How can a memory so vivid be wrong? In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart. In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right? With strong themes of paganism, love and grief, The Faerie Tree is a novel as gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemaker’s House, which won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense, and folklore.
The Faerie Tree is an absorbing read. I have thoroughly enjoyed Izzie and Robin’s story. It’s a fascinating tale of love, loss, and acceptance of a life that is how it was meant to be. I found their differing memories of the same situation quite fascinating. It is funny how our minds can alter our memories to protect ourselves from pain.
I can’t say that I found Izzie an easily likable character, but I could certainly understand her and empathise with her. She is struggling with her own grief whilst trying to be a good mother to her sixteen-year-old daughter, Claire, and battling with her own conscience over reuniting with Robin.
Robin I warmed to much more easily. I can’t really say why, I just did. I’m not sure if it’s just me or if the author intended for him to be more likeable of the two. Either way, I think it’s a testament to his character how patient he is with Izzie.
This book is so full of raw emotion. It maintains an air of mystery throughout and I found it a very difficult book to put down.
I very much recommend!
I will be adding Jane Cable’s other books to my TBR list.
I can’t quite believe I started my little blog seven whole years ago!
Thank you if you’ve been with me from the start. Thank you for reading if this is the first of my posts you’re seeing. Thank you for all the likes, comments, and shares along the way. You’re all awesome!
Here’s to another year of fabulous books, fabulous authors, and hopefully more fabulous events along the way.
Jenny has just given birth to the baby she’s always wanted. She’s never been this happy.
Her husband, Leo, knows this baby girl can’t be his. He’s never felt so betrayed.
The same night, a vulnerable young woman, Hannah, wakes to find her newborn lifeless beside her. She’s crazed with grief.
When chance throws Hannah into Leo’s path, they make a plan that will have shattering consequences for all of them.
Years later, a sixteen-year-old girl reads an article in a newspaper and embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about herself. But what she learns will put everything she has ever known – and her own life – in grave danger. Because some people will go to desperate lengths to protect the secrets their lives are built on . . .
Wow! What a story this is! It certainly kept me glued to my Kindle late at night.
When we meet Leo and Jenny they are about to have a baby, but Leo knows the baby isn’t his. Jenny doesn’t realise he knows that.
When Jenny gives birth she is besotted with her little girl. Leo isn’t so enamoured, but he keeps his thoughts to himself so as not to rock the boat. He needs Jenny to be able to continue doing what he loves. He’s a writer and Jenny’s steady income and second property means he has had the luxury of focusing solely on his writing career. He is determined to become a best seller. Leaving Jenny isn’t an option if he wants to succeed. He is not a likeable person.
My heart went out to Jenny. I can’t even imagine how anyone would begin to move on from the trauma she suffers after just giving birth.
My heart went out to Hannah also, at the beginning. The grief she suffers is unimaginable too. Nothing can justify what she does next though. Her life collides with Leo’s in the most spectacularly twisted way, and she takes advantage of the situation, seemingly, without a second thought. What follows is horrifying.
Two mothers, two baby girls, stories entwined in a way I could never have imagined.
Keep Her Quiet is a fast-paced, suspenseful novel which had me holding my breath on more than one occasion. An incredibly emotional story, full of twists and turns. And, likeable or not, the characters are all fascinating. I loved it!
Highly recommend!
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley. I am working my way through my list, slowly but surely**
(Images used with permission from the Museum of Cannock Chase)
Yesterday I attended Chase Book Fest with my friend, Gayle.
Gayle and I out for dinner following the Book Fest. Unfortunately, I didn’t get chance to take any photos at the event.
We had a wonderful time! We booked five panels and found all of them fascinating, inspiring, and quite often funny.
First up was ‘Feel Good Fiction’ at 10am with Bella Osborne, Tilly Tennant, Beth Moran, and Celia Anderson. The very lovely Kim Nash was facilitating. An excellent panel with a favourite author, and friend, Tilly! 🙂 Bella, Beth, and Celia are new authors to me.
Bella Osborne, Tilly Tennant, Kim Nash, Beth Moran, Celia Anderson.
Next up at 11:15am, ‘The Power of Love’ with Iona Grey, Amanda Prowse, Emma Cooper, and Josie Silver. Another excellent panel. If you know me well, you will know that I am a HUGE fan of Iona Grey. I just adore her books and can’t wait for her new one 🙂 I have read a few by Amanda Prowse and loved them all. She is such an inspiration. Emma and Josie are new to me authors.
Iona Grey, Amanda Prowse, Kim Nash, Emma Cooper, Josie Silver
At 12:30pm ‘Moving to the Dark Side’ with Sue Watson, Kate Gray, and Miranda Dickinson. All three of these ladies are new-to-me authors who did an excellent job of convincing me to add their books to my TBR list!
Facilitator, Sue Watson, Kate Gray, Miranda Dickinson.
At 1:45pm we had the ‘Thrilled to Death’ panel with Keith Houghton, Noelle Holten, M W Arnold, Louise Douglas, and T M Logan. I LOVE Noelle Holten’s books, but everyone else on this panel is a new-to-me author. Once again all of their books have gone straight on to my TBR list!
Keith Houghton, Noelle Holten, M W Arnold, Louise Douglas, T M Logan.
Last but not least, scheduled for 3pm, ‘Location, Location, Location’ with Sue Moorcroft, Phillipa Ashley, and Sarah Bennett. I have loved the books I’ve read by Sue Moorcroft and Phillipa Ashley. Sarah Bennett is a new-to-me author. Needless to say, her books have also been added to my TBR list!
Sue Moorcroft, Phillipa Ashley, Sarah Bennett, Kim Nash.
(The only issue for us personally was that there was only 15 minutes between each panel, and they weren’t all in the same building. We were there before 10am and it didn’t end until 4:30pm. There wasn’t much time to grab a drink, a bite to eat, pop to the loo etc. There was no time to have a chat with the authors as we had to rush off at the end of each panel to avoid being late for the next one. Thankfully we were able to purchase books at the very end of the event, because we hadn’t had chance until then. This wouldn’t have been an issue for those only attending one or two panels, but as we were attending five it was a bit rushed.)
However, we still LOVED it! We thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of the authors. I am in awe of them all! I LOVE seeing my favourite authors and discovering new ones. My TBR is now even longer!
I got to say a quick hello to, and have a hug with, Tilly Tennant & Noelle Holten. I also had a little catch up with Graeme Cumming and Esther Chilton as we were sitting together for the last panel which started slightly late, giving us time to have a quick natter 🙂
The museum staff were all lovely and on hand to point us in the right direction.
Well done to all who made this such a fantastic event!
**Many, many thanks to the Museum of Cannock Chase for your permission to use your photos for this blog post**
Escape to the flower-filled fields and hedgerows of the Cotswold countryside, to a tiny cottage and a summer that could change everything….
Amelie will never give up Cornflower Cottage, marooned in its island of wild fields and thick woodland. She did her homework at the scrubbed kitchen table and helped her mother hang washing on the line from the old oak tree. And when her beloved parents died, Cornflower Cottage became Amelie’s armour against the world.
The trouble is that it’s falling apart, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. The garden is a jungle of weeds, the roof leaks, the boiler is broken. Determined to keep hold of the home that is her last link to her parents, Amelie decides it’s time to take action.
Extra shifts at a local hotel, favours called in from old friends, and, reluctantly, a lodger. Could rude, hilarious, brown-eyed Xander be the answer to her problems? Or is he just going to come in and start changing things?
Just as Amelie manages to save the cottage from total collapse, and she starts getting used to the sound of laughter in her cosy farmhouse kitchen, a face from Xander’s past appears and Amelie’s future in the home she loves is shaken once again.
Can Amelie find a way to save her home and protect her heart? Can she trust Xander, or was the spark between them just in her imagination?
A Home at Cornflower Cottage is a gorgeous read. A Tilly Tennant book is always a treat and this one is no exception.
Amelie is a likeable character. She overthinks pretty much everything, but I think we can all be like that sometimes and she has had a lot to deal with, with losing both of her parents at the same time. Suddenly finding yourself alone and in charge of a house would be daunting for anyone in their 20s, I think. Having said that, she loves her home and who could blame her. It sounds such a beautiful place to live.
There is nothing not to love about this book.
The location. I’d love to have a river on my doorstep.
I loved the friendship Amelie shares with Rachel. Their hockey antics are hilarious!
I can’t say I was a fan of Decker from the start though, to be honest.
I LOVED Salad!
I can’t say I agree with the description of Zander in the blurb on Amazon as I found him quite likeable from the start. I can’t say the same for his girlfriend though!
I thought it was brave of Amelie to open her house to lodgers and I enjoyed the friendship that developed as a result. Some people are destined to come into our lives just when we need them to.
All the stars from me! A beautiful read from start to finish. I really, really, loved it!
In A Life Transparent, first published in 2007, Todd Keisling welcomed readers to the Monochrome—a nightmarish parallel reality—and introduced Donovan Candle: a modern everyman experiencing an early mid-life crisis. Now, Precipice Books is proud to present a revised and expanded edition, featuring Keisling’s all-new afterword series, “Who is Donovan Candle?”
DONOVAN CANDLE IS BORING.
Consummate husband, supportive brother, hard-working employee—a paragon of the diminishing Middle Class. Like so many others, he has fallen into routine and compromised his dreams for the sake of a paycheck. After a bad day at the office leaves him low, all Donovan wants is to sleep off the disappointment and start over.
DONOVAN CANDLE IS TERRIFIED.
His body is fading out of existence. He’s seeing strange visions of the world in monochrome and horrific creatures lurking in his periphery. No one else seems to notice, and as the odd afflictions intensify, Donovan fears he is losing his grip on reality.
DONOVAN CANDLE IS DISAPPEARING.
Someone breaks into his home and abducts his wife. Before he can contact the authorities, a stranger’s ominous phone call urges him on a path to her rescue, but only if he follows the rules. The clock is ticking, and with every step Donovan slips further into a state of transparency. Will he be in time to save his wife—and himself—from the dangers of A Life Transparent?
my review
A Life Transparent is a unique story. Quite unlike anything I have ever read before.
Donovan Candle (interesting name for a start) is a seemingly content character. He’s always dreamed of being a writer, but he does have a stable job, a wife he loves, and they are looking towards starting a family. What more could any man want. He’s happy.
That is until strange things start happening to him.
An intriguing story which I very much enjoyed and very much recommend.
I will be adding Todd Keisling’s other books to my list.
When troubled teenager Immy disappears, she leaves her widowed mother Bea completely devastated. Bea pours her love into her six-year-old niece Phoebe, even taking her in when her single father Ewan takes a job abroad.
Then Immy returns, in desperate need of her mother’s help and love. But Ewan is clear: he will never let Bea see Phoebe again if she welcomes her daughter back.
As Bea grapples with this impossible choice between two girls who sorely need her, a long-buried secret comes out that changes everything – and Bea must fight harder for her family than she ever thought she could.
Her Daughter’s Secret is a compelling family drama.
Bea is an easy character to like. She is trying to live a life after unimaginable grief. My heart went out to her. I can’t imagine losing my husband so young, let alone not knowing where my daughter is. She certainly has a lot to contend with.
I loved Bea’s close relationship with her niece, Phoebe (who is just the cutest character). I think her dedication to the child is heart-warming.
I can’t say I warmed to Ewan (her brother-in-law) or his mother. Although the old lady grew on me towards the end.
This book is full of emotion, tension, and suspense. I was intrigued by Immy especially. I knew there must be more to her story. I could understand Ewan’s feelings towards her to some degree, but I can’t imagine asking anyone to choose between her own daughter and the niece she adores. It’s just heart-breaking.
Neither could I have imagined in a million years the direction the story would take!
Such clever writing!
A brilliant end to a brilliant story.
I highly recommend.
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**
On the first Friday of each month I like to have a look back at the books I was reading during the same month in previous years, since starting my blog.
Please do join in if you have the time, I’d love to see your posts.
Thanks to those of you who regularly join in 🙂
Here are my reviews from September 2021, plus a link to previous September FBFs –
Chat About Books 