For the discussion of published Jane Austen-based novels and other books of interest to Dwiggies.http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/list.php?16Sun, 19 May 2013 18:15:13 +0100 Phorum 5.2.19 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,97133,97133#msg-97133 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,97133,97133#msg-97133
Clara appears, and an ice-cream parlour!

[www.youtube.com]]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryThu, 16 May 2013 14:52:29 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95884,95884#msg-95884 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95884,95884#msg-95884
I've just read 9 and 10. Interesting how Miss Lambe is half mulatto (is that 1/2 or 1/4?) and still a desirable party, when origins were so all important. How was the black population in the West Indies viewed then? Was there a sort of gentry or even middle class?

The Miss Beauforts remind me of the Miss Musgroves.]]> Lise JAFF LibraryThu, 02 May 2013 18:04:57 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95403,95403#msg-95403 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95403,95403#msg-95403
What really struck me on this listen was how many servant were involved in the first chapter. Its not often we see them in JA's writing. The driver of the carriage is thought to have potentially overturned them on purpose. The men who came to assist were from the fields of Mr. Heywood. The fact that women and children were also working the fields was really striking to me!

And then, as I heard Mr. Parker wax on and on about Sanditon while his wife stands by and Mr. Heywood tries to get him to the house, I realized the men were all there listening, waiting to right the carriage!

Thoughts?]]> Debra Mc JAFF LibrarySat, 13 Apr 2013 18:43:25 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95364,95364#msg-95364 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95364,95364#msg-95364
Diana Parker isn't quite as much of an invalid as she claims, if she could walk as swiftly as she did, catching up with Charlotte on the way to Trafalgar House! Don't know yet about Arthur and the other Parker sister (whose name escapes me at the moment). Will Sidney make an appearance before chapter 11 ends? I want to see him!

I thought the "short chain of connection" between Diana and the West Indies family was pretty funny -- had a few missing links after all, didn't it?!]]> Carol P JAFF LibrarySat, 13 Apr 2013 18:49:36 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95349,95349#msg-95349 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95349,95349#msg-95349
Sanditon, etc]]> Debra Mc JAFF LibrarySat, 13 Apr 2013 16:17:13 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95323,95323#msg-95323 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95323,95323#msg-95323 Suzanne O JAFF LibrarySat, 13 Apr 2013 12:19:55 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95127,95127#msg-95127 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,95127,95127#msg-95127
So in chapter 5 we read that horrific letter from Diana Parker--poor Susan! three teeth and leaches!--and in chapter 6 we go to the library, where apparently they also had a store, and meet Clara and Lady Denham.

Thoughts?]]> Suzanne O JAFF LibraryThu, 11 Apr 2013 11:14:11 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94967,94967#msg-94967 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94967,94967#msg-94967
I'll admit I've only read part of chapter 3 so far, RL keeps getting in my way. But first impressions, to be modified as needed by subsequent reading....

Lady Denham and Mr. Parker at first seemed to have something of a Lady Cat/Mr. Collins relationship...but as the chapter goes on, it seems that Lady Denham is neither as noble and Mr. Parker not as much of a sycophant as our similar pair from P&P. I hope we get to meet Lady Denham "in the flesh" before the end of Chapter 11.

Just getting a bit of an impression now that Charlotte Heywood is as sharp an observer of humanity as Lizzy B. (I can't seem to help relating things back to P&P, I'll try not to do that as much in future.)

Will Clara Brereton and Charlotte be friends or rivals when they meet? Reading on now....]]> Carol P JAFF LibraryFri, 05 Apr 2013 22:12:29 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94713,94713#msg-94713 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94713,94713#msg-94713Sanditon needn't bother with Team FiGi! ;-)

So Carol suggested below that Gigi could take over the place of Charlotte Heywood in the novel - an intriguing possibility! What do you all think?]]> Mari A. JAFF LibrarySat, 06 Apr 2013 16:34:37 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94692,94692#msg-94692 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94692,94692#msg-94692
My primary reaction was to remember why Jane Austen was always considered a humorist rather than a romance writer, and how much she loves character studies. She takes her time setting up the story, not rushing right in as we modern writers do, and as a result provides a rich backdrop against which to set the main action of her story.]]> Suzanne O JAFF LibrarySat, 06 Apr 2013 16:34:36 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94151,94151#msg-94151 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,94151,94151#msg-94151Sanditon: Sanditon @ girlebooks

Has anyone had any ideas yet how to organise this? Does anybody want to play prompter/host? Do we want to assign special topics or just see where we end up? Do we want to discuss fanfic opportunities too, and possibilities for the vlog-series?

In the copy I linked above, there are eleven chapters, so if we want to be done by May (which is when the series is supposed to start), how about we start at Easter and then do two chapters per week? Other suggestions for a schedule?]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryFri, 29 Mar 2013 09:14:08 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,87471,87471#msg-87471 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,87471,87471#msg-87471Harold Fry, a quite unimpressing man, goes to post a postcard and while on his way decides to deliver it by hand. His pilgrimage starts in Kingsbridge and leads him to Berwick upon Tweed. On his way he enjoys nature, meets interesting and uninteresting people and most of all, evaluates his life. His relationship with his wife and son, his friendship with Queenie (the woman towards whom his journey leads) and most of all himself.

The style in which it is written is wonderful, and it is almost impossible not to feel for the lead character. I am now about half through the book and half through Harold's journey. And while Harold is walking, his wife Maureen (who is left at home, without quite knowing why her husband of many years is walking this insane route) makes a journey of her own.
I love it so far. It makes you smile, and yes, it makes you cry.

If you enjoyed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, you should definitely give this one a try.]]> Karen A JAFF LibraryMon, 24 Sep 2012 18:37:35 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,86597,86597#msg-86597 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,86597,86597#msg-86597isabelamadaun.hubpages.com] hope you'll come and visit.]]> Rose H. JAFF LibraryWed, 01 Aug 2012 00:56:05 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,85587,85587#msg-85587 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,85587,85587#msg-85587The Thief of Time but. This book.

Ford Maddox Ford has his narrator say in The Good Soldier, 'this is the saddest tale I ever heard.'

Well this book may be one of the saddest tales I've ever read.

Yes, it's heartbreaking and utterly gut-wrenching and just rips you apart from within. It's tragic and depressive and I don't even have words for it.

I mean, with any tale set in the Great War, you know it's not going to be happy, but this one? Heart-rending.

Seriously. Read it.

It's wonderfully crafted. Just the right amount of subtlety in the foreshadowing, plot seen through well throughout, everything just fitting. I don't want to say it's a beautiful love story, because it's not really a love story, and it definitely isn't beautiful. It's ugly and horrible and just utterly depressing. But it's beautifully written, it gets the heartbreak and the hopelessness of the trenches and of the narrator's situation across without ever engaging in pitying itself or exaggerating for the sake of it. Not the slightest bit of pathos, or unnecessary indulging in wallowing in feelings. This story doesn't need that, it can speak for itself.

I would say more but I don't want to spoil the book for you in case you want to read it. Which you should. Let me know if you want to know any more.]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryTue, 26 Jun 2012 22:40:45 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,84716,84716#msg-84716 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,84716,84716#msg-84716
Anyway, on to the book.

I'm not sure if you'd heard of it before, but The Three Weissmanns of Westport, by Cathleen Schine, essentially is a modern-day re-telling of S&S. It tells the story of how Betty Weissmann is divorced by her husband of almost fifty years and because of some quarrel of who gets their New York apartment, temporarily moves into a bungalow in Westport owned by her cousin Lou. Through some major guilting, she gets her eldest daughter Annie, divorced librarian and mother of two, and Miranda, constant romantic in an existential crisis, to live with her and from there, the story starts.

I must say, I was sceptic about this, thinking it was just another Austenesque novel thrown into a booming market, but I soon learnt better.

This book is really awesome!

I found it worked the basic plot of S&S incredibly well, it was true in lightness and wit to the original without trying to cling to it too closely, the characters, for all that they were different from the originals (the most obvious point probably that Annie has just turned fifty and Miranda tries to be an eternal forty-nine) still felt like they could be them. My only tiny complaint would be that the Colonel Brandon character felt a bit bland and not fully realised and I think the author could have done a little more with him. But that's just a tiny, minor thing.

Altogether, it was a very enjoyable read, even if the ending was a bit bittersweet, and I can only recommend it! And I should think it also works if you've never read S&S, because it's a good enough novel to stand on its own, and only better if you know of the S&S allusions.]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryWed, 06 Jun 2012 16:41:05 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,84376,84376#msg-84376 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,84376,84376#msg-84376 Amy C. JAFF LibraryThu, 31 May 2012 13:45:27 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,83909,83909#msg-83909 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,83909,83909#msg-83909A Dance with Dragons and I can't believe I was so stupid to begin a series where I don't even know when the next book will come out. I want to know how it goes on and how it ends!

Jon can't be dead! I really hope it's just another bluff, just like with Davos and Tyrion and Theon (though I never cared much for Theon). And where's Sam? And why did he have to kill Quentyn when we'd just began to know him?

And really, it's more than 5,000 pages of text already and I sometimes feel with some stories we've barely scratched the surface. I so desperately want to find out what was the deal with Lyanna Stark, Rhaegar Targaryen and Robert Baratheon. I think in the first volume, it's hinted that Rhaegar raped and killed her (or she killed herself) but then everything else we've learnt about Rhaegar seems to point in another direction. I loved how the author by-and-by revealed the backstory of Mad King Aerys, and how he came to be mad, and why Jaime killed him - I actually began to like Jaime (and ship Jaime/Brienne, like mad) when after the first book I was less than impressed with him. I still don't like Cersei, but I understand her better now.

I think my favourite character is Tyrion, just because he's so very much neither good nor bad.

I didn't care much for the Lysa/Petyr-storyline, but then I think the author didn't have a very strong grasp of Lysa's character. She was one of the worse characterisations for me, and I can't say I mourned her very much. I think the whole Jon-Arryn-storyline started strong but then began to sag and in the end the author didn't know what to do with Lysa anymore.

I'm also rather meh about Arya and that weird Braavosi temple; I liked Arya better when she wasn't involved in that weird cult.

Overall, though, in spite of some weaknesses, I'm a fan now and I want more! How about you? Anyone else a fan?]]> Mari A. JAFF LibrarySun, 20 May 2012 21:10:35 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,83857,83857#msg-83857 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,83857,83857#msg-83857
My first novel has just been released through Amazon/CreateSpace this week. We are currently in the process of working on the Kindle version and it should be available in a few weeks. If you are looking for something new to read (as I always am), check out A Royal Disposition. I've noted a brief synopsis below....enjoy!

What if....Elizabeth Bennet outranked Fitzwilliam Darcy? The familiar love story featuring two of the most celebrated characters in our history comes to life again in a "what if" story with a twist. Elizabeth and Darcy are in love and plan to marry, until Elizabeth comes face to face with Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Although standing strong during the worst confrontation of Miss Elizabeth's life, she soon realizes that she cannot marry Mr. Darcy and refuses him. Futile attempts by Mr. Darcy to win her back fail, until he finds out the most astonishing information about Elizabeth Bennet.


For those of you who do check out my story, I would love to hear from you....your feedback can only make me a better writer! I did not get the opportunity to post chapters of this book before it was published, as it was already in the final stages when I found this awesome site. I do, however, plan to post my next book. I look forward to getting to know everyone.]]> Amy C. JAFF LibraryWed, 27 Jun 2012 13:44:38 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,79432,79432#msg-79432 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,79432,79432#msg-79432 Lise JAFF LibraryFri, 03 Feb 2012 12:07:42 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,78744,78744#msg-78744 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,78744,78744#msg-78744The Great House, by Nicole Krauss, is another book I would like to recommend.

I picked this book from the library pretty much at random: The author's name seemed vaguely familiar (I realised later I'd mixed her up with someone else) and the book was brand new, which is always nice. The text on the back said something about a mysterious desk and other items that several people find and which are all linked together. If I had any expectations about this book at all, I was thinking it would be some sort of Da Vinci Code, but with a chick-lit influence.

I couldn't have been more wrong. It's difficult though to say *what* it was. It was a story told in fragments, sort of. There were four different narrators and it took me right until the end to find out how they were linked. The plot was quite slow. All the action it had was told in hindsight, more or less, so the only things that actually happened were people walking the streets of Jerusalem or the like.

But I really liked it. I can't quite put my finger at why or how, but I liked it. The voices of the different narrators were really compelling, the characters were intriguing and I kept reading because I wanted to find out just what linked them all. In the end, the answer was both simpler and much more profound than I'd thought. At first I was slightly disappointing that it was far less spectacular than I thought, but after thinking about it for a bit, I think it is better this way. It was like reading the echoes of several lives all woven into this one moment, and I liked that there was no real big 'answer' in the end.]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryMon, 16 Jan 2012 17:49:43 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,78742,78742#msg-78742 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,78742,78742#msg-78742
I just finished From Time To Time by Jack Finney and was absolutely enamored with it (now trying to track down the sequel). In a nutshell, it's about an ordinary man from the 1970s, who travels to the 1880s in order to find out why a certain letter was posted on a certain day. There's more to it, of course, the time travelling is on a secret government project and he has all sorts of adventures in the past, but the main plot ties to this central question.

I loved the set-up of this book, the way that time travel was described and particularly, how the book raised all sorts of questions about how we would experience the past and of course the time-old question of what happens when you change anything in the past.

Does anybody have any other recommendations for time-travelling novels? There is of course the whole time-travelling subplot in the Thursday Next novels (and I love everything that Thursday's father tells us about time-travelling, such as the way time always tries to get back to old standards, etc.) and fanfiction-wise, there was the excellent Fitzwilliam Darcy, Time Traveller recently, which was a fantastic unravelling of P&P from the time-travelling angle.

Are there other books you would rec? Or some that you would warn against?]]> Mari A. JAFF LibrarySun, 29 Jan 2012 15:51:41 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,72113,72113#msg-72113 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,72113,72113#msg-72113Mulligan Nights at the library's used book sale, and enjoyed it (read through it completely in the hour it took to get my car serviced).... which, in my normal obsessive-compulsive fashion, means that I'm now thinking about picking up any other P.G. Wodehouse books. Does anyone have any recommendations on which books to hunt down avidly (or conversely, is there anything I should avoid like the plague)?

-Lydia]]> Lydia JAFF LibraryThu, 28 Jul 2011 20:45:14 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,71588,71588#msg-71588 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,71588,71588#msg-71588
I recently read Suzzane Arruda's Mark of the Lion which was her debut novel back in 2006 and the start of her Jade del Cameron mystery series. I have to say that it was such a great book. Taking place at the end of WWI, Jade, an American, finds herself in British East Africa trying to solve the murder of her almost-finacee's father's death several years before. Of course a great many other mysteries begin to unfold as she's there. The descriptions of Africa are so vivid I felt I was on the safari too, the characters are well developed and fun, and the mystery is very intriguing mixing not only murder and myhem but also African mysticism and culture in the early 1920s.

I haven't as yet gotten a chance to read the other six novels that are in the series, but I would definitely reccomend this first one, even as a stand alone. It was marvelously written.]]> Trinity JAFF LibraryTue, 05 Jul 2011 03:23:27 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68822,68822#msg-68822 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68822,68822#msg-68822The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.

Set in 1941, in the village of Franklin on Cape Cod, and in London during the Blitz and war-torn Europe, it tells the story of how Emma Fitch, the young doctor's wife, Iris James, the postmistress, and Frankie Bard, a radio journalist, are brought together over a letter, what it means to tell the truth, to seek it or to hide it, and how America gets drawn into a war fought on the other side of the world.

I will freely admit that the book had not hooked me instantly. I had taken it out from the library because of the cover (a thoughtful young lady in front of St Paul's Cathedral under fire) and because the author's name seemed vaguely familiar. For the first half or so, I liked how the narration flowed, the little stories the narrator told about the characters and how she developed them, but I could not yet quite see how everything would come together and thought the story lacked suspense, so I kept picking it up, reading a few pages and putting it down again. Then, however, the author's carefully picked threads finally ran together and made an absolutely compelling and fascinating picture; one, moreover that leaves you much to think about what it means to tell the truth, and if the truth should be told at all costs. There is no definite answer at the end; it is, rather, something that everyone must weigh for themselves.

The author says in her afterword that she 'wanted to write a war story that did not take place on the battlefield, but showed us around the edges of a war photograph or news report into the moments just after or just before what we read or see or hear.' She has succeeded beautifully.

This is a slow read, almost melancholic, but ultimately, I find, very rewarding - take your time getting into this book, getting to know all the characters and seeing how their stories run together and I hope you won't be disappointed!]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryFri, 29 Apr 2011 21:56:44 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68818,68818#msg-68818 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68818,68818#msg-68818
Anyway, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is set in 1963 (I think - I had to return it to the library, so I can't check) in Mississippi, and is narrated by two black women who are 'the help' in white households, and a white woman who begins collecting the tales of the black servant women as she tries to find out what happened to her own black nanny.

I cannot say how I loved this book. I loved it so much I made my mum get herself the German translation of it for her holiday reading when I saw it was available. I loved it so much I kept reading it till 2 a.m., unable to put it down, just needing to know what happened next, and then directly continued reading the next day.

I cannot of course judge how authentic everything was, because I didn't know much about Mississippi in the '60s before, but it did ring quite true to me. Some things quite shocked me, the way that casual racism in every tiny detail of every-day life was revealed, and how different characters thought about it - it makes you hope fervently that people have changed in the last fifty years.

Quite apart from the presentation of The Issue I found the narration itself very well done. Each of the three narrating characters had her own unique voice, her own woes and her own plot-lines that never seemed too far-fetched or unrealistic.

Hm, I don't know what else I can say apart from 'Go, read it!' - it's definitely in the run for my Best Read of the Year.]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryThu, 09 Jun 2011 18:32:44 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68806,68806#msg-68806 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68806,68806#msg-68806
I am now hooked on the Jackson Brodie books. They are funny, yet excellent mystery novels without being gruesome. And JA, or JA's heroines are named several times!
And to the most brilliant thing so far was the fact that she mentioned a "pudding stomach" in 'When will there be good news?'! In my family we always eat dessert, even though you've eaten enough at dinner. We are quite famous for it actually ;). We call it our 'toetjesvakje' (dessert compartment), I have already been thinking to donate my body to science upon my death, so they can study this newly evolved organ ;)

If you are looking for a nice crime novel, without having difficulty trying to sleep after reading it, but exciting enough to have difficulty putting it down, try one of the Jackson Brodie novels.
The series starts with Case Histories (although you can read each book separately), then One Good Turn, When will there be good news? and Started early, took my dog.]]> Karen A JAFF LibraryThu, 05 May 2011 06:01:04 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68694,68694#msg-68694 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,68694,68694#msg-68694
One reviewer (maybe more) has compared it to Austen in that it is a comedy of manners set in an English village.

It is contemporary, however, so it has elements such as racism/race relations that Austen dealt with only in a very cursory way (e.g. Gypsies in Emma).

The author talks about "passion rooted in friendship" being a kind of recipe for relational success, which I found interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though it is rather "light". Perhaps because it is so much lighter and brighter than much contemporary "literary" fiction.

What did you think?]]> Meg E JAFF LibraryWed, 04 May 2011 22:13:38 +0100 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,67063,67063#msg-67063 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,67063,67063#msg-67063
AMAZON (9x6 Trade Paperback format)
[www.amazon.com]

BARNES & NOBLE (9x6 Trade Paperback format)
[search.barnesandnoble.com]

Smashwords (eReader and eBook format - various from ePub to PDF to Nook, etc.)
[www.smashwords.com]

I would encourage all writers on the Guild to just keep working and writing and get your own works published as you iron out the wrinkles and prepare them for that if that is your desire.

I am so proud of Gail...she wrote a heck of a book, got me interested in Jane Austen and the Derbyshire Guild at the same time.

We've created a group on Facebook for her book too:

An Unforgiving Temper Facebook
[www.facebook.com]

]]> Jeff H JAFF LibraryThu, 17 Mar 2011 23:15:27 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,66993,66993#msg-66993 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,66993,66993#msg-66993Fall of Giants, apparently, is the first part of what is supposed to be a trilogy spanning the whole of the 20th century in a Rutherfordesque manner, that is, telling the history of several families who interact with each other. There is an Welsh mining family, an English noble family, a German noble family, a Russian family, an American diplomat and a bunch of other characters and in this the first novel we learn about their fates from the eve of the Great War to the 1920s.

Overall, I found the book - well, to put it in a sophisticated manner - rather meh.

There were bits that were very good - the build-up to the outbreak of the war, for example, although some of the people involved were fictional, was, IMHO (although I'm not an expert on that topic) rather well shown, as was the build-up to the Russian revolution (again, not an expert). Sadly, though, there was not much detail about post-war Germany and the revolution there, but that would probably have made the book even longer.

I did, however, not buy the book as a historical book, and as a family saga, I found it a bit lacking. The personal relations got a bit repetitive, most of the characters were almost interchangeable and the more interesting relations were only hinted at. There is only so many love scenes of the same scheme that one can read without being bored, even if political/historical lectures are interspersed with it. It might have been worth it to have a few couples less, but to look at their characters and motivations in greater detail. For example, I would have loved to find out why exactly the two main female character behaved the way they did. As it was, it was like watching a giant card-board cut-out ballet. A very expertly choreographed ballet, to be sure, but still, card-board figures.

Anyone else read it? Differing opinions?]]> Mari A. JAFF LibraryWed, 16 Mar 2011 12:55:40 +0000 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,66700,66700#msg-66700 http://www.dwiggie.com/phorum/read.php?16,66700,66700#msg-66700
The author is Kerstin Gier, and the three books are Ruby Red (Rubinrot), Sapphire Blue (Saphirblau), Emerald Green (Smaragdgrün) - I read the last one only last week, when my library finally had it. I'd classify these as Young Adult Fantasy - they're perhaps similar in reading difficulty and maturity demands to the Twilight series, but far far less whiny, better written and with much better humour. If you're worrying about rating, I'd say it's fine for age 12 and up - there is quite some snogging, but nothing more, and quite a couple of fights, but no graphic violence.

The heroine is Gwendolyn Shepherd, 16 years old and thoroughly normal girl - if you don't count the fact that occasionally, she can see ghosts. Her cousin Charlotte, however, has been groomed from birth to be a time traveller, because it has been determined that she carries the time-travelling genes of the family. Of course, it is Gwendolyn, not Charlotte, who ends up carrying the gene, as it always goes in those novels.

And now Gwendolyn must learn in a couple of days what took Charlotte years to learn - language, costums, dancing court dances. And that is to say nothing of the real problems Gwendolyn is facing - what is the Count of St. Germain, a time-traveller from the 18th century, up to? Why have her cousin Lucy and her boyfriend Paul disappeared in time so many years ago? What is Gwendolyn's mother hiding? And can she trust her time-travelling companion Gideon?

There is, of course, a secret society, a lot of teenage trouble, a pretty foreseeable romance, and lots of adventures in time. Gwendolyn herself narrates her story and doesn't mind showing her anger at her fate at times, which makes for a fun and quick read. Also, I found the whole time-travelling concept well-thought out and in itself logical, and there were a couple of rather unforeseeable turns.

These are three thick, fast-paced volumes of time-travelling fun - ideal for a relaxing reading romp.]]> Mari A. JAFF LibrarySat, 19 Mar 2011 13:21:43 +0000