Review: The Secret Christmas Bookshop

Title:The Secret Christmas Bookshop 

Author: Cressida McLaughlin

Publisher: 24th October 2024 by HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction

Pages: 380 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

In a beautiful seaside village, where enormous blue skies and golden sand dunes stretch into forever, somebody is opening an unexpected gift…

When an anonymous parcel turns up at the shop where Sophie works, she’s surprised to find a beautifully bound classic novel, one that eerily seems to chime with her own story.

Enigmatic Harry lives in a crumbling manor house, spending solitary days patching up leaks in the roof. The subject of unwelcome gossip in the village since his return from London, he prefers to keep to himself.

As Christmas draws near and the gifting season arrives, Sophie attempts to get to the bottom of her mysterious parcel. Finding herself being drawn into Harry’s orbit, they are both about to learn that good stories can take on a life of their own …

My Thoughts

I enjoyed books from  Cressida’s Cornish Cream Tea series so it was inevitable that I would jump at the chance to read another of hers that contains a bookshop during the  Christmas period! This is a light and enjoyable read with a little romance and mystery set in a quaint English village. 

‘I’m seizing the moment,’ Harry said. ‘Not waiting for things to be perfect, but making the most of right now. Someone taught me that recently.’

There is a wonderful cast of characters from this small village that come together to prepare for Christmas. It is fun, however, Cressida delves a little deeper into themes of finding a home and the importance of family and community. I love how the gifted copy of Jane Eyre that Sophie mysteriously receives and reads, reflects both Jane and Sophie’s story with the latter drawing inspiration from this classic. 

‘I’m going to take chances and be braver. I’m going to live, rather than exist.’

So make yourself a nice cuppa and settle in for all the festive community feels! This is a tale about finding out where you belong in a beautiful village by the sea.

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: Into the Sunset

Title: Into the Sunset

Author: Mary Connealy

Publisher: 15th October 2024 by Bethany House Publishers

Pages: 288 pages

Genre: Christian | Historical Fiction | Romance

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

To finally escape the clutches of her controlling husband and the threat of being recommitted to an asylum, Ginny Rutledge enlists the help of her friends, Maeve O'Toole and Dakota Harlan. Fleeing their own tumultuous pasts, the group embarks on a journey to prove Ginny's sanity. However, as they confront the shadows they wish they could forget, danger looms from unexpected places.

Maeve grapples with her mother's impending remarriage and seizes a rare chance to escape her homestead--but that means reuniting with Dakota, the man she holds responsible for her father's death, who is caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful family. As the two of them navigate their shared history and a dangerous mission, Dakota is forced to confront his deepest fears and fight for the woman who has unwittingly captured his heart.

In this action-packed series finale, Mary Connealy delivers a riveting tale of danger, romance, and second chances on the Western frontier.

My Thoughts

The Western Light trilogy series by Mary Connealy has been fabulous. Each book may be read as a standalone, however, the experience is so much richer when you immerse yourself in this western drama from the outset. It has a little bit of something for everybody and it was wonderful to finish the tale that started out on the wagon trail ‘Chasing the Horizon’ (book 1) and now concluded with ‘Into the Sunset’ (book 3) 

I enjoyed returning to the ‘wild west’ to see through the tale that had begun on the wagon trail. Everything from catching up with much loved characters such as Beth and Jake, to a new romance developing between Maeve and Dakota. Yet, this story was so much more than just a romance. The challenges of starting a new life and even with towns developing, it was still a far cry from city living. 

The main focus of the story was seeing through what had begun in book one with Ginny having to prove her sanity in a court of law to be free from her controlling and manipulative husband. The whole issue of husbands having the lawful right to put their wives into asylums (in some states) was confronting.

Into the Sunset was an engaging story and a fitting conclusion to my time spent in the Western frontier of America. Action and danger, courage and compassion this is a series that is sure to appeal to many. 

‘They’d traveled and they’d settled. They married and started families. And now, finally, they’d all followed the western light into the sunset. That light had led them all the way home.’

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: Dirrayawadha

Title: Dirrayawadha

Author: Anita Heiss

Publisher: 31st July 2024 by Simon & Schuster Australia

Pages: 352 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Romance

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Miinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of cloth and renamed her homeland ‘Bathurst’. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there.

The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. Her brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the violence will not come to Cloverdale, but she knows Windradyne is prepared to defend their Country if necessary.

When Irish convict Daniel O’Dwyer arrives at the settlement, Miinaa’s life is transformed again. The pair are magnetically drawn to each other and begin meeting at the bila in secret. Dan understands how it feels to be displaced, but they still have a lot to learn about each other. Can their love survive their differences and the turmoil that threatens to destroy everything around them?

My Thoughts

I read and absolutely adored Anita’s book of three years ago, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams). It was groundbreaking and so memorable that I was therefore eager to read her latest, Dirrayawadha (Rise Up). This is a work of fiction, an interpretation of life for Wiradyuri people and others on the land in the 1820s.

‘You can’t discover a country that has people in it, Jack - that’s not discovery. That’s invasion.’

Anita is doing a wonderful job of (rather sadly it has to be so) introducing history through the eyes of the Indigenous. So much of the past and what we learned at school was solely through the eyes of the colonisers. Anita states that, ‘My goal here was/is to give not just a broad understanding of the overall impact of the invasion and settlement of Bathurst but, importantly, the blatant disregard it entailed for Wiradyuri life and sovereignty’. What is not only unique but very clever with this story is how Anita made the link between her Irish characters and what had been their desire for autonomy to that of Wiradyuri sovereignty. It makes it relatable to so many. 

‘Then how can we agree to fighting for our own sovereignty and rights back home but deny the rights of the people here? What about their sovereignty?’

There is much to love about this book. I love that Anita used traditional language, not only in the title, but throughout the entire book. I love that it is the perfect melding of fact and fiction. I love the characters and how each has a role to play in making this story the captivating sensation that it is. I love how much I learnt about Australian indigenous people and their great affinity with this incredible land. 

‘We must be prepared.’ Windradyne stops and takes Dan by the arm firmly. ‘For what?’ ‘Dirrayawadha. To rise up and fight.’

This book … it will make you angry, it will make you sad but overall you will be a better person for having read it. Such a wonderful book for not only all Australians but anyone interested in Indigenous cultures and their rich yet often tragic tale. 

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 Ministry of Time

Title: The Ministry of Time

Author: Kaliane Bradley

Publisher: 14th May 2023 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand, Sceptre

Pages: 356 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

A boy meets a girl. The past meets the future. A finger meets a trigger. The beginning meets the end. England is forever. England must fall.

In the near future, a disaffected civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test the limits of time-travel.

Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, assisting and monitoring the expat known as '1847' - Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to the Arctic, so he's a little disoriented to find himself alive and surrounded by outlandish concepts such as 'washing machine', 'Spotify' and 'the collapse of the British Empire'. With an appetite for discovery and a seven-a-day cigarette habit, he soon adjusts; and during a long, sultry summer he and his bridge move from awkwardness to genuine friendship, to something more. 

But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. Can love triumph over the structures and histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy history when history is living in your house?

My Thoughts

With so much publicity, I was intrigued to delve into The Ministry of Time. When a book is described as ‘a time travel romance, spy thriller, workplace comedy’, how can one not be drawn to this eclectic mix. Well I’m here to say, for the most part, author Kaliane Bradley has pulled it off. It is refreshing, fun and so unique with all those genres including a mix of fiction and nonfiction. Quite the conquest really. 

‘Why did you bring me back from the dead? Why did you come into my life like this?’ ‘We … we saved you.’

There are many things I enjoyed about this book. Firstly the twist on time travel which focuses on bringing people from the past to the present and the current cultural challenges they face. Issues such as racism, colonisation, feminism, gender equality, climate crisis are all faced with both respective fact and humour. 

‘There are buildings everywhere. No horizons. Only buildings and people as far as the eye can see, and great metal towers strung with rope. Huge grey roads, covered in metallic traffic. There’s no space here. How can you breathe? Is all of England like this? The entire world?’

Secondly, I loved the relationship between the four main characters as it seemed so genuine. Three came from the past - a failed Arctic expedition, the Somme of WWI and a London plague victim - and the bonding with the ‘bridge’ (current day person) was really heartfelt. There were many funny, interesting and sad moments that they faced together. 

‘Everyone was paddling in their own era-locked pool of loneliness.’

My only criticism involves the ending - it was fast, a bit of an info dump which came across as awkward and a little unclear. Perhaps Kaliane was trying to tie too many loose ends together all too quickly. The story - up to that point - had been well paced with a perfect genre blending. Now, it was unfolding in a fashion that needed to be more evenly distributed throughout or extend the overall length of the narrative. Nevertheless, this is a highly enjoyable read with definitely a little something for everyone given the masterful combination of genres. 

‘Time,’ she said, ‘is a limited resource. Like all of our resources. You only get to experience your life once … And yes, you can go back and change the details, a little, but there’s a limit to how often. Every time you dig a new pathway into time, you exhaust a little more of it, and if we go back too often and mine too deeply in the same place, again and again, pulling history from the same coal seam, it will collapse. It will obliterate us, like a black hole. You have to get it right.’

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.