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Aug 7

Invisible Girl By Lisa Jewell

Invisible Girl‘Invisible Girl’ is the latest book by Lisa Jewell.

When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she’s carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn’t, and now she hides, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows. Owen Pick is invisible too. He’s never had a girlfriend; he’s never even had a friend. Nobody sees him. Nobody cares. But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine’s night, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen. Accusing him, holding him responsible for Saffyre’s disappearance.

Yesterday was the publication day for ‘Invisible Girl’ and the previous day, I was fortunate to spend my day reading the latest book from Lisa Jewell.

The story is seen from the narrative of 3 characters, Saffyre, Cate and Owen and starts at the point on Valentines’ Day, when teenager Saffyre Maddox goes missing. Written through the different narratives and the different time periods really set the tone and scene for the story.

A troubled teen Saffyre Maddox develops a bit of an obsession with her counsellor Roan, who finds herself following his every move. He never sees her, hence Saffrye being the ‘Invisible Girl’. Roan is Cate’s husband and Cate is worried about the new area that they are renting in as there has been a spate of sexual attacks whilst teacher Owen finds himself being accused of sexual misconduct on the teenagers at he teaches at. He’s a reclusive 33 year old who spends his day on forums and doesn’t engage in the real world and he’s become the main suspect in Saffyre’s disappearance.

The 3 characters are a mix of personalities and all live within the close proximity of each other setting the tone of this claustrophobic thriller. At the core of the book of is the missing girl but weaved throughout the story is the troubling reality that everyone has a secret to hide and even the most highly respected individuals have secrets to hide.

Lisa has created a story that concentrates on predatory characters, toxic masculinity as well as self harm and sexual abuse that does make for unsettling reading. She also includes a world that naive people like myself never knew existed such as Incel forums, where bitter men would rip women to pieces and declare sick fantasies.

The story is an emotive one and I found myself veering from anger at the men’s attitudes and sympathy towards Saffrye as she tried to finds herself and recover from an ordeal that happened to her child that has moulded her into the person that she become. A person, who prefers to hide away from the world and the only time she’s at her happiest is when she’s with nature.

Lisa is currently number one on the New York bestsellers list for her previous book called ‘Then She Was Gone’ and ‘Invisible Girl’ will soon be behind it. A thrilling and emotional book about society and identify that made for gripping reading, filled with unlikable and unreliable characters and a strong storyline that comes seamlessly at the end page, ‘Invisible Girl’ is truly Lisa at her very best, compulsive and dark reading, that will even more make people reconsider walking alone at night time!

You can buy ‘Invisible Girl’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Feb 13

1 Comment

B A Paris

B A ParisB A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of ‘Behind Closed Doors’, her debut novel. She was brought up in England and moved to France where she spent some years working in Finance before re-training as a teacher and setting up a language school with her husband. They still live in France and have five daughters. Her second novel, The Breakdown is out now.

  1. To the readers of the blog, that may not be familiar with you or your writing, can tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
    I was born in England and moved to France when I was twenty-one, where I still live today. Writing was always there at the back of my mind but with five daughters, I never seemed to have the time. Then, about seven years ago, there was a writing competitions in the ‘Sunday Times’ and I told one of my daughters about it, because she’d told me she had an idea for a novel. But when she looked at the rules, she found she was too young to enter so she suggested that I try. I had always imagined myself as a writer of children’s stories so the thought of writing an 80,000 word novel was daunting. But that night I had an idea for a story and began writing the next day. It didn’t win the competition but I couldn’t stop writing, and have been ever since.
  2. Tell us about your new book ‘The Breakdown’.
    It tells the story of Cass, a young woman who, driving home during a storm one night, decides to take a short cut through some woods. She sees a woman broken down in her car and although she stops, she’s too scared to get out of her car to check on the woman in case it’s a trap. The next day, she hears that the woman has been murdered and feels enormous guilt. She also been having problems with her memory and when she begins to receive silent calls, she wonders if the murderer is after her.
  3. What do you think makes a good thriller?
    There needs to be pace and tension, to keep the reader turning the pages.
  4. If you were to start your own book club, what authors would you ask to join?
    I’d invite authors from all different genres. Most of the authors I’ve met through my writing tend to be writers of psychological thrillers, and while I’d invite them to join, I think it would be interesting to have a greater variety.
  5. What has been the highlight of your career so far?
    The moment my lovely agent Camilla Wray said she wanted to represent me was a pretty big one. Seeing my book in a bookshop for the first time, another. Hitting the New York Times bestseller list and receiving the Neilsen Bestseller Award in January for having sold 500,000 copies of ‘Behind Closed Doors’ were pretty amazing too. I feel very lucky.
    The Breakdown
  6. What’s your favourite book of all time?
    Such a difficult question. It’s like asking a chocoholic what their favourite chocolate bar is! I love different books for different reasons. As soon as I name one, I think immediately of another I liked just as much. I’d probably have to go for a book that made a huge impact on me in my early teens, ‘Trinity’ by Leon Uris. Or ‘We Need to Talk about Kevin’ by Lionel Shriver.
  7. If you were starting your writing journey again, would you do anything differently?
    No, because it’s been a wonderful journey so far. Sometimes I regret not starting earlier but if I had, maybe I wouldn’t be the writer I am today.
  8. What area do you suggest a budding writer should concentrate on to further their abilities?
    Write what you enjoy writing, not what is in fashion. At the moment, it’s psychological thrillers. If psychological thrillers aren’t your genre, don’t try to write one. 
  9. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
    A Nancy Mitford novel for diversion, ‘One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich’ by Solzhenitsyn for contemplation (and because I’m stuck on a desert island and not in a gulag!) and ‘Les Misérables’ so that I can keep my French up to scratch.
  10. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    My mobile. When I need to take a break from writing, I catch up with my family or friends, or Twitter.
  11. And finally, do you have any projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the website.
    I’m currently writing Book 3, which will be out next year. I hope to have finished it by the summer and then I’ll be working on my next novel.

Follow on Twitter B A Paris for updates

Aug 27

Handwritten Girl Takes Part In The Mill River Redemption Book Tour

I am delighted to be part of the book tour for the release of Darcie Chan’s brand new book, ‘The Mill River Redemption’ Check out Handwritten Girl on Friday 29th August and read my review of the book itself.

The Mill River Redemption

Mar 18

The Redemption Of Callie And Kayden By Jessica Sorensen

The Redemption Of Callie And Kayden‘The Redemption Of Callie And Kayden’ is the follow up to ‘The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden’ by Jessica Sorensen.

The dark secret Kayden, has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he’s facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up – something he’ll never ask her to do. Instead he’ll do whatever he must to protect her, even if it means letting go of the only girl he’s ever loved. Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But that means admitting her own painful secrets aloud. The thought of breaking her silence terrifies her – but not as much as the thought of losing Kayden forever. Can she convince him they make a fresh start together or is she already too late?

As a fan of Jessica Sorensen, I was delighted to see the return of more angst ridden young adults, as I adored Ella and Micha. I rapidly fell for Callie and Kayden and just like Jessica’s previous characters we stumbled into a dark world of troubled pasts and families.

At the end of ‘The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden’ we leave Callie finding Kayden in total chaos thus throwing their slightly secure relationship into turmoil. As Callie fights for not only Kayden’s innocence but also for their relationship, we see the timid young girl blossom into a more outspoken and confident woman who begins to find pride in her body, whilst trying to put her own issues to one side so she can concentrate on helping Kayden. With the aid of their friends Seth and Luke, we see the pair grow stronger as they prepare to take on those around them. I particularly enjoyed Seth, I loved his upbeat, flamboyant approach to life and his tender way of talking to Callie when the shutters went up, Seth added a dose of fun to the gritty tale and was a rare rainbow on both Callie and Kayden’s dark days.

Like her previous characters and books, Jessica has once again created characters that you do feel a genuine connection and empathy for. I loved Callie and Kayden, two people that are so troubled with the world, it’s only right that they belong together, as they bring out the best in each other and help each see past the troubles that haunt their lives. It also helps that Jessica, has created another delicious male character, that all girls would like with vivid descriptions of manliness, I occasionally did find myself sighing at some of details and found myself returning to a younger version of myself when I went for brooding, troubled character.

Jessica sensitively deals with hard issues of self and domestic abuse and rape, she brings home the point that you do not have to suffer in silence and there is always someone there to help. A gritty and intensely captivating story that gripped my attention throughout, ‘The Redemption Of Callie And Kayden’ is a wonderfully romantic and bittersweet tale. I loved it!

You can buy The Redemption of Callie and Kayden from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Oct 22

Jessica Sorensen

Jessica SorensenJessica Sorensen lives in Wyoming with her husband and three children. She is the author of numerous romance novels and all her Young Adult novels have been ‘New York Times’ bestsellers.

  1. Your books of Ella and Micha are about a young couple who were once best friends but have ventured into a relationship together. Through the eyes of both of them, we join them on the trials and tribulations of life and first love. What inspired you to create these particular characters?
    The characters and story were inspired by a dream I had that I couldn’t quite seem to shake.
  2. To the readers of the blog, that may not be familiar with you or your writing, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
    I’ve always loved to write and have been writing short stories and poetry for as long as I can remember. About five or six years ago I started writing my first novel and I haven’t stopped writing since.
  3. What’s your favourite book of all time?
    There are so many great books and authors out there that I honestly don’t have a favourite.
  4. After the success of your books and being a ‘New York Times’ bestseller, what do you think in your opinion makes a good book?
    For me, I love a books with complex and broken characters, with a little bit of romance mixed in with it. But everyone likes different things; this is just what I like.
  5. I always thought the opening lines to ‘The Lovely Bones’ was quite memorable, are there any opening lines to books that stuck out to you?
    The first one that comes to mind is ‘The Sea of Tranquility’ by Katja Millay.
  6. If Ella and Micha were to be adapted for screen, who do you imagine playing the roles of them?

    I honestly have no idea. I have this picture in my head of what each of them look like and I’ve yet to come across anyone who fits them perfectly.
  7. The thing that I loved most of the Ella and Micha series, was that it brought me back to my own time as a teenager captivated by the first love and angst of Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano in ‘My So Called Life’. I think that the Ella and Micha series is the My So Called Life for now; How do you feel about this comparison?
    Love the show by the way and I like the comparison. I think I’d flip the roles, though because Ella seems more like Jordan to me, and Micha like Angela since, like Angela, Micha is the one pursuing the romance.
  8. With the success of ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, what do you think it is about the Young Adult genre that have made them appeal to a much wider market?
    I think the young adult genre has so much intensity in it because the characters are at an age where everything is intense. I think it reminds readers of their youth and the intensity of their first love and that’s part of the appeal
  9. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
    ‘Clean’ by Amy Reed
    ‘Fall for Anything’ by Courtney Summers
    ‘Hush Hush’ by Becca Fitzpatrick

    However, there’s a good chance if you asked me the same question tomorrow the list would change. I have too many favourites.

  10. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    Post-it’s and a pen for taking notes.
  11. And finally Jessica, do you have any projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the website?
    I have quite a few! Here are a few of my upcoming New Adult Books:
    ‘The Temptation of Lila and Ethan’
    ‘The Redemption of Callie and Kayden’
    ‘The Destiny of Violet and Luke’
    ‘Breaking Nova’

Read more about Jessica Sorensen online or follow her on Twitter Jessica Sorensen

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