The woman he loved before (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m glad I decided to reread the novels I’ve acquired by Dorothy Koomson. I don’t have her most recent ones, which - so the reviews tell me - are quite dark thrillers. But I like her earlier books very much. I hadn’t read ‘The woman he loved before’ since 2015, so - unsurprisingly - I had no memory of it.

The characters, as is the case with most of this author’s books, are believable, rounded people even if some of the things that happen to them are way beyond my experience or knowledge. And the main two characters in this are a married couple called Jack and Libby. However the book opens in a dramatic way with what is obviously an excerpt from a diary, saying that someone has most likely died…

Chapter one is even more dramatic. Libby is falling in and out of consciousness, trapped in a car after a crash. There’s a fireman cutting her free, and also talking to her, so that she stays awake. She’s aware of Jack, but he isn’t in the car with her. We’re not sure if she’s going to survive, at first - but then we meet her in hospital, swathed in bandages, and in a lot of pain.

Goodnight, beautiful (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

In re-reading my novels by Dorothy Koomson, I wondered if I should skip ‘Goodnight, beautiful’. I first read it in October 2014 and didn’t remember anything about it; but glancing at my rating on LibraryThing, I’d given it fewer stars than any of the other books by this author. And a comment saying I wished I hadn’t read the blurb on the back of the book, as it had too many spoilers.

I decided to reread it anyway, and am very glad that I did. I didn’t look at the back of the book this time; I don’t know if the blurb changed in subsequent reprints of this book, but in my view it gives away far too much of the plot. I had to figure it out this time, and it did feel a bit confusing at first.

The story is told by two different women, Nova and Stephanie. Nova is married to George, and Stephanie is married to Mal. The main connection is that Nova and Mal grew up together, almost like brother and sister, and were extremely close friends. They both insist that this friendship never turned into a romantic relationship. 

All my lies are true (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

The first time I read Dorothy Koomson’s gripping novel ‘The ice cream girls’, I felt that there were some unfinished threads; I knew the author only wrote stand-alone novels, but wished she would write a sequel. So I was very pleased when I learned that she had done so, some years later. I was given ‘All my lies are true’ for my birthday a few months ago. I didn’t read it immediately, however; I waited until a few weeks after I had reread ‘The ice cream girls’, to remind myself of the characters and details of the story.

It probably isn’t necessary to have read it first, but I would definitely recommend it, even though this novel is complete in itself, and starts ten years after the end of ‘The ice cream girls’. This one mainly features Verity, daughter of Serena and Evan, who is now in her mid-twenties. She’s moved out of the family home but, until a year or so previously, was very close to her parents. But she’s grown more and more distant. Serena is sure she has secrets, but is pushed away any time she tries to approach the topic - or any other conversation.

As with other books by this author, the timeline moves back and forwards regularly, with each section headed by the date. So it’s not long before we learn that Verity has been dating a man in his thirties called Logan. He spends a lot of time in her flat, and they have declared their love for each other. But they haven’t told either of their families anything about their relationship, and neither of the has met the other’s family. 

The ice cream girls (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I do like the books by Dorothy Koomson, though some of her writing is rather harder-hitting than many of my preferred authors. Her later books seem to be thrillers, which is a genre where I feel less comfortable than with more straightforward women’s fiction. I’m currently rereading my collection of her books, around one per month, and this week I picked up ‘The ice cream girls’, which I last read over thirteen years ago.

Usually, after such a long gap, I have entirely forgotten a storyline. It’s a testament to the author’s powerful writing that I did recall a fair amount of what happened in this book, once I had started. This did not detract in any way from the story, or the suspense that continues throughout.

There are two main protagonists, Serena and Poppy. We meet Serena first when her husband Evan goes down on one knee and proposes to her… a romantic gesture of the kind she has been longing for. He’s a kind, generous man - a doctor, and apparently a very good one. They have a good relationship, and now he’s offering to marry her over again, with a lavish ceremony that contrasts with their more basic original wedding. 

My best friend's girl (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m very much enjoying rereading my collection of novels by Dorothy Koomson. Since I only previously read them once, and most of them fifteen or more years ago, they feel like new books. But there’s the added bonus that I know I previously liked them. 

I’ve just finished ‘My best friend’s girl’, which I first read in December 2011. As ever, I had entirely forgotten the people and the storyline, but I soon found myself hooked. The main character, who narrates the story, is Kamryn. She lives in Leeds and is single; we soon learn that this is due to her breaking up with her fiancé Nate less than two months before their wedding, due to his being unfaithful.

Kamryn has also totally lost touch with her closest friend Adele. She’s blocked her online, and refuses to read any of the letters she’s sent. But on her birthday, opening a large number of cards, she realises that one of them is from Adele, with an urgent note inside: Adele is very sick, and wants Kamryn to visit her. 

The Cupid effect (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s fifteen years since I read Dorothy Koomson’s novel ‘The Cupid effect’.  Unsurprisingly, I had totally forgotten the story as well as the characters. But I did vaguely recall that I had liked it the first time around, so was looking forward to rereading it.

The  main character is a young woman called Ceri, who lives in London. Since it’s an abbreviation of the Latin name Ceresis, I thought of the pronunciation as ‘Serry’, or possibly ‘Cherry’. But she’s greeted by an old friend as ‘Kerry’, so I’m assuming that’s the intended pronunciation. Not that it really matters. The book is narrated in the first person from her perspective.

Ceri is a likable and intelligent person, who gets far too involved in other people’s problems, particularly romantic or sexual ones. This isn’t deliberate on her behalf, but she’s a good listener, and people seem to gravitate towards her, telling her their life stories. This often includes things she would rather not know, and she becomes quite overwhelmed.

The chocolate run (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over fifteen years since I read ‘The chocolate run’ by Dorothy Koomson. I’m starting to reread her novels, and couldn’t remember anything about this one. The title appeals, as does the byline on the front: ‘Who needs love when you’ve got chocolate?’ 

However, while chocolate is somewhat significant in this book, it’s mostly about intimate relationships, not all of which were based on love. The main protagonist - and narrator - is a young woman called Amber. I liked her, on the whole. She’s a cautious person who is loyal to her friends, and conflict-avoidant. She likes to be a peacemaker whenever possible, and tends to make jokes rather than get caught up in serious conversation. 

And she loves chocolate. She likes the smell, and the sensations of it melting. When she meets a new person, she associates them with a particular form - or bar - of chocolate. Sometimes she realises she’s wrong, or that the person has extra layers, but it’s a clever method of showing her impression of people without too much description. 

Marshmallows for breakfast (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I first read Dorothy Koomson’s novel ‘Marshmallows for breakfast’ in 2009. It was my introduction to the author, and I liked it so much that - over the next few years - I put several of her books on my wishlist. More recently she has written psychological thrillers which appeal to me less than her earlier character-based novels, although they have plenty of tension, and are rather harder-hitting than most women’s fiction.

In the past decade and a half, I had inevitably forgotten everything about this book, including the characters.  The narrator is Kendra, a young British woman who has just returned from Australia. She’s been living and working there for a couple of years, and has left due to a crisis in her love life. We gradually learn more about the man concerned in the course of the book, and their story. He appears to have been the love of her life… and she has a letter from him which she has not yet opened. 

Kendra is moving into a studio apartment and hopes to be left alone, socially. She has a job lined up at the agency where she’s been working abroad; her boss, Gabrielle, is also a good friend. It’s clear early in the book that something terrible happened, some years earlier, which make Kendra quite jumpy, and unwilling to trust people. 

When I was invisible (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

The author Dorothy Koomson is a powerful and thought-provoking writer. Since I first came across one of her books, about eight years ago, I have gradually acquired more of them. They’re often shocking, and in several I’ve had moments where I wanted to give up. But when I keep going, I’ve found them all well worth the effort.

I put ‘When I was invisible’ on my wishlist a while ago, and was given it for my birthday a few months ago. I started reading it during a busy period, for twenty minutes or so at bedtime each day; I often read far more than I’d intended to in one sitting, and by the end I could scarcely put it down.

The two main protagonists, Nika and Roni, have been friends since they were eight years old. The prologue shows them at school in 1988, when Roni arrives as a new girl and learns that she has the same name (with a slight spelling difference) as Niki. They have an instant rapport, which develops into being ‘best friends’ when they start ballet lessons together, and are amongst the few who are determined to take it seriously, and succeed as dancers.

The storyline moves around through the decades, from 1988 to 2016, when they are both in their mid-thirties, and I found this quite confusing at first. Section One begins with Nika in Birmingham, reporting a crime. She is evidently known by a completely different name. We don’t learn what exactly the crime is until much later in the book. Just as the beginning story takes an unexpected slant, we’re whizzed back to 1999 where she meets a smooth-talking man who’s clearly attracted to her….

As well as being non-chronological, the story is told alternately from Nika’s and Roni’s points of view. I found it hard to distinguish them at first, even though it’s soon clear that they have had very different lives as adults. One has had a high-profile relationship with a wealthy man, the other has been a nun (oddly, in a monastery rather than a convent). The latter spends a lot of the book trying to find her former friend - it’s clear that something terrible happened that led to the parting of the ways - while the other is trying to start a new life, not for the first time.

Their very different adult lives made it gradually easier to tell who was whom, although I didn’t feel that either was entirely three-dimensional. That didn’t matter too much, as Dorothy Koomson’s strength is in her plotting, rather than characterisation. The story builds up with just the right amount of tension, revealing exactly what needs to be told at each point, until the dramatic climax which reveals not just untold secrets, but unexpected motivations that make sense of everything.

Some of the book is, as I’ve come to expect with this author, shocking. Not that the author uses either gory or intimate scenes. Instead, she excels in letting the reader know what’s happening without having to reveal gratuitous details. Even so, I found some sections very disturbing. There was a point, perhaps a quarter of the way through, where I almost wished I had never started it. For anyone who has been through the kinds of issues described, it could be too traumatic to read.

Underlying the entire story is the importance of truth, of standing up for one’s friends, of being open and honest with authority figures. I hope that older teenagers reading this will realise how vital it is to be truthful, even if they are afraid of the consequences. I hope that parents and teachers will become better at spotting signs of serious problems, of taking the time to listen to young people, of giving them safe places and times to talk.

I learned a lot that I would rather not have known about the desperate lengths some homeless people will go to, and about the manipulative nature of those who would exploit those in need. There’s more bad language than I’m comfortable with, but in many cases it adds to the unpleasantness of some of the people. I have no idea if the author herself went through any of the experiences described, or whether it was all researched: to me, it seemed all too real.

Primarily intended for women, this is not a light read. Despite being disturbing on more than one level, this is a powerful and page-turning book that I would recommend to any older teenager or adult who doesn’t mind sometimes shocking scenes.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's Book Reviews

The Rose Petal Beach (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve been reading Dorothy Koomson’s books for some years now, and gradually adding more to my wishlist. I was surprised to discover that this particular one was sitting on my to-be-read shelf for over two years. Perhaps I was put off by the length of the novel. But I’ve finally read it in the past ten days, the majority of it in the past two as it became almost impossible to put down.

‘The Rose Petal Beach’ opens as Tamia Challey’s husband Scott is arrested. Her two young daughters are playing happily, and she has no idea that her life is about to change forever, in ways she could not possibly have imagined.

It’s a dramatic opening, made more so by being written in sequences at different times, and narrated, primarily, by three very different women. Tami is the main character; a likeable and hard-working mother who sometimes finds her husband a bit demanding and selfish, but is determined to keep going for the sake of her daughters. She has very happy memories, too, of the earlier years of her marriage and their life together before that. Scott is a complex person from a difficult background, and although I didn’t like him, he felt a very believable character.

The book is perhaps a tad slow-moving after the early chapter, as the background is filled in and we get to know Tami’s two close friends Beatrix and Mirabelle as well. It also quickly becomes clear that someone is lying, and that all the narrators are holding back part of the truth, in different ways. There are plot twists and turns which I didn’t expect as well as some which I could see coming.

By the time I was half-way through, I was gripped. Koomson tells a powerful story, revealing exactly the right amount of back story combined with people’s thoughts and feelings. There are some very important issues raised. This is not light women’s fiction, nor does it skirt about some quite unpleasant topics, but the author is skilled in her handling of them: we get an idea of what is being discussed, but without gratuitous detail.

The title of the book relates to a painting and an ancient legend, one which we don’t learn about in full until towards the end of the book. The final revelations are perhaps a tad abrupt, and I wasn’t entirely sure I believed them; yet it all makes sense in context. The clues are there, right from the start, even if I missed them.

It’s a book about women holding things together, about the victims of assault; it’s about the ease with which likeable people can slip into bad habits that can lead to serious problems. It’s about the way we all have both good and bad within us; it’s about knowing when to say ‘no’, and when to lay down boundaries.

It’s very thought-provoking, and powerful, and I hope will make people - women in particular - in situations such as those described realise that there are things they can do to escape from terrible situations.

I didn’t like the amount of bad language used, nor some of the hints of violence and other unpleasantness, but think they were all probably necessary in order to make the story realistic. This isn’t for someone who wants light and fluffy women’s fiction, and I wouldn’t recommend it to teenagers either as some of the content could be considered quite disturbing.

But for those looking for women’s fiction with a harder edge, and a great deal to think about, I would recommend this very highly.

Available in Kindle form as well as paperback.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews

That girl from nowhere (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve liked almost everything I’ve read by Dorothy Koomson. She writes thoughtful women’s fiction based in the UK, and her protagonists are often non-white, so issues of discrimination and feeling different often come into play. I regularly place another of her books on my wishlist, and was delighted to receive this one for a recent birthday.

‘That girl from nowhere’ is about Clemency Smittson, who is known to most of her friends as Smitty. She was adopted shortly after birth, and had a mostly happy childhood with loving parents, marred only by her bullying cousin Nancy. Smitty recalls the occasion when she realised that she did not look like her parents at all (they are white, she is black) and found out about her adoption. And although her parents evidently adored her, her cousin taunted her with being ‘not real’, not properly part of the family, not the same as anyone else.

We learn about this, and other aspects of her childhood and more recent years, in short sections interspersed with emails from Abi, someone who will later become important in the story. When we first meet Smitty, she’s about to move into a new apartment near Brighton, after ending a long-term relationship with Seth. We quickly learn that Seth betrayed her in a way that she doesn’t think she can forgive, although she evidently still cares for him.

We also discover that Smitty’s father recently died after a long drawn-out illness, and her mother - whom she finds quite stressful - has decided to move in with her. She promised a long time earlier not to try to get in touch with her birth family, but she’s in her late thirties and is curious, particularly about a box decorated with butterflies, which is the only thing she has from her earliest weeks.

There’s rather a big coincidence that leads to her finding her birth family… and the first half of the book is taken up with setting in place the various relationships and situations. There’s quite a large cast but the author is good with distinctive names and, to some extent, characters, so that I never found myself confused.

However, it took a while to get into the book. The writing is very good, but it seemed at first to be a somewhat gentle story of finding oneself; Smitty has been without any real feeling of who she is or where she’s from, made more complex by the issue of skin colour, and by her unpleasant relatives.

Then the second half of the book is full of unexpected revelations and plot directions that I didn’t see coming, yet were somehow believable. The plotting is meticulous, and the story unfolds perfectly with exactly the right amount of information at each stage. By the time I had reached the last hundred pages, I could barely put it down.

There are many contemporary issues that are examined, or at least touched upon: the difficulties that can be experienced by adoptive children; the ways people ‘shame’ each other, often accidentally; the unconditional love that can often be one-sided; the question of what circumstances might make someone commit a crime. The idea of levels of racism runs throughout, and yet is not as major an issue as it might be in the hands of a less-skilled writer.

This is not a book for those who prefer gentler women’s fiction. There's more bad language in this than I’m comfortable with, and rather too much detail about intimate encounters. I wouldn’t recommend this to younger teenagers. Nor are all the questions answered by the end of the book: the ending is positive, yet several things are left open to the readers’ imagination.

Perhaps some of the characters are a little stereotyped too; yet, all in all I found this a powerful and thought-provoking novel. It’s a story that will remain with me for some time.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews

The woman he loved before (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s some years since I discovered Dorothy Koomson, who is a British novelist. She has a well-paced style of writing, believable characters and thought-provoking plots that often cover serious issues in society. I have gradually added her books to my wishlist, and received this one three years ago on my birthday. I have a lengthy ‘to read' shelf which keeps having new additions, but finally I pulled this one out about a week ago.

‘The woman he loved before’ is about Jack and Libby, a married couple who clearly love each other very much. However, Jack was married before, to a woman called Eve, and he’s reluctant to talk about her or how she died. As the story opens, Jack and Libby are involved in a serious car crash, and although Jack recovers quickly, Libby’s life is in the balance for a while. When she finally goes home, she senses that something’s wrong, and becomes more curious than ever about Jack’s first wife…

The story is told from two perspectives, initially: Jack’s and Libby’s. We learn how they met; we also learn a bit about their early years and their families. And I became more and more curious about Eve, so I was pleased when Libby discovers Eve’s secret diaries, and begins to read them. At that point, Eve’s narrative, in diary form, alternates with that of Jack and Libby, and a picture is gradually built up of her teenage years, and how she got involved with Jack.

All of which sounds quite innocent, and it could have been a simple journey of discovery and growth. But Eve’s past is a shocking one, and there’s a cover note with it - included in the prologue - which suggests that she expected to be killed. As Libby comes to the end of the diaries, she realises that Eve’s past impinges in a terrifying way on her own future… yet she’s still finding it very difficult to talk to Jack.

It’s impossible to say more without giving spoilers; suffice it to say that it’s a fast-paced book that kept me gripped almost from the beginning. By the time I was half-way through I could barely put it down, and when I was near the end I kept reading long past my bedtime.

It’s a hard-hitting book, giving insight into a way of life I knew almost nothing about, yet with sympathetic characters; I found myself liking both Libby and Eve, and Jack too. There’s some bad language; more than I was comfortable with, although it’s not out of place in the context.

There are also a lot of ‘adult’ situations - again, inevitable given the storyline, but I was relieved that very little detail was given; Dorothy Koomson manages almost impressionistic descriptions with great skill. The only scene I found particularly unpleasant was one early in the book, which seemed unnecessarily graphic. But I’m glad I kept reading anyway.

For those who have enjoyed this author, I would certainly recommend this; but be aware that she does not skirt around some extremely unpleasant situations, and uses strong language freely.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

Goodnight, Beautiful (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve been reading Dorothy Koomson’s books for a few years now. I find her style very readable; she has an excellent way with words and a good ear for conversation. Her plots can be rather hard-hitting, certainly thought-provoking. But nothing prepared me for this particular book.

‘Goodnight, beautiful’ is about a seven-year-old boy called Leo. However we never really meet Leo; as we quickly learn, he’s in hospital on life support after a head injury. His mother, Nova, has a vivid and moving dream at the beginning, one which clearly reflects her thoughts although we don’t know until near the end of the book what’s going to happen to Leo.

The rest of the book is told in a mixture of past and present, skipping backwards and forwards in time as we learn about Leo’s background, his unusual conception, and who his various relatives are. It’s partly narrated by Nova, and partly by a woman of similar age called Stephanie. Their link is that Stephanie is married to Mal, who was Nova’s best friend right the way through childhood.

There’s another important connection between Nova and Stephanie which is hinted at early in the book, although it’s not spelled out until the middle. Unfortunately, the blurb on the back basically summarises the first two-thirds of the book and I made the mistake of reading it after I found myself getting more and more confused about who was whom, and where Leo fit into the picture.

Still, even knowing this ‘secret’, and some of what was coming, it was quite a gripping book.. at least, to start with. Each scene is carefully crafted and I was quickly immersed in the story each time I picked the book up. Evidently the plotting and chronology were meticulously organised; it all hung together, and the various revelations (albeit with spoilers in the blurb) came at just the right moments.

However, none of the characters (well, other than Leo) really grabbed me. I felt the most sympathy for Nova although some of the things she does are beyond comprehension. Even then it was often difficult to distinguish her voice from Stephanie’s - and I really didn’t like Stephanie at all. The two husbands were even more shadowy; Keith perhaps deliberately so, although he seems to get rather a raw deal, one way and another. But Mal is a very confusing person; he’s supposed to be a good guy but I couldn’t make sense of his personality or some of the things he does.

I also found it a bit annoying that there were no headings to indicate who was narrating, or what year it was referring to; with the time leaping forwards and backwards and random switches between Nova and Stephanie, I often had to read a page or more before I knew who was speaking and what timeframe it referred to. I even forgot which one was married to whom, when I was tired, and the other minor characters were so vague as to be shadows.

This is billed as a tear-jerker and I can see why. It’s the kind of topic which should have had me in floods of tears; yet I remained dry-eyed. Perhaps this is because I couldn’t relate fully to any of the main characters - or perhaps it's because the parent/child relationship just didn't ring true. I have no idea if Dorothy Koomson has children of her own, but I suspect not.

There are certainly some thought-provoking issues covered in this book, but it was rather unremittingly negative and I thought the ending was unnecessarily unpleasant in several ways. Still, the writing is excellent, and I am in awe at the complexity of the plotting.

Recommended if you want something much heavier than the usual women's fiction, and can deal with the various issues above.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

The Ice Cream Girls (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read so far by Dorothy Koomson, so was pleased when I discovered this one on special offer (three books for £5) when we were last in the UK.

It’s taken me several months to get around to reading ‘The Ice Cream Girls’, and I just finished it last night. Wow. What a powerful book!

The story opens as Serena’s husband gets down on one knee and proposes to her. This, it seems, is something she has dreamed about for years. And no, they’re neither divorced nor separated. Their original marriage was something of a shotgun affair, rapidly followed by their first child, and now, at last, her wonderful doctor husband Evan would like to do the things properly.

We then learn that Serena has a few odd hangups. She insists on hiding the kitchen knives every night... and she has some strange memories of people cold-shouldering her.

Just when I was wondering how this all added up to the happy scenario of chapter one, the scene shifts to Poppy, who has just been released from prison where she has spent the last twenty years.

Snapshot newspaper-style cuttings tell us about the ‘ice cream girls’ Serena and Poppy who, in their mid-teens, had apparently murdered one of their school teachers. Poppy insists she is innocent... which means that Serena must in fact have been the guilty one. And Poppy is very resentful that Serena has what seems like a perfect wife, with a lovable husband and two delightful children...

The story continues switching between these two women who never much liked each other, but had a shared and horrific connection twenty years previously. There are flashbacks too, where they first meet Marcus, the history teacher who singles them out for extra tuition... which, as they gradually discover, means a lot more than just O-level history. But Marcus is not just a seducer of teenage girls, which would be bad enough (particularly as both are just 15 when they meet him)... as the story unfolds, I began to feel that either of the two girls would have been totally justified if they had, in fact, killed him.

I was afraid at one point that this novel was going to be sordid, but it never quite crossed that line. Sordidity and cruelty and worse were certainly hinted at, but the details were sparse, the descriptions left up to the imagination of the reader. The story moves slowly at first but becomes quite gripping - will Poppy and Serena meet at last as adults? Will Poppy ever be able to trust anyone? Why has Serena never told her husband about her past, and will he find out...? And who did kill Marcus - or was it a joint effort?

As with Koomson’s other novels the writing is excellent, the characterisation three-dimensional and believable, the bedroom scenes minimal and non-explicit, and the bad language not too frequent. I have to admit I did turn to the end at one point, wondering if Serena and Evan would still be together.. it meant that I saw the final denouement of the novel, the answer to some of the questions. It didn’t matter, somehow. I don’t know if I would have guessed, but I like to think I might.

There’s an afterword which explains that the author wrote this in the hope of encouraging girls caught in a similar situation to speak up, to say anything that might help them out of an abusive or otherwise toxic relationship. I don’t know if girls in such a situation would read a book like this - but I hope they might. I don’t want to think that such things are common; I certainly hope not. Marcus really is an evil person without a single redeeming feature, and it’s hard to imagine how anyone could be attracted to his lies.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 4th March 2013

My Best Friend's Girl (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I have very much enjoyed the novels I have read so far by Dorothy Koomson, so, as is my wont, I am gradually adding more of them to my wishlists. I received a copy of this one for my birthday, and have just read it in the past couple of weeks.

'My best friend's girl' is a novel related by Kamryn, a young and fairly successful business woman. We quickly learn that she is estranged both from her closest friend Adele, and her former fiancé Nate. The story opens on Kamryn's 32nd birthday. Amidst the flurry of excitement about her cards, she opens - by mistake - an envelope in Adele's handwriting, and finds a brief note asking her, urgently, to visit her friend in hospital.

Against her better judgement, Kamryn goes to see Adele, and they begin a tentative reconciliation. They also have a discussion... which ends with Kamryn agreeing to do something she has grave doubts about, and which will unquestionably change her life forever.

It's impossible to say much more about the plot of this book without giving something away; even the blurb on the back contains some spoilers. Not that they matter too much; the novel is primarily character-based, with developing relationships through painful, sometimes tragic circumstances. I'm not surprised to learn that it was a best-seller, recommended as a Richard and Judy summer read back in 2006.

Overall, despite taking longer than usual to finish it, I found this book uplifting and encouraging. Kamryn is a very likeable young woman, who takes her responsibilities seriously. Adele's daughter Tegan is the 'best friend's girl' of the title; we meet her first when she is a scared, hurting five-year-old, terrified even to speak lest she get into trouble. Her heartbreaking circumstances move Kamryn as nothing else could have done; one of the things I enjoyed most about this book was seeing Tegan's gradual transformation into an outgoing, lively girl, who still has a deeply caring and thoughtful side.

There are not just one but two important men in the book, as well. One of them is Nate, who re-appears in Kamryn's life, causing a great deal of uncertainty. The other is her new boss Luke, who seems to dislike her on sight. Both of these guys develop special relationships with Tegan in different ways, and I enjoyed the contrast, as well as the uncertainty, really right the way through the book, about which one (if either) was going to end up with Kamryn.

There's some bad language; sufficient to make me slightly uncomfortable at times, though it wasn't really overdone. And there are the casual morals that seem compulsory in modern fiction - but, all in all, a very thought-provoking and powerful book.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 21st December 2011

The Cupid effect (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

It was a couple of years ago that I first read a book by Dorothy Koomson, given to me by friends. I enjoyed it so much that I put some of her other novels on my wishlist, although this is only the third of her books that I have read so far.

'The Cupid effect' is about - and narrated by - a young woman called Ceri. As the story starts, she has given up her London job as a journalist, so as to follow her heart's desire in Leeds - as a lecturer in psychology. She blames this move on watching too much Oprah, but also hopes to make a new start in life.

She has spent far too much time (in her view) getting involved in everyone else's problems, either finding solutions or messing them up further, and would like to concentrate on her own life...

Naturally, it's not that simple. Ceri is a friendly, likeable person with massive intuition and strong feelings. She can't avoid becoming involved with those she cares about, even if she works hard to avoid eye contact with strangers in queues and shops.

She finds a great lodging with two likeable young men, both of whom are having problems - in very different ways - with their love lives, and she gets to know some of the other lecturers at the small college where she now works.

I found Ceri delightful, and could relate to her ability to 'feel' other people's problems, although the extent to which she does so - and the eventual 'Cupid effect' theory - seem a little surreal. The other characters are believable too, even if they all seem a great deal more promiscuous than anyone I've personally come across. Despite this, and a certain amount of bad language, there's nothing explicit to spoil the story, which was extremely well written and very enjoyable.

I was surprised to find that this was Dorothy Koomson's debut novel, and look forward to reading more of her books in future. Recommended if you like light women's fiction that's a little more thought-provoking than most.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 5th August 2011

The chocolate run (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

Last Summer, I read a book called Marshmallows for Breakfast, by an author I had never heard of before: Dorothy Koomson. I liked the style, and said I would look out for some more. So I put a few of her books on my wishlist, and was delighted to be given some of them for my birthday.

'The chocolate run' is narrated by Amber, a young woman who has just recovered from a passionate weekend with her best friend Greg. The problem is, she had only ever seen him as a platonic friend, and she's worried that he will simply see her as another notch to his credit. For Greg is promiscuous. Amber has been his confidante over the years, and has sometimes rescued him from very difficult situations. They've often stayed the night at each other's places after a late night out with other friends... but until this past weekend, when the story opens, there has never been anything romantic or sexual between them.

The rest of the book is about the unfolding of their new relationship - since it can never go back to what it was. They don't tell anyone at first, even their good friends, although Amber's colleagues quickly guess. And while that might not seem like much of a plot, there's a great deal more involved, as we begin to learn about why Amber is so afraid of commitment, and so generally insecure about herself. We learn, too, why Greg has been so promiscuous. And there are several asides about chocolate; Amber describes all her family and friends by certain types of chocolate, and has a hidden addiction to chocolate-sniffing.

I thought at first that this book was the worst kind of chick-lit, but persevered and was pleased to find that the characters of both Amber and Greg grew on me significantly.

Some of the minor characters are rather caricatured, but that wasn't a problem. There are any number of bedroom scenes in the book, but nothing explicit - it's very cleverly done, leaving all details up to the readers' imaginations.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this book.

Available in Kindle form as well as being still in print in paperback.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 30th May 2010

Marshmallows for breakfast (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I'd never heard of Dorothy Koomson. However I was given this book by friends for my birthday, a few months ago. I finally picked it up to read about a fortnight ago.

I was hooked by 'Marshmallows for breakfast', pretty much from the start. The book is mainly narrated by Kendra, a young woman who recently returned from Australia to the UK, after a romantic problem. She has found a quiet studio apartment and hopes to be anonymous for a while... but finds herself rapidly embroiled in the chaotic and emotive life of her landlord and his twin six-year-olds, Jaxon and Summer.

I immediately warmed to Kendra. She has a lot of problems, which are the main focus of the book, but she's also very fond of children. Jaxon and Summer are drawn to her in the absence of their mother, and she is drawn to them. While not wanting to be involved with anyone, her heart reaches out to these rather forlorn, emotionally neglected children, whose father loves them, but doesn't know how to deal with them.

I thought the characterisation was extremely good, and I found myself particularly drawn to the twins. They're bright and loyal children who have suffered through their parents' separation - and in other ways, as becomes evident through the book - and who take this sudden and unexplained strong liking to Kendra.

There's perhaps a touch of the melodramatic in this novel. There's a prologue which slightly confused me (since I didn't know when it happened chronologically) and which gave me more clues than I wanted about the rest of the book. There are many unexplained stresses in Kendra's life, with hints given... and yet, by the time she finally writes down the history of what caused her to feel as she does, there was nothing new: the whole had been revealed already by flashbacks, asides, and intelligent guesses on the part of other characters.

There's not a whole lot of plot in the present. The novel relies on the gradual unfolding of the past, not just for Kendra but also for her landlord and his wife, and (to a lesser degree) her boss.

A surprising number of serious issues are covered - racism, workplace harrassment, the role of women, the affect of divorce on children, and several others which I won't mention, not wanting to give spoilers. They make the book thought-provoking, yet even the most unpleasant of the issues are dealt with in a sympathetic way.

If you like warm, character-driven novels with likeable people and plenty to think about afterwards, I'd recommend this highly. I shall be looking out for more by Dorothy Koomson.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 22st July 2009