Winning Reads
Welcome to my new feature, Winning Reads. As I enter a large amount of competitions for books, and have a reasonable degree of luck, over the past year or two, my paperback mountain has grown out of control mainly due to being a bit lucky, and then not remembering (or having the time) to pick the books up and read them.
Now I have a blog, I feel that I should be continually reading the brand new shiny releases the whole time, but I do want to read all these other books, so while I have a stash of them, here is Winning Reads, my new weekly feature for Sundays.
Author: Lucy Clarke
Format reviewed: Paperback
Source: Competition Win
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: 30th July 2015
Rating: 5 Stars
They had found paradise. What would they do to keep it?
With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht, with a wandering crew.
They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.
But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.
A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t let paradise go…whatever the price.
With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht, with a wandering crew.
They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.
But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.
A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t let paradise go…whatever the price.
This is the first book I have read by Lucy Clarke, in fact before this book, I don't think I was aware of her at all, but now I find myself wanting to instantly read her other books, to find out if they are as good as this one.
I absolutely loved The Blue, I was gripped right from the first page, and was very regretful any time I had to put the book down, as things like real life got in the way. It is an utterly absorbing story, telling both what is happening to Lana in the present, and the story of what happened when she was sailing on The Blue.
There are so many questions being asked, right from the first chapter and the prologue, and they are in your mind the whole way though as the story progresses. I felt I was right with Lana, by her side as she describes her time on The Blue, a yacht that has a paying crew, and their own life philosophies to live by.
When Lana and Kitty join The Blue, its in The Philippines, which is where they travelled after Lana discovers something major she had believed all her life, had been a cover up. While in The Philippines they meet Denny who lives on board The Blue and through him meet the rest of the crew.
They are then invited to join the crew of the yacht themselves, at which point they believe they have discovered paradise. However everyone seems to be hiding something, or running from something, and then what happened that made Lana leave.
It turns out I am rubbish at predicting outcomes in these sorts of books, and I definitely didn't see some of the final revelations coming, let alone some of the earlier ones. At points in the story, my adrenalin was definitely pumping, and I just needed to keep turning pages.
In the first few pages I was a bit unsure about the style of writing, and then I became so used to it, as the story starts hooking you in, I stopped noticing the specific style, and focused on a brilliant book instead.
Generally I don't normally say, if you loved x, you will love y... but in this case because the comparison feels right, I will say if you loved The Lie by CL Taylor, you will love The Blue. Both are set in exotic, unusual locations, and both have a this holiday/trip went wrong feel to them, as well as both being excellent addictive books.
I absolutely loved The Blue, I was gripped right from the first page, and was very regretful any time I had to put the book down, as things like real life got in the way. It is an utterly absorbing story, telling both what is happening to Lana in the present, and the story of what happened when she was sailing on The Blue.
There are so many questions being asked, right from the first chapter and the prologue, and they are in your mind the whole way though as the story progresses. I felt I was right with Lana, by her side as she describes her time on The Blue, a yacht that has a paying crew, and their own life philosophies to live by.
When Lana and Kitty join The Blue, its in The Philippines, which is where they travelled after Lana discovers something major she had believed all her life, had been a cover up. While in The Philippines they meet Denny who lives on board The Blue and through him meet the rest of the crew.
They are then invited to join the crew of the yacht themselves, at which point they believe they have discovered paradise. However everyone seems to be hiding something, or running from something, and then what happened that made Lana leave.
It turns out I am rubbish at predicting outcomes in these sorts of books, and I definitely didn't see some of the final revelations coming, let alone some of the earlier ones. At points in the story, my adrenalin was definitely pumping, and I just needed to keep turning pages.
In the first few pages I was a bit unsure about the style of writing, and then I became so used to it, as the story starts hooking you in, I stopped noticing the specific style, and focused on a brilliant book instead.
Generally I don't normally say, if you loved x, you will love y... but in this case because the comparison feels right, I will say if you loved The Lie by CL Taylor, you will love The Blue. Both are set in exotic, unusual locations, and both have a this holiday/trip went wrong feel to them, as well as both being excellent addictive books.
I love this book as well! I read it before Christmas and then went straight on to read The Lie! Both a couple of fantastic reads! xx
ReplyDeleteReally glad you enjoyed both of them Rachel, and I hope you have a brilliant 2016.
DeleteA gripping read, isn't it? I loved the sense of claustrophobia on board at times, and the sand under the feet at others as the storyline build up like the waves of the sea... :)
ReplyDeleteIt really is gripping and that is a great analogy.
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