Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is
for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book
you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the
sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the
opener inspires. Please remember to include the title
of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on
the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.
This week my book beginning is In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl
Afterwards, she would find herself unable to describe the old man with whom they shared the elevator, other than a lascivious smile, as if he knew. She would forget the hotel lobby, the desk clerk, the room, even the view out the window which she knew must be the Luxembourg Gardens.
Book Description
A
vivid and compelling story of love, war and secrets, set against the
backdrop of WWI France. 'In the beginning, it was the summers I
remembered - long warm days under the palest blue skies, the cornflowers
and forget-me-nots lining the road through the Lys forest, the buzz of
insects going about their work, Violet telling me lies.' Iris is getting
old. A widow, her days are spent living quietly and worrying about her
granddaughter, Grace, a headstrong young doctor. It's a small sort of
life. But one day an invitation comes for Iris through the post to a
reunion in France, where she served in a hospital during WWI. Determined
to go, Iris is overcome by the memories of the past, when as a shy,
naive young woman she followed her fifteen-year-old brother, Tom, to
France in 1914 intending to bring him home. On her way to find Tom, Iris
comes across the charismatic Miss Ivens, who is setting up a field
hospital in the old abbey of Royaumont, north of Paris. Putting her
fears aside, Iris decides to stay at Royaumont, and it is there that she
truly comes of age, finding her capability and her strength,
discovering her passion for medicine, making friends with the vivacious
Violet and falling in love. But war is a brutal thing, and when the
ultimate tragedy happens, there is a terrible price that Iris has to
pay, a price that will echo down the generations. A moving and uplifting
novel about the small, unsung acts of heroism of which love makes us
capable.
Just wanted to say hello and give an update as I haven't been posting on here much recently. I'm up to date with review books and I've decided to try and catch up on my own tbr pile. If I read too many review novels then it starts to feel like a chore rather than something I enjoy, I find I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'll say about the story, characters etc instead of just enjoying the book. I'm getting back into reading just for fun, taking my time over a book and not thinking I need to get it finished and onto the next one as soon as possible.
I will still post on here and no doubt will be back in a reviewing mood again soon and as always appreciate you all visiting my blog and leaving comments.
