11.22.63 by Stephen King

Title: 11.22.63

Author: Stephen King

Released: November 2011

WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . .

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: Well where should I begin? This is the first full length Stephen King book that I've had the pleasure to read, and for the most part it was a pleasure. 

I don't really know anything about American history or the assassination of JFK, it's not something that they really teach here in the UK being American history. So I was kinda walking into this novel hoping that dear Mr King would provide some of the details of what is supposed to happen to one of America's most famous Presidents. Luckily I wasn't disappointed. I became instantly drawn into whether or not Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone shooter, and I guess that is something we will never really know. 

I was a little worried that with the story being based around time travel, and the possibility of being able to change the past, that I wouldn't be a fan of this story. I'm not huge on sci-fi stuff despite being an avid Doctor Who fan, I never have been. It's just not my cup of tea. However I really enjoyed this book and I mean really enjoyed it. I found myself wanting to go back to America myself and do all the dances. I even had the odd dream about it. 

What I liked though was that despite this potentially incredible power and foresight Jake now possesses he's just a normal guy. You see him living his life as a substitute teacher, and falling in love with Sadie. Admittedly I didn't like Sadie at first, but I didn't dislike her either. She just held no interest for me. Oh if only I knew how that would change. 

This was an absolutely fantastic read, although I did rang my Dad afterwards sobbing my little heart out over Sadie, I want to blame the pregnancy hormones but I also blame Stephen King for being such an emotive writer. Damn you Mr King, I wanted to not like Sadie, not cry like a baby over her. 

Negatives: Well if a book is this good then why should I look for a negative or two? Because no book is perfect. I think for me, the flaw in 11.22.63 was thatas a whole I didn't like Jake's character. I don't know why I just didn't like him.

And then there's the whole idea of the butterfly effect. Sure I understand the concept of that theory, we all do. But I found it somewhat hard to believe how much of an effect one person's life could have. Could JFK being saved really cause an earthquake only days later killing thousands of people? No I don't think so. But sending a country into complete anarchy in times of such political delicacy? Yes I can see that happening. Either way I'm now firmly turned off of the idea of time travel for life. 

Would I recommend this book? Hell yes! This was a brilliant read and I found myself completely gripped. Just maybe have some tissues handy for the ending. 

The Sense Of An Ending by Julian Barnes

Title: The Sense Of An Ending

Author: Julian Barnes

Released: August 2011

Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life.

Now Tony is retired. He's had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. He's certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer's letter is about to prove.

Rating: 3 Stars

Positives: After having this book recommended to me by one of my university lecturers a few years ago, I thought it was finally time to give The Sense of an Ending a try. The novella whilst only consisting of two chapters, with one focusing on the past, and the other the present, has quite a good level of detail. I absolutely loved the first chapter, seeing Tony's life right from sixth form, fumbling his way through a degree and trying to navigate a relationship with Veronica. It is apparent to the reader straight away that Veronica and Tony will never work out, they are too different and he doesn't quite fit in with her set. And we see this all being recalled in Tony's memory, of how he thinks he penned a certain letter to Adrian before travelling to America, only to find upon his return that his former friend has committed suicide. At the time the reasons for Adrian's suicide are unclear, but rest assured we discover them later on. 

The Sense of an Ending shows us that our own memory is not infallible, in fact psychology studies show that eyewitness testimony is so unreliable because we subconsciously alter out memories and fill in the gaps, yet it is something we rely heavily on for our justice system. When Tony is given a copy of that letter that he wrote to Adrian all those years ago, in a fit of anger that Adrian and Veronica were now considered a couple, we see that he himself is shocked at what he wrote. Reading the letter myself, I must say even I felt sorry for Veronica, a character whom I don't particularly like all that much. And if only Tony understood at this point the implications of what had been said in his letter, the events that it in turn would cause to happen. 

Admittedly in the second half of the book, especially when we see the final twist, we can understand why Veronica now hates Tony so much, and also I found myself growing to like her more. Despite how she feels about Tony, she is trying to make him understand what happened all those years ago, but Tony doesn't really see what's in front of him. And when he finally works it out, when he finally understands everything, including the real reason behind Adrian's suicide, I do feel somewhat sorry for him. 

Negatives: To be honest I found Tony a very bland character. I know he is supposed to be portrayed this way, a man who is never anything more than average, who has never taken control of anything in his life, but Tony really bored me. However this did have the advantage of making the other characters a lot more colourful. 

The other thing that really annoyed me, and I mean really annoyed me, was how the idea of history or time is always cropping up. I know in a story about how our memories are percieved this needs to happen, but was it really necessary for it to happen quite so often? 

Would I recommend this book? Whilst The Sense of an Ending didn't grip me, I would recommend it from the point of view that it makes the reader realise just how much all of our actions matter and that even the most indirect consequences can be devastating. 

Stolen by Susan Lewis

Title: Stolen

Author: Susan Lewis

Released: January 2011

Lucy Winters' parents have always been there for her. Loving, gentle and kind they have given her everything she could have wished for. Now, estranged from her husband, she has moved to the country to take over their thriving auction business. The moment she begins to prepare for her first sale she knows she's made the right decision. And she dares to hope that at last she is living the life she has always dreamed of.

But then, quite suddenly, her world is thrown into turmoil. She discovers a shocking truth, one that forces her to question everything she has ever known. And it becomes frighteningly possible that the very people who should have protected her are the ones who have betrayed her in the most devastating of ways. Can she ever forgive them? Can they ever forgive themselves...?

Rating: 4 Stars

Positives: This book had me gripped from the prologue. Right from page one I wanted to know exactly what had happened to Alexandra, and how Rose would cope as she faces every parents worst nightmare. And whilst the story is then a bit slow for several chapters, you get a real feel for all of the characters and as their lives start to become intertwined it's possible to work out what happened to Alexandra and exactly who Lucy is. I loved how we aren't spoon fed either, Susan Lewis keeps us guessing as to how John and Pippa tie into everything for several chapters and she manages to bring everything together wonderfully. 

Its also nice to see how characters like Hanna change and develop over the course of Stolen, she goes from this horrible bratty spoilt teenager and becomes someone who is actually fairly mature for the age of fifteen. 

As for what happens to Lucy's parents I pondered for a while whether or not they truly managed to escape justice. Whilst I think it would pain Rose and John that they never got to see any legal repercussions, they did at least get the joy of knowing what happened to their daughter. And personally I feel, maybe not so much for Brian as we don't see much of him, but for Daphne that although she didn't regret what had happened, she certainly felt a degree of guilt about it. Maybe it was the best way out for them both without the story then being embroiled in another huge tangle. 

I was a little worried about how such a story could be pulled off, and I was sat in the maternity ultrasound department asking my dad, "But how would they get ID for the kid? How did they manage to evade what I'm sure would have been a huge media storm?" I wanted to know how the practicalities would work, and I was very glad that we were given them later on. 

Also I have to admit I cried, when Lucy finds those crucial documents, again I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't read it, but my hormones kicked off big time and I just spent this afternoon embroiled in a huge pit of despair. I think that's a good thing though as it highlights how good an author Susan Lewis is. 

Negatives: My main bone of contention with Stolen was the ending. I'm somewhat glad that Joe's character is still a complete and utter twat, he is one of those people about whom the saying a leopard never changes its spots is true. However the rest of the final chapter seemed too forced, too happy. Not everyone gets a happy ending, that's life unfortunately. But in Stolen everyone does get their happy ending. I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't read it though. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. It was an amazing read, and like I said earlier I don't know whether it was just the pregnancy hormones or not but Stolen managed to evoke an emotional reaponse from me. 

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

Title: I Don't Know How She Does It

Author: Allison Pearson

Released: January 2002

Meet Kate Reddy, fund manager and mother of two. A victim of time famine, Kate counts seconds like other women count calories. Factor in a manipulative nanny, an Australian boss who looks at Kate's breasts as if they're on special offer, a long-suffering husband, her quietly aghast in-laws, two needy children and an email lover, and you have a woman juggling so many balls that some day something's going to hit the ground.

Rating: 3 Stars

Positives: I absolutely love the sense of humour contained within this book. One of my biggest laugh out loud moments was when Kate is thinking about how "Women used to make mince pies and fake orgams. Now we can handle the orgasms and have to fake the mince pies." The funny thing is that she is absolutely spot on! Or my other favourite moment which I had to text to one of my friends immediately after reading was her list of reasons for not having an affair with someone. 1. Haven't waxed legs since Hallowe'en. Whereas being married was relegated to number four. 

Humour aside it was funny seeing how Kate tries to keep all the balls juggling, but of course no one can juggle that many balls forever. I especially loved hers and Momo's revenge on Chris Bunce. What an ingenious idea. I may try it sometime. Now I just need to meet a hedge fund manager who can piss me off easily. 

Negatives: I don't know if it's just me but whilst funny it didn't really feel like the story was going anywhere. There was a long time where I wanted Kate and Jack to get together, purely so something would happen. 

Then there was the epilogue. The ending for Kate was so damn predictable. We'be seen enough of her character over the course of the book to know what would happen the moment her sister phoned her. I just get the feeling that it's only going to be one more cycle of the same story. 

In all honestly I was a little disappointed with this book. 

Would I recommend this book? If I'm honest no I wouldn't. I didn't feel the gripping need to read just one more chapter, and I didn't really engage with the characters. A rather lacking book in all. 

The Lady Of The Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Title: The Lady Of The Rivers

Author: Philippa Gregory

Released: September 2011

Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of nineteen she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her house-hold for love, and then carved out a life for herself as Queen Margaret of Anjou's close friend and a Lancaster supporter - until the day that her daughter Elizabeth Woodville fell in love and married the rival king Edward IV. Of all the little-known but important women of the period, her dramatic story is the most neglected. With her links to Melusina, and to the founder of the house of Luxembourg, together with her reputation for making magic, she is the most haunting of heroines.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: As always Philippa Gregory has managed to recreate historical England perfectly. We are drawn straight into Jacquetta's life and the tumultuous politics of England as the Lancasters and Yorkists do battle. Even if you don't know much of the politics at this time, they are portrayed easily enough in this book that you can get to grips with what is going on. 

For me Philippa Gregory's novels always hold that little bit extra as I'm very distantly descended from Jacquetta myself, so for me this was the perfect novel to give me some insight into my ancestors. Of course this is a fictional account, but the author is known for always doing her research around her subject. 

The characters themselves are extremely loveable, and I always found myself worrying for Richard Woodville's safety every time he was sent into battle. The only character who I absolutely despised was Margaret of Anjou, the moment her name was first mentioned alarm bells started ringing in my head. She was a vile character, albeit with a softer side at times, and I think she was captured perfectly. 

Negatives: I can't say I have many bones to pick with this book. I think my only thing is that I would have liked to have seen more of Jacquetta's gifts, but I do have to accept that in 15th century England they are something that would have been well hidden. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. I already recommended it to a friend after only five chapters, and now having read the whole thing I definitely think it is an excellent read. 

The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Title: The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake

Author: Aimee Bender

Released: June 2010

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents' attention, bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother - her cheerful, can-do mother - tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes perilous. Anything can be revealed at any meal.

Rose's gift forces her to confront the secret knowledge all families keep hidden - truths about her mother's life outside the home, her father's strange detachment and her brother's clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up, she realises there are some secrets that even her taste buds cannot discern.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the heartbreak of loving those whom you know too much about. It is profound and funny, wise and sad, and Aimee Bender's dazzling prose illuminates the strangeness of everyday life.

Rating: 3 Stars

Positives: This was a very unique book. I have never before seen a plot like this; where a nine year old girl can taste the emotions of other people in her food. Sometimes it can even be emotions that they aren't even aware of. So firstly points to Aimee Bender for coming up with such an original idea. 

This was a fairly enjoyable read, and we can see just how hard life is for Rose. She never knows what curveball is going to be thrown at her with each meal. 

The main focus of the story however seemed to be the mystery of her brother Joseph, and for the whole of the book I was eager to discover exactly what his gift was. He kept on disappearing after all, and he was such a withdrawn character that he sparked my interest. I had come up with my own theory, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong and Bender had a much simpler explanation. 

Negatives: The first thing that really really irked me about this book was the lack of quotation marks. There is no indicator of when someone is speaking, and it makes reading this book so much harder. I guess where the story starts from a nine year olds narrative, quotation marks could be easily forgotten, but to continue the whole way through the book was just driving me barmy. 

Secondly its hinted at that Rose's father has a gift of his own, but we never really discover what it is. The only thing we do know is that it's related to hospitals. I'm not asking for a lot, I just think maybe it would be nice to discover what his special talent was. 

Would I recommend this book? This was a fun, quirky read so yes I'd recommend it. However I would also recommend reading it slowly so you don't become confused over when s character is or isn't speaking.

An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson

Title: An Autumn Crush

Author: Milly Johnson

Released: September 2011

After a bruising divorce, headstrong Juliet Miller invests in a flat and advertises for a flatmate, little believing that in her mid-thirties she'll find anyone suitable. But along comes self-employed copywriter Floz, raw from her own relationship split, and the two woman hit it off. When Juliet's twin brother Guy meets Floz, he is overcome with a massive crush. But being a shy, gentle giant, he communicates so clumsily with her as to give her the opposite impression. Guy's best friend Steve has always had a secret, unrequited crush on Juliet. After a night of too much wine, Steve and Juliet end up in bed, after moaning about the lack of sex in their lives. Convinced that Juliet doesn't feel the same way, Steve agrees to a 'just-sex' relationship, until they can both hook their dream partners. Just when Guy has finally plucked up the courage to tell Floz how he feels, he finds she has rekindled an old romance. Floz has never had much love in her life and is obviously thirsty for affection. She loves the whole Miller family, from Juliet and Guy's warm, loving parents, to their ancient one-eyed black cat. But can Guy turn Floz's affection for his family into something more - into love for him? Then Juliet makes a series of discoveries which will turn the lives of all four friends upside-down and turns that Autumn into a season where love can be harvested.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: This book managed to evoke a lot of different emotional responses in me. I've laughed and I've cried whilst reading An Autumn Crush, the same as many other readers from the reviews I've seen. I laughed at Guy's attempts to woo Floz, mainly because of how much disaster they seemed to incur. I mean come on dropping the wine bottle and headbutting her? Yep that's bound to make a girl fall for you. And I cried in chapter 95 when we discover Floz's biggest secret, one that isn't even hinted at through the book. I won't spoil it for you though, never worry about that. 

Now emotions aside I thought this was a brilliant book. The characters were all very lovable and I found myself instantly warming to Juliet and Coco, and the description is brilliant. Just the first chapter had me hooked and I was sure that I was going to be crying with laughter by the end of the book. Coco is of course the perfect gay best friend if we're going by stereotypes and his dramatics are always worth reading. I want to adopt my own Coco. 

I also had a sneaking suspicion that I knew what the plot twist concerning Nick was, and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed there. I didn't get it exactly spot on but I'd worked out the gist of it. 

All in all Milly Johnson has created an amazing, lighthearted fun read and I really enjoyed it. 

Negatives: Ah here we are. The bit every author hates me for. My only gripe, and there is only the one with this story, is that some of the chapters were a bit on the short side. Otherwise there's no complaints from me. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes definitely. If you want a lighthearted read that will make you laugh and cry then this is the book for you.