The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan
23 November 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Louisa Morgan, The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Emotionally satisfying tale of friendship
The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird is a beautifully told mystery circulating around the lives of two women who are both trying to escape something.
The story is told through three POVs, Beatrice Bird, Anne Iredale and her pre-school age son Benjamin.
Beatrice is the driving force for the story. During her chapters we cast back and forth and pretty soon discover that since being a small child, and for as long as Beatrice can remember, she has had ‘feelings’, I suppose premonitions really although she doesn’t ‘see’ anything specific, more that she just understands that something may go wrong, or someone is upset, etc. As she grows into a young woman she moves into the role of therapy, and although her ability sometimes leads her to become too emotionally attached and anxious for her patients her life overall is happy. She has a partner, a doctor called Mitch and they have a respectful and well rounded and loving relationship. That is until Beatrice dabbles with drugs and this opens up her ‘gift’ making it much more real. Beatrice can see shades or forms that are attached to people and this sight eventually leads her to flee her home and seek sanctuary on a small, island where the inhabitants are few and Beatrice spends more of her time in the company of the two cows that were attached to the property she bought.
Anne then enters the scene. She has run away from an abusive relationship and one in which the husband carried a lot of sway and was forcing her into a sanatorium, leaving their 4/5 year old son Benjamin alone with his father. Anne was a trophy wife. With stunning looks and a fantastic figure her husband chose her to look good in front of his friends but has no love for her and no respect for anything she thinks or does. For a while Anne tries to be happy, her parents are proud of the marriage and wealth that she has achieved and have no time for her grumbling about her husband’s little whims (as they see them). She has no friends to speak of and is completely isolated. She eventually runs away and seeks sanctuary within a nunnery, before winding up on the small island where Beatrice now lives. The two are thrown together, just for one night at first, but from there a tentative friendship begins to grow and although Beatrice can see the same shades attached to Anne, and in fact can see something that seems a lot more threatening, she takes the decision to try and help this young woman.
Finally, we have Benjamin. Anne’s lovely little boy. Benjamin has been traumatised by his father and can barely speak in his presence having now developed a stutter. His storyline is lovely and much as you would imagine a small boy’s pov to be. This particular pov allows us a view about what’s going on in the background of Anne’s life, an element that we would otherwise lose sight of and I very much appreciated that the author chose Anne’s son (and not her husband) as the third narrator. Benjamin’s presence brings a lovely innocence to the story.
Now, it may be that you don’t like ghost stories or perhaps you’re worried that this might be too creepy. For me, this was more about the mystery involved. We get to understand and learn more about Beatrice’s abilities and it soon becomes clear that these are not ghosts that she sees attached to people. They’re more akin to burdens and unresolved emotional issues that people carry around with them. However, there is a ghost in the story and this is something that both Beatrice and Benjamin can both see – in quite different ways. But, this isn’t really scary, this is a ghost with a story and, well, unresolved issues of it’s own.
The writing is lovely and well paced. The island and cottage in which Beatrice now lives have a lovely cosy feel and in fact in some respects the setting is idyllic – remote and perhaps a little bit lonely – but also peaceful and perfect in many ways for reflection.
The last third becomes quite tense as the action picks up and certain characters try to take desperate action but the author manages to pull everything together in a very satisfactory way.
I really enjoyed this story. I felt a strong emotional attachment and I loved the way the story develops plus the resolution is really pleasing.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Can’t Wait Wednesday : The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier
22 November 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, Chris Panatier, The Redemption of Morgan Bright, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier. I’ve read and loved two books already by this author. The Phlebotomist and Stringers.
Here’s the cover and description:
What would guilt make you do?
Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside.
Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes. All the while, the persona of Charlotte takes on a life of its own, becoming stronger with each passing day. As her identity begins unraveling, Morgan finds herself tracing Hadleigh’s footsteps and peering into the places they lead.
Expected publication : April 2024
Top Ten Tuesday : Reasons to be Thankful for Books
21 November 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Thankful for books, That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s topic:
Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books (In honor of Thanksgiving in the USA.)
- A fantastic hobby – let’s be honest right now, people have been storytelling since I don’t know when. Maybe not in a written form but stories have been passed from generation to generation and told around campfires for eons. There’s a lot of imagination out there and some fantastic tales to read.
- A great community of bookish people. I read, I blog, I am. One of the things I love most about blogging is the people I talk to as a result. I love chatting with people who love books and it also frankly saves me from boring to death other non-bookish friends and relatives. Thank you bookish community – I applaud you.
- Travel. Of course I’ve done a bit of real hopping around, plus city breaks and holidays but reading – well. I’ve travelled to the Moon and across the universe, I’ve travelled through time, down a rabbit hole, to Ancient Greece, onto a bloody battlefield or the back of a dragon, across Middle Earth to the doors of Mordor not to mention the land of the Gods. Just try getting a return ticket to any of those – just try – the only way is through a good book – and no need to pack, win/win.
- Escapism – (apart from all the travel above of course) books are such a perfect form of escape from the everyday norm, the humdrum. You pick up a book and hope to be plunged into whatever it is that has particularly taken your fancy, be it horror, mystery, fantasy or a cosy romance. So much choice. So little time.
- Way of avoiding eye contact. Okay, hands up those readers out there who haven’t used a book, on the odd occasion to avoid making eye contact, either with someone they know or not. It doesn’t always work – and I know it sounds kind of mean to do this – but sometimes you’re near the end of the book and you have to press on – it’s a real thing, a condition if you will. When I’m at the end of the book, I feel cranky if I can’t pick it up. Also, lets just be honest, I’m a grumpy curmudgeon and sometimes making polite conversation makes me want to run away – fast.
- Teaches you about real things and also the strangest things. I’ve picked up the strangest facts over the years – don’t ask me to quote any here. I’m grumpy and anti-social (as I believe I said above).
- Great artwork – some of these covers! Wow, just wow. Get into a frame on my wall right now. You people with all your talent – it makes me sick with envy.
- Such a lot of choice and diversity. No need for explanation.
- Not forgetting all the great non fiction books – I don’t read these as much as I used, or would like, to – even down to cookery books which I used to love to delve into for ideas – the internet has become a one stop shop for this sort of thing, but I did like to read a good history book and would probably still enjoy those now if I could bare to tear myself away from all the great fiction.
- Great shelf fillers – plus I love to look and see what books other people have on their shelves – what? doesn’t everyone else do this? Or am I just indecently nosey?
Just look at this post – so plain without a good sprinkling of covers so I’ve decided to choose some randoms to cheer the place up, in no particular order here is a random sprinkling of colour (not to mention some goods books – maybe one will catch your eye:
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Wow, where to even begin
The Reformatory is without doubt one of the most powerful stories that I’ve read so far this year. An absolute tempest of shock, horror, unbridled emotions and abject terror. And then, there’s also the ghostly elements of the story to take into account. Yes, for me, the most horrifying aspect to this particular story was not the haints of tortured boys but the historical facts that this tale is grounded upon. What a story. I mean, literally this story made me want to cry, it made me feel outraged and the final chapters had my pulse racing imagining all the many disasters that felt inevitable.
The story is told from two POVs. Set in Gracetown (a fictional place) in Florida 1950 we meet Robert Stephens Jr and his older sister Gloria. The two are living on the outskirts of town, parentless and struggling. Their father has gone into hiding, classed as an agitator he has been accused of the rape of a white woman and has had to disappear to basically escape a lynching. Their mother died tragically and the two are now living day to day. Following an incident in which Robert tries to defend his sister from the son of a local influential landowner he is arrested and sentenced to six months in prison the Gracetown School for Boys – a reformatory with a terrible reputation. This is a segregated institution with both white and black boys and whilst it calls itself a ‘school’ the only real teachings here seem to come from bullying and beating and the place itself is little more than a front for modern day slavery with the boys being used as free labour on the surrounding farms.
So, the two characters. Well, I did find myself gravitating to Robert. His sister’s chapters at first felt a bit less gripping as she races around trying to get someone to help her (Gloria soon realises that Robert’s incarceration is little more than a ruse to lure their father out of hiding and is desperate to get him out) but, that being said her chapters become a horrible race against time and the conclusion had me reading and holding my breath at the sametime – which I don’t recommend to be perfectly honest. Robert is just so innocent really. I’m not saying he hasn’t suffered or been the victim of racial abuse but his incarceration into Gracetown is terrifying for him, and for the reader also as a result. At first, he finds himself a couple of friends,and that,together with the promise of regular(ish) meals lulls Robert into thinking he may be able to cope but within a very short time he has come to the attention of Warden Haddock. Dear god, this character should go down in the literary hall of fame for being the nastiest excuse for a human ever. No moustache twirling villain stereotype here. Haddock is absolutely an afront, he’s written so believably that he radiates evil and frankly I felt chills every time he appeared on the page.
Of course, on top of the bullying. the fear and the torture the school is haunted. And given the number of boys who have died over the years it’s little surprise that their souls have become trapped. This feeds so well into the story creating a perfect blend of horror with the actual horrible reality of the situation itself. Robert can see these ‘haints’ as they’re called. Without realising he soon becomes embroiled in a terrible battle between the ghosts, who want something from Robert and the Warden – who also wants something from him. The two are both pulling in opposite directions and Robert’s situation grows worse by the day .
This is so well written. It really did hold me gripped. It’s a disturbing read and very difficult to read but at the same time you have to keep going. You have to find out what was going on, what terrible secrets the Reformatory holds. And the tension and atmosphere is palpable. I was like some of the secondary characters depicted here, I wanted to know what was going on but I was scared to find out.
I don’t know what I can say. For a 600 or so pages book this one held my attention and kept the pages turning with indecent haste. Like I said, it’s not an easy story to read and this is compounded by the fact that the author based this on a real reform school although obviously Gracetown and its reform school are fictional- I would give a shout out to the Author’s note – make sure to give it a read when you finish.
Difficult to read but at the same time, I feel, a must read. A horror story contained within a story of horror based on historic happenings. Plus a fantastic twist. Did I forget to mention the twist? It’s very good but my lips are sealed.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 5 of 5 stars
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
I’m trying to get back into the habit of doing a round-up of the week just completed and also take a look at my plans for the forthcoming week. I rather got out of the habit of doing so but I would like to reinstate this type of post as I feel it keeps me on track. So, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post over at Kimberly’s Caffeinated Reviewer. Without further ado:
Books read this week:
This week I’ve been concentrating on trying to put things in order on the outside of the house, lots of chopping back in the garden, clearing leaves and looking for any other sorts of problems. Trying to get weather tight really. It’s hard work to be honest but I’ve managed to read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due – which was brilliant, difficult to read and quite horrifying, but absolutely absorbing and impossible to put down. I’ve also made a good start on The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan, and, with all the gardening and outside work I also started listening to Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – about a quarter of the way in so far. I was approved recently for book 2 so wanted to tuck the first book under my belt.
Complete the Louisa Morgan book and hopefully Empire of the Vampire. Then I have two more November review books that I can make a start on: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez and Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry.
Reviews Posted:
- The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater
- The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Books and travelling with Lynn 