Archive | October 2025

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Oct5

Interconnecting Lives

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is a powerful contemporary novel that I read in just two sittings. It was a read that totally consumed me.

This is a very unique novel as one of the leading characters is an octopus, whom we ‘hear speaking’ every once in a while, as a chapter is in his voice. Shelby Van Pelt has cleverly incorporated him into the novel as we believe in him, and also form an emotional attachment. The ending was incredibly powerful and moving.

The human characters are an eclectic mix, all searching for something or running from something. Life has dealt various blows over which they had no control. However, we can all choose our responses to events.

We witness how lives inter-connect with each other. There are some very kind-hearted souls.

Various characters deal with life in varying ways. A seventy-year-old is grieving the disappearance many years ago, of her eighteen-year-old son. To distract herself, she keeps busy and is forever cleaning. Her closest bond is with an octopus in captivity.

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F1 Insider: Notes From The Pit Lane by Ted Kravitz

Oct2

A Stroll Through The Decades

F1 Insider: Notes From The Pit Lane by Ted Kravitz is a perfect book for the F1 fan. It will both entertain and also awaken memories as you take a stroll down the decades.

Ted Kravitz has worked in F1 for nearly thirty years, and this book is a look back over those years. It is a delight for the seasoned fan and the new-to-the-sport (as I am) alike.

We delve behind the scenes as well as in front of the cameras as we learn how to report on events from the pit lane.

Ted Kravitz writes as he speaks on Ted’s Notebook, making F1 Insider a very easy and personable read. It is also highly entertaining.

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A Sea View Christmas by Julie Klassen

Oct2

Sharing An 1820’s Christmas

A Sea View Christmas by Julie Klassen is a perfectly wonderful Christian Christmas historical novel that I adored. It is the fourth and final book in On Devonshire Shores series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the books in order for character development and a linear storyline. However, this is a charming Christmas story, should you only want to read one book!

Each book has focused on a different sister. For this offering, it is hard-working Sarah who puts her family above her own happiness. She is very much a ‘Martha’ character, busy working and life is passing her by. The reader delights as we watch Sarah bud and blossom as she realises that her family is held in God’s hand and her self-sacrifice is not necessary.

There is the theme of taking care of the widows and orphans as extended family open their hearts and homes to those in need.

People arrive as guests to stay at Sea View but quickly become family members as the lost, the lonely and the hurting are given a seat at the table.

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Roxie Applesauce by Tonya L Matthews

Oct1

Dancing In The Light

Roxie Applesauce by Tonya L Matthews is the sequel to Treasures Atop The Mountain but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed reading the books in order for character development and progression.

Roxie Applesauce is a contemporary Christian novel. It is about faith and a God who answers prayer. We are called to pray without ceasing. God will always answer us. Sometimes the answer comes just as we are on the verge of giving up. God will never forget us or our prayers.

The novel is a heartbreaking read as we follow a young girl through her life to the end. We drop in on her over the years. We see the power of the imagination to lift her beyond her circumstances. Raised by cruel grandparents, the reader’s heart just breaks. Every time something good happens to her, her grandparents squash it with unbelievable cruelty. Still, the character maintains her sunny disposition in childhood.

We see she bounces back from the continual knocks until one day, hurt is all she expects. “She wasn’t hallucinating… She hadn’t expected kindness.” Her ending is far nicer than her beginning.

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