Bored of Wimbledon? Nothing on telly? Then you need a good book – and have we got two crackers for you! This week’s picks both have unexpected twists and turns – especially at the end, but we promise we won’t spoil the surprise. Plus you can win yourself a copy of both this week’s reads.
This week I’ve been reading:
The State We’re In by Adele Parks (£11.99, Headline) Out Thursday
When dreamer Jo literally bumps into oh-so handsome Dean on a plane from London to Chicago, neither can deny the physical attraction they feel for each other, despite their best efforts. Over the course of the plane journey, they start to learn a little about each other. Jo is on her way to Chicago to stop her ex-fiance from marrying his girlfriend, afraid she has let the only true love of her life slip through her fingers. Dean is on his way home after visiting his estranged dad in hospital where he is dying from cancer. But neither Dean nor Jo realise just how strong the connection they’ve made really is…
The verdict:
I’ve read every one of Adele Parks’ previous novels (check out my review of her last one here), so I couldn’t wait to get stuck into her brand-new book. I love that her writing is a bit more grown-up and thoughtful than some other female fiction writers, yet still really accessible and engaging. At the heart of The State We’re In is what’s at the heart of pretty much all good women’s fiction: love and romance. But the author also manages to make the narrative real and believable: this is no fairy-tale love story set in a parallel ‘Hollywood’ world. The book – and the characters within it – are full of the complexities of human nature. Love affairs (whether in 1976, 2013 or anywhere in between when this novel is set) don’t always end happily ever, the girl doesn’t always get the boy, the man she marries isn’t always The One… But for all its realities – cancer, lost loves and broken families – The State We’re In isn’t all doom and gloom. The love that the author paints is both beautiful and exciting.
And then there’s the ending. Without giving anything away, I loved the surprise twist! The book builds gradually from a slightly slow start, but quickly gains momentum as Dean and Jo get to know each other and their connection becomes clear, until you reach the final few chapters where the pace quickens again to reach its unexpected finale. Clever, compelling and completely engrossing, this is Adele Parks at her very best. Pre-order The State We’re In now!
Ten winners will bag a copy of The State We’re In by Adele Parks. For your chance to win one, enter by 11.59pm on July 13.
I’ve also been reading:
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (£7.99, Phoenix) Out in paperback Thursday
I’d heard loads of great things about this book as it came out in hardback a few months ago and was shortlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize For Fiction, but it was actually the amazing cover that finally made me pick it up – it’s just so cool! And Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is definitely one of those books you should judge by its cover.
It’s about award-winning former architect Bernadette Fox, her husband Elgie Branch, who is a high-flier at Microsoft in Seattle where they live, their 15-year-old daughter Bee and Ice Cream the dog. The family live in a huge, crumbling house that used to be a school for wayward girls. Bernadette has never really fitted in with the mums at Bee’s school and hasn’t been herself since she moved to Seattle and left her legendary architecture career behind. She rarely leaves the house and has even started outsourcing her shopping and to-do lists to a virtual assistant in India. Elgie becomes increasingly worried about Bernadette, and then one day she disappears.
The story is told in a series of emails, faxes, notices and letters between various characters, joined together by Bee’s narratives, and what emerges is an at times hilarious, at times tear-jerking tale of a family falling apart at the seams. But there’s one thing keeping them from completely tearing apart – love. Quirky, totally original and emotive, this novel will completely win you over from the start. I can’t stop raving about it – absolutely brilliant!
We have 10 copies of Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple to give away. For your chance to win one, enter by 11.59pm on July 13.
- What are you reading at the moment? Tell me on Twitter @FabFrosty – and come back next week for more fab reads and giveaways!
Filed under: Competitions, Lifestyle Tagged: Adele Parks, books, competitions, Maria Semple, read, read all about it, secrets
