Tag Archive | Boldwood Books

A New Dawn Over Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke

Feb6

Community Lives

A New Dawn Over Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke is a marvellous historical novel set in 1958. It is the eighth book in the Mulberry Lane series but can be read as a stand-alone. This was my first trip to Mulberry Lane and I loved it. The background to all the characters was given.

There are two main families, and as with all families at that time, they had both been touched by losses in World War II.

The off-spring are beginning to find their feet as we witness the hopes and dreams of the young adults.

There are hearts that are philanthropic as they want to make a difference. Position and wealth are not their motivating factors, the need that they identify is. Kind hearts see the poor and the marginalised, treating them with kindness and compassion, without thought of personal safety.

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Before We Grow Old by Clare Swatman

Jan30

So Beautiful

Before We Grow Old by Clare Swatman is a simply beautiful dual timeline novel that you definitely need to have the tissues nearby.

This is a love story. It is a life story. And it is a loss story. This story is about loving and living well, and about grieving.

Life is for living. At seventeen years old the two lead characters wrote a bucket list for before they were forty. Twenty five years later they decide now is the time to work through their bucket list. Their life is joyous and their joy is infectious.

The novel alternates between the past from 1982 to present day 2018. It is a very beautiful novel as we see love, friendship and family.

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No Ex Before Marriage by Portia MacIntosh

Jan21

The Feel-Good Factor

No Ex Before Marriage by Portia MacIntosh is a really fun contemporary novel that will leave you smiling.

The novel is about love and life, friendships and family, relationships and road trips as we follow a group of thirty somethings who have been friends since school. There have been marriages and a divorce as Portia MacIntosh delves into the difficulties divorcees may experience as they are excluded from certain couples’ activities. Being single also gives others the opportunity to match-make.

A new friendship springs up that adds a spark of life to ignite the life of another.

You never forget your first love even if the road was bumpy at times.

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The War Girls Of Goodwill House by Fenella J Miller

Jan13

Wartime Life Perfectly Captured

The War Girls Of Goodwill House by Fenella J Miller is a marvellous historical novel set at the beginning of World War II.

War brings changes. Large traditional family homes need to be used to accommodate those in the services. Cold, empty mansions spring back to life in the midst of death. Draughty old houses are transformed.

Living near an airfield opens up life for the villagers with tea dances and parties to which all are invited.

Years of oppression for some characters ends with the advent of war. A domineering head of a household is away at war which allows the subservient women to begin to bloom. For years women were seen as status symbols for the upper classes. Now they can show that they are more than just a pretty face as the old order begins to crumble.

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