Bokelskere.no

This book was important in my life because it taught me to not stress about what had already happened which I could not do anything about, and not worry about the future which was not even here yet. Just stay in the present, breath deep and feel the stress melt away. I found it helpful in a way that seemed to last a long time. This is the first of two books I have read by this author.

Becky is back with a hilarious bag of new Christmas related tricks!
Following her parents surprising move to Shoreditch, Becky is now hosting Christmas for family and friends and she is not exactly relaxed about it -or on top of everything. She has her very own take on Christmas shopping as well as life in general, which makes this a hilarious read. I must say she is impressively creative in the mad situations she gets into and never gives up no matter how bad it gets.

Even if she tries to be organized and do things early she keeps getting distracted, and leading up to Christmas Day she is pretty stressed out. Her guests seem demanding and ungrateful in the beginning of the story. They don’t exactly hold back on unreasonable expectations. Becky tries to do it all on her own, trying to make everybody happy, make all the guests’ special requests happen. I felt for her as she really does not assert herself. As the story progresses, they seem to get more understanding as to what pressure Becky feels being a first-time Christmas host.

I’m impressed by husband Luke. In all the craziness he keeps his cool and calms Becky down. Through a number of twists and turns and involving influential people’s help, Becky manages to secure the most magnificent Christmas present for him. The story also includes a touching idea for Christmas presents suitable for any age group or gender. I really enjoyed that.

Christmas Shopaholic is a great pre-christmas read for fans of Sophie Kinsella’s work or readers of the chick-lit genre.
My rating: 4 stars /5
(All opinions in this review are my own).

Emily Radley, Thomas Pitt’s sister-in-law, leaves her family just before Christmas to go to Ireland because her aunt is terminally ill. On arrival she discovers that there is something sinister and strange going on in the village and people are too afraid to talk about it.

Perry’s writing is magnificent as always. I feel drawn in like I am actually in Ireland 1895.
The beginning and ending as well as reference to weather conditions in December I think add to the Christmas feel of the story. I quite enjoyed the surprise ending. Didn’t see that coming at all.

As this is a novella, the plot progresses quite quickly with just enough information along the way. It’s a good companion on a little break in the Christmas preparations

A Christmas Grace is recommended for fans of Anne Perry’s other work as well as readers of history crime fiction in general.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

Seemingly entangled and confusing events in a right old mess with an ending I didn’t see coming.
Simon Walden is the victim of a brutal murder on the beach at Crow Point, Barnstable, North Devon. He is an army veteran who has severe alcohol problems and depression following a car accident where a little girl died. Volunteering at the Woodyard Day Centre for people with learning disabilities, he seems to get on ok working as a chef. He is temporarily renting a room with two other women in town, but as the case progresses it is found he hides plenty of secrets.
This was quite a confusing mess to deal with from the get go, not made any easier by Venn’s own troublesome connections to several persons of interest. Venn’s husband Jonathan manages the Woodyard Day Centre, which makes Venn’s feel too closely connected to the case. He considers withdrawing from the investigation. DCI Oldham, however, persuades him to stay on.

DS Jen Rafferty is a single mother who is an experienced police sergeant. Because of her superb people skills she is boss’ go-to person when he wants to have sensitive and vulnerable people questioned. She is divorced following violence in her marriage, has relocated from Liverpool and has a hard time taking care of her two teenage children while working long hours as a police. I find her character really easy to like. She has struggles many women can relate to, including me, and she uses these experiences to do a brilliant job as a police.

DS Ross May is boss’ golden boy and DCI Joe Oldham’s eyes and ears within Barnstable Police. He has a nervous energy which irritates Venn. To be honest it irritates me too! In the beginning of the story, his people skills appear to be seriously lacking as he prefers to be on the go at all times. He doesn’t care overly much for details in the investigation. I find his character develops positively and towards the end I feel more sympathetic towards him.

Must say I worried along the way if Venn and his team would manage to solve this case. The long call of the seagull, high and deafening, could be read as a metaphor for a wake-up-call of something sinister going on. Simon Walden’s murder a symptom of something very wrong surfacing, impossible not to notice.

I liked that we get to learn something about how a care center for people with learning disabilities might work and what protective measures would need to be taken to make sure vulnerable users were safe in public. We get to follow the lives of two women with Down’s Syndrom, Lucy Braddock and Chrissy Shapland who attend Woodland Day Centre.

This work deals with issues not only with murder, but also, sexual and domestic abuse, alcoholism and mental health issues. Last, but not least, religion, as it relates to sexual orientation. Cleeves manages to tie it all up and include it all in the story in an impressive way.
I highly recommend this work for readers of Ann Cleeve’s work and readers of crime fiction in general.
All opinions in this review are my own.

In #6 of the Seven Sisters Series, the youngest of the sisters we know so far, Electra, faces some serious issues. She deals with major challenges directly or indirectly affecting many, many people all over the world today. We get to follow her as she deals with consequences of lifestyle choices. I felt for her in the description of loneliness in her Park Avenue penthouse apartment and find it understandable that she feels vulnerable and tries to distance herself from everybody in her life. I enjoyed following her in her journey throughout the book and found her to be a complex and well developed character even if she really is not the most likeable in the beginning.
Proud, sensitive and trying to not show weakness, I felt relieved when her biological grandmother showed up, even though it took some time before she was actually appreciated and welcome as family.

Morphing from sad, recluse, to a person with a tribe of good people around her, she learns who she really is through her biological background and upbringing. Having good role-models and support, I fell glad and relieved that she develops into a force for good in the area she is passionate about.

I have read all the sisters’ stories and they all face challenges in their own ways, but this is certainly next level challenges. I appreciated all the research that shines through in this work. I don’t feel I know much about African history, so I enjoyed the part of the story set in Kenya 1938-39. The vivid descriptions of the culture and lifestyle of The Happy Valley Set I found slightly off-putting from my own perspective, but probably a really realistic addition to the story. The part about Maasaian life and culture turned out to have a major effect on the development of the plot and I found it an interesting twist how the mindset of the tribe could have panned out like the plot describes.

I think Electra’s story is a bit different from the other sisters’ stories. Being complex and dealing with serious issues, it adds something extra while still keeping the trademark feel we have come to love as readers of the Seven Sisters Series.
You would have no problem reading this as a stand-alone work, but I think if I were to start out fresh, I would consider reading #1 to get a background to the story of the sisters.
Readers who like dual-time novels would love this. Fans of Lucinda Riley’s work have probably waited for months (like I have) and will be thrilled to read this new release in the series.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

Ibsen-NOR er et litterært prosjekt og er et samarbeid mellom Norge, Danmark og Sverige hvor tre forfattere har tolket hvert sitt Ibsen-stykke. Vår egen Vigdis Hjorth har skrevet sin egen versjon av Hedda Gabler og selv om jeg har noen innvendinger så er dette en god roman som både kan leses som en selvstendig roman men også opp mot originalen.

Les gjerne omtalen min her.

En særegen og tankevekkende roman om aktuelle tema som dyrerettigheter og klimautfordringer som i tillegg er en hyllest til den britiske poeten William Blake. En bok jeg anbefaler på det aller sterkeste!

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.

Igjen har Lisa Aisato laget en fantastisk bok med de mest fantastiske illustrasjoner, denne gangen går hun gjennom et helt liv på knappe 200 sider og jeg lar meg stadig imponere over hvor dyktig hun er til å formidle. Anbefales på det aller stekeste! :-)

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.

Særegen spennende, merkelig, viktig. Les mer her

En slags detektivhistorie om en mann med hukommelsestap som begynner å nøste i fortiden. Nydelig skrevet, spesiell stemning. Mer her

I fjor leste jeg diktsamlingen Hvis av samme forfatter, den gangen handlet det om overgrep mot barn, i diktsamlingen Om handler det om selvmord. Vanskelige og tøffe tema som hun behandler på en utmerket måte i diktene sine. Hun fletter også inn andre forfatteres ord og forteller om kjente personer som valgte å forlate livet. En sterk diktsamling som anbefales!

Les gjerne omtalen min her.

Islandske Gerdur Kristny blir av og til sammenlignet med danske Helle Helle og i denne romanen som handler om endringen fra barn til voksen kommer det tydelig frem at det finnes likheter mellom disse to. Ikke alt blir sagt i klartekst og man må være villig til å pirke litt i overflaten for å få fullt utbytte av boken,
I Smarties er handlingen lagt til Island i midten av 80-tallet, en tid hvor man hadde angst for atomkrig.

Les gjerne min omtale her.

Der var du ferdig ja! Gleder meg til å fortsette lesingen i morgen :-) Jeg har faktisk lånt meg bøker av William Blake som jeg skal lese i forbindelse med en diktlesesirkel jeg er med i. Kjekt med litteratur som får en til å oppdage andre bøker.

Flere leste bøker i 2019.

Likte boka. Anbefales

Igjen har Audur Ava Olafsdottir gitt oss et fengende portrett av en kvinne eller to kvinner og èn mann, om hvordan det er å følge strømmen å gjøre det som forventes av en eller å følge drømmen og dermed risikere å stå litt på utsiden av samfunnet,i hvertfall om vi skriver 1963 på Island! Lavmælt og poetisk portrett av Hekla som gjerne vil bli forfatter. Anbefales!

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.

Salme 42

Sterk og tankevekkende beretning om det å være pårørende til et familiemedlem som måtte stå utenfor samfunnet på grunn av alvorlig sykdom. Dette er en bok alle burde lese! Anbefales på det aller sterkeste! :-)

Les gjerne hele omtalen min her.