Book Review: The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

I've enjoyed other works of Helen Humphreys so when I saw The Frozen Thames which is a smaller book with a cover that intrigued me, I picked it up. It's a collection of forty vignettes based on events that actually did take place each time the river froze between the years of 1142 and 1895 and how people's lives were affected by it. After the London Bridge was rebuilt this didn't happen anymore but the stories still remain to be told.

These vignettes capture small moments in time - they are only a couple of pages long but as with Humphrey's writing, they are very vividly told. The stories range from the poor British people to the royalty like King Henry VIII. Some of the stories I found interesting and some made no sense to me.

The stories I really liked had known historical figures in them like King Henry VIII as he was being driven down the middle of the frozen Thames. There is talk of Anne Boleyn's offenses and that she may be put to death. The people are waiting to see him cross...

• 'We stand on the bank and wave and cheer, regardless of whether our King is full of sorrow or full of rage. It matters not this morning. What matters is that the horses are as white as the snow, that they look both magnificent and ghostly as they pass, and that the sound of the hooves and the carriage is deep as a bell, deep as our own heartbeats sunken in our chests. What matters is that we have waited for this. We have waited for this, and it has come to us.' (pg 49)

Another story I liked was of Queen Matilda in the year 1142. Her castle is under siege and has been for more than three months. She no longer knows what to do when one night it begins to snow. She and her strongest men wait until the snow is at its thickest and they begin to cross the Thames. They are dressed in white and blend with the snow. They meet a sentry on horseback but they stand perfectly still. In turn, he blesses himself and rides on; he has taken them for ghosts.

One other story I really liked was about a little girl and robins. It is the cold of winter and dark and the little girl awakens to a little robin sitting on her bedpost. It has been a very cold winter and many animals are not surviving but many people in England have taken to bringing the birds into their homes so they can survive until spring. The little girl's family is one that has done this and they have two robins. The little girl is waiting for eggs to be in the nest and baby birds being born. I just found this story magical.

The book is beautifully written which is something I've come to expect from Humphreys. The stories of the ice are told in such vivid detail that you can almost feel the cold seeping into your bones. There are many pictures throughout the book, many of them quite beautiful.

I read The Frozen Thames during the read-a-thon and while I can't say it's a favorite of mine there were definitely quite a few of the stories that I really appreciated. I think for those who enjoy short stories and can gather the meaning from them without needing a more detailed novel form will get a lot out of this book. For me, I still enjoy an actual novel - a story I can sink my teeth into. I had actually thought this was an historical novel about the freezing of the Thames when I bought it so I had a bit of a surprise when I opened it. Either way it was ok for me. The stories I liked, I really liked and the others were just ok.

My thanks...
To myself. This book belongs to yours truly and came from my ever leaning bookshelves.

Friday Finds (Nov 6)

Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading asks us to share what great books we heard about or discovered in the past week. While there are many I could post about I always pick one of my favorites.

This week's find is a book called Fallen by Lauren Kate which I found on Fantastic Fiction. However it is being released by Delacorte Books on December 8, 2009. Not only do I think it sounds great - I don't know why but I love books that take place in boarding schools, it also has a fantastically dark cover which I love! Here's a bit about the book from Fantastic Fiction...




Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce's boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant - even evil - history.

It's only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there's a reason to be here - though she doesn't know what it is. And Daniel's frosty cold demeanor toward her? It's really a protective device that he's used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.

Looks like this might be a must read for me. How about you - what did you find this week?

Last Call for Alexa Nernberg -Winner of Run For Your LIfe

This is the last call for Alex Nernberg who had won a copy of Run For Your Life. I have sent 3 emails to contact you and haven't gotten a response. If you read this, please respond by the end of day Friday, November 6. On Saturday morning I will take the next winner on the list if I haven't heard from you...

Thanks!

Book Review: The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White is a book right up my alley full of paranormal happenings! I love a good ghost story and The House on Tradd Street certainly doesn't disappoint. I have really come to enjoy novels by Karen White and there's a good reason - her stories grab you and keep you flipping through those pages in a big hurry!

The House on Tradd Street has it all; a mystery, a romance, ghosts and seeing dead people. It just doesn't get any better than that for me. Melanie Middleton sells real estate, specifically historical homes and she has her eye on the one on Tradd Street. Melanie makes an appointment to stop in to visit Mr. Vanderhorst to discuss his house. He's not really interested in discussing the house but he is interested in knowing whether or not Melanie saw the woman in the garden. She doesn't want to admit it but she does - yes she saw her. Mr. Vanderhorst tells her that this lady only appears to people she approves of.

You see Melanie sees dead people much as she hates to say so. She has since she was a little girl and it seems to run in the family. Old Mr. Vanderhorst, a few days later, passes away and for some reason leaves the house on Tradd Street to Melanie. She doesn't want that old house. Yes she sells them for a living but she's never been interested in owning one. They always come with too many memories and ghosts.

Melanie figures she can just sell the house, but no, it's not going to be that easy. Mr. Vanderhorst has stipulated that Melanie has to occupy the house for a year and in that year, restore the house. This is definitely not what Melanie had in mind but finally she is convinced and the work begins. Not only that but the ghosts of the house begin in earnest to try and tell Melanie their story and Melanie knows that there is an important one to be told having to do with the house on Tradd Street. Melanie is set on a sometimes harrowing journey to uncover old family secrets and disappearances of people from long ago. Along the way she has the help of her friend Sophie and a man she'd rather not be attracted to - Jack.

Melanie is a great character and I really liked her. She's funny and witty and had me laughing more than once especially when she's bickering with Jack who she refuses to admit she might like just a little bit. One other thing I really liked in the novel was the healing of Melanie's relationship with her father. He hadn't always been around for Melanie growing up but as this story progresses and truths come out, the relationship between the two begins to heal and go forward.

The ghost scenes are great. There were a few times my heart was pounding as a scene would play out. This book isn't horror scary though, just creepy scary. You know the thought of ghosts being around you - that kind of creepy. The descriptions of Charleston and the old houses though is something I really enjoyed. I'd love to visit one day and if I had the money I certainly wouldn't turn down an old historic house to restore!

I have a few favorite quotes from this novel...

• 'Because a garden is the heart of a house, where love is the seed and the dark earth like a mother who nurtures her saplings until they bloom, and then waits for them with furrowed arms to return.' (pg 127)

• 'The Louisa rosebushes hung heavy with giant scarlet blooms, dotting the border behind the fountain like drops of blood on a white handkerchief.' (pg 188)


• 'This house is more than brick, mortar and lumber. It's a connection to the past and those who have gone before us. It's memories and belonging. It's a home that on the inside has seen the birth of children and the death of the old folks and the changing of the world from the outside. It's a piece of history you can hold in your hands.' (pg 185/186)

So, needless to say I did enjoy this book and the best part is that there is a sequel, The Girl on Legare Street, which I'm just starting to read now. You can buy The House on Tradd Street here in the US and here in Canada. Be sure to visit Karen White's website as well!

My thanks...
To myself. The House on Tradd Street was purchased by yours truly and came from my leaning bookshelves.

Waiting on Wednesday (Nov 4)

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I read The Nanny Diaries a few years ago and I really loved it so I'm really excited to read this one. Here's a bit about it from Amazon.com:

More than four million readers fell
in love with Nan, the smart, spirited,
and sympathetic heroine of the
#1 New York Times bestseller
The Nanny Diaries.

Now she's back. After living abroad for twelve years, she and her husband, Ryan, aka H.H., have returned to New York to make a life for themselves. In the midst of getting her new business off the ground and fixing up their fixer-upper, Ryan announces his sudden desire to start a family. His timing simply couldn't be worse.

To compound the mounting construction and marital chaos, her former charge, Grayer X, now sixteen years old, makes a drunken, late-night visit, wanting to know why she abandoned him all those years ago. But how can she explain to Grayer what she still hasn't come to terms with herself? In an attempt to assuage her guilt, yet against every instinct, Nan tries to help Grayer and his younger brother, Stilton, through their parents' brutal divorce, drawing her back into the ever-bizarre life of Mrs. X and her Upper East Side enclave of power and privilege.

After putting miles and years between herself and this world, Nan finds she's once again on the front line of the battle with the couture-clad elite for their children's wellbeing.

With its whip-smart dialogue and keen observations of modern life, Nanny Returns gives a firsthand tour of what happens when a community that chose money over love finds itself with neither.

I'd really love to read this one! So, what are you waiting for this week?

Interview with Kate Jacobs, Author of Knit the Season

I'm really pleased to have Kate Jacobs, author of Knit the Season, here at Peeking Between the Pages today. I reviewed Knit the Season yesterday and you can see my review here. The Friday Night Knitting Club series is a favorite of mine and I was definitely not disappointed with Knit the Season. I was very glad that she was willing to take the time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for me and I'm going to share that chat with you today.


1. What was your inspiration for this installment of The Friday Night Knitting Club?

KJ: A whole bunch of things coming together at once. For starters, I love the holidays. I’m writing about different traditions but I’m also incorporating touches of my own family celebrations. Also, when I finished Knit Two, I had a real craving to continue with the lives of these women. Add to all of that the realization that I’d never written a winter season in any of my books and frankly, I thought, it was about time. (I have a theory about how I was avoiding winter because I was born in Canada …) But the biggest reason of all was that the characters have really, really earned their happiness. And Knit the Season is overall a happy story about a group of friends who have grown into a family.

2. I really loved how Georgia was written into this novel - in such a way that we get to learn more about her. I know many people who read the series that really miss her - is that why you chose to write her into the story this way - to give us more of a character we love?

KJ: I’m so glad you like Georgia – she’s near and dear to my heart. Although Georgia ’s influence is certainly present in Knit Two, in Knit the Season I tried a different technique and incorporated memory flashbacks. It was something new from a creative perspective. But it was driven from an emotional desire. You’re right on that Georgia is a character whose absence is palpable – I missed her and I hear from readers who miss her. Bringing her “back” in memory flashback is also a way to explore this idea of how we can still be inspired by people who are no longer here in a physical way. We can still learn and grow from experiencing that connection and that love.

3. Are any of the characters of The Friday Night Knitting Club based on anyone you actually know?

KJ: I never aim to start with real people and turn them into characters. But I think we’re all influenced by the world around us, of course. So there is often a little bit of me in all of the characters, and also, on occasion, little quirks shared by real people from my life. For example, Darwin ’s attitude – her worry about domesticity – in FNKC is broadly similar to what I was like in my teens. And Georgia’s Gran in Scotland has much in common, both in appearance and personality, with my own Nanny, who lived to be 99 and was a wonderful knitter, baker, and force in the lives of her grandchildren. So I drew inspiration from remembering her. Writing a character reminiscent of someone from my personal life allows me to feel reconnected, imaginatively, even after that individual has passed away. It’s one of the great gifts of writing.

4. On a more personal note, do you have a special place at home where you settle in and weave these wonderful stories? Are you surrounded by piles of lovely yarn for inspiration?

KJ: I like this idea, you know. Of a perfect space. Because at my desk I’m actually surrounded by piles of paper, printouts of chapters, notes typed and handwritten, and several stickies covered with to-do lists. I do have lovely yarn, and I often knit up a little something that the characters are working on, but while I keep one pretty basket of yarn on the top of my bookshelf, most of the rest is stuffed into dressers and closets and boxes. More yarn than space is my problem!

5. Knit the Season brought many new changes to ladies of The Friday Night Knitting Club yet the hope of more to come. Please tell me that there is another Friday Night Knitting Club novel in the works!!!

KJ: Maybe! I do love the members of the club. Right now I’m working on a new story with new characters called Relativity. When that’s complete, I’ll take a deep breath and figure out what to do next!


I just want to thank Kate for another wonderful, heart warming novel. I laughed and cried - I've really grown to love these women and look forward to more.

KJ: Thank you, Darlene!

Book Review: Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs

I'll just start right off by stating that I loved Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs! There it's out there and now I can continue to gush about it. I'm such a fan of The Friday Night Knitting Club Series and Knit the Season was again a story that took me back and made me feel as though I was in the comfort of old friends. Best of all, this one was centered around the Christmas season which made it even more special!

Knit the Season begins a year after the end of Knit Two and finds Dakota maturing in even more ways and becoming more like her mother all the time. Dakota is in college to become a pastry chef which has been her dream since young when she used to bake for the ladies in The Friday Night Knitting Club. She is going to incorporate her talents as a pastry chef and owning the knitting shop, Walker & Daughter, into a knitting cafe.

This novel also gives Dakota the opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with her Gran, her dad, her grandparents and Catherine in Scotland. What a great opportunity as Dakota loves her Gran and Gran is 97 years old; there may not be too many Christmas' left to share together like this. From this holiday season with Gran and her family, Dakota comes away with so much more than just memories of the holiday. She comes away with many memories of her mother Georgia when she was younger, things that Dakota never knew before that bring her even closer to her mother.

I loved that Georgia was so woven into the story in this novel. We learned more about her and her past that all led up to the beginnings of The Friday Night Knitting Club and Walker & Daughter. It was wonderful to visit with all the other ladies again like Anita who is getting remarried, Darwin and her twins, KC being her normal self and making me laugh, Peri who is struggling with her own wants and that of her obligation to Dakota and we can't forget Catherine. In this novel she really makes some changes to her life and it's lovely to see her evolving into such an amazing woman.

As always this novel had me laughing and crying and even for me as the reader, reliving wonderful memories of all these ladies over the years of reading this series. I care about all the ladies especially Dakota which isn't much different from all the ladies in the knitting club who drew so tightly around Dakota when Georgia died. They are a wonderful, warm and caring group of women who have developed such a beautiful and close knit friendship. As a knitter myself I love the whole aspect of knitting being what brought these women together in the first place and has continued to hold them together as they still regularly meet up.

Knit the Season can definitely stand alone if you're in the mood for a great holiday read. However I do recommend reading The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two as well simply because if you don't you will miss out on the wonderful history of these women and all that has gone on before. As with all these stories there are some recipes and knitting patterns in the back. When I open up one of Kate's books I always excitedly turn to the back to see what she has there and I wasn't disappointed this time.

Knit the Season along with The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two would make really great book club choices. There are so many elements to these novels worth discussing and even better if you have knitters in your group. As well Kate is always open to discussing her novels with book clubs. Last year we had her visit our book club online to discuss Knit Two and it was just fantastic to get her perspective along with our own on her novel. All in all I don't think you'd be disappointed at all picking Knit the Season for your book club pick for December or if you're just looking for a great read.

Changes are definitely brewing for all the members of The Friday Night Knitting Club. I wonder what this will mean for them? I can tell you one thing for sure - I can't wait for the next book to see what Kate has in store for all the ladies next! Make sure to pop by tomorrow as I had the opportunity to ask Kate a few questions and she will be here to share her thoughts on those questions.

You can read the first chapter of Knit the Season here and you can buy the book here in the US and here in Canada. Knit the Season releases today! Be sure to pop over and visit Kate Jacobs website as well!

My Thanks...
To the publisher for my review copy of Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs.