February has been one of those months where life just seems to get in the way. I have read ten books and posted eight reviews as I have been getting ahead of March reads. So here is my monthly round up and top reads of February.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Based on actual events from Christmas Eve 1617 when the men from the small island of Vardø off the coast of Norway go fishing only to be all lost during a freak storm. The women are left to fend for themselves, taking on the male roles in order to survive. Their fate is brought to the attention of the Church and a commissioner, Absalom Cornet, is sent to the Island with his young new wife to take control, and bring the women back to the church. With this comes the crumbling of the community as they turn on each other, and some face the accusation of witchcraft. These women, the sacrifice and strength they showed, really resonated with me. Kiran Millwood Hargrave captured their spirit, their personalities, and the development of the mistrust perfectly. This is a must read or fans of historical fiction.
Her Last Breath by Alison Belsham. After reading The Tattoo Thief last year, I was really excited to get the opportunity to read and review the second book in the DI Sullivan series. DI Sullivan and Marni Mullins find themselves back together after a young girl is savagely attacked and dies twenty four hours later from poisonous ink on a tattoo. The main suspect is Marnie’s son Alex. As another woman is attacked they are now looking for a serial killer. I loved this book and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough with it’s warped killer, gritty realism and the undercurrent of tension between DI Sullivan and Marni. This is a fantastic sequel, complex in plot, brilliant characters and completely addictive, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
The Foundling by Stacey Halls. This is the much anticipated book from Stacey Halls, the author last years bestseller The Familiars. Set in Georgian England, Bessie finds herself pregnant and unable to look after the baby, the father is dead and she has no money, so she takes the baby to the Foundling Hospital. Six years later, after saving money, she goes to collect her daughter, but she is no longer there, someone else has claimed her using Bessies name. And so begins the mystery of who took her and why. Bessie finds herself entering the world of Alexandra, a widow living a reclusive life with her daughter Charlotte. Full of historical detail, Stacey Halls captures the eighteenth century, the class divide, the mix of cultures, and the social history bringing the sights and smells vividly to life. This story, of two very different women, in very different circumstances, divided by class but bought together by a young child captured my heart. A stunning and fascinating read.
The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue. As soon as I saw this book, I knew I just had to read it. In 1990 Louisa wins a scholarship to the prestigious Catholic boarding school Temple House. In a school full of the rich and privileged, Louisa is an outsider, but finds herself drawn into the sphere of the etherial Victoria. She finds refuge in her friendship with Victoria, and the young, charismatic art teacher Mr Lavelle. In the safety of the summer house, they bond over art, self expression and of being different, escaping the repressive regime of the nuns. Until one night, Louisa and Mr Lavelle disappear. Twenty five years later, a journalist with connections to Louisa decides to investigate and find out what happened. This is full of atmosphere, mystery, teenage hormones and an undercurrent of unease. Rachel Donohue tackles some difficult issues, religion, privilege, difference, sexual tension and catholic guilt, and really gets inside the psyche of the girls. Beautifully written, intriguing and compelling, this is an impressive debut novel.
My full reviews of these books and the others I have read in February are all available on my blog. I have some brilliant books to review in March including Jack and Bet by Sarah Butler and The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore. But wha I am really excited about is the release of The Mirror and the Light, the third instalment in the Thomas Cromwell series by Hilary Mantel. I’m hoping to get ahead with my reading so I can fit this book in at the end of March, if not April, at over nine hundred pages, it is not a quick read. I hope you will join me next month for some more fabulous books.
