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'Tis the (damn) Season by Fiona Gibson #Review

  Festive reads continue with Fiona Gibson's 'Tis the (damn) Season, published by Boldwood Books.   This year, their families can deck the bloody halls themselves... Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape: the fiance with the obnoxious family; the son’s new girlfriend who is taking over their home; the family who take their mother for granted all year round… Will the friends make it home before Christmas day? And if they do, can they really go back to their old lives?

The Brazilian by Rosie Millard ** Blog Tour Review**

Today, I am happy to feature Rosie Millard's latest summer read, The Brazilian on Books, Life and Everything

Following a sensational scandal at one of London’s most desired postcodes, Jane and Patrick decide to escape the gossip with a family holiday to Ibiza, their eight-year-old son George in tow. 

Also on the island that week is a TV reality show involving an eccentric artist, a horny It Girl, a Brazilian footballer and a famous magician. 

As hapless celebrities are picked off one by one, Jane is desperate to be on the programme, leaving childcare in the not so capable hands of a teenager…

My Thoughts

If you are looking for a great holiday read, The Brazilian is going to fit the bill. Set in Ibiza, you are given sea, sun and a story centring on a whole cast of characters, each with their own particular foibles. It's funny yet at the same time, acutely observed and written with energy and pace.

    As Jane's family holiday seems in danger of falling flat, her middle class pretensions and self-centred behaviour is mercilessly exposed by the author. Just how far will she go to chase fame and a place in a rather tawdry reality show Ibiza (or Bust)? The name of the show tells you all you need to know about it and its cast and crew are ripe for comedy. One by one, the would-be celebrities are voted off.

    In the centre of all the mayhem George, Jane's young son, is quite delightful as he sets about tracking down his friends from home. Needless to say, they are not welcomed by his mother who feels they are beneath her aspirational lifestyle. Jane has lost sight of the family values which George's friends' family typify. Even Jane's husband can sense that there is something wrong with Jane's model of motherhood and family time. 

    The Brazilian is the follow-up to The Square, where many of the characters feature and are introduced. Sharply observed, with lashings of wit and humour, it was great to escape to Ibiza for a time.

    In short:  fun and sun- comedy with edge


About the Author


Rosie is a journalist and author and she is the Chair of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. She writes features and columns in newspapers, and does a bit of TV and radio. Rosie has written a couple of non fiction books and a couple of novels, and she also likes running marathons.

She is a graduate of the University of Hull, London College of Communication and the Courtauld Institute. She has been a Trustee of the Carnegie (UK) Foundation, Home Live Art and Modern Art Oxford.

Rosie has four children and lives in London.


You can follow Rosie here:  Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook 

  Amazon UK  

Thanks to Imogen Harris of Legend press and Rosie Millard for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour.


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