Tag Archive | Bookouture

The Ration Book Baby by Ellie Curzon

Jul25

Sowing Seeds Of Hope

The Ration Book Baby by Ellie Curzon is a delightful historical novel to start a new series.

 The action is set during the early years of World War II, near an air base in the South East. We follow a young nurse and her family, as well as the English and Polish airmen and their families.

The RAF functions as a family. Any losses are keenly felt by both the men and the local village.

We see that even in war prejudices and injustice still exist as not everyone greets the Poles with kindness. Grief and loss have distorted a viewpoint – but that is no excuse for poor behaviour and choices. Without the help of the Poles, Britain may well have lost the battle for the skies.

Prejudices against unmarried mothers force a baby to be abandoned. Kind hearts take the baby in as the search for her mother begins. We see the village pull together to help the ration book baby. “A kind gift in the face of so much tragedy… The world wasn’t a hopeless and dark place.” Kindness sows’ seeds of hope.

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Coming Home To The Cottage By The Sea by Rebecca Alexander

Jul20

Most Charming

Coming Home To The Cottage By The Sea by Rebecca Alexander is a most delightful dual timeline novel. It is the fourth book in The Island Cottage series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in 1942 and present day. It revolves around a cottage which is in need of renovation. It has stood firm all these years but is now crumbling, giving up a surprising find.

There are many memories tied up in the cottage as the same family has been in it since 1942. Memories keep us warm long after our loved ones are gone. They echo down the years and seem to be in the very fabric of the walls.

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The Soldier’s Child by Tetjana Denford

Jul13

Keep The Light Burning

The Soldier’s Child by Tetyana Denford is a powerful and moving historical novel that I just could not put down.

The novel spans many years, beginning just after the end of World War I. We travel across continents from Ukraine to America as we follow the members of one family.

We witness the terrible heartaches as the Soviets inflict a reign of terror. Many innocents were killed or sent to gulags. The people of the Ukraine looked to the Nazis for a better life which shows just how badly the Soviets treated them. Incidentally, my uncle was born in 1922 in Ukraine and he said that his family preferred the Nazis to falling into Soviet hands.

Unmarried mothers were frowned upon. We witness a mother’s sacrifice and also her love that will never die. “Losing the ones we love are sometimes the sacrifices we make to keep them alive.” We do what we can for our children, practicing sacrificial love.

A poor upbringing means a character longs for home. “Home was a dream he’d had his whole life.” Home is not found in bricks and mortar but in people. “He [father] smelled of home.”

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The Homemaker by Shari J Ryan

Jun6

Real Or Imagined?

The Homemaker by Shari J Ryan is an absolutely gripping contemporary psychological thriller that I just could not put down. Right from the start Shari J Ryan drew me in, as I questioned what was happening.

The action is written in the third person from alternating points of view and different time periods. The reader gets inside some of the characters heads as we learn their motivations.

Suburbia – friendly, community minded, safe – No! Behind the chintzy curtains, the neighbours hide and watch. There are many secrets. Monsters and angels both wear smiles – truth and lies – read the book and decide who can be trusted.

There is the theme of real or imagined? Do we believe what our memories tell us? Or is the what is real spoken by others? Trauma shuts down minds as reality and imagination blur.

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