Search

Search only in certain items:

The Gathering (Wilde Grove #1)
The Gathering (Wilde Grove #1)
Katherine Genet | 2020 | Contemporary
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
WHAT. A. BOOK! The Gathering tells the story of Erin, an adopted daughter who has been diagnosed with "Dissociative Fugue" and has never felt like she quite fitted in. When she finds out she has inherited a cottage (with conditions) from her birth grandmother, she is intrigued and goes to find out more. This leads her on a journey she never expected and yet is more than capable of fulfilling.

There are so many parts to this book and I am struggling to mention them all! The characters are amazing, both the main one and also the supporting cast. Erin is stronger than she realises, but she has to learn that the hard way. I am sure there will be more stumbles along the way, as she has to figure out who she is by doing, not by reading in a book. I adored the descriptions of Macha, and the old leader of the Grove. One of my favourite parts was that Elen of the Ways was mentioned and honoured. The invocations and prayers sent a shiver down my spine in the most delightful way.

This is a long book, designed to pull you into the story and not let you go until the last word. Even then, you will be left wanting more. And can I just mention the cover? Absolutely stunning. This is a series of books that I will not only be re-reading but that I will be buying the paperbacks of, so I can sit them and stare at the gorgeous covers.

If you are a Witch, Druid, Wicca, or just like the Old Religions, then I absolutely recommend this book. If you like contemporary fantasy, then I absolutely recommend this book. In fact, why don't I just say I absolutely recommend this book? Because I do! Go and grab your copy now. You won't be disappointed.
  
40x40

ClareR (5589 KP) rated Summerwater in Books

Oct 4, 2020  
Summerwater
Summerwater
Sarah Moss | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Summerwater takes place over a single day in a Scottish holiday park. Each section follows a different person as they experience a very wet holiday with not very much to do.

I do enjoy this kind of book that looks at the ordinary, everyday lives - nothing wildly exciting happening. I know this may appear odd, but there you are 🤷🏼‍♀️ Maybe it could be construed as voyeuristic, but ‘normal’ fascinates me, because one persons normal isn’t remotely like mine (or anyone else’s). There are people from all walks of life: the retired doctor and his wife who appears to have dementia; young parents with small children; older parents with teenaged children; a boyfriend and his girlfriend. I could go on, but I won’t. Needless to say, they’re all very different people. They do have some things in common: their distrust of outsiders. There is an ex-soldier camping and living rough in the woods, and a Ukrainian family who certainly seem to know how to have a party. No-one seems to particularly trust them or like their presence at the holiday park.

I liked the smaller sections from the point of view of nature - whether it was from one of the animals in the woods, or the bedrock beneath the lodges. It made me think that all of the petty human concerns were nothing in comparison to the ground beneath their feet and that feeling of endurance.

I’ve had more than a few holidays where I’ve been shut up in a tent, camper van or a holiday cottage because of bad weather, and this reminded me in some part of those holidays (minus the rather dramatic ending!). I think I liked this so much because basically, at the end of the day, I’m a bit of a curtain twitcher...

Many thanks to NetGalley and Picador/ Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
  
The Scent Keeper
The Scent Keeper
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory. One smell can conjure up a whole moment in your life, that you thought you had completely forgotten about. "When you change a scent, you change the memory..."(Quote taken from advanced copy)

Emmeline and her father live on a remote island. It's just the two of them and Emmeline has learned all she knows from her father, but the greatest thing she has learned, is how to use scents to determine what is going on in the world. Cut off from the rest of society, people are just objects in books, and her father is the only other physical person she knows. When she turns 13 and is forced into the "real" world, she quickly discovers that it's more than scents that she will need to make it in life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first heard about this book, I was quite intrigued. A whole book about a cottage filled with drawers of scents. How was this going to play out? Would it hold my attention? Boy did it ever. will admit, when I started reading, I was skeptical about which direction the book would take me. The journey was exciting and thrilling and it left me wanting more.

The Scent Keeper is the first book I have read by Erica Bauermeister, but I do look forward to reading more books by her. This is the type of book that is kind of hard to review without giving too much of the story away. This is a story that you will feel in your heart. You will start to understand and smell scents in a different way.

This book has something for everyone in it. A little bit of magic, thrills, just a touch of romance, and scents from all over. I think that if you pick up this book you will enjoy it. I wasn't sure after the description and reading the first couple of chapters, but this story really grew on me and it will stay with me for a while.
  
His Frozen Heart
His Frozen Heart
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;

<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Book-Review-Banner.png?zoom=2&resize=707%2C396&ssl=1"/>;
 
<b><i>His Frozen Heart pulled me into an idyllic winter paradise and made me want to cuddle up with a warm blanket and a hot chocolate in my bed.</i></b>

This is the most romantic novel by Georgia Le Carre I have read so far. Don’t you worry, the steamy scenes are there too, but for the first time, they are not the main focus of the book.

Cade lives alone on the mountain side. He is there to escape both his reality and his troubled past. When a woman crashes her car and a blizzard is coming up, she needs to spend a few days in his cottage.

Sometimes, you only need a few days with a person to know whether they are right for you. What begins as a lust turns into a deep relationship, full of love and caring.

But with an unexpected twist, I started doubting everything I had read and all the characters involved. With an even more unexpected ending, I felt so disappointed…

When you find out a dark secret that makes you double-check your feelings, you need to talk to the other person. You need to get face to face and bloody talk. No matter your decision, whether you’re going to stay or go. No matter if you have already made your mind, you need to say something. If nothing is said, how can it be a happy ending?

Despite the ending though, and my emotional reaction, this is so far the most thrilling book I read by this author. Unpredictable and satisfying, she did manage to keep me on my toes, and actually managed to get me to care about the characters.

<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
  
Abide With Me : A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
One simply has to adore a nun who writes detective romance stories, has a murder club to help her with amateur sleuthing, and looks to famous literary detectives for advice. (0 more)
A young journalist is visiting Gwenafwy Abby, presumably writing a story on the new directions the church is taking. When she is found dead, Sister Agatha does not believe the theory of an accidental death. She starts a new notebook and dives into the case chasing down clues. Does the young woman’s death have something to do with scathing articles she has written in the past? Or, could it be an ex-boyfriend who just happens to show up in town, and just who was it seen entering the woman’s cottage after her death?Sister Agatha is a bit of a handful. She doesn’t do anything by half measures. One simply has to adore a nun who writes detective romance stories, has a murder club to help her with amateur sleuthing, and looks to famous literary detectives for advice. What would Miss Marple do??? Agatha’s weakness for cake lends itself to wonderful descriptions of mouthwatering traditional Welsh food. In this story, nearly everyone close to the Abby is a suspect. As much as Agatha and the reader want the killer to be found out and caught, it is likely that it will be heartbreaking for the nuns. Agatha keeps her moxie to the thrilling end of the investigation though.These are characters I would love to sit and visit with. From the put upon police department and store clerks to the individual sisters at the Abby. Maybe spend a few days learning to make cheese, especially since Gouda is my family’s fave.I loved the social commentary on modern technology and how it fits into a cloistered setting. Mostly I just giggled over the names of the shops in town, I won’t spoil them all, but, my favorites are The Fatted Calf farm to table market and Lettuce Eat Vegan.So why should you read this book? Because it is quirky, brilliant, softboiled Cozy at its best. The cast of characters and their personal stories will have you scrambling to read the first two books, or waiting impatiently for the next one.
  
    Gro Garden

    Gro Garden

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    * "Gro Garden is a great way to learn about sustainable farming and organic gardening." -...