I received a free copy of Finding Colin Firth by Mia March to review from Netgalley. It is set in the same town as her previous work The Meryl Streep Movie Club, on which I cannot comment as I have not yet had the chance to read it. Finding Colin Firth is a sweet story of three women drawn together in a Maine town connected by a theme of unplanned pregnancy and its impact on their lives. The theme of giving up a child is also explored through other characters in the novel. There are frequent references to characters being adopted, looking to adopt or working with young pregnant teens. It is most fully explored, however, through the three main characters. Bea and Veronica are connected through the fact that Veronica gave birth to Bea as a young woman and gave her up for adoption. The novel explores their tentatively establishing a connection with each other. Gemma, on the other hand, is struggling to deal with the realisation that she is expecting a child, and is uncertain how to deal with it despite being happily married.The subject is dealt with compassionately, and the characters are very likeable. What I liked…
This week I finished The Gem Trilogy by Kerstin Gier, which I absolutely adored. I will say though that it is one long book divided into three parts rather than three separate books with an overarching storyline – the first two novels don’t really have a strong ending. For this reason you may wish to wait before starting the trilogy as the final book, Emerald Green, is not due out in English until October – unless you read German, that is. There were several twists in the final volume, some of which were clearly signposted along the way, others more surprising – I found that Gier had a nice balance there. I continued to enjoy the character of Gwen and her adventures. The fact that the subtitle of “love throughout the ages” can be applied to more than one couple was very appealing to me. I would certainly recommend this trilogy, although I recommend waiting a few months until the English translation is available! Check out the Gem Trilogy on Kindle, Kobo, iBook and Audible formats. The next book I read/listened to was Brandon Sanderson’s new YA novel The Rithmatist. As an aside, I would not recommend listening to this…