Guest Blog: Isla - Review of Ruth Kelly's 'The After Party'

lotenwriting
11 minutes ago
3 min read

Hi, my name is Isla and I am delighted to be the guest blog for December.

Previously, I uploaded regularly to my own blog https://islaandheradventures.blogspot.com/ but recently I have been rather busy.

The one thing that I still ensure I make time for is reviewing books on NetGalley (as advanced reader copies) for my favourite authors.

In the past, I have posted these reviews to my blog alongside retail sides and always NetGalley first. Most recently, I haven’t posted to my blog…but I think it just might need to be my New Year’s Resolution to get back to it!

So…as stepping stone of getting back to it, I am posting my review of The After Party by Ruth Kelly on Ruth's blog and will then advertise her blog on mine!

Here is my review:

Five stars - A must read…this author gets better and better! A fan of Ruth Kelly since her debut, I expected this book to be good…but I didn’t realise it would be THIS GOOD! Sometimes, I think, authors come along with something that’s not quite up to previous standards when they are writing one after another. Whereas here, it’s the opposite of that. Each of Kelly’s books has been original and – for me – of a stunning standard whilst getting better and better! Her versatility, originality, yet personal style, shines through every time.The After Party has many, many strengths and I was glued to my Kindle when I could be. I confess to falling asleep reading it (because I was tired and should’ve stopped but didn’t want to…clearly my body took over) and waking up finding my Kindle on the floor! Given the choice, this would have been a sit down and devour in one go type of book. Did I have that time? No… Nevertheless, I didn’t take long to finish it, picking this over TV for a couple of evenings. Having said that, I think you can always tell a good book when you want to know the ending, but stop just short to put off the actual finishing of it as you don’t want it to be over.So, what exactly is so good about it? EVERYTHING! For example, the setting – Kelly’s knowledge of Amsterdam is evident and it’s so immersive I felt like I was there even though I haven’t ever visited. Characterisation is strong, with defining things about each main character and even the lesser shown ones. Plus, the modern and up-to-date elements (trying to word carefully to avoid spoilers) that are written so carefully that, again, you are pulled right in as though you are there.Overall, it’s a mystery that keeps you guessing almost until the end; this was something that I loved as I was toying with my thoughts about who (I won’t say anything else, you need to read it to see what I mean…) and going forwards and backwards in my suspicions all the way through.I also had a massive shock, due to a completely wrong guess, although this was followed by something that I had guessed right…but I had even doubted myself on this! Do I think most readers will guess? No = brilliant as the shocks and the twists give further validation for why this book NEEDS TO BE READ!

Here are the titles of all of Ruth Kelly’s books:

As a total aside from the review, and her fantastic writing skills, I have to say how lovely Ruth Kelly is. When I have interacted with her for any reviews that I have done, she is always so grateful and polite. It is therefore wonderful to see her have such deserved success…long may it continue as I am ready to read many books from her, and dream to watch them as TV adaptations too!