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Chaotic in this house at the moment so I am putting the threads up two days early. I will put the suggestion thread up as well and hold the vote when everyone has caught up with it.

Please review the Throwaway Children.
then

Meet me at the pier head
the Girl on the train.

and then any others you have read and want to review for us.

Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe

A very readable story about a horrendous subject. The story of two sisters sent to an orphanage by a brutal stepfather who pressurised his bullied wife to sign papers handing them into the orphanage, making them the legal guardians. The orphanage then sent them to Australia to another orphanage no better than the British one. The sisters are then split up and the younger one adopted by an abusive man and his accepting wife.

We all know this went on and the story is not an actual true story. However, it is based on fact and makes for uncomfortable and sad reading.

As I said, it is well written and I am pleased I read it, the characters are very well written and believable, I will look out for more books by this person.

Because I had this on Kindle

Jam and Roses by Mary Gibson.

I enjoyed another of her books, Custard Tarts and broken hearts and as this is in the same series of factory girls, I guessed I would like it.

Set among the deprived area of Bermondsey London, among the factories in the 1920s, Millie spends her early life trying to protect her mother and sisters from her abusive drunk father. Taking in the National Strike and the lack of work afterwards, plus the excitement of the families going hop picking, and the despair of Elsie, two years younger than Millie who is placed in an asylum for turning on her father to protect herself, it could be a depressing read. But Millie's resilience shines through, together with her love for her baby, Jimmy and her husband Bertie. I enjoyed it and would read more of her books

the price to pay by Linda Page

Not one to use long words Linda Page writes in a fairly simple manner which at first made me think this was going to be a bit of a nondescript book. And at first it is a simple story, a woman happily married who longs for a child and her husband and sister who think she would do anything to get one. Rica and Simon are able to adopt a son but, as there seems to be no waiting time we realise this is by unorthodox means. Then her husband and son disappear, Rica is distraught but is encouraged by her sister Fran to take over Simon's business.

I enjoyed the part of the story that involved the running of the business, it being a photographic studio, photography has been my first hobby since I was eleven years old and I used to develop and print my own black and white photos. I found this part of the story quite evocotive.

Plenty of twists and photography eventually leads us to a surprise conclusion. Well written, intriguing and absorbing I enjoyed

The Throwaway Children, i quite enjoyed but i thought the first part of the book was rather drawn out and the final part seemed rushed, i would have liked the ending to have been longer. Overall i thought it was a good read.

Meet me at the Pier-head was my suggestion and thoroughly enjoyed it. :-)

thank you Stella.

Mine are on the way :-D

Ok Mersey :-D

Have just started listening to. Meet me St the Peir Head. (audio book from the library) this evening. I wasted over an hour while my C.D. player on my I'll and moody co outer played the tracks of the first c.d in random order!!!

Had to phone my brother to diagnose the problem. Have now listened to the first c.d. properly, only fourteen to go!

Still waiting for the other books from the library, will be calling in on Saturday.

Will probably take a few days to listen yo the rest of the book. Will review as soon as I can. Will review the other books when I get them

Now I'm off to look for other books that I can suggest for review.

I was just floating around and thought oh GlossieAnn maybe early and now I find I am later than her early..

Meet me at the Pier Head by Ruth Hamilton

Basically a good story but to me there was just too much banter between the two main characters and I am not sure a headmaster would have tolerated Colin in his earlier stages at school. Also there was the dragging on of what happened to Theo in his younger life in the States. I was glad though that when they were thinking it was in italics to separate it from the mainstream of the story. I like scouse humour but put it on the stage or a comical drama, and don’t overload a book with it, it detracts from what is going on.

The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe

What an interesting read, I know not all of these children ended up as Rita did, but a lot did and yes there would be a few Rosies that did not fare better and had disastrous lives, some of them here in NZ. When I was at primary school my first couple of years there were children from an orphanage at my school and then the orphanage was pulled down and I have no idea where these little girls went. I was quite taken by this book and did not think it would interest me. A welcome surprise.

I looked for Jam and Roses and saw the Custard Tarts book.. maybe one day as I think I would probably read them.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I was lucky in that it was staring at me in the library in Huntly.. In Auckland if you want a new book that is going to be popular it costs $6.00 to read within 14 days. Little did I know that it would be announced as no 1 by Amazon books early Dec.

Rachel is a bit of a loser. Prior to the events on the train she was married, could not conceive and resorted to alcohol to solve her problems. Her marriage ends in divorce and she goes and shares a house with a friend. Rachel does not tell her friend she has lost her job and instead commutes to the city every day by train. Every day the train stops at a siding. She can see into people's backyards and she even gives the people that live in one of the houses names. She can also see the house where she used to live and her ex now lives in with his wife and child. She sees that something is wrong, but each day she buys alcohol and consumes it on her return journey and so her thoughts become muddled as to just what she did see. Then one of the people that she has given a pseudonym to is missing and the police are searching for her. The journey takes you through her visits to the police station, visits to her ex's home and a random attachment with a chap on the train plus others including the missing person's husband.
Her housemate wants her gone when Rachel turns up home drunk as, and is sick in the entry way and leaves her wet knickers on the floor there. Things go from bad to worse for Rachel and you as the reader are taken all around the houses until the body of the woman is discovered and Rachel very nearly finds out too late who did it and puts her own life in danger. It is a good page turner - and to me it's no comparison to Gone Girl which I couldn't get into at all.

The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

Each chapter is told from each character's perspective and how they feel. After losing her husband Leo and Garrett coming to stay, Audrey gradually falls for Garrett (the lifelong bachelor) and Audrey and Leo's children are also more than happy to have Garrett around. Will Garrett honour his agreement with Leo that he would marry Audrey. Audrey and Garrett both have their chapters but so do the children. Their behaviour also changes especially the eldest as he fancies a mother of a friend, then he can't tolerate Garrett and his mother being together. They had been discreet but got found out and then the trouble starts. There is also the butting in from fellow firemen that worked with Leo. All in all it is fairly predictable that they will end up together but there are just a few glitches with Audrey shutting Garrett out of her life, but one has to expect the unexpected and makes for an easy and light hearted read. The three sons all get their own chapters throughout the book so you are right up there with their attitudes and problems etc and they are not just glossed over.

Since reading those I thought I would read some of Jeffrey Archer's books , saw there were several on the shelf in Huntly that I had not read. I found one book and it was the third in a series, and in the front of his book whilst the previous two are mentioned, it did not say they were Clifton Chronicles.

What great reads and I was reading a book over 2days.. I thought there were four but when I took book 2 back saw there was a number five as well.. so read the five and I am still on a cliff hanger. 2016 is when his sixth book comes out and that's the penultimate one. He had written one every year from 2011 on. I will be glad when it is all over in 2017 but I know I will have to go for broke now. That man sure can write.

Meet Me At the PierHead - Ruth Hamilton

I loved this book from beginning to end, infact read it very
quickly, such an easy read.
I could relate to some of the places/Areas mentioned which
was mentioned throughout. Characters such as Theodore,
Maggie and Rosie hold the book together
A Strong bond is formed and they learn to protect themselves
with the help of each other. Secrets from their past arise
and throughout their friendship and help them throughout...
I found me wanting to swipe the pages quickly to get to the end.
I mentioned this book to Mum and she downloaded it too....she
is the same opionion of me, and has also got her going through
the other Authors books she has not read :-D :-D

I am 3/4 way reading through The Girl on The Train - Paula Hawkins
so will post my review hopefully tomorrow sometime if that is ok.......

No problem Mersey, thank you.

Throwaway Children

The story is based around Rosie and Rita who are separated from their mother by her new partner and end up being sent to an orphanage in Australia. The girls are faced by an unfamiliar situation, with Rita trying to look after her younger sister Rosie until they are split up, but both sisters meet problems and sadness, some really harrowing, and made more so by our knowledge that these things happened to children in reality. It reminded me of a couple of the books we have read about illegitimate children being taken from their mothers, and the fate of some of those children. A lot of sadness caused by people who thought they were doing their duty!
As Ann said, well written and an interesting read.

Hope to finish. (audio book). Meet me at the Pier head tomorrow (Friday).

Will be collecting Girl on the Train, from the Library on Saturday.

Will be back with reviews asap.

Review Precious time by Erica

Love her characterisations. Set in a small village in Derbyshire, Gabriel Liberty an old grumpy, lonely widower who lives in a very large house called Mermaid House. Clara Costello, gives up her job to spend a year driving round UK in a motor home with her four year old son Ned before he starts school, works for a week cleaning for G Liberty. There are three Liberty offspring, Jonah, the youngest, born when Gabriel's first wife died and twins Caspar and Damson. Other villagers are woven into the story, and relationships between the siblings are explored and explained.

I always enjoy her story telling and this was no exception. A very good tale which I enjoyed.