Teaser Tuesdays (2)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along and have fun! Just do the following:



• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, I am going to bend the rules a little and share a few sentances from Mary Hooper's Fallen Grace, seen as I have also reviewed it today.

The first quotes are from the back cover of the book:

"You must go to Brockwood."
"What's that?"
"It's like a wonderful garden, with trees and flowers and statues. When you think about your poor child, you'll be able to imagine him there with beautiful stone angels watching over him.'



The next two are taken from the cover leaf on the inside of the book:

'The train roared, sook and swayed as it rounded a corner, and Grace grasped the window frame and waited until it straightened on its course. Then she pushed open the door to the van containing the coffin and went in.'

They appear in the first chapter of the book, when Grace is taking her dead baby to be buried.

Book Review: Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

I’ve always been a big fan of Mary Hooper’s historical books (which are usually about the lives of ordinary people at the time the book was set but usually mentioning famous people then to keep the book realistic) and I was very thrilled when she came on an author visit to my school. At that time, which was a few months before the publication of the book, I had a brief look at the cover leaf (which was stunning and suited the book so perfectly) and could not wait to read it. As I pre-ordered it, I managed to get it a few days before publication, which was great! Fallen Grace is Mary Hooper’s first Victorian set book (that has always been my favourite period of history) and there aren’t as many young adult historical fiction books set in that time period.

Publisher description:

Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative and conscience-free Unwin family, who are as capable of running a lucrative funeral business as they are of defrauding a young woman of her fortune. A stunning evocation of life in Victorian London, with vivid and accurate depictions, ranging from the deprivation that the truly poor suffered to the unthinking luxuries enjoyed by the rich: all bound up with a pacy and thrilling plot, as Grace races to unravel the fraud about to be perpetrated against her and her sister.

Having read all of Mary Hooper’s other brilliant historical books before, she had a high expectation to live up to and I wasn’t disappointed at all. I found Fallen Grace beautifully compelling with a twisting plot and vivid characters: hard working Grace, the deceiving Unwins (funeral directors) and a kindly young man, Mr James Solent that all brought the book to life. Infact, I thought that it slightly surpassed her other books and shows just how much she has progressed in her writing since she was writing her modern teenage fiction series about a young girl called Megan.

Characters (main and favourites):

I loved the heroine Grace who was vulnerable and tragic enough for the story and the poor living that she and her older sister Lily make but also had a strong will and loyal spirit that clung onto hope even in times when the sisters had barely a penny to rub together. Through all the things that she has to bear, from making sure there is food to eat and money to pay the rent with day to day to dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and the death of the baby, she is a very resilient girl. I think that this was a nice balance as the story of the two originally wellborn girls who dropped into destitution and into the world of severe poverty and hunger in London’s notorious Seven Dial slums could easily have turned into an unbearably sad tale.

Also, she is not like the typical girl who is verging on destitution, as she is well mannered to the people she meets and tries to keep the values that her mother taught her as a small girl before she died. Another thing -which I liked- that Grace tries to keep remnants of their past life such as a pretty hand decorated tea cup, which is worth a good deal of money but she refuses to pawn unless there is no other option.

Another main character is Lily, Grace’s childlike older sister who is unable to care for herself. She was adorable and always tried her best to please Grace and loved having stories told to her at night. Their bond together really made me care about them and as the events in the story (I won’t give any away!) began to unfold, it was impossible to read fast enough to know what happened to them.

Wonderful historical detail:

Mary Hooper’s detailed descriptions of life for the poor in Victorian times and the dangers for young girls on the streets must have taken a lot of research. It was this that outshined her other books, and really made a dramatic atmosphere. I know a lot about the Victorian era, having been interested in it since I visited Osborne House (her holiday home) when I was very little and I thought that the story transported me back to that time really well. Some teenage girls who read this may not know much about life was like for Victorian London’s poor and the way that many people lived in constant dread of been ‘thrown out into the gutter so it would be very interesting for them. I think that some may also be a little shocked about how dangerous it was for young girls around their age and how some were driven to become ‘fallen women’ as Grace describes it.  Furthermore, at one point in the story, we meet Charles Dickens, which is in keeping with Mary Hooper's liking of using real people in her books.

As some of the book was set in a funeral parlour, there were so many fascinating and quaint little details that I learnt about such as the correct mourning etiquette and the fact that mourning wear suppliers told customers that it was unlucky to keep the clothes once the mourning period was over. This made the book uniquely different to any other novels set in Victorian London.

In addition to the wonderful description in the book, at the beginning of chapters, there is usually a small picture such a small newspaper advertisment or an invitation. Sometimes, this also tells you more about Victorian times and added to the character of the book.

Even thought this book is  mainly a historical fiction story, there are also elements of mystery and adventure too so it should appeal to a wide range of different book tastes. There were times when I felt pity, sadness, anticipation, anger, thrill, love and hope in the course of the book and I don’t think that there was anything that I would have done to change it. It was fantastic as a stand alone book that left me feeling satisfied and not wanting more from the characters as in some books although there was also an element of imagining what happened to the characters after the book ended.

Overall it was a rare gem of a book, emotional, full of suspense, thrilling and exceptionally well written.

Even if this book doesn’t sound like your usual style, I recommend that you try it as you might be pleasantly surprised. I know that several other reviewers have said that they would never have read it if they hadn’t been sent an advanced reader copy by the publishers but ended up loving it!

The Video:

This is the trailer for the book, which was filmed at Brockwood Cemetery, just outside of London. I like the effect that it creates  and enjoyed but it was different to what I imagined and I think that it portrays the book to be darker and more eerie than it really is.

Book Review: Arabella by Georgette Heyer

Heyer was one of the authors that was recommended to me by my godmother when I was searching for clean and innocent historical fiction books to read. I was excited that she had written so many books and I can’t wait to read more of her Regency Romances now.


The Plot (my summary)

Arabella is the oldest daughter of a fairly poor country parson. When she gets the opportunity to go and stay with her wealthy aunt in London, she must go to her first Season and enter London society to try and find a good match so that her sisters will have good marriage chances too. However, with no fortune, Arabella’s family knows it will be hard. On the journey, she is bold enough to stop at a large house in the countryside to ask for refreshments. Little does she know that London’s leading man is staying there for a break from the city. Invited in, she tells a little fib (I don’t want to spoil it by saying what it is) that turns into a big deception when she is faced with the snobbery of the Nonpareil. Soon the tale is spreading like wildfire and Arabella, the innocent country miss is soon the centre of attention in London.

Review and thoughts:

Arabella was my first book of Georgette Heyer’s and even though I have read others now and enjoyed them. Arabella is still my favourite. I fell in love with the Austen-esque style of writing straight away but soon forgot about this because the of the storyline and characters.

They made me smile so much and the plot about a young Vicar’s daughter taking London by storm in her first Season as she quickly learns about the ways of high society was just my type- it was the kind of thing that I see myself writing about!

Arabella was a wonderful heroin, not seemingly perfect, as is the problem with some girls in romance novels) as she was innocent and and sweet but also lively with a nose for fun, which made her very likeable. She was very caring and intelligent too and did not stop as would have been expected of a society girl at the boundaries of class when it came to helping someone. Also, her naivety of fashionable society and the little ‘mistakes’ that she made kept the book very lively. I like the way that she is represented on the newest version of the cover at the top of this post as being very thoughtful and elegant- it's very beautiful.

The hero of the book was Mr Beaumaris, the most eligible bachelor in London who made the story come to life with his mischievous ways, teasing of Arabella and the funny little conversations with a mongrel dog. He was handsome and elegant, the London trendsetter whom everyone looked up to with a witty sense of humour.

Arabella is filled with lovely historically accurate details that gave me the perfect introduction the Regency Romance Genre. I have now also read Cotillion and The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer, which I recommend too.


I think that it should be on the reading list of every teenage girl (or anyone else looking for an introduction to historical romance.) It was so charming and light, leaving you in such a happy mood- it is now one of my favourite ever books (and it’s very rare or me to say that!)

If you like the sound of the book/want to read it or think you know someone who would like it, I'd be very happy if you left a comment to tell me !  :)

Has anyone else read any clean and innocent (ie. suitable for teens) historical books (or any other reccommendations) that they'd like to share?

Book Review: Abela by Berlie Doherty

Be strong, my Abela.”

These are the last words of Abela’s mother in their HIV/Aids stricken African village, where it seems that to live or to die, to be sick or to be healthy, is just a matter of chance. It takes all Abela’s strength to survive her Uncle Thomas’s scheming to get to Europe, but what will be her fate as an illegal immigrant?

“I don’t want a sister or brother,” thinks Rosa in England, when her mother tells her that she wants to adopt a child. Could these two girls ever become sisters? Is there room in Rosa’s family for an African orphan haunted by lions? Is there room in their hearts?



Abela is a powerful and moving story based on true life from Carnegie award winning author Berlie Doherty writing at her very best.



My review and thoughts:

When I first saw this book in my local book shop whilst browsing the shelves, I didn't buy it at the time but the blurb and the striking front cover made it stick in my mind and I grabbed it straight away when I saw it some time later in the school library! I think that the reason why it appealed to me was that although set in modern times, it wasn't about a lot of the issues that children/teens read about today - e.g divorce- so I wanted to see what is was like.

This story about two young girls:  10 year old Abela, tricked by her Uncle and unwanted and Rosa, who lives in a safe and protected home was wonderful!  Berlie Doherty's writing made it a poignant and readable book that made me think. I think that she addressed the topic very sensitively and put a lot of thought into the feelings, emotions and relationships of the characters. Also, I thought that the beautiful simplicity of the way that the story was told and the innocence of Abela made the book so emotional.

The Story

Abela lived with her sick grandmother once her mother died of aids but her scheming Uncle tricks her into coming with him on a plane to England illegally to try and gain a British citizenship. Once there, she is alone and locked up, feeling homesick for her life back in Tanzania and her native culture. The book takes us through her journey as she is helped by kind social workers.

Meanwhile, Rosa, a 13 year old  English child whose father returned to his native Tanzania and never returned is trying to cope with the fact that her mother wants to adopt a child to be a brother or a sister for her. Secretly, she is very apphrensive and anxious of this but is nervous of sharing this with her mother as she wonders if she is no longer a good enough daughter.

The two stories of the girls are very cleverly linked into one using chapters that tell their story and the contrast between the two girls and their situations is shown very clearly and is incredibly poignant.

Topics that the book addresses

Within the story line there were lots of relevant topics that really got me thinking and wanting to know more such as the problem of aids in Africa, illegal immigration, child trafficking, and the process of fostering and adoption of children in the UK. Yet-don't worry!- these issues were woven into the storyline so I felt that they blended in so perfectly with it and were not too 'in your face' or overloaded with too much information. In the questions that Berlie Doherty was asked by other readers on Write Away (some spoilers so best to avoid unless you have read the book), she said that she felt although there were some serious issues in her books, she thought that literature helps children to understand and explore them.

I  also found out  on the Write Away website that Berlie Doherty's inspiration for the book was when she visited Tanzania and worked with aids victims and their families and also having looked down the route of adopting a child herself.

Summary of my thoughts on the book
Honestly, this story was really heart wrenching and powerfully emotional and left me thinking about it for a few days after I had read it (a while ago now) but I still remember it well now as it made such an impact because it tugs on your heart strings so much. Although this book carries the messages of inspiration, hope and finding out who you are and the love of a family.  I loved it so much that it now has a special place in my heart.

Berlie Doherty said that if she had to name a specific age that Abela is best for, it would be 13 (which means I am exactly the right age) however she also said that it is a book for everyone and anyone to enjoy and I definitely agree with that.

Cover Comparison

My favourite cover is the one on the right, because I think that it sums up the book better with the contrast between the two characters of the girl's whose story it tells and would also appeal to a much wider audience.
However, I think that the left cover would make the book appeal to boys more than girls.

Book Hop (2)

Welcome to any viewers who got here through the weekly Book Hop (a Book Party) organised by Jennifer (a BIG thank you!) @ Crazy for Books(http://www.crazy-for-books.com/) so that book bloggers can share their blog with other book lovers and also find a new blog to 'follow.' To get involved all you have to do is post your blog link ( to a post telling a bit about yourself and how/why you started blogging.) It was great fun on my first week!

My answer:

My name is Stephanie and I started book blogging because I wanted to keep track of what I read in a more exciting way than reviews written in a notepad and came across blogging when searching for a book review on the Internet. Although I started about a couple of months ago, I only started posting properly in the last week or two. So far, I've loved posting, netwroking with all the other book bloggers from the Book Hop and playing around with my new background! I think that it's never too young to start blogging as I hope that my blog shows as I'm only just into my teens.

I hope you enjoy and have fun reading my posts as they were a lot of fun to write! Feel free to post a link for your blog in a comment to and I'll be very happy to take a look  :)

Happy reading!

Summer and Beyond Reading List

Check out my reading list under the page heading 'Reading List' - you might find a book that take your fancy!

Thanks!