Current Reads

I said I'd give Turnbull's books another try after the disappointment I felt in Whistle and I'll Come.  I'm so glad that I did!  First I read The Nightingale and found myself immediately immersed in the story and the mystery of the Nightingale music box that disappeared.  This was a wonderful read.  The characters were so real to me that I fancied I could hear their speaking voices.  The story takes place in the very early 1900's when automobiles were less common in small rural towns.  The young heroine is a school teacher, her housemaid/nurse her companion.  How to make ends meet is the first trouble to arise and from there the book goes on.  What transpires over the summer months is much like what happens in any small town.  Tragedy, love, triumph are all there.

My second book by Turnbull The Wedding Bargain takes place in the 1930's.  Thirty year old Eliza is about to resign her job as secretary to powerful Dan Morgan when he proposes.  I made one mistake with this book.  I started it at 10pm Saturday night and meant to read about an hour.  I didn't stop reading until after 1am!  I picked it up as soon as I could on Sunday and had finished it by end of the day.  Yes, it truly was that good. Yes, there's a mystery, but it doesn't really come in until towards the end of the book.  I loved the descriptions of rooms and clothes and getting to know the main characters.  I will definitely read both these books again in the future.

D. E. Stevenson's book Blow the Wind Southerly was up to her usual excellent standard of character development, description of place and romance.  Charlotte Fairlie is the central character, headmistress of a girl's boarding school.  Charlotte becomes involved in the lives of two of her students, and realizes her own intrinsic loneliness. 

True To Form  by Elizabeth Berg is a coming of age story.  13yo army brat Katie learns lessons about marriage, friendship and life in general in this story.  The story is told in Katie's voice.  I've enjoyed this book.  Admittedly I have taken my own sweet time reading it, a chapter here and a chapter there.  This book is full of wisdom and observations about every day life things.