Archive | December 2022

Clara’s Christmas Magic by Rosie Green

Dec12

Christmas In A Book

Clara’s Christmas Magic by Rosie Green is the most charming contemporary festive offering. It is part of the Little Duck Pond Café series but can be read as a stand-alone.

This really is Christmas in a book. The reader’s heart swells with all the delightfully delicious descriptions. Rosie Green uses her masterful pen to show us the festive period in New York – we ‘experience’ the dazzle of the shops, the hustle and bustle, ice skating in Central Park and so much more. The whole book comes alive and envelops the reader in festivities.

Kind hearts make new friends. Kind hearts also practice sacrificial love. Kind hearts see the need in others and puts them first.

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The Family At No.12 by Anita Waller

Dec11

Demands A Response

The Family At No. 12 by Anita Waller is a marvelous contemporary psychological thriller that gripped me from the start. It is set over a period of nineteen years moving forwards in time from 1999.

The plotline was very unique. I also found it incredibly upsetting and disturbing as I was emotionally invested in the main character. What happened to her affected me in my heart and mind. I had taken her into my heart – her innocence appealed to the mother in me. I just wanted to look after her.

All the characters were well drawn and realistic. They elicited a variety of responses from me – from feelings of intense dislike to incredible care.

Our upbringings and our genes affect our character make-up. Not necessarily good traits travel down the generations. We are a mixture of nature and nurture.

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A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson

Dec10

Absolutely Charming

A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson is an absolutely charming contemporary Christian festive tale that will warm your heart.

Every year I look forward to Melody Carlson’s Christmas offering, they are always beautiful and heart-warming.

All the characters are well drawn and realistic. They are an eclectic mix from a four year old girl to two ladies who are nearly seventy.

Kind hearts gather to make a little girl’s wish for her mother’s Christmas quilt to come true. We see that you are never too old nor too young to learn new skills.

The warm atmosphere has a chill at times as a hurting character has let bitterness invade her heart. Past memories, rather than warming have the opposite effect and freeze a character’s heart. What will it take to thaw that frozen heart?

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The Darlings Of The Asylum by Noel O’Reilly

Dec9

Atmospheric

The Darlings Of The Asylum by Noel O’Reilly is a compulsive historical novel that consumed me from the start.

Written in the first person enables the reader to become intimately acquainted with the lead character. We empathise with her feelings of frustration and applaud her bravery and guts.

The novel has two different time periods. As it opens, the reader is very concerned for the fate of whoever is viewing the action.

The tale is set in 1886. It was very much a male dominated society. Women were expected to acquiesce, being subservient to men. If you questioned a male, especially one in authority, life would not always be good for you. A new generation of women were rising up, those who knew what they wanted and were not afraid to say so. They wanted to be seen and heard, with their likes, dislikes and passions. The emerging modern woman risked incarceration in mental asylums, and once in, it was hard to get out.

The lead character was passionate about her art. This could be her undoing… or her saving grace. You must read to see what you think.

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