Book review: Miss Marley + competition

By
By Vanessa Lafaye with Rebecca Mascull
Published by HQ

 Synopsis: Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.

 And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart…

 How did this book end up in my hands? I received a gorgeous proof copy from the publisher in exchange of my honest opinion. And I am so glad I did.

 Was it a page-turner? With age, I have sadly lost the ability to stay up late with a book, no matter how much I am loving it. It was with great sadness that I put this novel down to sleep but I didn’t want my drooping eyelids to spoil the beauty of it.

 Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? The only thing I wasn’t expecting was the book to be under 200 pages. For some reason, I had imagined a big, heavy tome to land on my doorstep!

 Did I like the ending? [no spoilers] Yes, even though we know what fate awaits Jacob Marley and the fate that awaits Miss Marley is also easy to predict. This is a prequel to A Christmas Carol after all!

 Three words to describe it. Evocative. Victorian. Christmassy.

 Do I like the cover? I adore the cover! It is rich and simple, warm and wintery… it is perfect.

 Have I read any other books by the same author? The book was left unfinished by the late Vanessa Lafaye and completed by Rebecca Mascull. I haven’t read any of their previous work but I certainly will be catching up soon.

 Will I be recommending this book? Yes, it is the perfect Christmas read and a great inspiration to pick up Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, which I myself will be reading this year for the first time. This novel is a feast for word-lovers and so atmospheric that I can see it becoming a yearly tradition for many readers.

 Anything else? Yes! The publisher has kindly offered one copy of Miss Marley to go to a lucky reader! All you have to do is follow me on Twitter and retweet the competition post by 24/01/2019. UK only. All comments left below will count as extra entries (one per person). Good luck!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

“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