Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery

Hello my dears. Are you ready for a classic, because I am.
Anne of Green Gables is one of my very favorite books of all time. It's and absolute classic and if you haven't read it you are missing out. I remember reading it for the first time when I was 7 and falling in love with Anne and Marilla and Mathew, now years later I still love the characters and the story. No matter how times I read it I fall in love all over again and laugh and cry in all the same places. It never gets old. There have been so many adaptations of this book into a movie or show (Anne with an E 🤮🤮) but none have ever lived up to the book. I love it sooo much!

Characters!

• Anne Shirley- The eleven year old protagonist of our story, Anne is an orphan girl who gets adopted by Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Anne is a spunky imaginative eleven year old girl with a knack for getting into trouble. 
• Marilla Cuthbert- A strict but loving old woman, Marilla and her brother adopt Anne. Marilla sets about bringing Anne up properly.
• Mathew Cuthbert- Sweet, shy Mathew leaves Anne's bringing up to Marilla, but can't help wanting to spoil her. Mathew in is quiet ways is Marilla's opposite and together they make a wonderful team.
• Rachel Lynde- A very outspoken but kind old woman. I hated her at first but then you get to know her more as the book progresses and come to like her more. Rachel is that person who manages to get all of her work done, volunteer to lead groups or do more work, and some how still have time to be in everyone else's business. 
• Diana Berry- Diana is a sweet, kind girl who has been brought up properly since her birth and because of it has a lack of imagination. That being said she brings out a different side of Anne and mellows her out. She also loves to read. 

Plot!!

So Marilla and Mathew are looking to adopt a young boy to help Mathew around their farm. So they send word by the family of a woman who's going to get a girl of her own. Well, somewhere the wires get crossed and instead of a boy, they get a girl. Marilla wants to send her back at first but Mathew takes a liking to her and convinces Marilla she should stay. So she does and Anne's bringing up begins immediately. Like I said Anne has a knack for trouble and over the six years that this book takes place she gets into a lot of it. She dyes her hair, forgets flour in a cake, flavors a cake with liniment, and breaks her slate over someone's head, to name a few. But she grows up and makes fewer mistakes (although the ones she does make are very memorable). All in all an amazing book.

Review!

I adore this book. ADORE it! Anne is a timeless classic that I will always love. No matter when you read it you can get something from it. It might be a laugh, or proof that everyone makes mistakes and it all turns out alright in the end. Anne is a lighthearted book that is perfect for any moment. I love the plot and the characters and the setting (which is early 1900's Canada (Prince Edward Island) by the way). Everything about this book is amazing. If you haven't read it read it. Honestly I don't know where this book falls because I read it in the second grade and loved it, I read over the years and still loved it so. I think anyone could read and understand it. Read it for yourself, read it to your kids, read it as a class, whatever you want to do, just read it!

Eleven of ten paw prints 💜💜

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Happy Reading!

Merlin:)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Amelia Hello my dears,
It has occurred to me that I have failed as your loyal blogger in two ways.

1. I haven't blogged this summer as much as I planned to, but alas I'm terribly scatterbrained and forgetful. I am terribly sorry for that.
2. I haven't reviewed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which is in my opinion doomed to eventually become a classic. It's that amazing. Today I intend to fix that.

The fact that I haven't reviewed Guernsey occurred to me as I was cleaning, which we all know is only appropriate to do between the hours of eleven fifteen and two in the morning. I'm sure plenty of you have heard of Guernsey after all it became a Netflix original a while ago. The movie is actually what inspired me to read the book as horrible as that sounds. But in my defense I didn't know it was a book before I watched it. One of the most interesting, and one of my favorite, things about Guernsey is it's written entirely in letters. What is most likely my favorite thing about Guernsey (other than the characters, the plot, and everything) is the fact that it has it's basis loosely in actual history. Guernsey is a real island in the English Channel that was really was occupied by the German's during WWII. Unfortunately it seems that most of the history of Guernsey during WWII has been swept under a rug, see the Brits were never supposed to stop fighting and never be occupied but Guernsey, being in the Channel, was.

Characters!

• Juliet Ashton- A London author who after WWII is rather unsatisfied with her life. She must go on tour for her book and she (much I like would) dreads it. Juliet is sweet and gentle but also determined and courageous. I absolutely adore her (mind you I adore all of the characters)
• Dawsey Addams- If only there were actual men like Dawsey. He's sweet and kind and wonderful. If he were real, age appropriate, and I knew him I would snatch him up in a heart beat. He writes Juliet about a book and sets the whole story in motion.
• Isola Pribby- Isola is a strange bird. She makes her own gin, is a feminist, and loves Brontë. I love her because of how unique she is. She's also sweet and kind and takes Juliet in so easily.
• Amelia Maugrey- A secretly delightful woman with a tough exterior from loosing people. 
• Eben Ramsey- Local postmaster and a very grandfatherly man. Eben has to be one of the sweetest men in all books, he has this quiet strength that I adore.
• Elizabeth McKenna- The founder of the Society and a strong woman who defends what she believes in, to the end.
• Sydney Stark- Juliet's publisher and oldest friend. He's charming, and sweet, and amazing. 
• Markham V. Reynolds- Ok I lied there are like two characters in the book that I dislike. Mark I hate, for reasons I cannot disclose without spoiling everything. (the other is so insignificant that she's not worth mentioning, in fact I'm not sure she's in the book this review has turned out to be half movie half book but if I do say so myself the producers did a fantastic job with Guernsey)

Plot!

So Juliet lives in London as a writer, but after the war she feels uninspired and unhappy with her life. Then she gets a letter from a man named Dawsey Addams in Guernsey, asking about a book. See he had acquired a copy of one of her books with her address on it. They start exchanging letters and one thing leads to another and Juliet ends up in Guernsey, where she meets and falls in love with the members of the Society. Except for Elizabeth who was sent off island during the war. She so falls in love with them that she decides to write about them. Various things happen, letters are exchanged , people show up, things come out, and we fall in love with the characters. My only advice READ IT!

Review!

I know I probably say this too much, but this has got to be one of the best books of all time. It's probably technically an Adult book just because it doesn't have the hallmarks of a YA book. In historical fiction that's not always a bad thing. That being said a fourteen year old could read it and understand and enjoy it. Guernsey of people trying desperately to figure out life after one of the greatest tragedies of all time and move on from what they lost. With just a little adventure and gentle romance mixed in for fun. I adore it completely. Eleven of ten paw prints! 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Farewell my friends and may you find Guernsey as wonderful and perfect as I,

Merlin:)

PS: what got me started on Guernsey was I watching the movie and started thinking about the book and how I didn't remember if I had reviewed it or not.

Lost Roses Martha Hall Kelly

Привет
First,  may I just say that while I read this I got all the music from Anastasia stuck in my head. This book made me think of Anastasia so much. I'm not sure how many of you are history nerds like me but this is historical fiction. Lost Roses is set in 1910's New York and Russia. Some of the fabulous characters are Russian aristocracy. For those of you who don't know/care/remember, this is a problem because 1910's Russia was home to the Russian Revolution. During the Russian Revolutions the Bolsheviks and other revolutionaries killed basically all of the aristocracy left in Russia. This story is told by three wonderful (sorta) and unique women: Eliza a wealthy New York socialite, Sofya a Russian aristocrat, and Varinka a Russian peasant.

Characters!

• Eliza Ferriday- Our socialite with a big heart. Eliza has known and been friends with Sofya for years and considers her one of her best friends. She loves her friends and family to the ends of the Earth. That being said, she's not perfect. Eliza goes through a lot (she doesn't always react well), and comes out better for it.
• Sofya Afonovich- Our Russian aristocrat, who also happens to be a distant cousin of the tsar. 1910's Russia was not a good place for aristocracy. She's married to Afon, a soldier in the Russian army (1910's Russia was not a good place for the military either), and they have a wonderful son Maxwell. Due to revolution, Sofya also goes through alot. As you can see this is not a happy book.
• Luba- Sofya's much younger sister, and brilliant mind. I really identify with Luba. She loves learning new things and reading. Her step-mother isn't a fan. Once again goes through a lot.
• Varinka- Our final POV and Russian peasant, she lives in the village that Sofya's family has a house in. There's a guy who lives with her and her mamka, who is a revolutionary. He is also a horrible, HORRIBLE, person. I personally hate him.

There are so many more amazing characters, but I don't have the time or will power to go through all of them without spoiling things.

Background!

So because this is historical fiction, I think you need to understand the time period and what's happening in it. This particular period is very complicated. Russian history in general is very complicated. It involves vikings (sorta) and the Mongols. Russia also remained backwards for along time. I'm sure most of you have at least heard of the Age of Enlightenment, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, World War I (WWI), and the Russian Revolution. Now you're probably wondering how some of these events are related to this particular era, like I said complicated. Now I'm going to be really nerdy. I'll try to be brief, but I make no promises. The Age of Enlightenment was a period of time when people started to think differently. Catherine the Great was in power at the time, and she made her capital and palace a mini Paris. She spoke French, made ballet popular, and wrote letters to French thinkers. She also slightly reformed Russia. Then the American Revolution happened as a result of the Age of Enlightenment. The American Revolution prompted the French Revolution which prompted Russia to close it's self off to the rest of the world and throw out all things enlightenment. This caused problems including serfdom remaining and a failure to modernize. Failure to modernize led to losses in several wars, and economic issues. Then WWI happened. Most Russians weren't really happy with the idea after losses in other wars. Germany to Austria-Hungary that they had their back if they (A-U) declared war on Serbia, and Russia promised Serbia the same. So WWI began, and Russians hated it. WWI had many repercussions for Russia including the collapse of it's economy. This combined with internal issues sparked the revolution. In 1917 the Revolution forced Russia to drop out of WWI. The Revolution was a general mess. No one was sure what anybody else was doing which led to a lot of death. The main group of Bolsheviks in the capital had it together but other groups acted more on there own and seized property from aristocracy, and some even went as far as brutally murdering even the kinder aristocrats. Ok really long nerdy ramble over, sorry.

Plot!

So Eliza and Sofya met in 1912 at school and Eliza invited her and Luba to join her in Paris. In 1914 the pair are still fast friends and Sofya, along with her family, is staying with Eliza and her family in New York City. In New York Sofya gives birth to her son, Maxwell. Unfortunately they have to go back to Russia. At this point Russia is on the brink of revolution (in fact there was a minor revolution in 1914) but not quite there yet. Fast forward to 1916 and the revolution is about to start and Sofya and her family are forced out of St. Petersburg, starting her own personal hell. At the same time, in New York, Eliza's personal hell is just getting started (for completely separate reasons). Varinka's life has sucked for a while now. She's poor, and has Taras living with her. Taras is the HORRIBLE guy I mentioned earlier. I'm not even touching the stuff he does (it borders on and quiet possibly is sexual assault). Varinka plays a role in making Sofya's life suck. So two of three main characters end up in Paris. Lots of shenanigans occur. The ending is bittersweet, but ultimately more on the happy end of the scale.

Review!

First I need to apologize for rambling about Russian history. I'm a nerd but y'all knew that already. I really enjoyed this book. I have a deep love for historical fiction, particularly accurate historical fiction. This book is shockingly accurate. Martha Hall Kelly actually went to Paris and Russia to research this book. And most of her characters were or are based on real people. Given that the setting is all real places and the amount of research put into the setting is so rich you feel like you're there. I love this book. It's definitely one of my top five favorite historical fiction books of all time. If you like historical fiction you should read it, it's fantastic. Ten of ten Paw prints🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Пока,

Merlin:)