These Empty Places - Sarah Loudin Thomas

Claire Roth turned away from her first love to maintain a life of comfort and wealth. Although she loved her late husband and adores her daughter she sometimes wonders what the lost 'treasure' her first love left for her actually is. 

Lena Hawkins, on the other hand, marries the man who sweeps her off of her feet. She was a socialite from a wealthy family. He was from a poor background, but has done well speculating on the stock market. Then came the financial crash. Lena and Preston are penniless and living in a hovel before Preston manages to find work and housing thanks to his brother. Things start, very slowly, to look up for the Hawkins, and when they find an abandoned home to live in, Lena starts to enjoy making it 'hers'. But Preston's constant determination to be 'on top of the top' at all costs no matter how he gets there has devastating results...

This is a clever look at what real treasure looks like, as well as having lots to say in mostly quiet ways about both friendship and love. Lena ends up working for Claire, a lady who would have been her peer rather than her employer in her previous life, before her marriage estranged her from her wealthy parents. Their working relationship doesn't take long to move to friendship, and conversations about life and love. 'Love isn't always easy, is it?' says Lena. 'Almost never,' Claire agrees. 'Not if you're doing it right.'

And love certainly isn't easy for Lena. The up-and-coming, charismatic man she married isn't the man she deals with when their fortunes are low. He is unpredictable and sometimes hostile. Even in the pages of a book, he sometimes scared me and often infuriated me. He is proud in a dangerous way. He dislikes Lena working, even though they desperately need her wage, and he doesn't like her finding a friend as well as an employer in Claire. He is constantly focussed on getting to the top and being rich and routinely expects that Lena will meekly do what he expects of her when he has 'made it'. He rarely actually listens to what Lena says, or takes the time to see what her heart really wants. When he is finally making more money and is able to move them to a smarter home, he still disregards Lena’s own hopes and dreams and assumes what she wants rather than actually asking her.

Claire says of her late husband George: 'Love, she'd realised, was a choice to be made' and she made it (Claire’s story - told in the book - is lovely), but it is clear again and again that it is a choice which Lena has to make too, and it is not easy. I liked the fact that she did not just run into Preston's arms again, even when I was irritated that he expected her to! That said, Lena doesn't always make the best choices herself and she spends a lot of time crying and being angry. I totally understand why she would rightly be angry, and I would probably also cry! But there do seem to be quite a few scenes where she is 'sobbing'.

Getting past my dislike of Preston (which is counterbalanced somewhat by my liking for John Bellamy and his quiet wisdom) took a long time, and it was lucky that there are so many other much more likeable characters in the book! The setting is also very beautifully described. And I liked the way all the various threads were tied up, although I personally felt the epilogue was surplus to requirements and felt awkward, unnecessary and a bit sad. 

This is up there with the author’s earlier richly told historical novels. She  has a gift for creating multilevel stories around lesser-known historical events, in this case the loss of Lake Toxaway due to the failure of the earth dam in 1916 and the impact on the resort and local people. It’s a great book club option on what real treasure is, with an excellent set of reading group questions at the end.

I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

A Mismatch Made in London - Melanie Dickerson

I really enjoyed this Regency romance from Melanie Dickerson. It is a vibrant read with sparkling leading and supporting characters. Mrs Kendall, Amelia's aunt, is especially enjoyable in her role as someone who often unintentionally causes problems for her niece in ways any fan of classic Regency fiction will recognise! Amelia's friendship with Juliet is lovely, and the kind of friendship many readers would wish for. And it gives Jeremy the chance to be 'brooding and handsome' in abundance! I was completely smitten and found myself picking up this book to read it whenever I could find a spare moment. 

I highly recommend this for anyone needing to escape into a genuinely sweeping historical romance. It would have got a five star rating  but for the appearance of the dreaded 'gotten', which NO English lady would have said in the Regency era. Nor do we say 'a brisk run on a good horse'. In England we don't refer to horses as 'running', except in races. We would say 'a good gallop on a fast horse' or something similar. And why on EARTH is an English gentleman suddenly saying 'to be sure'?! These are minor points in the overall scheme of things though and I enjoyed this far too much to be put off by a few snafus. (Which are unlikely to affect most of the American primary readership.)

Well-written, witty, energetic, enjoyable and engaging, this is a wonderful story with which to while away a few pleasant reading hours.

NOTE: I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

Chase the Light - Suzanne Woods Fisher

There is a LOT going on in this book and the character list of 'who's who' which the author includes is sometimes needed!

The three central figures are Scout Johnson, passionate about her work as a ranger in the National Park Service (NPS) and unfortunate enough be named Magnolia Pearl by her dynamic and totally different personality type mother Lucille.

Naki Dana is a Native American of the Penobscot Nation.

And then we have Chase Fletcher, who runs the Bar Harbor Gazette, a local newspaper which is barely hanging on by a thread to avoid going under. 

And so we have an awkward sort of love triangle, where Chase seems convinced that Scout is interested in him, despite myriad indications that she isn't. (Although there's one bit where he puts his arm around her and she lets him, which I found very odd, and another point where he does something which made me write 'what a nerve!' in my notes!) On the other hand Scout IS immediately but almost unwillingly attracted to Naki. 

When Scout is left behind at a remote lighthouse by irresponsible teenager Frankie, she finds a note which hints at lost treasure. This news proves impossible to keep secret, which means that Scout, Naki and Chase - with the 'help' of Frankie and Maisie (a complicated young woman who is VERY keen on Frankie despite him taking almost zero interest in her) - have to solve a series of clues to find the treasure before the park is overrun with Treasure Hunters.

I absolutely love Suzanne Woods Fisher's novels, so I was surprised to find this one a little hard to get into. My book notes read '47 pages in and I like barely anyone'! But it's worth persevering, even though Frankie's character seems to have become a million times more irritating since the opening book in the series (which, by the way, it is not essential to have read before this one, although it gives background to some of the characters in this), and Chase is doubly annoying in terms of his desperation for the Gazette and his interest in Scout. It soon feels much more like Chase is competing with Naki for Scout's interest, rather than him really being interested in her. 

Naki is an intriguing character with an interesting cultural background, and he is keeping a big secret of his own. I was completely unaware of the Penobscot Nation and I found this fascinating. The treasure hunt and its associated clues is very well done and definitely draws the reader in.  I really enjoyed this element of the story, both in terms of the clues, and the way they were solved. The descriptions of the scenery are fabulous, too - you could almost be standing there yourself. 

There are several excellent plot twists. I think I liked the last one the best! All the way through there is plenty of interest and intrigue alongside the main characters and story. Suzanne Woods Fisher is an author who writes complex, realistic and relatable characters and is not prone to making her peripheral characters 'thin' and uninteresting. In this book we have several 'supporting characters' who also have their own issues, hopes and loves which are well woven into the story in more than merely a passing way.

This is a tale with a strong message about seeing people as they are, not what you may first think about them, or how we think they should be. And it's about trying not to view them as we are ourselves, either personally or through the lens of our own cultural experience. For me, that meant learning a bit about Frankie, as well as considering these factors in real life terms. It's  a book about trust, which must be earned and cannot be assumed. It's about second (and third, and fourth) chances, reconciliation, forgiveness and family reconnection and restoration - yet without too many hearts and roses! Faith elements are strong, but appear rather randomly throughout the story.

I could have been put off of this book very early, but I'm glad I stuck with it. A brilliantly clever and entertaining 'treasure hunt' mystery, it turns out there's not merely physical gold to find between its pages.

NOTE: I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

In a Word, Yes - Kit Tosello

This is a book which earns all five of its stars effortlessly, in my humble opinion. It's perfect escapist, relaxing and completely engrossing reading which sneaks in themes of healing, renewal, faith, hope and second chances which linger well after you close the pages.

Firstly, I LOVE the mother/daughter conversations. I also love Chase, and the way his autistic challenges are written as simply being a part of who he is, rather than a condition he has to bear. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't sugar coat the fact that it's tough, but I really enjoy the way we see Chase becoming more of his 'own person', and his growing connection with people through the story is super.

This is a story which opens up in increments. We know that things are hard for Lucy and Chase, but it's a while before we know the details. And they're BIG. Equally, we know that things are shifting for Carly, and her role is very cleverly written. Initially it's easy to think of her as a distant mother, too busy with her own interests to care very much about her daughter and grandson, but we soon realise how very far from true this is.

And the way Lucy 'meets' (well, nearly meets) Wyatt is funny! There's plenty of humour through this story, but the moment at which I laughed out loud involved Carly's knee high lace up boots...! However, back to Wyatt, who is another character who is believably complex, and I do enjoy this kind of relationship building in a romance. The small-town 'cosiness' of Charity Falls works delightfully, too. I could easily imagine myself popping into one of the stores there, or visiting the Book Club. 

For a novel which generally I would recommend as an 'easy read', perfect for packing for a holiday or to dip into for a peaceful afternoon's escapism, I found it unexpectedly powerful. 'Shoudn't it be enough just to survive?' Lucy asks, in chapter one. And that 'digs' a little, as I've been asking the same thing lately. Much further in, she observes 'Just because a thing isn't easy doesn't mean it's not what we're called to.' Hmmm, that's very true, even if it takes reading a few times to sink in.

Early in the story Lucy feels 'stuck', and so, in a different way, does her mother Carly. And this story gently shows us how they each get 'unstuck'. It also teaches us in witty and thoughtful ways that first or even early impressions may be deceiving. There's a lot of Christian input in this novel, but it never feels awkward or preachy. 

I am wondering though: Can God prompt someone about getting on with writing a book on which they feel stuck, through the storyline in this book about Lucy getting stuck with her memoir? 

In a word, yes. Yes, He can.

UK Publication Date: 15 Sep 26

NOTE: I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.