Tag Archive | Bloodhound Books

A Gift Called Hope by Eva Jordan

Dec16

It Takes A Village

A Gift Called Hope by Eva Jordan is a beautiful, poignant contemporary Christmas novel that will tug at your heart.

This is a study of a family and of grief from two years earlier. The family has fractured as each member retreats into themselves as they each process loss. There is no right or wrong way through grief, each journey is unique. Each must ravel their own pathway.

We mainly ‘see’ the loss as experienced through the mother’s eyes. Her arms are empty of her son, as she draws her grandson closer. In her own grief, she fails to see how others are suffering. She fails to see what was under her nose. Her memories are rose-tinted and not a true depiction.

Grief and guilt go hand in hand. Characters feel guilty for what they did or did not do.

There is a community atmosphere as characters offer support where they can. There is also a tense atmosphere at the school gates as mothers try to outdo others.

Continue reading →

Sixty Blades Of Grass by Elizabeth Millane

May23

Inspiring

Sixty Blades Of Grass by Elizabeth Millane is a powerful historical novel that I read in just one sitting. I was totally engrossed and could not put it down.

The novel is set in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. The action is grounded in fact from stories told to the author by her relatives. Lead character Rika was revered by all.

Wartime Holland was a dreadful place to be. Trust was in short supply, even within families. If you told no one about what you were up to, no one could accidentally talk. Resistance workers and collaborators existed side by side – but who was working for which side? Who was playing who? Lines sometimes became blurred.

Rika has a special needs sister. She needs to be kept safe for fear the Nazis would ship her off to Germany to meet her death.

Love still flourishes in times of war. But would the couples live to see peacetime?

Continue reading →