The Blurb

It’s Julianne Morgen’s first Christmas in the Cornish village of Ceffylgwyn, and life seems perfect.  Her job as an event planner couldn’t be better, she’s beginning to feel at home despite being an American in a tiny English village, and her relationship with handsome English horticulturist Matthew Rose continues to slowly blossom from friendship to love.

But when an old flame of Julianne’s appears on the spot, she finds herself tangled up in her own past.  A grand charitable ball planned at Cliffs House for Christmas brings it’s own challenges to Julianne’s world, along with a last-minute wedding in London.  And when she learns that Matthew’s former career in America has invited him back, she worries about what it means for their future together if he says ‘yes’.

Number of pages – 95.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed A Wedding In Cornwall and so looked forward to catching up with Julianne, Matt and all the staff at Cliffs house in this second instalment of Laura’s series.

Julianne has settled into her life in Cornwall and her fledgling relationship with Matt is going well. However, the course of true love does not always run smoothly and it appears that fate may be conspiring against the couple.

A Christmas In Cornwall is very much a classic love story with an added gorgeous setting and a sprinkling of Christmas sparkle. The characters are great and you can’t help but like Julianne, Matt and the rest of the staff at Cliffs House. I got completely absorbed in Julianne’s life and it felt like spending time with an old friend. Unsure of the status of their fledgling relationship, I found myself rooting for Julianne and Matt and hoping their relationship would work out.

Once again, Laura has done a great job of describing Cornwall and the village creating a really warm feel throughout the novella. It still amazes me that Laura has never actually been to Cornwall and she must have undertaken a lot of research.

A lovely festive novella. Great if you want to while away a winter’s afternoon with a light-hearted read.

Thank you to Laura Briggs for my copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

You can purchase a copy HERE.

The Blurb

All we are is fresh air and empty streets.

Fifteen years after Alexander left his wife and young child to pursue the life of an artist in Paris, his son Felix is on his doorstep, looking for answers.  On a journey through smoky jazz bars, artist’s studios and along the banks of the Seine, Felix meets the father he never knew, and in doing so, comes to question some lifelong assumptions.

Number of pages – 140

My Thoughts

In his debut novella Fresh Air And Empty Streets Oliver Cable takes us on a meandering tale of loss, anger, reconciliation and self-discovery along the river Seine in Paris.

Felix has travelled to Paris to meet the father who left him and his mother when he was a young child to pursue his dream of being an artist in Paris. Felix, understandably, finds it difficult to fathom why his father, Alexander, left him all those years ago and feels a degree of animosity towards him. What he doesn’t expect is to make discoveries about himself, his beliefs and to feel an empathy with the man who caused him and his mother so much pain and heartache.

It is clear through his prose that Oliver has a deep love for jazz, art and literature and through these mediums Felix discovers things about himself he wasn’t expecting. As he becomes involved in his father’s artistic lifestyle he begins to understand the power of the pull of Alexander’s creative side and realises that there are always more than one perspective, whether that be of events, life and the arts. Felix is searching for his father but the ultimate search is for himself. Oliver uses a lot of dream sequences to convey to the reader how Felix is feeling at the time and make sense of his feelings.

Oliver is a poet at heart and this comes through in his writing. He captures the essence of Paris whilst also capturing the loneliness Felix feels when he initially arrives in the city. The joy of this book is through the descriptions and the self discoveries that Felix makes rather than any fast paced excitement or drama. He sums up perfectly how I feel about reading and why I love hearing of other people’s interpretations of the written word;

‘ “I consider that the beauty of a painting – it can be anything to anyone. Come to think of it, that holds true for music, literature, dance, you name it. People will look at it through their own frame of reference. Of course they’ll read something else into it than you will.” ’

This is a steady paced book in which the joy comes through the beauty of the prose. If you enjoy books that take more of a philosophical perspective and rely heavily on descriptions of music, surroundings and art to convey the emotions of the character rather than high drama than you will enjoy it.

A beguiling short read quite unlike anything I have read recently, Fresh Air And Empty Streets took me on an evocative journey through the jazz bars of Paris and made me think about how what you believe to be true is never as straight forward as you think. An accomplished debut novel.

Thank you to Oliver Cable for the copy of the book in exchange for my review.

Published on 1 July 2016 by Oliver Cable.

You can purchase a copy HERE.

The Blurb

A young woman on vacation with her parents discovers she can see ghosts in the Stone City of  the Crescent Valley.  When her parents are taken hostage by a rogue tour guide, she must mediate with one of the ghosts to get them back.  But ghosts are the least of her problems in this perilous adventure that takes her back thousands of years, to a time when the Valley flourished with life and a legendary brotherhood roamed it’s sands.

Number of pages – 48.

My Thoughts

A wonderful setting, ghosts, and a plucky heroine make A Time to Tour Ghost City an entertaining quick read.

Leela is on holiday in the Crescent Valley with her parents when their tour guide, Altaf, on realising Leela can see the ghosts of the Stone City, takes her parents hostage. In order to free her parents, Leela must help him find the hidden treasure of the Stone City.

As Leela has to negotiate the Stone City and the ghosts that live there in order to assist the guide, they are not prepared for what happens during their mission as it takes them to where they never thought it was possible to go. What ensues is a fast paced story.

Rich descriptions of the Stone City in the present and past conjured up images of Petra for me as Anjum leads us on an Arabian adventure with all the sights, sounds and heat of the setting. She has done a great job of setting the scene and immersing the reader in the surroundings.

I loved the fact that the main characters were Indian and Arabian. I did, however, find it a little difficult to connect with the two main characters which may in part be due to the length of the book as there was not much room for character development. The characters did not feel authentic to me and the relationship between Leela and Altaf was inconsistent at times.

On the whole A Time To Tour Ghost City is an enjoyable easy read reminiscent of Ali Baba but with a modern twist.

Thank you to Anjum Choudhury for the copy of A Time To Tour Ghost City.

Published on 23 August 2016 by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

You can purchase a copy HERE.

The Blurb

Rob is running from a drab life and a loveless marriage.  David is running from something but he doesn’t know what.  Alistair would like to run but his dad keeps him locked in his room.  Their paths will inevitably cross but whose life will be changed forever?  Thurso is a novel about cause and effect, memory and guilt.  P James Callaghan does not shy away from his depictions of abuse and mental illness.  But Thurso is also a novel about remorse and redemption.  Callaghan writes efficiently and precisely, with dark humour and an eye for the wondrous in the mundane.

Number of pages – 138

My Thoughts

Thurso is an intriguing book about three people who all have one thing in common – the town of Thurso. Trying to escape to or from Thurso, this very character based book tells the story of the people over the course of eight days.

David is trying to get to Thurso and it is clear from the outset that he is suffering from mental health difficulties. Rob is running away from his relationship difficulties. Alistair is desperate to get away from Thurso and his domineering father. Getting their unique individual perspectives, this book gradually unravels each character’s story.

Thurso touches on mental health issues, abuse and generally the darker aspects of human beings and it is unflinching and raw in it’s portrayal of the subject matters. There are, however, touches of black humour that lighten what could otherwise be an all encompassing sombre mood.

I could not help but be moved by David and Alistair’s stories. The writing is to the point and with no dressing up in relation to Alistair and this can make for uncomfortable reading which may be difficult for some, however it is, I feel, necessary to the story. Rob made me feel uneasy and he was not a character that I warmed to but by the end I understood him and felt a degree of empathy for him. Callaghan has, in Rob’s story, touched on the feelings and behaviour that takes place when a relationship is floundering with an emotional acuity.

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, Callaghan has used the scenery to create atmosphere and tension within Thurso and this adds to the bleakness experienced when reading . This is particularly effective in David’s story as the similes used to describe the surrounding countryside sums up David’s state of mind;

‘He heard the forest dozing. The trees stood round a large shallow bowl like mourners round a grave.’

Further tension is added towards the end of the book as the chapters get shorter, pushing the story on towards it’s conclusion, a conclusion that made me re-evaluate what I had assumed about the characters. Callaghan effectively left me mulling over this book for a few days while I absorbed all that I had read.

A tale about the difficulties people can face and how they react to and process them, with unflinching and yet moving, carefully written descriptions of sensitive issues made Thurso an interesting book and an enjoyable read. A ‘make you think’, dark debut from P. James Callaghan, I look forward to reading more from this author.

A huge thank you to P. James Callaghan for the copy of Thurso.

Published 1 May 2016 by ITA Press.

You can purchase a copy HERE.