Reading and Reviewing

On these sultry summer days it has been my pleasure to soak up the sun on the Gulf with a good book, or two, or three. I walk the beach first, to strengthen my body for the long trip ahead for husband, Tom & me. We are traveling to Hawaii for the commemoration of WW2's surrender aboard his ship, The Missouri. Tom was a very young sailor when he first boarded that ship, and we are  excited to be a part of the  70th celebration on September 2nd. I plan to bring my kindle on the long flight to Honolulu.  I hope to tell you all about  the ceremony and our week on Waikiki  when we return.  In the meantime, here are  reviews of a couple of books that were not exactly "beach reads", but good reads, especially if you like historicals. the first is a short review I gave to convince my book club to select  it.
This  review  is for The Light Between Oceans.by ML Stedman. Honesty, faith, love and morals, with a little bit of mystery are all found in this story about Tom and Isabel, who become caretakers of a remote lighthouse in Australia. A small boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a live baby. Therein lies the plot, and you will want to read it  to find out what happens. Descriptions are beautifully done, helping me to learn much about Western Australia. It is plot-driven, yet the characterizations are real and memorable. Well written, poignant , sometimes heart.wrenching, The Light Between Oceans was so memorable, I would rate it highly and recommend it.

The following is a review I posted in Goodreads.
A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London's Flower Sellers 
by Hazel Gaynor (Goodreads Author) 

Mary Fremont's review 

Aug 13, 15  ·  edit

4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: currently-reading 

Read in July, 2015

Award winning author, Gaynor has written a sweet story, historically accurate,and vividly described. It is a subject which I had no knowledge of, the plight of East London's orphaned and/or crippled flower sellers.The author weaves the story of two long-lost sisters, Florrie and Rosie whose lives took different paths. The first part is told from Florries's perspective. Next we meet a young girl, Tillie Harper who leaves her home to take a job as assistant housemother at Mr. Shaw's home for Watercress and Flower girls. The houses originated in Chapel hall until Shaw could find rented homes for the many flower seller children he took off the streets of London. The homes were based on the real-life ones established by John Groom in that era. It is a sentimental tale, with many amazing coincidences. Although the existence of these flower sellers was one I had no prior knowledge of, it was a redeeming story, heart wrenching, but historically significant with a poignant plot which I enjoyed.