Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.
My Review:
The Glassmaker is an epic, sweeping and absorbing piece of historical fiction which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I’ve always been a huge fan of reading about strong women so I found it fascinating to follow Orsola Rosso throughout the centuries. I really admired her for trying to make her mark in a time where glass making was very much a male dominated industry and I loved that she found such a creative way to help her family, which was different from what other people were producing at the time. It was especially nice to see the women of the novel work together to help each other, rather than being in competition with each other. They all seemed to want to boost female involvement in the glass industry which was heart warming to see.
This book has a slightly different style to it as time moves on in the book without the characters getting much older which confused me when it first happened. It was so nice to spend so much time with the Rosso family and learn more about the history of Venice. The history of glassmaking was particularly fascinating to learn more about, especially how the glass products differed throughout the years. I don’t think I’ve ever fully appreciated the work that goes into glassmaking but, after reading this book I don’t think I’ll look at a glass product the same way again.
I thought this book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest, though even in the quieter moments I was just happy hanging out with the wonderful Rosso family. There were some moments that made me cry, some that made me laugh and some that had me cheering for the characters. I listened to this on audiobook and it was great to hear the narrator speak the Italian which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I’d just read it. It was quite a long audiobook but it just seemed to fly by and it helped make my walking challenge much easier to complete as I planned longer walks so I could listen to more of it.
Huge thanks to Borough Press and Indie Thinking for my copy of this book. Highly recommended by me.
About The Author:
Tracy is the author of 11 novels, including the international bestseller GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, which has sold over 5 million copies and been made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. American by birth, British by geography, she lives in London and Dorset. Her latest novel, THE GLASSMAKER, is set in Venice and follows a family of glass masters over the course of 5 centuries.
Good morning everyone and happy Monday. I don’t normally do a monthly wrap up as I’m never sure I’ll remember what I’ve read but I thought I’d give it a go!
This month I’ve read:
📕A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater 📙 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney 📒The Secrets Of Flowers by Sally Page 📗The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gillmore 🎧 We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida 🎧Under Your Spell by Laura Wood 📘 Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 📕 Daydream by Hannah Grace 🎧I Died At Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke -Patel 📙Small Bomb At Dimperley by Lissa Evans 🎧The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
I’ve actually read more than I thought I would which is nice to see. Out of these my favourite books were The Glassmaker and Under Your Spell. Though I also liked Small Bomb At Dimperley and The Cinnamon Bun Book Store too.
I’m off today and I have one more 4 km walk to complete my challenge which I’m hoping to do today. It’s meant to be raining all day so I think I’ll have to just go for it! I then need to do some housework as the house is a mess before hopefully sitting down and reading some more of my fantastic book. I’m currently reading Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood and I’m really enjoying it so far.
What was your favourite book you’ve read this month?
She only wants three things. He isn’t one of them…
Dumped by her cheating ex, fired from her dream job, about to lose her flat: Clementine Monroe is not having a good day. So when her sisters get her drunk and suggest reviving a childhood ritual called the breakup spell, she doesn’t see the harm in it.
But now Clemmie has accidentally ruined a funeral, had her first one-night stand, and she’s stuck with a new job she definitely doesn’t want – spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous and very-off-limits rock star, Theo Eliott.
He’s the most famous man on the planet. Her life’s a disaster. When it comes to love, Clemmie is learning you should be careful what you wish for…
My Review:
Under Your Spell is a fun, romantic read with a touch of magic in it.
Firstly there was some absolutely amazing characters in this book who I loved following throughout the book- so much so that unusually for me I can’t pick a favourite. Clemmy and her sisters were wonderful creations and I quickly found myself wishing that I knew them in real life as they seemed such fun to be around. I loved that they were all so different to each other but that they always had each other’s back regardless of the situation. Theo was such a loveable character too who I expect was loosely based on Harry Styles though this hasn’t been officially confirmed. He was definitely a charmer and it was really heartwarming to see him grow closer to Clemmy. In some ways he was a bit too good to be true but in others he seemed the ideal man who I think most girls would love to date.
I was drawn into the book from the start and soon found myself completely absorbed into the story, unable to stop listening to it as I was desperate to find out what would happen. There were some absolutely hilarious moments that had me laughing out loud and some scenes were so perfectly described that I felt like I was actually there watching everything unfold. The ending was brilliant so I was very sad to finish the book and leave these wonderful characters behind. I’m really hoping there will be a sequel as I’d love a chance to hang out with them all again. This is one of those books that I’d love to see made into a film! Preferable starring Harry Styles as Theo and Bill Nighy as Clemmy’s dad.
If you’re looking for a romantic read to cosy up with this autumn than I highly recommend this one.
About The Author:
Dr Laura Wood is a best-selling, award winning academic and writer. She is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing and the author of the ‘Poppy Pym’ series, the Blue Peter Book Prize shortlisted ‘Vote for Effie’ and several young adult novels including A Sky Painted Gold and A Single Thread of Moonlight.
Laura loves Georgette Heyer novels, Fred Astaire films, travelling to far flung places, recipe books, Jilly Cooper, poetry, cosy woollen jumpers, Edith Nesbit, crisp autumn leaves, Jack Gilbert, new stationery, sensation fiction, salted caramel,Rufus Sewell’s cheek-bones, dogs, and drinking lashings of ginger beer.
Good morning everyone and happy Saturday. I had such fun at the Three Counties Autumn Show yesterday – despite the horrible weather!
We had a lovely little spot next to the Malvern Bake Off Tent and a cake competition display for some stunning cakes. I was involved in events with the lovely Ellen Mary, Adam Frost and the Giuseppe Dell’Anno the British Bake Off winner from a few years ago. I can honestly say I absolutely loved each event and getting to meet all the lovely speakers. Thanks so much to all of you for being so lovely.
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If you’re going to the Three Counties Autumn Show do look out for the Rossiter Book’s stand and go hear these lovely authors talk as it’s really worth it.
I’m very tired but very happy right now and looking forward to a quiet day reading my new book before going to my mum’s for supper!
Do you like going to author talks? Are you going to the Three Counties Show this weekend?
In the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious Tokyo café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:
– The father who could not allow his daughter to get married – A woman who couldn’t give Valentine’s Day chocolates to her loved one – A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents – A wife holding a child with no name . . .
They must follow the café’s strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold.
Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to find closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.
My Review:
Before We Forget Kindness is another compelling book which manages to be very emotional at times but also quite heart warming in others.
It was great to be back visiting the café and hearing all the fascinating stories of their customers. I really like how the author manages to keep this series so fresh by thinking of stories or situations for his characters that are different to anything featured in the previous books. I felt that these books had a much more philosophical feel to them as most of them were about not taking for things for granted as you never knew what would happen tomorrow. They were definitely quite emotional to read about as I often found myself tearing up as I read.
The book is divided into four sections, each following a different person who is trying to go back in time (or to the future) to help right a wrong even though they know that their actions will have no effect on events that have transpired. I felt this book was slightly different to the previous ones as the focus seemed to be on events leading up to the characters wanting to visit the café rather than the time they spend in the past or the future. I found this really interesting as it was great to know a little more about their past and what brought them to the café. I did still prefer the bits when they actually time travelled but that might be because of a childhood fantasy to travel back in time.
Overall as you can probably tell I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to everyone. I thought the book had a great pace to it and I soon felt drawn into the characters lives. There were a parts that I felt could have been trimmed down a bit but I’m not sure if that was just because I was eager to get to my favourite bit of the series as mentioned above. The ending of the stories where always beautiful and I closed the book with a smile on my face. I really hope there will be more books in this fabulous series!
Huge thanks to Bookbeat and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a copy of this book.
About The Author:
Toshikazu Kawaguchi was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971. He formerly produced, directed and wrote for the theatrical group Sonic Snail. As a playwright, his works include COUPLE, Sunset Song, and Family Time. The novel Before the coffee gets cold is adapted from a 1110 Productions play by Kawaguchi, which won the 10th Suginami Drama Festival grand prize.
When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can’t understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just need someone to help her out.
Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he’s been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!
Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…
My Review:
The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is a fun, romantic read which is perfect to cosy up with this Autumn.
It was great to be back with the fabulous characters visiting Dream Harbour again. This book follows on from The Cinnamon Spice Café but this time the focus is on Hazel and Noah- two characters who were on the edge of the action in the previous book. It was great to get to know them a little bit more and to watch them grow closer over the course of the story. It was fun to learn more about the other characters too and to see how life has been going for them. There’s even a sneaky mention of the new character in the upcoming Christmas book which I thought was very clever.
The action in this book centred around the bookshop which made my bookish heart very happy. I loved following the book clues alongside the couple and seeing where they would take them next. It was so nice to see them start to relax and trust each other as the book goes on as well as seeing Hazel grow in confidence as her relationship with Noah develops. They go on some really fun outings together and I really enjoyed living precariously through them as they experience it both together.
Overall, as you can probably tell, I loved this book and I am really looking forward to reading more books in the series. The book gripped me from the start and I soon found it difficult to put down as I was so invested in the characters. There are a few spicy scenes in this book, but there is also a lovely storyline which I think will definitely appeal to fans of the genre.
About The Author:
Laurie Gilmore writes steamy small-town romance. Her Dream Harbor series is filled with quirky townsfolk, cozy settings, and swoon-worthy romance. She loves finding books with the perfect balance of sweetness and spice and strives for that in her own writing. If you ever wished you lived in Stars Hollow (or that Luke and Lorelai would just get together already!) then her books are definitely for you.
Good morning everyone and happy Wednesday! I had a really exciting day yesterday as the bookshop I work at opened early to celebrate the release of Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.
I was very nervous the night before as I was worried about setting everything up so arrived far earlier than I was meant to. It all went smoothly though and we actually had people waiting outside the shop which was great to see.
It was so fun to talk to the Sally Rooney fans and share some pastries with them all. I might have bought a few too many pastries in my excitement but having sampled some of them myself I can confirm they were very yummy!
We actually sold 11 copies of Intermezzo yesterday and won the fun competition we had going between the stores as to who would sell the most.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Intermezzo and thought it was a great read. Do check my profile for the review I posted on Monday.
The pictures below are my morning set up and the window display I did later that day.
Q: Do you play Chess? A: No, I actually had to Google how to set up the chest board in the window as I didn’t know….
Good afternoon everyone and happy Tuesday. I’m mixing it up and doing a Four For Tuesday for once! These are four books I’m reading or hoping to read for book clubs soon.
🎪The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 🍎 North Wood by Daniel Mason 💕A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston 🌬️The Wind Knows My Name by Isabelle Allende
The Night Circus is the book I’ve chosen for the book club at Rossiter Books that I run and I chose as I wanted to try the group with an easy fantasy read. A Novel Love Story is for the new romance book club that the lovely Eve from @notenoughbookshelfspace has set up. North Wood and The Wind Knows My Name are for The Historical Fiction Book club run by @r4ch4elreads and @thebookdiaryofmisshewlett . If you’d like to join any of the book clubs do contact the tagged people!
I had an exciting day today as the book shop I work at is opened early for the release of Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. We had some great goody bags to give away as well as some pastries and orange juice to give out to our customers. I was a bit nervous about setting everything up so I left extra early to ensure I have it all ready. We actually had some people queuing outside which was exciting!
Are you heading out early to buy Intermezzo today? Or if you’re a bookseller is your bookshop opening early today?
Good morning everyone and happy Monday. I’m excited to share my review of the fantastic Intermezzo by Sally Rooney today.
Intermezzo is out tomorrow and at Rossiter Books we are opening early for people who can’t wait to get their hands on a copy. We (and other independent bookstores) have some fantastic tote bags and other goodies to give away with the book as well as some yummy pastries. I’m actually working tomorrow so if you are local come and see us from 8am!
Book Synopsis :
From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller Normal People, an exquisitely moving story about grief, love and family.
Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties – successful, competent and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women – his enduring first love Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude – a period of desire, despair and possibility – a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
My Review:
Intermezzo is a beautifully written, compelling read about how complex relationships can be and the importance of human connection. It’s going to be a difficult book to review as I want to do the book justice but not give anything away at the same time.
The story follows two brothers; Ivan a competitive chess player and Peter a lawyer. Out of the two brothers I much preferred Ivan who seemed gentler and less conceited than his brother which endeared himself to me instantly. My opinion of Peter did change as the book went on as I understood more about his life and everything that he was dealing with. It was very interesting to follow the brothers as they tried to deal with their grief for their father whilst keeping all the other different sections of their life together at the same time.
I thought this book started off slowly while the author sets the scene but quickly becomes very absorbing. The characters seemed so vivid that I felt like I really got to know them and cared about what happened to them as if they were actual friends. As expected the author weaves some very current topics into her writing which I found interesting to explore alongside the characters. Intermezzo was one of those books that I raced through as I was so enjoying but then tried to ration out the last few pages as I really didn’t want it to end.
Huge thanks to Mel from Faber for sending me a copy to review.
About The Author:
SALLY ROONEY was born in the west of Ireland in 1991. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta and The London Review of Books. Winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award in 2017, she is the author of Conversations with Friends and the editor of the Irish literary journal The Stinging Fly.
Good morning everyone and happy Friday. As you probably know the shortlist for The Booker Prize was announced earlier this week.
❤️Held by Anne Michaels 🧡 Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner 💛 Orbital by Samantha Harvey 💚 James by Percival Everett 💙The Safe Keep by Yael Van Der Wood 💜 Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
I normally don’t pay much attention to The Booker Prize as I always think they’ll be too hard for me, however I’m intrigued by this year’s shortlist as I actually already had four of the books already so they must have appealed to me. I’ve also read the first few pages of Held and thought it was really beautiful so maybe the books are more accessible this year.
I’m working a middle shift today which is always fun as I get to work with someone and have a catch up with my colleagues! I’m hoping to fit in a bit of reading before hand and hopefully finish my review of Intermezzo by Sally Rooney which I’m finding hard to review as I don’t want to give anything away. We’ve then got the mania of Brownie and Beavers runs before I can relax with a glass of wine.
Will you be reading any of the short list? What’s your thoughts on the booker prize?
All the books are out now in hardback apart from Orbital and Held which are out in paperback. You can find out more about the books below ⬇️
Held by Anne Michaels
1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory – a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night, his childhood on a faraway coast – as the snow falls.
1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near another river – alive, but not still whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and endeavours to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts whose messages he cannot understand.
So begins a narrative that spans four generations, moments of connection and consequence igniting and re-igniting as the century unfolds. In luminous moments of desire, comprehension, longing, transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later.
Held is a novel like no other, by a writer at the height of her powers: affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom and compassion.
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Seductive and cunning American spy-for-hire Sadie Smith has been sent by her mysterious but powerful employers to a remote corner of France.
Her mission: to infiltrate a commune of radical eco-activists influenced by the beliefs of an enigmatic elder, Bruno Lacombe, who has rejected civilisation, lives in a Neanderthal cave, and believes the path to enlightenment is a return to primitivism.
Sadie casts her cynical eye over this region of ancient farms and sleepy villages, and finds Bruno’s idealism laughable, but just as she is certain she’s the seductress and puppet master of those she surveils, Bruno Lacombe is seducing her with his ingenious counter-histories, his artful laments, his own tragic story.
Beneath this a taut, dazzling story of espionage and intrigue lies one of a woman caught in the crossfire between the past and the future, and a profound treatise on human history.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Life on our planet as you’ve never seen it before
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
James by Percival Everett
Enthralling and ferociously funny, James by Percival Everett is a profound meditation on identity, belonging and the sacrifices we make to protect the ones we love. It is also a bold reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as the enslaved Jim emerges to reclaim his voice and defy the conventions that have consigned him to the margins.
The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan.
Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town. Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise.
With rumours of a brewing war, James must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most dangerous, and life-changing, odyssey of them all . . .
The Safe Keep by Yael Van Der
An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge – for readers of Patricia Highsmith, Sarah Waters and Ian McEwan’s Atonement.
It is fifteen years after the Second World War, and Isabel has built herself a solitary life of discipline and strict routine in her late mother’s country home, with not a fork or a word out of place. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel’s doorstep – as a guest, there to stay for the season…
In the sweltering heat of summer, Isabel’s desperate need for control reaches boiling point. What happens between the two women leads to a revelation which threatens to unravel all she has ever known.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Burnt out and in need of retreat, a middle-aged woman leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up, taking refuge in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of the Australian outback. She doesn’t believe in God, or know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive existence almost by accident.
But disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signalling a new battle against the rising infestation. Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who disappeared decades before, presumed murdered. And finally, a troubling visitor plunges the narrator further back into her past.
Over The Rainbow Blog 