JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The French Gift by Kirsty Manning

A forgotten manuscript threatens to unravel the past …

Fresnes Prison, 1940: Margot Bisset, a former maid from the Riviera, finds herself in a prison cell with writer and French Resistance fighter, Josephine Murant. Together, they are transferred to a work camp in Germany, where the secrets they share will bind them for generations to come.

Present-day Paris: Evie Black lives above her botanical bookshop with her teenage son, Hugo. Nursing a broken heart, Evie receives an unexpected letter; she clutches at an opportunity to spend a magical summer with Hugo on the Cote d’Azur.

It’s here, on the Riviera, that the past envelops them and Evie attempts to unravel the official story of a famous novelist. If she succeeds, a murder from a lifetime ago may be solved.

Inspired by a true story of iconic French Resistance fighter, Agnes Humbert, whose secret journal shed light on a little-known aspect of World War II, The French Gift will captivate readers from beginning to unforgettable end.

Kirsty Manning’s The French Gift is a captivating, female-driven World War II story that switches between 1940s Europe and present-day Paris. The quest to discover a hidden manuscript by a world famous crime writer unravels a decades-long secret between the unlikeliest of friends.

Written in third person, The French Gift switches POV between three women. In present-day Paris, we meet Evie. Still grieving the sudden death of her husband, she is working to showcase an exhibition about her husband’s reclusive and recently deceased relative Josephine Murant. Over the course of the novel, we spend time in Josephine’s POV as she spends time in a French prison during the second World War. There, she meets fellow prisoner and cellmate Margot Bisset, a maid wrongfully imprisoned for murder.

“Laughter and the clink of crystal flowed through the open doors, and gauze curtains billowed in the breeze. Usually she would tie them back, but Madame had instructed her to stay in position. It wasn’t her place to disobey.”

Inspired by true events and meticulously researched, The French Gift has a cracking premise and opening chapter — Margot believes she’s participating in a murder ‘game’ at an elite 1940s party. But when the ‘victim’ actually does get shot, Margot is presumed guilty and immediately arrested.

The French Gift is about the perseverance and resilience of women, and their courage, strength and determination when faced with immense difficulties. Josephine and Margot form a strong friendship over the years that they’re imprisoned, and despite the horrible conditions of their imprisonment, their kinship is a very heartwarming aspect of the novel.

“Until today, Evie had seen this exhibition as a necessary task — like tax, probate, Foundation guidelines and pelvic floor exercises. She needed to seize this opportunity to honour Josephine, and Raph would have wanted her to — of that she was certain.”

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Josephine and Margot’s storyline is immediately captivating. Evie’s storyline is admittedly not as interesting, and I was pleased that the budding relationship in her life took a mostly backseat role in her storyline.

Truthfully, I think Evie was a bit lost in this story. Her storyline didn’t seem as engaging. Even the predictable twist at the end, which is signposted a bit too heavily throughout the novel (the facial scars and the head scarves, as well as the immense reclusively of Josephine kind of gave it away) wasn’t enough to increase my interest in her character.

“She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to right this wrong. The counselling was definitely helping, but he needed time to find his own path through the heavy fog that sometimes seeped in and threatened to smother his days.”

Tender and heartfelt, The French Gift is recommended for fans of historical fiction. Readership skews female, 30+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The French Gift
Kirsty Manning
April 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly

Georgeanne Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and demure attitudes. So when civil war ignites the nation, she follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women a bother on the battlefront. She and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C. to Gettysburg, and while involved in the war effort witness firsthand the unparalleled horrors of slavery.

In the South, Jemma is enslaved on the Peeler Plantation, while her sister, Patience, is enslaved on the property next door. Both live in fear of LeBaron, an abusive overseer who tracks their every move. When Jemma is sold by the cruel Anne-May just as the Union Army comes through, she sees a chance to escape – but only by abandoning those she loves.

Anne-May is forced to run the Peeler Plantation when her husband joins the Union Army and her brother enlists with the Confederates. Now in charge, she uses the opportunity to follow her own ambitions and is drawn into a secret Southern network of spies . . .

Based on true events, Martha Hall Kelly’s Sunflower Sisters is an evocative and engaging historical novel set during the American Civil War. At over 500 pages, Sunflower Sisters takes us from the plantation homes where slaves were treated inhumanely, all the way to war-torn New York City and the horrors of the battlefield front. Not afraid to shy away from the tough realities of war, Martha places a female lens on a historical time in American history.

Since reading this, I’ve realised it’s the third book in a series set in this time period (After Lilac Girls and Lost Roses). However, each book is standalone and you don’t need to read either of the others to follow this one.

Sunflower Sisters is written in third person POV and switches between three women affected by the Civil War — nurse Georgy, Peeler Plantation slave Jemma, and the horrid homeowner Anne-May. Martha writes with intimate and unique POV, giving us incredible insight into how these women felt during this short snapshot of their lives. The writing is seamless and draws the reader in immediately, with three very different voices and three women whose lives will heavily intersect by the end.

“As my sister drove on, I opened the little leather book, the virgin paper smooth and white, to find an ivory-coloured silk bookmark, a pretty little magnolia embroidered at the top. I ran one finger down the silk, so much like the lacy underthings he sold at the shop.”

Despite Anne-May’s flaws, all three women are determined, bold and refuse to give up when faced with hardship. During a time when there weren’t very high expectations placed upon women, all three of these characters rose beyond those around them. They’re headstrong and fierce, and young women will find themselves falling for Georgy and Jemma in particular.

I read a lot of historical fiction and it’s rare to have a ‘villain’ as one of the main characters, let alone with their own perspective we follow. It felt quite refreshing to have Anne-May in the story — I feel like she added something unique to the genre and I liked finding out how her story would progress, the good and the bad.

From the detailed notes at the end of the book, it’s clear how much research went into writing Sunflower Sisters. The extensive work that Martha put in prior to writing is evident in every page.

“I stood on the porch overlooking the tobacco fields that ran down to the river, Ma, Pa, Celeste, and Delly bent at the waist over the young tobacco plants. That scene from up there’d take your breath away, the wide river beyond, until LeBaron rode into view, up on his horse with his whip coiled at his thigh, and you remember it was all just a place to keep us chained for their own use.”

Admittedly, Georgy’s story does lag a little bit in the middle, and I felt unsure of her purpose in the book until her path crossed with Jemma.

Although I did really love the romance that budded between Georgy and Frank, Jemma’s love story felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped and I wasn’t sure if it was necessary in the novel. It felt like it was put in to please readers, and not because the story demanded it.

“To meet our ship, Eliza and I boarded the tugboat Wissahickon, whose captain agreed to deliver us…It all seemed peaceful enough below deck, neatly made beds, the sounds of a well-tended ward, sepulchral whispers and a few moans. But I could feel it coming. That peace would not last long.”

Raw, vivid, expertly written and filled to the brim with three-dimensional characters, Sunflower Sisters is highly recommended reading for fans of historical fiction. A sweeping saga indeed. Readership skews female.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sunflower Sisters
Martha Hall Kelly
April 2021
Penguin Random House Publishers

Cuckoo’s Flight by Wendy Orr

When Clio’s town in Bronze Age Crete is threatened by seafaring raiders, she faces the greatest sacrifice of all. Can Clio, her herd of horses and a new young friend find a way to change their destinies?

When a raiders’ ship appears off the coast, the goddess demands an unthinkable price to save the town – and Clio’s grandmother creates a sacred statue to save Clio’s life.

But Clio is torn between the demands of guarding the statue and caring for her beloved horses. Disabled in an accident, she must try to put aside her own grief at no longer being able to ride – and in the process, save a friend’s life and stop a war.

Cuckoo’s Flight is Wendy Orr’s third middle grade novel set in the Bronze-Age Mediterranean, following on from Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance. Whilst this is the third novel set in this time period, and there is some overlap in characters and history, you don’t need to read the other two novels to be able to read Cuckoo’s Flight.

The setting is one of the strengths of this novel, as well as the seamless transition between prose and poetry that readers will recognise from Wendy’s other works.

Wendy captures the era with accuracy and thorough research. Immediately, you’re swept up in Clio’s saga. She’s tenacious, resilient and strong, brave and confident. She doesn’t conform to what the community expects of her, and looks for alternate solutions. She’s self-driven, but she’s also a great teacher of others. She doesn’t let her disability — a stiff, twisted leg from when she fell off a horse as a young girl — stop her.

“Clio can’t imagine life without her grandmother. She knows that only the gods live forever and that all other living creatures — birds, beasts and people, dragonflies and dolphins — will return to the Great Mother one day.”

Wendy’s Bronze Age trilogy are all female-centric, with young female characters as the protagonists. They are all disadvantaged in some way. Perhaps they’re physically disadvantaged, or they’re an outcast in society. Perhaps they’re poor. Wendy crafts her protagonists so that readers can watch them rise above what others expect of them. Young readers will feel reassured that bravery and courage will always save the day.

Whilst this may appear to be an adventure series, a rollercoaster of a journey for all the characters involved, there’s a lot of heart and depth to these novels. They’re multi-layered and offer insightful characterisation — all readers will find something to love within these books.

“The gully at the river’s bend
carved from the steep bank
washes silt to the water
trapping the pebbles from the creek above —
gravel and silt forming a ledge
across the river, nearly to the other shore.”

Admittedly this story takes a bit longer to engage with the characters than the previous two works. I felt like the opening started in the wrong place. We’re thrust into Clio’s life a little too chaotically, and it does take a few chapters for the reader to settle into the story. Additionally, the pacing in the novel is quite fast so we don’t have a lot of time to really sit with the characters. Cuckoo’s Flight is very much a plot-driven novel.

“On her wooden stage in the dim light of the courtyard, with the east mountain looming darker behind her, the Lady begins to sing. Slowly, slowly, she calls the sun up from behind the mountain into the pale sky. Blinding the audience, streaking the sky with pink and gold, the miracle of sunrise happens again.”

Imaginative and enticing historical fiction, Cuckoo’s Flight and its two predecessors will engage any young reader.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cuckoo’s Flight
Wendy Orr
March 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

She will discover the best of herself in the worst of times . . .

Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she’d yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa’s world is shattered to the winds.

Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?

Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds is one of my highly anticipated releases for 2021. I absolutely adored her previous novel, The Great Alone, and have been holding out for this new one for months now.

The Four Winds is impeccable — a sweeping, masterful historical fiction feat. It’s emotional and moving, inspiring and just absolutely heartbreaking at times. This is the perfect adult novel, I can’t fault it.

The novel brings to fruition the early 1930s Great Depression and Dust Bowl migration, laying bare the challenges and struggles that American families faced trying to feed their children. Many husbands fled their responsibilities, leaving young women to care for children alone. It was a time of great suffering and prejudice.

“The next morning, Elsa woke well before dawn and found Rafe’s side of the bed empty. He’d slept in the barn again. Lately he preferred it to being with her. With a sigh, she got dressed and left her room.”

Set in Texas, when Elsa and Rafe sleep together outside of wedlock and Elsa falls pregnant, they’re forced to get married. Rafe’s plans to go to college are pulverised, and Elsa is abandoned by her parents — her disgrace has hurt them beyond repair. Elsa and Rafe move in with Rafe’s parents and years pass. Another child is born.

The drought has considerable affect on the family’s farm. Everyone works all day to keep the family afloat, but it’s impossible without any rain. And then one morning, Rafe abandons them and Elsa is forced to make unbelievable sacrifices to keep her children alive.

The Four Winds explores a mother’s sacrifice and determination to provide for her children, but it also explores love and family, friendship and loyalty. In the end, Rafe’s parents end up being more of a family for Elsa than her cold, harsh parents ever were.

“She saw how red his cheeks were from the cold, saw the plumes of his breath and the weight loss that had sunken his face and eyes. For a man who had two religions — God and the land — he was dying a little each day, disappointed by them both.”

Written in third person, Kristin Hannah has crafted emotionally rich characters, people you want to cheer for and people who make you keep turning the pages because you’re desperate to discover more about them. Her books are set in some of the worst conditions, and they show us how resilient and determined people can be when they have something to live for — to fight for.

An underlying theme in the book is that of dreams — wanting a better life. When the harsh and unrelenting Dust Bowl hits, many nearby farmers abandon their homes and travel West in search of a better life. But conditions there aren’t necessarily any better, and people are judged and ostracised for where they’ve come from. There’s little work, even smaller wages to be earned, and the conditions in which they must live are inhumane. And still, Elsa perseveres.

“Another scorcher of a day, and not even ten in the morning. So far, September had offered no respite from the heat. Elsa knelt on the linoleum kitchen floor, scrubbing hard. She had already been up for hours. It was best to do chores in the relative cool of dawn and dusk.”

Gritty and beautiful, highly recommended. I couldn’t fault this even if I tried.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah
February 2021
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Elizabeth and Elizabeth by Sue Williams

‘I’ve waited for this moment so long, dreamed of it, prepared for it, I can barely believe it’s finally here. But it is. And it is nothing like I expected.’

There was a short time in Australia’s European history when two women wielded extraordinary power and influence behind the scenes of the fledgling colony.

One was Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of the new governor Lachlan Macquarie, nudging him towards social reform and magnificent buildings and town planning. The other was Elizabeth Macarthur, credited with creating Australia’s wool industry and married to John Macarthur, a dangerous enemy of the establishment.

These women came from strikingly different backgrounds with husbands who held sharply conflicting views. They should have been bitter foes.

Sue Williams’ Elizabeth and Elizabeth is a rich, heartfelt historical fiction debut, exploring early colonial Australian history and the story of two women who forge a strong bond amidst unlikely circumstances. Together, they wield incredible power and are pivotal in the development of Australia.

It’s quite refreshing to read historical fiction that doesn’t centre around a budding romance — a rare find! Instead, Elizabeth and Elizabeth is about a budding friendship, and the support that each characters provides the other within this male-dominated environment.

This novel puts women front and centre during a time when females generally didn’t have much say. Sue establishes a strong, multi-layered characterisation in each of these women — Betsey is hopeful, eager, and perhaps a little naive. Elizabeth is older and wiser, has lived in Australia for longer, and possesses a slightly judgemental and skeptic attitude, which does adapt and change over the course of the novel.

“It would be one last adventure for us both, I told him, an experience we could share and an exciting chance to help shape a part of the world we were hearing so much about. It would be a fine legacy for him, a fitting finale to his long career of service to his country and a great opportunity for me to see something of the world.”

Another strength in the novel is setting and location. Capturing Australia in the early 1800s requires vivid description, and an understanding of the political landscape of the time. Sue brings authenticity to the novel, making it clear how much research has gone into this work — how much time and dedication. I’ll admit some of the political dealings and international relations went over my head, but I appreciate the necessity of these elements in the novel, and how Sue seamlessly wove them in with intrigue.

“Ironically, given the number of times Lachlan urged me to be patient when we arrived, it’s now my turn to worry that Lachlan might be moving too far in relation to the emancipation of convicts, and it’s me who’s warning him to slow down so we don’t make too many enemies.”

Admittedly, I did feel like there wasn’t enough tension in the novel, and challenges felt thin and skimmed over. Because Sue was covering such a large amount of time within the confines of one novel, she did move through the plot quite quickly. As a result, any struggles the women faced, such as miscarriages or home invasions, happened too quickly to really dwell on.

Truthfully, I never really felt worried for either of the women. They both come from incredible privilege and so for the majority of the novel, tensions just didn’t really seem that heightened. Elizabeth’s husband is a bit of a sore point but he’s gone for majority of the novel. For Betsey, her most impressive act of courage doesn’t really happen until the end of the novel, when she’s working so hard to have her husband’s report published. I felt there was scope to expand on that, but instead the months are skimmed over and so I never really felt concerned for her plight.

“She’s a similar age to me, maybe just a few years younger, and she’s plucky, too. Apparently, when the mutineers appeared at Government House to depose her father, she tried to fight them off with her parasol! I would have loved to have seen that.”

Recommended for readers of historical fiction.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth & Elizabeth
Sue Williams
January 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers