Tag Archive | Elena Collins

The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh

Dec6

For The Love Of Baking

The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh is the most charming contemporary novel that will warm your heart and make you smile.

The lead characters are three siblings in their seventies. They have a lifetime of experience behind them but prove that you are never too old for a fresh start or a new direction. The future is theirs to grab with both hands. “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”

We witness a character brow beaten by forty nine years of marriage to a bully who exerted control, squashing the very life out of her. She believes everything he spoke over her – that she is a worthless fuddy duddy in boring clothes. It is beautiful to witness her transformation from black and white to glorious technicolour.

Another character has always been a colourful butterfly but beneath her exterior lies heartache and pain. Her choices to flit about lead to regrets. Is it too late for a do-over?

And the third sibling has had a sensible career as a teacher and then headteacher. Retirement is a time to shine as a new hobby is picked up. Baking is a very popular choice.

I loved the names of the animals owned by a character – Isaac Mewton was a cat. The other names were equally witty and well thought out.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins

May17

New Beginnings

The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins is a marvellous dual timeline novel that completely enthralled me from the start.

The action is set in Somerset in 1682 and present day. Both time periods are linked by an old house in which each main character lives.

The leading ladies lives mirror each other as an invisible thread unites them down the years. Both have known betrayal and sadness.

The house retains an atmosphere down the years which has repelled many until one empathetic soul reaches out across the years.

Continue reading →