Anne's House of Dreams

Rating

5 stars – Montgomery returns to form as Anne and Gilbert build their ‘house of dreams’

Anne’s House of Dreams is about…

Anne and Gilbert and their ‘house of dreams’ which ‘awaited them on the misty purple shore of Four Winds Harbour‘.

We rejoin Anne and Gilbert as they are married in the Green Gables Orchard; ‘circled by the loving and kindly faces of long-familiar friends‘. From there they set off for Four Winds Harbour; where Gilbert will practice as the local doctor and both will meet kindred spirits in the form of the uncanny Miss Cornelia, the adventurous Captain Jim and the beautiful yet heart-broken Mrs Leslie Moore.

After the disappointing Anne of Windy Willows, I was slightly reticent to pick this one up — but Montgomery has returned to form — as Anne and Gilbert’s relationship blossoms we are introduced to more delightful characters who make up a charming and heart-warming tale. Montgomery once again weaves a tale of current happenings and amusing anecdotes, as Anne and Gilbert share their first year of marriage — with all its joys and sadness — with dear friends in their little ‘house of dreams’.

I’m looking forward to picking up with Anne and Gilbert in the next novel in the series: Anne of Ingleside.

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Anne of Windy Willows

Rating

3 stars – lacks the magic of the previous three Anne books

Description

Anne Shirley has left Redmond College behind to begin a new job and a new chapter of her life away from Green Gables. Now she faces a new challenge: the Pringles. They’re known as the royal family of Summerside – and they quickly let Anne know she is not the person they had wanted as principal of Summerside High School. But as she settles into the cozy tower room at Windy Poplars, Anne finds she has great allies in the widows Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty – and in their irrepressible housekeeper, Rebecca Dew. As Anne learns Summerside’s strangest secrets, winning the support of the prickly Pringles becomes only the first of her triumphs.

The Book Review

I really hate to say this but I was disappointed by this book – Anne of Windy Willows is the fourth in Montgomery’s Anne series – and it just didn’t grasp my heart strings like the previous three.

Don’t get me wrong, Montgomery still writes with charm and wit but I was looking forward to the developing relationship between Anne and Gilbert, and finding out more about Marilla, Mrs Lynde and the twins.

This book is largely written as a series of letters from Anne to Gilbert as she shares with him the trials and tribulations of the people she meets in Summerside. When Anne is central to the happenings the book is certainly enjoyable – but more often than not she shares the tales of cursed widows and ill-fated lovers.

Montgomery covers a further three years of Anne’s life in this novel – but I feel she could have compacted it into a third of the pages. For all the endearments that Anne wrote to Gilbert he only appeared in person once in the whole novel and then didn’t say a word!

I think that as a stand-alone ‘chronicles’ this book should be appreciated – but for a reader who yearns for tales of Anne and her loved ones it left me wanting.

Let’s hope that Anne’s House of Dreams takes me back down the well-trodden path I was looking for with Windy Willows.

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Anne of the Island

Buy a copy of Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables) from amazon today

Rating

5 stars – another heartwarming book in the Green Gables saga

Description

Anne Shirley goes to Redmond College, where she makes new friends, including the handsome Roy Gardner, whose attentions to her make her old friend Gilbert Blythe very jealous.

Why did you choose to read this book?

I’m revisiting the Green Gables series for a few challenges this year – and get re-aquainted with my old friends.

The Book Review

Anne of the Island is the third in the Green Gables series and this one sees Anne head off to Redmond college.

Covering Anne’s three year stay at college, Montgomery weaves another heartwarming tale about the little red-headed orphan who is now all grown up but hasn’t grown out of her imagination.

The familiar faces can still be found in the form of Diana Barry, Marrilla, Mrs Lynde and the twins – and of course Gilbert. Priscilla and Stella also make a reappearance. New faces come in the form of Phil Gorden, a wonderfully indecisive girl torn between two beaux and Royal Gardener, the man of Anne’s dreams who turns Gilbert green with envy.

I enjoyed revisiting this book, Montgomery continues to weave a great tale that makes for a comfortable read – and even throws in a little romance!

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Anne of Avonlea – buy a copy today

Rating

5 stars – the feisty red-head returns

Description

Five years after coming to Green Gables, Anne is ‘half past sixteen’ and about to start teaching at her old school, set on inspiring youthful minds and hearts with ideals and ambitions. But some of her pupils only respond to very different methods. Meanwhile the young orphan Davy and the Avonlea Improvement Society bring their own headaches for a harum-scarum, outspoken girl trying to grow up.

The Book Review

Just as it was with Anne of Green Gables revisiting the sequel was like visiting an old friend and reminiscing about old times.

Readers of the first novel may recall that as it ended Anne had come to a ‘bend in the road’ and was not sure what life held in store for her. In this second novel Anne finds herself teaching at her old school – with hopes that she will inspire at least one of her pupils to go onto great things. Her old friends are back, from the darling Diana to the steadfast Gilbert Blythe – but we are introduced to so many new friendly faces and kindred spirits. Anne doesn’t get herself into quite as many scrapes as she did in her youth – but the arrival of little Davy more than makes up for that!

Once again Montgomery has delivered a delightful novel that has stood the test of time – charting two further years in Anne’s life – and bringing us to the perfect place – another bend in the road which we can choose to travel alongside Anne, in the third book: Anne of the Island.

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Rating

5 stars – I enjoyed this re-read as much as I did the first time I read the book

Description

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They are waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables – but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts’ affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It’s not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to imagine life without ‘their’ Anne – and for the people of Avonlea to recall what it was like before this wildly creative little girl whirled into town.

Why did you choose to read this book?

I read the Anne series when I was younger and loved every book – this month celebrates the centenary of this great classic so I thought it was as good a time as any to reacquaint myself with this feisty red-head.

The Book Review

Anne of Green Gables tells the tale of a young orphan girl who is adopted by brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Having spent much of her childhood keeping house and looking after small children – including three sets of twins – Green Gables offers Anne a chance to be a child herself; a place where she can let her imagination run wild.

The novel charts Anne’s life from eleven through to fifiteen, as she finds herself in countless scrapes and mishaps, is acquainted with her bosom-friend and makes an enemy from a boy who dares to call her ‘Carrots’.

I loved this book as much now as I did the first time, it was almost like reminiscing with an old friend as I found myself anticipating the next mishap and smiling at Anne’s imaginings.

Please don’t write this off as a children’s novel – if you haven’t read this book before you should add it to your list – and if you have now might be a good time to revisit it.

Oh and if you do read it before July 31 be sure to stop by and sign up for my Celebrating 100 years of Anne mini-challenge.

I’m now looking forward to Anne of Avonlea – the next installment in the Anne series.

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Image via Wikipedia

It seems I can’t say no now I’ve started up on the challenge scene *lol

Here’s the latest one:

Series Challenge Season 2

This challenge is being hosted by Kathrin at Crazy Cozy Murders – and requires participants to read an entire series between June 1 and November 30.

I’ve been itching to re-read the Anne of Green Gables series ever since I found out there were two books at the end I’d never read. So I will be reading:

• Anne of Green Gables
• Anne of the Island
• Anne of Avonlea
• Anne of Windy Poplars
• Anne’s House of Dreams
• Anne of Ingleside
• Rainbow Valley
• Rilla of Ingleside

I can’t wait to reacquaint myself with Anne and Gilbert!

The Challenge TBR Planner

I suddenly realised that I was going to have to start juggling challenge books and needed a plan of what to read when – so I have created a TBR Challenge Planner! Given that I usually average four books a month I’m going to have a busy six months ahead if I’m going to keep up. Luckily I have been picking challenges that suit the books on my TBR shelf *lol*

A well rounded challenge

Of course now I’ve done some planning I feel able to enter the well rounded challenge:

• June: Something Borrowed – for Chick Lit
• July: Wuthering Heights – for Classics
• August: Secret of Lost Things – for I heard it through the grapevine
• September: Half of a Yellow Sun – for Tl;Dr
• October: Rainbow Valley – for the series challenge
• November: The Sound of Butterflies – for the Pub

Aside | New challenges is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

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