Book Review: My Map of You by Isabelle Broom

my map of you

Title: My Map of You
Author: Isabelle Broom
Publisher: Penguin
Date: April 21st, 2016
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Holly Wright has had a difficult few years. After her mother’s death, she’s become expert at keeping people at a distance – including her boyfriend, Rupert.

But when Holly receives an unexpected letter explaining that an aunt she never met has left her a house on the Greek island of Zakynthos, the walls she has built begin to crumble. Arriving on the island, Holly meets the handsome Aidan and slowly begins to uncover the truth about the secret which tore her family apart.

But is the island where Holly really belongs? Or will her real life catch up with her first?

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Review:

It has been weeks since I first finished reading this book, and days sicne I finished it for the second time and still, I am trying to pull myself together and write the review that will make you see how much I love and appreciate this story.

I don’t have the recipe for the perfect novel (if I did, I’d become a best-selling novelist myself, or any kind of novelist in that matter), but I do know what kind of ingredients I like in my books.
And guess what?
This book has all of them.

I will try not to go into too many details because I don’t won’t for this review to have a lenght of a novella, but I will try to explain what I liked in the best way that I know.

Fist, and the best part of this book is the writer’s ability to describe the place in such a beautiful way.
Her writing style amazed me and the way she used words to express the beauty of Greece, landscape and all those little things that we see in our every-day life, was like she had the ability to transport us there, on those pages, or at least she awoked the desire of a reader to be there, in that story, and see the beauty for himself.

When Holly and Aiden were on the boat, looking at the stars, I wanted to be there with them, and see those stars with my own eyes, because I don’t believe the stars were ever that beautiful as they were in that moment.

Second, Broom described the chemistry between the two characters in very realistic and yet very passionate way. The tension was almost touchable and those swoon-worthy scenes were, in some way, compelling.

Third, the characters were gray. And when I say, I mean they are as gray as they can be. They have many flaws, they make mistakes that they are aware of, they do feel guilty, they do get lost, but they also have dozens of good qualities and everything boiled together in one pot make them realistic.

In one particular scene, our main character finds herself judging and deprecating the other character, but then it hits her she did even worse thing and the guilt washes over her and stops her from saying anything.
That is just one scene, but the book is full of similar situations that show us the nature of characters.

Also (really not key attribute but to me, personally, pretty important) Aiden, one of the main characters and love interest in some way, has ginger hair, which is so rare in books I read that I welcomed that little component whole-heartedly.
I feel like women’s fiction genre is full of dark macho men and every „diversity“ in that aspect I salute!

There’s one more thing I have to stress out: My Map of You is full od secondary characters that I couldn’t help but fall in love with (her boyfriend Rupert especially).

Fourth (and now we come to the hardest part of expressing my feelings), this book covers some really important issues, and one in particular that coused all the emotions to arouse and come over me.
I am not sure how much can I tell without spoiling the story, so I will say that this story doesn’t follow only our main character, but also her deceased mother who’s story we learn, in some parts from Holly herself, and in some parts together with Holly.

Fifth, the way the story is written is amusing. In third person focussing on Holly’s POV, we follow chronological approach with with the glimpse of past, but we also get to read letters that were written by Holly’s mother, aimed for Holly’s aunt.

Overall, My Map of You is the best book I have read this year and I know I will be coming back to it many times in my life.
It is a realistic story presented in a beautiful way.
This book is an example of how a great novel should be done and, in my opinion, it wouldn’t hurt for aspiring authors to check it out.
Stephen King once said that every good (or maybe great) book demands to be read twice: first time to satisfy your curiousity and to enjoy the story, and the second time to analyse everything and see what you missed the first time you read it.

Now, after finishing this book for the second time, I can give it nothing but pure five stars rating because it deserves all the stars (any when I say stars, I refer to those beautiful stars Holly and Aiden were looking at).

5

Waiting on Wendesday (#6): The Butterfly Summer by Harriet Evans

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Waiting on Wendesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases we can’t wait to read.

This week I am eagerly anticipating:

the butterfly summer

The Butterfly Summer by Harriet Evans

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: May 19th, 2016

Summary (from Goodreads):

Harriet Evans is the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Place for Us and her new novel, The Butterfly Summer, is a compulsive tale about forbidden and enduring love and the secrets we keep that somehow grow beyond all proportion. You’ll be desperate to add it to your shelf alongside the best of Santa Montefiore, Jojo Moyes and Kate Morton.

‘Harriet Evans is a master at creating characters you feel like you know inside out’ Heat

What magic is this?

You follow the hidden creek towards a long-forgotten house.

They call it Keepsake, a place full of wonder … and danger. Locked inside the crumbling elegance of its walls lies the story of the Butterfly Summer, a story you’ve been waiting all your life to hear.

This house is Nina Parr’s birthright. It holds the truth about her family – and a chance to put everything right at last.

Harriet Evans. She brings you home.

Why am I waiting for this book?

To be honest, this book grabbed my attention when I saw people were talking about it on Twitter, and those who were lucky enough to get an early copy of it all seemed to like it.

The premise sounds really good, the cover is just beautiful, but what “bought me” to add this book to my tbr list is the video with some readers’ reactions after reading this book. When I saw many emotions written on their faces, I just knew I have to read this and find out what my reactions to this beautiful novel will be.

Author Website * Amazon UK * Amazon US * Goodreads * The Book Depository

Book Review: The Secret by the Lake by Louise Douglas

the secret by the lake

Title: The Secret by the Lake
Author: Louise Douglas
Publisher: Random House UK
Date: November 19th, 2015
Pages: 410
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Amy’s always felt like something’s been missing in her life, but as a nanny for the Laurent family – Julia, Alain, Viviane – she feels complete.

So Amy wouldn’t think of leaving them when a sudden tragedy forces them to move from France to the small lakeside cottage in the isolated Somerset village where Julia grew up.

But there’s something strange about the cottage by the lake. This is where Julia spent her childhood. But she used to have an older sister, Caroline, whom she rarely speaks about…

Who disappeared at just seventeen…

Who has a secret the whole village wants kept hidden for ever…

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Review:

‘Secrets make you lonely, did you know that?’

‘I never thought about it,’

‘Oh they do. It’s their nature to isolate a person. Making someone keep a secret is the same as building a wall around them. Sooner or later the person behind that wall wants to set themselves free.’

 

What is the cost of the true behind a lie?

What is the cost of the secret that’s hiding the true?

If you ask me what was it I expected when going into this story, I probably wouldn’t know what to tell you. But I can tell you one thing: I know I got more then I expected.

This story, written in the first person and taking place in 1960th, follows a young woman named Amy. She finds herself in a small Somerset village, taking care of a little girl named Viviane who recently lost her father.  It is not an unfamiliar fact that Viviane likes to have imaginary friends. After their arrival, Viviane can’t stop talking about her new friend, Caroline, who has the same name as Viviane’s mother’s sister who died 30 years ago. Not only that she has the same name, but she also knows things from Caroline’s life that no one else but Viviane’s mother would know, and she never talks about Caroline. Suddenly, strange things start to happen in the house and Amy can’t help but wonder if Caroline is real.

This book took me by surprise. After finishing it, I needed some time to think about it, to sleep and clear my mind. My emotions are still all over the place and I know I just can’t write a review good enough to do justice to this story.

The writing style is amazing and it is full of visuals. I couldn’t help but imagine shadows of gray covering pictures in my head, playing a movie that gave me chills and kept me on the edge because I didn’t know what will come from the story.

It was like watching The Ring, only different. The atmosphere was similar, but the plot, characters and message were different.

The message. It is the most precious thing about this novel. If I tell you what it is, I would spoil your potential reading experiance, so i won’t.

But I will tell you this: If you have a chance, give this book a chance.

If you do that, I guarantee you that it will keep you awake, it will make you think about monsters, but not the paranormal ones. The real monsters that live among us and can destroy many lives. It is our responsibility to stop them.

4,75