Tag Archives: family

Jera’s Jamboree Review : The Gilded Fan by Christina Courtenay

gildedfan

Paperback: 400 pages

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1013 KB

Publisher: Choc Lit (7 Feb 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1781890080

ISBN-13: 978-1781890080

How do you start a new life, leaving behind all you love?

It’s 1641, and when Midori Kumashiro, the orphaned daughter of a warlord, is told she has to leave Japan or die, she has no choice but to flee to England. Midori is trained in the arts of war, but is that enough to help her survive a journey, with a lecherous crew and an attractive captain she doesn’t trust?

Having come to Nagasaki to trade, the last thing Captain Nico Noordholt wants is a female passenger, especially a beautiful one. How can he protect her from his crew when he can’t keep his own eyes off her?

During their journey, Nico and Midori form a tentative bond, but they both have secrets that can change everything. When they arrive in England, a civil war is brewing, and only by standing together can they hope to survive …

Goodreads       Buy Amazon

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Although The Gilded Fan is the sequel to The Scarlet Kimono, it can also be read as a stand-alone so don’t let that put you off picking up this wonderful read!

The Gilded Fan begins with a prologue.  It is 1640 and Midori is at her mother, Hannah’s funeral.  On the procession to the temple, the reader becomes aware of the death a year ago of Midori’s father and how Hannah’s love for him was so strong that she couldn’t live without him.  We also meet Midori’s half-brother, Ichiro.

We’re then on the island Dejima (across the water from Nagasaki) at the Dutch Trading Post for the East Indian Company.  There is a small bridge that connects Dejima and Nagasaki but is guarded.  The Captain of the Zwarte Zwaan is unwell but still meets with the Japanese to negotiate for cargo.  When he dies from the fever Nico, first mate, becomes Captain.

Midori needs to flee Japan as the Shogun is cleansing Japan of ‘foreigners’.  With her maternal English heritage, she is put into this category.  Bluffing her way onto Dejima, she wants to pay for her passage to England.  Before she meets Nico she makes her first enemy.  I loved this scene!  The customs of her upbringing and her personality really shine through.  Such a strength of character!  From this point I knew I would thoroughly enjoy being a part of wherever the story was going to take me.

Against his better judgement, Nico accepts Midori as a passenger but before they set sail, a member of Ichiro’s household has betrayed them.  Midori spends some time in a dungeon …

The sea journey is exciting and dangerous.  Alongside the sparring of our two leads, their attraction grows.  Batavia is the stop-off that causes conflict for Midori and Amsterdam, Nico’s home, is where she feels at home.

Before they reach Plymouth, Nico finds out something that will cause rejection when they reach land…

The historical period of The Gilded Fan is very interesting, from the Shogun in Japan and Japenese customs to the Civil War with the Royalists and Parliamentarians in England.  With Midori’s mixed-race heritage she feels as if she doesn’t belong anywhere.  The beliefs she was brought up to revere are never truly buried in Puritan Plymouth.

The writing is such that you feel yourself a part of the story.  Considering we’re on the Zwarte Zwaan for a time, you might think there would be times when you’re imagination isn’t quite so fired but the things that happen give this an exciting feel. In Batavia I experienced the terror alongside Midori, in the market I enjoyed wandering around and bargaining and in Plymouth I could smell the stench of the streets and hear the boom of the cannons.

Our two leads are very strong characters, which leads to some very emotional sparring sessions.  I enjoyed the sparks Midori and Nico made  :)

I did wonder where the plot would take us once we reached England … when we find out the connection to England it weaves together all the strands of the plot, giving us more conflict between the two leads and intrigue within Midori’s family (as well as the politics/Civil War).

The Gilded Fan is more than a story of love.  History, politics, religion, family and time spent on a trading ship and in three countries held me enthralled.  I thought about the story during the day and couldn’t wait to carry on reading.

I did have a personal interest in this story … I can’t end my review without sharing that my 5 x great grandfather, Richard Govey, spent time as a first mate on the East Indiaman ‘Grosvenor’ (1766) and his nephew was buried in the Honourable East India Co burial ground in Poplar in 1846.  In 1878, an ancestors marriage announcement in The Times notes her name and nickname … Henriette (Chinkie) Govey.  Not PC these days!

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy ... it's a keeper!

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy … it’s a keeper!

I would like to thank the publishers, Choc Lit, for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you purchase the paperback format of The Gilded Fan, you also have the option of downloading an e-copy free!  Details inside the paperback.  I think this is a brilliant idea because you can then either read on your phone app or e-reader as well :)

If you would like to find out more about Christina Courtenay you can visit her website, tweet with her or join her on Facebook.

Jera’s Jamboree : Book News ~ Summer of ’76 by @IsabelAshdown

I’ve been fortunate enough to have read Isabel Ashdown’s two previous novels,

Glasshopper and Hurry Up and Wait which I loved.

The Summer of ’76 is Isabel’s forthcoming novel will be released with Myriad Editions UK, July 2013.

I’m really looking forward to reading this!

‘In this intense novel of secrets and simmering passions the acclaimed author of Glasshopper and Hurry Up and Wait takes us back to the legendary heatwave of 1976.’

summerof76It’s the start of one of the hottest summers on record with soaring temperatures and weeks without rain; the summer of Abba, T-Rex, David Bowie and Demis Roussos; of Martinis, cheesecake and chicken chasseur; of the Montreal Olympics and the Notting Hill riots – the summer Big Ben stopped dead.

Luke Wolff is about to turn eighteen and is all set to enjoy his last few months at home on the Isle of Wight before leaving for college. Life is looking good; his job at a holiday camp promises new friendships, even the possibility of romance, and his parents are too preoccupied with their own lives to worry much about their son’s growing independence.

But with windows and doors constantly open and life increasingly lived outside, secrets become hard to hide. As Luke listens in, his parents’ seemingly ordered lives come unstuck. Soon the community is gripped by scandal, and everything Luke thought he knew about family and trust is turned on its head.

With her fine eye for the drama of everyday life, Isabel Ashdown perceptively unravels the complexity of her characters’ lives – and reveals what really lies beneath the deceptively smooth surface.

The cover, for me, tells a story all of its own.  Of lazy summer days with the responsibilities of life yet to embed themselves … hope and optimism and a belief that you know where you’re going and that life will always be this way :)

What do you think?

For updates on this book and other news, you can sign up to Isabel’s newsletter HERE.

Follow Isabel on Twitter @IsabelAshdown

Jera’s Jamboree review : With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews

With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews

 

Paperback: 496 pages

Publisher: Sphere (25 Oct 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0751545481

ISBN-13: 978-0751545487

 

Can the imperfect family really have the perfect Christmas?

 Juliet Joyce adores Christmas. She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand.

Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet’s father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day. And has the chaos got too much for Juliet’s husband Rick?

With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled

WITH LOVE AT CHRISTMAS.

 

 

When I realised that Carole Matthews Christmas novel returns us to the Joyce family from That Loving Feeling (two years later), I was really looking forward to spending time with Juliet again.  Having identified with her before, I found myself nodding to the questions Juliet asks herself in With Love at Christmas, having asked myself the same!

We start our journey towards the big day with the Joyce family as Juliet is in the supermarket, filling her trolley with Christmas fayre.  We find out where she is in her life now and her reminisces of her own childhood Christmas, making do with the little they had and a dearth of the festive spirit.  She witnesses an ironic scene in the supermarket car park and on arriving home, we find out that although husband Rick doesn’t have the same zest for Christmas, he is competitive with the lights decorating the outside of their home.

Straight away you know you’re in for a fabulous read, not only because of the characters and everything being so true to life and therefore easy to identify with (all those rituals we make our own) but also because of Matthews writing style and humour.

We get to identify with both leads as Juliet is narrated in the first person and Rick third.  These two different narratives work really well.  Juliet is the one trying to make Christmas the event she so desperately wants while Rick has a secret and his employee has a secret of his own.

Spending time with the Joyce family in the lead up to Christmas is engaging and emotional.  As I’m writing I have so many scenes in my head … from the sadness of bereavement/illness and the break up of a relationship, to the birth of a baby and the inclusion of people less fortunate.  The humorous scenes still have me giggling now; my favourite has to be Juliet’s return from her works Christmas party! although others are close behind in the belly laughing stakes.  Christmas Day is full of drama but also resolutions and love.

I was reluctant to get to that final page and once I had, it left me feeling bereft.  No surprises at my rating!  With Love at Christmas is my all time favourite of Carole Matthews.

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy … it’s a keeper!

 

I recently hosted Carole on Jera’s Jamboree.  To see how she was converted to the joys of Christmas, you can read the post here.

You can keep up to date with Carole’s news on her website (sign up for her newsletter for offers and competitions too), follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Jera’s Jamboree review: Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe? by Hazel Osmond

Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe? By Hazel Osmond

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Quercus (21 April 2011)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1849164185

ISBN-13: 978-1849164184

Shortlisted for the Romantic Comedy of the Year 2012, by the Romantic Novelists Association of the UK.

Ellie Somerset is a great advertising copywriter going nowhere fast – a boyfriend who is always at work, a tendency to dress like a short-sighted bag lady and a Creative Director who rejects her fresh ideas – they all conspire to keep her just treading water. Even her Great Aunt Edith, a demon at filthy scrabble, has a better social life than she does. All that changes when Jack Wolfe becomes her boss. Whilst everyone else at the agency thinks he’s Heathcliff in jeans, Ellie just sees a stalking, scowling Alpha male with a nasty redundancy plan up his sleeve. As Jack makes it his mission to smarten up Ellie’s attitude and her appearance, it’s time for her to prove herself. But that means getting closer to this very sexy, very wicked man, and as she does Ellie discovers that this particular Heathcliff has an awful lot to hide.

 

The story opens with Ellie and work partner Lesley pitching an out-of-the-box idea to dull Account Excecutive Hugo.  Their head of department Gavin is away and so Jack Wolfe will be choosing which pitch goes through to the client.  The scene is set for the background of Ellie’s career.

The reader is then introduced to how life is at home with boyfriend Sam.  Sam is busy with his German clients and their paths hardly ever seem to cross at home.  We learn how they met and where they are now.

Ellie discovers boyfriend Sam in a situation that changes her whole life – it makes her question lots of things.

Ellie’s first encounter with Jack Wolfe away from work takes place in Cavello’s while she is waiting for her food order to take away. Despite the embarrassment of the situation, I enjoyed Ellie’s antagonism and thought she carried it off with poise!

While Jack is goading Ellie at work to grow into her potential, their growing attraction is palpable.  Their dance of emotions has a barrier that seems insurmountable! We know that Jack has something in his past that makes him cold and unemotional but we don’t find out what that is for a long time.

Written in the third person, this enables the reader to identify with all the characters.  (For me the characters were very real and their lives became mine … when I’m emotionally involved in the story it’s very hard to stand back and be objective!)

We are able to go beneath the mask Jack presents to the world while we journey with him and his thoughts and feelings.  There is only one point where I disliked him intensely but the rest of the time, the reader can see his actions have a reason!

I have to mention Ellie’s great Aunt Edith … she is such a fun and eccentric character and I really enjoyed the bond they had. I admired her for wanting to keep the zest and fire in her life despite her age.

If you read my reviews you will know how much I enjoy watching a character grow and Ellie is no exception.  In the beginning we find her just cruising through her life, only skimming the surface. As the story progresses we get to see her  become confident in her abilities in her career as well as her personal life.

Even though I’ve read a lot of books in this genre with a similar plot (mutual attraction denied, then succumb, then the break away etc) the way the author crafts this story gave it a fresh feeling to me.  The story is fast paced, humorous, engaging and takes the reader to the highs and the lows.  I’ve laughed and cried and yes, lusted after Mr Wolfe myself :)  I was sad when the story came to an end – I just wanted it to carry on!

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy ... it's a keeper!

I won my signed copy of Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe? on Amanda’s Countdown to Christmas feature on her blog (Highly recommend you follow her reviews if you don’t already on One More Page )  Thanks Amanda for introducing me to a new author!

I noticed the author has a book due to be published on 21 June 2012 The First Time I Saw Your Face … it’s on my wishlist!

You can find out more about the author on her website.  She also tweets and has an author page on Facebook .

Review Watch Over Me by Daniela Sacerdoti

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Black & White Publishing (15 Nov 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845023668
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845023669


Synopsis from Black & White Publishing:  

Eilidh Lawson’s life has hit crisis point. Years of failed fertility treatments, a cheating husband and an oppressive family have pushed her to the limit. Desperate for relief, Eilidh seeks solace in the only place she’s ever felt at home – a small village in the Scottish Highlands. There, Eilidh slowly begins to mend her broken heart but soon learns she is not the only one in the village struggling to recover from a painful past.


Jamie McAnena, Eilidh’s childhood friend, is trying to raise his daughter Maisie alone. After Maisie’s mother left to pursue a career in London and Jamie’s own mother, Elizabeth, passed away, he has resigned himself to being a family of two.


But sometimes there is more to a story than meets the eye. Despite their reluctance, curious circumstances keep bringing Jamie and Eilidh together. For even when it seems all is lost, help can come from the most surprising places.


An ethereal and beautifully written debut novel, Watch Over Me is a poignant story about letting go and moving on – with a little bit of help from beyond the grave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watch Over Me is a debut novel from author Daniela Sacerdoti.

The prologue is so beautifully written and hooks the reader in.  I wanted to find out the events leading to the spring night in the woods as well as what exactly happened that night – who was narrating?  Why were they in the woods?

We begin our journey with Eilidh narrating.  We find out the poignant sadness of her infertility, her passion for children, her sense of failure … you feel everything Eilidh feels, really getting under her skin. Not only does she feel a failure in her personal life but she feels like an outsider in her own family who I felt didn’t know her at all.

Next, we find out from Jamie about his life – his relationship with Janet who was all consumed by her art and appeared quite depressed about being pregnant.  Such a juxtaposition to the path Eilidh’s life had taken her!

These two chapters set the scene for their emotional barriers, their vulnerability and hiding from life.  Then along comes another element to the story and one that stays throughout the journey.  This is unusual, has a vital part to play in their journey to wholeness and so beautifully written.  This is the ‘little bit ofhelp from beyond the grave.’

What follows is the dance of healing and vulnerability while being a part of a small community that has some colourful characters and strong blood ties back through time.

Daniela Sacerdoti’s writing is fluid and beautiful.  Eilidh and Jamie alternate with a first person narrative and this enables the reader to identify with and become immersed in their journey.  Tension comes from two major incidents as well as friction between characters.  I loved Shona (Jamie’s sister) and Silke (gallery owner) and who wouldn’t fall in love with Maisie – all that energy and sparkle!

Of course I enjoyed the spiritual aspect to the story but Ialso have two favourite parts – one has to be over the Christmas and Hogmanay period.  It was good to see Eilidh’s friends Harry and Doug from Southport a part of her life in Glen Avich.  The other is the scene in hospital with Tom.  It was good that the author included a balanced view.  The acceptance and finality had me in tears.

My only complaint is that I was hoping for something awful to happen to Katrina (Eilidh’s sister). This isn’t as awful as it sounds – honestly!  I was hoping that Katrina would realise the effect she has on others!  She is only a character on the periphery (although has a major effect on Eilidh).

Watch Over Me is a poignant love story with a background of family and belonging – the positive and the negative.  It’s about the vulnerability of feelings and the power we give away to others … and surrendering ourselves to fate, but have you ever thought about who it is controlling fate?

A perfect read for Yule season, I am giving Watch Over Me the following rating:

Buy it and spread the word

I would like to thank the author and her publishers for sending me a copy to review.
You can find out more about Daniela on her website, you canread about how the characters took on a life of their own from Daniel’s guestpost on my blog  and read the first three chapters on Black & White Publishing’s website.

Daniela Tweets and Watch Over Me has a Facebook page.

Watch Over Me is available in paperback and Kindle.

Shaz’ Stars interviews author Nicola May

In the hot seat today I would like to welcome:


NICOLA MAY

Hello Nicola, thank you for letting us have a peek behindthe scenes.  Your sun sign is PISCES.

Q.  The 9 -5 life does notsuit a Pisces due to a dislike of discipline and confinement so your chosencareer suits you well.  When did you decide to become a writer and did youhave anyone to support you?
I actually didn’t start writing until my thirties. I wasworking in PR at the time, loved a drink and smoked 20 a day and was dared torun a half marathon. I thought it would be quite funny to create a comedy diaryof events throughout my tough training. Amazingly, I completed the marathon,but didn’t finish the diary. It did, however, give me the writing bug.
I do hate the restrictions of the 9-5 but needs must and Istill have to work. Like Ruby my central character I am currently looking for anew role. It has to be something I enjoy, that doesn’t stifle me and gives metime to write, do PR and sign books.
Q.  Pisceans are said tolike music.  Do you have any playing in the background while youwrite?  What inspires you? 
Iactually wrote songs and sang in a band called Organised Chaos when I was 17. Itend to listen to the radio more than anything. I already have a list of songsthat I would like to be on the soundtrack when Working it Out is made in to a film. Artist wise I love Adele.
Q.  Apart from Piscesbeing a water sign linked to creativity, Pisceans are also well known for beingimpractical and dreamy.  How does this translate for you into having to beorganised to meet a deadline?
I thinkworking in the corporate world, predominately arranging events has disciplinedme, and so I’m actually very good at deadlines.
Q.  Personalexperiences make great reads when written into a story.  Pisceans do notlike to reveal their private lives.  Does it make you feel uncomfortableexpressing anything that has affected you personally in your novels? 
I’m anexception here as I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. In Working it Out, Ruby has lost her father, so I deal with how shefeels coping with his death and the subsequent changed relationship with hermother. I actually lost my mum when she was just 41. So I guess that’s why Idid choose for Ruby to lose her dad rather than her mum, as even though I dealtwith the grief element in the novel I didn’t have to relive the actual pain orcircumstances.

Q.  Pisceans are kind andcompassionate and respond with sensitivity.  Do any of your charactersdisplay these traits?
Yes,quite a few. Without giving too much of the story away Ruby arranges theperfect funeral for one of her friends mum’s during her stint at a funeraldirectors.


Q.  Pisces is a spiritualsign – does it feel as if ideas sometimes come from no-where, as if they’vedropped out of the ether? 
I dohave ‘light bulb’ moments, usually when I’m driving somewhere, but these aretriggered by small incidents I may see or hear. I actually have thought of areally good idea today and that came from watching Glee! Funnily enough it has nothing at all to do withentertainment, quite the opposite in fact.

Q.  A negative trait for aPiscean is a strong dislike of being criticised.  How do you feel aboutconstructive criticism?
At firstI struggled with criticism. I have a pile of rejection letters from agents fromyears back, but I’ve got harder as time goes on and I now understand howdifficult it is to get your book in print, let alone get an agent. You wouldthink an agent would jump at the chance to represent me now. I have translationdeals in the pipeline and am selling a lot of books, but I’m still searchingfor the right one to take me on.
Luckilythe majority of reader reviews have been amazing and to me that’s what counts.It is only some book reviewers and publishers who have so far added a littlenegative here and there. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If the wholeworld loved the same books, what a boring place we would live in.
Q.  When Pisces find theright situations, they are completely engaged in what they are doing to theexclusion of all else.  This translates into a workaholic!  How doyou deal with this trait?  Do you set yourself a schedule for yourwriting?
That isme!  Once my head is in to writing abook, I can sometimes write for 8 hours without breaking for food and I lovefood! I have no set times at all. However I do have an agenda in my head forwriting goals and currently for PR surrounding Working it Out. I know exactly where I want to go with it next. Mydream is to see my name on the Times bestseller list.

Q.  Pisceslove style, luxury and pleasure.  Do you include these in your settings?
Ooh Icould do with a bit of luxury and pleasure right now, but with 10 signingslined up I don’t have a spare weekend over the summer now to go away. Aluxurious setting in Working it Outis Chateau Eza in the South of France. It is the most beautiful boutique hotelset way up high in the cliffs. I went there when I first met my fiancé; it wasridiculously expensive and extremely decadent.

Q.  When Pisces feelrejected they really do become low.  In the publishing world, rejection isa well-known part of that life.  How do you cope with rejection?  Doyou have any strategies to share with other authors?
If I doget a slightly negative review, I thank the person whole heartedly for takingthe time to read my book and take heart and energy from the next positive one Iget. You have to take on board constructive criticism from those in the know;it is after all their forte. I did a massive rewrite of Working it Out based on all the points I received from variousagents and publishers over the years and I think that is why it is successfultoday.
Thank you for sharing with us today Nicola.

Nicola is a showcased author with Loveahappyending which is an interactive reader/author website.  Visit Loveahappyending to find out more about this brilliant project and how you, as a reader, can support them.
Author Biography

Nicola May lives in Ascot in Berkshire. Her hobbiesinclude watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon,eating flapjacks and enjoying a flutter on the horses. Working it Out is herdebut novel.


Author weblinks:


Author’s Website: http://www.nicolamay.com/
Twitter Account @nicolamay1: http://bit.ly/luUXVt
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/jtv4SR

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Nowell Publishing (13 Mar 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 095683230X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0956832306

Ruby Matthews has a plan. Twelve jobs in twelve months, until she finds the one of her dreams…













The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerney

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Pan (4 April 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330452711
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330452717
Synopsis from the authors website:  

Sisters are always therefor each other . . . aren’t they?
Anna, Bett and CarrieQuinlan were childhood singing stars – the Alphabet Sisters.  As adultsthey haven’t spoken in years.  Not since Bett’s fiancé left her foranother sister…

Now Lola, theirlarger-than-life grandmother, summons them home for a birthday extravaganza anda surprise announcement.  But just as the rifts begin to close, theAlphabet Sisters face a test none of them ever imagined.

A witty, wise family saga,filled with warmth and humour, this is an unforgettable story of three womenwho learn that being true to themselves means being true to each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The first part of the story we get to know the sisters andwhere they are in their lives right now. Bett, the middle sister, is living inLondon and working in the press office for a record producer. Anna, the eldest,is living in Sydney with daughter Ellen while husband Glenn works away.  Anna is a voice-over artist.  Carrie is still living in Clare, workingwith their parents at the family owned Valley View Motel.  We get to know that things aren’t all asthey appear on the surface for each sister. Lola is the one who has kept in touch with them all and is scheming onhow to end the feud and bring them all back together again.  We spend time with each sister to thebuild-up of Lola’s 80th birthday party.

There are no explosions when the sisters first meetagain.  Everything is polite butdistanced and they are treading on egg shells around each other.  Each sister pretends everything is fine intheir lives.  Lola tries to bringeverything to a head so there can be a resolution with no result.  In fact, Lola schemes quite a lot …  What follows is a journey the sisters takein coming to terms with the roles they’ve played in the family and theirjealousies of each other amidst the backdrop of the cast of characters thatpopulate the community of Clare. 

The test the sisters’ face is full of sorrow and pain.  This is the one part in the story wheresadness pulls you, the reader, into the abyss too.  We’ve journeyed so far with the Quinlan sisters – emotionally andpsychologically – that we feel so involved and can’t help but feel a part ofit.  Even though laughter is somethingwe end our journey on, it is tainted with that sadness laying underneath.

The lead characters in the story are well-rounded andwell-developed.  My favourite has to beGrandmother Lola.  She is such afabulous character … eccentric, unconventional and a fount of wisdom.  She is the lynch pin that makes everyoneface their fears and learn to live with them. She plays the ‘devils advocate’ and puts a positive spin on things oftendiffusing situations.  She really is thematriarch!  Whereas Geraldine (the girlsmother and Lola’s daughter-in-law) is brisk and practical with very little fuss,having everything ordered and precise. I just know there is something from her own childhood that makes it hardfor her to engage her emotions!  Wedon’t find out much about Geraldine other than her relationship with herhusband, Jim, has made the girls feel as if they have been excluded from thataffection and that Geraldine and Lola don’t really get on but wear their‘masks’ to cover how they feel about each other.  Both women do have their vulnerable sides that we get toglimpse.  There are of course thesisters’ partners/husbands but to me, this story is about the three sistersfinding their way back to not only each other but themselves too.

My favourite part of the story has to be the play that Lolascripted and which the community become involved in.  There are so many emotions involved during the rehearsals and onthe night of the play itself.  A closesecond is when something from Bett’s past walks into her present.  Very cleverly plotted J

I loved how the author has something major happening to oneof the characters but in the background is the steady thrum of the othercharacters lives – so while an issue is highlighted, we are still a part of thelives of the characters who populate this world.

I had really enjoyed reading ‘Those Faraday Girls’ and washoping I wouldn’t be disappointed in ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ as it had quite alot to live up to…  It has certainlylived up to my expectations and surpassed them!

I can only agree wholeheartedly with the last paragraph ofthe synopsis, ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ really is an unforgettable story.

I am giving ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ the following rating:





I won my signed copy of ‘The Alphabet Sisters’ in a giveaway. I would like to thank the author and publisher Pan for choosing me.

Monica McInerney’s new novel ‘Lola’s Secret’ has Lola up toher usual mischief .  It is alreadyavailable in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland and will be published in the UKand USA in 2012.  It’s already on mywishlist!

You can find out more about the author on her website .  Monica is on Twitter and Facebook.


http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=jersjam-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=0330452711&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson

     Paperback: 432 pages
                    Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (29 Sep 2011)
                    Language English
                    ISBN-10: 184983203X
                      ISBN-13: 978-1849832038
Synopsis from Amazon: 

After a bruising divorce,headstrong Juliet Miller invests in a flat and advertises for a flatmate,little believing that in her mid-thirties she’ll find anyone suitable. Butalong comes self-employed copywriter Floz, raw from her own relationship split,and the two women hit it off. When Juliet’s twin brother Guy meets Floz, he isovercome with a massive crush. But being a shy, gentle giant, he communicatesso clumsily with her as to give her the opposite impression. Guy’s best friendSteve has always had a secret, unrequited crush on Juliet. After a night of toomuch wine, Steve and Juliet end up in bed, after moaning about the lack of sexin their lives. Convinced that Juliet doesn’t feel the same way, Steve agreesto a ‘just-sex’ relationship, until they can both hook their dream partners.Just when Guy has finally plucked up the courage to tell Floz how he feels, hefinds she has rekindled an old romance. Floz has never had much love in herlife and is obviously thirsty for affection. She loves the whole Miller family,from Juliet and Guy’s warm, loving parents, to their ancient one-eyed black cat.But can Guy turn Floz’s affection for his family into something more – intolove for him? Then Juliet makes a series of discoveries which will turn thelives of all four friends upside-down and turns that Autumn into a season wherelove can be harvested.
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From the opening of this story where Juliet and her friendCoco are interviewing for a flat mate, right up to the last punctuation mark, Ihave really enjoyed living in this world created by Milly Johnson.
The story takes us through the Autumnal months of August,September, October and November living alongside characters whose antics haveprovoked emotional outbursts from me and no doubt will from you! 
Guys frustrated attempts at getting close to Floz actuallyhad me in stitches of laughter.  Ispluttered with mirth at the things that happened when Steve and Guy went roundto Juliet’s flat, ostensibly to check out the plastering. 
I also just have to mention Steve who at one point findshimself outside on the steps of the flat whose clothing leads Juliet’s neighbour to believe he’s a transvestite.  Hilarious! I am still laughing now …
Amidst the laughter though (of which is there plenty),sadness is also woven through the story. Milly Johnson is not afraid to deal with the darker side of life.  Dysfunctional families, internet dating,addictions and more all have their place in this novel.
I loved The Miller family who are open and welcomingproviding roots and stability for everyone involved in their lives.
There is also plenty of intrigue.  The author drops us hints as we’re going along so the first timesomething is mentioned it gets you thinking where it will fit into the storyand as you’re reading further into the story we get to know a little bit moreuntil the time is right for the revelation.
Milly Johnson very cleverly moves the plot along at a steadypace and just when something is becoming all ‘sown up’ something else isdropped into the mix so there is more intrigue to keep you turning those pages,wanting to know what will happen.
The way the story is written just carries you along in itsflow.  I found it easy to read which tobe honest, is just what I needed after a working day in school – although attimes I should have been sleeping and NOT reading!  Pure escapism …
I was quite sad when I knew I was getting close to theend.  I’d been swept along with Floz bythe power of Juliet’s personality, been caught up in Coco’s flamboyant personality and love life, been wrapped up in the warmth of the Millerfamily, cried tears of laughter and sometimes deep sadness, been frustrated bythe non-relationship of Floz and Guy but uplifted by Juliet and Steve’sshenanigans.  An Autumn Crush has keptme good company this past week and taken me out of my everyday life.  I didn’t want my brief time in this world toend.
An Autumn Crush has truly entertained me and touched myemotions and for these reasons, my rating is:


I would like to thank Simon & Schuster for providing mewith a copy to review.
I have The Yorkshire Pudding Club on my Kindle tbr pile andI will definitely be adding Milly Johnson’s other titles.
You can find Milly Johnson at her website, onTwitter and on Facebook.

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Fable’s Fortune by Sue Johnson

  • Paperback: 282 pages
  • Publisher: Indigo Dreams Publishing (1 July 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1907401466
  • ISBN-13: 978-1907401466
Synopsis from Amazon:  
Fable Mitchell is born undera roof of stars in a Kentish plum orchard, and her early childhood is spent ina house called Starlight where she lives with her mother Jasmine and Gangan theWise Woman. However, her life is not destined to remain like a fairytale. Whenshe is ten, she is abducted by her estranged father Derek, now a vicar, andtaken to live in his austere vicarage at Isbourne on the banks of the RiverAvon. Fable is unable to escape. When she is sixteen, she falls in love withTobias Latimer but he dies in mysterious circumstances and Fable s happiness isonce again snatched away from her. She tries to rebuild her life and marriesTony Lucas because she thinks the omens are right. Fable soon realises he isabusive and controlling, but is trapped because she fears losing contact withher daughter. Nearing her 40th birthday, Fable hears Gangan the Wise Woman svoice telling her to be ready magic happens. This is certainly true, but doesFable have the necessary courage to finally seize her chance of lastinghappiness?
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Fable’s journey is related from the perspective of presentday and also from reflection of her childhood and up to the time when she meetshusband Tony and her life from that time.
The first time we meet Fable, her life is portrayed throughfamily life with husband Tony and daughter Cara.  Fable is controlled totally by the emotionally unavailable and dominating Tony……… from where she has to sit in the front room to what she is allowed to dothroughout her day.  It is not longbefore we see the spark of hope ignite when she ‘hears’ Gangan’s voice.  Remembering her earlier childhood, Fableimmediately starts to defy Tony by preparing herself to welcome the WinterSolstice sun but unfortunately, he returns to the home and catches her in theback garden.  Cara also treats hermother in the same way.  Toby and Carahave meetings about Fable where they decide what she can and can’t do.  Cara treats her with exactly the samedisdain.
We experience life before Fable’s birth and early childhoodwhile living with her mother and wise woman Gangan.  From Gangan she learns about nature, the seasons turning on thewheel and how we are all connected – Gangan is her stability.  Her gypsy mother Jasmine and Gangan also sharethe home with Peggy.  Peggy is spitefuland out for revenge and there lies her motivation for turning Fable’s lifeupside down. 
Fable’s life from the age of 10 after being abducted byDerek (her father) is the polar opposite from the love and belonging sheexperiences with Jasmine and Gangan. Her father’s housekeeper and her son are against Fable and make lifedifficult for her.  Fable is defiant inthis household.  It is not until themysterious death of first love Tobias and further trauma that she loses her wayand stumbles a long way from her path.
Fable begins to find herself when she joins a creativewriting course at the library.  It isfrom this point that subtle changes start to take place.
Sue Johnson captures a child’s perception beautifully.  I think we tend to forget that an adult’sperspective of life is totally different! Reading about Fable’s early life with her first day at school andrelating to others brought back a lot of my own childhood memories!  I loved the way the author writes about howwords ‘taste’ to Fable for example ‘The word assembly tasted to me of crumblyginger biscuits.’  It is a very sensualbook in this respect.
The intimacy between Fable and Tobias is portrayed as sacredand special.  The association of colourswith the experience is very beautiful. This scene and the re-telling of Gangan’s calls to the heart.
I was totally surprised at the character who is a lynch pinin the turning of the wheel.  I had nosuspicions that this character was already playing a part in the changes orwould be the person to make things happen.  

It is very fitting that the ending should begin at the beginning.  I was hooked by the promise and hope of whatwas a possibility in Fable’s future. 
I loved the comparisons throughout the story.  The figurative language is different, forexample ‘The scent of the fruit was intoxicating and the plums were burstingtheir skins showing glossy yellow fruit underneath like a slashed Elizabethansilk doublet’.  How unusual!
Fable’s Fortune is a tale of one woman’s journey throughchildhood, love, family, heartache and loss to reach the start of the path thatshe was destined to tread.  Sheexperiences (on a psychological level) all the phases of the moon and thefluctuations of the cycles.    For me, the moral of Fable’s Fortune is tolisten to your intuition because it is your guide and will never lead you on afalse path.  Listen to that inner voiceand your metaphorical feet will be walking one of the paths that will lead youto where you should be going.  

AlthoughFable’s journey is not new for many women around the world or the re-telling ofit ………… the unique way the author has written it, the language she uses andtaking into account the magical element, these things set it apart from similarstories I have read.  For this reason Iam giving Fable’s Fortune my highest rating.


Sue Johnson is a showcased author on the exciting innovativeauthor/reader project at Loveahappyending.  I am honoured to be one of Sue’sAssociate Readers.
*Disclaimer – I have received no monetary compensationfor providing this review and my opinion is honest and my own*
You can find out more about Sue Johnson and her writingprojects at her website ‘The Writer’s Toolkit’.  Sue is also on Twitter and Facebook. 


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The Legacy by Katherine Webb

The Legacy
Katherine Webb

Publisher:
HarperCollins
Imprint:
Harper Paperbacks
Pub Date:
09/01/2011
ISBN:
9780062077301

Following the death of their grandmother,Erica Calcott and her sister Beth return to Storton Manor, a grand and imposinghouse in Wiltshire, England, where they spent their summer holidays aschildren. When Erica begins to sort through her grandmother’s belongings, sheis flooded with memories of her childhood—and of her cousin, Henry, whosedisappearance from the manor tore the family apart.

Erica sets out to discover what happened toHenry—so that the past can be laid to rest, and her sister, Beth, might finallyfind some peace. Gradually, as Erica begins to sift through remnants of thepast, a secret family history emerges: one that stretches all the way back toOklahoma in the 1900s, to a beautiful society heiress and a haunting, savageland. As past and present converge, Erica and Beth must come to terms with twoterrible acts of betrayal—and the heartbreaking legacy left behind.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The prologue in 1905 sets the scene on thistotally absorbing journey of how the past can send ripples along time in afamily to affect the present.  It hooksyou in straight away with intrigue, leaving you wanting to find out why this ishappening and what bearing it has on the story of four generations of Calcottwomen.

Erica and sister Beth return to StortonManor in the winter after the death of their grandmother Meredith.  Meredith has set terms for their inheritanceof the Manor – they have to live there to inherit.  We find out straight away that there are memories that Erica cannot recall surrounding the disappearance of their cousin, Henry.  We find out that Beth is mentally unwell andhad been hospitalised.  It is the firsttime they’ve stayed at the Manor without their parents and everything is in astate of disrepair and neglect.

We then return to 1902 in New York City,following Caroline (who is great grandmother to Erica and Beth) as she startsher journey of being presented to society as a debutante.  

The story is told by alternatingchapters.  The present time is writtenin the first person from Beth’s perspective where we read about the triggersshe experiences that takes her back twenty three years ago to Henry’sdisappearance.  Erica also stumbles on aphotograph of Caroline taken before she came to London and married HenryCalcott and leads to her searching through the Calcott family history to try tosolve an enigma.  Caroline’s story iswritten in the third person and charts her life from New York City to thefrontier land of Woodward County and prairie life and finally to England.

I enjoyed this balance of one era beingtold forwards in time while the other is narrated with flashbacks andreflection of the past.

When Erica finds the photograph ofCaroline, in the early 1900’s we are reading about Caroline’s life before shemarried Henry Calcott.  The intrigue ofwanting to know what happens in Caroline’s life to lead her from what we knowto what Erica knows is a strong pull. Also, the Caroline of the early 1900’s is so different from the Carolinethat Erica’s mother talks about in the present time that you want to keepreading to see what trauma happened to provoke such a change in character.

The intrigue of uncovering the secretfamily history is linked with the intrigue of Henry’s disappearance and theeffect it has had on Beth.  The Dinsdalefamily, travellers allowed to camp on part of Storton Manor (both in the pastand present) are key characters in the lives of the Calcott women.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tension of eachera building in intensity and then being left with a cliff-hanger.  I was so absorbed in what was happening Ijust couldn’t put my Kindle down!

The Legacy is a journey of secrets, mystery,intrigue, family and love.  It is astory of how one woman’s actions follows her down through the years andaffects future generations.  It held myinterest from the first word until the last and for this reason, I am givingthis novel my highest, four-fairy rating.



I requested to read The Legacy viaNetgalley.  Thank you to the publishersHarperCollins for givingpermission for me to read this uncorrected e-proof copy.






About the author:

Katherine Webb was born in Kentin 1977 and grew up in rural Hampshire. She was educated at a localcomprehensive school and sixth form college, before reading History at DurhamUniversity. A childhood fascination with ruined castles and the secrets of thepast has carried forward into her fiction, which incorporates historical storylines and explores how past events can reverberate in the present.

Since graduating from Durham in 1998, Katherinehas had various day jobs – from kiln operator in a pottery, to waitress,librarian and seller of fairy costumes. In recent years she has worked inservice as a housekeeper for high status families; in formal households whereage-old structures of class behaviour are alive and well, uniforms are worn andstaff are expected to be both invisible and omnipresent; and (currently) inpleasantly relaxed households with more up-to-date attitudes. 

After a nomadic period in her twenties, havinglived in London and Venice, Katherine has now settled in a cottage in thecountryside near Newbury, Berkshire. DIY is more of a necessity than a hobby,and her other interests include cookery, running and horse riding.