1939: Lily Shephard is on her way to Australia to work as a domestic. On board she meets some entertaining characters. There is a wealthy couple, Eliza and Max, who prefer to be below decks than their own deck. There is Edward who develops an attraction to Lily, and his sister who appears to be overprotective, Maria who is a Jewish refugee and then there is George, a fascist who is really an unlikeable fellow.

Lily finds herself caught up in the world that she would normally not be in. Dress balls, cocktail parties, a world that takes her to Naples, Cairo and Ceylon. All is well until it isn't, meaning that Maria disappears and it is thought that she jumped overboard. Lily also begins to see that Eliza and Max are not who they appear to be and George is sounding more dangerous in his beliefs as time goes on and his fascination with Lily proves to be dangerous to her. Who are these people that Lily has befriended? It seems that they are all running away from their past lives and secrets. Then there is a murder that has everyone reeling.

This novel starts out seeming to be one of a romantic voyage for Lily and a new life for her. Based on the diaries that the author found that belonged to Joan, a friend of her mothers. The diaries detail the voyage that Joan took to Australia. In it Joan told a myriad of details that included, the clothing, the price of things, who she met etcetera. I found this to be interesting in that Rachel Rhys was able to tell a story that contained a lot of real facts from a real person.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in two sittings! A historical fiction novel that had the world on the brink of war.

I’ve been going on a bit of a Rachel Joyce kick of late. Her novels are so easy to read and her characters unbelievably endearing that I’ve been going through her back catalogue.

Perfect tells two stories at once, both set in separate timelines. The first story is that of 10-year-old Byron and his family, chiefly his mother Diana and what happens as a result of two seconds being added to time in the 1970’s. Along-side this story is that of Jim, a man with severe mental health issues, chiefly that of OCD. His story is told in the present day.

The great strength of Rachel Joyce is formulation of character. Her characters always have something to like about them, regardless of their flaws. They’re always so relatable and have a warmth that makes them feel very human. Even the antagonists have a relatable aspect and that’s not easy to accomplish.

Towards the latter end of the plot there were a couple of moments when things became a little laughable and of course this took away from my enjoyment, but it didn’t stop me reading because I was so invested in the characters. I also guessed 2 or 3 plot manoeuvres, which was a little annoying. Even though I would have preferred a stronger plot, I read her books because I know that there’ll always be a character in her book that feels like my best friend.

If I had one criticism of this book it would be that it was a little clique at some points, I guessed virtually all the twists and there were really too many themes crammed in. The main theme was about the little mistakes that we all make and how these seemingly small instances can cause a ripple effect that travels down the years. There was also that of mental health, abuse, romance, relationships etc. This was a little too much, but I still enjoyed the book, even if it wasn’t my favourite Rachel Joyce.

I've been having some fatigue these last few days so, audio book time. I loaned a physical copy from my library and decided today to switch over to audio book, which they had in their online catalogue. Yea! I was very happy, I can tell you.

Perfect is the story of a boy called Byron and a man, Jim, who has had and continues to have severe mental health issues. The two stories are set years apart and are told in alternative chapters.

I've loved Rachel Joyce ever since I read her most recent book, The Music Shop and this is turning out to be another excellent book.

This is very much a character-driven story about a group of passengers traveling from Britain to Australia on the SS Orontes to start a new life. They each have their own secrets and reasons for leaving their old life behind. As the 5 week voyage progresses, and class lines are blurred and relationships are formed- those secrets slowly rise to the surface under the strain of living in close proximity, with unbearable heat and mounting tension. It all comes to a head the night before departure, in one last explosive scene at their farewell ball.

I enjoyed this story and the characters immensely! They were all so well developed. The author also did a fantastic job keeping the reader in suspense throughout the entire book. You could really feel the underlying currents of tension and secrecy running among the main characters. I already miss the voyage myself, so much so, that I'm searching for another good shipboard story to read immediately.

I love books set on ships! So far this one has been pretty good. Right now we're getting to know the characters and relationships are developing. There's also a nice undercurrent of tension starting to run through the ship.