On the radio, while I was driving home from work on Friday afternoon, I heard this cover of Fast Car by Jonas Blue ft. Dakota’s:
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I liked the upbeat cover. But it made me long to hear the original by Tracy Chapman. So when I got home, I YouTubed the original and found this superb, beautiful, live performance of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman:
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I’ve had it on repeat ever since. Enjoy. Will blog soon,
Antony
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In Something To Hide by Deborah Moggach, each of the six main characters, spread across the world, has a secret. Their lives are intricately and cleverly linked by Moggach’s plotting. Moggach writes in the perspective of four of the six main characters:
Petra in London. Poor Petra had been through a difficult divorce. So when she finds love, in an unexpected person, the reader empathises with her, even knowing that he’s married to someone else. Petra’s character is interesting at first, but towards the end of the book she does begin to feel a bit whiny. Bev & Jeremy in West Africa. Bev’s character is great, multifaceted, very real and a missed opportunity for Moggach whom didn’t write any scenes in her perspective. Moggach didn’t write any scenes from Jeremy’s perspective either, so the reader doesn’t really get to know him directly. Li-Jing & Wang Lei in China. The reader will really feel for Li-Jing. Wang Lei dragged himself out of poverty with his drive and ambition. |
Lei uses this drive and ambition to try to solve the problem he’s presented with at the start of Something To Hide. The reader will wish they learned more about him and it would have been great to have a chapter in his perspective, especially because of his importance in the book.
Lorrie in Texas. Lorrie’s husband is in the army, so she is at home with two kids. That is until she is scammed out of their life savings. She comes up with a cunning plan to earn the money back, but in the meantime can she keep the secret? Especially with the physical changes she goes through as the nine months of pregnancy progress. Lorrie is very likeable and it would have been good to get to know her better.
The pacing of Something To Hide is appropriate, unravelling a plot that is full of twists and turns. What let this book down was the lack of writing in the perspectives of the male characters whom played key roles within the story. The ending of the book is painfully drawn and dragged out.
Overall Something To Hide is a reasonable book. One that the reader will enjoy and be entertained by, but that will leave the reader feeling as if only half of the story was told. It wont stick in the readers memory as a memorable story.
Something To Hide is available to buy on Amazon.
Review soon,
Antony
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A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig is the perfect bedtime story to read to your children in the month of December on the run-up to Christmas. It is beautifully illustrated by Chris Mould.
In A Boy Called Christmas, Nikolas and Joel (his father, the Wood Cutter) are poor. Nikolas has no brothers or sisters and Miika (a mouse) is his only friend. Throughout his life, he has only received two christmas presents: a sleigh and a turnip doll. That is until Anders – the Hunter comes to recruit Joel on a mission for King Frederick. If Anders, Joel and some other men can prove the existence of Elves to the King, he will reward them handsomely. This is Joel’s chance to lift Nikolas and himself out of poverty. Joel explains to Nikolas that he has accepted this mission, meaning he will be away for Christmas. But that when he returns, Nikolas and he will be rich. That Nikolas will |
no longer need to look in the window of the toyshop window wistfully, but will be able to have all the toys he wants. While Joel is away, Nikolas is to be looked after by his horrible Aunt Carlotta.
Joel leaves and Nikolas waits. Nikolas waits for his father to return for a long time. When Joel still hasn’t returned Nikolas begins to worry. Eventually, Nikolas sets out with Miika to The Far North to find his father. The journey is long and treacherous.
When Nikolas arrives at The Elf Village, accompanied by Father Topo and Little Noosh, it is not at all what he imagined. Little Kip has been kidnapped by Anders, Joel and the other men, who have escaped and are heading to King Frederick. The Welcome Tower has been turned into a Prison. Nikolas is imprisoned with a naughty Truth Pixie that likes to watch people’s heads explode and unpleasant Sebastian the Troll.
Nikolas uses magic and the help of flying reindeer Blitzen to escape the prison. He sets off to find his father, Anders and the other men to put things right. The ending is well thought out, fabulous and explains how after many years Nikolas finds his purpose: being Father Christmas.
Young children will love everything about A Boy Called Christmas, including Nikolas and the other characters- all of which have depth, the pacing and the magical plot. It is a captivating read that can be enjoyed by both younger children and grown-ups together.
The only criticism I have about A Boy Called Christmas is that the release date was too close to Christmas. Haig can’t be blamed for this, but the Publisher can. Still, now that A Boy Called Christmas has been released, it can be enjoyed by the many for years and years to come.
I’ll be giving my copy of A Boy Called Christmas to my older brother, so that he can read it to my nephew on the run-up to next Christmas.
Review soon,
Antony
Soulmates is my latest short story in the gay romance genre. Here is the synopsis:
In Soulmates Robert and Lucas keep missing each other. In fact, they’ve never met. That is until a disembodied spirit assigns himself Robert’s case. Can this spirit create the perfect opportunity for these two potential Soulmates to finally meet? And if they do meet, how will it go?
Here is an excerpt from Soulmates:
Soulmates is just over four thousand words and is yours to enjoy for free. You can download Soulmates here.
Write soon,
Antony
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of eight books.
Antony Simpson is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.
Unless Otherwise Stated, Copyright © Antony Simpson, 2008-2026.
