Month: June 2023

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Review: Eta Draconis – Brendan Ritchie

Eta Draconis
Brendan Ritchie
UWA Publishing
ISBN:9781760802615

Description:

Elora is leaving her hometown for university. Leaving behind friends, family, and safety to follow her dream of studying theatre while she still has the chance.

Together, Elora and her older sister, Vivienne, set out by road for the city and the upcoming semester. The relationship between them is fractured and fading, turned upside down by Eta Draconis: the violent meteor shower that has rained across Earth since the beginning of their adolescence. In a land scarred by cra­ters and shockwaves, to travel anywhere is to risk everything. As the showering intensifies and their way forward becomes threatened, the sisters are forced to confront their relationship and recalibrate their hopes for the future. Do they return home or press on in the face of the meteors? Can life ever be normal with the world crashing down all around you?

Eta Draconis is an epic story about two resilient sisters who are determined to live their life in a world on the brink of destruction. Winner of the 2022 Doro­thy Hewett Award, Brendan Ritchie’s Eta Draconis is timely, hopeful and full of suspense.

My View:

Only 3 books in the last … years have inspired me so much that I have taken paint to canvas – this is one of them! I cannot stop thinking about this read.

How would I describe it? Beautifully articulated, a “coming of age” story with a difference, a story of relationships, of fear, of making the most out of each day. Inspirational.

Too short.

Read this book.

https://carolseeley.com/collections

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Review: The Guest Room – Tasha Sylva

The Guest Room
Tasha Sylva
Welbeck Publishing Group
RRP $32.99
ISBN:9781802796728

Description:
A twisty and gripping debut psychological thriller about a lodger with a sinister obsession

Careful what you look for. Careful what you find.

After the mysterious death of her beloved sister, Tess is grief-stricken and lonely. She’s forced to BnB Rosie’s old room to pay the bills.

With strangers in her home, Tess discovers a distraction: their possessions.

Tempted into the room while they’re out, she goes through her guests’ things, imagining the stories they hold. These forbidden glimpses into their lives and the chance of being caught are a momentary thrill – the only thing she can feel through the numbing pain of her loss, and the so-far fruitless police investigation.

When handsome and inscrutable Arran takes the room, Tess finds his diary. The entries are about an unnamed woman. Crush or obsession? Slowly, his writing takes a darker tone, and Tess can’t stop reading.

In her compulsion to know, to uncover the truth, there’s something Tess fails to notice. She’s being watched. Everyone has their secrets. This one is closer to home.

Tasha Sylva is currently based in the south-west of England, after time in London, Scotland, and southern Spain where she was an English teacher. The Guest Room, her first novel, was inspired by various stays in BnBs and strangers’ homes, wondering if any of her hosts had ever looked through her things, and what their implications could be.  Tasha is also an aspiring small-scale farmer with a focus on regenerative agriculture, community and localisation.

My View:
What a fantastic debut, a modern mystery. Character driven – I love this portrait of grief, loss, undying love, guilt ( why not me?) that is portrayed in this mystery, Sylva captures it well.

This narrative has lots of elements and situations that we can all relate – who has not stayed in an apartment/BNB, share house, friends house and wondered about the previous occupants, the owners, the cohabitors of the property? I think its part of human nature to be inquisitive but be careful of what you might discover!

This is fast paced read, I loved the sprinkling of “art” in the narrative, the depth of feeling and sense of loss and grief portrayed here. Survivor guild was excellently portrayed, the relationship between Tess and the police investigating this crime rang true and heartfelt. I felt empathy for both parties dealing with a terrible situation. It was almost the end of the read before I had an idea of who the murderer was.

I enjoyed this read I think you will too.