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You will remember I sent a message out as follows last week.
What if we just suggest one book and vote for one book, and then, as well, choose and read any book we want - on our shelf, from the library or on our tablet etc. Then at the next review time in February, we review the book which won the vote, plus the book we read (not giving the plot away.) of our own choice. This second book then becomes one of our suggestions for the following month.
Everyone seemed in agreement so please suggest just one book. BUT don't forget to read and make notes for review of one other book for including with your two suggestions in February. (date of that review will be 3 February 2017)
If you have any queries please PM me to save cluttering up the thread.
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My one suggestion
Lavender Road by Helen Carey
As the nation braces itself for war, the residents of Lavender road are dealing with troubles of their own.
With her husband in jail, Joyce Carter is never sure where her family’s next meal will come from. And her troublesome daughter, Jen isn’t helping matters by refusing to work until she achieves her dream of becoming an actress.
Pam Nelson is struggling to deny the distance growing between her and her husband –which isn’t helped by her secret attraction to their handsome new lodger. And unfortunately Pam isn’t the only one to fall for his seductive charm.
As the threat of a German invasion looms, the lives of the women on this South London Street are about to change for ever.
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This wasn't my first choice, the paperback of that one was being offered for over £200 :-S, so for the sake of the non Kindle users.......
Last Dance in Havana by Rosanna Ley
Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?
England, 2012. Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother's untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulderto cry on - Grace's career is in flux, she isn't sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she's begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can't make Grace's problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family's happiness?
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I read this once before, I was around twelve, had only been able to read for a couple of years. Being a late reader, I devoured anything I could get my hands on.
Needless to say I didn't understand very little and now remember even less.
So I thought that it was about time that I gave it another go.
My suggestion is.
The Last of the Mohicans by J. Fennimore Cooper.
It was first published in 1826, so was a Historical Novel at that time.
It is 1757, Across northeastern America the armies of Britain and France struggle for ascendancy. Their conflict however, overlays older struggles between nations of native Americans for possession of the same lands, and between native people and white colonisers. Through these layers of conflict Cooper threads a thrilling narrative, in which Cora and Alice Munro, daughters of a British commander on the front line of the colonial war, attempt to join their father.
Thwarted by Magua, the sinister. "Indian Runner", they find help in the persons of Hawk-eye, the white woodsman, and his companions, the Mohican Chingaehgook and Uneas, his son, the last of his tribe.
Cooper's novel is full of vivid incident - pursuits through wild terrain, skirmishes, treachery and brutality - but reflects also on the interaction between the colonisers and the native peoples.
Through Hawk-eye Cooperative raises lasting questions about the practice's of the American frontier and the eclipse of the indigenous cultures.
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From Perse
Christmas comes but once a year and as GlossieAnn has asked for just one book each because there could be a shortage of reading time during the hols. Giving this some thought I have chosen a short book by the classic crime writer P.D. James. The title is apt,
"The Mistletoe Murder and other stories" by PD James
She delights in the secrets that lurk beneath the surface at family gatherings whilst also providing tantalising puzzles to keep the reader guessing. There are four stories in the book; from the title story about a strained country-house Christmas Party, to another about an illicit affair that ends in murder, and two cases for Adam Dalgleish to get his head around.
I have not read a P D James book but did watch all of the Adam Dalgleish played by Roy Marsden television series. I chose this one a) because it is Christmas, b) if you do not have time to read all of this little book maybe you could at least read one of the stories or c) rate one against the other as to which you think is the best of the four stories.
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My suggestion is
Belgravia - Julian Fellowes
Julian Fellowes's Belgravia is the story of a secret. A secret that unravels behind the porticoed doors of London's grandest postcode. Set in the 1840s when the upper echelons of society began to rub shoulders with the emerging industrial nouveau riche, Belgravia is peopled by a rich cast of characters. But the story begins on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. At the Duchess of Richmond's now legendary ball, one family's life will change for ever...
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