Miracle Number Four by Paul Marriner - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

In the autumn of 1974 my mother stopped going to work at the bakery. I passed there often, and the ladies in their blue tabards still smiled but stopped speaking. It didn't bother me. It wasn't until the following spring, when out with my sister, that I realised they were offering sympathy. Susan knew. We had been walking to the chemist to collect Mum's prescription - Susan on half-day from the salon and me just home from school - when the smiles and silence at the bakery's open doors stopped her. More accurately, it was the whispering when we'd passed that she noticed. Turning sharply, she spoke slowly and clearly.

'April will bloom again.'

***

A song of the suburbs: a story of family, friends, first love, tragedy, hope and rock and roll

It's 1976 and with dreams of a career in rock, a crush on the prettiest girl in town, and a mother in remission from cancer, Mike’s future looks bright.

Music brings excitement and a chance to shine, but life off-stage is complicated.

Together with family, friends and band-mates, Mike finds joy, sadness and loss. Troubling secrets surface while a new friend brings both fresh perspectives and a cruel reality. The radios and pubs blast rock into the suburban nights and the band prepare for their big break. Is Mike ready?

A warm, thoughtful, questioning novel; a reminder of simpler days, complex emotions and music of a generation.

***

Publishing in paperback today, this is a lovely coming of age story set in 1970's London suburbia.

Having grown up in London during the 1970's I was instantly attracted to this book and it's period and setting provided me with a wonderful trip down memory lane.  Music is a big feature of this book and plays as important a role as any of the characters.

This is a dialogue led book and propels this story along very nicely. The narrative is well written, but it is largely the conversations between the characters which make for an easy read and which makes the characters so easy to engage with.

The main character, Mike, aka JB, is delightful. The author presents him as a fully formed adolescent, and we observe him as he learns about love, life and music. He is a multi-layered character, and I enjoyed watching him make sense of the world.

There is also a wonderful cast of secondary characters, and I enjoyed reading about each of them. Mike's family and friends interacted perfectly and were all very believable.

There are many themes running throughout the book; love, loss, friendship and growing up, all written with both humour and poignancy. I enjoyed this book very much and can forsee it being one I pop back to read now and then.

I was thrilled to realise in the end pages of the book that the author has previously written a book about one of the characters, Richard. Just as I was sorry to be leaving Mike and the other characters I now realise I do not have to and can read more about Richard in the book, Three Weeks in Summer.

I loved Miracle Number Four, and I highly recommend it.

ISBN:  978 1999620066

Publisher:  Bluescale Publishing

Formats:  e-book, hardback and paperback - available on Kindle Unlimited

About the Author:

Paul grew up in a west London suburb (not unlike the suburbs in which his latest book – Miracle Number Four – is based) and now lives in Berkshire with his wife and two children. He is passionate about music, sport and, most of all,  writing, on which he now concentrates full-time. Paul has written five novels and his primary literary ambition is that you enjoy reading them while he is hard at work on the next one (but still finding time to play drums).

(book and author photo courtesy of Love Book Tours)

(author bio courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

The Golden Bell by Robert L. Stone - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

As the serving boys came out of the house carrying jugs of wine, Moses ibn Ezra took a moment to admire the garden, which had almost reached perfection on this fine May evening. Roses bloomed between lilies and flowering grasses. The hornbeam hedges shimmered. Green catkins danced against darker leaves. Moses breathed deeply, savouring the honeyed scent of the mock orange bushes, and running his palm over the cool grass beside his divan.

A dozen poets lounged on divans and cushions around the lawn, dressed in the fine linen robes and turbans of courtiers and scholars, sober browns and maroons brightened by flashes of colour at the cuffs. The men were talking quietly, waiting for the poetry contest to begin...

***

Arriving in Córdoba as a young man in 1088 to learn medicine, Yehuda Halevi is enchanted by a world in which Muslim, Jewish and Christian courtiers share poetry and philosophy in their elegant gardens. Here he falls in love with Deborah, the spirited daughter of his host. In this turbulent world, however, Yehuda also encounters invasions and pirates, book burnings and bandits.Driven by conflict to move from city to city, Yehuda and Deborah are often parted – but always in the hope that they will one day return together to Córdoba. As Yehuda’s fame grows as a poet and as a philosopher, his writings become increasingly mystical but also increasingly restless, for he yearns to travel to the holy city of Jerusalem. In 1140, as an old man, he must finally decide whether to stay with his family or begin the perilous voyage towards Egypt and Crusader Jerusalem…In this beautifully evocative story, Robert L. Stone transports the reader to twelfth-century Andalucía as he traces the extraordinary life of a man determined to devote himself – and his exceptional talent – to a greater truth.

***

This excellent book spans parts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. I have not read many books set during that period so this made for really interesting reading. It is ambitious in scope and relates the oft unstable religious and political environment in existence during this period of history. 

Although this is a work of fiction, the author has clearly completed extensive research which gives this novel a scholarly feel whilst also being easy to read.  Whilst the backdrop is complex, the characters enable this book to keep the reader engaged and although it is intellectual in feel, it carries the reader along with it very nicely.

The book follows the life of Yehuda Halevi. He was a well written and fully fleshed character who was easy to engage with. I enjoyed accompanying him on each step of his journey, and the author's descriptions made Yehuda's world feel very relevant. I equally enjoyed reading of his wife, Deborah, who Mr. Stone portrays as a strong female character within a very patriarchal society.

Well written, it's excellent narrative and dialogue propels the story forward, making it well worth reading.  I learned much about both the time period and the places that Yehudi travelled. There is much attention to detail which enables the reader to feel very close to the story and setting.

What this book demonstrates clearly is that during the time period in which it is set different faiths were able to co-exist harmoniously and indeed learn from one another. It is a book that is very relevant to todays society and is well worth reading.

ISBN: 978 1915036537

Publisher:  Stony Mere

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

Amazon UK

About the Author:

Having gained a PhD in history and political anthropology from Cambridge University, Robert L. Stone has worked for many years advising governments on strategies to fight poverty, particularly in the wake of conflicts. He has a lifelong interest in how different cultures and ethnicities relate to each other - this, combined with his love of literature, is the inspiration for The Golden Bell.

(book, photos and all info. courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(all opinions are my own)

Belle Nash and the Bath Souffle by William Keeling - #BookReview

 

Packing away a dead man's clothes is never a joyous task, the worse when the man concerned was the husband whom you loved. But a year had passed since Hercules Champion had died and his widow Gaia felt in her heart that the time had come to recognise the past tense and say goodbye if not to the memory of the man then to his garments.

The decision was made in the knowledge that this is what her husband Hercules - rationalist, lawyer and businessman - would have desired...

***

When Gaia Champion's souffle fails to rise in 1830s Bath, it sets off a chain of events that overthrows the settled order. Centred on the personality of local councillor and bachelor extraordinaire Bellerophon 'Belle' Nash, this first volume of The Gay Street Chronicles engages with social issues that were emerging in the early days of Queen Victoria's reign and still require our close attention today. A recurring cast of whimsical characters brings a gentle humour to the writing and to the strong feminist activism of Bath's first Lady Magistrate.

***

Set in Bath in 1831, this delightful book transported me to visits I have made to the city. There are several historic buildings which are mentioned in the book, and which I have visited, and so it was easy for me to be pulled into the setting of the novel. I could easily imagine the characters going about their business through the streets of Bath, making it very easy to become engrossed by the story.

It is a wonderfully escapist book; full of humour and wry observations and I read it with a smile on my face. In style, it reminded me of P.G. Wodehouse. It was the kind of humour that could be termed 'silly' and I mean that in a positive sense. The fact that the whole story hinges on a souffle which failed to rise demonstrates the point.

The characters were all delightful to read about, each one of them vital to the plot in their own unique way. The author made them come alive on the page, and I was sorry when I read the final page and had to leave them behind.

However, this is the first book in the Gay Street Chronicles series which I am thrilled about. I am informed by the author that the next volume will be published in the spring of 2023 and I can hardly wait.

ISBN: 978 1915023025

Publisher: Envelope Books

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

About the Author:

William Keeling is a former foreign correspondent of the Financial Times who exposed a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal in Nigeria that led to his summary deportation. He eventually left journalism for chocolate, becoming co-owner of the historic chocolate company Prestat, but is still plotting his return to the tru home of jollof rice. Like his late uncle (referred to in this book), he has a creative mind. He lives and writes in Somerset. Belle Nash and the Bath Souffle is the first in his series, The Gay Street Chronicles.

(Thank you to Envelope Books for providing me with a copy of this book.)