tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78346270769409839432024-03-05T14:17:30.049+00:00Beadyjans BooksReviews and recommendations of books I've loved.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-81240011383590800692024-02-04T09:58:00.000+00:002024-02-04T09:58:08.777+00:00Estella by Barbara Havelocke<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></p><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Estella by Barbara Havelocke</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K_ksy7HtFpAd5cRVHikmPt6UWoo9WVlFCbINkWPWRrMgMS5Dc07yOexVrTJAKsJgUKlptqDXvkZSyF6VvvMOQwbo5VXe-jrz5zZQAc2yUHp_a4hLQDyXLwnqWfHVYx92oIgI8PWSCAIl1EvlKjsNwEbLm5jsV1cmNdMKOWX0a03IxXmc5Hd22i9nN0M/s500/203351234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K_ksy7HtFpAd5cRVHikmPt6UWoo9WVlFCbINkWPWRrMgMS5Dc07yOexVrTJAKsJgUKlptqDXvkZSyF6VvvMOQwbo5VXe-jrz5zZQAc2yUHp_a4hLQDyXLwnqWfHVYx92oIgI8PWSCAIl1EvlKjsNwEbLm5jsV1cmNdMKOWX0a03IxXmc5Hd22i9nN0M/s320/203351234.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Description.</span></h4><div><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">You know Miss Havisham.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The world's most famous jilted bride.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This is her daughter’s story.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">She knows she doesn’t feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Should she embrace the darkness within her and exact her revenge?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>A stunningly original, gripping Gothic read, perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Madeline Miller and Jessie Burton</i></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My Thoughts</span></h4><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wow! What a wonderful compliment to Great Expectations this book is.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I must admit I went into it with a touch of trepidation, as Great Expectations is my favourite Dickens work and I didn't want it sullied in any way. Well I needn't have worried. The author, new to historical fiction, is a pen name for an already hugely popular psychological thriller writer whose works I have already loved, and this new book is their equal.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tense and twisty this is the story of Estella, the story of Great Expectations, but told from the young womans perspective and very effectively.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unsurprisingly, having grown up as the ward of the strange and twisted Miss Havisham, Estella is a little bitter herself. What she has been told about men by her jilted and embittered adoptive Mother, is reinforced by her dealings with men and she grows more and more vengeful and vindictive throughout the book which is told in two timelines, then and now.<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Splendidly complex, the author takes already formed characters and really gets inside their psyche, creating and riveting and satisfying read.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I do hope we see more of this kind of historical novel from Barbara Havelocke, and I eagerly await her next book</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-82303192181391434112024-01-08T10:07:00.001+00:002024-01-08T10:07:16.238+00:00Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJ1BlO7wiKIF_i2j2akbhdLrYImfnWrKLoJiNfEsrtRmswPzTN-g7NMaV5UMcDRdrJbdgG4E6TnllZv4xzigIhoQSkAjhlhvYcldgWOize7njbPRk-XY1BjwzUyE4Wxd2ZBj1KyRUVxuWa7P7Is6eonZ89pNt29Uq8rk2ln4OSw9bRvfoBRg55LzB5Sw/s2507/134979103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2507" data-original-width="1612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJ1BlO7wiKIF_i2j2akbhdLrYImfnWrKLoJiNfEsrtRmswPzTN-g7NMaV5UMcDRdrJbdgG4E6TnllZv4xzigIhoQSkAjhlhvYcldgWOize7njbPRk-XY1BjwzUyE4Wxd2ZBj1KyRUVxuWa7P7Is6eonZ89pNt29Uq8rk2ln4OSw9bRvfoBRg55LzB5Sw/s320/134979103.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My thoughts:</span></h4><p><span style="font-family: arial;">OH WOW! This is the book I've been waiting for for many years. It's sure to be a huge success. From the first few sentences to the very last word, it is both written and reading perfection. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Magical. Easily as wonderful as Philip Pullmans [book:Northern Lights|70947] it's Narnia for todays reader. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Perfect for all ages 9 - 99. The story of Christopher, a normal boy from a normal world who enters the magic world of impossible creatures and meets a very special girl called Mal who can fly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Peopled with wondrous creatures many of whom are a little familiar to anyone who has read myth or fairy tales or fantasy. Of course there are Unicorns, dragons (LOVED Jac) an absolutely adorable baby griffin who nibbled a bit of my heart away. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet there are many many more fantastic creatures, superb characters and a brilliant story. All written in a way that swept me away without any superfluous, or complicated plot to confuse and spare yet precise writing which is just magnificent. Am I overdoing the superlatives? No I don't think so, this, without doubt is THE most magical book I have read in the past couple of decades.</span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Blurb</span></h4><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It was a very fine day, until something tried to eat him.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A boy called Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he witnesses an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how Christopher learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and a place called the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Then a girl, Mal, appears in Christopher’s world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth—with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds. Together the two must face the problem of power, and of knowledge, and of what love demands of us.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-54305224017672597382023-12-23T10:01:00.001+00:002023-12-23T10:01:25.255+00:00My top reads of 2023<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">I usually make a top ten list of my most favourite brilliant books of the year but am sad to report that too few of the books I have read this year could be classed as brilliant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So heres my top 5 I hope you find something you like amongst them</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYG5mOpWxoC937bRijSH9eDF4UQoEcvcl8eMUusKHpmxZqEMQhW0-fR-WuHnXTMjn7NmytF_fne0vj2xaFNQt66v6JRyi_r9OJeWRWPtYv9LMHDTRZ1B9VQYGJ_u2Py5HDQR_M9C2hXWAxqyvoeJecXo4XrTVOF6h3wcJxZY4nbUyXBPLFstIPfjpdsDU/s2560/156480764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYG5mOpWxoC937bRijSH9eDF4UQoEcvcl8eMUusKHpmxZqEMQhW0-fR-WuHnXTMjn7NmytF_fne0vj2xaFNQt66v6JRyi_r9OJeWRWPtYv9LMHDTRZ1B9VQYGJ_u2Py5HDQR_M9C2hXWAxqyvoeJecXo4XrTVOF6h3wcJxZY4nbUyXBPLFstIPfjpdsDU/s320/156480764.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156480764-the-book-of-doors" target="_blank">The Book of Doors</a> - Gareth Brown</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Due for publication in February this book is sure to go down a storm.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My review:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">A fabulous read for booklovers who enjoy an imaginative fantasy novel with engaging characters.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">The main protagonist Cassie, works in a bookshop, in New York. She doesn't have a great social life nor many friends, though her room mate Izzy is her best pal despite being very dissimilar in nature, loud and gregarious to Cassies quiet solitude.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Cassie is still grieving the loss of her beloved Grandfather, whom she feels she let down when he died, years earlier. So it's hardly surprising she is happy to spend time chatting with another elderly man, a customer in her workplace, and saddened when he also dies suddenly. What she doesn't expect is for him to leave her a parting gift. A small rather shabby, yet mysterious little book called the Book of Doors.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">It turns out to have some very strange properties, magical abilities, which allow the holder to open doors to ... anywhere. Wow! What a gift. But as Cassie learns how to travel the world in moments, she drags an unwilling Izzy along for the ride and what seems like a dream come true soon becomes a nightmare for both women.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">It's a roller coaster ride of huge imagination, eerie and magical and mind blowingly inventive. Yet, despite quite a lot of violence and sorrow, it never becomes too heavy and it's always pretty easy to follow, it fired all my synapses but didn't over tax my brain. Great to curl up on a cozy sofa with.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">A perfect escape from the everyday and although everything ties up nicely there is a huge promise of a sequel or even a series, which having loved this I can't wait to be able to dive into.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45894062-the-wall" target="_blank">The Wall</a> by John Lanchester</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1-2OiaPREG6H2IuLVm1Pi2q1ojyARzHUXUgWcIdducP7GGw20LircigEkkfgk1OK7-R0mvF7gjsi4HIdAVDtpVZzYFyC3VGUBSs4UhJ6s_PWePwbdQeNPFEAdO6ManoH7gfFQNo7h1TD9vakXoJV39jy4yFtUKUmyiEY9fsArAFIgC7m6RF2mlGVQ24/s1200/45894062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="801" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1-2OiaPREG6H2IuLVm1Pi2q1ojyARzHUXUgWcIdducP7GGw20LircigEkkfgk1OK7-R0mvF7gjsi4HIdAVDtpVZzYFyC3VGUBSs4UhJ6s_PWePwbdQeNPFEAdO6ManoH7gfFQNo7h1TD9vakXoJV39jy4yFtUKUmyiEY9fsArAFIgC7m6RF2mlGVQ24/s320/45894062.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Thoroughly enjoyed this book, read it after hearing Josie Long recommend it in passing on House of Games. It was a fantastic book and I hope there is a sequel at some point as it ended at a point where I'm itching to know more!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It's a dystopian novel following a climate disaster, where an island nation bearing a strong resemblance to the Uk has built a wall surrounding the coastline to keep out unwelcome immigrants. The protagonist is a defender of the wall. It's gripping and page turning and I highly recommend it.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122758699-october-in-the-earth" target="_blank">October in the Earth</a> by Olivia Hawker</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPSvSnGCB37c-62anesj_dRlK_tinF7HPGYzonkaJLHOsDZd_K2JJtbD-QLDPNIb4Ybir9cqqFlU8C_6d1pdGh54hSF13UQKSudB_bd-3QwKJ2UvNzhixPD1z8eWjB1pOvnYKflsk1C3lR5DClKil4UKlBTGCrNjp1zLsO-GL8B1tYxt7YE-VbhYwrv4/s346/122758699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPSvSnGCB37c-62anesj_dRlK_tinF7HPGYzonkaJLHOsDZd_K2JJtbD-QLDPNIb4Ybir9cqqFlU8C_6d1pdGh54hSF13UQKSudB_bd-3QwKJ2UvNzhixPD1z8eWjB1pOvnYKflsk1C3lR5DClKil4UKlBTGCrNjp1zLsO-GL8B1tYxt7YE-VbhYwrv4/s320/122758699.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p><br /></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Wonderful storytelling. Heartbreaking and easy to read. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Set in depression era USA, we rode the freight rails with a pair of female hobos I fell in love with. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Del leaves her cheating hell fire preacher husband and takes to the rails where she meets up with experienced hobo Luoisa who is travelling to earn money wherever she can to send back home to feed and keep her beloved son.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">About womens oppression and bonds of loyalty, friendship, love and self discovery. Just perfect reading.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;">Also read and loved <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59490731-the-fire-and-the-ore" target="_blank">The Fire and the Ore</a> by the same reader<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58244586-lucky-red" target="_blank">Lucky Red</a> by Claudia Cravens</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqnpySe81EzsJT8VQvWhrsRYzsZbywT-do5Fk-2g7p6Uh4XoJ8Bz-6qWmEr8qDuD6B_5BQsRucRal_56gZrVIpnJb_GoCjXuvlfC66JHhyphenhyphenHGXGuHHoGJwKBObc5JF3IS4dscyGaqXq-U8p9LQebQG9EgWdPFkJU_5yYsBaOR1i5VEyW97EDp1pyLKqY8/s838/58244586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqnpySe81EzsJT8VQvWhrsRYzsZbywT-do5Fk-2g7p6Uh4XoJ8Bz-6qWmEr8qDuD6B_5BQsRucRal_56gZrVIpnJb_GoCjXuvlfC66JHhyphenhyphenHGXGuHHoGJwKBObc5JF3IS4dscyGaqXq-U8p9LQebQG9EgWdPFkJU_5yYsBaOR1i5VEyW97EDp1pyLKqY8/s320/58244586.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">WOW!! What a fantastic, fabulous book. Undoubtedly one of my top reads of 2023.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So much more than I hoped for. Beautifully written, the story of young Red-haired orphan Bridget flows like the wind on the prairie, from page one. Following her as she deals with her feckless Fathers sudden death, as they are both remdered homeless by his reckless, speculative approach to life.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Alone the teenager sets off across the vast prairie, until she reaches the town of Dodge, where she settles and is soon recruited to work at the only female owned brothel in this dusty prairie town. In her new life as a whore she finds friendship, acceptance and even unexpected love. But her life is blighted and her poor upbringing has tainted her with her Pa's tendency to make poor decisions and she makes a poor choice once too often almost leading to utter disaster for the girls of the Queen</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Its undoubtedly a feminist take on the traditional Western but that doesn't make it any less atmospheric or utterly believable.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Brimful of wonderful, complex, often flawed characters. Choc a block with action and passion. It never felt exaggerated or over the top, and I LOVED every god darn minute of it and I really hope the author does the decent thing and writes a follow up.</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784549-in-the-lives-of-puppets" target="_blank">In the Lives of Puppets</a> by T J Klune</span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKeX7GbM29j_RHOkfbnIF_OKei8ovB9kU5WVqQTANk32pHgJp5DrvlfM8BDgVx4RGGPUQKtdixVvWr_mD4KJniRiP6OmJURV9Ecuzvo3tlV9wMaVwd6qdofxMJeDei-wKTt1wAGEnMJQsW9LulmsPwB4GnJTqbSyr6vuHd0u-BJ3EU_G_kaLGQ3TqXeY/s1500/60784549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="965" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKeX7GbM29j_RHOkfbnIF_OKei8ovB9kU5WVqQTANk32pHgJp5DrvlfM8BDgVx4RGGPUQKtdixVvWr_mD4KJniRiP6OmJURV9Ecuzvo3tlV9wMaVwd6qdofxMJeDei-wKTt1wAGEnMJQsW9LulmsPwB4GnJTqbSyr6vuHd0u-BJ3EU_G_kaLGQ3TqXeY/s320/60784549.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Ohhhh, WOW. This book sounds pretty bonkers but it's ... just. blooming. fabulous.</span><p></p><p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Adorable characters on a wondrous quest. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Description compares it to Pinocchio and indeed it features quotes from Pinocchio at each chapter. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I would draw a strong parallel with the wizard of Oz and Frankenstein especially seeing the protagonist is even called Victor.</span></p><p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I loved it. Especially nurse Ratched.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-79721009861582655932022-08-09T11:29:00.003+01:002022-08-09T11:31:44.757+01:00Where the Magic is Giselle Green<p>My Review</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8Ii54l5xHhMAU4PByGJToontHOLZSSUGKVtFEWEgxWXEoh18i1dyBAanKDbMFZkiJtDv96RrAGlndUVAWGIalP5zDfMKbxRUsvh_6xDylQka8ollUCGn4siKLuRCzP_SkW2SvXDX7n4rhynFvhCOeKNsI1pEqIIBKYXbZlMMDDyf0YRf8SkV3K7f/s475/61345619._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8Ii54l5xHhMAU4PByGJToontHOLZSSUGKVtFEWEgxWXEoh18i1dyBAanKDbMFZkiJtDv96RrAGlndUVAWGIalP5zDfMKbxRUsvh_6xDylQka8ollUCGn4siKLuRCzP_SkW2SvXDX7n4rhynFvhCOeKNsI1pEqIIBKYXbZlMMDDyf0YRf8SkV3K7f/s320/61345619._SY475_.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> I have to confess I deliberately chose to read this on my holiday as you just can't beat a good romance when reading on the beach. It didn't disappoint, in the romantic stakes as its unashamedly a love story. With a real handsome hunk Cal, ex military Scotsman, male escort and accidental tour guide. There are Sophia and teenage daughter Ida, travelling from their home in Rio de Janeiro to the UK for a medical trip to try and save Ida's failing eyesight prior to Sophias impending marriage to a wealthy businessman.</p><p>These unlikely comapnions end up touring Scotland together and its really not surprising when a romance developes between Sophia and Cal.</p><p>What is surprising is the depth of descriptiveness of the places they visit, making it feel like I was on the trip with them. and the breadth of the story which is deliciously multi-layered and rich. With just a touch of magic but not enough to make it a fairytale.</p><p>All in all a fabulous holiday read for anyone who loves a romance with realistic characters you can warm to and grow involved with</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-21739405511294539582022-01-24T09:00:00.002+00:002022-01-24T09:06:22.906+00:00Review: The Mercies Kiran Millwood Hargrave<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46138193"><br />The Mercies</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5868487">Kiran Millwood Hargrave</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4477482857">5 of 5 stars</a><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpmT8hl5TxvTn3THnGpLZKNKpNFbNIM5_UCQWvWOP22uxtI7QmlxKmZ8FsSOZfOw4MFbriH5peSQ277zDJxO-XzV8VWdwO-be93Mu4M8Vbn2hk5asfEXHg4IqN5ajAijAO7E6Is2rLBuFmn7jQwG3fb1Om4_p3Xe502bYGnCiNQv2EPGzI7Hp5ODDq=s400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpmT8hl5TxvTn3THnGpLZKNKpNFbNIM5_UCQWvWOP22uxtI7QmlxKmZ8FsSOZfOw4MFbriH5peSQ277zDJxO-XzV8VWdwO-be93Mu4M8Vbn2hk5asfEXHg4IqN5ajAijAO7E6Is2rLBuFmn7jQwG3fb1Om4_p3Xe502bYGnCiNQv2EPGzI7Hp5ODDq=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Blurb</span></div><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">After a storm has killed off all the island's men, two women in a 1600s Norwegian coastal village struggle to survive against both natural forces and the men who have been sent to rid the community of alleged witchcraft.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Bergensdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Northern town of Vardø must fend for themselves.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Three years later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband's authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God and flooded with a mighty evil.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As Maren and Ursa are pushed together and are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them with Absalom's iron rule threatening Vardø's very existence.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br /><b>My Thoughts</b></div><div><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Inspired by the events of the Vardø storm and the 1620 witch trials, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Mercies</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> is a feminist story of love, evil, and obsession, set in a remote fishing community</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Really glad I gave this book a second try after giving up on it the first time I started it. It turned out to be a wonderful yet horrific story about Witchcraft trials in Scandinavia the 1600s, a story about women, hidden love and the utter hideousness of some men. Loved it and its one of those books which leaves me thinking what the heck can read after this?</span><br /><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4477482857">View all my review</a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-49120876717636095662022-01-17T09:17:00.002+00:002022-01-17T09:17:52.062+00:00The Maid by Nita Prose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0BW7dcLwRVhRApx4G0Feas2U_nuEOJUnriohlHlqV9CUj-ZhO9gLrmA29YQVZYtOxYWzd5nFgAkGBL6B2X9bAUlMPK4dlBYMiRiALVmDKmYjfzyfZsGb4NC-wVx2Kz3AWC1DqVijGCivuyIHrFkn4qWJdYxD7OqQeTDXHjO6OOubrLziyL-IbfMyL=s475" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0BW7dcLwRVhRApx4G0Feas2U_nuEOJUnriohlHlqV9CUj-ZhO9gLrmA29YQVZYtOxYWzd5nFgAkGBL6B2X9bAUlMPK4dlBYMiRiALVmDKmYjfzyfZsGb4NC-wVx2Kz3AWC1DqVijGCivuyIHrFkn4qWJdYxD7OqQeTDXHjO6OOubrLziyL-IbfMyL=w264-h400" width="264" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The Blurb</b></p><p><i>Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.</i></p><p><i>Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.</i></p><p><i>But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?</i></p><p><b>My Thoughts</b></p><p>I enjoyed this quirky book, which turned out to be more of a cozy mystery than I am totally comfortable with. Molly is the lynchpin of the story and is rather an enigma, at most times seeming completely lacking in social skills making me feel that she may have downs syndrome or a learning disability. Then she surprised me by being able to cope with demanding situations with much more aplomb than I was led to believe she would be capable of proving to be quite astute and leaving me feeling a little misled and confused about her.</p><p>Living alone in a rather seedy apartment since her beloved Gran died, Molly takes immense pride in her job as a maid in a Lavish hotel.</p><p>She has great difficult in judging peoples intentions and reading body language and expressions which has led her to trust the wrong people, repeatedly.</p><p>After she goes into a hotel room to clean it and finding a dead body, her carefully organised and sterile existence begins to unravel at an alarming pace and then she discovers who she can really rely on.</p><p>A nicely paced and intriguing novel with heart and warmth, coupled with crime and nefarious goings on. Molly was a character I was rooting for yet found somewhat difficult to fully believe in.</p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-54837405550285942802021-12-06T10:58:00.002+00:002021-12-06T10:58:18.368+00:00The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> The Clockwork Girl - Anna Mazzola</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71dvzI6BFNpzDRcZcrEdBp7WOq6vPihdPieyW41Tzt2kdQUP25q84vf8uxXDMzmj3McONOld9BNscg74-e-ItuUZKwwLCNhzyxreVPyUxHIa3KnJGPeH3edl05IKM9mcwdIAwIut_Jmo/s390/cover240175-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71dvzI6BFNpzDRcZcrEdBp7WOq6vPihdPieyW41Tzt2kdQUP25q84vf8uxXDMzmj3McONOld9BNscg74-e-ItuUZKwwLCNhzyxreVPyUxHIa3KnJGPeH3edl05IKM9mcwdIAwIut_Jmo/w261-h400/cover240175-medium.png" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; word-break: normal;"><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;"><b>My Review</b></pre><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;">The new book from the author of the Unseeing.</pre><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;">A hugely atmospheric, imaginative historical drama/mystery. Set in 18th century Paris, this made a refreshing change from the locations I am more used to reading about, and what a Paris! A stinking, festering wound of a city plastered over with perfume and lace. As well as the sewage, the corruption runs deep.
Madeleine is desperate to escape from the clutches of her unscrupulous Mother, cruel and uncaring she is the owner of a seedy brothel., where Madou lives and has worked.
She is coerced by a shady police officer to do some spying, taking up a position as a servant in the household of a clockwork designer who is suspected of being up to something shady . Working partly as a maid of all work, she is also asked to be a maid/companion to his daughter who has until recently been closeted away in a nunnery.
In this household strange and fantastical mechanical clockwork objects are created which seem to have a life of their own, outside in the suppurating streets, children are disappearing and Madeleine fears for her young nephew Emile, who is the one person she really cares about.
When the household become unwittingly embroiled in Court life, things get even more fraught and increasingly dangerous.
I was captivated by the story and characters and there is quite a delicious twist, which surprised and gripped me. I really cared about Madeleine yet found many of the despicable characters utterly loathsome. Eerie and mysterious this is a great read.</pre><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></pre><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;"><b>The Blurb</b></pre><pre class="display" id="review-display" style="border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: normal;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; font-weight: bolder; white-space: normal;">Paris, 1750.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;">In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city's celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;">Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker's experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;">For as children quietly vanish from the Parisian streets, rumours are swirling that the clockmaker's intricate mechanical creations, bejewelled birds and silver spiders, are more than they seem.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;">And soon Madeleine fears that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might reach to the very heart of Versailles...</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; font-weight: bolder; white-space: normal;">A intoxicating story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom.</span></pre></pre>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-22328118688577683152021-08-05T19:18:00.001+01:002021-08-05T19:18:56.776+01:00Review: The Whistling
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57203848" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624970510l/57203848._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Whistling" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57203848">The Whistling</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21222675">Rebecca Netley</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4135818687">4 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
Pretty good gothic ghost story about a young woman running from her past who goes to a remote Island to be a nanny to a young selectively mute girl. It has well drawn characters and is satisfactorily puzzling and spooky. For fans of Laura Purcell.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4135818687">View all my reviews</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-50678949288589086862021-08-05T18:15:00.001+01:002021-08-05T18:15:01.522+01:00Review: Boy's Life
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36505403" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509393911l/36505403._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Boy's Life" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36505403">Boy's Life</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5244478">Robert R. McCammon</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4060142901">5 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
Really enjoyed this though one bit broke my heart in pieces and others made me laugh overall its a rather dark coming of age story.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4060142901">View all my reviews</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-80524286686930246032021-08-05T18:07:00.006+01:002021-08-05T18:11:28.698+01:00The Hollows by Mark Edwards<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Hollows by Mark Edwards</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuYqS2yAdnL4ZnOSUwsIqev8CAZuYnftvxR3BV9vvKtz0Q4KIf1yK-cdzBl6BKt-TElC67cKfpqX-jbVThstcaNai75bTn4q0bartw6fuA9Q3sy6hzlcZZ4w2txCDfuo1WyicBsK_Qys/s346/55935696.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuYqS2yAdnL4ZnOSUwsIqev8CAZuYnftvxR3BV9vvKtz0Q4KIf1yK-cdzBl6BKt-TElC67cKfpqX-jbVThstcaNai75bTn4q0bartw6fuA9Q3sy6hzlcZZ4w2txCDfuo1WyicBsK_Qys/w266-h400/55935696.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Hollows by Mark Edwards</h3><p>Description from Goodreads:</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">From the bestselling author of The House Guest comes a chilling story set deep in the woods…</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">With his marriage over and his career in freefall, journalist Tom decides to reconnect with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Frankie. Desperate to spend precious time together now that they live an ocean apart, he brings her to Hollow Falls, a cabin resort deep in the woods of Maine.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">From the outset there’s something a little eerie about the place—strange whispers in the trees, windchimes echoing through the forest—but when Tom meets true-crime podcasters David and Connie, he receives a chilling warning. Hollow Falls has a gruesome history: twenty years ago this week, a double slaying shut down the resort. The crime was never solved, and now the woods are overrun with murder-obsessed tourists looking to mark the grim anniversary.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It’s clear that there’s something deeply disturbing going on at Hollow Falls. And as Tom’s dream trip turns into a nightmare, he and Frankie are faced with a choice: uncover the truth, or get out while they still can.</span></p><p>My thoughts</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Mark Edwards does it again, gripping and twisty as always, this is an unusual and frightening.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Reminiscent of the six stories series by Matt Wesolowski this is the story of a father on holiday trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter in an eerie location in America where once a terrible murder took place which has left ripples of horror in the beautiful woods and the nearby run down small town. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Spooky and delightfully twisty its a taut and tense great beach read.</span></p><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-10723447897419573402021-02-24T09:33:00.005+00:002021-02-24T09:33:52.801+00:00The Girl in the missing poster by Barbara Copperthwaite<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Girl in the missing poster by Barbara Copperthwaite</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today is publication day for the wonderful new thriller by Barbara Copperthwaite entitled The Girl in The Missing Poster.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHLQYaG3nFCV6zBF2I2Gmub0lEqITx1IdFmdUcexczvoc8LVmBqD_etUe-a3WNR3g4vhoEgCyOiVCQ2FGoh-oewwtaRM1XwK_Xq2ORmKGcsfm6aN5BODcaxyjqWe46EY5lTrAr-5_dwc/s475/56097187._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHLQYaG3nFCV6zBF2I2Gmub0lEqITx1IdFmdUcexczvoc8LVmBqD_etUe-a3WNR3g4vhoEgCyOiVCQ2FGoh-oewwtaRM1XwK_Xq2ORmKGcsfm6aN5BODcaxyjqWe46EY5lTrAr-5_dwc/w412-h640/56097187._SY475_.jpg" width="412" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My Review</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">Blooming fantastic read. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">This Author never fails to grip me and keep me entertained throughout her superb twisty psychological chillers. This is a kind of who-dunnit with a difference and some really great characters.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">The main protagonist is Stella, a middle aged single women who is a dog behaviourist, and has some of the best doggy characters I've met in a book. She has spent most of her adult life trying to find out what happened to her twin sister Leila, who disappeared when they were both young women and she has spent the last 25 years, wondering and thinking about what could have happened.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">She distributes missing posters on her annual pilgrimage to her missing sister, this year she is given a glimmer of hope as a podcast production company contacts her as attractive and enigmatic Euan proposes a documentary to revive flagging interest in this cold case.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">What follows is a cat and mouse chase where you never know who to trust and I kept changing my mind about who are the main suspects, theres a budding romance, dogs everywhere and lots of unexpected twists before it gains momentum to reveal the fate of the missing girl and finishes in a crescendo of horror and fear.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">Original, compelling and riveting, The Girl in the Missing Poster is one hell of a roller coaster ride.</span></span></p><p>Buying links:</p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F37bi1UJ%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2DtBjUyb7rdUcBtIQ_KapRvv3ZDsHni0_nwOiqoXbW3Hjtz9gM7P85wjs&h=AT3qRk4HHo8s3IzgPt8-myetSTmKc0UQ2V3oeyijTRNSJwGuJQe_n3RHUbMVPl0wKZYBQn8cfwbIhsd9cS9ahzkp1DOJrJyKptV1FZHgYHXbjRdsM1PqSgiERmeqnDndmL6kF_yHhkEQ82Xo2w&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3cwjZ313J4VJBv4Y6icBCpZ7jLfHnAEYh_VwEdxpcR-bpn86AldwRZFtHER0VjiSJy54JRHgyQZ2ZGzTLY0X58920-NuevYfuKiwsZ5incCfsDu8PVfHLFDgLGEhbQ20N8AncsX4afEwTJuf0AhsGWmLKbyeYoaRAo6gnSytYSVtvclNEro0U" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/37bi1UJ</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://apple.co/39ycwCv?fbclid=IwAR2kBBKJinXqF_akaI5JxCBFIdP7Taqx8ATlZix47Pj5P_j_jCFxR9RI358" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://apple.co/39ycwCv</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kobo: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://bit.ly/3mdTSDi?fbclid=IwAR2yTOuBBGSTsv1GyTdJ9VJ0pdpyfl9TnX82YplO8tr08bsUnlT2K2W_FKI" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/3mdTSDi</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="http://ow.ly/Vgnn50CxPSB?fbclid=IwAR2gTi-fQ7Nd_tHdvMQ6d2p1zxp4K6QsE3MaykjrZwMgBsHy2_BbYmjbyTY" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">http://ow.ly/Vgnn50CxPSB</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barnes & Noble: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2F1aq9avuc%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0IdpcE182jxcK9Ceb7cYjbBGTcvrIBKlWCPWFUJ6s7UBsAUqB3Ul4lmPc&h=AT0LZTXPzbhiJqCbKpaG41dwuUcdFT6ukt_CJDOMjxPsMSin4BBFtCAaMt38qWmTj9U2nikBqC5UrDMIWYMno1ce28SfDsP_27vc34tacONOThSKpHTpHtoXxCFyBKQi5htiwjyg9hpqq5WHDg&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3cwjZ313J4VJBv4Y6icBCpZ7jLfHnAEYh_VwEdxpcR-bpn86AldwRZFtHER0VjiSJy54JRHgyQZ2ZGzTLY0X58920-NuevYfuKiwsZ5incCfsDu8PVfHLFDgLGEhbQ20N8AncsX4afEwTJuf0AhsGWmLKbyeYoaRAo6gnSytYSVtvclNEro0U" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/1aq9avuc</a></span> </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audible: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://tinyurl.com/34s6c55j?fbclid=IwAR2dAS6wndraNsuLeaRt6ov_RG3h8ENDYMtgJilAnIg-kvPcPq70nBjsJkM" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/34s6c55j</a></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;"><i>The Blurb</i></span></span></h4><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>24 June, 1994 – Nineteen-year-old Leila Hawkins runs from her father’s birthday party into the stormy night wearing her sister Stella’s long red coat. Some say she was crying, others swear they saw her get into a passing car. Nobody ever saw her again</i></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>Present – This time every year, on the anniversary of that fateful night, Stella decorates the small seaside town she grew up in with pictures of her beautiful missing sister. But after twenty-five years, is it even worth hoping someone will come forward? Perhaps the upcoming documentary will spark people’s memories by reuniting all the guests who were there the night Leila went missing.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><i>As old friends gather and long-buried secrets begin to surface, the last thing Stella ever expects is a direct response from someone claiming they took Leila. They want private details of Stella’s life in return for answers. But as the true events of the night of the party play out once again, who is lying? And who is next?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #181818; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><i>From the bestselling author of The Perfect Friend, this absolutely gripping psychological thriller will keep you up all night and leave you sleeping with the light on. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you! </i></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-213607040289730152021-02-21T10:58:00.007+00:002021-02-21T10:58:43.341+00:00Review - The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward - Mind blowing<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward</span></h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UUjPCIbgdfB8kQL7yKqEzFK4g0u_95JyepAtcpJYZnVrazbxZm4kbh2TzyhHE4gmCOx110LXzQWnT41MaJqNmHtDLWDcS2-dTr1QMrx_NZw6Ov0wJMgOF-nAkcwvL46PtGf5CYStLho/s475/54621094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UUjPCIbgdfB8kQL7yKqEzFK4g0u_95JyepAtcpJYZnVrazbxZm4kbh2TzyhHE4gmCOx110LXzQWnT41MaJqNmHtDLWDcS2-dTr1QMrx_NZw6Ov0wJMgOF-nAkcwvL46PtGf5CYStLho/w416-h640/54621094.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My thoughts</span></h4><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">OMG, this book blew my mind. At many points, especially in the first half I thought what the hell am I reading? So many times I wondered if it was worth sticking with as it was so terribly confusing and strange. There are inconsistencies and utterly bizarre, eerie things going on, yet believe me it does all fall into place, eventually. It is eerie and creepy and worrying and absolutely wonderful. Part who-dunnit mystery, we know right from the beginning about the popsicle girl, a little girl who went missing years earlier, a horror story and a psychological tour de force.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, there is a strange boarded up house at the end of a dead end street which leads only to a deep forest and particularly the first part of the book has nuances of The Ocean at the end of the lane The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The main character, Ted, is the most enigmatic character I have read about in ages, his daughter Lauren is one of the strangest and angriest girls, Olivia the cat, well, I adored her and I'm not quite sure what it says about me when I say I wish I had an Olivia of my own. She talks, by the way (and can read!) but please don't let the WTFness of this put you off, she is wonderful and pivotal to the whole story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There's also Dee, sister of the missing girl, seeking revenge and desperate to discover someone's door to lay blame at. Even the secondary characters are mysterious and strange, the orange haired man with his noisy brouhaha dog, the dachshund/chihuahua/terrier woman, and the green boys - who ARE they? The story which eventually emerges is teeth grindingly gasp out loud horrific, yet ultimately immensely satisfying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The writing is wonderful, everything is off-kilter and menacing, and I found by the latter third through to the end I felt genuinely disturbed and very anguished. I fell asleep crying and woke with tears still spilling from my eyes. Don't be put off by any hype as this is sure to be a much talked about book even though you really can't say too much, for fear of giving anything away.</span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Blurb</i></span></h4><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. That's where you're wrong.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it's not what you think...</span></i></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My Copy was from Netgalley. It's due out in March 2021 - join the queue.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-3804801486420193422021-01-26T09:46:00.003+00:002021-01-26T09:46:28.218+00:00The Prophet by Martine Bailey an intriguing historical mystery<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Prophet by Martine Bailey</span></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YvHEQ_6HQyRQfPgJDvbiVFRBsqEligRoaXJMTJUMaB3C34iuHezHiRqEZI8bzGCt5lfST-YG4Xog36ZKfJzN8EaIDDVpB7ycx_DSd9mr2e3NO2QjiX3BQSm1VeffyBtEA6Qz3OnjMb0/s400/55574080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="257" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YvHEQ_6HQyRQfPgJDvbiVFRBsqEligRoaXJMTJUMaB3C34iuHezHiRqEZI8bzGCt5lfST-YG4Xog36ZKfJzN8EaIDDVpB7ycx_DSd9mr2e3NO2QjiX3BQSm1VeffyBtEA6Qz3OnjMb0/w413-h640/55574080.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This delightful, intriguing historical thriller is a sequel to the wonderful book The Almanack which I also read and loved. Our protagonist Tabitha is now married and her life is considerably better than her previous days, when she struggled to make ends meet and had a rather risque occupation. As the pregnant wife of nobleman, Nat de Vallory, living in his family home, a huge estate in a forest she is attended by maids and her former friend Jennet. But scandal and deceit are about to surround the young couple when a family pet disappears, a woman is found brutally murdered in the forest and a religious cult with an enigmatic preacher at their helm sets up camp nearby. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The atmosphere of the mid 18th century is entrancingly illustrated and steeped in folklore and superstition of the era which helped me take a step back into the past. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Tabitha's new found peace of mind is soon shattered, as lies, deceit and mystery threaten the newlyweds lives. As midsummer approaches, folklore and myth combine with betrayal and deception. What seems at first to be a bucolic tale begins to tighten as suspicion builds sinuously and I began to mistrust everyone. The author is adept at dropping little red herrings all around the forest where they nestle amidst the leaf litter to emerge mystifyingly when I least expected it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This ravishing read is atmospheric and exciting, the perfect escape from modern day life.</span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Blurb</span></h4><div><p class="yiv2071764977ydp774cd17fMsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "lucida console", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Destiny, prophecy and murder weave an intricate web in this beguiling historical mystery. Could a dark prophecy spell danger for Tabitha De Vallory and her unborn child?</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="yiv2071764977ydp774cd17fMsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "lucida console", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cheshire. May Day, 1753.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Tabitha De Vallory believes her life is perfect: she has an imposing home with all the comforts she has ever desired, and is expecting her first child with doting husband Nat. But Tabitha's happiness is shaken when a girl is slaughtered beneath the Mondrem Oak on the family's forest estate. Recognizing the victim from her former scandalous life, Tabitha vows to find the killer.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="yiv2071764977ydp774cd17fMsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "lucida console", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nearby, enigmatic Baptist Gunn and his followers are convinced that a second messiah will be born, amid blood and strife, close to the oak on Midsummer's Day. Could the girl's murder be linked to Gunn's cryptic prophecy? Do his wild claims of a second saviour spell danger for Tabitha and her unborn child?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="yiv2071764977ydp774cd17fMsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "lucida console", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As Midsummer's Day draws closer, Tabitha soon learns the destiny that threatens her and those she holds most dear...</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="yiv2071764977ydp774cd17fMsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "lucida console", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Beautifully crafted and alluring, full of dark deception, intrigue and terrifying foreboding, THE PROPHET is perfect for fans of THE MINIATURIST by JESSIE BURTON and SARAH DUNANT</span></b></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-44230412809038465752020-12-23T10:17:00.008+00:002020-12-23T14:05:31.240+00:002020 and all that and my top ten books.<span style="font-family: arial;">2020 has been crap! I don't think anyone will deny this. With the pandemic raging and fears of catching a deadly disease combined with having been furloughed from work since May with a brief return for a few days here and there has taken its toll on my mental health. </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Fearing redundancy at the age of 64, when this time last year I was rejoicing at having finally found the perfect job following over 40 years of lurching from boring job to horrible working conditions, doesn't make for the best frame of mind to read and review despite the extra hours I've had on my hands. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I have and still do find it much harder to concentrate on a book and even more difficult to sum it up coherently at the end. </span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Having said that I still compiled a top ten favourite reads this year. Click on any title to read my full review.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In no particular order they are:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My surprise best read was <a href="https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-grapes-of-wrath-john-steinbeck.html">The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck</a></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8S8oJhjoE0f1YVIDLDd4vZe2Zd7Izg2yHhqhaBmAHRBlt956xHis6pOEHiQ8P7xc0fadYKBpd7D7-T_3KjciOUHibc_lcOO7AeeJ4b2KnLXYBv53TqGlYabfA74Jc02qI9ArQk1WUWNI/s400/18114322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8S8oJhjoE0f1YVIDLDd4vZe2Zd7Izg2yHhqhaBmAHRBlt956xHis6pOEHiQ8P7xc0fadYKBpd7D7-T_3KjciOUHibc_lcOO7AeeJ4b2KnLXYBv53TqGlYabfA74Jc02qI9ArQk1WUWNI/w265-h400/18114322.jpg" width="265" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wow what a powerful read this book is.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">The writing is absolutely superb, the characters are sublime and the story is as relevant today as it was to when it was written back in the 1930s. I travelled back to dustbowl America and felt every misfortune and slight personally. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-company-daughters-by-samantha.html">The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram</a></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiX6bJ_1zjeishEgAKjsHoXKF9qU66ITj7a_h5DEVW5q9hAnMdmg6SKYuXlZRSYmx-pxLOQKBLaj_269A-1_ky0xfHzdYvOEHYtdg-IrhcPqpUFlGF7ndbWqSrpXJt1mYxbN7mHLEKmQ/s391/cover203350-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiX6bJ_1zjeishEgAKjsHoXKF9qU66ITj7a_h5DEVW5q9hAnMdmg6SKYuXlZRSYmx-pxLOQKBLaj_269A-1_ky0xfHzdYvOEHYtdg-IrhcPqpUFlGF7ndbWqSrpXJt1mYxbN7mHLEKmQ/w261-h400/cover203350-medium.png" width="261" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's hard to believe this is a debut novel as the writing is just superbly accomplished and the story is absorbing and mesmerizing. If, like me you like your women strong when facing tragedy yet believably emotional too, you'll fall in love with Jana and be rooting for her as she builds a new life in the oppressive heat and colonial ex-pat lifestyle in Batavia.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3541173375">The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell</a></span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sFXRFEJqegenEeU9kvvwhUP-xhWYyHMQOlcIoIqtRTqWnOTFrEH3INbALWqV9b1Qwf4mCcMNBe3jWBH5RUuyKXl5X2FtYRPjkdVsfz6uSSh41k9KoN8ZR6eiCd_cGRTKPUujmHTTR_Q/s475/53814737._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sFXRFEJqegenEeU9kvvwhUP-xhWYyHMQOlcIoIqtRTqWnOTFrEH3INbALWqV9b1Qwf4mCcMNBe3jWBH5RUuyKXl5X2FtYRPjkdVsfz6uSSh41k9KoN8ZR6eiCd_cGRTKPUujmHTTR_Q/w249-h400/53814737._SY475_.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></div>A Wonderful Gothic tale<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">The whole book sucked me in like quicksand and the clever storyline, fabulous characters and sheer eeriness kept me spellbound throughout. </span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3443774369">The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah</a></span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs89LCTHaN2SsDP2uU3W3fteZpJJp1dDjS5sVmdMuiqsht2DT7SS0rYdqln1DaFxSXyP75SXan7F239V8ff_B1pPRrJNEnCv-9JEE197jAIU-1wGkwIChvkugV16K9ccLWrIuKIJwF-Z8/s2048/53138081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1347" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs89LCTHaN2SsDP2uU3W3fteZpJJp1dDjS5sVmdMuiqsht2DT7SS0rYdqln1DaFxSXyP75SXan7F239V8ff_B1pPRrJNEnCv-9JEE197jAIU-1wGkwIChvkugV16K9ccLWrIuKIJwF-Z8/w263-h400/53138081.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Back to Dustbowl America with this wonderful, WONDERFUL book set in1930s in America, with amazing characters.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-bird-in-bamboo-cage-hazel-gaynor.html">The Bird in the Bamboo Cage by Hazel Gaynor</a></span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZbXlq6iaA70OFtDSxcqHRQe83RoIaJ07ViU9RjtoUwBdzyxAQ7WDyJB7lU19wR_wLkBCWxbpfpjy7xjrvF7iwqbOz42gM87pSft8DYK16CdvXZuDjyb4OyuPnYFfWIpB3PlktrvI9fg/s2048/The+Bird+In+The+Bamboo+Cage+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZbXlq6iaA70OFtDSxcqHRQe83RoIaJ07ViU9RjtoUwBdzyxAQ7WDyJB7lU19wR_wLkBCWxbpfpjy7xjrvF7iwqbOz42gM87pSft8DYK16CdvXZuDjyb4OyuPnYFfWIpB3PlktrvI9fg/s320/The+Bird+In+The+Bamboo+Cage+Cover.jpg" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">A delightful testament to loyalty, friendship and the determination to overcome hardship which is as relevant today as it was back in the 1940s.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3343118351">American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings</a></span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CDo7br1QOHcOQGNCRtHoLPeYoue87SZyAHD0vJwTbkG6S3d99Pxbc9mYyIZuCEWSx5_u1UmlJC4Y4udQufKcs5s4-tFFsX-_GeDyVEedkO65s3UwgGcGYv0xECRBVR9JDPIxtbnTv4I/s475/45046527._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CDo7br1QOHcOQGNCRtHoLPeYoue87SZyAHD0vJwTbkG6S3d99Pxbc9mYyIZuCEWSx5_u1UmlJC4Y4udQufKcs5s4-tFFsX-_GeDyVEedkO65s3UwgGcGYv0xECRBVR9JDPIxtbnTv4I/s320/45046527._SY475_.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">A breathtaking journey with Migrants across the border from Guatemala to the US via Mexico.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.com/2020/05/where-crawdads-sing-delia-owens.html">Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens</a></span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedydEUxF9QnYFPSotZLI8HM_qwXgggPpf5H5yn2YvO4WVk7MAMAzoyRJaUhRxqMtIeN-u8GLNZTkHjYy90CgaG242Ru4optsV5mVCZ4_8a4Gc5ut231SKjfLbWPSgA0HuUHlJVCUhfoE/s475/36809135._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedydEUxF9QnYFPSotZLI8HM_qwXgggPpf5H5yn2YvO4WVk7MAMAzoyRJaUhRxqMtIeN-u8GLNZTkHjYy90CgaG242Ru4optsV5mVCZ4_8a4Gc5ut231SKjfLbWPSgA0HuUHlJVCUhfoE/s320/36809135._SY475_.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>Claimed to be rather overhyped I nevertheless adored this book set in the swampland of 1950s Carolina</span></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3330703158"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The House Guest by Mark Edwards</span></span></a></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmfjnS-kw6QelfWyCL60tVo_Re7g3_6esx0_ZcD4Xl7XwrwIySvblD6RExLj4Q2o4o1PfKmj_04ShuU69AGVG5NZ9eBN_DazHnccNKQ3Uy0GKGMiyO76VdwTtr0r35Rs0LSPvuVTQ9-Q/s985/49050519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmfjnS-kw6QelfWyCL60tVo_Re7g3_6esx0_ZcD4Xl7XwrwIySvblD6RExLj4Q2o4o1PfKmj_04ShuU69AGVG5NZ9eBN_DazHnccNKQ3Uy0GKGMiyO76VdwTtr0r35Rs0LSPvuVTQ9-Q/s320/49050519.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">As tense and twisty as this authors other superb books this one had me gripped by the throat throughout.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Foundling by Stacey Halls</span></span></h4><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyIxovKIjeIv7FO1n0SQArt9htc-BoSIfqR9jERVQEddp9TfPvwK68hQQh-jPbJJSrF8dSyMhb5sEEfg4wfbTRqZQ9T6QTkThJbO_86GeQogkq9iUPjVA2m_6wRwfj6MMbt1Z_yzZ8Cc/s475/45308037._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyIxovKIjeIv7FO1n0SQArt9htc-BoSIfqR9jERVQEddp9TfPvwK68hQQh-jPbJJSrF8dSyMhb5sEEfg4wfbTRqZQ9T6QTkThJbO_86GeQogkq9iUPjVA2m_6wRwfj6MMbt1Z_yzZ8Cc/s320/45308037._SY475_.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Beside having a beautiful cover this is another great historical book from Stacey Halls.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger</span></span></h4><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNtXvNFONxLaPQRfOAatWCPotPpk1Th6ujcOqr2fj7HTOiIWfe7j0YnYpqizUNIJB_MQhpBfoJx_KzSXOhHf5Nub4p-2qeJGYNP-765jBRanfJSYK23KQjaKBonIX0ZXewwtCN-SlyOs/s2048/25813942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1352" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNtXvNFONxLaPQRfOAatWCPotPpk1Th6ujcOqr2fj7HTOiIWfe7j0YnYpqizUNIJB_MQhpBfoJx_KzSXOhHf5Nub4p-2qeJGYNP-765jBRanfJSYK23KQjaKBonIX0ZXewwtCN-SlyOs/s320/25813942.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Thrilling and captivating a historical coming of age boys own adventure with grit and charm keeps coing back into my head months after reading it, the sign of a really good story well told.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">My top ten best books over on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2845570-jan?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=best-reads-2020" target="_blank">goodreads which you can read here.</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">All that remains is for me to wish everyone Seasons Greetings and hope and pray that 2021 will see some kind of return to a normal life for everyone.</span></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-14537031819193788342020-11-09T07:30:00.006+00:002020-11-09T07:30:01.464+00:00When I come home again - Caroline Scott - Blog tour and Review<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> When I come home again - Caroline Scott</b></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9baASFfGXdkvCYSRgPq8SvtbOaDlBZDJ7Y7Lnyen5xUI-LYB_hqKnEbtbwT7H8_3FJKNWwMAJX9D2HGneonESu0nRqjuCP3ebFawlXnaTs7fr8LePh4wM0vmeJHKBebju1E1IHYaOcUk/s1280/When+I+Come+Home+Again+BT+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1280" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9baASFfGXdkvCYSRgPq8SvtbOaDlBZDJ7Y7Lnyen5xUI-LYB_hqKnEbtbwT7H8_3FJKNWwMAJX9D2HGneonESu0nRqjuCP3ebFawlXnaTs7fr8LePh4wM0vmeJHKBebju1E1IHYaOcUk/w640-h516/When+I+Come+Home+Again+BT+Poster.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Today it is my turn to take part in the @RandomTours Blog Tour to celebrate publication of the new WW2 historical novel by Caroline Scott:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Description</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They need him to remember. He wants to forget.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1918. In the last week of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When questioned, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">be there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home where his doctor </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">James, is determined to recover who this man once was. But Adam doesn’t want to </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">remember. Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">locked his memory away, seemingly for good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When a newspaper publishes a feature about Adam, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">three women come forward, each claiming that he is </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">someone she lost in the war. But does he believe any of </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">these women? Or is there another family out there waiting </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">for him to come home?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Based on true events, When I Come Home Again is a deeply </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">moving and powerful story of a nation’s outpouring of grief, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">and the search for hope in the aftermath of war.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-VJe5wEWZWyQaakMZhfdJ_aRVVINpszEUjCCX7284CRcEORCVSb_Hd2i726Y-fxedNYPXgIeWctdwNWVo6nNRrv1M6I7F0iRO0FaLcpeDlw3FZhjuy18miSRQyGuZ3iv54vI13IsCjo/s1630/When+I+Come+Home+Again+-+Graphic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-VJe5wEWZWyQaakMZhfdJ_aRVVINpszEUjCCX7284CRcEORCVSb_Hd2i726Y-fxedNYPXgIeWctdwNWVo6nNRrv1M6I7F0iRO0FaLcpeDlw3FZhjuy18miSRQyGuZ3iv54vI13IsCjo/s320/When+I+Come+Home+Again+-+Graphic+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>My Review</b></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">When I come home again is a heart-rending family drama
wrapped around a mystery of identity and focussing on the brutality and
futility of war and the repercussions it has on those left at home as well as
the ones who fought in the First World War.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Written by the acclaimed author of The Photographer of the Lost this is the ideal follow up read to this Authors outstanding debut which was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club choice. A great book for any reader who loves the era during and after World War One</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Perfect for anyone who is interested in the history of the first World War and what makes people tick, this is the story of one soldier Adam,
suffering from memory loss whose doctor tries to uncover his past by finding
his family, despite Adam being unable to remember who they are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">When adverts are placed in local papers, surprisingly more
than one person comes forward all claiming he is their missing, son, husband,
brother. Who is telling the truth, who should Adam believe?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">What follows is a mixture of Adams story and the stories of
the grieving and lonely people who are trying to claim him.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is a real page turner with outpourings of grief and the horrors of war as well as a captivating mystery and some great characters. I loved that it begins in Durham Cathedral, a place I love to visit for its sense of history and calm and feeling of lasting protection.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">About the Author</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTSgeW2wufo8UF8OXcLPR-y_BZsWjcz9EU5O8XqF8sA3yyX_SonPbRco9v4PxDdEh6tXroYyQJNgpgw2XTEEJbRva0UWdnBTKICIqmFD5Tl2aT9QIaZ-HF38tSidQp6Uzy4-19onyQAM/s250/Caroline+Scott+Author+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTSgeW2wufo8UF8OXcLPR-y_BZsWjcz9EU5O8XqF8sA3yyX_SonPbRco9v4PxDdEh6tXroYyQJNgpgw2XTEEJbRva0UWdnBTKICIqmFD5Tl2aT9QIaZ-HF38tSidQp6Uzy4-19onyQAM/s0/Caroline+Scott+Author+Pic.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Caroline completed a PhD in History at the University of Durham. She developed a particular</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">interest in the impact of the First World War on the landscape of Belgium and France, and in</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">the experience of women during the conflict – fascinations that she was able to pursue while</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">she spent several years working as a researcher for a Belgian company. Caroline is originally</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">from Lancashire, but now lives in southwest France. The Photographer of the Lost was a BBC</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Radio 2 Book Club pick.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-67313660129161925742020-10-29T07:30:00.018+00:002020-10-29T07:30:00.351+00:00The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline Review and Blog Tour - friendship and atonement.<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQlDiJrb3RATYVmDDNFp-JKqFOkqZBeUpjrTQPTyV8wtvmMyAkSRqnyJiiAWA_CWyH2Q95lX4VOkvM3p3xAi-AgKKxDyHjE2K8Pe0Dk_u-mH-kKiKwaL24_DUloRfPNBlrPgyrkr8ESU/s1280/The+Exiles+BT+Poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1280" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQlDiJrb3RATYVmDDNFp-JKqFOkqZBeUpjrTQPTyV8wtvmMyAkSRqnyJiiAWA_CWyH2Q95lX4VOkvM3p3xAi-AgKKxDyHjE2K8Pe0Dk_u-mH-kKiKwaL24_DUloRfPNBlrPgyrkr8ESU/w640-h366/The+Exiles+BT+Poster.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>My Review:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I will make no bones about the subject matter of this novel being one of my absolute favourites and a theme I return to reading about again and again; women living in the past forced by circumstance and the misfortune of being born female at the wrong time, to settle in an alien country and live a life other than that mapped out at birth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I cannot be alone as I come across a surprisingly large quantity of books which fit into this category and as such there are the excellent, the bad and many which are just ok. I am delighted to say that The Exiles sits happily among the very best.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Telling the story of not one but three fictitious women, we are transported from Victorian London with Evangeline and Hazel, via Newgate prison, to Australia on a convict ship, where they eventually cross paths with the third, remarkable female Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Primarily illustrating the shameful historical treatment of women by men, this is a richly descriptive novel with relatable characters. Women who find and inner strength and use it to survive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Am I shallow in believing that was I born when they were I would have had that inner strength? I hope not as I really dislike reading about namby-pamby, spoilt ladies and thankfully you won't meet any of those in this book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Evangeline is the first woman we meet as she works in service, foolishly allowing herself to be taken in by the young master of the household thus beginning the age old story of betrayal and abandonment when she ends up, pregnant and alone, thrown into the frightful maw of Newgate Jail a hell on earth from which transportation to the newly emerging colonies in Australia sounds like a merciful escape.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In a similar situation is young Hazel, from an even poorer background and thus a touch more street savvy, thrown together in dire circumstances the women become allies as they journey on the dreadful convict ship the Medea to Van Diemens land on the other side of the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile a parallel story plays out, as we see British settlers in Australia seizing land from and cruelly maltreating the aboriginal first people of the country who they view as barely human and we encounter a young girl Mahinna, orphaned daughter of a local tribesman chief who is "adopted" by the wife of the new governor to be treated like a pet and educated as part of a fashionable whim.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is a brutal tale in many ways, with tragedy and despair and more than a few tears. Yet ultimately its a story of Friendship, recovery and atonement which I found engaging and uplifting.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9YTwU-dCIab3Rm4SXTgHhthww9_S7DzzZutT248oYVqTrkLUNQ6BTUmbTXHzB1qcxDMQ1EnCPiDwBbWcFooNa04NCgr8Q_08UMDai9DwB4PFWyYr9TgWZx_cM5VnJodN6Z-0GF5dBUPU/s1280/The+Exiles+Cover+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="838" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9YTwU-dCIab3Rm4SXTgHhthww9_S7DzzZutT248oYVqTrkLUNQ6BTUmbTXHzB1qcxDMQ1EnCPiDwBbWcFooNa04NCgr8Q_08UMDai9DwB4PFWyYr9TgWZx_cM5VnJodN6Z-0GF5dBUPU/w421-h640/The+Exiles+Cover+.jpg" width="421" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>Description</b></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>London, 1840. Evangeline, pregnant and falsely accused of stealing, has languished in Newgate prison for months. Ahead lies the journey to Australia on a prison ship. On board, Evangeline befriends Hazel, sentenced to seven years’ transport for theft. Soon Hazel’s path will cross with an orphaned indigenous girl. Mathinna is ‘adopted’ by the new governor of Tasmania where the family treat her more like a curiosity than a child.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Amid hardships and cruelties, new life will take root in stolen soil, friendships will define lives, and some will find their place in a new society in the land beyond the seas.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>'Master storyteller Christina Baker Kline is at her best in this epic tale of Australia’s complex history – a vivid and rewarding feat of both empathy and imagination. I loved this book.’</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>'Filled with surprising twists, empathetic prose, and revealing historical details, Kline’s resonant, powerful story will please any historical fiction fan.'</i></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Publishers Weekly</i></span></p><p>Published by Alison and Busby @AllisonandBusby and available now you can find more on the authors website <a href="http://christinabakerkline.com">christinabakerkline.com</a> or follow her on social media @bakerkline</p><p>My thanks go to @RandomTTours for inviting me along on the blog tour</p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-31016216094557009822020-10-19T13:58:00.004+01:002020-10-21T08:48:52.495+01:00The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram - absorbing and mesmerizing.<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfRYsc36EAw08V_tZzW-NFomZAcOThrq4syFC4iYNgpuVVgLir2mP4f_sezIBmIUPGf7roDpzVatOoJEoTxOjbS5brnXRJXrnW33wjezsHNH8pzc-CqtFFZtrKuogPo49IOhlsQFXyrU/s391/cover203350-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfRYsc36EAw08V_tZzW-NFomZAcOThrq4syFC4iYNgpuVVgLir2mP4f_sezIBmIUPGf7roDpzVatOoJEoTxOjbS5brnXRJXrnW33wjezsHNH8pzc-CqtFFZtrKuogPo49IOhlsQFXyrU/w261-h400/cover203350-medium.png" width="261" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I found this to be a very absorbing and page turning read that I just couldn't put down. I can never resist historical books about ordinary women in difficult situations and have read many books about mail order brides and settlers in new territories overseas.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">However this one manages to be quite a bit different, it begins in 17th century Amsterdam, features a wonderful heroine Jana, who drags herself up by the bootstraps ending up in service to the enigmatic Sontje and her kindly father. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When tragedy strikes they end up as mail order brides being sent to the colonies in an outpost known as Batavia (later to become Jakarta) Indonesia is a beautiful and exotic destination and the book is well researched, compelling and very atmospheric, introducing me to a time and place in history I hadn't come across previously.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jana finds tragedy can also lead to love and a tender love story is played out whilst harsh and desperate measures are playing out around Jana.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Its hard to believe this is a debut novel as the writing is just superbly accomplished and the story is absorbing and mesmerizing. If, like me you like your women strong when facing tragedy yet believably emotional too, you'll fall in love with Jana and be rooting for her as she builds a new life in the oppressive heat and colonial ex-pat lifestyle in Batavia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Published by the wonderful Bookouture in October 2020 this is one historical debut not be missed by fellow enthusiasts for this genre.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I obtained my review copy through Netgalley.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Blurb</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">Wanted: Company Daughters. Virtuous young ladies to become the brides of industrious settlers in a foreign land. The Company will pay the cost of the ladies' dowry and travel. Returns not permitted, orphans preferred.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;">Amsterdam, 1616. <b style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">Jana Beil </b>has learned that life rarely provides moments of joy. Having run away from a violent father, her days are spent searching for work in an effort to stay out of the city brothels, where desperate women trade their bodies for a mouthful of bread. But when Jana is hired as a servant for the wealthy and kind Master Reynst and his beautiful daughter Sontje, Jana’s future begins to look brighter.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;">Then Master Reynst loses his fortune on a bad investment, and everything changes. The house is sold to creditors, leaving Jana back on the streets and Sontje without a future.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;">With no other choice, Jana and Sontje are forced to sign with the East India Company as Company Daughters: sailing to a colonial outpost to become the brides of male settlers they know nothing about. With fear in their hearts, the girls begin their journey – but what awaits them on the other side of the world is nothing like what they’ve been promised…</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: none;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">Based on true history, this is a beautiful and sensual historical novel, perfect for fans of <i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">Girl with a Pearl Earring</i>, <i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">The Miniaturist</i> and <i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none;">The Indigo Girl</i>.</b></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-91309550227800147002020-08-10T07:30:00.017+01:002020-08-10T07:30:01.870+01:00The Bird in the Bamboo Cage - Hazel Gaynor - Review and Blog Tour<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Bird in the Bamboo Cage - Hazel Gaynor - Review and Blog Tour.</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCWOSUO6xQwxU6f_NckK1Jw2pclRyvPLnSO63LFQk06hrFzY4o6omPSrC6znXkoDUfxYPF1fea-iw6KeD8XlXIfV805HixwLf_00_gKRzrT_Hs7JCm5IQ7d1Ylx2LcC1j0WBJQPXu5nE/s1280/Bird+in+Bamboo+Cage+BT+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1280" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCWOSUO6xQwxU6f_NckK1Jw2pclRyvPLnSO63LFQk06hrFzY4o6omPSrC6znXkoDUfxYPF1fea-iw6KeD8XlXIfV805HixwLf_00_gKRzrT_Hs7JCm5IQ7d1Ylx2LcC1j0WBJQPXu5nE/w625-h325/Bird+in+Bamboo+Cage+BT+Poster.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Already a fan of Hazel Gaynor’s books I am thrilled to be one
of the bloggers kicking off the Random Things Blog Tour for her very latest title, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage. Like her previous novels which include The Cottingley Secret and The</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9EgtGsRtrCojo6NuhfDc4e7Ja_Kmpx5jGsU4FsGE6BVtn7Q8CXZmtJRaCCG7NmO8F_Nii2wceW5Tb-Oqrk8K7ClfX9O3Na_5O1H80bYdzYxdzk47PuPiIBiakcLICOYUhDRAN2lmPLM/s2048/The+Bird+In+The+Bamboo+Cage+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1332" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9EgtGsRtrCojo6NuhfDc4e7Ja_Kmpx5jGsU4FsGE6BVtn7Q8CXZmtJRaCCG7NmO8F_Nii2wceW5Tb-Oqrk8K7ClfX9O3Na_5O1H80bYdzYxdzk47PuPiIBiakcLICOYUhDRAN2lmPLM/w325-h500/The+Bird+In+The+Bamboo+Cage+Cover.jpg" width="325" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The cover conveys the mood of this book wonderfully with the young and older females under the barbed wire and overlooked by a kingfisher, the significance of which you'll discover, woven into this joyful yet heart-rending story. Hazel Gaynor's latest novel takes us back in time to China, which in
1941 is in a dangerous position with war between Japan and Allied forces.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Set in a school for the offspring of Expats in China, much
of the story is told by ten year old Nancy Plummer a British girl, boarding at
the school whilst her parents work as missionaries in Northern China. Nancy and
her friends view life from the safety of their school and girl guide troop. The
youth of this narrator lends an innocence and naivety to the terrible events
unfolding as Japanese soldiers seize control of the school. She has a delightful charm which had me rooting for her all the way through.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">An alternative point of view is that of teacher Elspeth who
is determined to uphold her promise to Nancy’s parents to look after her, despite it being increasingly difficult she and her fellow teachers devote their lives to the pupils entrusted to them</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">As the world descends into the mayhem of war the teachers and pupils
are forced to abandon the schoolhouse and take up residence in a Japanese
internment camp.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The whole story is a delightful testament to loyalty, friendship and the determination to overcome hardship which is as relevant today as it was back in the 1940s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">I won’t tell a lie, I cried at some of the events. The narrative unfolding in such a candid and wide eyed view of a young girl makes the
brutality, when it happens (and it DOES happen and it IS brutal) seem all the harder to bear. Viewed through the eyes of an innocent young girl and a kind and devoted teacher, the bleakness of the internment camp combined with the hopefulness of schooldays and the increasingly important girl guide troop.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The underlying optimism and endurance made this the perfect lockdown read for me. It is beautifully researched and accurate. Captivating and heart breaking, always with a glint of better things to come, this book had me rattling through the pages, holding my breath and sighing deeply by the end.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thank you #HarperFiction and #HazelGaynor for my copy of #TheBirdintheBambooCage and for capturing my heart and setting it free to soar like a bird above the barbed wire.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>The Blurb</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>When war imprisons them, only kindness will free them…</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>China, 1941. Elspeth Kent has fled an unhappy life in England for a teaching post at a missionary school in northern China. But when Japan declares war on the Allies and occupies the school, security and home comforts are replaced by privation, uncertainty and fear.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>For ten-year-old Nancy Plummer and her school friends, now separated from their parents indefinitely, Miss Kent’s new Girl Guide patrol provides a precious reminder of home in a land where they are now the enemy.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-family: arial;">Elspeth and her fellow teachers, and Nancy and her friends, need courage, friendship and fortitude as they pray for liberation. But worse is to come. Removed from the school, they face even greater uncertainty and danger at a Japanese internment camp, where cruelty and punishment reign. </i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-family: arial;">Inspired by true events, this is an unforgettable read about a remarkable community faced with unimaginable hardship, and the life-changing bonds formed in a distant corner of a terrible war.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The Author</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF-YRxXKdZSwxjkn2FmthyphenhyphenjU_VXbJlk_S1y_lo41VBONzIbzwFNSmcFmGl1x6LoPvMjoquZ3Rw1TpMlW7Pg2fV_WE1Qr6xIhW8rm816_H-4_cN1Hil_u9iOkFYI96HDcjFLO80mYI1Ak/s870/Hazel+Gaynor+Author+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="870" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF-YRxXKdZSwxjkn2FmthyphenhyphenjU_VXbJlk_S1y_lo41VBONzIbzwFNSmcFmGl1x6LoPvMjoquZ3Rw1TpMlW7Pg2fV_WE1Qr6xIhW8rm816_H-4_cN1Hil_u9iOkFYI96HDcjFLO80mYI1Ak/s320/Hazel+Gaynor+Author+Pic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hazel Gaynor</div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-35263072844651927932020-07-14T07:30:00.003+01:002020-07-14T07:30:00.170+01:00Spirited by Julie Cohen - Review and Blog Tour<font face="arial">Spirited by Julie Cohen - my Review for the Blog Tour</font><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiCT0YjwI-AIpUWOW0wFLlO8xA3p8lhrj7IVmijpBdFjLjzmecn6EICinwXs3iznuKtBvtGtRaEwlx1kXwC6G8m0VstXFN_egBSkfU_HgGeArd4F7I_qlqX5hPw-_jJeMS1OjZLxJFZY/s1280/Spirited+BT+Poster+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1280" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiCT0YjwI-AIpUWOW0wFLlO8xA3p8lhrj7IVmijpBdFjLjzmecn6EICinwXs3iznuKtBvtGtRaEwlx1kXwC6G8m0VstXFN_egBSkfU_HgGeArd4F7I_qlqX5hPw-_jJeMS1OjZLxJFZY/w500-h350/Spirited+BT+Poster+.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">It is rather fitting that today, 14<sup>th</sup> July is my
birthday and I am celebrating by taking part in the Blog tour for the new novel by Julie Cohen –
Spirited. This book is a real celebratory treat in itself.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Having already read and enjoyed a couple of contemporary womens fiction novels by this Author I was delighted when I heard that she has diversified into my favourite genre of historical fiction for her latest book.</font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuDGH7RWG_e72r338V1jyjgdYI-XvifrZjYwkYRsXP5GOye_dV8onvaKzLs-PexvZn2vlhX_zWk6C_CbtRd8zD_QrdwUHWKOck2brLEYu9RPd8VNq1knMqthb9p_6A6LHo-wfZAwS4cg/s1000/Spirited+Cover+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="684" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuDGH7RWG_e72r338V1jyjgdYI-XvifrZjYwkYRsXP5GOye_dV8onvaKzLs-PexvZn2vlhX_zWk6C_CbtRd8zD_QrdwUHWKOck2brLEYu9RPd8VNq1knMqthb9p_6A6LHo-wfZAwS4cg/w343-h500/Spirited+Cover+.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Effortlessly sliding into historical fiction like
a consummate professional historian the author takes us to Victorian England and
immerses us into the lives of 3 very different women.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">We have the main protagonist Viola, a young woman still
reeling from the recent death of her beloved photographer father, trying to
carve a place for herself in a world which favours men and struggling to fit
into her new role as a wife. Newly wed to her dearest childhood companion
Josiah, married life seems lacking in the warmth, love and passion she craves
but doesn’t understand.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Henriette is filled with passion, for her notoriety and
renowned skill as a spirit medium, for her hard won independence and for life.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">When the two womens paths cross and it becomes apparent that
Violas talents as a photographer seem to reveal ghostly presences, it is
inevitable that the women are following a similar spooky path and a friendship
develops.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">But just who is Henriette and what is her secret, can she be
trusted? Why can’t Josiah forget his time in India and a mysterious former
relationship he is at pains to keep close to his heart? And who is the third
woman living an even more secretive life, so secretive we don’t learn who she
is until well into the story.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Brimming with historical detail, bursting with atmosphere,
Spirited wove its magical spell around me and had me deeply enthralled. I am an
abiding enthusiast for historical fiction and this just ticked all my boxes.
Its clever, with several mysteries, a love story (or two) at its very heart and
there is a hint of the supernatural amidst the beautiful literary tones and
richly descriptive writing.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">If you enjoyed Affinity by Sarah Waters, The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry or The Corset by Laura Purcell, Spirited will fill the gap in
your historical reading. I loved it and can’t wait to see if this author
produces more work in this genre to which she has adapted so wonderfully.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial"><i><b>The Blurb</b></i></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial"><i>Three women carry unspeakable truths in their heart. At what cost will they find their freedom? </i></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial"><i>In Victorian England, Viola is an amateur photographer struggling with the grief of her father's death and the sterile atmosphere of her marriage to her childhood friend, Jonah. When she discovers a talent for capturing ghostly images on camera, Viola comes to the attention of a spirit medium, and a powerful attraction between the two women is sparked... As each woman puts herself at risk, secrets are brought to light that will change their lives forever.</i></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Driven by passionate, courageous female characters Cohen explores themes of sexuality, gender and prejudice, firmly establishing her as one of our best storytellers. </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">My thanks go to @RandomTTours @orionbooks and the author @Julie_Cohen for inviting me along to celebrate the launch of #Spirited.</p><p class="MsoNormal">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</p><p class="MsoNormal">Julie Cohen grew up in the western mountains of Maine. Her house was just up the hill from the library and she spent many hours walking back and forth, her nose in a book. She studied English Literature at Brown University and Cambridge University and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing, including classes for the Guardian and Literature Wales. Her books have been translated into fifteen languages and have sold over a million copies; DEAR THING and TOGETHER were Richard and Judy Book Club picks. Her most recent novel is the critically acclaimed LOUIS & LOUISE. Julie lives in Berkshire with her husband, son and a terrier of dubious origin.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-30707108009757848792020-07-09T16:07:00.001+01:002020-07-09T16:07:08.574+01:00The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck<br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtZy41NTBLpwFKKlRPewdBxZBhzASe8R5KQMTXViJRBYOTx50F0TZT_8n0z9e3LmTzs4OBGH5E4JV8PkN7PI3y1313QJb2SeokPTl7A5Xl_sqh7NmRJVOIu_bp1CPUuPtQktbrKgRIF8/s400/18114322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtZy41NTBLpwFKKlRPewdBxZBhzASe8R5KQMTXViJRBYOTx50F0TZT_8n0z9e3LmTzs4OBGH5E4JV8PkN7PI3y1313QJb2SeokPTl7A5Xl_sqh7NmRJVOIu_bp1CPUuPtQktbrKgRIF8/w414-h625/18114322.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">Wow what a powerful read this book is.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">I confess I very seldom read any classic literature, </font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">I disliked most of the books I was made to read at school many many moons ago, and my way of thinking has always been if its been around for more than 50 years and I haven't got round to reading it yet, it's probably not worth trying. and a lot of books written in the first half of the 20th century are really hard going, I like an easy read and I read purely for pleasure so if its seems somehow worthy or clever it puts me right off.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">But something about the reviews I read for The Grapes of Wrath made me think it might be worth a try. I really didn't expect to like it or to even finish it, let alone to fall completely in love with it.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">The writing is absolutely superb, the characters are sublime and the story is as relevant today as it was to when it was written back in the 1930s. I travelled back to dustbowl America and felt every misfortune and slight personally. I revelled in the descriptive prose.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">I feel bereft now I've finished it and I ache to know what happened to the Joad family afterwards.</font></div><div><font face="arial">It was wonderful, and an absolute surprise.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">My only difficulty now is quite what to read now to follow this up. Suggestions welcome.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial"><i><b>Blurb</b></i></font></div><div><font face="arial"><i><br /></i></font></div><div><i><font face="arial"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.</span></font></i></div><font face="arial"><i><br /></i></font><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-25956502790603431982020-06-04T08:50:00.002+01:002020-06-04T09:13:10.300+01:00Ridgerunner - Gil Adamson - my review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48572665-ridgerunner">Ridgerunner</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/193302.Gil_Adamson">Gil Adamson</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This has to be my most anticipated book of this millennium. The Outlander was always going to be hard act to follow as it was one of my top reads almost 10 years ago. To find the authors latest book is a followup to her first was a real thrill, then I was gutted to learn that her wonderful protagonist Mary is absent from this book, apart from being a memory who comes to her sons mind at times of need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At first I thought The Ridgerunner wasn't going to engage with me quite so much. It has a somewhat more masculine feel with mainly male lead characters apart from the Nun who actually turned out to be one of the most complex characters in the book after a slow burn beginning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But young Jack is such a likeable and well drawn boy I soon fell in love with him and wanted to step through the pages and Mother him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Ridgerunner is a Western, it is a follow up to the Outlander which if you haven't read it I urge you strongly to read before reading this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story of a Father and Son and a few great secondary characters who played their parts admirably. Admittedly father is a total recidivist, robbing and thieving and blowing things up with his skewed sense of duty to his son. Parted whilst he sets off to steal enough money to assure his sons future, he leaves the lonely 12 year old lad with a Nun, who loves young Jack obsessively yet fails to provide one touch of affection, no wonder he runs away. The story centres around him surviving alone helped by a friend or two. At first his most loyal friends are a horse with no name and an, also nameless, dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is also helped by two men who become pivotal characters, I'll let you meet them when you read it, they are also superbly written.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Authors writing style is wonderful, lyrical and imaginative and shines through the entire story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I absolutely loved every word and it proved the perfect lockdown read, taking me to another time and country. It warmed my heart and gave me a sense of kinship as the boy survives alone, whilst missing his Mum who died and his Father who seems to have completely abandoned him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In some parts it is pretty violent and shocking, but this adds to the reckless and lawless existence of the Ridgerunner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Blurb</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>November 1917. William Moreland is in mid-flight. After nearly twenty years, the notorious thief, known as the Ridgerunner, has returned. Moving through the Rocky Mountains and across the border to Montana, the solitary drifter, impoverished in means and aged beyond his years, is also a widower and a father. And he is determined to steal enough money to secure his son’s future.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Twelve-year-old Jack Boulton has been left in the care of Sister Beatrice, a formidable nun who keeps him in cloistered seclusion in her grand old house. Though he knows his father is coming for him, the boy longs to return to his family’s cabin, deep in the woods. When Jack finally breaks free, he takes with him something the nun is determined to get back — at any cost.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Set against the backdrop of a distant war raging in Europe and a rapidly changing landscape in the West, Gil Adamson’s follow-up to her award-winning debut, The Outlander, is a vivid historical novel that draws from the epic tradition and a literary Western brimming with a cast of unforgettable characters touched with humour and loss, and steeped in the wild of the natural world. </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2845570-beadyjan">View all my reviews</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-27205753692935787532020-05-18T10:36:00.001+01:002020-06-04T09:15:45.819+01:00Where the Crawdads sing - Delia Owens<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36809135-where-the-crawdads-sing"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where the Crawdads Sing</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7043934.Delia_Owens">Delia Owens</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WOW, what a wonderful book with an amazing heroine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I adored the descriptive writing about the remote wildness of the South Carolina swamps back in the 1950s, marvelled at the wildlife and fell in love with Kya the Marsh Girl and also with Jumpin', his wife Mabel and the gentle and lovely Tate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The poetry interspersed throughout the story is truly beautiful, (even though I don't usually enjoy poetry). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though the storyline ends up being a courtroom drama (a genre I usually dislike) the beauty of the prose carried me to the end with a tear in my eye and an ache in my heart. Awesome.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>The Blurb</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2845570-beadyjan">View all my reviews</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-36384600659148685952020-04-21T07:30:00.000+01:002020-04-21T07:30:01.002+01:00#BlogTour and my review of #TheGossipsChoice by Sara Read<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gossips Choice by Sara Read</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Travel back into the 17th century with me today for the blog tour from Love Books Tours for the new historical novel by Sara Read called The Gossips Choice.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcIsLli4NZ6UygKtsiDYFB3jqbv6czUwj6sSelCIlct-IICExlUGsgbvgyK2R77NjLoD02aBP3L8hUXOmHDhNSEn68eoKv7i3DoQ7vvMIptV3eGWKHazGhECUzl02EW8yGeSjeiAw16k/s1600/Gossip%2527s+Choice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1600" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcIsLli4NZ6UygKtsiDYFB3jqbv6czUwj6sSelCIlct-IICExlUGsgbvgyK2R77NjLoD02aBP3L8hUXOmHDhNSEn68eoKv7i3DoQ7vvMIptV3eGWKHazGhECUzl02EW8yGeSjeiAw16k/s640/Gossip%2527s+Choice.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gossips Choice paints a very authentic and believable picture of life as a woman in the 17th century when a Gossip is the name given to women who attend another during childbirth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main protagonist is Lucie, who is a midwife and provides vital assistance to women giving birth. Married to the towns Apothecary Jacob she has a good knowledge of herblore and medical practices, a dangerous occupation for a woman in these troubled times when suspicion can befall anyone who deviates from societies ideals of the norm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the cover artwork depicting an image of Lucie, she looks exactly like I’d have pictured her. Exhausted, crumpled, caring and competent, she represents a key worker of the distant past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chillingly, given current events, the book is set during the time of the Great Plague when London in particular is ravaged by Bubonic Plague and many people flee to the countryside, including Lucies only son. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are plenty of emotional and harrowing scenes as well as informative details and a story brimming with secrets and deception with a gripping mystery at its heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bold, scary and relatable, the Gossips choice is an illuminative and richly painted tapestry which draws you between the threads and deep into life in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is instantly apparent is that this book is written by a competent and skilled historian, as it is educational and very descriptive as well as entertaining.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I followed Lucies dramatic tale I was transported back in time to experience events with her and her family. Great escapism rooted in fact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a link to the book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gossips-Choice-Sara-Read/dp/1916489680/">on Amazon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>The Blurb</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Call The Midwife for the 17th Century”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Lucie Smith is a respected midwife who is married to Jacob, the town apothecary. They live happily together at the shop with the sign of the Three Doves. But sixteen-sixty-five proves a troublesome year for the couple. Lucie is called to a birth at the local Manor House and Jacob objects to her involvement with their former opponents in the English Civil Wars. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Their only-surviving son Simon flees plague-ridden London for his country hometown, only to argue with his father. Lucie also has to manage her husband’s fury at the news of their loyal housemaid’s unplanned pregnancy and its repercussions.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The year draws to a close with the first ever accusation of malpractice against Lucie, which could see her lose her midwifery licence, or even face excommunication.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Author Bio:</b></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMYbMVDzlD1dCUKv2NaagsqT4sMXbDJD2dR05PrZg_5uDfnH5odKQFkIFM-yipseDkdqUwU5iJxdYZ2jSdqpDHPUjh5TDHd5W7R7e-CZOEkyTWMwhA0wVeaMMq_lZeanwPnsMUbi_pSI/s1600/sara+read.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="991" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMYbMVDzlD1dCUKv2NaagsqT4sMXbDJD2dR05PrZg_5uDfnH5odKQFkIFM-yipseDkdqUwU5iJxdYZ2jSdqpDHPUjh5TDHd5W7R7e-CZOEkyTWMwhA0wVeaMMq_lZeanwPnsMUbi_pSI/s320/sara+read.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Dr Sara Read is a lecturer in English at Loughborough University. Her research is in the cultural representations of women, bodies and health in the early modern era.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>She has published widely in this area with her first book Menstruation and the Female Body in Early Modern England being published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2013.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>She is a member of the organising committee of the Women's Studies Group, 1558-1837 and recently co-edited a special collection produced to celebrate the group's 30th anniversary.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>She is also the co-editor of the popular Early Modern Medicine blog. With founding editor Dr Jennifer Evans, Sara wrote a book about health and disease in this era Maladies and Medicine: Exploring Health and Healing, 1540-1740 (Pen and Sword 2017).</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Sara regularly writes for history magazines such as Discover Your Ancestors and History Today. In 2017 she published an article 'My Ancestor was a Midwife' tracing the history of the midwifery profession for Who Do You Think You Are? magazine in 2017. She has appeared on BBC Radio 3's Freethinking programme and is often to be heard on BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Radio WM.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Follow Sara on Twitter @saralread</i></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-484153085507403582020-04-07T07:30:00.000+01:002020-04-07T07:30:08.493+01:00The Philosophers Daughters by Alison Booth - Blog Tour and Review<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Philosophers Daughters by Alison Booth - Blog Tour and Review</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Today I welcome Alison Booth to Beadyjans Books with the launch of her superb new historical novel.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Philosophers Daughters is published by Red Door Publishing and is a very engaging adventurous historical novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It tells the story of sisters Harriet and Sarah Cameron brought up in London by their Philosopher Father after their Mother died young. He is a man ahead of his time and has many thoughts and traits which set him apart from society of the day and he brings his daughters up to be thinkers, to question rather than just accept what has always been the norm, maybe this hasn’t done the young women many favours. In 1891 women were not supposed to question anything, just to accept and get on with life and be submissive to their menfolk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of the 2 sisters Sarah is perhaps the least unconventional, she is the beauty and when she meets and falls in love with handsome adventurer Henry Vincent, she abandons her sibling and heads off for her own adventure, following her intended to the wilds of the Australian Outback.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harriet a plain spinster, is left at home to help her now ageing Father, she misses her beloved sister dreadfully but she is a passionate artist and devotes herself to her drawing and painting and being her Fathers assistant. But he dies quite suddenly and she finds herself broken by grief, already grieving for the departure of sister Sarah, she flounders to know her place in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So she heads off to the Outback to visit Sarah a rather daring adventure for the staid young woman. Her philosophical nature causes her to question the harshness of life in the Outback, the boorish brutal men who live there, and the injustices she encounters especially against the aborigines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She begins to overcome her overwhelming grief with the rekindling of her closeness with her sibling, her art and a budding friendship with a native aborigine worker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I liked both sisters but had a special place for the unlovely and unloved Harriet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved experiencing life in the late 19th century in the wild and untamed cattle ranches of outback Australia. This is an unsentimental, believable and very well painted picture of what life was like for women in an era where some were just beginning to question their own worth and explore possibilities hitherto denied women merely because of their sex. A lovely literary historical book, beautifully told.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Blurb</span></div>
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.... a landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession.</div>
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London in 1891: Harriet Cameron is a talented young artist whose</div>
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mother died when she was barely five. She and her beloved sister Sarah were</div>
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brought up by their father, radical thinker James Cameron. After adventurer</div>
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Henry Vincent arrives on the scene, the sisters' lives are changed forever. Sarah,</div>
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the beauty of the family, marries Henry and embarks on a voyage to Australia.</div>
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Harriet, intensely missing Sarah, must decide whether to help her father with his</div>
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life's work or devote herself to painting.</div>
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When James Cameron dies unexpectedly, Harriet is overwhelmed by</div>
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grief. Seeking distraction, she follows Sarah to Australia, and afterwards into the</div>
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Northern Territory outback, where she is alienated by the casual violence and</div>
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great injustices of outback life.</div>
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Her rejuvenation begins with her friendship with an Aboriginal</div>
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stockman and her growing love for the landscape. But this fragile happiness is</div>
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soon threatened by murders at a nearby cattle station and by a menacing station</div>
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hand seeking revenge.</div>
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“Fantastic character development. Great plot. Beautiful writing. And excellent job at</div>
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promoting thought about our appalling white history of indigenous maltreatment and</div>
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massacre.” – Karen Viggers, novelist and wildlife veterinarian</div>
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Author Alison Booth</div>
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Born in Melbourne and brought up in Sydney, Alison spent over two decades</div>
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studying, living and working in the UK before returning to Australia some</div>
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fifteen years ago.</div>
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Her ancestors came to Australia from England and Scotland at the end</div>
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of the 1800s, before Federation in 1901. Indeed, in 1891, when the novel starts,</div>
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32% of the Australian population were born overseas, mostly in the UK. Alison</div>
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grew up fascinated by the thought that Australia once comprised small colonies,</div>
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teetering on the edge of the vast continent, and wanted in this new novel to</div>
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travel back in time to view it through the eyes of two strong young women. The</div>
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tales of Alison’s late father, Norman Booth, about his years in the Northern</div>
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Territory also awakened her interest in the Northern Territory.</div>
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Her debut novel, Stillwater Creek, was Highly Commended in the 2011</div>
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ACT Book of the Year Award, and afterwards published in Reader’s Digest</div>
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Select Editions in Asia and in Europe. Alison’s other novels are The Indigo</div>
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Sky (2011), A Distant Land (2012), and A Perfect Marriage (2018).</div>
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Alison is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Australian National</div>
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University (https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/booth-al). In November</div>
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2019, Alison was made Fellow of the Econometric Society, a prestigious</div>
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international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to</div>
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statistics and mathematics.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834627076940983943.post-89978503702326667262020-04-03T08:58:00.000+01:002020-04-03T08:58:34.246+01:00I Am Dust - Louise Beech - Blog Tour and Review<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Am Dust - Louise Beech - Blog Tour and Review</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today its time for me to join the Blog Tour for I Am Dust and offer my CONGRATULATIONS to the wonderful Louise Beech for the publication of this superb spookily superb novel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am Dust is sheer reading pleasure from start to finish, it’s proven to provide wonderful escapism from current worries for me and I loved every word.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a contemporary love triangle romance, a haunting ghost story, a murder mystery and is beautifully written. This story flows like warm honey and sparkles with magic dust.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The characters have astounding depth making this book an utterly immersive experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have our main protagonist Chloe, who works as a theatre usher at the Dean Wilson theatre, a local venue which is rumoured to be haunted by an actress who was murdered there 20 years ago whilst playing the lead in an ill-fated play Dust, for which the theatre has gained notoriety and some fame. The place is haunted too by Chloe’s own youthful self, with memories of her teens when she and two friends Ryan and Jess spent one summer at a theatre group, rehearsing for MacBeth and holding their own séances to try and contact the dead. It is clear that author Louise draws on her own personal experiences as a theatre usher as her love of theatre and in depth knowledge and deep feeling for the theatre shines through her words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ouija boards. Everybody knows you shouldn’t mess with them, yet so many youngsters do experiment with this practise, but is it just a fun game or something much more sinister?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The events of Chloe’s past continue to haunt her through to adulthood. She is possessed by premonitions and visions, flawed by her own demons and she is damaged and tormented by the lost love of her life which to this day remains unrequited.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The opportunity to face her loss is about to present itself as the theatre she has grown up in and worked in, plans a grand reimagining of Dust the musical and plans a huge come back performance which may put the struggling playhouse back on its feet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But worrying portents begin to present themselves to Chloe and as the past gathers itself for once last fling, hidden memories resurface and bad omens permeate every moment of Chloe’s life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved reading about her younger self. I was one of those youngsters told not to mess with Ouija boards yet nevertheless did, with some pretty scary results. So I could really relate to Chloe. There are many hidden layers to the story, with the mystery of what exactly happened to the original actress. I began to suspect everyone of ulterior motives – the sign of a jolly good mystery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is also a real sooky feel and it is most definitely a ghost story within a love story within a mystery so there is something for everyone. Even the secondary characters are drawn with depth and shadow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’re looking for pure escapism and an easy to read book with sufficient depth to keep you absorbed no matter what’s going on around you, you can’t go far wrong with this wonderfully entertaining read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can order the book now on <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Am-Dust-Louise-Beech-ebook/dp/B07X8SSJV7/">Amazon</a> or your favourite bookseller. Published by <a href="http://orendabooks.co.uk/">Orenda books.</a> My thanks go to RandomThingsTours for inviting me along on this lovely blog tour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When iconic musical Dust is revived twenty years after the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">leading actress was murdered in her dressing room, a series of</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">eerie events haunts the new cast…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">her killer…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">her dressing room?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you’re in</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the theatre shadows, you see everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Chloe has been watching…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louise Beech Author</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her second book, The</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both of her</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">reviewed, critically acclaimed and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the RNA Most Popular Romantic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Novel Award in 2019.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louise lives with her</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">husband on the outskirts of Hull, and loves her job as a Front of House</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.</span><br />
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