Tag Archives: Vicki Beeby

MORTON S GRAY REVIEWS

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The Girls of Bomber Command by Vicki Beeby

Vicki Beeby has done it again!

I enjoyed her last two WW2 series about The Ops Room Girls and The Wrens, but I loved the first in this new series about The Girls of Bomber Command.

A poignant subject, Beeby comments in her notes that the RAF Bomber Command had one of the highest casualty rates of any Allied unit during the Second World War and yet the author manages to portray this sensitively in a very enthralling read.

I loved Pearl, who reminded me of myself as she tries to look after her younger sister and strives to find her own place in the world whilst staying true to her aspirations. Greg has to deal daily with the thought that he might not survive the next bombing mission and that colours how he lives his life.

The author’s notes on the research undertaken to inspire and also to make this story authentic were fascinating.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

 

Wild Hope by Donna Ashworth

I cannot speak too highly of this volume of poetry. Comfort in troubled times and wisdom for everyday living.

Having seen a social media video of the author using the volume as an oracle, I now open this book daily at random and the results have never ceased to surprise me. I have my favourite poems of course but each page has the ability to touch my heart and often to produce tears.

I don’t think I have ever read a volume of poetry so often. Wonderful.

 

The Paris Affair by Victoria Cornwall

I really enjoyed this book and felt as if I was actually Charlotte, the heroine as she negotiated the sadness, excitements and uncertainties of her life and relationship with Pierre.

The Parisian scenes, particularly the characters’ visit to The Sacre Coeur took me right back to a long ago visit to Paris.

Victoria Cornwall is a skilled storyteller who makes you care about her characters and root for them as they tackle dangers and challenges.

I have always wondered how I would have coped in times of war and hope that I would step up to the challenge of helping with the war effort just as Charlotte, Pierre and their colleagues did in the book.

A thoroughly enjoyable read that made me reflect on the war experiences of members of my family.

 

The Lost Heir by Jane Cable

Jane Cable captures the time of the Covid era lockdowns, which caused many people to re-evaluate their lives and make changes, as does the modern day character of Carla in The Lost Heir. As a family historian myself, I enjoyed the research Carla and Mani’s research adventures. I liked the present day story, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about Covid times when I started reading the book, and would really like to know more about what happened to these characters after the end of this story.

Franny in the historical story, with her different way of seeing the world and her companion, Harriet, is a very complex character. I loved the secrets and risks surrounding William.

Loved the fact that Carla had inherited her grandmother’s skills for seeing auras and presences. Fascinating to read in the notes to the book about the inspiration for the story and the research done by the author.

All in all, a great read.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: VICKI BEEBY ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM A NEW START FOR THE WRENS

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The first time I visited Orkney, I’d gone to visit the fascinating Neolithic sites. However, I was surprised to find other, much more recent remains – the leftovers of Orkney’s wartime heritage. Along with ancient stone circles, tombs and stone houses, I saw concrete gun emplacements and the buildings still standing in Lyness on Hoy where there had been a huge naval base. Until then I hadn’t known about the large presence of the armed forces in Orkney during the war but after that I threw myself into research. When I learned that a lot of Wrens were posted to Orkney, it fired my imagination and I started to wonder what it must have been like for the young women who left the comforts of their homes to serve in Orkney.

It was a couple of years before I was able to start my story, and one of the first decisions I had to make when planning it was whether to make the setting wholly real or if I should blend real settings with fictional ones. In the end, lockdown made up my mind for me. The research trip I’d planned had to be postponed indefinitely and yet my deadlines were fixed and looming. As I was going to have to rely on my memories of my visit, plus maps and books, it made sense to create a fictional signal station where my Wrens would be based.

In the book they are tasked with challenging and monitoring all shipping entering and leaving Hoy Sound, the entrance to Scapa Flow, which was the wartime anchorage for Britain’s Home Fleet. I made up a headland, which I called Kyeness, where the signal station would be based, placing it just outside Stromness. Now I’m writing the third book in the series, it feels like a very real place to me, up on a high headland with stunning views across Hoy Sound, with the Hoy Hills beyond.

Another fictional location is the Wrennery, the large old house where the Wrens are billeted. However, it’s located in Stromness. It’s one of my favourite places in Orkney, with its narrow, winding streets and stunning views across the harbour. In one of my favourite scenes in the book, Iris, the heroine, goes for a walk with her sweetheart while recovering from a terrifying experience the night before. The route I describe is all real, starting in Stromness, and I spent ages studying maps and Google Street View, hoping I didn’t get anything wrong. When I visited Orkney again last November, I followed the same route myself and was relieved to find I’d described the scene correctly, although with the addition of barrage balloons and warships!

‘… they walked out of Stromness on the Howe Road. The road climbed steadily until, looking back, Iris could see across Scapa Flow. The waters were now still and a clear blue, reflecting the sunlit sky. ‘It’s hard to believe it was so stormy out there last night.’ With the daffodils dancing in the breeze along the verges and even the barrage balloons gleaming in the sunshine, Iris felt the lingering fear of the night fall away. Far across the bay, she could see the faint outline of ships at anchor. At that distance, the water looked like silver, the ships set upon the surface like toys. Thoughts of yesterday’s stormy weather and those terrifying moments when she was being dragged beneath the water were fast fading like a half-remembered nightmare.’

 

 

To find out more about me and my books, please visit my website: vickibeeby.co.uk