Archive | February 2023

The Shape Of Your Heart by Debbie Howells

Feb9

Grab Life – And Live!

The Shape Of Your Heart by Debbie Howells is a charming contemporary novel that follows a character on a journey through grief.

Grief is not a linear route, there are ups and downs, good days and bad days. No one person’s journey is the same as anyone else.

The journey through grief can be lonely. We need to let others in.

Grief is closely tied in with guilt. “Is it wrong to imagine being happy again?” We fear that if we laugh, we are being disloyal to our loved one. Our loved ones don’t want us to lock up our heart and live in the past. They want us to just glance at the past in our rearview mirror and then move forwards into the future.

Within the book a character walks the Camino way in Spain. It is a journey of discovery as a life is examined along the way.

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An Island In The Sun by Kate Frost

Feb8

Escaping A Grey Winter’s Day

An Island In The Sun by Kate Frost is a charming contemporary novel that will add warmth and brightness to the gloomy grey days of winter as we escape to sun and heat.

The Mediterranean climate comes alive under Kate Frost’s pen as we can almost ‘see’ the heat shimmer. Her descriptions tempt the senses as we travel through the novel.

Pet sitting enables a character to escape not only the climate of Britain but to run from painful circumstances too. Adoring the two King Charles Spaniels and a cat enables the healing process to begin.

The antidote to a broken heart is forgiveness. In order to fully heal and move forward, forgiveness must be given. Without it, we will remain trapped in the past in a prison of bitterness.

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Finding Refuge In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Feb8

Coming Home

Finding Refuge In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is the most charming contemporary novel and the fifth book in the Bellbird Bay series. It can be read as a stand-alone. I thoroughly enjoyed my return visit to Bellbird Bay.

Bellbird Bay is the most delightful seaside town where hurting lives can heal. The fresh air and a warm welcome are just what a grieving heart needs. There is the space to just ‘be’, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of Sydney.

Everyone knows everyone else. They pull together and offer help when help is needed. It is a community where no one is a stranger and everyone finds a home.

Home is not just bricks and mortar. Home is the place where you find your soulmate, your friends and you feel like you finally belong.

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Life And Love At Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke

Feb7

The Heartbeat Of Life

Life And Love At Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke is the most delightful historical novel that entertained me from the start.

The action is set in 1961 as we follow residents of Mulberry Lane in London. It is a time of opportunity as new ventures are opening up. We also travel to the south coast to accompany the life guards there.

Foreign travel is on the horizon. The world appears to be shrinking as planes become accessible for ordinary folk.

We hear of the brutality in Alabama as Martin Luther King jr leads peaceful protests for equality. The people are met with cruelty and violence. A huge heart from London is not used to the laws of segregation, seeing only people in need of help. She cannot stand by and do nothing but there are terrible consequences.

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