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ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Story Spinner in Books
Jan 18, 2025
This is only the second Barbara Erskine book I’ve read, and the combination of history and magic connecting characters across hundreds of years really appeals to me. I don’t know whether this is a narrative device that Erskine uses often, but I love it.
This novel is set in a period of history that I know nothing about. Everything was new, interesting and exciting. I know little of the Romans in Britain era. I wasn’t aware that Welsh princesses were married off to Roman generals - like Elen, from the land of the Silures, in 382AD. She has quite some story, stretching from Wales to the Roman Empire.
Cadi is a writer in 2024, and when she hears marching feet in the lane outside her cottage but sees nothing there, she finds she’s able to see the story of Elen as she writes it down. There’s something in the meadow behind her house that connects the two times - but time is running out. Someone is trying to take Cadi’s peace and sell the land to build on. And the story will be lost.
I loved the historical detail in Elen’s time, and the excitement in Cadi’s. Elen’s story is pretty exciting too, to be fair. It amazed me just how much she was able to travel around Europe and further afield. This book is pure escapism, and I loved it. History, magic - what more do you need!
This novel is set in a period of history that I know nothing about. Everything was new, interesting and exciting. I know little of the Romans in Britain era. I wasn’t aware that Welsh princesses were married off to Roman generals - like Elen, from the land of the Silures, in 382AD. She has quite some story, stretching from Wales to the Roman Empire.
Cadi is a writer in 2024, and when she hears marching feet in the lane outside her cottage but sees nothing there, she finds she’s able to see the story of Elen as she writes it down. There’s something in the meadow behind her house that connects the two times - but time is running out. Someone is trying to take Cadi’s peace and sell the land to build on. And the story will be lost.
I loved the historical detail in Elen’s time, and the excitement in Cadi’s. Elen’s story is pretty exciting too, to be fair. It amazed me just how much she was able to travel around Europe and further afield. This book is pure escapism, and I loved it. History, magic - what more do you need!
A Magical's Gift (The Magicals #5)
Book
The feud between fairies and wizards is an ancient threat in the magical world. Yet peace is...
Paranormal Romance Series
The Snow Wolf (Wolves Ever After #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
Myra's no Ice Queen. She's a reclusive outcast with a secret she'll do anything to hide. Beware...
Young Adult Fantasy Romance
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Mar 1, 2023
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2672 KP) rated Murder at Ochre Court in Books
Jul 4, 2026 (Updated Jul 4, 2026)
Coming-Out is Murder
It’s July of 1898, and Emma Cross has spent the last year in New York City working for the Herald. Sadly, she is still relegated to the society column. And that’s what has brought her back to Newport – she is covering the biggest social event of the season, the coming-out ball of Cleo Copper-Smith. But the night ends in shocking fashion, when someone is electrocuted. The electrician who worked on the cottage is a friend, so Emma dives in to help clear him when people accuse him of shoddy work. With a variety of motives, can Emma figure out the truth?
As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think about the reactions to new technology today and how some characters were reacting to the new technology of electricity for houses. I appreciated how that played into the mystery, providing just one motive that kept me engaged. As is often the case, I felt like the mystery was a little too complex when we got to the ending. While things made sense, there was a bit too much exposition. But I expect that at this point. I am tiring of the love triangle, so I am hopeful that this particular storyline is wrapping up. Overall, I do like the characters and love seeing them grow as the real and fictional rub elbows so seamlessly. I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Newport.
As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think about the reactions to new technology today and how some characters were reacting to the new technology of electricity for houses. I appreciated how that played into the mystery, providing just one motive that kept me engaged. As is often the case, I felt like the mystery was a little too complex when we got to the ending. While things made sense, there was a bit too much exposition. But I expect that at this point. I am tiring of the love triangle, so I am hopeful that this particular storyline is wrapping up. Overall, I do like the characters and love seeing them grow as the real and fictional rub elbows so seamlessly. I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Newport.
The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve (An Accidental Alchemist Mystery #10)
Book
An eternally young alchemist. A gargoyle who fancies himself Poirot. A Murder House for sale the...
Cozy Culinary Fantasy Mystery
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Eight Hundred Grapes in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Georgia Ford had just arrived at her childhood home, dressed in her wedding dress, but it's not her wedding day. As she was having her final fitting, she saw her fiance in a way she had never expected to see him. So she runs home to her parents and brothers only to find that there are even more problems there. Always being the fixer in the family, will she be able to solve all the issues she runs into by running away from her own? Or will this be a time when fixing isn't going to work?
Synchronization is the theme of this novel. All things happen for a reason. Because this happened(or didn't)thatwas able to take place(or not). Georgia Ford is living as an attorney in Los Angeles when her world is turned upside down. She runs home to her family's winery in Sebastopol during the final harvest of the year. Final harvest is always a big deal for the Ford family and this year, even more so.
I LOVED this book! It showed so many different family dynamics and so many emotions. It made me laugh and cry. This novel felt so real to me, I could see myself in this setting. I picture myself reading this novel on the porch of the winemaker's cottage looking out over the winery, enjoying a glass of Block-14. The imagery is that vivid. I could definitely see this book becoming a major motion picture.
Kudos to Laura Dave for writing an incredible novel that many will love.
Synchronization is the theme of this novel. All things happen for a reason. Because this happened(or didn't)thatwas able to take place(or not). Georgia Ford is living as an attorney in Los Angeles when her world is turned upside down. She runs home to her family's winery in Sebastopol during the final harvest of the year. Final harvest is always a big deal for the Ford family and this year, even more so.
I LOVED this book! It showed so many different family dynamics and so many emotions. It made me laugh and cry. This novel felt so real to me, I could see myself in this setting. I picture myself reading this novel on the porch of the winemaker's cottage looking out over the winery, enjoying a glass of Block-14. The imagery is that vivid. I could definitely see this book becoming a major motion picture.
Kudos to Laura Dave for writing an incredible novel that many will love.
Merissa (14206 KP) rated Lord of Rage (Royal House of Shadows, #2) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Lord of Rage is based on the tale of Goldilocks and is the tale of Nicolai's younger sister Breena. Raised as a princess Breena always knew it would be her duty to marry a man chosen by her father to make an alliance between kingdoms. Everything changes when Elden comes under attack and her parents are killed by the blood sorcerer. On their death beds the king and queen used the last of their magic to send their 4 children to safety. Breena finds herself alone in the forest - lost, terrified and grieving for her family she is tired and hungry when she stumbles across the isolated cottage that Osborn shares with his brothers Bernt and Torben. Osborn is the last of the Ursan beserkers, his village was destroyed in a vampire attack that only his 2 young brothers survived. After years working as a mercenary to provide for them all Osborn wants now is a quiet life and to eventually get revenge on the vampires that took everything from them. The last thing he needs is a beautiful stranger invading his space, particularly one who has been invading his dreams to share passionate kisses. Breena is determined to trace her brothers and discover what happened to their kingdom and she will do whatever it takes to get Osborn to help her achieve her goals.
Overall I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series and I will read on to find out what happened to Breena's other brothers and to see if Nicolai can manage to regain his kingdom.
Overall I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series and I will read on to find out what happened to Breena's other brothers and to see if Nicolai can manage to regain his kingdom.
The Writer's Garden: How Gardens Inspired Our Best-Loved Authors
Book
Great things happen in gardens. No one can doubt the importance of the garden in Roald Dahl's life...
Egg and Soldiers: A Childhood Memoir (with Postcards from the Present) by Damien Trench
Book
Miles Jupp (News Quiz presenter, star of Rev, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and The Thick Of It) delves...