Tag Archives: Book Review

Kerry Wilkinson Thicker Than Water & Behind Closed Doors Book Review

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Kerry Wilkinson is the author famous for writing and self-publishing his first novel as a challenge and then having it go straight to No 1 in the Kindle bestseller chart. He became Amazon UK’s top-selling author for the first quarter of 2011. The first three books in the Jessica Daniels series sold 250,000 copies in six months. Very impressive. We reviewed the sixth and seventh books in the series below.

 

Thicker Than Water

thickerthanwaterbookAnother brilliant, pacey novel. A good read from start to finish. Keeps you engaged and entertained.

When Cameron and Eleanor Sexton arrive home to find their teenage babysitter missing, their immediate concern is for their young daughter. Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel is dispatched to find out what’s going on, but with all apparently well, she thinks she’s been sent on a fool’s errand.

 

Soon, the teenager’s body is discovered in an apparently random house on the other side of Manchester. The puzzle deepens when a journalist points out that someone placed an obituary for him just days before his disappearance.

 

A string of clues point to a club whose owner has an unhealthy interest in Jessica, but then something happens which makes her question the very core of her beliefs.

 

She is left to turn to the one person she knows she can rely on . . . but is that trust misplaced?

 

Behind Closed Doors

9781447247852With great twists and turns and a brilliant flawed heroine: we reckon it is only a matter of time before these novels get snapped up and made into a TV series. Behind Closed Doors is yet another brilliant crime novel from Kerry Wilkinson. Entertaining and well-written.

Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel has barely left her house in months, isolated away from friends and colleagues. She may have given up on herself but one man is sure she still has something to offer.

DCI Jack Cole gives her a chance at redemption: An opportunity to help a neighbouring force by discovering what is going on with a reclusive community living in a stately home in the middle of nowhere.

People are going missing, turning up dead with only a vague link back to the house. But can Jessica beat her own demons in time to find out exactly what’s going on behind closed doors?

Thicker Than Water

Behind Closed Doors: A DS Jessica Daniel Novel, Book 7

The Financial Times Guide to Management Book Review

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For those in business, or hoping to be, management is very important. Or to be more precise, being good at management and doing it properly is important. This guide to management comes from The Financial Times and is written by Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute. So far so impressive.

Ann Franckle book The Financial Times Guide to Management

Also impressive is that it has an entire chapter on managing yourself. I think this is a genius idea that not many books would think of. Getting yourself sorted out first obviously makes perfect sense: lead by example. Each chapter starts with what you will learn in that chapter and then ends with top tips, pitfalls and takeaways.

For all of the wealth of information in this book it is surprisingly easy to read. Add in the graphs, anecdotes and exercises then you have one hell of a book on management. Part 7 even has view from the front line: top tips, pitfalls and takeaways from top managers, along with views from the FT’s Finest.

FT Guide to Management: How to be a Manager Who Makes a Difference and Gets Results is an essential business book for managers. Don’t be without it.

What they say:

“Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute, writes a much needed straight talking guide to management.


According to a 2012 survey by CMI and Penna*, 43% of individuals rated their managers as ineffective or highly ineffective. This statistic will be no surprise to most – many surveys and research papers have revealed similarly gloomy results in recent years.

 

So why do we struggle to ‘get management right’? Probably because so many people have become ‘accidental managers’; they have been promoted into management positions due to specialist skills. Many are given little or no training when they are promoted and are left to work it out for themselves.  The mind boggling array of management books on the market does little to simplify the ‘management message’ as approaches are many and varied.

 

In response, Ann Francke, CEO of the CMI, has written The Financial Times Guide to Management. Backed by the wealth of CMI research, her extensive global management experience, and advice from over 40 frontline managers, Ann has created a straight talking and balanced guide to management.

 

It covers the full spectrum of management skills, including managing others, managing change, managing stakeholders, managing budgets and resources, creating business strategy and executing plans.  A chapter offering Views from the Front Line, grounds the book in practical advice, with over 40 senior executives sharing their top tips, pitfalls and takeaways. Contributors include Paul Polman (CEO, Unilever), Steve Marshall (Chairman, Balfour Beatty) and Cilla Snowball (Chairman and CEO, AMV BBDO).  In a similarly neat framework, a 20 page Guide to the Gurus takes readers through a pithy summary of the bestselling and most admired management gurus.

 

From motivating a team and developing star talent to controlling budgets and fostering innovation, The Financial Times Guide to Management is the authoritative guide to becoming an effective manager.”

 

The Financial Times Guide to Management, is published by Pearson.

 

 

Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots By Jessica Soffer Book Review

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Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots By Jessica SofferTomorrow There Will be Apricots is written by Jessica Soffer who is a mere 25-years-old. It is an impressive book, drawing you in immediately and not letting you go until the very last page. Not one word is wasted in this heartwarming- and at times heartbreaking- book about redemption, love and food.

It is impossible to not fall in love with the characters: Lorca, a troubled 13-year-old who just wants her cold mothers loves and will go to any length to get it, and Victoria, recently widowed and finding it hard to cope. They find themselves through cooking and friendship.

I don’t want to give too many spoilers but this absolutely amazing book is now one of my favourites. I love the characters and I learned a lot about food and other cultures. I was very hungry when I was reading it and even got inspired to learn how to cook. No mean feat for someone who usually hates cooking. Buy this, steal this*, borrow this: just read it.

*not really.

 

Two women adrift in New York – an Iraqi immigrant widow and the latchkey daughter of a famous chef – find each other and a new kind of family through their shared love of cooking.

 

Lorca, a sensitive and troubled thirteen-year-old, spends hours poring over cookbooks, seeking out ingredients for her distracted chef of a mother, who is about to send her off to boarding school. In one last effort to secure her mother’s love and prove herself indispensable, Lorca resolves to replicate her mother’s ideal meal.

 

Victoria, an octogenarian Iraqi immigrant, teaches cooking lessons. Grappling with grief over her husband’s death, Victoria has been dreaming of the daughter they gave up forty years ago.

 

Together these two women – a widow and an almost-orphan – begin to suspect they are connected through more than a love of food.

Tomorrow There Will be Apricots

When I Was Young By Mary Fitzgerald Book Review

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When I Was Young By Mary Fitzgerald Book ReviewWhen I Was Young quickly becomes gripping. It is hard to put the book down as you just want to know what is going to happen next. It is not immediately obvious and you wonder what secrets this family has. The characters draw you in with their mysteriousness and you wonder what it would be like to live in a post-world war world. With all of the scars and memories; the trauma and loss. Secrets can be toxic and so can lies. Nowhere it this most clear than in 1950s postwar France.

Eleanor is only 16 when she goes to the Loire Valley on a French Exchange. But her maturity and intelligence is beyond her years. Her arrival in France is only welcome by some of the family she is to stay with, and initially she cannot help feeling that it is her fault. At home her mother works the farm as her father sustained serious mental and physical injuries whilst he was a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp. Throughout the story Eleanor becomes even stronger, she becomes a women.

Eleanor falls in love in France, but love is always complicated. I do not want to give away too much of what happens- always hard in a book review- but the book is wonderful at capturing emotion and the fact that home can be anywhere, and when you find it, that’s it.

This is a wonderful book that you will want to read all the way through to the end without stopping. Highly enjoyable.

Published by Arrow and out on the 27th March 2013. Also available as an eBook.

 

On the backcover:

‘When I was young the war started. When I was young my father was a soldier. When I was young I moved to the country. When I was young I went to France and fell in love’

 

1950

Eleanor is sixteen when she goes to the Loire Valley on a French Exchange. But the beauty of her surroundings are at odds with the family who live there. It is a family torn apart by the memories of the German occupation, and buckling under the burden of the dark secrets they keep.

 

Etienne, the dark and brooding owner is friendly, but his wife Mathilde’s malicious behaviour overshadows Eleanor’s days.

 

As the secrets reveal themselves one by one, Eleanor begins to understand the terrible legacy of war, and when death comes to the vineyard, she learns the redemptive power of love.

When I Was Young

Feel Good: How To Change Your Mood And Cope With Whatever Comes Your Way

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feel good

By Dr Shane Pascoe & Dr Graham Law

Published by Capstone, February 2014

Paperback, £10.99

 

 

If you are feeling down, overwhelmed, stressed or depressed then this book takes two of the ‘it’ therapies of the moment- Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- and combines them to get you back on your feet and keep you there.

It is easy to read and apply thanks to its invaluable post-it technique and lay out. It also has an entire chapter on relaxing and the stuff on confirmation bias is very interesting. The book is like you are being talked to and supported by a friendly, intelligent and concise friend.

The book is actually fun and enjoyable to read, surprising considering its subject matter. It has a unique combination of science and psychology which really works. It also has exercises and is practical and accessible.

A very good and helpful book.

Feel Good: How to Change Your Mood and Cope with Whatever Comes Your Way

Mood can affect every aspect of life, from performance at work to personal relationships. Being able to take control of moods, rather than have moods control them, is something all the most successful people have in common.

In their new book, authors Dr Shane Pascoe and Dr Graham Law combine techniques from two powerful, complementary therapeutic approaches – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness – to help readers keep their spirits and confidence high and instil a more upbeat, positive, can-do attitude, come what may.

Packed with practical information on how to start feeling happier and more positive about life, and optimise how you deal with people and situations in life and at work, this expert guide to beating stress and anxiety is designed for quick reference, letting readers access practical information relevant to how they are feeling at that moment.

Individual chapters cover areas including anger, self-efficacy, distress, unhappiness, well-being and happiness, self-esteem, leading a balanced lifestyle and relaxation techniques. The book finishes by discussing “Where to go from here?”.

 

For those that are feeling overwhelmed, overstressed, or just plain down about life, Feel Good is a practical, inspirational guide to help manage moods, improve outlook and beat stress and anxiety.

 

Feel Good: How to Change Your Mood and Cope with Whatever Comes Your Way

Kiss Your Fights Good-Bye Book Review

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Kiss Your Fights Good-byeKiss Your Fights Good-bye: Dr. Love’s 10 Simple Steps to Cooling Conflict and Rekindling Your Relationship by America’s “love doctor”, Dr. Jamie Turndorf is an interesting read. Everyone spends time thinking about their relationships. The book is a practical 10-step programme that says it will help achieve a deeper, healthier bond with your partners.

I have a good relationship with my other half and there aren’t any huge issues but I was still excited to read the book and pick up some tips, but to be honest I didn’t relate to the book. I thought it had too many gender stereotypes that I could not relate to. Like women withholding sex as punishment or to get what they want- which I actually thought was offensive, and that men just withdraw every time a fight happens. I also did not like some of the scenarios with couples. The men calling their wives bitches for example. If a man called me a bitch there would not be a relationship to fix.

I feel that this book is for people with worse relationships than me, or people who are more suited to typical gender stereotypes. It is not that it doesn’t have any good advice: it does but most of it was not relatable to me. Worth a read if your fighting all of the time and you, or your partner, fit the stereotypes.

Known to millions as ‘Dr. Love’, Jamie Turndorf, PhD, has been seen on numerous TV shows and has over 30 years’ experience as a relationship counsellor. Her impressive endorsements include:

“Dr Turndorf has relationships figured out. If you want a great relationship, you must follow her ten-step method for lasting love.” – Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

“If anger and fighting are ruining your dream of a happy marriage (or relationship), Dr Turndorf’s conflict-resolution programme is for you.” – John Gray, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

Kiss Your Fights Good-bye: Dr. Love’s 10 Simple Steps to Cooling Conflict and Rekindling Your Relationship

The Compass Of Now By DDnard Book Review

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the compass of nowDDnard sure is an inspiring women: widowed at 27, the mother of an 11 month old and $3 million in debt. She managed to pay off the debts she inherited from her husband and become a multi-millionaire. Quite a remarkable accomplishment and it is hard to not be impressed.

Now she has a bestselling book. 1.4 million copies sold to be exact. Reading the book it is easy to see why. You come out the other end inspired and with a better outlook on life. The book is easy to read and well illustrated. The step-by-step guide is easy to follow, far from being condescending; the advice is brilliant and concise, helping you to change the way you think and set your compass to now. There are good quotes and thought-provoking stories along with the advice.

In a way the book brings you back to yourself. DDnard brings ancient wisdom to her goals and instead of being crushed about losing her husband; becomes stronger and clears $3 million of debt. In a way The Compass of Now is a guide to positivity. It brings you back down to ancient wisdom and away from the negative aspects of thinking and living. Although there is a spiritual aspect to the book, it adds to the book and no religion is shoved down your throat. In fact, even non-religious people can benefit and be spiritual. This is a very good, inspirational book. Even people who don’t like self-help books will love it.

 

By 27, she owed £2million.


By 29, she was debt-free.

 

By 35, she was worth £4million.

 

The Compass of Now  follows one woman’s incredible journey from destitute widow to one of the world’s most powerful entrepreneurs and inspirational leaders.

 

It documents, in moving detail, how she fought back from the brink of financial ruin just months after giving birth and then suddenly losing husband to a heart attack, and emerged emotionally stronger – and significantly richer – than she could have ever imagined.

 

But The Compass of Now is more than just an inspirational success story. It is the definitive guide to taking control of your finances – and your life. It’s step-by-step advice to financial and emotional freedom has already made the book a global phenomenon with more than 1.4million sales worldwide.

 

Author and self-help guru DDnard is the bestselling writer of all time in her native Thailand and one of the country’s most sought-after celebrities. She is now set to become a household name in Britain with the release of an English-language version of The Compass of Now, which hits the shelves for the first time this month.

 

This internationally-acclaimed title, released through Life Compass Publishing, merges the best of Eastern and Western world thinking, mindfulness and emotional healing techniques to reveal the practical, tried-and-tested steps that Brits – including the estimated 70 per cent in debt – can take in order to:

–          Manage and overcome personal debt

–          Become financially and emotionally free

–          Unleash their full potential and live life to the fullest

Speaking about the 216-page, full-colour paperback, DDnard, who lives in Bangpakong, Thailand, said: “This inspiring book is filled with the message of hope and personal strength, and will help you come to understand that your future truly is in your own hands.”

The Compass of Now is available now

 

Boy, Snow, Bird By Helen Oyeyemi Book Review

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Boy, Snow, Bird By Helen Oyeyemi Book ReviewAs Boy, Snow, Bird By Helen Oyeyemi was delivered to me I started to see review of it everywhere. Much hyped and fawned over, I decided to put all of that aside to focus on the merits of the book myself.

Boy, Snow, Bird is about three women; Boy, who escapes an abusive parent and ends up in a small town in Massachusetts, solely because it is the last stop on the bus route she took from New York, the locals aren’t welcoming but she wins them round in the end and ends up marrying a widower who is the father of Snow. Lastly, Bird is Boy’s daughter. Who brings up the truth about the family she has married into: they are African Americans who pass themselves of as white.

Whenever a child comes out with darker skin, they are sent off to live with an aunt. The aunt who, incidentally, was sent away herself for being dark-skinned.

With hints of Imitation of Life, the excellent 1959 Lana Turner film where a young women turns against her own mother because she is a light-skinned African American and can pass for white; this book is a rather wonderfully written take on race, vanity and family.

 

Spoiler Alert

When Boy’s own child comes out dark-skinned she is supposed to send her away. Instead she sends away the beautiful Snow, a decision which causes much dismay to Snow and her in-laws. A further twist comes at the end

Well written and hard to put down, the novel has plenty of twists and turns and an ending that I did not see coming and to be brutally honest, initially didn’t really get it as it was so left of field. However, the ending is not a bad ending at all, it is imaginative in fact. Bird, Snow, Bird is a very good book. Well worth a read.

 

Named one of 2014’s most anticipated books by CNN, The Huffington Post, Bookpage, Time.com, The Chicago Tribune, Vulture, Philadelphia Inquirer, Real Simple, The Millions and Flavorwire
From the prizewinning author of Mr. Fox, the Snow White fairy tale brilliantly recast as a story of family secrets, race, beauty, and vanity.

In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty—the opposite of the life she’s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman.

A wicked stepmother is a creature Boy never imagined she’d become, but elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy’s daughter, Bird, who is dark-skinned, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white. Among them, Boy, Snow, and Bird confront the tyranny of the mirror to ask how much power surfaces really hold.

Dazzlingly inventive and powerfully moving, Boy, Snow, Bird is an astonishing and enchanting novel. With breathtaking feats of imagination, Helen Oyeyemi confirms her place as one of the most original and dynamic literary voices of our time.

Boy, Snow, Bird can be bought here.