Jess ends up in Sydney, homeless and jobless. She is recovering from the end of a relationship three years ago which still dominates her thoughts. Incredibly, she bumps into Sam in a shop; he’s the man she has been trying to heal her heart against…
Sam invites her to stay in the spare bedroom of his apartment while she waits for her non-existent flat and job to be available. She readily accepts, hoping to rekindle their romance but his flatmate is his fiancee Jamie. Jess can’t bear not to try to win him back 🙁
Jess’ desperation is sometimes uncomfortable to read although I’m sure that many readers will identify with her pain at the end of a relationship. Part of most chapters includes a past timeline so we can see her relationship with Sam from start to finish. It becomes obvious that she repeatedly changed to suit him and gave up her own passions and dreams. Sam is an interesting character as we only ever see him through Jess’ eyes.
I had really mixed emotions about Jess and her situation. I remember breaking up with my uni boyfriend and being devastated, determined to keep the long distance relationship going. I then became comfortable and confident in myself and accepted we weren’t right for each other. I’m sure many others have been in that situation too and will identify with her heartbreak.
I could also feel sympathy for Jess lying to cover up her lack of home and job but she doesn’t take responsibility for herself which was incredibly frustrating. Her scheme to split up Sam and Jamie showed an unpleasant side to her, yet she was concerned for him as a friend and didn’t want him to make a mistake. Selfishness and altruism combined! Like I said, a complicated response to her character!
The Spare Bedroom is a warm and enjoyable book. There is love and loss, lies and miscommunication, hope and heartache.
The Spare Bedroom book description:
**Listed Today**: Fun and friendly professional just arrived from London seeks room in central location, double bed preferred, ex-boyfriend optional extra.
Armed with a super-sized backpack full of optimism, Jess sets off in search of sun, sea and a much-needed new beginning.
Things don’t get off to a good start.
Instead of sunshine, she’s met with torrential rain. Her job prospects are as dismal as the weather and that friend-of-a-friend she was meant to stay with has fallen through. Just as Jess is homeless, jobless and wishing she’d gone for the waterproof mascara, she runs into the last person she expected to see. Sam. The ex she never got over. Jess always believed that one day fate would bring them back together. Now he’s here, more gorgeous than ever.
Before she knows it, Jess is accepting Sam’s offer to stay in his spare room. But while she may have been less than truthful about the mess she’s in, there is also one rather important thing Sam has neglected to mention.
Suddenly Jess isn’t just living with her ex, but with his new girlfriend too. All of that baggage she thought she left behind may have caught up with her…
A touching, funny and uplifting look at how finding and losing love can lead you to discover yourself along the way. Fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Sophie Kinsella and classic rom coms like My Best Friend’s Wedding will love Elizabeth Neep’s wit and warmth.
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Neep was born in 1990 in Derbyshire and now lives in London Bridge. After studying Law at the University of Nottingham and the University of New South Wales, she worked in magazine journalism, most noticeably writing for Dazed and Confused and PETRIe. Elizabeth now works as a non-fiction Senior Commissioning Editor and writes and paints in her spare time.
https://www.elizabethneep.com/
https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_neep/?hl=en
@elizabeth_neep
Buy Links:
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Clare’s annual family holiday with her parents in law is thrown into disarray when her brother in law Jamie arrives with a new bride Ella. Clare is eager to be friendly towards the new woman in the family, but her efforts are rejected and Ella begins a campaign of undermining Clare at all times.
Clare’s marriage is fragile due to her husband’s multiple affairs and she too is hiding a secret. Meanwhile, she is having to negotiate family politics with her parents in law and now Jamie and his new wife as they seek to assert themselves within the family dynamic.
The Sister in Law is a clever psychological drama about the power of words and how damaging they can be. It isn’t particularly pleasant to read much of the book as the snide remarks and disparaging comments are relentless. It is, however, fascinating to watch as the drama unfolds and Clare’s reality begins to unravel completely.
The concept of family politics is very thought provoking. The mother of my first long term boyfriend really hated me and put me down whilst my current mother in law is wonderful and has welcomed me into her family despite me being a single mum. I fear for the women my sons will bring home…
I think most readers will be able to identify with Clare and her insecurities which are played upon to destroy her self esteem. As a mother, it is sometimes difficult to be a woman rather than a mum, and also to work while fulfilling the role of childcare. Women are often expected to be emotional negotiators within the family to ensure peace and love permeate the home, whlst their own emotional needs are ignored.
There are two twists at the end and I did consider both of them earlier but this did not spoil my enjoyment as it was still a surprise to see how events played out. The suspense and drama are maintained until the very end of the book.
Take a look at my review of The Empty Nest also by Sue Watson
The Sister in Law Book Description:
‘You don’t think Jamie and I have secrets, do you? No, we tell each other everything.’ She smiled. ‘Including your dirty little secret. So maybe it’s time to start being nice to me?’
THE WIFE: Clare is ready for a break. It’s been a tough year and now she wants to put her feet up. Arriving at the Italian villa for their summer holiday, she decides it’s high time her husband and his family did some of the work. After all, her husband owes her…
THE HUSBAND: Even though Dan had his head turned by someone else, he’s realised the error of his ways. He’s here now, and he says it’s for keeps. Clare can trust him, can’t she? At least he’ll have his brother there, to keep him in line…
THE BROTHER: Jamie is the prodigal child, back in the family fold again after years of travelling abroad. But when he gets to the villa, he’s not alone. He’s brought a wife, someone none of them have met before.
THE SISTER-IN-LAW: Ella is everything Clare isn’t. Glamorous. Young. Influential. But she knows a secret about Clare. Something that has the power to break the whole family apart.
And there’s someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure that this deep secret never comes to the surface.
An utterly unputdownable, gripping, twisty psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep, The Girl on the Train and Date Night.
Author Bio:
Sue Watson was a TV Producer at the BBC until she wrote her first book and was hooked.
Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue has written fifteen novels – many involving cake – which have been translated into several languages and involved tough ‘cake research.’ Sue is now exploring the darker side of life with her thrillers OUR LITTLE LIES, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, THE EMPTY NEST and THE SISTER-IN-LAW. Writing in this new genre doesn’t involve the deep research of baked goods and Sue’s hoping the change in direction will be reflected on the weighing scales.
Originally from Manchester, Sue now lives with her husband and teenage daughter in Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – okay, procrastinating, eating and watching ‘My 600lb Life,’ on the sofa.
Follow Sue on Twitter @suewatsonwriter
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Alice grows up in colonial Indian, more attached to her ayah than to her parents. Her best friend is her ayah’s son Raju and she speaks Hindi more naturally than English. But friendship turns to love with devastating consequences for both Alice and Raju…
Janaki is raised in an orphanage, finding a temporary family before tragedy strikes. As a grown woman, she hardens her heart to prevent further sorrow but one man convinces her to give love a chance…
The connection between the two timelines in The Orphan’s Gift is a unity of grief with hope. Both women are victims of their gender and their birth.
It took me a little while to get into this book as I acclimatised to the sensuous descriptions that author Renita D’Silva uses to evoke life in India. Once I was hooked by the plot and characters, the descriptions brought the book to life.
Alice is selfish and oblivious to the social class and racial divisions in India at the beginning of the century. Her focus on her own emotions and ignorance of the impact of her actions makes her a complex character and difficult to like. Yet the desire to find love and be accepted as you are is a basic human instinct and I find that I cannot blame her for her misplaced devotion, and by the end of the book I feel that she redeemed herself.
Janaki contrasts wonderfully with Alice. She is kind and has been moulded by the absence of a conventional family. The heartache she suffers cause a much more emotional grip on the reader as we feel she deserves to find love at last. At the end of the book, author Renita D’Silva comments that Janaki has always had love despite not knowing her parents and quotes Tennyson at the beginning ‘It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all‘ but this book shows it is also better to have BEEN loved and lost it than never to have BEEN loved at all as is Alice’s situation.
We meet famous people from India’s past that challenge the status quo and our own selfishness: Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Renita D’Silva is not afraid to show the drama, danger and racism of India’s fight for independence and self rule. I found the conflict over India to be a metaphor for the fight over women’s bodies.
Overall, The Orphan’s Gift was a beautifully written book which will surely create an emotional response in even the most hard hearted of readers!
Media Pack Info Sheet
Author: Renita D’Silva
Book: The Orphan’s Gift
Publication Day: April 29th 2020
Buy LINKS
Description:
She allows herself to kiss her perfect child just once. She wraps the baby in her last gift: a hand-knitted cardigan, embroidered with a water lily pattern. ‘You’re better off without me,’ she whispers and although every step breaks her heart, she walks away.
1910, India. Young and curious Alice, with her spun-gold hair, grows up in her family’s sprawling compound with parents as remote as England, the cold country she has never seen. It is Raju, son of a servant, with whom she shares her secrets. Together, their love grows like roses – but leaves deep thorns. Because when they get too close, Alice’s father drags them apart, sending Raju far away and banishing Alice to England…
1944. Intelligent and kind Janaki is raised in an orphanage in India. The nuns love to tell the story: Janaki’s arrival stopped the independence riots outside the gates, as the men on both sides gazed at the starry-eyed little girl left in a beautiful hand-knitted cardigan. Janaki longs for her real mother, the woman who was forced to abandon her, wrapped in a precious gift…
Now old enough to be a grandmother and living alone in India, Alice watches children play under the tamarind trees, haunted by the terrible mistake she made fifty years ago. It’s just an ordinary afternoon, until a young girl with familiar eyes appears with a photograph and Alice must make a choice. Will she spend the rest of her life consumed by dreams of the past, or can she admit her mistakes and choose love and light at last?
A stunning and heartbreaking novel about how a forbidden love can echo through the generations. Readers who love Lucinda Riley, Kathryn Hughes and The Storyteller’s Secret will be captivated.
Author Bio:
Renita D’Silva loves stories, both reading and creating them. Her short stories have been published in ‘The View from Here’, ‘Bartleby Snopes’, ‘this zine’, ‘Platinum Page’, ‘Paragraph Planet’ among others and have been nominated for the ‘Pushcart’ prize and the ‘Best of the Net’ anthology. She is the author of ‘Monsoon Memories’,’The Forgotten Daughter’, ‘The Stolen Girl’, ‘A Sister’s Promise’, ‘A Mother’s Secret’, ‘A Daughter’s Courage’, ‘Beneath An Indian Sky’, ‘The Girl In The Painting’, ‘The Orphan’s Gift’.
Author Social Media Links
TWITTER: @RenitaDSilva
120 years in the future. Our society lies in tatters after a bat fever decimated the population and humanity was forced back to basics. The Blackthorn community has clearly defined social classes, law and order, crime and punishment. But those at the lower end of the social spectrum are causing unrest.
Friend to all, Ryder Swift discovers the Light and encourages the rest of the community to join him in this burgeoning religion. But some members of society see this as sinister…
OK, so first of all, reading about bat fever in the current climate of coronavirus was a litle creepy! I hope this isn’t a premonition about our future!
There is a famous saying by Voltaire: If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. I certainly could see how society relies upon a definition of faith to underpin the choices for individuals and the community as a whole. It becomes clear that the form of organised religion is being used to control the population of Blackthorn and prevent civil unrest.
This is thought-provoking as it raises questions about our own religions and how they represent the rich and poor. I can see that some readers may find this controversial and even heretical but I believe in a personal Christianity rather than an organised communal version so I found it fascinating, cynical and clever.
Blackthorn also reminds me of Animal Farm where equality is proposed as the ideal but the reality falls far short and the leaders manipulate the community for their own gains.
The book is written from several viewpoints including Evie the baker, Byron the guard and Lieutenant Hemsley. This allows us to identify with each of the characters but I did find that it took me a little longer than usual to get hooked by the plot. Once the scene is set and the characters defined, the action is non stop and I couldn’t put this book down!
Blackthorn works as a standalone book but is actually a sequel to Tipping Point and 3 follow up books which I have not read. Terry Tyler has created another captivatingly wonderful yet frightening book!
Blackthorn
Publication Date: November 24th, 2019
Genre: Dystopian/ Post-Apocalypse
The UK, year 2139.
One hundred and fifteen years ago, a mysterious virus wiped out ninety-five per cent of humanity.
Blackthorn, the largest settlement in England, rose from the ashes of the devastated old world. It is a troubled city, where the workers live in crude shacks, and make do with the worst of everything.
It is a city of violent divisions, crime, and an over-populated jail block, until a charismatic traveller has a miraculous vision, and promises to bring hope back to the people’s lives.
Blackthorn falls under Ryder Swift’s spell, and the most devoted of all is the governor’s loyal servant, Lieutenant August Hemsley.
Twenty-one-year-old Evie has lived her whole life in the shacks. She and disillusioned guard Byron Lewis are two of a minority who have doubts about Ryder’s message. Can they stand against the beliefs of an entire city?
About the Author
Terry Tyler is the author of twenty books available from Amazon, the latest being ‘Blackthorn’, set in a post apocalyptic England, 115 years in the future. Proud to be independently published, Terry is an avid reader and book reviewer, and a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team.
Terry is a Walking Dead addict, and has a great interest in history (particularly 14th-17th century), and sociological/cultural/anthropological stuff, generally. She loves South Park, Netflix, autumn and winter, and going for long walks in quiet places where there are lots of trees. She lives in the north east of England with her husband.
Terry also has a blog post featuring Blackthorn should you like to read more about it!
