The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

Author: Eva Rice
Published by Review
ISBN: 0-7553-2550-8
Genre: Fiction.

"Set in the 1950s, in an England still recovering from the Second World War, THE LOST ART OF KEEPING SECRETS is the enchanting story of Penelope Wallace and her eccentric family at the start of the rock'n'roll era.

Penelope longs to be grown-up and to fall in love; but various rather inconvenient things keep getting in her way. Like her mother, a stunning but petulant beauty widowed at a tragically early age, her younger brother Inigo, currently incapable of concentrating on anything that isn't Elvis Presley, a vast but crumblng ancestral home, a severe shortage of cash, and her best friend Charlotte's sardonic cousin Harry..."

I found this book lovely to read, it's set in the 1950's just as Rock n Roll era is entering. It's about a family who have lost their husband/father to the war and how they struggle to make ends meet without him, and how living in a magnificent house, which many people adore, constantly reminds the family of their husband/father which at times is too hard to bare.

It's about friendship as two girls Penelope and Charlotte become inseparable. I really did like this part of the book, it was great to see their friendship blossom and grow. It's also a story about love, and teenage girls crush on Johnnie Ray and how Elvis Presley influenced boys too.

I found this a lovely read, not overly thrilling to read but I put it into my cosy category. Anyone who grew up in the rock n’ roll era will love this book and especially if they were fans of Johnnie Ray.

I'm also sure there is something everyone can relate to in this book.
I myself give this book 6 1/2-7/10

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

"When a scientist is found brutally murdered, Harvard professor Robert Langdon is asked to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. Realising it must be the work of the Illuminati - an ancient secret brotherhood sworn against Catholicism - the race is on to prevent a tragedy."

I gave up on this book before I finished it. I'm not much of a thriller fan and although I found Dan's DaVinci Code readable I just found this one too boring for me. I just couldn't be bothered to read the rest. I know there's plenty of people out there that loved this book but, it didn't appeal to me.

5/10

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Author: Sophie Kinsella.
Publisher: Black Swan
ISBN 0-552-77274-7
Book Type: Fiction

"The story of a girl who needs to slow down. To find herself. To fall in love. And to discover what an iron is for...Samantha is a high-powered lawyer in London. She works all hours, has no home life, and cares only about getting a partnership. She thrives on the pressure and adrenalin. Until one day...she makes a mistake. A mistake so huge, it'll wreck her career. She walks right out of the office, gets on the first train she sees, and finds herself in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she is mistaken for the interviewee housekeeper and finds herself being offered the job. They have no idea they've hired a Cambridge-educated lawyer with an IQ of 158 - Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. Disaster ensues. It's chaos as Samantha battles with the washing machine...the ironing board...and attempts to cook a cordon bleu dinner. But gradually, she falls in love with her new life in a wholly unexpected way. Will her employers ever discover the truth? Will Samantha's old life ever catch up with her? And if it does...will she want it back?"

A fantasic book that will have you laughing out a loud all the way through it. It did me. I totally loved this book.

It's about how a lawyer finds herself in a situation which causes her to run away from her well paid job. She finds herself in a villiage with a total different lifestyle, before she knows it she's been hired as a House keeper, and not having any experience in domestic matters she doesn't know where to start!

Will she enjoy her new life or will she realise she's made the biggest mistake of her life? Well you'll just have to read to find out won't you ;)

I can't go into too much detail about it, as it is such a fabulous book I don't want to give anything away. A great Chick Lit.

10/10

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Author: Nicole Krauss
ISBN: 0-141-01997-2
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 252


"Leo Gursky is a man who fell in love at the age of ten and has been in love ever since. These days he is just about surviving life in America, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbour know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago in the Polish village where he was born Leo fell in love with a young girl called Alma and wrote a book in honour of his love. These days he assumes that the book, and his dreams, are irretrievably lost, until one day they return to him in the form of a brown envelope. Meanwhile, a young girl, hoping to find a cure for her mother's loneliness, stumbles across a book that changed her mother's life and she goes in search of the author. Soon these and other worlds collide in "The History of Love", a captivating story of the power of love, of loneliness and of survival."


This is a beauty of a book, I totally love this book. It is one of my all time favs.

It's about how a young girl goes in search of an author, of a book her mother is transulating, called The History of Love.

This book is about love, friendship and family. I fell in love with the characters especially Leo Gursky, and boy did I cry when I finished this book. I won't go into detail about it, as I don't want to give anything away.

10/10

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Author: Kate Mosse.
ISBN: 0-7528-7732-1
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Orion Books
Paged: 702

"July 1209: in Carcassonne a young girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in protecting it. It will take great sacrifice and faith to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe - a secret that stretches back thousands of years to the deserts of Ancient Egypt ...July 2005: Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig in the mountains outside Carcassonne. Inside the hidden tomb where the bones lie crumbling, she experiences an overwhelming sense of malevolence, as well as a creeping understanding that, however impossible it seems, she can somehow understand the mysterious ancient words carved into the rock. Too late, Alice realises she's set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before."

I heard about this one on Richard & Judy's book club and decided I should get it. So I did and what a great read!

If you're thinking; oh not another Grail story, don't fret because this one is with a difference. I much preferred this one to Dan Browns DaVinci Code.

I really felt the characters emotions in the book and felt I was there. It's a book packed with action, thriller and suspense and also love.


10/10

A Kept Woman by Frankie McGowan

I liked this book. It's about how a lady that has everything soon finds herself with just about nothing, other than the clothes on her back and her children. She realises she has been a kept woman and finds the strength to show she is independant and makes a living of her own.
She learns she does not need a man to depend on.

A real roller coaster of a book.

8/10

Wives of the Fishermen by Angela Huth

Author: Angela Huth
ISBN: NA
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little brown

"Myrtle and Annie have grown up together in a remote Scottish fishing port. Their friendship remains deep, even after they have both married, but when one husband is responsible for the other's death in an accident on board their boat, their closeness is put to the ultimate test."

Oh I loved this book, I really did. It was such a cosy read.

It is about how two friends grow up together and marry fishermen. The story goes through their lives from when they were children into adulthood. Through their laughter to their arguments and love lives.

It is quite an emotional read and if you are looking for a book to read as you drink with your Coco next to a warm fire. Then this book is your you. It's not overly exciting but it's not boring either. It's just so lovely and cosy.

It's up in my top ten of the best books I've ever read.

Verdict: Beautiful.