Review: Frankie

Title: Frankie

Author: Graham Norton

Publisher: 10th September 2024 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand | Coronet

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Frankie Howe has lived a long life, her small flat is crammed full of art, furniture - and memories. Damian, her young carer, listens as she gradually tells him parts of her story - a story that takes us into a progressive, daring world of New York artists on the brink of fame, aspiring writers and larger-than-life characters.

Always just on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie is never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage. But the outsider holds certain advantages, sees things others don't, can influence without drawing attention. And when the map has been lost, it's anyone's guess where you may end up, or the accidental choices you find you have made. Frankie discovers that life is not always the one we hope for, or the one others expect of us.

Travelling from post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York by way of London, Frankie is an immersive, decade-sweeping novel about love, bravery and what it means to live a significant life.

My Thoughts

I previously read Graham Norton’s, Forever Home, and loved it! I had high hopes for his latest, Frankie - and I was not disappointed. The blurb sums it up beautifully: ‘Traveling from post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York by way of London, Frankie is an immersive, decade-sweeping novel about love, bravery and what it means to live a significant life.‘

‘My point is that there is nothing tragic in me knowing that the best days of my life are behind me, and’- she squeezed the scrapbook to her chest - ‘these were the happiest years of my life. I know that now, and I’m grand with that. I was lucky to have them.’

Graham Norton writes so well -  it is such a great story with memorable characters and is beautifully written with not only attention to detail but encapsulates all the themes of love and loss, family and friends. This is one the story of one woman’s journey and Graham draws the reader in until you think he is describing one of your friends. 

‘To know that you’ve known happiness, to know that you’ve been loved, there is a great comfort in that.’

Take a trip with older Frankie as she looks back on her life sharing her story with her carer. It sucks you in and you don’t realise how so until you are grieved that it has come to an end. You will laugh, you will cry but you will not soon forget the remarkable story of Frankie. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Masterpiece

Title: The Masterpiece 

Author: Belinda Alexandra

Publisher: 4th September 2024 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 419 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Post WWII

Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Paris 1946: A young woman, Eve Archer, has come to Paris to find Serge Lavertu, the father she never knew. But before Eve can find the courage to tell him who she is, Serge is arrested, accused of selling a French national treasure to Hitler during the war and murdering the original owner. Could Serge truly be guilty of treason or has he been set up?

Only one person knows the truth that might save Serge from execution: Kristina Belova, a beautiful Russian artist recently returned from a concentration camp and suffering amnesia. As Eve desperately prompts Kristina to recall what happened during the war, she uncovers a passionate love triangle and a secret about her own heritage that will change Eve's view of life forever.

My Thoughts

Eve Archer, has come to Paris to find the father she never knew only to discover he is accused of not only selling art to Hitler but murdering the original owners in order to do so. In Eve’s effort to prove her father’s innocence, she must not only take on Parisian society but also uncover the world of art pre and post war and an artist talented enough to defy them all. A betrayal of the highest order and the race again time to deliver justice. 

'It's a masterpiece, I said.

'It certainly deserves to be considered as one,' sighed Madame Bonne. 'Unfortunately, "masterpiece" is a title that seems reserved for works by male painters.’

With so many WWII stories out there for readers, it is essential that there is a key component that sets it apart from others. The focus and detail of the art world certainly ticks that criteria with the overall focus mainly on art from the 1920s through to the end of WWII. It gets especially engaging with art forgeries and resistance fighters in Paris during the Nazi invasion which makes for fascinating reading. Belinda has really done her homework in that department and it’s fascinating. Her attention to detail and accuracy is remarkable as the story delves into everything from aspiring artists pre world war, espionage and resistance during the occupation and then life and rebuilding post war, Belinda has done an amazing job in weaving storyline’s, plots and characters into a highly engaging story. It’s complex, it’s intriguing that all comes to a riveting and satisfying conclusion. 

‘It was then that she decided she would give each forgery a ‘time bomb'. She would make a tiny mark - a personal signature of her own - on all the forgeries so they could be identified as fake after the war.’

I have loved all Belinda’s books and she just seems to get better and better with each one. The Masterpiece being such a well rounded novel with love and loyalty, secrets and spies and a story that will sit with you long after turning the final page. I highly recommend this to not only historical fiction lovers but anyone who wants to get lost in a great story. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Title: Secrets of the Watch House

Author: Jenny Ashcroft

Publisher: 26/9 ebook, 29/1 paperback by HQ

Pages: 450 pages

Genre: mystery, historical fiction

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Cornwall, 1934.

Violet Ellis is living in the shadows of her father’s ruined reputation. So, when wealthy widower James Atherton offers her employment, she immediately begins the treacherous journey to his home on the remote Cornish island of Aoife’s Bay – despite the bone-chilling allegations surrounding his late wife Elizabeth’s death.

In James’s company, Violet begins to feel the love that has been missing all her life. But when anonymous letters start to plague the bay’s residents, threatening to expose what really happened to Elizabeth, Violet feels the hostility towards her grow. She has an unsettling sense of being watched in her new home, and as the mysteries of the island draw her in, she starts to fear she might never find a way out …

My Thoughts

You know how it goes. There are certain authors whose writing speaks to you, touches you, leaving its indelible mark. Jenny Ashcroft, for me, is one such author (she also happens to be one of the kindest and friendliest authors I have come across). I have read every book she has written and, without fail, each one has been five stars. Jenny has written tales that have taken me to such far off places as Egypt, Crete, India and closer to home here in Australia. Jenny writes with such heartfelt, pure emotion that it stays with the reader long after turning the final page. 

“Dad's always telling me the past's the past. That we got to let it go ...”

'And how has that gone for you?'

That is why I am so excited to share with you her latest release - ebook this September and paperback come January ‘25 - ‘Secrets of the Watch House’. This is a step in a slightly different direction for Jenny taking her readers to a remote Cornish island which will be filled with intrigue and suspense as seemingly strange and eerie events that play out. Always capable of writing memorable characters and places, Jenny now extends her storytelling to an atmospheric and haunting tale that will leave you guessing to the very end. 

‘There are only so many concessions you can extract from someone who has so little they care about losing.’

Secrets of the Watch House is a multilayered mystery that slowly builds with secrets revealed between the two narratives - Elizabeth in 1932 and Violet in 1934. It is a thrilling tale filled with intrigue, romance and bravery. Jenny is an incredible writer of historical fiction and now she has taken brilliant steps forward granting her readers an intimate experience of flawed and broken characters who may or may not be seeking redemption or is it revenge? You will have to read this wonderful book to find out. Highly recommended.

 

 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: By Any Other Name

Title: By Any Other Name

Author: Jodi Picoult

Publisher: 20th August 2024 by Allen & Unwin

Pages: 528 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Contemporary | Feminism

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.

My Thoughts

‘What do you say when you know your words will be your last? I was here. I mattered.’

I have long wanted to read a Jodi Picoult book and if By Any Other Name is an indication of her writing …. boy have I been missing out! What a read! This will easily be one of my top picks for 2024! Her blend of historical fiction and powerful feminism in both timelines was mind blowing. 

‘There was such magic in language. It could bring you to tears, pull you to the edge of your seat, make you sigh with relief. It could draw you out of the world when you needed to escape, and at other times hold up a looking glass to the world as it was.’

This is the story of two talented women from different eras but who face the same prejudices - they both hide behind someone else’s name in order for their work to be recognised. Yes, you read correctly, seemingly so little change from Elizabethan days to today - the same obstacles presenting themselves. The issues women face both then and now is front and centre in this amazing book. I admired both narratives. 

‘Emilia Bassano deserved to be more than a footnote in someone else’s history.’

Then there are the issues concerning William Shakespeare and whether he was capable (there is considerable evidence to suggest otherwise) of being the author of all his written works. The fact that in Jodi’s Endnotes, she predicts that she will receive much hate mail regarding this book is incredulous.  ‘For years we have been given a version of Shakespeare’s work through a patriarchal lens and it’s hard to unlearn that.’ “History,” she said, “is written by those in power … and when it came to history, absence of evidence was not evidence of absence.’

“I cannot write a play, Kit.” “You cannot put your name on a play. That is not the same thing.”

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s a great story, a long one but well worth the journey if you open both your heart and mind. It is so well constructed, it took my breath away. 

“Even the villains are the heroes of their own stories,” she said. “I do not know what that means,” Henry said, frowning. Emilia turned to him. “It means there is nothing either good or bad,” she said softly. “But thinking makes it so.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.