Book of the Month: August

 

Liberty Silk

 

by

 

Kate Beaufoy

 

 

One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women's destinies.

France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.

Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.

London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means...

An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.

 

*     *     *     *      *

 

Liberty Silk spans from the 1920s to the 1960s as we follow the lives of Jessie, Lisa and Cat. I devoured the pages and didn't want to put the book down as the stories of the three women unfolded. I loved the settings and felt fully immersed as we travelled from London and Ireland to France and Hollywood. Liberty Silk is a poignant, gripping tale that I would highly recommend.

 

You can see my full review of Liberty Silk here

My Summer Reads: My Book of the Summer

 

At the beginning of July I compiled my reading list for the summer. I've now read all of the books on the list so now it's time to pick my Book of the Summer.

 

The books on my summer reading list have been a mix of fun, romantic comedies to beautiful novels set in gorgeous locations. While I've enjoyed all of the books on my list, one book in particular stood out. For me, Liberty Silk was a real page-turner. I devoured the book, gorging myself on the lives of Jessie, Lisa and Cat. It was such a great read and I'd highly recommend it.

 

 

 

One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women's destinies.

France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life.

Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape.

London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means...

An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.

 

You can see my review of Liberty Silk here

 

It Had To Be You by Ellie Adams

 

 

Lizzy Spellman is mortified when she is dumped by her boyfriend, Justin. Not only is it completely unexpected, it is in a room full of people and one of those people happen to be recording the dumping on their phone. With the footage uploaded to YouTube, Lizzy becomes famous overnight. Trying to shed herself of her woman-dumped-on-YouTube persona, Lizzy attempts to move on from Justin and find love again.

 

I was really looking forward to reading It Had To Be You as I was immediately drawn to the vibrant cover and the book sounded like the perfect romantic comedy. On the whole, I thought It Had To Be You was a good read. For me, it did take quite a while for the main story to kick in after the initial YouTube dumping, but the story is certainly fun with a great set of characters. I loved Lizzy's best friends, Nic and Poppet and while they have completely different outlooks on love and life, I thought they made a very believable group of friends. I really liked Poppet and her ideal Disney-type romance and I kept hoping that she would meet her Prince Charming.

 

It Had To Be You is full of fun characters and there were some great laugh-out-loud moments. Lizzy works in PR and some of her clients provided a lot of laughs but I did feel that some of these scenes slowed down the plot at times. I was waiting for Lizzy to meet Elliott and begin her mission to prove him wrong in the matters of love as promised in the blurb but, while they do meet briefly, this part of the story doesn't happen until quite late on.

 

Overall, I thought It Had To Be You was quite an enjoyable, fun read with a great mix of characters.

My Summer Reads: My Top 5 Summer Covers

 

Sunshine, sparkling seas, ice-creams. What's not to love about a summer book cover? I love the colours used in summer colours - pretty shades of pinks and blues or vibrant oranges and greens against a shimmery blue sea.

 

Here are my top 5 summer covers:

 

 

The Longest Holiday by Paige Toon

 

 

The Summer of Secrets by Alison Lucy

 

 

Sunlounger by various authors

 

 

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements

 

 

Ice Creams At Carrington's by Alex Brown

 

 

What are your favourite summer covers?

 

Blog Tour: The Postcard by Leah Fleming

 

Today I'm pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for The Postcard with a Q&A with the author Leah Fleming.

Can you tell us about your new book?
My new book: The Postcard is a quest to find long lost family ties before it is too late. Melissa takes up her Australian father’s dying wish to find his uncertain ancestry in Britain. All she has with her is a shoe box full of photographs, a medal and a postcard. From a WW1 theatrical star, to a Special agent of the SOE, she finds each generation of women in danger of repeating the very mistakes of their mothers and fathers ( including herself). But a tough fighting spirit runs through this family. This overcomes many of the obstacles in solving this quest.

What was your inspiration for The Postcard?
The inspiration behind this book was how simple communication by letter, postcard or face to face confessions are so important. A lost postcard can change lives forever. A truth withheld can break relationships. I was also inspired by the bravery of the female agents of WW2 who sacrificed family life for patriotic duty and many paid a supreme price for their choice.

What has been your greatest experience of being a published writer?
One great experience of being a published writer is receiving letters and emails from all over the world. This gift of giving me feedback is so welcome . I love to hear how my stories have stirred up memories of the past or encouraged someone to start writing.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
To inspiring authors I would say, read, read and read above your level, respect your art by accepting it is a process that takes time to get right and trust your “own voice” it will show you where you sing best.

What was the first book you ever bought yourself?
The first book I bought for pleasure must have been Daphne Du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn or Frenchman’s Creek back in the mists of time. What a storyteller!

What was the last book you read?
I am currently reading Peter Robinson’s Abbatoir Blues. I don’t read my own genre fiction when I am writing a book but a good crime fits the bill especially a series set in the Dales.

Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
The Title: The Little Shop of Pearls came to me in the middle of the night a few months ago so I am following where it leads and researching in Scotland , USA and York at the moment. It will be out next year if I can get a move on…

Thanks for asking me to join you here.

Leah

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson

 

 

From a young age, Sally Howlett has had a passionate love for opera. But growing up on a council estate, it wasn't something Sally felt she could talk openly about, especially when her parents discouraged any form of performing arts for their daughter. So Sally's love of opera became her secret.

 

But one fateful summer in New York changes Sally forever. She finds herself enrolling at opera school, going against her deepest fears. But on the night before she starts her course, a man from Sally's past turns up on her doorstep and threatens to unravel her life once more.

 

I had never read a book by Lucy Robinson before but I had heard such great things about the author's previous books that I couldn't wait to dive into The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me and I wasn't disappointed. It did take me a while to get into the book as I found the leaping around from past and present a bit confusing, but as the book went along it became much clearer to me and I could grasp what was going on. From then on I was hooked and didn't want to put the book down as I was so enthralled with the stories of Sally, Fiona and the man from Sally's past.

 

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me is full of flashes of hilarity and I found myself laughing out loud often. I wasn't sure how I would fare with the book and my lack of knowledge of opera, but the musical aspect of the book wasn't a challenge at all. There is a huge mix of characters in the book, from Sally and her cousin Fiona to their friends Barry (who I at times loved and at others wanted to tell him to keep it zipped) and Bea to Sally's new opera friends, Helen, Violet and Jan Borsos, who was my favourite character of all. I thought Jan Borsos was such a fun character whose grasp of the English language caused the majority of my laugh-out-loud moments. He was a fantastic character with a colourful background and while he was funny, he had sweet moments too.

 

The Unfinished Symphony of Me and You is a fun read but it is also a bit of an emotional rollercoaster too. We know something happened in New York, something that changed Sally's outlook, but we don't know exactly what happened until all the pieces are put together, which made an intriguing read for me. I also felt deep sympathy for Sally and the relationship she had with her parents and hoped that it could somehow be resolved. 

Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy

 

Jessie and Scotch are on their honeymoon, travelling across Italy and France during the early 1920s. Jessie is from a privileged background but has turned her back on wealth to marry artist Scotch. She can live without the luxuries she is used to, as long as she and Scotch are together. But when Scotch disappears one night, Jessie finds herself stranded in France without a means to support herself.

 

Lisa La Touche is about to fulfil her dream of becoming a Hollywood star. Moving from Britain, a country on the brink of war, to America is a bit of a culture shock but she knows this is what she should do, especially when she falls in love with a fellow actor.

 

Cat is a photographer in the 1960s, set on changing the world by showcasing her shocking images of war and famine. But it is Cat who is shocked when she learns about her heritage.

 

Told over three generations, Liberty Silk tells the story of three women who are struggling to find their place in life.

 

I wasn't sure what to expect from Liberty Silk as I haven't read any novels by the author (who has previously published books as Kate Thompson) but what I found was a beautiful, intoxicating book that I didn't want to put down. I was pulled into the lives of Jessie, Lisa and Cat as their stories unfolded bit by bit, drawing me in deeper with each chapter. Liberty Silk is a poignant tale as the three women, separated by time and miles, try to find their way in life and love. I was completely hooked, gobbling up the pages to discover the fate of Jessie in particular.

 

A lot of research had obviously gone into the writing of Liberty Silk and it shone through the pages. I loved the descriptions within the book and the mix of different characters - some fictional and others based on real-life people. I never knew what was going to happen around the corner, which twist or turn was going to surprise me next, which kept me on my toes the whole way through. It was an absolute joy to read and it is the kind of book where the characters remain with you beyond reaching The End.