Book Description
Carol Flynn and Jack Wallis are living and working in the same square mile, eighty years apart. In the twenty-first century, Carol is afraid of potential dangers lurking in the outside world and locks herself away safely at home. Longing to improve her mental health she keeps a diary and rehomes a dog to help her go outside and meet other people.
When out walking Biddy, her Bichon Frise, she sees a poster protesting the closure of the local social club and unwillingly finds herself co-opted onto the committee to save it.
In the twentieth century, Jack is on the home front as the first line of defence for the aeroplane factory, fighting the dangers that invade his world. He has made a special human connection and wants to explore it before time runs out.
When Covid 19 threatens the closure of the social club on their housing estate, saving it could acknowledge Jack’s affections and provide the community Carol is trying to find.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Canterbury Tails' by Trudie Pabor.
Read and reviewed for Trudie Pabor, Blossom Spring Publishing and Zooloo's Book Tours.
Publication date 5th September 2023.
This is the first book I have read by this author but it most definitely won't be my last!!
This novel consists of 53 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! What an absolutely beautiful book that I fell in love with front the first chapter!!! I cannot wait to read more books by this extremely talented author!
This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.
This book is an absolutely gorgeous multigenerational escape!!! It is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions filled with heartbreak, community, romance, war, fun, dog walking, love, loss, painting, friendship and so much more. I was completely swept in the storyline and loved how we go from the past with Jack to the year 2020 with Carol. Trudie weaves the chapters from 2020 and 1922-1940 perfectly giving the reader the stories from the war to Covid in perfect timings. In the chapters from 1922-1940 we see Jack growing up into his twenties where he works in a factory as part of the war effort where he makes a friend in Billy that he met at The Bell Inn. The 2020 chapters takes us on a journey into Carol's life. Carol is isolated after an incident leaves her too scared to leave her home. She adopts a beautiful Bichon Frise called Biddy and starts making friends in the community. She also ends up organising events to save the estate's social club. When out on a walk with Biddy she discovers something that ends up bringing Jack's life into hers. I was fascinated with the history from the war chapters and the fact that Trudie has done her research shines through the storyline. It is one of my pet hates when an author does not do enough research on the topic they are writing about as it can lead to unnecessary mistakes which can spoil the storyline for me so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS Trudie on researching your history well. This book really is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put it down. I was carrying my kindle and reading it every chance that I got. I adored the gorgeous ending and would love to see this book turned into a movie. I am a massive animal lover and run my own rescue Golden Oldies Cat Rescue and Hospice so any books that include animals are a huge bonus for me. I absolutely adored Biddy and her friends George and Titch and being a large part of the story definitely gets bonus points!!! I don't want to say anything else about the storyline as I don't want to give to much away but I do want to mention two more things. Make sure you have your tissues at the ready as I am only normally emotional when it comes to animals but even I had tears streaming down my eyes when certain events happen and make sure you clear your schedules as you won't be able to put this stunning and compelling book down!!! Trudie's evocative writing skills will take you straight back to the 2020 lockdowns but without the fear. It will bring back memories of rainbows, limited exercise and helping your neighbours. A gorgeous pageturner filled with history, mystery, friendship, hope and overcoming fears that will warm your hearts 💝. I am off to add the rest of Trudie's books to my Amazon wish list as soon as I've finished this review!!
Clear your schedules as this is one gorgeous and unputdownable stunner ❤️
The characters are strong, realistic and I became completely invested in each and every one of them. They all had their own problems, secrets, feelings and all had unique personalities and I just absolutely loved getting to know them all. I felt each of their love, friendship, pain, heartbreak, happiness, worry, happiness, fear, sorrow and so much more. I loved getting to know Jack and Billy from the war chapters and seeing Jack growing up determined to work with planes in one way or another. My heart went out to him for his loss and for his forbidden feelings. I also loved getting to know Carol and watch her grow from strength to strength. She was a completely different woman to the one we met at the start and it was amazing to watch. Arthur made me laugh on so many occasions!!! He reminds me of my Grandad with how stubborn he was! Biddy has to win the star of the show award though with her greediness, sulking and demands she is such a sweetheart and I loved seeing her becoming friends with Titch and George who are also adorable!! I adored the multigenerational friendship between Carol, Jackie and Arthur which was such an amazing thing to read and a shame it's not more common. I am a huge animal lover so any books that contain animals as part of their plot are always a huge hit for me and I absolutely adored the cheeky and sweet Biddy!!!
Trudie really does do an absolutely amazing job of bringing the story to life and the characters leap out of the pages as your turning them thanks to her evocative writing skills!! It is so hard to say what I feel about the characters without giving anything away so I won't say anymore about them as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Trudie really has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life and I am missing them already. Well done Trudie!!!
Congratulations Trudie on an absolutely gorgeous, emotional rollercoaster filled with everything you could ask for in a page turner!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your books and I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is why I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an absolutely gorgeous book that will take you on a journey into the past, fill you with love and warmth and take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions ❤️!!!
259 pages.
This book is just £2.95 to purchase on kindle and £9.75 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Trudie’s Bio
Trudie Pabor lives on the outskirts of Coventry. Having worked as a secondary school teacher in various schools for twenty-four years, she now helps university students to achieve their goals. Whilst obtaining a master’s in creative writing, she made several contributions to a university anthology and has continued to write since.
Trudie enjoys cycling to work and takes inspiration from the world around her. ‘You never know what you are going to see that will spark your imagination!’ A background in secondary education shaped her first novel ‘The Malady of Miss Maybely’, and her experiences of living in Coventry have heavily influenced her second novel ‘The Canterbury Tails.’
Social Media Links
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