Archive | November 2025

Kringle’s Emporium by Jemma Hatt

Nov12

Enchanting

Kringle’s Emporium by Jemma Hatt is an enchanting Christmas tale that is just perfect for ages eight years and over.

Children living ordinary lives are suddenly caught up in an extraordinary situation when they are called to help Kris Kringle in his search for the three missing stars that are needed in order for his sleigh to fly.

Through magical means the children travel to New York City and the Taj Mahal in India. Both settings come to life under Jemma Hatt’s descriptive pen.

There are also bullies to confront. A character has a decision to make – stay safe or befriend the bullies’ victim?

The whole novel is very enchanting. We see that goodness alone is not the only thing that is required. “It’s not enough to not be horrible to other people. To be a good person, you have to try to stop horrible things from happening to people.”

Continue reading →

The Bitter End Birding Society by Amanda Cox

Nov12

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

The Bitter End Birding Society by Amanda Cox is a powerful and heartfelt dual timeline Christian novel that I never wanted to end.

The action is set in present day and 1959. The young girls in the earlier period are now old ladies. For almost a lifetime they have been estranged. Guilt and secrets have weighed heavy. Instead of building a treasured friendship, they chose to tear it down.

In contrast to their daughters, we witness fathers who practice sacrificial love. Family first, no matter the personal cost. Outsiders may judge motives but God knows their hearts. Silence is kept in order to preserve and protect the innocent.

Characters are struggling with guilt that they were never meant to carry. “I need to step outside the walls I’ve built and remember who God created me to be.” When we erect walls around our hearts for protection, they have the opposite effect and they imprison us. We then lose sight of who we were created to be.

We see that a character who is actually behind physical walls, is living in greater freedom because his heart belongs to God and he, therefore, knows just whose he is.

Characters have huge hearts for people, and go where God calls them to be. “Lord willing, I’ll pastor a church someday and play a small role in bringing hope to weary souls.” We all need hope. Without hope, the people perish.

Continue reading →

Went To London, Took The Dog by Nina Stibbe

Nov9

Very Engaging

Went To London, Took The Dog by Nina Stibbe is a very engaging book that is set over a year, starting in March 2022. It is written in the form of a diary.

The reader draws close to Nina Stibbe as she writes in a very personable style. Reading this book is equivalent to reading a letter from a close friend. She is easy to empathise with as a sixty-one-year-old woman with a love of books.

During the year, we see her settling into London life after leaving her house in the South West. We hear of her success at pub quizzes, and her interactions with her family and friends.

The whole book is easy to read and very humorous. There are pearls of wisdom too. My favourite is: “The best things in life aren’t things.”

Continue reading →

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank

Nov6

Choices

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in a village in Northern France that is occupied by the Germans in 1915. We witness what life is like for a grandmother and her two granddaughters who are hiding a British airman, at the same time as having two Germans billeted with them.

We witness the bravery of ordinary folk to do the right thing. “That is my duty; to resist, however and wherever I can.” Hiding a British airman takes guts and ingenuity. Hiding in plain sight does produce raised heart rates at times!

With occupation, people have choices to make. “The day will come when we will all be held accountable for our actions.” Any collaborators would have to answer for their actions later.

We see that not all Germans are hard-hearted, cruel masters. There are those who still retain their humanity. When faced with hard choices, he will pass muster, doing what is right rather than what is expected of him.

Continue reading →