After a heavy work week I was looking for something enjoyable to read. Luckily Coming Home By Annabel Kantaria came through the letterbox. I was drawn in from the first page. The story is engaging with enough twists to keep you guessing. The character of Evie is likeable and warm, even when her mother is bringing out her immaturity. Kantaria captures family life and all of its difficulties. I enjoyed this book and read it quickly. It is a triumphant debut from Annabel Kantaria. Recommended.
‘An utterly compelling story of loss and betrayal – I loved it’ – Judy Finnigan
Your parents make you who you are.
But how much do you really know about them?
After her father unexpectedly passes away, Evie leaves her life in Dubai behind, and returns to England. Her family home is the same as it ever was: perfectly pristine, but filled with her mother’s unspoken grief for Evie’s brother, who was killed as a child in a tragic accident.
Evie knew that coming home would be hard. But whatever she expected, she’s definitely not prepared for her whole life to unravel in front of her. And as one secret after another is uncovered, she begins to realise that everything she thought she knew about her family has been one big lie…
Coming Home is available here.
had arrived at the top of my pile. In fact the book is more about family life and relationships than about travelling, but is none the worse for that. It tells the story of his journey around France in a Passat, which smells strongly of French cheese, with his wife and two young children and is by turns funny, poignant and insightful. A good follow-up to his earlier book Are We Nearly There Yet? – surely a question that every parent has heard far too often.
a thriller set in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, and the first part of a trilogy. I always enjoy his books and I think I’ve read most, if not all, of them. I’d be hard put to it though to distinguish one from the other in retrospect, and I’m fairly sure I’ll have to re-read this one in a year’s time before moving on to the second in the series. But I’d still rate it as an interesting and well-put-together book. And if you haven’t discovered Robert Goddard before, this is a good place to start.
has left me feeling confused. It’s most certainly a very original and well written debut novel, but I find myself at the end with a vague suspicion that it doesn’t work quite as well as it should. I wonder whether others have the same reservations as I do, and whether this dystopian tale of a totalitarian bee-hive really works on levels other than a fairy tale. But highly recommended if you want something different. Good books are supposed to leave you wondering, aren’t they?
. Another debut novel, this is a fascinating mix of history (17th century Amsterdam), intrigue and a coming of age story. A real page-turner. I couldn’t put it down. But yet again I was left feeling dissatisfied. I don’t think all the questions posed were fully answered, and I don’t think the plot quite held together. But perhaps I read it too quickly and missed vital information. I’d better go back for another look. I’ll enjoy doing that!
and no hesitation at all in recommending it. Yet again a debut novel, this one taps into a situation with which more and more of us are becoming familiar – how living with dementia feels, or how you cope with having a relative with dementia. The central character Maud is totally believable and the struggles she faces daily are sympathetically portrayed. And there is an intriguing storyline in here too. Ultimately, despite what you might expect, this is an uplifting and positive book. I loved it.
is a cookery book with a difference. It’s the inspirational story of how one young woman changed her way of eating to enable her to cope with massive health issues, devising a gluten and dairy free plant based diet. It’s a fascinating read from beginning to end – and the recipes I’ve tried so far work well too.
