Review 5: The Apple Orchard by Veronica Henry

Thank you for all the post likes, follows and support so far. This is my first short story or novella review. Hope you enjoy it.

The Apple Orchard by Veronica Henry

About the author

Veronica Henry went to eight different schools due to having a parent in the army. Henry studied Classics at Bristol University and a bi-lingual secretarial course. One of her first jobs was working as a Production Secretary on The Archers at Pebble Mill in Birmingham; it used to take her two and a half hours to type up the script on a typewriter. From there Henry became a script writer for Central Television. Henry has worked on Crossroads, Boon, Heartbeat, and Holby City. In 2000 Henry got her first book published and has never looked back, she has now written 19 novels and is working on her 20th.

Blurb

In the charming town of Peasebrook, there’s a place for everyone. War vet Joe has made new friends and a new home for himself here, overlooking a beautiful apple orchard. But when tragedy strikes and Joe is left out in the cold, it will bring them all together in entirely unexpected ways . . .

Review

This little novella I read during my breakfast, I do occasionally dig out the neglected Kindle and read something off it and for some reason I always choose breakfast to do this. In my defence I bought the Kindle for holidays as I still prefer a real book to read from. Anyway enough about my neglected Kindle!

I have never read any books by Veronica Henry but was made by my parents to listen to The Archers for many years, so I am familiar with her work as Peaches the barmaid. All I can say is after reading The Apple Orchard I will definitely be buying some of her books and reading them in the near future. I hope her full novels have the same relatable characters and situations as this novella has.

This little novella is Henry’s first venture into writing novellas and I downloaded it for free on to my kindle, sadly what I was not expecting was that a large chunk of it was actually a sample of her latest book. I would have really liked a longer novella instead, as the story was excellent but just too short in my opinion.

The story is focused on Joe who is a very troubled man but who has made a new life for himself after leaving everything he had before behind. His new life is very simple but a happy contented one with his little dog Digby and his music that he uses to make an income busking.

This story shows how villagers can pull together and make a big difference to people’s lives and in doing so their own lives. It also briefly reflects how war veterans need help and fall through the system, which inevitably means their lives change irrevocably.

I found this a very moving read and now I reflect on it, I can not quite believe how many subjects are touched upon in such a short story. There is homelessness, PTSD, alcoholism, hostels that still refuse dogs even though a great deal of homeless people would rather sleep on the streets than abandon their dogs, kindness, love, regrets, and so much more. Henry writes about real life situations and characters and that makes it a relatable and enjoyable read.

The main issue I had was the story was just too short and I wanted the characters to be fleshed out a little and to learn more about them. I also did not appreciate how it came with a massive sample of her new book, in fact only 30% of the book was the short story advertised and the rest was the sample. I really hate it when books do this, but that could be just me.

I highly recommend this short story, it will not take you long to read and it is free on amazon kindle, so make a cup of tea or coffee, get a piece of cake and curl up and have a good read.

5 out of 5 stars from me.

Lady Book Dragon.

Mid Week Quote

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

G. K. Chesterton

Happy reading my fellow Book Dragons.

I would love to hear what you are all reading this week. Please feel free to let me know in the comment section.

Lady Book Dragon.

Review 4: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

About the author

Jean Rhys was born in Dominica in 1890, the daughter of a Welsh doctor and a white Creole mother. At sixteen she moved to England, where she worked at many different jobs, chorus girl, and artist’s model being just two of them.

After her first marriage broke up she started to write and was encouraged by Ford Madox Ford. She wrote The Left Bank, Quartet, Mr Mackenzie, Voyage in the Dark and Good Morning, Midnight between 1927 and 1939. However due to the themes being way ahead of their time, the books eventually went out of print and Rhys was sadly forgotten about.

In 1966 she made a come back with Wide Sargasso Sea and won the Royal Society of Literature Award and the W. H. Smith Award with it. She was awarded an CBE in 1978 and sadly passed away in 1979.

Blurb

Born into an oppressive colonialist society, Creole heiress Antoinette Conway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent sensuality and beauty. After their marriage, disturbing rumours begin to circulate, poisoning her husband against her. Caught between his demands and her own precarious sense of belonging, Antoinette is driven towards madness.

Review

I know my review of this book might prove unpopular to most, but it is just my opinion and nobody has to believe the same. I bought this book a couple of months ago from the Bronte Parsonage Museum (one of my favourite places) with high hopes, as I had heard such good things about it and remember my English Literature teacher telling me I should definitely read it. So quite a few years later, I decided to listen to my English teacher. Sadly, I was greatly disappointed and I did not get on well with the book at all.

The book is written in three parts, the first part is told in Antoinette’s own words whilst she is a young girl. The second is in the words of her husband the young Mr Rochester telling us about his arrival in the West Indies, his marriage and subsequent events. The final part is again by Antoinette, but now set in England, in Thornfield Hall.

The first part I really struggled to get into and to be honest almost gave up on, I found it disjointed and difficult to read. I did feel sorry for Antoinette, her childhood was a not a happy one, her only real friend who seemed to be on her side was her Aunt Cora.

Mr Rochester was a complete alien to me and I was not impressed by his portrayal and I had to think of him completely unrelated to Jane Eyre just to continue reading. The plot is believable, of Mr Rochester having to marry for money, but he is way too gullible and quite frankly appears at times like a drunken lunatic himself.

Another major issue I had was Antoinette’s name, I just do not understand the change to Bertha, it just seems again too un-plausible a plot line to me.

I really struggled with this book, and it left me disappointed and to be honest slightly angry. My review is not all bad though I promise, I did really enjoy the third part of the book and how it linked up to Jane Eyre. The descriptions in the attic were good and well linked, in fact I would have liked a little more from the third part, as it is only short. I also really enjoyed how Rhys described the locations and the local people and you could really tell she was drawing on real life memories.

The book is only short and did not take me long to read thankfully, as I am not sure I would have completed it if it had been longer.

On Goodreads I gave this 2 out of 5 stars.

Purchase from

Waterstones

Book Depository

Lady Book Dragon

Remember, remember…

Good morning my fellow bloggers.

Has anyone been to a bonfire this weekend? My family always do a big bonfire for family and friends with a few fireworks. It is always a nice way to all be together and eat good food, have a few drinks, have a good chat and let off some fireworks and sparklers. This years bonfire we got on to the subject of burning the Guy, something we have not done for a few years. Then we started to chat about how the true meaning of Guy Fawkes night or Bonfire night has started to disappear and it is all about the big firework displays and bonfire. Most children do not even know who Guy Fawkes is anymore, let alone why we have Bonfire Night.

A brief history

On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes a member of Gunpowder plotters was arrested guarding the explosives under the House of Lords. The people of London celebrated that the plot to kill King Charles I had been foiled by lighting bonfires all over London. A few months later an act called Observance of 5th November Act was enforced that meant every year a day of public thanksgiving that the King had survived was to be observed and celebrated and so Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire night was born.

Below is the full poem about the events, however, nowadays we only generally remember the first two lines.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes, guy, t’was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.

By god’s mercy he was catch’d
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

And what shall we do with him?
Burn him!

Next year I fully intend on making a Guy again with a balloon head and everything and throwing it on the fire. It is time to remember and bring back our traditions and history.

Happy Guy Fawkes Night!

Lady Book Dragon

Another Book Haul

Hello my fellow readers.

A massive thank you to all who have read my blog so far and my new followers. It is all greatly appreciated.

I thought I would share my latest book haul with you. I went to buy my nephew his birthday presents this week, I always buy my nephews and niece books for presents and thankfully they are all big readers, so this is a bonus. However, in so entering a book shop, I inevitably bought myself some books and a bag to carry them in.

Here is my wonderful book haul!

The books include:-

Coraline and other stories by Neil Gaiman

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura.

If Cats Disappeared from the World my husband chose for me, fingers crossed it is a good read.

My black cat Pan was very impressed with the two books with cats on.

The books I got for my nephew were:-

Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett

Eric by Terry Pratchett.

Anyway happy reading my fellow dragons.

Lady Book Dragon.

Review 3. The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook by Alan Lee

The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook by Alan Lee

About the Author

Alan Lee was born in 1947 in Middlesex, England, he is an acclaimed book illustrator and conceptual designer and set decorator for films. His most famous works are the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings and diamond edition of The Hobbit. He studied graphic design and the depiction of Celtic and Norse myths. He has illustrated many books and won many awards for his work. He was also the Conceptual Designer and Set decorator on Percy Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings.

Blurb

In The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook Alan Lee reveals in pictures and in words how he created the beautiful watercolour paintings for the special centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings. These images would prove so powerful and evocative that they would eventually define the look of Percy Jackson’s movie trilogy and would earn him a coveted Academy Award.

The book is filled with over 150 of his sketches and early conceptual pieces to show how the project progressed from idea to finished art. It also contains a selection of colour paintings reproduced in full page glory, together with numerous examples of previously unseen conceptual art produced for the films and many new works drawn specially for this book.

The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook provides a fascinating insight into the imagination of the man who painted Tolkien’s vision, firstly onto the page and then in three dimensions on the cinema screen. It will also be of interest to many of the 100,000 people who have bought the illustrated The Lord of the Rings as well as for budding artists interested in unlocking the secrets of book illustration.

Review

I was very lucky to receive this book for my birthday this year, as it has been on my wish list for some time. I must admit I had forgotten this book was on my wish list, so it was a great surprise to receive it. I remember my mom buying me the centenary illustrated edition of The Lord of Rings and it is one of my favourite books, so actually to be able to read how Alan Lee came up with his amazing art work has been rather exciting.

Firstly, I must admit I did not read the book, I just sat there looking at each page and the beautiful art work appearing on each page, remembering where the sketches fit in with the narrative. I was pleased I took the time to enjoy the art work first, as I know I am quite often guilty of getting too absorbed in the words and missing out on the beauty of the art.

Once I had seen all the artwork I then went back to the beginning and started to read. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the book, sometimes with these types of books I easily lose focus and find it hard to finish the book. However, this book I could not put down. I loved how Lee described the history he has with the story and how parts of his childhood influenced his imagination for some of the scenes. Lee describes how when he read The Lord of the Rings he was constantly imagining what the scene looked like and thinking what was Tolkien wanting the scenes to look like and what images were influencing his descriptions in the book and Lee wanting to be as true to that as he could.

Seeing the little sketches and ideas that Lee worked through in the book gives you a glimpse into what it must be like inside Lee’s head. I can not imagine that he ever stops creating either in his head or doodling on paper, that is what comes across most in the book. He is always thinking and working.

The picture below shows the sketch of one of my favourite watercolour images in the centenary edition, Eowyn with Aragorn. I love this image so much and to see the sketch is wonderful, it is fascinating to see a rough version of one of my all time favourite images.

The following picture is also one of my favourites – Tom Bombadil’s house. I loved the chapter in The Fellowship of the Ring with Tom and I was really upset it was not in the film, so I was really pleased to see it included in the sketchbook and to read about how Lee created it.

The details in the book about how the film sets were created are fascinating and just magical. It really brought it home to me just how many people were involved in the making of one of my all time favourite film series. I also loved how Lee is happily telling the reader about his frustrations, the art work he wasn’t so happy with and particularly when he had to pull all nighters.

The thing I loved the most about this book was that Lee did not focus it all on the film and included so much about the centenary edition, the book I love so much. Lee is such a talented artist and it was wonderful to be briefly part of his world.

I truly loved this book and even though I have finished it, I still pick it up and dip in to look again at the stunning artwork.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Purchase from

Waterstones

Book Depository

Lady Book Dragon

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!

How are my fellow my readers celebrating Halloween? Are you reading any spooky books? I would love to hear what you are reading so please feel free to leave me a comment.

Whilst walking my dog I was very pleased to see the neighbours getting into the spirit of things with a skeleton in their garden.

And here is one of our pumpkins. Sorry they are not very imaginative. I’m hoping to do better next year.

Happy trick or treating!

Lady Book Dragon.

Mid Week Quote

A little quote to keep us going through the week.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

JRR Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring

Just think, we are half way through the working week!

I took the picture on a walk recently and it made me think of Middle Earth, and inspired the quote.

Lady Book Dragon

Review 2: Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Good morning my fellow book dragons! Thank you for all the likes, comments and follows so far. I really hope you are enjoying my blog so far. I hope you have a good day and happy reading!

Friend Request by Laura Marshall

About the author

Laura Marshall grew up in Wiltshire and studied English at the University of Sussex. In 2015 Marshall decided to complete a lifelong ambition to write a book, and enrolled on a three month creative writing course. Friend Request is Marshall’s first novel and it was shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award and the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize in 2016. Marshall now lives in Kent with her husband and two children.

Blurb

Maria Weston wants to be friends with me. Maybe that had been the problem all along: Maria Weston had wanted to be friends with me, but I let her down. She’s been hovering at the edge of my consciousness for all of my life, although I’ve been good at keeping her out, just a blurred shadow in the corner of my eye, almost but not quite out of sight. Maria Weston wants to be friends. But Maria Weston has been dead for more than twenty-five years.

Review

I saw a lot of good reviews about this book, on a few of my book related facebook pages and so I had to get a copy. I always take a list of possible books to buy when I go to Waterstones and I bought this last month with high hopes.

I was quite excited to read this book and although yes it was a good read, I was also rather disappointed. The lead character Louise sadly got on my nerves somewhat, as she just seemed to be rather weak and at times pathetic. At times I felt sorry for her son Henry as I couldn’t help but wonder what type of example she was setting him. Polly was the typical strong friend who everyone wants in their life. Sam is portrayed as the strong in control character but obviously a total jerk and the old school friends we have all gone to school with and are familiar with the different characters and social groups they were in.

The major element of this book is bullying and I was glad to read a book which discussed this in detail, as sometimes I find bullying is still hidden away and not talked about. I admit my life in school was not easy and I was a victim of bullying for my middle school years (I was in a three tier system). In some ways I was lucky I had a small group of friends but sadly my friends and I suffered a great deal at times and life was not easy. However I have no idea how I would have coped without those friends. This book shows the grizzly details of bullying and the hurt caused by excluding people from things and the consequences. I honestly wonder if Marshall is not drawing on experiences she might have had at school.

It was really interesting how social media played a major role in this book and how vulnerable it can make us if we are not vigilant. It really made me realise that anybody can pretend to be anyone on social media and you are none the wiser who you are really talking to. The fact that Maria Weston who has been dead for twenty-five years is suddenly adding people on social media is very haunting and better than a ghost returning in my opinion.

As a thriller, this book was good but I would have liked a bit more suspense and eventually it started to get a little predictable and I’m sorry to say but the twist was obvious to me. However all the elements all fitted together brilliantly and I did enjoy reading it. It was a fast paced read which had me hooked most of time.

As Marshall’s first novel I think this is brilliant and I can’t wait to read more of her novels especially if they draw on real life situations as Friend request has.

My rating on Goodreads is 3/5 stars.

To Purchase

Waterstones

Book Depository

Lady Book Dragon

Birthday Book Haul

Last week was my birthday and I was very happy to have a good book haul in presents. So I thought I would share my book pile. I had loads of Tolkien always a favourite of mine and the complete works of Jane Austen in the Folio Society editions. I also had the limited edition of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty done by the Folio Society, it is so beautiful I have not opened it yet, as I am so scared of marking it. I love the Folio Society editions but can rarely afford them so it is wonderful when I get them as presents and I have never had a limited edition before so that is a real treasure.

Anyway here are a few snaps of my new book pile.