Book Review: NO HARD FEELINGS by Genevieve Novak

 

Title: NO HARD FEELINGS

Author:  Genevieve Novak

Publisher:  HarperCollins AU

Read: May 2022

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

 

Book Description:

 

Penny can't help but compare herself to her friends. Annie is about to become a senior associate at her law firm, Bec has just got engaged, Leo is dating everyone this side of the Yarra, and Penny is just ... waiting. Waiting for Max, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, to allow her to spend the night, waiting for the promotion she was promised, waiting for her Valium to kick in. Waiting for her real life to start.

Out of excuses and sick of falling behind, Penny is determined to turn things around. She's going to make it work with Max, impress her tyrannical boss, quit seeing her useless therapist, remember to water her plants, and stop having panic attacks in the work toilets.

But soon she's back to doomscrolling on Instagram, necking bottles of Aldi's finest sauvignon blanc, and criticising herself with renewed vigour and loathing. As her goals seem further away than ever, she has to wonder: when bad habits feel so good, how do you trust what's right for you?

My musings:

 

Quite a few years have passed since I was in my late twenties, and yet I could instantly relate to Penny, Genevieve Novak’s protagonist in NO HARD FEELINGS. Penny is at that stage in her life where some of her friends have moved on, getting married, having babies or being caught up in high flying careers. None of these things have yet worked out for Penny herself, and she feels stuck, waiting for her on-again, off-again boyfriend Max to finally commit to a relationship or getting her long awaited promotion at work. Every time she thinks she is close to her goal, something goes wrong and she is thrown into despair. Is it any wonder her two best friends are losing patience with her?

Novak writes with honesty and heart and a generous dose of self-deprecating humour that made me chuckle even as Penny goes through moments of despair. There was something original and refreshing in Novak’s prose that kept me reading late into the night and stay engaged, despite being able to predict where the story was headed.

NO HARD FEELINGS is a coming-of-age story of sorts, as Penny slowly comes to grips with her own self, which she has been trying very hard to suppress in her desire to belong and live up to the expectations she has put upon herself by constantly comparing herself to others. Even though I am almost twice Penny’s age now and already had two children by the time I was twenty-seven, many of her observations still rang true, especially her desire for purpose and belonging. Let’s be honest, some of Penny’s self-doubts and insecurities will be encountered by most of us at some stage in our lives, and Novak’s observations are spot on (even though I felt like yelling at Penny in frustration at times, especially when she goes back AGAIN to her jerk of an ex-boyfriend).

 

Summary:

 

All in all, NO HARD FEELINGS was a pleasure to read and a book I may have passed by if I had not arrived on my doorstep one morning courtesy of the publisher. Thank you, it would have been a terrible shame to miss this one! I laughed, I raged and I deeply felt for Penny. To be so emotionally involved with a character is the sign of a great story, and I recommend it to women of all ages who have ever felt stuck or a bit lost in their life. A feel-good read that ticked all the boxes.

 

 

Thank you to HarperCollins AU for the free copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Reading from my TBR pile: the good, the bad and the average

 

LAST SEEN ALIVE by Claire Douglas

 

The surprises just kept coming in Claire Douglas’ mystery LAST SEEN ALIVE, a story that starts out just like a house swap gone wrong but ends up being so much more than that. It will appeal to readers who enjoy the unreliable narrator theme and a few unexpected twists along the way. I’m glad that I wasn’t put off by the slow burning start, because it wasn’t long until I realised that I had been blindsided. And even though some suspension of disbelief was necessary in the second half, I immensely enjoyed the way each character managed to surprise me – and one in particular really messed with my head until the very end. Isn’t that the best kind of thriller? 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

MY DARLING HUSBAND by Kimberly Belle

 

I really enjoyed Belle’s previous novel MY DEAR WIFE, so I was very excited to get my hands on her latest novel. How well do you know your spouse? It’s a theme that never gets old. When a masked intruder breaks into the Lasky family home and holds Jade Lasky and her two young children hostage, her husband Cam is desperately trying to raise the ransom money. Or is he? Even Jade soon has her suspicions about Cam’s role in her situation and begins to ask herself: how well do I know my husband?

I admit that I liked the premise of the story better than the actual experience, perhaps because I never found any of the characters very convincing. The super smart nine-year old probably got most of the eye-rolls, but even Jade and Cam’s relationship remained an enigma. I struggled to suspend disbelief as the story went on and found I just wasn’t that interested to find out the answers. Perhaps I have just got a bit tired of domestic thrillers.

In short, readable but definitely not a favourite.

🌟🌟1/2

 

 

INSOMNIA by Sarah Pinborough

 

As a shift worker, I was instantly drawn to the title and premise of Pinborough’s latest thriller. If you work night shift and suffer the crippling insomnia often associated with this, as well as the delirium from lack of sleep, then you will be able to relate to Emma Averell. Emma is a lawyer, an assertive career woman who is on the brink of being made partner in the law firm she works for. There is only one obstacle standing in her way: as her 40th birthday looms, she is terrified of suffering the same mental breakdown her mother experienced at the same age, especially since her mother always warned her that this type of insanity ran in their family. So when the insomnia strikes her – which was the first sign of her mother’s descend into paranoia – Emma panics.

INSOMNIA quickly drew me in. I always find it intriguing when the main character becomes an unreliable narrator because of some psychological breakdown. Are they paranoid or are they telling the truth? The author describes the effects of sleep deprivation to a T, which made it easy to relate to Emma and suffer with her.

Unfortunately the final conclusion was a bit of a let down for me and wandered into territory that concluded the story without really explaining things satisfactorily for me. I can’t say any more without giving too much away, but I felt a bit cheated. These types of “killer twists” rarely work well for me, but may well appeal to other readers, so judge for yourself.

In short: and intriguing unreliable narrator theme with an underwhelming finale.

🌟🌟🌟

INTO THE DARK by Fiona Cummins

 

WHEN I WAS TEN is one of my all-time favourite thrillers, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Cummins’ latest book, INTO THE DARK. Cummins is a master at portraying deeply flawed, toxic and amoral characters, so I wasn’t surprised that each and every member of this cast had something to hide. With twists and turns in just about every chapter, I was never quite sure where the story was headed, and each revelation scattered all my carefully thought-out theories into the wind. I do love an unreliable character, and Cummins takes the theme to the next level!

Saying that, I was surprised to find that the book didn’t grab me as much as I had hoped and that I didn’t really care about any of its characters. This bunch of people are definitely not the sort you want to get too close to, as one unpleasant surprise followed the other and each character harboured some dark shameful secret. I’m not a fan of twists for the sake of shock value only, and some of these felt a bit forced, stretching credibility in the later part of the book. I also felt that Saul was an unlikely candidate for homicide detective, but what do I know? I felt like I was missing something with Saul and Blue, as if I had stepped into the middle of a series and missed the character building necessary to make these people feel fleshed out and real.

All in all, INTO THE DARK quickly drew me in and I devoured the first half of the book greedily. Credibility was a bit stretched in the second half, as a series of shocking twists rained down on me, and I felt the tentative emotional ties I had built with the characters fray and snap in the wake of these. Whilst this was not my favourite book by the author, it will still be a good choice for readers who love morally corrupt characters and an element of darkness and menace running through the story.

🌟🌟🌟

 

 

MRS ENGLAND by Stacey Halls

 

MRS ENGLAND is an intriguing story about a 19th century nanny suspecting that all is not quite right in her employers’ marriage. Set in an old English manor in the Yorkshire moors, this made for atmospheric time travel with an unexpected finale. I particularly enjoyed the air of foreboding and tension throughout the story and the complex relationships between the various characters. Ruby May was a wonderful protagonist with secrets of her own, and I was intrigued to find out that her character was based on a real-life person. If you love historical fiction involving old forbidding manor houses and lots of secrets, then you can’t go wrong with this one!

🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

 

THE DROWNING HOUR by S.K. Tremaine

THE DROWNING HOUR is a closed door mystery set on an island, with delicious spooky vibes and a hint of the supernatural. After a tragic incident she has totally blocked out, Hannah suffers from a phobia that makes her unable to cross water, and she becomes a virtual prisoner of The Stanhope Hotel, a grand establishment surrounded by the Blackwater estuary. In an effort to work through her crippling fears, Hannah tries to find out what happened that fateful night on the island. The deeper she digs, the more things start going wrong, and a terrible suspicion mounts ….

I love an atmospheric island setting, and the spooky vibes on this one made for a delicious backdrop to the novel. Overall, the reading experience had as many highs and lows as the waves buffering the island on a stormy night, mainly because I found it difficult to suspend disbelief at times. The hardest thing to swallow for me was the idea that Hannah had no way to get off the island, especially since she was under the care of a therapist, who surely could have found an answer to her dilemma. Unfortunately most of the premise hinged on this particular element.  That said, I was intrigued by the different strands of mysteries that extended out from the central theme, such as the family secrets that tied Hannah and her sister to this island.

Read this if you love atmospheric island settings and are happy to suspend disbelief for the sake of the story.

🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

 

Reading from my TBR pile: 5 star books

 

MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Not much actually happens in this book. Four siblings prepare for a big party the eldest sister is holding in her grand house on the cliffs at Malibu. In between those chapters, we get an insight into their relationships by flashbacks into the past from the moment of their parents' first meeting. That's it. There isn't much action, no surprise twists or big reveals. And yet it's one of the best books I've read this year.

Why? Because of the characters. Within a few chapters, Nina, Jay, Hudson and Kit and their parents became as real to me as people I'd known all my life. In each of their chapters, I BECAME them. I cried their tears, felt their pain, was elated with their joy and most of all, understood the bond that cemented them together in an indestructible bond.

MALIBU RISING was one of those rare gems that stole a piece of my heart whilst I was reading it and made me grieve for its characters when they were no longer part of my life. The vibes of a Malibu summer in the early 80s made this a perfect holiday read with all the feels. It's not often that a book so perfectly captures my imagination, no, my entire soul. I loved every minute of it and it's a definitive highlight of this year for me. The hype is real!

BLACK RABBIT HALL by Eve Chase

 

If I had to choose my favourite book by Eve Chase, it would be BLACK RABBIT HALL. I adored everything about the story, from its atmospheric setting of Black Rabbit Hall to its characters, who all came to life for me. I especially loved the Alton children - Toby, Amber, Kitty and Barney – who immediately captured my heart and kept me eagerly reading on. Their strong bond, a theme that features strongly in all of Chase’s novels, warmed my heart and ultimately broke it.

The dual timeline worked well for me in this story, even though I had brief concerns that I would not find Lorna’s story as interesting as the rest. Unfounded fears, as it turned out. The family secrets that drove this mystery had me totally intrigued and the setting was so vivid that I can still picture it long after finishing the book.

BLACK RABBIT HALL is one of those rare stories that not only rolled out like a movie in my head, but also totally captured my heart and my imagination. I savoured this book and loved every minute of it. If you haven’t read any of Chase’s books yet, I recommend you start with this one!

Book Review: THE IT GIRL by Ruth Ware

 

Title: THE IT GIRL

Author: Ruth Ware

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Read: May 2022

Expected publication: 3 August 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

  

April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.

My musings:

 

It’s no secret that Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors and I will devour anything she has written. In THE IT GIRL, she once again showcases the writing style she is famous for: the slow-burning, character driven mystery that keeps you guessing the whole time. Featuring her trademark slightly damaged / neurotic character, there is that delicious element of doubt whether they are being totally honest with you, which adds additional challenges to the armchair detective. My initial theory, as clever as I though it was, was ultimately proven wrong again!

Hannah is one of Ware’s trademark characters. Not completely likeable, slightly obsessive, neurotic, suspicious and hiding her own secrets, she was nevertheless relatable and quickly drew me into the story. There are few people who won’t be able to relate to an average, even a bit boring person being drawn into the limelight of a more glamorous friend and falling under their spell. Hannah Jones, an only child, bookish and as average as her surname (no slight intended), is instantly smitten by her vivacious roommate April Coutts-Clivenden as soon as they meet in their dorm room in Oxford. And here is one of Ware’s other skills that instantly draws me to her books: her ability to create a dark atmospheric setting, in this case Oxford College. Who can’t imagine sinister going-ons in those dark halls and narrow staircases? A place where creepy porters patrol the grounds, and a high wall keeps you out (or in) at night.

As in her previous novel THE LYING GAME, THE IT GIRL features a group of college friends whose dynamics drive the “THEN” part of the novel, recounting the events leading up to April’s murder. The “NOW” focuses on an adult Hannah, now married to April’s former boyfriend and living far from the scene of the crime, in Edinburgh. When Hannah hears that the man who had been convicted of April’s murder has died in prison, past memories resurface, even though she has tried so very hard to keep them buried.

 

Summary:

 

THE IT GIRL is a must read for fans of dark academia or those who love mysteries based on friendship dynamics. It’s one of those rare books that features a clever twist that remains plausible and shows how cleverly plotted this book really was, and how all the clues led up to this point (and yet I totally missed them). It’s a delicious slow burn with an atmospheric setting that made for some great armchair travel. If you are a fan of Ware’s writing then you will most likely enjoy this one as well – I know I did!

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: RUN TIME by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Title: RUN TIME

Author:  Catherine Ryan Howard

Publisher:  Blackstone Publishing

Read: April 2022

Expected publication: 16 August 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Movie-making can be murder...

The project:
Final Draft, a psychological horror. Promising Young Thing Steve Dade will direct.

The tagline:
'Based on a terrifying true story. That hasn't happened - yet.'

The location:
A cottage deep in a forest, miles from anywhere in the wintry wilds of West Cork.

The lead:
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty has stepped in to replace the original actress at the very last minute. She can't help but hope that this will be her big break.

The problem:
Something isn't quite right on the set of Final Draft.
Adele is about to discover that the real horror lies off the page..

 

My musings:

 

I love the way CRH’s mind works. Nothing is ever straightforward. I may trust that the characters are telling me the truth, but in the end they always manage to surprise me. In RUN TIME, CRH takes the theme of your typical horror movie and runs with it, drawing on her brother’s experiences with the world of film. I really enjoyed how the book managed to be both a “book within a book” as well as a movie within a book, with all three mediums intersecting to create a deliciously descriptive backdrop. The concept of life mirroring a horror movie script was an intriguing and refreshingly original concept. I also felt that the chapters of screenplay provided an interesting contrast from the main story and were very “visual” – it gave me the feeling of bingeing on a favourite Netflix series. 

As with her previous book, 56 DAYS, RUN TIME relies heavily on an atmospheric, claustrophobic setting – in this case the film set of a horror novel deep in some dark Irish woods (at night time in the rain). As it plays out over a short period of time, the story is both character driven as well as paying attention to the little details that will ultimately give you the clues to what is really happening here. Our main character Adele’s fragile state of mind and overactive imagination adds another element to the unreliable narrator theme that worked well here. Some old worn horror movie tropes were skilfully woven into the story in a way that both played them down as movie props and simultaneously added tension to the story as things started to happen to Adele that she couldn't explain.

Perhaps my only quibble is that the story got bogged down a bit towards the middle just as things started to go bump in the night - I would have loved to see those scenes exploited a bit more to ratchet up tension. That said, the final reveal took me by surprise and showed me just how cleverly plotted CRH's latest book really was. 

 

Summary:

 

Whilst RUN TIME wasn’t my all time favourite CRH book, it was an enjoyable and captivating novel I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I look forward to what the author will come up with next.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.