Month: May 2014

Review: The Last Boat Home by Dea Brovig

Posted May 7, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: The Last Boat Home by Dea Brovig

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Last Boat Home by Dea Brovig Published by Hutchinson on March 13, 2014 Genres: Fiction Pages: 272 Format: E-Arc Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads Explosive, dark and tender, The Last Boat Home is a devastating novel about sacrifice, survival and a mother’s love. If you loved The Light Between Oceans or The Snow Child, this is for you. On the wind-swept southern coast of Norway, sixteen-year-old Else is out on the icy sea, dragging her oars through the waves while, above her, storm clouds are gathering. Surrounded by mountains, snow and white-capped water, she looks across the fjord and dreams of another life, of escape and faraway lands. Back on shore, her father sits alone in his boathouse with a jar of homebrew. In the Best Room, her mother covers her bruises and seeks solace in prayer. Each tries to hide the truth from this isolated, God-fearing community they call […]

Pastime Pleasures #6 – Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Posted May 2, 2014 by Charlotte in Pastime Pleasures / 0 Comments
Pastime Pleasures #6 – Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Welcome to my  feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.   Similar to the wonderful Sabriel (but written nearly a decade later) the world in Stardust is split, between the magical and the ‘normal world’, by a wall. On one side  is a society based on Victorian sentiments. While on the other magic rules and the price of goods is not what you always suspect. Tristan decides to find a fallen star to prove his love for the local beauty but his quest is fraught with danger, and will he come back a changed man? Gaiman does a fantastic job of convincing the reader that the land of Fairie is a real place, after all it could be Scotland, couldn’t it? He also adds a bit of everything into the tale […]