Review: 'We That Are Left' by Juliet Greenwood (2014)

August 4th, 1914: ‘It was the day of champagne and raspberries, the day the world changed.’
Elin lives a luxurious but lonely life at Hiram Hall. Her husband Hugo loves her but he has never recovered from the Boer War. Now another war threatens to destroy everything she knows.
With Hugo at the front, and her cousin Alice and friend Mouse working for the war effort, Elin has to learn to run the estate in Cornwall, growing much needed food, sharing her mother’s recipes and making new friends – and enemies.
But when Mouse is in danger, Elin must face up to the horrors in France herself. And when the Great War is finally over, Elin’s battles prove to have only just begun.
At the start of this year I reviewed the lovely ‘Mr. Perfect’ by Joanna Davies (click here to read my review), which was a book published by Welsh publisher Honno. Honno is an independent co-operative press run by women and committed to bringing the best in Welsh women’s writing. I’m part Welsh myself and a big fan of women’s fiction, so when I was asked by Honno to read and review Juliet Greenwood’s novel ‘We That Are Left’, which was released in February 2014, I immediately said yes. I wasn’t familiar with Juliet Greenwood’s work, but her debut novel ‘Eden’s Garden’ was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize 2013-2014. I looked forward to picking up this book and kept my fingers crossed for another fabulous Honno read!
It’s 1914 and Elin is married to Hugo, with whom she lives a comfortable but lonesome life at Hiram Hall. Hugo fought in the Boer War, something he doesn’t talk about but has influenced his life for the long run. Elin has a feeling her marriage isn’t going anywhere, but she doesn’t dare to do anything about it. Then World War I suddenly takes over everyone’s lives and Hugo leaves Elin behind to run the estate. While Elin’s cousin Alice and good friend Margaret work for the war effort, Elin is discovering a new side to herself and she realises there is so much more to life than being the obedient wife. But the war is unpredictable, and Elin finds herself thrown in different directions with no idea what her life will look like as soon as things will calm down again...
‘We That Are Left’ is Juliet Greenwood’s third novel and I can’t believe it took me this long to discover her work! I was completely enthralled by this book from start to finish and it’s one of the best wartime books I’ve read over the past couple of years. The main protagonist, Elin, is a fascinating heroine whose story I really enjoyed. Elin is struggling to find her own identity as a woman; before the war she is trying her best to be a good and obedient wife, but the outbreak of World War I changes everything and she discovers there’s much more and she can’t go back to her old life. Next to Elin, there’s a wonderful cast of well-drawn characters, who each bring their own unique something to the story. I particularly loved Lady Margaret Northolme, known as Mouse to her friends, who becomes Elin’s close friend, and Elin’s cousin Alice. 
The story is mainly set in Cornwall, Anglesey and France, and the descriptions blew me away. Juliet Greenwood’s writing is really descriptive and almost enchanting; it made it so easy to imagine everything in my head, it was almost like a film. It is obvious the author did a lot of research and this definitely shows and makes the story even stronger. I already look forward to reading some of her other work in the future, with the hope of it being just as good as this particular book. ‘We That Are Left’ is an engrossing and moving novel with at its core a woman’s search for her own identity in the time of World War I; an absolute pleasure to read. Rating:

9/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Feature: Once Upon a Story...

 'Once Upon a Story' is a weekly feature in which we go back in time and focus  on a specific novel that was released in the same month we're in right now (in this case May), but a few years back! It can be a women's fiction classic from the 1990's or perhaps a great chick lit read from 2011. I thought it would be nice to not just focus on recent releases, but also take the chance to jump back in time once a week and look back at wonderful reads that have been released over the years!

This week, we're travelling back to October 2009 to look back at...

Heiress and celebrity Birdie Sederburg has been used to getting everything she wants. That is, until hot young actor Dean Stevenson (quite literally) crashes into her life.
Birdie's convinced she's found The One. But Dean is only in it for his career, and is resisting her charm offensive. Still, Birdie is not prepared to admit defeat. As her obsession with Dean grows, she realises she may have to do something drastic to make him fall in love with her.
But is getting herself kidnapped in order to win his heart as insane as it sounds?
How far would you go for love?

Author Chrissie Manby has been releasing wonderful chick lit novels for quite some time now. I haven't been able to read her most recent release, 'A Proper Family Holiday' (which was released in June 2014) yet, but I'm sure it's another fabulous read to sit down with on a rainy Autumn afternoon! However, today I want to place the spotlight on one of Chrissie's older books, namely the 2009 release 'Crazy in Love.' The novel tells the story of celebrity Birdie Sederburg who falls head over heels in love with heartthrob Dean Stevenson. He is, however, only in it for his career. Birdie decides to take things into her own hands, planning something drastic to make sure Dean will fall for her... This happens to be another Chrissie Manby read I haven't read myself (yet), but it sounds like a fun and great read which I'm sure any chick lit fan will enjoy! 

Be sure to visit the blog next week for another blast from chick lit past with 'Once Upon a Story...'!

Review: 'Love Me or Leave Me' by Claudia Carroll (2014)

‘Welcome to the Hope Street Hotel – where you check in married, and check out single.’
Two years ago Chloe Townsend was dumped at the altar and had to leave behind everything that mattered to her. Even now she’s finding it hard to move forward. That is until she lands an incredible job, running a brand new boutique hotel. Suddenly she’s starting to put her life back together, and, apart from the fact that her hard-to-please new boss is breathing down her neck, things are looking good.
But what goes on in the Hope Street Hotel is a far cry from anything she’s ever dealt with before. This is a pioneering ‘divorce hotel’ designed to make every aspect of breaking up efficient and pain-free. In one single weekend, Chloe’s team promises to take care of everything – legal, technical, emotional – and guests check out carefree and single.
No one is better qualified than Chloe to understand what couples need when their relationship is at breaking point, but she soon finds herself having to tackle the heartbreak she’s tried to bury. In particular three couples need her help – Jo and Dave, Lucy and Andrew, and Kirk and Dawn – and the opening weekend is full of revelation, trouble, memories happy and sad, facts that need facing, and some very big surprises.
It’s time to move on. And it soon becomes clear that some endings are, in fact, very exciting new beginnings …   On the 23rd of October the paperback version of Claudia Carroll's latest novel, 'Love Me or Leave Me', was released. This is Claudia's 11th book and I have to say I was really excited about this particular October release. I was first introduced to Claudia's writing last year when I reviewed 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' (click here to read my review) and I was curious to check out more of her work. I immediately fell in love with the wonderful cover of 'Love Me or Leave Me' and the unique storyline. I was really excited when I found a review copy of the book on my doormat a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to get started in it!   Chloe Townsend was left at the altar two years ago and the only escape she saw at that moment was to leave her whole life in Dublin behind to start over in London. Now, a fantastic job opportunity has brought her back to Dublin and Chloe plans on making the best of it. She has been offered the chance to run a new boutique hotel called the Hope Street Hotel which isn't like any other place. It's a divorce hotel; a place where couples can go to make their break-up as efficient as possible. Chloe is willing to do anything possible to keep the hotel guests satisfied and to make sure the opening weekend is a big success, but things get a bit tricky as soon as the couples arrive, Chloe's boss decides to want to keep a close eye on everything, and her ex-fiancee decides to make an unexpected appearance...    If I hadn't already been convinced by Claudia Carroll's amazing story-telling abilities, this book would have definitely done the trick. 'Love Me or Leave Me' is, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining and well-written chick lit novels I've read in the past couple of months. I already thought the start of the book was great; several wedding invitations from the couples the reader will be introduced to later. I loved this and it made me curious to read on. Thankfully, it only got even better after that great start. The book has a unique and captivating plotline; I'd honestly never heard of the idea of a divorce hotel before picking up this novel. The story, which is told from different female perspectives, kept me guessing and I was really curious to find out what would happen to all the characters.   One of the absolute strengths of the novel is Claudia Carroll's knack for creating interesting and easily loveable characters. The main protagonist, Chloe, is a wonderful character and I liked her from page 1. Next to Chloe, the main focus lies in 3 couples who are spending the weekend at the Hope Street Hotel: Dawn and Kirk, Jo and Dave, and Lucy and Andrew. These characters are forced to have a good think about their short marriages and whether they want to end things or give it another shot. I could continue talking about this book in much more detail for hours, but I'd rather have someone pick up the book itself and read it! 'Love Me or Leave Me' is a wonderful and uplifting romantic comedy with a truly captivating plotline and a brilliant mix of characters; a brilliant read! Rating:

10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.