A Cosy Christmas in Cornwall

A Cosy Christmas in Cornwall. Jane Linfoot. 2019. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: ‘Could there be a better present for the woman who has everything?’ I’m smiling across at Merwyn in the front seat and, as I take in the words Cockle Shell Castle carved into the monumental gateposts, I’m so excited I’m finding it hard to breathe. Then I ease my car through the gateway and onto the winding approach, and as we round a bend and the pale walls and castellated towers come into view, washed in moonlight, I can’t help letting out a gasp.

Premise/plot:  Ivy Starforth, our heroine, has been hired by her friend's sister to "kit out" the holiday rental--a castle in Cornwall. But there's been a slight mix-up. The rental is not the one fabulously pictured online, it's bare and decidedly un-Christmasy. And it comes with a grumpy landlord, Bill Markham. Can she fix up the rental before her super-picky-not-at-all-likeable employer arrives with ALL of her children and family?!

My thoughts: I had a hard time getting into this one. Do people really hire out other people to photograph every single moment of their holidays and post it on social media for them?!?!?! I suppose some of the super-elite might hire out a professional to decorate their own home, but a rental home?! Why introduce dozens of characters of this crazy-eccentric-quirky-dysfunctional family (not a single one likeable) when the main focus is obviously going to be on a romance between Ivy and Bill?!

Speaking of the romance, why do they have to happen to know each other previously. Why couldn't it be a super-predictable romance with a stranger? At least if it was a stranger, there wouldn't be the repetitive Will/Bill thing going on where she remembers their past vacation encounter and wonders why he is now calling himself Bill instead of Will. Seriously annoying.

This one is full of characters I just didn't care about at all, not even a little. And it's crude. I wouldn't classify it as smut-smut, just crudely written. I definitely would NOT recommend it to those who prefer/seek out clean fiction. The language alone--no matter the actual subject matter--would classify it as NOT clean. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: Christmas on the Home Front

Christmas on the Home Front. (Land Girls #3) Roland Moore. 2019. 273 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: It was one day before Christmas. And Joyce Fisher wondered whether she would live to see it. This winter-bleak thought wasn’t borne of fatigue from living through so many years of war. It wasn’t even the result of having lost so much along the way. No, Joyce knew, totally rationally, that today was one of those days that can change a life forever; a crossroads in which taking the wrong path could cost everything. She wished with all her heart that it wasn’t the case, that there was some rosy alternative, another path to take. But she couldn’t see any way out of it.

Premise/plot: Roland Moore's Christmas On the Home Front is not a stand-alone read; it's the third book in the series. I have not read the first two books in the Land Girls series. Joyce Fisher, our heroine, is a land girl. She's survived the war so far, despite hardships and stress. But will she survive to see the war end?! Will she live to see the year 1945 welcomed in?!

My thoughts: Christmas On the Home Front is not a cozy mystery, nor a cozy romance. It isn't set in a cozy little village starring dozens of super-eccentric characters that all come together to make the best of things always. If I had to describe this one it would be THRILLER. Thrillers aren't a genre I read all that often. Mysteries, yes. Cozies, often. But THRILLERS, not so much. But once I started reading Christmas on the Home Front I could hardly stop. I'm guessing you won't be able to either.

The good news is that it is fast-paced and intense.

The bad news is that the writing is a bit confusing. It will back track to show you the same exact scene from a different point of view. You might spend several pages--or even chapters--with one character and have time be moving forward. And then be thrown back a few hours, a day even, with the focus on different characters. Eventually the two will collide again--collide may be just the right word. But it has a sloppy feel to it. For the record, I am NOT talking about the prologue. It isn't all that unusual for a book to begin with a dramatic flash-FORWARD. And then have the novel lead you up to that climatic moment in time.

The less you know about the plot specifics, the better. Just allow yourself to be thrown in. Now, I am curious how this one fits in with the other books in the series. Are they equally thriller-esque?

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Murder for Christmas

Murder for Christmas. Francis Duncan. 1949/2015. 240 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence from the prologue: No one could have foretold how it was going to end. Not even the murderer. It is not to say that the crime was hastily conceived and clumsily executed.

Premise/plot: The book opens on Christmas Eve. Father Christmas, or I should say, a man dressed as Father Christmas is murdered at the foot of the Christmas Tree. The setting is a country house party. One of the guests is a murderer...and one guest happens to be an amateur detective. Coincidence?! Perhaps.

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this atmospheric mystery. I believe it is my first time to read Francis Duncan, and my first time to meet Mordecai Tremaine. I want MORE, MORE, MORE....now, now, now. I hope I can track down the rest of the books in this classic series.

I thought the writing was well done. It has a literary feel to it almost. But literary or not--it is definitely suspenseful!

The landscape was a Christmas card in three dimensions. There would have been no incongruity if a sleigh drawn by reindeer had come sweeping over the brow of the downs. It did not, in fact, seem fantastic that the red-robed figure of Father Christmas was outlined in the moonlight, moving quickly along the terrace of the big house. It was, after all, Christmas Eve, when such things—particularly in such a setting—were to be expected. But if one watched carefully, it was sometimes possible, especially when the moon was obscured, to see a faint glow behind the windows of the ground floor. It was a glow that changed its position, as though it owed its origin to a flashlight carried by someone who moved stealthily within the house. And outside in the snow and the shadows there were muffled, hidden figures. Concealed from the house and from each other, they watched intently—and waited upon opportunity. The atmosphere was brooding, tense with foreboding. Fantasy and mystery, violence and death were abroad. It seemed that time was moving reluctantly and with an ever more tightly coiled dread toward some terrible climax. And at last the climax came. It came when the bell had stopped. It came when the moonlight, searching again through the clouds, swept softly across the white lawns, revealing the ragged line of footprints. It came when the cold light flooded up to the half-open french doors and, tracing the moisture on the polished floor, came to rest upon the red thing of horror that was Father Christmas, stark and sprawled upon its face in front of the despoiled Christmas tree. It came with a woman’s scream—desperate, high-pitched, and raw with terror.

I enjoyed the characterization. In mysteries of this sort, it is important that readers really get to know all the suspects and the detective. No complaints here! Duncan did a fantastic job!!!

I almost want to reread this one now that I know who did it to see it again through new eyes. 


© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop

Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop. Elaine Roberts. 2019. 297 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Victoria Appleton’s slender fingers clutched the brown envelope in her coat pocket, while the other hand gripped the wooden handle of her black umbrella.

Premise/plot: This historical holiday-themed romance has a light and breezy feel to it despite its world war one setting. Readers should know from the start that it is the third book in a series. The Foyles Bookshop Girls, The Foyles Bookshop Girls At War and then Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop. There is a cast of characters that I'm guessing appear in all the books. The three "main" characters are Victoria, Molly, and Alice. Molly and Alice are married and engaged or engaged and married. One is married with one child and another on the way. The other is engaged and very soon to be married. By the end of the book, she's married. Sadly, I can't really remember which is which.

Victoria, the primary main character, is going through her parents' belongings (after seven years of waiting for no particular reason), volunteering at a local hospital for wounded/recovering soldiers, missing her one-true-love that stopped writing her ages ago, and enjoying her new responsibilities at the bookshop.

The book focuses on the daily lives of the characters. Very little "big" happenings occur. Many, many "teeny-tiny" ones do. For some readers, this means NOTHING happens. But not all readers, perhaps. Sometimes you go on journeys WITH the characters as company.

My thoughts: I didn't mind the slow pacing. I didn't. What I minded a little more was the constant changing focus. I'm not sure you'd say this one has multiple point of view characters. But I'm not sure you wouldn't couldn't say that. It was a bit of a guess at any time WHO the focus would be on and why. This being the third book in the series there wasn't much attachment to any of the characters, especially at the beginning. If I had read the previous two books, I imagine that I would CARE from page one and be instantly drawn into the story. I saw the plot twist coming from miles and miles away. I think any reader could. The book lacks all subtlety there. But even so, I won't spoil the book here in the review. It takes the characters in the book a couple of hundred pages to know what readers essentially know from the first few chapters.

I liked the focus on daily life. I liked the small details, the small things that make life, LIFE. If I had access to the previous two books via library, I would definitely read those and catch up on their lives. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Vow For Christmas

A Vow for Christmas. (Spinster Mail-Order Brides #7) Linda Carroll-Bradd. 2019. 92 pages. [Source: Review copy]

  First sentence: “Nay, sir, you canna come inside.” Vika shoved a shoulder hard on the apartment door, leveraging her weight against that of the landlord, Mister Zeleny. She jammed a booted foot at the base. “I’ve three more days until the rent is due.”

Premise/plot: Chad Rutherford is a widower advertising for a bride in Linda Carroll-Bradd's new historical romance novel. Set in Colorado in 1881, it stars a "spinster" mail-order bride, Vika Carmichael, and a widower, Chad Rutherford. They marry hours within meeting. But will this marriage of convenience prove to be a love match?

My thoughts: Say what you will, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a good predictable, oh-so-satisfying, formulaic romance novel. Particularly if it's historical romance. I was not surprised by any plot twists. Did I care?! NOT for a minute. I found this one giddy-making from start to finish. The kind of book you read with a super-silly grin on your face. It is a nice touch that this one is holiday-themed. Of course, it wouldn't have to be holiday-themed to be enjoyable. It's not the fact that these two marry close to Christmas that makes it oh-so-magical, at least not for me. It's the happily ever after.

Is it clean? Is it smutty? It's neither. It's not super-squeaky clean. There are descriptive kisses, all after the vows if that matters to you. But it's so far from smutty that some readers (not me) will be disappointed perhaps.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage

Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage. Katie Ginger. 2019. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: Felicity Fenchurch primped and preened in front of the camera, brushing her honey-blonde curls back from her face. The director shouted, ‘Action,’ and she gave a longing smile, dipped down to pull a tray from the oven, and gazing at the camera from under false eyelashes, pouted.

Premise/plot: Esme has it all...until she doesn't. She loses her job, her boyfriend, and her apartment all in one day! She returns to her hometown but not her parents' home. She rents a tiny cottage and starts making plans for her future. Encouraged by her friends, she starts a food blog. Can she make the blog a huge success in just three or four weeks in times to make all her holiday dreams and wishes come true?!

My thoughts: WHY did this one have to be about blogging?!?! I can gladly accept formulaic holiday-themed romances light on intelligence. But I cannot accept stories of bloggers that go from zero views to thousands of views in just a week or two. Enough views to land her a new job. Seriously. Everytime she COMPLAINED about how slow the process was for getting page views, I wanted to SCREAM at her. I actually spent most of the book angry at the main character. That being said, the romance elements were mostly enjoyable. I think if she had been doing anything else with her life instead of blogging, I would have been fine with the writing.



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Notting Hill in the Snow

Notting Hill in the Snow. Jules Wake. 2019. 410 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: ‘Do you have to bring that thing on here at this time of day?’ snapped the woman, whipping round to look at me, her spiky, spider leg mascaraed eyes shooting sheer poison as everyone on the platform at Notting Hill Gate surged forward when the tube doors opened.

Premise/plot: Viola Smith (who plays the viola and works for the London Metropolitan Opera Company) finds herself falling hard and fast for a married man, Nate Williams, in Jules Wake's Notting Hill in the Snow. Williams' marriage is crumbling away; his wife has been gone almost a year leaving him to raise his little girl (Frozen-obsessed little girl), Grace, on his own. Viola steps in to help out. He needs it. She's got experience--plenty of it--with her cousins' children. She knows all the crafts and tools of the trade. She feels the attraction from the first; but doesn't really expect him to as well. And even if they're both attracted to the other--a bit--what could really happen between them? He's super-busy. She's super-busy. The only time they really see each other is when they're both with Grace. Sure she could close her eyes and imagine being with these two FOREVER AND EVER. But it's her imagination, nothing more. It will last a few weeks, until January, perhaps when he can get a full-time nanny. Then her life can return to normal...

My thoughts: Notting Hill In the Snow definitely has a Christmas movie vibe to it. In other words it's simply delightful and a bit predictable. If you've watched any Christmas romance in the last few decades, chances are you'll be able to spot what twists and turns are coming. But I don't mind predictable so long as I get my happily-ever-after.

I really loved this one. Not because he's married and this affair is near-adulterous. But because I loved seeing Viola interact with Grace. I loved Viola's understanding and compassionate heart. I loved how she opened up her heart to Grace and just welcomed her right in. I loved the family-type experiences they had together. Baking. Shopping. Decorating. I loved the writing, the dialogue. It's just a satisfying read.

Is it clean? Is it smutty? Well, there is the whole issue of his being married to someone else when there is a LOT of kissing involved. But. It really doesn't go much further then kissing. (Though there's plenty of wanting to take the next steps. Does lusty daydreaming count as smut if it's not graphic?)

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm

Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm. Jaimie Admans. 2019. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I am never drinking again. Please tell me that pounding, throbbing sound is not coming from inside my own head. I peel one eye open and severely consider not bothering to open the other one. I’m slumped on the living room floor and propped upright by the coffee table, with my face smooshed against the keyboard of my open laptop.

Premise/plot: Love Hallmark-esque Christmas movies? Admans' Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm may prove the perfect match for you. Leah, the heroine, buys a CHRISTMAS TREE FARM (sight unseen) in Scotland with her inheritance. She is hoping that her parents' would have approved and that this will be a true new-beginning for her. (Things haven't been all that great lately...most recently having been humiliated in "love.") The farm, well, is so far from what she imagined that there are no words. Fortunately, her nearest neighbor, Noel, is JUST what her best friend, Chelsea, imagined. HOT, HOT, AND DID I SAY HOT?! He proves more than willing to help her out, once he sees that she sincerely wants to make a go of it. Will they fall in love in the weeks leading up to the holiday season?

My thoughts: I ADORED this one. I didn't love, love, love every little thing about this one. The language in describing her ex--and WHY they "broke up"--is a bit graphic for my liking. But I loved the chemistry between Leah and Noel from start to finish. It had one super-predictable, obligatory CONFLICT that I found myself rolling my eyes over. Why do romance novels need OBSTACLES in the first place? But this one had a series of lovely scenes, a sprinkling of charming characters, and a general CHARM to it that left me grinning. I almost forgot to mention THE DOG.

Is it clean? Is it smutty? As I said earlier, the descriptions with the ex are a bit much (and they happen near the start of the book) are a bit much--for my liking. Remember SUBJECTIVE taste. But Leah and Noel's romance is neither squeaky clean nor out-and-out smut. Mostly kissing, plenty of descriptive kissing. (You know there has to be a mistletoe scene or two involved, right?!) But nothing beyond that is graphically described. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: A Mortal Terror

A Mortal Terror (Billy Boyle #6) James R. Benn. 2011. 345 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Kim Philby owed me one.

Premise/plot: Billy Boyle stars in his sixth book in this historical mystery series. This one begins with a happy reunion between Billy and Diana Seaton. The reunion will be brief—the war is far from over. But their time together ends abruptly (almost as abruptly as the novel itself) when Billy is ordered to investigate a series of murders in Italy. The crimes continue...danger builds. This one has a huge body count...and not just because of the Nazis. Can Billy (and Kaz) solve the mystery in time?

My thoughts: Why does this one end so abruptly?!?! It’s like a slap in the face with its non-ending. That being set aside, it was a fabulously compelling read for mystery lovers. I put off reading this one—my mom warned me—until the next book in the series was ready to go.

Maybe he had been a good man once, before the shooting started. Before the hard choices. That’s how evil made its way in this world. Not with a devil’s face, as the nuns taught us. It slithered between the cracks, caught decent people off guard, dragged them along until they were in too far. Then it made them into something they never thought they could ever be. (165)

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Blood on the River: James Town, 1607

Blood on the River. James Town 1607. Elisa Carbone. 2006. 237 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My feet slap, bare and cold, on the cobblestones.

Premise/plot: Samuel Collier stars in this action packed historical coming of age novel for children. He is saved from jail, if you will, when he is chosen to be a servant (indentured?) to a Captain John Smith. Smith is one of many men heading to the New World, to Virginia. Technically one of their goals is to find the lost colony of Roanoke. But mainly, it’s all about the money. What can they find in the new land to turn a quick profit. They are hoping for gold, gold, and more gold. But other natural resources may be a better choice. But the settlers are clueless, naive, inexperienced, short-sighted. Potential wealth isn’t as important as survival. And risks are everywhere. Sometimes coming from natives, sometimes not. Disease, starvation, freezing temperatures also threaten their future. Collier is a part of it all, a witness to the good, the bad, and the ugly. Life is challenging.

My thoughts: This one opens shortly before the ships(3?) leave England for Virginia. It proves a super compelling read from the start. It offers both action and suspense. The characters were all real men, women, and children. The novel is well researched if the bibliography is to be believed. Of course, the primary sources are subjective in nastier as all journals and diaries tend to be. But there are enough sources to offer readers a glimpse of what it might have been like to live through these earliest years in America.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Golden Tresses of the Dead

The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) Alan Bradley. 2019. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I’d like to remark at the outset that I’m a girl with better than average brain.

Premise/plot: Flavia de Luce, child-detective, is starring in her tenth mystery. In this one her older sister, Ophelia “Feely” is getting married. Her wedding goes well. The reception less so! A severed finger is found in the wedding cake giving the bride quite a shock. The guests remain mainly unaware of what causes the excitement. Dogger and Flavia—already an official detective team—take up this case privately. But they do take on a professional case. There is a murder to solve in this one along with several side mysteries. There is always something going on in their “quiet” community.

My thoughts: I really love Flavia and Dogger. I am still heartbroken over the father’s death which happened several books ago. I am starting to warm up to Undine. I love revisiting all the characters from the community. We do see Gladys make a few appearances in this one. You wouldn’t think a bicycle could leave a lasting impression. Overall I am still enjoying the series. Perhaps this one is my favorite of the newer mysteries in the series? I don’t know that it would be a favorite favorite from the setting as a whole?

Definitely read these in order and not as a stand-alone.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Cecilia

Cecilia. Frances Burney. 1782. 1056 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: “Peace to the spirits of my honoured parents, respected be their remains, and immortalized their virtues! may time, while it moulders their frail relicks to dust, commit to tradition the record of their goodness; and Oh, may their orphan-descendant be influenced through life by the remembrance of their purity, and be solaced in death, that by her it was unsullied!” Such was the secret prayer with which the only survivor of the Beverley family quitted the abode of her youth, and residence of her forefathers;

Premise/plot: Cecilia, the heroine, is a heiress. Despite her soon-to-be large fortune, she finds making a match difficult--if not impossible. One reason is that while men may be quick to fall in love with her--or her fortune. She is not so quick to "fall for" any man. But primarily the greatest obstacle to her "catching" a husband is the stipulation that the MAN CHANGE HIS SURNAME to hers. (I believe it's Beverley.) It isn't easy for Cecilia to be an independent woman. I believe the novel opens when she isn't quite of age to accept her inheritance. But even once she's of age, she cannot live on her own and do as she pleases. She has three guardians: Mr. Harrel, Mr. Briggs, and Mr. Delville. Each is bad news in his own unique way. All have different weaknesses that make them less than ideal to "manage" or "guard" her. Will she ever find her true love match? Or will she die insane?

My thoughts: It feels like I've been "reading" this one FOREVER AND A DAY. I know I was "currently" reading it in May of 2019. I finished December 11, 2019. What did I think of this one? 

I think it is LONG, LONG, VERY LONG. I think it has a couple dozen too many characters if you want to keep track of them all. I think the dialogue is unnatural and melodramatic. I can't imagine it being a reflection of any time. The sentence structure--not only of the dialogue, but in general--is absurd. If I had to guess, most sentences would have 200 to 300+ words. Of course, there are a few gems hidden deep within.

Quotes:

So short-sighted is selfish cunning, that in aiming no further than at the gratification of the present moment, it obscures the evils of the future, while it impedes the perception of integrity and honour.

Pleasure given in society, like money lent in usury, returns with interest to those who dispense it:

“If sorrow,” cried Mr Belfield, darting upon her his piercing eyes, “wears in your part of the world a form such as this, who would wish to change it for a view of joy?” 

“You intend, then, madam,” said Mr Belfield, “in defiance of these maxims of the world, to be guided by the light of your own understanding.”

“Be upon your guard,” he cried, “with all new acquaintance; judge nobody from appearances; form no friendship rashly; take time to look about you, and remember you can make no alteration in your way of life, without greater probability of faring worse, than chance of faring better. Keep therefore as you are, and the more you see of others, the more you will rejoice that you neither resemble nor are connected with them.”

“You, Miss Beverley,” said Mr Arnott in a low voice, “will I hope give to the world an example, not take one from it.”

She got together her books, arranged them to her fancy, and secured to herself for the future occupation of her leisure hours, the exhaustless fund of entertainment which reading, that richest, highest, and noblest source of intellectual enjoyment, perpetually affords.

 

A strong sense of DUTY, a fervent desire to ACT RIGHT, were the ruling characteristics of her mind:

Hope is never so elastic as when it springs from the ruins of terror.

  

You are much deceived; you have been reading your own mind, and thought you had read his.

I hate every thing that requires attention.

But it is vain to debate where all reasoning is disregarded, or to make any protestations where even rejection is received as a favour.

 

Let us live to ourselves and our consciences, and leave the vain prejudices of the world to those who can be paid by them for the loss of all besides!

 

 People reason and refine themselves into a thousand miseries, by chusing to settle that they can only be contented one way; whereas, there are fifty ways, if they would but look about them, that would commonly do as well.

The true art of happiness in this most whimsical world, seems nothing more nor less than this — Let those who have leisure, find employment, and those who have business, find leisure.

 

 Misery seeks not man, but man misery. He walks out in the sun, but stops not for a cloud; confident, he pursues his way, till the storm which, gathering, he might have avoided, bursts over his devoted head.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Milkman's Son

The Milkman's Son: A Memoir of Family History, a DNA Mystery, and a Story of Paternal Love. Randy Lindsay. 2020. [March] Shadow Mountain. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: The dastardly thing about a life-changing event is that it can disguise itself as a normal day.

Premise/plot: Randy Lindsay grew up being called 'the Milkman's son' because he looked nothing like his siblings--all younger. But he never suspected that his dad wasn't his biological father. When his father asks him to do genealogical research and record the family tree, he didn't know that it would end up changing his life. The project started out as research, a side-project. He soon became obsessed with tracking all the lines of his family, in particular the LINDSAY line of his tree. Was he a Lindsay with an A or a Lindsey with an E. When traditional research left him at a dead end, he decided to do a DNA test little expecting that the results of that test would change him and how he defined family. The 'journey' spans almost a decade--perhaps a little more. He chronicles the ups and downs of the experience. He focuses on his feelings and on his relationships.

My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one. I found it a captivating story. In part because he is a good writer and knows how to tell a story. I've read other "DNA mystery" books where family secrets are spilled and lives are changed. This is the best I've read so far. The other book I read felt like it should have been about ten pages--no more. This one wasn't like that at all. It was actually a good read. I loved his developing interest in genealogy. I could definitely relate to his DILEMMA: "I struggle with the decision of whether I should go to bed or check one more name." And I smirked here, " I finally connect the Lindsays to a royal line and it happens to be one that includes an infamous villain in popular fiction. Does that mean the next time I watch a Robin Hood movie I need to root for the bad guy? That isn’t any fun. I already know he’s going to lose. And it will make me look like an idiot if I sit there during the movie and chant, “King John. King John. Go-o-o-o-o Lackland.” 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Candy Cane Caper

The Candy Cane Caper. (A Culinary Mystery) Josi S. Kilpack. 2019. Shadow Mountain. 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: It takes an awful lot of work to get ready for the most wonderful day of the year, Pete, but it doesn’t take much to destroy it.” Sadie paused long enough to take a breath, but quick enough to keep Pete from speaking.

Premise/plot: The Candy Cane Caper is the newest book in a series of mysteries (Cozy Culinary). Sadie, our heroine, is helping her neighbor, Mary, have the best LAST Christmas ever. (Mary has moved out of the neighborhood and into a nursing home, but, not out of Sadie's heart.) Mary is dying--and knows it, as does her family. She wants HER tree up one more time with HER decorations. The problem? Her decorations, ornaments, are super-valuable antiques worth THOUSANDS of dollars. Sadie worries that BLIND Mary could be ROBBED and never suspect a thing. Sure enough, a few (more than a few actually) ornaments DO go missing. Can Sadie find the thief (or thieves) before Mary herself suspects that anything is wrong? Can the lost ornaments be found and restored? And on top of this investigation, can she find time to make all the AMAZING food her family expects?

My thoughts: This was my first time reading a book in this series. If my library owned this series, I'd check them all out NOW and zoom through them. I absolutely loved this one and imagine that they are all equally fabulous. Each chapter--or at least most of them--end with a recipe. The characterization is well-done. The pacing is excellent.

I would definitely recommend this one--for any time of the year. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: Cilka's Journey

Cilka's Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) Heather Morris. 2019. St. Martin's Pres. 352 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Cilka stares at the soldier standing in front of her, part of the army that has entered the camp.

Premise/plot: Cilka’s Journey is a follow up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. Her character was introduced in the first book; Lale credits her with saving his life. Cilka’s Journey is HER story of what happened next, after the concentration camps were liberated. Or in her case “liberated”. For the Russian soldiers (should that be Soviet soldiers??) that liberated the camp didn’t free Cilka, but rather interrogated and imprisoned her. Cilka is sentenced to fifteen years at a hard labor camp in Siberia—Gulag. Her crime? Surviving the only way she could—“allowing” the Nazis to rape her. Cilka feels ashamed and burdened by her survival. So many died yet for three years she survived. Cilka fears that life in Siberian labor camps won’t be all that different.

Most of the book tells of her time in Gulag. Focusing on her “easy” job in the hospital. Cilka is fortunate that she is trained in the medical field...to take notes, keep records, check on patients. She excels at whatever task she’s given. So she begins training as a nurse...in the general ward, the maternity ward, the nursery, the fever ward, riding along in the ambulances. Also on the relationships she has with the other prisoners in her hut.

My thoughts: The novel is a compelling, intense read. It is fiction but based on real people and events. It is shocking and incredible—though perhaps it shouldn’t be—that Cilka would be punished and blamed for having survived three years of sexual abuse. Her story is worth reading. Her voice deserves to be heard.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown

Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were. J.F. Andrews. 2020 [January] Pen and Sword History. 200 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: William the Conqueror died on 9 September 1087. He had held England in his iron grip for almost twenty-one years, wiping out the old aristocracy and causing untold misery and suffering across large parts of the realm as he went. He had seized the throne by violence in 1066, but he did not want his own death to result in another Hastings, or in a revival of any Anglo-Saxon claims; no, he would create his own AngloNorman dynasty, which would rule England by blood right. With this in mind, he made it clear that the English crown should pass to his son … his second son. Naturally, his eldest son had a few thoughts of his own on the subject, and thus began four centuries of bloody disputes as the English monarchy’s line of hereditary succession was bent, twisted out of shape and finally broken when the last Plantagenet king fell in battle in 1485.

Premise/plot: This book focuses on the "lost" heirs that never reigned or ruled England. (The book begins with the death of William the Conqueror and ends with Henry VII on the throne.) The reasons WHY the "lost" heir never got the crown vary from person to person--as you'd expect. The author states the premise quite clearly, "This book will tell the stories of all of these people and more; the many medieval kings–and the occasional queen–who could have been but never were. It features a very distinct group of people: it does not include illegitimate children who had no expectation of ruling; nor those who sought to invade and claim the throne by conquest...Instead it focuses on those who were genuinely considered to be next in line to the throne and who expected to be crowned but who–for a number of different reasons–never made it to the top. Very few of them reached old age; those who did went to their graves disappointed or imprisoned, and those who did not were in many cases the victims of violence or murder."

My thoughts: Does this book have an audience? YES. Is it probably a SMALL audience? YES. But that small audience I'm guessing is ENTHUSIASTIC and a bit OBSESSED. I did a little squeal when I read the description of this one. Why? Because not only did I know it would appeal to ME as a reader and lover of history and all things royal. BUT because I know it would make my MOM super-happy. I'm hoping that the library will order a copy. Mom reads and rereads books about the medieval royals ALL THE TIME. She almost always has a book checked out on the subject.

So I loved how each chapter started with a family tree. I loved how clearly it was written and organized. The genealogy of the royal family COULD be a super-tangled mess, but, the author was great in keeping the flow going and explaining how all the pieces fit together. I loved the stories.

One of my favorite time-wasting daydreams is imagining the PERFECT book that I'd love to read. It would be a series of novellas or short-stories possibly. Each would be set in an alternate world with a different what-if question answered. It would span the centuries. Each what-if would be based on a matter of succession/rule. I've been imagining this book for years now--probably five or more. So when I saw this book, it was like HALF a dream at least had been realized.

If the book has a flaw, it would be that the author believes Richard III guilty. (He so wasn't!)

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me

Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me. Julie Wright. 2019. Shadow Mountain. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: My fairy godmother was all talk and no action. Like the tooth fairy, she was definitely not someone I could depend on. I had a sneaking suspicion the two had run off together a long time ago and were now downing drinks with umbrellas while they lounged on a beach somewhere exotic and peaceful.

Premise/plot: Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me is a light-hearted romance novel. The heroine, Charlotte Kingsley, is a writer. Her dream is to be PUBLISHED of course. But after yet another brutal rejection (all rejections are brutal no matter how civil the wording), she writes a NONFICTION self-help book instead of another fairy-tale romance. That book, the "rant" as her neighbor believes it to be, is NOT rejected. But the terms under which it is published leave a little to be desired. For Charlotte will have to BECOME the person people expect her to be. Her Swedish neighbor, Anders, is NOT pleased that his absolute best friend (and possible love of his life) is changing EVERYTHING about herself in order to fit a mold that the publisher dictates. Everything from who she can friend or follow on social media, what she can post, what she can share, how she dresses, who she can be seen with, the furnishings of her apartment. It is all so EXTREME. Is she losing herself to get the happily ever after ending that she's always wanted?

My thoughts: I am Team Anders on this one. I don't know if I was supposed to be. Oh, it's fairly obvious that Anders is the love interest. But when it comes to all the changes they are demanding of her--from her--I am Team Anders. It seemed all kinds of WRONG that a writer would have to essentially change everything about herself in order to be liked by potential readers. I hope this aspect of the story is pure FICTION. I would hate to think that this kind of thing happens in the real world.

As for the romance, I definitely enjoyed this one. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: Fing's War

Fing's War. Benny Lindelauf. Translated into English by John Nieuwenhuitzen. 2019. 376 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: One rainy afternoon, I was called to heaven.

Premise/plot: Fing’s War is the sequel to Nine Open Arms by Benny Lindelauf. While the first book focused on the whole family, multiple narrators, the second book is Fing’s story. It is an historical coming of age story set in Holland at the very start of the Second World War. There aren’t many opportunities for young girls in their small town. Domestic work or marriage is the norm. Fing hasn’t really dreamed beyond that until the Sisters at her school offer her a chance for a scholarship at teacher’s college. But her father and grandmother have different plans for her. And the scholarship seems like another word for charity case to suit her grandma. No, Fing is to be hired out as help for the Cigar Emperor and his German wife. Fing, well, what choice does she have?! Enter the Nazi soldiers and the Dutch Blackshirts. The war will change her mind, body, and soul forever. Her whole family as well...

My thoughts: I am so glad I put off reading this one until I was able to read Nine Open Arms. It may claim to be a stand alone novel, but it would be hard going to actually CARE about the characters if you haven’t read the first book. Once that relationship with the family is in place, this one is a compelling read. I could see how this one might be a slow read if you don’t already love this family and appreciate their unique house on the edge of town. I didn’t find it slow. True not all elements were equally compelling. But I could see how Fing might interpret life that way. This one is very much coming of age. So many firsts are touched on throughout the novel. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Secrets We Kept

The Secrets We Kept. Lara Prescott. 2019. 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: We typed a hundred words per minute and never missed a syllable.

Premise/plot: This historical novel focuses around the publication and distribution of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. Unable to find a publisher in the Soviet Union, he risked it all by allowing it to essentially be smuggled out of the country and published in Italy. Meanwhile in America, the C.I.A. was hard at work smuggling banned literature into the U.S.S.R. It seemed obvious to try to get their hands on the Russian manuscript or a copy. To produce a copy—in Russian—to smuggle into the U.S.S.R. would be just the thing.

While part of the novel is about Doctor Zhivago, much of the novel is about the women’s typing pool of the agency focusing on a handful of employees that have a second secret job in the agency. Irena and Sally are the two main characters.

The novel Doctor Zhivago features a “forbidden” love story between Zhivago and Lara. It is an adulterous affair. Likewise The Secrets We Kept features a “forbidden” love story between Sally and Irena. Set during a time when being outed could prove costly—loss of job, loss of reputation, loss of family and friends, etc., the novel captures the dangers and intensity of love.

My thoughts: This is the first book about the Lavender Scare that I’ve read. (Though I did see the recent PBS documentary last year on the subject.) I didn’t seek out the book because of this angle. In fact, there were no obvious clues in the jacket description that indicated exactly what the SECRET alluded to in the book title actually was. For better or worse. I think knowing ahead of time would probably bring in more readers. Perhaps.

I sought out the book solely because of my interest in history and literature. I have read and enjoyed Doctor Zhivago. I have an interest in Russian literature. It seemed like a good fit.

I felt like the description was a tiny bit misleading. I wanted more spies and suspense.

I would warn about the contents of this one. There is a graphically violent rape scene. Most adults should be able to handle it. I think it will make you rightfully angry. I found myself wanting to scream at the book.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Nine Open Arms

Nine Open Arms. Benny Lindelauf. Translated into English by John Nieuwenhuizen. 2004/2014. 272 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: At the end of Sjlammbams Sahara stood a house. We weren’t the first to live there or the first to give it a name. We had no idea yet about Nienevee from Outside the Walls and Charley Bottletop. But if it hadn’t been so windy that day, we surely would have been able to hear them signaling to each other, drumming with their bones deep under ground.

Premise/plot: John Nieuwenhuizen has translated this Dutch coming of age novel into English. Nine Open Arms is a historical middle grade novel starring the Boon family. Primarily we spend time with three sisters (Fing, Jess, and Muulke), their father (Antoon), and their maternal grandmother (Oma Mei). There are nine in the family in all. But the brothers seem to hardly make an appearance or impression.

So the plot?! The Boon family is moving. Again. The father is trying a new venture. Again. This time it is making cigars. He believes this is it—no more worries, no more new beginnings. But the rest of the family might take a bit more convincing. Especially Oma Mei. She, among other things, is a story teller. But she has to be in the right mood to pull out her crocodile, to pull out a photograph, to share a story. But when she does...it’s something. Family stories. Community stories. So many they’ve not heard before.

So about a third of the plot is a story she tells about the previous owners of the house. This is set not in the 1930s (like most of the novel) but several decades earlier (1860s). This story is fascinating all the more so because of how it connects with the present.

My thoughts: I really loved this one. I did. I love Oma Mei. I love the three sisters. I love the complexity of the family relationships. I love, love, love the crocodile—the holder of all the family photographs. I love the mini-mysteries. I love the stories. It is definitely a character driven novel, but those are my favorite and best kind. I would highly recommend.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews