Come to Mure; It is worth the trip: Jenny Colgan

The Endless Beach is one of three novels set on Mure, a fictional town in northern Scotland.  The first in the series was The Cafe by the Sea and the newest entry is Christmas on the Island.

Here are my earlier thoughts on The Cafe by the Sea:

Jenny Colgan is a talented writer of light, humorous women’s fiction. I find that her novels are good reads for when I want to escape. In this book, The Cafe by the Sea, the escape is to the fictional island of Mure in very northern Scotland. The scenery is beautiful, the family life complicated and the romance eventually works out as it tends to in this kind of fiction. Recommended for a relaxing, stressfree read.

My thoughts on The Endless Beach:

This novel picks up where the earlier one left off.  It can be read as a standalone or as part of the series.

In The Endless Beach, old characters are back and the town is as idyllic as ever, although the characters’ lives are not.  Story lines felt deeper and more complex than in some of the other books that I have read by this author.  The story of Saif was especially moving.  A refugee and physician, Saif’s wife and sons were left behind in Syria when he was given asylum in Scotland.  In this novel, his sons are located and the trauma that they experience is explored.  The reader watches as Saif tries to help the boys to adjust.  For a writer of light fiction, this is a story of some depth.

Then there are Fintan and Colton, two gay characters whose relationship forms a key part of the novel.  The author presents their deep love for one another while also making the reader well aware of a major obstacle that they face.  No spoiler so I will not say more.

Flora and Joel are also working on their relationship.  For reasons that the reader comes to understand more fully, commitment is frightening to Joel.  What will happen to them?  Will there be a good next step for them?

I found this to be the best book that i have read by this author.  I was sorry to leave Mure but glad to know that I still have one more book in the series to read. If you have read/plan to read these novels, let me know your thoughts.  Thanks.

The Family You Make

A Novel

by Jill Shalvis

Readers who enjoy an involving story with characters that have some complexity should give this women’s fiction title a look. I very much enjoyed it.

Ms. Shalvis drew this reader in immediately. The first chapter of the book evoked strong feelings in me. Levi and Jane are stuck in a gondola (way high up) during a major weather event. I was almost literally trembling for them even though I knew that an author would not kill her main characters at the beginning of a novel. Still, I felt the cold, the shaking of the car, the fear of death and the relief when feet were again on the ground (just where I like mine to be!)

From this opening the author goes on to create a story with people about whom I cared. A few of them are:

Jane: She had a difficult childhood. Jane now works as a traveling nurse, never staying too long in any one place and, up until now, avoiding romantic attachments.

Levi: As a good male protagonist, he is nice looking and smart but he is dealing with a past grief. It is he and Jane who are trapped in the air together.

Charlotte: She is the one person to whom Jane has let herself become close. However, Charlotte has her own backstory with its repercussions in her current life.

Mateo: He knows all three of the others. Mateo is an ER doctor, so knows Charlotte, a surgeon at the same hospital. He and Levi were best friends for many years. Levi also knows Jane who lives with Charlotte and is a nurse in the same community for part of the year.

Watching how these people find their ways makes for a warmly involving read. This is the second novel that I have read by Ms. Shalvis and it will not be my last.

From the Publisher

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own

One of my favorites by this author.

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Where Great Writers Write

by Alex Johnson

#RoomsofTheirOwn #NetGalley

Clearly the title of this book plays homage to Virginia Woolf in the nicest possible way. Alex Johnson in this delightfully illustrated book shares stories about where writers like to go when they want to write. There are fifty writers included in this volume which can be dipped into according to one’s fancy. I looked first to some of my favorite authors and then moved on to others who were equally interesting.

Just a few of those included are Jane Austen, James Baldwin, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy Astrid Lindgren, Haruki Murakami, Sylvia Plath, Beatrix Potter and J.K. Rowling. Each author’s entry includes interesting facts and a most evocative illustration or two.

I adored spending time in these writers’ spaces and learning about how they made their choices. For example, Emily Dickinson embraced the “solitude” of her bedroom. She “pretended to lock the door” and noted that freedom was within. Conan Doyle had a very special writing set up made by a well known luggage manufacturer while Maya Angelou wrote in a hotel room.

This is a book that is perfect for bibliophiles. It would make a lovely gift.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 19 Apr 2022

From the publisher:

by Rae Simons

Times have been so hard for the past few years. We have had Covid and many heartbreaking local and world events surrounding us. If you are a person who thinks about praying in difficult times, this book of short prayers reflections may be just the thing for you.

Each entry in this title includes a biblical quote followed by an anecdote that relates to the passage. Finally, there is a section called Think About It which offers a question for the day.

Give this book a look and see if it is just what you need. It might help you to feel less alone and/or less overwhelmed.

Many thanks to Barbour Books and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 01 June 2022