Tag Archive | One More Chapter

The Ghost House by Andie Newton

Protecting The Innocent

The Ghost House by Andie Newton is a powerful historical supernatural suspense that has its’ roots in facts, interwoven with fiction.

The book is set in occupied France in 1944. Much of the action surrounds the forbidden forest that has grown up around the site of the Battle of Verdun in 1916. There is a mythical feel to it as the stories abound to do with bodies buried, live mines and cannisters of poison gas. What everyone can agree on is, it is not safe.

The Nazis were pre-occupied with the occult. Within the tale, sinister forces are used in order to try to break the innocent.

The atmosphere is dark and foreboding, mirroring the action which has sinister twists and turns.

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This Wasn’t Meant To Happen by Ali Harris

Deep Pain, Deep Love, Deep Beauty

This Wasn’t Meant To Happen by Ali Harris is the most beautiful book about deep love and raw grief. Where these two meet, there is a pain that never leaves and there is a great love that never diminishes. It is a beautiful book that is grounded in fact as the author had a stillborn baby.

Dealing with this subject matter, one might be forgiven for thinking that this is a depressing read – but far from it. This is a work of great beauty and of great love.

The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of Sofie, and as such, we ‘feel’ her pain and her love. After giving birth to her stillborn son, we read “as I gaze at him, I feel a flood of love far greater, lighter and deeper than the abyss I’m in.” Sofie experiences the deep love that any new mum feels for their new baby.

The reader really invests emotionally in this book. As Sofie leaves hospital, a simple phrase expresses her love and loss. “Having him, holding him, loving him and then leaving him.”

We witness the couple trying to navigate their grief. It is a lonely journey as each travels their unique road alone. There is no getting over death, merely navigating through it.

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The Garden Of Memories by Amanda James

Stepping Out Of Your Box

The Garden Of Memories by Amanda James is the most beautiful contemporary novel that I adored and never wanted to end.

The novel is about life and how to bloom just where you are planted. You are never too old to have a fresh beginning as you are transplanted from one stage of life to another.

As the title suggests, taking centre stage is the garden of memories. It starts as an ordinary garden but soon becomes the lifeline for so many in the village.

The smell of certain flowers and plants evokes special memories – memories that will not pass this way again but can be forever preserved in the garden of memories and enjoyed again and again.

We see that for some, the look and smell of flowers really is a lifeline, opening the door to the past. This is true of a grandmother, Lily, who has dementia. The smell of the flowers, and sweetpeas in particular, unlocks her mind, enabling her family to get a glimpse of the woman they all knew.

All the characters are well drawn and believable. They are an eclectic mix, many seeking their own identity.

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The Midnight Bookshop by Amanda James

An Imagination’s Delight

The Midnight Bookshop by Amanda James is the most delightful novel that will fire up your imagination.

This is a tale about three people and their new-found love of reading. “It doesn’t matter how much you read… as long as you attempt it.” Books are the doorway to brave new worlds. They offer possibilities and show you a new way of living. The Midnight Bookshop “is built on the imagination, mystery and magic.” As the reader sinks between its’ pages, we ‘feel’ the power of the story.

The leading three characters are all floundering. Life has not been kind to any of them. They all face different challenges.

A twenty-one-year-old has everything that money can buy but money cannot buy love. “I didn’t want their money… I wanted their love.” Everyone desires to be loved.

In contrast an eighteen-year-old is living in poverty and declares, “I feel trapped.” Caught between an ailing mother and a drug dealing older brother, his life is going nowhere and he cannot see a way out.

And finally, we have a young woman who has been trapped in an abusive marriage for ten years. “He wanted her to feel unattractive, worthless… a woman with no confidence is easier to control.” Day upon day, her husband has put her down, either with his words or with his fists. “She felt she was a non-person.” She feels invisible.

A flyer for the Midnight Bookshop brings the three to its’ doors. Each one finally finds a place of refuge from the world. “It’s as if she’s come home. A sense of belonging.”

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