Category Archives: Book Reviews

PUBLICATION SPECIAL: SUMMER AT THE FRENCH CAFE BY SUE MOORCROFT

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As the saying goes, this is the first Sue Moorcroft book I have read, but it won’t be the last. On the face of it, Summer at the French Café is a happy ever after holiday read, but actually the book is far more.

So, what makes it stand out? The sense of place, certainly, and I love that. As I read I could actually see every place the author described; Parc Lemmel, the bookshop café at the story’s heart, the local villages… and without a single sentence of overblown description. All I needed to know was dropped seamlessly into the narrative in an exceptionally skilful way.

But more than the quality of the writing, I love the fact there is a very serious issue at the heart of the book, one that isn’t squashed or skimmed over in the search for a happy ending, one that is dealt with in a sensitive and realistic manner. That issue is emotional control; how it can be used in relationships, the reasons people accept it, and the dangerous patterns that mean it can echo across generations and years.

I asked Sue Moorcroft why she decided to tackle this insidious form of coercion…

“I’m interested in human behaviour, so when I read about control within relationships, I wanted to write about it. It provided the perfect secret behind central character Noah giving up his life in Dordogne and moving across France to Alsace. I write love stories, so the mystery had to be nuanced rather than a simple jeopardy.

I remembered someone who, when she lost her husband, refurnished and redecorated her home. I’d never come across that reaction to widowhood. She explained, ‘He liked to be the one to choose. But now I can.’ To me, this put their relationship in a whole new light. When we’d invited her out and she’d said, ‘I’ll have to check,’ had she meant with her diary? Or with her husband? When we’d picked her up, he escorted her to the car and looked inside to say, ‘Good evening’. How old-fashioned and courtly, I’d thought. But was he checking she was going out with who she’d said she was? If so, did this behaviour make her feel cherished?

Or did she resent it and feel controlled?

She also once mentioned that she’d married young and that her (by then deceased) dad had been a similar man to her husband…

I’ll never know if I jumped to conclusions, but my suspicions informed the background I gave Noah’s ex, Florine. When Florine’s controlling father died, she felt adrift. Attentive Yohan came along, telling her what she looked best in what he liked so that she could like it too, and she felt secure again. But leaving Noah for Yohan pitched her into a very different relationship.

The interesting thing about control, and which provided the nuances I was after, is that it doesn’t have to involve a traditional bully. Yohan doesn’t hit Florine or her daughter Clémence – he loves them. In fact, he almost suffocates them with his love, wanting constant knowledge of where they are or to have them with him, using his anxieties over them to cut them off from others, so he can bask in their undivided attention. His behaviour stems from his own insecurity and immaturity. Mix in a little self-importance and selfishness, and you have a controlling man. Yohan isn’t a main character, which means that Summer at the French Café is not his story – but the plot around Noah won’t work without him.”

 

Jane Cable

 

 

 

 

 

EVA GLYN’S PUBLICATION DAY REVIEW OF PRISCILLA MORRIS’S BLACK BUTTERFLIES

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When the Netgalley notification came through of a novel set in Sarajevo during the conflict of the 1990s, I had to read it. My interest in the war had been sparked by a conversation with then tour guide, now friend, Darko Barisic, who as a child had lived through the same conflict in Mostar. I knew what he’d gone through and I greatly respected his resilience. I also knew I had to tell his story, which I did through the medium of The Olive Grove, my first women’s fiction title set in Croatia.

Black Butterflies is completely different to my own book, it’s literary fiction but reads almost like a memoir. It takes you to Sarajevo in 1992 real time through the eyes of Zora, an artist and tutor who along with her neighbours experiences the brunt of the siege. A siege that occurred when an army of Serbs surrounded what was a wonderful multi-ethic, highly cultured society. A society none expected would turn into a war zone.

The language the author uses is incredible in both its beauty and its harshness. It’s also immersive. I was in Sarajevo, and it is rare a book has so much power to transport me in such a multi-sensory way. The horror, the moments of lightness, the unremitting awfulness of losing almost everything… no work, no food, no power, no water… while being under fire. It all became absolutely real and that is an incredible talent.

I guessed early on that the author had access to first hand accounts and this proved to be the case. Although fictional, Black Butterflies is a melding of two family stories, and the experiences of a larger number of people, but skilfully woven together they make a unified whole.

A word of warning though; if you are particularly anxious about the situation in Ukraine, this isn’t the time to read this book. However if you would prefer to think on how conflicts do end, how people come out of the other side and go on to lead normal lives, then do.

 

Publisher’s blurb for Black Butterflies:

Sarajevo, spring 1992. Each night, nationalist gangs erect barricades, splitting the diverse city into ethnic enclaves; each morning, the residents – whether Muslim, Croat or Serb – push the makeshift barriers aside.

When violence finally spills over, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety with her daughter in England. Reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a handful of weeks, she stays behind while the city falls under siege. As the assault deepens and everything they love is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops, Zora and her friends are forced to rebuild themselves, over and over. Theirs is a breathtaking story of disintegration, resilience and hope.

Publisher’s blurb for The Olive Grove:

Antonia Butler is on the brink of a life-changing decision and a job advert looking for a multilingual housekeeper at a beautifully renovated Croatian farmhouse, Vila Maslina, is one she can’t ignore.

Arriving on the tiny picturesque island of Korčula, Antonia feels a spark of hope for the first time in a long time. This is a chance to leave the past behind.

But this island, and its inhabitants, have secrets of their own and a not-too-distant past steeped in tragedy and war. None more so than Vila Maslina’s enigmatic owner Damir Maric. A young man with nothing to lose but everything to gain…

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

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the attic child lola jaye

Here’s the book for the weekend – and it’s a long bank holiday so you’ll have plenty of time to indulge yourself and be swept away by the wonderful The Attic Child by Lola Jaye.

This was such a powerful, if at times uncomfortable, read. A dual timeline novel telling the stories of two children trapped in an attic almost one hundred years apart.

From the opening lines, I was desperate to discover what happened to Dikembe, a young African boy who is taken from his family in the Congo at the tender age of ten and travels to England as a companion to explorer, Richard Babbington. Lola Jaye takes you by the hand and leads you on a journey that interweaves the lives of Dikembe and Lowra as they navigate their path through the terrible circumstances in which they find themselves.  It was at times a dark and disturbing read but a story of the redemptive power of friendship.

Lola Jaye’s inspiration for this novel was triggered by a photograph she saw at the National Portrait Gallery – part of an exhibition on Black British Victorians.

One of the photographs was of a young African boy, Ngudu M’hali, pictured alongside the explorer Henry Stanley. The boy had a short and tragic life, taken from his family and either sold or given to Stanley as either a slave, servant or companion. Accounts differ and the truth may never come to light. Ngudu M’hali drowned in a canoeing accident on the River Congo in 1877 when he was twelve years old but The Attic Child explores what might have happened to a boy in similar circumstances had he lived. This is not Ngudu’s story – but inspired by the photograph Lola Jaye began to craft a wonderful tale of one such boy, Dikembe. Oh, my heart broke for that small child, torn from his loving family and thrust into an unfamiliar life in an unfamiliar land.

A timely book and one that has stayed with me long after I reached the final page.

Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a secret.

1907: Twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of his time locked in an attic room of a large house by the sea. Taken from his homeland and treated as an unpaid servant, he dreams of his family in Africa even if, as the years pass, he struggles to remember his mother’s face, and sometimes his real name . . .

Decades later, Lowra, a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege, will find herself banished to the same attic. Lying under the floorboards of the room is an old porcelain doll, an unusual beaded claw necklace and, most curiously, a sentence etched on the wall behind an old cupboard, written in an unidentifiable language. Artefacts that will offer her a strange kind of comfort, and lead her to believe that she was not the first child to be imprisoned there . . .

 

The Attic Child is published by  Pan and is available from all good bookstores and online retailers.

 

 

 

A Daughter’s Hope by Donna Douglas

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A Daughter’s Hope is the conclusion to the Yorkshire Blitz trilogy by Donna Douglas. I do hope it’s not the last we see of the MacGuire family who are a fantastic bunch of characters – or are they real? They seem like it when you’re reading. It’s like peering into a window and watching as their lives unfold. Matriarch Big May MacGuire leaps from the page, a strong woman in charge of her noisy, squabbling, good-hearted brood.

It’s Autumn, 1942; the Blitz has come to an end and the residents of Jubilee Row begin to get their lives back on track. Twins Sybil and Maudie join the WAAF to do their bit for the war effort. The girls may be twins but each has their own personality, and they face their own struggles when it comes to adapting to force’s life and discipline.  Will they be able to thrive in this new environment?

Back in Hull, 42 year-old Florence, the eldest of May Maguire’s daughters, has a good job as supervisor of a typing-pool but feels thwarted when a new manager joins the staff and threatens to undermine her authority.

May understands Florence least of all her children and Florence’s strong independence keeps her hovering on the edge of family life. The love and awkwardness, the misunderstanding between the two women was gently revealed from the first chapter and I really enjoyed the complex relationship between Florence and her mum.

There is humour and warmth,  and a strong sense of making the best of things – there’s never a dull moment among the folks of Jubilee Row.

I have to say that having read the others in the trilogy this is my favourite. The plotlines are deftly interwoven and the skilled writing and storytelling draws the reader along until the very last page. I was sad when it came to an end.

I hope there’s more to come from the MacGuires, but if there isn’t I eagerly await the next book from Donna Douglas.

A Daughter’s hope by Donna Douglas is published by Orion and available from all independent bookstores, Amazon, and other online retailers from 28th April 2022 .

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CARIADS’ CHOICE: APRIL 2022 BOOK REVIEWS

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Pamela Hartshorne’s Time’s Echo, reviewed by Georgia Hill

What a fabulous read! Itchy-footed Grace goes to York to sort out a house that has been left to her. She’s immediately drawn into the story of Hawise who lived in the city over 400 hundred years before and who met a tragic end. There are twists and turns galore, some truly evil baddies, a theme of drowning which is cleverly explored and some gentle romance. The Tudor details are assured and you just know Pamela really knows her history. It’s all concluded in magnificent style. I absolutely loved it and, for me, it ranks with books from the mistress of the timeslip, Barbara Erskine.

 

Carol Thomas’ A Summer of Second Chances reviewed by Jane Cable

A genuinely heart-warming book, full of wonderful  characters, both human and animal, at times I actually laughed out loud.

But at the core of this book is a gorgeous love story . When Henry returns to Dapplebury on his father’s death he hopes he will meet the girl he left behind. But with so much water under the bridge, will his childhood sweetheart Ava give him a second chance? Will her protective friends even let her?

What I especially loved is that every character, however small their part, is beautifully drawn which made the village come alive around the story. Definitely recommend as a book to curl up with.

 

Carol Drinkwater’s The House on the Edge of the Cliff, reviewed by Jessie Cahalin

The House on the Edge of the Cliff had me on the edge of my seat throughout the narrative. The contrast between Grace as a teenager and as an older woman is wonderful: innocence and experience are artfully conveyed with layers and layers of emotions.

I loved the excitement the frenzied Paris Riots that opens doors to Grace, but the wild beauty of Provence lured me and Grace. I stepped into the mesmerising blue of the sea and the sky.

‘I was a girl climbing out of a closed box for the first time, happening upon a sky that was not blue but BLUE, vigorously tinted, fervently, thrilling blue.’

The novel moved clearly from the past and the present and tension clattered along at great speed.  I longed to discover the truth of the secret Grace and Peter buried long ago. Tempting ripples of tension dropped into the novel, but my assumptions crashed on the rocks.  Wow!

Another tempting narrative from Carol Drinkwater.  The emotions and tension kept me on the edge of my seat.  And the beautiful tapestry of language did not disappoint.  I always enjoy travelling to France with Carol Drinkwater and engage with her characters.  A thrilling read!

 

Georgia Hill’s The Great Summer Street Party: Sunshine and Cider Cake, reviewed by Morton S Gray

I loved the characters in this book, which made me want them all to have happy outcomes. Berecombe definitely sounds like somewhere I would like to live and be part of the community. I would no doubt spend a lot of time in Millie Vanilla’s café if I did. (I was excited to realise that there are other books set in this fictional village and will definitely be reading those too).

Who doesn’t love a heroine with a past to battle and overcome like Ashley? A nice light uplifting read that was perfect distraction for me when I was recently unwell. The living history project aspect of this book was of great interest to me. I now have to go and buy part two of this story as I am intrigued to find out what happens to Ashley, Eddie and of course the backstory of Ruby and Chet.

Lovely read.

 

 

 

 

 

The Patient by Jane Shemilt Book Review

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I tend to judge the success of a book on how long I remember it after I have finished reading it. I could not stop thinking about The Patient after I read it. I sometimes still do, months later.

Jane Shemilt brings her characters to life so vividly it is hard to believe they are not real. You become so engaged with them they feel like friends, or people you know and do not like. Ha. The Patient is a superb psychological thriller but it is also a beautiful love story. Complex and multi-layered, it will keep you gripped all the way to the end with a twist you won’t see coming. One of my favourite books of the year. A must-read.

When Rachel meets Luc, the attraction is instant.
But she is a doctor, and he is her patient.
She gives him the drugs he needs – but in doing so, risks everything.
And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line.
Not all patients are telling the truth.

The Storytellers by Caron McKinlay Book Review

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I have reviewed many books in my life but I have struggled to review The Storytellers by Caron McKinlay. This book blew my mind. It is so clever and so essential. Every women should read this book and I hope they do.
I do not want to give too much away, and yet I feel like this book has encapsulated the insecurities we have as women, the problems with the patriarchy, and distilled it into one glorious perfect book.

The Storytellers, caron McKinlay Every character in this book is well-rounded and unique. You cannot help but root for these women. McKinlay is an outstanding writer. Her writing flows perfectly and is so natural. The book is unique and I did not see the twist coming. The Storytellers is not just a fantastic and unique idea; that idea is perfectly executed.

You can tell this book came from McKinlay’s soul and we are all privileged to be able to read it. The Storytellers is a fun, entertaining feminist novel for our time. This is a must read. Preorder it now. Out May 16th.

https://amzn.to/3JC6fDR

Trapped between life and the afterlife, three women meet and share their stories while discovering the truth about the men in their lives—and about themselves.

Suspended in an eerie state of limbo, an entity called the Gatekeeper tells Nikki, Ronnie, and Mrs. Hawthorne they are on the cusp of entering the afterlife—but only if the women can persuade him that in their earthly lives, they knew the meaning of love.

Fragments of their memories return, plunging them back into their pasts, and forcing them to face the desires, disappointments, addictions, lies, and obsessions they battled in life.

But before time runs out, will they find the answer to the ultimate question: what is love?

 

 

THE CRAFTY WRITER REVIEWS…

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Author Morton S Gray has a passion for crafting, and here she reviews three books guaranteed to inspire.

Wreath Making For All Occasions by Becci Coombes

This book is full of lovely ideas and makes wreath making accessible to people of all abilities.

I love the willow star wreath and it looks much easier to achieve for a beginner than the circular willow wreath. When I got to the page about the book lover’s Valentine I exclaimed aloud at the beauty of the wreath and want to make one of these very much. The lavender wrapped in ribbon project took me right back to childhood and making a similar thing with my nan.

Gorgeous photography throughout. Lots of ideas and inspiration – just a super book.

 

Natural Kitchen Dyes by Alicia Hall

I am forever trying to replace dubious chemical products in my life and use more natural alternatives where I can so that I am clear of the origin and source – this book fulfils this brief for dyeing fabric, raffia and wool. Fascinating insights and processes, and I guess a throwback to the world of our ancestors who knew how to dye cloth using just the things around them.

The illustrations are gorgeous throughout the book, making it clear what to use and making me lust after the beautifully subtle array of colours. I love the idea that I can cook a meal and use peelings, stones and leftovers to create lovely dyes later and especially the fact that as these are foodstuffs that both these raw materials and the dyes can be frozen for use at a future date.

The section about which fibres dye well is useful and I had lightbulbs going off in my head all over the place at the thought of dyeing my own wool for my crochet and weaving projects, material for my patchwork too. I also remembered that I have some unused, undyed silk scarves in my craft cupboard that I can experiment with. My eyes also lit up at the mention of dyeing antique lace.

I will heed the precautionary tales about splashes, as I suspect we are benefiting from the author’s possible previous disasters. Nice clear instructions and loved the tip for putting the remnants of the process on the compost heap.

The fact that the dye outcome is random also appeals as I often despair that all of our clothing these days is too often a carbon copy of everyone else’s. Dying to try dyeing my old t-shirts. My carrot tops and avocado stones and skins have suddenly taken on a new significance!

 

Crafting Authentic Paper Flowers by Sophie Longhurst

Adored the introduction tip in this book – ‘My number one tip when you start paper flower making is not to rush’. Slow enjoyment of the creative process sounds amazing. I also like the fact that this book is intended as more of an inspiration rather than as an exact ‘how to” as everyone will have an individual result. However, the templates at the end of the book make this craft feel more accessible to a beginner.

Beautiful illustrations throughout and a very clear list of materials. I can’t actually believe that some of these flowers are not real! My favourites are the poppies and floribunda roses. And who knew you could make replica Rowan berries from clay?

I have ordered my materials and look forward to some slow crafting in my future…