Mini Bookish Reviews #1

When I first started this blog I spent so much time writing book reviews that honestly hardly anyone read…as is the nature of new blogs – it takes time to build an audience. Now, however, I would prefer to write just a little snapshot of my bookish thoughts, picking and choosing which books I highlight and share in, what I hope will be, regular mini reviews.

Books reviewed in this post: This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum; Theo of Golden by Allen Levi; and The Eights by Joanna Miller

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (audiobook) – ★★★★★

The blurb: Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humour in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend—and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire.

The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny will stop at nothing to find them, even as the police zero in on him as their prime suspect.

Millions of devoted listeners think they know the “real” Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favourite famous BFFs have hidden from the world—and from each other.

My thoughts: An interesting blend of suspense and second chance romance, bought to life by narrators Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins as Joy and Benny.

Using dual timelines in the past and the present, the author was able show the depth of Joy and Benny’s friendship; how they had grown together and how they would do anything for each other. I loved the snippets of the podcast that were shared; the pairs’ bond evident in their banter.

A compelling listen. Once Joy and her husband, Xander disappear, and Benny starts unravelling, searching for clues in previous podcast episodes and Joy’s memoir manuscript, I was hooked. Although it had been clear to me who to suspect from early on, I was captivated, desperate to know all the answers. How did all the pieces fit together? Was there someone else involved? How would it be resolved? And the answers did not disappoint.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (audiobook) – ★★★★★

The blurb: One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.

Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.

My Thoughts: A deeply moving, spiritually uplifting and unforgettable read, superbly narrated by David Morse. Every character comes to life in his storytelling.

A beautifully written celebration of life and love. There were tears … happy and sad tears … even though I rarely cry over characters, making this a book I will stay in my heart for a long time. I, 100%, will be purchasing a physical copy to treasure on my shelf, in it’s rightful place with the rest of my all time favourite books.

I loved Theo’s quiet nature, his love of the arts and his appreciation for nature. I loved watching him become enveloped into the community of Golden, starting with the coffee shop, where he first finds the portraits. I loved that he made it his goal to get to know the real people behind the portraits, enlisting his new friends to assist him and returning the drawings to their ‘rightful’ owners. I loved every little bit of good that Theo did and actually wish there were more Theos in the world.

The Eights by Joanna Miller (audiobook) – ★★★★

The blurb: They knew they were changing history. They didn’t know they would change each other.

Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its 1000-year history, the world’s most famous university has admitted female students. Giddy with dreams of equality, education and emancipation, four young women move into neighbouring rooms on Corridor Eight. They have come here from all walks of life, and they are thrown into an unlikely, life-affirming friendship.

Dora was never meant to go to university, but, after losing both her brother and her fiancé on the battlefield, has arrived in their place. Beatrice, politically-minded daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way – and her own friends – for the first time. Socialite Otto fills her room with extravagant luxuries but fears they won’t be enough to distract her from her memories of the war years. And quiet, clever, Marianne, the daughter of a village vicar, arrives bearing a secret she must hide from everyone – even The Eights – if she is to succeed.

But Oxford’s dreaming spires cast a dark in 1920, misogyny is still rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War are still very real indeed. And as the group navigate this tumultuous moment in time, their friendship will become more important than ever.

My thoughts: A definite page-turner, had I not been listening to this novel on audio.

Difficult to believe that this is the author’s debut – beautifully and powerfully written. The kind of historical fiction novel that I crave, where women are at the forefront of change, overcoming obstacles and forging the path for women to come.

I was deeply drawn in and moved by the bonds of friendship between the four women – Otto, Beatrice, Dora and Marianne – each from vastly different backgrounds but united by their desire for a university education at a time when women’s ‘education’ was centred around becoming “decorative, modest, marriageable beings”. I enjoyed the girl’s spirit in what must have been such difficult times, post World War 1 and I appreciated the realistic depiction of the beginning of feminism and the Suffragette movement. It felt like the author had real knowledge of this period in history and I do appreciate a novel where the author has done their research.

I’m excited to read whatever this author writes next.