Natasha had a horrible childhood and it only got worse after parents deaths when her stepbrothers came for her. She's finally hid herself from them. When her university gives her the opportunity to go to California and finish college in Santa Barbara, she can't turn it down. It also gives her relief from worrying about her stepbrothers.
When Natasha gets to California, she starts making new friends rapidly. Everyone wants to talk to the British girl. When she meets Tyler, she can't deny the chemistry. Can Natasha overcome her reserve and let herself love?
I have to say that I enjoyed this book. I loved Tyler, Mike, Kirsten, and Natasha. I liked the adventures that they went on together around California. I also liked that Natasha had such good friends after the horrible life she had previously.
On the flip side, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the characters were developed as themselves. I get that the author is British, but no one in California talked like they were from America. Americans don't generally say, "Would you fancy some tea?" "Oh, yes, that would be lovely." At one point Tyler even called his mom "mum". These things are just not common here. BUT if you try to forget that they are in California, it's not a bad book.
Stars- 3
Passion- 1
Length- 279 pages
Hi, thanks for reviewing Elle's book. We are the publishers and British.
ReplyDeleteOne thing puzzles me though. Nobody in the book say "Would you fancy some tea?' Not even people I know would say that.
Tyler calls his mum "Mom." Always. It is Natasha who refers to her as his mum.
The author has lived in America for a short time, she also writes under an American pen name very successfully.
As we are a British press we did get her novel reviewed by several American people. The only thing that was flagged up was the term "Teenage antics". Some say it would be better understood by one generation but not so much by others and was therefore dismissed.
The author uses American expressions throughout and as her editor I've learned a lot when it comes to subtle differences between the two languages. American customs are also explored. I hadn't heard of "tee-peeing" for example, or that a tea towel is a dish towel in America.
Natasha visits many places and famous landmarks referred to like City Lights in San Francisco, with cultural references to deadbeat poets as she is a poet herself.
Many thanks for reviewing Nowhere Left to Hide. I hope you will enjoy her next novel, Lost in Your time, out soon.
Hello,
DeleteThank you for the comment. I have gone back and I admit you are right. The point of reference for Tyler calling his mom "mum" was from Natasha's point of view. Of course, Tyler's mother referred to herself as mum. "Who said being a mum was easy?"
Several times throughout the book "fancy" was used by the American friends. Just one example was Kirsten asking Mike "Do you fancy coming with me?" in reference to seeing Pirates of the Caribbean. Two paragraphs later she uses fancy while talking to Natasha saying "it doesn't matter whether you fancy Johnny Depp or not".
Yes, I do agree that there are some differences and I get that between the British and English languages there are differences in how things are referred, such as the tea towel and dish towel.
Either way, I still enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading more by Ms. Amberley. Again, thank you for your comment.