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The Secret Dressmaker by Jenny O’Brien

Aug6

Entertaining

The Secret Dressmaker by Jenny O’Brien is a historical novel that entertains from the start. It is the second book in Threads Of Resistance series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The reader is treated to the landscape of occupied France, mainly Paris, as we join characters trying to disrupt the Nazi war effort and learn their secrets.

There are personal secrets to be unravelled too. A young woman has returned to France as part of the resistance, and also to search for her twin daughters who were taken from her eighteen years earlier – and what she discovers, is shocking.

We witness ugly events as a character is consumed by jealousy. There are no lengths to which she will not stoop.

Within families, members are on opposite sides of the war.

The walls of a house that nuns have provided in the past, continues to be a safe haven.

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The Children On The Train by Anna Stuart

Aug4

Brave Hearts

The Children On The Train by Anna Stuart is a powerful novel of World War II that grabbed my attention from the start.

The story surrounds the Jewish children and orphans who escaped Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport before the outbreak of war and closed borders in 1939. We witness the bravery of all those involved. Lives were put on hold; sacrifices made, in order to get the children to safety.

Along the way, good friends were made, and lost.

As the grip of the Nazis tightened on society, a gentile husband and his Jewish wife, make a painful decision, designed to keep the whole family safer – but will it? We see the cruelty inflicted by the Nazis via both physical and mental torture.

Huge hearts put the children first, above all else, including personal safety.

As the storm clouds darken over Europe, there are still pockets of goodness. Hope for a better future still lives in hearts.

All the characters were well drawn and believable. With her marvellous pen, the author has evoked the atmosphere of both love, and also terror, as the Nazis raged across Europe.

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The Nile Cruise by Caroline James

Aug3

A Simple Leap Of Faith

The Nile Cruise by Caroline James is a wonderful light-hearted contemporary novel that I adored from the start.

With the leading characters in their sixties, we see that you are never too old to have fun, nor to have a new beginning.

We see characters pretending to be someone else. One needs an escape from daily life. Another is trying to work out who he is, and how to tell his parents. “And what do you want, Ezra” she asked… “I want to be myself… The person I was meant to be.”

When he plucks up the courage, he finds that his parents love him for just who he is, and who he was created to be. Their love is unconditional. “Who you love isn’t as important as how you love.” Love with your whole heart.

We meet characters who have lost the loves of their lives. One has made a terrible rebound marriage but his eyes are opened to the gold-digger beside him.

Love strikes where it will. Characters have a good moral code and a deep friendship blossoms.

The leading lady exudes warmth and kindness. She sees the marginalised. “Hattie was so warm and friendly and turned every mishap into a reminder that life needn’t be taken too seriously.” When a down-trodden character sees her true nature, he describes her as feeling “the aching relief of being with someone who made the world gentle again, unlike the sharp, demanding world he knew now.” We all want someone to love us for who we are.

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The Club For Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

Jul8

Follow Your North Star

The Club For Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham is a powerful dual timeline novel that I absolutely adored.

The action is set-in present-day France, and also towards the end of World War I in 1918 in France. The two time periods are linked by location and family.

We witness family secrets. The silence of those who knew make them complicit in the abuse of a husband to teenage girls living in the school next door in 1918. In present day, descendants are appalled, distancing themselves from their long-dead relatives.

A secret diary is found that uncovers the truth. We learn the tale, along with the present-day characters.

We witness the devastating effects of World War I. Some died, others left their minds on the battlefields of France. “The things I saw in the war, it’s like I can’t escape the memories.”

At the start of the twentieth century, young girls were seen as ornaments and the property of males – first fathers, and then husbands. “Being trained in the art of becoming an ornament rather than a living, dreaming human being.” Girls’ ambitions were squashed. We see a group of girls determined to break free of the mould of society. They wanted to live their lives.

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