Review: The Night Train to Berlin

Title: The Night Train to Berlin

Author: Melanie Hudson

Publisher: 22nd April 2021 by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, romance, contemporary

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

Two lost souls brought together by the chaos of war.

A train journey into the past.

A love that echoes through time.

Paddington Station, present day

A young woman boards the sleeper train to Cornwall with only a beautiful emerald silk evening dress and an old, well-read diary full of sketches. Ellie Nightingale is a shy violinist who plays like her heart is broken. But when she meets fellow passenger Joe she feels like she has been given that rarest of gifts…a second chance.

Paddington Station, 1944

Beneath the shadow of the war which rages across Europe, Alex and Eliza meet by chance. She is a gutsy painter desperate to get to the frontline as a war artist and he is a wounded RAF pilot now commissioned as a war correspondent. With time slipping away they make only one promise: to meet in Berlin when this is all over. But this is a time when promises are hard to keep, and hope is all you can hold in your heart.

From a hidden Cornish cove to the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy in June 1944, this is an epic love story like no other.

My Thoughts

‘Ellie knew that life was not about the destination but the journey, and yet, tonight, the destination was all she could think of, and it was suddenly closing in on her far too fast.’

I was excited to read Melanie’s new book as I have so enjoyed her others. For this particular book, chapters alternate between Eliza in 1944 and Ellie in the present day. It investigates the parallels and synchronicity of the same train journey these two women take but separated by decades.

‘The roles we choose for ourselves, which are interchangeable, don’t always suit our true character, which is not interchangeable...’

The two chance encounters on these train journeys are quite varied. Eliza and Alex in war torn Britain (and the story ventures off to Europe as well) is full of special moments against a tragic background. Comparatively, Ellie and Joe’s story does not carry the same spark yet Melanie does her best to create a meaningful connection. This modern encounter may have lacked enough detail and depth  (difficult with two storylines) to fully engage the reader. 

‘I think it’s about choosing to live life with an open heart and an attitude of hope rather than one of dread and fear. It’s about just knowing, I suppose, that all will be well…’

Eliza and Alex’s story was the classic wartime love affair and the better of the two tales. So much so, that I often regretted being dragged away to the present day as sweet as Ellie’s story may have been. It appeared to be there as the thread to draw parallels with the wartime story. There are also some well researched details from the war pertaining to time spent on a nursing auxiliary hospital ship or the sketches Eliza drew from D-Day and onwards. 

‘It seems that there is no end to the unfathomable waste of human life our generation must witness.’

This brings me to the inclusion of the role of war artists and their desire in detailing, or wanting to detail, the awful reality that they saw and felt compelled to communicate to those back home. It raises the issue of whether or not seeing the imagery of such atrocities should be both documented and shared as it made it so much more real through confronting imagery. An interesting point to ponder. So whilst not my favourite book of Melanie’s, there are definite elements - the train travel, the frontline stories, the serendipity of encounters - that make it worth your while to read. 

‘Perhaps your being on the train was …’ ‘Fate?’ he asked. ‘I was going to say destiny, but yes, fate.’ ‘Next stop Berlin, then?’ he said, releasing her hand. ‘Absolutely. Next stop Berlin.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: You Need to Know

Title: You Need to Know

Author: Nicola Moriarty

Publisher: 7th April 2021 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 416 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary, family drama, mystery, suspense

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Ex and Those Other Women comes a thrilling family drama about the secrets we keep, the lies we tell and the truths that won't stay hidden. Everybody's hiding something ...

Jill, her three sons, their wives and children are driving in convoy on Christmas Eve. But something sinister is simmering behind their happy smiles.

Mimi is struggling with her new twins, but at least a glass of wine smooths out life's jagged edges. Andrea's starting to wonder if her marriage is as happy as she'd thought. Darren is reeling from a surprise request and teenager Callie has become increasingly withdrawn.

On the way to their holiday house, a terrifying car accident devastates them all. But someone unexpected was in one of the cars. No one is searching for them. And their time is running out.

You Need to Know is a dark domestic drama about family secrets and lies, fractured relationships, tragic mistakes and the ultimate betrayal.

My Thoughts

‘You Need to Know’ is a thrilling family drama set in suburbia and is filled with a cast of engaging characters. It centres around the one family, each member with their own drama and secret problems. I usually struggle when there is an array of characters but such is Nicola’s writing that it was easy to keep tabs on them due to the unique story Nicola attributed to each. 

The tale is told from multiple perspectives and Nicola slowly sets the scene as each personal story begins to unravel moving towards a final convergence that will prove catastrophic for many of them. The story takes place through the month of December and the lead up to Christmas. It is interspersed with flashbacks from previous years and also cryptic snippets of the tragedy that will befall them all. This would have to be one of the most cleverly crafted stories I have read. With interweaving characters, tension brewing and the various plots all converging into one critical occurrence, it really demonstrates how cleverly Nicola has considered plotted and penned this tale.

This story is gripping in parts and with some twists you simply will not see coming. As kept secrets play out in this family drama, it resonates as many of the character profiles make it real and a frightening possibility. Each character voice is distinctive and there is never confusion thus allowing the reader to empathise with the various storylines. 

All up You Need to Know is well worth reading. With its multi layers it is such a cleverly crafted tale that will have you racing to discover what the climactic finale will prove to be. Take a bow Nicola for cementing yourself in Australia’s domestic drama genre - it was a thrilling ride.

"I still haven't opened the bloody email ... there's something so commanding about it. ‘You need to know ’ I don't see why it's up to her to tell me what I need to know. Maybe I should delete it.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Sisters of Freedom

Title: Sisters of Freedom

Author: Mary-Anne O'Connor

Publisher: 7th April 2021 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 384 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, women’s fiction, romance

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

A passionate tale of three sisters as they strive for freedom and independence and follow their hearts to unexpected places, from a master storyteller. For readers of Fiona McIntosh, Nicole Alexander and Natasha Lester.

Sydney, Christmas, 1901. Federation has been achieved but Australian women are yet to gain the right to vote in their new nation's elections and have a say in the laws that govern them.

Bolshy, boisterous Frankie Merriweather is a fervent advocate for women's rights, determined to dedicate herself to the cause, never marrying or becoming a mother. She can't understand her artistic sister Ivy, who wants a life of ease and beauty with her soon-to-be fiance, law student Patrick Earle.

Meanwhile, their married sister Aggie volunteers in an orphanage, decrying the inequality of Australia's social classes ... and longing to hold a baby in her arms.

When an accident takes Ivy, wounded and ill, into the violent and lawless zone of the Hawkesbury River, a year of change begins. Ivy's burgeoning friendship with her saviour Riley Logan, a smuggler, and his sister, the poverty-stricken but valiant Fiona, will alter the lives of all three women forever.

My Thoughts

Sisters of Freedom is a highly engaging story of three very different sisters, yet all fighting for the same cause - equality for women and the right to vote at the turn of last century. Mary-Anne has once more created a memorable tale of early Australia to lose yourself in - filled with courage and strength, these sisters each have a story to tell. 

‘... sisterly love was a powerful thing and it was holding them all in its grip now as sibling loyalty made prisoners of them all...’

With an overall focus on women's suffrage and independence, there are also subplots involving domestic violence, childless marriage and the willingness to marry for love. All of this Mary-Anne deftly interweaves through each of the sisters' tales. Quiet Aggie and her longing for a child of her own, outspoken and determined Frankie fighting for a cause and Ivy with her life changing experience. My  heart went out to Aggie and her quiet fortitude, Ivy’s heartfelt and sincere qualities shone through but it was the forthright Frankie that brought a smile to my face. 

‘I’m telling you, Albert, they need to hurry up and give us women the vote so we can make laws to protect each other. It’s about time.’  

When the story moved to the small communities living along the Hawkesbury River, I was entranced - as were the sisters - to this impoverished and harsh way of life. The time spent in both the physical environment and Fiona’s world was enlightening. The contrast between this life and that of the Merriweather sisters could not be more stark yet finding themselves imbued with the experience was authentic. 

‘It held secrets, this river, and so did the people who lived along it.’

This is a well told story with engaging characters regaled at a critical stage of this country’s development. Yes, there is the requisite romance (with a twist) but Mary-Anne makes it work within the context of the theme. Read the story of the Merriweather sisters, their strength and determination with their ability to rise to challenges will be time well spent. 

‘We can and we will,’ Harriet predicted. ‘We can achieve anything our hearts desire if we have enough passion and determination, and you all have that in droves,’ she said, nodding at them with pride. ‘What a wonderful day to be a woman, girls. A wonderful day indeed.’  

 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Barbizon

Title: The Barbizon

Author: Paulina Bren

Publisher: 3rd March 2021 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 290 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: nonfiction, history, feminism, New York, biography

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

From award-winning author Paulina Bren comes the first history of New York’s most famous residential hotel—The Barbizon—and the remarkable women who lived there.

The Barbizon tells the story of New York’s most glamorous women-only hotel, and the women—both famous and ordinary—who passed through its doors. World War I had liberated women from home and hearth, setting them on the path to political enfranchisement and gainful employment. Arriving in New York to work in the dazzling new skyscrapers, they did not want to stay in uncomfortable boarding houses; they wanted what men already had—exclusive residential hotels that catered to their needs, with daily maid service, cultural programs, workout rooms, and private dining.

The Barbizon would become the most famous residential hotel of them all, welcoming everyone from aspiring actresses, dancers, and fashion models to seamstresses, secretaries, and nurses. The Barbizon’s residents read like a who’s who: Titanic survivor Molly Brown; actresses Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedron, Liza Minelli, Ali McGraw, Jaclyn Smith, and Phylicia Rashad; writers Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion, Diane Johnson, Gael Greene, and Meg Wolitzer; and so many more. But before they were household names, they were among the young women arriving at the Barbizon with a suitcase, and hope.

Beautifully written and impeccably researched, The Barbizon weaves together a tale that has, until now, never been told. It is an epic story of women’s ambition in the 20th century. The Barbizon Hotel offered its residents a room of their own and air to breathe, unfettered from family obligations and expectations. It gave women a chance to remake themselves however they pleased. No place had existed like it before, or has since.

My Thoughts

‘The Barbizon tells the story of New York’s most famous women’s hotel from its construction in 1927 to its eventual conversion into multimillion-dollar condominiums in 2007. It is at once a history of the singular women who passed through its doors, a history of Manhattan through the twentieth century, and a forgotten story of women’s ambition.’

The appeal of this book for anyone interested in women's history is strong - and it delivers. With the freedom women gained through WWI and then the strong movement of the 1920s, many flocked to NYC to follow their dreams - but where could they safely stay? The Barbizon Hotel was built to fill this void and over its many years, housed quite the array of in/famous women. The author does a wonderful job in researching to highlight not only the history of this legendary hotel but also important milestones that occurred in women’s history. 

‘Women did not come to the Barbizon to network, but that’s what they did anyway. They

helped each other find work, they talked over problems with one another, they applauded each other’s successes and gave solace to those with disappointment and heartbreak. They felt empowered just by being at the Barbizon.’

This was, for the most part, a fascinating read into women’s history - the birth of a ‘women only’ hotel at a time when they needed support to try and reach their dreams outside of the expected marriage only life. This book truly captures the double standards for men and women and how society treated them and the expectations attached to being a woman during this period.

‘Every time a woman walked down the street dressed for work ... she was a reminder of “compromised manhood.” By 1932, twenty-six states had made it illegal for married women to hold a job, and in the states where it was not mandatory to quit work upon marriage, it was still mandatory to disclose one’s impending married status because it was considered outrageous for a woman to be taking a job away from a “real” breadwinner. The Barbizon provided shelter from such denouncements. It was not just a residential hotel anymore; it was a safe harbor.’

Chapters were sequenced chronologically and also highlighted both the monetary/society status and colour issue - you were nearly always white and rich.  Highlights were also brought to famous women who stayed such as  Joan Didion, Grace Kelly and Sylvia Plath. Such an interesting look at society and culture of the 20th century, as well as the dynamic changes for women over this period. 

‘The Barbizon dollhouse might well have been full of young, beguiling beauties, but there was much more behind their attractive facades. Even if many of these young women would indeed

end up as wives and mothers back in the towns from which they had come, their goals while in New York were ... ambitious.’

The author went to great efforts through the use of interviews, letters, and books to bring to light the lifestyle of these young women - from their frustrations to achievements, from their success stories to their failures.  This book could have been boring but was deftly turned into a fascinating portrayal of the now famous building and the women who stayed there. The Barbizon provided  women with the independence they desired, a place where they could hope to discover their true selves away from societal demands. 

‘ ... a place where women went to reimagine themselves: and in the twentieth century, that was not about to go out of style.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Essential Oils Menopause Solution

Title: The Essential Oils Menopause Solution

Author: Mariza Snyder

Publisher: 20th April 2021 by Rodale Books

Pages: 416 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: health, mind, body

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

What if menopause didn’t have to be a struggle?

Your body is always changing—necessarily and beautifully—throughout life. During menopause, however, declining ovarian function and fluctuating hormones often clash with environmental toxins, stress, and digestive distress, leading to the symptoms we have been told we should expect: hot flashes, weight gain, brain fog, low libido, and irritability. But as women’s hormonal health expert and bestselling author Dr. Mariza Snyder explains, you can and deserve to experience a good night’s sleep, clear thinking, stable moods, an energized metabolism, and pain-free sex. The solution is not to medicate the changes, but instead get to the root cause of what’s really going on in the body. In The Essential Oils Menopause Solution, Dr. Mariza offers a cutting-edge, comprehensive plan to do just that, including:

• a clear explanation of what’s happening in your body before, during, and after “the change,” and how certain lifestyle triggers exacerbate hormonal imbalance.

• the latest science behind the benefits of essential oils as safe, effective solutions for perimenopause and menopause symptoms.

• more than 75 recipes and protocols designed to provide solutions for deep, restful sleep, anxiousness, mood swings, fatigue, hot flashes, low libido, brain fog, vaginal dryness, digestive distress, and much more.

• a proven 21-day hormone-balancing program complete with meal plans, exercise recommendations, supplementation, and herbal therapies designed to reverse the myriad of symptoms affecting millions of women today.

• easy self-care rituals to support every system of your body—from digestion and vaginal health to mitochondrial and liver function—throughout the perimenopausal and menopausal transition.

You always deserve a body that works for you, and if you are feeling less than your best, you deserve solutions that promote actual healing. In as little as twenty-one days, The Essential Oils Menopause Solution will help you reclaim vibrant, optimal, and long-lasting health.

My Thoughts

‘This is it - the time to redefine your midlife and embrace your future with grace and joy.’

I’m not sure of other’s experiences when it comes to the latter stages of a woman’s life, however personally speaking, it is not something conversed about often or indeed, at all. Therefore I read what I can to educate myself about this new phase of life I, and indeed all women, will enter into at some stage. 

‘Those hormonal imbalances are driving the mood swings, migraines, disrupted sleep, fatigue, and other symptoms hastily misunderstood and tagged as “menopause.”

Whilst there is an assortment of books on the topic to read, I look for one’s that might provide a key factor that could go some way to making the experience more positive. The complete ‘makeover’ on offer in this book is not something I would necessarily subscribe to, however, I did find a few useful ideas to experiment with. I subscribe to the science behind essential oils and therefore found some of the blends suggested here to be valuable.

‘Essential oils aren’t the solution here - they are the support. Use them as tools to get you to the end game: healthy hormonal balance. But they won’t get you there if you neglect lifestyle choices that establish the foundation for your good health.’

You will learn what hormones are, what their roles are in your body and what may be the cause of them becoming unbalanced. There is a lot of useful information provided by the author as she covers a wide range of variables from essential oils to nutrition that might assist women to better understand and work with their bodies during this change of life. The tone of the book is friendly and compassionate, structured in such a way to make it easy to come back to if particular chapters are pertinent to the reader. 

Therefore I do recommend this book as a type of manual or reference for women wishing to learn more about the perimenopause or menopause as it provides a wealth of medical information. There are then chapters on various symptoms from sleep issues, to brain fog, to low energy. The author then provides a 21 Day Makeover plan. I did put into practice some of the suggestions for the essential oil recipes (there are over seventy five) for diffusers, rollerballs or sprays. All up, an excellent guide with a range of valuable suggestions to assist women during this challenging time of their life. 

‘The heart of this 21-Day Makeover is establishing a series of moments in your day that shift the priority back to you. It’s about integrating foods, self-care rituals, movement, essential oils, and supplement protocols that address your unique combination of symptoms to help you reclaim your energy and joy at midlife.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Ripping Tree

Title: The Ripping Tree

Author: Nikki Gemmell

Publisher: 7th April 2021 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 304 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

An illustrious family. A beautiful home. A shipwrecked young woman left on its doorstep. Don’t think they’re going to save her ....

Early 1800s. Thomasina Trelora is on her way to the colonies. Her fate: to be married to a clergyman she's never met. As the Australian coastline comes into view a storm wrecks the ship and leaves her lying on the rocks, near death. She's saved by an Aboriginal man who carries her to the door of a grand European house, Willowbrae.

Tom is now free to be whoever she wants to be and a whole new life opens up to her. But as she's drawn deeper into the intriguing life of this grand estate, she discovers that things aren't quite as they seem. She stumbles across a horrifying secret at the heart of this world of colonial decorum - and realises she may have exchanged one kind of prison for another.

The Ripping Tree is an intense, sharp shiver of a novel, which brings to mind such diverse influences as The Turn of the Screw, Rebecca and the film Get Out as much as it evokes The Secret River. A powerful and gripping tale of survival written in Nikki Gemmell's signature lyrical and evocative prose, it examines the darkness at the heart of early colonisation. Unsettling, audacious, thrilling and unputdownable.

My Thoughts

‘What’s going on here ... it feels like there are layers and layers of things going on here and I want to peel away at Willowbrae’s secrets like the bark on the Ripping Tree until a bare core of truth and honesty is exposed, and nothing else is left.’

This book came as a big surprise - not the book I initially thought it would be. The writing style is unique and clever but the story .... hmmm ... at first I was not convinced, however, by the end I was a convert. With short, sharp chapters, this is an engaging and confronting tale of a strong willed young girl caught up in a horrifying family secret from Australia’s disturbing colonial past. 

Nikki’s historical novel featuring the early settlement of Australia, certainly delves into a dark time in our history. There is so much to ‘The Ripping Tree’, with nothing as what it would seem and fueled by writing that is both unique and strangely captivating. 

"Pa once taught me an old Celtic phrase - ‘the thin places’ -to describe those little pockets of the natural world that feel closer to the mysterious energy that drives all the earth. He said the thin places arrest you with their strange power, and the Ripping Tree glade, despite all the trauma it’s seen, feels like one of them. I want to be stilled by it, healed, and learn more about it.’

The main theme pertains to the absolute horrific disregard and treatment of Australia’s Indigenous culture in the early 1800s. There are recounts and scenes that readers must be warned are both distressing and disturbing. However, as a student of history myself, I know these stories to be an accurate portrayal from my own previous reading. Credit to Nikki for presenting these details and not shying away from them.

The other strong emphasis relates to the treatment of women during this time period. With the main character being strong and determined, refusing to conform to societal expectations, she was quick to be labelled as difficult and at times hysterical with proposals to institutionalise her. 

‘ .. once again -just as before ... men have imagined a life for me that completely disregards the life I’ve imagined for myself .’

So although this book takes a little to get into and has strong confronting themes, the intense yet cleverly crafted writing of Nikki’s is sure to both unsettle yet entice her readers to learn the story behind, ‘The Ripping Tree’. 

‘Let’s just say my little tale is a history of a great colonial house that was burdened by a situation that was never resolved, and I fear all over this land will never be resolved. It is our great wound that needs suturing and it hasn’t been yet and I fear, perhaps, it never will be, for we’re not comfortable, still, with acknowledging it ... We’re not comfortable with exposing stories like this to the air and the sun and salt. And I cannot give you the native side of this tragedy, my loves, because I don’t begin to know it, or them; I can’t speak for them. But I respect them and acknowledge them and love them for the riches they bring to all of us, and I know we are remiss.’    

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.