This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Janet Gordon has been an incredible contributor for A&G, regularly writing book reviews. We have no idea how she manages to read so many books, but we have benefitted from her skill, and we know our readers love her recommendations. You will still be able to read her book reviews on the Rest Less website, so do keep following. We have loved working with Janet and are so happy that Rest Less want to continue with her reviews. This month’s book reviews cover different genres, and are all very appealing.
Whips by Cleo Watson (Corsair)
Hands up to all of you who remember Edwina Currie – she of the eggs and the affair with John Major.
And, of course, she wrote one or two absolute blockbusters featuring the political arena. Now, of course, she’s a ‘media personality’. But if you’re ever after a dose of late 90’s nostalgia, try ‘This Honourable House‘ – still available online.
But if you like your political intrigue bang up to date, why not try ‘Whips’ by Cleo Watson? Young and naïve Bobby decides that she needs to stop her local mental health unit from closure since she has a family member who would have nowhere to go once the closure takes effect. She arranges an interview with her local MP, Simon Daly, who rather surprisingly offers her a job in the heart of his London office. So she flat shares with her Uni friends, Jess – an aspiring and powerful young journalist and Eva, who is working in Downing Street as an advisor.
And so begins a complicated sexy romp peopled with unprincipled people, MPs of all stripes, a PM forced out and shenanigans of all descriptions. It’s totally in the spirit of the best kind of blockbusters, and if you like your sexy reads political, then this is for you.
The Princess by Wendy Holden (Welbeck)
This is the final part of the “unofficial” Windsor women trilogy. Starting off with “Governess”, which details Marion Crawford’s reign as governess to both Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret – through the war years, up to our late Queen’s marriage to Philip and then to Crawfie’s fall from grace after writing a tell-all (but in reality very tame) tale about life in the royal household.
Following that came “Duchess” – a wonderfully fictionized story about Wallis Simpson – based obviously on fact but embroidered beautifully. I’ve loved reading about Wallis Simpson since I don’t know when – and I’ve read her autobiography “The Heart Has its Reasons” many, many times. I absolutely loved Wendy Holden’s take on her.
And now here is ‘the PRINCESS‘ – the story of how Princess Di became wife to Charles – attributing all kinds of feelings and fancies to their romance – or rather to the “love of her life” on Di’s side, whilst on Charles – well we all know the story. It’s such a lovely read, but oh so sad.
Queuing for the Queen by Sweta Rana (Head of Zeus)
Were you, like me, glued to the funeral of the late Queen? And in floods of tears most of the time. I really, really wanted to pay my respects and join the queue, but my husband didn’t want to go and, awaiting a major foot op, my battered feet wouldn’t have stood the pace. Didn’t stop me from being there in spirit, though.
This is an absolutely wonderful read – full of all kinds of strangers brought together by their
common purpose. Most of all, though, it’s the story of Rani – the mother – and Tania – her daughter.
Rani, whose parents brought her to London many, many years ago, but because she rejected an arranged marriage and fell in love with an English boy – disowned her and eventually returned to India. Now Tania is tentatively holding back from her mother simply because Rani is unable to let go of any emotion.
We meet a selection of ordinary and not-so-ordinary folk – David Beckham joining the queue and eventually reaching the head of the queue and the lying-in-state.
Queuing for the Queen is just such a wonderful little book – and I do urge you to read it.
Just Between Us by Adele Parks ( HQ)
A new read from Adele Parks is always something to look forward to. And in ‘Just Between Us‘. Adele has once again hit the publishing jackpot.
Kylie Gillingham – married to two men at the same time – has disappeared – she’s presumed dead, but there’s nobody
Obviously, both of Kylie’s husbands are prime suspects, and with nobody to be found, her sons just won’t accept that she’s dead. And then there’s Stacie, living quietly in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from a serious illness. But how are these families linked?
I’ll be honest, I haven’t yet finished this explosive thriller, but as this is the last Annabel and Grace book review page, I wanted to bring this one to your attention – since Adele’s books are always wonderful reads. However, I am hoping to be back very soon reviewing books for Rest Less, the website that has taken over A&G.