A worn out jaffa...

Jaffa is quite worn out and has taken to one of his favourite pastimes ...

Whenever I feel a bit down in spirit, I always turn to reading, and my book choices so far this week have been like comfort blankets ...good writing, easy story lines, and with the added joy of becoming so immersed in a book, that you are able forget what's going on around you...

Here are my current reads ....

The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry

That Summer Affair by Sarah Challis

Missing You by Louise Douglas

And two new books in today to be added to my tbr mountain of books:

Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

Playing the Game by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Latest reviews...

Jaffa and I have been silently absent over the last few days - I've been feeling under the weather, so jaffa donned his best Florence Nightingale outfit and played nursemaid. He's never far from my side, and is such a comfort - like a furry hot water bottle...

So here are our reviews of books we have managed to read since we last got together..

Our History week proved to be a great success..we went from 13C England to Elizabethan London, and from ancient Rome to the early 20C brothels of London, Paris and New Orleans.....and all without leaving our armchair- such is the tremendous power of reading.

A huge Thank You to all these great authors for creating wonderful escapism.

The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating : 4paws - he's not keen on witches !

Set in the Norfolk marshes with more than enough Gothic gloom to feed the soul, the dark and dirty 13C is brought gloriously to life in this third novel by Karen Maitland. Beautifully crafted from the beginning, and teeming with superstition, this story transports you back to the brutal days in our history, when dark and Godless forces roamed freely, and violent crimes were accepted without question.
I have total admiration for an author who can recreate a world so entirely that as you read, you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and when you are forced back to the 21C ,the smell of wood smoke still lingers in the air, and you can almost imagine you are still there......

Loved every word.

Prince by Rory Clements

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
jaffa's rating: 5paws

This third book in the series is a rather more complex tale about investigator, John Shakespeare.Set against the machinations of the Elizabethan court, and with a rich array of characters, this story keeps you enthralled from the beginning, and has enough historical integrity to keep the book true to its time and place.
I enjoyed the intricacies of the plot, and look forward to the next instalment in John Shakespeare's eventful life..

The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating : 5paws - he loved the fighting !!

This is a well crafted and rather violent story set in ancient Rome, which follows the fortunes of four unlikely characters who are bound together by accidents of fate. From the brutal world of the gladiator, to the opulence and decadence of a high class brothel, this story simply abounds with verve and gusto.

Can't wait to read the next two books in the series.

Belle by Lesley Pearse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating 3paws - not his sort of novel - made him blush !

Fifteen year old Belle witnesses a murder, and is abducted and sold into prostitution.Her journey takes her from the seedy world of a Parisian brothel, to the opulence of a New Orleans pleasure house, but through it all Belle remains true to herself, and shows a liveliness of spirit that belies her surroundings.


I've not read many books by Lesley Pearse but I have always enjoyed the ones I have read, and this latest offering is no exception.I am pleased that there will be a sequel next year entitled "Belle's War".

I would highly recommend all these books to my friends.

Book for today...

With very many thanks to my friend Elaine - jaffa and I have been given the opportunity to read the third book by Rory Clements - Prince

I really enjoyed the first two in this series of books set during the reign of Elizabeth I, and featuring John Shakespeare in his role as investigator, and Tudor crime solver. The books are usually gloriously atmospheric, managing to convey just the right amount of mystery, whilst keeping the historical integrity intact. I think that Rory Clements is a very talented author, and this series of books stacks up very well when compared to C J Sansom's excellent Shardlake series.

Now that I've finished the wonderful The Gallows Curse - I'm looking forward to stepping from the medieval age to the Tudor - in the turn of a page.....

Wow....!!

Set in the Norfolk marshes with more than enough Gothic gloom to feed the soul, the dark and dirty 13C is brought gloriously to life in this third novel by Karen Maitland. Beautifully crafted from the beginning, and teeming with superstition, this story transports you back to the brutal days in our history, when dark and Godless forces roamed freely, and violent crimes were accepted without question.

I have total admiration for an author who can recreate a world so entirely that as you read, you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and when you are forced back to the 21C ,the smell of wood smoke still lingers in the air, and you can almost imagine you are still there......

.....and I'm only half way through the novel........jaffa is reading this with his head in his paws - he's not sure about the 13C- too much witchcraft going on ......

Hurrah for Libraries...

I have a great respect for my local library, and sincerely hope that the outreach service that visits my local area every two weeks is allowed to continue. I guess in these dark days of local government cutbacks , it would be all too easy to dispense with this vital service - but it would cause such upset...particularly for those who can't travel very far, or who can't afford to buy the books they want to read...

My aim is always to borrow at least one book, and by ordering current books I keep the stock circulating.....!

My books borrowed today are..

• The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland - I'm a huge fan of this talented writer, and have devoured her previous two books - reviews from my book loving friends are good - so I think I shall make this a priority read.

• Belle by Leslie Pearse - I have only heard good things about this book, and whilst I haven't read too many by this author, I am looking forward to this one.

• Catching the Tide by Judith Lennox - I love her books -they are great escapism - huge family sagas that hold your attention from the first page.

• Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simondson - I love books about books, and this one has had good reviews - I'm looking forward to reading it.

History week...

As the weather appears be settling into a rainy sort of week, it will be my chance to read a fine selection of historical fiction - and there's nothing that Jaffa and I love more than curling up with a good history book, lost in the mist of time.

Jaffa loves a good Roman adventure, and I have a real treat in store for him with the first of Ben Kane's trilogy...The Forgotten Legion...but we kick off the week with a lovely interpretation of the story of Elizabeth of York, the mother of Henry VIII, and Queen of Henry VII....The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth - I started reading this last night, and am finding it an easy read, with some marked similarities to Philippa Gregory's The White Queen - I guess there's only so many times this story can be told without it appearing repetitive...

I can see from Sandra worth's website that she has written other Historical novels, but this is my first read of her books - so time will tell if I want to read any more....

Weekly Reviews...

Well, well......I only started this blog last week and I have really enjoyed putting words to my thoughts - Jaffa and I have read 5 really good books this week...

Here's what we thought of them.....


The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating:5paws

Lexie and Innes - Ted and Elina - are very different people, living in different eras, yet each are bound together in a story that slowly unfolds with ultimate precision. Lexie and Innes try to make their way in 60's Bohemian London, whilst modern day Ted and Elina need to discover how to survive the exhaustion of new parenthood.

At first you don't quite know how the story will come together, but with Maggie O'Farrell's usual assurance, the gulf between these two worlds is bridged, with an ending that leaves you wanting more.

I devoured the book in a day or so - simply because I could't put it down - this is Maggie O'Farrell at her best.

Crimson China by Betsy Tobin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating: 4paws

When the tragedy of the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers hit the headlines in 2004, it caused a media furore. This account imagines what might have happened to a survivor of that horrific incident. Cockle picker Wen, is found washed up on Morecambe beach. His unlikely rescuer is alcoholic Angie, who is besieged by her own demons. Together, this unlikely couple begin to put each other back together again.
Wen's sister Lili believes him to be dead, and arrives in London in order to come to terms with his death, thus begins a catalogue of events that will have catastrophic consequences.
Told in a sympathetic manner, this story explores what it feels like to be a misplaced person, and how the overwhelming need for survival prevails, and that the power of love, however unlikely, will overcome all things.
I enjoyed this story and thought that Betsy Tobin captured the spirit perfectly, and brought some fascinating characters to life.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating: 5paws


This tense, psychological thriller hits the ground running with a bleak tale of missing children. When similarities turn up in cases that are separated by twenty two years, the police are just as mystified as their predecessors at the lack of clues. It’s only when psychoanalyst Frieda Klein becomes suspicious, that alarm bells start to ring. What then follows is a tight psychological game between the perpetrator and the police.
There is an abundance of characters from the eccentric, to the downright creepy, all are seamlessly woven into the plot, and soon become an integral part of the story. Klein’s character is quirkily different, and at times she seems to be more of a hindrance to the police than a help, but her eccentricity is part of her charm , and this is certainly worth exploring in future novels, which I’m sure will follow this excellent start. The conclusion is well thought out, and definitely had the “oh, my goodness” factor. This is definitely one of those books that I shall recommend to my friends.


The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating: 4paws


Calli and Petra are best friends. When they go missing within hours of each other, their families assume foul play is the cause of their disappearance. However, the search for the girls uncovers much more than two missing children.
The characters are allowed their own voice in separate chapters, and each is a clever mixture of adult, and child. These accounts work well in order to draw all the strands of the story together.
Ultimately, the story is about the nuances of family life, and the secrets that can so easily just hover below the surface of normality.
I enjoyed it, and look forward to more by this author.

Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating: 4paws

Vida is 19, and needs a new heart, otherwise she will die. When a donor heart becomes available - Vida takes her chance at a new life, only to find that she experiences thoughts and feelings that may be coming from memories of the heart. Richard has lost his beloved wife, and yet made the painful decision to donate his dead wife's organs. He is confused and lonely in his loss, and yet finds himself irresistibly drawn to Vida, who is the new owner of his wife's heart.
Quite a heart warming story, no pun intended, this story explores the possibly of genetic memory in a very sensitive and utterly believable way - after a slow start, I rather enjoyed it.

The weekend's here...

My pick for the weekend is another book from my bookshelf - Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde, originally purchased way back in October 2010. I remember buying the book because it looked like a 'Jodi Picoult' type read - and as she's one of my favourite authors, I thought that it was worth trying. When I looked more closely at the author , I realised that I had read one of her previous books - Love in the Present Tense - which if I'm honest, I didn't really rate very highly - but everyone deserves a second chance -and I'm always in awe of anyone who has the ability to write and be published...

I'm fascinated by the concept of genetic memory, and the notion that our cells maintain our personality even when our organs are harvested and used as donor gifts....this book explores that concept - and fosters the belief that love is perpetual, and everlasting.

Jaffa's a bit bored with this one - and keeps falling asleep - time will tell if it picks up....

One from the shelf...

My shelf pick for today is The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf - which is a beautifully written suspenseful family drama. I've only had the book since December last year, so it's not lingered long in the pecking order. Some books can languish forever, before something calls me to read them - but this one had some good reviews when it was featured as part of the TV Book Club Summer choice in 2010....and although I'm not always influenced by TV book clubs, this one did seem quite enticing....

I've had a long and lazy reading day today - and have read about 2/3 of the book, it's one of those that I can't put down for long.

Jaffa is enjoying the whodunnit part - he's a great one for conjecture...and quite often wants to race to the end before I'm ready - he's not good at picking the culprit and very often gets sidetracked by other things, and if there's someone with a dog involved in the mystery -Jaffa always goes for them....we'll see !

My Life in Books...

Childhood : Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner: Published 1898

I was given a copy of this at primary school. It's beautifully written, and gloriously stmospheric- a real swashbuckling adventure of smugglers and contraband, secret passges, and ghostly crypts. Whenever I went on holiday to North Wales, I would imagine that I was in Moonfleet village, and on my way to the smuggler's caves.

Adolescence : Shabby Tiger by Howard Spring : Published 1934

I read this when I was 15, and had watched the series on Granada Television in 1973. I loved the fact that it was set in a northern town, and fell in love with the characters. I had a spell of reading this type of gritty, realism -mostly books set in the North of England - Rachel Rosing, Love on the Dole,The Road to Wigan Pier...but Shabby Tiger was my favourite.

Adulthood : A Thousand Spendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini : Published 2008

I was completely unaware of the effect that this book would have on me - I was stunned when I got to the end of it, and immediately re read the whole thing. It opened my eyes to the fear and oppression suffered by women, and made me appreciate all that I have....

My Guilty Pleasure: The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon : Cross Stitch (UK) - Published 1991

I fell in love with Jamie Fraser 20 years ago.

As long as Ms Gabalon writes - I will read ...my tatty copy of the original Cross Stitch is one of the books I would save if the house was on fire. And my personally signed copy of The Exile is a treasure..and was sent to me from the US by a very dear friend.

It's been really difficult to narrow down my reading life to just these few books, and sometimes my favourites can change on a whim.....but these are the ones that really do "stay with me "....

My own little world...

I love my world of books, and my world of books loves me ....

I always feel really privileged to be able to pick a book at random from my own bookshelves, and never feel that they are taking up too much space - with all genres covered from fact to fiction, chic lit to classics, I need never buy another book again ....but then I am perfectly weak willed, and never knowingly walk past a book store without a leisurely meander around. My idea of a good night out would be to get locked into a book store overnight - that way I could read snippets of all the books I still yearn to read....!

.....and I always remember - "Inside every book is an adventure waiting to happen"....

Blue Monday...

I was lucky enough to be given an early reading copy of Blue Monday to review for bookhuggers Real Readers - I've always been a fan of husband and wife combo Nicci French, and even more so when I won their entire back list in a book competition a couple of years ago!

So, when a lovely large size paperback popped through my letterbox, I couldn't wait to start reading it - Jaffa likes a good psychological thriller- and this one didn't disappoint either of us -

Here's what we thought of it......

"This tense, psychological thriller hits the ground running with a bleak tale of missing children. When similarities turn up in cases that are separated by twenty two years, the police are just as mystified as their predecessors at the lack of clues. It’s only when psychoanalyst Frieda Klein becomes suspicious, that alarm bells start to ring. What then follows is a tight psychological game between the perpetrator and the police.

There is an abundance of characters from the eccentric, to the downright creepy, all are seamlessly woven into the plot, and soon become an integral part of the story. Klein’s character is quirkily different, and at times she seems to be more of a hindrance to the police than a help, but her eccentricity is part of her charm , and this is certainly worth exploring in future novels, which I'm sure will follow this excellent start. The conclusion is well thought out, and definitely had the “oh, my goodness” factor. This is definitely one of those books that I shall recommend to my friends."

It was so good that I've already passed the book on to one of my book loving friends - should be popping through another letterbox any time soon.....

I'm always more than happy to share my books - it's what makes my world go round....

One click, two clicks...

After much soul searching at Christmas , I decided that I would have a Kindle - I know - I thought long and hard about how the move to e books would impact on the paper book industry- and I apologised in advance to all my books as they collectively took a sharp intake of breath - but after going over to the other side, I find that I enjoy Kindle reading just as much as paper reading, with the added advantage of keeping the font at just the right size for my ageing eyesight ....!

So, my pact to my Paper book shelf was two from you, and one from Kindle ---

SO..... my Kindle read this weekend is going to be Crimson China by Betsy Tobin- she's an author I first discovered way back in the early noughties, when I read the very excellent Bone House.

Crimson China, imagines the outcome of being a survivor of the Morecambe Bay Cockle Picking tragedy in 2004. I have a healthy respect for that particular coast,so I hope it's going to be an interesting read..... Jaffa loves anything to do with the sea, and is strangely soothed by one click, two clicks as I move the story along.....

One small step for a new blogger....

Since I eat , drink, and sleep thinking about books - I think I may as well try to write about books in a sort of half grown up way...

I'm currently reading Maggie O'Farrell's -The hand that first held mine - which I read half way through some time last year, and then completely ran out of time, and had to return it unfinished to the library....something I hate doing - I always feel a bit guilty when I can't finish a good book - although, I never feel guilty about leaving a bad book unfinished. I've now got my hands on a paperback copy of my own - so the Darjeeling is brewing, and Jaffa is poised and ready to find out what happens next...... !!

I love the dual time element to the story - and am completely enamoured of the new baby, and perfectly remember that absolutely exhausted feeling of caring for a newborn - I gave a sigh of relief when he finally got a name....

This time I'm determined to finish the book, after all it won the Costa Award for 2010 and deserves to be given its own place on my bookshelf.