Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

As an avid fan of Sex and the City, I was eager to get stuck into Lipstick Jungle. From the first page however I just wasn't feeling the characters or the storyline. I can't put this down to the quality of the writing of the imagination of the story both of which were classic Bushnell at her best. I think my lack of connection to the book as a whole was more than likely due to personal experience and having no common bonds with the experiences, lifestyles and antics of the characters.

I love fashion and all things related so Victory's character was my favourite, however I felt that the representation of men in this book was too chauvinistic and unrealistic. I know that strong successful women are what Candace Bushnell does best, but I don't think this necessarily has to be done at the expense of the quality of their male counterparts.

Many story lines meshed cleverly together. Although it wasn't top of my list of favourites it was an enjoyable and quick-paced read.

6/10

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

I heard about this book after reading the BBC's top 100 books we should all read in our lifetime, and decided to give it a go. I embarked on it with no preconceptions or expectations not to mention prior knowledge of the story. I was pleasantly surprised upon reading it that it is so much more than a children's' book.



It was published in 1943 in French Le Petit Prince and has since been translated into 180 languages and has sold more than 80 million copies (+1 since I just bought it!!) making it one of the bestselling books ever. That alone was a good enough selling point for me to try it out! Although it is written with children in mind, the book also covers many ideologies that will perhaps be missed by a child. The main essence of the book comes from a conversation with a fox and the Prince whereby the fox tries to teach the boy what is most important in life; "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible with the eye." So simple yet so profound.





A Pilot forced to land his plane in the lonely Sahara comes across a little Prince from another planet who not only enchants the pilot but opens his eyes to the way modern man has lost their childhood perspective. It is quite humbling to read and all of us can see our reflection in one or more of the characters illustrated in the story.



Beautifully written with an innocence that is both alluring and raw. This story makes us all face the child within and see where we have got lost in the adult world.



9/10 - A book for everyone.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane is most known for his private eye novels, and his particularly famous novel also turned into a film Mystic River however Shutter Island proves to be very different. Also made into a film very recently, soon to be released on DVD starring Leonardo Decaprio.

I actually picked this book up on Saturday morning at about 10am and had it finished by tea time. I know I read fast but this book was brilliant. Gripping, intense and truly harrowing.

It is a psychological thriller, and I can honestly say being a big coward that I usually am, this book isn't scary...as you can see by my reviews I'm not a great fan of scary books anyway!

US Marshal Teddy Daniels embarks on his investigation to Shutter Island, a remote hospital for the criminally insane, hoping to find a missing patient. After finding a number of cryptic clues Teddy begins to suspect all is not as it seems. Will he ever leave Shutter Island?

Chilling and intensely clever, this book is not at all what it seems. I need someone else to read it now so I can debate what they think about it too!! I will definitely be reading the book again to see if I can break it down even more!!

Truly fantastic.

10/10

Beach Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones and Anonymous

Imogen Edward-Jones has written yet another spectacular inside look into an industry we rarely see from behind the scenes. After reading Hotel Babylon and Fashion Babylon I am hooked on her great reveals into industries we all wish we had backstage passes to!

Her "Anonymous" contributor has given her a magnitude of shocking and revealing stories, all true, that she has been able to cleverly collaborate into a space of one week on a luxury tropical island.

Things most of us would only dream of and never experience in a lifetime are handed to these resort guests not just once a day but whenever their fancy takes them. Thousands of pounds on champagne, the finest foods and 6 star treatment, nothing is too much and the guests expect it all.

With a cast of millionaires, celebrities, and prostitutes what more can a person want on a sunny afternoon, sipping a cocktail and reading about how the other half live!!

8/10

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

I rarely read a book after having seen the film, as knowing how it will end takes some of the allure away from the story for me, however knowing that film adaptations are often rather different (My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult being one that springs to mind) I decided to give the book a chance.

One day later and several laughs I closed the final page of a truly brilliant read. Maybe it is safe to say this book is not one for the boys, but fans of Kinsella rarely are!

Reading Rebecca Bloomwood's compulsive, crazy story gave me in plain black and white a scarily accurate description of how we feel entering shops, buying new things, the feeling we get, the buzz and then....the guilt. Can I afford it? Did I really need it? (Usually no and no!!)

Rebecca is in debt and to cheer herself up, rather than facing the situation she continues on her journey merrily filling her bags with shiny new things along the way. Her interaction with the other equally vivid and vibrant characters and her mishaps along the way are very funny, making the book hard to put down.

Although it is written in a fun a frivolous way there is a strong message for all us girls who like to shop. Moderation, and sensible spending!!

8/10

Say You Love Me by Marion Husband

Say you Love Me is a Harrowing story exploring the life long trauma of parental sexual abuse. Delving into each different charactor Husband grips the reader into the repelling, mulit-dimensional lives each affected in their own way from the abuse.

So many issues are raised through out the book, both obvious and implied, including the rold of adoptive parents in the aftermath of abuse, life-long damage and coping strategies and retrubution and forgiveness.

Two brothers, both very different, cope with the childhood abuse only one of them had to endure at the hands of their father. Not lacking love from their mother, but the vital protection she should have provided them they have to learn to cope in their own ways. Each charactor endures abuse in one form or another and even after they have been removed from the situation they seem never to have the closure they so desparately crave.

Husband has highlighted a situation none of us really want to accept happens and yet does it in such an impartial vocabulary as to make it even more horiffic. She opens many doors to a world most of us can never understand but can only feel repulsion towards those who abuse and tourture.

From a personal perspective I found the neighbour's charactors very frustrating, although they knoew abuse was happening (although not to the extent to which it was) they didn't inform the athorities. I think this is a lesson to us all that sometimes imnding one's own business in all cases is not always the right thing to do.

Husband has written other novels including The Boy I Love and it's sequal Paper Moon

7/10 - a very harrowing read.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

"If you suddenly had a friend that only you could see or hear, what would you do?"

I can't say this account on the back of the book didn't intrigue me slightly, but I never imagined I would enjoy the book as much as I did. Sophie Kinsella is known for her wit and charming writing style so although I knew she wouldn't (and didn't) disappoint the content of the book, judging from the summary on the back cover, was slightly different to her usual subject area.
Luckily I don't judge a book by the cover and off I delved into the pages.

Sitting in her Great-Aunt Sadie's funeral, a woman whom she knows nothing about, and lets face it couldn't care less about, Lara wonders where her life has gone wrong. Her business is failing, her relationship has failed and her best friend has left her in the lurch, not only that but here she is at some funeral with a family she can't stand for a distant relative she never even knew......when suddenly in her ear she hears a voice. "Where is my necklace" bellows the voice, and while no one else bats and eyelid, Lara realises she can see a 1920's girl standing before her frantic for her lost necklace, and only Lara can help her.
Her hilarious story begins, first she has to stop the funeral must to the dismay of her family, then the adventure really begins. Along the way Lara and Sadie, the ghost of her dead Great-Aunt embark on a rollar-coaster ride, who had me laughing aloud.
Are things really how they seem? What will be uncovered along the way?

I know Kinsella's books are generally held under the "chick-lit" umbrella but I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a bit of laughter in their life. It is an easy and enjoyable read and one of the rare books that I would happily read again.

10/10 I only wish it has gone on longer!!

Remembrance Day by Leah Fleming

Leah Fleming is another author whose work I had not read before, and after having Remembrance Day passed onto me I gave her a shot.

The first part of the story is set just before and during the time of the First World War, in the quaint Yorkshire village of West Sharland. Selma, the daughter of a proud Blacksmith, and her brothers, and Guy and his twin brother Angus cross paths over a tragic accident, beginning an intertwined and life-long relationship. Not the usual love story of two lovers crossing the divides of society which were so much more pronounced in those days, but one of recklessness, deceit and heart-break.

Twin brother Angus, refused entry into the army on medical grounds, takes his opportunity to deceive the army and without his brother's knowledge, takes his place while Guy is home after an injury inflicted in battle. Meanwhile Selma, still in love with Guy is led to believe he is no longer interested.

Paths cross on the to her side of the channel and Angus (posing as Guy) does a wrong against Selma's brother Frank, who has saved his life many years before. As the village hundreds of miles away hear the rumors circulating they turn against Selma's family and she is forced by her parents to start a new life in America.

Part two of the book covers her American adventure and the link Selma and Guy still have through, believe it or not, their children who have both been posted to England in the second world war after America became involved.

If you want a realistic and likely tale, then this is probably a little far-fetched for your liking but if you love to curl up on a cold evening with the fire on and a hot drink and get absorbed in a gripping tale then you will love this. Narrated by Selma as an old woman finally witnessing the erection of a war memorial, disputed upon for so many years, her story unfolds.

This book illustrated not only a story of individuals and families torn apart by the devastation of war, but allowed us to enter into a past where community and strength, honor and grudges were tantamount to survival.

A must for anyone who enjoys a bit of a tear-jerking drama.

6/10 only marked down as it was a little slow-paced for my liking and a little far-fetched for my personal preference.