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A Piece Of The World
A Piece Of The World
Christina Baker Kline | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Until reading Christina Baker Kline’s note at the end of the book, it is impossible to guess that it is based on real people, although, admittedly, it is a little strange to name the main character after oneself. In fact, <i>A Piece of the World</i> is written around a single painting in the Museum of Modern Art, New York: <i>Christina’s World</i> (1948) by Andrew Wyeth, a man who appears and paints this work in the story.

Baker Cline researched thoroughly into the background story of the painting. Christina Olson, the main character of this book, was a real person who posed for Wyeth as he painted this striking picture. Although the overall story is a work of fiction, the dates and key characters are biographically accurate. Beginning in 1939, the narrative weaves too and fro, from Christina’s present day to her childhood and back again. Christina is an ageing woman who can barely walk and lives in a dilapidated cottage with her brother on a hill in the village of Cushing, Maine. Having lived in this state for so long, it is a welcome surprise to be visited by the young Andrew Wyeth who falls in love with the cottage and regularly comes to work on his canvases in their upper rooms. Through their peaceful relationship and flashbacks to her past, Christina’s character development is investigated and knitted together to explain why she has become this recluse on a hill.

Christina had problems from a very young age. After almost dying from a fever, she developed an undiagnosed degenerative disease that slowly ate away at the nerves in her arms and legs. Today, neurologists believe this to be <i>Charcot-Marie-Tooth</i> disease but there were no doctors able to provide this diagnosis at the time. Christina suffered aches and pains growing up and could barely walk in a straight line. Her determination to keep going is admirable and makes her a strong female protagonist.

One day in her early twenties, Christina meets a boy who pays her the kind of attention that she has never received before. Believing his promises that they will be together forever, she dares to dream of having a normal life. The reader, however, knows that the future Christina is alone with only her brother for company, making it heartbreaking to read of their developing romance knowing that it is not going to last.

There is no “happy-ever-after” to this story, nor is there a sad ending. It is an account of a woman who had been dealt a raw deal in life but continued getting on despite it. The end result, the painting <i>Christina’s World</i>, shows Christina as she sees herself. She may not be able to walk but she is still a woman; she made the most of her childhood, she never complained. This painting is her “letter to the World that never wrote to [Her].”

<i>A Piece of the World</i> is a powerful novel about purpose and determination. Christina may not have had a typical, successful life or become famous but she had her daily achievements: crawling through a field for an hour to visit a friend, cooking dinners despite not being able to stand up, carrying on after the end of a romantic relationship …

Written as gracefully as the brushstrokes of a painting with elements of Emily Dickinson thrown in here and there, </i>A Piece of the World</i> is a beautiful piece of work. It is something that can be enjoyed as you are mentally drawn into the storyline, leaving you wondering what happens to Christina and her brother after the completion of the painting. It is a novel the author can be proud of.

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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Falling in Books

May 10, 2018  
F
Falling
10
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Emma Montague has just left the hustle and bustle of life and work in New York City and has moved to Westport, CT. She has left her job as a banker, to slow down a bit and try her hand at interior design. It's something she has always been passionate about and has a great eye for it as well. She finds a house that has a lot of potential, on the beach and the landlord, Dominic is willing to compromise on the changes she has in mind for the cute cottage. Emma sees something in Dominic that she has never seen in any man before. But, they come from two totally different worlds. Emma is from England and left there to pursue a life in the United States and Dominic has barely left Westport. A relationship between these two would never work. Would it?

I love Jane Green books. They are always so emotional and I can always find a way to connect the story and characters to something that is going on in my life. This book was no exception. It was very emotional and the last few chapters had me crying like a baby.

Emma and Dominic have the type of relationship we all wish we could have. They met and had an instant connection Their love for each other and for Dominic's son, Jesse is almost instantaneous. When an unexpected visitor comes to town, Emma thinks that her relationship with Dominic will be over just as quickly as it started. But Dominic is firm in his feelings for Emma and nothing will change that.

Another book for me that was impossible to put down. I may get in trouble from the library for the tear-soaked pages I left behind, but it would be well worth it. If you have never read a book by [a:Jane Green|12915|Jane Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392141074p2/12915.jpg], you don't know what you're missing and I suggest you pick one up right away.
  
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Cate Le Bon recommended Barrett by Syd Barrett in Music (curated)

 
Barrett by Syd Barrett
Barrett by Syd Barrett
1970 | Psychedelic, Folk
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I was probably 21 and I was doing a lot of driving between North and South Wales. Two of my friends that I was making music with lived in a beautiful cottage in the mountains. There isn't a very good radio reception on the A470, and I was driving a classic car – a Proton! – which had a tape player. I would go to Cob Records in Porthmadog and buy a handful of tapes – classics like Michael Jackson and Madonna that would always get preference in the tape player. They were real sing-along records that were great for driving. Eventually, I remember being absolutely sick to the back teeth of them and decided to give the album Barrett a go. I knew who Syd Barrett was but never really had collected his music. I put this tape in and could not make head nor tail of what I was listening to. I couldn't unravel the songs from the music that was going on. But, weirdly, on these drives I had the compulsion to keep putting it in the tape player and because it was a tape I couldn't be bothered to do any fast-forwarding or rewinding to try and find the next song or flick through impatiently to the final song that I liked. I kind of just had to stick it out with this record. Amazingly, eventually all these songs began to show themselves and what had started off as a really arduous task became hugely, hugely rewarding. For that reason – it being a record I genuinely fell in love with and now absolutely love – I feel wholly thankful that I got it on a tape as opposed to any other format, as I think I could have completely missed it or not stuck with it. It is one of those albums that maybe I don't listen to very often anymore, but I have wonderful memories of and love deeply."

Source
  
The Book Club
The Book Club
C.J. Cooper | 2019 | Reference
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A really good book that kept me guessing throughout.
The story follows Lucy who has moved to a cottage in the Cotswolds after an affair with her boss. She moved for a fresh start and has found her feet with a group of friends who all seem relatively close. That is until a newcomer, Alice, moves in next door to Lucy and turns her world upside down. Lucy always knows there’s something she doesn’t trust about Alice, but she can’t seem to quite put her finger on it. Alice finds out secrets about everyone in the friendship group and, after suggesting a book club for them all, manages to suggest or manipulate other people into suggesting books similar to each of the secrets they have hidden from each other.

Alice is out for revenge, and it took me until the last few chapters, just before it was revealed, to work out what exactly she wanted revenge for.

I found the book quite confusing at times, one chapter was from Lucy’s point of view and then the next was always focused on other character or multiple character’s but always in the third person. Because of this, sometimes I had to reread paragraphs because I was confused who it was about. But once I got used to this style, I really did enjoy the book.

Each of the character’s secrets were interesting, and it was easy to see that they didn’t trust their friends completely as they mostly dealt with the secrets they were keeping by themselves. It was also interesting to see just how easy the odd comment from an outsider caused a rift in the friendships and it made me wonder were they really that close in the first place?

This book really did live up the the hype for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns that were present throughout. I’m looking forward to reading C.J. Cooper’s next book!
  
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.
  
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ClareR (5603 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
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<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.

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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.
  
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ClareR (5603 KP) rated Weyward in Books

Mar 4, 2023  
Weyward
Weyward
Emilia Hart | 2023 | Contemporary, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book held me in its spell from start to finish. Is that a bit too corny, considering it’s about witches? Actually, I don’t care, because it’s true!

It’s spellbinding, in fact.

Three generations of witches tell the stories of how they came into their power despite the interference of society and men (mainly men though 🤷🏼‍♀️).
In 1619, Altha Weyward is on trial for witchcraft, and whilst she’s in the towns prison she reminisces over her mother, her life before, everything she has learnt and the circumstances that led up to her incarceration. Altha had the knowledge needed to help people, but that same knowledge put her in danger from the church and general ignorance (and we can’t have women knowing more than men, can we!)

In 1942, Violet Ayres lives a very restricted life, tucked away from the rest of the world in her family home. She has only two clues about her heritage: her dead mothers locket with a “W” inscribed and the word “Weyward” scratched into the skirting board under her bed.

2019, Kate Ayres escapes a violent relationship in London and flees to Weyward cottage - the house her Aunt Violet had left her in her will. It’s a wild, unkempt, rundown house and garden, but it’s what Kate needs. She finds Altha’s diaries, some writings from Violet, and begins to learn about her true inheritance.

I just loved this book so much. Women taking control of their lives away from the men who would control them. Nature and magic is woven throughout, and nothing feels far-fetched or unbelievable.

I loved the alternating chapters between the three women, and this was probably the main reason why I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what was going to happen to each of them next.

What more can I say? This WILL be high up in my favourite books this year. And to have read it in February!! How lucky am I!

I can’t wait to see what Emilia Hart writes next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for my ebook copy of this book to read and review. Of course these are my own opinions!