It's Okay Not to Be Okay - Sheila Walsh

It's #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and I'm going back to a book which I can hardly believe has now been out for a year. So it's not a brand shiny new title, but it's one of those books which I hope will live solidly on for years to come, because it is one which I truly believe can help people who are struggling.  I have friends who struggle with their mental health in various ways.  I have myself.

More than ten years ago (wow) I had a breakdown.  I'd been secretly struggling for a while but one day I was sitting in a meeting with my boss at work going through all the projects and tasks I needed to complete. And my entire self was filled with a suffocating sense of 'I can't do this any more' while I used every iota of my energy not to fall apart right there.  I remember struggling to speak while also trying not to cry. The meeting stalled. My boss sent me to see a doctor. At first it was a huge relief.  I went home feeling lighter, sure I just needed 'a bit of a rest' and that I'd bounce back quickly.  But I didn't bounce back quickly and when, at my next medical appointment, my doctor said 'I'm not seeing improvement' and said I was still unfit to work I remember walking home in the sunshine thinking 'What am I going to do if I don't get better?'
  Over time I did get better, and went back to work, part time to start with.  Supportive people in my professional and personal lives for whom I am still deeply thankful helped me, and managed to avoid everybody knowing that I'd crashed and burned. And some time later I was able to help another friend - a high flyer in their industry - when they had a similar mental health crisis, because I had been there and recognised the signs.

And that is why It's Okay Not to Be Okay is such a powerful read.  It's because author Sheila Walsh has also been there, and walked that uneven path. She writes from personal experience, but she doesn't expect her experience to match everyone else's.

I'd like to quote a small piece from early in the book, where Sheila talks about reaching the point of having what she calls a 'gut-level, honest, pour-your-heart-out conversation with God':

'I held it together until I couldn't anymore. I remember a night in my bedroom where I literally soaked the floor with my tears. I was bone-tired from pretending to have it all together, from trying to be okay. So, I let God have it. I told Him I was afraid and angry and tired and sad and lonely and confused and everything else I could think of. I didn't edit myself. I just let it all out.
  I believe my final words were, "I can't do this anymore."
  Rather than feeling rejected by my broken outburst, I felt as if God bent down and said, "I know. I've been waiting."'

Sheila's experiences have helped her reach out to others. A powerful snippet from the book gives an example:

'A woman pulled out her cell phone to show me a picture of her son. I'll protect a few of the details to honour her privacy, but even as I looked into her eyes to comment on how handsome he was, I saw an ocean of sorrow. She had faced the unthinkable in any mother's life: having to bury her son.
   The thought of that took my breath away. I had no words. All I could do was hold her and weep with her. She had come alone to the conference, which was titled "In the Middle of the Mess, Finding Strength for This Beautiful, Broken Life." I imagine that the only word that made sense to her was broken. Life was not beautiful. She didn't even want strength. She was broken. This was never the life she imagined. I was afraid to speak a word to her. What could I possibly say that would touch the depth of her pain? In what felt like a holy moment, she hugged me and through bitter tears said, "Thank you."  I have no idea what God gave her that day ... The Holy Spirit had taken truth and poured salve onto a broken heart. It's a mystery to me.'

We may not all be broken to the extent that this grieving mother was, but we all carry scars on the inside. If you're struggling, I urge you to let someone you trust know. Be honest. Don't give them the sanitised version of your pain.

I'm convinced this book has already helped many people, and will help many more.  Whether you're flying high or passing through the valleys, I recommend this as a personal, thoughtful, and helpful read.

A Glitter of Gold - Liz Johnson

Anne Norris has moved to Savannah, Georgia in an effort to escape her past. The past where trusting in a man led to disaster with serious long-term results.  Carter Hale is struggling to keep the local museum in business, and to find the wreck of a ship talked about in the pages of the 18^thcentury diary he owns. 

When Anne turns up at the museum and shows Carter the gold sword hilt she found on the beach after a hurricane, they must join forces to try to find the ship – and perhaps in the process find love.

I really enjoyed this book, with the interwoven stories and the common thread of searching. Rebecca’s search for her brother in the 16^thcentury, told in the diary Carter was given as a boy, Anne’s search for freedom and peace as well as for the shipwrecked Catherine, and Carter’s search for his own self-worth and place within his family and the conclusion to his life long search for the Catherine.

The story is told wonderfully, with truly engaging characters and interesting back-and-further-back stories.  I felt for Anne, and liked Carter.  And there was someone I was suspicious of, with good reason, it turned out! When the inevitable ‘breaking’ of Anne’s secret happens, I was surprised that Carter wasn’t more angry or upset at the news, although perhaps he was flattened by the strength of Anne’s rage!  And I also wonder how her story can be kept out of the press ongoing – especially considering how much her landlady clearly dislikes her.  My favourite bit of the book though was the story of Rebecca. It was completely engrossing, and the storm was written especially well. I could almost feel the spray and hear the creaking and groaning of the ship crashing through the waves!

Overall, a very enjoyable read with well rounded characters, interesting and complex back stories, a well described setting and the air of mystery around the search for the Catherine.  I found it hard to stop reading late at night, which is always a great indicator of a top novel!

4.5 stars

You can read a fun Q&A with Liz (and find out why I picked the quote used in the graphic) here:  https://readingismysuperpower.org/2019/08/06/author-interview-and-a-giveaway-liz-johnson-a-glitter-of-gold/

For transparency, I work with Revell books in the UK, but I am not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.

The Words Between Us - Erin Bartels

Catalogue copy: Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family’s ignominious past. She thought she’d finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.

  When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father’s scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she’s about to be exposed all over again?

This is the second novel from Erin Bartels, who is rapidly becoming a ‘must read’ author for me. Like her first, We Hope for Better Things, this is set across two time periods, but in this story the time periods are within Robin’s lifetime, and we see the impact of the events of her childhood and youth on her adult self in the ‘now’ sections.  

What I love about Erin’s storytelling is that it is so immersive.  From the fantastic first lines: ‘Most people die only once. But my father is not most people.’ and through the 300+ pages which follow, the story rushes at a breathtaking pace sweeping the reader along with it.  

We begin the story at the point where Robin’s Dad is due to be executed.  On this difficult day, she receives a book in the post. Which may not seem odd for a used bookshop owner, but THIS book is not just a rare first edition copy of Catcher in the Rye, but the actual copy given to her by her childhood friend Peter Flynt, twenty years before.  Someone she’s not been in touch with for a very long time.

It’s hard to write much about the story without introducing spoilers, because this is a book where a lot happens, and there are plenty of twists and turns.  There are a few red herrings in the plot and a few threads which aren’t neatly sewn up by the end, and the last sentence of the second to last chapter felt more like the end of the book than the actual end of the book!  

The characters are well described and three-dimensional and one of my favourites is The Professor! I shall say no more about him here, except that the reader is in for a treat.  The power of words is the theme of the book, and this comes through in the books mentioned throughout, and in prose, poetry, thoughts – and silence.  

Although this is categorised as women’s fiction, there is a very strong mystery thread – or rather multiple threads.  I like this in the books I read, so I hope it’s a trend which will continue into Erin’s next book.  Which I hope will be coming soon.

Definitely a ‘recommended read’, but I recommend you read it when you have time to sit down and tune everything else out!

This review is based on a pre-publication manuscript, so some elements may have changed on publication. In the interest of transparency I work with the Revell fiction list, in the UK. However I am not obliged to review any particular book, nor to write positively about it. The comments in my review are entirely my own.

The Number of Love - Roseanna M White

Catalogue copy: Three years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network – field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack every German telegram. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages. But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, for the first time in her life numbers aren’t enough.

I really enjoyed Roseanna White’s previous series Shadows Over England, so I was glad that her new series The Codebreakers begins by picking up the story of one of the minor characters from the earlier series.  There’s absolutely no doubt that the author knows how to tell a good story.  There’s lots of energy, intrigue and layers of both story and tension.  

She also does well with English rather than American on the whole, though ‘sidewalk’, ‘gotten’ and ‘fedora’ appear, and a few oddly un-English phrases including ‘every pence’ rather than ‘every penny’ and some weird use of the word ‘bloke’! But I am used to sliding my reading mind around those things in books from American authors, and in this case the story is definitely gripping enough to want to keep on reading.

What I found hardest in this book was the casual approach to secrecy at the English end of the story (ie. Rather than of those in the field).  Which is a shame given the amount of research the author has clearly done. Room 40 was a secret operation with much effort made to ensure that even Britain’s allies didn’t know the degree to which we were breaking German code.  The author refers to the secrecy surrounding Room 40 in her very interesting notes at the end of the book, yet in the story open phone calls are made about confidential information (the telephone being a highly insecure channel), and people talk freely to others not in their immediate team about the work they are doing, and discuss their work when in places they could easily be overheard. 

On the positive side, the story is nice and involved, and Margot is a wonderful character who often thinks and reacts in numbers rather than words.  Her friend Dot at first appears to be frail and weak, but her character grows and strengthens through the book.   Drake, the field agent whose eye is caught by Margot, is a likeable leading man.  The use of numbers as key markers and almost as punctuation in places works really well. The 18 on the cover is a recurring, and key, thread.  There’s lots to like about this book, especially if you like thrillers, espionage novels, or lesser known military elements novels. There’s a good solid dose of ‘whodunnit’ too.

Although as a novel aiming to accurately represent British intelligence operations during WWI I do find it wanting in some areas, I’m still greatly looking forward to reading the next in the series.  

4 stars

Driftwood Bay - Irene Hannon

After tragedy robs her of everyone she loves, Jeannette Mason retreats to the tiny Oregon seaside town of Hope Harbor to create a new life. Vowing to avoid emotional attachments, she focuses on running her lavender farm and tea-room – until a new neighbour with a destructive dog and a forlorn little girl invades her turf. But she needn’t worry. Dr Logan West is too busy coping with an unexpected family, a radical lifestyle change, and an unruly pup to have any interest in his neighbour.  Yet when both Jeanette and Logan find themselves pulled into the life of a tattered Christian family fleeting persecution in war-torn Syria, might they discover that love sometimes comes calling when it’s least expected.

I’ve long enjoyed Irene Hannon’s suspense novels, but I’m now really enjoying her contemporary romances too despite this not being a preferred genre for my reading choices.  Pre-disposed to be uninspired by a ‘single dad, sad daughter and tearaway dog with an interesting but ‘uninterested’ female neighbour’ book I found that I was actually swept up into the story right from the start.  This is not a twee romance, it deals with some difficult issues, some of which we aren’t really aware of for some time into the book.  As well as the story of Jeanette and Logan’s growing  friendship, we also meet a refugee family who are trying to come to terms with the traumas of their past and find their feet in a new country and community.  All of the threads are woven together really well, and I came to be very fond of all of the characters.  Current issues for churches and families are well addressed here, but without being heavy-handed or preachy.  This was my first visit to Hope Harbor, but I’m ready to find another of Irene Hannon’s books set there and get to know some of the other residents.

9780800728816 Paperback, 2 May 19

Flight of the Raven - Morgan L Busse

Catalogue copy: Selene Ravenwood, one the heir to House Ravenwood, is now an exile. On the run and free from her family’s destiny, Selene hopes to find the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking. But first she must adapt to her new life as wife to Lord Damien Maris, the man she was originally assigned to kill.

When I began the first in the Ravenwood Saga Mark of the Raven I wasn’t sure I’d actually enjoy it but I did – it was a tremendous read.  (In fact, it has just won an INSPY Award, so a lot of bloggers clearly loved it too.)  So when I saw the second was due out, I was keen to read it and I think it’s an even better read than the first.

In Mark of the Raven we met Selene Ravenwood and her fierce and dangerous mother Lady Ragna. House Ravenwood appears to outsiders to be a house which has lost its gift and is therefore in decline, but this is far from the truth. As Selene comes into her powers as a dreamwalker she finds herself at the mercy of her mother’s political manoeuvring. Before long she stands in a terrible position and must make a life-changing decision. If you’ve not read the book, I strongly recommend doing so before coming back to read Flight of the Raven.

Without giving away any details of the when, why or how, at the start of Flight of the Raven Selene finds herself abruptly married to a man she barely knows, cut off from her own past and people, and undertaking a dangerous journey with a group who are largely strangers to her.

Despite now being Lady Maris, her Ravenwood gift of dreamwalking is strengthening.  But her dreams take her to dark places as well as light, and nightmares fill her sleep.  As she learns to adapt to her new situation, the world she has left behind grows in menace and the threat to both Selene and her new people – not to mention the other Great Houses – is growing.

I loved this book. The relationship between Damien and Selene is wonderfully written and develops in a way to please any romance reader. The world which Morgan Busse has created and the powers and people of the various Houses is beautifully detailed and never disappoints.  Good and wicked characters are equally well and believably described, and in this world bad things do happen to good people.  There’s an element of the fairy story about this series, but not in a cute Disney way. This is a fast-paced read and it can genuinely be referred to as epic.  I’m really, REALLY looking forward to the third book in the series, due out next year, and to finding out how Lady Selene fulfils her calling.

A five star recommendation to any lover of fantasy, and an excellent introduction to the genre for anyone looking to widen their fiction reading range.

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey by Bethany Turner

Catalogue copy: After four years with her boyfriend, Cadie McCaffrey is thinking of ending things. Convinced Will doesn’t  love her in the ‘forever’ way she loves him, Cadie believes it’s time for her to let him go before life passes her by.

And so begins the second of Bethany Turner’s entertaining ‘chick lit’ novels.  

I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, so I was looking forward to this new novel and generally I was not disappointed. Like the first novel, this one is an out and out romance, with quite a bit of ‘sizzle’ and some outright ‘scorching’ moments.  The story is mostly told from Cadie’s perspective, with large elements of Will’s point of view too. 

The story rolls along briskly, and is compelling reading.  I read it from cover to cover in one sitting, and at the end I felt the way you do when you come out of the cinema after seeing a good film.  Quietly happy.  And I LOVED the final main scene in the book – ie. the one before the epilogue. I liked the peripheral characters, especially Kevin and Ellis, and I really warmed to Will, and was happy to see his career build throughout the story.  

But oh golly, was Cadie irritating at times! She had a tendency to come across as one of those film characters who’s determined to get her own way and yet ironically was angry with Will when she believed that he was manipulating situations to influence her.  I also found her respected role in her office surprising considering the amount of time at work which she spent flirting with Will or weeping on the shoulders of her best friend and colleague Darby.

Furthermore, the way Cadie referred to her parents, and Will’s references to them, seemed at real odds to the people we eventually meet in the story.  Nor do I really understand Will’s actions in relation to his connections with them.  And the incident with the box just seemed rather stupid of him!!  In terms of ‘things I don’t get’, I also found the idea of Will stopping in his apartment block stairwell to bow his head and close his eyes to pray was weird.  But that is probably just me.

Despite the above comments on our heroine and hero's shortcomings I'd definitely recommend this as a fun holiday read.  It's a compelling story, and there are lots of interesting characters besides the two ‘leads’.  And if you like to be annoyed by your leading lady, then it’s absolutely perfect! 

The Next Right Thing by Emily Freeman

"Let's ... consider what it means for us to do the next right thing now. Not the next big thing. Not the next impressive thing. Just the next right thing in front of us. So what *IS* our next right thing?" (Emphasis mine)

This week's proving to be a bit of a toughie, one way and another, so this quote from Emily Freeman's book The Next Right Thing, has been a balm to a slightly battered soul. Just thinking of the next thing, instead of the loads of other things on my radar presently, helps break that 'rabbit in the headlights' feeling, and enables me to step forward.

I'm a mere 15 pages into this book, reading it around lots of others which I need to read for work purposes, and it's already touched me. I'm looking forward to getting further in.

The 49th Mystic by Ted Dekker

A brilliantly told story spanning two worlds.

I was intrigued by the blurb for this book – about a blind girl who lives in two worlds.  Or rather, in two time periods.  When she sleeps in her home town of Eden, Utah, she is awake in a future world, and vice versa.  

Motherless Rachelle is close to her father, David, and an independent young lady. Although blind, she ‘sees’ using sonar clicks, and navigates through her world confidently. When strange things happen during a medical procedure to restore her sight, Rachelle soon finds that it’s just the beginning of a series of dramatic events.  While she sleeps in Eden, she wakens in another place and time.  A place which seems dangerous yet familiar and where she must trust people she barely knows.  At first it’s a relief to wake up back in Eden, but life there is about to change forever, and everything she knew and thought to be true will be turned upside down.  

As ‘the 49^thMystic’, long prophesied, she must find five ancient seals before it is too late. They might be in either world. And danger follows her in both.

If you’ve ever woken up from a dream so vivid that for a few moments you struggle to work out what is real, then you will completely connect with Rachelle!  Although in her case there really ARE two worlds in which she is living separate but strangely connected lives.

I was hesitant about starting this book, but I needn’t have been.  Captivated from the very beginning, this was a book I was desperate to keep reading!

Settle into your comfiest reading chair with a cup of something nice and your favourite snack, take the phone off the hook (or switch off your smartphone) and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign.  Once you’ve started this book you won’t want to stop!

Almost Home by Valerie Fraser Luesse

Catalogue copy: An estranged young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widow from Mississippi, a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war - they're all hoping Dolly's house will help them find their way back to the lives they've left behind. But the house has a past of its own.

I've just finished this book and it made me cry (in a good way!). I read a LOT of novels, but this one has to be in the top 10% for me, and that's saying something since it's not even from one of my favourite genres.

One of the book's reviewers, Sid Evens, says "Valerie Luesse has a profound gift for storytelling" and he is spot on.  This book is an absolute gem.  In just one volume are the stories of three couples: Jessie and Anna, Reed and Daisy, and Si and Dolly.  The first four all arrive at Si and Dolly's family home with various troubles on each of their shoulders.  Si and Dolly have lived in their family home for years, and have opened it as a boarding house in order to try to make ends meet.

Jessie and Anna arrive barely speaking, their marriage strained and their future uncertain.  Daisy is a young widow, and Reed an injured veteran returning from the war with severe injuries and PTSD.  And underneath all of the stories runs the question of what happened to a bride who is rumoured to have disappeared immediately after her wedding a century before.

The stories are told absolutely beautifully.  Jessie and Anna's story is told first, with that of Reed and Daisy following.  Their emotions, hurts, and struggles are so well described and totally believable, but for me Reed and Daisy's story was the more powerfully impactful on me as a reader.  Their individual struggles are so well told and Reed's PTSD is graphically portrayed,  The scene in the church during the funeral is cleverly and sensitively described, and is a neat and very believable twist on things. Their romance is beautifully developed, and the end of chapter 40 is PERFECT! The friendships between everyone, and especially that of Anna and Daisy, are lovely to read.

Throughout, the story of Catherine, the bride for 100 years prior, is interwoven in a wonderful way.  The pauses in her story work very well indeed.

This book is one I was really, REALLY sorry to finish, because it was an absolutely wonderful read. I miss the characters in it as though they were my friends, and I'd love to hear more about them if Valerie should ever write a sequel.

A full on five star read!

Publication Date (UK) April 2019.  9780800729639, paperback, £8.99

First Line Friday

I rather enjoy the 'First Line Friday' idea, so often participate.  This week I've chosen a fantasy novel. It's a genre which is tough to get people to connect with but it's one I like, and this book, the first in The Ravenwood Saga, is a truly gripping read.  Please forgive my slight artistic licence with 'First Line', since the first two lines were a bit brief...!

Lady Selene is the heir to the Great House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dream walking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires.  For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.

  As she discovers her family's dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family's legacy - a legacy that supports her people - or seeking the true reason behind her family's gift.

  Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also bring about the downfall of her own house.

  One path holds glory and power, and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood.  The other path holds shame and execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price of the path chosen?

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It has a wonderful 'heroine' in Selene, who has a truly ferocious mother and a jealous sister.  The 'dreamwalking' is a fascinating concept, used very cruelly by some, and is a 'gift' which has been hidden for years while the other Great Houses believe it to have died out.  Selene's 'coming of age' and the awakening of her gift is so well described you can almost feel it yourself.  And then she is flung in the middle of a deadly power struggle - with her mother demanding she becomes an assassin...  If you're a fan of fantasy fiction, or even if you just like the occasional fantasy novel, don't miss this one!

Feel free to post the first line of the book you're currently reading in the comments, and then head on over to Hoarding Books for more first lines!

Mysterious Ways

#ThrowbackThursday

“Mysterious Ways highlights extraordinary moments and everyday miracles.”

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It’s perfect for dipping in and out of, full of stories new and old, long and short, of God’s hand touching people’s lives.  I especially enjoyed the story of the expectant mum who prayed for the young son of a stranger on the day he was involved in a car accident – and many years later welcomed him into her family when he married the daughter she’d been carrying at the time of the crash (The One I Prayed For).  There are many other stories which feel big, like the young man who tried to kill himself by jumping off a bridge, but whose life was saved by a sea lion (Last Leap).  Wonderful stories like Mrs Joseph’s Angel, in which a struggling and depressed young woman temporarily and unsuspectingly becomes the voice of an angel for another sad and lonely person.  And other stories of the ‘meeting angels unawares’ kind such as the specialist mechanic whom a family with a sick RV encountered in a deserted industrial complex.  (About That G In GPS…)

The book is divided into sections such as The Hidden Hand of God (in which is the very moving ‘Block II’), and Animals – God’s special Messengers (Kash, the very last story in the book, is a great one for dog lovers!).

It’s the kind of book which is powerful reading, even though some of the stories are barely two pages long. As well as a perfect book for having anywhere you might only be able to snatch a few moments to read, it would also be a great book to use as part of a devotional programme, or for anyone in ministry looking for sermon illustrations or teaching examples.

A 5* recommended read and a definite keeper for my bookshelves.

Mysterious Ways: True Stories of the Miraculous

Editors of Guideposts

9780800728762, £14.99, Hardback

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels

Catalogue copy: Debut novelist Erin Bartels takes readers on an emotional journey through time – from the volatile streets of 1960s Detroit to the Underground Railroad during the Civil War – to uncover the past, confront the seeds of hatred, and discover where love goes to hide.

This is a very well written and powerful novel set mainly across two time periods – the US civil war and 1960s Detroit.  It doesn't pull any punches as it moves through these two significant times in US history.  This is a book where you really feel as though you're immersed in the story.  Or, probably more accurately 'stories'.  The tensions flow through every chapter at levels both very personal, and much wider reaching. 

In the present day, reporter Elizabeth Balsam meets James Rich, who asks her to deliver an old camera and a mysterious box of photos to the great-aunt she has never met.  Abruptly finding herself jobless (for a reason which seems like the start of a different story, and which fades into the background for most of the rest of the book) she sets off to her great-aunt Nora’s 150 year old farmhouse, and soon finds herself with a whole host of unanswered questions such as whose are the graves in the overgrown back yard? Who is William? And who is the woman in the photographs in the basement? Getting answers from Nora is going to be tough as she is not at all keen to discuss the past.

However we the readers learn about Nora’s past more quickly than Elizabeth does, and are plunged into the racial tension of the 60s – events which still impact Elizabeth’s family’s present day.  And further back in time Mary Balsam, another relative, abruptly finds herself faced with an escaped slave who has been sent to her home by her husband Nathaniel who is away fighting in the US Civil War.  Sheltering one man quickly becomes sheltering others, to the shock, dismay and growing animosity of the local people, and the shredding of Mary’s heart.

I found this book fascinating from a historical perspective.  As I’m English, I didn’t know much about the explosions of the racial tension in Detroit in the ‘60s and the book portrayed them brilliantly, bringing the whole situation alive to me in the way that good novels set around actual events do.

I felt connected to the characters, so I was disappointed by some of their actions!  I was also sad about the way Mary’s son turned out, but perhaps it is more like ‘real life’ and less like ‘happy ever after’ fiction! But mostly, I was sad for Nora.  

Despite these comments, this isn’t a morose book, but it is definitely one which makes you think. Which clearly I struggled to do as on the down side I did find myself muddled from time to time about who was who and what their connection was. 

I would happily recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction.  It’s nice to read something which covers a period which I’ve not commonly read much about in novels, and an issue – racial tension – which is sadly still all too topical.

9780800734916, paperback, £8.99

New Every Day: Navigating Alzheimers by Dave Meurer

This is a warm and engaging book filled with practical wisdom, hard-earned as the author and his wife Dale have walked the paths of caring for both of Dale’s parents.  Dale’s father has passed away, but her mother Karin is still living with the challenges her disease brings both to her and those who love her.  

I never thought that a book on Alzheimer’s would make me laugh, but this one did.  (If in doubt, turn to the chapter titled ‘Driven to Distraction’!)

Karin is described wonderfully throughout this book and her personality shines through, even in her confused state of mind.  Much useful detail comes across as Dave describes the various stages of her illness, but Karin always comes across as a person of value, and not simply as a case study.  

There are a number of chapters of detailed  practical information.  Although some of the specifics in these don’t relate to the UK systems (such as details of Medicare), the general issues do translate over here too.  As someone who in the last twelve months has set up a Power of Attorney for a close family member, I can relate to the advice given about this, even though the ‘how to do it’ is slightly different over here, for example.

I would highly recommend this to the UK reader.  Even with the elements which are very US specific taken into account, there is much here of use to anyone facing the journey of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.  The humour within the book is perfectly placed.  It is never over the top, and never points fun at either sufferer or carer. But it lifts the book, and made me laugh out loud several times, while at the same time educating me.   While not shying away from the stresses and sadness of the progress of this disease, Dave talks a lot about finding the positives ‘in the moment’, and there is mention of Karin’s faith and certainty of where she is going after her death. That said, this is not a book which pushes religion to vulnerable people, and would be of value to many, Christian or not.

Publication Date: January 2019.  9780800734756, £9.99, paperback

The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jamie Jo Wright

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday.  Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908.

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother…

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably entwined?

The Curse of Misty Wayfair deals with mental health issues in the early 1900s and today, and particularly focusses on autism and anxiety.  This is the third book by Jaime Jo Wright, who was Baker Publishing Group’s top fiction author in the UK for 2018, and her stories just keep getting better and better. 

In 1908 Thea Reed is searching for the mother who abandoned her when she was just four years old. Her search leads her to the mental asylum in Pleasant Valley, where the legend of Misty Wayfair and the supposed curse connected with her is very real.  A century later, Heidi Lane receives a strange letter from her dementia afflicted mother and travels to Pleasant Valley to find some answers of her own.  The two women’s stories will cross, but each separate story is also completely engrossing. 

At its heart, this is a book about who we are, and what we are searching for.  In many places it’s a dark read as it deals with some very grim historical practices associated with the mentally ill, but it also gives a perceptive insight into some of what modern day sufferers and their families face. The author has first hand experience of some of the issues in the book, and she also spent time with mothers of autistic children to ensure that the representations of autism in the book are true to reality.  Despite the characters who clearly deal with mental health issues, the book shows how everyone has their own internal struggles to deal with.   

One of Jaime Jo Wright’s great strengths is how well she brings her characters to life and we’re not disappointed here. Dogged and determined Thea, pushing through her fears. Simeon with his stress-worsened ticks. Heidi with her brash exterior and easily triggered ‘flight mode’ (perhaps the most changed of all the characters as the story progresses). Risk playing Emma, who is wonderfully created and as her mother says ‘perfect as she is’. And the interesting Rhett and his truck companions!   Plus a superb ‘supporting cast’, none of whom are at all peripheral in terms of their presence within the story.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair is a suspense novel.  It could be referred to as ‘creepy suspense’ with its plot elements of a ghost and a curse, neither of which are seen all that often in contemporary Christian literature.  However the author weaves these through her story in a way which is both tense and, yes, creepy, but also in a way which will not leave the books Christian readership uncomfortable at the end. By the way, the Christian elements are worked in very well indeed, and are not at all heavy.  This is a book I’d give to a non-Christian friend without qualm.

I found this a compelling read.  Wonderful characters, interesting and tantalising plot elements, and plenty of well written tension and twists.  I began to suspect ‘whodunnit’ quite late on (for one element at least), but some things I didn’t see coming at all.  

A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter

Kristi Ann Hunter is rapidly turning into one of my favourite historical fiction authors. A Defense of Honor is her latest book, just out, and I loved it. The story starts with plenty of action, as Katherine ‘Kit’ FitzGilbert almost literally runs into Lord Graham Wharton, and shortly thereafter narrowly escapes from two men who are clearly looking to do her harm.

The story surrounds Haven Manor, a place where three women are raising a group of children born to unmarried mothers at a time when bearing an illegitimate child had devastating consequences for both mother and child. Kit and her friends and co-workers Daphne and Jess arrange for shelter for unmarried mothers, hiding them away from society throughout their pregnancy and delivery, in order to save them from being cast aside as ‘ruined’, with all the resulting shame and poverty which that fate usually brought with it. The resulting children end up living at Haven Manor. But keeping them secret and safe is an enormous challenge. Although we learn little of most of the mothers, we come to know the children very well indeed, because their personalities shine throughout the story and the reader really feels as though they come to know and care about them.

Graham is intrigued by the strange woman who has literally dropped into his life and then out again, and their paths cross once more when he sets out with his friend Oliver to discover where Oliver’s missing sister has gone…

This is a warm-hearted, captivating read, and if it does require the reader to suspend their disbelief a bit, it’s so well written that this particular reader was very happy to do so. It makes you think about trust, about consequences, about jumping to conclusions, and about doing the wrong things for what appear to be the right reasons. I like a book which, along with being a roaring good read, also challenges the readers responses.

Aside from the use of ‘gotten’ (I really, REALLY wish American authors wouldn’t have their English characters use this word!), the mention of cream in tea, and ‘pavement’ for road, this was very well positioned in its British setting. Although there was a rather astonishing reference to two well born ladies spitting out something they disliked onto the floor(!)

I look forward to finding out more about Daphne in the next book in the series (A Return of Devotion, Spring19) and – presumably – Jess in book 3.

Finally, in this case, definitely don’t judge the book by its cover! This is a 5* read, and much punchier and more dynamic than the rather pale and dated cover may imply.