A Winter's Tale - Trisha Ashley

This is the first book in a collection of stories revolving around characters living in the fictitious Lancashire village of Sticklepond. It is a warm-hearted tale of Sophy Winter who unexpectedly inherits her grandfather's rather stately home, Winter's End. There are a couple of love interest's for Sophy, a jealous distant cousin who feels aggrieved at not getting his hands on the estate, a surly, brooding gardener, as well as a hint or two of magic which is a theme throughout all three stories. Of course, with a title like A Winter's Tale there are many references to Shakespeare too.

Trisha Ashley has written three books based in Sticklepond and a couple of others based in neighbouring villages. Even though each story stands alone, I originally read the books out of sequence as I hadn't found any reference to these books belonging to a series. I do wish I had realised the chronology of the backlist before setting out to read them as there are many cross references to characters and events that appear in the earlier books. I did go back after reading this book and re-read the others. I found that reading them in sequence definitely added to the experience of getting to know the characters and enjoying the story. As a result, although I read this book last, it will appear first in review and the other books will be reviewed in chronological order within the next few weeks.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of Trisha Ashley's books and am hoping she continues with the series beyond the three she has written so far.

Black Swan Rising – Lee Carroll

Garet James is no ordinary woman, but, when the book begins, she doesn’t know that yet! Even though she has a thriving jewellery-making business she has financial troubles of her own. With an aging father to look after and his art gallery business under threat she is worried that they may lose their home which also doubles as their business premises.

As she is heading back from a meeting with her bank manager, she stumbles across an old jewellery shop which she hasn’t noticed before. Trying to escape a sudden downpour she steps inside the shop and is immediately drawn to an old silver jewellery box. There is something very special about this box which seems to shimmer under her touch. The shopkeeper seems to know of Garet’s talent of working with silver and gold and asks her if she can open the box as it has been somehow soldered shut. Not an easy task to perform and keep the intricate work on the box intact but with the offer of $1000 from the shopkeeper, she takes on the challenge. She heads home with the box and takes it to her workshop where she begins on opening the seal.

That is when her life changes forever.

I first read this book when it was newly published in 2010 and loved it. Having just re-read it, I fell in love with it all over again. It is a fantastical tale of magic, fairies, vampires and a centuries-old love affair. Garet James is the latest in a long line of female protectors of humankind, it’s just that she has no idea about her powers or her heritage as her mother died before she could tell her the truth. So in Black Swan Rising, Garet makes the journey of finding out about herself and her ancestors’ story without the guidance of her mother’s wisdom and experience and she takes the reader along with her too. She does have some help along the way as Oberon, King of the Fairies, makes an appearance and leads her through various challenges to help her realise who she really is.

This is the first book in a trilogy which chronicle the tale of the Black Swan. The second book, Watchtower was published in 2011 and the final book, Shape Stealer, is to be published in March this year. I can hardly wait to read it!

If you love a fantastic story filled with magic and a tale of the age old battle of good versus evil, then pick up these books. You will not be sorry.

9.8/10

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

Vianne Rocher and her six year old daughter, Anouk, arrive in the small French village, Lansquenet, on the day of the Shrove Tuesday Carnival. The local villagers are busy with the festivities but the strangers do not go unnoticed in their brightly coloured and fashionable clothes which sets them apart immediately.

Vianne has a talent for making delicious chocolate and has a special gift for knowing everybody’s favourite flavour. When she opens a chocolate boutique opposite the church in the village square not only does she raise a few eyebrows but she sets herself up against the local priest, Francis Reynaud, who takes exception to her offering this kind of temptation to the villagers, especially during Lent.

The villagers flock to Vianne’s little shop and in spite of Monsieur le Cure’s preaching against frequenting such a place, the Chocolatiere goes from strength to strength. Vianne makes many friends, and is soon very much a part of the community. She befriends Armande Voizin, an elderly local who is also somewhat of an outcast from the church and it’s worshippers, one of whom happens to be Armande’s estranged daughter.

When Vianne decides to hold an Easter Chocolate Festival on Easter Sunday she drives a wedge between her and the church and suddenly the conflict escalates into “Church not Chocolate” battle.

Chocolat is the first of three books in the series about the life of Vianne Rocher. It is such an adorable book, I didn’t want to go to bed until I had finished reading it and that does not happen to me very often at all. I love the mystery of Vianne’s character and the way in which she charms herself into the lives of the villagers of Lansquenet. She is exotic and beautiful and has a way about her that makes people feel stronger and better about themselves. Armande Voizin is another strong character in the story too. I loved her irreverence and bullishness.

Joanne Harris writes with such clarity, humour and style that I was transported to small town rural France from the first page. The conflict between Reynaud and Vianne is so well described that it is palpable and disturbing. I cannot wait to read the other books in the series; The Lollipop Shoes and Peaches for Monsieur le Cure.

So enamoured was I by the book that I dug around for the film version which starred Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp. In spite of outstanding performances from Ms’s Binoche and Dench the film version disappointed me slightly. I don’t know why I do this, I am always less than impressed with movies of books. However, when I think about it now, had I not read the book before watching the movie I would not have been disappointed but had I watched the film first I would not have picked up the book! What a terrible shame that would have been.

9.9/10