Monday 12 October 2020

Mailbox Monday & Life This Week - 12th October


Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Life This Week is a meme created by Denyse Whelan Blogs where bloggers share snaps of what is currently happening in their lives.

Happy Monday!

It's been a busy two weeks as we have been managing to get out and enjoy the lovely spring weather. Trips to the city and lunch in outdoor cafes are things we haven't been able to do for a long time.

                         Enjoying the weather at a lovely outdoor cafe

                                  My first public transport trip this year



                     Some cute sculptures we came across in the city centre


This sign popped up on the path near my house. Everyone who lives around here knows there are always snakes sunning on the path so it was funny to suddenly see this sign installed.
                             Cafe lunch with my mother and daughter

Books received over the last two weeks:


From the publisher: 

The Shearer's Wife by Fleur McDonald

1980: Rose and Ian Kelly arrive in Barker for supplies before they begin shearing at Jacksonville Station, a couple of hundred kilometres out of town. Rose, heavily pregnant with their first babies, worries that despite Ian's impending fatherhood he remains a drifter who dreams of the open road. 

2020: When the Australian Federal Police swoop unheralded into Barker and make a shocking arrest for possession of narcotics, Detective Dave Burrows is certain there is more to the story than meets the eye.

After many months of grief over her brother's illness and death, journalist Zara Ellison is finally ready to begin a new chapter of her life and make a commitment to her boyfriend, Senior Constable Jack Higgins. But when she's assigned to investigating the Barker arrest, Jack begins to believe that Zara is working against him.

It takes a series of unconnected incidents in Zara's digging to reveal an almost forgotten thread of mystery as to how these two events, forty years apart, could be connected.
 
 

My Purchases:


 The Godmothers by Monica McInerney 

Eliza Miller grew up in Australia as the only daughter of a troubled young mother, but with the constant support of two watchful godmothers, Olivia and Maxie. Despite her tricky childhood, she always felt loved and secure. Until, just before her eighteenth birthday, a tragic event changed her life.

Thirteen years on, Eliza is deliberately living as safely as possible, avoiding close relationships and devoting herself to her job. Out of the blue, an enticing invitation from one of her godmothers prompts a leap into the unknown.

Within a fortnight, Eliza finds herself in the middle of a complicated family in Edinburgh. There’s no such thing as an ordinary day any more. Yet, amidst the chaos, Eliza begins to blossom. She finds herself not only hopeful about the future, but ready to explore her past, including the biggest mystery of all – who is her father?

Set in Australia, Scotland, Ireland and England, THE GODMOTHERS is a great big hug of a book that will fill your heart to bursting. It is a moving and perceptive story about love, lies, hope and sorrow, about the families we are born into and the families we make for ourselves.
 

Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer 

1959 - Grace is a young mother with four children under four. All she ever wanted was to have a family of her own, but Grace has thoughts she cannot share with anyone in the months after childbirth. Instead she pours her deepest fears into the pages of a notebook, hiding them where she knows husband Patrick will never look. When Grace falls pregnant again she turns to sister Maryanne for help.

1996 - When Beth's father Patrick is diagnosed with dementia, she and her siblings make the heart-wrenching decision to put him into care. As Beth is clearing the family home, she discovers a series of notes. Patrick's children grew up believing their mother died in a car accident, but these notes suggest something much darker may be true. 

The Museum of Forgotten Memories by Anstey Harris

Cate Morris and her son, Leo, are homeless, adrift. They’ve packed up the boxes from their London home, said goodbye to friends and colleagues, and now they are on their way to ‘Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World – to stay just for the summer. Cate doesn’t want to be there, in Richard’s family home without Richard to guide her any more. And she knows for sure that Araminta, the retainer of the collection of dusty objects and stuffed animals, has taken against them. But they have nowhere else to go. They have to make the best of it.

But Richard hasn’t told Cate the truth about his family’s history. And something about the house starts to work its way under her skin.
Can she really walk away, once she knows the truth?
 

 

 I would love to hear what books you received in the mail recently! 



Sunday 11 October 2020

Blog Tour Book Review: How to Make a Life by Florence Reiss Kraut

How to Make a Life
by
Florence Reiss Kraut

 
 
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication date: 13th October 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 320
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of Smith Publicity Services 
 
About the book
 
When Ida and her daughter Bessie flee a catastrophic pogrom in Ukraine for America in 1905, they believe their emigration will ensure that their children and grandchildren will be safe from harm. But choices and decisions made by one generation have ripple effects on those who come later—and in the decades that follow, family secrets, betrayals, and mistakes made in the name of love threaten the survival of the family: Bessie and Abe Weissman’s children struggle with the shattering effects of daughter Ruby’s mental illness, of Jenny’s love affair with her brother-in-law, of the disappearance of Ruby’s daughter as she flees her mother’s legacy, and of the accidental deaths of Irene’s husband and granddaughter.
 
My review
 

How to Make a Life is an enthralling saga of a family both brought together and divided by the mental illness of one member.

Spanning four generations of the Amdur/Weissman family, the story is narrated through different members of the family over the years, highlighting their ever changing relationships with each other.

How to Make a Life begins with Ida fleeing a massacre on their land in Ukraine and taking her two surviving children to America to start a new life safe from persecution. Life is tough and there is more tragedy in store but Ida and daughter Bessie know to survive they must always look ahead.

How to Make a Life spans 106 years and to squeeze this amount into one book it quite often skips large spans of time, so you might suddenly find out a character’s husband had died some time ago and there was no previous mention. This made for a lot of telling the story and I would have liked the story to be longer to include all these momentous events in detail.

How to Make a Life is a fast-moving story filled with emotion and plenty of family drama. I became totally invested in all the characters lives and their hopes, fears and dreams.

Florence Reiss Kraut includes many themes in this generational drama including unplanned pregnancies, mental illness, unrequited love, loss, guilt, family responsibility, holding onto your faith and how the choices we make can have a ripple affect through the generations.  

 

About the author

Photo Goodreads
Florence Reiss Kraut was raised and educated in New York City. With a BA in English and a Masters in Social Work she worked for over thirty years as a clinician, a family therapist and eventually CEO of a family service agency before retiring to write and travel. Her own close family of 26 aunts and uncles and 27 first cousins and listening to stories around the kitchen table, coffee klatches and family parties inspired her to write her fictional, multi-generational family drama, How to Make a Life.

She has published stories for children and teens, romance stories for national magazines, literary stories, and personal essays for the Westchester section of the New York Times. Her fiction has appeared in publications such as The Evening Street Press and SNReview.
 



 

 
 

Saturday 10 October 2020

Book Bingo - Round 10: About the Environment

Wasp Season by Jennifer Scoullar

You'll never see a wasp in the same way again.

 

This week I have chosen the category 'About the Environment'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Wasp Season.

In Wasp Season Jennifer Scoullar highlights the effect introduced pests, such as the European Wasp, have on the natural insect life and in turn has a rolling effect of the devastation of the environment surrounding the wasps nest. Insects and their behaviour wouldn't normally interest me however Jennifer Scoullar makes the subject fascinating and adds an ominous element of danger.


You can read my full review HERE

__________________________________________

Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.


 
#BOOKBINGO2020

 

Wednesday 7 October 2020

Book Club Book Review: The Farm at Peppertree Crossing by Léonie Kelsall

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing
by
Léonie Kelsall 
 



Publisher: Allen & Unnwin 
Publication date: 2nd July 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Rural
Pages: 432
RRP: $29.99AUD
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace Book Club
 
About the book
 
An unexpected inheritance, a traumatic past and a family whose secrets are kept by the town.

After a fractured childhood spent in foster homes, city-girl Roni has convinced herself that she has no need of anyone - other than her not-as-tough-as-he-looks rescued street cat, Scritches, and her unborn baby.

Despite facing a bleak future, Roni distrusts the news of a bequest from an unknown aunt, Marian Nelson. But, out of options, she and Scritches leave Sydney behind, bound for the 800-acre property on the edge of the wheat belt of South Australia.

However, this is no simple inheritance. With everything at stake
, Roni must learn to believe in the truth of Marian's most important lesson: everyone deserves love.
 
My Review
 
When city-girl Roni inherits a farm from an aunt she has never known she decides she will take a look and then sell as quick as she can. However Aunt Marian hasn't made the process of the inheritance that easy. She wants Roni to have the chance to fall in love with the farm.
 
I was immediately pulled into the story - with the threat of danger hanging in the air.
 
Roni is instantly likeable. She cares for stray cats and runs errands for her elderly neighbour. Her life spent in foster homes has been let down after let down and she has past traumas that are still affecting her life. How can you not like, and feel empathy for this girl! 
 
I loved how Aunt Marian's character was introduced through letters to Roni and even though she had passed we got to know her and she was an integral character in the story.
 
I could totally relate to the city-girl stuck in the country and wondering how she was going to manage and feeling isolated and scared.
"There was far too much country out here for her liking."

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing subtly covers some heavy topics but there is plenty of humour, cute farm animals and a cute farm hand to lighten the mood.

It was a delight to watch Roni grow and start to trust people and also learn to say no when needed. She slowly came to realise not everyone was out to hurt her or rip her off and maybe, Matt was helping out on the farm because he was genuinely a nice guy. 

I loved all the cooking and cakes, both disasters and successes, and the CWA meetings and their small town gossip. Lots of humour here!

Léonie Kelsall knows how to create an ever changing atmosphere as it moves from foreboding, funny, breath-holding, sad and sweet. I loved the way  Léonie Kelsall unwrapped the secrets slowly throughout the story - little teasers that kept me glued to the pages.

The Farm at Peppertree Crossing is a story of belonging, moving forward, guilt, secrets and learning to trust.

I was keen to read this book as soon as I heard about it and I was not disappointed!

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plus an extra ⭐ because the main character's name was Veronica 💖

About the author

Photo: Goodreads
 Though fortunate to grow up in the South Australian country – initially on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula in a tiny town where the school had a total enrolment of only eleven students, and later on a sheep and wheat farm in the Murraylands - in typical teen fashion, Léonie couldn't wait to hit the bright lights of the big city when she graduated.
However, a couple of years working in various government departments, including the State History Trust and the Education Department, saw her longing to make her way back to the country.
Through a circuitous route (isn't that life?) she now finds herself splitting her time between her home and professional counselling practice in the beautiful Adelaide Hills and her childhood farm. She definitely has the best of both worlds!
 

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20
                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020
 
 

 

 

 

Tuesday 6 October 2020

Book Review: The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

The Paris Seamstress
by
Natasha Lester
 
 

 
Publisher:  Hachette Australia
Publication date: 27th March 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 448
RRP: $29.99 (paperback) $12.99 (e-Book)
Format read: e-Book
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
 
About the book
 
1940. Parisian seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee France as the Germans advance. She is bound for Manhattan with a few francs, one suitcase, her sewing machine, and a dream: to have her own atelier.

2015. Australian curator Fabienne Bissette journeys to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her beloved grandmother's work - one of the world's leading designers of ready-to-wear. But as Fabienne learns more about her grandmother's past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and secrets - and the sacrifices made for love.

Crossing generations, society's boundaries and international turmoil, The Paris Seamstress is the beguiling, transporting story of the special relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter as they attempt to heal the heartache of the past.
 
 
My review
 

I love Natasha Lester’s books so I didn’t even read the blurb. I just jumped straight in. I immediately became engrossed in Estella’s story and was quite shocked when the story jumped to 2015 and Fabienne. I think this, in turn, made me a little less interested in Fabienne’s story.


The Paris Seamstress is a look at fashion during the 1940’s and how many companies copied designs from the big Parisian fashion houses and reproduced them. Paris was the fashion capitol of the world.

The story moves from war-torn Paris to New York where a very outspoken and opinionated Estella finds it hard to break into the fashion industry. She has her own distinct ideas on fashion but are the American women ready for these ideas.


I found the overall plot of the Paris Seamstress to be quite complex and I had trouble keeping up at times. Just as I became totally engrossed in one timeline the story would switch over and I felt a resentment at being pulled away from my story. For me the gap between each switch was too large.


What I loved about the story was the strong female characters and the two burgeoning love stories.

The Paris Seamstress is filled with mystery, love, hope, optimism and loss. All centred around the fashion industry.


The problem with holding A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald up as one of my favourite books ever is, it’s a hard act to follow.

3.5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐½

About the author

Photo credit: Hachette Aus
Natasha Lester worked as a marketing executive before returning to university to study creative writing. She completed a Master of Creative Arts as well as her first novel, What Is Left Over, After, which won the T.A.G. Hungerford Award for Fiction. Her second novel, If I Should Lose You, was published in 2012, followed by A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald in 2016, Her Mother's Secret in 2017 and the Top 10 Australian and international bestsellers The Paris Seamstress in 2018 and The French Photographer in 2019. The Age described Natasha as 'a remarkable Australian talent' and her work has been published in numerous anthologies and journals.

In her spare time Natasha loves to teach writing, is a sought after public speaker and can often be found playing dress-ups with her three children. She lives in Perth. 


   

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20
                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020
                                 Historical Fiction Challenge  #2020HistFicReadingChallenge

 A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald

Friday 2 October 2020

Book Review: Letters From Berlin by Tania Blanchard

Letters From Berlin
by
Tania Blanchard
 

 

 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
Publication date: 7th October 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 448
RRP: $32.99AUD
Format read: Uncorrected paperback
Source:Courtesy of the publisher
 
About the book
 
Berlin, 1943

As the Allied forces edge closer, the Third Reich tightens its grip on its people. For eighteen-year-old Susanna Göttmann, this means her adopted family including the man she loves, Leo, are at risk.

Desperate to protect them any way she can, Susie accepts the help of an influential Nazi officer. It means she must abandon any hope of a future with Leo and enter the terrifying world of the Nazi elite.

But all is not lost as her newfound position offers more than she could have hoped for … With critical intelligence at her fingertips, Susie seizes a dangerous opportunity to help the resistance.

The decisions she makes could change the course of the war, but what will they mean for her family and her future?
 
 
My review
 
Inspired by real events Letters From Berlin, set during the last two years of Nazi ruled Germany, is narrated by Susanna an Aryan German but living with her adoptive family of mixed Aryan and Jewish heritage. This mix gives a perspective I haven’t read before.

These mixed families were protected from persecution at the beginning of the war however as conditions worsened and hatred spread the children of mixed marriages were targeted.

Letters from Berlin is a story of love and desperation. Opening on Susanna’s 19th birthday her family own a large estate in the country that supplies food to the Nazi officers which in turn provides them with a level of protection. We see a Berlin that is flourishing as Susanna is taken under the wing of a family friend who introduces her to glamorous cocktail parties and stage shows. Thus highlighting the vast difference in lifestyle of the upper-class Germans and the villagers.

Tania Blanchard shows the slow demise of Nazi Germany and how through fear for their own lives friends turned against each other. And as the Nazis started to get desperate they even turned against their own citizens. It was a time when no one was safe and the only information received was rumour and propaganda. As the story is told from the perspective of a German citizen we don’t get to see the terrible atrocities that were performed, only the rumours that were passed around.

Letters From Berlin tells how many German citizens were against the Nazi rule and longed for Hitler’s downfall. Many endangering their own lives to help Jews escape and also hiding prisoners of war. Susanna was a marvellous heroine, strong and determined, standing up for what she believed in and willing to do all she could to save her family.

Set over a short period of two years I felt the first half of the book was a bit slow however the second half delivered with raw emotion and believable suffering.

Letters From Berlin shows how the events of the war have a ripple effect, still affecting families many years later. 
 
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
About the author
 
Photo:Goodreads
 Tania Blanchard was inspired to write by the fascinating stories her German grandmother told her as a child. Coming from a family with a rich cultural heritage, stories have always been in her blood. Her first novel published by Simon & Schuster Australia, The Girl from Munich, was a runaway bestseller, as was the sequel, Suitcase of Dreams. 
Tania lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.


 
 
 
 
 
 
Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20
                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020
                                 Historical Fiction Challenge  #2020HistFicReadingChallenge