Review : Possession

Title: Possession
Author: A.S. Byatt
Rating: 8/10
Good For: When you think romance is dead

Hello! Just me, long time no speak! I must apologise for my lack of posts here but I’m afraid I’ve been nose-deep in boring books about photoshop and other such dreary matters of late.

Happily though, due to the recent sunshine and my sitting out in parks lots, I’ve managed to read a brilliant book, Possession by A.S. Byatt.   I really loved it, and it seems like I’m not the only one because it won the Booker back in 1990.  The novel flits primarily between two narratives – one which centres on the forbidden love between two Victorian poets and another about a modern day academic who unearths correspondence between the two poets and who must unravel the mystery of their scandalous affair before his academic rivals find out about his discovery.  It’s got a bit of everything:  literary mystery, sumptuous romance, scandal and fascinating character development.

I hear there was a film adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow. I will not be watching it for fear of disappointment!

Kat x

Review: Alphabet Weekends

Title:            Alphabet Weekends

Author:            Elizabeth Noble

Rating:              7/10

Good For:            Light entertainment

This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a good couple of years, and somehow my eye alighted on it while scanning for my next read, and its time had come!

The strapline across the cover of this book reads ‘Love Lessons from A to Z’, and that short phrase encapsulates it rather well.

There’s an interesting and varied selection of characters, and I really liked the juxtaposition of several different relationships at their different stages.  Although it’s essentially chick-lit, there’s some quite nitty gritty stuff in there, too, and it’s not all as happy ever after as it may lead you to believe.

A good, light read.

Caroline x

Review: Tell Me Something – Adele Parks

Title:     Tell Me Something

Author: Adele Parks

Rating: 8/10

Good For: Holiday Reading

We’ve been bad bloggers of late, but we do have excuses: Kat’s only been reading books about photography, Apow is currently otherwise engaged, and me – well, I just haven’t been reading as much as I would like to.

Anyway, I do love Adele Parks (even more so since the lady herself left a comment on my blog last year when I mentioned that I enjoy her books), and was pleased to find this one, which I hadn’t previously read.

The story centres around Elizabeth, a die-hard romantic, who has always dreamed of having an Italian husband and lots of babies.  She achieves the first dream, but is having difficulty achieving the second.  The majority of the story takes place in Italy, where she and Roberto, her husband, have moved to, to run his family business. 

Elizabeth soon finds there’s more to living in Italy than eating ice cream in sun drenched piazzas, and along with a scheming mother-in-law from hell, Roberto’s significant ex seems to be hellbent on destroying her marriage.  Add into the mix a gorgeous American man who befriends Elizabeth, and …. well, I won’t spoil the story for you.

It’s chick-lit, no doubt – but I like Adele Parks’ writing, and she does chick-lit very well indeed.  Would be a brilliant beach read for the summer.