Review: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

I'm not a huge fan of books set during wartime (they are a little bit too real-life for me) but two words on the cover of this book caught my eye: Paris and library. How could I resist?

Odile is obsessed by books, so working at the American Library in Paris is a dream come true. Her family are against the idea but she's seen first-hand how important it is for a woman to have her own money and be independent. The library and its thriving community of students, writers, and fellow book-lovers is the perfect haven - until war looms, pitting friends and colleagues against each other. Suddenly the punishment for being caught with the 'wrong' book is severe.

The main part of the story is told from Odile's viewpoint: from 1939, when she applies for a job at the library, to the end of the war in 1945. The second timeline is a coming-of-age story about American teenager Lily, who is struggling following the death of her mother and the arrival of a young step-mother. The only person who seems to truly understand is the reclusive Frenchwoman who lives next door.

This story completely swept me away. The American Library is a fascinating setting. It is a real place and many of the characters mentioned are real people, who acted heroically keeping the library open and delivering books to their Jewish subscribers. Odile is an engaging character who wants to do the right thing but has led a sheltered life. She is unprepared for the way living in Occupied Paris will change the lives of her family and friends, causing some to crack under the pressure. Will she also betray those she loves? In 1980s America, Odile tries to pass on all she has learnt about family and friendships to teenage Lily, so she won't make the same mistakes.

The best part of this story is the library and the characters who work there. It would make a terrific film. I loved the way Odile references titles and quotes from her favourite books to help her cope, and the way she automatically categorises each book or subject according to the Dewey Decimal System. The point of the dual timeline is to help explain Odile's character and the choices she made forty years previously. It does mean the book seems overlong at times and I wasn't entirely convinced by the ending.

However, the historical detail is amazing and I found myself thinking a lot about the story after I had finished it. Recommended for anyone who loves historical fiction, this was a five-star read for me.

Thank you to Janet Skeslien Charles and Two Roads (John Murray Press) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke

Pan's Labyrinth is one of my all-time favourite films, so I was thrilled to get my hands on this new collaboration between the film's original writer/director Guillermo del Toro and bestselling children's author Cornelia Funke (best known for her Inkheart trilogy). I usually avoid movie tie-ins, because the writing quality is never great, but this retelling was utterly brilliant. With the beautiful illustrations, it would make a lovely present.

The story is set in Spain in 1944, five years after the Civil War. Ofelia is a thirteen-year-old girl whose widowed mother has recently married Capitán Vidal - a sadistic psychopath desperate for a son. Vidal is deeply resentful of the generals who have stationed him in a remote mill house, far from possible military glory. He is determined to wipe out the few remaining rebels hiding in the forest - success being the best form of revenge. Ofelia, immersed in her world of fairy tales, is oblivious to this. She misses her real father, instinctively hates Vidal, and is worried about her mother, who is in the last few weeks of a difficult pregnancy. To escape from this, Ofelia takes refuge in the forest, where she discovers a centuries-old labyrinth, fairies, and a sinister faun. The Faun tells Ofelia she is a reincarnation of the lost Princess Moanna, and if she wants to return to her former life in the Underworld, she will have to complete three tasks...

I loved this book, especially the amazing world Guillermo del Toro has created. If you enjoy old-style, traditional fairy stories, you'll recognise all the well-loved tropes, such as the impossible task and the dangers of eating fairy food. But the sheer brilliance of Pan's Labyrinth is that right from the start it works on so many different levels, depending what you want to believe. It can be a straight-forward urban fairy tale or an alternative world that Ofelia has created to cope with the horrors of real life. It reminded me of a mash-up of The Wizard of Oz, David Bowie's Labyrinth, and The Life of Pi. The historical aspect, showing the reality of war, and that humans are far more capable of evil than mythical characters in a story, adds another dimension.

I loved that there are shorter tales woven throughout the text, explaining the grim stories behind some of the objects mentioned, such as Vidal's pocket watch, along with the history of the labyrinth and the mill pond. From a reader's point of view, it's like opening a present and finding another present inside, and then another one, and so on. The way all these stories are linked is pure genius!

Would you like it?  Well, Pan's Labyrinth is a dark fantasy/urban fairy tale with a sprinkling of horror. Despite the cover, this is a story best suited to adults or teenagers because there are several gory scenes. Fans of the film will love it, because the mini tales add another layer to the familiar story. Although there is no romance, I can also see it appealing to fans of urban fairy tale authors such as Holly Black.

One of my new, all-time favourite reads! I'd give this a hundred stars if I could!


Thank you to Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke and Bloomsbury for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: The Winter Secret by Lulu Taylor

I love Lulu Taylor's books so I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of The Winter Secret. It has all my favourite ingredients: a dual timeline, an old house, a famous movie star - and a mystery to solve.

When a character in a book has a too-perfect life, you know everything is soon going to go horribly wrong! In the present day, sweet-natured Buttercup has been whisked off her feet by a handsome millionaire and now lives a glamorous but idle life at the beautiful Charlcome Park. While back in the 1940s, the mansion was home to Xenia Arkadyoff, who is the daughter of a movie star and a Russian Prince, and the envy of all her school-friends. But while Buttercup can have everything she wants, apart from the one thing she is desperate for, Xenia's life is a myriad of secrets no one can find out.

The reason I love Lulu Taylor's books is that they remind me a bit of those glitzy books that were popular in the 80s and 90s. The characters are glamorous and wealthy, but obviously not happy! The Winter Secret combines 1940s Hollywood and the lost world of the Russian tsars, with a touch of modern-day psychological thriller. I loved the mystery surrounding the old house and its sinister 'curse'. It wasn't hard to work out what was happening in Buttercup's life, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of her story, and I did like the way she tried to fight back. Whereas I wished Xenia had made more of her opportunities! There were also some twists I didn't work out, which I always enjoy! 

This was a five-star read for me, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves dual-time line mysteries about big old houses, and for fans of authors such as Eve Chase and Kate Morton.

Thank you to Lulu Taylor and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Review: Her Frozen Heart by Lulu Taylor

Review: Her Frozen Heart by Lulu Taylor

I'm not sure how I've managed to avoid reading Lulu Taylor all these years, as she seems to write my favourite kind of book! A dual timeline, a beautiful Jacobean manor, an old mystery surrounding a famous painting, a couple of deliciously bad villains - and lots of snow! - I absolutely loved this story!

Her Frozen Heart is the story of one house and two women - who have both experienced something so traumatic it has left them 'frozen'. In the present day we have Caitlyn, barely coping after a  tragedy shatters her world, now left wondering who she can trust. In the 1940s Tommy (Thomasina), after struggling to keep the family home going during the war, is facing one of the coldest winters on record. Food and fuel are rationed, and the risk of freezing to death or starving is very real. Tommy has no support from her family. Her mother is openly hostile, saying she should behave more like a lady and leave the running of the estate to her (lovable but hopeless) brother. Then two strangers arrive and Tommy's life is changed irrevocably.

Caitlyn and Tommy's stories are told from their point of view in alternate chapters. In the 1940s I loved the descriptions of Kings Harcourt Manor and the relationships between the characters. I particularly loved Tommy and Gerry. I loved how Caitlyn and Tommy experienced the same problem, seventy years apart, and the mystery surrounding the house's famous Gainsborough painting. And I loved the horribly manipulative villains!

I read Her Frozen Heart in three days. I was completely gripped, reading faster and faster, desperate for it to turn out the way I wanted. Lulu Taylor racks up the tension, right up to the last few pages, and there were a couple of twists I didn't see coming (as they say). I've added it to my list of favourite reads this year - and the author's entire backlist to my wishlist!

If you love old mysteries, and authors such as Kate Morton and Eve Chase, then this is the book for you. Recommended!

Note: I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book, which will be published on 30th November 2017.

Thank you to Lulu Taylor, Pan Macmillan, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Another Little Christmas Murder by Lorna Nicoll Morgan

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the title*, which goes to show just how shallow I am! At the time, the ebook version was a little bit expensive (it has since come down in price) so I borrowed a copy from the library. Because I was so keen to start reading it, I also downloaded a sample to my Kindle, and was initially disappointed because the first six pages were a long description of the heroine driving through snowy Yorkshire. I thought I'd made a horrible mistake! But when my library copy arrived I gave it another go, and became completely hooked!

The story is a typical cosy murder mystery. It was written in 1947 and it would be easy to make comparisons with Agatha Christie, but their writing styles are completely different. (Christie's  stories are more fast-paced, with fiendishly clever plots). But I liked the inter-action between Morgan's characters and they were different to the usual retired colonel/vicar/spinster types. For a start, our heroine (Dilys) is a commercial traveller - a partner in a firm of manufacturing chemists. Determined to reach her next stop by nightfall, she drives through the hills of Yorkshire and gets stuck in a snowstorm. She is quite pragmatic about it (something I loved about this character!) but ends up being rescued by Inigo Brown, who is on his way to stay with his uncle at Wintry Wold. Such is the snowstorm, they are soon joined by many others, much to the indignation of Inigo's new, young, and very glamorous Aunt Theresa.

Although the story starts off a bit waffly, once it gets going there is lots of witty dialogue, particularly between Dilys and Inigo, and even a hint of a romance. The potential suspects are introduced gradually, so the reader can get a real sense of who is who, and Dilys is a very likeable, almost modern heroine. I was well on the way to giving the book 5 stars, but towards the end it became a bit farce-like, with lots of 'mysterious' goings-on in the middle of the night, the heroine stalking the corridors with a poker, and cars being sabotaged. Although one strand of the mystery was easy to guess at, the identity of the murderer took me completely by surprise. 

If you love vintage murder mysteries, you will enjoy Another Little Christmas Murder, and I would have loved to have seen Dilys in more stories. 

*One niggle: there was no mention of Christmas until the epilogue, when one character mentions going to 'spend Christmas' with their family!