Review: Kin

Kin by Lesley Crewe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Traditions, created and subverted. Love, nurtured and destroyed. Friendships, marriages, and the wild beauty of Cape Breton Island. And above all, kin, in all its convoluted forms.

In Lesley Crewe’s sixth novel, we trace the tangled lines of loyalty, tragedy, joy, and love through three generations of families. Beginning in Glace Bay in the 1930s and ending in Round Island in 2011, Crewe weaves her most complex and engaging novel yet. The cast of characters is vast and varied–some with the island’s deliciously cutting wit, some dour and uptight, some frail, some resilient, and all inextricably bound together by their shared histories.

Brimming with humour, poignancy, and the maddening joy that is family, Kin is bound to be every Crewe fan’s favourite book.

I loved this book, excellent read.

Review: The Wife's Choice

The Wife's Choice by Emma Davies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tell your most devastating secret, or risk losing your only daughter…

Then: Twenty years ago, Alys’ husband, Sam, was in a terrible car accident that left him fighting for his life. His recovery was slow and painful and, just at the point when Alys began to hope, he sent her away, refusing to see her ever again for reasons she could never understand.

Now: Married again and living in a new town with a new family, Alys feels like she’s sleepwalking through life. She’s just lost her job, her grown-up daughter is flying the nest, and her new husband doesn’t see – or even seem to care about – the downward spiral she is in.

But a chance encounter changes everything. As the life she could have had crashes into the one she settled for, Alys must decide whether or not to reveal the lie she’s been telling everyone all these years. Will it tear apart the ones she loves, or could it set them free?

An emotional, page-turning family drama about the difficult choices and sacrifices we make to protect the ones we love. Perfect for fans of Amanda Prowse, Kerry Fisher and Jodi Picoult.