What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges

What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 319

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Just about everything in Endora, Iowa (pop. 1,091 and dwindling) is eating Gilbert Grape, a twenty-four-year-old grocery clerk who dreams only of leaving. His enormous mother, once the town sweetheart, has been eating nonstop ever since her husband's suicide, and the floor beneath her TV chair is threatening to cave in. Gilbert's long-suffering older sister, Amy, still mourns the death of Elvis, and his knockout younger sister has become hooked on makeup, boys, and Jesus--in that order, but the biggest event on the horizon for all the Grapes is the eighteenth birthday of Gilbert's younger brother, Arnie, who is a living miracle just for having survived so long. As the Grapes gather in Endora, a mysterious beauty glides through town on a bicycle and rides circles around Gilbert, until he begins to see a new vision of his family and himself.


My Review

So I know this is a movie with Johnny Depp and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio, I don't think I have seen it but little bits, I recognised the bath scene. The main character is Gilbert Grape, 24 years old, living in a small town and quite angry and over the hand life has given him. Going through the motions until a young lassie appears on her bike and captures Gilbert's attention and seeing his life through new eyes.

I can't say Gilbert is a nice character, he is a bit of a tool, not a great pal nor brother although he does have his moments with Arnie, his miracle brother the doctors had told would never make his 18th birthday. As Arnie's birthday gets closer the family make big plans for the monumental achievement. Amidst this we meet Gilbert's mother, once the town sweetheart and now hugely overweight and stays indoors 24/7 to keep from ridicule and gossip. Two older siblings who managed to escape, his older sister who lives at home and his younger sister who is a bit high maintenance, Elvis loving and newly finding the attraction to/of boys.

The book covers a whole host of dynamics, relationships, issues, some of the language is not used nowadays (Arnie is referred to as the derogatory R word multiple times). I know some people love this book, I wasn't one of them, I don't hate it but maybe I just didn't get what the author was shooting for? There was a scene I did gasp at and I felt for the wean but a lot of the time I was really annoyed at the characters behaviours and choices. Maybe that is indeed what Hedges was going for, imperfect characters, imperfect life, unlikable but with some redeeming qualities or moments, 3/5.

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In Bloom by C J Skuse

Today I am kicking off the blog tour for "In Bloom" by C J Skuse. If you haven't read Sweet Pea (the first book in this series) you really need to. Please check out the other stops that follow on the tour, each blogger offers different content.





In Bloom by C.J. Skuse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 384

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - Review copy (ARC)

Blurb from Goodreads

The darkly comic crime sequel to Sweetpea, following girl-next-door serial killer Rhiannon as she’s now caught between the urge to kill and her unborn baby stopping her.

If only they knew the real truth. It should be my face on those front pages. My headlines. I did those things, not him. I just want to stand on that doorstep and scream it: IT WAS ME. ME. ME. ME. ME!

Rhiannon Lewis has successfully fooled the world and framed her cheating fiancé Craig for the depraved and bloody killing spree she committed. She should be ecstatic that she’s free.

Except for one small problem. She’s pregnant with her ex-lover’s child. The ex-lover she only recently chopped up and buried in her in-laws' garden. And as much as Rhiannon wants to continue making her way through her kill lists, a small voice inside is trying to make her stop.

But can a killer’s urges ever really be curbed?



My Review

Firstly let me say this is the second book in a series, I absolutely advise reading the first, Sweetpea, available to buy now. This book picks up where Sweetpea leaves off, Rhiannon is pregnant, her boyfriend is in jail awaiting trial for several gruesome murders, murders Rhiannon committed herself. Trying to come to terms with pending motherhood, the changes in her body, her bossy fetus and of course her constant need to kill,Rhiannon has her hands full.

If you haven't read Skuse, and I am not sure of her other works but these books are absolutely not for the easily offended. Rhiannon is a brutal killer wih no morals, she has a gob on her that could make a sailor blush, she is self absorbed, horny, crude, sarcastic, hilarious (in a very non pc way), dangerous and one of the most psychotic female serial killers created!

Each chapter (well almost every chapter), like the previous book opens with a list of people she would like to kill that day, if circumstances permitted. She is trying to deal with her changing body, roller coaster emotions, blood thirsty ways oh and the police who are investigating her partner which means questions questions questions.

The book started off a bit of a different pace for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to like this as much as the first, sequels often have the hard job of keeping up with the previous offering. Needless worry, in fact this is one of the very few times I rated the sequel higher than the original which is no mean feat and hats off to the author. Once the book gets going it ensnares you and I found it hard to put the book down, some of it like a car crash you just can't look away. She is a terrible person, a brutal murderer but you find yourself rooting for her, a vigilante who doesn't like animals being hurt so she will always get points off me for that!

Her relationship with a specific character I really liked but it also had me a bit beside myself, by exposing herself to friendships she increases the risk of exposure. At one point it reminded me of, or rather, it echoed Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling's weird relationship but in a good way, absolutely not a criticism. This book is an absolute mind trip, Rhiannon is a unique killer I think and I have read hundred of books with murderers but this is my first pregnant killer who goes on a bit of a journey herself to "mend" her ways but will she be successful? How easy is it to quit your murderous ways, how do you change your future when your past just won't go away and most importantly can she keep it together when all eyes are on her? Packed with bad language, murderous behaviour, sex, lies, kill lists, an outrageous book with a main character holy water and a priest would struggle to bring from the dark side, I loved it! 5/5 for me this time, I will be checking out the rest of Skuse's work and wait impatiently for the next book! Available to buy from today, grab your copy now!

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Police, Crime & 999 by John Donoghue

Police, Crime & 999 by John Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off 3 days

Pages - 296

Publisher - Troubador Publishing

Blurb from Amazon

Ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes in the police? What bizarre 999 calls are made to the emergency services? Why can wearing two pairs of socks make you a suspect? What is the link between police and vampires? Which Royal arrest never made news headlines? What covert sign do officers make when they no longer wish to talk to you? After successful careers in both the military and business, John Donoghue realised that the higher you get in any organisation, the less fun you have. So, after handing back his expense account and company car, he joined the police in search of excitement and thrills... and discovered some surprising answers to these puzzling questions. PC John Donoghue reveals all in his fascinating and hilarious true account of a year in the life of a front line response officer. Names and places have been changed to protect the guilty... but if you call the police, maybe, just maybe, it could be Police Constable John Donoghue turning up at your door. This book will appeal to anyone interested in crime and police, as well as fans of autobiographies and humour.



My Review

In this book, PC John Donoghue gives a hillarious, un pc and dare I say it, shocking insight into what life as a policeman and dealing with the public is actually like. True stories in relatively short bite chapters at different criminals, situations and mishaps he has experienced and how he has handled them with his fellow officers.

I do love a book that has real life encounters with members of society, especially those from different walks of life. Truth can always be far stranger than fiction and Donoghue gives us a small glimpse at some of lifes colourful characters.

There are quite a few laugh out loud tales in the book that some people will think are made up because people just don't do things like that, they really do and some will leave your jaw hanging! There will be a minority of folk who may find one or two turns of phrases to be offensive or possibly even judgmental, however if you read the book as it was intended you will see it for what it is. There is no denying how hard a serving officers job must be and humor is sometimes the only thing you have to get you through the horrors and reality that is some people's life. So when you pick up this book, keep that in mind and I am sure you will love it.

Funny, witty, well written and in chapters that aren't to lengthy that if you have a busy life you can easily dip in and out. I think Donoghue would be hilarious to watch on a stage doing a book tour, the hilarity just jumps off the page and I did burst out laughing once or twice so maybe not a book for public transport reading.

This is my first dance with this author, I would certainly read him again and he does have at least one more book like this if not more. A look at how different some folk live laced with humor and the dark reality that is some folks actual lives. Thanks to Crime Book Club for introducing me to a new author and Donoghue himself for providing a copy for review. As always, all views are my own, available to buy from Amazon in paperback or kindle, 4/5 for me this time.

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Talk of The Toun by Helen MacKinven Blog Tour

Having to post this a wee bit early due to the fact I am working tomorrow, my slot for the blog, and won't be home til after 8pm. So here goes, also, I have my ARC copy, now signed, to give away as part of the tour, I will list this once I get home from work. That will be the 6th of November after 8pm UK time so make sure you stop by to enter.





Tell me a bit about you?

I’m 47 years old and so I was 17 in 1985, just like the main characters Angela and Lorraine. My childhood was spent in Bonnybridge, famous for UFO sightings and I went to high school in Falkirk so the setting for Talk of the Toun was easy to recreate from my own personal experiences. After watching one too many episodes of Escape to the Country, three years ago I moved to a three hundred year old cottage in a small rural village in North Lanarkshire to live with my husband. I have two grown-up sons but I have filled my empty nest with eleven chickens, two dogs and two pygmy goats.



For the last ten years I’ve enjoyed writing flash fiction, short stories and I’ve completed three novels. My debut novel, Talk of the Toun, is the first of my novels to be published. In 2011, I took a career break to go to Stirling University to do an MLitt in Creative Writing but I’m now back on the road with my day job which involves travelling all over Scotland to deliver maths training for teachers so I have to fit my writing into days off and school holidays. Why did you choose Scotland and that time period for your book?

I wanted to write the type of book I love to read and my favourite writers, such as Janice Galloway, Anne Donovan and Jackie Kay, have set their books in Scotland and given a ‘voice’ to working class characters and this inspired my own writing. The advice often given is, “write what you know” so being a teenager in the 80s in central Scotland meant I could write a credible story.



There are a fair few characters, how did Senga come about, is she based on anyone you know?

The story is entirely fictional – nothing that dramatic happened to me growing up! But I did have a very close relationship with my gran and spent a lot of time with her in the same way Angela gravitates to her gran for support and guidance. My own gran died nine years ago and I still miss her dearly, she was funny without realising it, kind-hearted, a bit vain like Senga and had a white poodle too. But she wasn’t a pet psychic or an extrovert like Senga although she did give me plenty of inspiration and ideas for humorous scenarios. The book’s dedication is, “In memory of my gran, Ella, who taught me the meaning of unconditional love” and I know she’d be proud of me achieving my dream of being a published novelist.

Does it surprise you that Senga seems to be the favourite character? Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

Not really as she’s mine too! As my own relationship with my gran was full of love and laughs it meant I could create a character very loosely based on fact so I think that’s why the character connects with readers. I hoped folk would warm to her and I’m chuffed she’s your favourite too. I would love to see a book about Senga and I am sure I am not alone, is it something you would consider? I had never thought of doing another book with any of the characters but who knows, maybe if I get more interest in Senga I’ll consider writing more adventures for her and Bimbo.



You have captured the mid-80s amazingly, I found myself transported back to many memories I had long forgot. Was this something you meant to do?

Yes, I wanted the setting and time period to feel real so I needed to incorporate cultural references such as fashion, TV programmes, pop songs, food, household décor and gadgets from the era that would trigger the sense of the 80s. I’m blessed (or sometimes it feels more like a curse!)with a really good memory so lots of the details came back to me but the internet was invaluable to check my facts as there’s nothing worse than reading a book and seeing errors littering the page.



What research did you do to capture such an accurate portrayal of the people and times you write about?

There are a lot of websites with themes such as, ‘I love the 80s’ so I spent time reminding myself of things like clothes and makeup that were popular. I also signed up to the Pinterest website which is a great source of inspiration with thousands of boards full of images from the 80s. I set up my own boards for the book, one with images specific to Talk of the Toun and one for general 80s images if readers are interested to see the visuals related to the story. https://uk.pinterest.com/helenmackinven/



What is next for Helen MacKinven?

I’ve been busy with the pre-publication build-up for Talk of the Toun and my day job so I haven’t managed to do much writing on my next project. But I’ve made notes after a bit of research and written a few thousand words on a new novel. This book (if I finish it!) is set in Airdrie after the referendum result but with a local historical event related to the Leningrad Siege weaved into the narrative. Where can readers find you, ie twitter, facebook, website? I blog regularly at helenmackinven.co.uk and can be found on Facebook and on Twitter @HelenMacKinven



You can find my review for Talk Of The Toun here http://www.alwaysreading.net/2015/10/talk-of-toun-by-helen-mackinven_12.html Talk of the toun is now available to buy, kindle £4.99 or a paperback copy at £9.99







I also managed to get to the book launch for this last night, in case you missed it you can see the post and pictures here

Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan

Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2.5 days

Blurb From Goodreads

'Apocalypse Cow made me snort with laughter' - Terry Pratchett.

Forget the cud. They want blood. An outrageous an anarchic comic take on the zombie apocalypse - and joint winner of the first Terry Pratchett ‘Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now’ prize.

It began with a cow that just wouldn’t die. It would become an epidemic that transformed Britain’s livestock into sneezing, slavering, flesh-craving four-legged zombies.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the fate of the nation seems to rest on the shoulders of three unlikely heroes: an abattoir worker whose love life is non-existent thanks to the stench of death that clings to him, a teenage vegan with eczema and a weird crush on his maths teacher, and an inept journalist who wouldn’t recognise a scoop if she tripped over one.

As the nation descends into chaos, can they pool their resources, unlock a cure, and save the world?

Three losers. Overwhelming odds. One outcome . . .

Yup, we’re screwed.

My Review

I love zombies books (as you may have noticed), so when I heard about this one I thought I just had to give it a read. Geldof is a 15 year old Vegan boy, embarrassed by his hippy parents. If they aren't screaming at the neighbors for their murder and consumption of flesh(animals of course), forcing him to be a Vegan and wearing God awful natural fiber clothes his mum is bartering for food in the shop with vegetables. What follows is an unlikely team against the zombie animals. Something goes wrong at the abattoir, a weird plague amongst the cows gets out and spreads among domestic animals and soon everyone in Glasgow (and Britain) is at risk of being humped, mauled and or eaten.

This book is hilarious, disgusting and so UN PC - it has everything rolled into one story. The nerdy boy with the crush on the teacher, the hippy parents, the teenage bullies that need to be addressed or obeyed and of course the threat of being killed by rabid flesh eating animals from cows to rats.

Some of the brutality to the animals is a bit uncomfortable reading (in any kind of context) but taking the book as it is with silliness you can get through it, after all it the small matter of survival. This is my first encounter with this author and I would read him again, I also secretly (not so secret now) hope there is a follow up to this book. Will Geldof survive? Does he get the woman of his dreams and be the hero at the end? Well you have to read it and find out for yourselves folks. Thanks to Transworld publishers for giving me the chance to review this and introducing me to a new author, 4/5 for me this time. Just to add, I reviewed this in 2012 however the review was missing from this blog. I just received a copy of the next book in this series so reposting this!

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Talk of the Toun by Helen MacKinven

Talk of the Toun by Helen MacKinven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days on and off

Pages - 288

Publisher - Thunderpoint Publishing

Blurb from Goodreads

‘She was greetin’ again. But there’s no need for Lorraine to be feart, since the first day of primary school, Angela has always been there to mop up her tears and snotters.’

An uplifting black comedy of love, family life and friendship, Talk of the Toun is a bittersweet coming-of-age tale set in the summer of 1985, in working class, central belt Scotland.

Lifelong friends Angela and Lorraine are two very different girls, with a growing divide in their aspirations and ambitions putting their friendship under increasing strain.

Artistically gifted Angela has her sights set on art school, but lassies like Angela, from a small town council scheme, are expected to settle for a nice wee secretarial job at the local factory. Her only ally is her gallus gran, Senga, the pet psychic, who firmly believes that her granddaughter can be whatever she wants.

Though Lorraine’s ambitions are focused closer to home Angela has plans for her too, and a caravan holiday to Filey with Angela’s family tests the dynamics of their relationship and has lifelong consequences for them both.

Effortlessly capturing the religious and social intricacies of 1980s Scotland, Talk of the Toun is the perfect mix of pathos and humour as the two girls wrestle with the complications of growing up and exploring who they really are.



My Review

The first thing I would say to anyone going to pick up this book is, it isn't for the easily offended. It isn't that it is out and out offensive however, it is set in Scotland, the mid 1980s and captures the people from the scheme and the language of the times perfectly. It is black humour, unpc and you find yourself laughing, sometimes out loud, at some of the antics and language which nowadays would be frowned upon and all kinds of labels flung about. The story centers around Angela, whose viewpoint the story is told from, and her best friend Lorraine. Angela has always looked out for Lorraine and lately their friendship is starting to get strained, Angela isn't about to let go and is sure when she gets Lorraine to Filey for the caravan holiday with her family all will slot back into place. However things don't go as Angela planned and events come to play that will impact their friendship and lives forever.

This book took me down memory lane, just some of the things discussed or some of the terms, I haven't heard geggie in absolutely years, just evoked a plethora of long forgotten memories. I think anyone who was born or lived during that time period will take a stroll back in time, not sure if that was the authors intent but it was a lovely wee addition and gift from just "reading a book". The main characters are teenage girls, seventeen and some of the things are a bit teen angst because well thats what they are. Angela, for me was a really dislikable character at times and as the story goes on you see a switch in the roles Lorraine and Angela initially played in each others lives.

One character I have to talk about, because in all honesty, despite not being a main character I think she stole the show. Senga, Angela's "gallus" granny was a typical figure from that time period, fabulous, straight talking, supportive but put you in your place when need be. I will be hitting the author up about any plans for a book on Senga herself and if not I really think she should. If you love books that delve into people from a scheme, with Scottish banter that captures the struggles of that time period, sectarianism, social divide and just trying to follow their dreams rather than the path carved out for a council scheme girl, then you will love this book. If I gave half stars this would be 4.5 for me so it is a 4/5 for me this time, I wasn't sure if the author was going to be able to round it up at the end but she pulled it off and it made me look at the character a little better than I had whilst reading. I think MacKinven is worth a watch and may well become a familiar name amongst authors who portray the Scottish people and times of old with affection and praise. Thanks to the author & ThunderPoint publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You can buy this book from 29th October 2015, Kindle price & paperback from all good retailers.

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