Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

Review - Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN

You wouldn’t think a 29 year-old girl would be keen to read a book about an old man’s love life.  So why did I find myself reaching for this book when I first saw it?  The quaint cover drew me in and, in the mood for some light relief, this seemed like an interesting debut.  Comments from reliable sources (see: Wendy Holden/Alexander McCall Smith) had bandied around words like “charming/quirky/lovely” and that was more than enough to reassure.  But I really hadn’t expected to fall in love with this book in the way that I did. 

The fusty, flawed central character – one Major Ernest Pettigrew (Retired) – seems to be a relic of a bygone age.  Seemingly only concerned with living out his quiet life in a small English village, he is a man worried about appearances, of doing one’s duty, careful never to offend.  His brother has died and his chief concern seems to be ensuring the two guns his Father had handed down to them both are once again reunited and, more importantly, kept from the clutches of his indomitable sister-in-law who is keen to sell them.  His unexpected friendship with the down-to-earth, thoroughly decent  Mrs Ali, purveyor of the local village shop, starts tongues wagging and the Major is suddenly plunged into the centre of events, a minefield for a man keen to ensure he always does the right thing.       

My Favourite Scene by Cesca Martin Aged 29 1/2

I was reminded the other day of my favourite scene in a book.   A Jane Austen classic, ‘Sense and Sensibility’ is full of wonderful characters and – extra bonus – they come in the form of girls!  Edward and Colonel Brandon are both very noble and nice, ya dee ya dah, but the focus is on the girls and you are always gunning for the understated Elinor (or “Sense”).  The scene I am of course thinking of is the scene when Elinor discovers Edward has not married another woman. “Elinor could sit it no longer. She almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease.” The scene is so powerful because Elinor has been so reserved, so proper.  She has kept her emotions firmly to herself throughout the book but the reader is well aware of the passion raging.  This relief, this outburst, allows us all to relish her joy on hearing Edward  is free. This scene was made famous by Emma Thompson who managed to convey all the emotion perfectly on the big screen.  The scene will have any grown woman snorting through her nose with tears and general ugliness.  If you don’t cry you surely have an impenetrable heart of stone?  It is the only explanation.

Another scene that stuck with me was in a recent book I’ve read ‘The Novel in the Viola’.  Here the main character, an Austrian working as an English housemaid in the Second World War, is furiously raging at the ocean.  As she rants and shouts English swear words at the ocean, “COCKLES”, she is interrupted by the good-looking hero of the novel with the wonderful line, “Is this a private game?”

And another scene that has always stuck with me is the scene in ‘The Lovely Bones’ when Susie meets all the other victims of Mr Harvey.  So simple, so heart-breaking.

So what is it that makes a fantastic scene?  Do you have any favourites that have remained with you long after you’ve closed the book? 

SNEAK PEEK - To Touch the Stars by Jessica Ruston!

We're very pleased to bring you the fabulous opening extract of Jessica Ruston's brand new novel To Touch the Stars (released on February 3rd). I've been lucky enough to read the full book already and it really is a wonderfully engaging and glamourous novel.

Check back on Thursday for info on how to win one of five copies of this book, plus there'll be a chance for one reader to win a bottle of bubbly!

To Touch the Stars by Jessica Ruston - Opening Extract... 

Cavalley’s is renowned for style, glamour and sophistication, providing the ultimate fashion indulgences for film stars and fashionistas. Violet Cavalley has poured her heart and soul into building her multimillion pound business and raising her three children. But Violet is not the woman she appears to be. And her adored children conceal secrets of their own. Behind the Cavalley family’s gilded façade lies a streak of darkness. Darkness that now threatens to destroy them all…

Violet Cavalley had come from nothing. From nowhere, she liked to joke, when interviewers asked her about her background. She gave different stories, depending on her mood. ‘I’m the daughter of a Ukrainian builder,’ she would say, a wink telling them it was not true. Or was it? ‘A French marquis, disgraced and exiled.’ ‘A shepherd, who lived in the hills of Scotland and raised me alone.’ A thousand exotic tales, none of them true. Like a diamond she had been born out of almost nothing, and she had polished herself until she sparkled as brightly as light.
Like the diamonds she was glittering with as she walked through the gardens of the villa in Capri. The large courtyard at its heart had been transformed into an outdoor dining room full of scented candles. The air was heavy with their fragrance - gardenia, peony, freesia, rose. Tables were arranged in the centre of the space, each topped with mirrored glass. Lanterns cast flickering shadows over the feet of the guests as they walked down the avenue in the dusky light. Sixty guests, one for each year of Violet Cavalley’s life, were gathering. Family, friends, colleagues. Violet watched from the edges of the garden. The life she had built so carefully was displayed before her.
Dark red candles rose up from the centre of the tables in pillars of wrought iron, surrounded with blood red flowers. The chairs were covered in the palest duck egg blue chiffon which dropped to the ground in puddles, and on the back of each chair was a single red flower - a rose, or carnation, or gerbera.
She did a quick head-count now. Twenty, thirty, one, two… Forty-three guests were milling around the courtyard, gradually gravitating towards their seats, as directed by the seating plan which had been engraved on a huge ornately framed mirror that was propped up on a stand in the corner. She could see her friends’ faces reflected in it as they looked for their places. Kalisto Kauffman, her oldest and closest friend, was already seated and holding court. He saw her watching him and winked at her from across the courtyard. There was her daughter, Fran, straight-backed and smiling, chatting politely, her eyes flicking around nervously. What was wrong with her? She had been jittery and jumpy all afternoon since coming back from visiting the castello again. No time to worry about it now.

Exclusive Sneak Peek of Runaway by Meg Cabot (Meg Cabot Blog Tour)

We are super excited to be hosting the fantastic Meg Cabot blog tour today and extra chuffed that we get the chance to show you an exclusive preview of chapters 1 & 2 of Meg's third book in the Airhead series - Runaway (Out on April 20th).

I have read this book and it's fabulous. The synopsis reads...

High fashion with a touch of sci-fi. In Runaway, the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling and acclaimed Airhead novels by Meg Cabot, Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself. 

With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can’t explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year’s Eve to look forward to, Em’s reached the end of the rope…what’s thepoint of even going on?  

 

But when she discovers the truth about Nikki’s secret, she knows there’s only one 

person she can turn to. Will Christopher be able to put aside his personal feelings and help her expose her employer to the world? Is it even fair to get Christopher involved—since if he agrees, there’s every chance that Stark Enterprises will try to have them both killed—this time, permanently?

 

Maybe it would be better for Em to just keep on running…

 

Sounds good, no?

 

Okay, so to the good stuff. Click the link below to read a pdf preview of Runaway - do let us know what you think!

 

SNEAK PEEK EXCERPT OF RUNAWAY!

 

If you would like to read more about Meg, you can do so at any of the following places...

 

The Scholastic Website (who are doing a feature about Meg today!)

The Official Book Website!

Any of the previous blog tour stops!

 

Oh, and also be sure to pop in to The Compulsive Reader's website - for the next stop of the blog tour :)

 Enjoy, and thanks to Meg and her team for choosing Novelicious to be a part of this!

 

 

 

 

YA News - Della Says:OMG by Keris Stainton

This debut novel from Keris Stainton will be released on the 6th May this year and I'm too excited about it.

The blurb reads...

Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...
When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

How excellent does this sound? I have read an extract of this novel and am getting a leedle impatient with waiting to read the rest!

You can pre order this book by clicking here (it's also in our bookshop) and you can visit Keris' lovely website by clicking here!

Sneaky Peek of Martina Reilly's Upcoming Book - The Wish list

The novel, which is out on the 30th July sounds brill, and I adore the cover. The blurb reads;

Like any married couple, Allie and Tony have had their fair share of heartache. But when Tony's actions force Allie and her young sons out of their home, things take a turn for the worse. Without her husband around, Allie must cope with two inquisitive children - as well as the reappearance of her estranged father. So when her eldest Mark befriends next-door neighbour Jeremy, Allie's glad he's found a distraction. The trouble is that Mark believes Jeremy is Santa Claus and that he can put the family back together. While Jeremy is increasingly mortified at the mix-up, a little magic never did anyone any harm - did it?

Martina is offering an extract of this book on her website, so you can try before you buy!

Read the extract by clicking here!