Ailish's Book Reviews

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: The Fires Of Autumn was written in the last two years of Irene Nemirovsky's life, after she fled Paris in 1940. The prequel to her masterpiece, Suite Francaise,  it is a panoramic exploration of French life and a witness to the greatest horrors of the twentieth century.  After four years of bloody warfare Bernard Jacquelain returns from the trenches a changed man. No more the naive hopes and dreams of the teenager who went to war. Attracted by the lure of money and success, Bernard embarks on a life of luxuriant delinquency supported by suspect financial dealings and easy virtue. Yet when his lover throws him off, he turns to a wholesome childhood friend for comfort. For ten  years he lives the good bourgeois life, but as another war threatens everything, Bernard has clung to, starts to crumble and the future for his marriage and for France looks terribly uncertain. First published posthumously in France in 1957, The Fires Of Autumn is a coruscating t

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life. MY REVIEW: Wow what a great book! Before I Go To Sleep is the debut novel from S.J. Watson. This is one of my favorite books from 2011.  Most of the story is structured as a diary recounting daily events. Every morning Christine Lucas awakes with no idea of who she is, where she is, and who the man is sleeping beside her. She suffered a terrible attack eighteen years ago that has left her unable to retain memories. However, with the help of a doctor who specializes in memory disorders, Christine begins to keep a journal that helps her piece together her past and how she ended up the way she has. Before  I Go To Sleep is a thriller that will leave you guessing until the final page. A

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up in the White House, married to the President. In her small Wisconsin hometown, she learns the virtues of politeness, but a tragic accident when she is seventeen shatters her identity and changes the trajectory of her life. More than a decade later, when the charismatic son of a powerful Republican family sweeps her off her feet, she is surprised to find herself admitted into a world of privilege. And when her husband unexpectedly becomes Governor and then President, she discovers that she is married to a man she both loves and fundamentally disagrees with - and that her private beliefs increasingly run against her public persona. As her husband's Presidency enters its second term, Alice must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer. MY REVIEW: This is Curtis Sittenfeld's third novel which

Dear Reader, I finally got around to reading How To Win A Guy In 10 Dates. I'd like to thank the lovely Jane Linfoot for sending me a copy to read and review! BOOK DESCRIPTION: Take Millie: a fun, independent dance teacher starting over, whose burlesque classes are all about self-esteem and empowerment. Her new life plan definitely doesn't stretch to bad boys. And Ed: he’s gorgeous, designs firework displays for a living and positively self-destructs at the thought of commitment. But he’s embarking on the impossible – a challenge to have ten dates with one woman. When Millie literally lands in Ed’s lap after an accident, she’s an unlikely choice for the ten date challenge – scruffy, opinionated and then there’s the small matter of that tattoo snaking out of her boot – but he’s running out of options, and more importantly, she owes him. She’s so not his type, he’s so not in her life-plan, but a weekend in sunny Provence changes everything. Against a backdrop of starry s

Dear Reader, This was my first Christina Courtenay novella and it won't be my last. I came across this through the fabulous team at ChocLit UK via twitter! This Regency novella has a bit of everything. We have a likeable hero and a damsel in distress.  The damsel in distress is Maude who about eight years ago was to elope with our likeable hero, Luke, but certain people vied to keep them apart. So Maude ended up marrying his cousin instead.  When Maude ends up widowed, Luke becomes the new head of her estate. He keeps her on as his housekeeper but he secretly still desires her but is still a bit miffed over her having married his cousin without knowing the true reason. Maude desires him too, but of course is afraid to say so. But Maude and Luke may have to stop tip toeing around each other and tell each other their true feelings because (this is where is gets good!) someone wants them dead. We have arsenic poisoning, smashing pots, run away carriages, and kidnapping.  I won't g