My Daily Selection for Free Kindle Download

Hopes and Sorrow

Jenny Telfer Chaplin

Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Historical > Family Saga > Magic

Ohhh, now this one looks interesting .... nice cover, intriguing description, a previously featured Author, as well as being published by Endeavour press:

The year is 1893. 

Mary Gregg is a lowly serving girl. But she dreams of escaping from the drudgery of her serving life in rural Scotland.

One stormy night, fate grants Mary the chance to escape after she saves the life of a friend.

Moved by foreboding glimpses of the future, Mary is transformed from servant girl to spiritual seer.

But this gift soon becomes a curse as her family and her village grow suspicious of her. Branded a witch, Mary flees and seeks employment with the mysterious Miss Patten – a woman who believes that they have been brought together by powers from the Great Beyond.

At Ivylea House, Mary’s life will be swept up by her spiritual powers - and face a challenge that will determine her fate. 

‘Hope and Sorrows’ starts as an intimate story of one woman’s life and grows into a familial epic as children and grandchildren grow, learn and love.

Set against the background of rural Scotland, it follows the story of three generations touched by magic.

Notwithstanding my usual comments about just 1 Review, see my comments above to give you a good indication why I featured this book today.  I've just got my copy, so why not click HERE and get a copy to read for yourself whilst it's free.

After what I am now calling "Highlander-gate" yesterday .... I am looking forward to chillin' with a decent read - which I have in Autumn's Flame at the moment.  In reality I probably won't get to read today's selection for a good month or so ... currently, I am reading March downloads: I get quite a few book being sent in for Review as well as my own recreational reading and the Daily Kindle Selection.

On Amazon today my rating is (>) 3,464. I suppose that I'm still heading in the right direction, but very slowly now. I would love to get to the top 1,000 Reviewers' some day ....... so if you find the Daily Kindle Downloads info useful please go over to my Reviews on Amazon and leave me some positive feedback  on some of my reviews (which helps my rating, and will earn you my grateful thanks).

Before I go, can I just say ...... whoop, whoop rating is coming down quicker again .... GO ME .... I feel like:

#340 (#58 of 2013) - Fortunes of the Heart ~ Jenny Telfer Chaplin *NEW AUTHOR

Fortunes of the Heart ~ Jenny Telfer Chaplin 

*NEW AUTHOR

Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Historical > Family Saga

Publisher: Endeavour Press Ltd

Description:

Kate thinks her life is about to change - forever. 

A chamber maid from a world of grinding poverty, she falls pregnant and unexpectedly marries Pearce Kinnon, the son of wealthy Irish landed gentry.

She expects to move into a new world fitting her husband's status.

The world of a lady.

But her new family are far from welcoming - and Kate and her husband are cut off without a penny.

Kate is suddenly right back where she started - except with a husband and a young child to look after.

And with nothing to live on apart from their wits and brains. 

As poverty-stricken Irish immigrants they are considered the lowest of the low by the Glaswegians in the city where they have settled. 

Kate has to battle religious, cultural, and social prejudice to build a new life for herself.

And she has to battle to save her marriage - and re-build the fortune that was cruelly taken from them. 

Product Details:

I got this as a free Kindle download at Amazon in February 2013.  However, at the time of writing this post it is listed as £2.99.  You can get it clicking HERE, or on the large title above the Cover Image Photograph.

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Summary:

It was a little on the slow side for me personally.  I found myself getting quite frustrated with Kate, and wishing she had a bit more gumption and get up and go.  Although having said that, the woman had trials enough to cope with:  a upper-class husband that couldn't take his down turn in circumstances or loss of children well, a handicapped child, family disagreements etc.

Having read quite a few Audrey Howard novels, it is quite difficult not to make a comparison between the two.  The style of writing is similar.  I would say possible Ms Howard has the edge.

Don't get me wrong it wasn.t that I didn't like, or indeed enjoy it, it's just if Kate had been written with just a bit more go and ambition, it could have been a spectacular offering.

There were just a couple of typographical and grammatical errors - when are there not?  Also the end formatting could do with being tidied up a bit.  The last sentence, flows into details about the author.  Another wee thought, in the late 1800s did they celebrate Halloween?

All in all a 3.5 star read, but for Amazon/Good Reads just not quite good enough to make a 4 star rating.

Make no mistake I would be interested in reading more of this family saga, and look forward to perhaps a bit more fire.

Hugs

Kay