In the Book Nook Reviews Three Perfect Gifts by Anne Brooke
A tale of an unlikely friendship which forges precious bonds
How did I hear about this book?
I have followed indie author Anne Brooke for some time and thought I should try one of her books for this segment on Substack, and I’m very glad I did!
Who is the author?
I’ll let Anne Brooke speak here, so here’s the author’s own Amazon Biography:
“Anne Brooke lives in Surrey, UK. She is a multi-published author in a variety of genres, including gay erotic romance, fantasy, comedy, thrillers, biblical fiction and the occasional chicklit novel. Her fiction has been shortlisted for the Harry Bowling Prize (for novels set in London) and the Royal Literary Fund Scheme.
When not writing, she spends time in the garden attempting to differentiate between flowers and weeds. Occasionally, she can also be found in the kitchen making cakes. Every now and again, they are edible.
Her websites can be found at: www.annebrooke.com, www.gayreads.co.uk, www.biblicalfiction.co.uk and www.gathandria.com (for fantasy fiction).
She has a Facebook fan page here: http://www.facebook.com/annebrookebooks
She is also on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AnneBrookeBooks”
Why this book?
Out of all Brooke’s books, I selected this one because I liked the cover. We shouldn’t judge books on a cover of course, but a good cover will always push me to try a book. I suspect I am not alone!
What’s it about?
Three women with three different secrets and backgrounds meet at a Pilates class. The friendship they form will change all their lives.
How I read this book
I read this on kindle after picking it up for free when it was on offer from the author, but it’s also available to buy for kindle. It is also on Kindle Unlimited and available as a paperback too.
(Always remember, if you want to read kindle books you don’t need a kindle. You can download the app for phone, tablet or computer and read there!)
Any gore, or horror themes?
None
Scare or suspense?
None
Spice or Romance?
No, but the love between the friends is deeply touching.
Excitement and Adventure?
The adventures are those of life, the problems that come to us and how they are overcome. The adventure here I think is one of friendship, a bond so strong it comes to aid all the women, despite their different backgrounds and personalities.
What I found interesting about the book
I loved this book, found it deeply touching. The story of the three women, Frankie, Miranda and Golda is one of three tales which converge, a story of very different women with diverse pasts and problems who come together because of a chance encounter and end up forging a friendship which becomes, to them, deeply important and which aids each of them.
Frankie is pregnant when she never planned to have children, and this issue is causing problems in her marriage. Miranda is young and has terminal cancer and recently tried to kill herself, and Golda is a survivor of an abusive marriage and has for a long time avoided close friendships with others, perhaps fearing to allow anyone else in, after her husband turned on her and spent years abusing her.
Although they get off to a rocky start, with their backgrounds and personalities so varied, the three women manage to create a bond which is strong and solid between them, learning to accept and indeed cherish the differences between them. I think I found this point the most interesting, because they have some strikingly different belief systems but rather than reject each other because of this they listen to each other and come to understand different viewpoints, changing their minds in some instances. This, to me, was so striking because it shows how we might all hold different opinions and yet find ways to hear each other, and, when better understanding comes, accept the differences between us and learn from them rather than simply rejecting them.
The friendship between these women was the other thing I loved, it is touching, authentic and deep and I will admit there were tears in my eyes at the end which doesn’t often happen to me.
This is a sweet, uplifting book, and one full of hope, despite or perhaps because of some of the dark subjects it tackles with care and grace.
I rated this book five well deserved stars on Amazon.
Gosh, thank you so much, Gemma - this is so kind of you and has made my day. I'm so glad you enjoyed the read! xxx
going to go order it on amazon. Thanks for the recommendation, Gemma