Girls' Weekend by Cara Sue Achterberg

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

Which character do you relate to?                                           My rating: 4 out of 5
Publication Date:  3 May 2016

A great story about Dani, Charlotte and Meg who decide to have a Girls' Weekend away by the sea, leaving behind their husbands and children. However when it is time to return they all decide that just a weekend is not enough.

If you have ever thought about "running away" from your home and family, think it's time to re-invent yourself, or re-discover the real you, then read this first. As Dani, Charlotte and Meg consider the way their lives have turned out, and whether they have any right to be unhappy about it, so they discover that the lives of their closest friends are not quite as they thought.

This is not always a comfortable read, but it is very real and completely engrossing. Reading it on Kindle I did not realise how near the end was, and was horrified to "turn a page" and find the Acknowledgements. Not because the story wasn't finished, it was, but because I was so involved in the three lives that I couldn't believe there was no more. I wonder what Dani, Charlotte and Meg are doing today.

"There are no mistakes, only lessons to be learned" Cara Sue Achterberg

Into the Black: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her by Rowland White

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

The Excitement of Space Exploration                                 My rating: 5 out of 5

This exciting, and very readable, book takes the reader from the 1960s first ventures into space, through the creation of an early balsawood and paper model design for a space plane capable of returning to earth, to the first space shuttle launch in 1981 and right on up to the 2003 Columbia disaster. It gives all the background into space travel including why getting a man on the moon was so important. The reader is taken through the Apollo missions and through all preparation of the astronauts and the space shuttle before launch the 1981 launch of Space Shuttle Columbia.

Rowland White has included all the exciting parts of space history - and there's a lot of them, and skipped all the boring parts - or maybe his writing is just so good that it seems like that. This book is perfect for everyone who has ever watched a blast off into space, and wondered what happened before, and after, that moment, and of course is great reading for any aspiring astronauts. No need for an engineering, science or mathematical background to enjoy this book, it is gripping, with heart stopping moments. At the end of the book is a glossary of terms - which I never needed to refer to, due to the clarity of the writing, plus excellent diagrams and a great list of resources for further information.

The book took longer to read than I had anticipated, as I kept breaking off to google films of the events taking place and pictures of the people and locations involved. I have learnt so much, and been so fascinated by this book. In particular how brave the astronauts are; I had no ideas of the difficulties, and dangers, involved in getting a space shuttle into space.

An action packed history book - fantastic. Get yourself a copy, and give a friend one too.

Dream Accomplished by Elizabeth Gross

Find a dream and follow it                                          My rating 5 out of 5

This inspiring, memoir  is all about having a dream, that will provide focus, fun and fulfilment, away from the problems of everyday life. 

In this case the problem is a diagnosis of a rare blood cancer Essential Thrombocythemia (MPN).  The first part of the book has loads of useful information for anyone who may be going through hospital processes - with any condition.  Though set in the US, it applies equally to other countries.  It deals with coping with contradictory diagnoses, and what to expect of various procedures.   There are anecdotes about the many wonderful doctors and care staff - plus the not so wonderful.  With  lots of "wow" moments that put your own life issues into perspective,  this always remains a positive book, with uplifting moments at the most difficult of times. 

The second part of the book is about finding an adventure to provide focus and joy through difficult times.  With all this going on, somehow this family find time to focus on the needs of others - this is the family we all wish lived next door!

This is a book of hope.  One that everyone should read, as it has life enhancing tips for all, not just the ill.  This is NOT a book about living with cancer, it is a book about living life to the full and enjoying every moment.   At the end of the book is a section with many useful resources.

On finishing the book, I tweeted the following to the author  "Dinner is late tonight, because I can't do anything until I have finished your book, and because I'm crying with positive emotion."

Thank you Elizabeth, Marc and Page for this life enhancing book.  

This is One Moment by Mila Gray

(Book received from, and review written for, TripFiction.com)

Love  vs Giving Up                                  My rating:  4 out of 5

Didi, doing her first internment as a trainee psychologist  in a state of the art military hospital/rehabilitation centre, finds herself drawn to a wounded marine called  Walker.  However Walker is struggling to cope with his injuries, his recollections of the event that caused them and what the future will hold for him.  And then there is Didi's boyfriend Zac, who is rich and famous and every girl's dream.  

Didi's goals include having a perfect marriage and life, like that of her parents, a life that Zac could surely give her.  Whilst working in the military centre she, of course, has an obligation not to become too close to the patients, however having met Walker life isn't quite that simple!

This is a wonderful romance, with a deeper theme of what it is like to one moment be a fit active marine with a promising career ahead, and the next moment to be in a military hospital with life changing injuries.  Mila Gray paints the outline of what the various patients in the centre are going through,  and leaves the reader to colour it in, making the imagery very strong.  

Other themes within this book look at why people cope so differently with similar situations, why the young join the military knowing they could be risking their lives, how Post Traumatic Stress affects people differently, and what it is like to suddenly have to consider a future so different to the one previously envisaged.   Answers are not given!   This is a book about overcoming difficulties, changing your goals when the old ones become inappropriate, and seeing things as they are, not through a mist of blackness or an unrealistic glow of brightness.    And about seeing a chance for happiness and grabbing it.

The characters are well drawn and true to life.  There are times you want to shout at them, but their friends do it for you, and they don't listen anyway.  The chapters alternate between life as seen from Didi's perspective and life as seen by Walker.  There are many light and humorous moments, also times of great sadness and some despair.  During the sad narratives I found myself unable to put the book down, gripped to see how it turned out.  During the lighter moments there are some laugh out loud moments.   

Set in California, this book gives brief glimpses of Californian life, but the main setting for this book is the hospital/rehabilitation centre. 

A great read, light enough for any occasion, but with a depth that kept me interested, brought the characters to life and made me keep turning the pages.  

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

Glimpses into personal lives                                           My rating:  5 out of 5

The author of this book stayed with a "middle-class" family in Kabul, Afghanistan,  for four months, having met the father who was a bookseller.  This book is what she learned about the lives of this family (which Seierstad explains is not a typical Afghani  family), through her observations, going out and about with them and what they told her.  The family mostly live in Kabul, and the stories and anecdotes are from the years 1973 - 2002. 

Each chapter of this fascinating book covers a different subject.  Subjects include lives of the women, arranged marriages, meals, roles within the family and love.  Also covered is life under the Taliban and the warlords, education, politics, history of Afghanistan and of course religion.  All these subjects are as seen from the point of view of the people she lived with, and spoke to. 

I picked up this book, having been recommended it and assuming it was a novel.  It was much better than a novel!  The family life and their difficulties and successes are described so well that I felt as if I was there watching the family live out their lives.  

If you are interested in learning about a way of life, where the culture and expectations are very different from the western norm, then this is the book for you.  Shocking, at times frightening, but always engrossing.  

Free to be Tegan by Mary Grand

Life After Leaving a Religious Cult                                                 My rating: 4 out of 5

This wonderful novel opens as 27 year old Tegan is being cast out from her Community into a world she left 22 years before. Ending up in Wales she is bewildered at the decisions she is required to make in this "outside world", small things like what sort of milk she wants seem overwhelming given her background. Used to being told what to do at all times, Tegan finds it difficult to adjust into a life where she has choices, but little experience on which to base them. The novel follows Tegan as she tries to overcome her brainwashing/life's training. As she begins to enjoy the wonders of nature and everyday life, she is also trying to cope with the loss of leaving behind everyone and everything she has ever known.

Mary Grand draws an amazing picture of the village life that Tegan finds herself in. If this was a true story, I could take you around the village and tell you all about the people and what has been going on - the writing is that involving and realistic. Indeed often whilst reading the book I wondered if this was a true story turned into a novel .

This is a book with a strong and involving story with plenty of action and heart stopping moments; no sex and minimal violence. A book to make you think about life, and what it is that makes people behave the way they do.

Recommended to all readers who like a well researched novel , a great story and a fascinating subject.

Lies of the Dead by Shauna Bickley

(I received this book, free of charge, from bookvetter.com, in return for an honest review)

Mystery Thriller that draws you in                                           My rating:  4 out of 5

Set in Cornwall and Bristol, can Tom and Andi save themselves, and their families, after their brother dies, leaving his dangerous problems for them to fix.

Tom gets a phone call from the police to say that his brother has committed suicide; he then breaks the news  to his sister Andi.  Whilst trying to discover the reason behind his brother's death Tom is drawn into a frightening world,  where he and his sister's family are in great danger  because of his brother's actions.

Set mostly in Cornwall (in a fictitious, but true to life, village) and Bristol, this excellent story is engaging  from the beginning as the reader is led deeper and deeper into the lives of the main characters.  It's a "what would you do in their situation" type book - though nobody would want to go where these people are taken!  The characters are well developed in the early chapters, so the reader  is  firmly on Andi's side when she thinks she is developing paranoia, and blaming it on her troubled marriage.  Tom is a likeable character so when things get scary the reader is with him all the way. 

I really enjoyed this book.  It started off as an enjoyable read, that could be put down and picked up easily, but then developed into a "just read the next chapter" as the story developed. 

Suitable for anyone who enjoys a mystery thriller.

The Castaway's War: One Man's Battle against Imperial Japan by Stephen Harding

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

Military History and Survival                                                            My rating  3 out of 5

Publication Date:  May 2016

This is a tale of the USS Strong that was launched in May 1942, and sunk in July 1943.  It describes the building of the ship, the weaponry it carried and the preparation of the crew and ship for war.  Among the officers on the ship was Navy Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller, who survived when the boat sunk and was eventually washed up on Arundel  Islet (Solomon Islands), where he not only survived but performed acts of great bravery. 

Lovers  of military history and detail about the US Navy's warships will find this a fascinating and riveting read, probably deserving of a 5 out of 5 rating.  Unfortunately the detail regarding the building and commissioning of the ship held little personal interest for me, and though the tale of survival on Arundel was  exciting, interesting and page turning it was not enough for me to rate the book higher.  

Code Name Papa: My Extraordinary Life while Hiding in Plain Sight by John Murray,Sharon Murray and Abby Jones

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

Real life is more scary than fiction                 My rating:  5 out of 5

The Girl in Berlin by Elizabeth Wilson

(Book received from, and review written for, TripFiction.com)

Spies in London and Berlin                    My rating:  3 out of 5

It's May 1951 in England and Burgess and Maclean have recently disappeared.   Elisabeth Wilson's  novel is set against the background of the public's surprise and shock over the news of spies defecting, and concerns the hunt to find other spies, particularly the one believed to be in MI5

In London Anthony Blunt's staff at the Courtauld Institute of Art adore him, and are shocked at the suggestions that he could be involved in any spying scandal.  The book's character Dinah works at the Courtauld, so gives an insight into Blunt's life at this time.  Dinah's husband works at the BBC and  is also, unwittingly, drawn into the world of spies and espionage.  He, like many of the other characters in the book also has another side hidden from his wife and friends.   Wonderful examples are given of social behaviours in the 1950s, as the charade of normality covers investigations and goings on that are (according to the book) common at this time. 

The book is a wonderful blend of fact and fiction, leading the reader into various private gardens, along London canals, Wimbledon and the world of art.    Many of the fictitious characters in the book are not quite certain of what their exact role is and how the part they are playing fits into the desperate race to track down spies.  The subtleties of their recruitment, and operating methods, is quite fascinating. 

The reader is taken to East (and West) Berlin, at this time of enormous change, and many comparisons made with life in England.   Again all is in confusion there as to who can be trusted, who is working for who and what is safe.   The descriptions of life in the 1950s are fascinating, and the author certainly builds up suspense and interest as events evolve. 

Unfortunately I found that after a riveting start the characters failed to develop, and therefore the story lost its way (for me) in the middle, though the ending pulled everything together and was well worth reaching.    Having finished the book, I can now look back and think how much I learnt about life at that time during the Cold War, and how interesting the book was, however at the time of reading that was not so apparent.