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Release date: November 28, 2017

Publisher: Atria

Genre: Fiction

Blurb:

From the author of the highly acclaimed The Railwayman’s Wife, called a “literary and literate gem” by Psychology Today, comes an emotionally resonant and profound new novel of two families, interconnected through the house that bears witness to their lives.

When Elsie Gormley leaves the Brisbane house in which she has lived for more than sixty years, Lucy Kiss and her family move in, eager to establish their new life. As they settle in, Lucy and her husband Ben struggle to navigate their transformation from adventurous lovers to new parents, taking comfort in memories of their vibrant past as they begin to unearth who their future selves might be. But the house has secrets of its own, and the rooms seem to share recollections of Elsie’s life with Lucy.

In her nearby nursing home, Elsie traces the span of her life—the moments she can’t bear to let go and the places to which she dreams of returning. Her beloved former house is at the heart of her memories of marriage, motherhood, love, and death, and the boundary between present and past becomes increasingly porous for both her and Lucy.

Over the course of one hot Brisbane summer, two families’ stories intersect in sudden and unexpected ways. Through the richly intertwined narratives of two ordinary, extraordinary women, Ashley Hay uses her “lyrical prose, poetic dialogue, and stunning imagery” (RT magazine) to weave an intricate, bighearted story of what it is to be human.

I’m so excited to be one of the stops on the blog tour for A Hundred Small Lessons today! Check out TLC Book Tours for the full schedule.

Review:

This is told via alternate perspectives from Elsie and Lucy. Eighty eight year old Elsie is forced to move out of her home after she falls and Lucy is the woman who buys her home. There was something poignant and touching about one woman leaving one of the only homes she’s ever known as another younger woman moves in. Both of them were highly complex characters, this book is very character driven to the point where the plot almost takes a back seat as it’s not as important, what matters is Elsie and Lucy’s feelings, insecurities and struggles.

There was something about this one that spoke to me, maybe because one of its biggest themes is motherhood and I could wholeheartedly relate to many of the struggles the two women faced. I think most mothers have struggled with not wholly defining themselves through their children and also being too hard on themselves in order to be a perfect mother. Hay writes beautifully, her prose is gentle, lyrical and there’s a quiet confidence to her writing style. Mothers at any stage in their life could relate to and enjoy this one, recommended for a day where you want to escape with a moving story.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author:

Ashley Hay is the internationally acclaimed author of the novels The Body in the Clouds and The Railwayman’s Wife, which was honored with the Colin Roderick Award by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the most prestigious literary prize in Australia, among numerous other accolades. She has also written four nonfiction books. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Connect with Ashley

Website | Facebook

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Release date: September 19, 2017

Publisher: Atria

Genre: Literary Fiction

Blurb:

A deeply moving, humorous story of a boy who believes in everything and an old man who believes in nothing.

In 1934, a rabbi’s son in Prague joins a traveling circus, becomes a magician, and rises to fame under the stage name the Great Zabbatini just as Europe descends into World War II. When Zabbatini is discovered to be a Jew, his battered trunk full of magic tricks becomes his only hope of surviving the concentration camp where he is sent.

Seven decades later in Los Angeles, ten-year-old Max finds a scratched-up LP that captured Zabbatini performing his greatest tricks. But the track in which Zabbatini performs his love spell—the spell Max believes will keep his disintegrating family together—is damaged beyond repair. Desperate for a solution, Max seeks out the now elderly, cynical magician and begs him to perform his magic on his parents. As the two develop an unlikely friendship, Moshe discovers that Max and his family have a surprising connection to the dark, dark days the Great Zabbatini experienced during the war.

Recalling the melancholy humor of Isaac Bashevis Singer and the heartbreaking pathos of the film Life is Beautiful—this outstanding first novel is at once an irreverent yet deeply moving story about a young boy who believes in magic and a disillusioned old man who believes in nothing, as well as a gripping and heartfelt tale about the circle of life.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Trick! To follow along with the rest of the tour check out TLC Book Tours.

Review:

I love a good tale about an unlikely friendship and the relationship between Moshe and Max is about as unlikely as it gets. Moshe AKA Zabbatini is a cantankerous old man with nothing much left to live for and no desire to hang out with a child. Max is a ten year old boy suffering through his parents separation and he honestly broke my heart. While Max was a likable little guy, Moshe was not, he was foul, crude and cranky but somehow the old geezer wormed his way inside my heart anyway. Likable or not, these two were memorable and had one of those rare relationships born of desperation and hope.

This flips back and forth between present day and the past so rather than classify it as literary fiction, I would call it historical as well and that was one of my favorite parts of this book. Moshe lived an incredible life and it was fascinating to see what shaped him into the person he was at eighty eight. This was a tender, bittersweet story that tugged on my heartstrings and left a lasting impression in the end. Recommended for HF lovers and those who enjoy the type of book that transports you to a different place and time and also gives some good life lessons along the way.

Quick side note, I’m hosting a giveaway on Instagram for a chance to win a copy of this book!

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for my review copy.

About the Author:

Emanuel Bergmann was born in Germany and is a journalist and translator. He has been living in Los Angeles since 1990. His first novel, The Trick, is an international bestseller.

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Release date: November 2016

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb:

A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies.

An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees London-based Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics.

Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, has guiltily never liked her father’s women, but does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her…

When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wit’s end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them any answers. The ruthless truth is something no one expected…

This fast-paced psychological debut will keep you guessing until the very end.

I’m so pleased to be the stop on the blog tour for Gilding the Lily today!

Review:

Don’t you just love it when you read a book and it’s like nothing you would’ve expected but yet it’s almost exactly what you needed? That’s what happened for me here, this was an unusual psychological thriller, more emphasis on the psychological parts than the thrills, but it was still a captivating read and one that I raced through in a few hours.

This is told from several viewpoints, but the bulk is relayed via Amelia and Jack, a lovely couple and then there are a handful of chapters from some interesting characters that I can’t name, it would ruin the fun. Roger is Amelia’s father and Evelyn is his girlfriend and you know right from the start there is something off about this cold, calculating woman. As much as I despised Evelyn I adored Amelia and Jack, both together and separately. They were so supportive of each other and while this had a domestic suspense feeling it was nice to read something where the husband and wife aren’t at odds but instead working together as a team.

Despite the chilling opening to this book, it isn’t as fast paced as I would’ve assumed it would be, but the intensity gradually increased the further along you get. Maybe fast paced isn’t the right description, it’s still a page turner and there weren’t any boring parts but I guess what I mean is that by the end things were more pulse pounding. It kept me on my toes and had some revelations that I was not expecting and the ending was great.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.