The Holiday Blur

Hello! 

It's now the 30th December and Christmas has been and gone in a flurry of catching up with a young relative not seen for 9 years. Festivities happened but they were curtailed due to illness in the family- and I include myself in that scenario. It may not have been FLU proper but it's a disgustingly nasty viral infection that still gripping me in its claws.

When I'm off my food AND not able to read much than I really am sick. 

However, that said, I do have some reviews of novels recently read that I need to catch up with so that they join my Goodreads quota for 2017.

The best of my December reads was Blessed Shadows Dark and Deep by Michael Staton. This novel was set during the American Civil War 

I thoroughly enjoyed this Civil War novel. Though interested in all periods of history, I confess to not knowing much at all about the American Civil War as it never featured in my British and European historical studies in past decades. 

It was good to learn some aspects of the bloody conflict through the eyes of the main characters, all of whom were portrayed admirably by the author.

War does indeed change people, but it was an enjoyable process to read of Bill Stamford’s maturing as the war years progressed. To survive such conflict intact and unaffected would have been unrealistic, and he has his fair share of trauma to contend with, but I think the author managed very well to show how Bill was able to accommodate the changes wrought around him yet still retain a certain natural naivety.

His two ‘ladies’ also come across as women who were worth knowing and would have been good to meet. I’m giving no spoilers in saying that I’m glad about how his love life ends in the novel.

Many family names cropped up in the story that seemed very familiar, perhaps common to the geographical areas involved, and they were all an added bonus to an excellent read.

I’d recommend this to anyone who likes an action adventure with a good dash of humanity. 

I rated this with 5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads. 

(p s I'll be posting a couple more reviews when I summon the energy and stop coughing. )

Slainthe!