Tag: My Map of You

The one that takes us to New Zeland: One Winter Morning by Isabelle Broom (Book Review) #Christmas #NewZeland #WomensFiction

One Winter Morning by Isabelle Broom book cover

GIFTED / Today I will talk about the newest book by my favourite author Isabelle Broom (if you noticed, I have more then few favourite authors).
One Winter Morning was published in paperback edition October 17th 2019 by Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK, and it has 400 pages.
I want to thank wonderful people from Michael Jospeh for sending me an invitation to read this book via Netgalley, in an exchange for an honest review.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / On a winter morning she lost a piece of her heart. Can she find it?

Evangeline isn’t feeling festive this December.

The frost and fairy lights only remind her it’s been a year since she lost the mother who took her in as a baby and raised her.

She’s never felt more alone – until she discovers her birth mother’s identity. And where to find her.

A lifetime and thousands of miles have separated Evangeline and Bonnie. Now, travelling to New Zealand could be Evangeline’s chance to confront the woman who gave her up.

But is she ready for what she’ll find there?

The answers she’s been looking for, a new family to heal her . . . Or someone she could never have expected?

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Review:

Isabelle Broom is the author who started her writing career around the same time I started my blog, and I am proud to be her supporter from the very start.
How could I not be?
Ever since I read her novel My Map of You and fell in love with her writing style and courage to paint characters in the most realistic way, I knew I’d read every single book she’d write (okay, I admit I’m not the best supporter out there, because I am two books behind, but in my defense: do you know how it feels like to know that you don’t have anything new to read that’s written by your favourite author? Plus, I plan to read both of them before the end of this year).

One Winter Morning takes place in New Zeland most of the time, but also some parts of the story are set in England.
The story is written from POV’s of two women: Genie’s and Bonnie’s.
Even though Genie is the main character, I have to admit that I was more invested in Bonnie’s life and reasons behind the decision that she made.

If you didn’t know, Isabelle Broom is famous for her beautiful descriptions of the places her stories take place in.
Although I enjoyed descriptions of New Zeland, this time I couldn’t imagine myself there, as I usually do when it comes to her books. Maybe the reason for that is the fact that I am not that familiar with New Zeland (the most I know is from Hobbit), but I also think that the part in that plays my disappointment with all the sunshine and summer, because the book cover and the title made me expect more wintery setting.
I admit, I should have paid more attention to the premise, and obvious logic, because I know that New Zeland is on the other side of Mediteran.
Also, the story takes place around Christmas time, so it is a festive read, but with different setting.

It is important to say that this book has one disabled character (I hope I used the right term, if I didn’t, I apologize) who is, in my opinion, presented very well and Broom gave her (the girl who is disabled) a strong personality and she really was the big part of the story.

As I understood, this story is close to heart to the author (I got it from her email newsletter I am subscribed to) because of her own family situation, so it makes me appreciate it even more.

Family relationships were my favourite parts of the book.

I would highly recommend One Winter Morning to readers who love family stories with dash of romance in it, but also to those who’d like to read about Christmas set in sunny parts of our planet.

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Best books I read in 2016

Hi guys!

It’s been a long time since I posted anything, but I am back now, and I plan to blog on regular basis from now on.
I was thinking about what should I write in my first post this year, and talking about great books I read previous year was the obvious choice (plus, there’s a giveaway hop I signed up for in which I’ll give away one book from this list, that’s coming very, very shortly(today)).

Without further ado, here is my TOP 10 books I read in 2016:

the summer that melted everything1.  The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

The Summer That Melted Everything is one book that will stay with me forever. It was the best book I read not only this year, but one of best I read in my whole life.
It is beautifully written with a great story that awoke so many of my emotions.

You can read my full review here.

 

2. On Writing by Stephen King on-writing

On Writing is one of rare non-fiction books I read this year, and it is also one of a few books I didn’t review.
The reason why this book found it’s place on my top 10 books list is not because of brilliant writing advices, but because I really enjoyed reading King’s memoir.

 

3. Martini Henry by Sara Crowe martini henry

Martini Henry won me with it’s beautiful writing. The story itself was pretty slow, but I enjoyed every single page. This book is definitely the one I’d recommend to aspiring authors.
You can read my full review here.

 

my map of you 4. My Map of You by Isabelle Broom

This year, thanks to book blogging community, I discovered new favorite author of mine, and she won me in her debut novel My Map of You. Characters she created felt like real people and the way she described Greece made me feel like I was partly there.
This is another novel I’d recommend to aspiring authors, and you can read my full review here.

 

faithful 5. Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Faithful won me with beautiful writing style and raw story that made me emotional so many times, but it also left me feeling hopeful after I finished it.
To read my full review, click here.

 

flunked 6. Flunked by Jen Calonita

Flunked is the middle grade book, first in the series, that takes place in the world of fairytales.

I had fun the whole time I was reading it and, in my opinion, it’s main atribute is it’s sense of humor. A lot of times it reminded me of Shrek, so I think it would appeal to fans of that movie.

You can read my full review here.

 

a-list-of-cages7. A List of Cages by Robin Roe

I was fortunate enough and had an opportunity to read A List of Cages before it’s releasing day.

This novel made me so emotional but it also made me feel like I got so much out of it.
Although it is ya, I think people of all age should read it at some point.

You can read my full review here.

 

take me on 8. Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry is one of my favorite authors and once again her book reminded my why I love everything she writes. Her writing style is always great, and the story in Take Me On was so interesting and emotional. It talkes about poverty, love and sports.

You can read my review here.

 

the iron warrior 9. The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Iron Warrior is the last book in The Iron Fey series and I was so sad to say goodbye to my favorite fictional world and characters I love so much.

The book didn’t disappoint and I was happy with how the whole story concluded.

To read my review, click here.

 

the winner's crime 10. The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner’s Crime is the second installment in The Winner’s Trilogy. I still have to read the third one, and since I heard nothing but great things about it, my hopes are pretty high. I enjoyed the first book in the series too, but this one was sooooooo good, and it reminded me of Game of Thrones at some points.

You can read my full review here.