Category Archives: Culture

CARIADS’ CHOICE: MARCH 2022 BOOK REVIEWS

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Milly Johnson’s My One True North reviewed by Carol Thomas

My One True North is a story about loss and grief on more than one level. There are predictable elements but this didn’t detract from my interest in the characters’ individual journeys.

There are many touching moments: The support group emanated a sense of care and community; Pete – the male lead – and his brother’s relationship was realistic and their love for their dad was warm and honest; I greatly enjoyed scenes at the pub where Pete and Laurie got to know each other. And I welcomed glimpses of characters from previous novels.

I hoped for a bit more to be made of the ending, especially as it had been clear where the final stage would be set from early on. It didn’t feel as wrapped up as Milly Johnson’s other stories, however, it was an enjoyable read, with likeable main characters, that tackled the difficult subject of loss well.

 

Helen Yendall’s A Wartime Secret reviewed by Imogen Martin

Maggie is an East End girl with a dangerous secret at a time of war: her beloved mother is German.

When the bank Maggie works for is relocated to a grand house in the Cotswolds, she is apprehensive about leaving. Her sister Violet has been sent to the country as an evacuee, her mother interned, and Maggie is left managing her overbearing father. Nevertheless, she is determined to do her bit for the war effort. But will Maggie be able to reach her sister? And can she find out where her mother has gone?

The novel has the style of a saga: a range of vivid characters including friends and enemies for Maggie, plots and sub-plots to be unravelled, and an underlying love story. Apparently, the move of the bank to the country is based on fact. This book is filled with authentic detail from the first page and is an addictive read. A fantastic debut novel.

 

Audrey Cowie’s Lost in Translation reviewed by Jessie Cahalin

A clever twist on the romantic comedy genre. It was wonderful to meet Charlotte and follow her new life in Switzerland with her husband and children. I adored the way the character found her voice and her identity and slowly changed. This story had me hooked from the outset because I feared the worse and wanted Charlotte to triumph. Perfect escape to Switzerland for me, and I read it very quickly. The writing style is fun and engaging – so entertaining to get inside of Charlotte’s head and hear what she thinks. There are some fantastic moments in this novel. This is an uplifting feel-good book with a satisfying ending. I loved it!

 

David Whyte’s Essentials reviewed by Morton S Gray

I have been a fan of David Whyte’s poetry ever since I saw him perform live at Ledbury Poetry Festival. It is interesting that he made such a big impact on me on that long ago evening that whenever I read his work I can hear his voice reciting the words.

The cover of this volume of poems is so tactile that I love just holding it and I savoured every page after buying a copy for both myself and one for my friend.

One of my favourite poems, ‘What to Remember when Waking’ features as an extract on the back cover and I have read and reread it so many times. The book contains many more of my other favourites, including ‘Start Close In’, ‘The Journey’, ‘Sweet Darkness’, ‘Marmeen” and ‘The House of Belonging’.

This is a lovely book and makes a wonderful gift. In my opinion, everyone should have a copy!

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: ADRIENNE CHINN ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM LOVE IN A TIME OF WAR

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In 1914 the youngest Fry sister, Etta, is thrust into the bohemian world of the Bloomsbury Group through her lover, the Italian artist Carlo Marinetti. They attend a weekend at the Sussex home of Virginia Woolf, and the conversation turns to the war.

 

Etta sits in a canvas lawn chair on the stone patio behind the house, where the group has clustered on lawn chairs amongst the roses and honeysuckle trailing over trellises … She looks over at Virginia’s husband, Leonard, and watches him make notations in a black-covered notebook in his lap.

‘Mongoose, whatever are you listing now?’ Virginia says to her husband. ‘The spoonfuls of sugar we’ve consumed in our tea?’

‘If you must know, my dear mandrill, the cost of John Teasel’s cream has gone up by three pence. I must keep abreast of these things or we shall be living in penury before you know it.’

‘We already live in penury, Mongoose.’

Virginia’s sister, Vanessa, sets down the canvas she is embroidering with roses and playing cards. ‘Why on earth are we talking about the cost of cream? War has just broken out. Why is no one talking about that?’

by Unknown photographer, vintage snapshot print, July 1915

Roger Fry spoons a dollop of strawberry jam onto a scone. ‘What is there to say, Vanessa? There will be a few skirmishes over on the Continent, exactly like what happened in the Franco–Prussian War, and everyone will be home for Christmas, which is fortunate as we shall have a fully stocked shop for the holidays.’

Etta sets her teacup down in the saucer in her lap. ‘The train station in Brighton was heaving with soldiers leaving on trains for London. I almost missed the train to Glynde because of them. They were all very jolly, like they were going off to a party, singing songs and everything.’

Virginia’s long, serious face brightens. ‘Really? What were they singing?’

‘It was all about Tipperary. Quite a jolly song.’

Leonard slams shut the notebook. ‘It’s all senseless and useless. It’s absolutely ridiculous to solve political disagreements by violent force. Italy has the right idea. Staying neutral.’

Roger brushes a crumb from his lip. ‘Hold on. Wasn’t Italy signed up with the Austrians and the Germans in the Triple Alliance before the war broke out? Shouldn’t you be on the other side, Carlo?’ He taps his lips. ‘Maybe we ought to watch what we say around you.’

Carlo leans back in the lawn chair. ‘The war in Europe is none of Italy’s, or my, affair. If anyone steps onto Italian soil, this, of course, will be another matter.’

Virginia sets down her teacup with a rattle. ‘War is just a preposterous masculine fiction. The chief occupations of men are the shedding of blood, the making of money, the giving of orders, and the wearing of uniforms. I have had quite enough of it already.’ She turns to Duncan, who is scribbling doodles in a scrapbook. ‘Duncan, tell me, who are you sleeping with this month? Anyone here?’

 

Visit the Sussex home of Virginia Woolf’s sister, artist Vanessa Bell: https://www.charleston.org.uk/

Caption for photo: L to R: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Maria Nys, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell at Charleston House, West Sussex. Photographer unknown.

 

 

Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin Book Review

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rebel skies by Ann sei linn 

Origami comes to life in this stunning teen fantasy novel. With excellent world building and a superb grasp of tension and pace, Rebel Skies grabs you by the throat and does not let go. Rebel Skies is beautifully written and leaves you in completely awe. Ann Sei Linn has an incredible imagination and we are all lucky that she is sharing it with us. Even better, this book is the first in a trilogy. I cannot wait for the others. Adults can love this book too.
The characters are great and there are many funny moments on top of the awesome and exciting world-building. I don’t give stars with reviews but if I did I would give Rebel Skies five stars.

 

A beautifully written and pacy teen fantasy adventure, set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and powerful paper spirits. Inspired by Asian cultures and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami – wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.

But are these creatures just powerful slaves, or are they beings with their own souls? And can a teenage girl be the one to help them find their voice – and change the course of an empire?

Out May 5th.

Catherine Yardley My Writing Process.

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As a little girl my nose was always in a book. I would even read a book a day when I was ill. I loved Enid Blyton and Judy Blume. I started writing song lyrics because I was in a band when I was younger and then I changed the song lyrics to poems. I sent them off and one of them ended up in an anthology when I was eleven. It was the start of something for me. I also had a very good English teacher who really encouraged me and told me I could be a writer. All a young person needs is for someone to believe in them.

I have been writing since I was in single figures but I let it slide for a few years to go off and work in the film industry. I started again when I had children and I am so glad I did. I got taken on by one of the first agents I contacted and then I got a traditional publishing deal too. All from the first batch of submissions I sent off. I got offered two different publishing contacts for Ember and I decided to go with Pegasus. They have been amazing. I cannot recommend them enough.

What you have written, past and present.

I have written non-fiction in the past, as well as a lot of articles and such. I have been a travel writer, a restaurant critic and a theatre critic. Ember is my debut novel.

Ember, Catherine Yardley, author.

What you are promoting now. 

Ember is a story about a family who’s father left them on Christmas day when they were kids. Thirty years later the younger sister is getting married and that brings their father back into their lives. The story revolves around Dr Natalie Holmes and her boyfriend Rob in the present day, and her parents Tim and Jacqueline in the past.

Natalie goes off the rails when her younger sister gets married and pregnant before her, and her father comes back into their lives. She dumps her boyfriend on the side of the road and drives off in his car. The book is about love and family. A part of the book is about whether or not we should allow family in our lives if they have been left wanting. Can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds? Will Rob and Natalie get back together? Read it and find out!

Here is the blurb:

A family torn apart by their father’s infidelity are forced to confront the past thirty years later. As Natalie’s younger sister, Amanda, prepares for marriage and impending motherhood, her plea for the family to reunite uncovers pent-up tension and animosity. Can they forget the past and become a family again?

Natalie’s life begins to unravel as their father starts to creep back into their lives and family tensions resurface, affecting her relationship with her boyfriend, Rob. Will the couple find their way back to each other, and can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds?

Can you ever walk away from someone you love, or do some fires never die out?

A bit about your process of writing. 

This was my first novel which I wrote simultaneously with another novel. I would wheel my son around in his pram until he fell asleep and then I would write 2000 words on my iPhone. I always try to write the first draft as quick as possible. I like to keep up the momentum and the same energy. I do 2000-3000 words a day. Editing is always tough but I am as relentless as the editing. Ha.

I have three kids so I have to write whenever I can and focus on it. Having kids has trained me to be ruthlessly efficient when I need to.

Do you plan or just write?

I just write. Total panster. You need an idea and a handle on the character. Then just let yourself fly.

What about word count?

I do 2000-3000 words a day.

How do you do your structure?

My agent, Susan, says I have a great sense of structure and it is one of the nicest things anyone has said about me. I think it is because I read so much. I am with Stephen King. To be a good writer you need to both write and read a lot. Reading teaches you to be an excellent writer.

What do you find hard about writing?

Finding the time.

What do you love about writing? 

Everything.

Advice for other writers. 

Get on with it. Don’t give up. Write and then rewrite. Submit endlessly. Don’t let the rejection get you down. You have to be able to take rejection if you want to be a professional writer. Just take the feedback on board, edit and then send away somewhere else. You can do it!

Ember is out on the 31st March and is available from WH Smith, Waterstones, Amazon and The Book Depository.

Breakneck Point by T.Orr Munro

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Breakneck Point has a stunning opening when CSI Ally Dymond refuses to compromise on her beliefs and exposes corruption when she is on the stand. She pays dearly for it as it costs her a place on the major investigations team. She is left working crimes that are beneath her considerable talents in North Devon. A single mother to a rebelling daughter, it is fair to say she has a lot on her hands. Yet there is a crime that does not add up and she refuses to let it go.

From the first page Breakneck Point grabs you and refuses to let go. T.Orr Munro is a fantastic writer and the pacing, the story, the characters, everything is just perfect. The villain is so hatable and written so well.  I love a good crime thriller and T.Orr Munro is a new standout star in the vein of Lisa Gardner, Patricia Cornwell and Steve Cavanagh, basically all of my other favourite crime writers.

I would love to see  CSI Ally Dymond get her own TV show. Fingers crossed. I cannot wait for the next in this series because this better be a series. T.Orr Munro’s talents demand more books, and so will her many fans.

 

A brand new crime series for fans of Val McDermid, Jane Casey, Cara Hunter and Mare of Easttown

CSI Ally Dymond’s commitment to justice has cost her a place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Then the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe, and Ally’s expert skills are suddenly back in demand.

But when the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory, no one wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike.

 

Out on 14th April 2022. Pre order here. 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: KATE RYDER ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM BENEATH CORNISH SKIES

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I’m thrilled that Beneath Cornish Skies was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel Awards 2022 in the Fantasy Romantic Novel category. By now, the winner will have been announced! It’s too hard to choose a favourite scene so I’ve chosen an extract from the prologue:

To outsiders, Cassandra Shaw’s life looks perfect but her reality is very different to people’s perceptions. Insecure and suspicious of her good-looking, charismatic, businessman boyfriend, this is a recurring dream she has.

Before me lay a thick, impenetrable forest stretching as far as the eye could see. It was dark and foreboding and I shivered with apprehension. In the distance, a firefly darted towards me through the trees and as the pinprick of light grew closer, it hovered at the edge of the woodland… beckoning. I knew I had no choice but to enter and though fearful of the unknown, I took a tentative step. Pushing aside the undergrowth, I followed the beacon of light and drifted through the foliage like a spirit, twisting and turning through the trees. As I glanced up at the dense canopy that inhibited any natural light, I found my body rising through the branches, without control over speed, until high above the forest I gazed down upon a wild, rugged landscape shrouded in darkness.

Photo credit: Nigel Kivell

     On the wind I detected a scent of the ocean and raising my eyes to the heavens, I watched dark cirrus clouds scudding across the night sky to reveal a wash of twinkling stars and planets. A halo of light surrounded the moon, its inner edge tinged red; the outer an altogether bluer hue. Gazing earthwards again, I noticed the thick tree canopy stretched for miles – like a spill of ink across the landscape. All at once I was descending and as I plunged through the roof of the forest I closed my eyes, bracing myself against the scratch and claw of twig and branch. But, unscathed, I floated gracefully to the forest floor.

It’s a landscape Cass doesn’t recognise and as the dream continues, she follows the firefly through the forest until reaching a gypsy encampment.

And then, through the flickering firelight, I saw you sitting on a log on the far side of the camp, deep in conversation with the man beside you. No one had noticed me and, moving closer, I took the opportunity to gaze at your face in wonder. You were not like the others; you shared none of their darkness. Prone to curls, your dark blond hair framed a genuine, open face that was teasingly familiar, and yet not. As your lips formed silent words I studied you: the slant of your brow; the sharp angle of your cheekbones; the shape of your nose; the tight line of your jaw. And I noticed the way your eyes crinkled when you laughed. Suddenly you smiled and I gasped, as intense, stirring sensations took hold deep in my belly.

     From out of the corner of my eye I saw a man approaching. He requested a dance but, impatiently, I brushed him away, and when I turned back you were looking directly at me. Your gaze asked a question, and for a heartbeat I stopped breathing. I no longer had the ability to drift and cautiously, as if in experiment, I placed one foot in front of the other and stepped uncertainly towards the fire. But the heat was too fierce and I glanced at you in confusion. Had I misunderstood?

      In a voice soft and tender, you encouraged me. ‘You can do it. Follow the path.’

 

Connect with Kate: https://www.facebook.com/kateryder.author

 

 

 

 

 

Duckling by Eve Ainsworth Book Review

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I loved the synopsis of Duckling and I could not wait to dive into Eve Ainsworth’s adult fiction debut. This book is so heart-warming and exquisite. In fact, it might be the most heart-warming book I have ever read. Sure it has sadness too, but doesn’t everything? I love a coming-of-age book and that is exactly what Duckling is.
It is impossible to not love the character of Lucy, or Duckling as she is called by her father. She is insular and a loner. Letting life pass her by on a council estate, until a neighbour asks her to take care of their child. An adventure happens and the ride is a beautiful one indeed. I also love how Duckling has a working-class setting, something that is so rare. We need more of that.
I loved the prose, the characters and the story. Honestly, Duckling is one of my books of the year already. Eve Ainsworth is a writer of note and she is only getting started. Duckling is a magnificent must read.

duckling by eve ainsworth book review.

Duckling’s a nickname Lucy has never been able to shake off.
And, if she’s honest, maybe it suits her.
She just isn’t the type to socialise with other people.
You might say she’s reluctant to leave her nest.

Lucy’s life is small, but safe. She’s got a good routine. But all that’s about to change…

When Lucy’s neighbour asks her to look after her little girl for a couple of hours – and then doesn’t come back – Lucy is suddenly responsible for someone other than herself.

It takes courage to let the outside world in, and Lucy’s about to learn there’s much more to life – but only if she’s brave enough to spread her wings…

Duckling is available here.

Regrets of The Dying By Georgina Scull Book Review

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I took a breathe before I started reading this book. The concept is brilliant but I had a few near-death experiences not along ago, which is probably why it resonated so much with me. I read this book in a day, unable to put it down. It has twenty-one stories looking at all aspects of life and has ten tips to live a less regretful life.
I could not be more happy that I read this book. There are some heart-breaking moments but, ultimately, this book is about the joy of life. Georgina Scull is a fantastic writer and she pours herself onto the page. Each subject is treated delicately with care and respect. Regrets of The Dying is a life-affirming book which shows us what is important in life. I loved it and I cannot recommend it enough.This is a beautiful book full of hope.

A powerful, moving and hopeful book exploring what people regret most when they are dying and how this can help us lead a better life.

If you were told you were going to die tomorrow, what would you regret?

Ten years ago, without time to think or prepare, Georgina Scull ruptured internally. The doctors told her she could have died and, as Georgina recovered, she began to consider the life she had led and what she would have left behind.

Paralysed by a fear of wasting what seemed like precious time but also fully ready to learn how to spend her second chance, Georgina set out to meet others who had faced their own mortality or had the end in sight.

The people she met taught her what it feels like to know you’re running out of time, what tends to stays with you, what you should let go of, what everyone wishes they’d done differently and what it means to have a life well-lived.

Regrets of the Dying is a powerful and hopeful meditation on life and what really matters in the end.