karteabooks's reviews
526 reviews

One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips

4.0

Another bookstagram made me do it purchase, and I am so glad that I did. 

 

He will be allowed to visit his mother soon. His mother who is terminally ill, his mother who he has been barred from seeing as he recovers from his own bout of pneumonia. Until then, with the help of his physiotherapist Freya, he must navigate his increasingly empty and isolated existence: his father, who finds solace in the bottom of a glass; his Nana Q, whose betting-slip confetti litters her handbag; his friends, who simply wouldn’t understand. Time passes with the promise of soon, but one hundred and fifty-two days later the boy will come face to face with his grief, and move beyond to a world full of possibility, hope and love. 

 

What an incredibly powerful book. I loved that this was written in free verse as it made every word more important. The book handles the theme of grief in such a graceful way, it’s definitely one I will be recommending. 

 

I have only given it 4 stars as the dates were out of order and maybe it’s just me as some one who likes a linear timeline, but I did find that slightly off putting. 

 

I highly recommend this. 

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

5.0

 Yet another bookstagram made me do it purchase. I’m just wondering why I left this on my tbr for so long as it was another book that I should have picked up ages ago! 

 

It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at "The Paper Palace"—the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colours in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanours of families. 

 

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. So many issues were dealt with in this book, both emphatically and thoughtfully. From the outset, everything looks completely fine, and everyone is happy going about their lives, but a ‘chance’ meeting at The Paper Palace leads to everything precariously hanging in the balance, and the will they / won’t they decision is left right until the last page, to keep you completely engaged and wanting to read to the very end. 

 

This book is up there within my books of the year and it certainly got me out of a bit of a reading slump too and I was completely immersed in this book for several days, I even took it to work to try to read some during my breaks which I haven’t done with a book for quite a while. 

 

I say this very rarely, but this is a book that I would like to see as a movie or a TV series, it would just work so well. 

 

I highly recommend this book, but I suggest you might want to check the trigger warnings first, as this book doesn’t mince its words and is very descriptive. 

Ceremony of Innocence by Madeleine Bunting

4.0

 Another book that I would never have considered picking up if it wasn’t for the lovely people at @tandemcollectiveuk, who allowed me to be on the readalong for this with lots of other fellow bookish people. 

 

When a young Muslim woman goes missing, the trail leads to a quintessentially English family's tangled and dark connections with Empire, the Shah's Tehran, and modern Bahrain, in this evocative and page-turning novel. Neem has been investigating the secretive business of the wealthy Wilcox Smiths in Bahrain. When she goes missing, presumed dead, those close to her unravel a trail that leads back to the 1970s in Tehran where Martin Wilcox Smith began his career as a diplomat. Phoebe, Martin's enigmatic wife, is divided between her love of Neem and protecting her husband; Fauzia, Martin's daughter-in-law, is a reporter investigating British ties to the Middle East; and Kate, Martin's niece, is in a relationship with a Bahraini refugee who opens her eyes to Martin's corruption; together they are on a path of discovery into their family's secret past. A vivid and evocative story that travels between the Shah's Iran, modern Bahrain and the English countryside, Ceremony of Innocence explores one family's entanglement with Empire and the power wielded by the establishment, to uncover colonialism's legacy of moral compromises and corruption. 

 

I was completely taken in by this book, by its characters, the setting, and the sheer force of this book. It is one of my top books this year, and I have some amazing titles in that list! 

 

It’s a story that slowly pieces together, it’s a triple (!) timeline book that jumps from Tehran in 1969-70, before the Shah was deposed, onto England in 2012-13 and then to now. There are moments of intense drama, painfully so, mainly in the storyline involving Kate and Hussain. 

 

If I’m completely honest, I’m just not sure about the ending. I think I was expecting more as I think my expectation of the ending were slowly built up during the book. Although on reflection, maybe the unfinished business that results from cover-ups and unsolved (and resolved) mysteries are realistic in the world of political thrillers. 

 

Even though this is primarily a political thriller, I highly recommend this as it tackles so much more than just a missing woman. 

A Haunting at Holkham by Anne Glenconner

3.0

I must admit that I brought this book because of its title. The village of Holkham, the beach and Holkham Hall hold so many lovely memories for me, of when my children were younger, and we spent many happy days at the various places. 

 

It’s Christmas 1943 and Lady Anne Coke has returned to Holkham Hall from Scotland. But her home is now an army base, with large sections out of bounds. And 11-year-old Anne is in the care of a new governess, whom she hates and believes to be hiding something. At least her beloved grandfather is there for her, to share stories and to keep her entertained. But even though she’s been told to stay away from certain parts of the house, Anne knows secrets about the hall that others do not; the passageways and cellars that allow her to move around unnoticed, watching. And when mysterious events lead to a murder and disappearance, Anne is determined to uncover the truth. 

 

Once I realised that this actually based around some of the author’s real-life experiences I was intrigued further, and even though I enjoyed the book as I was already familiar with the setting of Holkham, the writing was good but I did sometimes feel that the plot was slightly lacking. 

 

What I really liked was the ‘ghost story’ that was in there and at times there were certain gothic vibes, which I thought was a nice touch. 

 

After reading this, I subsequently read that both of the author’s previous books, A Lady in Waiting and Murder on Mustique are both really good, so although for me  this book wasn’t a candidate for book of the year, I’m going to be looking into reading her other books soon. 

This Is Your Own Time You're Wasting: Classroom Confessions, Calamities and Clangers by Lee Parkinson, Adam Parkinson

5.0

Having listened to and followed ICT with Mr P, and the Two P’s in a podcast, I jumped at the chance when I was invited to read this book on Netgalley. 

 

The side-splittingly hilarious and heart-warming next book from your favourite teacher duo, The Two Mr Ps. Now put that thing down! Yes YOU. It’s time to sit up and listen …From the stars of Two Mr Ps in a Pod(Cast) and the bestselling authors of Put a Wet Paper Towel On It comes a book filled with chaos, clangers and confessions from the … classrooms. You’ll be taken on a journey where you’ll meet a rogues’ gallery of classroom characters, read some juicy teacher confessions and learn why every primary teacher’s least favourite lesson is the dreaded … SEX EDUCATION! You’ll even get the inside scoop on what it was like (attempting) to teach during a pandemic. So, settle down, grab a cuppa and enjoy this book as we pull back the curtain on the weird and wonderful world of primary schools. 

After all, THIS IS YOUR OWN TIME YOU’RE WASTING. 

 

Read this on a train journey and I was certainly getting ‘the eye’ as I was laughing out loud so much! Working in education, I could relate easily to lots of the different stories too. 

 

A great book, I agree with a fellow reviewer, I really hope there is a book three, and I am already looking forward to it. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and the two Mr P’s for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Fault Lines by Emily Itami

4.0

 This was another great pick from Jenna @the_book_taster for July’s Tasting Notes Book Club. This was another Marmite book, but yet again, after hearing the author chat about the book, her upbringing and her hectic life as a mum, author and teacher, the book took on a whole new meaning. 

 

This book was very character driven and focused on Mitzuki and her life in Japan, who even though she was born in Japan, was seen as an outsider as she spent some years in New York before returning home and settling down with her husband and young family. 

 

I loved the author’s writing style and setting descriptions and even though I have never visited Tokyo, I did find myself transported there and at times I could almost smell and taste the different foods. 

 

This was a thoughtful, insightful and a very considered debut novel about love in its many different guises, and how it is such an important part of everyone’s lives. It also showed us how motherhood in Japan is so vastly different to how that role is to the UK. 

 

I am still pondering over the title, ‘Fault Lines’, is it a reference to the numerous earthquakes that rock Japan almost daily, or is it referring to her marriage and the lines that have begun to appear?? I urge you to pick up this book and answer that question for yourself. 

A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon

4.0

Having never read any of her other books, it was thanks to @the_book_taster that I have discovered yet another author that I will be looking to read their previous books. This was May’s book club pick, thanks to the wonderful Jenna. 

For some reason, this is being described as a thriller, well in my personal opinion, it isn’t, I would describe is more as a crime / mystery but in saying that there is some suspense throughout, but as I say, that is my opinion, read the book and decided for yourself, which I suggest that you do! 

 The two main characters are Terry, who works, but his wife Linda, isn’t quite sure exactly what he does. Linda, who minds the house and has a part-time job working in a charity shop. They recently moved house somewhat recently and continue to receive mail for the former resident whose taste was far more opulent than theirs.
 
 Linda and her mother, Eunice, left Wales to avoid just this sort of thing. When the body count rises to three, Linda begins to pay more attention to the changes in her husband’s schedule, and the new variations in his work. Linda pays attention to even the seemingly insignificant details. She would bring it to the attention of the police, but knows they’d never listen anyway.
 
 There’s a quirky element of this that reminded me a little of Nita Prose’s ’Molly’ in ’The Maid’, although story-wise this is very different in very many ways. But Linda’s unconventional ways, her views on life and friendship, and the childhood trauma that haunts her has left her a little awkward with people, which also means they tend to either dismiss her or take advantage of her.
 
I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a warm- hearted tale of love, life and everyone getting what they truly deserve. 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

4.0

 This was May’s book choice for the #curiousaboutchristie22 book challenge. This is another Hercule Poirot murder mystery and this time, it is not set on a train but in the village of Kings Abbot, where Poirot is fortuitously staying on a short holiday. 

This is the fourth instalment of the Hercule Poirot series, but even though I have tried, I haven’t read them in any order at all. Having previously read Murder on the Orient Express, The Mystery of the Blue Train and The ABC murders, I thought I ‘knew’ Poirot’s way of solving the conundrums that he faces when he ‘stumbles’ across each murder. Well, as this was one of his earlier inquiries, his way of working was different to what I have read already 

Only after reading this book did I discover that ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ is the only Agatha Christie book featured on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and I was sceptical about the List's claim that this was the only Christie book worth reading. But, as much as it pains me to say this, I think the List is right on this one. At least a little - I'm definitely not suggesting that you should read this book and then never pick up a Christie novel ever again, but if you find yourself in a situation where you're going to spend a month on a desert island and can only bring one book, and the only books you've been offered are from the Agatha Christie canon, you should pick this one.
 
The ending (which I will not discuss in explicit detail for fear of spoilers) is what makes this a 5-star book. Let me assure you: you will not guess who the murderer is. Never ever ever. When the murderer is revealed, you will not believe. When the murderer goes on to explain his/her actions, you will continue to not believe it. Only by rereading certain important passages will you start to realize that the answer was in front of you all the time, and you couldn't see it. It's a testament to Christie's skill as a writer that this is accomplished. 

But, as I am beginning to learn, this is classic Christie and exactly why she wrote so many books, and exactly why so many people are still reading and re-reading her books nearly a century after she wrote her novels. I am really looking forward to reading next month’s book and hopefully finding time to squeeze in some more Agatha Christie novels really soon too. 

The Marsh House by Zoë Somerville

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 

I was so lucky to meet this author at Tasting Notes Live in April 2022 and after hearing her talk about this book, and after reading her first novel, The Night of the Flood, I brought this book from a Norfolk bookshop. I expected it to be good, but I was unprepared for the chilling gothic masterpiece that lurked between these pages which I devoured in a day! 

 

December, 1962: Desperate to salvage something from a disastrous year, Malorie rents a remote house on the Norfolk coast for Christmas. But once there, the strained silence between her and her daughter Franny feels louder than ever. Digging for decorations in the attic, she comes across the notebooks of the teenaged Rosemary, who lived in the house years before. Though she knows she needs to focus on the present, Malorie finds herself inexorably drawn into the past...
 
 July, 1930: Rosemary lives in the Marsh House with her austere father, surrounded by unspoken truths and rumours. So when the glamorous Lafferty family move to the village, she succumbs easily to their charm. Dazzled by the beautiful Hilda and her dashing brother, Franklin, Rosemary fails to see the danger that lurks beneath their bright façades...
 
 As Malorie reads on, the boundaries between past and present begin to blur, in this haunting novel about family, obligation and deeply buried secrets.

 

The Marsh House is described as ‘part ghost story, part novel of suspense’ and it certainly delivers both those elements. It’s full of atmosphere and an absorbing read.

For me, this was an immersive plot, but also mesmerising and chilling. I loved the historical fiction too, as this was a real event, and I liked the way that the author interspersed that narrative with the trials and tribulations of families in the 1930s and the 1960s in a small coastal town.

 The North Norfolk coast, where this book is set, holds fond memories for me, so this made this book that bit more special too, and as the story unfolded, I really felt like I was there alongside Malorie, Franny, Rosemary, Hilda and Franklin and as I read, at times I felt that I could actually feel the cold Winter wind blowing in from the sea, even now a couple of days after finishing the book, I am sure that I can still feel that cold easterly breeze, with the tang of the sea air and fish and chips wafting by too.
 
 

 I can’t recommend it highly enough, this is a clear your diary and have plenty of snacks and drinks to hand, read it in one sitting kind of book

Lots of twists and turns and a real page turner for me. As I mentioned above, I can’t wait for this talented author’s next book.

Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives by Al Tait, Kitty Tait

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

 

Breadsong is not only a cookbook filled with their recipes for bread, pastries, and cookies, it’s the story of how baking changed the Tait family’s lives. Aged 14, Kitty’s life had been thrown off course by anxiety and depression and her parents thought they had exhausted their choices of how they could help. Then her dad, Al, tried breadmaking as a distraction for her spiralling mind. Something about making bread gave her a pathway to recovery and hope and healing. It also led to them opening the Orange Bakery in Wallington, which Kitty and Al now run together.
 
 Told with humour, and grounded in a love of community, particularly through Lockdowns, Al’s understated recollections of seeing his child suffer and struggle with mental health issues and the quiet adjustments the whole family made to try and overcome this brought tears to my eyes. Kitty herself is a force of nature and her passion for all thing bread is so encompassing. Her story is one of hope and is so engaging and truthful and a real advocate to finding your own path in life. 

I was so happy to see Kitty find her way and enjoying something that she loved to do/ Kitty, her dad, the bakery, and this book deserve to go far. 

 I highly recommend this. I'm not sure if I can put into words how brilliant this book is. As I mentioned earlier, this is so much more than a cookbook, it is also a moving and lovely memoir based on true grit, determination and community. I read this on someone else’s review and completely agree ‘we truly need more Kitty’s in this world