Tag Archive | book review

The Landlord Of Hummingbird House by Jane Harvey

Aug31

Happy Book Birthday

The Landlord Of Hummingbird House by Jane Harvey is a positively delightful contemporary novel and the first book in the Hummingbird House series. I cannot wait for the subsequent books.

Hummingbird House is a place where hurting souls go to heal. It is a place of welcome, love and safety. A place where you feel at home and a place where help is just a call away.

The residents are an eclectic mix, all totally realistic and lovable. There is a beautiful bond between the tenants. Many are hiding from life after being hurt previously. All of whom have huge hearts.

As the novel unfolds, the reader glimpses the love and care, and unbreakable bonds formed over misfortune. Sometimes nothing needs to be said, a character just needs to be held, to know that they matter.

Grief and guilt can paralyse. What happened in the past lays no blame in the present but still a character exists with one eye on the past. Help is needed to bring about a fresh start.

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And Then There Was You by Miranda Dickinson

Aug28

Hope Lives Here

And Then There Was You by Miranda Dickinson is a very charming contemporary novel that I enjoyed.

The novel is set in St Ives, Cornwall. In the back streets there is a café that offers love, hope and care to all who pass by. Characters unite over food and music.

We see the power of music to awaken souls and memories. Music takes us back down the years. For the leading lady, a song transports her back to being seven years old again, the only time in her life when she really felt loved for two short years. She was given hope by a man who was the closest thing she ever had to a father. Whenever she hears a certain song, it is her heart’s cry to see him again. “I still have my memories, and they don’t require living space.”

When dreams are shattered, characters are broken, losing their sense of purpose. “I just want to feel like me again.” They need to re-connect with what they once loved, but in a new, different way.

The power of the sea draws people in. For some it is the surf; for others it is an early morning stroll. “The sea is a pull to people who need reassurance [and] hope.”

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Once Upon A Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson

Aug25

Coming Home

Once Upon A Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson is a most charming contemporary Christian Christmas book that warms your heart and leaves you smiling.

I always look forward to the annual festive offering from Melody Carlson. She knows how to perfectly capture the festive season within a book.

Once Upon A Christmas Carol is about learning to love Christmas. It is a bout discovering family and love. It is letting go of the past and embracing the present whilst looking forward to the future.

Families can be complicated affairs. There are always two sides to one story, and one must discern where the truth lies.

Two sisters have been estranged. Trapped by snow, from holidaying in Bahamas, the leading lady discovers, and receives hospitality from, an aunt she never knew. She also has a change of heart on her views about Christmas. The leading lady, along with the reader, discovers new traditions and experiences a snowy Christmas with those she loves. The festivities of a nostalgic Christmas include snow; festive fayre; and annual traditions. The spirit of generosity is very much alive.

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To Save Her Husband by Ellie Midwood

Aug25

Whatever It Takes

To Save Her Husband by Ellie Midwood is a powerful and heart-wrenching historical tale that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep. There are factual details and historical figures included and woven into the narrative.

The story follows Max and Aurelia Laub through the 1930’s and into World War II as we see how the events in Hitler’s Germany shape them. Max Laub is listed as Jewish but his mother converted to Catholicism when he was young, so ‘Jewish’ is just a label imposed on him by the regime.

The Laub’s were film-makers, determined to tell the world what was happening inside Germany. Aurelia spotted the truth from the burning of the Reichstag. “It was as if the fire was consuming not just the building but the very ideals they had fought for – the hope of a democratic Germany, the promises of freedom, and the future they had envisioned.” Max denied what was happening before his eyes until it was too late.

As the Nazis tightened their grip, Berliners felt the change. “The very atmosphere had shifted; what had once been a city of freedom and expression was beginning to feel like a place of surveillance and intimidation.” All the democratic politicians had gone and “there’s no one to fight for us ordinary folk.”

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