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A Cowboy State of Mind – Jennie Marts (2020 - Book review)

  A Cowboy State of Mind – Jennie Marts   Jennie Marts brings us a new volume for her “Cowboys of Credence” series. In A Cowboy State of Mind Zane Taylor, the sexy yet scarred son of the town drunk is back in town. And despite his best efforts, he cannot help but being drawn to Bryn Callahan, the big-hearted and beautiful diner waitress. United by their love of animals and an impulse horse rescue, they will eventually have to rescue their own selves from the shadows of their pasts and into love.   This is an unapologetic feel-good romance, an excellent example of a craft clearly well practiced. Marts follows her formula and uses all the possible tropes in the genre to good effect. We have the hunky aloof cowboy with a heart of gold and a tortuous past; the curvaceous sexy woman with a drive to mother and care for others; the handsome and stable second lead; the revolting ex; even the delightful child and idyllic family farm make an appearance....
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'The Rebel Wears Plaid', by Eliza Knight (2020) - Book review

  The Rebel Wears Plaid – Eliza Knight   The Rebel Wears Plaid is a historical romance written by American Eliza Knight, set at the beginning of the attempt to bring Bonnie Prince Charlie to power in Scotland. It tells us about Jenny Mackintosh, a Jacobite leader known as Mistress J , and Toran Fraser, a man with a personal vendetta against said Mistress J . As Toran is first physically captured by the rebels, then captured by Jenny’s beauty, courage, and devotion, he learns the truth about the true enemies, the British. For Jenny, it’s a journey into her femininity, as she discovers love and sex, an into her power, while becoming the laird of the clan.   Who would enjoy this Eliza Knight specialises in historical romance, and that is exactly what this book delivers. Anyone familiar, and/or who enjoys the genre will appreciate The Rebel Wears Plaid , for it has all the elements required: historically dramatic period, check; spunky female lea...
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'Grown Ups', by Marian Keyes (2020) - Book review

  Grown Ups – Marian Keyes   Marian Keyes’ Grown Ups is an exploration of human and family relationships, as well as a long-winded complain about ‘adulting’. The Casey-Kinsella family, linked by overachiever Jessie, is on a holiday when Cara, one of the sisters-in-law, suffers a concussion. As a result, she lets out the secrets that everyone is hiding, from money to infidelity. In a series of past episodes, everybody’s foibles and miseries are revealed to the reader, the better to welcome the happy endings. Clearly, this is a holiday read, centred around the small indignities of family interactions that make us all feel our families are not that bad, after all.   Beyond that, the story is a warning tale on the consequences of lack of self-esteem: Jessie, who uses perfectionism and veneer of success to covering her fear of rejection; Cara, who we soon realise is the main character, struggles with bulimia; Nell, the young artistic altruist, hides...
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'Liberty Farm: A Family Portrait', by Izai Amorim (2020) - Book review

  Liberty Farm: A Family Portrait – Izai Amorim   Izai Amorim’s Liberty Farm is a mirror of family dynamics, historical change, and the socioeconomic (r)evolution which gripped Brazil between 1898 and 1989. It is a grand endeavour, ambitious like the Almeida family fortunes. At the heart of all great events, Amorim seems to tell us, stands passion – selfish, blind, and destructive – disguised as love: Ezra’s love for the dead Nelson, for the farm, for the Sert ã o da Resaca; Esra Duarte’s love for recognition, for money; even Ezra Neto’s love for adventure.   ‘Liberty Farm’ is founded as the Romantic dream of man in nature (by the poor yet educated Juliano), only to quickly succumb to the power of money and commerce (of the rich although illiterate Ezra). A line is drawn that will tear the Almeida family apart from that point forward, between the ones wanting to leave, and those wanting to stay; the ones blinded by the wish to be loved by their...
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'Comanche', by Brett Riley (2020) - Book review

  Comanche – Brett Riley   If the Wild West genre is dead, then Comanche , by Brett Riley, is a good shot at resurrecting it. The story, not a mystery but a ghost story with outlaws, follows the journey of Raymond Turner, P.I., to redemption. An alcoholic haunted by the loss of his wife, Ray leads his partner LeBlanc, medium McDowell, and professor Frost from New Orleans to Texas in order to solve the murders being committed by the ghost of The Kid. They will all have to outgrow their own fears, their own scepticism, to recruit a motley crew of future victims in order to defeat the phantom and halt its vengeful killing spree.   Despite their failings, the characters all have something for the reader to root for, creating the empathy which promotes investment in the story. Mr Riley builds it well, with enough unexpected outcomes to the plans to avoid simplified heroes. Also, he stages the action to the ineffable showdown all good Western will hav...
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Cultivating a Fuji – Miriam Drori (Book review)

  Cultivating a Fuji – Miriam Drori   In Cultivating a Fuji , we witness the life and work of Martin, an extremely awkward computer expert who is forced to visit Japan on a business trip. There, he finds his own courage to break through the walls he has erected from childhood. As we revisit his life, we also find out about a wide range of the people who meet him; we observe and judge them, as they try to navigate the interactions with someone they do not fully understand, someone who makes them uncomfortable. This is a tale on the depths of the old adage, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, with an added twist: the village does not necessarily know how to raise children, who will in turn grow up and affect others in turn. By presenting this mirror of social behaviours, Miriam Drori invites the readers to reconsider their own behaviours as we encounter people whose circumstances we only glimpse.   Who would enjoy this This is a volume for...
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