Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

A Wedding At Heatherly Hall by Julie Houston

Sep29

Cover Reveal

A Wedding at Heatherly Hall

Romantic entanglements, A-list weddings and missing diamonds… it’s going to be a busy spring in Westenbury!

Sisters Hannah, Rosa, and Eva are on a mission to sustain picturesque Heatherly Hall, in Yorkshire’s Westenbury village. So when they hear the legend of the Jet Set – a necklace with a rare diamond, commissioned by royalty and hidden in their hall – they plan a fundraiser: an Agatha-Christie style am-dram production and treasure hunt.

As if that weren’t enough, music superstar Drew Livingston and Bollywood legend Aditi Sharma have chosen their hall for a wedding in just six weeks’ time, and the pressure is mounting to pull off the wedding of the decade.

Staging the play, unravelling the mystery of the diamond, and meeting the demands of an A-list bride and groom without their lives unravelling seems impossible. But these three sisters know that with family by your side, anything can be overcome…

Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell, and anyone who loves a warm and witty romance with a dash of intrigue.

Pre-order Link – https://geni.us/juliehouston

Publication Date – 29th February 2024 – so just 5 months to go!

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Love & Duty At Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke

Sep29

A Warm Welcome

Love And Duty At Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke is a charming historical novel and the third book in the Blackberry Farm series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first for character development and progression.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces on Blackberry Farm in East Anglia. The year is 1942 and the war has touched the lives of all. There is an airstrip near the farm and land girls work the land.

Two out of the three sons are serving in the war, one is a farmer. Farming was a reserve occupation and important to the war effort too.

Blackberry Farm always provides a warm welcome as it opens its doors to all. The spirit of hospitality is huge.

We see the devastation that war brings as young men on both sides are killed or injured and their families mourn.

Some injuries are visible. Others are locked inside minds tormented by guilt, grief and unworthiness as they fight their private internal wars.

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Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr

Sep27

All For Love

Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr is a powerful historical novel that totally consumed me.

The action is set during the early years of World War II in Nazi-occupied Paris. It is a city that is ever diminishing as the Nazis take over. They loot priceless art, take over dwellings and bodies of the French people. “The Nazis can take our bodies but not our souls.” The people of France fight bravely on as bit by bit the lights of Paris are dimmed.

The Nazis take what they want including the bodies of young girls as they force them to work in brothels or take them as personal trophies. We witness the sacrificial love of a sister who does what she must in order to protect those she loves.

As the years go on, we follow two sisters at war. Their individual wars look different but both are motivated by a love for family, a hatred of the Nazis and a love for France.

We see the emotional blackmail used by the Nazis to make people toe the line.

The beauty of Paris is overshadowed by the ugliness of Nazi occupation.

The story is written from two alternating points of view as we witness the different wars that were waged.

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Things We Do For Love by Vered Neta

Sep26

Love Wins

Things We Do For Love by Vered Neta is a beautiful contemporary novel about a family.

Families are made up of all sorts. No one model fits all. The family in the novel consists of octogenarian parents, three daughters and their partners and a granddaughter. The novel is told from alternating points of view.

We see the devastating diagnosis of Alzheimer’s as a strong woman loses herself bit by bit. “A ray of light enters the black hole of her memory.” As time passes, she reverts to a child-like state.

Old age is cruel. We witness a life struck down by a stroke but determined to carry on.

The three daughters grew up in the family home. Their lives echo down the hallways. “Ghosts from the past still occupy the room.” Memories are within the very fabric of the building. Their familiar relationship functions the same at fifty as at fifteen. There is the organized one, the quiet one and the one striving for motherhood. We see the difficulties of balancing their lives with taking care of elderly parents. All three still have the ability to rub each other up the wrong way.

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