Wedding Bells for the East End Library Girls by Patricia McBride - #bookreview #blogtour

The small congregation smiled and clapped as Reverend Kennings concluded the wedding service in St Mark's Church in Silvertown.

Joe, smart in his army uniform, didn't need telling twice to kiss his new wife, Mavis...

The Blurb

The library girls are determined to keep their community’s spirits high.

With their beloved library damaged by bombing, they’ve found a temporary home in the local school, but they long to return to the place they love.

Mavis’s wedding should be a time of joy, but beneath the celebrations, she carries a secret. Determined to stay strong, she refuses to dampen the happiness of those around her.

Jane is finally stepping into the life she deserves. After years of self-doubt, she is beginning to find her confidence and – with the support of her two best friends – perhaps even an opportunity she never thought possible.

And for Cordelia, hope is also on the horizon. As the war winds down, her partner Robert may finally return from Africa. For the first time in a long time she is looking forward to a future filled with love and joy. But dare she dream of more wedding bells?

My Review

This delightful book starts and ends with a wedding. What could be lovelier?

I have enjoyed this series and have read each book. I will post links to my reviews of those that I have reviewed at the bottom of this review.

The author has kept up the standard of writing, place, and plot in every single book. This one is no exception. 

The book begins with the marriage of Mavis and Joe. It's a happy occasion for all, but her friends and colleagues, Cordelia and Jane, can sense that something is not quite right. It is not long before Mavis reveals her secret to her friends, who are always there to support her.

The author has done another fantastic job in bringing London's East End during wartime to life. I grew up hearing many stories from my mother about the war. She was a child when the war began, and she spent the majority of it in the East End of London. I love reading books set in this time and place, as the setting already feels so familiar to me. 

The three women who feature in this book are fabulous. They are plucky, strong, and determined, and they deal with the difficulties that the war throws at them with fortitude. They are each very individual, but they have in common their strength and resilience. By this fifth book, I feel as though I know them personally and could pop into the library and have a chat and a cup of tea.

This is the fifth and final book in the Library Girls series. I have enjoyed reading each and every one of them. It has been such a pleasure to spend time with Cordelia, Mavis and Jane. I shall miss them, but I am now looking forward to what Ms. McBride will be bringing us next.

Links to my other reviews

The Library Girls of the East End

Hard Times for the East End Library Girls

Hard Times for the East End Library Girls

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1836333029

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

Series:  Book 5 in the Library Girls series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Patricia McBride is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books as well as numerous articles. She loves undertaking the research for her books, helped by stories told to her by her Cockney mother and grandparents who lived in the East End. Patricia lives in Cambridge with her husband.

You can also find Patricia at:

Facebook

Instagram

Author Newsletter

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams - #bookreview

 

The doors are new: automatic open. Fancy. That has changed since Aidan was here last. The first thing he notices are the sparse rows of books - when he'd been younger, smaller, the shelves seemed to never end, teeming with books of all shapes and sizes...

***

A faded list.

Nine favourite stories.

For two strangers, friendship is only a page away . . .

When Mukesh Patel pops to the local library, forgoing his routine of grocery shopping and David Attenborough documentaries, he has no idea his life’s about to change.

He meets Aleisha, a reluctant librarian and the keeper of a curious reading list – just a scrappy piece of paper with the names of 9 stories. It doesn’t seem anything special. Yet something tells her to keep it close . . .

Story by story, Mukesh and Aleisha work their way through the list – their worries slipping away with every encounter, with every world discovered in their unlikely book club of two.

A fresh chance at life, at friendship, wasn’t on the cards for these lonely souls – but every story starts somewhere . . .

***

This is the perfect book for book lovers, and I enjoyed every word.

It is about the unlikely friendship between the two main characters, Mukesh an elderly man who is recently widowed, and Aleisha a teenager who reluctantly works at the library. It is also about how these two very different people discover themselves and their love of books. When Aleisha discovers a faded list of books tucked away inside one of the library books, she works her way through it and encourages Mukesh to do the same.

The chapters are told from the perspectives of both Mukesh and Aleisha. Both are lonely in their different ways. They are in need of healing and the author does a fantastic job in demonstrating how books can be the conduit to do so.

The entire novel is a love letter to books, reading and libraries. It is a heartwarming novel that demonstrates how books can bring people together, bridge the generational divide and heal us. 

This is a wonderful book, and although it has it's moments of sadness, it is ultimately uplifting and hopeful. It has been beautifully written and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0008391362

Publisher:  Harper Collins

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  432

About the Author:

Sara Nisha Adams is a writer and editor. She lives in London and was born in Hertfordshire to Indian and English parents.  The Reading List was her first novel. The Twilight Garden is her most recent novel.

(all opinions are my own)

(author media courtesy of the publisher)

Through the Letterbox - 12th February 2024

 

Happy Monday!

It's time for me to share with you some of the books that have entered my home this week. 

Some of these books/proofs I have been gifted, others have come from the library and I have also purchased one this week.

Have you had any lovely books enter your home this week?

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Seven months into her pregnancy, Rachel discovers that her husband is in love with another woman. The fact that this woman has a 'neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb' is no consolation. Food sometimes is, though, since Rachel is a cookery writer, and between trying to win Mark back and wishing him dead, she offers us some of her favourite recipes. Heartburn is a roller coaster of love, betrayal, loss and most satisfyingly revenge.

The Book-Lovers Retreat by Heidi Swain

One long summer. One perfect setting. Can fiction inspire real life…?

Sometimes a book grabs you by the heart and grows to mean everything to you. That’s what Hope Falls is to friends Emily, Rachel and Tori. So, when they get the chance to spend a whole summer at the cottage in Lakeside where the film adaptation was located, they know it is going to be the holiday of a lifetime.

Spending six weeks away will give them a chance to re-evaluate their life choices. For Emily to decide which way her career will go – the safe route, or the more risky creative option? And for Rachel to decide whether to move in with her partner Jeremy. Then Tori has to drop out at the last moment, and her space is offered to another Hope Falls afficionado, Alex. 

But when Alex turns out not to be who they expected, the holiday takes an unforeseen turn. And as the summer develops, so does their friendship. Could this be where they uncover their future selves, find love in all its forms and where their lives will change course forever…?

It's Time to Hush and Say Goodnight by Chitra Soundar

A dream-ride of a bedtime book, inspired by ancient Indian lullabies.

Travel a lush dreamscape world as a father lulls his toddler towards sleep, weaving a quilt of dreams across the roaring seas and through the inky night - and dealing with some big toddler emotions en route. Sumptuously illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, and infused with the spirit and flora and fauna of India.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

An impulsive lie – told with the best intentions – consumes the Wilf family. Even as they change and grow, each is haunted by what they choose to forget. Then the Shenkmans move in across the street: a couple with their own secrets and a lonely, brilliant son.

As their stories collide in ways they never could have imagined, the past comes hurtling back to Division Street, setting in motion a spellbinding chain of events that will transform both families forever.

I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons

The Mona Lisa has hung in the Louvre for over two-hundred years. She has watched alone in silence as millions of people have admired her behind the glass.

Now, she is finally ready to tell her own story.

Over five centuries, from da Vinci's bustling Florentine studio to the opulent French court, Mona will be desired, stolen, heartbroken, curious, furious, and above all, she will be heard.

Feather by M.G. Leonard

On a school trip to the Royal Swan Natural History Museum, Ava finds herself at the centre of a heist: hundreds of invaluable bird of paradise skins from the Alfred Wallace Collection have been stolen! When she discovers a large jet-black feather, she's sure it's a clue, but the police won't listen to her. Slipping away, she takes the case to the Twitchers in an investigation that leads them to the bizarre and sinister world of fly-fishing, and to a mysterious girl with a pet Raven called Caliban and a dangerous ring of thieves and smugglers...

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller

Great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget...

Birdie, Ada and Jane are all lost. Life has not turned out as they planned, and all three of them are scared to ask for help, to say yes - or to say no. To take a chance on someone else.

Birdie Greenwing has been at a loose end ever since her beloved twin sister and husband passed away eight years previously. Too proud and stubborn to admit she is lonely, Birdie's world has shrunk.

Jane Brown hoped moving to Brighton would be a new start, away from her overbearing mother. While she finds it hard to stand up for herself, her daughter Frankie has no problem telling people what she does and doesn't want.

Ada Kowalski thought training to become an Oncologist in England would be a dream come true. In reality she is isolated, exhausted, the professional detachment she has had to develop now threatens to take over her life.

When a series of incidents brings their lives crashing together, these three unlikely allies find that there's always more to a person than meets the eye.

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing celebrates female relationships in all their forms. It explores what being a mother means. It is a story about the choices we make and how we justify them. About finding out who we are, not who other people think we should be.

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths - #BookReview #RuthGallowaySeries

The unassuming shop in a King's Lynn backstreet has lived many lives. Once, beyond most people's living memory, it was a bakery. The oven still remains and has, in successive iterations, been a focal point and dining nook and was also, for many decades, boarded up completely. The building has been a cafe, a greengrocer's and an 'Emporium of Wonder' (a junk shop), and is now well on its way to becoming a cafe again. A sign ouside says 'The Red Lady Tea Rooms, opening August 2021', and another informs interested passers-by that Edward Spens and Co are in charge of the renovation...

***

When builders renovating a café in King's Lynn unearth a human skeleton, they call for DCI Harry Nelson and Dr Ruth Galloway, Head of Archaeology at the University of North Norfolk. Ruth is preoccupied with the threatened closure of her department and by her ever-complicated relationship with Nelson.

The bones are identified as those of Emily Pickering, an archaeology student who went missing in the 1990s. Emily attended a course run by her Cambridge tutor. Suspicion falls on him and on another course member - Ruth's friend Cathbad. As they investigate, Nelson and his team uncover a tangled web of relationships within the student group and the adults leading them. Then, just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears.

The trail leads Ruth and Nelson to the Neolithic flint mines in Grime's Graves. The race is on, first to find Cathbad and then to exonerate him, but will Ruth and Nelson uncover the truth in time to save their friend?

***

When I first ordered this book from the library, I was number sixty-four in the queue. So when the notification came through that it was waiting for me in my local library I was so pleased. Not only because I was finally going to be able to read it but because it was a couple of days until my holiday and I made sure I found time to pop in there, borrow it and read it while I was away.

I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway series. I have read each of the books in the series and had eagerly awaited this final book. It did not disappoint. It was lovely to spend more time with Ruth, Nelson, Cathbad and a range of other characters who I have become familiar with during the previous fourteen books.

It was set in the early post pandemic period in Norfolk. Throughout the series Norfolk has played a major role and is as important as any of the characters. 

The question on the tip of the tongues of those who have read this series, is how things ended up between Ruth and Nelson. Well, without giving anything away, I was very satisfied by the conclusion of the book, and several loose ends were tied up. However, you will have to read the book yourself to find out.

Unsurprisingly from a writer of this calibre, the book is well written and engaging. The author is a very skilled storyteller, and I have been immediately captivated by each of the books.  This book is no exception.

Reading this book has been a bittersweet experience as it is the final book. It has been a fantastic series, and I will miss this set of characters who, having spent fifteen books plus a novella with them, they feel more like friends. I guess I will just have to start on one of Ms. Griffiths' other series.

ISBN: 978 1529409710

Publisher:  Quercus

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

Support Independent Booksellers - Buy From Bookshop.org *

About the Author:

Bestselling crime author Elly Griffiths worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer.

Her series of Dr Ruth Galloway novels, featuring a forensic archaeologist, are set in Norfolk and regularly hit the Sunday Times top ten in hardback and paperback. The series has won the CWA Dagger in the Library and has been shortlisted three times for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. There are twelve books in the series so far with number thirteen to be published in February 2021.

Her Brighton-based mystery series set in the 1950s and 1960s is inspired partly by her grandfather's life on the stage and the war magician Jasper Maskelyne, who claimed to have spent the war creating large scale illusions to misdirect the enemy. One of the two leading characters in the series, Max Mephisto, is based on Maskelyne. 

In 2017 she was Programming Chair of Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Festival in Harrogate, the oldest and best-established crime fiction festival in the UK.

In 2018 Elly wrote her first standalone novel The Stranger Diaries. The novel was a top 10 paperback bestseller, selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and as a summer 2019 Richard and Judy book.

In 2019 Elly published her first children's book in spring 2019 to great reviews with a second following in 2020.

Elly Griffiths lives near Brighton with her husband, an archaeologist, and their two grown children.

Order Link *

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet by Kate Peridot & Illustrated by Sarah Long - #BookReview #Blogtour

 

Step into nature and look around you. Hundreds of creatures are going about their day: digging, building, hunting and harvesting. Our planet is home to around 8.7 million species of animals and plants and each is unique, extraordinary and important.

Sadly, many wild animals, plants and their habitats are disappearing, from the mammals in the forests to the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, even once plentiful insects. Today over one-million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction and we, humans, are the main cause... But there is still hope and we can all help make a BIG difference.

***

Travel around the world and discover the stories of 20 conservationists and the endangered animals they are helping to save, including the orangutang, blue whale, Indian tiger, rhino, honeybee, Komodo dragon and sea turtle. Positive, uplifting and packed full of information, with 20 fun activities for children to try, this book will show children no one is too small to make a difference. 

***

This is a lovely book aimed at primary school aged children. It is full of information and beautifully illustrated.

Each page is dedicated to an individual conservationist, both living and dead, young and old, and includes a section on 'how to be a wildlife champion." Each page includes activity ideas for children to investigate and suggests ways in which children can care for wildlife in their own geographical area.

Although the book covers conservationists from across the world, its chief message is that everyone can make a difference, even in a small way - from building bee hotels to putting a bell on the collar of a pet cat. The book is full of examples on how to protect wildlife.

I think children will enjoy reading this book for themselves as well as sharing it with an adult. I could also envisage that it could be a useful teaching aid. All school libraries would benefit from having a copy of this inspirational book on their shelves.

ISBN: 978 1529506150

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats:  Hardback

No. of Pages:  48

Support Independent Bookshops - Buy from Bookshop.org *

About the Author:

Kate is an author of both fiction and non-fiction children’s books. Originally from London, she now lives with her family in the South of France. She writes wild and adventurous stories about animals, people and STEM that encourages a can-do spirit, a quest for knowledge and a sense of adventure. 

Caring Conservationists (Walker Books) is her first non-fiction children’s books. A further nine books are in production launching between 2023-2025. Find out more about Kate and her books at https://kateperidot.com/ .

About the Illustrator:

Sarah graduated with her illustration degree from Cambridge School of Art in 2004 and headed off into the sunset. Not really. She needed to get a paid job.

She started off her career at Caroline Gardner before moving into giftware, where she designed bags, ceramics and textiles from initial concept to final product. This also involved working with licensors designing products for The Beatles and Moomin.

When she’s not happily illustrating or starting a new interiors project, you can find her encouraging her children to colour outside the lines or having a mini rave in the kitchen to songs that are probably aimed at a much cooler/younger age bracket.

(book, photo and bio info from the blog tour organiser)

(illustrator photo and info from The Bright Agency)

Support Independent Bookshops - Buy from Bookshop.org *

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed - #bookreview

 

'The King is dead. Love live the Queen.' The announcers voice crackles from the wireless and winds around the rapt patrons of Berlin's Milk Bar as sinuously as the fog curls around the mournful street lamps, their wan glow barely illuminating the cobblestones.

The noise settles as milkshakes and colas clink against Irish coffees, and chairs scrape against the black-and-white tiled floor.

Berlin hammers a spoon against the bar and calls out with his lion tamer's bark, 'Raise your glasses, ladies and gentlemen, and send off our old King to Davy Jones's Locker.'

***

Mahmood Mattan is a fixture in Cardiff's Tiger Bay, 1952, which bustles with Somali and West Indian sailors, Maltese businessmen and Jewish families. He is a father, chancer, some-time petty thief. He is many things, in fact, but he is not a murderer.

So when a shopkeeper is brutally killed and all eyes fall on him, Mahmood isn't too worried. It is true that he has been getting into trouble more often since his Welsh wife Laura left him. But Mahmood is secure in his innocence in a country where, he thinks, justice is served.

It is only in the run-up to the trial, as the prospect of freedom dwindles, that it will dawn on Mahmood that he is in a terrifying fight for his life - against conspiracy, prejudice and the inhumanity of the state. And, under the shadow of the hangman's noose, he begins to realise that the truth may not be enough to save him.

***

This compelling novel, which is based on factual events, is an outstanding book and one of the best I have read this year. Set in 1950's Tiger Bay, Cardiff it exudes with atmosphere and highlights the racial injustice suffered by the main character, Mahmood Mattan and his contemporaries.

I particularly enjoyed reading about this melting pot of characters who have settled in Tiger Bay from other parts of the world. This mixture of nationalities and faiths culminated in the occurrence of racial tensions, and it was this that led Mahmood to come to be in the position he did.

This character driven novel permits the reader to follow Mahmood through his time living and working in Tiger Bay, to his imprisonment for a murder which he did not commit. Despite his life experience, Mahmood seemed to have a naivety about him and had complete faith that the British justice system would come to recognise the truth of his situation.

I found this to be a heartbreaking read, written with sensitivity, intelligence and humanity. It was a calm, appropriately paced, devastating novel.

Every now and then, a novel comes along which I feel privileged to have read. This was one such book and I applaud the author for bringing this miscarriage of justice to prominence in the form of her novel.

It is no surprise to discover that the book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Costa Novel Award in 2021, as well as the Wales Book of the Year Award in 2022.

I can foresee myself re-reading this book again in the future, and I most definitely want to read other titles from Ms. Mohamed.

I thoroughly recommend that you read this book and hope that you enjoy the reading experience as much as I did.

ISBN: 978 0241466957

Publisher:  Viking

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

Purchase from Bookshop.org

About the Author:

Nadifa Mohamed was born in Hargeisa (now in the Republic of Somaliland) in 1981 and moved as a child to England in 1986, staying permanently when war broke out in Somalia.

She lives in London and her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, based on her father's memories of his travels in the 1930s, was published in 2010. It was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Dylan Thomas Prize and shortlisted for the John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. It won the 2010 Betty Trask Prize.

(author photo and bio. info. courtesy of GoodReads)

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs - #BookReview

 

This was a big moment for Natalie. The biggest in her career so far, for sure. The whole company had gathered in the reception hall of Pinnacle Fine Wines to celebrate her promotion and the million-dollar deal she'd made for the firm. But her own mother was a no-show.

True to form.

To be fair, the drive from the city up to Archangel could be unpredictable in the afternoon. It was equally possible that Blythe Harper had completely forgotten that she'd promised to show up to celebrate her daughter's achievement.

***

Heartbroken Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming, cash-strapped bookshop and finds herself the carer for her ailing grandfather Andrew. She thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted-living home to ensure his care, but to pay for it, Natalie will have to sell up the bookshop. However, Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to budge.

Moving into the studio apartment above the shop, Natalie hires a contractor, Peach Gallagher, to do some repairs. His young daughter becomes a regular at the shop, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works. Slowly, Natalie’s sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new friendships. From unearthing hidden artefacts in the bookshop’s walls, to learning the truth about her family, the bookshop is full of surprises. Can Natalie reveal her own heart’s desire and turn a new page…?

***

I can never resist books about book shops so when I found this on the library shelves, I knew I had to borrow it. And what a good choice it was. It did not disappoint in any way, and now I cannot wait to read more from this author.

In fact, she has an extensive back catalogue and having checked, I am delighted that the library has lots of them in the county.

There is a cast of well developed and likeable, characters. Natalie is an excellent main character and her relationship and challenges with her grandfather were wonderful to observe.

It has a certain charm to it, and Natalie was easy to identify with. She is a woman who, at the outset, is trapped in a job that she finds unfulfilling, and it was fascinating to see her character mature as she takes on the bookshop and has to deal with so much loss.

The bookshop itself was as significant as the characters, and I could almost smell the mustiness of the old books, as well as the freshly printed pages of the new. The author has done an excellent job of bringing the shop to life on the page.

On the surface, this book is about grief, but it is about so much more. Love, hope and passion are woven throughout it's pages. Some might say the book is predictable, and certainly there were no rapid twists and turns. But sometimes, a calm stroll through a book is exactly what I need, and this one hit the nail firmly on the head for me.

ISBN: 978 0008358754

Publisher: Harper Collins

Format: e-book, audio, paperback and hardback

No. of Pages: 400 (paperback)

About the Author:

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends…and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and in good weather, she commutes to her writers' group in a 21-foot motorboat. She’s been featured in the national media, including NPR, PRI, and USA Today, has given programs for the US Embassies in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and is a popular speaker locally, nationally, internationally, and on the high seas.

From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her books celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the fascinating nuances of human nature. Today, she is an international best-selling, award-winning author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries and languages. According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterises her books as "real and true and unforgettable."

Her novels have appeared in the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, and have captured readers’ hearts around the globe with translations into more than 20 languages and 30 countries. She is a three-time winner of the RITA Award,. Her recent novel, The Apple Orchard, is currently being made into a film, and The Lakeshore Chronicles has been optioned for adaptation into a series.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. She lives on an island in Puget Sound, where she divides her time between sleeping and waking.

(author photo and bio. information courtesy of the publishers website - harpercollins.com)

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht - #BookReview

"Look for your sister after each dive. Never forget. If you see her, you are safe."

Hana and her little sister, Emi, are part of an island community of haenyeo, women who make their living from diving deep into the sea off the southernmost tip of Korea.

One day Hana sees a Japanese soldier heading for where Emi is guarding the day's catch on the beach. Her mother has told her again and again never to be caught alone with one. Terrified for her sister, Hana swims as hard as she can for the shore.

So begins the story of two sisters suddenly and violently separated by war. Switching between Hana in 1943 and Emi as an old woman today, White Chrysanthemum takes us into a dark and devastating corner of history. But pulling us back into the light are two women whose love for one another is strong enough to triumph over the evils of war.

This is one of the best books I have ever read; praise which I do not give lightly. Rarely has a book simultaneously shocked, affected and impressed me as this one has. In fact, I borrowed this from the library and having read it I have pre-ordered a copy of the paperback from a book retailer, which is due to be released on the 30th of August, here in the UK, as I am certain that I will want to re-read this book.

I have read some excellent debut novels this year and I am confident in saying that this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. The writing is beautiful and tells the story of the little known history of Korea's women during the Japanese invasion of Korea during World War Two. Ms. Bract is to be applauded for bringing this to the attention of modern readers. I, for one, had no knowledge of this devastating aspect of twentieth-century history.

If ever fictional characters deserve to be fallen in love with, it is Hana and Emi. The author portrays her characters so fully that I really felt that I knew them and cried for the horrors that they were forced to endure. It is hard to leave this book behind.

The authors research has been thorough and she conveys this information with intelligence and understanding. By the time I had finished this book I was deeply affected and inspired by the bravery and strength of the women being portrayed and, therefore, their real life counterparts.

Bravo, to Ms. Bract for bringing this horrendous period of history to the fore and I strongly recommend this book to you all.

ISBN: 978 1784741440

Publisher: Chatto and Windus

About the Author:

Mary Lynn Bracht is an American author of Korean descent who now lives in London. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London.

She grew up in a large ex-pat community of women who came of age in post-war South Korea. In 2002 Bracht visited her mother's childhood village, and it was during this trip she first learned of the 'comfort women' captured and set up in brothels for the Japanese military.

White Chrysanthemum is her first novel.

Library Low Down - 30th April 2018

Most Saturday's, I visit my local library and come away with a few books that I had not 'planned' to read. I love the library in my town. For a medium sized town it is really well stocked, the staff are friendly and helpful and it is just a very nice place to be.

It worries me that so many libraries are being closed down in my county. East Sussex now has only 17 libraries, which for an area that has 550,000 (2016) is fairly few. Also, the mobile library service has been cut to the villages which have no library.

I understand that we live in a digital age and that the electronic library that East Sussex County Council have in place is very good. Without moving from the armchair I can download library books to my tablet or phone and funds are being invested in this aspect of the library service.

However, not everyone has access to a tablet or chooses to use this method of borrowing books and I really hope the day never comes when we are all expected to read and borrow our books this way. I do read e-books but I still prefer a physical copy. I love the feel and smell of a book in my hands and e-books simply do not provide me with the same experience.

I also think that there is a social aspect to visiting the library. Thankfully, the days of having to be silent in a library are long gone and children are free to play and learn amongst the books. And for some, the elderly or, perhaps, the lonely, a visit to the library might be the only social interaction they have so I sincerely hope that public libraries are globally given the attention and funding that they so richly deserve.

When I began this blog post I had intended just to tell you about the books that I borrowed but the above paragraphs just poured themselves out. I guess it is a subject very close to my heart.

I borrowed four books yesterday - all quite different and I am really looking forward to getting stuck into them. Have you read any of these? I would love to hear your thoughts. Which do you think I should begin with?

The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

Tucked away on a winding Cambridge street, Etta's tiny dress store appears quite ordinary to passers by, but the colourfully vibrant racks of beaded silks and jewel toned velvets hold bewitching secrets; with a few stitches from Etta's needle, these gorgeous gowns have the power to free a woman's deepest desires. Etta's granddaughter, Cora Sparks, has spent her life hidden away in the safety of the little shop and her university lab, ever since her parens' mysterious deaths many years ago.

Cora's studious, unromantic eye has overlooked Walt, the shy bookseller who has been in love with her for years. Determined not to let Cora miss her chance at happiness, Etta sets in motion a series of astonishing events that will transform Cora's life in extraordinary and unexpected ways.

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

The Travelling Man is on the move.

Few will survive the journey.

Former New York detective Charlie Parker is a man shattered by the brutal killings of his wife and child.

The Travelling Man is an artist of death, making human bodies his canvas and taking faces as his prize.

Now another girl is missing.....

Silent Scream by Angel Marsons

Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult sized hole would have taken longer...

Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.

But when human remains are discovered at a former children's home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she's on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.

As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it's too late?

The Nest by Cynthis D'Aprix Sweeney

When black sheep Leo has a costly car accident, the Plumb siblings' much-anticipated inheritance is suddenly wiped out. His brother and sisters come together and form a plan to get back what is owed them - each grappling with their own financial and emotional turmoil from the fallout. As 'the nest' fades further from view, they must decide whether they will build their lives anew, or fight to regain the futures they had planned.

Ferociously astute, warm and funny, The Nest is a brilliant debut chronicling the hilarity and savagery of family life.