Archive | November 2022

Yvonne Child Of The Somme by Sara Rowell

Nov23

Fascinating

Yvonne Child Of The Somme by Sara Rowell is a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era.

The reader becomes immersed into French life during the early part of the twentieth century. The author drops in on mother Marie’s life as a domestic servant in 1900 before following Yvonne’s life from 1901.

Life for women in France at the turn of the century was hard. We learn that a third of all births in Paris in 1900 was to single mothers and yet there was no pressure on the fathers to claim responsibility. Females were at the mercy of males. Domestic servants were at risk of abuse from other male servants or their masters.

The poor were seen as a problem for society that was ruled by the male elite. “The wealthy male elite… saw poor people not as individuals but as a … problem.” There was no poor relief and life was a lottery. Many women could not afford to keep their babies.

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Sinister Stranger At St Brides by Debbie Young

Nov23

Working Together

Sinister Stranger At St Brides by Debbie Young is the second book in the Gemma Lamb Cosy Mystery series which is highly entertaining.

Once more St Brides is at the heart of another mystery to solve after a stranger arrives on the doorstep. If manners maketh the man, then this is certainly no gentleman with his arrogance and his rudeness.

The school functions as a family of all girls. Though they are from rich backgrounds, the girls are kind and down to earth.

Debbie Young has created some highly amusing verbal volleys between the characters. I love the English novel and film references. Also highly amusing was the fact that a character can never remember the correct names of others.

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A Sister’s Promise by Caroline Finnerty

Nov22

A Beautiful Love

A Sister’s Promise by Caroline Finnerty is the most beautiful contemporary novel.

It is a love story – but it is not an ordinary love story. This is a beautiful love story. It is a love story about a love that will not die – not even death can separate this love. This is a love story about a love that unites a family – there are multiple members in this love story.

The years and the miles have divided a love but when that loves comes face to face, the years and the miles melt away.

We witness the love of a mother – we actually see two mothers loving their children. No matter how old our children get, we still want to wrap them up in our love and care.

All the characters were beautifully drawn. I felt like they were my dear friends. I adored them all. Four year old Willow was a pure delight. Her mannerisms brought her to life under Caroline Finnerty’s masterful pen.

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The Judas Tree by Amanda Jennings

Nov22

Lasting A Lifetime

The Judas Tree by Amanda Jennings is a gripping contemporary psychological thriller that seeps into your very core.

It is tragic. It is heartbreaking. It is a powerful tale showing the affects of a traumatic childhood on adulthood. An event, so awful, it never leaves you. The timescale of a life is split into ‘before’ and ‘now’. There will never be an ‘after’.

A chance meeting as adults opens up terrible wounds as two characters find themselves returning to the scenes from childhood, in their heads. Others who were there have moved on.

We witness a marriage trying to recover from a miscarriage. The cracks in the relationship go far deeper.

A young man, mixed up as a child by a distant father and a boys boarding school, still believes the lies he was told that he is no good and not worthy of any good things in life. The voices from his childhood, echo in his mind, tormenting the adult he became.

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