Charity Shop Finds
Tag: Pianist
Someone Close to Home Blog Tour
January 10, 2020 January 10, 2020 TheCaffeinatedReader2 Comments
Talented pianist Megan Youngblood has it all – fame, fortune and Gideon.
But Gideon isn't good enough for Megan's ambitious, manipulative mother, whose meddling has devastating repercussions for Megan and for those close to her.
Now, trapped inside her own body, she is unable to communicate her needs or fears as she faces institutional neglect in an inadequate care home.
And she faces Annie. Sadistic Annie who has reason to hate her. Damaged Annie who shouldn't work with vulnerable people.
Just how far will Annie go?
'Someone Close To Home' is a story of love, malice and deadly menace.
Publisher: Ashford Carbonel Publishing (9 Dec. 2016)
Amazon UK Link
Content/Trigger Warnings: Rape, sexual, emotional/mental, and physical abuse. Violence/murder, and elder/medical abuse.
This book, this was nothing like I expected! I thought it was going to be more of a thriller, but that's not to say it's not, it's just, so much more than that.
The past and present collide as Megan Youngblood after suffering a stroke is put into a rather low funded care home by her two children. This does give her time to think about her past though, the journey that led her to this moment, especially as she's left unable to communicate. She is under the mercies of the caregivers, some who are sweet and caring, some who treat it sim[ly as a job, and others. Others who use their position to abuse her and others in the home.
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be anything new for Megan, her life has been rife with pain. She's been under the care of those who would do her harm before, only this time she cannot even protest it if she wanted to.
Each chapter gives us the present and the past, and I was caught up in both timelines and it was almost weird to come upon them joining to just have the present but I'm so happy it was done this way, you see just how much Megan has been through. But I also feel as if she'd been through too much. It was a very hard and heavy read, as much as I loved it, it was not something I expected to make me so emotional; in the best and worst of ways haha, you can't help but cry for Megan and her life, but I do think the ending made it all worthwhile, but, telling would be spoilers.
The main issue I had with this, and that's not that it was a hard read, that's just a warning that you will be probably too invested in Megan's life, but that it felt disjointed between the 'scarier' thriller part and the rest of it.
I expected Annie to be featured more prominently given her role in the book, instead that huge plot of the story doesn't come in till 70+ % through, so that was a bit of a shock to the system and by that time it made it feel like two different stories, but, the culmination of it all brings it all back on track.
Great, difficult read. Thank you to Anne Cater and the publisher for a chance to read and review this as part of my honest opinion. Four cups from me!
Alex Craigie was ten when her first play was performed at school. It was in rhyming couplets and all she can remember about it is that:
it was written in pencil in a book with weights and measures on the back
the two heroes were Prince Rupert and his brother (whose name was changed to Sam to facilitate the rhyming process.)
as writer, producer and director she 'bagged' the part of female lead.
When her children were young, she wrote short stories for magazines and since then has fulfilled her ambition to write a novel.
Someone Close to Home has won two 'Chill with a Book' awards – The Reader's Award and the Book of the Month Award.
Alex lives in a small village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and knows that she and her husband are lucky to have their children and grandchildren living nearby. It's often chaotic and noisy but these are her most treasured moments and she savours them – even if she's reduced to an immovable heap after they've gone.
As an independent author, without a big publishing machine behind her, she is very grateful to all the people who have found and bought her first book – and a huge thank you to those who've gone out of their way to write a review on Amazon or Goodreads. These reviews make a massive difference to 'Indies' and the positive ones encourage other readers to risk buying a copy.
What else can she say? Nothing, really. Writing this personal promotion has been very, very hard and she needs to go away now and lie down in a darkened room, preferably with a big bar of chocolate…
She looks forward to any contact from fellow lovers of books and any honest feedback is very welcome.
The Rest of the Tour
Tagged abuse, alex craigie, ashford carbonel publishing, book blogger, Book Review, elder abuse, elderly care home, fiction, Music, Pianist, Random Things Blog Tour, someone close to home, the past, thriller
The Last Concerto – Blog Tour
August 19, 2019 August 18, 2019 TheCaffeinatedReader2 Comments
Famed for its natural beauty and rich history, Sardinia in 1968 is notorious, too, for the bandits who kidnap wealthy landowners for ransom. Eleven-year-old Alba Fresu's brother, and her father, Bruno, are abducted by criminals who mistake Bruno for a rich man. After a grueling journey through the countryside, the two are eventually released—but the experience leaves Alba shaken and unable to readjust to normal life, or to give voice to her inner turmoil.
Accompanying her mother to cleaning jobs, Alba visits the villa of an eccentric Signora and touches the keys of a piano for the first time. The instrument's spell is immediate. During secret lessons, forbidden by her mother, Alba is at last able to express emotions too powerful for words alone. Ignoring her parents' insistence that she work in the family's car dealership and marry a local boy, Alba accepts a scholarship to the Rome conservatoire. There she immerses herself in a vibrant world of art and a passionate affair.
But her path will lead her to a crossroads, and Alba will have to decide how to reconcile her talent with her longing for love and family, and convey the music of her heart…
Written by: Sara Alexander
Published by: HQ
Format: Paperback Original £7.99 [Available in eBook & audio]
I know I've said it probably about fifty times by now but as a musician, I tend to be drawn toward books that have music in them. The fact this one had a different musical term each chapter and sections divided into movements, well, I'm completely biased in loving that part of them. But, I'm here to talk about the content of this book, which took me on an extraordinarily emotional rollercoaster. This is a story about a woman having the courage to go after what makes her passionate, music.
The first chapter was a bit of a hesitant introduction for me, but the moment I got past it, it was like something just clicked in me. I could recognize a love of music and the difficulty of perhaps wanting different things than are expected of you. And I'm sure a lot can relate to one or the other if not both. Alba is quiet, the power of her voice is put into her music, and even then, due to her past, she would restrict it and the power of finding her voice.
Seriously, watching her deal with her childhood as being the odd one out, and a girl in her household to experience life in Rome and as a concert pianist, it's all wonderful and you just want the best for her but Alexander gives us a healthy dose of realism in that she gives both highs and lows. Some things are so soul-crushing, I just want to hug Alba but you know that she is going through this route because she's chosen music. And to be fair this ending won't have you crying like a baby in sorrow, so, it's got a satisfying ending.
Alexander enthrals with her descriptions of music and food, and for me, well, I delighted in the musical descriptions but I do think that if you're not a fan of heavy descriptions you may not appreciate this paint brushing of each scene before you.
Alba deals with issues from the past that follow her, whether they arise from family or past lovers and I loved watching her handle things differently as she grows up and oh, that ending. ❤
If you are interested in reading a book about a woman following her dream against the odds, that has believable romance subplots, and a healthy dose of humanity, I definitely recommend reading The Last Concerto. Four cups of coffee from me!
HarperCollins Author Page
Sara Alexander attended Hampstead School, London, and went on to graduate from the University of Bristol, with a BA hons in Theatre, Film & TV. She followed on to complete her postgraduate diploma in acting from Drama Studio London. She has worked extensively in the theatre, film and television industries, including roles in much loved production such as Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Doctor Who, and Franco Zeffirelli's Sparrow. She is based in London.
I happen to have an extra copy, thank you HQ Stories, so you know that means? GIVEAWAY TIME! [UK Only this round guys] Comment on here for an extra chance to win a copy, follow/RT on twitter for the 'first' chance!
Tagged Blog Tour, Book Review, bookblogger, Chick Lit, Contemporary Fiction, Giveaway, HarperCollinsUK, HQStories, love, Music, Musician, Pianist, Sara Alexander, Sardinia, The Last Concerto