TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW OF The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (16th January, 2018)

Pages: 384

Source: digital copy provided by Publisher/TLC Book Tours

Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.

But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behaviour. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?

To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this one due to work and personal commitments. Therefore, I  feel unable to comment apart from to say that the short amount I managed to read was an extremely well written and thoroughly engaging story.

For more qualified and informative reviews please check out what other readers on the TLC Book Tour had to say about The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White.


I would like to thank the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a  digital copy to enable me to take part in this tour and to apologise for not being able to fully participate on this occasion.

About Barbara Claypole White

Bestselling author Barbara Claypole White creates hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Originally from England, she writes and gardens in the forests of North Carolina where she lives with her beloved OCD family. Her novels include The Unfinished Garden, The In-Between Hour, The Perfect Son, and Echoes of Family. The Promise Between Us, a story of redemption, sacrifice, and OCD, has a publication date of January 16^th, 2018. She is also an OCD Advocate for the A2A Alliance, a nonprofit group that promotes advocacy over adversity. To connect with Barbara, please visit www.barbaraclaypolewhite.com, or follow her on Facebook. She’s always on Facebook.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 16th: Doing Dewey

Thursday, January 18th: Books and Bindings

Friday, January 19th: Readaholic Zone

Monday, January 22nd: Kritters Ramblings

Thursday, January 25th: Leah DeCesare

Friday, January 26th: What Is That Book About

Monday, January 29th: Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, January 30th: Book by Book

Wednesday, February 7th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, February 8th: Novel Gossip

Friday, February 9th: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Monday, February 12th: SJ2B House Of Books

Monday, February 19th: Instagram: @writersdream

Thursday, February 22nd: The Geeky Bibliophile

Friday, February 23rd: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Wednesday, February 28th: Comfy Reading

TBD: Wining Wife

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha

Translator: Eric M. B. Becker

Publisher: Oneworld

Source: Publisher (physical reading copy & digital ARC)

Pages: 230

Rating

Description
Euridice is young, beautiful and ambitious. She sacrifices her own aspirations to marry Antenor, spending her days ironing his shirts and removing the lumps of onion from his food. But as his professional success grows, so does Euridice’s feeling of restlessness. Casting duty aside, she embarks on various secret projects, only to have each dream crushed in turn by her tradition-loving husband. Antenor eventually restores order in his household – until the day Euridice’s long-lost sister Guida appears at the door with a young child and a terrible story.

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is a darkly comic portrait of two sisters who assert their independence and courageously carve a path of their own. A truly unforgettable novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature.

Martha Batalha studied journalism and literature in Brazil, working first as a reporter before starting her own publishing company. The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is her first novel. Martha lives in Santa Monica, California, with her husband and two children.

My Thoughts
Stunning bright, zesty and energetic...If ever a cover promises a lively bunch of characters within its pages then this one does its job.

Martha Batalha as her debut novel has written a heartwarming tale, drawing heavily from her family background, about the lives of two sisters living in Brazil over three decades from the 1940’s through to the revolution in the 1960’s.  Bringing this story to life is a sparkling cast of diverse, complex characters, both men and women who often flawed are shadowed by difficult, and at times awfully grim circumstances. Making this story of substance anything but a heavy read is the easy and engaging writing style full of warmth, humanity, humour and wit that flows effortlessly throughout.  Batalha skilfully presents the reader with an intelligent, culturally informative and thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.

Euridice a dutiful wife, caring mother, and inspirational woman of her time oozes with charm, compassion and a ceaseless creative drive. All of which is quite an achievement when you meet her husband, Antenor who provides such negative support.

‘It was a simple ceremony, followed by a simple reception, followed by a complicated honeymoon. There was no blood on the sheets, and Antenor grew suspicious.’
‘...Antenor decided there was no need to take his wife back to her family. She knew how to make the bits of onion disappear, she washed and ironed well, seldom spoke, and had a terrific rear.”

You will also encounter the spinster Zélia a spiteful vengeful woman damaged by life’s injustices who delights in gossip and thrives on the misfortune of others.

‘Since she couldn't be the Holy Spirit, Zélia contented herself with a lower post, proclaiming herself prophet...That one there is going to drag her husband into bankruptcy, she decreed with her pointy chin.’

TILoEG’s pages are crowded with such huge personalities, so believable and full of presence and life that the pages must have struggled to contain them within. Batalha’s characters, especially the women will remain in my thoughts for some time.

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao would make an ideal choice for a book group read, funny, heartbreaking with plenty to discuss from a cultural, historical, and women’s struggle for independence (from within and outside of the family) perspectives.

A delightfully engaging and satisfying read beautifully translated by Eric M. B. Becker.  I loved every moment of TILoEG and so eager to share the delight of this sparkling debut with whomever I can.

TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW: The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: William Morrow (July 11, 2017)

Rating:

Disclosure: I received an advanced digital copy of the book from TLC Book Tours and the publisher in order to take part in this tour.

Synopsis:
With empathy, grace, humor, and piercing insight, the author of gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality---the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are.

Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs’ weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman.

It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She’s having a baby boy—an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight year-old’s life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel’s marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she’s been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.

Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother’s affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she’s pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she’s got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie’s been hiding. Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family’s freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows.

My Thoughts:

Set in a small southern town in Alabama, 'The Almost Sisters' is a timely contemporary piece about friendships, family secrets and bi-racial relationships.

The narrator Leia Birch Briggs is a successful writer/artist in the graphic novel industry who, after discovering some life changing news, decides that a visit to her grandmother in Birchville is long overdue. Things do not go quite as planned as her grandmother, suffering from a degenerative disease, has been displaying some unusually outrageous behaviour. Instead of announcing that she will be continuing the Birch's family lineage Leia finds herself taking care of her grandmother.

I loved the fun, quirkiness of Joshilyn Jackson's writing style, and depictions of her characters, all of whom have real presence, warm endearing qualities, and were totally believable. I especially loved the multi-sisterly connections, in particular the endearing relationship between the towns oldest residents, Leia's grandmother Miss Birchie and her lifelong friend and companion, Wattie.

Leia's relationships with her half-sister Rachel and thirteen year old niece Lavender are equally as compelling, as is the relationship between Violence and Violet, characters from Leia's comic novel whom she uses to mirror and work through, to an extent, her own disappointments and frustrations that life heaps on her.

'The Almost Sisters' is an intriguing, story with a touch of a southern gothic feel, about the prejudices and complexities of bi-racial families, and relationships in the modern day 'Second South'; of multi-sisterhood bonds; and witnessing the heartbreaking slow deterioration and loss of a loved one to a degenerative disease. Even though it raises some serious issues it is gently done without becoming sentimental or preachy, and It is ultimately an uplifting story of family loyalty, love and forgiveness.

This is my first encounter with Joshilyn Jackson and one which felt destined to receive a 4 star rating until the ending which didn't quite work for me. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am now looking forward to reading her earlier novels, in particular 'God's In Alabama'.

Highly recommended and would make a perfect book group choice and summer read.

Memorable scenes: Leia's drunken one night stand with 'African American Batman' from the Comic Convention...fabulously hilarious!

Purchase Links HarperCollins

About Joshilyn Jackson

Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, including gods in Alabama and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages. A former actor, Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and their two children.

Connect with her through her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 11th: Book by Book

Wednesday, July 12th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Thursday, July 13th: bookchickdi

Friday, July 14th: Time 2 Read

Monday, July 17th: Tina Says…

Tuesday, July 18th: StephTheBookworm

Wednesday, July 19th: BookNAround

Thursday, July 20th: The Book Diva’s Reads

Friday, July 21st: Bibliotica

Monday, July 24th: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, July 25th: Leigh Kramer

Wednesday, July 26th: Always With a Book

Thursday, July 27th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Thursday, July 27th: Wining Wife

Friday, July 28th: SJ2B House Of Books

Monday, July 31st: she treads softly

TLC Book Tours Review The Roanoke Girls, Amy Engel

About The Roanoke Girls

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Crown (March 7, 2017)

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

After her mother’s suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother’s mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran…fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girlsshocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

“I was immediately drawn into The Roanoke Girls, a haunting and riveting look at one family’s tangled legacy. You won’t stop reading until you’ve unraveled the darkest of Roanoke’s shocking secrets.”
– Laura McHugh, award-winning author of The Weight of Blood

“This is a poised and haunting novel, whose enchanting prose belies its dark and intense subject matter. An evocative modern take on Southern Gothic, with a compelling twist which will remain with you long after the book’s last sentence.”
– L.S. Hilton, New York Times bestselling author of Maestra

“An emotionally compelling page turner, The Roanoke Girls takes you inside the dark world of a twisted family and one woman’s fight to break free from the chains of her own history. This is family intrigue at its very best!”
– Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten

My Thoughts:
The Roanoke girls appear to have it all, they're rich, stunningly beautiful and envied by all the townspeople. However, things are not as they seem. Over the course of the book, and as layers are sloughed away we find out what befell the girls in this family saga, and also solve the present day mystery of one missing Roanoke Girl.

Set in a fictional rural town in Kansas, 'The Roanoke Girls' is a deeply disturbing story. It is a complicated mix of sensual beauty with an underlying creepy darkness.  It's a distasteful storyline with manipulative calculating characters.

With a decades old history unfolding as the narrative moves back and forth in time, unpalatable secrets are revealed about the girls relationships within the family and with some of the townsfolk.  Engel has written a perceptively shocking, utterly compelling tale about the many affectations of love; innocent, lustful, cruel, selfish, controlling and warped.  Some of the characters were pretty unlikeable but with the progression of the storyline and revelations about the family's past, it became easier to accept, but not condone, their behaviour and treatment of others.

The interaction between the main character, Lane and 'wild boy', Cooper really resonated with me. Their relationship was electrifying and the sexual tension and pangs of lust were palpable. Allegra and Tommy's relationship couldn't have been more different with the hopelessly infatuated 'wholesome' Tommy being teased and tormented by the more predatory and sexually aware Allegra.

I loved 'The Roanoke Girls' right from the get-go.  Written in a style similar to Emma Cline's, 'The Girls' and likened to Virginia Andrews', 'The Flowers In The Attic', 'The Roanoke Girls' is a fabulous crossover debut for the YA/Adult readership.  Its a tough subject matter to write well about, but with a cracking good storyline I think Engel absolutely 'nailed it', and I cannot wait to read what she offers up next.

My Rating:

Disclaimer: I received a complementary digital advanced reading copy of 'The Roanoke Girls' by Amy Engel from the publisher and TLC Book Tours to take part in the blog tour.

Amy Engel photo credit Trish Brown Photography

About Amy Engel

AMY ENGEL is the author of the young adult series The Book of Ivy. A former criminal defense attorney, she lives in Missouri with her family. This is her first novel for adults.

Connect with Amy

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, March 6th: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, March 7th: Booksie’s Blog

Wednesday, March 8th: Bookchickdi

Thursday, March 9th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Thursday, March 9th: Buried Under Books

Friday, March 10th: Not in Jersey

Monday, March 13th: Laura’s Reviews

Tuesday, March 14th: Sweet Southern Home

Wednesday, March 15th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Thursday, March 16th: Books and Bindings

Friday, March 17th: Rebel Mommy Book Blog

Monday, March 20th: Fuelled by Fiction

Tuesday, March 21st: Kritter’s Ramblings

Tuesday, March 21st: SJ2B House of Books

Wednesday, March 22nd: Write Read Life

Thursday, March 23rd: Luxury Reading

Monday, March 27th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, March 28th: A Fantastical Librarian

Wednesday, March 29th: Snowdrop Dreams of Books

Wednesday, March 29th: Patricia’s Wisdom

TLC BOOK TOURS Review of Eggshells by Catriona Lally

Eggshells by Caitriona Lally

Publisher: Melville House Publishing (14 March 2017)

Source: Publisher/TLC BOOK TOURS

Rating:

"Vivian doesn't feel like she fits in - and never has. As a child, she was so whimsical that her parents told her she was "left by fairies." Now, living alone in Dublin, the neighbors treat her like she's crazy, her older sister condescends to her, social workers seem to have registered her as troubled, and she hasn't a friend in the world. 

So, she decides it's time to change her life: She begins by advertising for a friend. Not just any friend. She wants one named Penelope. Meanwhile, she roams the city, mapping out a new neighborhood every day, seeking her escape route to a better world, the other world her parents told her she came from. And then one day someone named Penelope answers her ad for a friend. And from that moment on, Vivian's life begins to change."

My Thoughts:

Set in contemporary Dublin, Caitriona Lally's debut novel, Eggshells is a peculiar tale about a dysfunctional, socially phobic woman who believes herself to be a changeling switched at birth for a human baby.  Vivian is determined to track down the faerie portal and return from whence she came. It is also a story about an odd companionship, struck up at Vivian's instigation, of two women who find it painfully difficult to interact, and fit in with society.

Oddness runs throughout in this, pretty much, plotless tale where nothing of substance actually happens.  Vivian makes lists of words she likes the sound of, and when she wants a friend writes, 'I want a friend called Penelope. When I know her well enough, I’ll ask her why she doesn’t rhyme with antelope. I would also like a friend called Amber, but only if she was riddled with jaundice.'  She places numerous posters on trees to facilitate in her attempt to find a Penelope 'friend'.  Penelope who isn't really Penelope but is equally as strange as Vivian, responds to her advertisement.

What started out as a promising story about an innocent whimsical character unfortunately ended up irritating me. I found the never ending witticisms and bizarre scenarios trite, and because of her aversion to her own personal hygiene, hard to stomach the thought of Vivian when she...'savours her meaty smell'...ewwww.  Vivian has an older sister also called Vivian...why? I didn't get to find out.  Anyway, it was just too much to find a smelly, disfunctional, grey haired woman endearing or charming in the long run.

However, Eggshells did have me questioning my thoughts about the main characters' fragility and unusual behaviour, and pondering what mental condition Vivian could possibly be suffering from, and that's a good thing right? Cos why should it matter what her problem is...maybe it's just her personality and nothing's actually wrong with her...well except that she's had little to no social interaction during her formative years, and told throughout her childhood that she doesn't belong here but in another realm.  Ultimately, I realised that the 'cause' or 'fix' is not so important, maybe more tolerance and understanding of those who behave oddly or differently to the 'social norm' is what's more important.  So, it had a profound effect on me which made Eggshells a cleverly imagined character driven story, with little happening but saying rather a lot.

I'd recommended Eggshells for a quirky, light hearted, but thought provoking read making it perfect for book group reads and deal for fans of the Rosie Project, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and A Man Called Ove.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary digital advanced reading copy of 'Eggshells' by Caitriona Lally from the publisher and TLC Book Tours to take part in the blog tour.

CAITRIONA LALLY
studied English Literature in Trinity College Dublin.
She has had a colorful employment history, working as an abstract writer and a copywriter, as well as a home helper in New York and an English teacher in Japan.
She has traveled extensively around Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.
Caitriona was shortlisted for “Newcomer of the Year” in the Irish Book Awards in 2015

TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Tuesday, March 14th: Chick Lit Central

Wednesday, March 15th: A Bookish Affair

Thursday, March 16th: Books ‘n Tea

Friday, March 17th: SJ2B House of Books

Monday, March 20th: Write Read Life

Tuesday, March 21st: 5 Minutes for Books

Thursday, March 23rd: Books and Bindings

Monday, March 27th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Tuesday, March 28th: A Bookish Way of Life

Wednesday, March 29th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, March 30th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Monday, April 3rd: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, April 4th: BookNAround

Wednesday, April 5th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, April 6th: Just Commonly

Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Publisher: Penguin-Michael Joseph (12th January 2017)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley




Rating:

Description:
NEW NAME . NEW FAMILY. SHINY. NEW. ME.

Annie's mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind.As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter...Translated into over 20 languages, Good Me, Bad Me is a tour de force. In its narrator, Milly Barnes, we have a voice to be reckoned with, and in its author, Ali Land, an extraordinary new talent.Good Me Bad Me is for fans of quality psychological suspense and reading group fiction.


Disclaimer: I received a complementary digital copy from the publisher, Penguin-Michael Joseph, via NetGalley in exchange for a non biased review.


My Thoughts:
WOW...an intense and truly twisted tale...Ali Land's remarkable debut offering, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is an exceptional psychological thriller. Compelling and addictive from the outset, I felt irritated when my attention was demanded elsewhere and I had to put it down for any length of time.


Milly is a damaged, haunted fifteen year old and she has informed the police about her mother's latest killing of a young boy. The catalyst being that she knew this victim.
To await the trial she is placed in a safe environment only to suffer the hostility of the insecure daughter of the dysfunctional foster family.


Set in London, England, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is written in the first person narrative giving Milly's perspective of events. With an intense, fast paced plot-line, and devious, complex characters, it makes a hugely entertaining compulsive read. The tension and anguish of Milly's contradictory feelings she has for her mother are palpable and truly heartfelt. I routed totally for her during her torturous moments reliving her disturbing past. Milly loves, but is also terrified of, her mother. Most of all she's afraid of herself, and becoming just like her.


However, it's not without its flaws, being a touch (ok, very) over the top with scenarios involving the unlikely, aggressive court questioning of a minor who, for the past ten years, has been subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse, and been witness to several child murders.  I'm not convinced this would be allowed to happen in today's court proceedings. The accident scene was a little contrived and implausible too with regards to the suggested timeframes, etc, etc, in my opinion.

These two niggles aside, 'Good Me, Bad Me' is an explosive, pulse racing, tortuous thriller with a convincing portrayal and perceptive character study of the behaviour and thought processes of the daughter of a serial killer mum.  I really enjoyed it.

With a great plot and gripping storyline, it's perfect for fans of, 'The Girl on the Train', 'Gone Girl', and all the other psychological thrillers of the genre.

TLC Book Tours Review: I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb

About I'll Take You There

• Hardcover: 272 pages

• Publisher: Harper; First Printing edition (November 22, 2016)

Rating:

In this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women, Wally Lamb—author of numerous New York Times bestselling novels including She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much is True, and We Are Water—weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it.

I’ll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit—and in some cases relive—scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen.

In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There’s his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.

Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face.

My Thoughts:
Ok first of all I just want to clarify that I am a fan of Wally Lamb and absolutely loved 'She's Come Undone', 'I Know This Much Is True', and 'The Hour I First Believed'. 

So, what to say about 'I'll Take You There'...All I can say is that it wasn't what I expected, with less pages than I'm used to with his previous novels, and sparser descriptions or depth of characterisation, I have to say it's not one I particularly liked or felt compelled to finish.

It's an easy read, with light inoffensive material about women, family and feminism. To me though it lacked depth and character build up, resulting in bland uninteresting characters and plot.

However, I do think it would be a perfect, uncomplicated quick 'holiday' read, and has huge potential and appeal for the commercial market reader, more so than the literary fiction fan. In fact I can see it doing very well in this market, and that's a good thing especially if it brings a wider audience to Lamb's books.

Ideal for book club reads for potential discussion about women's roles in society, and family, and feminism in general.

These are only my thoughts on the book and in no way would I wish to dissuade anyone from reading the book. In fact, my view is in the minority and therefore I hope that you take a look at what the other reviewers on this tour have had to say about it.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary advance reading copy of 'I'll Take You There' from the publisher and TLC Book Tours to take part in the blog tour.

 

Photo credit Chris Hetzer

About Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb is the author of four previous novels, including the New York Times and national bestseller The Hour I First Believed and Wishin' and Hopin', a bestselling novella. His first two works of fiction, She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, were both number-one New York Times bestsellers and Oprah's Book Club selections. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine. The Lambs are the parents of three sons.

Find out more about Wally at his website, and connect with him on Facebook.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, November 22nd: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Wednesday, November 23rd: Dolce Bellezza

Monday, November 28th: Turn the Page

Tuesday, November 29th: West Metro Mommy

Wednesday, November 30th: Lit and Life

Thursday, December 1st: The Well-Read Redhead

Monday, December 5th: bookchickdi

Tuesday, December 6th: What Will She Read Next

Wednesday, December 7th: Bibliophiliac

Thursday, December 8th: A Bookish Way of Life

Friday, December 9th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, December 12th: Girl Who Reads

Wednesday, December 14th: Mother’s Circle

Thursday, December 15th: SJ2B House Of Books

TBD: Peeking Between the Pages

Station Eleven by Emily Mandel

Station Eleven by Emily Mandel

Publication Date: September 9, 2014

Genres: Fiction, Dystopic, Apocalyptic

Publisher: Pan Macmillan / Picador

Hardcover: 352 pages

ISBN-13: 9780385353304

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
DAY ONE : The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb. News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%.
WEEK TWO : Civilization has crumbled.
YEAR TWENTY : A band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe. But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild.

STATION ELEVEN Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connect six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur's first wife Miranda; Arthur's oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed 'prophet'.
Thrilling, unique and deeply moving, this is a beautiful novel that asks questions about art and fame and about the relationships that sustain us through anything - even the end of the world.

My Thoughts:
At the centre of Station Eleven is the famous actor Arthur Leander who dies on stage during a production of King Lear. Within hours of his unexplained death Georgia Flu hits with devastating effect, mercilessly killing 99% of the world's population.

Leap forward 20 years and life has come to resemble something like the tales of Chaucer, with a traveling troupe of musicians and actors performing Shakespearian plays to the townspeople they meet along the way. In this new age life is in stark contrast to the pre apocalyptic world. Distrust, and the threat of violence from those they encounter is an every day occurrence. If they are to survive, keeping their wits about them is imperative.

Station Eleven leaps back and forth in time and gives an in-depth recounting of the characters lives, and how they or historical artefacts are all interconnected from each timeframe.

Each character was fully fleshed out and believable. I don't think I had a favourite but I was drawn to Miranda, and in particular her relationship with Arthur.

I absolutely loved the way the story unfolded. It is a beautifully written novel and I was pretty disappointed when it came to its end.

Station Eleven is a first rate apocalyptic, dystopic, sci-fi tale. A delightful read which I highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title. I am looking forward to recommending Station Eleven to our Waterstones customers.