JULIA: THURSDAY'S CHILD BY SANDRA BROWN
Julia said it was a light romance and a nice read but if you don't like romance the author also writes thrillers. Julia said she is a versatile writer and Julia has read The Crush and half a dozen other thrillers written by Sandra Brown. She said you can't pick the ending.
ANNETTE: APRIL FOOL'S DAY BY BRYCE COURTENAY
The story is about Bryce Courtenay's son who died from haemophilia. It was a difficult life looking after him. He was in incredible pain and the slightest knock would mean a trip to the hospital. His son's mate was going out with a lovely girl but when Bryce's son and the girl met, they fell in love. Hence the love story. On the back of the book it writes about the impact a loving relationship can have on a person. Aids was prevalent at the time. He got aids from an unclean blood transfusion. The son, family and girlfriend experienced incredible stigma. Annette loved it and said it was extremely good.
DIANNE: THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER BY ELISABETH HYDE
Dianne finished the book but did not like it and would not recommend it. The Abortionist gets murdered and the daughter has a romance with the detective on the case. It does have a nice ending - good relationship at the end. It leaves you on a bit of a high but Dianne couldn't work out whether the author was for or against abortion.
TAM: LETTER FROM A STRANGER BY BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD
Tam had not read this author before. All the characters are too perfect - beautiful, good jobs and plenty of money. The main character goes to Istanbul in search of her beloved grandmother after seeing a letter from her grandmother to her mother. She thought her grandmother had died many years before. Tam said she doesn't normally like romance but it was an easy read and the setting in Istanbul made it interesting.
JANE: THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY BY ROBERT JAMES WALLER
The book is set in 1965. Robert Kinkaid is a National Geographic photographer who is in Iowa to photograph the covered bridges of Madison County. While looking for them he meets Francesca an Italian warbride married to a farmer. Francesca has been desperate to find someone to talk to about creative and artistic pursuits. She finds it in the photographer. They make a connection and fall madly in love. They have a passionate affair over four days while Francesca's husband and children are away. He wants her to run away with him but they have responsibilities and so he leaves. It is a real love story - a genuine love story but it ends and they never know what happens to the other. Jane said it was a good book.
ROSEMARIE: ON CHESEL BEACH BY IAN MCEWAN
Ian McEwan was born in 1948 and is the winner of the Booker Prize. This book is set in July, 1962 just prior to the sexual revolution. Edward and Florence the main characters are honeymooning in Dorset. It is a real love story and they are both virgins. They are from different backgrounds but it doesn't make any difference to them or their families. He is a son of a schoolmaster and she is a talented violinist from a well to do family. The story takes place over a 2-3hour period. Edward is keen to consumate the marriage and Florence is terrified of sexual intimacy. The book is very sexually descriptive and the tension builds over a 2 hour period. There is a lack of communication between them and this results in something sad. It was an easy read.
JOAN: A WALLFLOWER XMAS BY LISA KLEYPAS
Joan said it was so easy to read but she also read CONVENIENT MARRIAGE BY GEORGETTE HEYER. She found this much more intriguing. It was written in 1935. She was credited with establishing the Regency period romance novels. This book was set about 1776 in class structured England. The wealthy Earl wants to marry Lizzie, an impoverished beauty but she wants a love match. Joan found it very interesting as she had never read any of her books.
ANNE: THE ROSY PROJECT BY GRAEME SIMSION
It is written in the first person with Don Tillman the narrator. He is a professor of genetics who has Aspergers. He has to give a lecture on Aspergers. He ends the lecture saying "a lot of people have Aspergers and don't know it." He is 39, daggy, endearing and has decided he wants to get married so he starts the "wife project". He does speed dating and prepares a 16 page questionnaire. He wants someone who is punctual, a non smoker, a non drinker etc. etc. Rosy Jarman is looking for her biological father and convinces him to help her find her father. This becomes the "father project". Rosy fails in every requirement. Anne said it was very enjoyable, quirky and the words are cleverly chosen.
ROSEMARIE O: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE BY JANE AUSTEN
The main male character, Mr Darcy is puffed up and proud but Elizabeth, the main female character, cuts him off at the knees. Mr Darcy is raked over the coals by his Aunty who expects him to marry the cousin. Rosemarie says the book is just like the movie, nearly word to word perfect to the BBC video. Mrs. Bennett, Elizabeth's mother goes husband hunting. She has five daughters to marry off. Rosemarie found the first line in the book very amusing "It's a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
PAULINE: PERSUASION BY JANE AUSTEN
Pauline had never read Jane Austen until two years ago. She has read three since and enjoyed Persuasion the most. The book centres around Walter Elliot who is a Baronet. He has lost his wife. He has three daughters. He is a very proud man and a line in the book states "vanity was the beginning and end for Walter Elliot - in looks and position". His eldest daughter Elizabeth, like her father, is proud and conceited. She tends to take the position of the wife. The second eldest daughter Mary is married with children but she is always complaining of being sick and wants constant attention. The story is about Anne, the youngest daughter and Frederick Wentworth who fall in love. Anne's aunt didn't want her to marry him as he had little prospects. She was persuaded not to marry him. They meet again when Anne is twenty eight and both are still unmarried.
KRIS: PERSUASION BY JANE AUSTEN
Kris also read Persuasion and thought it was a great read. The book begins eight years after Anne has given way to persuasion by the much loved Lady Russell to give up Frederick Wentworth, a young naval officer. Lady Russell felt he would not be able to support a wife and family. He is now a successful and rich naval officer who has risen through the ranks. Anne is an attractive 28 yr old who is unmarried, lonely and unappreciated by her family but Captain Wentworth has held a grudge towards Anne all this time for her rejection of him. He has misunderstood and misjudged her and is intent on marrying someone else, almost anyone. Mary's (Anne's sister) in-laws live nearby and they have two pretty unmarried daughters who are very attracted to Captain Wentworth. The blurb on the back of the book says "In striving for their eventual reconciliation Anne must overcome many hazards, not least of which is the affection that Frederick develops for Henrietta and Louisa, two lively young charmers". Beautifully written.
CLAURENE: REGENCY BUCK BY GEORGETTE HEYER
This is a period romance which covers all the things Claurene enjoys. The book was written in 1935 and Claurene finds her books "comfort books in difficult times". It is a love story. The main character is an heiress and someone is trying to kill her brother. The dialogue is amusing and there are amusing details about where it is set, mainly in Bath. Georgette Heyer also wrote mysteries but Claurene did not enjoy them.
ED: THE LOVE KNOT BY CHARLOTTE BINGHAM
Charlotte Bingham is a prolific writer of books and television series. This is a nice easy read, a very light story. The story is about three girls and the trials and tribulations of their falling in love. It is set in the late 1800's, early 1900's. The characters are aristocratic and wealthy. It is the advent of the car. Ed enjoyed the book.
JO: ROSE COTTAGE BY MARY STEWART
The story is set at the end of World War II. A war widow returns to the cottage (Rose Cottage) where she was born. She finds out her mother, thought to be dead for the last thirty years, is still alive. The war widow falls in love with the next door neighbour. They used to play together as children. Jo said it was a beautiful, beautiful story.
BEV: A WEEK IN WINTER BY MAEVE BINCHY
When the youngest daughter from a big family on the coast of West Ireland meets an American tourist, there is disapproval from the family. Despite this, she goes with him to America. He never marries her and eventually leaves her. She is too embarrassed to admit this to her family. Her niece wants to visit but she tells her she can't come as her husband has been killed in a car accident. She is friends with the landlady of a boarding house and after doing a few courses decides to buy and do up a hotel. A week in winter is based on the first week in this hotel. It is all about the lives of the people who come to stay. Bev enjoyed the book.
PAT: THE RED THREAD BY NICHOLAS JOSE
The author was born in London but worked in Shanghai and Beijing in 1986-1990. Pat said it was not believable, not interesting and just silly. The main character is an art appraiser. He is looking for the missing two chapters of a six chapter ancient Chinese manuscript. He falls in love with an Australian woman. Pat wouldn't recommend it.
CONNIE: TIM BY COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH
This is a love story. The main character is Tim, a 25yr old, tall, blonde, handsome but intellectually handicapped young man. He lives next door to a 40yr old career woman. The parents look after Tim very well but don't teach him anything. His workmates taunt him. His neighbour, Mary notices this and tries to teach him. He takes a while to realise he has a friend in her. His tied to his mother and father and when his mother dies, he is devastated. Mary comforts him. She teaches him to embrace her, but when he kisses her he doesn't know when to stop. She teaches him to handle his feelings. Eventually they get married. Connie really enjoyed it and said it was very Australian.
SHEILA: MR CHEN'S EMPORIUM BY DEBORAH O'BRIEN
Sheila likes Australian writing. It is a story of two women who are born 200 years apart. In 1872, a seventeen year old Amy Duncan arrives in the goldfields. She is disappointed with the dusty town until she walks into Mr. Chen's Emporium. Mr. Chen is Chinese but has one foot in each country as he was brought up by Australians. There is discrimination shown to the Chinese and when Amy falls in love with Mr. Chen she is not allowed to marry him. The other woman in the story is a modern day widow who comes to live in the same house in this town 200 years later. Amy's keepsakes are found in a trunk and she decides to learn more about Amy's life.
PAMELA: THE TRANSIT OF VENUS BY SHIRLEY HAZZARD
When Pamela first read this book she thought it was the perfect novel. Venus is the goddess of love and transit means going across. Pamela thought the ambiguity of the book made it very attractive. The book is set in Australia briefly, London, then New York and Stockholm during the 1950's to 1980's. The two main characters are two Australian orphans, Carolyn and Grace Bell. Their mother was drowned after a ferry accident in the1930's. The story centres mainly on Carolyn's relationships with three men, one being an astronomer and another a playwright. The book explores the happiness or otherwise of human relationships. Pamela liked the book second time around until towards the end. Pamela felt, in the last few pages of the book, the author contradicted the theme of "selflessness" shown throughout the rest of the book. She was disappointed as she thinks Shirley Hazzard is a good writer, but the book was ruined by the ending.
