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ClareR (5996 KP) rated This Lovely City in Books

May 1, 2020  
This Lovely City
This Lovely City
Louise Hare | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The beginnings of the Windrush generation.
The only thing I didn’t like about This Lovely City by Louise Hare, were the attitudes of a lot of the (predominantly) white, male Londoners. And there’s not a thing that the author could do about that.

In 1948 answering a call from the Homeland, Lawrie and hundreds of mainly young men like him, arrived in London, fresh off the Empire Windrush from Jamaica. They were there to help rebuild England after the Blitz and the end of the Second World War. We see this story mainly from Lawrie’s point of view, so we see the racism, the way he was turned away from jobs because the other men wouldn’t want to work with ‘his type’. It was a shock to see the use of the ‘n’ word so often, and the blatant hostility towards Lawrie and his friends.

This story isn’t just about that though. There’s a bit of a love story and a mystery to solve as well. Lawrie makes an upsetting discovery, and rather than being thanked for it, he is immediately under suspicion. Again, solely down to the colour of his skin.

I loved this book. It gave me an insight into the lives of the Windrush generation as they began their lives here. Lawrie and his girlfriend Evie were great characters to read about - I WANTED all to be well for them, as I did for the other Jamaican characters, if I’m honest.

If this is Louise Hare’s first book, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my copy of this wonderful book.
  
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TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Season of Hope in Books

Feb 24, 2021  
Season of Hope
Season of Hope
Carol James | 2020
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://travelingwife4life.wordpress.com/2020/08/15/season-of-hope-celebrate-lit">my link text</a>
Are you ready for a heart-searching, feel good, happily-ever-after type story? Well, then this is a book you definitely need to read! This is my first time reading a book by Carol James and I enjoyed the way she developed her story.

From the start, there is great tension and emotions between the characters without them being over the top or dramatic. They feel natural given the situation presented. Both Hope and her son were cute characters and I liked the conflicts between Hope and Josh. I felt they were very likely to happen to real people. The only thing I did not like was the way Hope’s son Mattie phrased things at times, it seemed like Carol James was trying to hard to get him to sound like a kid. Otherwise, I thought the characters were very well done.

The setting of this book takes place in a little Texas town near Fort Worth! I love all things Texas, and this was a fun addition to the storyline since I knew a couple of the places mentioned. The time period is set in the 1970’s right after the Vietnam War. I thought it was a unique timeline that I have not read very many books about. I truly enjoyed it.

I give the book 4 out of 5 stars for the creative characters, the interesting setting, and for the very prevalent aspects of finding faith and forgiveness.
 
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.