Book Review: She Started It by Sian Gilbert

 

About:

The party of a lifetime is nothing like what they expected...

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends—or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven’t quite turned out as they’d hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas.

None of them has spoken to Poppy in years. But Poppy’s Instagram pics shows that the girl they used to consider the weakest link in their group has definitely made good—and made money. Curiosity gets the better of them. Besides, who can turn down a posh all-expenses-paid vacation on a Caribbean island?

The first-class flight and the island’s accommodations are just as opulent as expected...even if the scenic island proves more remote than they’d anticipated. Quite remote, in fact, with no cell service, and no other guests. The women quickly discover they’ve underestimated Poppy, and each other. As their darkest secrets are revealed, the tropical adventure morphs into a terrifying nightmare.

Endlessly twisty, sharply observant, and deliciously catty, She Started It is sure to shock readers until the very end.

My Thoughts

A great thriller novel with an explosive ending.

Annabel, Chloe, Esther and Tanya has been friends since school days. They were the popular girls on campus unlike Poppy. Poppy was awkward and of course just ordinary. The girls would often bully her just for laughs, except for Poppy it wasn't funny at all. In fact some of their pranks were downright cruel especially the LAST PRANK they pulled at the art exam.

Fast forward ten years later, now women, the four are invited to a hen party on a private island in celebration of Poppy's upcoming marriage. Even though the four hadn't heard of Poppy in ten years, they could not give up such an opportunity.

Upon arrival they are met by a beautiful, confident Poppy. A significant change to the shy girl from their youth. What they didn't realise was that Poppy changed in more ways than one and was out for revenge.

This book was full of action and emotion. Bullying is indeed an issue among young people and if it isn't dealt with correctly could have detrimental effects Although this was a work of fiction I think the author through Poppy's experience really got this point across. I also liked the ending because it was indeed a surprise.

This was a good book.

Book Review; Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher

 

About:

An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.

In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker.

But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full. In an epic saga that takes us from Red Clay to Paris, to the Côte d’Azur and New Orleans, human frailties are pushed to their limits as secrets are exposed and the line between good and evil becomes ever more difficult to discern. Red Clay is a tale that deftly lays bare the ugliness of slavery, the uncertainty of the final months of the Civil War, the optimism of Reconstruction, and the pain and frustration of Jim Crow.

With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America. Through seasons of joy and unspeakable pain, Fancher delivers rich moments as allies become enemies, and enemies—to their great surprise—find new respect for each other.

My Thoughts

An emotional and hopeful story. A wonderful account of life on a plantation post Civil War in the US. I love when books not only entertain but educate. That is why I love historical fiction.

The story starts with  a funeral of a beloved grandfather Felix of Red Clay, Alabama. During his funeral service an unfamiliar elderly white woman sat. This elderly woman was called Addie Parker whose family once owned Felix`s. She proceeded to share stories of the past which spoke about horrors and injustice of enslavement.

Felix and his family's story was one of hardship, resilience and hope. One thing that the author did expertly, was to give a very good description of what life may have been like for both the whites and the blacks in the South. 

There were parts that made me angry and sad at the same time, but all that made for a great book. I enjoyed this.