Tag Archive | Boldwood Books

The Daughter Of The Fens by Elena Collins

Oct4

For All Time

The Daughter Of The Fens by Elena Collins is the most awe inspiring, beautiful timeslip novel that I could not get enough of. I read it in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.

The action is set in the Fens in present day and also two millennia earlier under Roman occupation. It is an area of mystery where the past and present collide as the veil of time is thin.

This is a beautiful story about a forbidden love that will last a lifetime. A character is searching in the past, and her presence is linked to a soul in the present, through dreams and the landscape.

Alternating chapters reveal the parallels between the characters and the time periods.

Elena Collins brings the landscape of two millennia ago to life as we enter a Roman villa and follow the life of an Iceni servant girl. She is a good soul, loyal and true.

As we follow the servant girl, we see that her Roman mistress is more imprisoned than she is. Roman wives knew their duties. They knew their places. They were not free but had to do the bidding of their fathers and then their husbands.

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The 6pm Frazzled Mums’ Club by Nina Manning

Oct3

All For One

The 6pm Frazzled Mums Club by Nina Manning is an absolutely charming contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It carries on from The 3am Shattered Mums’ Club but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous book first to get the background and to see character progression.

It was a pure delight to catch up with familiar characters as the new mums from the first book are now waving goodbye to their little ones at the school gates. It is a time of great change as a new chapter in lives begins.

The three new mums from book one now face a time when they can follow their different dreams. They also have a wealth of experience that they can use to help support others who are struggling with parenthood.

The playground can be a vicious arena – for mums as well as for children!

Now is the time to pick up lives again – one mum returns to singing, her first love; another starts a new venture following her lifelong dream; and a third – can you guess? Read the book to find out!

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Love & Duty At Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke

Sep29

A Warm Welcome

Love And Duty At Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke is a charming historical novel and the third book in the Blackberry Farm series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first for character development and progression.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces on Blackberry Farm in East Anglia. The year is 1942 and the war has touched the lives of all. There is an airstrip near the farm and land girls work the land.

Two out of the three sons are serving in the war, one is a farmer. Farming was a reserve occupation and important to the war effort too.

Blackberry Farm always provides a warm welcome as it opens its doors to all. The spirit of hospitality is huge.

We see the devastation that war brings as young men on both sides are killed or injured and their families mourn.

Some injuries are visible. Others are locked inside minds tormented by guilt, grief and unworthiness as they fight their private internal wars.

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Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr

Sep27

All For Love

Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr is a powerful historical novel that totally consumed me.

The action is set during the early years of World War II in Nazi-occupied Paris. It is a city that is ever diminishing as the Nazis take over. They loot priceless art, take over dwellings and bodies of the French people. “The Nazis can take our bodies but not our souls.” The people of France fight bravely on as bit by bit the lights of Paris are dimmed.

The Nazis take what they want including the bodies of young girls as they force them to work in brothels or take them as personal trophies. We witness the sacrificial love of a sister who does what she must in order to protect those she loves.

As the years go on, we follow two sisters at war. Their individual wars look different but both are motivated by a love for family, a hatred of the Nazis and a love for France.

We see the emotional blackmail used by the Nazis to make people toe the line.

The beauty of Paris is overshadowed by the ugliness of Nazi occupation.

The story is written from two alternating points of view as we witness the different wars that were waged.

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