Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

What Will People Think? by Vedashree Khambete-Sharma

Nov7

Perfect For The Pride & Prejudice Fan

What Will People Think? by Vedashree Khambete-Sharma is a most delightful re-telling of Pride And Prejudice that will thoroughly entertain the reader.

What Will People Think? is a charming read even if you have no knowledge of Pride And Prejudice. However, for those readers with even just a vague knowledge of Pride And Prejudice, this is a gem of a book.

Pride And Prejudice is my favourite book. I read it for the first time as a teen nearly fifty years ago. I also studied it for A’level. I know Pride And Prejudice inside out. As such I found What Will People Think? an extremely enjoyable version of a very familiar tale.

What Will People Think? is set in Mumbai, India in 1976. The main difference to the original is that there are only four daughters to marry off. “Four daughters! That is a heavy burden indeed.” Once more, the mother is loud and opinionated with the determination to marry her daughters to rich men.

The odious Mr Collins character is still odious and self-promoting. “Any girl would be lucky to marry us.” He cannot believe why anyone would turn him down!

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Christmas At The Board Game Cafe by Jennifer Page

Nov5

Imperfectly Perfect

Christmas At The Board Game Café by Jennifer Page is a most delightful Christmas contemporary novel that will warm your heart and leave you smiling. It is the fourth book in The Board Game Café series but can be read as a stand-alone.

This is the perfect book to read in the lead up to Christmas. It will get you in the mood for the festive season. This really is Christmas in a book.

Two Yorkshire villages are the delightful setting. As summer has given way to autumn, the tourists have dropped off. Something needs to be done to attract the visitors back again – enter the Advent Calendar Trail. What is it? Read the book and immerse yourself in the action. It educates, it stirs memories and it is downright hilarious. The scene with the baubles makes me snigger even now!

All the characters were well drawn, likable and believable. They offer a warm welcome to all, including the reader.

We see how the loneliest place can be amongst friends who are all couples, when you are single. It feels like being on the outside looking in. Christmas is a time that some people dread.

A character has struggled with loneliness for years. “Staying busy… keeping the loneliness at bay.” Sooner or later the busyness has to stop or we risk burn-out. Being single has been a way of protecting a heart from hurt but it is a heart that isn’t cherished due to the walls that have been erected around it.

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It Never Rains by Tony Bassett

Nov2

Well Constructed

It Never Rains by Tony Bassett is an engrossing contemporary crime thriller that I just could not put down. It is part of the Detectives Roy & Roscoe series which I love.

The setting is in the Midlands, around Warwick and Stratford. As a Black Country girl, I was familiar with some of the places and was thrilled to see that Bewdley, where I live, was mentioned – it doesn’t normally crop up in novels. I am very familiar with the location of Worcester and knew exactly where the author was talking about.

Tony Bassett has constructed a marvellous plotline. It was well thought out and executed. I was totally gripped from the start.

As the book starts, the reader is on the ‘side’ of the pipe and slippers brigade.

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Victory For The Sewing Factory Girls by Posy Lovell

Nov1

Camaraderie

Victory For The Sewing Factory Girls by Posy Lovell is a marvellous historical novel and one that I just could not put down. I absolutely loved it.

The novel is set at Clydebank, Scotland in 1916. It surrounds the munitions factory. We see how everyone does what they can for the war effort. It is a dangerous environment with the risk of explosions and the girls turning yellow and damaging their health. Health and safety is unheard of, but the factory owner listens to the concerns of the women.

With the menfolk away at war, the women step into their shoes. “The men have gone… and it’s up to the women to keep things going.” The women have a camaraderie as they help and support each other where they can. The gap between the classes is bridged as the factory owner’s daughter rubs shoulders with the women on the factory floor, helping where she can.

There is no welfare state. It is up to the women to organize relief for themselves.

Football is in its’ infancy. The women in the factory relax and enjoy kicking a ball around. Factories all over the country decide to organize themselves and play each other. This brings the communities together. The town offers support, uniting people.

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