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The Cruise Club by Caroline James

Jul8

Delightfully Fun

The Cruise Club by Caroline James is a delightfully fun contemporary novel that will leave you smiling.

As the title suggests, the action is aboard a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. The atmosphere is light and fun-filled, with blue sky days and relaxing nights.

The reader revels in the trips ashore as we ‘see’ some of the treasures that the local landscape has to offer.

There are a wonderful eclectic mix of characters, all of whom are the other side of sixty. Caroline James shows that you are never too old to have fun. Life is for living.

You are never too old to follow your dreams. “Don’t die wondering what it might have been like to be an author. Make it happen.” If you have a dream, why not fulfil it?

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Deadly Reckoning by Liz Mistry

Jul4

Glued & Guessing

Deadly Reckoning by Liz Mistry is a gripping contemporary crime novel. It is the third book in the Solanki & McQueen series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the books in order as there is a storyline running throughout the three books.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar characters including the police team D headed up by the two leading ladies.

Once more the team sets out to solve fresh murders that have links to the past. The crime busting quartet are all different, with different skill sets but they all work well together.

Past crimes are having an effect on present day as the team once more are on the hunt for a murderous character.

Nature versus nurture rules its head as a theme. We cannot choose our family. Are some genes just pure evil?

Families are complicated affairs as we see, as we follow the families of some of the officers. Even upstanding members of the community can have troubled offspring.

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Loving Spirits At The Vintage Tea-Shop by Sharon Booth

Jun29

A Story Of Love

Loving Spirits At The Vintage Tea-Shop by Sharon Booth is a charming contemporary fantasy that I really enjoyed. It is the second book in the Ghosts Of Rowan Vale series but can be read as a stand-alone. For maximum enjoyment and character progression, I recommend reading the books in order.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces as the residents and ghosts once more mingle in the village.

There is the theme of grief. “Grief… comes in waves… like tiny waves lapping on the shore… it’s… like a tidal wave, crashing down upon you.” Grief ebbs and flows as there are good and bad days. You just have to work through it the best you can. “When grief comes along… We don’t always have the strength to hold up other people.” Sometimes it’s as much as you can do just to put one foot in front of another. There is no energy left for others.

We see the need for forgiveness. A character feared retribution and hid away for years. When actually he had already received the gift of grace and forgiveness straight away, he just didn’t know it.

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The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey

Jun28

Powerful

The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey is a powerful dual timeline that enthralled me from the start.

The novel is set during World War II in France, and also in 1998 in Poole and France. We see the intertwining lives that have come down the ages.

Fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris, the lead character suffers an unthinkable tragedy. She is made of strong stuff and uses the pain to propel her into working for the Resistance. We see the bravery and daring that was needed as well as the ability to hide her true thoughts as smiles whilst listening to Nazi secrets.

The Resistance was vital to the war machine. Everyone had a unique role to play. Without the Resistance, there would have been no D-Day.

In present day a grandmother’s family do not realise all that she went through. She is the matriarch of the family. Her strength is built on her sadness.

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