#Blogtour The Yellow Kitchen by Margaux Vialleron

It's my turn on the Blogtour The Yellow Kitchen by Margaux Vialleron. 'Expectation meets Julie & Julia, The Yellow Kitchen is a brilliant exploration of food, belonging and friendship.'

About the Author

Margaux Vialleron is a French-born, London-based writer, self-taught cook and co-host of the The Salmon Pink Kitchen book club, culinary community and podcast. The Yellow Kitchen is her first novel. 

Find out more at her website margauxvialleron.com or connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @margauxvlln.

About the book

London E17, 2019. A yellow kitchen stands as a metaphor for the lifelong friendship between three women: Claude, the baker, goal-orientated Sophie and political Giulia. They have the best kind of friendship, chasing life and careers; dating, dreaming and consuming but always returning to be reunited in the yellow kitchen.

That is, until a trip to Lisbon unravels unexplored desires between Claude and Sophie. Having sex is one thing, waking up the day after is the beginning of something new. Exploring the complexities of female friendship, The Yellow Kitchen is a hymn to the last year of London as we knew it and a celebration of the culture, the food and the rhythms we live by.

Review

It's an interesting one. I think it's the kind of story that every reader - specifically women, will relate to - or not, through their own frame of reference. A very specific frame of reference - the relationship and bond between daughters and mothers. 

On the periphery it's also about friendships, close friendships between women, especially long-term ones. The author captures an often overlooked and forgotten aspect of close friendships, when the boundaries of the bonds are slightly adjusted, which can solidify or make them slowly dissipate. The author also captures the minutiae of interactions, micro aggressions, passive aggressive subconscious moves. When two become three it can become a ticking timebomb of emotions.

Claude, Sophie and Giulia ultimately find themselves exploring their own identity, their first bond with another woman, and in a strange way a second sort of coming-of-age. When a woman enters an age of reflection and introspection, when the similarities between the mother and evident in the woman the daughter has become.

The writing style reminded me at times of flash fiction or performance art - many messages and thoughts thrown out into the universe in the hopes that some will provoke, others will make you pause and think. I found it refreshing and innovative.

Buy The Yellow Kitchen at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Simon & Schuster UK; pub date 7 July 2022 | Hardback | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Simon and Schuster.

#BlogTour Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman. It's a captivating crime read.

About the Author
Catherine Steadman is an actress and writer based in North London. She has appeared in leading roles on British television as well as on stage in the West End, most recently in Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution in 2018. In 2016 she was nominated for Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in Oppenheimer. She is best known for her role as Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey.

She grew up in the New Forest and lives with a small dog and average sized man. Something in the Water is her first novel and her second is due for release in early 2020.

Follow @CatSteadman @simonschusterUK on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads,
Buy Something in the Water

About the book
“Have you ever wondered how long it takes to dig a grave? Wonder no longer. It takes an age. However long you think it takes, double it…”

Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough; Mark is a handsome investment banker with a bright future. They seem to have it all, until Mark loses his job and cracks start to appear in their perfect life. But they’re determined to make it work. They book their dream honeymoon and trust that things will work out – after all, they have each other.

On the tropical island of Bora Bora, Mark takes Erin scuba diving. Mark is with her – she knows he’ll keep her safe. Everything will be fine. Until they find something in the water…

Erin and Mark decide to keep their discovery a secret - after all, if no one else knows, who would be hurt? Their decision will trigger a devastating chain of events which will endanger everything they hold dear.

Review
The story starts with the main character digging in the middle of the woods, and the first thought is that she is the villain in this scenario. The author brings us back to the first scene at the end of the book for an exciting finale.

I found myself wincing at the naiveté Erin displayed throughout the story. Not exactly cut out to be an unscrupulous criminal and certainly not smart enough to understand that the buck stops with the one actually committing all the crimes. Her actions seem to be a contradiction to the intelligent woman interacting with hardcore prison inmates.

The relationship between Eddie and Erin plays a pivotal part in the story and I think it could have been explored a little more, perhaps at a later point in time in another story. Erin being beholden to Eddie puts everything into a completely new light.

The most important question of this story is whether or not the situation with the package would entice the majority of us to become spur of the moment criminals. What would you do? And is it a crime if everyone involved is dead?

Steadman captivates the reader with her opening chapter, and although there are some less convincing moments during the execution in the middle, she brings it all back together for an unexpected ending. I was pleasantly surprised by the read and expect a lot more from this author in the future.

Buy Something in the Water at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK; Paperback pub date 16 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

The story starts with the main character digging in the middle of the woods, and the first thought is that she is the villain in this scenario. The author brings us back to the first scene at the end of the book for an exciting finale.

I found myself wincing at the naiveté Erin displayed throughout the story. Not exactly cut out to be an unscrupulous criminal and certainly not smart enough to understand that the buck stops with the one actually committing all the crimes. Her actions seem to be a contradiction to the intelligent woman interacting with hardcore prison inmates.

The relationship between Eddie and Erin plays a pivotal part in the story and I think it could have been explored a little more, perhaps at a later point in time in another story. Erin being beholden to Eddie puts everything into a completely new light.

The most important question of this story is whether or not the situation with the package would entice the majority of us to become spur of the moment criminals. What would you do? And is it a crime if everyone involved is dead?

Steadman captivates the reader with her opening chapter, and although there are some less convincing moments during the execution in the middle, she brings it all back together for an unexpected ending. I was pleasantly surprised by the read and expect a lot more from this author in the future.

Buy Something in the Water at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Uk
Follow @CatSteadman @simonschusterUK