Archive | October 2025

Her Husband’s Return by Suzanne Goldring

Oct20

If Walls Could Speak

Her Husband’s Return by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in London during World War II and in present day. Chapters alternate between ‘then’ and ‘now.’ The time periods are linked by a large family home that is being renovated in present day.

If walls could speak, the house would reveal the secrets – but until then, they remain hidden.

Life during World War II was fragile. First Londoners faced the Blitz, and then there were the silent but deadly V1 and V2 rockets. Lives could be snuffed out in an instant. The landscape of London changed as many buildings were demolished.

Large family homes were called upon to house the homeless. The house within the tale echoes with warmth, love and laughter. Friendships are formed that will remain.

Opportunities for women opened up with war. The leading lady, Frankie, becomes an ambulance driver. War, surprisingly, brings freedom for her, and for many. Frankie is no longer shackled to the home and a verbally abusive husband. However, so deep-rooted is the abuse, that in her head, she still hears the words spoken over her by her, now MIA, husband. She is forever ruled by him until the day she finds the courage to live for someone else.

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Christmas At The Second Chance Supper Club by Caroline Roberts

Oct18

Love, Care & Community

Christmas At The Second Chance Supper Club by Caroline Roberts is a very charming contemporary Christmas novel that I loved. It is the second book in The Second Chance Supper Club series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the books in order for character development and for timeline continuity as book two begins where book one ended.

Once more the reader returns to a small Northumberland village with familiar faces. Romance is still in the air but is complicated by strong, emotional ties to a late spouse. Grief isn’t a linear journey. There are peaks and troughs as a character looks backwards. He gives himself this advice. “Just to learn to be kind to himself. To see that he deserved a life after his loss.” Just as he is beginning to suppress his guilt and dip his toe in the waters of dating, grown up daughters’ step in to muddy the waters. I found a powerful scene that was reminiscent of the movie All That Heaven Allows where the grown-up children buy their mother (played by Jane Wyman) a television to keep her company, after they objected to her dating the handy man (played by Rock Hudson), whilst the children go about their lives. Grown children have the selfish gene, making it all about them, and their feelings, whilst never considering their father’s feelings.

In contrast, the son of a divorcee encourages his mother to have her own life but he still drives a six hour round trip to see his mother so she doesn’t wake alone on Christmas Day.

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Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

Oct16

Life & Death, Truth & Lies

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson is a powerful dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start. It is a medical psychological tale dealing with life and death; truth and lies.

The novel is set in 1999 and present day. It is written through three alternating points of view as well as alternating time periods. It is a read that has you on the edge of your seat as we watch the action unfold.

We witness three friends who are bound by one terrible secret. Lies are maintained until the day when the present threatens to repeat the past. Gradually, lies and lives unravel.

The three lead characters are medical students for a variety of different reasons. One student wants to please her parents, but they love her unconditionally, saying, “Your character is not based on what you do, it is who you are.” This gives her freedom to finally be herself.

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Always Remember by Charlie Mackesy

Oct12

So Very Beautiful

Always Remember by Charlie Mackesy is the most beautiful book. It is the long-awaited sequel to The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.

Once again, the reader is treated to the most beautiful illustrations and heartfelt words by the author. Every page invites the reader in. It is a book to be savoured and enjoyed again and again, as we long to step inside the pages.

There is the message of being kind to ourselves. “I worry I’m not very good at anything’, said the boy. ‘You are kind,’ said the mole, ‘which is everything,” Kindness is a much under-rated quality. It is powerful and it is attractive. “One of the kindest things you can do is be gentle with yourself.”

When the world around us seems harsh, we need to remember that the storms will pass.

The horse is very wise. “When the storm comes remember who you are,’ said the horse. ‘Who am I?’ ‘You are loved.” To be loved is all that we want.

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