What I read this week

 Last year I dove into a new author named Natasha Lester, with her book, the Paris Secret.  I very much enjoyed this book, and while I was in the city at my doctor appointment, I picked up a couple more of her books. 

This past week I entered the world of the Paris Seamstress, and re-entered WWII in Paris, and modern day New York

This book hovers between past and present, and does a good job of it. Far too many I read do that, and I get lost in the story and characters. I admit to a certain fascination about the world of couture clothing and all it entails.

I didn't love this book quite as much as the Paris Secret. I am still glad I read it.

What I read this week

 Yes, I am definitely addicted to stories about the Royal Family. Get that from my mom :-)

This one felt biographical, but of course it was fiction.

The Other Windsor Girl, by Georgie Blalock

This book was designed to give us a peek inside Princess Margaret's life, through a fictional Lady in Waiting.  I always wondered what a more modern Lady in Waiting did, as opposed to the world of Elizabeth I. 

It would appear a lot of it was placating the Royal, providing her with companionship for her outings, and helping to tame, a wee bit, the royal scandals.

I enjoyed this one much more than the biographical Lady in Waiting, by Anne Glencommer.  I guess truth is sometimes less exciting than the fictionalized version.

It certainly shows how a life of no purpose (other than pleasure, and a wee bit of duty to  Crown), can leave one feeling more than a bit lost.

What I read this week.

 Sometimes, when it's been a week, a girl goes back to her staples, hoping for familiar comfort.

I've been reading Danielle Steel since I was 14, and 90% of the time, she does not let me down.

I have always been intrigued by the Women's  RAF (Royal Air Force), and the role they played in WW2. Young women from Canada and the USA joined together with women from Britain.

This book is adjunct to that, and takes us to the world of the Flight nurses on these aircraft, and the critical role they played. They were often called the Flying Angels

One of my good friends from our College Hockey family serves in the military, and she accepted a post to work at Mildenhall in the UK for a couple years. Her stories of the folks she met were quite incredible.

This book captures a taste of some of those stories. It was exactly what I needed.

What I read this week

 I went a little more modern this time with Vintage, by Susan Gloss.

When I read this I am reminded of The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber.

Women of different backgrounds, coming together unexpectedly, and finding in each other, the strength to find themselves.

It wasn't an overly complicated read, but it definitely reminded me the power of connection with people.

What I read this week

 It's ugly bitter and cold out there, and my brain felt focused so I dove into a book for the first time in awhile. I had purchased a stash of them before Christmas but never really got into the reading.  

New year, new focus. Let's read.

The first book I chose was Lady in Waiting: My extraordinary life  in the shadow of the Crown.

Anyone who follows me knows I am a huge follower of the Royal Family ( not stalker paparazzo level though). I thought this would be an interesting insight from the point of view of some from the Ton, but not of the royal family.

It took me a bit to get into it, and once I did, I realized the tie in to Netflix The Crown. It is the wedding of Anne and her husband Colin, that princess Margaret is at, when she meets Tony for the first time. He was the photographer.

I found the details of how Mustique came about to be very interesting. It also gives a different glimpse of Princess Margaret than I have read about before.

Overall, though, it wasn't a book I will re-read. I found it to be a bit name droppy, more than stories. The behaviour of Colin, her husband, was a big turn off. I can't imagine living that life with him.

Reading reviews on amazon, I see people either loved it or hated it. 

Have you dived into this tell all?