Tuesday, May 20, 2014

...in books



Review
Trouble at the Little Village School
by Gervase Phinn

Trouble at the Little Village School is the second book in the Barton in the Dale series.
I recommend reading The Little Village School first otherwise you will spoil yourself!

First sentence:
“So, what do you reckon then?” asked the caretaker as he leaned idly against the doorframe, jangling the bunch of heavy keys in his overall pocket.

Summary:
Elisabeth Devine certainly rocked the boat when she arrived in Barton-in-the-Dale to take over as head teacher of the little primary school. Now it's a new term, and after winning over the wary locals, she can finally settle in to her role. Or so she thinks...

For the school is hit by a brand-new bombshell: it's to be merged with its arch rival, and Elisabeth has to fight for the headship with Urebank's ruthless and calculating headmaster. She has her work cut out for her.

But add in some gossip and a helping of scandal, not to mention various newcomers bringing good things and bad to Barton, and that's not the only trouble that's brewing in the village.

source: Goodreads

My opinion:
After settling in and overcoming a lot of resistance against her new teaching methods Elisabeth was really looking forward to a quiet term at the little village school. Unfortunately this was not the case. Once again the lives of the people in Barton in the Dale were turned upside down and obstacles got thrown in the way but with the help of friends and colleagues everything can be solved, right?

Trouble at the Little Village School is the second book in the series and starts where the last one ended. Elisabeth is a lovely character and a wonderful new head teacher and after saving the school from being closed she now tries to start fresh and to get on with her life.

Unfortunately this isn’t as easy as she thought because once again there is trouble on its way – Barton in the Dale should merge with Urebank and saving the school is once again the major focus point for the teaching staff in Barton.

The lives of the other people in town are not drama free as well. People get uprooted, careers are changed and new people come to town. Change is inevitable but will it be a change for the better?

Gervase Phinn’s writing is quiet and peaceful but still not the least bit boring. His stories are gripping and entertaining, his characters are lovely and filled with life and his writing comes to life before your eyes.

The Barton in the Dale series portrays a little village in England with its community, neighbourly help and gossip – a wonderful portrait of small town life.

The Books in the Barton in the Dale series are:
·      The Little Village School (read my review here)
·      Trouble at the Little Village School

For more information about Gervase Phinn visit his Homepage.

Monday, May 19, 2014

...in books

Bout of Books 10.0 Wrap-Up


Sadly Bout of Books 10.0 is over and I had a great week. I tried reading a bit more than usually but I had some busy days and I'm not really sure if I managed to read for 2 hours every day but who really cares.

I finished two books
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare 

Das Superweib by Hera Lind (a well known German adult contemporary book)

and I started a third book (and my first Sarah Dessen book ever)
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

I read 774 pages in total which are 110 pages a day.
My best reading day was Friday (203 pages) and my worst was Wednesday (38 pages).
Unfortunately I didn't make it to any Bout of Books Twitter chat since I missed the first one, was asleep during the second (it was the middle of the night here) and the last one was during my Book Club meeting. That's something to plan better next time :)

Overall Bout of Books was a sucess again and I highly enjoyed this week. The next Bout of Books read-a-thon will be from August 18th to 24th and for more information visit the website.


Sunday, May 18, 2014

...in books

Showcase Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits & Tea which was inspired by In My Mailbox from Kristie at The Story Siren.
It is a possibility for us to show what amazing books we got during the week.

It's been a long time since my last book haul but I've been saving up for a while so that I was able to buy some goodies while I visited some of my book blogger friends in the Netherlands. Here are the books that found their way into my bag - with paying for them first, of course.



Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer


Who Needs Mr. Darcy? By Jean Burnett


Trouble by Non Pratt
which was pushed on me buy the lovely Sarah

West End Girls by Jenny Colgan

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Book pushed on me by Kat and Judith

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett 
the lovely cloth bound edition

We also exchanged books and I got these goodies

Looking for Alaska by John Green 
from Judith

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
from Kat

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 
from Daisy

Unfortunately I also had to place an online order for some books I just couldn't find in Amsterdam

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins


The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik