The Genealogist's Guests
by Ann Simpson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Liz is researching her family tree, she has even went so far as to hand paint a beautiful tree on her living room wall with all the ancestors, each on their own leaf, so far as she has found them. These is what she has immersed herself in since her husband died, well really since she killed him but nobody knows that. What Liz doesn't know is that her family tree has opened a portal to the other world and the ghosts of her ancestors are with her, some good and some not so good. The Genealogist's guests are coming, her first guests in four years. Her niece Abigail and her two children and Liz is so happy, but maybe now isn't the right time. Ann Simpson tells the story of generations upon generations repeating the mistakes of their ancestors and hiding it out of shame and fear. Only by revealing the truth will they ever truly be free from the ghosts of their past.
The Genealogist's Guest starts out like a ghost story with with ancestor's helping the current descendant, but very soon you realize there is something very dark about this story. Within the first few chapters there is a break in at Liz's house, and what we learn about the criminal will set the stage for the rest of the book. Margaret and George and the elderly next door neighbor couple, and Margaret is a medium so they are soon at Liz's house all the time helping out and protecting her. Ann Simpson uses the lightheard subject of genealogy to tackle a much deeper issue and to get across the point that fear and shame only makes the problem grown, it is only through telling the truth can the cycle be broken and you can be set free. I definitely recommend this for mature readers only.
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A Voice to Be Heard
by Dell Brand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Travel back to the 1800's to a time when society was ruled by men, and women were window dressing. A Voice to be Heard starts with a young girl, Florence who is well educated, which is not common for that era. Yet she is seduced and becomes pregnant by the Lord of the house's son, only to be held in high regard by the Lord, who takes care of her and her twin daughters for the rest of his life. Within days, grandfather is killed in a freak carriage accident and mother dies after and run-in with her seducer. The twins go to their grandfather's lawyer with a plan, he having heard all about the intelligence and education that grandfather and mother imparted on them. The lawyer is more than happy to help and sets plans into action, within a month the girls are on a boat to Australia. Despite all society conventions,the girls proceed on their own, and buy a house, build another, turn the first into a hotel, and thus an empire is created. Along the way, each twin runs into problems with men. Joey falls for a married man, has his child, but never tells him about it and lets Maddy raise her as her own. Maddy marries a thug who hides his true intentions from her until after their marriage. He drains their bank account and beats up Maddy, only to later try to rape Joey and get knocked over the head and killed. Happier times and sadder times follow, just as in life. Dell Brand does a wonderful job making you feel like you are really living in Melbourne in the 1840's.
A Voice to be Heard is an inspirational read to any woman, allowing them to realize that they can accomplish whatever they want, no matter what society says. It won't be easy, there will be hurdles and bad times, but good times too, you just have to stay focused. Dell Brand cover a long period of time, from the early 1800's when Florence is young, to the 1850's after the death of Thomas, the twins father. It's truly a family saga, although it does skip huge parts of time, which of course you would have to, to cover the length of time it does. I enjoyed Joey's drive to be held under no ones thumb, to be her own person and to build this empire for her family. Maddy is more the romantic of the two and craves marriage and children. Yet for all Joey's strength, one man can still bring her crumbling, her first and only love. She never stops loving him. Overall the family saga, historical nature of the story first drew me in, but the characters kept me there until the end. It had me wishing I could have been there, almost. I couldn't handle the fashion!
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The Appearacne of Truth
by Rosemary J. Kind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Her mother passed away a year ago, and Lisa is still having trouble figuring out what to do now that she is on her own. A chance meeting at the cemetery brings new hope to her life, in the form of a budding relationship with Pete. A casual discussion about family, and a bet to research their family tree's will lead to unknown events for Lisa. She finds that what she thought she knew was not the truth, and she is not who she thought she was. +Rosemary Kind does a wonderful job of bringing to life the search for the truth to Lisa's identity as well as telling the heartbreaking tale from her parents side of the story as well. The Appearance of Truth will challenge you to understand the pain of parents, and the confusion as Lisa searches for the truth.
The idea that maybe you actually have a rich and famous ancestor in your family tree has sparked many a person to research their genealogy. An Appearance of Truth takes the idea of family tree's and turns it upside down, as Lisa sets out on a normal quest only to unlock a mystery that has be hidden for thirty years. +Rosemary Kind brings to life the many sides of this story, with each getting equal time, and none being slated as being the better side. The story takes the fears of finding out a secret and packages it into a novel worth the read. This was an engaging story that kept me interested to the very end.
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
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