Review: The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison

The Very Thought of You
Author: Rosie Alison
Published: June 21, 2011
Genre: historical fiction
Paperback: 320 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): The world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate opened up to evacuees by Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton, an enigmatic childless couple. Soon Anna gets drawn into their unravelling relationship, seeing things that are not meant for her eyes - and finding herself part-witness and part-accomplice to a love affair, with unforseen consequences.


My Thoughts: This was such a powerful novel, touching on so many topics that I could talk for hours about it. When I first heard about this book, I thought that it was about a girl being shipped to an old English manor during World War II in order to be away from the air strikes that were soon to come to London. However, this book was nothing what I thought it was going to be. Yes, it is set at an old English manor and it's converted into a boarding school for children, but that is almost the background noise the beautiful and heartbreaking story that is occuring. The manor is owned by Thomas Ashton and his wife, Elizabeth. They fell in love but Thomas was afflicted with polio following a vacation they took. He is now bound to a wheelchair and limited in his travels. Elizabeth is unable to bear a child and attempts to drink her pain away. Both are unhappy together and find other people to love, but in the end, tragedy befalls everyone.


Rosie Alison's writing is so descriptive and haunting at times. I felt as though I was reading a novel by Daphne du Maurier. I always felt like there was something lurking just beyond the next page, and I couldn't put this novel down. It wasn't scary or thrilling, but Alison's writing is so intense that you feel like you are about to be blown away at any second. I also thought that her choice of setting was unique. The thousands of children that were displaced during the war is a topic that doesn't seem to get much attention, and while the central focus in the book was on the characters and not the war, it was interesting to learn about how these children had to handle such a difficult time in their lives.


This is one of the best books that I have read this year. Between the setting, the writing, the characters, and the themes, it's something that will be staying with me for a long time. I believe that Rosie Alison is one of the best authors that I have read in quite sometime and I cannot wait to read more by her.

Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Published: March 22, 2011
Genre: chick lit
Hardcover: 273 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis (from goodreads.com): It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots. But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it. For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town. Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.


My Thoughts: This is a nice, simple book about two women who come together over their grandmonther's friendship 75 years. Following Willa and Paxton, living in Walls of Water, North Carolina, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of how women must be there for one another, and also, how we must discover what it is that we need as individuals. These women are different from one another but over the course of the story, each realizes that this is not the life that she wants to live. They both realize that things must change, and they start to make these realizations as their friendship blossoms. I really enjoyed Allen's focus on finding what it is that we need to do. She explotes this through the Willa and Paxton, and also through their boyfriends, Colin and Sebastian. Each character is stuggling with finding their place in life and their place in the world. They also struggle with their former selves, as in how people thought of them in high school. Allen does a great job of exploring these topics and making the reader think, "Do we ever really grow up and change?"


While I did enjoy the themes of the book, it felt like the whole book was on fast-forward. Everything happened so quickly, it seemed like it was flashing by. I wish that Allen had taken a little more time to develop the story, especially that historical element. I felt like it could have been a great story if she had developed that background story a little more. It wasn't a bad book, but I was left wanting more. I will definitely check out more of Allen's work, because I really did enjoy her writing style. Has anyone else read this book and thought that same thing?


(read as part of the Fall Into Reading Challenge)

Fall Into Reading Challenge: Question #5

Katrina at Callpidder Days is hosting the Fall Into Reading Challenge. Each week, she posts a different question, and this week's question is:

Do you skim? Or are you faithful to every word?

Great question! For me, I'm faithful to every word ... most of the time. To really understand a book, I feel like you need to actually read it and not just try to pick up the main points. Now, there are times when I skim: if I feel like the author is being repetitive with information, if it's a very lengthy description about something, or if I'm just not into a book that much. I do try to finish every book that I read, but sometimes skimming is the only way to make it through.

So what about you? Do you skim? Or are you faithful to every word?

Fall Into Reading 2011: Question #2

Fall Into Reading Challenge is hosted by Callapidder Days. Each Wednesday, she will post a different question. This week's question:

How often do you re-read books? What does it take to 

make you re-read?

I reread books every so often. It really depends what kind of mood I am in. A really great book is like an old friend: it's always there for you, whenever you need it. There are times when I just want to reread one of my favorites, to get lost in that story with those characters. It's comforting to return to those books.

For me to reread a book, it has to appeal to me on so many levels. Not only does it need to have a great story, but the characters have to be realistic and people that I can relate to, and the setting amazing and lifelike. If it has these three things, then the chances are high that I will return to it in the future.

What does it take for you to want to reread a book? And how often do you reread those books? Let me know!

Fall Into Reading 2011: Week 1 Question

Fall Into Reading Challenge is hosted by Callapidder Days. Each Wednesday, she will post a different question. This week's question:

How much do book reviews influence your decision to 

acquire and/or read a book?

Other book reviews definitely influence by decision to read books! I don't rely on professional reviews so much, but knowing what fellow bloggers say about a book influences my decision to read or not to read. It also introduces me to a lot of books that I might not normally read. There are several bloggers who I love, and if they read something that isn't something I typically enjoy, and they like it, I'm more likely to check it out because of their positive review of it.

What about you? What role do reviews play in your decision to read a book

Fall Into Reading Challenge 2011

Fall Into Reading is a challenge hosted by Callapidder Days. It's a low stress challenge and consists of this: creating a list of books that you wish to read this fall. Then, from September 23 (today) until December 21, see how many of these books you can read. Your list can be as long or as short as you want.

For me, there are a few books that I would love to read this fall, and they are:

1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
2. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
3. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5. a Kristin Hannah novel (I don't know which one, but I love her books!)
6. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
7. Emily and Einstein  by Linda Francis Lee
8. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
9. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Allison
10. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

There are so many more that I want to read, but I'm having trouble remembering all of them! So, what are you planning on reading this fall?