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ClareR (5779 KP) rated Black Cake in Books

Jul 12, 2022  
Black Cake
Black Cake
Charmaine Wilkerson | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Black Cake is an absolute cracker of a book. Told in a series of flashbacks, Eleanor Bennett tells her children the story of her “real” life via a recording after her death. And she has a lot of secrets to let go of. It’s a big shock for her children Benny and Byron.

I loved the chapters on the Caribbean island - I felt transported there (or at least I wished I was!). The contrast between the island and the UK was radical, and must have been a shock for the Bennett’s - and for anyone else travelling from warmer climes!

The real story is about Benny and Byron having to relearn everything they thought they knew about their mother. Even her husband hadn’t known the whole story.

This is beautifully told, and it’s one of those books where you turn the last page with a tinge of sadness.

Highly recommended.
  
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Mitch Albom | 2004 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (30 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was completely not what I expected, but in a good way. I assumed the five people you would meet would be grandma, an uncle, a long lost friend, etc etc but it wasn't so. Eddie dies an old veteran who has worked his whole life (after the war) at a carnival by the sea. At his death you journey with him through heaven while meeting five different people that have had an effect on his life whether he knew it or not. I wonder how many times this happens in our own lives and if we will one day find out about it. This book was written wonderfully and had so many profound thoughts I've decided to share a few from the book:
"There are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more seperate one life from another than you can seperate a breeze from the wind" Page 48
"Ruby stepped toward him. "Edward," she said softly. It was the first time she had called him by name. "Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from the inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves." Page 141
  
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James Koppert (2698 KP) rated The Other Half of Augusta Hope in Books

Oct 25, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)  
The Other Half of Augusta Hope
The Other Half of Augusta Hope
Joanna Glen | 2019 | Contemporary
8
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The binding is quite beautiful (0 more)
Deserves more recognition (0 more)
The Other Half of Augusta Hope
I read this book completely unbiased, I realised I didn't even read the blerb on the back, I just adored the shiny dragonflies on the cover and dived in. Some books are thrill rides, adventures, chilling or mysterious while some others give you characters who you adore and open your hearts to and never want to let go. This is the latter. I fell in love with Augusta Hope and felt her love and her pain. I am sad, now finished, I have left her behind. This is about a child turning to an adult, but it's not s coming of age, it has death without being mournful and love without ever being a romance. I think this is a book about the beauty of life and learning life and learning the lives of others. I know this review doesn't do much to explain the book to you so let me maybe just say this. This is one of those books that is a beautiful rare gem, that deserves to be read and kept and cherished and thought about for years after you have finished. I fell in love with Augusta Hope and the people in her life. I know you will too.