A couple of months ago, an email pinged into my inbox, asing me if I'd be able to review some books, that made me smile because it came from Hawaii. This instantly made me think of warm sunshine, deserted beaches, cocktails at sundown and hula-dancing. Yeah, I know, pretty stereotypical !
But that is exactly the Hawaiian dream that Everett Peacock lets his readers buy into. The first book in the series, The Parrot Talks in Chocolate, introduces us to Tiwaka's Tiki Bar, named after Tiwaka the parrot, a rather clever, feathered soothsayer. In return for a chocolate covered Brazil nut, he will answer any question the bar patrons ask him. It could be total coincidence but his enigmatic replies often seem to offer a coherent answer to the questions he is asked.
There's no real plot to talk of - not a great deal happens to be honest, and to begin with, this left me feeling unsatisfied. I wanted a high octane, nail-biting plotline to get my teeth into. But, just as when you go off on a relaxing holiday, it takes a couple of days to get into the right laidback mindset, the book slowly worked its magic on me, making me slow down and just savour the beauty of each individual moment.
I still felt that I was missing out on some action just out of view. It would be like watching an episode of EastEnders focusing exclusively on the Queen Vic - you'd see some colourful characters, some funny moments and some high drama, but ultimately, you'd know that there was more going on outside of those four walls. But - and this is one of the messages of the book - should we even care what is going on elsewhere if we're happy with our lot? Tiwaka's Tiki Bar offers some great music and dancing, friendly bar staff and customers, a ready supply of fresh coconuts for their trademark Coco Moco Loco cocktails and a rather impressive parrot. What else could you want for?
So slow things right down, settle back with a cocktail, catch a few waves, snooze in the hammock next to the banyan tree and just savour what you've got - or live it vicariously through the pages of Everett Peacock's writing ! It's a great book for reading at bedtime when you want to unwind after a stressful day at work.
star rating : 4/5
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.
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