Books Read in March, 2012

Artistic Licence by Katie Fforde

This was perfect holiday reading, like all of Fforde's romances.  They're light, easy to read, and even have a little bit of depth.

When Thea, tired of running a boarding-house full of unruly teenagers, decides to take a holiday in Provence, she is in for a few surprises.  Here she meets Rory, a handsome Irish artist.  Although he is younger, Thea takes a chance on him and visits his place in Ireland when he invites her.

Thea used to have an interesting job in the art world.  She's impressed by Rory's paintings and decides to support him.  She is soon faced with a dilemma.  Will she accept Rory's offer of romance or will she choose Ben?  Ben's the same age and has a cute son, Toby.  However, he's divorced and the last thing that he wants is a 'relationship'.  Who can Thea trust?  She has many lessons to learn.

Thea is easy to identify with.  I even had a few things in common with her.  These include preferring tea to coffee, listening to the BBC World Service during the night, and, unfortunately, messiness!

I did find it hard to keep up with her great energy, though.  She's on the go all the time!

This novel also had beautiful descriptions of Irish scenery and some English towns.  I also enjoyed this part of it.

The main flaw is that the hero was a bit unlikeable and bad-tempered.   However, if you like light romances, you will probably enjoy this.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

When I read the blurb on the cover I thought that this would be a novel about coming-of-age and heartbreak.  I also thought that it would be a relaxing and sweet book -  the perfect choice for holiday reading.  Boy, was I wrong!

Fifteen-year old Daisy's father is more interested in his new wife than his troubled daughter so he sends her off to stay with cousins in England.  Here she falls in love and lives an idyllic, fun-filled life in the beautiful countryside - for a while.

Terrorists are on the march and bombs start exploding.  Soon Daisy's gentle world is beset by war and the unimaginable horrors begin...

This was a well-written and frightening book which is also extremely realistic.  It probably describes the kind of scenario which England would incur during another war.  Daisy has to endure countless scares, watch people being killed in the most bloodthirsty ways, and try to escape being killed herself.

It was a good book - I can recommend it if you enjoy frightening novels.  It wasn't my type of book, however, especially when I was travelling in beautiful Italy!

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