Mailbox Monday - May 30th

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week (or month). I post my new books on the last Monday of the month. Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday Blog

 

 

Happy Monday! Wednesday!

 

I'm late with my mailbox post this month! I was so invested with my current read on Monday that I couldn't put it down. Nothing else got done until I finished The Reunion by Polly Phillips. I love a good revenge story! My review will be posted on 6th June and I giveaway for the book on 10th June. 

During the last month my husband was diagnosed with a tumor in his neck so it has been busy with biopsies, CT scans, MRIs and specialist appointments. He was referred to a wonderful ENT, a specialist in head and neck cancer, who calmed us with his confidence that all will go well and the speed that he was booked into surgery. He is now three weeks post op and will start 6 weeks radiation therapy next week. 

Photos from the last month of hospitals, coffee and Mother's Day.

Books I received for review over the last month.

 

The Reunion by Polly Phillips

Paperbark Hill By Maya Linnell 

The Secret World of Connie Starr by Robbi Neal 

The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley 

The Brightest Star by Emma Harcourt 

Family Matters by Ellie O'Neill 

Out of Breath by Anna Snoekstra 

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
An A-List for Murder by Pamela Hart

The Bellbird River Country Choir by Sophie Green

Someone Else's Child by Kylie Orr

It looks like winter is shaping up to be a great season for reading.

 

My children's book reviews are now at Little Squirrel's Bookshelf

You can see them via the tab at the top of this page or the drop down menu if you are on a mobile device.

Book Review & Giveaway: Esther's Children by Caroline Beecham

Esther's Children

by

Caroline Beecham

 

An audacious story of love, bravery and self-sacrifice in World War Two

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Publication date: 3rd May 2022

 

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Pages: 376

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

 Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

Blurb

 

Austria, 1936: Esther 'Tess' Simpson works for a British organisation that rescues academics from the cruel Fascist and anti-Semitic regimes taking hold in Europe. On a dangerous trip to Vienna to help bring aid to Europe's threatened Jewish scholars, Esther meets Harry Singer, a young Jewish academic and musician - and they fall in love.

 

My review

 

Caroline Beecham has delivered another honourable novel with Esther's Children; a work of fiction inspired by the life of Esther Simpson (1903 - 1996).

 

I loved that this story was based on the life of a real person, Esther Simpson, who through her tireless work saved the lives of many German Jews in her work for The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning. The society endeavoured to secure grants and work, in Britain, for academic refugees.

"On our shoulders rests the future of many of Europe's finest minds...."

Caroline Beecham's writing is exquisite and I found it easy to picture Esther and her colleagues. However, I didn't quite connect with the story the way I did with her previous novels. I found myself wanting more of Harry's story, Esther's love interest and a refugee himself. I was interested in his life in Vienna, the changing face of the city, then in the internment camp where aliens who were classed as a risk to British security were held.

Esther Simpson was an amazing woman, risking her own life and foregoing a family of her own to help many men and women who went on to achieve greatness in their field and I feel Caroline Beecham has done her story proud in Esther's Children.

 My rating 3.5 stars  ⭐⭐⭐½

 

About the author

Caroline is a novelist, writer and producer. She is the author of four books: the bestselling novel, Maggie's Kitchen, Eleanor's Secret, Finding Eadie and Esther's Children, and has been published in the UK and the US. Her debut novel, Maggie's Kitchen, was shortlisted for Booktopia's Best Historical Fiction in 2016 and nominated as book of the year and Caroline as Best New Author by AusRom Today. She has worked in documentary, film and drama, and discovered that she loves to write fiction and to share lesser-known histories; particularly those of pioneering women whose lives speak to us now. Caroline studied the craft of novel writing at the Faber Academy in Sydney, with Curtis Brown Creative in London, and has a MA in Film & Television and a MA in Creative Writing. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and two teenage sons.

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to the generosity of Allen & Unwin I have one paperback copy of Esther's Children to give away. (Australian postal addresses only). Entry is via the form below. Giveaway closes at midnight on 5th June 2022.

This giveaway is now closed and the winner was announced HERE

Winner of a copy of A Stone's Throw Away announced!!

 

A huge thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a paperback copy of A Stone's Throw Away.   The giveaway closed on the 21st May and the winner was randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

Congratulations to........   Kerissa R

 

 The winner has been notified and has seven days to provide a mailing address.

 Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sponsoring this giveaway. 

Please look under the giveaway tab for more chances to win great books.

Giveaways coming soon.....

 

 

Book Review: The Nurses' War by Victoria Purman

 The Nurses' War

by

Victoria Purman

 

Winning the battle will take more than guns...

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 30th March 2022

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Pages: 608

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher 

 

My review

 

I love reading stories about both WWI & WWII. Stories set during the battles from a soldier's point of view, those from a civilian's point of view and also those from front line workers, the doctors and nurses.

As the title depicts The Nurses' War is about Australian nurses who enlisted during WWI and travelled to England to treat and care for the Australian soldiers in a makeshift Australian hospital.

 

The Nurses' War is based on the true stories of real life experiences of the Australian women who served at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, England. 

 

Purman writes of the anticipation and camaraderie of the nurses as the hospital prepares for its first patients and the anguish and fatigue as the wounded and maimed ariive day after day for years.

 

The Nurses' War is a story of women breaking the mold for their time and choosing career over marriage.

Told in the dual narrative of Cora, an Australian nurse who leaves her family to work in England, and Jessie, a young local girl living in the small country village of Harefield. Through Jessie we learn how everyday citizens were affected by the war and the changing face of society in work and fashion.

 

Purman writes about how the men coped with their injuries and the lose of their mates. The Nurses' War is a story filled with emotion, pride and a touch of Aussie larrickinism.  For me however the book was about 150 pages too long. I am not a lover of big books!

 

The added romance interests for the two protagonists added a heart-warming element to the story.

 

The Nurses' War is a story of love, grief and the sacrifices everyone made during the war.

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Victoria Purman is an Australian top ten and USA Today bestselling fiction author. Her most recent book, The Women's Pages, was an Australian bestseller, as were her novels The Land Girls and The Last of the Bonegilla Girls. Her earlier novel The Three Miss Allens was a USA Today bestseller. She is a regular guest at writers festivals, a mentor and workshop presenter and was a judge in the fiction category for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature.

 

Book Review: Dead Horse Gap by Lee Christine

 Dead Horse Gap

by

Lee Christine

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Publication date: 1st February 2022 

 

Series: Alpine #3

Genre: Crime / Mystery

 

Pages: 279

 

RRP: $29.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

There wasn't as much tension in this book as the previous two novels, Charlotte Pass and Crackenback.

However the story still held my attention as it had a compelling mystery at its centre.

 

I enjoyed following along with the police investigation as it changes from undercover drug surveillance to murder investigation. The mystery was well played out and I had no idea how it would eventually pan out.

 

The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales is an amazing setting; cold, secluded and a bit eerie. Lee Christine transports her readers into the snow, sleet and below zero temperatures. You may want to read this book snuggled up with a heater nearby.

 

Mitch Flowers is given the lead in this case, as Ryder prepares for his move to uniform country cop. Flowers takes over with confidence but he has a little secret of his own going on after dark. Nerida Sterling, another up-and-coming young detective, has an undercover role sniffing out some information on a suspected drug ring in the area. Lee Christine highlights the danger of undercover work and the pressure it places on a persons well-being.  

 

The addition of a long held feud between two families makes for another interesting plot line.

 

Dead Horse Gap was an easy read and highly entertaining. A compelling addition to the series. 

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

  In 2009, former corporate trainer Lee Christine decided to turn her writing hobby into a serious job.

 

Lee is the author of six romantic suspense novels. her first crime novel, Charlotte Pass, was published in 2020 and won the award for Favourite Romantic Suspense Novel in the 2020 Australian Romance Readers Awards. Her second crime novel, Crackenback, was published in2021 and Dead Horse Gap in 2022.

 

 

 

    

 

Winner of a copy of The Poinciana Tree announced!

 

A huge thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a paperback copy of The Poinciana Tree.   The giveaway closed on the 17th May and the winner was randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

Congratulations to........   Leanne 

 

 The winner has been notified and has seven days to provide a mailing address.

 Please look under the giveaway tab for more chances to win great books.

 

Book Review: The Gosling Girl by Jacqueline Roy

The Gosling Girl

by

Jacqueline Roy

 

Murderer? Monster? Child? Victim? 

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 

Publication date: 2nd February 2022

 

Genre: Crime

 

Pages: 400

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

The Gosling Girl is disturbing, distressing, addictive......I read it in a day!

 

Michelle Cameron has spent the last 14 years in institutions after being convicted of murder at the age of ten.

 

Roy leaves the reader questioning Michelle's guilt or innocence and she is not quite sure herself what she has done wrong.

By not mentioning Michelle by name until well into the book we get an insight into what it is like to have your identity stripped from you.

The difficulties faced after being released and trying to live in a society you have never been part of are well conveyed.

 

It took me a little while to get into the story but once I did the pages flew and I couldn't put it down. Filled with flawed characters that are on the whole unlikable, however very real in their thoughts and actions. 

Throughout the book I found myself warming to Michelle as I followed her small triumphs and devastating losses. Each time she picked herself up and started again I wished for her to have the happy ending she dreamed of.

 

With themes of embedded racism, child abuse, police inadequacy and lynch mobs, this book will have you infuriated with the system.

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐