Whatever the weather’s doing outside your window this week, treat yourself to a ‘snow’ day – take time out from the usual hustle and bustle of life and sit down with a good book. From an amazing, magical tale to a funny chick-lit story, there are some fab books out now.
This week I’ve been reading:
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (£7.99, Headline Review)
This magical novel is so beautiful you’ll never want it to end. Inspired by an old Russian fairy tale, the book captures the mystical, dreamlike quality of children’s folk tales, and is an absolute joy to read.
After their child was stillborn 10 years ago Mabel and Jack find they’re unable to move on with life in the city, with children and family all around. So they move to deepest darkest Alaska to build a life in the wilderness on their own. Yet, still they can’t find happiness. Then the first winter snow falls and in a rare moment of joy, the couple have a snowball fight and build a snowman – or rather snowgirl – complete with red scarf, mittens and hay for her hair. That night they sleep deeply for the first time in months. But when they wake the next day, the snowgirl is gone, but the rest of the snow remains. Over the next few days they catch glimpses of a young girl in the woods and a flash of red scarf. Mabel remebers an old fairy tale from her childhood about a snowgirl who came alive, and she starts to believe that maybe the girl in the woods is the snowgirl she and Jack built. Slowly, they get to know the strange girl, who’s says her name is Faina, and she brings them a happiness the couple thought they’d never feel again. But then the snows melt and Faina heads off into the woods and disappears. Jack and Mabel are left bereft and wondering if they’ve lost a child for the second time.
The Snow Child’s author, Eowyn Ivey, lives in Alaska herself, so she’s able to paint a vivid picture of the mountainous lands and unrelenting weather – so much so that you start to feel you know the homestead and woods as well as Faina herself. From the very first pages, the boundaries between what’s believeable and what’s just make-believe start to blur. By the end of the story, the author has weaved a magical spell and you feel that fairy tales really can come true. The book has just been picked as one of Richard & Judy’s Bookclub’s Autumn Collection and it’s set to be the book on everyone’s lips. Read it now (it’s currently just £2.99 on Amazon!) then share it with all your friends. This moving and bewitching book will stay with you long after the final page and you’ll want to tell everyone about it!
I’ve also been reading:
It Happened In Venice by Molly Hopkins (£6.99, Sphere)
When Evie finds out her boyfriend Rob has cheated on her, they split up. But two months later they’re back together – and engaged! Rob wants her to give up her job escourting coach and corporate tours around glamourous European cities so they can spend more time together, as well as her evening shifts in her friend Nik’s bar. Then he suggests she move out of her flat with best friend Lulu and that they buy their first home together. But although she and Rob are more than compatible in bed, can she ever forgive him for his past and commit to a future together away from the places and people she loves?
Frisky, light-hearted and full of giggles, this entertaining book will have you wishing you were enjoying a sexy city break with the man of your dreams. Well as we know, dreams can come true, so he’s hoping!
What have you been reading this week? Tweet me @FabFrosty. And come back next week when I’ll be reviewing Marian Keyes’ brilliant new book – and have a fab competition for all you Marian fans!
