THE BOOK OF THORNHOLD by Judith Arnopp @JudithArnopp

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: One of my favourite authors, saw this book from her back catalogue advertised on X.

In a Nutshell: A novel of long-short stories, about a family across the centuries

This is one of the best books I've read in ages.  The Book of the title was originally written by a priest in the 8th Century; it is passed down the centuries, with additions made by the generations who are fortunate to be its keeper in the place for which it is named.  Thornhold begins as a Saxon smallholding, and becomes a fine manor house.

It's a novel in the form of eight stories that are independent of each other but are held together by the same threads.  I loved them all, though I think my favourites were the chapter in the 14th Century, when the Thorn family weathered the Black Death, another about monks in a nearby abbey during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th Century, and a long one that centred around the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 and its after-effects on the family.  I was actually reading that one in the early hours of this morning, and had to tear myself away from it!

The book reminded me of Norah Lofts' The House at Old Vine and A Wayside Tavern, and I was just as engrossed in Thornhold as I am when I read those novels.  I'm also quite relieved because I've been vaguely thinking of doing something similar for quite some time, but I know I could never write anything as good as this, so I can now shelve that project indefinitely!

In the introduction Ms Arnopp apologises for any flaws that have resulted from the re-hashing of this earlier work of hers, and I did notice the odd name with two different spellings and some erroneous punctuation; I mention this for two reasons.  Firstly, in case you're someone whose whole reading experience is spoiled by an ill-placed semicolon, and secondly (most importantly!) to illustrate how good this book is.  I am beyond picky about punctuation, but I loved this book so much that I didn't care if the character was called Dorcas or Dorcus or if an unnecessary comma popped up.

I am happy to say that if you love beautifully written and well-researched historical sagas, I guarantee you will enjoy this as much as I did.

 

COMETH THE HOUR by Annie Whtehead @AnnieWHistory

5 out of 5 stars

 

On Amazon UK

On Amazon.com

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I'd seen many historically-orientated tweets from the author, and decided to try one of her books.

In a Nutshell: Saxon England in the 6th-7th Century.

I loved this book, a fictionalised version of the true saga of the Saxon rulers, from Edwin of Deira to Penda of Mercia, in which I was engrossed.  Annie Whitehead has turned the history into a terrific story, as compelling as any Game of Thrones type fantasy.  There is a large cast of characters, but she has provided a family tree diagram in the front if you forget, for a moment, exactly who everyone is.  The characters themselves are so well defined that I didn't find their number confusing.

 

Until I read this I knew little about the period, other than the fact that what we now call Great Britain was divided into seven basic kingdoms, so I enjoyed finding out about the divisions of territory within these kingdoms, with the different tribes who had their own languages and traditions.  The book covers the period when Christianity was first becoming more popular; I was surprised to find how gradual it was, and I could understand why it was treated with such suspicion, the pagan ways being far more relatable.

 

The way in which the people lived is so well-researched, intricately detailed, painting a vivid picture of the era, but at no time did I feel bogged down with irrelevant facts.  What I loved most about the book, though, is the feeling it gave me; it made me want to be there.  To experience the times for myself.  That's the sign of a truly talented author of historical fiction, I think - one who can make you want to go back in time and live in it, because the scenes and people come alive.  The journeys, the battles, the winter nights in the long halls; I yearned to be Derwena, wife of Penda!

 

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am sure I will pick up another at some point in the not too distant future.  Highly recommended to all histfic lovers, especially those with a particular interest in the 7th Century. 

 

 

MAHONEY by Andrew Joyce @huckfinn76

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell:  Family saga about three Mahoney men, from Ireland's Great Famine of 1846, to the 1930s.

I adore family sagas through the generations, and have a great interest in American history of the last two hundred years, so I leapt on this book when I saw it on the review team list.

The book is split into three sections: Devin, the 19 year old from Ireland eager to make his fortune in America, his son, Dillon, who sets out to travel west, and David, the privileged son of Dillon, whose fortunes take a different turn during the Depression. 

I'll start by saying that a great strength of this book is the dialogue, which never falters in its quality, and is the main reason why the characterisation is so good.  I was also most impressed by the research that had gone into the book; it is clear, throughout, that Mr Joyce has a great understanding of the peoples of each time and place in the novel.

I adored the first part, about Devin; I looked forward to getting back to it each time I had to put it down.  Devin's route to America is depicted so colourfully that I was completely engrossed.  I was disappointed when his section ended; I wanted to carry on reading about him.  I liked the next part, about Dillon's adventures in 'Wild West' Wyoming, but, although the book continued to be well-written, admirably researched, and flowed so well, I was less convinced by Dillon as a character.  

My interested was piqued again by the start of David's section - I loved reading about the spoilt, self-centred young man who cared nothing for his family or the struggles lived through by his father and grandfather.  His first experiences as the Depression hit kept me engrossed, too, but after he changed his way of thinking, I became less convinced by him.  I think what I was not so keen on was the way in which Dillon and David kept bumping into strangers, on the road and in bars, and everywhere else, who offered them the chance to change their lives for the better.  Devin's life seemed more realistic, whereas Dillon and David appeared to fall into one piece of great luck after another.  I was also less keen on David's section because so much of it was dialogue-led, which is not a preference of mine; this is not a criticism, just a personal preference.

Despite the aspects about which I wasn't so sure, it's a most entertaining book.  I think it has real value as a fictional history of America the period between 1846 - the 1930s, even if I felt some of it was rushed through; there is a lot of material for one novel.  Mr Joyce can certainly write; I have just downloaded another of his books, Resolution.  I was also impressed by how he wrote Devin and David in the third person, but Dillon in the first; this was absolutely the right choice, and a clever one.

I'd most certainly recommend this novel for lovers of family sagas through the ages, particularly if you have an interest in American history.

MOURNING DOVE by Claire Fullerton @cfullerton3

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited after reading this review on Rosie Amber's blog and this review on Between The Lines.

Genre: Family Saga (set in Memphis).

Not my usual genre these days, but I do find the culture of the Deep South interesting, and the reviews assured me that it would be worth a read.  It certainly was; it's a fine book.  

The book starts in the late 1960s-ish, and does not have a rounded plot with a beginning, middle and end, but is more just the tale of a family's lives.  It is a first person narrative, told by Millie, who is a child at the start of the book.  Millie's mother is Posey Crossan, née Hawthorne, the archetypal Southern belle from a monied family, with all the accompanying conservative, old-style social expectations, standards and prejudices deeply ingrained within her psyche.  She is the ultimate survivor, and is beautifully drawn:

She had the kind of looks that waited in arrested development during her youth, then pounced like a cat around the time she turned forty.

She was a woman who thought ahead, who'd redirected a nurse from inflicting an innoculation shot on my infant left shoulder to the area tucked beneath my left shoulder blade so I'd look good in a strapless evening gown.

... socialising in her fabulous full-length beaver coat, deeply engaged in gossiping, which was the only contact sport that ever truly held her attention

The other main character is Millie's brilliant, charismatic brother Finley, who excels at school but chucks up any sort of 'expected' career in favour of his band; this brings with it the usual associated difficulties, as artistic clashes occur, and later the insanity of relgious cults is added to the mix.  Throughout, I could feel the clash of the old guard with the ideas and aspirations of the younger generation.

In many ways, although we hear about her circumstances too, Millie is the narrator of the lives of Posey and Finley and the life and times of those around them, standing back, as if her own tale is but a minor plot thread.  It's so well-written, and the characterisation is marvellous.

It works best if you read it in a Deep South accent, I found... and if complex family sagas are your thing, I am sure you will adore this book.

 

ALL THE TOMORROWS by Nillu Nasser @nillunasser

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member. 

Genre: Romantic suspense, family drama.


Set in Bombay, the novel starts when Jaya, one year into an arranged marriage, discovers that her idealist, undemonstrative husband, Akash, has a lover.  Criticised by her parents and feeling uncared for, her torment results in a truly shocking action, so stomach-turning I wondered if I could actually carry on reading the book.  Brave of the writer to include it, and that I reacted so strongly shows that it was well-written; I did continue, anyway.

Akash is knocked sideways by Jaya's extreme reaction, and his life takes a swift, sharp turn downwards.  In short, this novel is about a falling apart and slow coming together... several of them.

The first twenty per cent is about Jaya and Akash's younger years and the immediate fall-out of 'the event', after which we are moved swiftly on by being told that 'the years sped by', and suddenly it's twenty years later, when we find out how the characters' lives have fared in the interim, and what happens when they collide once more.

Nillu Nasser is a talented writer, without a doubt.  One of the reasons I chose this is because I like to read about other cultures, and this book taught me stuff I didn't know, so that's a tick from me.  Her storytelling ability held my interest, which is good for another big shiny red tick.  On occasion the dialogue felt a little stilted, or a teensy bit Hollywood, and she fell into the debut novelist trap of using dialogue to impart information to the reader rather than keeping it realistic, but I'll cut her some slack with this; it was not constant, and, as I said, it's a debut novel, and a good one (nb, this is not her first published work, but her first published novel).  Her characterisation was good; Jaya, her sister Ruhi, and their mother, were real, as were Akash, his friend, Tariq, and his lover, Soraya; Ms Nasser writes them all in clear definition, and even the secondary characters were completely convincing ~ another big tick!

I was, however, less sure about the pacing and structure.  With the younger lives of Akash and Jaya taking up only around the first fifth of the book, I was given little time to care that much about what happened to them before suddenly they were older, and little had gone on in the intervening twenty years except more of the same.  How much more effective it would have been to have cut the line about speeding years, and have a couple of interim chapters showing their lives after five, ten or fifteen years, too.  Akash tells Soraya all he has suffered in those years, but I wanted to see it, not just read it in a spoken report.  I loathe clichés, not least of all book reviewing ones, and you can't play out every scene or the book would be a thousand pages long, but in this case I needed to be shown, not told.  For me (and a review is only ever a personal opinion), a slow build up could have turned this 4* book into a 5* one. 

As the rest of the story unravels, Ms Nasser continues to write with authenticity, care and sensitivity, and I'd say that if you like emotional family dramas, you'll love this.

 

THE PLANTER'S DAUGHTER by Jo Carroll @jomcarroll

4.5 out of 5 stars

19th century historical fiction based on fact

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

This is an interesting and unusual novel that begins as a good, solid and readable story and gets better and better as it goes on.  The Planter's Daughter tells the story of Sara Weldon, a girl from Ireland who leaves her family in the middle of the mid 19th century potato famine to stay with an unknown, well-to-do aunt in Ireland, before falling from favour and being transported to the other side of the world.

The first chapter is told from the point of view of Kitty, the kitchen maid at the aunt's house who finds Sara on the doorstep.  This section of the book reminded me of those historical rags to riches (or riches to rags and back again) blockbusters that were so popular in the 1980s by people like Barbara Taylor Bradford, with the heroine to whom wrong is done, who vows revenge, while those who meet her are struck by not only her beauty (may or may not include tiny waist and head of auburn/raven tousled curls), but also the steely determination in her flashing emerald/sapphire eyes.  However, I always liked this sub-sub-genre, so was happy to read on!

For the second part the story moves to Australia, and a new character's point of view ~ devoutly religious Grace, who lives on a dusty small-holding/forge in the rural area near Melborne with her stepsons and own children, and takes Sara in as a maid.  Well written, well researched and highly readable, the only downside being this: I thought, "but I don't want to read about Grace's path to Australia, I want to read about Sara's."

I had it all wrong.  This is where the novel really 'kicks in', if you like.

Half way through Grace I realised I was completely engrossed, and I began to appreciate the structure.  Grace is fascinating, really quite horrible.  She's pious, more than a little self-satisfied, unable to see any views but her own.  She wears her religion like a badge, cloaking her selfishness in her delusion that she is showing others the path of righteousness.  She thinks she loves Sara, but in fact she loves only the image of her that she has created to fill the gaps in her own life.  During this chapter my inner rating hat added another star to my eventual review; it's really, really good.

Then we get to New Zealand, and Grenville, the magistrate who falls in love with Sara.  Like Grace, he is obsessed with his own image of the girl, and this obsession brings only woe to everyone concerned.  I loved this chapter; I felt that Jo Carroll really got into her stride with Grenville; her writing actually improves over the course of the book.

I very much like the showing of one character's story through the viewpoints of others, and Jo Carroll has executed this challenging format very well, though I did wish that there had been a little variation in the three chosen characters' feelings about Sara; all three adored her, longed to still her butterfly wings (sorry, getting a bit BTB saga, there), but didn't understand her at all.  I didn't know if I did, either; I hadn't met her yet.

I was in for a pleasant surprise.

In the last party we finally get to meet Sara: it's about her childhood in Ireland, life during 'the hunger', and her path to Belfast to get a ship to Liverpool.  The last part, about this journey, was outstanding, and the highlight of the book; it made sense of the whole story.  Sara was not a likeable girl at all, but seeing her as she began put it all into perspective, and I understood how clever the book is.

I had a few issues with style/format, but this is normal for a debut novel, and no one likes every single part of even their all-time favourites.  The research that has gone into this novel is apparent without ever being intrusive.  The idea comes from a true life story, and Sara's ending is shocking and surprising (don't read about the real life story first!); I was waiting for something more in line with yer typical historical saga, but it didn't happen - well, who needs predictability, after all?  The Planter's Daughter is a 'slow burner' and so much more than the tale-of-love-determination-and-revenge-across-three-continents, Taylor Bradfordesque epic that I thought it was going to be at first.  Read it.  You'll be pleased you did.  

THE LAST KINGDOM (Book 1) by Bernard Cornwell

5 GOLD Stars

Saxon/Viking adventure

On Amazon UK HERE

  

Okay, I'll admit it, I only started reading this after seeing the TV series recently.  I haven't read any Bernard Cornwell before, just watched the Sharpe series because it starred Sean Bean... and what a treat I have in store for me!  I love discovering a new writer, especially when they've written a stack of books.

(If you haven't seen the TV series, it's about the Danes' invasion of England in the 9th century.  The main character is a young ealdorman (earl) of Northumbria who is kidnapped by the Danes, and struggles with his identity as he lives amongst both peoples.)

If you're as unfamiliar with the author's work as I am, you'll want to know if it's as good as the TV, right?  YES, yes, it is, it's even better.  I love the way Cornwell writes; it's so 'easy-readable', and flows along ~~~~ :)  I adore Uhtred already, and reading this made me long to live in the Dark Ages even more than I always have done (I feel it is one of my spiritual homes).  Most of all, of course, it made me want to be a fearsome warrior.  Not a warring West Saxon (although I did like Leofric), but a brave man of the shield wall, of Ragnar's tribe!

The Last Kingdom is educational about the times, with some processes described in intricate detail.  If the book was written by an unknown author and the 'rules of writing' crew got their hands on it, they'd say these were 'information dumps', or something, or that the writer was being self-indulgent and eager to stick all his research into the book rather than weaving it into the story unobtrusively, but who cares; it was fascinating, because if you're a truly talented writer you can pull anything off, and anyone who wants to know more about life in these times could learn as much from this as any history book about the people of the Dark Ages.

If you've seen the TV series recently you'll remember the bit near the end when the Danish ships are burnt; in the book it's riveting, I read it about three times.  I've just downloaded the second book and think I may just have to have a little look now...

A SUITABLE YOUNG MAN by Anne L Harvey

4 out of 5 stars

1950s Family Drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
 

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

I enjoyed reading this, and was very impressed by some parts.  It's a family saga, set in the working class Bolton area in the 1950s.  Kathy is a secretary who wants to be a journalist in a time when women aren't supposed to want careers.  She gets herself a 'suitable' boyfriend, but finds herself falling in love with Nick Roberts, Teddy Boy, of whom her family disapproves.

The story is told mostly through the eyes of Kathy and Nick, in alternating chapters, with a few snapshots from the viewpoint of Joyce, Nick's 16 year old sister.  It's obvious that the author has written about a time and circumstances that she knows well, and what struck me most was how very different those times were, though only 60 years ago, as I read about the poor families with the tin bath tub hanging on the back of the door, the way in which women of that class had nothing to look forward to but the lifestyle of their mothers.  In other ways, though, history repeats itself; the Teds of Anne Harvey's novel could have been the hippies of the 1960s, the punks of the 1970s, the Emos and Goths of later. 

I loved the portrayal of the Saturday night dances (how tame when compared to young people's entertainment of later decades!), the families sitting round listening to the radio as the only form of entertainment, the cinema as an exciting place to go to, to hear the new music (and those travel film opening features; I think they were still being shown when I was a teenager!).  Also how Nick's mother, at only around 40, was already an old woman.  Nick's a lovely character, I liked him a lot.

Later in the book there is a death that I found heartrending, I thought this bit was very well done without laying it on too thickly.  I enjoyed this novel more and more as it went on.  At times I found the dialogue a little contrived; I felt too much emphasis was put on sticking in yet another bit of nostalgia about the period, or giving information, rather than concentrating on making the dialogue realistic, but this doesn't occur very often. 

The story ended as I expected it to, but I was delighted to see a nice little twist in the epilogue, and I look forward to reading the next book, 'Bittersweet'.  If your preference is for these sort of 'warts and all', post war family dramas, I imagine you will love this; I'd definitely recommend it.

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS by Judith Barrow

4 out of 5 stars

1960s family drama, 3rd part of a trilogy

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

I was looking forward to reading the third part of Judith Barrow's warts-and-all saga about the working class Howarth/Booth/Schorrman family living in Wales and northern England.  The first part took place in WW2, the second in 1950, and Living in the Shadows takes us into the next generation, in the late 1960s.

These books are very much an every day story of ordinary people, a bit like listening to The Archers or watching Emmerdale Farm before it lost its 'Farm'; I'm sure someone makes someone else a cup of tea every ten pages!  They will hold a great nostalgic appeal for those who have lived through these times in similar circumstances, which explains their popularity.  But they're more than just a real life drama; Judith Barrow has a clever and subtle way of showing the attitudes of the time amongst Mr and Mrs Average, rather than giving them a gloss, like a nostalgia programme on TV; this, for me, is their greatest strength.

So, the 1960s... it wasn't all free love, Union Jack minis and Twiggy; the atmosphere of the war years of the 1940s and the struggle back in the 1950s prevailed.  The extended family in this book come face to the face with scenarios of the type that were brushed under the carpet fifty years ago, ie, homosexuality and domestic violence.   The storyline I found the most interesting was that of eighteen year old Victoria, who experienced the sinister side of the hippie movement; it shows how young people, eager to take on new trends, can be manipulated and taken advantage of.  Oddly enough, I had only recently watched a few TV programmes about Charles Manson and his strange commune of brainwashed young women; Victoria's tale rang all too true.

As for the older members of the family, the loss of one of them near the end made me feel very sad, even bringing a tear or two to my eye; this bit was very well written indeed.  I suspect this is not the last we shall see of this family!


PATTERN OF SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

CHANGING PATTERNS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

 

CHANGING PATTERNS by Judith Barrow

4.5 out of 5 stars

1950s family drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Now, this is what I love to see ~ a sequel that is better than the first!  Ideally, writers should improve on their craft all the time, even if they do so without realising; I've read a few books from series this year and been pleased to find this the case, every time, and particularly so with this novel.

Pattern of Shadows followed the fortunes of the Howarth family in working class northern England during WWII; Changing Patterns takes the story into 1950.  I read this book over a period of about 48 hours and thought about it when I wasn't reading it.  What made it good?  It's easy to read, a bit like watching a soap opera; yes, it's an everyday story of simple folk.  Its main USP, though, is the realism, which made me feel two different things.  Firstly, a comfortable nostalgia; I was not born until 1959, but know that people of my parents' generation see those post war years as something of a golden age.  You know, when people had proper family values and were so grateful just to live in a time of peace that they were more appreciative of seemingly trivial pleasures.  The other side, though, is somewhat darker: the prejudices, particularly amongst the ill educated, and the sense of being in a social straitjacket.  This book portrays both sides so well.  

In the first book I did not warm to the main character, Mary Howarth, but I came to like her much more in this one, along with ex POW, Peter, and Mary's sister, Ellen.  Oh, and the horrors of living with the battleaxe mothers in law!  The book is sometimes very graphic in its realism and made me extremely glad the stork didn't drop me in Ellen's situation; Mrs Booth was quite revolting.  And then there is the gross and despicable George Shuttleworth...
I'd say that if this sort of family drama is your favourite thing to read, you will love this book; it's very well written and is a fine example of the genre.  I shall definitely be reading part 3 when available; it's about the next generation and is set in the 1960s.  I so look forward to Ms Barrow's take on an era I really do remember.

A note to the proofreader: at 66% Ms Barrow has used the word 'scran', which is northern slang word for food.  "Good scran that, our kid,".  Alas, the proofreader/editor has changed it to 'scram'!  This made me laugh, as I am a southerner who has moved to the north east in recent years, and before that I hadn't heard of the word, either.  There - you learn something new every day, indeed!


PATTERN OF SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

 

PATTERN OF SHADOWS by Judith Barrow

4 out of 5 stars

WWII family drama


On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

If you like family sagas and wartime drama I'd recommend this book. Pattern of Shadows paints a marvellously realistic picture of a working class family of the time, and makes the reader aware how much attitudes and expectations have moved on in the subsequent seventy years. Homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, violence, rigid prejudices, it's all there! It's obviously very, very well researched, which I always appreciate in a novel of this type.

There are many different story lines as the Howarth family meet with one difficulty after another. I didn't warm to the main character, Mary, who seemed rather frosty and humourless, but she was a woman of her time and situation; I imagine under her circumstances I might have been frosty and humourless too! The story really brought home how dreadfully limiting life was for women in such communities in those days.

Some of the characters were very well drawn; I particularly liked the penultimate chapter with 'orrible Arthur in the pub. At around 93% there was a bit that brought a tear to my eye, an indication of the isolation of old people living alone. I wanted to go round and take Mrs Jagger a cake!

I found some of the dialogue slightly wooden at first, with a little too much exposition, though it soon warmed up and the author's writing style seemed to 'kick in' properly around chapter four. I thought the ending (the last couple of chapters) were very satisfactory - the ending of a novel is so important to me. It was nicely wrapped up but still leaving a little doubt, and questions to be answered in the sequel, which I shall be reading at some point because I want to know what happens next. Which is what it's all about, really, isn't it?


CHANGING PATTERNS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE