Book Review

This week I finished reading a book called Sepulchre by Kate Mosse (not the model) and I have previously read her first book Labyrinth. I read that she is going to release a third, and final, book in this series called Citadel in September. Yes they are a trilogy, but apart from the location of events and one of the characters - more important in the first book - the two do not seem to follow on from one another, which means you can read either one first.

For those who haven't heard of these books before, here is the briefest of overviews - I don't want to give the plot away; set in the south of France across different time periods, they are stories of mystery, investigation, love and most of all, magic. Not wand waving magic, but ancient magic that comes from the earth and elements. This is only half the story, the counterpart is of a modern day woman - different women in each book - who is on an investigation and is drawn to the series of past events in Carcassone, France.
At first glance the books are about 500 pages long each which takes time to read, but it is definitely worth the time.
The detailed descriptions that fill the pages to bring the places and events of the past to life are beyond fantastic; you can literally see the characters of Leonie, Anatole and Isolde (Sepulchre) sitting and playing cards or Audric Baillard (Labyrinth) spending the centuries waiting for Alais (Labyrinth) to turn up. Everything from the nineteenth century dresses to modern day hotels is portrayed in a way that you can believe the events really did happen.
A huge amount of research on each individual aspect of these novels has been undertaken, which is evident in the thorough knowledge and descriptions given. What I particularly love about the books is not just the combination of historical investigation (history nerd here), France and magic, is that the central underlying theme is love; whether it's between family, friends or a couple. Okay end of gushing. Basically, it is a great series of books, anyone who loves history or even just likes tales of mystery and adventure will also love them.
Happy reading!

My first blog posting

Hello to anyone out there reading this!
So you probably want a brief introduction before you decide to continue on this (to be sure you're not following a crazy person).
Well, I'm 19 years old and now in my second year at the University of Kent at Canterbury studying History and French BA Hons, and yes I am incredibly excited about the year abroad which for me is this September. I may be in Canterbury for the imminent future but I am a Birmingham girl - accent included.
My friends mean everything to me; which does mean that they will indeed be mentioned fairly often in this, and my two younger sisters provide enough entertainment that I rarely need a television when I'm back up north with them.
I love to read - my favourite books being Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery, Persuasion by Jane Austen, and of course the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling. Although at the moment I'm reading books by Kurt Vonnegut (as mentioned in the exceptional tv show Criminal Minds) and Kate Mosse - no, not the model.
Watching DVD's take up a huge part of my time, especially foreign language films like Black Book which is in Dutch and any films with Audrey Tautou or Marion Cotillard in. Luckily my uni has an on-campus cinema which shows foreign films for only £4 a showing :)
I think I share the same mindset as most of my fellow students in that I really have no clue what I'm going to do after my holiday from real life (uni), I'm thinking that I'll end up in a teaching career but there are so many things I would just adore doing; being an author would be awesome - and yes probably an after effect from Anne of Green Gables, an air hostess or as most '90's kids will agree, a Pokemon trainer.
Well, I hope that I have answered the usual questions that strangers ask each other to become acquainted (hello Victorian era wording).
Welcome to my blog!
Danielle Evelyn xxx