Archive | May 2018

Ottercombe Bay part one by Bella Osborne

May15

A Cracking Start

Ottercombe Bay part one by Bella Osborne is a delightful opening to a light hearted contemporary read.

Returning for her great uncle’s funeral, Daisy gets more than she bargained for. Old memories awaken and clash with grief. Previous acquaintances spring up, and then there is a bouncy dog called Bugsy.

The reader is entertained, even picking up an old mystery along the way.

It’s on to part two for me now to continue the story.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON

 

 

The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings

May15

Refusing To Let Go

The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings is a psychological novel that consumes from the start.

Set over the summer of 1986, there are several voices telling the story. At times the action overlaps as the reader experiences the action from different points of view. The story is punctuated by a voice in the resent.

The Cliff House is a disturbing read showing that all that glitters is not gold. “Everybody thought money made people happy… It didn’t matter how rich a family was if… they were broken.” A life that is polished on the surface has murky roots underneath.

The novel pulls the reader in as we witness the draw of the perfect life in the cliff house.

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The Sound Of Rain by Sarah Loudin Thomas

May14

Following Your Dreams

The Sound Of Rain by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a marvellous Christian historical novel set in 1954.

The story has the theme of healing – both physical and from scars of the past. A sufferer of PTSD (unrecognised at the time) must learn how to live again when everywhere he turns reminds him of his loss. He needed “a safe place to heal from the war.”

We all have dreams for our children but when their dream and our dream create conflict, rifts occur. We need to listen to God’s call on our heart. “I’ve learned to listen when the good Lord gives me a holy nudge.”

We are called to help others but “You can do God’s work anywhere.” We do not need to travel overseas to find lost and hurting people.

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A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh

May12

Growing Old Disgracefully

A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh is a really fun contemporary novel that will have you in stitches. It debunks all the myths about seventy five year olds being ‘over the hill’. Life is for living, no matter how old you are.

The main theme is carpe diem – we are a long time dead – so seize the day and do something different. Begin to live again. Do not wait around for the future, grab the present with both hands and try something new.

Judy Leigh has created a marvellous lead character in the form of seventy five year old Evie. She is fun. She is mischievous. She is brave. She is not content to live out her days in an old people’s home that was “sucking the soul out of me.” Evie shows how to grow old disgracefully. Life is an adventure to be had.

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