‘THE SECRET KEEPERS’ BY TILLY BAGSHAWE

 

Tilly Bagshawe’s latest is a juicy family drama set before, during, and after WWII. It focuses mainly on the Challants, a well-to-do English family, led by a devout father whose sole purpose in life, it seems, is to make everyone around him unhappy. Especially his frail devoted wife, who’d rather spend time collecting exotic birds than focusing on her crumbling marriage. The couple has four children: three girls and a boy, the latter the most obedient, though not necessarily the favorite (that would go to the youngest girl who later on would pay dearly for this privilege). When tragedy strikes one summer night during a raging thunderstorm, the life of the Challants is not only affected but forever changed as secrets from the past eventually surface.

 

As expected, there is more than meets the eye in this compelling tale of love and lost. It starts off quite strong, with one protagonist in the present time facing some inner demons on a shrink couch, and paces efficiently once the novel revisits the past for the family drama to unfold. From the get-go I felt connected with most of the characters (I draw the line with the rotten dad), especially the four siblings who try their best to stay afloat despite constant turmoil in their lives. Of course like in any well-made or not so well-made sagas, everyone is gorgeous and rich (or surrounded by wealth) and suffers greatly in the name of love (or self love to some) but never did I feel, in this particular novel, unattached to their plights.

 

Fans still looking for Bagshawe’s unique bonkbuster style, however, may be a tad disappointed as the sex and shopping approach in this one is quite tamer, but overall THE SECRET KEEPERS is still a very amorous affair with its strong narrative, colorful characters, not to mention its finely-tuned historical flavor. Indeed, since her previous novel THE SECRET OF SAINTE-MADELEINE, there’s a new Tilly Bagshawe in town, a Tilly Bagshawe who’s matured to an ever greater storyteller, a writer who knows where she stands in this so-called women fiction territory. And all is left to say is: brava, talented lady, you’ve got another winner in your hands.

 

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this 4 and a half stars reviewed ARC.

 

Until next post—Martin

 

 

 

 

'ADORED' BY TILLY BAGSHAWE

 

I was on a trip abroad the first time I ever caught ADORED  by the ever-talented Tilly Bagshawe.  I took one look at the cover and knew right away that we would end up BFFs.   How can you not when all it promises is a good time.  I didn’t purchase the book right away however.  I already had reading material with me and knew I would throw it aside the first chance I got hold of the book.  So like a good boy I held out.  But I didn’t forget.  Oh how I didn’t.  It took a few weeks before I got my hands on a copy (a birthday gift from my other half, actually), but once I did, it was Xanadu, my darlings; Pure saccharine Xanadu. 

ADORED introduces us to Siena, a young heroine who just can't seem to be happy with her charmed life. She wants to be a movie star no matter what.  So true to form, she says cheerios to her England private school life and embarks on a Hollywood journey where she'll meet all sorts of influential people and, of course, mega problems along the way. The author is definitely at ease with those elements, creating a one sitting read that'll please fans of the genre. Indeed, ADORED works quite aplenty thanks to the many zany but fun-filled situations, torrid sexual scenes and punchy dialogue. Indeed, Bagshawe first offering highly deserves its juicy stamp of approval as its popularity. 

I have read many novels by her since then, none of which had ever dissatisfied me.  She has this thing that I call pizazz.   You know, the knack of always delivering spot-on escapist fiction.  No wonder she has also taken over from Sidney Sheldon after his death, delivering non-stop romantic suspense novels every summer for the last four years. She’s the only one who can maintain the late author’s reputation as “the master of the story-telling game”, as People Magazine so proudly declares. They both have similar style about their work.  Yes, her ADORED is a cool acquisition if you’re into frothy reads.  You will certainly demand more after reading this one, and lucky for you, you have a lot to choose from since its 2005 publication.  

 

 

Until next post—Martin

US paperback edition

 

 

 

'FAME' BY TILLY BAGSHAWE

While spending a few days in Barcelona for a well-deserved vacation around Europe, I got ahold of Tilly Bagshawe’s latest, FAME. You can imagine how thrilled I was finding this one. You see, in Montreal, most of her books are released much later, sometimes not at all (thank Heaven for online shopping), and coming across FAME (and J.J. Salem UK edition of THE STRIP for that matter) that easily was like finding gold. Suffice to say, I wasted little time in starting this one up since anything from Bagshawe has become a must over the years—and again she delivers.

FAME revolves around a few characters, Sabrina being the major one. She’s sort of a Lindsay Lohan-type who does not give a rat ass about her wild rep. In fact, at the start of the book she’s so out of it that she’s forced to work for zilch on a movie project (the remake of WUTHERING HEIGHTS) just to get her name back in lights. In comes newcomer and hunk extraordinaire Jake who, contrary to Miss Thing, gets millions for his part in the film, since he’s the current flavor of the month. Of course, this does not go well with Sabrina, who, before you know it, butt heads with her co-star (and with everyone else); but, surprisingly, a friendship soon evolves, one that may actually develop into something else—but divulging anything more will spoil it for you completely. Oh yeah, there’s also a rather obstinate single young mother named Letitia who leases her England estate for the film shoot. Her story line is as vital as it involves an irresponsible brother, a mom from hell, and a less than stellar environment at her work place over in Romania. Other characters include a down on his luck director who just can’t keep his buxom ex-starlet wife, now middle-aged, happy. His mission, to finish his film no matter what, makes for more troubling waters in his love life.

Just like in her previous work, expect to be enthralled with FAME. Bagshawe tries her best to keep the pace going, and succeeds at it—mostly, as the obvious sometimes resurfaces. But this shouldn’t let you stray away from enjoying the novel completely. Sex, sin, Hollywood hunchos, divas with claws, and, of course, romance—all manage to shake their respective bonbon pretty well throughout the book fast-paced thread. The author even incorporates a sub-plot involving forgotten institutionalized children in Romania, a cause that is dear to her heart (to learn more, click here). No doubt about it, the way she manages to churn out another best-seller despite “a rough year”, as stated on the acknowledgement page, just go to show you how talented (and thick skinned) she really is. So kudos to her for having delivered another firecracker beach read (or winter read), and long live her reign.

Until next post—Martin




TILLY BAGSHAWE AND HER 'DO NOT DISTURB' SIGN

DO NOT DISTURB by Tilly Bagshawe starts out with a juicy family feud of who will own the family business, and does not simmer down for the next 500 plus pages. Indeed, Honor, the central character of this riveting frothy saga, wants to prove to the world, but mostly to her estranged Alzheimer-ravaged dad, that she does have what it takes to run the family hotel. Many will try blocking her way—a that includes a hot Latino entrepreneur who also yearns to become more than meets the eye—and she will suffer greatly because of it. But trust Tilly Bagshawe to shake all things up into a page-turner frenzy where all is not always what it seems.

You could say that Ms Bagshawe has been around the literary block for quite sometime now, ever since the publication of her first novel, ADORED, in 2005. Her main trait had always been the life of the rich and famous, and with good reasons: her books have been selling like hot cakes all over the globe. FAME is her latest baby, and from the looks of it, she isn’t about to veer in another direction, and I applaud her for that. Year after year, I wait eagerly for another Bagshawe book to arrive. I may not always indulge in it right away (since there are so many books to read and so little time) but when I do, like with this DO NOT DISTURB title here, I always count my blessings for having discovered her and her talent. Had it not been for Tilly Bagshawe, or for the likes of her at least, life in fiction land would sure look a little less… gleeful.

　

Yes, I’m fully aware that Tilly’s body of work does not always agree with everyone, especially with those who consider "bonkbusters" or anything that frivolous in print, a waste of time; and to them I say, you don’t know what you’re missing. Because novels like DO NOT DISTURB are indeed time-wasters with the sole purpose of focusing on the beautiful people and their wicked ways, but if one dares to dig just a little deeper, one will clearly see that this form of entertainment has some big rewarding benefits. Because getting involved with a Tilly Bagshawe book can easily take you on the same campy high level as some of the best grade-B (or grade-B-like) cult classic films out there. Yup. In fact, you could even say that Ms Bagshawe and all of her colleague authors are to print what Russ Meyer and, say, that Tarantino fellow are to cinema.

　
Of course, as in any cult movies, DO NOT DISTURB certainly has its share of weaknesses, like tending to over rely on easy-breezy plot twists and sexual situations when all could be simply avoided by a little push of the imagination. On the other hand, rare do they happen exactly as expected, so there. And as a whole DO NOT DISTURB—just like the rest of Tilly’s work—is always narratively strong and fast-paced. And to be quite honest, when one succeeds at creating such fun, lovable characters in a setting that is so glamorous and dazzling as Ms Bagshawe does with DO NOT DISTURB, the rest is nothing compared to the fun you’ll have reading this escapist, exploitative romp. So eat your heart out "bonkbuster" haters, and let’s raise our glasses (champagne, no doubt) to the latest hit girl of chic sleaze. Long lives her reign.

DO NOT DISTURB is available in print or digital wherever books are sold.

 
 

Until next post—Martin
 

　

UK mm pb edition