Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter

 

 

             

 

Ebook: 188 pages

Genre:  Fiction

Publisher:  Katalina Playroom     May 2011

Source: Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

First Sentence : ‘I went jogging on the morning that I died.’

Review Quote : ‘If there was a prize for enthusiasm, then Nadine would win hands down.’ Yvonne "Fiction Books @ Amazon.

My Opinion: . In my humble opinion she could do so much better.

 

This is not a plot driven novel, but a series of narratives from the surviving seven friends of a close knit college group, trying to come to terms with the death of the eighth member of the group.  Sadly it did not really work for me and was not at all what I expected. I always try not to judge a book by it’s cover but this one gave me quite the wrong impression! The title also threw me off course with my expectations as Little Angels is a coffee shop owned by one of the characters and time is spent there, but it really isn't the focal point of the book.  I was expecting something centred around this group of friends that made me feel sad but good about their friendships. Instead I got a thoroughly confused jumble of first person perspectives from the remaining seven about their relationships with each other, which jumped about so often I never fully understood what was going on. This led to constant checking back to remind me who was who, not so easy either when you are reading an eBook!

Set in South Africa, the eight protagonists all grew up together in a small town and have all gone their separate ways after leaving school. When one of their group is killed they all return ‘home’ for the funeral. In the few days they are all together again we hear from them individually about the lives, emotions and interactions amongst the eight. There were certainly a lot of complicated and unresolved issues. They have come home to mourn their friend, but bring secrets from the past with them and are forced to deal with because of this unexpected death. The feelings they have at this time are painfully realistic.

Sadly though the book  has left no  lasting impression on me, which is a shame as I feel overall it had the potential to be so much more. The idea of a group of friends reuniting for the funeral was a good one but I feel the potential was wasted. I hope the author will not be too dispirited by my comments as I feel she has done well to achieve as much as she has and that she will take on board the good and the bad criticisms about her writing, with an eye to the future. In my humble opinion she could do so much better.

 

 Nadine Rose Larter was born in a small South African town called Molteno. She is currently living in Port Elizabeth South Africa. When she is not writing or thinking about writing, she is a mother, wife and messy housekeeper. Her favourite things include blogging, coffee, cupcakes and the occasional brush with sarcasm. Coffee at Little Angels is her first novel. The information about the author is copied from the eBook.

You can find out more about Nadine on her website The Katalina Playroom  or on her Goodreads Profile.