Skip to main content

Featured

The Fascination by Essie Fox #Review #Giveaway

   Today be prepared for a dark, Victorian gothic novel! The Fascination by Essie Fox is published on June 22nd by Orenda . For the chance to win a print copy of The Fascination see the foot of this post for details. Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions… Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn't grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father's quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities … particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother’s death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his

Relativity by Antonia Hayes ** Blog Tour **

    It is time for my stop on the UK Blog Tour for the January 2017 paperback publication of relativity by Antonia Heyes.

**********************************
The Blurb 


Ethan is an exceptionally gifted young boy, obsessed with physics and astronomy.

His single mother Claire is fiercely protective of her brilliant, vulnerable son. But she can’t shield him forever from learning the truth about what happened to him when he was a baby; why Mark had to leave them all those years ago.

Now age twelve, Ethan is increasingly curious about his past, especially his father’s absence in his life.  When he intercepts a letter to Claire from Mark, he opens a lifetime of feelings that, like gravity, will pull the three together again.

Relativity is a tender and triumphant story about unbreakable bonds, irreversible acts, and testing the limits of love and forgiveness.
 ****************************************************** 
My Thoughts
   Relativity is one of those books which stay in your mind after you have finished it. This is mainly due to the skilful way that Antonia Hayes has drawn the main characters. We find out more about them as the novel unfolds which leads us to question our initial impressions. It is interesting to observe the relationship between Claire and her son Ethan and then to see how his father, Mark's return affects them all. Some of the book is difficult reading but ultimately you realise that you are in safe hands. 

     There are three voices in this book, Ethan, Claire and Mark and you see the story through each of their eyes at different points. This is never confusing although you do question with Claire and Mark, at different points, how reliable their memories are. You realise how fragile life can be and how if either of them had made a different choice how different their lives might have been. I always enjoy a narrative with flashbacks and the glimpses of Mark's early life and family help you to see him, not as a monster, but a human being.

    Ethan is a talented young boy with a knowledge of physics which is far in advance of his age. I enjoyed all the references to the physics he sees around him and which he has a tremendous hunger to understand. You really feel for all the characters but especially for Ethan who is seen as different by his peers. It is lovely to see him make a friend in Alison who relates to him so strongly. 

    As a first novel, this is impressive. Based on events in the author's own life, you can sense that it is very close to her heart. This is a book which enriches the reader and with its clever plotting, one which keeps you enthralled to the end.

In short: a heart-warming tale which deals with difficult and harrowing events but which ultimately enriches the reader.

 About the Author


Antonia Hayes, who grew up in Sydney and spent her twenties in Paris, currently lives in London with her husband and son. Relativity is her first novel.

You connect with Antonia on
Twitter   |  Website   | Instagram  |

Thanks to Clara Diaz at Little, Brown publishers for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour.

                          Check out the rest of the Tour today! 

Comments

Popular Posts