A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris Book Review

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

Joanne Harris is one of our greatest novelists. It is hard for anyone to argue with this statement and A Narrow Door asserts her place once again. Such is the richness of her language, and the mastery of her skills as a storyteller, that I could not put this book down. It is such a rich story of suspense and betrayal.

You will never see the twists coming and they will take your breathe away. This is a stunning and clever book. I suggest you grab a copy as soon as you can, it is sure to be the hit of the summer. This is definitely one of my favourite books of the year.

From the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling, multi prize-winning author Joanne Harris, comes A NARROW DOOR – an explosive psychological thriller about one woman who, having carved out her own path to power, is now intent on tearing apart the elite world that tried to hold her back . . . piece by piece.

Now I’m in charge, the gates are my gates. The rules are my rules.
It’s an incendiary moment for St Oswald’s school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls.

Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely forty, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.

But Rebecca is here to make her mark. She’ll bury the past so deep it will evade even her own memory, just like she has done before. After all…

You can’t keep a good woman down.

Available to pre-order now!

A Narrow Door is available here.

One August Night By Victoria Hislop Book Review.

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

I read One August Night By Victoria Hislop over two balmy days. I was drawn in immediately even though I have not read The Island. I was whisked away to the gorgeous island of Crete. The book is set in 1957. One August Night is a dramatic and ultimately beautiful story of love, betrayal and tragedy. It is a story with depth that compels you to carry on reading whilst completely absorbed in the story and the characters. Hislop’s books are always so well researched. This is a gorgeous book that you can sink your teeth into. I feel like I learnt a lot about redemption and the power of forgiveness from this perfectly-written book. An essential read.

25th August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.

When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.

In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.

Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop returns to the world and characters she created in The Island – the award-winning novel that remains one of the biggest selling reading group novels of the century. It is finally time to be reunited with Anna, Maria, Manolis and Andreas in the weeks leading up to the evacuation of the island… and beyond.

One August Night By Victoria Hislop is available here.

The Devil’s Advocate By Steve Cavanagh Book Review

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

The Devil’s Advocate is the first Steve Cavanagh book that I have read. Lucky me, I have so many books to read now. I am totally hooked on Eddie Flynn and will be working my way through the series. The Devil’s Advocate is atmospheric with a smart plot that weaves a thrilling tale. The characters are brilliant and the entire book is just waiting to be made into a movie.

This book is a rip-roaring ride which cements Steve Cavanagh not as the next John Grisham, but as John Grisham on speed. I cannot imagine anyone being able to start this book and not finish it. It is impossible to put it down.

A DEADLY PROSECUTOR

They call him the King of Death Row. Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States.

A TWISTED RITUALISTIC KILLING

When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois. It doesn’t seem to matter to anyone that Andy is innocent.

A SMALL TOWN BOILING WITH RAGE

Everyone in Buckstown believes Andy is guilty. He has no hope of a fair trial. And the local defense attorney assigned to represent him has disappeared.

A FORMER CON-ARTIST

Hot shot New York lawyer Eddie Flynn travels south to fight fire with fire. He plans to destroy the prosecutors case, find the real killer and save Andy from the electric chair.

But the murders are just beginning.

Is Eddie Flynn next?

The Devil’s Advocate By Steve Cavanagh is available here.

Ahead of Her Time By Judy Piatkus Book Review.

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

It is hard to think about now but female entrepreneurs used to be thin on the ground. Sure we are lucky to have Jo Malone, Anya Hindmarch, Natalie Massenet, Kelly Hoppen and Karen Brady, but before all of them came Judy Piatkus. A single mother-of-three who built a publishing empire with one hand behind her back. Well, almost.

Now Judy has written a book Ahead of Her Time; How a One-Woman Startup Became a Global Publishing Brand and it is the new bible to help other entrepreneurs and people who are interested in business. The book gives a fascinating insight for those who are interested in publishing. Judy did all of this while while taking care of her three children, one of whom is disabled.

I found this book so inspiring that it has made me drag out an old business plan I had and start work on a logo for that, and a new one for Frost. Piatkus books was built at a time when women were discriminated against. We still are, but it has got better.

I implore anyone who is interested in building a business, publishing, or even just loves a story about how someone built something amazing, despite the odds against them, to read this book. It really is brilliant. I will be handing copies out to my female friends. Judy Piatkus truly was ahead of her time.

Ahead of Her Time; How a One-Woman Startup Became a Global Publishing Brand by Judy Piatkus is an incredibly inspiring book.

Judy Piatkus did not come from a monied background and began her career as a secretary after failing to achieve a university place. By the time she founded Piatkus Books from her spare bedroom, she was married with a disabled small daughter and pregnant with her second child. Gradually she learned how to be both a publisher and a managing director and to combine that with her family life as she had become a single mother of three. A lot of mistakes were made but she also got a lot of things right. The company prospered, thanks to the risks Judy took in tackling new subjects in the marketplace and also her approach to running the company, which focused on transparency, honesty and trust and was rewarded by the loyalty of the staff, many of whom worked alongside Judy for upwards of twenty years.

In 1979, Judy Piatkus founded what would become a global publishing brand— Piatkus Books — from her spare bedroom.

A single mother, with a child with learning disabilities, at a time when being a self-made woman entrepreneur was rare, Judy defied expectations, influencing, shaping, and giving rise to a new industry of personal growth and development publishing.

Long before the bestseller charts were packed with mind/body/spirit, business, and relationship books, Judy created a platform for new, as yet unknown, voices and leading authorities and experts in their fields, including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mary Berry, David Allen and Brian L. Weiss.

‘Ahead of her time’ goes behind-the-scenes and reveals the inner workings of book publishing. Judy details how her combination of financial risk taking, transparent approach in business, and courage to tackle new subjects in the marketplace rather than follow trends, led PiatkusBooks to become a leading global independent publisher.

Judy’s memoir is also a fascinating insight into building a company and brand identity and what enables a team and a business to succeed.

Judy details her learning experience as an entrepreneur — the triumphs and the pitfalls, what worked and what didn’t, how to reinvent through lean times, learning to be both a publisher and a managing director, and how it felt to overcame obstacles in order to build the career she wanted from the ground up, as a truly self-made woman.

‘Ahead of her time’ is published by Watkins Publishing, £14.99, and is available here and from all good bookstores.

The Orange Grove by Rosanna Ley Book Review

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

It is fair to say that few of us will be going on holiday this year- thanks Covid!- but we have Rosanna Ley so all is not lost. The Orange Grove takes us to sunny Seville in all of its glory. This is a stunning book to get your teeth stuck into. With endearing characters and a plot that makes you hungry, you will not want to put this book down. It is a wonderful, sunny read of beautiful escapism. I loved it.

An unforgettable story of past love and family secrets, set in sunny Seville.

Holly loves making marmalade. Now she has a chance to leave her stressful city job and pursue her dream – of returning to the Dorset landscape of her childhood to open Bitter Orange, a shop celebrating the fruit that first inspired her.

Holly’s mother Ella has always loved Seville. So why is she reluctant to go back there with Holly to source products for the shop? What is she frightened of – and does it have anything to do with the old Spanish recipe for Seville orange and almond cake that Ella keeps hidden from her family?

In Seville, where she was once forced to make the hardest decision of her life, Ella must finally face up to the past, while Holly meets someone who poses a threat to all her plans. Seville is a city full of sunshine and oranges. But it can also be bittersweet. Will love survive the secrets of the orange grove?

5 Books that Changed My Life By The Lucky Escape Author Laura Jane Williams

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

The Babysitter’s Club series

My parents had a rule when we were growing up: they’d always say yes to a book. I remember being in Waterstone’s Durham and randomly pulling a Babysitter’s Club of off the shelf, purely to get my dad’s attention and praise. Turns out, it was a gateway drug. Over the next few years I collected all of them, devouring the stories of these incredibly glamourous Americans who essentially ran their own little business. Couple that with starting highs school as The Spice Girls hit number one and a lot of my personality suddenly makes sense!

On Beauty, Zadie Smith

I read this when I was about 20, and it opened a secret door within me that I hadn’t known about before. Every character in this book leaps off the page – there is no such thing as a flat or incidental character, everyone is 3-D and complete. It was the first time I remember being aware of not just enjoying the story, but that the story was created by somebody, a writer, who had worked at it and used certain techniques and skills to make their point. I know every man and his dog has been inspired by Zadie, but it really is for a reason. She’s remarkable – she’s got the most smart, intelligent brain.

Heartburn, Nora Ephron

I’ve read and re-read this book, and every time I just cannot get over the self-awareness of it. It’s so funny. There’s not a line wasted. It’s no mean feat, writing a character with so much life in them, with strong opinions and questionable choices who is still utterly likeable. It’s the same for Bridget Jones. I love knowing that the novel is a roman a clef and picking out which bits are slightly less veiled retellings of actual events than others. It must only be about 50,000 words, if that, so it’s proof that not every story needs to be an opus to be impactful.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This book taught me more about the lasting impact of slavery than anything else I’d ever read up until that point. I remember knowing that whilst the third chapter was some of the most difficult reading I’d come across it was unquestionably important. The novel branches out to illustrate the continued echoes of white supremacy alive today and so much clicked for me, then – my privilege had not allowed me to see so much, and through the gift of this story I could. It was a jumping off point for so much more interrogation into racial inequality.

Last Night, Mhairi McFarlane

I’d never read and Mhairi before this one, but offfft! What a book to get started on! Right from the first page I was sucked in to this world of banter and wholehearted friendship, and whilst I think the sort of rom-com/women’s fiction genre gets deliberately misunderstood (don’t get me started on that!) there’s no mistaking this book as an incisive, accomplished balance between hilarious and heart-breaking. That’s masterful! I read it in awe of her skill, trying to unpick how she’d done what she’d done. That’s how I know I’ve been impressed – I hold the thing up to the light desperate to learn from it!

The Lucky Escape publishing on the 10^th June, is the third unmissable new novel from the bestselling author of Our Stop and The Love Square. The perfect romcom, and more: full of effortless banter; sizzling sexual tension and, above all, an overwhelming sense of hopefulness – in life as well as love.

How To Wean Your Baby by Charlotte Stirling-Reed Book Review

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

The easy weaning plan to ensure your baby becomes a happy and adventurous little eater.
Weaning a baby, especially if it is your first, can be hard and scary. You are so worried about getting it right. I wish I had this wonderful book from Charlotte Stirling-Reed years ago. It would have made my life so much easier. It is a step-by-step guide and it starts with vegetables. Not the cliché baby rice.

It has key principles, the basics, milestones and everything else. When it comes to weaning, what is not in this book is not worth knowing. It also has plenty of recipes. Joe Wicks and Ella Mills are fans and so am I. I also love Charlotte’s feeding webinars. Watch one if you can. Essential reading for parents.

In this beautiful, full-colour book, expert nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed reveals her renowned method that has helped thousands of parents wean their babies confidently.

Based on a vegetable first approach, the perfect way to develop healthy eating habits and to tackle fussy eating before it begins, you’ll be hand-held through the first 30 days of weaning as well as given lots of delicious recipes all the family can enjoy.

Packed with tried and tested tips, as well as the latest evidence-based guidance, How to Wean Your Baby will fully equip and empower you to take this exciting next step.

How to Wean Your Baby is available here.

Animal by Lisa Taddeo Book Review

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Catherine Balavage

Animal is a searingly dark book. Lisa Taddeo takes you into the dark heart of what trauma does to a woman. All of those ‘tiny little rapes’ and things that happen that build up to the pure rage of a woman. It is so refreshing to have a writer who writes about women to unapologetically, and who writes about their anger and rage. Even if the character is one who makes bad life decisions. Yet Taddeo writes the story so perfectly that she unwraps the psychology of her character and how she came to be who she is with precision. You don’t need to like female characters.

Taddeo is so brave and writes with no filter. It is how all writing should be done, of course. That makes the writer no less brave for putting a story out there. There was never any doubt that Animal was going to be one of the books of 2021. But beware, before you read it: brace yourself. You will not be able to forget it.

This is the first novel from the author of Three Women which was a global phenomenon.

I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig.

That’s a cruel thing to think, I know. He did it in a restaurant where I was having dinner with another man, another married man.

Do you see how this is going? But I wasn’t always that way.

I am depraved. I hope you like me.

MEET JOAN: 24th June 2021.

Animal is available here.

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