Books with Great Couples

This year, Valentine’s day felt like an unmissable opportunity to recommend books that feature great couples. The novels that I’m about to mention don’t include my favourite love stories (I wrote a post about them some years ago), but they revolve around characters who have interesting, engrossing, believable or compelling relationships (not all of them healthy) with others. Those connections can be either more long lasting or more fleeting. They won’t leave readers indifferent regardless.

Furthermore, these are books that, despite not being perfect, are worthy reads for a variety of reasons and not only because of the couples in them. It’s the books as a whole that I’m recommending and not just the relationships in them.

The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier

Taking place throughout various years in the 17th century, The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier follows two main characters, Honor Harris and Richard Grenville, while exploring themes connected with love, pride, disloyalty and acceptance. Although Richard has many faults, Honor falls in love with him. An accident leads to their separation, but they end up meeting again a few years later. Their interactions remain as entertaining and as engaging, despite them having grown older. While Honor is bold and rebellious as a young woman, never being afraid of speaking her mind, her experiences as an adult make her become undoubtedly perceptive. Richard is a multifaceted character, being both capable of humane and despicable acts. He is delightfully sardonic as well.

Books Featuring Impactful Houses

The characters and the plot are more often than not the most memorable components of a book. There are sometimes, however, other elements that stand out as well, even if not as much as the other two. Some novels feature houses that serve not only as a mere setting for the development of the plot, but that also offer something extra to the story, like aiding in the creation of a specific ambiance, providing clues for what is to come, or some of its elements being essential for the actions of the characters.

There are five books that immediately come to mind when thinking about ones that comprise houses that play a significant part in the story. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The unnamed narrator of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier recalls throughout the book what happened after she married Maxim de Winter, whom she met in Monte Carlo. She had always been insecure, but that trait of her personality only got worse when she moved to Manderley, Maxim’s family home. She kept diminishing herself in comparison with his deceased first wife – Rebecca. Manderley plays an important part in this atmospheric and enthralling story. Not only does the novel start with a mention of a dream about the narrator returning to Manderley after the events about to be revealed, but the house also seems to be perceived as a representation of a picture-perfect life that may or may not be true. 

Most Disappointing Books of 2023

I keep hoping to one year like all the books that I pick up to read. That was not the case in 2023. Although I didn’t fully dislike any of the books that I read until the end, I gave one of them a much lower rating than I was expecting to. Furthermore, I also decided not to finish four books, three of them I even had high expectations for. Our favourite authors can sometimes disappoint us as well.

Below, I’ll endeavour to explain what I didn’t like about the books that disappointed me. If such elements don’t bother you, maybe these books can catch your interest. If you prefer to focus on the bright side of life, you can read about my favourite books of 2023 instead!

The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton

Having loved the first two novels published by Jessie Burton, I always have high expectations for her books. The House of Fortune is a sequel to the wonderful The Miniaturist, but it’s nowhere near as impressive. Set in 1705, it’s told in the third person from the perspectives of Nella and Thea, who has just celebrated her 18th birthday. Since the Brandt family has been facing serious financial troubles, Nella wants to find Thea a future husband. She has already fallen in love with the chief set-painter of the theatre she enjoys attending, though. Despite being extremely gripping, the novel has also many faults, such as the plot being predictable and run-of-the-mill, the states of mind of the characters not being explored enough, and some ideas being repeated more than once.

Favourite Books of All Time

If you asked me to choose just one book as my favourite ever, I would struggle and would come up with a myriad of excuses not to. I can, however, tell you what my six favourite books of all time are. Having read all of them twice and having loved them immensely on both occasions, I know I’ll probably not regret my choices in the near future, nor even in the long term. If I’m lucky I will just get to add more great books to this list.

The six books below are listed in no special order. I don’t think I could have ordered them even if I had tried. Had I done it, I probably would have just changed my mind right after pressing the publish button. They were written by authors from both sexes and almost all of them have already passed away. 

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Briony has been writing stories since a young age. In the summer of 1935, her prolific imagination has dire consequences after she witnesses an interaction between Cecilia, her older sister, and Robbie Turner near her home’s fountain. Her misconstruction of that event, their relationship, and the incidents that followed has long-lasting repercussions. Throughout Atonement, Ian McEwan conveys various impactful emotions in a moving way. Different perspectives are also presented always at the most appropriate of times, in order to grip the reader and connect all the dots.

Favourite Books Since I Started Blogging

Last Saturday was my blog anniversary! I can scarcely believe that I have been blogging for seven years. It definitely doesn’t feel like that long. Time flies when we’re doing something we enjoy, right!? However, to be honest, I’m not in my best blogging period at the moment, since I have not been writing as many posts as I used to, don’t have that many new ideas anymore, nor have I been reading much. Since last year, I’ve been in a strange reading slump. I don’t feel like reading for long periods of time for some reason… I’ve only been reading around 20 minutes a day even books that I’m enjoying, reason why I have not been writing as many reviews as I used to lately.

Nevertheless, blogging has been overall a lovely experience (it helps that I avoid interacting with the idiots out there and mostly try to ignore those who are offended by people who have different opinions to them). It has been great to share my thoughts with other bloggers, discover books I probably never would otherwise and (hopefully) also improve my English writing skills.

To celebrate this anniversary, nothing better than to share with you my favourite books since I started blogging. I’ve chosen the seven books that I loved the most from the ones that I read since June 2016. There is not necessarily one per year, they are listed in no particular order, and I only considered the ones that I read for the first time during that period.

Books by My Favourite Authors that I Wouldn’t Recommend

As book lovers, we don’t miss an opportunity to recommend our favourite authors to other people. Since their work is special to us, not only can’t we wait to pick up more of their books, regardless if they are novels, short story collections, novellas or poetry, but we also want as many people as possible to read them as well. Currently, there are six authors that I consider to be my favourites of all time – Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, José Saramago, Eça de Queirós, Jessie Burton and Margaret Atwood. That doesn’t mean I would recommend all of the books that I read by them.

There are, in fact, books written by five of them that I either decided not to read until the end or that I rated with three stars. Although they didn’t taint my opinion of their work as a whole, they surely left me disappointed, seeing that I enjoyed much more all the other books that I read by them. If you are planning on reading books by Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, José Saramago, Eça de Queirós and Margaret Atwood, I wouldn’t recommend the ones below.

 

The Loving Spirit by Daphne du Maurier

After having enjoyed to varying degrees eight novels and two short story collections by Daphne du Maurier, I was not expecting to decide not to finish The Loving Spirit at around page 70 a week after starting it, despite having debated whether I wanted to read it or not for a while. The first character readers are introduced to, Jane Coombe, has always had an adventurous spirit. She married her cousin Thomas when she was 19 years old. The night she gave birth to their third child, Joseph, she went to the summit of a cliff, because she felt that her dream was about to come true – someone would fulfil her desire for adventure.

Five Books Set in France

France is not one of the countries that I’m always eager to read books set in. A book taking place there doesn’t instantly catch my attention. I need to also be intrigued by either the plot or the characters in order to consider whether I should read it or not, whereas a book being set in London, for example, is already a plus and makes me want to immediately know a bit more about it, such as the opinions of other readers and the characteristics of its author’s writing style.

Nevertheless, I sometimes read books set in France that I enjoy and would happily recommend. Five spring to mind straightaway. While some are set there in full, others only take place there in part.

 

The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier

A train station in France is the place where the life of the narrator of The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier starts changing. There he meets Jean, a French man who looks exactly like him, and they end up assuming the other’s identity. The narrator faces the challenge of having to deal with Jean’s complicated family and his financial struggles. The book is not only engrossing, as readers and the narrator discover at the same time more about Jean’s family, who is shrouded in mystery, but is also full of convincing dialogues. The characters are easily distinguishable and the writing style is absorbing.

Spring Book Recommendations

Many readers love using the seasons of the year as a form of inspiration when choosing the books that they are going to pick up next. I’m not a seasonal reader myself. However, I can see the appeal of reading books that are in some way connected with or take place during a current season. For that reason, this year I decided to recommend books that I feel suit certain seasons as they are starting.

Since Spring has just officially begun this week in the northern hemisphere, I have five recommendations that just scream “Spring” to me, because they are either set during this time of the year or are related to new beginnings in one way or another.

 

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

The plot of The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim is simple, but it will leave any reader in the mood to enjoy Spring. A group of women rents a small medieval castle in Italy to escape their normal lives during the month of April. Although they all have different reasons to want to spend some time away, their pleasant holidays will make all of them look at their lives from a different angle. The prose is deliciously, but subtly, ironic. There is a casual humorous tone throughout that is an enjoyable complement to the evocative descriptions of the characters’ surroundings.

Favourite Female Characters II

Almost six years ago, I wrote a post about my favourite female characters to celebrate International Women’s Day. Since then, I read various other books whose female characters I found as interesting as the ones I mentioned previously (or in some cases even more). Some of them shine because of their compelling personalities. Others may not have an immediately fascinating temperament, but they stand out thanks to their authenticity. Well-crafted characters can be captivating regardless of their traits.

The seven characters mentioned bellow are part of books from various genres, from fantasy to literary and historical fiction. Some I spent a long time with, as they are featured in series, others just a few days. They all have one thing in common, though. They lingered on in my mind. It is also not surprising that three of the characters were created by Daphne du Maurier, since her talent is well known.

 

Althea Vestrit – The Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb

The younger daughter of Ephron Vestrit, Althea is one of the main characters in Ship of Magic, The Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny, the three books in The Liveship Traders Trilogy by the fantasy writer Robin Hobb. Her family has a liveship called Vivacia and her biggest dream is to be her captain one day. She is wilful and feels restricted by the sexist society she lives in. Although she occasionally makes rash decisions, she reflects on her mistakes. She has her own desires, but can adapt them as the situation around her changes. What she experiences throughout the series is deeply affecting.

Unexpected Pairs of Books

Books can be of completely different genres, tell an incomparable story, feature characters with overall contrasting personalities and still have at least one element in common. The following three pairs of books are unexpected, because at first sight they couldn’t be more dissimilar. However, there’s one characteristic that unites the books in each pair. What can connect three classics or modern classics to three fantasy books? While you are about to discover the correlation between two of the pairs, regarding the other one you will have to read the books!

 

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin + Os Maias (The Maias) by Eça de Queirós

I cannot directly tell you what the connection between A Game of Thrones, a fantasy novel, and the Portuguese classic Os Maias (The Maias in the English translation) is, because it is a massive spoiler for one of these books. I’ll just give you a brief summary of their premises instead. At the beginning of A Game of Thrones, Robert Baratheon is the king who sits on the Iron Throne. After the death of his Hand, he invites Lord Eddard Stark to assume the role.  However, since the lords of Westeros are playing dangerous power games, families want to keep secrets hidden, the exiled Targaryen’s want to retake their father’s throne and a legendary threat is lurking behind the Wall, peace may be at an end.

The classic by Eça de Queirós, as the title suggests, revolves around the misadventures of the Maia family. After the end in tragedy of the relationship between Pedro da Maia and Maria Monforte, Afonso da Maia becomes responsible for the upbringing of his grandson, Carlos, who later becomes besotted by Maria Eduarda. Besides being a family story, the book also shines a light on the vices of the higher classes and the cultural discussions of the 19th century.