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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
If ever I have felt heartbroken for a book character, if ever I have wanted to rage with fury at the injustice of the world in their life, it is in this book and for Beattie Blaxland. Oh. My.God, Beattie. I hurt for you, I cried for you, I loved with you and I was in awe of you.
How I devoured this book? I listened to the audio version from Audible and in fact, it is by searching my favorite reader, Caroline Lee, that I found this book. She can read me bedtime stories to the end of time, Ms. Lee. I loved listening to Beattie read by a Scottish accent!!! She is one remarkable talented reader, and so now, I have luckily discovered a new talented amazing author, Kimberley Freeman.
This style of the book - powerful women characters, one in the past-time-frame in the previous century (20th) somewhere between England and Scotland and another, usually a descendant of those women in the 21st century - seems to draw me in. Very similar to the Kate Morton style of writing and story-telling. The Secret Keeper comes to mind as another fantastic novel, or the best one of the works by Jojo Moyes - no, not before me or after you or any of those, which were you good yes but The Girl You Left Behind. I find this genre of story telling stunning. The only slight problem is that I'd rather the whole story be about the older generation of women. The 21st-century parts of the novels, I need to tolerate, in order to get the other pieces.
Now, back to Wildflower Hill, this story captivated me to no end. Beattie's youth in Glasgow, her trouble in getting herself pregnant by stupid selfish egotistical Henry, the way her world started diminishing early on with this pregnancy and continued to grow worse. In every turn of struggle, I wondered how much more can the author twist the knife and torture Beattie. The strength of spirit is not the right word for how she gets through. Beattie is one unforgettable woman and I think she'll stay with me for a very long time.
The writing is exquisite. The only not-so-exciting parts of this book are when we switch to Emma, the new century character, and she's alright but certainly not one to remember. She is a typical lost & confused & selfish 30-something modern western woman with love/career problems and very little perspective on actual life problems. It's not her fault. I'm probably similar in some ways. It's the function of our world, which is precisely what makes the story of Beattie so much more fantastical, tragic as it is.
[Possible spoiler alert in this paragraph] What I really appreciated about Ms. Freeman is that she knew where to take the story in those impossible turns and junctures, and every single time, it felt real. It felt as if that could be the next thing that happened and I was totally onboard. My most favorite part was the gamble with Rafael. It was that moment when courage prevailed and when Beattie seized an opportunity that very few could glimpse. I could listen to that section all over again and be thrilled for her!
Favorite quote is easy enough. When Cora says to Beattie: "There are two types of women in this world, Beattie. Those who do things and those who have things done to them. Try and be the first kind!"
So are you looking for a sad unforgettable and powerful story? Are you happy to switch back and forth in timelines and wait to patiently connect the dots? Are you willing to take a chance to get your heart ripped out on at least two occasions for Beattie?
If so, you need to go to Wildflower Hill. I'm off to find another book by Caroline Lee or another story by Kimberly Freeman. Hopefully, I can achieve both goals in one go!
How I devoured this book? I listened to the audio version from Audible and in fact, it is by searching my favorite reader, Caroline Lee, that I found this book. She can read me bedtime stories to the end of time, Ms. Lee. I loved listening to Beattie read by a Scottish accent!!! She is one remarkable talented reader, and so now, I have luckily discovered a new talented amazing author, Kimberley Freeman.
This style of the book - powerful women characters, one in the past-time-frame in the previous century (20th) somewhere between England and Scotland and another, usually a descendant of those women in the 21st century - seems to draw me in. Very similar to the Kate Morton style of writing and story-telling. The Secret Keeper comes to mind as another fantastic novel, or the best one of the works by Jojo Moyes - no, not before me or after you or any of those, which were you good yes but The Girl You Left Behind. I find this genre of story telling stunning. The only slight problem is that I'd rather the whole story be about the older generation of women. The 21st-century parts of the novels, I need to tolerate, in order to get the other pieces.
Now, back to Wildflower Hill, this story captivated me to no end. Beattie's youth in Glasgow, her trouble in getting herself pregnant by stupid selfish egotistical Henry, the way her world started diminishing early on with this pregnancy and continued to grow worse. In every turn of struggle, I wondered how much more can the author twist the knife and torture Beattie. The strength of spirit is not the right word for how she gets through. Beattie is one unforgettable woman and I think she'll stay with me for a very long time.
The writing is exquisite. The only not-so-exciting parts of this book are when we switch to Emma, the new century character, and she's alright but certainly not one to remember. She is a typical lost & confused & selfish 30-something modern western woman with love/career problems and very little perspective on actual life problems. It's not her fault. I'm probably similar in some ways. It's the function of our world, which is precisely what makes the story of Beattie so much more fantastical, tragic as it is.
[Possible spoiler alert in this paragraph] What I really appreciated about Ms. Freeman is that she knew where to take the story in those impossible turns and junctures, and every single time, it felt real. It felt as if that could be the next thing that happened and I was totally onboard. My most favorite part was the gamble with Rafael. It was that moment when courage prevailed and when Beattie seized an opportunity that very few could glimpse. I could listen to that section all over again and be thrilled for her!
Favorite quote is easy enough. When Cora says to Beattie: "There are two types of women in this world, Beattie. Those who do things and those who have things done to them. Try and be the first kind!"
So are you looking for a sad unforgettable and powerful story? Are you happy to switch back and forth in timelines and wait to patiently connect the dots? Are you willing to take a chance to get your heart ripped out on at least two occasions for Beattie?
If so, you need to go to Wildflower Hill. I'm off to find another book by Caroline Lee or another story by Kimberly Freeman. Hopefully, I can achieve both goals in one go!
This review is based on a copy of Wildflower Hill that was won through a goodreads giveaway.
I loved it! There was something compelling about Beattie, and I found myself wanting to skim over Emma's story just to get to Beattie's story. Emma does learn about her grandmother and the life she led before settling down and getting married.
I don't want to discount Emma, but she seemed a little cold and her story was a little boring. I couldn't bring myself to care about Emma or her transformation. This is in comparison to Beattie, whose life had so many hardships and yet she managed to be very successful and happy.
The narrative itself was very strong, and the 2 stories went together so well. The 2 "voices" were very distinct, and you had no problem knowing who was narrating. Plus, the weaving of the 2 stories was really well done. There were several parallels between Beattie and Emma, and there were definitely some issues scattered throughout the book, like being a single parent and racism in Australia in the 1950's.
I loved the detail that Freeman put into Wildflower Hill and it was a very vivid and rich book. The characters were very vivid as well, and I could picture everything so clearly.
Review: 5 out of 5. I loved it!
I loved it! There was something compelling about Beattie, and I found myself wanting to skim over Emma's story just to get to Beattie's story. Emma does learn about her grandmother and the life she led before settling down and getting married.
I don't want to discount Emma, but she seemed a little cold and her story was a little boring. I couldn't bring myself to care about Emma or her transformation. This is in comparison to Beattie, whose life had so many hardships and yet she managed to be very successful and happy.
The narrative itself was very strong, and the 2 stories went together so well. The 2 "voices" were very distinct, and you had no problem knowing who was narrating. Plus, the weaving of the 2 stories was really well done. There were several parallels between Beattie and Emma, and there were definitely some issues scattered throughout the book, like being a single parent and racism in Australia in the 1950's.
I loved the detail that Freeman put into Wildflower Hill and it was a very vivid and rich book. The characters were very vivid as well, and I could picture everything so clearly.
Review: 5 out of 5. I loved it!
Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman was a beautiful story of a mother's love and the strength of a woman. The story went back and forth between Beattie and her granddaughter, Emma. I enjoyed both stories, but Beattie's story was far more compelling. I don't want to give too much away, but there were many gut wrenching moments that as a mother, brought tears to my eyes. And, Beattie's strength to overcome was very inspiring. I'm really glad I picked up this recommendation.
Wildflower Hill truly has it all - racism/discrimination, generational differences, war, love, hate, marriage, divorce, cheating, kidnapping, and eventually death. And to think this is what almost stopped me from even reading the book. One would think all of these themes would be unable to fit together in one book, but Freeman does it quite wonderfully. Every few chapters she changes the narrator, so the reader gets a chance to see both Bettie's story all those years ago, and then Emma's story after Bettie, her grandmother, has passed away. I honestly loved the first few pages when young, 11 year old Emma and Bettie are together, and Bettie tells her that she has something for her, but only when she is done being a Ballerina, something that Emma thinks she will never be done with. Seeing the characters together was a great way to start off the book, that only connects the characters throughout the rest of the story using the themes I have described above.
We find Bettie unwed, and yet pregnant - losing everything within chapters, from her job and friends to her family and the baby's father, Henry. He wants nothing to do with her because he is married and cannot leave his wife, that is until Bettie leaves and lives in a home where unwed mothers give up their babies for adoption. They run off together to Australia, but Henry is always leaving her and the baby, Lucy, on their own to drink and gamble. He's an abusive, alcoholic, but he loves his daughter more than anything. After 4 years, Bettie is done with the abuse, and she has reason to believe that Henry and Molly, Henry's wife, will take Lucy and run away together. So instead of giving him the chance, she takes Lucy and goes to Lewinford to work as a seamstress. She also gets a job at Wildflower Hill, a rather promiscuous farm, serving food and drinks to guests. I look up to Bettie because she has such strong willpower, to do whatever she can for her daughter Lucy, even when Lucy sadly isn't in the picture anymore. I don't think any reader could have predicted what would happen to Beattie, because it seemed as if she just couldn't get a break.
With Emma, however, it's a different story, she's 32 and has no dreams of being a mother or having a family, and eventually her boyfriend leaves her because she is so wrapped up in ballet, that there is no room for anything else. She's a dancer, through and through, that is until she falls and tears ligaments in her knee, forcing her to move back to Australia with her mom, discovering her grandmother's gift to her, which she was to receive only after she had retired from dancing. She wasn't ready to retire, but now she is forced to. Emma begins to find things out at Wildflower Hill about her grandmother's past, and eventually about her own future.
This is a powerful story, one that makes me hope that everyone has a happy ending, even if it's generations later.
"He seemed to her in that moment as he had always seemed: a stranger right beside her, somebody she knew well but didn't know at all" (page 14).
"Even a stopped clock shows the right time twice a day" (page 149).
"But the worst mistake we can make about old people is to forget they were once young" (page 412).
We find Bettie unwed, and yet pregnant - losing everything within chapters, from her job and friends to her family and the baby's father, Henry. He wants nothing to do with her because he is married and cannot leave his wife, that is until Bettie leaves and lives in a home where unwed mothers give up their babies for adoption. They run off together to Australia, but Henry is always leaving her and the baby, Lucy, on their own to drink and gamble. He's an abusive, alcoholic, but he loves his daughter more than anything. After 4 years, Bettie is done with the abuse, and she has reason to believe that Henry and Molly, Henry's wife, will take Lucy and run away together. So instead of giving him the chance, she takes Lucy and goes to Lewinford to work as a seamstress. She also gets a job at Wildflower Hill, a rather promiscuous farm, serving food and drinks to guests. I look up to Bettie because she has such strong willpower, to do whatever she can for her daughter Lucy, even when Lucy sadly isn't in the picture anymore. I don't think any reader could have predicted what would happen to Beattie, because it seemed as if she just couldn't get a break.
With Emma, however, it's a different story, she's 32 and has no dreams of being a mother or having a family, and eventually her boyfriend leaves her because she is so wrapped up in ballet, that there is no room for anything else. She's a dancer, through and through, that is until she falls and tears ligaments in her knee, forcing her to move back to Australia with her mom, discovering her grandmother's gift to her, which she was to receive only after she had retired from dancing. She wasn't ready to retire, but now she is forced to. Emma begins to find things out at Wildflower Hill about her grandmother's past, and eventually about her own future.
This is a powerful story, one that makes me hope that everyone has a happy ending, even if it's generations later.
"He seemed to her in that moment as he had always seemed: a stranger right beside her, somebody she knew well but didn't know at all" (page 14).
"Even a stopped clock shows the right time twice a day" (page 149).
"But the worst mistake we can make about old people is to forget they were once young" (page 412).
This might be classified as chick lit, but it is more than that. It is a well-written, nicely plotted tale of two women,. Beattie has a child in her youth and moves from Scotland to Tasmania, Australia with the still-married father, She eventually leaves him and raises her daughter on her own, for a time. The father reunites with his wife and things turn sour Through wit and pluck and hard work Beattie acquires an estate (how is worth reading the book to find out) and in time falls in love. Prejudice alters her life forever. On her death she leaves her home in Tasmania to her grand daughter Emma, a prima ballerina in London who needs to salvage her life. Her lover has left her for another woman, and she has damaged her knee and can no longer dance. Wildflower Hill, to her surprise, offers the opportunity to find love and purpose once again.
Although there is a certain inevitability about how the two women will fare, Freeman gets them along their individual paths with great skill. Authors are urged to “show don’t tell,” to get us inside their characters rather than merely narrating them. And Freeman does this. The emotional life of both women are carefully and convincingly drawn.
This is a fine read.
Although there is a certain inevitability about how the two women will fare, Freeman gets them along their individual paths with great skill. Authors are urged to “show don’t tell,” to get us inside their characters rather than merely narrating them. And Freeman does this. The emotional life of both women are carefully and convincingly drawn.
This is a fine read.
Emma is struggling in the darkest days of her life. A world-famous ballerina, Emma’s career has just been cut short after a horrific knee injury. Her successful boyfriend has left her. She has lost her swanky London apartment. At her lowest point, her mother convinces her to return home to Australia, and with nothing else to do, Emma decides to go for a short visit. Upon her arrival, however, she learns that she has inherited a farmhouse in Tasmania, packed with secrets. As Wildflower Hill begins with Emma uncovering her late grandmother’s boxes full of records, the storyline floats back in time to when her grandmother, Beatty, arrived in Australia from Scotland. The two women’s stories unfold in such a poetic and beautiful way, as they’re both faced with making difficult sacrifices for the people they love.
I feel like it’s been quite awhile since I’ve read a book quite this entertaining. I was captivated by Emma and Beatty’s stories from start to finish, and I was so disappointed when Wildflower Hill finally concluded. There weren’t many plot twists, and the book was pretty predictable. However, Freeman is a masterful storyteller, and the setting and characters felt so alive. The book wasn’t entirely believable, but the read was so enjoyable that I didn’t pay much attention to the inaccuracies within the work. It was just a thoroughly entertaining read.
It’s impossible not to draw conclusions between Kimberley Freeman and Kate Morton or Anna Romer. All three Australian fiction authors blend history so well into their texts. While all three are worthy reads, I am particularly excited to see more from Kimberley Freeman, having enjoyed Wildflower Hill so much. I highly recommend to anyone who can appreciate a seamless blend of chick lit and historical fiction.
I feel like it’s been quite awhile since I’ve read a book quite this entertaining. I was captivated by Emma and Beatty’s stories from start to finish, and I was so disappointed when Wildflower Hill finally concluded. There weren’t many plot twists, and the book was pretty predictable. However, Freeman is a masterful storyteller, and the setting and characters felt so alive. The book wasn’t entirely believable, but the read was so enjoyable that I didn’t pay much attention to the inaccuracies within the work. It was just a thoroughly entertaining read.
It’s impossible not to draw conclusions between Kimberley Freeman and Kate Morton or Anna Romer. All three Australian fiction authors blend history so well into their texts. While all three are worthy reads, I am particularly excited to see more from Kimberley Freeman, having enjoyed Wildflower Hill so much. I highly recommend to anyone who can appreciate a seamless blend of chick lit and historical fiction.
3.5 stars. I kept comparing this to Kate Morton and it just didn't quite measure up. Good story and interesting read though.
Completely enjoyed this book by a previously unknown author. Beattie is a woman who does things and her story was one of great courage. Emma is her granddaughter whose life has been blessed by all the things her grandmother did. Great reading!