Monday 19 September 2016

Book Review - A Leap of Faith by Trisha Ashley - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #39

Amazon UK
Title: A Leap of Faith
Author: Trisha Ashley
Format reviewed: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Black Swan
Publication Date: 25th August 2016
Rating: 4 Stars


Sappho Jones stopped counting birthdays when she reached thirty but, even with her hazy grip on mathematics, she realises that she's on the slippery slope to the big four-oh! With the thought suddenly lodged in her mind that she's a mere cat's whisker away from becoming a single eccentric female living in a country cottage in Wales, she has the urge to do something dramatic before it's too late.

The trouble is, as an adventurous woman of a certain age, Sappho's pretty much been there, done that, got the T-shirt. In fact, the only thing she hasn't tried is motherhood. And with sexy potter Nye on hand as a potential daddy - or at least donor - is it time for her to consider the biggest leap of all? It's either that or buy a cat . . .

I've had very mixed feelings throughout reading this book. Initially I was surprised from words in the foreword, as I hadn't been fully aware that his was a new edition of an early work by the author called The Urge to Jump, although I was thankful that I hadn't read it previously, as I don't tend to re-read books. 

I then spent the beginning of the book highly confused, and just slightly wary as it turns out Sappho, who is the lead character, is an author of fantasy novels, that seem loosely based on her own life. She slips in and out of thinking about her characters, and we occasionally see sections of what she is writing..but I am not a fan of the genre, so just felt a bit off-centred as I encountered this so early in a book, before I had a chance to even get to know Sappho. 

However once the plot settles down, and Sappho is settling into her cottage in Gower, Wales, we start to learn a lot more about her, from the stalker ex boyfriend, to the person in a village that bares a striking resemblance to one of her characters. We also learn about her two best friends Mu and Miranda. 

Mu is willing to try anything to become pregnant, and not just end up as a crazy cat lady, and is even willing to try the unorthodox idea her mother in law suggests, which is quite amusing. 

It is though Miranda's story that got completely under my skin leading to sections of the book where I couldn't bare to stop, even though I was exhausted.  Miranda is a lovely woman, who is just lacking self-confidence, mainly due to her husband Chris. Chris is one of the villains of the book, and I am so glad that Sappho could not only see through him, but also encourage Miranda to start thinking more independently. 

There is a lot of plot in this novel, so it takes some time for it all to come together, as well as a large cast of villagers, to get your head around. There are a couple of small mysteries going on in the background too, which add to the intrigue. 

Honestly at the start I was very dubious as to whether I was going to continue reading this book, but I took  A Leap of Faith of my own, in my knowledge that I tend to really enjoy Trisha Ashley's books, and persevered and I think it was around the half way point, where the story all clicked in my mind and I realised just how much I was enjoying it. 

This is not my favourite book by the author, nor would I perhaps say its the best one to get a first taste of her from, but if you are a fan of Trish Ashley, or similar authors then I am sure you will enjoy this story too. 

Thank you to everyone that voted last week for A Leap of Faith. I am slightly surprised that there weren't more votes for the Paige Toon, but very glad you picked an enjoyable book for me. Lets see what happens this week! 

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