Happy Pub day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: The Heirloom Garden
Author: Viola Shipman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Graydon House
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 28, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
In her inimitable style, Viola Shipman explores the unlikely relationship between two very different women brought together by the pain of war, but bonded by hope, purpose…and flowers.
Iris Maynard lost her husband in World War II, her daughter to illness and, finally, her reason to live. Walled off from the world for decades behind the towering fence surrounding her home, Iris has built a new family…of flowers. Iris propagates her own daylilies and roses while tending to a garden filled with the heirloom starts that keep the memories of her loved ones alive.
When Abby Peterson moves next door with her family—a husband traumatized by his service in the Iraq War and a young daughter searching for stability—Iris is reluctantly yet inevitably drawn into her boisterous neighbor’s life, where, united by loss and a love of flowers, she and Abby tentatively unearth their secrets, and help each other discover how much life they have yet to live.
With delightful illustrations and fascinating detail, Viola Shipman’s heartwarming story will charm readers while resonating with issues that are so relevant today.
This book tells the story of two women from different generations who are brought together by their experiences of war. Iris’s husband was killed in WWII, and her daughter passed away a few years later. She now finds peace in her garden, but she hasn’t left her house in years, closing herself off from the world with tall fences. In 2003, Abby’s family moves into the house next to Iris’s, which Iris rents to them. Abby’s husband has just returned from the Iraq war, but he is a shell of his former self. Abby’s kind daughter, Lily, is curious about the old lady who lives next door, which leads to an unlikely friendship.
This book was a tearjerker. Iris is mourning her husband and daughter decades after their deaths. She still talks to them. It was heartbreaking to see show her life was standing still, for the most part, since they died. Even though Abby’s husband returned from his war, he was so traumatized that he wasn’t himself anymore. Abby and Iris had similar experiences with being left behind in the aftermath of a war.
I loved the dual narratives of Abby and Iris. They had different perspectives, being from two generations, yet there were similarities in their lives. Both of them had their husbands go to war. They were both working in scientific jobs, where they weren’t given opportunities they deserved because they were women. Though they were working in these fields fifty years apart, not much had changed in the way women were treated in the workplace.
I found the gardening aspect of this book fascinating. I don’t know much about gardening, but it was amazing how it brought people together in this book. There was also a scientific side of it, which was described by Iris. She created her own unique flowers. I also didn’t know about the process for saving plants through the winter. Iris would pack them away in her basement to save them for the spring. It made sense, but I had never thought about that process before.
This is a beautiful story!
Thank you Graydon House for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Viola Shipman is the pen name for Wade Rouse, a popular, award-winning memoirist. Rouse chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his writing. Rouse is the author of The Summer Cottage, as well as The Charm Bracelet and The Hope Chest which have been translated into more than a dozen languages and become international bestsellers. He lives in Saugatuck, Michigan and Palm Springs, California, and has written for People, Coastal Living, Good Housekeeping, and Taste of Home, along with other publications, and is a contributor to All Things Considered.
Have you read The Heirloom Garden? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
This weekend I finished The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman.
I’m currently reading The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan.
Next I will be reading The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:
I did 8 weekly blogging memes:
How was your week? What did you guys read?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman.
In her inimitable style, Viola Shipman explores the unlikely relationship between two very different women brought together by the pain of war, but bonded by hope, purpose…and flowers.
Iris Maynard lost her husband in World War II, her daughter to illness and, finally, her reason to live. Walled off from the world for decades behind the towering fence surrounding her home, Iris has built a new family…of flowers. Iris propagates her own daylilies and roses while tending to a garden filled with the heirloom starts that keep the memories of her loved ones alive.
When Abby Peterson moves next door with her family—a husband traumatized by his service in the Iraq War and a young daughter searching for stability—Iris is reluctantly yet inevitably drawn into her boisterous neighbor’s life, where, united by loss and a love of flowers, she and Abby tentatively unearth their secrets, and help each other discover how much life they have yet to live.
With delightful illustrations and fascinating detail, Viola Shipman’s heartwarming story will charm readers while resonating with issues that are so relevant today.
What book are you in bed with today?
This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Books on Your TBR From Someone Else’s Recommendation. Here’s my list:
(All book cover images from Goodreads)
Did you make a Six for Sunday list?
Title: Elizabeth I: The Making of a Queen
Author: Laura Brennan
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 30, 2020
Rating: ★★★
Elizabeth I is arguably one of the greatest monarchs and women of English history. Against an uncertain political and religious backdrop of post-reformation Europe she ruled at the conception of social modernization, living in the shadow of the infamy of her parents reputations and striving to prove herself an equal to the monarchs who had gone before her.
This book seeks to explore some of the key events of her life both before and after she ascended to the English throne in late 1558. By looking at the history of these selected events, as well as investigating the influence of various people in her life, this book sets out to explain Elizabeth’s decisions, both as a queen and as a woman.
Amongst the events examined are the death of her mother, the role and fates of her subsequent stepmothers, the fate of Lady Jane Grey and the subsequent behavior and reign of her half sister Mary Tudor, along with the death of Amy Dudley, the return of Mary Queen of Scots to Scotland, the Papal Bull and the Spanish Amanda.
This book talks about important events that shaped Queen Elizabeth I’s life. These include the marriages of her father, Henry VIII, her feud with Mary Queen of Scots, and her battle with King Philip I of Spain.
I was disappointed that this book showed things that happened around Elizabeth, rather than her actual life. The book is supposed to be about events that shaped her life, but there was not much reference to Elizabeth’s actual life. The explanations of how these events affected Elizabeth’s life were quite short compared to the long descriptions of what happened. Almost the entire first half of the book was about Henry VIII and his wives. He was Elizabeth’s father so he greatly shaped her life, but she didn’t live with him at that time, so she wasn’t actually present for most of the book.
There was also a lot of the author’s opinion in the book, rather than just stating the facts. There were many parts where she talked down to the reader. For example, she said that people used paintings to see what other people looked like because they didn’t have cameras. If you’re reading this book about Tudor England, it’s presumed that you know they didn’t have cameras hundreds of years ago. She didn’t need to talk down to the reader to explain things like that.
This was a disappointing book that talked about events that happened during the life of Elizabeth I, but not her actual life.
Thank you Pen and Sword for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Elizabeth I: The Making of a Queen? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Books Under 300 Pages. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!
Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?
Title: Rival Magic
Author: Deva Fagan
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
A young wizard’s apprentice discovers that the best magic is not the biggest or the brightest, but the magic unique to you, in this cinematic middle grade fantasy in the tradition of Kiki’s Delivery Service and The School for Good and Evil.
Antonia may not be the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen, but she’s worked hard to win her place as apprentice to renowned sorcerer Master Betrys. Unfortunately, even her best dancing turnip charm might not be enough when Moppe the scullery maid turns out to be a magical prodigy. Now that Betrys has taken Moppe on as a second apprentice, Antonia’s path to wizarding just got a bit more complicated.
But when Betrys is accused of treason, Antonia and Moppe are forced to go on the run. To prove their master’s innocence—and their own—the rivals must become allies. As their island province teeters on the brink of rebellion, they’ll face ancient spells, vengeful mermaids, enchanted turnips, voice-stealing forests, and one insatiable sea monster.
Antonia is a wizard’s apprentice, but she isn’t very good at magic. One night when she is practicing magic, the new kitchen maid finds her. It turns out that she can do the spell better than Antonia. The kitchen maid, Moppe, becomes the next apprentice because her magic abilities are so strong. Then, the wizard they work with is accused with treason, leaving Antonia and Moppe to run away and look for evidence to prove their master’s innocence. They end up on a journey through the island to find the crown that belongs to the rightful leader.
This story had all the elements of a great children’s fantasy novel. There were magical creatures, such as a talking ferret who was sent to spy on their wizard master. There were dancing turnips, enchanted mermaids, and a nightmare forest. There were also betrayals and deception.
The magical world is controlled by words. The wizards learn words that give them different spell abilities. There are thousands of different words to create spells. That means that they can’t do a spell until they have learned how to say the word for it. This is a problem for Moppe who cannot read. It gave her a unique challenge that she had to find a way to overcome. Since I love words, this was a fascinating world to me.
This was a really good fantasy story!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Rival Magic? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Laurie Reads and Niffler Reads. Every Friday, they post a list of bookish things based on the prompt they provided. The prompts for Feb to May can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Places to Read. Here’s my list:
Did you make a list for Bookish Friday?
