'Going Home' is a good one.

See? I told you it wouldn’t be forever until my next review. Let’s get stuck into it.

‘Going Home’ by Harriet Evans is a great story about just that –going home. The novel is centred on main character Lizzy Walter and her return to her beloved family home for the annual family Christmas celebrations, only to discover the family tradition is at risk of being forever changed, when her parents tell them they have to sell the homestead. Lizzy refuses to let go of the place where she grew up and finds herself in a race against time to let her family keep their home and their family traditions intact.

Lizzy’s friends and family add great depth to the story, and Evans does a really good job of developing so many secondary characters. I thought Evans did an excellent job of capturing the feelings of returning to your childhood home, and the expectations surrounding such an adventure. I really identified with this novel, as I read it just after returning home from a trek to Canada to see my family (for the first time in a year).

Evans has a unique voice when it comes to her writing style and this is a satisfying read.

Rating:


‘Going Home’ is written by Harriet Evans. For more information on the author or her books, visit her publisher’s website.


So there you go! I had the chance to read two books this weekend. It was easily one of the weirdest, yet relaxing, weekends we've had in a long time. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a trip to an italian restaurant that was more akin to a trip to the twilight zone. Everything about it was strange, and just a little...off. Sunday, we went for a walk and then I got to finish off my second book and start in on a third. This reading thing is easily becoming an addiction. Ah, well. Better this than say...crack or booze.

Next up, I'll be reviewing Sophie Kinsella's latest.

Sparkgurl Returns with a Double-O-Bill

Okay, so I’ve been MIA the last little while. That is unfortunately the life of a student, and I was momentarily swamped with final papers, an under grad thesis, and exam prep.

Anyway, my point is…I’m done, so I’m back. After such a long absence, I decided to treat you to two book reviews.

First up, ‘Family Baggage’ by Monica McInerney. This was not the first time I’ve read a McInerney book, but I have to say ‘Family Baggage’ left a lot to be desired. The story is centred on Harriet Turner and her assortment of siblings as they adjust to the shifts in their relationships after their parents have passed away. When Harriet’s foster sister, Lara, disappears in the middle of her duties as tour guide for the travel agency the Turner family owns, Harriet finds herself thrust back into the thick of the family business. She arrives in England to conduct a successful tour, but ends up uncovering an old family mystery that might explain the strange disappearance of her usually dependable foster sister.
The concept of the book seemed promising, but some where along the way McInerney seems to have lost the plot. I found the story dragged, the twists and turns were predictable and there were boring subplots aplenty. I’d say skip this particularly McInerney book and try her novel ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ or ‘Spin the Bottle’ instead.

Rating:


‘Family Baggage’ is written by Monica McInerney. For more information about the author or her books, check out her website.


Next on the Double-O-Bill is ‘Hex and the Single Girl’ by Valerie Frankel. Now, I hadn’t expected to enjoy this book, as the title and author sounded a little sus --and come on, it was about a match-making witch --but it was actually a decent enough read.

‘Hex and the Single Girl’ tells the story of Emma Hutch, a modern witch who uses her powers for good…for a small fee. She runs a one-woman match-making agency in Manhattan (The Good Witch), using her supernatural powers to help her get the job done. Business is slow, and Emma is at risk of losing her beloved apartment, when in walks rich, powerful ad executive Daphne Wittfield, in desperate need of Emma’s services. Daphne claims to be after William Dearborn, one of the city’s most eligible bachelors, but Emma soon starts to question whether Daphne’s after his heart or his business. Then William makes his move…on Emma. And the story’s just getting started.

This was a great entertaining read. It tap-danced on that chick lit-romance novel boundary line, but didn’t cross it too often. ‘Hex and the Single Girl’ is a rainy afternoon, guilty pleasure indulgence.

Rating:



‘Hex and the Single Girl’ is written by Valerie Frankel. For more information about the author or her books, check out her website.

That’s it for today…I have quite a few books lined up in the queue now. Just because I wasn’t blogging, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t reading! So watch for the new reviews.

Sparkgurl is 'Worth Knowing'.

After Lauren Weisberger shot to fame with her first novel ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, you can’t help but wonder if she might just be the one hit wonder type. So yes, I admit it, I was a little wary when I saw her new book ‘Everyone Worth Knowing’ in stores. Curiosity got the better of me, and so here I am.

In ‘Everyone Worth Knowing’, Bette Robinson quits her hellish, but stable and respectable Manhattan banking job without a game plan. After moping around for weeks feeling sorry for her newly unemployed self, her eccentric uncle Will decides it’s time to light a fire under Bette and get her back to work. He suggests she go to work for his friend Kelly, who just happens to be the head of Manhattan’s hottest public relations firm…and coincidently owes Will a favour. Her new job has Bette out all night, every day of the week at the hottest parties and night clubs, where she rubs elbows with Manhattan’s celebrities and lands a famous boyfriend…which in turn, lands her in the gossip columns.

Bette goes from being the ‘new girl’ at Kelly’s PR to the next ‘it girl’ in a matter of weeks and she suddenly finds herself on the fast track to personal and professional train wreck. Reminiscent of that other Weisberger novel.

‘Everyone Worth Knowing’ is a good second attempt from Weisberger and is an entertaining read. It does tend to follow a ‘the Devil Wears Prada’ pattern; good girl lands glamorous job, girl chooses to be true to the job at the risk of her own morals and values, girl has to choose between glamorous job and being true to herself.

This book looses points with me for enforcing the stereotypical representations of public relations as an industry. I happen to know first hand that it isn’t all glitz, glamour and manipulation.

Rating:


‘Everyone Worth Knowing’ is written by Lauren Weisberger. For more information on the author or her books, check out her website.


I can’t believe another Monday has come and gone. This past weekend, my boyfriend and I had an absolute blast at my good friend’s engagement party. They’re a gorgeous couple inside and out and I wish them all the best! Next up, I’ll be reviewing ‘Family Baggage’ by Monica McInerney.



Cheers for chick-lit and good champagne!

Sparkgurl goes to rehab.

In a world where rehab has become the next big trend, I thought it would be appropriate to jump on the band wagon. So the Sparkgurl Review is going to rehab! But not in the way you think. So let’s get to it.

In 'Rachel’s Holiday' by Marian Keyes, Rachel Walsh finds herself in all kinds of trouble when she wakes up in the hospital after one wild night in New York City. She’s less than impressed to discover her big sister and brother-in-law have arrived to escort her back to her family in Ireland, where her dad has spent the family savings to save her. Mammy and Dad Walsh waste no time in getting Rachel carted off to the Cloisters Rehab Centre, worried that Rachel’s drug problem will be the end of her. Rachel doesn’t think she has a problem. Doesn’t everyone steal alcohol and cocaine from their boyfriend’s friends? And take an entire bottle of a variety of painkillers when they have a headache?

Keyes builds yet another great group of characters, in Rachel’s fellow ‘inmates’ and her friends and family. And if you’re scratching your head thinking ‘Gee, that family seems awfully familiar’…it’s probably because they are familiar. ‘Rachel’s Holiday’ is yet another one of Keyes’s books that features the Walsh family (in ‘Watermelon’, we met Rachel’s sister, Claire). It’s a great read and probably one of my favourites by Keyes. But a word of warning, if you’re easily offended by drug references, you might want to skip this book.

Rating:



‘Rachel’s Holiday’ is written by Marian Keyes. For more information on this book, or any other book by Keyes, visit her website.

Well, TGIF! For someone who spends most of her days curled up on the couch reading a book, I’m not quite sure why I’m so happy that another Friday is upon us. It must be the psychological thing that comes with the promise of another week behind us. Next up, I’ll be reviewing Lauren Weisberger's, of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ fame, ‘Everyone Worth Knowing’.

Cheers for chick lit and Fridays!

Sweet and juicy.

The novel ‘Watermelon’ by Marian Keyes is, like all good chick lit, a great rainy day escape. The book has an unusual premise; marrying two of the most traumatic and life changing moments in a woman’s life; the birth of her first child and the end of her marriage.

Keyes gets stuck in straight away, opening with main character Claire Walsh, resting after giving birth to her daughter, only to get a visit by her narky husband who’s come to tell her he’s moved out of their London flat. And to Claire’s horror, he has taken up with a frumpy house wife, instead of the young, glamorous model-esque type one would hope their husband would leave them for. If your husband’s going to leave you, the least he could do is leave you for someone prettier, younger and skinnier, right?

Claire packs herself and three-day-old baby up to fly home to Ireland, where she tackles adapting to single motherhood with the help of her eccentric family. Keyes is an expert at developing great secondary characters, and Claire’s weird and wacky family really adds depth to this story.

I did find there were a few TMI moments for someone who has not yet given birth, and would say it might be enough to turn you off the whole reproduction thing if you spend too much time thinking about it (like I did!)…but all in all ‘Watermelon’ is a great guilty pleasure book.


Rating:



'Watermelon' is written by Marian Keyes. For more information on this book, visit her website.


I took a brief break from reading yesterday to enjoy some ANZAC Day traditions. My boyfriend and I caught the footy game on TV, and then took a trip to UWA's sunken gardens. It was way cool to see all the ANZACs out and about in their uniforms. I can't begin to imagine what it would take to make the decisions they did and go out their to protect their country like that. I don't think I'd have it in me.

Well, that's it for now. Next up, Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes. Yeah, I was on a Keyes kick folks. Her books are addictive, they should come with a surgeon general's warning.

Cheers for chick-lit!

Welcome.

Hello and welcome to the Sparkgurl Review. I'm in the process of getting up and running here.

Look for the first installment of the Sparkgurl Review, where I'll be reviewing the book 'Watermelon' by Marian Keyes.

Cheers.