Book review: Mr Peacock's Possessions + competition

By
By Lydia Syson
Published by BonnierZaffre

 Synopsis: Oceania 1879. A family of settlers from New Zealand are the sole inhabitants of a remote volcanic island. For two years they have struggled with the harsh reality of trying to make this unforgiving place a paradise they can call their own. At last, a ship appears. The six Pacific Islanders on board have travelled eight hundred miles across the ocean in search of work and new horizons. Hopes are high for all, until a vulnerable boy vanishes. In their search for the lost child, settlers and newcomers together uncover far more than they were looking for. The island's secrets force them all to question their deepest convictions.

 How did this book end up in my hands? I won this book ahead of its publication date and it kept me company during a short break in Italy, making me travel further than expected!

 Was it a page-turner? Absolutely. It took me a few chapters to get used to the two different narrative voices but once I found the rhythm I couldn’t stop!

 Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? My expectations were very high after reading the synopsis and they were largely exceeded.

 Did I like the ending? [no spoilers] I was scared of reaching the end because I couldn’t tell what was going to happen. If there is one thing this book isn’t, that’s predictable. The ending was definitely to my satisfaction.

 Did the book leave me with unanswered questions? Only the usual ‘what happens now?'. I do like open endings though as they allow me to imagine the next steps taken by the characters as they leave the page.

 Three words to describe it. Evocative. Exotic. Tense.

 Do I like the cover? I love it, it’s so beautiful! At first I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a peacock on it but it all became clear when reading the book.

 Have I read any other books by the same author? No, this is the first of her books I read and I would definitely like to read more of her work – both future and past.

 Will I be recommending this book? If you can read, you should read it and if you can’t, you should have it read to you. Great storyline, great landscapes and bigger-than-life characters. I dare anyone to not enjoy it.

 Anything else? Yes! I have one copy of Mr Peacock’s Possessions to go to a lucky reader! All you have to do is follow me on Twitter and retweet the competition post by 29/07. UK only. All comments left below will count as extra entries (one per person). Good luck!

Comments

  1. Unknown29 July 2018 at 08:53

    This book sounds great and I love the way you have formatted your review, I might have to magpie that way. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booknet: a new platform for authors and readers

By
Image
‘Ooooh, what is Booknet ?’ I hear you ask… Booknet is a popular literary social media network, self-publishing platform, and Bookscription eBook sales model, all of which is being introduced to the UK following rapid growth in Latin America and Eastern Europe since 2015. How does it work? Booknet is both a successful literary self-publishing platform and a social network, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in 2015. Booknet has gained significant traction in countries such as Ukraine, Russia (the Russian division was sold in the spring of 2022 because of the war between Ukraine and Russia), as well as Latin America. The company is now actively investing resources into the development of its English-language version. Authors can either publish their books with free access by readers, or sell them after obtaining commercial status through the platform. Booknet provides free advertising for eBooks sold by their authors on the platform. Booknet’s distinctive features (apart from being a pop...
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike...
Read more

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea...
Read more