Archive | October 2019

Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage by Heidi Swain

Oct19

A Warm Welcome Awaits

Coming Home To Cuckoo Cottage by Heidi Swain is the most charming contemporary novel about overcoming loss, second chances and learning to live again.

Grief can threaten to sink us. We need to find a way through it. The novel shows a great love that reaches beyond the confines of the grave. It is a love that knows just what is needed for a character to come to life and begin to live properly for the first time. I loved the inclusion of a small dog. Dogs can turn a house into a home.

The novel is set in Wynbridge. It is a small town with a big personality. Your business is never your own for long. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, stays private around here.” The reader sees the importance of seeking the truth for themselves as others with agendas may spread rumours that are not true. The upside to living in a small town is that a warm welcome awaits. “It felt like I was going home.” The reader ‘feels’ welcomed as the arms of the community reach beyond the novel.

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The Christmas Diary by Elyse Douglas

Oct19

Nostalgia At It’s Finest

The Christmas Diary by Elyse Douglas is a charming contemporary novel that will warm your heart and leave you smiling.

The novel is about truelove and real success. True love is deeper than romantic love. It goes straight into your heart and produces a strong urge to gather and protect. True love sacrifices. True love includes family. It is a love that lasts a lifetime and is not confined by time.

Success is measured in various ways. If your yardstick is fame and fortune, you will be indeed poor. True success is found in relationships with others. It is the love of others for us and us for others that reveals true success and riches.

The Christmas Diary has a wonderful atmosphere – love, warmth and snow all evoke feelings of nostalgia. The action is set in a small town that pulls together at all times. A warm welcome extends to strangers and reaches beyond the pages to the reader.

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The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

Oct19

United Down The Years

The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron is a delightful Christian novel and the third book in the Lost Castles series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Once more Kristy Cambron has taken historical detail and facts and woven a marvellous tale. The novel is a triple timeline story being set in 1843, 1944 and present day. The focus is Framlingham in Suffolk and a private painting of Queen Victoria. Similar themes and a mystery unite the tales down the years.

There are a wonderful mix of characters. I certainly had a favourite. See if you do too.

War touches every aspect of society in 1944 as lives are both protected and torn apart. Huge hearts open homes to those in need. The desire to nurture and protect is strong.

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The Christmas Eve Secret by Elyse Douglas

Oct17

True Love Never Dies

The Christmas Eve Secret by Elyse Douglas is a most charming timeslip read and the third book in A Time Travel Novel series. I recommend reading books one and two first for maximum enjoyment.

The reader once again catches up with Eve and Patrick – and what happened next, I could not have predicted. Theirs is a love outside the confines of time. It is a love that will not die. It is a love that takes risks and it is a love that is prepared to sacrifice.

This is a thrilling read set in 1884. Through comprehensive descriptions the reader glimpses a bygone age. It is an age where chivalry is not dead but doesn’t always happen. Women are seen as second class citizens to be used by men.

Disease is rife. Life is precious. Without modern medicine, lives hang in the balance.

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