Wildflower Hill

Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman was a total stay up late reading book. I stayed up til 3:30am because I was so enthralled.

Wildflower Hill is the story of a woman and her grandmother. The book alternates between the two main characters as the younger woman moves from London to the sheep station she inherited from her grandmother in rural Australia.

One complaint that I had was that it seemed so similar to Kate Morton's novels. If it had been one of her books, I wouldn't have been surprised. Being like a Kate Morton novel certainly isn't a bad thing-- I loved The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden, just that it was kind of strange that the books seemed so similar.

In any case, I gave Wildflower Hill five stars on goodreads. I loved it. If you like historical fiction or Kate Morton's books, you should definitely pick this up.

The House at Riverton

I finished this book and said, "Wow." Then I put the book down. Then I picked up and reread the last couple pages and again said, "Wow."

The House at Riverton is the story of Grace, once a maid at Riverton, now an old woman, remembering her life at the manor. She tells her story, but she also tells the story of the Hartford sisters, the young women of the house, and what happened the night a poet committed suicide at a party.

I've mentioned before how I like historical fiction mysteries that bounce back and forth between the present and the past. This book had that structure and it was written by Kate Morton, whose The Forgotten Garden I really enjoyed. The past was the more important part of the book, but the story set in the present also offered some interest.

Obviously you can tell I enjoyed The House at Riverton. There was so much to like: the setting of Edwardian and post WWI England, the old woman telling her life story, the mystery of the poet's death. It's a gothic book along the lines of Rebecca or The Thirteenth Tale.