Jump to content

Diane's Reading List 2016


Inver

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 96
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I also liked Big Little Lies better than Husband's Secret, although that one was good, too :smile2: I can't believe that you got to this book so soon, as we only just talked about it what feels like a few days ago :lol: It seems like you're having a great start to the reading year! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

'The Sweetness of Forgetting' by Kristin Harmel

 

Somebody on here sent me this book and I'm so glad they did, thank you. Wow...what a wonderful read this one was. Totally deserved 5 stars from me for this one. It brought me to tears. Well written and researched, although heart wrenching/breaking in parts too. I loved the characters and setting. A deeply moving read.

 

Hope, recently divorced runs the North Star Bakery, which has been in the family for generations. Her daughter, Annie, the rebellious teenager, don't always see eye to eye. She also has her grandmother, Rose, to care for but she has Alzheimers, at times she is lucid and knows who Hope is and others she doesn't make sense and calls her Annie Leona..who is Leona? Rose then gives Hope a list of family members that were lost in the Holocaust, she knows about them all except one brother and she urges Hope to go Paris to find out. Also, Jacob, love of her life, who helped her escape to America, 70yrs ago. Time is running out for Rose and Hope needs to find out and goes to Paris and help find closure to questions for Rose.

 

I loved the background Hope finds out about her family roots and the journey goes on to find out her family history.

This is a tale of saving the much loved bakery, family past and present, loves lost and finding love, Holocaust and heart breaking decisions that had to be made, religions, second chances, reuniting. Well worth a read.

 

5/5

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

'The Ice Twins' by S.K. Tremayne

 

A creepy thriller about identical twins, one died but which one, Lydia or Kirstie? After a tragic accident the family move to a remote cottage, left to Sarah's husband, Angus, on an island only accessible by a boat. They hope for a fresh start and to put the tragedy behind them. The twin who is left we are told is Kirstie, but she then insists she is Lydia...! How can this be and many questions are asked of her, can they have made a mistake in identifying the twin they have lost?

The setting is dark and dreary given the time of year and where they are living, but this adds to the atmosphere of the tale. After a few twists and turns along the way it wasn't quite the conclusion I thought it was going to be but it didn't disappoint. Enjoy if you do give it a read.

 

 

4/5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'The Ice Twins' by S.K. Tremayne

 

A creepy thriller about identical twins, one died but which one, Lydia or Kirstie? After a tragic accident the family move to a remote cottage, left to Sarah's husband, Angus, on an island only accessible by a boat. They hope for a fresh start and to put the tragedy behind them. The twin who is left we are told is Kirstie, but she then insists she is Lydia...! How can this be and many questions are asked of her, can they have made a mistake in identifying the twin they have lost?

The setting is dark and dreary given the time of year and where they are living, but this adds to the atmosphere of the tale. After a few twists and turns along the way it wasn't quite the conclusion I thought it was going to be but it didn't disappoint. Enjoy if you do give it a read.

 

 

4/5

That does sound creepy Diane .. how old were the twins when one of them died? I'm intrigued. Great review :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting reviews, Diane. :)  I really enjoyed The Husband's Secret, and Big Little Lies is on one of the stacks around here...can't wait to get to it, especially with your review.

The Ice Twins  sounds right up my alley too. 

 

Have a great reading  year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

'Sophie's Bakery for the Broken Hearted' by Lolly Winston

 

Another enjoyable read. Not an author I have come across before but liked. A nice jumble of characters to enjoy.

 

Sophie Stanton (36) has lost her husband to cancer. Obviously devastated and has to come to terms with her unbearable loss. Only married a few years and they had so much to look forward to, how will she cope. Going through the process of grief she has ups and lots of downs, doing crazy things like eating ice cream for breakfast, hiding away in her room for days, ending up going to work still in her dressing gown and slippers. She loses her job and has to decide what to do next. She moves away from her home and looks for a new life, befriends a young teenage girl, who has problems of her own. Her mother in law who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers comes to visit and she has to help her too....what more can life throw at her. Desperately missing Ethan she has to find something to take her forward, and after having getting a job and enjoying making cakes/cheesecakes etc she decides perhaps going in to her own business of setting up a café/bakery might be the way. Drew, supplies the love interest, but possibly for me (like others) I found that perhaps only a year after losing Ethan was perhaps too soon.

 

You are never alone in grief and you can always find a way to deal with it even though it can be a long process creeping up on you unawares. Lolly Winston looked at it with a sense of humour and sadness all mixed in to one...such as life is.

 

4/5

 

Edited by Inver
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

'The Silent Sister' by Diane Chamberlain

 

I couldn't wait any longer into the new year to read another Diane Chamberlain, and again her book didn't disappoint.

Another good read from Diane Chamberlain. Family secrets at their best. Great characters and a bit of a twist I wasn't expecting too...isn't there always?

 

Riley returns to her family home and while clearing out the much loved family home, comes across a box of newspaper cuttings....here she find a shocking secret she was totally unaware of during her childhood. She believed that her sister Lisa died in a tragic accident, but all is not as it seems and she sets out to find out the truth. Her brother Danny isn't forthcoming of what he knows. What isn't he telling her. He is bitter about how the family were left to deal with things, but he is a difficult person to read and she knows she must find out more with or without his help. Eventually she manages to unravel the truth with clues from others along the way....but is surprised to find out what it is.

 

Another great page turner well worth reading.

 

4/5

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

'Eloise' by Judy Finnigan

 

When I bought this charity shop find I thought it sounded good. Managed to get to the end but wasn't an overly exciting read. Bit repetitive and characters are bland and annoying at times. I wouldn't call it a 'ghost story'. I can sympathise with Cathy over the loss of her friend to cancer but the plot was a bit dull. It did pick up a little towards the final chapter and she did tidy it together quite well. I so wanted to slap her husband though. One minute being supportive and then not all on the one page.

 

I wouldn't bother reading this to be honest.

 

2/5

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to a Rosie Thomas that has been on my shelf a few years, so hopefully that will be good. Have given up on the Kate Atkinson one at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Which Kate Atkinson one did you give up on? I read through previous posts but couldn't find anything about which one of hers you are reading. :smile:

I always list what I'm reading on my first page and also under my piccie. 'Life after Life' is what I have abandoned at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'If My Father Loved Me' by Rosie Thomas

 

Not an overly riveting read, but wanted to finish it. Believable characters, but it was a bit repetitive I found. Expected a bit more, but not sure what. I didn't know what to expect given the title. Sadie's father is dying and she always felt there was something she didn't know and felt he didn't love her more. She eventually finds out what it was when her son befriends an old lady who comes to the funeral who knew her father....there is more to tell than she could ever have known.

 

3/5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Diane

 Been trying to get around and say hello , and just saw your post here this morning . I must have missed you on yesterday's rounds .

Hope you are doing well and having a good reading year .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Julie...only read 8 so far. In the middle of Life after Life, but have put it aside just now, wasn't holding my interest. Trying to choose my next read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...