Random House Transworld 1 April 2021 My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book |
Wednesday 31 March 2021
π Book Review ~ Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
Tuesday 30 March 2021
π Blog Tour ~ Let in the Light by Gerard Nugent
Delighted to host a stop on this blog tour
Stormlight Press January 2021 My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
Monday 29 March 2021
π Featured Book of the Month and Blog Tour ~ Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
Fig Tree 25 March 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of the book and the invitation to take part on the blog tour |
π My thoughts...
Middle-aged twins, Jeannie and Julius Seeder, live an isolated life, scraping out a meagre existence in their rural location, which is made so much worse by the sudden death of their mother. With their main support gone, Jeannie and Julius are left floundering in world which doesn't understand their naivety, or sense their total lack of awareness. Jeannie is the weaker of the twins and yet it is her powerful narrative which relates what happens to them when their world tumbles down around them, and when old secrets, so carefully hidden, threaten to destroy everything they rely on to survive.
Unsettled Ground is a disturbing read and whilst beautifully focused on what is happening in the present, there are hints back to a time when the twins were much younger and the story of a family tragedy which had far reaching effects on all their lives. The strength of the story lies with this author's uncanny ability to make the ordinary into something extraordinary and in creating Jeannie and Julius Seeder she gives us characters who are so engulfing that even when you move away from their story, you still wonder what is going to happen next for them.
There's a deep underlying sadness to the story which is difficult to move away from, and the confining and secluded nature of Jeannie's life, in particular, makes for emotional reading and yet there is also hope in the twins' shared love of music, Jeannie's tender loving care of her garden, and in Julius's strength of character when courage is needed. My heart broke into so many pieces, that there were times when I had to stop reading in order to make a restorative cup of tea so I could gather my thoughts.
Unsettled Ground is a strong and forceful family drama which made me feel quite angry at the injustice of what happened to Jeannie and Julius in the aftermath of their mother's death, and yet there were also times when the story was so tenderly compassionate, and so beautifully observed, that it, quite simply, took my breath away.
The book has been long listed for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021. It would be a worthy winner and that's why I am delighted to make Unsettled Ground my featured book for April.
About the Author
Sunday 28 March 2021
π΄Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Ann Victoria Roberts
Mantle 2021 |
Saturday 27 March 2021
πHist Fic Saturday ~ The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
On Hist Fic Saturday Let's go back to ...1831 |
Hodder&Stoughton 2018 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book |
Friday 26 March 2021
π Blog Tour ~ You Let Me Go by Eliza Graham #Giveaway
Delighted to host one of today's Blog Tour stops
Lake Union 25 March 2021 My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of this book and the invitation to the blog tour |
Thursday 25 March 2021
π Review ~ Her Almost Perfect Husband by Mary Rensten
Scriptoria January 2021 My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
Wednesday 24 March 2021
π Book Review ~ Double Identity by Alison Morton
Pulcheria Press January 2021 My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
Tuesday 23 March 2021
π Book Review ~ A Mirror Murder by Helen Hollick
Taw River Press January 2021 (Jan Christopher Mystery Series #1) My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
Monday 22 March 2021
π Blog Tour ~ The Spirit of the Horse by Pam Billinge
Thrilled to host today's blog tour stop
Blackbird Books 16 March 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of the book and the invitation to the blog tour |