These lost and broken things by Helen Field

Best selling author, Helen Fields delivers a gripping, disturbing and compelling story in her first foray into historical fiction.

A dual timeline explores the main character, Sofia Logans life first as a young girl then in her present of 1905 as a mother… With enough tragedy in both to make Tess of the D’urbervilles envious, you’d be mistaken to even think of Sofia as a victim.

Suddenly widowed, Sofia, as typical of women of the time has little options in order to keep herself and her children out of the workhouse.

Appearing as her Knight in shining armour comes her husbands former employer, Mr Visant, who soon emerges as a manipulative, cruel, controlling man determined to bring out the darkness of Sofia s past and use it to his advantage. As Sofia begins to become consumed by the traits she possesses that she has long since kept in check.

As a protagonist, Sofia is not your average herione , she is unsettlingly likeable despite the darkness of her addiction s and obsessions and you can’t help but root for her. It makes you question how far you would go for the ones you loved and also debate the nature vs nurture element of life.

With a supporting cast of just as interesting characters, this book is a compelling read, even if certain scenes were so disturbing it was difficult to read on…

As the book spirals to its conclusion, I was glad I’d persevered and I found the ending not only satisfactory but also one that left me wanting more

The Great Matter Monologues by Thomas Crockett

On paper this sounds like an interesting take on a fascinating period of British history, The Tudors has to be my favourite dynasty and this episode a particularly important one within the Catholic and Christian Church.

I was pretty excited to receive an advanced readers copy from Net Gallery and really looking forward to reading this as historical fiction is one of my favourite genres – however, upon finishing the book I felt it had been lacking in certain aspects.

Whilst the book itself contains a lot of historical information and left me with food for thought, in particular Why Henry, who had grown up with his extremely religious grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, had seemingly renounced his core religious beliefs and upbringing in such a short period of time, I couldn’t feel a connection to any of the characters.

The definition of a monologue is a long speech by one actor in a play or film, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast programme. This is where although I see what the author was trying to achieve, I felt each monologue delivered very little emotional input.

This could be because the characters in themselves were very two dimensional and I felt the storyline was marred with the authors own bias towards Anne Boleyn and favourism of Katherine.

I’ll start with Anne, who comes across as demanding, manipulative, arrogant and rude completely without any redeeming qualities. This automatically makes it difficult to understand why Henry, not only persued her but his subsequent actions. There is no insight into what made her so compelling for him, even in the long years before he finally married her.

Henry himself does not come across as a strong willed King. He is portrayed as a mere puppet being manipulated by the strings that Anne Boleyn controls. Everything that happens is never his fault, merely him acting on Anne’s latest paranoid whim. In stark contrast to his actions he speaks more fondly and with respect of Katherine than he ever does with Anne which although suits this narrative makes it even more difficult to try and understand his actions.

Katherine herself comes across more how she is portrayed in history, a strong willed queen who will never give up her title. She is loyal to God and her faith and truly believes that. No matter the price. As sad as her fate is, I found it pretty difficult to care by the end of the book, an opinion I don’t usually possess when talking about this subject.

I’m dissapointed in that the reasons behind Henry’s are only merely covered – his longing for an heir, his insatiable lust, his ego, his advisors even. Mentioned but never at the forefront of reasoning. The main idea is this was all Anne Boleyn s doing. Even down to the reformation. Again, Anne’s fault – a woman apparently so powerful in a time when women were the property of their fathers and husbands, a time in which even a queen can be dethroned by the will of her husband.

Don’t believe reviews that claim this is like reading a Phillipa Gregory book because unfortunately it isn’t, the lack of character in the main narrative attests to that.

In summary, this book could be explained simply as a blame game. Henry blames Katherine, Katherine blames Anne whilst Anne blames everybody but herself.

And the author.. Well he blames Anne Boleyn

The House of Dreams – Jordana Blasco

A bizarre yet gripping story, focusing on how one man’s grief, over the death of his mother, his regrets lead to depression and suicidal tendancies.

With a surreal, otherworldly element to the story in the mysterious treatment centre he, in final desperation, admits himself to a therapy centre offering new treatment s.

But when the therapy leaves him in a waking dream, powerless to discern what is reality and unable to contact the outside world, he’s left with two choices; escape, or remain a prisoner of his own grief forever.

The author has really captured the inner torment of both grief and depression in this story which stays with the reader for long after the book has ended.

It’s extremely thought provoking and there are times when as a reader you feel as confused as the main character… Its enjoyable, quite short and not very clear, so don’t expect any loose ends to be tied up by the end but this is just an example of how the human mind and its emotions works.

Pagan Portals – Persephone – Practicing the art of personal power.

A much more thorough book than it’s mere 9 chapters implies. Persephone, practicing the art of personal power combines examining the myth of Persephone, ancient Greek history and rituals and encourages the reader to reflect on their own personal journey by resonating with Persephone s tale.

It question s and challenges the reader – is Persephone a victim or a Victor in her tale? Exploring how she overcame her restrictions and transformed from maiden-mother to crone and how the reader can explore that in themselves.

With journal prompts and meditation exercises, the reader can journey into deep self exploration with Persephone as their guide gaining valuable insight into their self beliefs and challenges and how they can overcome them.

In my personal opinion, this is a very deep yet fascinating book that requires a lot of time to fully process and enjoy. It is educational yet self exploratory, not recommended for someone who would just be wanting to know more about the myth but a fantastic aid for those wishing to heal with the help of a goddess by their side.

Hogwarts : Of Heroism, Hardships and Dangerous Hobbies

Definitely my favourite of the three kindle books that were released last week to add to the Harry Potter canon.

Of Heroes, Hardships and Dangerous Hobbies is shorter than Hogwarts : An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide but feels more fleshy.

Four chapters dedicated to characters who’ve either been heroic, suffered hardships or indeed pursue dangerous hobbies , they each in turn are fascinating, heartbreaking, extremely vague or hilarious.

Featuring Professor Mcgonnegal, Lupin, Madame Trelawney and the first Care of Magical Creatures Professor before Hagrid. It not only comprises of biographies but also added detail on Transfiguration and Werewolves.

I absolutely loved this addition and of course I wanted more- J K Rowling hinted she had written complete biographies for all her characters so here’s hoping for more to follow !. 

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide

Full of tantalising trivia, Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide is a fascinating short story book for any Potter fan .

Focusing on a dual purpose of providing the history of Hogwarts in bits and pieces it also offers insights from J K Rowling herself on plot development, inspiration and unused characters.

Potter heads  may be dissapointed at the fact there is apparently nothing new here , the contents already having been shared on the Harry Potter encyclopedia type website Pottermore.

Fans who are a little rusty or who (myself included) have found Pottermore difficult to navigate will enjoy the addition to the Potter canon.

It’s name is perfect , however , it does feel rather incomplete being only 8 chapters long and there’s a feeling there would be plenty more to really make this an amazing book .

For example, whilst there is detail dedicated to the  Hufflepuff common room , the other house rooms have been left out – granted fans have knowledge of them through the original books but a guide to Hogwarts really needs all four.

The same with the house ghosts, their backstorys in detail would have been a great addition as would more details on the house founders and headmasters.

 I suppose what I was hoping for was a more thorough guide to Hogwarts – something along the lines of Hermione s favourite tome – Howarts: A History 

Granted a £1.99 ebook cannot provide such content but I would be happy to pay 10 x that amount for a true paper back version of something more fleshy. With illustrations.

This book does contain some true gems though – The Ballad of Nearly Headless Nick is brilliantly awful and J K s anecdotes truly inspirational.

All in all, it’s a great read but it will leave fans wanting more …. luckily there’s two others in this series available but I m hoping this is just a taste of things to come .

Potty about Potter ? Check out my other blog posts ….

Harry Potter Book Box

Harry Potter Printables Free 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

The Potion Diaries – Royal Tour

              Ingredients for a great read :

* A multi talented and sometimes fearless teenager named Sam Kemis

* Her boyfriend Zain who’s dad own the biggest synths company in Novartis

* A princess (who happens to be her BFF) in need of a cure

* A missing potions diary

* A Grandfather’s memory loss

* A memory that holds the key to the cure

* An Evil Escapee

* A World Wide Quest 

Mix ingredients together, sprinkle in a dose of social media , fan forums and Conspiracy theories to create :

         The Potion Diaries – A Royal Tour

Written by Amy Alward , Royal Tour, is the sequel to the worldwide bestselling The Potion Diaries.

Having won the Wilde Hunt and saved Princess Evelyn, 16 year old alchemist apprentice Sam finds herself in the midst of another magical adventure.

Now, alongside boyfriend Zain working covertly to concoct a potion that will help contain the Princesses ever increasing magical power and her inability to control it – they are about to embark on a Royal Tour, whilst secretly trying to find a long term solution to the Princesses predicament.

But when Sam’s grandfather is attacked and his memories removed, Sam becomes aware of a much pressing problem. One that is down to her to solve in order to save her grandfather, the Princess and Nova itself.

OK, I’ll admit it , I’m a 33 year old woman and this is geared for young adults but I have no shame in admitting I LOVED this book so much !!!

For a few wonderful hours I was transported into a magical world that cleverly fuses the modern into the magic with neither seeming out of place.

With glorious visual descriptions, twists and turns at every corner, not only was I gripped but I felt inspired. Not only was I able to recreate this world in my head , I wanted to creatively too by designing or making my own potions.

At one point , I even considered if it were possible to become an alchemist myself.

Part of the Zoella Book Club reading list which designed an exclusive cover for The Potion Diaries , I urge any young adult (and their mums) to read this as it’s part of what is already shaping up to be an amazing series .

You can buy The Potion Diaries now from WH SMITHS 

Harry potter and The Cursed Child

Imagine a world where a Potter and Malfoy are Best Friends …. Imagine a world where a Malfoy has a crush on a Weasley …..Imagine a world where Harry never won the battle of Hogwarts … imagine a world where Voldemort rules …..

All these possibilities and more are explored in the amazing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which to be honest I didn’t know what to expect.

I’ve never been a fan of playscripts having been forced to study them at school so was dubious as to whether I would enjoy this . I needn’t have worried. The plot, the characters, the stage directions and scenery details all pulled me into that magical world I hadn’t realised I had missed so much.

I had worries , of course, too – it’s eight years since the last book ..this isn’t a story of Harry, Ron and Hermione but Harry’s youngest son Albus – would I like him as much ? would his story be just as compelling? intriguing?

Yes!!!Yes!!!!Yes!!!!

  J.K Rowling has done it again with help from  John Tiffany and Jack Thorne producing an epic tale full of surprises , twists , history and lore to add to the magical world of Harry Potter.

Now I definitely want to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child live in the West End and cannot wait for the playscript of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to be released – once again the world has become slightly more magical !

Wuthering heights Book Box

My friend adores Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights and as I’ve been feeling rather creative and she is always giving me gifts – I thought I’d make her a book box with this theme as a little thank you .

Problem is , it’s not my particular favourite – yes it contains some beautiful quotations but I struggled to root for a pair of characters whom I actually despised they were so unlikeable … to me Heathcliff as a romantic character just spins my head and please don’t get me started on Cathy … so this was a difficult gift to make because I didn’t feel the passion I usually do when creating something.

Also another barrier to this project was the lack of resources I could find as opposed to the other book boxes I am doing hence a few evenings search to produce my very own Wuthering Heights Pinterest board as a go to for inspiration.

The decorations of the book box are one thing but then it’s the contents also – surprisingly for such a beloved book there is not much merchandise out there and if there is its expensive !!! So for this one I had my work cut out , but I was determined to give it my all .

I’m pretty pleased at the results to be honest.

This is how I did it ..

The Book Box Cover

For this I used a purple  decoupage paper to cover the entire front and back of the box – I printed off an illustration I had found online of Cathy and Heathcliff and framed it with an embellishment frame that came from Poundland.

For the title I found the clip art on Polyvore and typed in Wuthering Heights adjusting the font until I was happy with it.

Adding a few precut hearts from the actual book that I bought from on Etsy finished the look. 

Inside the Box

Again I used my resources from my Wuthering Heights Pinterest board to print out specific pictures to glue inside.

 

The Contents

As I mentioned , it’s quite difficult to find merchandise that isn’t pricy or from America with huge postage rates  if at all but I did have some luck in tracking some bits down and I relied on my imagination too so in the end the box contained

•an organza bag with cut out hearts from the book that I bought from AtticBooksUK attached to these were some cute vintage style paper clips that I bought from Poundland

• a little book I had bought in the craft section in the range and customised with decoupage and contained a Catherine Earnshaw dress up paper doll and the genealogy family tree of the novel.

• A Locket by Locket Library of the Wuthering Heights Book cover which was attached to a library card – it even had my friends name and the date printed onto the card so it looked like she just checked it out .

After all I really enjoyed making this gift, it was challenging but I discovered a lot and it really stretched my imagination.

I just hope my friend likes it !!!

So, if you were to create a book box based on your favourite novel – what would it be ? What would you add ?

 My favourite book is Flowers in the Attic but that will require a huge amount of work as there are no resources whatsoever for this out there so I will have to create my own. At the moment I’m having a lot of fun creating Harry Potter  and Alice in Wonderland ones which I can use to hold all the cool bits I find on the Internet to print off and also my ever expanding fandom jewellery !!!

Look out for the posts when I’ve finished as I’ll be sure to show you and as always if I’ve inspired you please share with me your own – I’d love to see them !!!! 

If you ve enjoyed this post I’d love it if you would share it with your friends !!!

Xxx

Whitefern by V C Andrews

The curse of Audrina’s Swiss cheese memory seems to have plagued the author during the creation of this sequel.
Carefully crafted characters from the original My Sweet Audrina have been rehashed and history rewritten in order to produce a plot line for a sequel that was never really necessary.

Sylvia has miraculously developed into a fully speaking , eyes focused , albeit slow woman of twenty who adores her father Damien and is permanently attached  to him until his death leaves her so distraught she has to attempt to dig up his grave ……
Damien himself , rather than avoiding sylvia and looking at her in disgust , idolise her in return and dotes on her – a complete contrast to the Damien Adare readers of the original Audrina will recognise.
As for Audrina herself , gone is the childlike innocence and naivety she still managed to posses even as an adult …even after the revelations. In her place is a rather frustrated housewife , unable to conceive and remembering too well aunt Ellsbeths advice when it came to men ( some which aunt Ellsbeth never would have said) ….
Which brings me to the villian of the piece …Arden … a terrible charicature of the original Damien Adare,with the original Arden although he failed audrina time and time again , he still held for me at least the redeeming quality that he really did love Audrina , he was just extremely weak. Arden 2.0 is not and neither does he love Audrina much, if at all. He also seems to believe that his mother married Damien therefore he was his son and entitled to inherit upon his death.

No, just, no – if you are to write a sequel of a beloved book then please have the respect to actually know the original source material and more importantly your characters.
Original V C Andrews fans will not be happy with these obvious changes in order to make a plot work.
OK, there will not be the venomous reaction to Whitefern that the Christopher Diaries trilogy had as at least history hasn’t been rewritten too much (apart from Sylvia) , just rather lazy fact checking and editing. These beloved characters are only recognisable by their names and this will come as a big dissapointment.

As usual with current V C Andrews books there are unnecessary sexual references either designed to excite readers or the author I’m not quite sure.
Audrina and Sylvia bathing together and then sharing a bed “entwined like lovers” just comes across as cheap and nasty. There is no need for it and rather than exciting had me rolling my eyes.

Now , I’ve got my die hard Virginia Andrews fan opinion out of the way I will concentrate on the book itself , but have to note that in order to enjoy the book I have to separate it from its predecessor.

The plot itself is very good,  although you can see what’s going to happen a mile off , you have to keep reading as the story really does grip you. It pulls you in because as a reader you can see whats happing whilst the narrator has no idea.

Sylvia is a compelling character and your heart breaks for her vulnerability and the prison she is in inside herself… her fragility and childlike qualities working against her. And how easy it is for her to be manipulated.

Of course , Arden is very easy to hate and plays the villian part to the extreme, even if it is rather blatant. Reading it , you hate him more every time he speaks and just, well,any time he’s on the page you feel the need to vomit.

Audrina, as the narrator, is a hard character to like , you literally want to slap some sense into her , she’s so blind to what’s happening.

Truthfully , I d have to say this is ghostwritten VCA at its best , fans of the Cutler, Landry and Logan will love it. Full of Secrets and lies , this would have been a good novel in itself , it didn’t need to tie itself to an already established book and leave itself open to criticism in doing so I’m afraid that there will be a backlash just like Secret Brother which also , if it hadn’t been tied to the Dollangangers , was an intriguing story in itself.

It feels like vintage vca from the early ’90s – a sign I hope that the brand is returning to that format rather than keeping in the young adult category.
Its much more appealing , story wise for the more mature VC Andrews fans who have grown up and would rather read a narrator who is in her 30 s rather than a teenage girl. If this is the future of VCA then I’m definitely buying.

Thankfully there are no unnecessary diversions from the main plot which the Christopher Diaries had with unlikeable and unnecessary characters.

It has a timeless quality to it , provides real food for thought in its subject matter ….

Whitefern in my opinion is the best VCA book that’s come out since the ending of the Logan series, this is the kind of story fans want. Compelling, gripping, heartbreaking, family drama…..no attempts to keep up and struggling to in a young adult section. No, annoying teenagers , no over dramatics .

However, it should never ever have been billed as a My Sweet Audrina sequel … to do so it discredits both the original but also this story itself.