Tag: Fiction

Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

by violetwoolandwords12 Comments on The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

I just finished The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abie Daré and I’m in awe. This is such a powerful, heart-wrenching book from such an unique and beautiful voice.

Just from turning the first few pages, I had a sense I was going to love this book and my inclination wasn’t wrong. This book amazed me! The books I rate 5/5 Stars are books which on top of being well-written with well developed characters and plot lines, also do something emotionally for me. This was certainly one of them.

That day, I tell myself that even if I am not getting anything in this life, I will go to school. I will finish my primary and secondary and university schooling and become a teacher because I don’t want any kind of voice….I want a louding voice.”

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
Continue reading “The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré” →
Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel: Forgery and Survival During WW2

by violetwoolandwords4 Comments on The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel: Forgery and Survival During WW2
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel: Forgery and Survival During WW2

Carefully crafting the world around which forgery thrived, The Book of Lost Names opens a door into the underground world of the 1940s, and gives us a glimpse of what it could have been like to work in the secret cells of the Resistance.

Alternating between 2005 and the 1940s (with the majority of the novel set in WW2) it chronicles how this illegal act became a vital source of resistance work and one of the core means of survival and escape in World War Two.

Eva Traube is a young Jewish Frenchwoman living in Paris and attending university when she is told a shocking and unbelievable rumour: thousands of foreign-born Jews are about to be rounded up in Paris. Although, Eva herself is French, her parents are Polish and could be in danger if these rumours are true. And yet first, Eva doesn’t believe them–they are too horrible, too unimaginably unjust to be plausible until the unimaginable happens.

Continue reading “The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel: Forgery and Survival During WW2” →
Book Lists, www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: June 10, 2020

by violetwoolandwords1 Comment on WWW Wednesday: June 10, 2020
WWW Wednesday: June 10, 2020

Free picture thanks to Pexels.com

This prompt is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. To participate you just have to answer these questions:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What have you recently finished reading?
  3. What are you going to read next?

What Are You Currently Reading?

I’m currently reading too many books at the same time, but there’s so many good books out there I can’t help myself! I recently purchased The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré and am loving it. I’m pretty sure it will be a five-star read for me. It’s one of my favourite books so far for 2020. I’ll post a review once I’m finished it.

I also love that I have a hard copy of the book. E-books are a great way to access books, especially during COVID times and I really appreciate that I can access e-books through my library system and through Open Books and Net Galley and I’m also very attached to the hardcover and paperback versions. I just love the feel of holding a book and turning the pages, rather than staring at a computer screen.

I started reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi through my local library system. I was struck by Yaa Gyasi’s breathtaking prose from the opening paragraph. Her writing is simply beautiful! I’m looking forward to reading this book.

Continue reading “WWW Wednesday: June 10, 2020” →
Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

Wings of a Flying Tiger by Iris Yang

by violetwoolandwords4 Comments on Wings of a Flying Tiger by Iris Yang
Wings of a Flying Tiger by Iris Yang

*This review contains some affiliate links.*

Wings of a Flying Tiger by Iris Yang is a haunting and heartbreaking novel set in China just before the beginning of World War Two. It shows a side of history that can be overlooked and offers a raw, vivid picture of the atrocities committed in the name of war and country.

The pages are filled with so much anguish and unimaginable suffering that it can be hard to take in at times, and at the same time it voices the courageous inner strength and convictions of it’s central characters. It is a story of pain and injustice, as well as a message of hope and perseverance in the face of bitter brutality.

The novel opens days before the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, which is also known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, where thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were slaughtered, and an estimated 20,000 women were raped and then killed.

Jasmine is a courageous, daring young woman, who must at times hide her beauty to protect herself, and fight for survival in her war-torn home. When she discovers Danny, a fallen American pilot who is part of a movement called the ‘Flying Tigers,’ Jasmine goes to great lengths to protect him, falling in love with him along the way. However, loving him may come at a great cost.

Continue reading “Wings of a Flying Tiger by Iris Yang” →
Book Lists, Historical Fiction, top-ten-tuesday

Top-Ten-Tuesday: Favourite First Lines

by violetwoolandwords5 Comments on Top-Ten-Tuesday: Favourite First Lines
Top-Ten-Tuesday: Favourite First Lines

I’m participating in the Top Ten Tuesday, which was created by The Broke and the Bookish in 2010 and moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in 2018. This is my first time participating.

*At no cost to the reader this post contains affiliate links, however if you end up buying the book through this link, I will receive a small commission.*

Here are ten of my favourite opening lines from some of my favourite books:

  1. The Nightingale by Kristan Hannah This is one of my favourite books. Reading it was like watching a movie unfold. I’m looking forward to the movie adaptation coming out Dec, 2021.


If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

The Nightingale–Kristin Hannah

Continue reading “Top-Ten-Tuesday: Favourite First Lines” →
Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

Last Year’s Reads: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

by violetwoolandwords6 Comments on Last Year’s Reads: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Last Year’s Reads: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

*Post Contains Affiliate Links*

I wrote a review for this book last year, however, I never got around to starting a blog and publishing it. Since this is one of my very favourite books I would like to share my review with you now.

“To know what a person has done, and to know who a person is, are very different things.”

Burial Rites–Hannah Kent

Based on a true story, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last person to be executed in Iceland in 1830. Convicted of the murder of two men, Agnes is imprisoned on a farm in Northern Iceland to await her execution. Surrounded by the family imprisoning her and the young priest she has chosen as her spiritual advisor, Agnes begins to make sense of the events which led up to her current situation as her life is drawing to a close.

Continue reading “Last Year’s Reads: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent” →
Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton

by violetwoolandwords6 Comments on The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton
The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton

*This post contains affiliate links*

The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton captures the story of a young girl growing up in 17th Century England. H as she is called, chronicles daily life, both in the time leading up to the Plague and Great Fire of London and it’s aftermath.

She records her many hardships and adventures (with more hardships than adventures to say the least)–growing up as a penniless orphan, estranged from some of her sisters, and at the mercy of her kind, though unknowing Aunt and her licentious cousin, Roger.

When the Plague snatches everything that she has held dear, H is thrown into a dangerous and contagious world. Finding herself penniless and homeless, as well as friendless, she has to fend for herself in the Plague-ridden streets of London, where she must use both her will and her wits to survive.

Continue reading “The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton” →
Book Reviews, Historical Fiction

Book Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

by violetwoolandwords6 Comments on Book Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon
Book Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclaimer: Post contains Affiliate Links.

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon centres around the true story of Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, an Australian expatriate who became an crucial member in the French Resistance and later a trained spy for the British during World War Two, earning her the position as one of the Nazis’ most hunted targets.

Continue reading “Book Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon” →