The Charmed Life of Alex Moore - Molly Flatt

I've started listening to audiobooks from BorrowBox and Libby library apps, while on the bus to work. This was my most recent - a very Katieish blending of genres; half contemporary urban fiction, half psychological sci-fi. Six months ago, the titular Alex Moore took the leap from her dreary office job to become a trendy tech entrepreneur. Overnight, she became a brand- new person; braver, more confident, with a purpose - but also colder and weirdly disconnected from everything she was or knew before.

A weird series of events sends Alex to the Orkney Islands to take part in a research project, where she stumbles across huge secrets that have been hidden from the human race since the dawn of time... There was a lot about "Alex Moore" that fascinated me; complex ideas about what shapes our lives"; the lessons we learn, messages we believe and how our experiences dictate the way our personal "story" plays out. Author Molly Flatt asks uncomfortable questions about the rights and wrongs of sacrificing our past to move on from trauma, and how real, how fulfilling that can really be? The plot twists and turns, many unforeseen revelations making brilliant sense in hindsight.

However, I didn't like the ending. The consequences of Alex's final action didn't really make much sense to me, and one relationship took a turn that, though I saw it coming, felt forced and also crossed one of my red lines. Nope.

Also, please note that the unnamed (and fictional) Foyles bookseller who made an appearance early on did not reflect well on my profession. One might forgive her irritating fangirling at meeting a once-renowned author, but please note: no bookseller would ever - EVER - hand someone a book from a display table and tell them to lean on that when writing on a piece of loose paper. Nope nope nope.