THIS WHITENESS OF SWANS by Gemma Lawrence @TudorTweep

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: A favourite author; I read most of her books as they come out

In a Nutshell: Book 1 of The Surface and the Deep series, about Anne of Cleves

A most fascinating exploration of the wife of Henry VIII that we probably know the least about, showing that she was so much more than just a wife of Henry VIII.  She was, after all, the survivor, to a far greater extent than Katherine Parr, who lost and suffered a great deal more at the hands of the tyrant king.

Ms Lawrence has portrayed Anna of Cleves as I imagined her to be: more like the version brought to life by Joss Stone in the TV series The Tudors, than the 'Flanders Mare' of legend.  Educated, moral, reserved and dutiful, and quite realistic about her expectations of Henry, in this first book which covers the period from her childhood until her journey to England.

I very much liked reading the folk tales and the imagery of swans (I just love both the cover and the title of this book!) used in the narrative, particularly on, and also the part where her father dies; this was so poignant and real.  The whole story had a feel of three princesses in a fairy tale castle, somehow, though of course the real world kept invading.

I did feel that the book was a little research-heavy, particularly in the first half, in which much information about events elsewhere is given to the reader by way of dialogue; I felt this could have been trimmed down.  However, I enjoyed the final third of the book much more, and await the next episode with bated breath!

LIVE AND LET by Judith Barrow @judithbarrow77

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I know the author, saw this advertised on Twitter

In a Nutshell: A short memoir, mostly to do with holiday lets.

I loved this, thoroughly enjoyed reading it!  The main part of the book is a collection of the author's experiences with some of the people who've rented her holiday flat over the years - very funny, often so strange (and unexpected!) that if they were fiction you'd say they were too far-fetched.  But there's nowt as queer as folk, as I am sure Judith and her husband would agree (and yes, my guess is that Party Guy wasn't actually a vicar at all...).

To give the book more context, Judith has written a short autobiography, that explains why and how they came to live in Pembrokeshire and turn part of their house into a holiday let.  Then there are the strange comments left in the visitor's book, the poignant tale of Auntie Olive, and a short story with a most effective and unexpected end.

This is a lovely little book to which I was glued all the way through, immersed in Judith's world - it took me one and a half hours to read, and is currently on sale at just 99p/$1.25.  Worth under a quid of anyone's money!