Review: Under The Spanish Stars

Read from 10th – 21st September 2023

Synopsis: 

Charlotte Kavanagh’s beloved grandma Katarina Sanchez is gravely ill, so when she begs Charlotte to travel to her homeland in Andalucía to uncover the truth behind a mysterious painting, Charlotte agrees.  Taking leave from her soul-destroying job and stalled life in Australia, Charlotte embarks on a quest through Granada’s ancient cobble-stoned streets and vibrant neighbourhoods. There she meets Mateo Vives, a flamenco guitarist with a dark past, and through him she quickly becomes entangled in the world of flamenco and gypsies that ignites a passion she had thought lost. 

But the mystery surrounding the painting deepens, reaching back in time to the war-torn Spain of the 1940s and Charlotte discovers her grandmother’s connection to the Spanish underground. Who is her grandmother, really? What is Mateo’s connection to her family history? And why is finding answers to a family mystery turning into a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte?

Weighed down by secrets, betrayals and shattered relationships, Charlotte finds herself questioning the true meaning of heritage, family and love.

Bookish Things: 352 pages. The cover is pretty stock standard for this type of genre from a big publishing house. Didn’t really grab me or encourage me to read the book more than any other.

#Review: The Welsh Linnet

Read from 10-15th July 2023

Synopsis: 

England in the year 1642. Civil War looms between King Charles I and his Puritan Parliament.

The excitement of life as officers in King Charles I’s cavalry soon turns sour for brothers Will and Harry Lucie, drawn to the war like moths to a flame. The family divided by the conflict, their sister Bess becomes caught up in the deadly struggle and is forced to flee the family home. In the grim aftermath of battle, Harry is thrown together with grieving widower Gabriel Vaughan, a man concealing a dangerous secret.

From the slaughter of Edgehill to the defence of doomed fortress Basing House, the story of dishonour and betrayal plays out against the backdrop of real events and places, “this war without an enemie”.

Bookish Things: 470 pages. The cover is appropriate for the genre and feel of the book. This is the first book in the War Without An Enemy Series and happily book #2 is already out.

Review: Breath by Tim Winton

Read from 26-27th June 2023

Synopsis: 

Breath is an extraordinary evocation of an adolescence spent resisting complacency, testing one’s limits against nature, finding like-minded souls, and discovering just how far one breath will take you. It’s a story of extremes—extreme sports and extreme emotions.

On the wild, lonely coast of Western Australia, two thrillseeking and barely adolescent boys fall into the enigmatic thrall of veteran big-wave surfer Sando. Together they form an odd but elite trio. The grown man initiates the boys into a kind of Spartan ethos, a regimen of risk and challenge, where they test themselves in storm swells on remote and shark-infested reefs, pushing each other to the edges of endurance, courage, and sanity. But where is all this heading? Why is their mentor’s past such forbidden territory? And what can explain his American wife’s peculiar behavior? Venturing beyond all limits—in relationships, in physical challenge, and in sexual behavior—there is a point where oblivion is the only outcome. Full of Winton’s lyrical genius for conveying physical sensation, Breath is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale from one of world literature’s finest storytellers.

Review: Son of the Great River

Read from 8-11th January 2023

Synopsis: 

When a stranger from the south dies in Saffu’s arms, it forces him to leave his tribe to travel to the land of cities and kings. Son of the Great River is a coming of age story of two boys set in the early Bronze Age. One comes from a hunter-gatherer society and finds himself thrust into a strange and complex world at odds with the values taught him by his people. The other comes from the frontier of this world and is enamored with the power available to the kings and barons of early cities. The boys join in friendship and travel together, experiencing a world at the very beginning of civilization.

Their fates are entwined with two others: the Beauty of All the North, Naganawae, and the indomitable runaway Rheem, who’s destined to become the heiress to a grieving king. Together, they take part in a tale of princesses, witchcraft, war, glory, and corruption. Their paths, their ambitions, their weaknesses, reveal that even in a time of bronze and stone, the human heart guided the course of events.

Reblog: New Novel! — Laurie Boris

I’ve read several of Laurie’s books and always enjoyed them. I’m sure her new one will be no different!

I’m so excited to tell you that my ninth novel, Boychik, is now live on Amazon in ebook form. Here’s what the book is about: In 1930s Brooklyn, in the depths of the Great Depression, the son of a deli man dreams of making it big in Hollywood. A rich girl with family secrets fantasizes […]

New Novel! — Laurie Boris

Review: The Notebook

Read from 18 – 19 June, 2020

Synopsis: Set amid the austere beauty of the North Carolina coast, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner recently returned form the Second World War. Noah is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories…until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. It is a story of miracles and emotions that will stay with you forever.