REVIEW: The Garden of Memories by Amanda James

The Garden of Memories by Amanda James

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Read: 20th July 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 20th June 2024

★★★ 3.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

People are like flowers. If you give them the right environment in which to grow, they bloom.

With nothing but time on her hands, retired nurse Rose Lanyon finds herself drawn to the garden that had once been her husband’s pride and joy.

It may have started as a means of honouring her husband’s memory, but her little Cornish garden soon becomes so much more – a place where the lost and lonely can find solace, the forgotten can be remembered, and second chances take bloom. Because, as long as new life is growing, there will always be hope and new memories to make…

MY THOUGHTS:

This book is difficult for me to describe. It's a story about friendship, community and self discovery centred around a garden that becomes the centrepiece for this tale...and one of many memories. It is a beautiful story that's happy, sad and bittersweet. But most of all, it is feel-good.

Rose Lanyon prepares for her last day at work - a job she has held for the past 30 years as a nurse in the local GP practice. But now Rose is retiring and losing her identity as a nurse to become...what, exactly?

Her first day of freedom, so to speak, has her pondering her new found freedom and questioning what she's to do with the rest of her life. The old hippy woman down the road dressed in loud garish outfits may well pass judgement on her as she sees Rose pottering uselessly about hr garden, knowing full well she knows nothing about gardening. This was her late husband Glen's domain. 

And just like that, a seed is planted...

Before long, Rose has befriended the hippy woman, Flora, from down the road. And discovers she has a sad story of her own, and her own memories to share. Soon one friend becomes three then four and it isn't long before Rose's seed of an idea begins to bloom as her garden of memories flourishes under the tender loving care of all who visit.

And everyone who does visit comes away feeling rvitalised, refreshed and renewed. The garden has a calming effect, bringing a sense of calm and peace in an otherwise busy world. And together in their garden of memories, Rose finds new purpose and new friendships...and together they bloom. Just like her garden of memories.

I really didn't know what to write about this book. I enjoyed it but I admit I did struggle with it a little too. Maybe because it is not my usual genre and maybe my reading slump isn't helping. But I did enjoy it and found myself wishing I was in that very garden amidst the scents and fragrances and vibrant colours. Especially the honeysuckle...I miss honeysuckle. I loved it in our garden as a child.

A delightful read about the therapeutic power of nature.

I would like to thank #AmandaJames, #Netgalley and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheGardenOfMemories in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Amanda James has written since she was a child, and as an eight-year-old, she asked her parents for a typewriter for Christmas. She never imagined her words would ever be published. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true when she had her first short story published. She left teaching in 2013 to pursue her dream full-time.

Originally from Sheffield, Amanda now lives in Cornwall and is inspired every day by the wild and beautiful coastline near her home. She has many suspense novels set there, but her last few books have been uplifting in nature with a twist of magic. She loves writing feel-good reads and has decided the world needs more joy in it right now, and her plan is to write many more novels in that genre.  Amanda can usually be found playing on the beach with her family, or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Another Mother by Amanda James

Another Mother by Amanda James

Genre: Psychological Suspense

Read: 16th July 2018

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★ 3.5 stars

ANOTHER MOTHER is a slow burning psychological thriller with a bit of a difference. In fact, the first half of the book didn't feel much like a thriller at all. But don't let that fool you...because about halfway through it turns ending in a fast paced thrill ride with one twist and then another twist you don't see coming! Not even I (who normally does) saw it coming!

Lucinda, or Lu as she is known as, has always known she was adopted but has always felt loved and secure with her adoptive parents. Although growing up she was bullied at school for being adopted with the cruelest things like "No wonder your mother got rid of you, who would want you?" Kids can be so cruel, and having been on the receiving end of schoolyard bullying I know just how damaging and lasting the effects of bullying can have on a child. This left Lu lacking in confidence and self worth. But she had a wonderful life with her parents whom she both adored.

Then one day, after walking out of her job, she arrives home to find the police there delivering the unbelievable news that her mum had been killed in a traffic accident. Although Lu adores her father she decides to seek her biological mother out, hoping to discover where she came from and why she was adopted. So she re-engages an investigator she asked to find her a few years before, and before long receives a letter from her birth mother, Mellyn. With her father's blessing, she travels to Cornwall to meet her. But once she does she finds that everything is not as it seems and becomes confused and unsettled by Mellyn's behaviour. She begins to doubt everything she knows and even herself as she becomes wrapped up in Mellyn's challenging and conflicting behaviour, gushing with love and platitudes one minute and darkened "meltdowns" the next. Lu finds herself feeling somewhat protective towards Mellyn, wanting to help her so she decides to extend her stay in Cornwall indefinitely.

Whilst in Cornwall, Lu meets and finds a friend in Rosie who works at the B&B she stays in, and ultimately gets work in alongside Rosie when deciding to extend her stay. They become close friends, laughing and enjoying a similar humour as the other. One day, Rosie discloses that thinks she remembers her mum being friends with Mellyn at some stage, so questions her mum about it when she calls, but her mum goes quiet and dismisses her queries. When Lu brings up Rosie's mum with Mellyn, she denies knowing her at all and that she must be mistaken. But is everything as it seems? Or not?

Initially after the death of her adoptive mother, Lu had found solace in a neighbour Adelaide and who was now taking care of her father in her absence. It was in her quiet moments now when becoming unsettled by Mellyn's strange behaviour Lu found herself longing for Adelaide's wise words and confided in her during their phone conversations. So when Adelaide decided an impromptu visit to Cornwall with her sister Evelyn, Lu was delighted. But was it a good idea?

All this created a slow build up as a premise of what was to come. It was almost like slowly trudging up a huge hill (most probably in Cornwall...lol) and once you made it to the top - the halfway point - you suddenly found yourself barreling down the other side so fast you could hardly keep up, as everything began to unravel. That was what reading this book was like.

Now I loved the setting for this book. Being British at heart, I long for the picturesque beauty of places like Cornwall, and the quaint little seaside village was both atmospheric and idyllic. The sleepiness of the surroundings made for that real sense of foreboding, almost claustrophobic in some ways. After all, it is much easier to hide in a city than in a village.

I really enjoyed Lu's character. I'm not a fan of overly strong women with a bitchy attitude, but Lu was nothing like that. She was someone I could relate to having been bullied when I was younger too, leaving me with that lack of self worth and confidence also. Her ability to be speak her mind with Mellyn is something I could never do. I would be too afraid of the consequences. The fact that Lu's part of the story is written in first person really made it feel like I was her, living her life. Lu was someone I could really connect with, though I often found myself saying to her "No, don't do it, Lu! Don't do it!" or "Just walk away". But as I'm not adopted I can't really relate to how difficult it would be to just walk away from your birth mother just as soon as you had found her, no matter how strange or conflicting her behaviour was.

I liked Rosie as well. I sense early on about her, but at the same time I sometimes questioned "was this a trap?" This book makes you question who to trust even when it is obvious who you can't. I did find myself wondering about Rosie at times, but on the whole, I did like her. I enjoyed her friendship with Lu, but to me, that's all it should be.

Adelaide? I loved her. She was very wise and Lu's descriptions of her were rather amusing - the pencilled eyebrows...lol Whilst in the beginning I thought she may be a meddling busybody, in the end I found her to be one of the strongest characters in the entire book. She was kind, loving, amusing and very engaging. Her relationship with Lu is almost a surrogate mother/daughter one which I found to be rather special and something to be treasured.

And then there was Mellyn...who was dramatic to say the least. In a nutshell, I did not like her. From the first moment in the book I didn't like her. I was suspicious of her from the beginning - her overt gushes of love and self adulation just didn't ring genuine to me. But Lu, desperately searching for where she came from and the truth of her adoption, put it down as nerves and unsure herself. But no matter what happened between Mellyn and Lu I could not like her one bit. I didn't trust her one bit. Every time her face darkened and she went into what Lu calls "one of her meltdowns" I screamed at Lu to go pack her bags and get out! I knew this would not end well for either of them. Mellyn was, in a nutshell, a nutcase. She played loosely with truth and fiction, telling Lu little "bits" just enough to feel sorry for her and to keep Lu on, what I saw as, a bit of a leash. Plainly put, the woman was mental. And Lu was right on one score - Mellyn needed help. She was dangerous and volatile, and as the pages turn you could see her begin to unravel...sending you into that wild ride to the end.

Overall, ANOTHER MOTHER is a well written story with that slow burn to start, lulling you in to that false sense of security before sending you on a rollercoaster ride of your life till the end. I read this in two sittings. 20% the first night, and then the next 80% the following night, unable to put it down once I found myself on that thrill ride...I needed to find out what happened. And then, just when you thought it was over, there was one final twist that had me thinking "what the...?" as it began to play out. And then it all made perfect sense.

When I started, I didn't think I would stick it out or enjoy it very much but how wrong I was. Incredibly psychological with a difference, ANOTHER MOTHER is definitely for lovers of that real drawn out suspense.