Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I’ve had a busy day at school but it was lovely to come home and enjoy a nice walk in the sunshine.
My chosen book off my Goodreads TBR is one that has been sat on my TBR for a long time and that I found today. In all honesty I had forgotten I owned it.
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
2017: 19 year old Tallulah is going out on a date, leaving her baby with her mother, Kim.
Kim watches her daughter leave and, as late evening turns into night, which turns into early morning, she waits for her return. And waits.
The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah’s friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place.
She never returns.
2019: Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head-teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree.
‘DIG HERE’ . . .
A cold case, an abandoned mansion, family trauma and dark secrets lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell’s remarkable new novel.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I had a voucher for a Kindle book and I am stocking up my Kindle ready for some holiday reading.
I have got book 6 and 7 left to read and I am hoping to read them this year and finish this fantastic series.
I am really enjoying these short stories and finished the second one this week so I bought the third one to start next week.
My chosen poem today is by the American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic and farmer Wendell Berry (1934).
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and I am free.
Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Ali’s work seems like a safe desk job, but what her friends—and even her beloved son—don’t know is that her team has a secret: They can travel back in time to look for evidence.
So far Ali has made trips only to the recent past, so she’s surprised when she’s asked to investigate a murder that took place in 1850. The killing has been pinned on an aristocratic patron of the arts and antiquities, a member of a sinister group called “The Collectors.” She arrives in the Victorian era during a mini ice age to find another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions. But when her son is arrested, Ali attempts to return home only to find herself trapped in 1850.
Review
I’ve only ever read one book by Elly Griffiths that wasn’t a Ruth Galloway book so I was very excited to read something very different from Griffiths. This book was definitely something different and not what I was expecting at all.
This book revolves around the character Ali Dawson who is part of a cold case team who investigates old cases and these cases can be very old. However, there is something quite different from the way this team solves the crimes. This team uses time travel to look for evidence and this leads to Ali going further back in time than she has ever been before. Ali finds herself investigating a murder whilst stuck in 1850.
I loved the character of Ali as she is a strong independent woman who has fought the odds to better herself. Oh and she is also a cat owner. Ali worked cleaning jobs to provide for her son and at the same time she gained a degree in history. She then got a job with the police and she worked her way up the ladder. Ali works every problem she is faced with methodically and nothing seems to phase her. Whilst Ali is stuck in 1850 there is also a murder mystery happening in the present day which involves Ali’s adult son.
I really enjoyed this book and I would love to learn more about Ali’s team. John is a true gentleman who we do get to see more of and you can’t help but root for. Once I got over how different this book is from Griffiths’ usual work I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the concept fascinating. There were also some big questions left that I would love to get answers for so I really hope there will be a second book. The narrative of this book was quite busy and there was a lot going on. I will be honest and say that I actually enjoyed the Victorian sections more than the present day and preferred the Victorian characters. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly’s husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece’s head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton.
Drawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position.
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family.
Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity.
A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.
Review
This year I am determined to read more of my favourite books and I started this off by reading, for the third time, Agnes Grey which is by my favourite Brontë sister. I love all the Brontë sisters but Anne’s books are my all time favourites.
Agnes Grey is based on Anne’s own experiences as a governess and Agnes’ loving home I imagine is also based on Anne’s home life. Agnes is the youngest child of Richard Grey and because she is the youngest she has always been treated as the baby of the family and like a child. When her family’s fortunes change Agnes wants to be able to work to help the finances but she has to persuade her family that she is an adult and capable of being a governess.
The book focuses on Agnes’ adventures as a governess and she does face many challenges in her job. Her fist job is positively harrowing to watch and you can’t help but feel frustrated and sorry for Agnes. She has no support from the parents of her charges and no way of disciplining the children as the parents will not allow any form of reprimanding. The scene with the bird’s nest I always find the worst when reading this book and apparently it is exactly what happened when Anne Brontë was a governess.
Agnes’ time as a governess for a new family is slightly better but her charges, although older, still cause Agnes problems and heart ache. However, her times with this family aren’t all bad and she does form some friendships.
This book shows us what life could be like for the governess in the 1800’s. The rich families could treat their governesses how they liked. Agnes hoped for a kind family but instead she faced cruelty and humiliation which beat her down and stripped away her innocence. Governesses were always in a limbo; they weren’t servants so they rarely made friends with the servants and they weren’t family so their lives could be very lonely. This book is beautifully written and always makes me think. I will definitely read this book again and give it 5 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne’s two novels, written in a sharp and ironic style, are completely different from the romanticism followed by her sisters, Emily Brontë and Charlotte Brontë. She wrote in a realistic, rather than a romantic style. Mainly because the re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was prevented by Charlotte Brontë after Anne’s death, she is less known than her sisters. However, her novels, like those of her sisters, have become classics of English literature.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week so far. I have had a busy day of teaching but I have managed a little bit of reading as well.
My chosen book to feature this week is one that I plan to read very soon because I have been waiting for this book to come out for a very long time.
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
I’m really struggling with The Catch at the moment. It started off really well but I am finding the character of Ed a little bit frustrating at the moment.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I have bought two books this week. One book was on Kindle and another was a preorder that I have had preordered for nearly a year.
Waterstones
I can’t wait to read this as I love all things Hunger Games!
Kindle
I finished the first book of The Far Reaches series yesterday and immediately downloaded the next book and started reading it.
Lady Book Dragon 