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Long Term Reads


It's been a long while since I've done a book review. The last half of my degree got a bit hectic and stressful which left me no time to read anything other than Titian and Rembrandt. I decided to kill two birds with one stone with this post and write about two books which I was sent from Hachette NZ.
 
Kitchens of the Great Midwest - J. Ryan Stradal*
 
Who is Eva Thorvald? The book follows Eva's life through the eyes of the people she meets. To her father, a chef, she's a pint-sized recipe tester and the love of this life. She's an enigma, a secret ingredient that no one can figure out.
 
I really loved how the reader learns about Eva, the main character, through the perspective of other people. Each chapter follows a different person who somewhere comes into contact with Eva; her father, cousin, boyfriend, work colleagues etc. This approach made the story more interesting, you never knew who was next and what their perception of Eva was.
 
Eva's life isn't perfect. There are a lot of sad and challenging moments for her but she follows her dream. Overall I enjoyed the story and how it was told.
 
 
Close Your Eyes - Michael Robotham*
 
A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered, clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin is drawn into the investigation when a former student jeopardises the inquiry. There are no shortage of suspects and while the case becomes more complex his personal life also becomes disrupted.
 
As I was reading the story it felt like a crime thriller movie or a TV show. I could imagine watching it as I was reading it.  Most of the book is told through O'Laughlin's point of view but there are also snippets of perpetrator's point of view giving us a sense of him and looking at the investigation through his eyes. There are a number of suspects and throughout the book I was constantly like "it was him" "no, it's him". But of course, as good stories go it ended up being the person I didn't suspect at all. As well as the investigation we see O'Laughlin also dealing with issues in his personal life which unfortunately has an unhappy ending.
 
Overall I enjoyed the story and was constantly guessing till the end.
 
 
*These books were sent to me but the review was all my own opinions

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