A Scottish Teashop In Napoli by Jane Lambert

Insieme Per Sempre (Together Forever)

A Scottish Teashop In Napoli by Jane Lambert is the most delightful contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

All the characters were wonderfully warm and welcoming. They wrapped around the reader as we received a virtual hug in a book.

The novel opens in Scotland but we soon travel to Naples as a character has a complete change of life following a public jilting.

Scotland represents the past. Naples equals a new beginning. The scenery was bright and sunny. The characters opened their homes and their hearts to a young Scottish woman.

Throughout the novel, the reader’s taste buds are tempted to delicious sounding food fayre. I was pleased to find the inclusion of recipes at the back of the book.

Characters bond over food. The food ‘speaks’ of love. “Whenever Lucy baked, she could feel her grandmother beside her.” Her Grandmother introduced Lucy to her love of baking which became her passion.

Continue reading

I Stand Amazed: The World As I See It vol 3 by Kirby Lee Davis

Stunningly Beautiful

I Stand Amazed: The World As I See It vol 3 by Kirby Lee Davis is a stunningly beautiful collection of poems and photos.

These poems celebrate our relationship with God. We see our need for Him every day; His faithfulness to us; grace and forgiveness.

As this book opens, there is a version of Isaiah 40.  This is followed by a poem based on John 3:16, declaring “For God loves, so He gives.” God gave His all for us. He gave us Jesus.

The poems My Everything, and My God Stands Ever At My Side speak of the faithfulness of God; and the presence of God. God is with us every single step as we journey through life.

Throughout the book, there are poems to help us through every stage of life.

In Why Go It Alone, a stanza repeats:

“Salvation’s knocking at your door,

Why go it alone?”

Continue reading

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

The Torchbearers

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman is a powerful dual timeline novel that totally consumed me. It is the third book in The Paris Sisters series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in Paris in 1943 and in England in 2012. We also journey to Brazil in the latter period. The stories are linked by family as a grandmother’s life becomes the focal point of a search.

Life in occupied Paris was hard, and even harder for the Jewish population. A young mother vows to relentlessly search for her Jewish husband. Only the hope of being re-united keeps her going as events push her to the limit.

We see that people did what they did in order to survive. “People made hard choices to survive.” The bravery of a young mother is to be applauded. “We can’t judge the past by our current standings.” The past needs to be viewed with a very different pair of eyes.

A Stradivarius violin links the two timelines as a granddaughter seeks to unite a family with their violin after the Nazis had looted it during the war. What she uncovers is the stuff of nightmares. “The violin wasn’t just an artefact – it was a bridge to her father’s history.”

Brave people of Paris joined the Resistance. “We must join them [Resistance]. We cannot stand idly by while our city is torn apart by hatred and fear.” We learn that even in the darkest of times, beauty can be found. “Amid all the darkness, there was still beauty to be found.”

Continue reading

The Cruise Club by Caroline James

Delightfully Fun

The Cruise Club by Caroline James is a delightfully fun contemporary novel that will leave you smiling.

As the title suggests, the action is aboard a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. The atmosphere is light and fun-filled, with blue sky days and relaxing nights.

The reader revels in the trips ashore as we ‘see’ some of the treasures that the local landscape has to offer.

There are a wonderful eclectic mix of characters, all of whom are the other side of sixty. Caroline James shows that you are never too old to have fun. Life is for living.

You are never too old to follow your dreams. “Don’t die wondering what it might have been like to be an author. Make it happen.” If you have a dream, why not fulfil it?

Continue reading