All Our Yesterdays compiled by Gervase Phinn is a delightful collection of reminisces from childhood.
The snippets are arranged under various headings and include quotes from the famous and the not so famous. The time periods range from the Middle Ages to the mid twentieth century. The majority of quotes are from the latter time period.
Each section begins with a passage by Gervase Phinn. Some of his poems are included.
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Circle Of Shadows by Marisa Linton is an entertaining supernatural historical novel that engrossed me from the start.
The action is set in 1904 in Edwardian Britain as we travel between London, Yorkshire and Oxford. We follow a sister in search of the truth. She wants to know who, or what killed her father? And why is it after her sister?
Evie Winstanley is a girl ahead of her time. She is fearless, loyal, brave and true. In a male-dominated patriarchal society, she is not afraid to stand up to both evil, and male bullies.
Marisa Linton draws us into her world from the start. The novel is very atmospheric with its’ dark streets and swirling waters.
We see that all is not as it seems. Characters are not always the same underneath as the image they are projecting.
As the novel progressed and the action ramped up, so did my heart-rate.
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A Dash Of Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan is the most wonderful contemporary festive offering. It is a book that will warm your heart and leave you smiling.
This really is Christmas in a book. It is a time for coming together with friends and family. It is a time for Christmas miracles.
The Sugar & Spice café is at the heart of the novel. “Sugar & Spice was a haven for all ages and generations.” People come together in community to eat and drink festive fayre, and to take part in community activities – a book club for different generations, craft activities.
We drop in on many different households – a widower and his two children. “He wondered when he’d start living again instead of simply existing, going through the motions.” As well as a lady being squeezed out at work; a newly separated character and her son; an elderly Grandad; and a mysterious benefactor. All these lives interact within the novel.
I really loved A Dash Of Christmas Spirit with its’ Christmas activities, movie mentions, and Christmas book titles to tempt the reader.
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The Storyteller Of Krakow by Carly Schabowski is a powerful historical tale that consumed me from the start. It is a blend of fact and fiction, educating the reader as we go.
The tale follows lead character Lena, who is Polish. We follow her through her war – first the Russians over-ran Poland and Lena and her parents ended up in the Gulag. Then Russia swapped sides, freed everyone in the Gulag and recommended that the Poles make their way to Uzbekistan as that was where the Polish army was in exile.
The army included a mascot of an orphaned Syrian brown bear called Wojtek. We see that bond he forms with Lena and how he recues her on more than one occasion. Their bond is beautiful.
Lena’s war sees her travel through Egypt and ends up in the blood-bath of Monte Cassino.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Storyteller Of Krakow. It is told in two time periods – the second World War and 1994 as we drop in on Lena. She is still feisty and out to protect the under-dog.
This tale will educate you as you read. I certainly did not know about the war from the Polish viewpoint. And I did not realise that Wojtek was real. The author tells us that there are statues to Wojtek in Krakow and in Edinburgh as he ended up in Edinburgh Zoo after the war.
I received a free copy. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
