Archive | July 2024

The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll

Jul31

The Adventurous Spirit

The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll is an exciting children’s historical novel that is perfect for ages ten years and over. This book will entertain you whatever your age.

The novel is set in 1616 and has its foundations in fact. There really was a Somerset tsunami. The rest of the story is fictional.

Within the book we see the disparity between the classes and the sexes. The ruling class looked down on those they deemed to be beneath them. The working class had large hearts and a spirit of generosity.

Males were seen as superior to females. It was decided that a teenage boy would be better than any woman, to rule a hamlet that consisted of women and children.

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Secrets Of A Sun King by Emma Carroll

Jul25

Educated & Entertained

Secrets Of A Sun King by Emma Carroll is an absolutely fascinating historical children’s novel that will educate you as you read. It is suitable for ages ten years and over.

The novel is set in the autumn of 1922. It surrounds the opening up of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter. This is a subject that has many myths surrounding it. Emma Carroll has spun a tale that is grounded in fact.

The novel is highly entertaining and engaging, whatever your age. It is not only set in 1922 but the reader is transported back to Tutankhamun’s final days in the form of a (fictional) letter. The reader has much sympathy for the young Pharoah who just wanted to be an ordinary boy. “Riches haven’t brought me happiness.” The true riches in life are always found in people and never in possessions.

We also see the role of women in the world. Though they had done men’s jobs during World War I, in the early 1920’s they were treated very much as second class citizens to men.

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Cold Vengeance by Nancy Mehl

Jul24

One Breath, One Heartbeat

Cold Vengeance by Nancy Mehl is an absolutely cracking contemporary Christian suspense. It is the third book in the Ryland & St Clair series but can be read as a stand-alone. For maximum enjoyment I recommend reading the previous two books first, especially as there is a story thread that runs throughout the three books.

River Ryland is a newly returned Christian. She is learning to trust God to do the things that she cannot. “She… asked God to take over.” Giving God the driving seat of our lives is always a wise thing to do.

We all have a past. Sometimes we are still hurting from our pasts. “When she let God back into her life, healing had begun.” Surrendering our lives to God is always the best thing that we can do.

We all have scars. Some are visible, others are not. “Wounds can leave scars… Give yourself some compassion.” Scars speak of where we have been, not necessarily where we are going. We cannot alter the past but we can learn from it. “I can’t fix the past, but maybe we can build something new.”

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Night Falls On Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

Jul23

Hope In The Dark

Night Falls On Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright is a marvellous Christian dual timeline novel that completely consumed me.

The action alternates between 1901 and present day. It is written in the first and third person, mainly from two alternating points of view, and also of ‘her’ – whom we need to guess the identity of.

Stories in both time periods run parallel. They are similar but different. Both have sisters in them, are haunted by events, and there is a necessity to find the perpetrator of evil acts.

Within both time periods, there is fear. “Fear is a lack of hope.” Different characters fear different things. They need to let go, and let God guide their lives. A glimpse of hope in the dark is all that is needed for lives to change.

We see that grief paralyses. “She had barely learned to survive.” Grief keeps us rooted in the past. “The notion that time healed and lessoned pain was a myth. Time merely mocked the absence.” We cannot live in the past, we need to move forwards and learn to live again. “Don’t be afraid to live… I’m not afraid to die.” When we know God, death is no longer a foreign country to fear.

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