“God was in the pictures” – The Gallery of Vanished Husbands Review

Author: Natasha Solomons Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 3.5/5 Told through a series of portraits, The Gallery of Vanished Husbands is the tale of one woman's liberation. Set in the Jewish neighbourhoods of post-war Britain, Natasha Solomon’s novel tells the story of the fatefully named Juliet Montague, a young single mother with a passion for art and a knack for spotting talent. One …

“Stories and songs are the language of the heart.” – Merlin Review

Title: Merlin Author: Stephen R. Lawhead Genre: Historical fantasy Rating: 3.5/5 Last week, I wrote a rather raving review of Stephen Lawhead’sTaliesin, which was written in third person. The sequel, which follows the story of Merlin, the son of the main characters in Taliesin, was written in first and the change of voice shocked me, particularly as I picked …

“Whatever is done cannot be undone, but whatever is lost can sometimes be found” – Taliesin Review

Title: Taliesin Author: Stephen R. Lawhead Genre: Historical fantasy Rating: 4/5 Taliesin, the first book in prolific author Stephen Lawhead’s  Pendragon Cycle begins years before the more familiar time of Arthur. It also manages to combine two of my favourite things: Greek style mythology and Celtic mythology. How, you wonder? That you’ll have to find out for yourself but, …

“Everything is this, now.” – My Brilliant Friend Review

Title: My Brilliant Friend Author: Elena Ferrante (trans. by Ann Goldstein) Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4/5 "Children don’t know the meaning of yesterday, of the day before yesterday, or even of tomorrow, everything is this, now..." This book was lent to me on whim by a friend. She pressed it into my hands and insisted I read it. …

A Legend Reborn: How Changing Voice Can Disorient

So a few weeks ago I wrote a rather raving review of Stephen Lawhead's Taliesin, which was written in third person. The sequel, following Merlin, the son of the main characters in Taliesin, was written in first and the change of voice shocked me, particularly as I picked it up straight after finishing the first …

A Legend Reborn: How Stephen Lawhead Reinvented Arthurian Legend

Taliesin, the first book in prolific author Stephen Lawhead's  Pendragon Cycle begins years before the more familiar time of Arthur. It also manages to combine two of my favourite things: Greek style mythology and Celtic mythology. How, you wonder? That you'll have to find out for yourself but odd as it sounds, Lawhead manages to …

Wednesday Returns

Before I get into all the WIPpety details, here is my updated blogging schedule. Mondays: My Summer Series, this year the focus is on book reviews. The idea is to do a book review on a new book every week. The books are ones that have been sitting on my shelf unread for far too …

“Instinct is everything.” – The Pagan Lord Review

Author: Bernard Cornwell Genre: Historical fiction Rating: 3/5 The Pagan Lord tells the tale of Uhtred, a renowned Saxon warrior, at a turning point of British history when the Danes and Saxons battle for control of the country itself while Christianity battles with the Old Norse Gods for supremacy in the hearts of men. I initially picked it …

Return of the WIPpeteer

Hi all, hope you all had a lovely Christmas or holiday period and a great start to the New Years. I decided, as both Christmas day and  New Years were on Wednesday to give WIPpet a break but I kept busy with my new review series with book reviews on John Green's The Fault in …

Review: The Gallery of Vanished Husbands

Told through a series of portraits, The Gallery of Vanished Husbands is the tale of Juliet Montague's liberation. Set in the Jewish neighbourhoods of post-war Britain, Natasha Solomon's novel tells the story of the fatefully named Juliet Montague, a young single mother with a passion for art and a knack for spotting talent. One day while out …