Tag Archives: Glynis Peters

CARIADS’ CHOICE: NOVEMBER BOOK REVIEWS

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Jill Steeple’s Maybe This Christmas reviewed by Carol Thomas

There’s much to like about this warm-hearted read, not least the lovely wintry setting. Jill Steeples has a great writing style that draws you in and makes you feel you’re among friends. Beth is a likeable, realistic character. The celebrity chef and love interest Rocco has plenty of appeal and a cute dog! As a romance, you know the stage is set for HEA from early on, but it is lovely to share the journey and the warmth of the ending. The supporting cast of characters has a mix of personalities who keep the story lively, and it is great that all get a mention in the final scenes. Overall, this is a perfect feel-good read.

 

Vicki Beeby’s A Wren’s Wartime Christmas reviewed by Morton S Gray

I loved being back on Orkney with the characters, Mary, Iris and Sally, who we first met in A New Start for the Wrens. I was reading this at a time when I needed to be absorbed by a story and this book was a sheer tonic whisking me away to Orkney. With just the right mix of mystery, intrigue and romance. I could imagine myself on the headland near the Wrens’ signalling station, smell the air and see the sea and the heather covered land. Orkney is now most definitely on my “to be visited” list.

I even sat and read this book in the middle of the day, which is unheard of for me. Can’t wait for the next episode to find out what happens to my favourite characters. Sheer tonic.

 

Anita Faulkner’s The Gingerbread Café, reviewed by Kitty Wilson

Having read A Colourful Country Escape, I was so excited to get my hands on this book because I just knew it would be packed full of humour and cosy Christmas cheer.

I was right. This book serves up all the Christmas warmth along with a hefty dollop of romance and a beautifully woven sense of community. I loved it!

Gretal and Lukas are deftly written characters, flawed and relatable and it is impossible not to cheer them on as a couple from the very first minute when Lukas Grinch-face inadvertently attacks Gretal with a Christmas tree.

The author weaves Christmas through every page, conjuring up the smells, sight, sounds and tastes of the season, making you desperate for gingerbread and spiced hot-chocolate as you read.

Add in the mysterious but utterly charming teenager Amber, the beautifully quirky shopkeepers of Mistleton, a swingy-bobbed villain in custom-made trainers and a ludicrously cute ferret and you have a perfect Christmas romance.

 

Glynis Peters’ The Orphan’s Letters reviewed by Jane Cable

This is the second Red Cross Orphans book and having enjoyed the first one so much I was looking forward to diving in. Having done so, I do recommend if you are new to the series you read the books in order.

Kitty Pattison’s war continues as she is shifted from pillar to post by the Red Cross throughout the early 1940s, normally in a different direction to her Canadian doctor fiancé, Michael. Many of the cast of characters from the first book are carried forwards, but there are some new faces as well and Peters captures the era very well.

I particularly like the way she does not sugar coat war in any way, and it was refreshing to have a heroine who suffers mental health issues arising from what she has to do and the things she sees, rather than simply displaying a stiff upper lip.

 

 

 

 

CARIADS’ CHOICE: NOVEMBER BOOK REVIEWS

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Patricia Feinberg Stoner’s At Home in the Pays d’Oc, reviewed by Jessie Cahalin

I sniggered, I cackled and my belly ached as I travelled through the adventures in France.  What a treat!  Feinberg Stone presents her memoirs of life in France as an expat, and the dream of living in France is contrasted with the reality.

Patricia Feinberg Stoner has a unique flair for writing comedy.  She will make you laugh at stories involving: ironing boards, party planning, trips to the second-hand shops, renovation and every day incidents. Les Dawson, Dawson’s poodle and Mighty Mouse feature in the escapades.  If you are confused then you will have to learn the ‘gallic shrug’ and say ‘alors’.

Patricia’s witty observations will instruct you in French way of life. However, it is refreshing to view British culture through French eyes and laugh at our own idiosyncrasies.  Despite the culture gap, Patricia and her husband charmed the locals.  In turn, you will also be charmed by: Henri, Loony Tunes, P’tit Gui and a comedy of wonderful people and a dog.

 

Glynis Peters’ The Red Cross Orphans, reviewed by Jane Cable

I honestly think Glynis Peters’ books are getting better and better. Although this time she has the familiar trope of three very different girls who become friends through their wartime choices, it is clear from the beginning that this story won’t necessarily follow the conventional pattern.

The orphans in this story are not the three girls, but one woman and one man, and it becomes very clear that this wonderful wartime romance is all about them. Kitty and Michael are rich and rounded characters with frailties and flaws that make the issues they encounter and their sometimes conflicted feelings for each other all the more convincing.

Coupled with the incredibly drawn background of a country at war, rich with historical detail, this book is definitely a must read for fans of World War Two fiction – or, indeed, those who adore a great love story.

 

Nicola Cornick’s The Last Daughter, reviewed by Evonne Wareham

A new and original slant on the eternal mystery of the fate of the Princes in the Tower, for those of us who think that Shakespeare got it wrong about Richard III. The book is a clever time slip that alternates between the life of Anne, growing to womanhood in the fifteenth century and witnessing the Wars of the Roses first hand, and Serena in the present day, whose life has been overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of her twin sister and her own inability to remember the events of the night when Caitlin vanished. When a body is finally discovered, in seemingly impossible circumstances, Serena returns to her grandfather’s home in Oxfordshire in an attempt to make sense of the past. Throw in a handsome old flame who might not be all he seems, a mysterious talisman and a heavy sprinkling of the supernatural and you have an enthralling story.

 

Christina Courtney’s Tempted by the Runes, reviewed by Natalie Normann

Maddie thinks she knows everything there is to know about Viking life, having taking part in Viking festivals since she was little. That is, until she finds herself in the 9th century, with real life hitting her in the face. Waking up in a proper longship on it’s way to Iceland will do that to you.

Having read the three other books in Christina Courtney’s Viking series, I’m happy to report that this is every bit as good. It’s gripping from the start, filled with daring adventure and lovely romance – and all the details of Viking life you ever wanted to know. You can’t help fall in love with Maddie and Geir as they try to figure out what’s between them. The story is well-written and so well researched it’s pure joy to read it. I didn’t want it to end!