The Book Whisperer

jottings, musings and recommendations of an incurable bookaholic

Victorians Challenge 2012 January 12, 2012

Filed under: The Victorians,Charlotte Bronte,Wilkie Collins,Mary Elizabeth Braddon,Guy de Maupassant,Elizabeth Gaskell,Charles Dickens,Classics,Thomas Hardy,Knut Hamsun,Emile Zola,Oscar Wilde,William Makepeace Thackaray — The Book Whisperer @ 8:00 am
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Men judge us by the success of our efforts. God looks at the efforts themselves*

*by Charlotte Bronte

 

I didn’t do any challenges last year and I promised myself I wouldn’t this year either as when I have done them in the past I have found that they can sometimes feel like homework and that I “have” to read something. However, being a massive fan of Victorian literature, I have been eyeing up this one, hosted by Laura’s Reviews for some time and I have decided to give it a go.

 

Here are the rules:

1. The Victorian Challenge 2012 will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2012. You can post a review before this date if you wish.

2. You can read a book, watch a movie, or listen to an audiobook, anything Victorian related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Victorian related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed. You can also share items with other challenges.

3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 2 to 6 (or beyond) anything Victorian items.

So, knowing how rubbish I am at sticking to plans and lists, I have decided not to give myself a huge goal but to say that I will read six this year and then just keep going if I fancy more. Seeing as I have almost finished two so far this year, it’s looking pretty possible.

Here are some of the books / authors I would like to read this year. Obviously, I won’t get to them all but a girl gotta have options :) :

 

1) The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (already read)

2) The Complete Short Fiction by Oscar Wilde (almost finished)

3) Armadale by Wilkie Collins

4) Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

5) Something by Dickens (I’m thinking either David Copperfield, Oliver Twist or Little Dorritt at the moment)

6) Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

7) More books by Thomas Hardy (whom I have fallen in love with) like Jude the Obscure, Far From the Madding Crowd or The Woodlanders

8) Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

9) Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackaray

 

I wasn’t sure if non-Brits would be included at first but Laura (in her post) has included authors such as Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott so I’m hoping it’s OK to include some other nationalities like the French and Russian for example. If so then I really want to read:

1) Cousin Bette by Honor Belzac

2) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

3) Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant

4) Germinal by Emile Zola (already started)

5) Hunger by Knut Hamsun (Norwegian)

 

And if I have time after that little lot I would also like to read some non-fiction like finish Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens and also London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew.

 

  Are there any out of this little lot that I should be reading before the others?

 

 

 

Blogging plans for 2012 December 30, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized,The Victorians,Charlotte Bronte,Edith Wharton,Wilkie Collins,Mary Elizabeth Braddon,Jose Saramago,Cormac McCarthy,Sarah Waters,Authors,Guy de Maupassant,French,Margaret Atwood,France,Elizabeth Gaskell,Agatha Christie,Charles Dickens,Daphne du Maurier,George Orwell,Margaret Mitchell,Classics — The Book Whisperer @ 2:11 pm
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I have noticed something…

…I am rubbish at making plans. OK, not strictly true – I am great a making plans, just rubbish at sticking to them.

After a very murderous 2011, I have an urge for something a little gentler right now and I plan to raid my own shelves in 2012 and read some of what I actually own. This year I have had the absolute best fun reading about serial killers and detectives and crime fiction was all I craved for a long time: I will still be reading crime fic in 2012 as it is one of my favourite genres but at the moment I am craving books that have been sat on my shelves and whispering my name for years.

So, knowing full well that these best-laid plans will fall by the way-side by around mid January, let’s have a little fun pretending for now:

 

  Plan #1 – The Victorians

I am dying to get back to the Victorian classics and have read Little Women and Oscar Wilde’s Complete Short Fiction over Christmas. These are also some authors that I would like to read more of in the new year.

Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre and Villette are two of my favourite books of all time and so this year I’d like to read Shirley.

Thomas Hardy

I have only read Tess of the D’Urbervilles and think it’s about time I read some more. I am thinking The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obscure first.

Charles Dickens

This Master of the Tome has always been slightly daunting to me (despite me loving Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol) but this year I am determined to read at least one more of his and on my hit list are David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon

I absolutely loved Lady Audley’s Secret and have heard great things about Aurora Floyd so that will be next. I just love Victorian sensational novels.

Elizabeth Gaskell

I loved North and South and my cousin bought me a copy of Wives and Daughters for Christmas which I have heard great things about.

Wilkie Collins

I have only read The Woman in White so it is high time I picked up more of Collins’ work and next up are Moonstone and Armadale.

 

 

  Plan #2 – The French

I love reading books set in France or by French authors. At the end of February I am going to Paris for 4 days so I plan to read some Paris-based books before I go to get me in the mood:

Emile Zola

I have only read Thérèse Raquin and I am about ¼ of the way through Germinal but I would also like to read The Belly of Paris or The Ladies Paradise this year.

Victor Hugo

I am thinking about joining in the year-long read-a-long of this book, hosted by Kate at Kate’s Library as I have wanted to read it for years and it does seem like a good way to do this, but like I said, I am crap at sticking to plans so let’s see…

Two other authors I would like to read are Ernest Hemingways’ A Moveable Feast and George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London and some shorter stories by Guy de Maupassant.

 

 

  Plan #3 – Authors I want to read more of

I have a habit that goes like this: I read a book by an author, I love it, I buy a tonne of other books by that same author, they sit on my shelves waiting to be picked up.

So, with that in mind, plan #3 entails taking said books down from said shelves, dusting them off and actually reading them. Authors include:

Edith Wharton

Daphne du Maurier

Margaret Atwood

Sarah Waters

John Steinbeck

Cormack McCarthy

Agatha Christie

Jose Saramago

 

 

  Plan #4 – Authors I want to read for the very first time

I also have a habit of buying books by authors I think I should be reading but never get round to. Yes, I’m looking at you

Doris Lessing

Ernest Hemingway

China Melville

Amoz Oz

 

 

  Plan #5 – Books I have waited to read for far too long

There are certain books that have been on my wishlist for reading for so long that I almost cringe out of guilt when I hear them mentioned. Fortunately, two of them are being read this year in my on-line book club: Gone with the Wind and The Grapes of Wrath. Others that look at me longingly from my shelves are: Shantaram, Shogun and My Antonia.

 

 

  Plan #6 – Review Copies

I successfully managed to avoid the great publisher/blogger debate that was doing the rounds last month, and I still intend to. What I will say is that when an unexpected (or expected) package lands on my doormat I still get that feeling like it’s my birthday and Christmas rolled into one. There is not much more exciting than ripping the packaging off something book-shaped. Having said that, I do regularly get overwhelmed with the number of books that drop through my letterbox and my guilt at not reading them all still hounds me, but this year I have decided that I want to concentrate more on the books I already have rather than spending the majority of my reading time on proof copies. It’s a tough one really as despite the fact that  a) I don’t get the time to read them all and b) abandom some pretty quickly, two of the unsolicited copies that arrived at my house this year (and to be honest, I may not have picked up myself in a shop) ended up on my top 10 of 2011 list.

So, there are my current plans for 2012. This may change. In fact, this probably will change. Afterall, when something new and shiny lands on the doormat, what’s a girl to do? ;)

 

 

  Do you have blogging plans for 2012?

 

 

 

Day 38 – An author crush October 7, 2011

Filed under: The Victorians,Charlotte Bronte,Anne Bronte,Authors,Emily Bronte,Classics — The Book Whisperer @ 7:22 am
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Reader, I heart them…

Is it cheating to bundle these into one (especially as only a week or so ago I did a post about not being able to read Wuthering Heights)? If I had to pick only one sister then it would be Charlotte but how can I leave out poor neglected Anne and yes, even Emily? Yep, I have a crush on them all – thoses feisty, weather-worn Yorkshire lasses who like to roam around on moors and pen stories by candlelight.

I am lucky enough to only live about a 45 minute drive from Haworth where the Bronte sisters grew up with the Vicar father, brother Branwell and their Aunt once their mother and other sisters had all passed away in their childhoods. The Parsonage is still there today and is now a museum and I have wandered though their home on several occasions, looking at the chair Charlotte sat on to write or the sofa that Emily died on (determined to the last hour that she was OK and wanted to get up).

 

Wonder why their books had that gothic feel?

 

Bleak, bleak, bleak! Love it!

 

Haworth Village - cute little town with lovely book shops :)

 
Charlotte is my main crush, having penned my favourite book of all-time – Jane Eyre – and also the wonderful Villette (which I know some people find a challenging read); both books had me in awe and I didn’t want either of them to end. I still have Shirley and The Proffesor to read (and I also have a lovely copy of The Tales of Angria which she wrote as a child). I have also read Charlotte Bronte’s Letters in which she writtes to her friend, nurse, sisters and even William Thackaray and Elizabeth Gaskell!
 
I have read and loved both of Anne’s books too, and although I did enjoy Agnes Grey it didn’t have the magnitude of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which was way before its time and I would love to know what sort of a reception it got back then (a woman not towing the line? Pffft!) .
 
I have made my feelings of Wuthering Heights clear before but despite having had 3 attempts at it, I still don’t feel ready to stop trying. Is it because she’s a Bronte? Probably.
 
So, there you have my author crush(es).
 

  Who is yours?

 

 

Day 14 – A favourite 19th century novel September 13, 2011

Filed under: Authors,Charles Dickens,Charlotte Bronte,The Victorians,Uncategorized — The Book Whisperer @ 7:51 am
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                      Reader, I love this book…

I love Victorian novels, although for years I was afraid of them. After reading (and hating) Great Expectations in school I was put off reading any more for another 20 years until on a whim I decided to give GE another go to see if I still felt the same….and I loved it! Shortly after that I picked up Jane Eyre and I was blown away from the first page: it is a thriller, a romance, it is gothic, had wit and warmth and there was not a single moment in the book that I wasn’t enraptured. I had no idea that 19th century literature could be so wonderful.

Jane Eyre is a fantastic character and I had more than a few laugh-out-loud moments with her. My favourite being when the school governer tell her she is naughty and asks how she can stop being burned in the pits of hell to which she replies “I must keep in good health, and not die.” Genius! Jane is a wonderful character and it was a pleasure to spend time in her company. This is a book that I love so much that I have about 6 different copies of the book and I visit the Bronte Parsonage (only an hours drive from my house) about twice a year now.

 

 

  Which books from this century do you love?

 

 

Who fancies a little nosey at my bookshelves? July 30, 2010

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,Comfort Reading,Ellen Wood,Joanne Harris,John Fowles,Kate Atkinson,Tracy Chevalier,Wilkie Collins,Yann Martel — The Book Whisperer @ 12:38 pm

Welcome to my crib

I thought I’d take you on a little tour of my lovely books and their homes. I recently bought two new bookscases as Mr Whisperer was getting fed up of seeing toppling piles of books at every corner and books behind books behind books on my creaking shelves. 

Up the stairs and two huge bookshelves greet me at the top

These are the two new ones which had to go at the top of the stairs as there isn’t enough room anywhere else. It’s a good job we have the house on the market as we’re running out of room. This view is coming up the staircase. 

Ta daaaaaa!

And here are the bookcases themselves. I had hours of fun piling, sorting and re-sorting my books onto these. They may look like randomly placed books but believe me, they make perfect sense to me. 

Choices, choices….

These are my two shelves full of books that have been sent to me by publishers and authors that haven’t been read yet. Actually, these photos were taken a couple of weeks ago so there is more to add. I hesitated about including this photo in case publishers think I have enough and don’t send me any more so here’s a little caviat…”There is no such thing as too many books! What doesn’t get read today may well get read tomorrow so keep ‘em coming!” :)  

My review copies.......all screaming for attention!

I heart Richard Parker

Check it! *flicks fingers* 

Ever since reading Life of Pi I have become obsessed with tigers hence my collection of lovelies on top of the two book cases in my office.  

The three bottom shelves on the left-hand case are all books I have on readitswapit.com where I get loads of my books from. I only swap out the ones I don’t want to keep (i.e. haven’t enjoyed, have enjoyed but won’t re-read etc). I have had some great swaps on that site. 

Bookcases in my office & my beloved Richard Parkers!

Books and a Turkish wall-hanging

  This was my original bookcase from when I lived in a one-bedroom flat years ago and didn’t have any more room. Now it lives in the hallway under my gorgeous wall-hanging from Turkey and an orchid from my parents-in-law. 

Bookcase in the hall

Pride of place

Some of my faves on display

These are the books that are in my living room and I expect guests to gasp and coo at (frankly, if they don’t they’re not welcome in my house anyway. Tsk.) These are some of my favourite ever books: classics like Jane Eyre, The Woman in White and East Lynne on there and also some of my faves like The Secret History, The Magus, Wild Swans, Five Quarters of the Orange, Memoirs of a Geisha, Girl with a Pearl Earring etc and others that are just downright good reads like We Need to Talk About Kevin, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, The Time Travelers Wife etc etc.

 

Did you enjoy your tour of Chez Whisperer?

 

 

Girl Power! May 12, 2010

Filed under: Anne Bronte,Charlotte Bronte — The Book Whisperer @ 8:27 am

I just love this video! My favourite lady and her sisters kicking a$$! Go the Brontes! :) If they ever actually bring these dolls out I am so getting one!

 

Any more Bronte fans out there?

 

Victorian Corner January 4, 2010

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 10:45 am
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I am a huge fan of Victorian lit. My favourite author is Charlotte Bronte (if you haven’t read Jane Eyre or Villette you missing a real treat). So when I came across this meme on Laura’s Reviews I just had to join in the challenge.

Challenge Details
 
1. The All About the Brontes challenge will run from January 1st to June 30, 2010.
 
2. You can read a book, watch a movie, listen to an audiobook, anything Bronte related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Bronte related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed.
 
3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 3 to 6 (or beyond) anything Bronte items.

There are a whole pile of suggestions on Laura’s blog: as well as the original works by the sisters there are a huge range o biographies as well as spin-off books like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca that were influenced by the Bronte’s.

My list for this challenge is:

Shirley – Charlotte Bronte

“Written at a time of social unrest, it is set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, when economic hardship led to riots in the woollen district of Yorkshire. A mill-owner, Robert Moore, is determined to introduce new machinery despite fierce opposition from his workers; he ignores their suffering, and puts his own life at risk .Robert sees marriage to the wealthy Shirley Keeldar as the solution to his difficulties, but he loves his cousin Caroline. She suffers misery and frustration, and Shirley has her own ideas about the man she will choose to marry.”

Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life by Lyndall Gordon

“In this groundbreaking and unconventional biography, Lyndall Gordon dismantles the insistent image of Charlotte Bronte as a modest Victorian lady, the slave to duty in the shadow of tombstones, revealing instead a strong and fiery woman who shaped her own life and transformed it into art. “

The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte by Daphne Du Maurier

“As a bold and gifted child, Branwell Brontë’s promise seemed boundless to the three adoring sisters over whom his rule was complete. But as an adult, the precocious flame of genius flickered and burned low. With neither the strength nor the resources to counter rejection, unable to sell his paintings or publish his books, Branwell became a specter in the Brontë story, in pathetic contrast with the remarkable achievements of Charlotte, Anne, and Emily. Daphne du Maurier concentrates all her biographer’s skill on the shadowy figure of Branwell Brontë, and no reader could fail to be intensely moved by Branwell’s final retreat into laudanum, alcohol, and death.”

I have also set myself a challenge of reading a total of 10 Victorian novels for 2010 for my Victorians  group  on Goodreads. I keep changing my mind about what I want to read but some of the favourite contenders are:

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

 

My Top 10 Reads of 2009 December 31, 2009

Filed under: Aravind Adiga,Charlotte Bronte,Edith Wharton,Jiang Rong,Joanne Harris,Sophie Kinsella,Suzanne Collins,Tracy Chevalier — The Book Whisperer @ 3:26 pm
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So here we are, the end of another year. I have read exactly 100 books this year (well, I will have when I race through #100 today!). I’ve read some truly fantastic books and some real humdingers too! So here is my Top 10 of 2009:

This book is just awesome! I can’t believe that I have never read it before this year. I fell in love with the Bronte’s from reading this and went on to read several more of theirs this year. I also live in Yorkshire and my Mum bought me membership to the Bronte Society for my birthday this year (so excited!). The village of Hawarth is stunning – it’s no wonder that those sisters were so inspired to write such wonderful books.

You can read my review of Jane Eyre here. I also highly recommend Villette which only just missed out on a Top 10 spot.

Wolf Totem is quite possibly my favourite book of all time! I devour books about China as I am fascinated with the country (I even went there on holiday in 2004 to feed my fascination). I picked this up one night just to flick through the pages (as I was already in the middle of another book) and before I knew it I had read about 20 pages and could not put it down. Wolf Totem is not only beautifually written (I don’t know what the Chinese version is like but the translation is stunning) but I really felt like I was right there in the pages. It also made me fall head over heals in love with wolves (which has started another book buying craze!). I cannot recommed this book highly enough – it really is a gem. You can read my review here.

I started reading this book on the plane to New York a few weeks ago and I was gripped! This is one of the best written, on-the-edge-of-your-seat books that I have ever read. The plot is amazing: dystopia novels always frighten me because I can see something like this so easily happening  just as I did with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (another awesome book). This is a YA book but really is one for the adults too; in fact I didn’t notice that I was reading something aimed at teenagers, I was so engrossed in it.

You can read my review here. Read this and then read the second in the series, Catching Fire. The third is out in August and I cannot wait!

I am a massive Joanne Harris fan. If you have read Chocolat and loved it, then you will love Five Quarters of the Orange even more. I love the way Harris can make you fall in love with a place and want to be there among the village and the characters, despite the fact that it’s set in the middle of a war. All her books are wonderful but I think that this is my favourite of them all.

I will be uploading my review of this book shortly so watch this space.

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I just love books with really bleak settings which is exactly what Ethan Frome is. I think it’s because I crave peace and quiet and solitude so to me a tiny village that regularly gets cut off by the snow sounds like heaven to me! This book really is bleak, the characters have hard lives and there is little to look forward to. Yet in the middle of that is one of the most beautiful love stories that I have ever read. I know that this book is not a favourite among a lot of people (I think it was a set read in some American schools and seems to have really turned people off it) but seriously, it is such a treat to read. I highly recommend.

You can read my review of Ethan Frome here.

Tracy Chevalier is another author that I am a massive fan of. She writes historical fiction but often based on true stories (of people that aren’t well known historical figures). Remarkable Creatures is one of those. It is based on a fossil hunter called Mary Anning who lived on the English coast in the early 19th century. This book really was a joy to read; I felt like I knew Mary and her friends and that I was there in the pages with them. I love it when a book can do that to you. It’s such a gentle read yet the pace never slackens and I found myself not able to put it down.

You can read my review here.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first in a trilogy of books. It is written by a Swedish journalis (which also stars a Swedish journalist) who died just after completing the trilogy (I wonder if he had any idea just how big this series would become). The girl in question is a computer hacker who ends up helping the journalist to solve a “locked room” mystery. It’s such a fabulous page-turner of a book, just as the second in the series The Girl who Played with Fire is. I have the third book at home which has stopped whispering to me and is now yelling at me from the bookshelf! I must read that really soon.

You can read my review here.

This book is a real eye-opener into Indian society. White Tiger is about a young boy whom we watch grow up and try to carve out an existance for himself in India. It is shocking, heartbreaking and funny all at once. There are no real heros in this book; there is no-one to root for as they all make bad choices but ultimately you have to ask yourself what would you do in their situation? They are trying to survive in a corupt world. Fantastic narrative, witty, sharp and ultimately a real page-turner.

You can read my review here.

No list is complete without some chicklit on it. And this is the best of them for 2009. I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan and have read all her books, but out of the 4 standalone this is my favourite. I read it while curled up on a sun lounger in Kefalonia this summer and it was perfect summer reading. In Twenties Girl, yes there is the usual shopping and shoes and boys (what’s not to love?) but this time there is a ghost who wants to relive her glory years in the roaring 20′s and boy does she make sure she has fun.

You can read my review here.

Who knew that science fiction could be so much fun? I just loved this book! The Midwich Cuckoos is about a little English village that suddenly freezes in time for a few hours and all the residents collapse. Nobody can get in and nobody can get out. When they wake up they have no idea what happened but in the following weeks all the women and girls over about 15 find themselves pregnant. When their children are born they all have the same white blonde hair and don’t communicate with anyone but themselves. It’s creepy and brilliant! Don’t miss it.

I will upload my review soon so watch this space.

So that’s my Top 10 of 2009. You can see the full list of 100 books that I read here.

 

Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte December 12, 2009

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,Comfort Reading,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 12:49 pm
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wow! Just wow!

I was a latecomer to Jane Eyre and I often wonder what the hell took me so long. This book is amazing from start to finish and I found myself thinking about it whenever I couldn’t get to it to carry on reading.

Jane Eyre is a fantastic character and I had more than a few laugh-out-loud moments with her. My favourite being when the school governer tell her she is naughty and asks how she can stop being burned in the pits of hell to which she replies “I must keep in good health, and not die.” Genius!

The story of Jane Eyre spans over a decade and we follow her from her first home as an orphan in her rich relatives home where they treat her as an outcast, through boarding school for orphan girls and on to work as a governess where she meets Mr Rochester.

The whole books is beautifully written and engaging and I never once found a dull moment.

This is one book that I will be going back to again and again, I’m sure, and it is in my top 5 of all time.

 

Book Review: Villette by Charlotte Bronte December 11, 2009

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 9:41 pm
Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Reader, I heart Ms. Bronte! Reading Villette was like reading a huge epic that I was so emmersed in that I walked in Lucy Snowe’s shoes, I felt what she felt. How many authors can do that to you?

Lucy Snowe is difficult to get to know at first. In fact, she is difficult to like. This is deliberate; she tells you about other people, what they think, what they feel, but precious little about herself, of whom she appears fiercely private. Only as the story unfolds does she start to let you in – I remember being surprised when she showed such tender, gentle thoughts and actions towards the sick daughter of her employer; that, I believe, was the first glimpse of emotion from Lucy and it really endeared me to her. Lucy Snowe’s name was not an accident – Bronte toyed with Lucy Frost for a while before settling on Snowe. She also allows us to see her as others do: “Crabbed and crusty” said Ginevra, a pupil at the school, and “unfeeling thing that I was” written to her in a letter. The point is, she isn’t unfeeling at all. She is lonely and trying to make her way in an unfamiliar world. Lucy’s past is only hinted at but it appears to have been an unhappy one.

Brontes prose is gorgeous, Villette is such a richly embroidered account of a young woman trying to make a life for herself in a foreign country and fighting for independence and friendship. This book isn’t a romance in the same way that Jane Eyre is. I wasn’t sure for a long time who the leading man would be (in fact he doesn’t even appear until the second half of the book). And it isn’t love at first sight, we watch it grow.

I absolutely adored this book and it is now a firm favourtie of mine.  I finally closed the book in a daze. I don’t want to give anything away, but I was not expecting what happended at the end at all. That came completely out of the blue for me.

Go ahead, indluge and enjoy!

 

 
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