The Villa - Rosanna Ley

When Tess Angel receives a Solicitor's letter inviting her to claim her inheritance - the Villa Sirena, perched on a clifftop in Sicily - she is stunned. Her only link to the island is trough her mother, Flavia, who left Sicily during World Warr II and cut all contact with her family.

Initially resistant to Tess going back to her roots, Flavia realises the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to try to explain her actions. Meanwhile, Tess's teenage daughter Ginny is stressed by college, by her blooming sexuality and filled with questions that she longs to ask her father, if she knew where he was. 

 Three women, all seeking answers. 

Will Villa Sirena bring them together - or drive them apart.?

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Tess Angel's mother has always been very secretive about her life in Sicily and has never discussed her reason for leaving or why she has refused to go back.

Out of the blue Tess receives a Solicitors letter telling her she has been left a villa in her mother's village back in Sicily. She has never heard of Edward Westerman and has no idea why he would have left her his villa.
Tess decides she will travel to Sicily and see for herself the place her mother grew up and the villa
Mr Westerman has left her in his will, but what about her daughter Ginny she is in the middle of her exams.
With everything organised Tess leaves for Sicily where she doesn't just find her villa but discovers family feuds and family secrets and a little romance.

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Rosanna Ley's The Villa is a warm, romantic read in which you discover the lives of three generations of women. Tessa, her mother Flavia and her daughter Ginny.

A great holiday read and one I would definitely recommend,

Continuing with novels I've stored up on my kindle my next May read is




Happy reading one & all

Mx

DARK WITCH Book one of the cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy - Nora Roberts

Iona Sheehan has always felt a powerful connection to Ireland. So when her beloved grandmother confesses an extraordinary family secret, she can't resist visiting County Mayo to discover the truth for herself. 

Arriving at the atmospheric Castle Ashford, Iona is excited to meet her cousins, Connor and Branna O'Dwyer. And when she lands a job at the local riding school, she is soon drawn to it's owner - the charismatic, fiercely independent Boyle McGrath. Perhaps she has found her true home at last...

But Iona's arrival is no accident. The three cousins have inherited a dangerous gift from an ancestor known as the Dark Witch. And they are about to discover that some old legends can return to haunt the present.  

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Ordinarily I love anything that's a bit of escapism and takes you into the world of witches and warlocks and the like, so I was really looking forward to reading this Nora Roberts novel, which is part of a trilogy.
Unfortunately I was left a little disappointed and it became a novel to read in order to get to the end and move onto something else rather than a novel you just couldn't put down.

 Set in Ireland the story is of the three cousins O'Dwyer who have inherited their grandmothers (The Dark Witch) powers and  who together need to combat their enemy Cabhan.

I thought the story would be more along the lines of how they would develop their powers and a strategy to rid themselves of Cabhan. Instead it seemed to start off well in the beginning loose its way in the middle and not really recover by the end.
There didn't appear to be much in the content of the novel and I couldn't decide whether it was in fact a romance novel as the later seemed to be the main element to the book and not done particularly well.

Nora Roberts is a prolific writer of novels with great reviews but I suspect that her many fans will be left more than a little disappointed with this one.
I was looking forward to reading the trilogy,  but as this one will be going on the shelf for the charity shop I don't think I will be purchasing the other two.

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Moving on my next book will be one from the many that are residing on my kindle forming an orderly queue.

I have chosen The Villa by Rosanna Ley  

Happy reading one & all

Mx

Rikki-Tikki Tavi - Rudyard Kipling

                                          

This is the story of a boy and his weasel, a bird and a snake, India and the British Empire. 

Rudyard Kipling's dramatic tale, here excerpted from the greater volume of The Jungle Book, is the story of a loyal mongoose Rikki-Tikki Tavi, and the lengths that he must go to protect his adoptive human family.

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Rikki-Tikki Tavi is a Rudyard Kipling short story of just 62 pages.

It is an enchanting tale of a little mongoose who is found by a family after a summer flood and taken back to their bungalow to recover. There he comes across Nag and Nagaina the husband & wife Cobra's. They have set their sites on killing the family especially the little boy Teddy but they hadn't banked on Rikki-Tikki Tavi.  

He may be small but he is strong enough to kill a Cobra snake and he will do anything to protect the family that gave him a home. 

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I hadn't set out to read this book, I was actually looking for something else when I spotted it on my kindle listing and all my childhood memories of this little story came flooding back.

I have always been vertically challenged and this was a story my mother read to me when I was a child to try and instil in me that just because I was smaller than all of my peers that it didn't mean I couldn't achieve anything I set my mind to.

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My next read is from my bookshelf and is 

Happy reading one & all

Mx

WE ARE ALL Completely BESIDE OURSELVES - Karen Joy Fowler

What if you grew up to realise that your father had used your childhood as an experiment?

Rosemary doesn't talk very much, and about certain things she's silent. She had a sister, Fern, her whirlwind other half, who vanished from her life in circumstances she wishes she could forget. And it's been ten years since she last saw her beloved older brother Lowell.

Now at college, Rosemary starts to see that she can't go forward without going back, back to the time when, aged five, she was sent away from home to her grandparents and returned to find Fern gone. 

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There have been many mixed reviews on We are all completely beside ourselves it appears to be very much a Marmite novel.

It is written in six parts and by the time you get to to the end of page 1 of part two the twist has been revealed therefore I can't tell you too much about the storyline or it will give it away.

What I can tell you is that at the beginning of the story (which is actually the middle) Rosemary is in college where no one knows about her family background and that's the way she would like it to stay.
She hasn't seen her brother since the disappearance of their sister but she is hoping that by going to college at Davis he may just get in touch and want to see her.
From here on out the story really is about Rosemary blaming herself for the disappearance of her sister.  She feels that Lowell  somehow blames her for it too and is hoping that if Lowell does get in touch that she will be able to get closure.

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 I can't say this particular novel absolutely grabbed me and it was more that I had to keep reading to get to the end quicker.
I'm not sure that I agreed with all the hype that the book received there are definitely better novels around at the moment.
That's not to say that it wasn't well written but it did seem to loose it's way a little in some parts.

If you already have a copy it is worth reading but I don't think it's one that you should rush out and buy.

So on to my next read, which is going to be my return to childhood favourite reads and for the month of May that is going to be.




Happy reading one & all

Mx

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN - PAULA HAWKINS

                      

EVERY DAY THE SAME

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. 

She knows it will wait at the same signal each time.

Overlooking a row of back gardens.

She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses 'Jess and Jason', she calls them.

Their life - as she sees it - is perfect.

If only Rachel could be that happy.

UNTIL TODAY

And then she sees something shocking.

It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough.

Now everything's changed. 

Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar.

Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...

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With getting up at stupid O'Clock five days a week come a weekend I still wake up at stupid O'Clock and inevitably I won't be able to get back off to the lovely dream I was having so I get up make a cup of tea and 

read.

But this weekend I was also going to start my new book so I felt that an extra treat was in order.

Well what else do you do with a bank holiday weekend when the weather is blowing a hooley and all the housework is done. 

My new book is of course 'Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins. 

I had heard and read many great reviews about this particular novel, it was another recommended by Simon Mayo's Radio Two book club and was Colleen Nolan's recommendation on Loose Women (a daytime show here in the UK), but there are many of you who are taking part in Laura's The Year in Books Project 2015 who have recommended this one too. 

As it tells you above Rachel is a girl who travels everyday on the train into London and everyday the train stops at a particular signal giving her front row viewing of a row of houses.  She see's this particular couple every morning. She has never met them in person and knows absolutely nothing about them, so she gives them made up names and makes up a story in her head as to the lives they lead.

Then the girl she has named Jess disappears, it is all over the news and Rachel thinks she may have the answer to her disappearance. 

But here's the thing, will anyone take her seriously.

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I used to read thrillers all the time when I was younger, half the time frightening myself stupid but I had heard such good things about this novel that I knew I was going to have to read it. I am so glad I did. 

 Paula Hawkins tells her story through three main characters, Rachel, Megan and Anna.  

I was gripped by the end of the first chapter and just when I thought I had got the twist something would happen that would have me thinking again. 

This is Paul Hawkins first thriller and has been optioned for a film by Dreamworks, I just hope if the film goes a head that they don't detract too from the book.

It's not uncommon for me to devour a book within three days but I think I have even surprised myself in the fact that I just couldn't put this one down, it is therefore definitely one I would recommend you should read.

So what will I do now?

Make a cup of tea and pick another book from the bookshelf of course.

                     

We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler has been residing on the bookshelf for sometime now. It has been recommended by a number of you taking part in The Year in Books Project 2015 so I thought it was time it came off the shelf.

Hope you are getting better weather than we are.

Happy reading one & all.

Mx

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

Before her eyes the garden changed. Weeds and brambles, decades in the growing, receded. Leaves lifted from the ground revealing paths and flowerbeds and a garden seat. Light was permitted entry once more.

1913

On the eve of the First World War a little girl is found abandoned after a gruelling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that mysterious women she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a trace.

1975

Now an elderly lady, Nell travels to England to discover the truth about her parentage. Her quest leads her to Cornwall, and to a beautiful estate called Blackhurst Manor, which had been owned by the Mountrachet family. What has prompted Nell's journey after all these years?

2005

On Nell's death her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance. Cliff Cottage, in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, is notorious amongst the locals for the secrets it holds - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is at Cliff Cottage, abandoned for years, and in its forgotten garden, that Cassandra will uncover the truth about the family and why the young Nell was abandoned all those decades before.

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The Forgotten Garden is the first of my reads to tell you about in  May. I started it last weekend but knew I wouldn't finish it before the end of April so it's just about scrapped through until today when I turned the last page.
 I get totally immersed in Kate Morton's novels and this one was no exception.
 I love her style of writing moving effortlessly from the past to the present and from the present to the past. I know some people find this style of writing a little confusing but, in doing so all the questions you have in your head from the previous chapter start to get answered in the next two and there are always  fantastic twist at varying stages of the book.
There is always so much to absorb and that was certainly the case within the 645 pages of  this novel and I warn you, chocolate and a box of tissues are compulsory when reading. And just when you think you have all worked out you get another twist at the end.

If you've never read a Kate Morton novel before I would certainly recommend this one it will have you totally hooked and you won't be able to put it down. Each chapter will leave you wanting to know more and you will find you just have to keep reading  no wonder it was on Richard  & Judy's Best of Summer reads after it's release.

I definitely think this is my favourite of her novels so far.

 I have now read  all Kate Morton's novels  apart from Distant Hours which is in the queue and will be one of my Summer reads leaving me ready for the Autumn when Kate Morton's next novel 'The Lake House' is released.

Happy reading one & all

Mx

The Year in Books April

My April reads started off on my kindle. In 2013 I read Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper. It was brilliant so I knew I would at some stage catch up with other works of Kate Morton. The House at Riverton takes us back to the Summer of 1924 when on the eve of a glittering society party tragedy strikes when a young poet takes his own life. The only witnesses two sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford who never speak to one another again. In the Winter of 1999 Grace Bradley one-time housemaid at Riverton House now aged 98 is approached by a young TV director to tell her story of life at Riverton.  In telling her story Grace fears that she will reveal secrets that had long been forgotten even though Grace never could.  I have to say this was another book I just could not put down.  I was going away for a few days and thought with 612 pages this book would last me the duration.  How wrong was I.  I just couldn't put it down and could be found reading it as every given opportunity.  I like the style that Kate Morton uses combining the present with the past so effortlessly.  I have another two books by this author which I feel sure I will enjoy in equal amounts.

The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer. This is the story of Matthew who suffers with Schizophrenia. The narrative is told by Matthew himself. He begins by telling you about his brother Simon, who is three years older than himself and has down syndrome.  Whilst on a family holiday Simon has a fatal accident.  I'm not giving too much away here as you learn this on the first page.   This appears to be the beginning of Matthews illness.  He goes on to describe how the death of his brother not only affected him but his parents and extended family from the age of 8 through to adulthood.  The sad reality is that there are many adults with this illness and although Nathan Filer's book highlights the condition giving more insight on mental health and the loss of a family member, I am not sure whether it would benefit them. I know it has been critically acclaimed and has won numerous awards especially as this is a debut novel.  It was because of this that I wanted to read it but in all honesty I can't say that I agreed with all the hype. I am sure there will be others of you who will think it was absolutely brilliantly written and you may well be right. It may just be that this one just isn't for me. Sorry....




Watch Over Me - Daniela Sacerdoti. Eilidh and James were best friends as children, then Eilidh moved away.  Their lives took different paths. James fell in love and had a child Maisie who is now the love of his life. The relationship with her mother though didn't work out and now James raises his daughter alone. Eilidh is in a marriage in trouble.  With five failed IVF attempts the last resulting in a miscarriage has left Eilidh desperate, whilst her cheating husband has sort solace in another. Eilidh decides to go away for awhile. She packs a bag leaves a note for her husband and her parents and sets off not knowing quite what direction she will go.  She finds herself heading towards the little village in Scotland where she spent her early years and the place she felt the safest. Her aunty Peggy is over the moon when Eilidh knocks at her door and insists she stay with her for as long as she felt necessary.  Eilidh and James paths cross, as they do in all good romances, and even though it was a bit of a will they won't they  and a few dramas along the way you secretly hope that they will find love again in each other. It was a lovely romantic interlude in my Spring reading selection of books.  I hadn't read anything by this author before and it popped up in as a kindle special and I liked the story line. I have another novel by this author on my kindle and look forward to reading that one soon.

Ring of Bright Water - Gavin Maxwell has been my return to my childhood read for April. I don't remember what age I would of been when I first read Gavin Maxwells memoir of living in a remote cottage in Scotland with his Otter Mijbil (Mij for short).  I had long forgotten that Mij was not a native Otter and that in fact Gavin Maxwell had bought him back from Basra after visiting Iraq.  When he first arrived back in England Maxwell lived in a flat in London which he soon realised was not the ideal place to have an otter.  He got in touch with a friend of his in Scotland who ran an estate and happened to have a cottage that was in need of renovation but would be ideal for Maxwell and his companion.  Maxwell lived there with Mij for a little over a year when sadly Mij died.  Maxwell did go on to have other otters whilst he lived at Camusfearna but none could take the place of his beloved Mij.  There are three books in all but I chose to read the first and most famous Ring of Bright Water. It was Ring of Bright Water that went on to be made into a film of the same name starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers.

Now I know I am voracious reader but it was at this point that I have to tell you that having pulled a muscle in my back due to coughing, I have spent time in bed propped up on pillows as it was the only way in which to get comfortable.  Having caught up on all my catch up TV what else do you do in this situation but read.

The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by  Anna McPartlin  tells the story of Mia Hayes, known as Rabbit, who has been battling against breast cancer for the last four years.  We meet Rabbit as she is coming to the end of her journey.  Although the title is The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes the story essentially is centered around Rabbits family and friends and how they are dealing with the prospect of loosing their daughter, sister, mother and friend, revisiting childhood memories and growing up in Dublin. Although this is obviously a very emotive subject  Anna McPartlin has written it with such sensitivity but at the same time with a lot Irish humour thrown in.  I hadn't read anything by this author before and this one  was given to me for my birthday by a very good friend who knows the my type of reading  very well. In fact my friends are getting to know what I like just a little too well as I ended up with two copies for my birthday but that was soon remedied by way of a quick exchange. I absolutely loved this book and would definitely recommend it.   It is definitely up there as one of the best books I have read so far this year and I will definitely be looking at other novels written by this author.

The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd Set in the 1800's in Charleston South Carolina Sarah Grimke is the middle daughter who lives with her parents and 10 siblings.  On her 11th birthday she is appalled when she is presented with her own slave as gift. A young girl the same age as Sarah called Handful (Hetty) Grimke.  Sarah is set to cause herself a heap of trouble in her belief that slavery should be abolished.   Sarah's one true goal is to be able to make Hetty a free women. Each of the girls stories are told in alternating chapters following their contrasting lives from young girls to middle aged women.  Although fiction The Invention Wings is based on the life of Sarah and Angelina Grimke who eventually became orators, educators and Quakers who became the first American women advocates of abolition and women's rights.   This is the second Sue Monk Kidd novel I have read and it was every bit as good as the first.  If you have an interest in area of history it is definitely worth reading.

Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig was 24 when his world came crashing down. He had never experienced any episodes of depression and anxiety before. He describes the day all that changed as being 'the day the old me died'.  It has taken Matt Haig thirteen years to be able to write his account of how living with depression affected his life and how eventually he got to the point where he could live with it.  For anyone who has had depression and anxiety, myself included, they will tell you that you never feel completely free from it, it is always there bubbling away beneath the surface, you just have to take control of it rather than it taking control of you. For the most part that works, the downside being that you have to have traveled that path in the first place in order to know.  Matt Haig is now an accomplished writer and lives with his wife Andrea, who has been by his side throughout his journey, and their two children.   I first heard of this book when listening to Simon Mayo's Radio Two book club, whilst travelling home from work. For anyone who doesn't listen to his show he invites authors on to his show to be interviewed about their latest work and listeners are picked at random to read and give their opinion on the upcoming read.  Matt Haig was very honest about how he had got through the dark days of depression and how he is now thirteen years on.  The listener reviews were very positive. I decided that if I were to spot a copy of the book I would get it and I am glad that I did.

My Sisters Keeper - Jodi Picoult had been residing on my bookshelf for sometime.  I had seen the film years before with my daughter.  Having read the book herself my daughter passed it on to me with the comment, the ending is completely different to that of the film and you'll never guess what happens at which point I stopped her otherwise there would have been no point in reading the book.   It was because I had her words still firmly fixed in my brain that I then put off reading it until now so as not to spoil my enjoyment of reading the book.  Even though I knew the storyline I was still engrossed in the book and finished it within three days.  For anyone who doesn't know the story it is set around the Fitzgerald family. Mum Sara is a Lawyer but hasn't practiced since she had her children, Dad is a Fireman and then there are the three children, Jesse who is the eldest at 18, Kate 16 and Anna 13.  For most of Kate's life she has suffered with a rare form of Leukaemia.  Anna was conceived as donor baby when Kate initially relapsed and the cord cells from Anna were used to save Kate.  At that time it was thought that this would be the only time Anna would need to donate but Kate went onto relapse again and each time Anna was used as her donor.  At the stage where we meet the family for the first time Kate has gone into renal failure from all the treatments she has endured. Their mother assumes that Anna will wish to donate a kidney and is therefore shocked when Anna instructs a lawyer to sue her parents for medical emancipation.  As with all Picoult books you get to know each of the characters within their own chapters and each flows to the next effortlessly.  She is definitely becoming one of my favourite authors and as she is such a prolific writer I still have many more to choose from.

Time to Say Goodbye - Katie Flynn sees three young girls evacuated from Liverpool to the country during the war. They stay with the local publican and her neice.  The story follows the girls adventures and the friendships they make. Although they have exchanged Christmas cards over the years they haven't seen each other in 20 years. At the time you don't know what path the girls lives have taken in that time  In the first chapter we meet Immi decides to invite her friends to a 20 year reunion. It is whilst she waiting for her friends to arrive that she reminisces about her time in the country and so their stories begin to unfold.  I did enjoy this novel, but I did feel it was a little slow in places and in some instances a little The Famous Five but without the lashings of ginger beer.

The Kid - Sapphire.  As part of my March reads I read the book PUSH by this author. It was the novel PUSH that inspired the film Precious. At the end of PUSH Precious Jones is left raising her son and seems to have her life back on track even though she has been diagnosed with HIV.  At the beginning of her sequel The Kid you discover that Precious has lost her battle against her illness and the opening chapter is set with her nine year old son preparing to attend his mothers funeral and not quite understanding whats happening.  I was in my naivety hoping that all would come good for JJ.  I had found PUSH to be quite harrowing at times but nothing had prepared me for how harrowing and how graphic in her descriptions of sexual abuse were going to be in the sequel.

The Boy That Never Was - Karen Perry is the last of my April reads. It is another recommendation through Simon Mayo's book club.  Harry and Robin lost their 3 year old son Dillon during an earthquake in Tangiers, his little body was never found. Five years on they are now living back in Ireland when Harry sees a boy of eight or nine and is convinced that this boy is his son.  This is a brilliantly written novel and I was hooked from the first page to the last.  I never saw the drama program 'Missing' that was shown recently but from what I have been told if you enjoyed 'Missing' you will definitely enjoy  The Boy That Never Was.  From other reviews this novel is also known as 'The Innocent Sleep' not sure why the two different titles unless it depends on which country you reside.  Karen Perry has another novel out in June and it will definitely be on my wish list.

As per usual I have picked a book of the month.  Even though I have read so many great books again this month there was definitely one that that stood out and that was

The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes

Anna McPartlin

Happy reading one and all.

Mx

PS 

Just to remind you that I am taking part in Laura's The Year in Books Project 2015 and if you would like to know more information about taking part then click on the link below.

The Year in Books Project