Summer reading

One of the highlights of our recent holiday to Norway was having the time to kick back and indulge in some holiday reading.  I’ve always loved reading, and recently I’ve found myself reading less and less – that’s why one of the challenges I’ve set myself for this year is to read a book every month.  I’m pleased to report that I got off to a cracking start while on holiday.

Finding Emma – Steena Holmes

I came across the sequel to this book, Emma’s Secret, on the Kindle Store, so thought I’d read the first book first before moving on to the second one.  Finding Emma tells the story of a family trying to come to terms with the loss of their youngest daughter, who disappeared when she was three.  The book is set two years later, and tells the harrowing tale of a family struggling to cope.  In parallel, you also get the story of Jack and Dottie, and their granddaughter Emmie.

I enjoyed the story – it was intriguing and emotional, although some aspects were a little bit predictable.  Nevertheless, it kept me interested, and I wanted to keep reading.  The writing style isn’t great, but the strength of the story overcomes that. 

I did find it hard to empathise with the characters in Emma’s family, and Emma’s mum in particular was a bit flat.  I was much more drawn to the story of Jack and Dottie, but that might just be my personal taste.  There was a bit more mystery around this storyline, and there were some loose ends left when I came to the end of the book.  I’ve since discovered that Holmes has written a novella called Dear Jack, which will hopefully answer some of the questions I was left with.  I’m planning to read this next, before moving on to Emma’s Secret. 

Overall, while the style was a little bit clunky, I enjoyed the story, and am looking forward to finding out what happens next in Emma’s story with the other books.

You Had Me At Hello – Mhairi McFarlane

 

This book got me through an eight hour delay in Kristiansand airport - I’m really not sure how I would have survived without it.

The book tells the story of Rachel and Ben, who were best mates at university.  It’s set ten years after graduation, and flits back and forth between the present day and their student days.  This structure works really well, as there are tensions and loose ends in the present day that gradually get explained as you progress through the university days, and it builds up steadily until it climaxes with the ‘big reveal’.  I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t say any more about that.

Rachel is a great character: she’s witty, bright, and flawed, and as a reader I really rooted for her.  McFarlane has a great writing style full of humour, and she kept me interested throughout – this is no mean feat as I tend to get bored quite easily.  I really enjoyed reading Rachel and Ben’s story, and I’d recommend this as a good holiday read.