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.