52 in 52 - book 20! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - JK Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

Somehow news of the Harry Potter saga continuing escaped my radar until the play manuscript had been published as a book! Whilst I am not a Potterhead, and have no interest in the movies or fandom, I do genuinely love the books and enjoyed reading each of the first 7 as they were released whilst I was in primary school. I have very fond memories of sleepovers with my best friend, and her *patiently* waiting for me to finish the chapter she had just finished so that we could talk about it- that's love, no spoilers!- and so my Kmart checkout impulse purchase was this book. 

I work a half day on Fridays, and my beloved is out of town for work, so I decided that my body needed some time in the great outdoors, something that gets pushed to the back of the schedule far too often! And why not bring a book. 

Winter is such a dreadful season, unless you are in paradise! Gorgeous weather. Sunshine, pleasant breeze, and a glorious beach, all to myself. 

Three hours of serious relaxation and the adventure is already over - don't be deceived, a manuscript is formatted to take up more space than a novel, it's sadly shorter than I would have liked! 

But it is a good read, dealing with family dynamics and the crippling effects of history and choices on the present and future.

Take an afternoon off. Open a book! 

52 in 52 - book 19 - Prince of the Blood - Raymond E. Feist

 I finished another book! Whilst the reality that I need 33 books in roughly 16 weeks seems an impossible reality to finish this challenge, I'm going to persist and see how many I can complete anyway. 

Prince of the Blood was another re-read, a book I haven't read for several years. Fantasy and adventure, it is excellently written and unputdownable. 470 pages. 

Twin princess think their father, Prince of Krondor, is unreasonable and takes the fun out of life. The death of their only male cousin, and the news that no other make heir could arise due to the queen's ill health, forces their father to drive home the gravity that the elder twin, Borric, is now the heir to the kingdom- and needed to begin to think and behave as such. And his twin Erland would never be King, but must always publicly support his brother, no matter his actual opinion, lest the kingdom be thrown into civil war at the hands of disagreeing factions. 

A diplomatic assignment to travel to the land of Kesh to attend the Empress' 75th jubilee is required, and Prince Arutha takes this as the opportunity to teach his spoiled court-born sons about the world. It's a risky mission, the Keshians are known for murder and underhanded dealings. 

Just days before they are due to depart, an attempt is made on Prince Borric's life, by none other than a member of the Keshian royal family. 

To prevent risk of offence and war, plans are changed and a small party is sent off along a less direct route, to foil any others from a second attempt. 

A stopover at the magician's academy on Stardock Island sees much change- Jimmy the Hand turned Baron James falls deeply in love with Gamina, daughter of Pug, who can speak and hear thoughts - whilst reviving James who nearly drowned, she learned every secret of his life, and loved him. With this intimate knowledge of his history, he couldn't help but love her back- she was the first person he had no secrets from, the true sense of intimacy. 

The party was delayed for a wedding celebration, and then Gamina joined the travellers on their mission to Kesh. 

A sandstorm gave bandits the perfect opportunity to attack the party, looking for things of value, and prisoners to sell as slaves. Having lost his sword and won magicians robes to replace his own lost tunic in a game of poker, Borric is captured and manages to live through the deadly walk to Durbin. Though barely. 

The rest of the party regroup, and search for the Prince. They must eventually assume him to be the one dead at the bottom of a rock fall where his shoe was found, and prince Erland- now Heir to the Kingdom, must push on and not show grief to those of Kesh, he must behave as the heir. 

With the assistance of a beggar turned failed their, Borric escapes the slavers yards, but the massive hunt put on for him indicated they were aware of his identity but unwilling to share it- saying instead he had murdered the Governor's wife. 

Near death experiences follow them to the docks, a stolen boat, chase by the sea patrols looking for the escaped prisoner, and a full day of bailing out the water of the sinking boat. A rescue by a larger vessel saves the day, they work hard, the captain is fair, but suspicious, and so puts them out before the pilot boards to take the ship into Kesh. 

I wasn't planning on writing this much! I need to get to work! I may update later, if not, awesome read. You should check it out. 

52 in 52 book 16 - Magician - Raymond E Feist

To get back into the groove of reading, I've chosen a saga I've read before, starting with Magician, a book published before I was born and will be a classic long after I'm dead I am sure. 

681 pages of exceptional fantasy that I lost myself in at once. Following the life of an orphan boy, his best friend, and the 'Royal family' in a a small rural community, through exceptional twists and turns. The book covers about 30 years, and it's unputdownable

52 in 52 - book 14 - Pandora's Box - Giselle Green

Pandora's box. "Contains all the evils in the world" in Greek mythology, and although the parallels are drawn here, it is not the goddess Pandora, but the mother/grandmother of the protagonists.

A handy guide on the back of this book lets you prepare yourself- 50% tear-jerker, 20% drama, and 15% each friendship and love.  

For me, the 435 pages held no tears, but it was dramatic, easy to read, and I did stay awake half the night (having started reading at 11pm), two nights in a row to finish it. 

The story of terminally ill Shelly, who has watched her friend with the same disease die a horrible, painful, and drawn out death decides she will not endure the deterioration, she will take matters into her own hands. 

And 2 years as a single mother with full time care of her dying teenage daughter has left Rachel feeling lonely and deserted- by her ex husband, by her best friend as their lives take different courses, and by her mother Pandora who is emigrating to Australia (book set in UK), but not before sending "Pandora's box" full of childhood memories, pain, and best-forgotten-secrets. 

There is love, there is pain, and moral and ethical complexities which make the story interesting and thought provoking. Great read! 

52 in 52 book 13 - Crazy Love - Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski

Amazing. Powerful. Challenging. 

175 pages plus Q&A with the author, this is a hard hitting and challenging book that urges us to walk the talk. Be literal in faith. Don't leave God at church on Sunday. Don't let anyone be surprised when they find out you're Christian- that should be evident in every breath, if you love God and behave as if you do. 

Another book I recommend and I will read again. The call to action in this book has the power to change the world. 

52 in 52 - Book 12 - All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

A book loaned to me by my sister, and it was amazing. 

Not QUITE unputdownable, but pretty close! 

It's been a while since I've been captured in the world of a book whilst "getting on with real life" 

The book is a fictional story based in WWII following the stories of a French girl, Marie-Laure, being raised by her widdower father; and an orphan German boy, Werner, growing up with his younger sister Jutta, and many other orphans under the care of a French house mother, Frau Elena. 

Marie-Laurie spends her days exploring and learning from professors in the museum where her father is the locksmith and master of keys. Despite losing her eyesight at age 6, she is able to use her other senses to perceive the world in colours of a different kind. 

Rumours abound of a cursed diamond, that has made its way through the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms, being stored at the museum. And when the invasion begins, it is with a precious stone that Marie-Laure and her father leave Paris on foot, walking past gridlocked traffic, a standstill caused by the occupants of the city fleeing invasion.  Marie-Laure is unaware of the stone her father carries, and he, not knowing whether it is the cursed diamond or one of 3 copies, anguishes over the risk they will be under the curse. 

The safe house arranged for them is deserted and being looted when they arrive, forcing them to press on to the seaside village his father grew up in, to the family home still occupied by his uncle, Etienne. A man haunted by ghosts of The Great War, Etienne has not left the house in decades, his radio collection allows him to be in touch with the world. 

Werner, being an orphan, will be forced into work in the coal mine as soon as he turns 15. The very place his father died. He and Jutta spend their days exploring, scavenging for extra food for the orphanage, finding odds and ends that have been discarded, and Werner's bright mind sees the patterns, asks questions, invents. He wants to be an engineer, an inventor... He fixes a found radio, then improves it, and before he knows it he is renowned as the radio repairman for the village. It is through this that he is tested and taken in to a excellent school, not knowing at the time of acceptance that he was being trained for war. 

As you can probably tell, this book has made an impression upon me. I will not spoil any more. It is a great read. 530 pages, excellently written. I highly recommend it. 

52 in 52 - Book 7 - The Life Left Behind - Edith Copeman

I was privileged enough to be the first one to read the first draft of this book, written by none other than my sister. My real-life-author, little sister. I am so proud of her. I read this as a ebook from iBooks, but it's also available to order online as a paperback or beautiful hardcover book.

This book tells a fictional tale on a very non-fictional topic - Mental Health. In Australia, and from what I understand many other countries and cultures around the world, mental health is stigmatised enormously. This actually exacerbates many mental health issues, balloons the issue quickly as the person doesn't feel they can get help to deal with it without judgement or being ostracised by those they love... And often times they are right.

The Life Left Behind covers addiction, depression, anxiety, guilt, and much more. I know more than a couple of John Green books grace the author's library, and his very raw and relatable style is echoed as the characters come to life on her pages. 

I wouldn't give this book to a child or young teen, but I urge everyone else to read it. We need to embrace those around us who need our help, and that means the mental health stigma needs to go. There is no place for it. 

52 in 52 - Book 6 - The Dressmaker - Rosalie Ham

The second book I managed to read (on one domestic flight- Australia, you're a mighty country!) was The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham. This is an Aussie book, set in Victoria, and recently has been released as a movie. I heard about the movie before I knew it was a book, but still haven't seen the movie. 

Just under 300 pages, another great read. 

Small towns are often full of drama and gossip, and Dungatar is no exception. Myrtle "Tilly" was forced to leave town as a young child, ostracised because her mother was unwed, abused by her school mates, and blamed for the death of one of her bullies, she was sent away to school in Melbourne, against the will of her mother, who was kept in the dark about her whereabouts and slowly lost her sanity whilst missing her daughter. 

Leaving school in Melbourne to study dressmaking across the globe, she became an exceptional seamstress and designer. Personal tragedy left her feeling alone and defeated, prompting a decision to go back to find and look after her mother. When she couldn't make letter or phone contact, she knew there was no option but to go back to Dungatar. Finding her mother neglected and mad, she fed and nursed her, cleaned and aired the house, and slowly her mother's sanity was restored- though her acid wit was still a constant companion. Though the majority held on to their pre conceived opinion of Tilly, a few were her allies. Tilly's exceptional skills gained her work from the villagers, though not respect or payment - it seems there were cash flow problems due greed and "priorities" 

Vicious and hateful, the village seems doomed from the start, Tilly gets her revenge in the end, leaving the town in her wake with her beloved Singer after the death of both her mother and the man she loved. 

I can't wait to see the movie! It is always good to see someone else's interpretation! 

Happy Australia Day!! 

52 in 52 BOOK 5 - The Beach Cafe - Lucy Diamond

A whirlwind trip across the country for a wedding is always a good opportunity to get into some new books! 8 took the book I was reading with me, but found another 2 at the airport and read both of them whilst away - now I'm back I can get back into The Best Yes ( as well as an audiobook I'm listening to, and an ebook that's on the go....) 

So, The Beach Cafe was a nice easy read, a little under 500 pages, a story of trials and success. Evie has always been the black sheep of her family, and following the tragic and untimely death of her Aunt, she inherits a cafe on the beach in the village that she spent countless childhood holidays. Her family has only doubts in her ability to manage a cafe, and are convinced failure is the only outcome unless she sells the cafe. 

Walking out of a workplace filled with sexual harassment and abuse causes tension between Evie and her long term boyfriend, who is a serious, sensible man, not at all fond of spontaneity or things he deems "irresponsible". Evie heads out of town to her new cafe to try and sort out the staff and how the cafe is actually - a far more daunting task then expected when she comes against upset and angry locals who miss her Aunt, also believing the gossip that Evie will take the easy way out and sell the cafe to some hot shot developer; staff who leave much to be desired; and a cafe surrounded by rubbish, tables filled with dirty dishes, no stock in the kitchen, and customers being served off ham in their sandwiches... Not a great start! 

When her temp agency calls to let her know another position has come up, she feels she has no choice but to go back to the city, her boyfriend, and the harsh judgement of her family. But this position is horrible too, and the judgement of her family is getting her down... 

A candid conversation with her best friend gets her mind ticking... A phone call from her only friend in the village with bad reports about the cafe staff makes up her mind...

Deciding to leave her new job and to go back to her cafe. 

A decision that pushes the tension in her relationship to breaking point... 

So Evie and her best friend pack up all of Evie's belongings and jump in the car without looking back. 

The hurdles just keep coming, it seems nothing can go right for Evie, but she is determined to finally succeed. Her cafe grows in strength and popularity, regaining the joy that it had under the hands of her Aunt. Finally Evie belongs, this is her village, and they embrace her and her cafe. 

Light reading, enjoyable read, good fun.