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Catherine Lowell - The madwoman upstairs 3,5/5

As the last remaining descendant of the Brontë family, Samantha Whipple is rumored to have inherited a vital, mysterious portion of the Brontë's literary estate; diaries, paintings, maybe even early novel drafts. But Samantha has never seen this rumored estate, and as far as she knows, it doesn't exist. But everything changes when Samantha enrolls at Oxford University and bits and pieces of her past start mysteriously arriving at her doorstep, beginning with an old novel annotated in her father's handwriting. With the aid of a handsome and elusive Oxford professor, Samantha must plunge into a vast literary mystery and an untold family legacy.
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A little late, but better late then never, right?
I started the year of reading only books from my own shelves. It feels good to make a dent in the unread books I own!

Mary Gibson - Custard tarts and broken hearts 4/5
The girls who work at the custard and jelly factories in early 20th century London are called 'custard tarts'. Nellie Clark is one of them, working hard from morning till night, trying to hold her family together after her mother died. Two men are fighting for Nellie's attention and to top it all of, the threat of war looms on the horizon.

A warmhearted and human novel, this story of 'little' people swept up in 'big' events. The atmosphere is reminiscent of Call the Midwife: the poverty, the hardship, but also the caring human relationships. The romance is sweet and definitely not 'insta'. The only con I would name for this book is the large amount of time that passes during the story and how this sometimes feels a little weird.

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Hester Browne – The runaway princess 4,5/5
Amy Wilde, a simple Yorkshire girl, is trying to fit in in the London high life. When she meets Leo, she can't believe her luck. A man who understands her and likes her for who she is! But soon the discovery that he is actually a prince turns her life upside down. Suddenly she has to deal with glittering galas, her supermodel mother-in-law and the press interest in her life and family.

Such a charming and lovely story! And what a recognizable character Amy is with her enjoyment of simple pleasures and her love for her parents. I loved the relationship between Leo and her, all the sweet things he did to win Amy over. He really is a dreamboat of a guy! Despite the typical rom-com storyline (girl meets secret prince), this novel felt actually mostly realistic, probably because it stayed so close to Amy and how she felt and underwent everything. A definite recommendation for anyone wanting to read a sweet, warm and funny romance.

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Jennifer Worth – Shadows of the workhouse 3,5/5
Jennifer Worth was a midwife and district nurse in East London during the '50s. The popular BBC series Call the Midwife is based on her memoires, of which this book is the second part. In the book, Jennifer describes multiple cases of people she took care of whose lifes were marked by their time in the workhouse.
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Lesley Gould – Courting Cate 4/5
In this Amish novel inspired by Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Cate Miller is known for her sharp tongue and fiery temper around Paradise, Pennsylvania in contrast to her sweet sister Betsy. Exasperated by his daughter, their father sets a rule: Cate must marry first before Betsy can court. And when the free-spirited Pete Treger comes working for Mr. Miller, Cate might just have found her match.

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Rachelle Dekker – The choosing 4/5
In a Dystopian American city, women have no value unless they are chosen to be a man's wife. Carrington Hale leaves her Choosing ceremony alone and has to resign herself to live the rest of her life as a servant, a Lint, the lowest level of society. But rumours of rebellion and a different truth reach her and resonate deep within her.

This was a very interesting an well-written dystopian novel. It's quite different from other dystopian novels (and movies): more introspective, less action-focused. The world-building is good, with some small chapters interspersed detailing the history of this world. They way the society where Carrington lives, works, can give rise to many thoughts and discussions. I always like it when a book makes you think and ponder. Carrington is a strong and relatable character. I did think the book was a little long and some parts repetitive. It ended up at the same doubts and thoughts for Carrington again and again. And, yes, I know this also happens in real life, but it just doesn't read very nicely ;-)

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E. Nesbitt - The railway children 4/5
Roberta, Peter and Phylliss and their mother have to change their comfortable live in Edwardian London for a remote village in Yorkshire when their father is mysteriously taken away. Luckily, the children make new friends and have many adventures at the nearby railway station.

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Kiera Cass – The heir 4/5
In the fourth novel of Kiera Cass's Selection series, we follow the daughter of America Singer, princess Eadlyn, as she goes through her own Selection to find a husband.

On the one hand, this was a nice, simple, happy read like the three previous books in this series. There are many interesting new characters to root for, although Eadlyn herself takes some warming to. On the other hand, the problems I had with the previous books somehow increased in this one. It's all a bit too simple and predictable and the background of the story and world this takes place in is sooo vague. I understand this is YA lit and I shouldn't expect too much, but still. I do still want to read the next and last book, just to find out how everything ends!

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It’s been a while since I posted here, the reason being that I read very few books in the last few months. What with finishing my PhD and all the tiredness that came after that. But now it’s summer, I have two free weeks and lots of evenings to sit in the garden and read (hopefully!)

Here are my reads from April-July

Dot May Dunn – Around the village green 3/5
The memories of Mrs. Dunn about her childhood in a small Derbyshire village during WWII.

I generally really like stories about small-town life in WWII Britain, but this one fell flat somehow. Maybe the narrator was too young to tell really interesting stories; she was mainly running around the countryside with her brothers. There were some good parts, like how the family befriended a lonely German prisoner-of-war, but overall it was just a bit boring.
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Mary McNear – Up at Butternut lake 3/5
Allie, a young widow and her five-year old son Wyatt move to a remote cabin in the small town of Butternut where Allie hopes to start her life again. Allie and Wyatt are soon taken up in the community, but Allie is still doubtful. Can she really live here? Did she do well brining her son so far away from all he's ever known? And what about their neighbour Walker Ford, who offers to teach Wyatt to fish. Is he just being neighbourly or does he want more from Allie?

A relatively run-of-the-mill romance, not really bad, but not too memorable either. I actually liked the side characters better than Allie or Walker, but though McNear tried to add some side stories into the novel, they didn't get enough space to be really fleshed out. I wasn't too fond of the romance, it felt a little too physical, if you get my meaning.

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Sarah Addison Allen – First frost 4/5
In this sequel to Addison Allen's Garden Spells, we meet up with the Waverley sisters some 10 years later. Sydney's daughter Bay is now a self-assured teenager loving a popular boy at school from afar. When Sydney finds out who he is, she tries her utmost to keep him from getting involved with Bay, because of her past with the boy's father. Sydney's sister Claire is now a succesfull candy maker, but seems to loose herself more and more in her business.

Addison Allen is the queen of magical realism and I love the surprising way she weaves the Waverley magic into her stories, like in Sydney's hair which changes colour all by itself or the way the Waverley house can shut people out. That being said, this was a weak sequel compared to Garden Spells. It felt like a compilation of loose storylines and quite a few of them did not seem to go anywhere. My favourite storyline was about Bay and Josh, their bonding was really quite cute.

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Only two books this/last month, as I spend most of my time finishing my PhD thesis. Almost done now!

Julie Klassen - The girl in the gatehouse 4/5

Mariah Aubrey has been banished from her parent's house after a scandal and is sent to live on the estate of her aunt. There, she supports herself and her loyal servant by writing books in secret. When her aunt dies, the estate is rented to Captain Matthew Bryant, who made his fortune in the navy. He is determined to fit into high society and show the girl who once rejected him what a mistake she made. But when he meets Mariah, Matthew can't help but be intrigued by her.

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Deliah Parr – The midwife’s tale 3/5
Martha Cade comes from a family of midwifes and hopes her daughter Victoria will take over from her in the future. But then Victoria runs away and a new doctor in town tries to take over Martha's patients.

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Melanie Benjamin – Alice I was 3/5
The story of the 'real' Alice in Wonderland, the daughter of an Oxford dean, growing up in a stifling Victorian atmosphere and her friendship with Charles Dodgson (the real name of Lewis Carroll).

This was such a weird novel. Things are implied about Alice and Mr.Dodgson and this colours the whole novel and gave me an upleasant feeling reading. Still, it never becomes clear what really happened, which annoyed me. Why imply stuff when you don't give the reader clarity in the end?

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Thomas Locke - Emissary 3,5/5
All Hyam wants is to be a farmer. Though he spend five years learning to be a mage as a kid, he would like nothing better than to forget this gruelling time. But his mother's last wish is that he return to the Long Hall where the mages live. There, he hears things that change his life and set him on the path to becoming a hero and unearthing long-held secrets.

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Rachel Hauck – The wedding dress 2,5/5
Charlotte owns a chiq bridal boutique and is about to get married herself. She has a gift for finding the perfect dress for her customers, so why can't she find one for herself? It makes her doubt about her future until she finds a mysteriously perfect 100 year old dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale.

Nope, this one didn't work for me at all. First of, putting the stories of four different women in one book simply means not enough attention can be given to either of the stories, so there was too little character development and big plot gaps. Then, like with my previous Rachel Hauck book, I really couldn't appreciate the supernatural touches. A wedding dress somehow blessed by God so it always fits the wearer and remains in a perfect state? That just didn't click with me. No more Rachel Hauck for me, I'm afraid.

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Pamela Mingle - The pursuit of Mary Bennet 4,5/5
No doubt every fan of Pride and Prejudice has wondered what would happen to the remaining Bennet sisters after the end of the book. Pamela Mingle has written a story about the most neglected Bennet sister, Mary. Upon hearing about Kitty's 'almost-bethrotal', Mary resigns herself to the fact she will remain the unmarried Bennet daughter and take care of her parents forever. But then she gets a chance to stay with her sister Jane and meets the kind and intelligent Henry Walsh.

Jane Austen sequels are tricky. As fans, we all want more of her world, but often we are dissapointed with the way modern writers write about our beloved characters. Luckily, I really liked Pamela Mingle's outlook and writing style. I also liked her realistic development of Mary. She is not suddenly transformed into a second Lizzy or Jane, but a unique and different character, recognizable from her scenes in P&P, but more mature.

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Rainbow Rowell - Landline 3/5
Georgie McCool is a succesfull tv writer. Two weeks before Christmas, just as the is about to leave for Omaha with her much neglected husband and two young daughters, Georgie gets the breakthrough of a lifetime. She lets her family go away without her, but falls apart herself. Especially when an old phone at her mother's house seems to connect her to the past.

A great idea for a story, still, this was the least favourite of the Rowell books I've read so far. The story seemed to drag a bit, maybe because too large a part was spend just describing the long phone conversations of Georgie and her husband Neill. For me that was just a bit too boring.

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Anthony Trollope - The Way We Live Now 3,5/5
A classic about the rise and fall of the great financier Mr. Melmotte in 1870s London and all those who are influenced by him.

It took me aaaages to get through this one, more than 2 months to be precise. I couldn't read very fast because I found it rather boring, the talk about money and politics. And also, there were very few characters I found sympathetic or I could identify with. Though I must say, Trollope writes good, realistic female characters for a 19th century writer.

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birdienl.livejournal.com

Patrick W. Carr – The Hero’s Lot 5/5
After the attack at the end of A Cast of Stones, the country of Illustra has come to rest again, but only for a while, because the King is old and frail. Errol is accused of a conspiracy and sent on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Merakh to find and kill one of Illustra's corrupted readers. Luckily, he has loyal friends and allies who go with him to help fulfill this almost impossible task.

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