The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore - #BookReview

"England, March 2010

The muffle of cloud that had settled over Badley Compton Harbour was so dense that the little fishing boats tethered to the buoys in the middle of the bay had completely vanished."

A cookery course in the heart of Tuscany proves irresistible to Gracie Burton. She decides to plough her life savings into the week-long trip, leaving her daughter and granddaughter baffled by her impulsiveness. But having grown apart over the years, in many ways the three women barely know each other.

Travelling together from Devon to the breathtakingly beautiful Italian countryside, they take up residence at a castle belonging to the elusive Count Tancredi. Yet everything is not as it appears, and quickly Gracie's family begin to suspect that this is not Gracie's first visit.....

What secret in Gracies's past is drawing her to this small hillside town? Will she let the magic of Italy revive her adventurous past and open her heart once more? And in doing so, will it reunite the three generations of her family?

Ms. Montefiore is an excellent storyteller and it was very easy to get swept along on the current of this story. Gracie is such a lovable character and I warmed to her from the very first page.

This book deals with many issues and I was really involved in the changing relationship of Gracie, her daughter Carina and her granddaughter Anastasia. They initially present as a fairly dysfunctional bunch and I was fascinated to observe the change in their relationship as the story progressed.

Italy was almost a character in itself. I was lucky enough to take a holiday there the year before last so I was really able to place myself within this book quite easily. However, even if you have never visited Italy the author describes it in such vivid detail that you will feel as though you were there. She clearly has a real love for the place and it shines through in her writing.

The dual narrative moves in time from the present day to the 1950's when Gracie was growing up and I found myself impatient to move from one era to the next to progress the story in both timelines. In addition, the narrative also occasionally takes us back to Gracie's English village in order that we can keep up with the present day village story at the same time. For me, this elevated this book into something much more as the minor characters were pure gems in their own right.

The final chapter catches up with the self appointed village matriarch, Flappy Scott-Booth. She is a wonderful character and had me in fits of laughter and demonstrates the authors skill of being able to flesh out even her more minor characters.

I enjoyed this book very much and highly encourage you to read it for yourself. I would love to hear your thoughts on this book. Have you read anything else by Santa Montefiore?

ISBN: 978 1471169618

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

About the Author:

Born in England in 1970 Santa Montefiore grew up on a farm in Hampshire and was educated at Sherborne School for Girls. She read Spanish and Italian at Exeter University and spent much of the 90's in Buenos Aires, where her mother grew up. She converted to Judaism in 1998 and married historian Simon Sebag Montefiore in the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London. They live with their two children, Lily and Sasha in London.

Santa Montefiore's novels have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than three million copies in England and Europe.

(author details courtesy of Goodreads)

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson - #BookReview

"9th April 1975, Leeds: The Bay City Rollers at number one. IRA bombs all over the country. Margaret Thatcher is the new leader of the Conservative Party. At the beginning of the month, in Albuquerque, Bill Gates founds what will become Microsoft........... In the middle of it all, Tracy Waterhouse was only concerned with the hole in one of the toes of her tights. It was growing bigger with every step she took. They were new on this morning as well."

A day like any other for security chief Tracy Waterhouse, until she makes a shocking impulse purchase. That one moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.

Witnesses to Tracy's outrageous exchange in the Merrion Centre in Leeds are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie, who has returned to his home county in search of someone else's roots. All three characters learn that the past is never history and that no good deed goes unpunished.

I am so enjoying this series of books, of which, this is the fourth in the Jackson Brodie series. I always like to read a series of books in order and so have previously read Case Histories, One Good Turn and When Will There Be Good News; all of which have been great reads. Of course, these books would read very well out of order and my need to read books chronologically probably says more about my anally retentive personality than about the books themselves.

 I think it must be difficult to keep up the momentum of a series of books but the writing and plot are every bit as good as the earlier novels. In addition to Jackson Brodie I thought Tracy Waterhouse was a really good character. Ms. Atkinson's characters are very easy to engage with and which make this series a real treat to read. I already have the next book, Big Sky, lined up to read.

The narrative changes from the present day to the 1970's seamlessly and between Jackson and Tracy's voices. The voices are distinct and very easy to follow. Having been young during the 1970's (yes, I too, was a Bay City Rollers fan) I enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.

The author is remarkably skilled at mixing mystery and murder interwoven with good humour in a way which feels totally authentic. This series of books are a joy to read and I highly recommend them.

ISBN: 978 0552 772464

Publisher: Black Swan

About the Author:

Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.

She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories and One Good Turn.

Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.

When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard and Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.

Memento Park by Mark Sarvas - #BookReview

"My name, the name I use, is Matt Santos. The name I was born with is Mathias Santos. The name I might well have been born with is Matyas Szantos. I am none of these people and I am all of them."

An unexpected call from the Australian consulate makes Matt Santos aware of a painting he believes was looted from his family in Hungary during World War II. To recover it, he must repair his relationship with his judgmental father, uncover his family history, and reconnect with his own Judaism. 

Along the way, Matt is torn between his doting girlfriend, Tracy, and his alluring attorney, Rachel, with whom he travels to Budapest to unearth the truth and confront the central question: How do we move forward when the past looms unreasonably large?

It pleases me enormously when the first book I read in a new year, decade in this case, is such a good read. I enjoyed this book immensely as it is full of complex characters which always appeals to me in a novel.

The novel centres around Matt, a successful actor and who's girlfriend, Tracy, is an equally successful swimwear model. They both jet around the world to various filming and modelling locations and seem to be living the American dream.

However, Matt's whole world is turned upside down upon the discovery of a painting which belonged to his family in prewar Hungary. This proves to be the opening of a whole can of worms for Matt as he seeks to make sense of the past and which forces him to confront the difficulties he has in his relationship with his father.

Matt is a very complex character and his father is equally so. Matt knows little of his fathers past, a deliberate act on the part of his father to spare his son from the horrors he experienced in Hungary during the war at the hands of the Nazi's.

For Matt the painting comes to embody a life and faith that he feels his father has denied him. The relationship between Matt and his father were the kingpin in this novel for me. We see his father through Matt's eyes and are able to sympathise with him. However, Tracy's communications with him enable us to see him from her perspective and it made me question how reliable Matt's view of his father was. It was certainly a very complex relationship and it was this that made this novel so gripping for me. As a reader, I was longing for a reconnection between them and it was this hope that kept me enthralled by this book.

It is a very intelligently written novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading this authors other work, Harry, Revised.

ISBN: 978 037420637

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

About the Author:

Mark Sarvas is the author of the novel Harry, Revised, which was published in more than a dozen countries around the world. His book reviews and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Threepenny Review, Bookforum, and many other publications. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, PEN America, and PEN Centre USA, and teaches novel writing at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. A reformed blogger, he lives in Santa Monica, California.

Happy New Year 2020

Happy New Year to all of my lovely readers. I wish you health and happiness in abundance during 2020.

I am aware that my blog was rather quiet for the latter half of 2019. I have had some major technological issues which are still ongoing and have caused me much frustration, not to mention feeling that I would have liked to hurl my computer in the air at some points (we've all been there!)

So, I am going to apologise upfront that my reviews at the moment will be imageless. I will, however, be writing many more book reviews and hope that you will forgive the lack of book covers. The blog page won't look as pretty as usual but I hope you will understand.

In the meantime, I hope that 2020 has got off to a marvellous start for you all. Have you set yourself any bookish resolutions this new year? I would love to hear all about them.

In the words of the wonderful Jane Austen:

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."

The Space Between Time by Charlie Laidlaw - #BookReview

There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth...

Emma Maria Rossini appears to be the luckiest girl in the world. She's the daughter of a beautiful and loving mother, and her father is one of the most famous film actors of his generation. She's also the granddaughter of a rather eccentric and obscure Italian astrophysicist.

But as her seemingly charmed life begins to unravel, and Emma experiences love and tragedy, she ultimately finds solace in her once-derided grandfather's Theorem on the universe.

The Space Between Time is humorous and poignant and offers the metaphor that we are all connected, even to those we have loved and not quite lost.

I so enjoyed reading this lovely book. I read Charlie Laidlaw's previous book, The Things We Learn When We're Dead (click on title for my review) which I enjoyed very much so had high expectations of this book and I was not disappointed.

The main character is Emma who we first meet as a child. Laidlaw does a fabulous job of not only writing from the perspective of a child, but a child of the opposite sex which he does admirably well.

Emma has a wonderful relationship with her grandfather, Alberto Rossini, an astrophysicist. Running throughout this story is Alberto's book, Universe Theorum. Each chapter heading is an equation and there are many references to physics throughout this book which went above my head. However, I am not a scientist and I do not feel it is necessary in order to get a lot out of this book.

For me, the relationship between Emma and her grandfather was perfect. Equally well done was her relationship with her actor father and her somewhat irrational mother.

A very enjoyable book and I am looking forward to Mr. Laidlaw's next offering.

ISBN:  978 1786156945

Publisher: Accent Press

About the Author


Charlie Laidlaw was born in Paisley and is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He has been a national newspaper journalist and worked in defence intelligence. He now runs his own marketing consultancy in East Lothian. He also wrote The Herbal Detective under the name of Charles Gray. He is married with two grown up children and lives in Gullane.

Holiday Reading

I've recently been away for a couple of weeks. The best bit about holidays is that there is time and opportunity to immerse myself in reading. I read some good books across a range of genres. Have you read any of these? I would love to hear what you thought of them.

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy

Ria and Marilyn have never met - they live thousands of miles apart, separated by the Atlantic Ocean: one in a big, warm, Victorian house in Tara Road, Dublin, the other in a modern, open-plan house in New England. her family and friends, while Marilyn's reserve is born of grief. But when each needs a place to escape to, a house exchange seems the ideal solution. speculation as Ria and Marilyn swap lives for the summer ...



Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

There are three things you should know about Elsie. The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.
84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

In this prequel to Practical Magic we meet sisters Frances and Jet and Vincent, their brother. From the beginning their mother Susanna knew they were unique: Franny with her skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, who could commune with birds; Jet as shy as she is beautiful, who knows what others are thinking, and Vincent so charismatic that he was built for trouble. Susanna needed to set some rules of magic: no walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles and certainly, absolutely, no books about magic. . . But the Owens siblings are desperate to uncover who they really are. Each heads down a life-altering course, filled with secrets and truths, devastation and joy, and magic and love. Despite the warning handed down through the family for centuries - Know that for our family, love is a curse - they will all strive to break the rules and find true love. 

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation: just a grainy image, a website address and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make...

The Librarian by Salley Vickers

In 1958, Sylvia Blackwell, fresh from one of the new post-war Library Schools, takes up a job as children's librarian in a run down library in the market town of East Mole.

Her mission is to fire the enthusiasm of the children of East Mole for reading. But her love affair with the local married GP, and her befriending of his precious daughter, her neighbour's son and her landlady's neglected grandchild, ignite the prejudices of the town, threatening her job and the very existence of the library with dramatic consequences for them all.

The Librarian is a moving testament to the joy of reading and the power of books to change and inspire us all.

Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs by Monty Don

When Monty Don's golden retriever Nigel became the surprise star of BBC Gardeners' World inspiring huge interest, fan mail and his own social media accounts, Monty Don wanted to explore what makes us connect with animals quite so deeply.

In many respects Nigel is a very ordinary dog; charming, handsome and obedient, as so many are. He is a much loved family pet. He is also a star.

By telling Nigel's story, Monty relates his relationships with the other special dogs in his life in a memoir of his dogs past and very much present.

Witty, touching and life-affirming, Nigel: My family and other dogs is wonderfully heart-warming. Monty Don is a great writer coming out of the garden and into the hearts and homes of every dog lover in the UK.

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

When Adela Quested and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz, a cultivated Indian Muslim. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves with Aziz, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal that rouses violent passions among both the British and their Indian subjects. A masterful portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, A Passage to India compellingly depicts the fate of individuals caught between the great political and cultural conflicts of the modern world. 

The Sealwoman's Gift by Sally Magnusson - #BookReview

“The pirates rushed with violent speed across the island, like hunting hounds… Some of my neighbours managed to escape quickly into the caves or down the cliffs, but many were seized or bound… I and my poor wife were amongst the first to be captured.” (Reverend Olafur Egilsson)

In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted at least 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children.

Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent. In this brilliant reimagining Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Asta, the pastor’s wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture, Asta meets the loss of freedom and family with the one thing she has brought from her northern homeland: the sagas and folktales in her head.

The Sealwoman’s Gift is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. Here are Icelandic sagas to fend off a slave-master’s advances, Arabian nights to help an old man die. Here, too, the stories we tell ourselves to protect our minds from what cannot otherwise be borne, the stories we need to make us happy.

The opening sentence in this book is very powerful - 

“There is nothing to be said for giving birth in the bowels of a sailing ship with your stomach heaving and hundreds of people listening.” 

However, whilst this first line was gripping I found this book a little hard to get into. However, I think that may just have been due to the unfamiliarity of the time and culture as it is well worth hanging in there as this is an outstanding novel.

This should not be any surprise coming from the pen of such a well respected journalist. Ms. Magnusson has written an intelligent literary novel based on actual events in a little known period of Icelandic history. I really enjoyed this mix of fiction and fact. As well as this being an enjoyable novel to read, at the back the author distinguishes between the real events and her own imaginings and was fascinating to read.

Asta was a wonderful character to engage with. I loved not only her story but her own art of storytelling which plays a significant part in the book. The author herself clearly has tremendous storytelling skills which bring to life the characters, their environments and their individual stories.

Although a well known writer this is the authors debut novel. I am sincerely hoping that there will be further novels as this one had all the ingredients that a first class historical novel should have. This is a book about love, loss and hope and also about the role that stories have on our life.

ISBN: 978 1473638952

Publisher: Two Roads

About the Author:

Broadcaster and journalist Sally Magnusson has written 10 books, most famously her Sunday Times bestseller, Where Memories Go (2014) about her mother’s dementia. Half-Icelandic, half-Scottish, Sally has inherited a rich storytelling tradition. The Sealwoman’s Gift is her first novel.