Lesley Crewe

Canadian Author Leslie Crewe is one fantastic writer! I loved the first book I read by her so much so, that I went in search of another with high expectations and is happy to say was thrilled.

Judging the book by its cover, and how could you not, I borrowed Ava Comes Home from the library and just ate it up. I eyed the beautiful cover while shelving books one day at the library and pulled it out to read the summary. Bare in mind, I initially thought this book was going to be too much on the ChickLit Genre side for me to fully enjoy. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy a good chicklit every now and then, I just wasn't in the mood for one at the time.

I love the split setting of this book: one part in Ava's work life in L.A and the other in her childhood home life of Glace Bay, Cape Breton. This rural life setting appeals to me when it is portrayed correctly, and Crewe hit the spot perfectly, as I grew up in rural Newfoundland and is all too familiar with the tight net connections that make the community.

From the very beginning, I knew Ava was hiding something and that drove me to read to find out what. I completed the book in two days (I worked 7 hours each day as well), and loved the twist and element of a mysterious dark secret that Crewe wove into the storyline. It kept me wanting and needing to know what the secret was!


Upon borrowing the second book, Crewe blew me away again with her characters and plot twists in Relative Happiness. I was drawn in by the summary on the back of this novel and started reading with glee! Again, a local setting sets it up and I suddenly was working along side Lexie at the local library!

I liked how Crewe portrayed Lexie as a normal woman: frizzy hair, curves, and a strong sense of independence without portraying her as a high power female we see in today's media. I did not see Lexie as a single white female with her job and house, but rather as a regular person - someone that could be my very own neighbour. I love how Lexie dealt with real life situations and their consequences.

Crewe did it again with a nice twist to keep me reading at full speed. There wasn't a big mysterious secret embedded into this novel, but the actual storyline was intriguing enough to me reading at full speed. Needless to say, I was fully satisfied with the ending as I was with Ava.

Have you read any of Lesley Crewe's books? If so, what are your thoughts?