The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans Review

“The future is yet unwritten; the past is burnt and gone.”

The Garden of Lost and Found is set in both the early 1900s and present day. Juliet is an art historian with three children, she’s struggling to juggle her work life, family and marriage. At work the sketch of a famous and lost painting is being sold for milions. The painting was created by Juliet’s great-grandfather Ned Horner. Shortly before he died he went mad and burned the original painting so all that is left is the sketch. After the auction Juliet gets told that they are letting her go. She goes home in a daze and discovers that her husband has been having an affair with one of her neighbours.

Her whole life has been thrown upside down, until Juliet recieves a letter and a key to an old house which was formerly owned by her grandmother. The house where The Garden of Lost and Found was painted. Juliet makes the brave decision to move there and take her children. They have a tricky adjustment period as the children are used to living in the middle of London.

We also flash back to Juliet’s great-grandparent’s lives. Liddy and Ned weren’t always happy in their beautiful house. Ned was a struggling artist, he hardly had any money. He met Liddy through her brother. Liddy and her sister Mary lived a terrible life in the clutches of their evil father and housekeeper. She used to lock the girls away with no food to punish them for goodness knows what. Liddy snuck out to see Ned but was discovered, she then spent months locked away, brainwashed into thinking she was a terrible person.

Eventually the couple found their way back to each other, their friend and architect Dalbeattie built their home for them, it had been Liddy’s mother’s home but Ned and Dalbeattie had to rebuild the inside. I love how the house is described as never being owned by people, like it has its own thoughts. Liddy has two children and the family is happy there for a time. The famous painting is of the children sitting in the garden with wings on their backs, the flowers blooming all around them and Liddy in the background.

The way the author descibes the house and the garden, especially Juliet’s day to day life there actually made me want to live in the counrtyside. Which is quite rare, the thought of the quiet and empty spaces always used to scare me. I love reading the different generations and their experiences with the house. The mystery surrounding the house and the painting is always in the back of my mind. the story is full of surprises and twists. I was surprised even right at the end.

“I am glad of these scars. I am afraid when my sister says they have started to fade, for with them I am untouchable. I am safe from the attention of any man. I am the lucky one.”

Top Five Tuesday – A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s U-Z, these were definately tricky! I hope you are all safe and well in this strange time.

W: Alison Weir

Weir writes some of the best historical fiction out there, she is also a historian which is probably why she’s so good! Her Six Tudor Queens series is so brilliant. The books are written almost as acurate as biographies, I feel as if I really know the Queens and what they went through. If you are interested in the Tudors I strongly recommend her.

W: Katherine Webb

I read The Legacy a while ago and loved it. It’s set at a gorgeous old house, sisters Erica and Beth used to spend their summers their as children. One summer the girls’ cousin goes missing which tears the family apart. The sisters return as adults and are flooded with memories. This is my favourite style of book, set in an old house with a mystery surrounding it. I’ve got Katherine Webb’s other books on my tbr list and I’m excited to get to them.

W: Jacqueline Wilson

Jacqueline Wilson was one of my favourite authors as a child, her characters were always relatable and brilliant in their own way. It makes me nostalgic just thinking about them! My favourites were probably Midnight, The Diamond Girls and The Lottie Project. I haven’t read them in a long time but I love the memory of them.

Y: Heather Young

I haven’t yet read any of Heather Young’s books, but The Lost Girls is in my tbr list. The book begins in 1935 in Minnesota. Emily goes missing at only six-years-old, her mother never recovers and stays at the lake house for the rest of her days, hoping her daughter will come back. Emily’s sisters also stay with their mother. One of the sisters writes down the events of that summer sixty years later, before she dies, she leaves her notes and the lake house to her grandniece, Justine. I love a historical mystery so I’m really looking forward to reading this.

Z: Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is one of my favourite books ever, the way it’s written with Death as the narrator is so clever. It is set in Germany during WWII, we follow Liesel who has been fostered by a couple because her mother couldn’t look after her. Liesel wants to learn to read and tries to teach herself using a book she found at her brother’s graveside, The Gravedigger’s Handbook. This story is powerful and beautifully written.

I hope you are all safe and well in this strange time, take care.

Top Five Tuesday – A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s P-T, I struggled with one letter this week, the rest were pretty easy. I hope everyone is well and safe in these strange times.

P: Philip Pullman

I used to love His Dark Materials when I was younger, the trilogy is still a great read now. My obsession with the nothern lights definitely started with these books. I’m so glad Philip Pullman has started a new series centred around Lyra Belacqua, I’ve read the first one in The Book of Dust trilogy and it has the same feeling as the original series, I’m very excited to read the rest.

R: Lucinda Riley

I discovered Lucinda through The Seven Sisters series, each book tells the story of one of the adopted sisters and how they discover their birth origins. The girls have lived a happy life altogether with their father and when he died he left them all a letter, a clue and coordinates to where from around the world he adopted them. It also goes back in history and tells the story of the sister’s ancestors. I highly recommend the series if you love historical fiction like me!

S: C.J.Sansom

I haven’t read all of his work yet but Dominion is one of my favourite books. It’s set in the 1950s except instead of going to war with Germany in 1939, Britain made a treaty with them instead. But there is a rebel force led by Churchill himself. We follow a government worker who has joined the resistance and his efforts to save a scientist from being discovered by the Nazis. This book made me so scared, but it is so clever, a must read.

S: Lemony Snicket

What a strange soul Lemony Snicket is, his books are quirky and brilliant in equal measure. I used to love A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was younger because it was so different to everything I had ever read.

T: Adrian Tchaikovsky

I first discovered this author when I read Children of Time which is set way in the future. Humanity has tried to reach out into the stars to find a place to live. They started terraforming selected planets and releasing our chimp ancestors down to those planets with a genetic accelerator so they evolve quicker. But the experiment is sabotaged. The last of humanity years later are stranded on a spaceship trying to find these planets, but what they find is more of a nightmare. One of the most interesting books I’ve read, it’s very clever and it even got me to like spiders for a while!

The Virgin’s Spy by Laura Andersen Review

In this part of Laura Andersen’s historical AU, England is in trouble, a war with Spain is brewing. Since Elizabeth and Philip divorced each other tensions have reached dangerous levels. Mary Queen of Scots managed to flee England at the end of the last book and has now married Philip. The monarchs have chosen Ireland as their first battle ground. There has been war there for years but this is the first time Spain is getting involved to defend the Catholics. The atmosphere and tone is so well set. It feels not just real but almost as if it is history.

“Fortunately we are English. We are not easily seduced by beauty.”

Stephen Courtenay is sent to fight with some of his father’s men. But while there he meets a vile and ruthless English officer who orders the slaughter of an Irish town, including all the women inside. Stephen manages to save the female prisoners and tries to escort them to a more honourable Lord. But his camp is taken by surprise in the night, they slaughter the women and most of Stephen’s men. Stephen was found by English soilders and taken to safety, he was injured but managed to survive. When he got home he had PTSD and tried to drink the intrusive thoughts and the pain away.

The Courtenay’s are worried about Stephen but the person that gets through to him and helps him is Julian, Lucie’s husband, who we met in the last book. They trained together to build up Stephen’s strength and help him mentally too. Stephen wanted revenge, he was sure that it was an the horrible English officer that ordered the attack on him. He decided to go under cover in Ireland to help Elizabeth and enact his revenge.

“How often does a woman get the chance to answer the crimes against her? I have that chance and I will not forsake it.”

Meanwhile the twins and their parents travel to Spain to visit King Philip on behalf of Anabel who can’t risk her own safety, even to visit her father. I really enjoyed reading more about the twins, Kit and Pippa’s, relationship. Pippa has some psychic abilities but when it comes to her brother they can both read each other’s thoughts and feel what the other is. “Kit narrowed in on the intangible thread that bound him to his sister. It was as delicate as silk and as durable as diamonds, the finest, brightest part of him.”

Although lots of history are changed in the books, some elements are still very accurate. The political climate was this difficult for Elizabeth to navigate in real life, she walked the fine line between Protestant and Catholic.

“That meant they held all the cards. And that was the only way Elizabeth liked playing.”

A Song of Ice and Fire Re-read – A Storm of Swords

This post will contain spoilers for A Storm of Swords so don’t read on if you haven’t read it yet.

A Storm of Swords is a very long book, so long that it’s split into two here in the UK. This one probably has the most major character deaths of the bunch. It’s terribly emotional and Westeros is in absolute chaos. Four Kings are left standing but by the end of the book three of those will be dead.

One of my favourite things about the book is Jaime’s pov chapters, we get to see his adventures with Brienne. I say adventure and it sounds fun but they had an awful time trying to outrun everyone and get back to King’s Landing in one piece. Jaime is very sarcastic and therefore funny to read but I also love reading about his life in the Kingsguard when he was younger. The chapter when he opens up to Brienne about when he killed the Mad King is so emotional and adds more complexity to his character.

I was got very frustrated that no one would listen to the women in this book. Catelyn knows so much, she knew Theon wasn’t to be trusted and when Robb brought his stupid wife back and her family, Cat knew that their fear of Grey Wind was a bad sign as well as obviously angering the most petty Lord in the whole Seven Kingdoms. Also Cersei sensed danger at Joffrey marring Margeary and she was right, he died.

Never go to a wedding in Westeros. First we have Sansa having to marry Tyrion who is over twice her age and worse for Sansa, a Lannister. Tyrion was also unhappy with the match and refused to share Sansa’s bed until she was ready.

Then of course we have the Red Wedding which is the most devastating event in ASOIAF. Robb Stark was winning the war until he broke his word to Walder Frey and married someone from the Westerlands instead of one of Frey’s daughters/granddaughters. The Northerners need to get back to their homeland to take back their homes from the Ironborn, but the way is barred by the Freys. Eventually they come to an agreement and Edmure Tully is to marry a Frey instead. All seems well, Robb apologised and was forgiven. But after the wedding feast a slaughter ensued. All our Northerners were murdered, including Robb and Cat and their army outside the castle. The worst part is that Arya was within moments of seeing her family again before they were taken from her. I will never be able to read those chapters without ugly sobbing, it’s so horrible.

Lastly we had the Purple Wedding. A royal wedding with Joffrey and Margaery tying the knot. Everything was going fine until Joffrey decided to use Tyrion’s embarrassment as a source of entertainment. He insists that Tyrion be his cub bearer and pours wine over his head. But someone else had better ideas than letting their only granddaughter marry a sociopath. Joffrey appeared to choke on some pie, but really he was poisoned. I hate Joffrey but Cersei having to loose her son that way breaks my heart. Tyrion was set up, he was the one pouring the King’s wine, the perfect time to slip him some poison.

Tyrion’s trial was also a set up. It’s a tough read because of the injustice of it all. Tyrion has no witnesses himself so he looses it, confesses that he would love to murder everyone in the room and call for a trial by combat. Full respect, Tyrion has been treated like rubbish his entire life and finally he has had enough. The trial by combat is such a good chapter. Oberyn Martell agreed to fight for Tyrion against the monster that is Gregor Clegane aka The Mountain. The Mountain killed Oberyn’s sister twenty years ago when King’s Landing fell in the war. Oberyn wanted revenge and almost had it, but he would not finish it, he had Clegane on his back, stabbed and dying but he insisted on waiting until Clegane had admitted his crimes. The most gory major death to date in ASOIAF I think, sorry Oberyn!

The epilogue is arguably my favourite part of the book. The Brotherhood without Banners have recruited another undead member. Thoros brought our Catelyn back to life. She can’t speak and she can’t remember much, but she is out for revenge and hanging Frey’s in the Riverlands with the help of the Brotherhood. I am desperate to read more of Lady Stoneheart, my poor Cat.

Favourite death: Tywin Lannister, I hate this guy, he’s been emotionally abusing his children for decades so it’s no surprise that Tyrion was the one to finally end his life. The best part is that he was on the toilet! “Tywin Lannister, in the end, did not shit gold.” One of my favourite lines ever, so funny.

Let me protect them: Arya, Sansa, Jon, Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, Brienne, Bran and the smallfolk of Westeros.

Favourite quotes: “Their blades made a little island of light , but all around them stretched a sea of darkness, unending.” – In Jaime’s dream, him and Brienne are casting the only light he can see. When he wakes up he goes back to Harrenhall to stop her being killed by the vile Bloody Mummers.

“Sansa is no longer yours to torment. Understand that, monster.” – Tyrion to Joffrey.

“A man has a right to vengeance. But he slew a man beneath his roof, and that the gods cannot forgive.” – Old Nan from a story she told Bran. Frey is going down.

“Brienne looked so miserable that Jaime almost found himself wanting to comfort her.” – Jaime (I’m not crying, you’re crying!)

“We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us and one day our children will take up our strings and dance in our steads.” – Tyrion. I just love this image.

“Sourcery is a sword without a hilt. There is no safe way to grasp it.” – Dalla

On my kill list: Walder Frey and all of his vile spawn, Stannis Baratheon, Melisandre, The Bloody Mummers, Gregor Clegane, Olenna Tyrell, Littlefinger.

Top Five Tuesday – A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s K-O. I did struggle with some of the letters this week!

K: Sue Monk Kidd

I discovered Sue Monk Kidd when I read The Secret Life of Bees a couple of summers ago. It was the perfect summer read, set in South Carolina in 1964, Lily and her ‘stand in mother’ Rosaleen go on the run when Rosaleen insults some horrible racists and faces a jail sentence. They find a place that Lily’s real mother visited, a safe place where three eccentric sisters look after bees. It’s such a profound story and you get to learn about bees!

L: C.S. Lewis

I used to love the Chronicles of Narnia, my favourite is of course The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the Pevensie children’s stories are the best of the bunch. I re-read some of them a while ago and they bring back a feeling of comfort and warmth. We still have my Mum’s set of books from when she was a child so they’re very precious.

M: Kate Morton

Possibly my favourite author ever! Every one of her books is beautiful, complex and full of brilliant characters. The first book I read was The Forgotten Garden which still remains my favourite, nothing can quite top my connection with the characters, especially Eliza Makepeace, a young girl from the early 1900s, a writer who was treated horribly by her family. The Lake House and The Clockmaker’s Daughter are some of my other favourites.

N: Naomi Alderman

I have only read one of her books but it is one of the most thought provoking books I’ve ever read. The Power is set both in the present and the future, young girls suddenly gain an ability to harness electricity and shock others, they realise they can awake this ability in women as well, evolution has worked in our favour to level the playing ground. But is a matriarchy any better? Humans are still violent and cruel at their core. This book really shook me, I want to read more of Naomi Alderman’s work.

P: Terry Pratchett

I couldn’t find anyone for O so I’ve chosen one of my favourite authors ever: Terry Pratchett. The world that he created is so chaotic, vibrant and funny, I couldn’t help but love the Discworld novels when I first discovered them. The first Pratchett book I read was The Carpet People which isn’t from the Discworld series but I still loved it. My favourites are probably Mort, Night Watch and Hogfather so far but I still have some left to read!

Top Five Tuesday- A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s F-J:

F: Nicci French

I love this author, their books are all fictional crime, some are reall scary. They have a way of drawing you in. I recently finished reading their Frieda Klein series which spanned eight books. I still have a lot of books to read of theirs but I think one of my favourites is Beneath the Skin, it is pretty scary but very clever.

G: Philippa Gregory

Again one of my favourite authors, all historical fiction about the Tudors and the War of the Roses. My first book was The Other Boleyn Girl and reading what happened to Anne and how she was treated opened my eyes! Although it’s all fiction because it’s based on real people I feel as if it is fact. I love reading about the Wat of the Roses from the women’s point of view but I think my favourite is probably The Virgin’s Lover which is about Elizabeth and her love of Robert Dudley.

H: Robin Hobb

One of my favourite fantasy authors, I haven’t read all of Robin’s books yet but I really enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy and the world that it takes place in. The journey that Fitz goes on gave me Lord of the Rings vibes but it has everything fantasy needs, royalty, travels and some dragons!

I: Eva Ibbotson

I haven’t read her books in a while but I loved them when I was in my early teens. Journey to the River Sea was the first book I read by Eva Ibbotson and I loved how it transported me to the Amazon and all its jungle beauty. Some of my other favourites are A Company of Swans and A Countess Below Stairs, both are historical fiction centred around young girls trying to make their way in the world.

J: Liz Jenson

I’ve only read one of Liz Jenson’s books but it was so atmospheric it has stayed with me. The Rapture is set at the end of the world. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent. Gabrielle is a psychiatrist and one of her patients claims that electro shock therapy can help her predict the future. She can forsee the destruction to come. It’s a fascinating book about psychology and how humanity tries to cling to life.

Top Five Tuesday – A-Z Authors

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. This month’s topics are A-Z authors, this week it’s the first five A-E which wasn’t too difficult but I have a feeling it will be tougher as we go down the alphabet!

A: Kate Atkinson

Kate has written lots of different books ranging from crime to historical fiction. But her characters are always well written and likeable. I discovered her when I read When Will There Be Good News? which is part of her Jackson Brodie series, Jackson is a police officer turned private investigator. I was really into crime novels at the time but my favourites are probably Life after Life and A God in Ruins which are set during WWII and follow the Todd family through their lives. Kate Atkinson is one of my authors that I always look out for and can happily re-read her books forever!

B: Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite classics, probably because of the gothic theme. I had to study it at college but I still love the book, that’s how good it is! The characters are so dramatic and the story so strange, it has a dark and eerie feel that appeals to me.

C: Suzanne Collins

I still haven’t quite forgiven Suzanne for the end of Mockingjay but I’m still grateful for the messed up world of Panem she created and all the characters I love within it. One of my favourite things about The Hunger Games is that it points to so many damaging things in our own society like our obsession with reality television no matter how damaging it might be to the people in it.

D: Emma Donoghue

I have only read one of Emma’s books but I know I need to read more because she is a brilliant author. Room was so clever and terrifying. The way it was written felt so real. Like the reader was also trapped in one small room with no possible escape. But I love how the characters never lost hope and had their sweet routines.

E: Joy Ellis

I have only ever listened to Joy Ellis’ books but they are some of my favourite audiobooks. The books I’ve heard are from her DI Jackman and DS Evans series, it’s set in Wales, I love the pace of the books, they’re never rushed and when the detectives solve their cases it always makes sense. The characters all fit well together and you feel like you’re part of the police team. Also Richard Armitage narrates the audiobooks so you can’t go wrong there!

Spring TBR

Spring is finally here, hopefully it will be getting lighter and less cold. I’m looking forward to seeing all the flowers emerge and watch blossom fall from the trees. Here are the books I’ll be reading this season:

Lord and Ladies by Terry Pratchett – March

I started reading this a few days ago and it’s already making me giggle. We’re back with the witches and they are facing a threat from a different world, Elves have visited before but humans manage to banish them but now the doorway between worlds has weakened.

The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans – March

The book is set partly in the early 1900s and in modern day. A brilliant artist is found burning his most treasured paining in 1919, it is a painting of his children at his home in the garden that him and his wife made for them. Juliet is the great-granddaughter of the couple and is sent the key to Nightingale House. The house holds its mysteries close but Juliet is in search of answers. I am really looking forward to reading this, my Mum has leant it to me because she knows I’ll love it!

The Virgin’s War by Laura Andersen – April

This is the last book in the Tudor Legacy Trilogy, I still haven’t done my review for the second book, but I am loving this series. It’s a different take on Tudor history, Elizabeth I is on the throne but she has a daughter, Annabel. But war is brewing with Spain, partly fuelled by Elizabeth and Philip’s failed marriage. So Elizabeth will still have to deafeat the Spanish Armada. I’m very excited for this one.

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett – April

Another City Watch story which are my favourites! Ankh-Morpork is a chaotic city and reading about the Watch trying to make sense of the chaos is such fun.

You by Caroline Kepnes – May

This looks both interesting and creepy at the same time. Stalkers are terrifying but it is easier for them to operate now when all our details are online. I think this is told from the stalkers point of view, this might creep me out too much but I’ll see.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – May

A classic that I haven’t read before, I have seen the film but it was quite strange and I’m not sure I got the plot!

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett – May/June

Another Rincewind tale with revolution, war and a falling empire. I’m excited to find out what Rincewind and his luggage get up to this time.

That’s my Spring sorted…what are some of your upcoming reads?

Lost Among the Living by Simone St James Review

“Some mad people wished for death, but others clung to life, even when that life was filled with pain.”

This book is set after WWI in England. Jo’s husband went missing during the war, he was a pilot and his plane was found abandoned. Jo has struggled with her grief and with money ever since, she has to pay for her mother to live in a care home. Out of the blue Jo received a letter from her husband’s aunt asking to employ her as a companion for her travels around Europe.

Once the trip was finished Jo went back to stay with Dottie at Wych Elm House. Dottie’s son Martin was seriously injured in the war and after years in hospital has finally been released to come home. A darkness hangs over the house, Dottie’s daughter died there, she was a troubled girl but at first no one will talk to Jo about her. Frances used to see demons and was terrified every day, she was haunted by nightmares. She probably had some sort of pyschotic disorder but in those days mental health was not spoken about. It appeared that Frances jumped from the roof but on her first day Jo sees the ghost of Frances and realises that she needs to help reveal how she actually died.

I love a good historical mystery and it also had a lot about mental health in the story which is refreshing in a historical fiction novel. It was like reading a classic ghost story at times, I was seriously jumpy after I’d read parts. I wasn’t really scared but it just made me think about ghosts so any random noises freaked me out.

I also solved the mystery before it was revealed (because I’m a genius!) I won’t spoil it for you though. But I write notes as I go and one of my revelations was correct. The characters and their stories, especially Jo and Frances were very compelling. The book had me on the edge of my seat especially towards the end.

“So simple. Lean out, lean over, let gravity take you. Let go.”