Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
Dutton
March, 2007
Format: Hardback, 308 pages

First Line: There was something humiliating about waiting in a cart on a busy London street with all your possessions stacked around you, on show to the curious public.

From the inside cover: No. 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth, 1792. Poet, artist, and printer William Blake – local eccentric and political radical – works anonymously amidst the raucous din of a teeming, jittery London. Across the Channel, revolution is imploding in France. Nearby, the renowned Astley’s Circus is rehearsing its upcoming show, and next door the Kellaway family, recently arrived from the countryside, is moving in. Maggie Butterfield, the streetwise daughter of a local rogue, is looking for trouble – or at least a friend. When she and young Jem Kellaway are drawn into Blake’s spell, the chance meeting of three unusual souls sets the stage for an impassioned journey. Jem and Maggie spark the imagination of the poet, influencing one of the greatest and most mystical works in English literature, Songs of the Innocence and of Experience. 


Burning Bright evokes the full pageantry of Georgian London: its circus spectacles  mustard factories, pubs and bawdy songs, the grandeur of Westminster Abbey and the secrets of Cut-Throat Lane. Behind these lie the greater movements of an era: the influence of a nearby revolution, the mustering of forces loyal to the Crown, and the agonies of being an independent thinker in an age suspicious of dissent.

As she did in the bestselling Girl Wit a Pearl Earring, Chevalier brilliantly captures an era and a sense of place, at the same time deftly evoking an artist’s vision. Overflowing with energy, enterprise, and the power of creation, Burning Bright brings us a vivid story of the unpredictable, exhilarating passage toward adulthood.

My Thoughts: I found this book in the clearance section, and bought it because it sounded interesting. I typically like historical fiction and I’m a sucker for a book that takes place in London, but I was really disappointed in this one.

It was my first time to read Chevalier, and I’m not sure if I’ll read anything by her again. It wasn’t that it was a bad book, it was just boring. I couldn’t get into it and because of this, it took me a long time to get through it. I give this book 2 stars. If you’ve read Burning Bright, let me know what you thought of it.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
St. Martin’s Griffin
2008
Format: Paperback, 479 pages

First Line: They used to be called the Firefly Lane girls.

From the back cover: In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-place social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all- beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship – jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart…and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

My Thoughts: This is a novel about a beautiful friendship. It follows Kate Mularkey, a somewhat shy girl who’s dream is to simply be a stay-at-home mom, and Tully Hart, an ambitious, spitfire who wants nothing short of fame and wealth. Their friendship starts at age 14. Kate has been raised in a Catholic family who has loved her unconditionally while Tully was raised by her Grandmother after being abandoned (several times) by her hippie, drug-addicted mother. They grow into beautiful, smart and ambitious women but take separate paths when Kate decides to quite her job and make a family. They’re secretly jealous of each others lives and separate a few times, but their friendship always outweighs their differences.  Through their ups and downs their friendship never fails.

If you’ve ever had a best friend, you will be able to relate to this story. Sometimes friends go their separate ways, but in the end, they are always a phone call away. The message I took from this book is that true friendship never fades. This book made me laugh and made me cry. Overall it was a good read. I give it 4 1/2 stars.

(I purchased this book)

Happy Reading!

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Washington Square Press
February, 2010
Format: Paperback, 549 pages

First Line: It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told.

From the back cover: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. One her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, “Nell” sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

My thoughts: This was my first time reading Kate Morton and she did not disappoint. As soon as I read “fairy tales” on the back cover while standing in the book store, I knew I had to read this novel. When I was a child, my grandmother always read fairy tales to me. Because of this, I have always loved them and the memories they created. This was a book that I had a hard time putting down, so I recommend that you only start it when you have time to read for a while.

Nell takes us on her journey to England where she learns of her ancestors but, sadly, does not complete the mystery. It is not until her death that the secrets of Blackhurst Manor and the Mountrachet family are uncovered by her granddaughter, Cassandra. Cassandra has been through a lot in her life – being abandoned by her mother and the loss of her husband and son. Will she find peace and maybe even happiness while searching for the answers she seeks?

If you like mystery novels or fairy tales, this book is definitely for you. It took be back to my childhood (not that this book is in any way meant for a child) but it reminded me of why I fell in love with fairy tales and why ancestry is so important. I give this book 5 stars.

(I purchased this book)

Happy reading!

-LC

The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Harper
2012
Format: Paperback, 470 pages

First Line: The scalloped hem on Caterina Lazzari’s blue velvet coat grazed the fresh-fallen snow, leaving a pale pink path on the bricks as she walked across the empty piazza.

From the inside cover: The fateful first meeting of Enza and Ciro takes place amid the haunting majesty of the Italian Alps at the turn of the last century. Still teenagers, they are separated when Ciro is banished from his village and sent to hide in New York’s Little Italy, apprenticed to a shoemaker, leaving a bereft Enza behind. But when her own family faces disaster, she, too, is forced to emigrate to America. Though destiny will reunite the star-crossed lovers, it will, just as abruptly, separate them once again- sending Ciro off to serve in World War I, while Enza is drawn into the glamorous world of the opera…and into the life of the international singing sensation Enrico Caruso. Still, Enza and Ciro have been touched by fate- and, ultimately, the power of their love will change their lives forever.

A riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny, inspired by the author’s own family history, The Shoemaker’s Wife is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write.

My Thoughts: This book enveloped me from the moment I turned to the first page. It was my first time reading Trigiani and I had a hard time putting it down from beginning to end. The characters are so relatable and captivating. They give off a sense of realness, like you have known them before. The story follows the love story of Ciro Lazzari and Enza Ravanelli through their childhood struggles, heartaches, immigration to American, the Great War, illness, and new beginnings.

Ciro and Enza fall in love from the moment they meet at age fifteen. They are torn apart when Ciro is forced to emigrate to American and work as an apprentice to a shoemaker where he learns a new trade that he thoroughly enjoys and will later become his profession.  Enza chooses to go to America with her father to make a better life for their family but falls ill on the voyage over seas. Ciro and Enza are reunited when Ciro runs into Enza and her father, Marco, at the hospital. They are broken up and reunited by fate several times throughout the story, but after serving America in the war, Ciro comes back ready to steal Enza’s heart once and for all, by making her his. Once he arrives home, he realizes he is almost too late when he hears Enza is about to be married to another man. He finds her in the nick of time and makes her his. They decide to move to Minnesota with friends, Luigi and Pappina, to be shoemakers and create a new life with each other. Will they ever make it back to their mountain in Italy? You will have to read for yourself.

If you like historical fiction, and romance novels, this book is for you. It was an enjoyable read for me. I loved hearing a piece of history and it intrigues me how our ancestors immigrated to America and all the hardships they went through to build this beautiful country that we so often take for granted. I give this book 5 stars and think you should all add it to your reading list. I am a new fan of Adriana Trigiani and thank her for sharing this story so close to her heart and letting us in to her family history.

(I purchased this book)

Happy reading!

-LC

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
Pages: 306

First Line: Grief came in waves, hard and choppy, buffeting and breaking the heart.

The Bride quartet series follows four best friends – Mackensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker – through their love stories. When they played wedding day as children, they never dreamed they would one day own a successful wedding business named Vows. Happy Ever After follows Parker Brown, the ring leader of the four friends.

Parker Brown is extremely organized, prompt, and always put together, so when she falls for her brother’s friend and mechanic, Malcolm Kavanaugh, she is caught off guard. Parker has become very good at making others happy, but struggles when it comes to her own happiness and romance. She has a hard time figuring out Mal because he is not exactly an open book, but Parker figures out how to peel back the layers. Malcolm realizes that Parker has made him a better person and is the one he wants to spend his life with. At times their relationship is aggravating, and at others it’s amusing. This is a beautiful and honest love story of two people taking a risk and betting on love.

I was reluctant to start this book as I did not want this series to end. You fall in love with the characters and will feel like the girls could  be your friends.  If you have never thought about being a wedding planner, you will after reading the Bride Quartet. If you’re a hopeless romantic, you will love reading this feel-good series.

Peace, Love, and Books,
-LC

I love to read all kinds of books but mostly “girly fiction” (as I call it) and mystery novels. One of the reasons I decided to create this blog was so I could talk about and review the books I have read. So here goes my first review.

Safe Haven is a romantic novel about a woman and man coming together after heartbreaks, larger than most people have to deal with, and creating a beautiful love story. I was literally on the edge of my seat while reading this book and found myself cheering at the end. I definitely recommend this book to all women – after all, what woman doesn’t want to read a book that includes make-ups, break-ups, abuse, death, love, secret identities, and romanticism?

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 292

First Line: For Dawson Cole, the hallucinations began after the explosion on the platform, on the day he should have died.

The Best of Me is a story about high school sweethearts breaking up over matters out of their control and reuniting years later when a mutual friend passes away. The book ends in tragedy, like several of Sparks’ other novels. This book is too sad for my taste. I don’t like crying throughout a story and feeling depressed when it ends. However, that is exactly how this book made me feel. 


What are your thoughts?

Peace, Love and Books,
-LC