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How Was It For You?*
Stories From A Sex Worker
bu Eve Smith
The Blurb
The author of How Was It for You? is a sex worker.
Let’s call her Eve.
Eve is someone’s daughter. Someone’s partner.
Eve has worked across the sex industry for twenty years: in a brothel, as an escort, in a strip club, online and as a dominatrix. In this candid memoir she reveals all: the good stuff, the bad, and the downright ugly too.
We’re with her poolside as she sips Champagne at a wealthy client’s Caribbean villa. We scurry with her from a gated mansion as a fun threesome gets out of hand. We watch from the public gallery as she is dragged in and out of court by the law. We perch at her side in a cell as she contemplates the true meaning of freedom. And we’re at the brothel when she meets Adam, a punter who turns out to be a keeper.
Honest, eye-opening, full of fury and frequently funny, How Was It for You? is a unique insight into what’s happening in society’s shadows and an unforgettable walk in someone else’s high heels.
‘It is heartening to find humour and a glimmer of hope’ – Jo Brand
‘Unflinching . . . Everyone should read this book’ – Emily Edwards, author of The Herd
Eve Smith is a pseudonym. Any links to persons living or dead is coincidental.
What I Thought
This book was really interesting and Eve Smith shares a great insight into the life of a sex worker.
The chapters are super short so it is quite a fast-paced read. At times, I felt the back and forwards of the timeline was a little confusing and disjointed.
The book was a really interesting and insightful read. However, the general tone of the author seemed to be anger, which put me off at times. I understand Eve is trying to tackle misconceptions about the profession and attitudes towards sex workers, but felt like I was being told off for views I didn’t necessarily ever have!
I gave the book 3.5 stars and feel this is pretty fair as despite the angry tone and slightly disjointed feel, I did enjoy the book and kept picking it up to continue reading.
Buy How Was It For You? by Eve Smith
The Housemaid Is Watching
by Frieda McFadden
The Blurb
“You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back, but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…
I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.
Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…
The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.
Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?
I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?
From New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Freida McFadden comes the next installment of the unbelievably twisty, tension-packed and globally bestselling Housemaid series. This book can be enjoyed as a standalone listen: and once you start, it will have you up all night until the final explosive twist.
What I Thought
I have listened to both of the previous Housemaid stories on Audible so chose to do the same with this one. While at the beginning of the first book I was concerned I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, her voice is now the voice of Millie and I couldn’t imagine it changing!
While I enjoyed this book, and once again flew through it, it was probably my least favourite of the trilogy. We jump quite a way forward in the timeline of Millie and her family’s life for this part of the story. Her and Enzo are married with two children and have just moved to the suburbs.
Unfortunately, the picture perfect neighbourhood is not what it seems and as Millie meets her neighbours she starts to feel unsettled.
I don’t want to spoil the story but it doesn’t quite follow the pattern of the other books – Millie finding and helping a family in need of her ‘unique’ style of justice. The pace of the story was good, however some subplots seemed unnecessary and could have been left out, and some parts seemed to not really get wrapped up by the end of the book. There were still a good few twists and turns that keep you guessing and I really liked the inclusion of some old, familiar faces.
Overall my least favourite of The Housemaid stories but still definitely worth a read if you have read the previous books!
Buy The Housemaid Is Watching by Frieda McFadden
The Family Remains*
by Lisa Jewell
The Blurb
London. Early morning, June 2019: on the foreshore of the river Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones.
DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene and quickly sends the bag for forensic examination. The bones are those of a young woman, killed by a blow to the head many years ago.
Also inside the bag is a trail of clues, in particular the seeds of a rare tree which lead DCI Owusu back to a mansion in Chelsea where, nearly 30 years previously, three people lay dead in a kitchen, and a baby waited upstairs for someone to pick her up.
The clues point forward too to a brother and sister in Chicago searching for the only person who can make sense of their pasts.
Four deaths. An unsolved mystery. A family whose secrets can’t stay buried for ever….
Prepare to be hooked.
The sequel to million-copy best-seller The Family Upstairs.
What I Thought
Another book in a series, the first of which I read a few months ago. While I never normally enjoy sequels as much as the original, this is an exception – I loved it!
This book picked up just after the first left off. It follows different timelines, fills in some little holes from the first book and ties up the story of these brilliantly written and intricate characters.
The book was well paced and sucked me straight back in, I couldn’t put it down! Another great thriller written by Lisa Jewell and a fab sequel to the first book. If you haven’t read The Family Upstairs, read that now, then grab this! Prepare to be hooked!
Buy The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Read my review of The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The Family Experiment
by John Marrs
The Blurb
Some families are virtually perfect . . .
The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families let, alone raise them.
But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen, but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their Virtual Child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby . . .
What I Thought
Wow! Another great thriller by John Marrs.
I really do enjoy a dystopian story and this was no exception. After reading one of his previous books, The One, I really enjoyed the crossover references between the two (although you don’t need to have read any of his previous books to understand or enjoy this story).
Like The One, I did feel a little lost at first with all the different characters, but that soon settled and I loved the way it was like lots of little stories within a larger story. There were plenty of shocking twists and turns and the story kept me guessing all the way through.
An intriguing and clever concept, another great book by John Marrs that will be perfect for fellow thriller fans. A five star read for me!
Buy The Family Experiment by John Marrs
Some great sequel reads/listens this month and I would recommend you check them all out if you haven’t already! I know I have got my Mum on the Housemaid hype train and she is now after the third book to finish off the trilogy as she has flown through the first two.
What have you enjoyed reading over the Summer, any you would recommend? Let me now in the comments below so I can check them out!
Take care and keep reading,
The Spoonie Mummy 
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