July 25, 2020

Review: Rebecca

Rebecca Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It isn’t easy to review this book. I have been a long-time fan of the Hitchcock movie “Rebecca” with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, and also very much liked the mini-series version with Emilia Fox and Charles Dance. Hence, this book has been on my wishlist for years and was very keen on reading it when I first started.

But, then everything went wrong… ***From this point forward, the review may contain spoilers; so, proceed with care.*** (view spoiler) Being a hopeless romantic as I am, I have no desire to read this story ever again.

For all the above reasons, I could give this book one star, if I only based my rating on the story itself. However, I thought the writing itself was excellent – five stars. So, based on these two ratings the average or my final rating is three stars.


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July 19, 2020

Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book by Marie Kondō, in contrast to Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, is not illustrated; thus, it may not appeal to everyone. However, I think it’s very important that you read this one first. Many people think Konmari’s method is just about folding or it’s about minimalism. Neither of this is true. I am member of a group on Facebook where we share ideas of cleaning and organizing the household, and just the other day, someone asked for help because she had loads of clothes and despite folding them à la Konmari she was unable to store all those clothes. She also asked how you can decide what to keep and what not. The simple answer to these questions is: read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. You may not agree with all of her ideas in the end, but probably it will help you to understand that it doesn’t make sense to organize things that don’t spark joy and just litter your household. First, you must decide what you want to keep. Folding only helps to store those items in a practical and attractive way. (By the way, if you want, you can also hang your clothes, Marie doesn’t say it’s forbidden…) And as to the second question, namely, how to decide what to keep: keep everything that sparks joy. If you read the book you will see that – contrary to the presumptions made by many people who probably haven’t read or did not understand the book – Marie does not want you to become a minimalist per se. If your stamp collection sparks joy, keep it, but store it in a way that you may enjoy it. Is there a T-shirt that sparks joy within you for some reason, keep it, even if you are never ever going to wear it. And so on… Truth to be told, I have always been someone who got rid of clutter and preferred order over chaos and cleanliness over filth. Still, this book was able to change my perspective and provided me with a new approach especially with respect to treating other people’s messiness in your household. In my opinion, this book is indeed a very worthwhile reading. Hence my rating: 4 stars.

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July 18, 2020

Review: Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Prince Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second part of The Infernal Devices trilogy I found much less exciting than the first part. In fact, I sometimes found that the story dragged, sometimes I found it annoying. The whole book is mainly about finding out where the Magister is hiding, but even at the end, we have not even a vague idea about it. We also do not find out much about Tessa’s origins; though, at least there are some clues about it. The identity of the traitor was not very surprising, even though I thought that in light of the events of the previous book, it was not entirely plausible. What I liked was the story of Will and how Magnus, the warlock helps him and cares for him. I also highly disliked the whole love triangle. I am afraid, I am no fan of those anyway, but this was even less plausible than any other. (view spoiler) Despite these issues, I still liked the main story, the literary references, and the characters (especially Henry and Charlotte), and was keen on continuing with the story, which is why I am giving it 4 stars.

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July 17, 2020

Review: A Pocket Full of Rye

A Pocket Full of Rye A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another favourite A.C. book for me. I have read it umpteen times and watched the miniseries with Joan Hickson also innumerable times. This is so good. If you read it the first time, you will see, it is not that easy to find out who the very cruel murderer is. Although of course, Miss Marple solves the case brilliantly. By contrast to many other crime novels by A.C., in this there is no romance. There is a touch of sadness to the whole book, as the murderer is the worst kind of human being and the solution of the case will bring a very kind person a great heartache. Not for nothing ends the book as follows: “The tears rose in Miss Marple’s eyes. Succeeding pity, there came anger – anger against a heartless killer.” Finally, a note on the narration: Joan Hickson was the perfect choice, nobody can hold a candle to her portrayal of Miss Marple. However, if you are a non-native speaker, you may encounter difficulties with understanding her: she sometimes reads very quickly and does not articulate very clearly.

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Review: Her Royal Spyness

Her Royal Spyness Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book reminded me strongly of Agatha Christie’s The Secret of Chimneys, The Seven Dials Mystery, and Why Didn't They Ask Evans?. The basic recipe is as follows: set the story in the 1920s–1930s; have a young heroine who is top-drawer, aka a Lady, but doesn’t necessarily follows the strict rules for nobility; throw in a couple of handsome men for good measure, and of course, you must add some dead body too. Then let the Lady become an amateur sleuth and find the murderer and the king of her heart. Do not forget to “flavour” your story with a dash of humour. If you do it correctly, your readers will have as much fun as I had reading this. I laughed out loud many times while reading this, despite the fact that the historical background is the era of great depression and the heroine, though a Lady, does not have enough food to eat. As for the murder, having been “trained” by reading A.C.’s complete oeuvres more than once, the person of the murderer was not a big surprise for me and the clues were easy to recognize; nonetheless, I enjoyed this whodunnit, even if it can’t hold a candle to the above-mentioned books by A.C. (hence my rating: 4 stars). All in all, this book, which is the first part of a series, made me keen on reading the next books and finding out more about Lady Georgiana Rannoch’s fate.

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July 16, 2020

Review: Bringing Down the Duke

Bringing Down the Duke Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I agree with other reviewers, this book reminds one of Jane Austen’s books; however, it is set in the Victorian era (hence more modern), the difference in social class between the hero and the heroine is much bigger, and it is much more steamier…

I liked the witty heroine (who goes to university, is a suffragist and a single woman by choice) and the handsome, proud (and of course misunderstood), but also very witty and passionate hero. Being a political scientist and having written a doctoral thesis on two female political thinkers, I also very much liked the setting and the backdrop of the suffragist movement, as well as the heroine’s interest in politics and political thought. I found the other characters similarly likeable and am looking forward to reading more about them in the forthcoming book, A Rogue of One's Own.

The love story was very charming and if you like Cinderella stories (or Pretty Woman) than you will be satisfied. Even though I know that throughout British history there had been aristocrats who married commoners, but while reading the book, I sometimes could not get rid of the feeling that its ending will be very unlikely. The social gap was extremely big, in my opinion.

The other issue I had with the book was the degree of steaminess. If you are more conservative or sensitive in this regard, you may want to skip a couple of pages because it contains very explicit descriptions of sexual activities. Remember Colin Firth coming out from the lake in P&P fully clothed? Or when he went fencing to divert his thoughts of Lizzy? If you found those scenes steamy, you should prepare yourself for this book, because here you will have a fully naked “Darcy” doing things and will also know his deepest (most sexual) thoughts. The same applies to “Lizzy”. I do not consider myself prude, but it surprised me, because I was prepared for a more “proper” romance given the topic and the era. Sometimes the genre historical romance can be very misleading because it may contain books like this, but also books for example by Sarah E. Ladd without any explicit sex scenes. I am not sure, but I think this story could have worked without the sex scenes equally well, the sexual tension was well built and had been enough. For this reason, I am giving it 4 stars only.


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Review: The Clocks

The Clocks The Clocks by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favourite Christie's. First, I love Poirot's brilliance: he solves the case from his armchair (this also means, he stays in the background for the majority of the novel, but this was no issue for me). Second, I love spy stories, and this is one of those. Third, I love those Christie novels which also contain a romance. This one does and a love-at-first-sight kind, which is one of my favourites. Fourth, I like the reference to dogs in this book. As Poirot says, “it was not necessary to be the foxhound, the bloodhound, the tracking dog, running to and fro upon the scent. But I will admit that for the chase a dog is necessary. A retriever, my friend. A good retriever.” Finally, I really loved Hugh Fraser’s narration: he is not only the perfect choice as Poirot’s friend, Hastings, but also because he has a wonderfully smooth voice and can also imitate the voice of women pretty well.

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Review: Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such an enjoyable read! Newt's Emerald belongs to the genre fantasy of manners (= historical romance + magic), which I had never heard of before reading this, but now I am keen on reading more from this genre. The basic story is that Newt’s (aka Lady Truthful Newington’s) Emerald, which apparently is a very powerful magical stone, is getting stolen. Newt’s father fells ill as a result of the theft and Newt decides to find the Emerald and the thief. But because she should not compromise herself doing so (this is the Regency Era after all), she disguises herself as man. Now, of course this brings about some funny, some awkward, and some dangerous situations, but fortunately, our heroine gets a very attractive “partner in crime”, who himself has his secrets as well. The crime is not a brain teaser, the romance is not groundbreaking, and the character development is not exceptional; still, this book is perfect, if you are looking for a light, escapist, and clean romance with a hint of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen, or a nautical fantasy adventure.

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Review: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the very first book by Cassandra Clare that I've ever read. It has been on my „wish list” for years, this year, I started it at last.

This book, the first part of the trilogy, captured my interest from page one and maintained it throughout. I liked the setting (Victorian era is one of my favourites), I loved all the characters (the bad ones not so much

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Review: More Perfect than the Moon

More Perfect than the Moon More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was not as happy with this one as with the previous books. I liked the topic of the book: Sarah is pregnant, and Cassie is going to get a younger sibling, which she is anything, but happy about it. I could sympathize with her feelings and I believe many parents must face this problem, especially, if there is a huge age gap (8 years in this case) and the older child has got used to being the princess of the family. My problem is that I was not happy with the resolution, there wasn't really a resolution at all: life just solved it. Also, Sarah seemed too passive in her role, she just kept smiling... I understand that a mother loves her baby, even if the baby is bad, but I got to know Sarah as a kind of mother who if needed would be strict with her child or at least who would be very sad about this kind of behaviour. The other thing that bothered me was that I got confused with respect to this timeline. Cassie is 8 years old, so it's been 8 years since Maggie and Matthew left. In this book, it seems they have just returned but are talking about being only gone for 2 years. This is very confusing. Finally, I didn't like in the previous book either, but in this even less, the frequent references to the previous books and quoting their texts word for word. It is unnecessary, especially if the book is only 80 pages or so long. It makes the impression the author has nothing new to say, keeps repeating herself. All in all, I can only give 2,5 stars for this.

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Review: Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondō
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this one better than the first book (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing) because besides the explanation with respect to the basic principles of this method, this book also contains illustrations for folding and also for storing ideas. I also liked that this time the category "komono" was split up into many subcategories to give you an idea. Of course, you must define your categories on your own depending on what kind of things you have in your home. Many people disagree with the idea of getting rid of books, and I also have a lot of books in my library. But this book made it clear for me that it doesn't make sense keeping books that don't spark joy in your life. The main aim is to decide what you want to keep (getting rid of things is the result). So, for example, books that I did not finish, found boring, or even hated, or cookbooks in which recipes contained mistakes that I was very disappointed about or which consisted recipes for which ingredients were hard to find, definitely do not spark joy for me; hence, they must go. It is also made clear here that getting as far as selecting the things that spark joy in each and every category is not an easy task and cannot be done in one day only. This books helps you with developing a plan for that daunting task.

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Review: Skylark

Skylark Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Touching

This book teaches an important lesson about what home is. It is like with Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you sometimes wish you could live somewhere where the grass is greener, but then you realize that home is irreplaceable, even if it’s imperfect. The message is simple but this book conveys it beautifully. Highly recommended read for children and adults who like reading books for children.

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Review: Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has been on my wish list ever since my joining Goodreads 8 years ago. I adore the movie series with Glenn Close, and when I learned it is based on books, it was obvious that I would purchase them. My only problem was, I wanted to get hardcover editions, but it is hard to get any. Then, yesterday, upon finishing and being shocked by the ending of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, I knew I needed something cheerful, so I purchased the Kindle edition of the whole series.

This is book one in the series, in which we get to know the whole family, and Sarah comes to be a wife and a mother for them. I am great fan of any books set on the prairie or on a farm, and all the characters are simply loveable. Papa is very different from the character in the movie – less melancholic, more open – but I understand that the director wanted to emphasize his sorrow due to his first wife’s death. It was a quick read, if I had children it would be wonderful to read this book together with them. You can feel the family’s sadness because of their loss, and the relationship between them and Sarah develops gradually, but the whole book has a very positive vibe, you believe in the end that there’s hope, there’re second chances. My only problem with this book was that it was too short. Luckily, the other books in the series are still to be read, and they are somewhat longer.

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Review: I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I am absolutely furious... The book had a very good beginning, I first liked the members of the family, and could sympathize with them, although their misery and hopelessness was a tad too much. Upon the arrival of the Cottons, everything seemed to take a turn for better. I wasn't bored by the story like many other readers/reviewers here, but my heart ached very much for Stephen. The thing with the wireless vs. the gramophone was simply unfair and heart-breaking. And I wasn’t happy with Cassandra’s way of handling the situation. As the story continued, I started to feel utter hatred towards Rose, she is definitely that kind of woman whom I mostly avoid in real life. Hence, I am extremely angry that it is exactly her who got a happy ending in the end (although of course I guessed very early on where her real interests lie). With respect to the men, first I had a very good feeling about the Cottons, but very soon I had to come to the realization that they are two very stupid men. They simply fell for the looks of Rose, and that’s that. Besides her looks, she was lacking any virtues, but these men didn’t see or didn’t want to see it. For this reason, I began to have my doubts if it would be any good for the heroine to be with any of them. But I was hoping till the very end that even if she cannot be in love with the best male character of the book (aka Stephen), at least Simon should recognize her worth and his own stupidity. Regrettably, the author disappointed me. The ending was even made worse by the very boring conversation about Mr. Mortmain’s second book. I have a PhD in Political Science, so I read some highly philosophical books, but even for me, it was so out of place here and I couldn’t be bothered to understand half of what they were talking about. This line of the story also had so much potential, but in the end, it was also resolved very poorly. (For example, I wished Mr Mortmain to tell Topaz to leave him in the tower and let him work.) Anyway, I even read this boring part word for word because I knew the end was near and I didn’t want to skip something important. My expectations were really high up when I arrived at the last couple of paragraphs, and I couldn’t believe my eyes that after having been invested in the story so much, I get next to nothing. Some would say: yeah this is a coming of age novel, this is just Cassandra’s first love, etc. But in that era, it wasn’t a strange thing if a 17-18 years old fell in love with a man twice her age and they got married. My grandmother (born in 1933) was 17 when she married my grandfather, who was 31 at the time. To sum up, I can see why many people may like this story, but it disappointed me in so many aspects that I can only give it one star, and am glad that I didn’t buy the hardcover, which I originally wanted to buy; so I don’t have to dust this book every time I clean my bookshelves and won’t get angry over and over again.

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Review: Pat of Silver Bush

Pat of Silver Bush Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was quite different from the Anne books. Pat is obsessed with her home and is unhealthily afraid of changes. I can relate to her story because I also had such a lovely home as a child that I used to be very homesick whenever I had to leave it. I also can relate to her not wanting to have a career only wanting to make home for her family, but I don’t understand why she doesn’t want to have her own family. The lovely home my parents established made me yearn for a similarly happy home which is mine and my husband’s, but Pat doesn’t want this at all. She just want everything stay the same and everybody remain in the house forever, which is of course impossible. I didn’t mind Pat being different from Anne, but I didn’t like the ending and the fact that despite the inevitable changes and the fact that even Pat was able to accept them, her basic attitude to life didn’t change. I also agree with someone else’s opinion that the other characters are not as well developed in this novel. We only get to know Pat and Judy, we learn very few things about the other people. For all this reasons, I’m giving it 3,5 stars.

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Review: The Switch

The Switch The Switch by Beth O'Leary
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Teared me up and made me laugh

Once again, Beth O’Leary did it, this book gave me all the feelings, the goosebumps, I cried and laughed my way through it. I simply loved it.

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Review: The Royal We

The Royal We The Royal We by Heather Cocks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funny and touching

Being obsessed with everything British, including Wills&Kate, I enjoyed this funny but also full of serious stuff fictional story. I wasn’t really happy with the ending though, that’s why I am giving it four stars only.

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Review: Rebecca

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier My rating: 3 of 5 stars It isn’t easy to review this book. I have been a lo...