Book Review: Becoming Mrs Mulberry by Jackie French

 Becoming Mrs Mulberry

by

Jackie French

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Publication date: 8th March 2023

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Pages: 512

 

RRP: $32.99AU (Paperback)

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review of Becoming Mrs Mulberry

Becoming Mrs Mulberry, set in the picturesque Blue Mountains region of NSW post WWI, is a story of compassion and the healing power of nature.

Jackie French, through Agnes, highlights the fight women endured to become doctors. Agnes had to study and qualify in Edinburgh before she could return to Australia and join her father in general practice.

At the plea of her best friend Hortense (Puddin' to her friends), Agnes forgoes her career and marries Puddin's shell shocked brother to save the family fortune from their greedy uncle. Douglas was to be declared insane and committed to an asylum.

Agnes and Douglas move to his property in the secluded Blue Mountains region of Australia. The quiet surroundings and the natural environment, along with Agnes' care, see Douglas slowly heal. Agnes uses her new found wealth to supply a calm and accepting escape for the men and women disfigured by war.

I was totally shocked by the way returned soldiers, greatly disfigured while fighting for their country, were locked away and treated badly, called freaks and misfits, completely disregarding their physical and mental suffering.

Becoming Mrs Mulberry is both heart-wrenching and up-lifting. Agnes' humility and compassion brought tears to my eyes, more than once.

Agnes was taught to look for people who were suffering and try to help them. Money brings power - it's how you use that power that counts.

It's not all heart-wrenching scenes; there are plenty of humorous moments with characters like Private Private, the naturist who discarded society and his clothes, also the appearance of a wombat who has a knicker fetish.

Becoming Mrs Mulberry also has an interweaving story about a young child who Agnes saves from a circus freak exhibition. The child is grossly deformed however Agnes feels she can cure her. The circus owners call the child Dingo, saying she was brought up by dingoes.

 

If you have ever attended a talk by Jackie French you will know she is a passionate person and that passion shines through in her writing.  

I truly think Becoming Mrs Mulberry will be one of my top reads for the year. If you only read one book this year - make it this one!

My rating 5 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Jackie French AM is an award-winning author, historian and ecologist. She was the 2014-2015 Australian Children's Laureate and the 2015 Senior Australian of the year. In 2016 Jackie became a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant contribution to literature and youth literacy. She is regarded as one of Australia's most popular authors with her vast body of work crossing from fiction, non-fiction, picture books, ecology, fantasy and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction.

 

 

Book Review: Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight

 Royals

by

Tegan Bennett Daylight

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 

Publication date: 3rd May 2023

 

Genre: Young Adult

 

Pages: 280

 

RRP: $19.99AU (Paperback) 

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

My review of Royals

Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight is probably not a book I would normally pick up, however I was sent a request from the publisher and it sounded a little quirky, and I enjoy books that are a bit different.

 

A group of teenagers find themselves locked in a shopping centre, all technology frozen. I loved the concept of this story! The teenagers don't know each other and there are no phones, which means no texting, no Snapchat, no Instagram. They are going to have to talk to each other, face to face!! 🤯

 

Tegan Bennett Daylight has used a group of Western Sydney teenagers as her protagonists. I think the author is showing a side to these teens we don't often hear. They are responsible and basically kindhearted. A  group of kids who wouldn't normally hang-out together were forced to rely on each other. 

The story bogged down a little in the middle and it was a little contrived with its range of diversity but I was happy to let that all slip by because I loved the magical realism element and how the teens opened up to each other and that the whole story was so quirky and we weren't given any reason for the whole thing. The book finishes and the reader is still left with a why. When I finished reading I was like "what just happened"!! 

 

My rating 4 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended age: 12+

Allusion to sex

Underage drinking

About the author

Photograph © Tegan Bennett Daylight

Tegan Bennett Daylight is a writer, teacher and critic. Her books include the Stella Award shortlisted Six Bedrooms and the novels Safety and Bombora.  She lives in the Blue Mountains with her husband and two children.

 

Book Review: The Tower by Carol Lefevre

 The Tower

by

Carol Lefevre

Publisher: Spinifex Press

Publication date: 4th October 2022

Genre: Women's Fiction

Pages: 256 (Paperback)

RRP: $32.95AU

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via RM Marketing 

My review of The Tower

I had previously enjoyed Carol Lefevre's novella Murmurations so was looking forward to reading her latest offering.

 

The Tower is an eclectic collection of short stories that are connected and bound together by themes of grief, betrayal, ageing and a need to belong. Carol Lefevre writes heartfelt stories about strong women who battle through adversity.

 

Widowed after a long marriage, Dorelia sells the family home and buys a house with a tower; a place to unwind, find peace and rewrite the stories of older women treated poorly by literature. Her three grown children, although busy with their own lives, feel the need to advise Dorelia on how to live her life.

 

This collection has stories of love, loss and the highs and lows of motherhood, all wrapped around themes of ageing and finding inner peace.

Every alternate story features Dorelia, her move to the tower, her battles with her well-meaning daughters and reminiscences of her younger years.

 

When I first started the book I didn't feel the connection between the stories, other than the theme of motherhood and loss, but as I read on and names from one story appeared in another the connections between the characters became clearer and the stories became more cohesive.

 

The Tower, although a collection of short stories, reads a lot like a novel and even has a few twisty surprises throughout.

 

Deeply imagined and vividly portrayed The Tower is a book that will speak to your heart.

 

My rating 4 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐  

 

About the author

 

Carol Lefevre holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide, where she is a Visiting Research Fellow. Her novel Nights in the Asylum, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, won the Nita B. Kibble Award for Women Writers, and the People’s Choice Award. If You Were Mine (2008) was published by Vintage. She has published short fiction, essays, and journalism, and a non-fiction book, Quiet City: walking in West Terrace Cemetery (Wakefield Press, 2016). She has written two books with Spinifex Press - The Happiness Glass and Murmurations.

My review of Murmurations can be found here: https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-review-murmurations-by-carol.html

Winner of a copy of The Manuscript announced!!

 

A huge thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a paperback copy of The Manuscript by Lucy Bloom.   The giveaway closed on the 15th March 2023 and the winner was randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

Congratulations to........  Caroline

 

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

 

Thank you to Flamingo Publishing and DMCPRMedia for sponsoring this giveaway. 

 

Please check under the Giveaway tab for more great giveaways!  

 

Book Review: The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon

 The House of Now and Then

by

Jo Dixon

A lonely house. A missing boy. A long-held secret.

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 4th January 2023

 

Genre: Crime / Mystery

 

Pages: 432

 

RRP: $29.99AU (Paperback) 

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review of The House of Now and Then

The House of Now and Then is a compelling mystery read, with plot twists that had me reeling.

 

Narrated in dual time-lines; the now being 2017 with Olivia living in Eloise's secluded house in the Tasmanian bush; then, is 30 years earlier in 1985 with friends Jeremy, Pippa and Rebecca house-sitting for Eloise in the same house.

Eloise's architecturally designed house is a central part of the story. For Olivia it is a secluded place to hide from a scandal that has destroyed her life. The three young friends are there to enjoy time together before Jeremy moves to England.

Jo Dixon builds empathy in her readers before disclosing Olivia's scandalous past so you can't help but be on her side. Jeremy, Pippa and Rebecca are fun loving and easy to like but tensions start to build between the three as the story progresses and Pippa meets Leo and brings him into the group.

The two plot-lines play out separately and I was intrigued as to how they would connect.

As Olivia is pulled into the mystery of Leo's disappearance she starts to open up to the people of the small rural town finding friendship and acceptance.

I love it when you open a book that is impossible to put down! The House of Now and Then has a mystery that is so thick there isn't a hint of what's going on. I felt a real compulsion to get to the end and find out the truth behind the disappearance and if Olivia could move on from her past mistakes and reclaim her life.

The House of Now and Then is an intriguing read with decades old secrets, compelling twists and a host of flawed, but real, characters.

This is a powerful debut by Jo Dixon and I'm looking forward to seeing what she delivers next!

My rating 5/5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Over ten years ago, Jo moved from suburban Brisbane to rural Tasmania. Since then, she's been wrangling an ever-growing collection of animals, bringing up two sons, and attempting to transform blackberry-infested paddocks into beautiful gardens. Now, she also writes full-time, creating twisty, suspenseful stories. The House of Now and Then is her debut novel. She is now working on her second book.

Book Review & Giveaway: The Manuscript by Lucy Bloom

 The Manuscript

by

Lucy Bloom

A story of revenge

Publisher: Flamingo Publishing

Publication date: 1st March 2023

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 368 Paperback

RRP: $32.99AU

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via DMCPR Media

My review of The Manuscript

The Manuscript wasn't at all what I expected, although it was still an entertaining read.

Accomplished author Edith Scott, recently divorced, wishes to shake-up her life. She starts meeting men through dating apps and also decides to switch her writing genre from historical drama to thriller.

She goes on many dates, falling for some and simply befriending others. When some of the men in her life treat her badly she decides to kill them off through her characters, obtaining a literary revenge. Little does she know that karma is dealing with them in real life.

Bloom is an advocate for women and there is quite a feminist lean to the story but not all Edith's male interests are cads. There are those that simply make wrong decisions and one that is totally chivalrous.

Cleverly plotted with interweaving loops and connections that will leave you speechless. No character is safe from Bloom's authorial sword.

The Manuscript is candid, raw and intriguing; filled with laugh-out-loud moments it also has depth, with a lot of fact mixed in with the fiction.

I did however find it hard to connect with Edith, she came across as self-centred. Edith's best friend Rachel was a fabulous supporting character; married with children she lived vicariously through Edith's adventures.

There are some profanities but they are not gratuitous.

My rating 3/5    ⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Lucy Bloom was born in Africa. She is an international keynote speaker and consulting CEO with a background in advertising and international aid. She has three teenage children and is the author of two other books: a childbirth guide for men and her memoir, Get the Girls Out. The Manuscript is her debut novel. 

Giveaway

Thanks to The Publisher and DMCPR Media I have one paperback copy of The Manuscript to give away. Entry is via the form below. Entries closed at 6pm AEDT on 15th March 2023.

 

This giveaway is now closed and the winner was announced here:  https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2023/03/winner-of-copy-of-manuscript-announced.html

Book Review: Snowy Mountains Promise by Alissa Callen

 Snowy Mountains Promise

by

Alissa Callen

A town scandal. A kelpie chaperone. A winter ball.

The bush telegraph has never had so much to talk about.....

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Publication date: 1st February 2023

 

Series: Bundilla #3

 

Genre: Rural Romance

 

Pages: 370

 

RRP: $29.99AU Paperback

 

Source: Uncorrected proof courtesy of the publisher

 

My review of Snowy Mountains Promise

I know when I pick up a book by Alissa Callen I am in for a treat and Snowy Mountains Promise was no exception.

 

I loved being back in the town of Bundilla! Bundy the dog has been shadowing Taite lately and everyone in town knows when Bundy is around change is in the air, and it just so happens Brenna's friend Hettie is also in town. ( For those that haven't read Alissa's books, Bundy is the town's dog he belongs to nobody and everybody. He knows exactly who needs him and is known to do a bit of matchmaking himself).

 

Taite and Hettie are both introverts and whilst Taite is holding on to deep hurt over his father's death, Hettie is not going to push herself on Taite when he is, obviously, not interested. This makes for a very angsty romance, which isn't usually my thing, but Callen makes it more compelling by adding a crime mystery element and a long held secret that Hettie is determined to uncover.

 

The books can be read alone but you will get such a thrill when you read them in publication order and characters you've grown to love pop up in subsequent books.

Both the rural setting and characters of Snowy Mountains Promise are delightfully portrayed with everyday snippets of farming and social life along with the matchmaking attempts of the women's quilting club and the humour of the men ribbing each other over this fact. 

 

In Snowy Mountains Promise Alissa Callen picks you up and places you right in the centre of this small-town community enveloping you in the warmth and welcome of her characters. 

 

My rating 5/5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

When USA Today bestselling author Alissa Callen isn't writing, she plays traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who believes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. After a childhood spent chasing sheep on the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. She is partial to autumn colours, snowy peaks and historic homesteads and will drive hours to see an open garden. Once a teacher and a counsellor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She draws inspiration from the countryside around her, whether it be the brown snake at her back door or the resilience of bush communities in times of drought or flood. Her books are characteristically heartwarming, authentic and character driven. Alissa lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western NSW.

 

Other books I've read by Alissa Callen

 

https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-club-book-review-boundary-fence-by.html 

 

https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2021/02/book-review-snowy-mountains-daughter-by.html 

 

https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2022/08/snowy-mountains-cattleman-by-alissa.html