Following His Heart by Donna Fasano

This book is the perfect antidote to how I felt after reading Wuthering Heights (though after chatting the book through with a friend, I do feel a bit better about WH - it just wasn't what I was expected).

Following His Heart is an easy-to-read romance the epitomises "chick lit". It follows the story of Sara, a widow in her 30s who runs her own baking company, selling directly to customers as well as supplying restaurants and other businesses cakes and desserts.

The blurb says:

Sara Carson is a 30-something widow with a busy life. Two fun-loving best friends, a caring mom who needs her, and a thriving sweet shop. What more could a woman want? But when the ancient plumbing in her shop springs a leak and a gorgeous, dark-eyed stranger rushes to her rescue, hilarity unfolds—and Sara quickly sees exactly what she’s been missing.

Something most peculiar draws Landon Richards to Ocean City, Maryland—and to the lovely Sara. This woman touches his heart like no other, and the two of them explore the heady attraction that pulses between them. But haunting dreams have a way of encroaching on reality, and the strange phenomenon that brings these two together will also threaten to tear them apart.

This is the first book in the Ocean City Boardwalk Series, where life for three enterprising women, Sara, Heather, and Cathy, isn’t just fun in the sun—love is waiting on those sandy shores!

This is a comforting story.  I read it in a day, and it left me feeling good.  It is predictable, but sometimes you just want to read something light and enjoyable to pass away the hours when lying in the sun in the garden (or on holiday if we weren't in lockdown due to coronavirus).  I enjoyed it.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This is my classic for this year, though I listened to it through Audible Stories rather than reading it.

Wuthering Heights is a story of stories. It is written from the point of view of Mr Lockwood who rents Thrushcross Grange in the Yorkshire moors.  Incidentally, despite the fact I was listening to a Yorkshire accent at times, in my head "the moors" always mean West-country - either Exmoor or Dartmoor, so that's where I imagined it to be set.  Mr Lockwoods seeks out his Landlord, Heathcliff, in a nearby manor called Wuthering Heights.  After being met by various uncouth and impolite characters, when Mr Lockwood returns to the Grange, Nelly, the housekeeper tells him the story of Wuthering Heights and how each of the people there have developed into the people they are now.

The synopsis says:

Michael Kitchen gives us a masterclass in narration with this intelligent and believable performance of Emily Brontë's classic work. Listeners will be swept up in Heathcliff and Cathy's turbulent love affair, not to be released until long after the final word. 

The only novel written by Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights was originally published under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and at first was thought to be the work of Emily's sister, Charlotte, the author of the classic Jane Eyre.

Wuthering Heights tells the tale of Heathcliff, a young orphaned gypsy boy, who is brought to the windswept moors of Yorkshire by Mr Earnshaw, the master of Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff's childhood there is riddled with bullying and humiliation, but the master's daughter, the precocious and untameable Cathy, becomes his ally, and a childhood fondness for one another grows to a great passion.

Following a misunderstanding, Heathcliff believes that Cathy has rejected him, and he leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return after three years have passed. When he returns, now mysteriously rich, he learns of Cathy's marriage to another and vows to focus his passionate nature on merciless revenge. Heathcliff's retribution proves so destructive that left in its wake are not only his enemies, but the very object of his obsession and, ultimately, himself.

I don't know whether I like this book or not? I certainly enjoyed listening to it, Michael Kitchen narrated it very well.  And I can appreciate the the quality of the writing.  The book left me wanting more at the end of each chapter, I wanted to find out what happened next and discover the fates of the characters.  However, I didn't like the story (which may be because the characters were so believable). 

Previously, I had always thought Wuthering Heights to be a dramatic love affair between Heathcliff and Cathy, taking place on the Moors, and reading it would make my heart swoon and my eyes brighten.  In fact, this is a book about a grumpy man who was humiliated as a child, and then seeks to take out his revenge on pretty much everyone around him, to the detriment of all.  We never find out the source of Heathcliff's money, and rather than this being a good ghost story, that seems to be forgotten mostly, until it seems to convey rantings of a madman, and at the very end of the book superstitious locals.

So, I'm glad that I have now read/listened to the book, and know the story.  As I said, it was enjoyable.  It's only now that the book is finished, that I'm left someone dissatisfied.

Truthbearer by Hans Erdman

Truthbearer is by Hans Erdman, so is my 'E' book in the sequence (not a difficult sequence, being alphabetical...).  It's a Christian Fantasy where different worlds come together.  Connor Clark is from First Earth (or Earth, as we Earthlings call it), but finds himself in another land called Gewellyn.

The blurb says:

A shadow of evil covers the world, and Connor Clark has spoken out against that evil. When his wife is executed for refusing to renounce her faith, Connor escapes and enters a strange world of elves, wizards and the Deep Magic. A world not yet controlled by the dark magic of evil. A place called Gewellyn. Connor is given a quest. Together with Iolena, the beautiful banished Elven queen, and the rogue elf bounty hunter Meta Kai, he is to take the Truth of the coming evil to the Nine Worlds. But first, they have to save Gewellyn itself.

The newly revised edition of "Truthbearer" begins the epic, award-winning Christian fantasy series, The Gewellyn Chronicles, and the story of the Truthbearer, the Most Beautiful Woman in the Nine Worlds, and the bounty hunter who is destined to become the greatest she-elf in history.

I have to say I was disappointed in this book.  It has such potential to be really really good.  Lots of fabulous ideas that I wanted to get my teeth into.  I just couldn't get to grips with how it was written: too much too fast. In the first chapter My Journey, it is written "To this day, I have no idea whether what I am living is real or a dream. Whether it is part of a medically induced coma, or I am really living this existence..." and that is exactly how this book feel when you read it: fast paced and jumping from one thing to the next. Then this happened. Then that happened. Then they were here.  And then there again.  And the next, and the next, and the next. 

The story itself isn't too bad, I just wanted the opportunity to slow down and enjoy it.  Some of the things that happened were far too easy, and I know this will sound oxymoronic, but this fantasy just wasn't realistic enough for me.  I read to the end of the book, so didn't hate it, but I won't be following the rest of the series.

[Edit: The author has given me the sequel to read to see if his writing style has improved.  My review of that book is here and I have added the next book to my wishlist.]

Weekly Update Y2w18

Last week was a 'Meh' week.  If you follow my Facebook page I've been posting more regularly how I've been feeling.  As such I didn't do as much exercise as I had planned - only once in fact.  Luckily I'm being held to account by a friend and am texting her when I do exercise.  This week has barely started and I have already texted her to say I have done two body groove videos!  (Slightly confusingly for people I know irl, my weightloss week goes Monday-Monday, but my exercise week goes Friday-Friday. So I'm counting the exercise I did on Saturday as 'this week' because the bulk of the week is still ahead.  It makes sense to me, anyway, lol)

Last week's update I said I got below 92kilos for the first time; this week, I have been below 92kilos all week!  My lowest weight so far is 91.7kg, so only just below, but it still counts! I honestly don't mind if I don't make big strides with this weightloss malarkey, as long as I keep persevering.  Weightloss, then sustaining, then weightloss, then sustaining, hopefully means that I will develop habits to last a lifetime.  I'm still learning to rely on God to help me as I'm beginning to see that I don't have the willpower in myself to lose weight - otherwise I would have done it already, and not be in week 18 of year 2!  I *know* all the things already, the science, the psychology, the quick tips and tricks that can aide me along the way.  What I am learning this time, however, is that reliance on God is a form of self-discipline that I *can* do with his help.

I'm due to finish the book I've been using on this journey this week, so will write it up then.  I hope my weightloss continues as I try and put what I've learned into practice - including increasing my exercise!

Weekly Update Y2w17

I feel like I'm starting to make progress!  I even got down to dead on 92kilos at one point, and thought that didn't stay, it's daily fluctuation that is normal.  Hopefully, if I keep eating right and mindfully this week I can break the 92kilo barrier and get into the 91s! <fingers crossed>

I exercised three times last week, and am aiming to either exercise for longer each time, or exercise four times in the week.  I need to keep at it!

The Lost Heir by E G Foley

I actually listened to this book as an audiobook.  Audible Stories have given free access to a selection of audiobooks for children, for as long as schools are closed due to coronavirus.  Sitting in the garden with DD2, I started listening to this book because it was her age-level and sounded like I book that I would also find interesting. Next thing I know, DD2 had wandered off, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this book.  I don't listen to books that often, but it has given me a chance to sit in the sunshine, doing my latest MosaiCraft project whilst listening to the story.

The blurb says:

Take a dash of Harry Potter and a splash of Oliver Twist, add a pinch of steampunk and a sprinkle of Victorian fairy lore, and what do you get? The Gryphon Chronicles! A rollicking fantasy adventure series that’s as much fun for grownups as it is for kids.

Strange new talents...

Orphan Jake Reed is a smart, plucky twelve-year-old pickpocket living by his wits on the streets of Victorian London. Lately, he’s started seeing ghosts—then discovers he can move solid objects with his mind! He has no idea why, but it seems to be the reason that a Sinister Gentleman and his minions now come hunting him. Suddenly on the run for his life, the rascally lad plunges headlong into a wondrous world full of magic and deadly peril. A world that holds the secret to the greatest question haunting him: who he really is. The answer leads the rough-and-tumble guttersnipe to a mysterious stranger’s mad claim that he is the long-lost heir of an aristocratic family…with supernatural powers.

But with treacherous enemies closing in, it will take all of Jake’s wily survival instincts and the help of his friends—both human and magical—to solve the mystery of what happened to his supposed parents, Lord and Lady Griffon, and defeat the foes who never wanted the Lost Heir of the great magical House of Griffon to be found.

So, yes I did enjoy this book.  It's a shame my children didn't give it a chance (they'll only sit still for watching TV or playing computer games) and listen to it whilst drawing or anything, as I think they would have liked it.  I know I would have liked it when I was a child.  There are 6 books in The Gryphon Chronicles, and though I have no intention of reading more myself, I thought the book was good.  It was very well written, with lots of excitement in the story.

Mental Health due to Coronavirus

So far, I have been fine.  Honestly.  I'm quite happy sat at home pottering about.  I do miss seeing people face to face, and giving friends a hug when it's needed, but we do our best using Zoom, Houseparty, Facebook, Skype, Messenger etc.

My family, otoh, suffer more with anxiety so I have been busy supporting them where I can. Everyone is more stressed, and my daughter who is excelling at school, is finding it difficult to learn online. I tell her to take breaks, but she is worried about getting in trouble (thankfully her teachers seem understanding).  DD1 wrote this poem instead of doing her school work the other day, and it has a depth of feeling that amazed me.  DD2 is worried about my husband and me dying.  And my husband is stressing about work and the fact we're trapped in the house.  Yes he can go shopping (he won't go out more than once a week), and yes he goes for a long run daily, but when he's stressed he likes to leave the house and go to the beach or visit someone or go to the cinema or any of the other stuff that we can't do right now.

I've been calm, making the most of the slowing down of daily life and the sunshine in the garden.  I've been reading more than usual, doing a new MosaiCraft, and I have even started doing Pilates on BodyGroove.  Life has been good to me - until this morning.

Due to having the BRCA1+ genetic mutation, I have an annual mammogram and MRI to check I don't have cancer.  This is usually in February, and when I didn't hear anything, I assumed it was because it had been deprioritised due to coronavirus.  Last week I had a call inviting me to screening today, and that I'd get a letter through the post.  Despite having received a letter from the NHS/Council saying that I need to shield myself for 12 weeks, this is important so I accepted the appointment.  My husband wasn't happy, but with everything I have read and seen about coronavirus, I would make sure I took adequate precautions and everything would be ok.  I bought some disposable gloves, have wetwipes to wipe down surfaces in the car, made a face-mask from a bandana and hairbands and have antibac gel.

Then this morning it hits me - I am going to the place they take everybody with coronavirus.  Doctors and nurses who have PPE have died at this hospital after contracting it, and I am willingly walking into this environment.  My rational brain knows that they wouldn't have called me to the appointment if it were dangerous, but that part of my brain went into hiding.  I was worried.  Thankfully a friend talked with me and helped put things into perspective and making me laugh (I don't know if you can see the skulls on the bandana, but it was suggested I carry a scythe too.  I don't have a scythe, but do have a garden hoe, and my husband's scholar's gown from Oxford that would complete the look!). Haha.

In the end, I went to the hospital.  I couldn't wear the mask, as though it didn't when I tried it at home, it kept steaming my glasses up.  I wore gloves going to the appointment (not during the MRI) and antibac-ed my hands every time I went through a door.  And when I returned to the car, I wiped my handbag down, and also the car steering wheel/radio/seatbelt/indicators/doorhandle etc when I returned home again.  Now I'm back home, I'm calm again.  I immediately changed my clothes and put them in the wash, washed my hands and face again.  It may be overkill, but I don't want to be responsible for bringing the virus to my family.

This has made me realise how brave loads of our workers are in this country.  I only had to go to hospital for an appointment that took less than 90min.  There are men and women who daily have to go to hospital to care for others, to treat others, to clean the wards where people have died or are dying, maintenance people who ensure all the equipment is running smoothly, people in the kitchens making sure staff and patients are fed, receptionists who are the first faces you see when you go to the hospital or to the department, and then the morticians who are encountering large numbers of people who are dying from the virus.  God bless you all.

I'm back home and am going to stay safe and stay here until the coronavirus has past.  I know at some point I will encounter the virus (it is inevitable) and I hope initially that I don't suffer badly, but also that it will be after the peak of this pandemic has passed.