#was reading #15, 16 &17 during June

My recent reads...

Finding Nina by Sue Barnard 

This was an intriguingly different writing style (for me, anyway), the story presented severally through the voices of multiple characters. It followed the style of a series of letters and yet that wasn't actually what the writing was. The story unfolded in small sections, with an update given from each of the main characters and there was a good list of them. What was innovative, for me, was that each character updated as they 'saw' it happen and yet the whole story had none of the usual interactive dialogue of a more traditional scene in a novel.

The action didn't just skip ahead to another character with each new section, the years also passed by fairly quickly. I found it became important for me to mentally note the date of each new person's update (in the section headings) and to revise my knowledge of  how that next character was related in the story, to whom and with whom! To give too many details here would enter the spoiler areas and I always try to avoid those.

Adoption during World War II, and keeping family secrets thereafter, wasn’t so unusual during an era of such upheaval, but this story has a few lovely twists to keep the reader guessing for a bit longer till all the threads that bind the characters are eventually tied up. The writing is crisp and the pace excellent which kept me eager to find out the next denouement.

I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy relatively recent historical fiction, or to those who like family relationship stories.

I gave this 5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads.

The Centurions by Damion Hunter 

At times, as I read this novel it occurred to me that some of the information used was a little out-of-date compared to what I've learned from very recent archaeological theories. Some things jumped out at me as not being 'quite right' and interrupted what was an intense reading flow, because I was really enjoying the story of the two half-brothers. 

What was the in-thinking of the 1960s and 1970s isn't necessarily how it is interpreted today and it made me wonder where the author was acquiring his research from. It was only when I read the credits page that I realised this version that I've just read is an update - the novel having been first published in 1981. 

One large aspect that I must find time to research is why they chose to enter the 'training programme for the centuriate'. It puzzled me that Flavius didn't become a junior tribune but hopefully that will be revealed in later books.  

I really enjoyed reading about Correus and Flavius and intend to read more of their adventures, especially when they are stationed in Britannia which I feel I may know more about than the exploits of the Roman Empire's legions in Germania.

A letter from America by Geraldine O'Neil 

Family ties and obligations were pretty strong during the 1960s, in some locations more than others. I could easily empathise with the main characters about how hard it was to go contrary to what would have been societal expectations.

The plot was in some ways predictable but it was interesting to read how the characters felt as they went through the experiences of the novel.

More reviews to come later, since I'm still not up to date. 

Slainthe!