The Coffeeholic and the Cafe by Elizabeth Martin

On her living room floor in the middle of the day while flicking through a newspaper, Claire has a revelation about her life. She is a Coffeeholic and she doesn’t care.

What follows is a series of adventures that seem too funny to be true; Claire moves to far north Queensland to help open and run what is to be the best coffee shop in Queensland. After lying—that is, fudging some of the facts—on her resume Clair lands the job and embarks on the journey of a lifetime.

Her new boss Maria starts off a treat but ends up being very dismissive and her son Daniel is a mamma’s boy who seems to love nothing more than sitting around in his underwear watching TV. There’s also Bruce, the farm hand that Claire thinks is too attractive for his name so she calls him Tom.

The Coffeeholic is a fat paced and funny novel that is very enjoyable to read. Sometimes Claire is a tad annoying but because the book is from her point of view you can see why she does the things that she does. She is too self-centred for me to say she could be a friend, but she is definitely the person you want around when you’re going for a coffee.

Martin writes quite well and this is a good first book. Her description of Far North Queensland is so beautiful that it makes me want to jump on a train to head up.

This isn’t the best book that you will ever read but it’s very enjoyable and you will get a laugh or two from it. 

Let me know if you're read any good books lately or you have a different opinion on this one. 

Kathy

Themes: Coffee, I love coffee, Elizabeth Martin, The Coffeeholic and the Cafe, book review,

You Against Me

Article first published as Book Review: You Against Me by Jenny Downham on Blogcritics.

If someone told you that your brother committed a terrible crime, would you believe them?
If your sister told you that she had been raped, would you believe her?

This is the basic premise of the Jenny Downham book You Against Me. This fast paced story is told from two points of view: Mickey, whose sister Karyn says she has been raped by Tom Parker, and Ellie, Tom’s sister. Mickey will do anything to protect his family, even threaten to extract revenge on Tom so Karyn will feel safe enough to leave her house — but so will Ellie. The further you read, the more sympathy you feel not only for Karyn but for Mickey, Ellie, their parents, and even a bit for Tom himself.

Jenny keeps the issue of Tom’s actual guilt vague throughout most of the book. While it’s no doubt that something went on that night, the real question is whether Karyn consented or not, and this is where the book asks some tough questions. Ellie once says “why would he [Tom] rape her when she was clearly going to give it to him anyway?” and the readership is asking the same questions. The book also brings up the topic of consent under intoxication as well as regret masked as rape.

But Jenny just doesn’t stop there. Because Karyn is from the Estates, the poor neighbourhood, and Tom is from the rich side of town, the inevitable question surfaces, is Karyn lying in order to get money? Again, the further one reads the clearer it becomes that money does not make a happy family, nor a good person.
Rather than paint Tom as a horrible rapist, the story paints a stunning picture of the complexities of modern life, and what it takes just to make it through one day. The characters are believable and richly textured. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses, their good and bad points.

The setting is stunning and one cannot help but be swept away by the sea-side town.

Jenny Downham is a strong writer, and this story is proof of that. I can’t wait to read more of her works.

Kathy