Book Review ~ The Faces of Angels

Rating: 5/5

Lucretia Grindle is my one of my favourite authors and yet she is really under the radar. Her novels are fabulous. Her more latest books combine a modern narrative and historical narrative running simultaneously. Then I found her first two novels and although they are completely different from her new novels they are brilliant. 

This story takes her back to Florence where her novels really come alive! Her way of recreating the city and making it character in the book is unbelievable. 

This particular novel is about a woman who is brutally attacked and then witnesses the same attacker kill her husband. After burying him she returns to Florence to  study art history at a continuing education school when the murders begin again. With her nosey roommate, and constantly travelling lover the heroine becomes obsessed with the crimes and ends up coming face to face with the killer. 

Usually when I read crime novels I can guess who the murderer is about half way through and this time I thought I had as well but man I was WRONG! Way off target. That is what is so brilliant about Grindle the story seems to be heading in one direction and then she veers off in another. 

The book is brutally descriptive and can turn your stomach at times. Also don't read it at night... when you're alone! Other than that it is truly brilliant and a must read. If you have never read a Grindle novel you have to she is an unsung legend!

My Engagement Story

30th August 2015

We have just arrived back in the UK after an amazing holiday in Vancouver. As well as TidyBoy meeting all my friends I had the joy of watching the man I love fall in love with the city I love! Flying home yesterday was not so bad as we knew the next time we board a flight to Vancouver it would be with a one way ticket!

But, even that wasn't the height of our trip. What happened on the evening of 30th August was!

After attending the most gorgeously romantic wedding of two of the best people on this planet, and a dinner with my extended family (which saw TidyBoy become face-to-face with an Alaskan King Crab) we went for a walk along the waterfront. 

It was pouring with rain... and I mean pouring with rain. 

I took TidyBoy to the wrong waterfront (he wanted Coal Harbour and I took him to English Bay). 

Then...

At the Inukshuk TidyBoy asked me what it actually stood for and I am embarrassed to say I didn't know so I read him the plaque. 

Turning around I found TidyBoy down on one knee with a beautiful ring in his hands. 

"Cause I can't wait any longer for the perfect day and the perfect place. And I am sick of people telling me to do it and ruining the surprise. So I am doing it here and now. Hannah Ruth Hardy will you marry me"

It was the most romantic moment of my life. He made me the happiest girl in the world. 

TidyBoy is the other half of my soul and over the last three years he has captured my heart and I cannot wait to be his wife. 

Book Review ~ Mrs. de Winter

Rating: 3/5

I love Susan Hill. She is a master of her craft, and she really took a risky step by writing a sequel to one of the greatest classics in the English language. However, it really was pulled off! 

The middle section of the book is a little slow. The first person becomes oppressive and it holds the story back from progressing. The character of Mrs de Winter becomes nauseating and it is hard to stick with it. BUT, the minute they buy the new house the story becomes engrossing and you cannot put it down. 

The novel picks up the de Winter's abroad moments before the death of his sister back to England. However, the presence of Rebecca is soon captured with a wreath at the graveside. Although Mrs. de Winter realises that escape from the past is not possible she cannot help but be desperate to stay. They embark on a trip around the UK before returning abroad. What they find is heaven and what it leads to is Hell. 

I knew from the tone that I couldn't expect a classical happy ending however, the ending is a complete surprise a brilliant twist set up and pulled off with great skill. It broke my heart! 

This is a must read if you like Daphne Du Maurier's original, but bear with it as the beginning is slow. 

Book Review ~ A Place Called Winter

Rating : 4+/5

Patrick Gale is a real master of the craft of writing. He is truly amazing. The plot is absolutely flawless and heartbreaking. His descriptions and characters just take you there. You are alongside Harry the whole way and seeing his pain and his torment which is all made possible by Gale's writing. He is incredible, such a storyteller.

It is the story of Harry Gale who is hiding a secret about himself that when revealed could send him to jail and destroy his family. So he boards a boat and heads to Canada. Upon his journey he meets Troel's who will shape his future for better... and for worse. 

Troels is probably the nastiest character I have ever come across. He's constant appearances and what he does are so haunting you cannot help but be constantly on tender hooks worrying that he is going to appear and ruin everything that has just started to go right for Harry. 

The narrative is also brilliant. It is not flashbacks, but written from area to area in a sort of tracing back of the story. It keeps you turning the pages and is a brilliant way of keeping you guessing as to what exactly has happened to Harry Cane, as each part of the narrative reveals a little more of Harry's story until in the final section you realizes exactly what has happened to him. 

EXCELLENT!!