Tribute to Maeve Binchy

The author Maeve Binchy has sadly died, but her story telling legacy will live on in her many books. I think that she is the only author whose books have kept my interest over the past four decades.



The first book I read in 1982 was Light A Penny Candle





In 1990 Circle of Friends






In 2000 Scarlet Feather




In 2008 Heart and Soul




Picking up a Maeve Binchy novel was like having a chat with your favourite aunty - she was wise and witty and full of warm common sense.

I shall miss her books.

Review ~ The Sister Brothers by Patrick deWitt

This book is so far out of my comfort zone that I wasn't sure whether I would be able to find anything in it to enjoy, but I am pleased to say that I absolutely loved the whole of the book from start to finish.
I read it quickly over the space of a couple of days, and soon became enthralled in the story of Eli and Charlie Sisters.

Hired by the mysterious Commadore, Charlie and Eli are charged with tracking down and killing the eccentrically named Hermann Kermit Warm, but in order to do so they must travel to the gold fields of Sacramento. The spirit of the wild west and the desolation of the gold fields was perfectly done - you could sense the greed and the squalor. The overwheming desperation as men fought to survive in a tough and often unforgiving wilderness.There is an abundance of dark and drear humour, and yet there are also flashes of brilliance, and some genuine laugh out loud funny moments.My only cringe moments came with the bouts of violence and animal cruelty, this sort of thing doesn't sit easy with me, but I can fully understand why is was there - it did fit in with the story and wasn't gratuitously violent -

Both Charlie and Eli, whilst never likeable characters, do get under your skin, and in the end , despite their arrogance and irascibility, I ended the book feeling a certain amount of sympathy for both of them.

It's also one of my favourite book covers ever !!!



The Sister Brothers get a  5 ***** review from me ... I think Jaffa is reserving judgement on this one !

Simply Great Britain...

London 2012

From the pastoral idyll of Thomas Hardy's England, through to the dark Satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution, the whole of the Olympic opening ceremony captured the quirkiness and eccentricity of this green and pleasant land.Where else could you get Bean, Bond, Beckham, and the Queen all on the same venue.

Certainly, there was the power and the glory of the early days of the British Empire, but there was also humility in the way we honour our fallen heroes, and give credence to our history, to our love of literature, to music, and sheer unadulterated drama.


The theme of the Olympic games is to inspire a generation, and as the hopes and aspirations of a proud nation rose with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, the 205 copper petals representing the competing nations glowed like a beacon of hope.



Made me proud to be British.

Photos - 2012 Olympics | London 2012

Let the Games begin...

Jaffa and I are excited that the start of London 2012 has arrived...

Proudly Supporting Team GB

Friday Recommends..

Friday again, and it's time for my choice of book for Friday recommends...

This is an exciting book blog hop that book bloggers can take part in once a week to share with their followers, the books that they most recommend reading!

The rules for Friday Recommends are:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.

Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My Friday Recommended read

 is 

Spirit of Lost Angels

by

Liza Perrat

My thanks to Newbooks magazine for a copy of this book to read and review.

Triskele Books 2012

Born into a life of poverty and despair, Victoire Charpentier’s early life was fraught with tragedy and social degradation. When both her parents fall victim to hopelessness and ignorant superstition she has no choice but to make her own way in the world. Leaving behind the traumatic memories of her small village of Lucie-sur-Vionne, and comforted by her mother’s bone angel talisman, Victoire makes her way to Paris, and to a new beginning as a domestic servant. Here she is introduced to the debauched and selfish world of the pre-revolutionary French aristocrat.

Eighteenth century France is brought vividly to life in this dramatic recreation of Paris in the lead up to the storming of the Bastille. The writing is superb, the sights, sounds and smells of a city in turmoil is brought vividly to life, and the descriptive passages are so colourfully described, you almost feel like you have to dodge the carriages, and step away from the excrement laden streets.

Liza Perrat has an undoubted skill with words, the story grips your imagination from the very start of the novel, and the momentum doesn’t stop until Victoire’s story is completed. The meticulousness of the research and the vivid recreation of the historical period make this a fascinating book for those people who enjoy well written and decisive historical novel.

Spirit of Angels is the first in a series of books, coming next in the L'Auberge des Anges series is  ~ Where the Wolfsangel Treads. Definitely one for my ever expanding wishlist...

5*****

Wishlist Wednesday...

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post

My Wishlist Wednesday book 

 is

The House of Velvet and Glass

by

Katherine Howe 

Penguin 13 September 2012

Published in April 10 by Voice/Hyperion




Synopsis from Goodreads

Katherine Howe, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestsellerThe Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.

Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.

But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.

From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of theTitanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist that will leave readers breathless.

I thoroughly enjoyed Katherine Howe's previous novel ~ The Lost Book of Salem ~ so I have high expectations for The House of Velvet and Glass.

Published 2009 Penguin Books

Review ~ Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

My thanks to NetGalley and Little. Brown and Company for a pre publication e-galley edition of this book to read and  review.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Tigers in Red Weather is a beautifully descriptive novel, which captures the very essence of family secrets, betrayal and intrigue. Told in a sequence of five separate narratives, by five very different narrators, the story of the family at Tiger House is gradually exposed.

Much of the story takes place at the family’s summer home, Tiger House, at Martha’s Vineyard on the East Coast of America. The languor of the post war era is beautifully captured, and yet it is the sharp observation of family intimacies, and guarded relationships which lie at the very heart of the novel. With clever manipulation the author has managed to get under the skin of her characters, Nick and Helena, both young brides at the end of WW2, are discontented and disappointed, whilst war veteran, Hughes, Nick’s husband, seems a genuinely nice man, but lacks passion. Moving forward in time, the children of Nick and Helena, Daisy and Ed, each with their own character flaws, attempt to make sense of complex family secrets.

Without doubt, this is an impressive debut novel. The lyrical quality of the writing is matched by skilful time management, and even though the story moves forwards and backwards in time, there is no loss of momentum. The interwoven narratives blend together flawlessly, and with great skill the author manages to convey a fascinating insight into complex family relationships.


I enjoyed it, and look forward to more books from this talented author.

Published 17 July 2012 Little, Brown and Company

To be published in the UK by Picador August 2 2012

Friday Recommends

Friday again, and it's time for my choice of book for Friday recommends...

This is an exciting book blog hop that book bloggers can take part in once a week to share with their followers, the books that they most recommend reading!

The rules for Friday Recommends are:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.

Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

I can't believe that  Friday Recommends comes round so quickly - my book this week

is 

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 

(Wolf Hall #2)

Published 10 May Fourth Estate

I featured Bring up the Bodies on Wishlist Wednesday in April and knew it was only a matter of weeks before I had my own copy to read.

My 5 ***** Review

" His children are falling from the sky "

This worthy sequel to Wolf Hall begins in 1535, with the flying of falcons, which are ironically named after the dead female members of Thomas Cromwell’s family. Cromwell, now secretary to King Henry VIII is  flying high; he has the eye and ear of the King and with wit, verve and perspicacity, Cromwell manipulates his way around Henry’s kingdom. Meanwhile,whilst Henry’s amour is focused on Wolf Hall and the quietly simpering Jane Seymour, the angular beauty of Anne Boleyn, no longer queen of Henry’s heart, waltzes shrew like down the corridors of power. However, he who seeks to serve the King must also pander to the whim of an increasingly belligerent and unfulfilled monarch. Never a shrinking violet, Cromwell, glides insidiously as a reptile, until he has gleaned the information he needs in order to keep Henry satisfied. For whatever Henry desires, he gets, even if it means the destruction of those around him, and as Cromwell begins to systematically prepare his case against Anne Boleyn and the men of her court, no stone will be left unturned, and no element of tortured pondering will go unnoticed.

Bring up the Bodies is written in vivid detail from Thomas Cromwell’s Machiavellian perspective, as with his legion of spies, he infiltrates the board rooms and bedrooms of those at the very epicentre of Tudor supremacy. Divided into two distinct parts, the story progresses from September 1535, through to summer 1536, and grows increasingly darker and more sinister as the story progresses. Even though Anne Boleyn’s eventual demise is widely known, it is Mantel’s unique angle on the construction of the case that creates such a vivid rendition of this story. In many respects Bring up the Bodies is much lighter editorially than Wolf Hall, yet the writing is just as demanding, however,  occasionally Mantel goes off tangent, only to pull you back with an amazing turn of phrase, or sequence of events. I found myself going back and forth to re -read parts of the narrative, just because her phrasing is so good, and because I wanted to pick up on some hidden nuance that had previously gone unnoticed. Hilary Mantel has the uncanny ability to convey power, deception and intrigue in equal measure; her skill with words and her manipulation of the narrative is inspiring, and yet with quiet dignity, and meticulous research, she blends fact with fiction, and encourages the reader to watch as the accusations into Anne’s alleged adultery descend into tragedy.

Hilary Mantel has undoubtedly created a worthy sequel in Bring up the Bodies. The portrayal of Thomas Cromwell as a likeable and brilliant Tudor celebrity works incredibly well, and as always the Tudor court is displayed as a scheming hotchpotch of rivalry, intrigue and sexual mischief.

Mantel has provided a strong foundation for the culmination of this story in the third book in the trilogy. I can’t wait to read it.

Hilary Mantel CBE is the author of several books.

       

Wishlist Wednesday...

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

My Wishlist Wednesday book this week


The Falcons of Fire and Ice ~ Karen Maitland

Published 12 August

Synopsis from Goodreads


The year is 1539 and the Portuguese Inquisition ushers in an era of torture and murder. When the Royal Falconer is imprisoned on false charges to remove him from the inner circle of the boy King, the Inquisitors strike an impossible deal with his daughter, Isabela. Bring back two rare white falcons from Iceland within the year or her father dies.
Meanwhile in Iceland, a menacing stranger appears to have possessed the soul of a woman chained up in a volcanic cave and is threatening to destroy the community. The woman's twin sister, Eydis, is desperate to intervene but vivid dreams suggest the twins' only salvation lies with a young girl from afar, travelling in search of white feathers ...

Isabela's quest might hold a more crucial purpose then she could ever imagine and there are those among her travel companions who have an interest in doing her harm. But in order to fulfil her destiny, first she must reach Iceland's shores. Alive.



Karen Maitland has been one of my favourite authors since 2008, when her book Company of Liars took me to a fantasy world of history and mystery. She writes with chilling originality and transports you  to long forgotten worlds, when superstition was rife and danger lurked on every corner.

I've heard mixed reviews from those who have read early reading copies....oh to be so lucky .... about Falcons of Fire and Ice, but that won't stop me from reading the book and making up my own mind.

Publication date is written in my book diary...yes I really do have a book diary !!

Let reading brighten your summer....

 

Author Interview

It is with great pleasure that Jaffa and I introduce you to the author and illustrator

of 

Impeccable Petunia Part 1 : Claws, Paws, Feathers and Jaws

Katie Christine (Author), Jonathan Edward (Illustrator)

Katie and Jonathan -  A huge welcome to both of you to jaffareadstoo, and thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few of our questions.

Where did you get the inspiration for Impeccable Petunia?

There's a line in the first chapter, "Science tells us that chickens can see many more colors than humans." It was from an article Jon, my husband and illustrator, read one day and that's where I got the idea. It started as a little one-page short story and grew from there.


Inspiration for the series comes from everywhere: people I know, places I've been, my animals, our house, our garden, books, movies, tv shows. In one scene, Macy, the cat, decides the harass the chickens by shaking the chicken coop. The impetus for that scene came from our little kitten, Penelope, who would hurl herself onto the cat scratch post, cling with her claws and proceed to shake it side to side while yowling at the top of her lungs.




What comes first – the story, or the illustrations?


The story comes first and then the illustrations when there's a pretty solid manuscript to work from. Jon has really brought everything to life! I have ideas for all the characters in my mind's eye and he's managed to capture them perfectly.

Do you write books for yourself, or other people?

Both. I write stories that I would like to read and hope that other people would like to come along on the journey with me. I try to make things as straightforward as possible while keeping a little mystery. I love writing these characters and I hope readers will enjoy them too.

Your writing appears to be very intuitive – which authors have inspired you? 

Growing up, my favorite books were Matilda, by Roald Dahl and A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. I loved powerful stories painted with vivid imagery and laced with whimsy and humor. As an adult, I've most enjoyed books by Gore Vidal, James Clavell and Helen Fielding.


I've also found inspiration from writers in other mediums. I think very highly of Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing etc). 

The Illustrations are beautiful – what gave you the inspiration?
Those are all Jon's work, so I'll let him answer:

The random factoid (chickens can see more colors than humans) that inspired the series as a whole also inspired the illustrations. I wanted images that were very bright and colorful, regardless of the dark thematic turns. My idea was to incorporate a sense of realism to help anchor the story in a believable reality balanced by cartoonish facial expressions to convey all the-bigger-than-life emotions that the chickens and cat experience.

As the story is about the animals, the point of view of is almost always close to the ground so the vantage is always from an animal's perspective. You never see anything of Silkie, the main human character in the story, aside from her shins. I lifted this idea from the old Muppet Babies tv cartoon where you only saw the Nanny's shoes and striped socks. 

Which children’s book do you wish you had written / illustrated, and why?

I have always been in awe of the book Animalia by Graeme Base. The little poems for each letter of the Alphabet are very clever and its illustrations are like none other.



Can you tell me about any future projects?

We're furiously working on the next installment of Impeccable Petunia which will be called, A Tale of Two Tails.

Katie and Jonathan  - Thank you so much, it has been an honour to have you visit jaffareadstoo. 

We wish you continued success with Impeccable Petunia, and look forward with great anticipation, the publication of A Tale of Two Tales.

Review ~ Impeccable Petunia by Katie Christine (Author) and Jonathan Edward (Illustrator)

Jaffa and I were given the opportunity to read and review this delightful children's story about an intrepid hen called Petunia, and a wonderful cat named Macy.

Katie Christine; 1 edition (12 May 2012)

My thanks to the author for my e-copy of this book

From Amazon

Follow Petunia, the backyard hen, through a hazardous world as she discovers hidden talents, a mischievous cat named Macy and encounters all things feathered and furious.

Our 5***** Review

Petunia is a chicken with a heart as big as the flower garden she nourishes. Low down in the pecking order, she is never going to be accepted by the chicken hierarchy, but then an unlikely saviour in the form of Macy the cat enters her garden, and soon Petunia’s life is turned completely upside-down.

This beautifully written and delightfully illustrated little book captures the imagination, and explores some quite dark themes – there is loneliness, bullying and despair, but there is also friendship and loyalty, and some genuine laugh out loud funny moments, as Macy and Petunia take on the wrath of the chicken supremo, and her cluster of conspirator chickens.

Aimed primarily at the children’s story market, Impeccable Petunia is one of those lovely books which can be appreciated by both children, and adult readers. The fundamental themes of friendship, loyalty, fraternity, and equality, are portrayed in a sympathetic and understandable way, and the stunning illustrations really bring the story to life.

I loved it, and have no hesitation in recommending this book on jaffareadstoo.

Do visit Impeccable Petunia to see the illustrations - they are simply stunning....

Jaffa's favourite illustration is Cat's in the Kitchen - I have seen that expression on Jaffa's face so many times, when he has been in the wrong place, at the wrong time !

Jo's favourite illustration is Chicken Inquisition - I love the expression on the chicken's face - reminds me of the chickens we kept when I was a child - and I was entrusted with the task of collecting the eggs in my little wicker basket. 

Since my babies are now 28 and 24 - I could so easily have missed out on this lovely story - Jaffa and I really enjoyed it . As you can imagine Jaffa is looking forward to part 2 - A Tale of Two Tails....

~****~

The Walk in my Week..

As we had a rare day of sunshine in the North West yesterday, I decided to take advantage of the better weather on St Swithin's Day, and took a Woodland walk over the fields.

The wild flower meadow was ablaze with
Poppies, Cornflower,Catsear and Camomile

A Beautiful Marsh Orchid nestling amongst the nettles and bracken

This hidden pond was a very peaceful place

An arbor of trees bathed in sunshine

And finally one for my Outlander friends - a field of Thistles !

Review ~ The Crusader by Kathryn Le Veque

Taking advantage of a recent Kindle freebie offer, I cam across a new - to me - historical romance writer - Kathryn Le Veque appears to have an extensive catalogue of work.




Intrigued by the prospect of a time travel / dual time narrative , I duly downloaded Kingdom Come , only to find that it was book two in the Crusader series. I never like to read a series out of turn, so I researched and found book one....written in 2001, and thankfully also on Kindle..

The Crusader

by

Kathryn Le Veque

Synopsis from Amazon.co.uk

Along the ancient Pilgrim Trail traveled by countless crusaders from Europe to The Holy Land, Dr. Rory Osgrove is in charge of her first archaeological dig. A Biblical Archaeologist by degree, her target is a holy relic of unimaginable power. But what she discovers instead is the tomb of a long-buried Crusader, one of the thousands who came to this desert land in search of glory and riches. Deterred from her original goal, Rory is fascinated by the English knight and the journal buried with him. Reading the pages of the ancient diary, she comes to know a man of power and honor, entrusted by Richard the Lionheart with a mission of astonishing importance. Sir Kieran Hage was no ordinary Crusader and, as Rory discovers, nor is he really dead. Eight hundred years later, Kieran’s mission must be completed, but there is an ancient evil that follows him and is still determined to see him fail. Now Rory begins the adventure of a lifetime, where time has no meaning, where honor is strength, and where only true love endures.

My Thoughts

Despite the horrendous cover, and a few transcription anomalies within the digital copy - I really enjoyed this quest to find the holy relic.The burgeoning attachment between Rory and Sir Kieran is delightfully handled and as the book is largely set in modern times, it adds a new twist to the conventional time slip novel. There are times when you have to suspend belief - but then isn't that what story telling is all about - a means to take you out of the here and now, and take you to places you have never been before.

This is a light and easy romantic adventure, with likeable characters and an interesting plot - it works for me every time.



I am delighted to add the now updated cover of The Crusader 

I'm looking forward to reading the next instalment in this delightfully romantic series.

Kingdom Come

November 2010

It reminded me of Knight in Shining Armour by Jude Deveraux 

Wishlist Wednesday

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

My Wishlist Wednesday book this week

The Girl on the Stairs

by

Louise Welsh

Expected Publication August 2nd by John Murray

Synopsis from Louise Welsh's website



Jane Logan is six months pregnant and has moved to Berlin to live with her long-term lover, rich banker, Petra. The women's chic new apartment is in a trendy part of the city but Jane finds herself increasingly uneasy there. She conceives a dread of the derelict backhouse across the courtyard and begins to suspect something sinister is happening in the flat next door, where gynaecologist Alban Mann lives with his teenage daughter Anna. Petra believes her lover's pregnancy is affecting her judgement, but Jane is increasingly convinced that all is not well. Her decision to turn detective has devastating results when her own past collides with the past of the building and its inhabitants.


Louise Welsh is one of my favourite contemporary female authors. She is the talented author of five novels.

     

2002                              2005                         2006                       2010                     2012

Review - Gold by Chris Cleave

My Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for a digital copy to read and review.

Gold

by

Chris Cleave

Published 3rd July 2012 by Simon and Schuster

Synopsis from Goodreads

Gold is the story of Zoe and Kate, world-class athletes who have been friends and rivals since their first day of Elite training. They’ve loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, consoled, gloried, and grown up together. Now on the eve of London 2012, their last Olympics, both women will be tested to their physical and emotional limits. They must confront each other and their own mortality to decide, when lives are at stake: What would you sacrifice for the people you love, if it meant giving up the thing that was most important to you in the world?

My 5***** Review

In this year of the London 2012 Olympics, it is refreshing to read a story about athletes that focuses not only on their drive and ambition, but also concentrates on the human cost of this determination on families, as the athletes pursue their dream of glory.

In Gold, Chris Cleave has with his usual skill, and dexterity with words, managed to capture the strong competitive bond that exists between athletes, and has developed this into a believable and emotional story of single minded ambition, juxtaposed against the fragility of their personal life. With interesting insight, the story moves between time frames, and gradually piece by piece we begin to understand the bond that binds the three athletes, Zoe, Kate and Jack. The sections that highlight their competitive streak is fascinating, and heart stopping, and yet it their personal moments that stay with you, and this fine attention to detail will have you wanting to read on to the story’s final conclusion.

With no particular interest in sport other than as an armchair spectator, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. The book is very easy to read, however, it not an easy book to forget, and even now after finishing the story I find myself returning to the characters, and almost wish I could watch them compete in the velodrome, in the impending London 2012 Olympic games.



Chris Cleave is the talented author of Incendiary and Little Bee

2005

2008

Review - Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain

  

Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating - he loved Sylvie

Emergency room physician, Olivia Simon puts her reputation on the line when she attempts to save the life of gunshot victim,  Annie O'Neill - little does she know that this very action to save a life may well cause her own downfall.

Diane Chamberlain has created story of love , lies and deceit, which threaten the very fabric of lives and which will tear away all hope of redemption - leaving behind shattered lives, broken dreams and broken promises.

Beautifully, and emotionally written from the very start , the story pulls you in, and doesn't let go until you have finished. It's been a good few books since my eyes ached with weariness from wanting to read on - A Keeper of the Light, is one those books that stays with you long after the last page is turned.

I'm delighted that this book has been reissued along with books two and three in the trilogy -  I just can't wait to read them!

Book #2 Kiss River Out now

Book#3 Her Mother's Shadow 2012

Author like for like Jodie Picoult, Ann Tyler, Anita Shreve