Book Review

No Monday blog today I’m afraid.  Instead, I thought I would do a couple of book reviews. I’m reading like a crazy person at the moment, since I have a lot to catch up on having never been a big reader before. They say the best authors read a lot, so I’m now cramming in two books a week; one on kindle, one paperback. Oh, and an audible book while walking the dogs too!

I always had my head stuck in a self-help book in the past, so now I am enjoying a wider genre from memoir to fantasy fiction.  This week I finished two books: Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon, and Stolen Girl by Sarah A Denzil. I’ll save the best til last.

Stolen Girl

Firstly, let me point out that I listened to this on Audible, narrated by Joanne Froggatt. She did a fantastic job, although at times the character of Amy started to grate on my nerves with too much effort being made to try and make her sound ‘evil’.  

I didn’t realise until I went to leave a review that this book is second in a series, so I would advise you don’t make the same mistake as me and read ‘Silent Child’ first! I will be reading this shortly. I do like to make life interesting for myself by doing things in reverse!

So Stolen Girl, still worked as a stand-alone book. Emma, Aiden and Gina stand on the brink of a new life. After the trauma of Aiden’s abduction and return (book 1), they are slowly healing and returning to some sort of normality. Emma is desperate to protect her children, but the world is fascinated by Aiden, the silent child who is finally learning to speak for himself.

Against her better judgment, Emma allows her son to attend a talk show. Her worse nightmare comes true when her daughter, Gina, is snatched from the studio and a chilling game begins. 

A little far-fetched maybe, but I do like a book with a dark storyline. It is layered with emotion, and told from Aiden, Emma’s and Amy’s perspectives.  

Overall I gave this book a 4 star review and I enjoyed it, but can’t say I totally ‘loved’. I am however, keen to read the first in the series and will read this rather than listen on audible as I feel it makes quite a difference.

Mad Girl – Bryony Gordon

Now with this book I’m going to gush a little. Absolutely LOVED it! I can’t pretend that the title didn’t draw me in. Since my own memoir was about the topic of mental health I was fascinated to see what this girl had been through.

Wow! She knocks it out of the ball park with this memoir, leaving mine feeling like it never touched base.  

I laughed from beginning to end. This lady is like a stand-up comedian… although being she’s a writer her humour is very much ‘sitting down’!  A hugely successful columnist for the Telegraph, and bestselling author of 4 other books including ‘The Wrong Knickers’, which I most definitely will be reading.

Bryony is brutally open about her mental health difficulties, including severe OCD, depression, bulimia and alcoholism. How could such a book be funny I hear you ask? Whilst the humour is at times dark, Bryony writes with warmth and heart-wrenching truthful celebration of her life journey of self-discovery up to the point where she has her first child. Why is it that self-deprecation can make us relate to someone so easily? It felt like this lady was in the room telling me her story. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone because it is so readable and funny. I don’t want to big it up too much, in case, just like that film everyone raves about too much, by the time you go to watch it, it becomes a bit of an anti-climax. I will just add that even without an interest in mental health, you really should read this book and get to know this lady. A cross between Victoria Wood and Dawn French in my mind! A full 5 stars was given.