I’m still not sure about Apple Tree Yard and I might yet DNF it but at the same time I want to know what is going on! Really enjoying the short story How It Unfolds so far and A Crown of Swords is also getting really interesting.
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 had a busy day playing for a wedding and prepping music for harvest festival tomorrow.
I had a preordered book arrive this week. I will be honest I ordered this book because it looked really pretty and I love Christmas themed books.
I can’t wait to read it and look at the beautiful illustrations over Christmas.
My chosen poem this week is by one of my favourites, William Blake. William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter and print maker. Sadly he was largely unrecognised during his lifetime but now he is considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age.
Cradle Song
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright, Dreaming in the joys of night; Sleep, sleep; in thy sleep Little sorrows sit and weep.
Sweet babe, in thy face Soft desires I can trace, Secret joys and secret smiles, Little pretty infant wiles.
As thy softest limbs I feel Smiles as of the morning steal O'er thy cheek, and o'er thy breast Where thy little heart doth rest.
O the cunning wiles that creep In thy little heart asleep! When thy little heart doth wake, Then the dreadful night shall break.
A Place Like Home is a spellbinding collection of short stories by internationally bestselling author Rosamunde Pilcher, never before published in book form. The collection contains fifteen stories, which range from “Our Holiday”, in which a wife surprises her husband of twenty-five years with a holiday full of Mediterranean sunshine, red rocks and blue seas in an effort to rekindle the romance they had before children; “Through the Eyes of Love”, which takes the reader to a village by the sea where old flames meet again; and “A Place Like Home”, where a lonely young woman goes to recuperate in the Scottish countryside after a brief illness. The fruit orchards and fresh sea air offer much needed respite–but not as much as the handsome, mysterious farmer she meets.
Each unforgettable story is the perfect slice of romance written with warmth and passion featuring wonderfully memorable, smart, and feisty female characters that will transport the reader to another time and place.
Review
People who have been following my blog for some time know that one of my favourite authors is Pilcher. I absolutely adore her full length novels but I do struggle with some of her short stories. I find Pilcher’s strength as an author was in the epic novel where she had the freedom to create such powerful female characters that were strong and in control of their own futures.
This set of fifteen short stories has been sat on my kindle since last year as it was a holiday read that I never got around to reading. These stories all focus around marriage and courtship and quite a few strong female characters. Each story is beautifully written and has Pilcher’s wonderful charm about it but I did find them all rather similar and could guarantee what the ending would be of each story after finishing the third story.
Whilst there isn’t anything very remarkable about this book of short stories the stories were all enjoyable and a nice read and of course beautifully written. I did find myself wanting to know more about several of the characters and would have loved a full length novel instead of a short story. This was the case for the stories that had the romantic couple as the main characters of the story. The stories which had the romantic interests as side characters were much better suited to the short story format.
This was an enjoyable read and one that was perfectly suited for reading when you have a short space of time but it really lacked the special something that I expect from Pilcher. I give this book 3 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
Rosamunde Pilcher was born on the 22nd September 1924 in Cornwall. She began writing when she was 7 and published her first short story at the age of 15. From 1943 to 1946 she served with the Women’s Royal Naval Service. In 1946 she married her Graham Hope Pilcher and they moved to Dundee, Scotland together. In 1949 Pilcher’s first novel was published under the pseudonym Jane Fraser, she went on to publish a further ten novels under that name. In 1955 she published her first novel under her own name, by 1965 she had dropped the pseudonym entirely. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000, two years later she received her OBE.
My chosen quote this week is by Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) who was the South African President from 1994-1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.
“Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I am doing so well with my reading at the moment and I’m not really sure why but I hope it continues.
What I am Currently Reading
I’m not sure what to make of Apple Tree Yard yet but I will keep going and see where it leads. I’m half way through the A Place Like Home and although it isn’t Pilcher’s best work it is still very good. A Crown of Swords is going really well and I’m really enjoying it so far.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be reading more Paula Hawkins soon. Here is my review.
What I Think I will Read Next
I have no idea what I will read next but here are a few contenders.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.
Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.
Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…
Review
I have recently been going through some bookshelves in our house that have basically been neglected since we moved into the house seven years ago. Due to this I have discovered a load of books that I had forgotten about and this is one of them. I can’t believe I waited so long because once I started this book I could not put it down.
There were so many twists and turns in this book which really kept me on my toes. This book just kept surprising me and I loved it. I had a few suspicions about who the guilty party was. Some of my early thoughts were way out but I slowly started to work out who it was. The first thing that hooked me in was the prologue to the book. It really set the scene and made me want to know what it all meant. So of course I had to keep reading.
The other element I loved about this book was how it was written. The story is mainly told from Rachel’s point of view but we also have the point of view of other important characters as well and it really added an extra element to the story and threw in a few red herrings. The book is written as diary entries and in Rachel’s case she has a morning and evening entry to go with her train commute.
Rachel is such a tragic character who just needs someone to love her again and care for her. She desperately needs to find meaning and purpose in her life again but she can’t find the way so when she sees something from the train she finds a way to be part of something again and starts to find meaning in life again but the process is not pretty. I felt desperately sorry for Rachel but at times she really did frustrate me. I just really wanted her to succeed and become a better version of herself. Due to Rachel’s problems she doesn’t always remember things very well which adds to the story because the reader is left wondering what actually happened in those blank moments.
I can’t quite believe this is Hawkins’ first thriller novel because it is so accomplished and beautifully written that I would have thought she was a well established thriller writer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5 out of 5 Dragons and I can’t wait to read another book by Hawkins.
(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
Paula Hawkins (1972) is a British author best known for her book The Girl on the Train.
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 Monday so far. My Monday has been jam packed with work so sadly not much reading achieved but I’m hoping to catch up tomorrow.
I have two long forgotten bookcases in our house and I mean forgotten. However, just recently I have rediscovered these bookshelves and the books on them. So many of these books I had forgotten I even owned and here is one of them.
Yvonne Carmichael has worked hard to achieve the life she always wanted: a high-flying career in genetics, a beautiful home, a good relationship with her husband and their two grown-up children.
Then one day she meets a stranger at the Houses of Parliament and, on impulse, begins a passionate affair with him – a decision that will put everything she values at risk.
At first she believes she can keep the relationship separate from the rest of her life, but she can’t control what happens next. All of her careful plans spiral into greater deceit and, eventually, a life-changing act of violence.
Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller about one woman’s adultery and an insightful examination of the values we live by and the choices we make, from an acclaimed writer at the height of her powers.
I can’t put The Girl on the Train down and I really don’t know why it has taken me so long to read. A Crown of Swords is going really well 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 have only bought one book this week and it was a book that I had preordered so it was a nice surprise when it arrived.
I started the Joubert Family Chronicles whilst on holiday last year and really enjoyed the books so I am looking forward to continuing with the series.
Lady Book Dragon 