The Bookshop Of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright

Jul26

Seek The Light

The Bookshop Of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright is a powerful and compelling Christian dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in 1888 and in present day in an old house with 99 doors but there is rumoured to be a hundredth door with a portal to another world. Where is it? And what lurks behind it? The narrative in both time periods is similar but different.

Spirits walk amongst us. Characters are searching for answers. They need to put their faith in God and not dabble with the spirits. “Isn’t it safer to reach out to God? Isn’t He the one who created everything? Why give them [spirits] the power over my curiosity when God could have it?” We need to put our trust in God for He is good. Spirits can be meddlesome, and once we open the door, there is no telling who will come in or what they will do. “Even God warns us not to summon the spirits.”

Pray against the spirits, and pray to God. “Her prayers were stilted, her faith uncertain, but when she finished, Millie felt better.” Prayer connects us with God. He renews our minds when we focus on Him.

We meet troubled minds within the book. They have been dabbling in medication which is addictive. Terrible things were seen in the American Civil War. “The war may be over… but it is not silenced.” Minds were broken. “He had seen enough evil… to convince him that if God existed, then God had turned a blind eye to humanity and given them free reign to war against one another.”

It is easy to believe that God has abandoned us but God walks beside us whether we ‘feel’ Him or not. “When you have nothing left… He [God] is all you can rely on.” We can trust God at all times.

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Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Jul26

Very Charming

Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is the most charming second book in the Bellbird Bay series which is heartwarming and welcoming.

The book can be read as a stand-alone. I am always delighted to meet up with familiar characters and locations.

The story is about second chances and new beginnings. Both lead characters have lost their partners. One has coped for years as a single parent. The other has nursed her husband through dementia. The man he was, died piece by piece. The memory of him remains. “Russ will always be with me, wherever I am.”

A well-meaning sister tries her hand at match-making. The attempt is obvious but the couple prove to be perfectly capable of making their own alliances.

The leading characters are in their sixties, still with plenty of life to live. Some of the grown-up children cannot believe that their mother could actually have a life outside of their needs. “Don’t let our kids stand in your way. It’s your decision, not theirs.” We will always want to help our children but we do not want them to dictate our pathways.

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House Of Twisted Shadows by J H Mann

Jul26

Secrets Both Uncovered & Buried

House Of Twisted Shadows by J H Mann is a mesmerising historical novel that held my attention rom the start. It is part of A Wild Cornwall series and can be read as a stand-alone.

The action takes place in 1962 in a coastal Cornish village. It is a farming community with an imposing house at its’ heart. Rumours say the house was built by a Nazi in the 1930’s.

The house holds its’ secrets as the walls and floors groan, refusing to divulge them.

Ten years before the novel opens, the leading lady’s father had been found dead in the hallway, his manuscripts about the house’s origins all missing.

By 1962 coastal erosion sees the house teetering on the edge of a cliff. There is a race to uncover secrets before the house plummets to a watering grave.

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Last Term At Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

Jul24

A Timeless Appeal

Last Term At Malory Towers by Enid Blyton is the sixth book in the Malory Towers series. I recommend reading the books in numerical order as the books show a group of girls as they journey through their high school years.

This is a marvellous series for girls. The first six books were penned in the 1940’s and 50’s, and still appeals to new audiences today. There are another seven books, making it a thirteen-book series. I first enjoyed Malory Towers fifty years ago. I am looking forward to reading the new books in the series.

Each book has a new pupil or pupils added to the core group of characters as we witness the daily lives of the girls boarding at Malory Towers.

There are some hard lessons to be learnt as we reap what we sow.

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