Julia Ibbotson

4.5/5

Drumbeats is a saunter through the mid-1960s with Jessamy, a young Quaker from England who convinces her rule-following, overbearing mother to allow her a gap year before university to teach English in Ghana. Saying goodbye to her betrothed, Simon, is difficult for Jess, but she does her best to keep him in her life by continually writing him.

While in Africa, Jess helps two outlying villages on Sundays with lessons and rudimentary first aid. And as many who have ever volunteered, Jess is the one who learns many of the lessons that need to be taught.

When Jess and her roommate meet Jim and Hank, two men from the U.S. who are in Ghana with the Peace Corps, Jess is instantly drawn to Jim through music and loneliness. But in keeping honest with Simon, Jess keeps Jim at an arms-length and in the friend zone.

True to history, Drumbeats introduces the coupe of 1966 in Ghana, and Jess gets some scary, first-hand lessons about politics, power, and deceit. During this time, Jim disappears, and Jess is desperate to find him. However, a series of unfortunate events forces Jess home early without locating Jim. And now, she must face Simon and decide if her love for him was immature or strong enough to bind them still.

Drumbeats is a well-written, sweet romance that is a fast cover-to-cover read. There is much to uncover regarding Africa, its environment, and the time of the coupe; it is in no way religious or preachy. Think wholesome and good morals. This book could be safely given to a teen (in fact, teens may learn some suitable lessons here).

My only downside was that, on occasion, the author brought in too-recent dialogue that didn’t fit the times. But this was only a slight hiccup in an otherwise wonderful story. You will love the character of Jess and swoon for Jim.

Drumbeats is the first of a trilogy and a very solid read. Well done, Julia Ibbotson.
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Viv DuLac is an academic studying England's Dark Ages. After a sudden, heartbreaking breakup with her longtime boyfriend, Peter, Viv learns of his betrayal with her friend. With the news, Viv begins to have episodes where she becomes Lady Vivianne in 499 AD. Lady Vivianne lives near the Mere where Viv is and Vivianne is in a dire situation with a controlling man in her life. Viv continues to have episodes slipping into Lady Vivianne's life and learns of her troubles. Viv divulges her concerns to her friends, Ellie and Tilly and soon find that the local Reverend, Rory has slipped into the same time as Sir Roland, friend to Lady Vivianne. Viv and Rory figure out how to help Lady Vivianne and Sir Roland from their own time while discovering their own connection to the past.

A Shape on the Air takes the tale of the Lady of the Lake to another level with a time-slip element. This is a fast-paced and shorter novel with constant action. Right away, Viv is traumatically dumped and sent into a time slip. At first, I had a hard time understanding why Viv put up with Pete taking advantage of her after the breakup, but Viv's story fit so well with Vivianne's experience, that it began to make sense. As soon as Viv began to time-slip more frequently into Lady Vivianne's life, I was hooked into the common issue that was vexing the women in both time periods. I enjoyed visiting Lady Vivianne's time and being able to experience what was called the Dark Ages and challenging some of the views of that era. I also loved the integration of the Lady of the Lake myth and how it connected to Viv's experiences in the present day.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (más)

The Old Rectory is a very charming book...and it's a book that will make people want to add to their bucket list. What do I mean by this? Well, who hasn't dreamed of owning and renovating an old Victorian era (or older) house, especially in the English countryside? Maybe not everyone, but I sure have. Julie Ibbotson has recounted the story of her quest to find the perfect home and, upon finding the old rectory, the journey of the renovation. Intertwined in the story, her love of cooking shines through. She breaks the book up into seasons and includes recipes that fit within those seasons. I can't wait to try out her recipes and the beauty of it is she includes the U.S. measurements too in the ingredients. This book will have a permanent place among my cookbooks and it will be nice to pull it out from time to time to dream of someday owning my own "old rectory" or its equivalent.… (más)