Wild Wood

Posie Graeme-Evans has such a wonderful writing style, she writes her books in such a way that you are drawn in by the very first page and don't want to put it down until the last. I inhaled every word, didn't skip one and when I was finished I was wanting more. The characters were strong and I found myself pushing them to hurry and give me their story but also not wanting them to go too fast. I very much enjoyed going back and forwards from the 1300s to present time, I wanted to know everything I could about the characters. I was moved to tears in parts and laughed at the humorous parts as well. Well done Ms Graeme-Evans, and thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this beautiful book.

Once again this author has captured me with her story. After having read The Island House I knew I would love this book. I admire and appreciate the amount of research undertaken to provide me with such enjoyment. These are not small books to read, but never did I find reading arduous (as you can with some big word-count novels.) I enjoy parallel storylines of this nature and will usually favour one over the other. But with Wild Wood it's hard to say which part of the story captivated me the most. Certainly, the Borderlands setting of 1068, was fascinating.
Another beautifully written novel by a favourite author.

An intriguing read from a marvellous Australian author. I love stories that run on two time frames.

Advice from the dead, recommended by a stranger. That fits.’

When Jesse Marley applies for her first adult passport in 1981 as part of planning a surprise trip home to the UK from Australia with her parents, she finds there is a discrepancy about her birth registration. She asks her parents why, and finds that she was adopted. Jesse is devastated, and travels to the UK to see if she can find who her birth mother was, and why she was given up for adoption. Once in London, she has an accident. And in hospital, temporarily unable to speak, forced to use her left hand instead of her right, Jesse starts drawing places and people she’s never seen. Her Doctor, Rory Brandon, is intrigued. Especially once he recognises the castle.

Thus begins Jesse’s journey: to a place called Hundredfield built a thousand years earlier by the Normans near the border with Scotland. What is Jesse’s connection to Hundredfield? Can Rory help her find the answers she is seeking?

The story moves between the present in which Jesse is trying to seek information about her past, and a period some hundreds of years earlier when the marriage of a mysterious woman to a lord of Hundredfield seems to initiate a series of inexplicable events. How are these two stories connected?

‘Of course. There’s always an explanation.’

I enjoyed this story, and kept turning the pages trying to work out how (and through whom) Jesse was connected to Hundredfield. There’s mystery, a hint of romance, as well as some interesting characters and events. The shifts between past and present maintained the tension and kept my interest. There are a number of twists and turns, and plenty of surprises.

I’ve read Ms Graeme-Evans’s earlier works of historical fiction and found them thoroughly entertaining.

Note: My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

It’s 1981 and Jesse arrives in London amidst the lead up to the wedding of Charles and Diana. Jesse is on a quest to find out who she really is. A quest which takes her from Sydney, Australia to the wilds of the English borderlands!
1831. Bayard and Maugris return from battle to find their older brother has wed and is ruling the estate, Hundredfield, with a cruel hand.

A hauntingly captivating story spanning centuries. Steeped in superstition, the supernatural, myth and legend it takes the reader from the 14th century to the 20th century.

The style of writing changes as the story moves back and forth between 1831 and 1981. The present told in third person whilst the past is in first person narrated by Bayard Dieudonne. I liked the different styles and found the change easy to adapt to. It also helped set the two stories apart.

I loved Bayard; he is very sensitive and guards his true feelings from those around him. It wasn’t a time of sensitive men. He quite often bares his soul and you will find yourself on his side. I could have quite happily read a whole story on Bayard alone.

Jesse’s side of the story started slow and confusing which was a reflection of Jesse’s state of mind. As one side of the story gathers pace so does the other therefore, not leaving one side flat.

Some chapters left me breathless as they battled against raiders and harsh winters, a constant battle to stay alive. These people were devout Christians and the description of the 14th century Christmas dinner was marvellous.

Some readers may work out the twists and family secrets but I’m never good at that so I had no clue to the final revelations. Well I though I had a clue but I was completely wrong!

As the story evolved the pace quickened and I could almost feel Graeme-Evans exhaustion as the books ends. She has put a lot into this story. It’s very draining emotionally. Although, it’s not all high drama! There are elements of underlying humour and I laughed out loud as Graeme-Evans slips a fart joke in amongst the drama.

I recommend this book to everyone, no matter what genre you read I am sure you will enjoy “Wild Wood”.

This review will appear on the link below approx 26th March

In 1321 in the Scottish Borderlands, the de Dieudonne brothers, Maugris and Bayard were fighting with their men in the woods surrounding their home, Hundredfield castle. Their elder brother, Godefroi was back at the Keep, having recently married the Lady Flore. But the people of Hundredfield were uneasy – there was something about the Lady Flore they distrusted; there was hate and unrest all around the villages…

1981 in London, Jesse Marley had just arrived from Sydney, Australia – distraught and filled with tension, she had just discovered her whole life had been lived on a lie. She was adopted, and had only just found it out. Plus not even her birth date as she knew it was correct. She felt betrayed and was desperate to discover who she really was. Her new birth certificate showed her place of birth as Jedburgh in Scotland so she knew she needed to go there to find answers.

In her distressed state she stepped into the path of a motor bike and was run down. The subsequent events; from her meeting of Dr Rory Brandon, neurologist, at the hospital in London to her eventual arrival in Hundredfield in Scotland; there were strange and unsettling things happening to Jesse. Why did she feel she knew the old castle? Who was the woman she continued to see in her dreams? And could she find her birth mother and find out about her past?

This historical fiction novel by Aussie author Posie Graeme-Evans is full of intrigue and tension. The story is told by Jesse in 1981 and Bayard in 1321 and switches from past to present with ease. I thoroughly enjoyed Wild Wood and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

Growing up in Australia Jesse Marley was shocked when she accidentally discovered that she was born in England and adopted at birth. When her parents refuse to tell her anything about her birth or original family, she travels to the UK to find out the truth herself. However, after an accident results in a head injury and hospitalisation, Jesse finds herself listening to a strange inner voice and drawing detailed pictures of a castle and place she has never seen.

This story is told in two time frames, Jesse's quest to find more about her birth in 1981 and that of the Norman family Dieudonné in 1321. That there is a link between the events that nearly destroyed the Dieudonnés and their family seat Hundredfield, and Jesse's tale in current times becomes clear as the stories progress.

Both stories are engrossing and filled with great characters. In 1321 Hundredfield is ruled by the oldest Dieudonné brother, Godefroi who is proud and arrogant but totally smitten with his new wife, the middle brother Maugris, a fighter and strategist and the youngest Bayard, the narrator, who is more caring and sympathetic to the plight of the peasants in the village who are slowly starving to death. Hundredfield is surrounded by ancient woods and superstition and ancient tales such as those of the wild faery Hunt and the Lady of the Forest who appears when she is most needed are deeply ingrained in people's beliefs in the 14th century. They also still linger in modern times when Jesse finds herself visiting Hundredfield in her quest to unlock her family secrets.

The writing was very evocative, giving a real feel of the harshness of 14th century life in a cold stone castle and the wildness of the woods and countryside. The two interwoven stories were told in different narrative styles which made it easy to follow the changes between the two threads and switching between the two parallel stories also helped to maintain the tension in each story. Definitely a page-turner!

(Age: 15 - Adult) Recommended for readers who enjoy time slip stories. When Jesse Marley discovers that she is adopted she is determined to go to the United Kingdom to find the place where she was born and uncover the secrets surrounding her birth. In London in the month before Prince Charles and Diana's wedding she is hit by a motor bike and taken to hospital. Unable to speak she begins to draw a castle she has never seen, a man in armour and faces of people she doesn't know. Her neurologist Rory Brandon is intrigued as he recognises the castle and together they travel to Hundredfield, a mediaeval stronghold which had been held by the Norman Dieudonne family. The author juggles Jesse's struggles to find out what is happening to her in 1981 with the story of Bayard Dieudonne, a medieval knight in 1321. On his return to Hundredfield after fighting on the Scottish borders, he discovers that his brother Godefroi has married and is now ruling the land harshly, the people are homeless and starving and his brother doesn't seem to care. The historical background is vividly drawn and the period of the Middle Ages comes to life as the reader is drawn into descriptions of the Lady of the Forest who is supposed to appear when she is most needed and the conflict between the Catholic faith of the Normans and the pagan beliefs that many of the people from the countryside still have. Bayard's story is a gripping one, written in the first person and in the style of the language of the 14th century, and it is this that really kept my interest alive, as I read on avidly to find out what the connection was between Bayard, Jesse, Hundredfield and The Lady of the Forest.
Readers who like historical fiction and the idea of the medieval world impacting on the modern world will enjoy the descriptions of the castle and its chapel, the harsh life of the peasants and soldiers, the piety and superstition on the monks and the conflict between Norman and Briton. The struggle that is required to keep Hundredfield in the 20th century and the effort that Jesse has to make to find out about her roots is also immersing. The author brings Jesse's story and Bayard's to a satisfying conclusion while managing to keep up the suspense about the connection between the two.
I certainly will not hesitate to pick up other books by Posie Graeme-Evans.

Running on dual time lines Wild Wood is true escapism.

In 1981 when Jesse Marley accidentally finds out she is adopted, she cuts all ties with her adoptive parents and travels to England to find her birth mother. While there she is involved in an accident and suffers a head injury. Her doctor, Rory Brandon becomes intrigued when he discovers she has drawn some pictures of which he recognises the castle. He convinces her to undertake some hypnotherapy to discover what is happening and also to come with him to the place that she has drawn.
In the 14th Century the inhabitants of Hundredfield are spooked when Lord Godefroi marries Lady Flore, She is a woman whom Godefroi found in the forest who does not speak. They believe she is possessed but Godefroi is utterly captivated by her. This narrative is told by the Godefroi's youngest brother Bayard.

I really enjoyed the two time frames. I'm not a great historical lover, so I'm always more intrigued with the contemporary story line. But both of these were written smoothly and I my attention was held in both narratives. This had a bit of everything....supernatural, mystery, romance, small town secrets and I really enjoyed seeing how all of these came together. I could see where the story line was going but at the end there was one surprise that made me smile.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review

Wild Wood by Posie Graeme The Evans

With thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for my copy to read and review.

Told in two time frames, across historical borders this story does not disappoint!

Australia 1981 and Jesse Marley has just discovered she was adopted at birth in the UK and raised in Australia. Against her parent's wishes, she makes plans to travel to the UK to find her birth mother. Anomalies on her Australian birth certificate raise suspicions so she uses the information she has so far gleaned to order a British birth certificate, which she doesn't get to see until she arrives in the UK.
Upon her arrival in London things soon start to go pear shaped for Jesse when she is quite suddenly and accidentally struck down by a motorbike whilst crossing a road, then, after some confused wanderings she finds herself in a pretty serious condition in hospital, suffering from broken bones and a head trauma.
Now Jesse's life seems to take on a direction of its own as she is propelled along by forces she can't seem to control.

As one thing leads her to another she finds herself embroiled in a history she had no prior knowledge of, and...since the accident, an unusual talent has manifested in her, as well as what seems to be a memory recall which confounds both her and her doctor, Neurological Surgeon, Rory Brandon.
Now Jesse finds she has become a patient of special interest to Dr. Rory Brandon, who wants to continue her treatment in private, and on a different level. Dr. Brandon has recognised some of the information that Jesse has unwittingly recalled and wishes to pursue it further by taking Jesse away with him for awhile, to a location which he believes is significant to them both, to assist in her recovery and to facilitate his psychological evaluation of her condition, which he believes is unique.

1321, and the de Dieudonné brothers, Godefroi, Maugris and Bayard are meeting at the Hundredfield Castle on the Scottish/English Borderlands. Godefroi is the eldest of the brothers and now rules this Norman built stronghold with his new wife, much to the chagrin of his followers. It would seem that Godefroi has been overspending on renovations to the castle and has left his people to go without. There is much unrest in the village as the lease holders struggle to survive and slowly desert their ruler by leaving the village in search of a better living.

When Maugris and his younger brother arrive at Hundredfield to visit their brother, they are surprised and concerned about the current situation. Things appear to be spiralling into rapid decline.
This story is told by the youngest brother Bayard.

What is the connection between Jesse and Hundredfield? And where does Dr. Rory Brandon fit in?

Skillfully blending history and legend with myth, as the Lady of the Forest of Hundredfield is brought into play and the two stories begin to show similarities across time, Posie Graeme Evans has done a marvelous job in weaving all threads of the stories in concert with one another.
The language between cultures changes realistically as the story flows between the centuries, and the wonderfully graphic descriptions, and depictions of 13th century life in the borderlands are easy and glorious to visualise. The characters were well rounded and aptly presented in all their various complexities.

I was thoroughly immersed in this book and even enjoyed where it was switching between time frames as the story progressed. It was a real page turner that kept me spellbound to the end.

Another great read from Posie Graeme Evans. Highly recommended for all readers. 5*s

Importantly this book is nicely written, with skillful use of language to create two geographically identical worlds, but worlds apart in time. The key characters are engaging and make you care. The author keeps the threads of each story buzzing along in an enjoyable, hard to put down manner.

The modern leading lady is sympathetically presented, and the light romance is enjoyable and feels right. I would have liked a little more information about Margeuritta, as I felt she had potential to be somewhat more of a character.

As a fantasy fan, I found the hints of 'other' enticing and while I am happy with over the top fantasy, the restraint here enhances the story. I also finished the book feeling myself wanting the modern day cast knowing more of what happened in the past and more certainty for them about the fantasy element. However on reflection I feel that the author has left the reader thinking about what may happens and what the modern cast will make of it all, after we have closed the book for the last time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ebook.

Different to what I normally read, but still enjoyable this was well written and very unique.