A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe

Last year I read Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe and I loved it, so I was very excited when I saw that she had a new book coming out. Everything I have read from her so far has been historical, so it was a bit of a surprise when this book started in 2049.

Daniel is an elderly recluse who lives alone by choice. His life was shaped by a great tragedy which he is happy to have relegated to the past, but unfortunately, every now and again, other people want to reexamine those events. He spends his days making sculptures which he creates by breaking and reassembling different pieces of china, often those that have come down through his family over the years.

On the day of the big storm, Daniel's longan tree is destroyed. As he tries to clear the tree from the path, his neighbour Olivia Chong visits, and soon Daniel can't keep her away. She is very surprised to find that he has a Chinese altar inside his small house which he explains by saying that it was his dad's and that a few generations back there was a Chinese ancestor, who allegedly was a bushranger, who had a child with an Irish woman.

From Daniel's story, we move back through the generations to his aunt Wendy who is battling dementia, to her aunt who had left Australia to try and be a movie star in Hollywood in the late 1940s. battling type casting. In each generation, some of the family members embrace their Chinese heritage, but others choose to focus on their Irishness. 

Eventually we get back to the story of Maria and Ah Yang, the place where the story started. The novel has an interesting structure in that the further we get back in time, the less page time the characters get. This makes sense because even now if you are doing family ancestry research it is easier to find details about the most recent generations than it is earlier generations where it becomes like a puzzle to put all the clue together. I found myself thinking that this is reflected in the art that Daniel creates - a whole piece made up of the small fragments of the past. 

I did find Daniel and Wendy's story moving, but the one that affected me the most was the story of Seamus and Annie from the early 1900s, which highlighted the unfairness of the white Australia policy that was in place and was developed to only bring in migrants from "acceptable" white countries. Anyone else was forced to undertake crazy tests to prove that they could enter the country. The story of what happened to Annie and Seamus made me mad and made me cry at the same time. 

A Short History of Longans opens with a family tree, which I guess isn't all that unusual in a historical novel that focuses on one family through time. However, in this case the family tree is very important and I found myself referring to it several times as I was reading. Of course, there is also the other family tree, the longan which met its end right at the beginning of the novel, and features at various points in the historical story. 

This is my third book by Mirandi Riwoe, and I have enjoyed them all. I am making it a goal to finish reading all her books over the coming few weeks. I have several coming from different libraries around the state. Let's hope they don't all arrive at the same time. I was also surprised to learn that before she started focussing on historical fiction, this author published a mystery series under the name M J Tjia. I have requested the first one of those too. 

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. 

Rating 4.5/

Blog Tour: Stuck with You for Christmas by Jen Smith

 

Natasha Green knows that her Christmas is going to be different this year. Her two grown up kids have made their own plans in different parts of the world, she has had a friendship ending fallout with her best friends, she is trying not to get dragged into her ex-husband's messy life. She knows she is going to be lonely. Thank goodness for work!

Natasha will be spending the month leading up to Christmas in a small town called Wellcombe, known chiefly for being the UK's most Christmassy town. The problem is that the reviews were really bad last year, so the town has employed Natasha to revive it's reputation! Natasha is an events co-ordinator and it is her job to organise events such as the lighting of the festive lights, gingerbread house competitions, ice skating and more. It isn't always easy though. Things have always been done a certain way in Wellcombe and not everyone appreciates an outsider coming in and changing things up.

Daniel loves his hometown of Wellcombe. What he is does not love is Christmas. It is, however, good for business. Daniel works with glass, both blowing glass to make gorgeous one-of-a-kind ornaments, and restoring the stained-glass window in the church. If it was up to him, he would just stay inside during the Christmas period, but he is tasked with chaperoning three older women to all the events. They were there for him when his life changed, and now it is his role to be there for them when they need him. 

Natasha and Daniel were always bound to clash. After all, in the eyes of the town she is Christmas personified (even if she is faking it a bit) and his work equipment is spoiling her perfectly formed social media pictures. There is, however, an instant attraction between them both. Can they stop bickering and see the person underneath. They both have good reasons for feeling the way they do. Maybe if they take the time to understand, they will see the person underneath. 

I loved the community in Wellcombe from Lowenna, who has just returned to her hometown after a nasty breakup and now wants to make something of herself to the three elderly women, Kathleen, Olive and Betty who try to help Will get out of his own head and not to forget Chewbacca the dog.

I also loved the sound of the town, with all the different community events, the cold (including snow) and all the decoration. I do enjoy Christmas in my city, but it is a big city, and it is usually hot so Christmas has a different feel here than it does in this story.

This book was on the spicier side of the dial when compared to the Christmas books I usually read, and a bit swearier, but I still enjoyed it! I liked the banter, the setting and the characters and could absolutely to relate to some of the emotions that Natasha was feeling around the way that her life was changing.

I hadn't read Jen Smith before, but I am keen to read more! Now I just have to find the time!

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. Thanks to the publisher and Random Things Tours for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the blog tour below.

Rating 4/5

About the Book

Stuck with You for Christmas

A deliciously festive enemies-of-Christmas-to-lovers romance – perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Heidi Swain and Milly Johnson.

Event planner Natasha needs a distraction this December...

With her grown-up children on the other side of the world, Natasha is facing Christmas alone. So when England's most famous Christmas town, Wellcombe, needs saving from a PR disaster, she packs her bags. She'll spend the season working, not wallowing – mulled wine strictly optional.

Stained glass restorer Will is counting the days until it's all over...

Since a terrible tragedy shattered his Christmas five years ago, Will wants nothing to do with twinkly lights, carol singers or festive cheer. But his biggest job this year is restoring a pair of ancient church windows in Wellcombe... at the heart of the very celebrations he's spent years avoiding.

Natasha and Will have one thing in common: they're both faking their way through the most wonderful time of year. Can gingerbread, mistletoe and a little festive magic thaw their frozen hearts? Or will it take a snowstorm to show them it's never too late for a second chance at love?

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stuck-You-Christmas-enemies-lovers-ebook/dp/B0HHSHT631/

https://www.amazon.com/Stuck-You-Christmas-enemies-lovers-ebook/dp/B0HHSHT631/

About the Author

Jen lives in the Midlands with her two kids, where she dreams of living by the sea in the south of France. She is an audiobook narrator with an MA in Medieval History and loves castles and King John (possibly a smidgen too much). When not writing or narrating, Jen can be found planning the next family holiday, being taxi to the kids and giggling through her kickboxing lessons.

Social Media Links –

Instagram: @jensmithwrites

Facebook: Jen Smith Author

Top Ten Tuesday: Succint!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (This is a throwback to 2022.). I am going to add one more stipulation so it is actually ten books that I intended to review but haven't yet managed to do so yet. 

First Time Caller by B K Borison - Amazing 

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page - Emotional

The Model Murder by Amanda Hampson - Stylish

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak - Deep

The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick - Reliable

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood - Short

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson - Librarians!

The Story Collector by Evie Woods - Underwhelming

The Palace Women by Jennifer Ryan - Fine

How to Fake it in Society by K J Charles - unexpected

This week

I'm reading

Halloween isn't really a huge thing here, although the stores certainly try to convince us it is. I did, however read a couple of books which were perfect for the Halloween season.

Firstly, I finished Grim Tidings by B K Borison which features a romance between a Reaper (as in grim) and a Guardian Angel. I have now read all 8 of this author's books. Now I just have to wait until each new book comes out.

On Saturday I read Strange Pictures by Uketsu. Apparently Uketsu is a social media sensation in Japan. The only time he appears in public he wears a mask. No one knows his true identity, and his books are quite unusual in that they are crime/horror novels where pictures help solve unsolved crimes. I don't read a lot of horror but it was sufficiently intriguing enough for me to both enjoy it and request the next book from the library.

Speaking of Japanese books, I reread The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai in a single day as well. I am hosting Cook the Books this time, and this is the book that I chose for everyone to read, and to find something inspiring to cook! I don't reread a lot, but this was just so comforting. I am very tempted to reread the second and third books again too! 

The other book I finished reading this week was a Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have read by her, so I went a bit crazy and ordered in both books that I haven't yet read by her published under this name, and one of her books previously published under a different name. Thank goodness for the inter-library loan system.

Finally, I started listening to Bad in Bed by Ali Hazelwood which so far I am loving! Maybe she will be the next author that I work my way through the backlist for.

Time to look back at my reading for October!

I read 13 books in October, with a good mix of reading for blog tours/challenges and serious and fun books. 

I rated 4 books 4.5 starts but there was only one that I gave 5 stars to and that was A Far-Flung Life by M L Stedman

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Every month I also like to look at where I travelled through the pages of the books I read! Here's where I travelled in October

United States

Baltimore - Business Casual, Grim Tidings

Massachusetts - Practical Magic

Asia

Japan - Pachinko, Strange Pictures

Europe 

UK - The Slow Cooker Supper Club, The Twenty Dates, The Christmas Rift, The Last Christmas, The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Vol 1, The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Vol 2, 

Australia

Western Australia - A Far Flung Life

Queensland - A Short History of Longans

I'm watching

This weekend we finally finished watching the fourth season of Ted Lasso! I didn't love one of the new characters but I did get very emotional in the last couple of episodes! Bring on the next season.

Life


It was our 7th wedding anniversary on Sunday, which we celebrated by doing something called Rail and Sail. We caught the ferry from Melbourne to Geelong, then we caught a steam train back to Melbourne.

In the time we had in Geelong we went to the National Crime Museum at the old Geelong Gaol. I only found out that this existed a few months ago. It was very interesting, including a lot about Ned Kelly, Australia's most infamous bushranger. We then went to a pub around the corner for lunch where there was a band setting up. If we didn't have to catch the train back we would have settled in for the afternoon as it looked like it could have been fun.

We did have to laugh though. It was clearly a locals bar. We were waiting for some food when an older lady came up to us and said "I haven't seen you here before". She had been coming to this same pub since 1997. Apparently, we stood out as out of towners!

The picture up the top is of some painted bollards which are all along the waterfront at Geelong. There are about a hundred of them scattered across a few kilometres and they tell about the history and characters of Geelong. I really enjoy wandering along and looking at them whenever we go down there, although we only had the opportunity to see a couple of them this time. 

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: A Touch of Magic!
The French Christmas Market by Gillian Harvey
Weekend Cooking: Brown Rice Salmon Bowl with Asian Greens
Festive Treats....so far!
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: November Links



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: November links

Thank you to everyone who contributed a review in October for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I will be back in the next week or so with all the statistics for the month. I already know that it was a bit of a quieter month than usual.

I am looking forward to reading your reviews throughout the rest of the year, although there isn't much of the year left yet. How did that happen? I am sure there is going to be a lot of great historical fiction discovered and shared with fellow HF lovers over the course of this year!

If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! The sign up post is here.

Just to recap what participants need to know. At the beginning of each month I will put up a post which will have a Mr Linky embedded into it for you to add your link.

Please remember...

• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review). 
• it doesn't matter where you review - Bookstagram, Goodreads etc as long as you share a direct link to your review.
• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (fantasy, young adult, graphic novels...)
• if you have time, have a look some of the other links that are present. You never know when you will discover new blogs or books!

You can also join the challenge group on Facebook which you can find here and don't forget to use the #histficreadingchallenge hashtag on the socials.

Let the reading begin!!

Festive Treats .....so far

 

I know....I KNOW. It's only the end of October, but I have been reading Christmas books for the last month already, so I already have treats to share!

September and October

Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans (review)

The French Christmas Market by Gillian Harvey (review)

The Christmas Rift by K L Crear (review)

The Last Christmas by Liz Fenwick (review)

I am currently reading my next Christmas book and I have several review copies that I should be reading, so expect lots more Christmas treats to be shared at the end of November

There are also a couple of Christmas movies coming out soon that I am hoping to watch! We'll see if I get to them.

We have offered to host the festivities this year for the first time, so I have something like 7 weeks to overthink the whole day!

Weekend Cooking: Brown Rice Salmon Bowl with Asian Greens

It's fair to say that we don't eat anywhere near enough fish, even though I love other seafood like prawns.  Part of the reason is that my son doesn't really like it, so as soon as he goes away for a few days we are adding prawn dishes to our menu list. I think in reality it just isn't a protein that comes instantly to mind when we are doing our meal planning each week.

Recently though, my husband stumbled across this recipe in the supermarket recipe magazine and decided to try it. It really is a perfect weekday meal because most of the ingredients can either be in the freezer or the pantry.

It's quick, easy and tasty, and I can see us eating this throughout the coming summer. And now I am sharing it on my blog so that we don't have to keep on searching for the right magazine to locate it again!

Brown Rice Salmon Bowl with Asian Greens

300g packet Brown Rice (microwaveable)
4 frozen Atlantic Salmon Fillets Skin On, thawed
2 tsp Bagel Seasoning
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Minced Garlic
1 bunch bok choy, cut into wedges
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup (80ml) Sweet Chilli Sauce

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).

Cook rice following packet directions. Use a fork to separate the grains.

Meanwhile, place salmon on a baking tray and sprinkle with the seasoning. Bake for 15 mins or until salmon is cooked through.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 min or until fragrant. Add the bok choy to the pan and cook, tossing, for 2 mins or until tender.

Divide the rice among serving bowls. Top with the salmon and bok choy. Sprinkle with spring onion and drizzle with sauce.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Zucchini and tomato risotto
Sunday - Sardinian chicken and potatoes (new)
Monday - Pork and Beans stir frySaturday - 
Tuesday - Japanase chicken curry
Wednesday - Swedish Meatballs
Thursday - Takeaway
Friday - Brown Rice Salmon Bowl with Asian Greens

The French Christmas Market by Gillian Harvey

 

I am a big fan of Gillian Harvey's novels where she mostly tells the story of people making a fresh start in France. As soon as I saw there was going to be a Christmassy story I was in! 

Nicola has just moved into a house is provincial France. Unfortunately, her husband Steven still has a few months to go until her can join her permanently due to his work situation. Nicola is just trying to hold everything together until he comes for Christmas, until he announces that he can't come. When she realises that he accidentally took her passport home with him the last time he visited, it looks like she is going to be stuck in France on her own for Christmas.

It isn't like Nicola isn't trying to settle into her new community, but even her closest neighbour is rejecting her friendly gestures. And the longer she is away from her husband the more distance grows in their relationship which just increases her feelings of loneliness.

Nicola's plan for the future is to offer art lessons which is a complete change of career from her life in the UK.  When she meets her first student, Lucien, things begin to look up. Lucien wants to paint a special picture as a Christmas gift, but soon he is taking Nicola to nearby towns, especially to the nearby Christmas markets. At one of the markets, she acquires a wooden angel and is told to make a wish. Can wishes come true? Can she build her new life in France and be happy?

While we obviously got to read Nicola's story, we also got to know that of Lucien and Monsieur Remi's story. I loved the next-door neighbour's story. It was so sweet and touching.  I was glad to see that not all the most obvious choices were the ones taken here. I am being a little bit obscure because I am trying to avoid spoilers. 

I also loved that we got to hear about the differences in the way that French families celebrate Christmas. This always fascinates me. Being in Australia we normally have a hot Christmas, although we do things fairly traditionally British most of the time.

A few years ago now we were in Europe for Christmas. I went to a number of Dutch Christmas markets, and saw the decorations in chateaux such as Chambord in France, but by the time we go to France all their Christmas markets were done. Reading this book made me wish that I could visit again. A girl can dream right! I did recently hear that Shanghai has some amazing Christmas markets which might be a more achievable dream. Maybe next year!!

This was another fun read from Gillian Harvey with a Christmassy twist!

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. Thanks to the publisher for the review copy. 

Rating 4/5

Top Ten Tuesday: A Touch of Magic

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a Halloween Freebie, so I am going to keep it on the lighter side and focus on books with a touch of magic. These are books that are set in our contemporary worlds, but there is something magical that happens. Often they would be classed as magical realism. 

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman - I have always associated Alice Hoffman with magic but had never actually read the book until recently. Still haven't seen the movie but I would like to now!

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - All of SAA's books have magical elements in them, often related to food, and this one is no different. 

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - Don't let the fact that one of the narrators in this book is a tree put you off. Such an excellent read! (my review)

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran - One of the characters in this book, Marjan, has unsurpassed ability with food. Her food can change your mood, and even the direction of your life in some cases. (my review)

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber - I loved this book so much and always keep an eye out for Heather Webber's new books (my review)

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden - When eating a lemon drop can help you see what your life might have been like had things worked out differently, there's definitely a touch of magic involved. Loved this book! (my review)

The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura - In this book, if circumstances align, you can find yourself inside the cherry blossom bookshop. (mini review)

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa - This one features amazing sounding Korean treats that help people say goodbye to their loved ones after they have passed (my review)

The Anywhere Hotel by Gisele Stein - I love the idea of this one. At the Anywhere Hotel, you can pick up a charm and instantly be transported anywhere in the world. Paris here I come!

Before I Knew I Loved You by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - There are lots of examples of these books with a touch of magic in them in Asian fiction. This one is the most recent book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. (mini review)