Thursday, 29 July 2010 12:55

0 Comments

The Perfect Life

By Emily Barr
Headline Review
Lucy Riddick's mum has been obsessed with Leonard Cohen and Venice for as long as Lucy can remember, and a poster of the Italian city dominated the kitchen of her childhood.
Now Lucy is all grown up, and her boyfriend has just proposed to her. It should be the happiest time of her life. But when a daring cliff rescue attracts the attention of the local newspapers, Lucy dreads what is coming next.
Someone from her past threatens to resurface, and her carefully constructed new life is bound to crumble. So she flees to the one place she hopes will offer shelter: Italy. Once there she discovers that running away does not always take you away from your demons, but can actually bring you closer to them.

Wednesday, 14 July 2010 09:21

0 Comments

The Lake Shore Limited
By Sue Miller
Bloomsbury
Six years after the death of her younger brother Gus, Leslie still mourns him deeply and dreams about him regularly.
She also resents her husband for not fully understanding the level of her grief. When she watches an autobiographical play written by Gus's former girlfriend Billy, it raises some disquieting issues.
Are the two women living in the past too much? And what was the nature of Gus and Billy's relationship? A slow, moving tale of love and loss.

Thursday, 24 June 2010 13:17

0 Comments

Miss Conceived
By Emma Hannigan
Poolbeg Press Ltd. 

Emma Hannigan's newest novel (she wrote the bestselling Designer Genes, inspired by her own experiences with cancer) is the tale of three very different women at three very different stages in their lives, but ultimately hurtling towards the same outcome.
Angie Breen is single and loathing it, and if it isn't bad enough that she's being absolutely deafened by the ticking of her body clock, there isn't an eligible man anywhere near the horizon.
Meanwhile, Serena Doyle would appear to have it all: glamour, sophistication, and a husband who thinks the world of her.
But when Serena decides that a baby is the one thing to make her life complete, there are enough obstacles in her way to make things seem hopeless. Ruby White isn't even 16 and she has fallen for the wrong man entirely.
When she ends up pregnant, her parents are appalled but determined to find the best solution for everybody. When Angie's work takes her from Cork to Dublin for a year, and Ruby's parents decide to cover up their daughter's pregnancy and adopt her baby, the two cross paths.
Meanwhile, as Serena's long held secret is exposed, will she ever manage to get what she really wants?
Again, Hannigan has written a pacy, enjoyable tale, with lively and sympathetic characters, and a storyline that will resonate with many. This is likely to be on quite a few holiday reading lists this summer.