Tag Archive | book review

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Apr8

Transforming Lives With Love

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a most delightful contemporary Christian novel. It is the first book in the Cape Cod Creamery series and I cannot wait for the subsequent books.

There are some books that as soon as you start, you just know you are going to adore the book, love the characters and never want it to end – The Sweet Life is one of those books. It is simply beautiful.

Suzanne Woods Fisher has developed a wonderful eclectic mix of characters. Each one has a back story. Each one is, or has been, battling problems that will prove to be turning points in their lives. Each one lodged in my heart. Did I have a favourite? I have to admit a soft spot for five year old cowboy Leo.

Sometimes in life we will have health issues that will knock us for six. We meet a character who is recovering from surgery for breast cancer. The only way to deal with it was to live in isolation. She did not want to share her story. However, her experiences meant she was able to spot another with a breast cancer diagnosis, and then walk beside her as it was a path that she had already trodden.

We also meet a character who has bad news after bad news heaped on her. She does not turn from God but directs her anger and her questions to Him. Where is God in the midst of her suffering? He walks beside her. She cannot see Him nor feel Him but “God was trying to get my attention and finally had to use a megaphone.” We need to be so in tune with God that we hear His whisper.

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Widows On The Wine Path by Julia Jarman

Apr7

All For One

Widows On The Wine Path by Julia Jarman is a wonderful, contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous book first, for continuity of character and maximum enjoyment.

This is a book about friendship between four widows. We meet three in book one, but now Libby is newly widowed. The first year is the hardest, one needs love and support. It is also the year in which one is most vulnerable and needs the help of friends in order to navigate the waters of widowhood.

The four friends meet regularly. In order to keep each other safe, if one of them is going out, they let the others know where, who with and for how long. Safety checks are wise.

We meet an unscrupulous character who preys on the vulnerable. The unsuspecting character finds herself gas lighted, but is clueless at first. Those on the outside can see what is happening. Bit by bit her freedom is eroded but she is blind to this. Her self esteem is questioned as it plummets. The holiday of a lifetime soon becomes the stuff of nightmares.

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The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

Apr5

Intertwining Lives

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza is an enthralling dual timeline novel that I just could not put down.

The action is set in present day and from 1908-1925. We begin in America and travel to Sicily in present day and backwards through the years as a character searches for the truth as to what happened to her Great Grandmother. Stories have traveled down the years. But what is the truth? We all need to know where we come from.

This is a book about the roles of women. In both time periods, men like to think they are in charge as they bully those around them… but the women have a tough inner core, and prove to be resourceful.

As we, and a character in present day, uncover the Great Grandmother’s story, we find a woman ahead of her times. She is very intelligent and has been held back by the conventions of the time. Women, with knowledge about medicinal herbs, were often seen as witches and shunned. They were, in fact, healers and often proved to be life-savers to those who came to them for help.

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The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon

Apr5

A Light Shining In The Darkness

The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon is a marvellous historical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the third book in A Village At War series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in a village in the south east. Here, we meet a young female veterinarian who has fled urban bombed out Coventry. The year is 1942 and now the young vet is treating farm animals and not just cats and dogs.

The ruins of Coventry and that awful night in November 1941 still haunt the young vet. She is not alone with her fears. There is also a man from the ministry who is a decorated naval veteran of both wars, and he is haunted by the events of war. Both are struggling through PTSD, although little is known of that at the time.

In the countryside we meet land girls and a most delightful young female evacuee called Sarah. She has survived the Blitz in London. Ellie Curzon has perfectly captured her enthusiasm, zest for life, and determination to help with the war effort, despite her young age.

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