of acid, her features erased, her teeth missing, her fingerprints gone. It is a textbook murder - and Pilgrim wrote the book. What begins as an unusual and challenging investigation will become a terrifying race-against-time to save America from oblivion. Pilgrim will have to make a journey from a public beheading in Mecca to a deserted ruins on the Turkish coast via a Nazi death camp in Alsace and the barren wilderness of the Hindu Kush in search of the faceless man who would commit an appalling act of mass murder in the name of his God. Review If I had to sum I AM PILGRIM up in one word it would be amazing, it had it all,its a blockbuster spy thriller, that I predict is destined for Hollywood - it would make a fantastic film, it had multiple twists and turns and was highly visual. Terry Hayes delivers 700 pages of riveting nonstop action that builds with such an intensity that had me hooked from the first page. This book follows the lives of two men, Pilgrim is a retired CIA operative who wrote the definitive book used by law enforcement agencies to solve crimes. Saracen is a devout Muslim, an extremist who wants nothing more than to inflict the most heinous act of terrorism, that America has ever seen - one that will eclipse the attacks on the Twin towers. Both men are on a collision course,one to inflict the ultimate crime of terrorism the other will defend his country. Terry Hayes's book had a diverse range of settings from New York, Saudi Arabia, the Hindu Kush and Turkey. Hayes supplied such an exciting compelling plot. He's definitely an author to watch, authors such as Robert Ludlum and Daniel Silva should be worried hes a definite revival. 5 Stars

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book, it was charming, it was heart wrenching but above all this, its my favorite book of 2013 thus far. Some of you who know me will laugh - wheres the body,violence and detectives, or teen aghast or fantasy.

This book had none of that it charmed me with its simplicity,and reminded me of the power that the written word carries between people when there's no other means available.

Elspeth and Davey charmed me, firstly with their friendly banter and then with their all encompassing love. This beautifully written tale spans two world wars, separation and misplaced honor.
Highly recommended.
5.5 stars

Charles Belfoure writing is poignant, historical accurate and heart wrenching. His paints a realistic picture that captivated me with its tone, setting, and the strength of its characters. He writes with such heart felt emotion, that I was through a box of tissues before I even know it. This book is a haunting depiction of Jewish survival and how two very different men come together to help hide Jews, in a time when there really wasn't any safe place or haven for them.

Lucien Bernard, is an unemployed architect during the German occupation of Paris, who is offered a job that is technically challenging but extremely dangerous. He must construct a hiding place similar to the Priest Holes that were used during the reign of Elizabeth the first, when being a Catholic priest was a death sentence - so hidden rooms were constructed to keep practitioners and clergy safe from discovery.

Lucien is at first rather disgusted and appalled; regardless of the pay, this assignment could get him killed, especially when one of the buildings he is commissioned is across the street from Gestapo headquarters. Although he is not particularly fond of Jews, Lucien accepts the assignment because of its a financially lucrative offer. His employer introduces him in to the German HQ and soon Lucien is planning German war factories.

This is a book that will stay with me for some time as Charles Belfoure's descriptions of the cruelty the Gestapo inflicted on Parisians and the Jewish people is haunting- there hunt for food, the fear they must have constantly felt and the strength people showed in their resistance to the inhumanity that was forced upon them.
Highly recommended
5 Stars