Before the Fall - Juliet West

'How can I be sorry when I feel like this, as if my life has started up brand new, sharp and colourful, a swirl of terror and bliss like I'm lost in a fairground...'

Before the Fall is a very well-crafted and compelling debut novel set in London during World War One. It tells of Hannah Loxwood, a mother of two young children, her husband away fighting, who has been forced to move in with her sister and brother-in-law, with her sister  Jen, who she feels has never really liked her, minding the children whilst Hannah works in a café, striving for a bit of freedom. Her father is very unwell and the family is struggling. She has a good friend in wonderful Dora, who works at the munitions factory. 

Daniel Blake works as a ship repairer and is exempted from the war, and is one of the customers who come into the café. An intelligent, sensitive soul, I found him easy to like and warm to, and I was interested to read about his background, and his love of books. There is a mutual, dangerous attraction between Daniel and Hannah. 

I was drawn into the story and wondered, how will things play out, how will it end? The story grabbed me from the beginning and is well-paced throughout, with a strong sense of place and time being evoked. The characters felt true and of their time to me. I loved the mentions of, and connections with, Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure. I also thought Hannah's feelings about crossing the real bridge to get around where she lived mirrored well the bridge she had to cross to change her life:

'It's as if I'm caught in the centre of an unending bridge. On one side lies my old life; on the other side...What?'

Events at the munitions factory, as well as bombs falling on the city, evoke the tragedy and fear of those back at home during the war.

I was sad that Hannah hadn't felt for her husband what she felt for Daniel, and also sad that he was away fighting, but I also understood that sometimes these chances, these intense, intimate connections felt for someone only come once, and at the wrong time, meaning awful decisions must be made between duty and desire, with people getting hurt whichever path is taken. The author writes in a lovely style, both literary and very readable. The ending makes for surprising and heartbreaking reading. 

Thanks to amazon vine for a review copy of this novel. 

Published by Mantle

The Lemon Grove - Helen Walsh

Jenn and husband Greg have already spent a week on holiday at Villa Ana near Deia in Mallorca, a place they've visited often, a blissful location nestled amongst lemon groves. They are staying a further week, with Greg's fifteen-year-old daughter Emma, Jenn's stepdaughter, flying out and joining them. Having pleaded with Jenn to intervene with Greg and persuade him, Emma now has her boyfriend Nathan, 17, accompanying her. Jenn expects the atmosphere and dynamic to change when they both arrive, and it does; Nathan's presence affects all three of the family members.

'...they would be opening their door, and their holiday, to a stranger - and no matter how much she tries to tell herself she's done a good thing, Jenn simply cannot shake off her misgivings.'

This story picks you up and takes you away, transporting you to sunnier climes and allowing you to be an observer as a woman grapples with the temptations of youth and desire, the quandaries of being a stepmother, with ageing and the joys and irritations of a long-term relationship, these latter suddenly being brought sharply into focus for Jenn. 

I found the relationship between Jenn and Emma intriguing. We know that Emma and Jenn have shared closeness in the past, but things can sometimes be strained between them, never enjoying the same bond as Emma and her father. It's quite telling when we read that Emma only refers to Jenn as Mum now 'when she wanted something.' And it's hard to see this little girl become a woman, aspects of her so adult, so full-formed, yet sometimes there are reminders that she is not yet an adult. Jenn is torn between her role as a mother, as a wife, and her desire and thrill at being thought so desirable by Nathan, so that 'she is neither here, not there.' Nathan is young, confident, physically attractive, and Jenn experiences longings for him that she cannot fight, not when they are reciprocated, and illicit sexual encounters between the pair ensue. As well as passion and gratification, she experiences conflicting emotions; guilt, envy, and bewilderment at how she can have acted as she has. 

I didn't find any of the main four characters overly endearing, indeed they are all flawed, but if anything this made it more interesting observing them and their weaknesses and mistakes. I was excited and anxious as to whether Jenn and Nathan would be caught in the act. I found this a fairly quick read, I was drawn in, wondering what would happen, and what the consequences would be. I could never quite picture Jenn, or decide exactly what she looked like, in my mind, the same for Greg. I don't know if this was deliberate or my failing. I've never been to Mallorca but Helen Walsh conveys the setting, sights and atmosphere of the place where the family stay so that you can imagine this backdrop to these events, the sea, the coves, the restaurants, all really nicely evoked. This sun drenched setting almost seems to add to the temptation for Jenn to abandon her restraint and duty, and follow her desires; the climate and the tension both sizzle at times.

I very much liked the note on which the story ended; often I like stories that are all sewn up but here, the way it was left, with both the characters and the reader on a precipice, was exquisite. It is perfect for reading on a hot summer holiday, but it's just as interesting to read wherever you are; the descriptions transport you away and the exploration of human fallibility, desire, temptation and regret is well done and makes for compulsive reading.

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this novel for an honest review.

Published by Tinder Press, an imprint of Headline

Perfect Need - Barbara L. B. Storey

Filled with desire and lust, love and longing, 'Perfect Need' is an addictive collection of seven well-written and sensual erotic short stories depicting emotional and explicit physical passion. 

The author writes in her introduction to the collection: My stories are explorations of what love and passion can become, how they can affect two people for a moment, or for a lifetime. When they close their eyes, literally or not; when they tumble into a love they never expected; when they decide it's worth the risk to stay...or not.'

This is a story collection that you could read all at once in a couple of hours, or alternatively enjoy one at a time and keep returning to the book for more. I read a few at a time and I quickly found myself drawn into the tales when I picked the book up. I especially liked You Don't Belong to Me, An Unbearable Brightness, and Dolce which features the delicious, irresistible combination of food and passion.

I don't want to write too much about the individual stories because I think they are best discovered knowing little about them before you start reading, so that you enjoy the way the passion and romance unfolds in the different intimate scenarios described. Different to a lot of what I read, I was glad to try this collection and found the writing had an honest quality to it and the author's sense of adventure shines through. If you'd like to read some short erotic, emotional fiction relating passionate encounters with intensity and realism, do try this collection.

Thank you to the author for kindly sending me a copy of this book for an honest. 

Author links - twitter @barbaralbstorey | website 

Rory's Boys - Alan Clark

‘My story was more complex than I had known it to be...'

Rory Blaine is a very successful advertising executive in London who discovers the grandmother he has been estranged from for many years is now close to death. He reluctantly visits her and whilst there meets Vic d'Orsay, a popular singer now in his seventies but still going strong. When his grandmother passes away, Rory is surprised to inherit his grand familial home, Mount Royal in Hampstead, a place that holds many memories for him, but which he has also not seen for many years. When he takes possession, Vic appears again and suggests an idea for the future role of the place, and a brilliant plan is born; 'Mount Royal was about to become Britain’s first residential home for gay men.’

Rory has turned 45 and when he experiences unexpected rejection in his personal life he begins to think about his life, what happened in the past, where he is now and what might lay ahead. Openly gay, he wonders if there will ever be a man who he can spend his life with, whether he can move beyond promiscuity and brief affairs and short-lived (albeit very pleasurable) gratification, on to finding something lasting.

This novel has a first person narrative from Rory throughout, in the form of a record of thoughts and events as suggested by his therapist. This allows the reader a very intimate look at his life, his innermost thoughts and fears, and his relationships, throughout the story, and has the feel of a very personal tale. 

I enjoyed this novel a lot; I thought the writing was very honest and moving at times, and also funny, entertaining and witty; some bits really made me laugh and reading other parts I felt very sad. It is frank and open about sex, casual encounters and gay relationships.

This story felt so real, at times Rory's pain was strong, the loneliness after being disowned at a young age by his grandmother, the only family he really had left, and his difficulties in coming to terms with himself, as well as with getting older, finding his place in the world, and accepting his past if he is to move onwards. Vic offers him valuable advice about forgiveness that was based on his own very difficult experiences, which are revealed in the novel through a very well written encounter that exposes the awful bigotry and ignorance of some in society.

                                  

Vic is a charismatic, affable and layered character. Rory observes of him that ‘he certainly wasn’t like elderly men were supposed to be. It had obviously never occurred to him to disengage with the world, to step back and leave life to the younger generation. He never stood on his dignity either so somehow, however he behaved, he kept it.’

There are some very touching friendships that grow and evolve over the course of the novel, with some characters, especially Elspeth, coming into their own as the story progressed. In fact, when I had finished reading the book, I realised I really would miss some of these characters, so vividly had they been drawn by the author.

Some of the elderly gay characters have evidently had to hide their sexuality from most of those around them for much of their lives, indeed, as mentioned in the novel, for some of them, they could remember when their love was considered a crime. I had never thought about the lack of places for older gay people to be able to live where they would be accepted and cherished rather than judged and questioned, and I thought it was brilliant to see this idea being discussed in fiction. 

The wealthy older men who come to reside at Mount Royal in its new life as a residential home are the 'Rory's Boys' of the novel's title. There are some fascinating, entertaining and endearing characters amongst them. One of the larger-than-life residents remarks that ‘we are each of us surprising and fascinating till our last breath', a line that I loved.

There are plenty of twists and turns within the plot too, some that I guessed at and some that certainly took me by surprise.

This is a really good first novel; the author imbues his prose with honesty, compassion, poignancy and humour, and has crafted an entertaining plot and some great characters.

Source - I was kindly sent a copy of this novel to read and review.

Publisher - Bliss, an imprint of Arcadia Books
Visit the author's website here

Indiscretion - Charles Dubow

'Carelessness is the handmaiden to tragedy. Cataclysmic events often have their origins in the mundane. We turn left when we had meant to go right, and the world changes forever.'

Harry and Madeleine (Maddy) Winslow are a beautiful, charming couple in their forties living an enviable and very comfortable life. Harry is a successful, award-winning writer and Madeleine is his charismatic, warm and admired wife, and attentive mother to their fragile son, Johnny. We meet them in their home in the Hamptons, but they also spend time abroad in Rome and at their home in Manhattan. Everything speaks of ease, wealth, and a good life. They attract others who enjoy being in their company and basking in the glow that seems to emanate around them. One weekend, a woman in her twenties named Claire travels over from New York City to the Hamptons, invited by a boyfriend, and meets Harry and Maddy whilst there. Having met them, she is entranced by the couple and their lives and world. 'It's hard not be caught up in the beauty of life from a summer lawn in the Hamptons', we are told. It is when this attraction and excitement becomes a stronger sort of desire that danger starts to loom on the horizon, and then one night, there is a conversation, nothing more, but Walter warns us that the 'wax seal of a secret letter has been broken. Nothing can make it whole again.'

There are four main characters here though, and the fourth of them is the one who is telling this story. Walter Gervais grew up next door to Maddy and has always loved her; to Maddy they are the best of friends but nothing more. 

'Every story has a narrator. Someone who writes it down after it's all over. Why am I the narrator of this story? I am because it is the story of my life - and of the people I love most. I have tried to be as scrupulous as possible in my telling of it. I wasn't a participant in everything that happened, but after I knew the ending, I had to fill in the missing pieces...'

In Walter, a very memorable narrator has been created. He guides us through the story that he himself is so intricately involved in. For me, he made it a compelling read. Despite his words above though, I was reminded of the words of the novel's prologue, how we can be guilty of 'casting a roseate glow over our memories. Some memories burn brighter, whether because they meant more or because they have assumed greater importance in our minds...' and he goes on to advise that 'I have forgotten so much ...and to fill in the gaps, I conflate the past or make it up entirely...After a while it becomes real.'

This distinctive, involved and biased omniscient narrator had my attention throughout, and had my belief despite my reasons to doubt his reliability sometimes. It's been mentioned that 'the narrator is akin to Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby', and I feel this is a fair comparison in some ways. 

The author sets the scene, illustrating the established friendships and allowing the newcomer Claire to gradually become part of their lives. As the narrative progresses, the suspense increases and I began to feel an impending sense of the sadness that was surely to come as a result of what happens, but like a voyeur I couldn't look away; I was too engrossed by this tangle of lives which was becoming increasingly, inextricably messy. 

I formed pictures of the main four characters in my mind's eye from the rich way they were described; they became fully formed, human and deeply flawed. At times I found these creations attractive and enviable, but I also despaired of them and judged them harshly.  Through them the writer cleverly spins an entrancing yet cautionary tale of the different ways in which humans love. 

It's an emotional read, with lives that are ostensibly full, with much wealth and successful careers, a feeling of looking in, via Walter, on how the other half lives (including him), yet in Walter's case there is such emotional emptiness. For Claire there is the eagerness of youth seeking out new experiences; the author really captures the urge to be part of something, and the sense that feelings and desire are everything, dominating the life and thoughts of someone at that stage of their life, with no responsibilities and only a short-term outlook. There is a marriage between two golden people, and a friendship and trust that seems so strong. Their marriage is at the heart of this tale throughout. There are passionate, sexy episodes that were convincing; human desire that rises above all sensible, rational reason. 

The novel speaks of the contentment that we think we have in life, or even actually have, and yet that element of human nature, the flaw that means we experience a nagging greed for something else that seems to be missing, that is different and appealing, and yet it often leaves us unhappy even if we reach for it, and we realise the true value and worth of what we already had; 'We want what we want. The bitter truth is that it rarely makes us happy once we get it.' I can't write about what happens here without including a spoiler, but you'll see, when you read. 

I read this story very quickly, gulping down the story and swiftly turning the pages. I had to know how it would all end. I was sad at how it all ended, in fact I felt quite drained after all the emotion. Part of me wonders at a different ending but perhaps what happened was what had to happen.

I thought this was a brilliant, captivating and addictive debut novel, about beautiful people with seemingly perfect lives, and what results when an outsider breaks in on all this and exposes the weakness, changing it irrevocably. It made me think a lot about people and how they behave. It's about love and families, contentment versus temptation, friendship and unrequited love, wealth and envy, greed and lust, fate, guilt and tragedy. I enjoyed it very much indeed. 

Published by William Morrow Paperbacks*

Thanks to the tour host and publisher for sending a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

Visit the other tour stops here

About the author:

Charles Dubow was born in New York City and spent his summers at his family’s house on Georgica Pond in East Hampton. He was educated at Wesleyan University and New York University. He has worked as a roustabout, a lumberjack, a sheepherder in New Zealand, and a congressional aide, and was a founding editor of Forbes.com and later an editor at Businessweek.com. He lives in New York City with his wife, Melinda; children, William and Lally; and Labrador retriever, Luke. This is his first novel.

You can find the author on twitter @CharlesDubow

*UK readers, please note - this novel is published in the UK too, by Blue Door, but I have featured the US cover and publisher as this is the edition I have read in this instance and the edition featured in the book tour I am taking part in. 

The Aftermath - Rhidian Brook

The year is 1946, and the setting is a country that has been destroyed, where we are taken to a city that lies in ruins, and introduced to a people, many of whom have been displaced and are hungry. This is Hamburg, Germany and this is the scene of this remarkable novel. Colonel Lewis Morgan is entrusted with the role of overseeing the rebuilding of Hamburg in the British Occupied Zone of the newly carved up post World War II Germany, and with the de-Nazification of the people. His wife Rachael and son Edmund come over from England to join him. They lost their other son in the war and Rachael is still grieving very deeply. Lewis requisitions an elegant house on the banks of the river Elbe, but unlike others who force out the owners, he allows the resident German family, consisting of widower Lubert and his unhappy daughter Freda to remain in their home, living in the top floor apartment, whilst his family lives below. This unconventional arrangement forms the intriguing backdrop of the story.

We learn of brief moments in the lives of each of them, Lewis and Rachael, and the children Edmund and Freda. For all of them, for all of Germany too, it is the aftermath of something enormous. Also we meet some children reduced to living off whatever they can find, steal and barter with, the main character amongst these being the charismatic but vulnerable Ozi. The chapters move between all of them throughout the story, allowing the author to depict many sides to the situation, and give an adult's and a child's perspective. But the narrator didn't feel intrusive; rather the characters were allowed to speak for themselves. I think there were times when I wanted to be back with the scene or characters we had just left, which tells me that I was involved with the story.

Lewis is a kind man, showing understanding towards the Germans and comprehension of the realities of the situation the people are now facing; whatever they have done, whatever has gone before, he is trying to be practical in dealing with the present. His differing stance and approach is one of the main aspects of the story that stood out for me. Others are much more severe, perhaps understandably so. The contrasts in behaviour certainly challenge our preconceptions. Lewis is a fascinating man, professional in his work and a compassionate character, who has very much separated his home and working lives, his mind mirroring Germany itself, with its new occupiers. Rachael observes that her husband's thoughts are divided into different areas:

'She could see he was preoccupied. Preoccupied with the occupied. His mind was divided into two zones, the larger, and by far more interesting, being the zone of work, with its needy subdivisions. He was fine as long as the other zone - the domestic zone inhabited by her and Edmund, the Luberts, the staff - was able to take care of itself with minimal input from him...but just for now she wanted him to engage with her realm, however small.'

Indeed it is his working life that is the sphere he feels more at ease in; comprehending how to renew his relationship with his wife and surviving son after the war seems much more of a battle than the other one he faces; after one all too brief intimate moment 'his mind had already returned to the zone where he felt safest and more effective: to the less complicated needs of a thousand faceless Germans and the rehabilitation of a country.' The fact that this mammoth task facing him seems less difficult than rebuilding his familial relationships shows just how hard this latter task feels for him. He is out of practice with regard to this side of life, and now, being back on intimate terms together 'suddenly required an ability to interpret and understand the nuances of a dialect Lewis had not spoken for over a year.'

Rhidian Brook tackles the subject of guilt and innocence, as the British assess Germans to try and determine the extent of their wartime activities and involvement with the Nazis. People were assessed using a Fragebogen - a questionnaire - 'to determine the degree of a German citizen's collaboration with the regime.' He demonstrates how easy it is to view the situation as black and white, but suggests that we need to look deeper. When he himself is questioned, Lubert realises that, despite his explanations, the man questioning him sees elements of his past as all being part of, or linked to, the Nazi regime. 'How simple this mathematics was: an equation that always ended 'equals guilty'. The numbers and fractions that got you there were unimportant.'

Music is important to Rachael, and it is a connection between her and Herr Lubert. She is determined at first to keep herself distant from him and Freda, or as much as possible given that they are, after all, still under the same roof, but it doesn't take long before 'the careful lines she had planned to lay down - had started to lay down - were already being crossed.' We wonder if this is a sign of things to come. Meanwhile Edmund forms his own bonds amongst the displaced children scavenging and hiding in nearby properties, and demonstrates his own kindness, as well as a touching innocence at times. He has missed his father and has 'a whole war's worth' of questions for him.

There are some well-observed moments even of the minutiae of life in those strange times; witness the 'three officer's wives, comparing household inventories', about which Brook wittily writes that 'it was testament to the miracle of British bureaucracy that even in these bankrupt times it could find within its broken and bust self the wherewithal to decide that a captain's wife did not need a four-place tea set, that a major's needed a full dinner service, and that only the commanding officers' wives should have a port decanter.'

There is some stunning imagery and poetry to the prose that I loved and which made this novel a joy to read for me; Rhidian Brook has a lovely way with words. This description of the weather struck me: 'pregnant grey-black snowclouds loomed, ready to dress the village in fairy-tale clothes.' 

And I loved this striking and very poignant image of a ruined church: 'The facade of a church stood on one side of the road, with only sky for stained glass and the wind for a congregation.'

Later, there is a suggestion that the house itself is judging Rachael; 'It looked to Rachael as if the house were narrowing its eyes at her. The dusk made a grimacing smile of the slats on the balcony.'

I thought this description of a fire was wonderful, too; 'A fire was a theatre in its own right and this one was loud and lively, full of intriguing plots and sub-plots.'

I really, really liked this book. It was surprising, shocking and thrilling at times, and engaging throughout. It deals with some big themes; love, passion and separation, loss, lies and a nation's guilt, and asks difficult questions that can make you feel uneasy or make you reconsider how you had viewed people; it certainly makes you think. I am always interested in fiction that deals with Germany in this period and I think this is a very readable, compelling new novel to add to that field. After hearing about this story I was excited about reading it and I wasn't disappointed. I feel like I could write and write about it, both in terms of language and storylines, so I think it would be a fabulous novel for bookgroups as there are so many fascinating issues arising that could be discussed and debated. It is also going to be made into a film I believe. One of my favourite reads so far in 2013. 

Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books

review copy from the amazon vine program

The Perfume Garden - Kate Lord Brown

'Some people's memories lie in images or songs, but for Emma it was always fragrance.'

Emma Temple is coming to terms with the fact that she is expecting a baby with her long-time love Joe, yet they are no longer together. Joe has been having an affair with Delilah, a friend from his past who is also the third partner in the highly successful perfumery business they all run together, which was established by Emma's beloved late mother, Liberty Temple. Emma is introduced to us in autumn of 2001, alongside her close relatives; Grandmother Freya and her Great-Uncle Charles. Emma is trying to accept that things seem to be over with Joe, yet she must tell him about the baby. He is away on business in New York with Delilah. In another strand to the narrative, it is 1936 and Charles, along with his friend Hugo, has arrived in Spain leaving behind their studies in Cambridge to photograph, report on and support the struggles of the International Brigades in Spain, fighting Franco's forces in the bitter civil war. We are also introduced to a young Spanish couple, Jordi and Rosa, and to a certain photographer by the name of Robert Capa.

I am always interested in fiction that deals with the Spanish Civil War, and soon after starting to read, I found myself getting carried off into this story, first entranced by the young photographer capturing a famous image of a falling soldier, then swept into the passion and pain of the struggle of the people supporting what they believed in and fighting as their country was torn apart. The young English nurse, facing the terrible tragedies playing out every day, in such close proximity to death, and her brother, capturing the images of war.

The modern day story involving Emma parallels the historical narrative; it is one of pain and loss, too, and of her trying to find a way forward and a new start. As Emma takes steps towards a new future for herself, heading to Valencia with the key that was left to her amongst her mothers letters, she finds an old, neglected villa, and a new freedom in her life, breaking out of the recent difficult times: 'In Spain, Emma felt like she was coming out of hibernation.' At the same time she opens up the door to the past within her family, uncovering secrets from the time her grandmother Freya spent in Spain during the civil war as a nurse. For Freya, and for her brother Charles, the painful memories from their days spent in Spain are difficult to deal with to this day, and as Emma learns more about Freya's past, she begins to understand why. 

I found the storyline gripping, with short chapters taking us back and forth in time from Emma's days in modern-day Spain to the depths of the tragic civil war. I was easily tempted to read just one more chapter to discover what had happened in the other strand of the story and I was absorbed by this depiction of a family who, through the generations, had found and lost love. 

The descriptions of Spain, the sights and sounds, the people and traditions, are very evocative and vivid, enabling me to picture the scenes, to imagine the aromas. I feel that Kate Lord Brown writes with an evident passion about her subjects here, and this enthusiasm and convincing depiction of events drew me further into the lives of the characters and their stories, and I cared about them and their romantic relationships and friendships. 

This is a beautiful novel about love and separation, war and idealism, secrets and memories, about the terrible tragedies of wartime that leave mental scars and the hope and optimism that a new start and a new home can bring. Fragrance is a key theme in the story, the idea of it evoking memories. The storytelling in this novel has been compared to that of Kate Morton and I feel that this is an accurate comparison; a dual time frame story that is handled well, with themes of love, family history and secrets; this all combines to make The Perfume Garden a very involving, vivid, romantic and moving read to lose yourself in. 

Published by Corvus, an imprint of Atlantic Books

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

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Visit my blog again tomorrow to read a lovely guest post by author Kate Lord Brown!
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Exciting news! 

Kate Lord Brown has written a short prequel to The Perfume Garden, THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER, and you can download it for free from today for a limited time, as a taster for The Perfume Garden - here are the links:  

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

About the author

Kate grew up in the wild and beautiful Devon countryside. After studying philosophy at Durham University and art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, she worked as an international art consultant, curating collections for embassies and palaces in Europe and the Middle East. She is married to a pilot, and lives with her family in Qatar. Her debut novel ‘The Beauty Chorus’ was inspired by the many hours she spent on airfields in the UK, and the experiences of pilots in her family during WW2. Her second novel about the Spanish Civil War, ‘The Perfume Garden’, draws upon the years she lived in Spain, and will be published in paperback in April 2013 by Atlantic.

For more information please visit Kate’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You can also check out the Facebook and Pinterest page for The Perfume Garden.