Book talk: Books I read this summer (2019)

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I only read three books this past summer. That's one book a month, which is an abysmal statistic. But that's the way I roll in summer - lethargy in all aspects of my life. With just three books on the list, this won't be a very long read.

The Returning Tide by Liz Fenwick

The book blurb:

Two sisters and one betrayal that will carry across generations...

In wartime Cornwall, 1943, a story between two sisters begins - the story of Adele and Amelia, and the heart-breaking betrayal that will divide them forever. Decades later, the efforts of one reckless act still echo - but how long will it be until their past returns?

I highly recommend this book for an easy and enjoyable summer read. There are no major plots twists or intricate details that will tax your brain, so it's a book that can easily be read at the beach or at a picnic. The Returning Tide is a story about a family and an event that changed its course forever. There was one thing that marred my enjoyment of this book and made the whole premise of the plot rather less credible but I can't disclose it without spoiling the story for anyone who wants to read it. Overall, it is very well written and perhaps I am being a bit too picky with my review. 

Loree's rating: 3.5/5

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

The book blurb:

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

I've been meaning to read this Pulitzer-prize winning book that was first published in 1996 for quite some time but had never gotten round to it until now. Angela's Ashes took me a good 4-5 weeks to read. It is a true story about the poorest of the Irish poor at the time of the Great Depression. Sad at times and funny at others, it is a poignant memoir of the author's childhood - first in Brooklyn and then in  Limerick, Ireland. The narrative spares no details about the hardship that the family had to go through because of an alcoholic father who was always out of work and the bigotry that the family was subjected to because of it. Some people have questioned the truthfulness of this memoir but I think it's important to remember that the author is writing about the way he remembers things - which may not be exactly the same way that other family members might remember the same events. Angela's Ashes is a memoir of childhood written 60 years later by a grown man. I am sure that a few errors are to be expected. There were many heart-wrenching moments throughout this book that make it unsuitable for anyone who is prone to melancholy or going through a difficult time.

Loree's rating: 4/5

House of Shadows by Pamela Hartshorne

The book blurb:

When Kate Vavasour wakes in hospital, she can remember nothing about the family gathered around her bed, or of her life before the accident. The doctors diagnose post-traumatic amnesia and say the memories should start returning. Which they do . . . but these memories are not her own. They belong to Isabel Vavasour, who lived and died at Askerby Hall over four hundred years earlier . . .

Returning to Askerby Hall to recuperate, Kate finds herself in a house full of shadows and suspicions. Unable to recognise her family, her friends or even her small son, she struggles to piece together the events that led to her terrible fall. Life at Askerby, it seems, is not as illustrious as the Vavasours would have the public believe. But before she can uncover the mysteries of the present, she must first discover the truth about the past ... Was Isabel's madness real, or was her mistake trusting the one person she thought would never betray her?

This book had a very promising start but I started to lose interest around two-thirds of the way through when I guessed what was going to happen and who would turn out to be the villain. I did continue to read it all the way to the end and my hunch proved to be right. Although House of Shadows has some vague gothic undertones. the element of surprise was somewhat lacking and the climax not overly imaginative.  Or maybe I'm a bit hard to please.

Loree's rating: 2.5/5

And that sums up my summer reading list. I already know my autumn list will be much longer as I've already read 4 books and there's another 5 weeks until the end of the season.