4 Stars | Lost in a Good Book

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil

22 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Australian Women Writers, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, four stars, loveozya, Melissa Keil, roshelle fong, young adult

Published: 1 September 2014 (print)/ 9 May 2016 (audio)
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont /Bolinda Audio
Pages: 295/7 hrs and 55 mins
Narrator: Roshelle Fong
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery, and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends.

The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details:

Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared.
And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails.
And even her latest comic-book creation is misbehaving.

Also, the world might be ending – which is proving to be awkward.

As Doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.

I loved this book so much and yet writing this review has been so hard because I never feel like I am doing my complete love and adoration of this story the justice it deserves.

The story takes place during that timeless period over Christmas and New Year where you don’t know what day it is and there’s a strangeness in the air. Alba and all the characters are wonderful and I love how Keil has developed them and expressed them on the page. They felt so real, so alive, and the complexity of their emotions and their lives comes through even with the smallest of interactions.

There are so many little things I adored about this book: the atmosphere of the small town and the impending Doomsday, the exploration of friendships and growing up and making choices. There is no love triangle which was fantastic and there is a wonderful exploration about friendships and how old friends as kids don’t always mean friendships as adults. Keil demonstrates that sometimes these relationships can end up better, but at the same time you can also outgrow one another.

Alba not wanting to leave her small town is a nice change from the desperate need characters have to get out of their small town and never return. The sense of belonging and the attachment she has to her town is sweet and I loved that she enjoyed her home and the people in it. She doesn’t have a hatred towards it, but the understanding that you can’t really have the life you want staying where you are is a profound theme to explore.

As a character Alba is so wonderful. Her love of baking and being an artist was so wholesome and seeing her express herself through both her passions was refreshing and comforting. She is comfortable in herself and her bubbly and chatting nature was never a bad thing. She had such a depth to her personality it was amazing to see it revealed.

While there is a plotline of Doomsday and the end of the world on New Years Eve, the weirdness takes a backseat. There is a focus instead on Alba, Sarah and her friends, their journeys and their friendships take centre stage and I loved that their connections was what the story was about, the other stuff is all secondary.

Through the whole thing I felt so content. Reading it was such an enjoyable experience and it was so great to read an Australia YA that felt Australian without having reference after reference thrown in your face to really remind you it was set in Australia.

I could listen to this book over and over. There was such a loveliness to it but also so many details to get wonderfully lost in and with a slow but never stale plot I relished this journey with all these beautiful characters.

You can purchase The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Wizards of Once (#1) by Cressida Cowell

16 Mar 2021 1 Comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Fantasy, Junior Fiction Tags: Audiobook, cressida cowell, david tennant, fantasy, four stars, junior fiction, wizards of once

Published: 19th September 2017 (print)/19th September 2017 (audio)
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books/Hodder Children’s Books
Pages: 393/5 hrs and 56 mins
Narrator: David Tennant
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Once there was Magic, and the Magic lived in the dark forests.

Wizard boy, Xar, should have come in to his magic by now, but he hasn’t, so he wants to find a witch and steal its magic for himself. But if he’s got any chance of finding one, he will have to travel into the forbidden Badwoods.

Xar doesn’t realise he is about to capture an entirely different kind of enemy. A Warrior girl called Wish.

And inside this book, at this very moment, two worlds collide and the fate of the land is changed forever.

Xar and Wish must visit the dungeons at Warrior fort, and face the evil Queen.

But something that has been sleeping for hundreds of years is stirring…

Cressida Cowell books are something of magic themselves because I get so much pleasure from reading them. I loved her writing style and the humour she puts into her stories. Not to mention the creativity and imagination of the stories and how in a way the reader becomes a character in the story too.

The world Cowell has created contains magic and non-magic folk, as well as an ongoing long established feud between wizards and warriors. I found it really easy to fall into this world. Cowell establishes the rules and the laws early on and through the myriad of characters there are different roles for everyone to play in passing on information to the reader. There is never a moment where it became too complex or confusing which is an advantage of having a narrator who doesn’t mind breaking the fourth wall and addressing and problems right away.

The unknown narrator acts as our guide and their role is to tell us the story but I love how the narrator knows all and yet knows very little at the same time. It’s delightful as it varies from ‘I know the future and it’s awfully dangerous just wait and see’ to ‘I’m only the narrator and I only know so much I don’t know what is going on either”. They are also wonderful at explaining certain aspects of the story that need more clarity and the way they address the reader is great because it reinforces that this is a story being told to people, the small pauses to interject explanations are wonderful and it’s like a pause in the story to clear up any confusion before they proceed again.

Through Xar and Wish’s actions we gain an understanding about how the world works and with each child having a small group of friends, bodyguards, and guides, their little band of assorted creatures create all sorts of mischief which pull the story along. To be fair, the story is also full of chaos. There’s drama and danger, angry parents to deal with, not to mention the growing threat around them.

The audiobook was simply divine to listen to. David Tennant reads the story and his voice is perfect on all fronts. Listening to him do various voices for all the different characters was incredibly entertaining because when you are dealing with magical creatures there are a great deal of voices to choose from. I know I missed out on some illustrations that were in the physical book, but listening to Tennant’s voices was a pure delight I couldn’t ever switch back now.

I am excited to keep going with this series because even one book down I am invested in these characters and I love this story. It’s got elements of fantasy, adventure, friendship and utter and complete chaos. It is the perfect introduction to this new world and these characters while also being incredibly entertaining.

You can purchase Wizards of Once via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

11 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Thriller Tags: #aww21, #llr, australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, four stars, jaye ford, long lost review, thriller

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 1st February 2016
Publisher: Random House Australia
Pages: 390
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Carly Townsend is starting over after a decade of tragedy and pain. In a new town and a new apartment she’s determined to leave the memories and failures of her past behind. However that dream is shattered in the dead of night when she is woken by the shadow of a man next to her bed, silently watching her. And it happens week after week.Yet there is no way an intruder could have entered the apartment. It’s on the fourth floor, the doors are locked and there is no evidence that anyone has been inside. With the police doubting her story, and her psychologist suggesting it’s all just a dream, Carly is on her own. And being alone isn’t so appealing when you’re scared to go to sleep.

This is a perfectly suited Long Lost Review because I remember bits and pieces of this book but not enough to write a proper review about it.

Looking at the literal one sentence note I wrote about it when I read it in 2016 I determined it was clever and “You understand Carly’s reasoning for what she does, and even at the end, she leaves you wondering about her and what her future holds.” All very important pieces of information.

I remember feeling unsettled as I read, the nature of the story and how Ford plays with your mind that you get caught up in Carly’s own paranoia. As she suspects the people around her so do you and the unknown is a very good fear factor. The simplicity of this thriller is what makes it works. It isn’t anything over the top, it relies on playing with the human experience, the unsettling nature of the unexplainable and our own fears and using that against us. The everyday nature of the narrative is what connects you, the fact this could happen to anyone is where it becomes most unnerving.

I would be interested in a revisit to this story because I think I remember how this ends but getting caught up in Ford’s gripping, dark and twisted story again could be worth it.

You can purchase Darkest Place via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

Amazon Aust

The Potted Gardener (#3) by M.C. Beaton

10 Mar 2021 1 Comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Agatha Raisin, Audiobook, Mystery Tags: Agatha Raisin, Audiobook, cosy mystery, cozy mystery, four stars, m. c. beaton, mystery

Published: 15th July 1994 (print)/1st August 2010 (audio)
Publisher: Minotaur Books/Bolinda Audio
Pages: 256/4 hrs and 44 mins
Narrator: Penelope Keith
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Cosy Mystery
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Never say die. That’s the philosophy Agatha Raisin clings to when she comes home to cozy Carsely and finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbour, James Lacey.

The beautiful newcomer, Mary Fortune, is superior in every way, especially when it comes to gardening. And Agatha, that rose with many thorns, hasn’t a green thumb to her name. With garden Open Day approaching, she longs for a nice juicy murder to remind James of her genius for investigation.

And sure enough, a series of destructive assaults on the finest gardens is followed by an appalling murder. Agatha seizes the moment and immediately starts yanking up village secrets by their roots and digging up all the dirt on the victim. Problem is, Agatha has an awkward secret of her own.

I really enjoyed this story. I’m new to the cosy mystery genre and while Agatha is a difficult character to like, once you read a few books you can adjust and settle in knowing it’s going to be that kind of book where she is self-centred, brash and rude but also with a quaint village and a murder so hopefully it balances out. It’s just a shame she’s the main character.

Credit to Beaton for her creativity with these murders, they haven’t been dull and uneventful and I really liked the motivation behind this murder. The mystery was satisfying and being a short book there wasn’t a lot of characters in play and misdirection going on but I enjoyed the different villagers and their unique personalities.

More village life is explored and with rituals like the garden open day more of Agatha’s personal infatuations and place in the village are described. There are humour and antics, not laugh out loud but there are scenes where Agatha behaves a certain way that is comical or the characters say something funny.

I have to say I did enjoy the quirky characters, I also loved James’ complete confusion about Agatha. He says he wants her but then is scared when she wants him. His reasoning is very basic and in a way he is as uninterested in Agatha as before, and whether we’re meant to root for her or pity Agatha for trying I’m not sure.

There is a cynical approach looking at how Agatha behaves and her motivations, but at the same time it’s easy to look through it at as her being scared of being humiliated and judged. She is no nonsense and loves praise and accolades and when this entire village is made up of strange characters acting strange and saying strange things it’s hard not to find it enjoyable.

You can purchase The Potted Gardener via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

The Vicious Vet (#2) by M.C. Beaton

02 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Agatha Raisin, Audiobook, Mystery Tags: Agatha Raisin, Audiobook, four stars, m. c. beaton, mystery, penelope keith

Published: 15th July 1994 (print)/1st July 2012 (audio)
Publisher: Minotaur Books/Bolinda Audio
Pages: 256/5 hrs and 13 mins
Narrator: Penelope Keith
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Cosy Mystery
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Retired PR boss Agatha Raisin is enjoying life in her pretty Cotswold village of Carsely. It even seems likely that the attractive new vet, Paul Bladen, has taken a shine to her. But before romance can blossom, Paul is killed in an accident with Lord Pendlebury’s horse. Only the circumstances are rather suspicious.

Agatha decides she must once more play amateur investigator. And this cloud has a silver lining – she can persuade her usually stand-offish neighbour, James Lacey, to become her partner in the quest. As usual, Agatha is quite prepared to rush in, heedless of the lurking menace to both James and herself.

I liked the mystery and the story was a nice length, a good mix of personal and mystery going on. Agatha’s obsession with her appearance and looking youthful make her act like a fool and do stupid things but that is who she is. Her abrasiveness and her rudeness are passed over by other people as she still manages to start investigating with James about the latest murder.

Beaton shows Agatha as having keen observational skills and great mind for detail and deduction which is how she manages to work out why these murders happen. It’s like the old stories where the police are incompetent and the solo amateur can solve the crime except the police aren’t entirely inept here and it’s more Agatha’s nosiness and desire to solve the mystery.

We see more of village life now that Agatha has settled in and we get to know a few of the villagers and Agatha’s relationships with them. We also see her growing infatuation with her neighbour James Lacey, but he doesn’t seem interested. The other characters are what you’d expect from a quaint village: vicar’s wives and ladies society members, as well as curmudgeon estate owners and other minor characters who pop in for the one or two lines and then disappear. Most are mentioned in passing but people like Mrs Bloxby and James are gradually becoming more established as key characters as they help Agatha adjust to village life and solve the murders around her.

Agatha is definitely a person you have to grow to tolerate, she is unlikable and annoying as a character but if that’s the way Beaton is portraying her then so be it. Her contrast to the other characters and people in the village show how much of an outsider she is but she tries to fit in in her own way which you have to give her credit for.

You can purchase The Vicious Vet via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible