Tag Archive | Boldwood Books

The Old Ducks’ Hen Do by Maddie Please

Nov20

Really Fun

The Old Ducks’ Hen Do by Maddie Please is a really fun contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The characters are all in their sixties showing that life is for living. “Life is what you make it.” You are never too old to have a fresh start or to have fun.

Ten days in Mallorca for a hen do really invigorate the characters. Their villa is next door to a male group of twitchers, all over sixty. Together they have fun and characters who have been dormant for years, begin to blossom.

A chance meeting with an old sweetheart, sets a heart a flutter, as the years just peel away. Like a vintage wine, age has improved both of them.

All the characters are delightfully drawn. They know how to have fun. This light-filled atmosphere illuminates’ lives. Easy banter volleys backwards and forwards between the characters. It is also highly amusing.

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The Tuscan Orphan by Siobhan Daiko

Nov14

Entertaining, Educating & Enjoyable

The Tuscan Orphan by Siobhan Daiko is a powerful historical novel that I just could not put down.

It is set in Italy during the latter years of World War II. We follow three main characters – an American nurse, an Italian resistance member and a young Tuscan orphan. Their lives will become entwined as the Nazi bombardment continues and the allies fight for peace.

I thought the beginning and the ending were extremely well thought out. I loved how the same character speaks in both, with the result that the reader feels that the circle has closed.

We ‘see’ some things through the eyes of an innocent child. It brings the horrors of war even closer as the innocent should be protected and not have to be subjected to the Nazi reign of terror.

The events really happened though the characters are fictional. Very little is heard of the Italian campaign as the events in France over shadow it. But the Nazis and the fascists were brutal. The battles in Italy were terrible. No one could escape the war.

In between times, life still went on. People fell in love and seized the day. “The future is uncertain for us all. It’s better to live in the present.” Everyone took life a day at a time. Everyone worried and feared losing loved ones because you just never knew.

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No 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer

Nov4

Love Leads The Way

No 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer is a marvellous historical novel that consumed me.

The action is set in 1927 in a large house in London.

All the characters were well drawn and fully rounded. I did not like one of the leading ladies at first. She seemed entitled and a party girl but once the reader realizes what motivates her, we can see that beneath her exterior beats a heart of gold.

We see what war did for women. It enabled them to have more freedoms as they stepped into the jobs vacated by men. The women were reluctant to go back to being seen as property of the men or in loveless marriages. There is much courage when women stand up for who they really are.

During the war the men fought for freedom. At home, the women now fight for their freedoms. The workers did not want to be shackled.

There was still a class system. “The accident of your birth determined your status in the world.” As the 1920’s progressed, the class system was beginning to be eroded.

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Army Girls Reporting For Duty by Fenella J Miller

Nov2

Fabulous New Series

Army Girls Reporting For Duty by Fenella J Miller is a fabulous start to a new historical series. I cannot wait for the subsequent books.

The year is 1942 as we follow four new recruits to the ATS. Three are single, one is unhappily married to a bully who is in the regular army. We witness how war actually broadened the horizons of women. There were those who preferred to join up rather than make loveless marriage alliances.

We witness the regimented life of a recruit. Having heard tales from my Dad about square bashing as he did national conscription in the RAF, after the war, it was easy for me to picture what life was like and what a shock some of the rules would be.

There is a camaraderie as the girls’ bond over mugs of tea and plates of stew. Fraternising with male members of the services was discouraged, however love will always find a way. We see the girls settle into new roles away from civilian life.

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