The Lyon Affair: A French Resistance novel (The Indigo Rebels Book 2) by Ellie Midwood

You might know by now that I love reading historical fiction. This writer came across a wee while back and I loved her characters. Often women who have to make difficult choices and not always take the right ones. This book is no exception. I hugely enjoyed the Indigo Rebels by Ellie Midwood and the follow up I'm glad to say is also a 5 star read.
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This is the second book in the Indigo Rebels series. It follows on from the Indigo Rebels, but the action moves from Paris to Lyon in the Free French zone and Dijon which is very much in occupied territory. It is a sequel but it would stand on its own. We are introduced to a number of new characters that take their lives in their hands by joining the resistance. What I like most about Ellie Midwood are her very human characters, and here we are introduced to two complex ones in the shape of Blanche and father Yves. Blanche is embittered by her past. Born of a German soldier and a French mother who alleged that she was raped, she has been shunned and teased since childhood. She joins the resistance to get back at the Germans that ruined her childhood. Blanche doesn’t find the kinship she so craves with her fellow resistance fighters and starts to wonder if it was really the Germans that ruined her childhood.  The other character I loved was Father Yves, a man with a dark past who is reluctantly drawn into the resistance, where he struggles with his vow to not harm again. There are many others but I don’t want to give away too much. Just pick up this book and let the heroes and villains reveal themselves. Some nail biting action too as they find out they have a traitor in their midst.

 

Forgotten Reflections: A War Story by Young-Im Lee

I think this is the first book I've read by a Korean writer and it turned out to be a good read. It requires a bit of patience and a little knowledge about Korea and the civil war would help. So if you have and do, this is a 5 star.
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This is quite an epic and complex book, told from several perspectives and time lines. It is also a beautifully written book about the Korean civil war and the Korea of today. Its prose is quite poetic at times, that and the to me unfamiliar Korean names and words, took a bit of time to get used to. But by part two I started to get really into the story and was hooked to the very end. The main character is Iseul, we learn about her past and the men that play a role in her life. Her granddaughter realises when Iseul develops Alzheimer’s that she knows very little about her. When Iseul mumbles a name, her granddaughter sets out on a quest to find out about the man on her grandmothers lips. Jia, the granddaughter is a young girl struggling with the pressures of modern Korean life. Through her we hear the writer’s voice, who has some reservations about what direction South Korea is heading. It is an interesting insight into the Korea of now. I was however more intrigued with the story set in the 1950’s when brother was fighting brother. Also demonstrated in this book, that not even a son could fully trust his father when war raged. There are many beautiful snippets, either real or fictional, that war can also bring the best out of people and that love can be a very powerful motivator. An epic well thought out book that I can recommend to anyone interested in post war politics, history and who likes a good love story.

Tales of the Fantastic: A Fantasy & Paranormal Sample Anthology

This sample anthology features a number of Indie writer and showcases some of their work. I picked it up because it was free and I already read and reviewed some of Grant Leishman's work.

Here is what the blurb says about the other writers:
Six daring authors from around the globe met in an online fantasy/paranormal author team. We present to you:

Daccari Buchelli, a British fantasy novelist, who developed a love for reading at a young age. He found himself drawn to Fantasy genre, with its magical worlds and mythical beings. When away from his trusty ball point pen, Daccari enjoys sketching, as well as horror films, and curling up with a good book and a rich coffee.

Alex E. Carey, a U.S. novelist, was born in Texas and moved to North Carolina for college. When not at work on her latest book, she enjoys reading, walking trails, gem mining and spending time with her family and their three dogs.

David Gilchrist, a UK novelist from Scotland, is a writer of words, a lover of music and a designer of electronics. He has loved fantasy since first reading Lord of the Rings and has been devouring the genre ever since. Wherever his reading takes him, he always finds his way back to dragons, magic and fantasy.

Grant Leishman, a former New Zealander living in the Philippines, started out in finance and journalism, but finally found his true calling in life as a full-time author. When he's not writing, he loves spending time with his family and interacting online with his readers and other authors.

Caitlin Lynagh, originally from Wales, now living in England, received degrees with honors in Biology and Geology. Though she loves science, she also loves writing, and so her first fantasy novel, Anomaly, was born. She also enjoys traveling, reviewing books, and interacting with her readers.

Kim Ross, a born Novocastrian, resides in Australia with her family and their golden retriever. When she isn't writing, she enjoys belly dancing and performs professionally with the Silk Caravan Belly Dance Troupe.

Here is my 4 star review:

I got this book when it was a free promotion. I was already familiar with the work of Grant Leishman and thought this was a good opportunity to try some of his author friends’ work. This book contains sample chapters of novels, short stories and flash fiction. It is mostly in the fantasy genre, hence the title. This book wants to showcase 6 independent writers and tempt the reader to buy the full book via the links at the end of their segment. There are certainly a few writers that caught my eye, I was sorry to arrive at the end of their sample. It is a real mixed bag of styles and topics and some bits are going to appeal more than others. But it is a showcase and in this the book has achieved its goal.

 

Sleeping Giants (The Future of London Book 4) by Mark Gillespie

Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm quite a fan of this writer, especially the future of London books. So when I saw book 4 was out I hot-footed it to Amazon. If you click on the picture, you can too. Again a 5 star read.

Discovering this Future of London series has been one of the reading highlights of the year. This is the fourth book in the series. And I’m delighted to report that book 4 continues to be a riveting read.

We have been on quite a journey with our hero Walker. We first met him when he was a rebellious young Scottish teenager and he started to fall in with ‘the wrong crowd’. Then in Mr Apocalypse we meet him again as a shell-shocked young man, living by himself and keeping out of harm’s way. In the Ghosts of London, he is forced to venture deeper into savage London and we see a bolder, harder Walker emerge. Here in The Sleeping Giants he is actively seeking danger.

There is quite a telling scene when Walker sees himself in the mirror; he too sees the changes in him. His eyes show a hardness that can only come with seeing things no-one should see. Even his physical appearance has changed, and gone is the ginger lad from Scotland and a dark haired battle hardened man takes his place. (Are we writing the film script Mr Gillespie? I think Hollywood should consider it.)

The Sleeping Giants could stand on its own as we meet a whole host of new characters with the Sleeping Giants gang, but it would help if you’ve read the other books. There is again some good cutting humour as the Londoners are given phones to chase Pokemons, erm sorry Magic Birds and we get the social media feedback from outside of the M25. If I had one quibble it would be the length of the book, with 203 pages it was over way too soon. The book has a very open ending so I’m sure Mr Gillespie is penning the fifth instalment. Even though I’m super eager to read it, I hope it will be a sizable book.

Murder In The Bush: The Tale of William McDonald by Carmel McMurdo Audsley

I love historical fiction and non fiction. This was based on a true story but it reads like an adventure story and it should appeal to a broad readership. As it deals with murder and rape it is not for the younger reader. Five stars.
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I read the undertaker by this writer, which I loved as it was set in Scotland and the historic background was meticulously researched. Apart from that, it was a great read so I was keen to read something by this writer again. I was not disappointed. It is clear the writer has a great love for Scotland and its history, as she has set the start of this story in the very north of Scotland. William’s journey from 1885 the north of Scotland all the way to Brisbane Australian is as harrowing (the conditions on board the ship) as it is fascinating.

William McDonald the hero of our story, we are told in the foreword was a real person that was murdered in the Australian outback. Both his story and the story of his murderer are chronicled.  Knowing the ending of a book is normally a big let-down when reading a book, but in this case the story was fascinating enough to not let it spoil my reading pleasure. It was a great window into 1880’s Australia and the dangers and hardships the early pioneers experienced. William McDonald died young, but is a perfect example of one of those pioneers that made Australia the place it is today; a modern prosperous country. Recommended.