Friday Recommends

Friday again, and it's time for my choice of book for Friday recommends...

This is an exciting book blog hop that book bloggers can take part in once a week to share with their followers, the books that they most recommend reading!

The rules for Friday Recommends are:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.

Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My Friday recommended read this week is a book I featured on wishlist Wednesday back in January.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book to review on behalf of Random House.

Next to Love

by

Ellen Feldman

Add caption

My 5***** Review

In a small town in Massachusetts, three women, Grace, Babe and Millie are bonded by friendship. Together they share the minutiae their lives, and find comfort in shared intimacies, and security in the warmth of familiarity.

However, war is looming and when the US involvement in WW2, takes away their young men, the women must learn to function in a very different world. Grace working in the telegraph office greets bad news every day, but can never prepare herself for the effect of loss on a large scale. Millie and Babe, both young mothers, must learn to accept what fate holds in store for them, as each of them face some hard choices in the difficult times ahead. As some of the men return from the battle fields of Europe, the women must relinquish their independence, but subservience is a price too high to pay for some of the women.

Cleverly divided into distinct sections and spanning the years 1944 - 1964, this beautifully written story captures your imagination from the very beginning, the richness of the narrative captures the warmth of friendship, but never fails to address the darker issues involved in racial conflict and civil unrest.

The overall theme of endurance in the face of adversity is expertly explored, and the story, in the hands of such a talented and committed writer, is a joy to read. 

There are several covers available for this book

  

Ellen Feldman is the author of several books and lives in New York

Review- Her Highness, the Traitor by Susan Higginbotham

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmarks for an advance digital copy to read and review.

The complicated complexity of Tudor England is well described in this fictional account of the rise in power of two very different families. In the aftermath of King Henry VIII’s death, and with his nine year old son Edward on the throne of England, there is great opportunity for personal advancement. Two families close to the throne will take advantage of the new King’s vulnerability. Jane Dudley is a married to an ambitious man who will stop at nothing to gain power, whilst Frances Grey, cousin to the new King of England, is aware that she sits very close to the throne, and yet it is her daughter Jane, who is destined to be Queen of England.

Much has been written about the ill-fated nine day rule of Lady Jane Grey, but what was interesting was the attention to the detail behind the plot, and the involvement of two very different families and the role they each played in this tragic historical event.

This well researched historical novel is written in a light and easy style, which conveys a real sense of the past. The chapters are nicely divided into the voice of different characters; I found it interesting to observe the story from different perspectives.

This is my first Susan Higginbotham novel, and I look forward to more of her historical narratives. Overall, I thought it was a good historical read, and I am happy to give the book a 4**** star review.

Book to be published in the US 1 June 2012

Book to be published in the UK 29 June 2012

Wishlist Wednesday

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

 

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

My Wishlist Wednesday Book 

is 

Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure

by

Joanne Harris

Doubleday (24 May 2012)

I enjoyed Chocolat and Lollipop Shoes and am excited to think that the story of Vianne Rocher continues in this third book in the Chocolat series of books by English author, Joanne Harris.

In Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure, four years have elapsed and Vianne and  Roux are still living in Paris, Anouk is fifteen and on the brink of womanhood, whilst eight year old Rosette faces her own challenges.

But the Summer wind calls them back to Lansquenet....and the story continues.

Can't wait for publication day....

Review - Shelter by Frances Greenslade

Shelter by Frances Greenslade

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

jaffa's rating 4 paws - he loved the cat called Cinnamon !

Maggie and Jenny share a home with their parents in Duchess Creek, British Columbia. Maggie, the tomboy rides through the rural landscape with her father, learns to make a shelter from fallen logs and runs wild in the forest with her cat, Cinnamon. When double tragedy strikes, the girls are left to fend for themselves, but Maggie, always the more resilient of the two, remembers her father’s instructions on how to look after herself, and her sister.
Maggie is an authoritative heroine, and is the real star of this beautifully written coming of age novel. With the wild and raw scenery of British Columbia as the backdrop, we witness a powerful story of love, loss and the power of redemption.
This beautifully written story invokes the splendour of wild, open skies, the insecurity of loss, and the oppressive nature of two girls caught up in emotional turmoil. I really enjoyed it.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance e-copy to review on behalf of Simon and Schuster Inc (Free Press)

Jaffa and I are delighted to have been mentioned by Frances Greenslade on her website and wish her continued success with her writing career.

And the winner is ...

A big THANK YOU to you all for taking part in my blogoversary giveaway.

I'm delighted to say that the winner of my book goodie bag 

is

 Lindsay

at

  The Little Reader Library

Friday Recommends

Friday again, and it's time for my choice of book for Friday recommends...

This is an exciting book blog hop that book bloggers can take part in once a week to share with their followers, the books that they most recommend reading!

The rules for Friday Recommends are:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.

Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My Friday recommended read this week

is

Ashenden

by

Elizabeth Wilhide

My thanks to Newbooks for an advance reading copy to review

Ashenden is the story of a house, and the people who made it grow and prosper, from its construction in 1775, by the architect, though to the present day occupiers in 2010. The story is told as a fascinating social commentary, and as we watch events unfold, we see the house take centre stage.

I found the book interesting and informative; the author has paid great attention to detail, and has managed to convey a real sense of time and place. The timeline sequence which forms the main body of the narrative is divided into easily manageable sections, with each chapter having its own distinct historical appeal.

Overall, I think the book will appeal to historical fiction enthusiasts, and with the current popularity for social drama set in English Country Houses, I am sure this will satisfy those readers who enjoy good historical fiction.

This debut book will be published in June 2012 by Fig Tree, an imprint of Penguin

Fig Tree (28 Jun 2012)

Exciting Stuff...

I've just popped over to Newbooks - The magazine for readers -  and am delighted to see that our review of The Map of Memories is the featured review...

Take a look