My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

This book was written by one of my favourite authors, Daphne Du Maurier (to see my post about one of her most famous books, Rebecca, click here).

My Cousin Rachel is another gripping read, again, a suspenseful romance about confused love and desire.

Philip Ashley, orphaned at a young age, was raised by his older cousin, Ambrose. Ambrose shows no interest in marriage and expects Philip to be the heir of his grand house in Cornwall (the vast majority of Du Maurier's novels are based in Cornwall as she lived her whole life there and loved the place).

However, when Ambrose departs to Florence after being recommended to by his doctor he suddenly falls in love and marries, a beautiful Italian woman - who has links back to Cornwall.

After receiving suspicious letters from Ambrose telling Philip to come to Italy urgently Philip leaves England. On getting to Florence he discoverers that his cousin has suddenly died and his wife had left Florence.

Not too long later Ambrose's widow - Rachel - comes to Cornwall. Philip hates her and is determined to make her pay for killing his cousin yet Rachel stays longer with him than expected and Philip ends up falling in love with her.

So was Ambrose's death merely due to illness? Was Rachel involved in it? Will Philip ever discover the truth and get the woman that he loves?

This is an excellent book and I would highly recommend reading it, although it is a romance it does lure the reader into a world of lies, death and uncertainty. I give this book a definite 9 out of 10!

The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

The Other Countess is a wonderful book set in the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First.

Ellie has a meaningless Spanish title, her father is determined to find gold by alchemy but it seems impossible. She has no fortune yet she has fallen in love with the young Earl of Dorset.

Will Lacey is the Earl of Dorset, however his family have no money at all. Will realises that he must marry a woman of great fortune or his family will be in ruins. However, Will is falling in love with Ellie.

Is love greater than gold?

Will Will ever stop hating Ellie for what her father has done to his family (Will's father funded the alchemist and when he was unsuccessful plunged the Lacey's into poverty)? 

Read this excellent book to find out. I really enjoyed this book as I love any historical romances I give it a nine out of ten!

Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer

Friday's child is a wonderful historical comedy romance set in the eighteenth century.

The story begins when Sherry (a Viscount) proposes to the beautiful Isabella, however when she rejects him Sherry is determined to marry the first woman he sees to spite his uncle. If he marries now he will be able to get the family house and fortune straight away instead of waiting for his twenty-fifth birthday.

The first woman he comes across is his old play-mate, Hero. Hero is an orphan living with her horrible cousin Jane and her two daughters. Sherry decides to marry her (he did promise), even more so when he discoverers she will be sent off to become a governess.

So Hero and Sherry escape to London and automatically get married. Hero slowly learns how to live Sherry's extravagant lifestyle and heartily enjoys herself along the way. She becomes great friends with Sherry's own friends; Ferdy Fakenham, George (who is head over heels for Isabella) and Gil Ringwood.

Hero still isn't too sure how a lady behaves and she keeps on embarrassing herself and Sherry throughout the book.

Hero has always loved Sherry but will Sherry ever realise how much he loves her? You'll have to read the book to find out. I loved this book as it was very amusing and a lovely tale; I give it a nine out of ten.

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

This is the third book in the series, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Here is my review for the first book and here for the second book.

The first book is told by Princess Anidori/Isi and the second is told by her friend Enna. This third book is about their friend, Razo an animal worker in the Bayern kingdom. Razo has always wanted to be in the King's army, however only City people can, not lowly Forest Borns. So it's a big surprise for Razo when the King asks him to join the army. Nobody respects him as he is not a great fighter like everybody else. Can Razo prove himself? All of his friends are in love, can he find the woman of his dreams? This is a fantastic book for anybody who loves fantasy books! I give it a nine out of ten!

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison

This is a great book, which was set on a true story about Jane Austen's cousin - Jenny.

In this novel Jenny goes to stay with her cousin, Jane, when they were both in their teenage years. This novel is written like a diary, all about Jenny's worries, her cousin and all of Jane's handsome brothers and also about how Jenny falls in love with a dashing young man for the first time in her life after meeting him unexpectedly. This is a great novel especially if you love anything about the life of Jane Austen. I give this novel a nine out of ten!

Sorry....

I am so sorry that I haven't blogged in ages as I have been reading more, sewing more and cooking more. Sadly, this means that it is harder for me to remember what exactly happened in the books I have been reading. So just for a short while I am going to be writing very brief reviews about the books I have been reading; what they are basically about, what I thought about them etc. So here goes....

Triss by Brian Jacques

Triss is one of the books in the Brian Jacques series called The Redwall Books. This book is telling three stories at once that all link into one another in the end; the story of Triss and her friends escaping slavery of the evil ferrets, the creatures of Redwall Abbey searching for a mysterious place near their Abbey and two creatures that have decided to sail the seas. This is an excellent  and very interesting book. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer

Why Shoot a Butler? is a fantastic murder mystery book and I really enjoyed it as it constantly kept me guessing. This book was written in about 1921 so the things that happen and the language is a bit different from today.
The book starts off when the main character, Mr Frank Amberly - who is in his twenties - is going to visit his aunt, uncle and cousin, when he gets lost on the road after taking a "short-cut". He stops for directions when he sees a car with a woman standing outside of it. Inside the car, it turns out, is a dead man, and the woman - Shirley - is carrying a fully loaded gun.

It turns out that the dead man is the butler of Mr Amberly's cousin's - Felicity - best friend's step-brother - Basil Fountain. Basil's uncle died a little while before the book is set leaving everything (including the house with the butler in it) he owned to Basil. However, the dead butler had left behind a lot more money than a butler would normally do.

Can Mr Amberly work out who did it while other murders and crimes are going on. With midnight excursions chasing criminals, balls, break-ins and wills this book is excellent and if you like a good murder mystery you'll love this. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

This is the sequel of the amazing book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief which I reviewed a few posts ago.
It's time for Percy, Annabeth and a Cyclopes called Tyson that went to Percy's school to go back to Camp Half Blood.However the Camp's borders have gone down and monsters are attacking it from all sides. The camp is in uproar.

The Camp got into such a bad state because someone poisoned Thalia's tree. The story about Thalia's tree is that about six years ago three demi-gods with the help of Grover where going to Camp Half Blood. These three demi gods where Annabeth - daughter of Athena- Luke - son of Hermes - and Thalia - daughter of Zeus. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades though had been forbidden to have anymore children with humans. So monsters came to attack the four as they made their way to Camp Half Blood. When the got to Half Blood Hill, they were attacked by such a fierce monster that Thalia gave up her life to save her friends. But before she could die Zeus turned her into a pine tree.

People believe that it was Chiron who poisoned the tree so he has been banished from Camp Half Blood and the activities director who replaced him hates Percy and his friends.

Now that the pine tree has been poisoned the Camp will eventually crumble unless someone finds the Golden Fleece to save the tree and the Camp. The other bad thing is that Grover on his quest to find Pan got kidnapped by a Cyclopes - Polyphemus. Grover pretends that he's a female cyclopes and that he wants to marry Polyphemus. He tells Polyphemus that he will marry him once he has finished the train for his wedding dress he weaves by day and unweaves by night.

Percy, Annabeth and Tyson must save the Camp and Grover before it's to late by saving Grover and the Golden Fleece from the Sea of Monsters aka the Bermuda Triangle. Can they save them and can the prove Chiron's innocence? Read the book to find out!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I give it a 9 out of 10!

Cat amongst the pigeons by Julia Golding

This is by me Daisy Locket.

It is called cat among the pigeons by Julia Golding

This book is the seakell of The Diamond of Drury lane by Julia Golding . It is also a fab book i hope you liked it or you will like it if you read it .

Pedro used to be a salve when he and his family where captered by the slave traders and sold to a man called Mr Hawkins and he comes back to get Pedro. It's great but some bits are a little freaky and scary.

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

This was another fantastic book sent to me and my mum by Diana! I really enjoyed this book and found it very interesting.

This book is about a girl of about 18 who has lived in an orphanage all of her life. She is called Jerusha Abbott but she hates Jerusha so she changes her name to Judy. One of the founders of the orphanage sees a piece of her excellent writing and think that she is good enough to go to college. He sends her to a girls college which is very different from the orphanage.

In exchange for the fees of being sent to the college, Judy is told that she must write letters to the man who sent her to the college, but not to expect any back. She knows absolutely nothing about this man. She is told that she must write them to Mr John Smith, but she calls him Daddy Long Legs in his letters. Judy has no idea if he even reads her letters or just chucks them in the bin!

I really enjoyed this book as the letters that Judy writes get more and more interesting about her life and what's happening.

I would recommend this book to any one who enjoys reading books with letters in them as it was a really great read! Thank you Diana! I would definitely give it a 9 out of 10.

Feather Boy by Nicky Singer

I really enjoyed this book as I thought it was great. I have also seen the TV version of it which was on when I was a bit younger but I was happy to remind myself of the story again! Thank you Michaela for letting me borrow this book!
Feather Boy is about a boy called Robert Nobel who gets badly bullied at school. The boy who bullies him is called Niker and he really hates Robert or Norbert as he calls him.

One day a woman called Catherine comes into Robert's class, she says she wants some volunteers to do a course with the Elders at an Elderly home nearby. The Elder that Robert gets is an old woman called Edith Sorrel. Everybody thinks that Edith is a bit mental with old age.

Edith starts asking Robert to do things for her, she asks him to go to an old derelict house called Chance House in St Aybuns. Rumour has it that a boy who thought that he could fly jumped out of the top floor there and that he fell to his death. Edith Sorrel tells Robert to go there and she also tells him that he can fly. At one point Edith even asks Robert to make her a coat of feathers to save her.

This was a really interesting book about how Robert deals with the bullying and about how he solves out the mystery about the connection between the boy who died and Edith Sorrel. I really enjoyed this book and I give it a 9 out of 10. Thank you Michaela for letting me borrow this book!

Sorry that I haven't blogged in ages but I've been ill :0(

Curtain Up / Theatre Shoes by Noel Sreatfeild

This is another book sent to me by Ladydi. This is sometimes known as Curtain Up and sometimes as Theatre Shoes. The version Diana sent me is called Curtain Up. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was great! (Are my posts all starting to sound like that, sorry if they are it's just because I love all of these books!)


Curtain Up is about the three Forbes children; Sorrel, Mark and Holly. This book is set during World War Two. It is about how the three children are sent to London to live with their grandmother. Grandmother soon sends the three children to Madame Fidolia's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. Those of you who have read or watched Ballet Shoes also by Noel Streatfeild will know that this is the same academy that the Fossil sisters (Pauline, Petrova and Posy) went to.

The Forbes children know that they have a lot of expectations to live up to. Their mother was a Warren and the Warren family are meant to have great abilities on the stage. Sorrel is particularly good at acting, Mark is good at singing and also imagining himself as other creatures in other places, Holly is quite good at dancing.

I really enjoyed this book as it mirrors Ballet Shoes. This was I great book and I loved it so I am going to give it a 9 out of 10.

Ghosts Who Went To School by Judith Spearing

This book was written by Ladydi's, mother and I really enjoyed reading it as it was very interesting!

The book is about a ghost called Wilbur who wants to go to school. He starts going but the class notice something is going on as a pencil starts writing by itself. After a while Wilbur starts to appear, and every one in the class really likes him. The teacher Miss Hartley says he can stay if he doesn't disappear too much.

Things start to happen as the bank want to sell Wilbur's family's house but they have to do their best to get the bank not to sell it. Wilbur's family are all ghosts his mum, dad, his brother Mortimer and him all died when they were struck by lightning. Normally no-one comes near their house because it is haunted so the family get a suprise when people from the bank come to try and sell it.

This book is really interesting and it is about how Wilbur and his family have to live with other people. I really enjoyed this book even though it is really written for younger readers as it is very funny and exciting. I would give it a 9 out of 10. Thank you so much to Diana for letting me borrow this book!

Threads by Sophia Bennett

I absolutely adored Threads by Sophia Bennett, this is the second time I have read but I still loved it as much as the first time I read it.

This book is mainly about fashion and also the Invisible Children living horrible lives in countries where terrible things happen. Threads is about four girls Nonie, who tells the story, Jenny, Edie and Crow. They all have completely different personalities. Nonie has always wanted to work for some massive fashion designer(even if it's just making the tea) and she wears some pretty weird clothes. Jenny has recently starred in a Hollywood movie called Kid Code. Edie wants to save the world and get lots of CV points to get to Harvard University. Crow is a girl of twelve who comes from Uganda and she draws and makes fantastic clothes.

Jenny and Nonie first spot Crow in their favourite museum in London (the Victoria and Albert Museum or the V and A) wearing pink fairy wings and a tutu sketching clothes. But when Crow is provided with the right materials she can make amazing dresses and clothes and even ends up making them for celebrities.

This is a great book for anyone who loves fashion or just wants a great, interesting read. The book is also about the Invisible Children who live in countries where there are terrible wars and they have to walk every night to find safety. I absolutely loved this book so I give it a 9 out of 10.

Patsie's Bricks by Lillian Staple Mead

Patsie's Bricks is an absolutely beautiful and very sad book.


It is about a little girl called Patsie, her older brother Tim and her mother who has a terrible cough, they are extremely poor. Patsie and her mother stay in a lodging house and Tim has to sleep outside at all times of the year.

The book is set around the 1900's and this copy was given to my Great-Great-Aunt in 1906 and was passed down to her sister, my Gran-Gran, who used to read this book to my mum when she was a little girl. Gran-Gran gave it to mum in 1982 when she was 11 and it is her most treasured book.

The story really starts when Patsie and Tim's mum dies and they go to live in two separate Orphanages a girl one and a boy one. There isn't enough room for their little friend Blossom, whose parents died when she was very young and she has been living on the streets ever since. Patsie has always wanted to be a servant and learns to be one, she thinks that reading and writing isn't worth doing if she's going to become a servant, but she learns a valuable lesson from her lovely house-mother, Mrs Grant.

Patsie starts going to stay with some lovely people who live in the country at the summer. These people are called Aunt Rachel, Grandmother, Grandfather, Winnie and Elsie. Patsie loves staying with them.

Patsie, Blossom and Tim decide to collect as much money as possible to help for a new orphanage to be built where Blossom can live and Patsie decides to make a little chart with bricks on to sell - each brick is worth six pence.

One day Aunt Rachel, Winnie, Patsie, Elsie and a few little children who live in the country go on a picnic. It suddenly starts to rain and they all get drenched. Patsie develops a cough which gets worse and worse. It is so bad that Patsie needs to go to hospital. Patsie's situation worsens and eventually, sadly, she dies.

Patsie's grown-up friend Miss Pearl who is quite rich promised Patsie that she would collect the rest of the money for her (they need three thousand pounds to build the orphanage). Miss Pearl collects the money and the new Orphanage is built which Blossom goes to. Meanwhile Tim gets the chance to go and live in Canada and work as a farmer.

This book is very beautiful and very sad because of this I will give it a 9 out of 10. (Although mum is really cross about this. She thinks it should definitely be a 10/10!)

9/10

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild

White boots is a brilliant story by Noel Streatfeild.

It is about a little girl called Harriet who has been told by her doctor that she needs to take up ice-skating for her health. Harriet's family is quite poor and they can't really afford the skating lessons or boots. The manager of the ice rink kindly lets her go to the rink for free. She then makes a new friend, Lalla, who helps her with her ice-skating. Lalla has been skating since she was three and as Harriet gets better and better at ice-skating the more jealous Lalla becomes. I loved the family that Harriet had a kind nice family, her mother, father and three brothers, Alec - who knows his dream job,Toby - a brilliant mathematician and Edward - the show-off who everybody loves. Lalla's family is completely the opposite her Aunt Claudia - who wants her to be a skating star, her kind step-uncle David and her nurse Nana. The characters in this story stay with you forever. This book is set and written in the early 1950's. You want this book to go on and on and are sad when it's ended. The only criticism I have about it is that the end is rushed otherwise it's a fantastic book and I strongly advise you to read it. I would give this book a 9 out of 10.

I would say this book is probably from 9 upwards and anyone older will also probably enjoy it!

9/10