EnglandTag Archives

Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: Penguin
  • Release Date:  1/5/2013
        

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

I also recommend:

My Review:

I really enjoyed Jojo Moyes’ last novel and so when I saw that Me Before You was available I snatched it up. I’ve gotten rather picky over the last few years on contemporary women’s literature and Moyes passed the test the last time around so I was hoping to enjoy this one. And guess what? I did!

Me Before You is the story of a young woman Lou who is the backbone of her family. With a father who is in danger of losing his job, a sister who dropped out of college to have a child, and all of her wages going to support her family, when Lou loses her job she is desperate for work. Enter Will – a quadriplegic who has a dark secret of his own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I sympathized with Lou as she struggled to find things to get Will back out into the world but I also sympathized with Will. Me Before You deals with a sensitive subject in a way that showed just how complicated it can be and I appreciated Jojo Moyes’ light touch when it came to telling the story.

I may or may not have shed a tear when it came to the end of the book (although I was a little bit with the rolling-eyes at one certain aspect) but ultimately I put the book down and felt satisfied with what I read which, in all honesty, is one of the things I look for when it comes to a good book.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Jenn’s Bookshelves | Linus’s Blanket | A Reader of Fictions

Pin It
Lydia
18 January, 2013
Chick-Lit, Contemporary, reviews
1 comment
, ,

Book Review: The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: E.P. Dutton
  • Release Date:  1/8/2013
        

In New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier’s newest historical saga, she introduces Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker who moves to Ohio in 1850, only to find herself alienated and alone in a strange land. Sick from the moment she leaves England, and fleeing personal disappointment, she is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in a harsh, unfamiliar landscape.

Nineteenth-century America is practical, precarious, and unsentimental, and scarred by the continuing injustice of slavery. In her new home Honor discovers that principles count for little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality.

However, drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor befriends two surprising women who embody the remarkable power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.

A powerful journey brimming with color and drama, The Last Runaway is Tracy Chevalier’s vivid engagement with an iconic part of American history.

I also recommend:

 

My Review:

I am trying to figure out today what made this book so unputdownable last night (I was up reading it until I finished at 3am) and the only thing I can come up with is the character of Honor Bright. She is such a sympathetic character and I wanted to know what happened to her.

The Last Runaway is the story of Honor Bright, a young Quaker woman who leaves England to escape an unpleasant past that is not of her own doing, and her attempt to fit into the American society in a small town in Ohio. There are a cast of interesting characters in Donovan and Belle, Jack Haymaker, Adam and Abigail, and more and decisions that need to be made by Honor that foreshadow a deeper meaning behind her name.

There were familiar aspects to this novel, anyone who has read Uncle Tom’s Cabin will recognize similarities between the stories – but this is more dealing with the other side, what happens to those who disobey the Fugitive Slave Act. It’s a life filled with secrets and lies in the midst of a people who refuse to lie.

So this ended up being an unputdownable book for me. It moved quickly, had heart and characters that tugged at my heartstrings, and it was a story that was above and beyond interesting. There were little bits of flavor throughout it as well that helped with the story, making it more personable. The difference between English quilting and American, recipes, culture, and more.

This is a great book for fans of historical fiction who are interested in immigration, the underground railroad, Quakers, and the early pioneer midwest.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Nomadreader | Bookworm’s Dinner | The Secret Writer

Pin It
Lydia
16 January, 2013
Historical, reviews, Social Issues
1 comment
, , , , ,

Book Review: The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy via the publisher through NetGalley.
  • Published by: Simon and Schuster UK
  • Release Date: 8/16/2012

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping and ultimately tragic story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” the most powerful magnate in England through the Cousins’ Wars. In the absence of a son and heir, he uses the two girls as pawns in his political games, but they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.

At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child brought up in intimacy and friendship with the family of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Her will is tested when she is left widowed and fatherless, with her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Fortune’s wheel turns again when Richard rescues Anne from her sister’s house, with danger still following Anne, even as she eventually ascends to the throne as queen. Having lost those closest to her, she must protect herself and her precious only child, Prince Edward, from a court full of royal rivals.

Reason for Reading:
  • I love historical fiction and thoroughly enjoy Gregory’s writing.

I also recommend:

My Review:

In this fourth book of The Cousin’s War by Philippa Gregory, we’re introduced to the Neville sisters, Isabel and Anne. In The Lady of the River, Gregory gives us a taste of what it was like to live with, and love, the Woodville family – but sides are switched and now we’re on the opposite side, looking at that dratted large family with something very close to hatred.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter follows the story of Anne Neville and her tumultuous life as the daughter of the man who set aside the “sleeping king,” Henry VI, and put Edward IV on the throne instead. Edward, married to Jacquetta’s daughter, Lady Elizabeth Grey, was once influenced by Anne’s father, Richard Neville, but now has been drawn into the arms of the abundant Woodville family.

This is a story of struggle – struggle between kings and would-be kings, between two insanely strong Queens (both of whom share a common bond through Jacquetta), and a story of how difficult a life Anne Neville had, beginning at such a young age. It’s about blood feuds and witchcraft, murders and sickness, and life and death in the most base of forms. I really think the books contained in Gregory’s Cousin’s War series have been building up to this book – because this is where things really got interesting, it’s where history became so turbulent that there was never once a sense of ease within the court of England. And honestly, Henry VIII, no matter how fascinating he is with his ability to set aside wives like they are delicacies he has lost his taste for, is not nearly as interesting to me as this period of time is. Margaret of Anjou and Queen Elizabeth (Formerly Elizabeth Grey) were strong, independent women who knew exactly how to muster the men of their families to their aid and pitted against each other… that was some formidable stuff.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Kingmaker’s Daughter and look forward to seeing what Gregory has up her sleeve next.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Confessions of a Book Addict| Michelle’s Book Review Blog| Musings of a Writer

Pin It
Lydia
25 September, 2012
Historical, reviews
0 comments
, , ,

Book Review: The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

 The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: Simon and Schuster
  • Release Date: 9/15/2011
 
       

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and recognizes her own power in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the “wheel of fortune” before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream.

Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

Drawing on years of research, Philippa Gregory tells the story of the Woodvilles who achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. Henry the king slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret the queen turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty of the House of York.

Jacquetta fights for her King, her Queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman married to a neighbor for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York.

Reason for Reading:
  • I began to read Gregory’s books on The Cousin’s War a few years ago, and had this one on my shelf for a while.

I also recommend:

 My Review:

I’ve been a fan of Philippa Gregory since, years ago, I picked up The Other Boleyn Girl. I can’t help it – I love easy to read historical fiction, and Philippa Gregory provides enough meat in these books to make me feel like I’m learning and being entertained, all in one fell swoop.

I’ve had The Lady of the Rivers on my shelf for a year now – and I’m ashamed of myself that I’m just now getting to it. For some reason, I was thinking it would be a huge time investment, as historical novels tend to be, but then once I picked it up and started reading, I remembered how impossible stories like this were to put down.

So once again, I ended up reading into the night, turning page after page, devouring the life of Jacquetta like she was my BFF. This book follows her from her loveless marriage, through the death of that husband, and finally her love match with her final husband. It touches on Joan of Arc, on the trials of Henry IV and Margaret of Anjou, the war between the cousins, in all its bloody glory. But it never really gets deep into the descriptions of blood and gore, as Gregory decides, instead, to focus mainly on Jacquetta.

Jacquetta had a busy life, that’s for certain – I lost count toward the end but around 10-11 children? Plus traveling, plus placating a very, very headstrong woman in Queen Margaret. I was reminded, again, that no matter how we romanticize those times, things would not have been easy. And most of all, I was thoroughly entertained (although toward the end things seemed to really rush a bit, but I suspect that was due to Gregory’s excitement to move on to the next book, as she indicates in her afterward).

Recommended for fans of historical fiction – I liked this one a bit more than The Red Queen, and found it a fun romp through history.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

That’s What She Read | S. Krishna’s Books | Confessions of a Book Addict

Pin It
Lydia
14 September, 2012
Historical, reviews
0 comments
, , , ,

The Unseen by Katherine Webb

Order from:

 

Reason for Reading:

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

England, 1911. The Reverend Albert Canning, a vicar with a passion for spiritualism, leads a happy existence with his naive wife Hester in a sleepy Berkshire village. As summer dawns, their quiet lives are changed for ever by two new arrivals. First comes Cat, the new maid: a free-spirited and disaffected young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the law. Cat quickly finds a place for herself in the secret underbelly of local society as she plots her escape. Then comes Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, enticed by tales of elemental beings in the water meadows nearby. A young man of magnetic charm and beauty, Robin soon becomes an object of fascination and desire. During a long spell of oppressive summer heat, the rectory at Cold Ash Holt becomes charged with ambition, love and jealousy; a mixture of emotions so powerful that it leads, ultimately, to murder.

My Review:

Oh Katherine Webb, what are you doing to me? You take some of the most delicious, fantastic ideas and put them into a story that I cannot resist and then you mix it with the most frustrating, aggravating details. But I can’t stop reading and I struggle with myself because I want to give your story five stars, but then there are so many little nagging elements that drag it down for me!

Okay, now that the rant is out of the way, let me tell you what I loved and what I hated about The Unseen.

First of all – mystery in 1911/2011 England? Yes please. Throw in mildly supernatural elements, prim and prissy Victorian-style husband and wife, maid with a bad-girl vibe, and shyster and it’s the recipe for a delicious, dark, romantic English story.

What Katherine Webb does remarkably well is set her story up. I loved Cat and her addition to the household, I loved the dynamics between Hester and her husband, and the little scraps of letters which served as a catalyst to move the story forward. I loved the romance which flares up and the backbone Cat displays and the slowly unraveling story of what happened in Cat’s background. Everything about each one of these things was perfectly paced and beautifully described. I couldn’t ask for more.

Here’s what I hated though, and though these were BIG things for me during the reading, upon reflection they are just nagging, I really wish she would have done better because I believe she could have! I felt as if Webb was underestimating the intelligence of her reader a bit. The entire 2011 setting was boring, and frankly toward the end of the book I was actually tempted (although I didn’t) to skim or just skip it completely. I felt as if it’s sole purpose was to give us a reason to investigate the story and that the book would have been completely fine without it. There was no real resolution that made it absolutely necessary.

Also I was a bit confused about how detailed a 100 year old corpse could be when it was found. Maybe I just don’t know enough about corpses – so I’ll leave that one be.

I think a lot of the things that bothered me about this book also bothered me in The Legacy by Katherine Webb, so I’m wondering if it’s just her style of writing. If you like authors such as Kate Morton, I think it’s possible you will love Webb’s books as well, just don’t expect the same level of story-crafting that is available in Morton’s books.

 

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Leeswammes | Peeking Between the Pages| S. Krishna’s Books


Pin It
Lydia
5 June, 2012
Historical, Mystery, reviews
6 comments
, , , , ,

The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart

Order from:
Reason(s) for Reading:
  • Saw it in Barnes and Noble and had to get it due to the quirky title and unusual cover.

I also recommend:

  1. Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith

Summary from GoodReads:

Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his 120-year-old pet tortoise for the past eight years. That’s right, he is a Beefeater (they really do live there). It’s no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present-day London.

Among the eccentric characters who call the Tower’s maze of ancient buildings and spiral staircases home are the Tower’s Rack & Ruin barmaid, Ruby Dore, who just found out she’s pregnant; portly Valerie Jennings, who is falling for ticket inspector Arthur Catnip; the lifelong bachelor Reverend Septimus Drew, who secretly pens a series of principled erot­ica; and the philandering Ravenmaster, aiming to avenge the death of one of his insufferable ravens.

When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interest­ing. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. Balthazar is in charge and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise “runs” away.

Filled with the humor and heart that calls to mind the delight­ful novels of Alexander McCall Smith, and the charm and beauty of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is a magical, wholly origi­nal novel whose irresistible characters will stay with you long after you turn the stunning last page.

My Review:

This book made me laugh out loud so many times that my sides began to hurt.

Normally I breeze through books quickly, but this one I savored, loving every minute of it.  I’d heard that it was slow, and was dreading the slowing down of it, but I found it thoroughly and utterly delightful and so very, very British.

There are so many scenes in this book that were perfect, and the characters – man, the characters were fantastic.  The scene with the urn arriving at Hebe’s workplace, the Erotic Fiction writing chaplain, the ravens, the turtle – but in spite of being so full of subtle humor, there was an underlying thread of thoughtfulness and kindness touching the story of Balthazar and his wife, Hebe.

I laughed my way through the book, and then I found myself blinking away tears as I finished it – both because of the story and because I didn’t want to say goodbye.  Julia Stuart is an author to watch for.

Check out these review(s):

Under My Apple Tree

Chrisbookarama

 

Pin It
Lydia
29 March, 2011
Comedy, Contemporary, Favorites, reviews
4 comments
, , ,

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

Order from:
Reason(s) for Reading:
  • This is my first Maisie Dobbs novel, but I’ve heard about these books and thought jumping into this tour would give me a good reason for finally trying one.
I also  recommend:

Summary from Goodreads:

In the latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death an investigation that leads her to a long-hidden affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California’s beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman puts duty first and sails for his father’s native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael’s parents, who have recently learned that their son’s remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael’s belongings a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier’s family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

 

My Review:

The Mapping of Love and Death was a fantastic look into the lifestyle of early 20th century folks in England.  Maisie Dobbs provided me with enough wit, strength of character and humor to make me a fan, even without knowing the back story of her character in the previous 6 books.

Mysteries tend to be hit and miss for me.  I don’t enjoy mindless thrillers anymore and usually like to have more of a story happening to get into a book.  This book has made a fan out of me and I intend to try to catch up by reading the previous books as soon as I can.

In this story, Maisie is attempting to solve the mystery involving the son of a prominent, American couple.  Little clues and tidbits are dropped throughout the unfolding of the story – but what struck me most of all was the introduction to the son at the beginning of the book.  It completely threw me off base, because I felt an initial attachment only to find it snatched away from me.

I highly recommend this book to mystery lovers and those who love to read stories of a time when things were more simple.  It’s nice to read about good, old-fashioned mystery solving without any of the technologyl devices we have today.

About the Author

Jacqueline Winspear’s website: http://jacquelinewinspear.com/.

For more reviews on The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear, please follow the book tour.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pin It
Lydia
18 March, 2011
Mystery, reviews
2 comments
, ,