Facing the Light by Adele Geras

I loved this book, I think it is my favourite of the year so far! I love books set in country houses with eccentric families and mysteries and long-kept secrets; this book has all of that.

Facing the Light centres round the Walsh family with Leonora as the matriarch; the extended family are coming together for the weekend to celebrate the milestone of her 75th Birthday. Leonora is the daughter of Ethan Walsh the celebrated artist whose work hangs throughout Willow Court. She has two daughters, Gwen and Rilla; their children then make up the extended family circle.

Leonora's childhood was blighted by the death of her mother as Rilla's life has been overshadowed by the death of her young son at Willow Court. Throughout the book secrets and mysteries are unravelled and characters perceptions of their family members are greatly challenged. Adele Geras has created a family of very different and eccentric characters who are all entirely believeable but not all necessarily likeable.

It is difficult to review this book without giving too much away but I can say that I really enjoyed reading it; there are many twists and turns along the way and there were times when I really did not want to put it down.

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Booking Through Thursday

I liked this Booking Through Thursday! Following up last week’s question about reading writing/grammar guides, this week, we’re expanding the question…. Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not? Do you ever read manuals? How-to books? Self-help guides? Anything at all? Definitely!! It really annoys me when people discard the manual and then complain that they do not know how something works! My future husband is a prime example of this; whenever he has a new mobile phone he discards the manual and then gets frustrated that his phone does not do what it says on the box. I'm not sure if maybe I am just a bit of a control freak but I just think that reading the instructions nearly always ends up saving yourself time. I don't mean to be sexist but I do think it is mainly men who have a problem with manuals and instructions as they do not like to admit that they do not know the answer; this is evident in the w...

Booking Through Thursday

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