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ClareR (6037 KP) rated The Golden Rule in Books

Jun 3, 2021

The Golden Rule

Amanda Craig | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I really enjoyed The Golden Rule, and I was intrigued as to how it was going to link to Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train AND Beauty and the Beast. Well, the first of those was obvious. Hannah, whilst travelling to Cornwall to see her terminally ill mother, is convinced by a woman in First Class to sit with her and drink a bottle of wine. Whilst drinking, they swap stories of their terrible husbands (and Hannah’s husband really does come across as an abusive and thoroughly unpleasant person), and Hannah’s fellow traveller, Jinni, comes up with the idea that they should kill each other’s husbands. Two problems would be solved. Now this is the part of the book that made me pick it up in the first place. After all - how intriguing is this idea? Could Hannah trust that a complete stranger would stick to her side of the bargain? And what’s more, Hannah seems so nice - could she kill a complete stranger? Well. That was ME hooked!

This is a novel that not only looks at abusive partners and the effects their behaviours have on those around them, but also brings in such topics as Brexit, and why certain regions in the UK (i.e. Cornwall) voted for it, when it was clear that they’d get nothing out of it. It looks at poverty in London and the South West, and how the rich seem to asset strip the poor areas of the country even more, even under the pretence that they’re adding value. It’s about how a person can reinvent themselves despite the hurdles put in front of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and finished the last page feeling as though I’d just read a really good, satisfying book. I’d most definitely recommend it!

Kudos

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated If You Could Go Anywhere in Books

Sep 12, 2019

If You Could Go Anywhere

Paige Toon | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

So we meet Angie who lives in the outback in rural Australia, a mining town called Coober Pedy--famous for its opals. Her grandmother has just passed away after years of struggling with dementia and as her only living relative it's hit Angie hard. Her friend comes over and they decide to drink some of her grandfathers wine and behind one of the bottles they find a letter written by Angie's dead mum addressed to a man in Italy. Reading the letter she finds out that her dad is the man the letter is addressed to and that he never knew about her. Angie is thrilled at the idea of having family back in Italy and flies out to meet them.

The people she meets in Italy welcome her with open arms, ready to accept her into their large extended family. They're a nice bunch of people who want to hear all about her life in the desert and living in a "cave". They show her how to make Italian cuisine and she shares her own recipes with them.

Then there's Alessandro. He's related but not by blood and there's a connection between the two of them. Both want to travel; both lost parents at an early age. But Alessandro had a rough start to life and doesn't want any sort of commitment with anyone or anything.

I loved some of the secondary characters like Stefano and Cristina. They were fun; there arguments over the music that played and their nights out/nights.

I like that this is set in Rome, a city I have visited myself so I understand some of Angie's joy at seeing some of the famous sites. And a little time in Venice, too. Another city I've had the fortune of visiting.

And lastly, cover love! How cute is this cover? I love it!