The Cottage of Curiosities - Celia Anderson

 

 

Return to 59 Memory Lane with a new novel from the Kindle Top Ten bestselling author Celia Anderson!

’A brilliantly original and enchanting tale’ Sun ‘Wonderful characters make this a great read’ Good Housekeeping ‘Truly unique…unforgettable’ Woman’s Weekly

Grace Clarke is shocked to learn at the age of fifty-six that she’s adopted – it feels as though her whole life has been a lie. But it also explains a lot of things for Grace too. Including the gift that has plagued Grace since childhood – the ability to feel other people’s memories.

Could this gift be something she shared with the woman who abandoned her – the mysterious May Rosevere?

And as Grace travels to the small coastal village of Pengelly to find the answers she craves, she feels her gift growing stronger. As though May is somehow calling her long-lost daughter home…

My Review:

Having read and adored 59 Memory Lane I could not wait for this return to Pengally. I do think if you haven’t read 59 Memory Lane you should read it first (a) because its wonderful and b) it will give some clarity to this story. 

Celia Anderson is brilliant; her writing is gorgeous and the way she tells these stories, brings her characters to life is wonderful. I feel so involved with these stories it takes me days to be able to move on with another book. Ultimate book hangover!

With ‘The Cottage of Curiosities’ we have a lovely tale of self discovery, love, hope and acceptance. Friendships and relationships play such important roles within this story.
We meet Grace who is searching for information on her biological parents, and finds herself heading to the coastal village of Pengelly. Here she effortlessly fits into the community, making friends as she uncovers the truth about where she came from. All of that on top of managing and utilising an extremely special, maybe magical, skill to help those she gets close to. 

An absolutely heart-warming and uplifting book, a real curl up, get cosy kind of read. I cannot recommend this enough. One of my favourites of the year. 

PURCHASE HERE

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW: After the Green Withered by Kristin Ward

After the Green Withered: Blurb

They tell me the country looked different back then. 
They talk of open borders and flowing rivers. 
They say the world was green. 
But drought swept across the globe and the United States of the past disappeared under a burning sky.
Enora Byrnes lives in the aftermath, a barren world where water has become the global currency. In a life dominated by duty to family and community, Enora is offered a role within an entity that controls everything from water credits to borders. But it becomes clear that not all is as it seems. From the wasted confines of her small town to the bowels of a hidden city, Enora will uncover buried secrets that hide an unthinkable reality. As truth reveals the brutal face of what she has become, she must ask herself: how far will she go to retain her humanity?

My Review: As this book genre is not one I would typically ever choose, I will be reviewing the first chapter. 

I didn't know what to expect. This is a genre so far removed from what I would usually read I have to admit the thought of even reading a small part of it didn't excite me. In fact I put it off for a long time. 

The book is a YA, imaginative, dystopian view of a future America where the the world is a mess, and is scarily perceivable as a future possibility. Currency is water and the key to survival. 

I was impressed by the prologue, well written and engaging, I was surprised at how interested I'd already become. Setting the scene isn't always easy, writers have to do enough to get your interest without giving too much away or making the story seemed rushed. I think the prologue and chapter 1 is really well thought out; she explains the scenario well. After the prologue I was definitely keen at jumping into the first chapter and actually meeting the characters involved. 

I definitely enjoyed the first chapter, I found it very descriptive and set a scene nicely. I liked the introduction to Enora, the teenage main character, she is interesting and I liked hearing her perspective on a world she had grown up in. A world that is far removed from what I know yet can entirely imagine in a future many years from now. Scary thought maybe. 

As fresh eyes to this genre and type of book, I enjoyed what I read. I didn't read on... yet. I think I will read some more at some point as I would like to see how it goes but I haven't the urgency to read it right now. I shall finish it eventually, I think it will make a nice change. 

I liked the writing and think that fans of the genre and this author will really enjoy this book. 


About the Author:

Kristin Ward has loved writing since middle school but took thirty years to do something serious about it. The result is her Best Indie Book Award-winning novel, After the Green Withered, followed by the sequel, Burden of Truth. She lives in a small town in Connecticut with her husband, three sons, and many furry and feathered friends. A SciFi geek to the core, she is fueled by dark chocolate and coffee and can be heard quoting eighties movies on a regular basis.

Twitter   Website


Purchase Links:
After the Green Withered on AMAZON
Also: https://books2read.com/after-the-green-withered

Thank you Kristin Ward and especially to The Write Reads (@the_writereads) for organising this Ultimate Blog Tour and providing me with the opportunity to take part.