Book Beginnings: Jellybird by Lezanne Clannachan

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays - The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog.

I'm reading Jellybird by Lezanne Clannachan, published by Orion.

Really enjoying it so far! 


Here's the beginning...

October 2012, Seasalt Holiday Park

Jessica arrives at the caravan park sometime in the night.
'You sure this is the right place?' the taxi driver asks, staring at the closed gates, the blacked-out campsite beyond. 
It belongs to my mother, she could explain, if she were able to dredge up the words. The fare shows up in sharp, red lines but the numbers slip about like oily fish in her head. She hands the driver a note, hoping it's enough, and gets out.'

~~~~~

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Do you like the beginning?

Have a great weekend whatever you are reading!

~~~~~

About the book...

'I'm good at secrets,' Libby says. Yes, thinks Jessica, I bet you are... 

Jessica should have everything to make her happy: a loving husband, a growing reputation as a jewellery designer, hope for a family of her own in the future. Then she meets Libby - flattering, attentive - and believes she has found the friendship she missed out on as a child. Until Jessica catches her husband and Libby alone, heads together in whispered collusion.

With her life unravelling, Jessica flees home to the seaside town where she grew up. The discovery of an old postcard among her childhood belongings sends Jessica in search of her first love, Thomas, 'the ghost boy' who disappeared one night 17 years ago. The last time Jessica saw Thomas he was covered in blood and begging her to hide him. Now to find him, Jessica must confront the secrets that link her to Libby, the missing boy and a brutal murder.

Book Beginnings: Lacey's House by Joanne Graham

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays - The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog.

I'm reading Lacey's House by Joanne Graham, published by Legend Press.


Here's the beginning...

She hadn't spoken to her father in years. The silence had expanded to fill every room in the house until it was a tangible, solid thing that they had to push past whenever they moved. A plate of food would be placed in front of him as he sat at the dinner table, his laundry gathered unrequested, his boots tidied away into the hallway, his medical bag prepared. But not once did she open her mouth to speak, not once did she so much as look at him. 

~~~~~

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Do you like the beginning?

Have a great weekend whatever you are reading!

~~~~~

About the book...

Lacey Carmichael leads a solitary life. To her neighbours she is the mad old woman who lives at the end of the lane, crazy but harmless.

Until she is arrested on suspicion of murder.

When Rachel Moore arrives in the village, escaping her own demons, the two women form an unlikely bond. Unravelling in each other tales of loss and heartache, they become friends. Rachel sees beyond the rumours, believing in her innocence, but as details of Lacey's life are revealed, Rachel is left questioning where the truth really lies.

Book Beginnings: Cold Hearts by Gunnar Staalesen

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays - The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog.

I'm reading Cold Hearts by Gunnar Staalesen, published by Arcadia Books.

~~~~~

Here's the beginning...

'I was dancing the bridal waltz with Beate, but I was not in heaven; I was at Mari and Thomas's wedding in Loten one boiling hot day in June, 1997.

I had met her at Oslo Station. She had come from Stavanger, I had come from Bergen. Since the last time I saw her she had had her hair cut short and there were red flecks in it, but her eyes were as I always remembered them: cornflower blue with a touch of aggrieved sorrow She was dressed in a youthful style: jeans, pale green T-shirt and a light reddish-brown summer jacket. She gave me a quick hug, flashed me a wry smile and said: 'Event of the year? Our only son getting married...'

~~~~~

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Do you like the beginning?

Have a great weekend whatever you are reading!

~~~~~

About the book...

On a frosty January day in Bergen, Private Detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute. Her friend Margrethe has disappeared and hasn't been seen for days. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled her: she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighbourhood in terror. Shortly after taking the case, Veum is confronted with a brutal, uneasy reality. He soon finds the first body - and it won't be the last either. His investigation leads him into a dark subculture where corrupted idealism has had deadly consequences.

Book Beginnings - Gillespie and I - Jane Harris

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays - The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog.

I haven't managed to join in for a little while, and I'm not sure what week number I got to so I'll leave that out, but I do love this meme, and it's nice to be taking part again.

I'm reading Gillespie and I by Jane Harris, published by Faber and Faber.

Isn't the cover beautiful? 

(This is the UK paperback edition. The hardback also has a lovely cover design, different to this but incorporating some of the same elements.)

Here's the beginning...

Preface

Tuesday, 11 April 1933

London

It would appear that I am to be the first to write a book on Gillespie. Who, if not me, was dealt that hand? Indeed, one might say, who else is left to tell the tale? Ned Gillespie: artist, innovator, and forgotten genius; my dear friend and soul mate. I first became acquainted with Gillespie in the spring of 1888 and during the course of several years thereafter we were connected through the most intimate of friendships.

~~~~~

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? 

I am so glad to finally be reading this book. In fact I've been reading it for the past few days and I'm very close to the end now - it's a brilliant read. The characters have me fascinated, none more so than Harriet herself, who is the narrator in the above excerpt from the start of the novel. 

I loved The Observations, the first novel by this writer, in fact that's one of my favourite books. I intended to read this second novel a long time before now. I'm not sure what stopped me, a combination of things, but it's an excellent book and here I am finally near to finishing it, hooray!

Here's the author's website if you're interested in finding out more.

Have a great weekend whatever you are reading!

~~~~~

About the book...

As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, nearly four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame that she maintains he deserved.

Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter, she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

Featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humour, Gillespie and I is a powerful and haunting second novel from one of today’s most striking new voices.

Book Beginnings (14) The Blood Whisperer by Zoe Sharp

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays - The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog.

My book beginning 

The Blood Whisperer by Zoe Sharp

Prologue

She wakes to the smell of blood.
It saturates the air to lie metallic across her tongue - so fresh-spilt it has not had time to spoil.
She knows the scent well enough to be calm and yet also terrified. It is not that she is squeamish but the implications are clear to her.

Thoughts

I'm currently reading this one and it's really getting going, a dark and pacy story! I think this opening is really hard-hitting, and makes the reader very curious indeed to read on and know more about the situation - what re the implications that are mentioned? Whose blood is it? 

Synopsis 

The uncanny abilities of London crime-scene specialist Kelly Jacks to coax evidence from the most unpromising of crime scenes once earned her the nickname of The Blood Whisperer. Then six years ago all that changed. Kelly woke next to the butchered body of a man, the knife in her hands and no memory of what happened. She trusted the evidence would prove her innocent. It didn't. Now released after serving her sentence for involuntary manslaughter, Kelly must try to piece her life back together. Shunned by former colleagues and friends, the only work she can get is for the crime-scene cleaning firm run by her former mentor. But old habits die hard. And when her instincts tell her things are not as they appear at the scene of a routine suicide, she can't help but ask questions that somebody does not want answered. Plunged into the nightmare of being branded a killer once again, Kelly is soon fleeing from the police, Russian thugs and a local gangster. Betrayed at every turn, she is fast running out of options. But Kelly acquired a whole new set of skills on the inside. Now street-smart and wary, can she use everything she's learned to evade capture and stay alive long enough to clear her name? 

Book Beginnings (13) - The World is a Wedding by Wendy Jones

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog. 

My Book Beginning

The Wolrd is a Wedding by Wendy Jones

Published by Corsair, an imprint of Constable & Robinson

Narberth, late summer 1925

'Wilfred Price, undertaker, purveryor of superior funerals, was up with the larks and off for his morning constitutional. And no time, today, for a cup of tea first. Wilfred strode out of his house, put his hands on his hips and breathed in the watery Welsh air that smelled of turned earth. He felt affection for Narberth, the small town - green as a bean - five miles from the crinkly coast of Pembrokeshire, where he had lived all his life.'

I really enjoyed reading the first novel featuring Wilfred Price, and I am happy to be reading this second book featuring him. I like this opening, which gets us straight back into the swing of things with Wilfred again and gives us a flavour of the place where he lives.

Synopsis:

Wendy Jones picks up where The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals left off: It is 1926. Wilfred is newly married and preparing for fatherhood. But can he embrace his future, without letting go of his past?

It's 1926 and Wilfred Price, purveyor of superior funerals, is newly married to the beautiful Flora Myfanwy. His brief and painful marriage to Grace is in the past. He's busy with funerals - and preparing for fatherhood by reading a philosophy book and opening a paint and wallpaper business. As much as he loves Flora, he senses her distance from him - are marriage and fatherhood going to be very different from how Wilfred imagined?

Grace has fled to from Narberth to London, where she is working as a chambermaid at the luxurious Ritz Hotel. But Grace has a secret, one that can't be hidden forever, and binds her to her old life in west Wales.

Despite Wilfred's earnest effort to embrace the future, he is beginning to wonder if the past has too powerful a hold on him.

Book Beginnings (12) - Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog. 

My Book Beginning

Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

Published by Picador

'Ten things I will say to my father

1) I met a man in Singapore who smelt like you - cigarette smoke and suede.

2) I remember that holiday in Greece - endless ruins, and you having to explain the difference between Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns again and again.

3) I wish you'd talked about Mama. I wish you'd kept something of hers.

....'

I've been really looking forward to reading this debut novel and I'm happy I've finally started it. I love this opening. The list carries on until all 'ten things' have been mentioned. I wonder how long it is since the narrator has seen their father, and what happened with regard to their mother. Smells can strongly evoke a memory of a person and evidently the narrator remembers clearly the aromas that she associates with her father. A flick through the pages reveals that there are further, different lists of 'ten things' to be discovered throughout the story; a clever idea. Looking forward to reading on!

Here's the synopsis:

Alice has just returned to London from months of travelling abroad. She is late to hear the news that her father is dying, and arrives at the family home only just in time to say goodbye. Daniel hasn't had a roof over his head for years, but to him the city of London feels like home in a way that no bricks and mortar every did. He spends every day searching for his daughter; the daughter he has never met. Until now...Heart-wrenching and life-affirming, this is a unique story of love lost and found, of rootlessness and homecoming and the power of the ties that bind. It is a story for fathers and daughters everywhere.

Book Beginnings (11) - Regeneration by Pat Barker

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea, as stated on the host's blog, is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' There's a hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter etc too, and a master linky list on the host's blog. I've got a couple of books on the go at the moment so I've just picked one out to mention here.

My Book Beginning

Regeneration by Pat Barker
(the first book in the Regeneration trilogy)

Published by Penguin Books




'Finished with the War
A Soldier's Declaration

I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it.

I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of agression and conquest.'

What a striking start, opening with Sassoon's declaration. I'm coming up to halfway through this book and I think it is beautifully written, so moving and the story is so well told. I've been wanting to read this novel for a very long time, indeed I'd like to read the whole trilogy. It's also on my list of books for The Classics Club.  I want to read 'All Quiet on the Western Front' soon, too. Have you read this one?

About the novel:

Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland, 1917, where army psychiatrist William Rivers is treating shell-shocked soldiers. Under his care are the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, as well as mute Billy Prior, who is only able to communicate by means of pencil and paper. Rivers’s job is to make the men in his charge healthy enough to fight. Yet the closer he gets to mending his patients’ minds the harder becomes every decision to send them back to the horrors of the front... Regeneration is the classic exploration of how the traumas of war brutalised a generation of young men.

Book Beginnings (10) - Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything by Daniela Krien

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea, as stated on the host's blog, is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' There's a hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter etc too, and a master linky list on the host's blog. I've got a couple of books on the go at the moment so I've just picked one out to mention here.

My Book Beginning

Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything by Daniela Krien 

(translated from German by Jamie Bulloch)

Published by MacLehose Press

'It is summer, a wonderfully hot summer. At the farm the buildings are ranged around three sides of a yard. In the middle is the long, detached house, which has two floors and a large attic; the barn, on the left-hand side, has large wooden doors at the front and back. A few metres behind it is a wide, low wooden building - the sawmill. Meadows and pastureland stretch down to the river; a short way upstream, just before a weir, is a dilapidated shed.'

I've been really looking forward to reading this one, and I'm intrigued by what I've read so far. The setting and the period both appeal to me. I think the opening places a lot of importance on the sense of place. Looking forward to reading on!

Synopsis from goodreads:

It is summer 1990, only months after the border dividing Germany has dissolved. Maria, nearly seventeen, moves in with her boyfriend on his family farm.

A chance encounter with enigmatic loner Henner, a neighbouring farmer, quickly develops into a passionate relationship. But Maria soon finds that Henner can be as brutal as he is tender – his love reveals itself through both animal violence and unexpected sensitivity. Maria builds a fantasy of their future life together, but her expectations differ dramatically from those of Henner himself, until it seems their story can only end in tragedy.

Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything is a bold and impressive debut in which love and violence, conflict and longing, are inextricably entwined.

Book Beginnings (9) - The Wild Girl - Kate Forsyth

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea, as stated on the host's blog, is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' There's a hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter etc too, and a master linky list on the host's blog. I've got a couple of books on the go at the moment so I've just picked one out to mention here.

My Book Beginning

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

Published by Allison & Busby

'"Wild by name and wild by nature," Dortchen's father used to say of her. He did not mean it as a compliment. He thought her headstrong, and so he set himself to tame her.'

I am so excited about reading this book! I read Bitter Greens by this author, earlier this year, and it was a great book, so I have been anticipating this new book with great relish; it sounds wonderful, and the other blog reviews I've read so far have been very positive too. Also, as with Bitter Greens, isn't the cover gorgeous?! I'll be reviewing The Wild Girl on 21st August  here on the blog as part of the book tour.

Here's the synopsis:

The Wild Girl interweaves the true story of Dortchen Wild, the girl who loved Wilhelm Grimm, with the fairytales she told him as they grew up together in war-stricken Germany.

A beautiful and dramatic love story, Dortchen Wild was the source and muse for many of the Grimm Brother’s compelling fairytales such as Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel & Gretel. As Napoleon’s war rages on, the Wild family and the Grimms battle poverty, ill health and the loss of loved ones, bound together by the magical fairytales they created and that still resonate today.