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Chapters of Life
Following a premonition before reading Clare’s tarot cards, Jo takes a risk and decides to go into business with her. Eventually, they open the doors to Clare’s dream: Merrilies, a bookshop situated in a small English Cotswold town. Soon, Merrilies becomes the home from home for some of the locals.
Seven-year old Annie visits each day after school, and worms her way into the hearts of everyone she meets, including the five members of the reading group.
Graham takes a shine to Mollie, and wonders if he’ll find romance after years of being alone; single mum Tessa struggles with her teenage daughter; and Michael confronts a bully at work. Will Felicity – who’s dropped out of law school – ever grow up and stop scrounging off her parents?
This diverse group of people, brought together by their love of reading, forge lasting friendships and make some unexpected discoveries about themselves and each other.
Join the reading group!
Seven-year old Annie visits each day after school, and worms her way into the hearts of everyone she meets, including the five members of the reading group.
Graham takes a shine to Mollie, and wonders if he’ll find romance after years of being alone; single mum Tessa struggles with her teenage daughter; and Michael confronts a bully at work. Will Felicity – who’s dropped out of law school – ever grow up and stop scrounging off her parents?
This diverse group of people, brought together by their love of reading, forge lasting friendships and make some unexpected discoveries about themselves and each other.
Join the reading group!
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
15 people want to read
About the author
Tina K. Burton
9 books12 followersTina K Burton is the author of three full novels, a collection of short stories, and a non-fiction book of true greyhound rehoming stories. The proceeds from this book go to charity.
All of these can be found on Amazon.
She’s also got stories in several anthologies, which are also on Amazon.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys walking her greyhound on the moors, and doing her pyrography artwork.
All of these can be found on Amazon.
She’s also got stories in several anthologies, which are also on Amazon.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys walking her greyhound on the moors, and doing her pyrography artwork.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 27, 2013
Tina Burton’s debut novel is a heart-warming tale of five friends: Graham, Mollie, Tessa, Felicity and Michael who meet through a reading group at their local bookshop. The relationships between these five and the shop’s owners Clare and Jo are interwoven skilfully and we see them both together and separately over the course of a year as each of them faces and deals with issues in their lives.
Other subsidiary characters drift in and out of the narrative and, while I wasn’t wholly convinced by Dan’s role, little Annie’s story reduced me to tears on more than one occasion.
Anyone who has read Tina’s short stories will recognise her light touch in this full-length story and I’m sure it will win her many new readers too.
Other subsidiary characters drift in and out of the narrative and, while I wasn’t wholly convinced by Dan’s role, little Annie’s story reduced me to tears on more than one occasion.
Anyone who has read Tina’s short stories will recognise her light touch in this full-length story and I’m sure it will win her many new readers too.
July 12, 2016
I think this was a question of the right book at the right time because it's so warm-hearted and uplifting, the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom presently around in the world. Two friends, Clare and Jo decide to go into business together and open a book shop and as a way of drumming up custom, they start a reading group, involving a set of disparate characters who soon become firm friends, helping each other through the problems life throws their way. I like the way the characters learn and grow through these varying friendships so that by the end of the book, I was sorry to leave them all. It's mostly a happy book but without giving the plot away, there's sadness there too because after all, that's life. A thoughtfully written and well-crafted book, I thought.
October 4, 2013
This book didn't belong to the usual genre I read, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and captivated me from the start. What I liked most, was that it was a handful of stories and as one finished, another filled with intrigue to pull the reader on. Mollie, Graham, Tessa,Felicity and Michael weren't all likeable characters to begin with, but as their personal tales unfolded, I cared about them all. Tina K Burton's writing style is direct and accessible, which meant the book was easy to read and perfect after a hard day - something to look forward to. The ending was satisfying and left me wanting more. I look forward to a sequel!
September 1, 2013
Lovely story with likeable characters, worth a reread.
September 22, 2013
The book fulfils its promise on the back cover: ‘This diverse group of people, brought together by their love of reading, forge lasting friendships and make some unexpected discoveries about themselves and each other.’
Jo and Clare open a bookshop, Merrilies, and start a reading group to promote interest in the shop. The group comprises elderly characters Mollie and Graham, single mum Tessa, 28-year-old loner Michael, and Felicity who has dropped out of law school. As time passes we get to know and like these characters. The book is written almost entirely through dialogue; Tina Burton manages to capture the voices and characters of each person very well.
It would be unfair to divulge the dramatic highpoints that develop; each group member – and even Jo and Clare – experience emotional turmoil. This, to me, is where the book falls short for gaining additional stars. I felt that while the emotions were there, they were lacking in depth, mainly due to a reluctance to settle on any one point of view. Switching POV is always difficult for an ensemble piece like this, but it is only through the reader experiencing that POV that deep empathy can occur.
Overall, a worthwhile read, with some mystery, suspense and tragedy to affect the group’s equilibrium. Bound to be a popular read.
Jo and Clare open a bookshop, Merrilies, and start a reading group to promote interest in the shop. The group comprises elderly characters Mollie and Graham, single mum Tessa, 28-year-old loner Michael, and Felicity who has dropped out of law school. As time passes we get to know and like these characters. The book is written almost entirely through dialogue; Tina Burton manages to capture the voices and characters of each person very well.
It would be unfair to divulge the dramatic highpoints that develop; each group member – and even Jo and Clare – experience emotional turmoil. This, to me, is where the book falls short for gaining additional stars. I felt that while the emotions were there, they were lacking in depth, mainly due to a reluctance to settle on any one point of view. Switching POV is always difficult for an ensemble piece like this, but it is only through the reader experiencing that POV that deep empathy can occur.
Overall, a worthwhile read, with some mystery, suspense and tragedy to affect the group’s equilibrium. Bound to be a popular read.
October 2, 2013
The cover attracted me at first and then I liked the description.
This book reminds me of novels by Debbie Macomber - it's a similar style in that it's about people and events in their lives.
The beginning tells you how Jo and Clare got together, and gets it out of the way before the real story begins with the lives of the members of the reading group.
It has everything you want from a book - humour, sad bits (very sad you might need a tissue) and a lovely happy ending.
I enjoyed it and would like to read more by this author.
This book reminds me of novels by Debbie Macomber - it's a similar style in that it's about people and events in their lives.
The beginning tells you how Jo and Clare got together, and gets it out of the way before the real story begins with the lives of the members of the reading group.
It has everything you want from a book - humour, sad bits (very sad you might need a tissue) and a lovely happy ending.
I enjoyed it and would like to read more by this author.
April 26, 2015
It was the reference of a similarity to the work of the wonderfully gorgerouss Maeve Binchey that sealed the deal for me when I was deciding whether to purchase the book, oh … and also the fact that the story sounded interesting too! A café with a book store with a book club – how could I resist - my favorites things combined in one novel! But, did it deliver, I hear you ask. The answer is, Yes I’m not going to do any spoilers or undertake character analysis in this review. What I will say is that the characters are varied, real, warm and, will surprise you. Be prepared to smile, laugh, be frustrated with and then enlightened about some of the characters and, be prepared to shed a tear. One of the highlights of the story for me was the presence of different narrators. I enjoyed getting to know the different characters because each of them were given a voice, whilst retaining the authenticity of the narrative. Burton has created characters that are multi-dimensional and realistic; realistic but not predictable - you will be surprised by them. I enjoy these “slice-of-life” novels and the humanity and insights into human nature that they provide. I look forward to more stories that incorporate this lovely book store, and its main characters as well as meeting new ones (much as I got to do with M.B.).
July 18, 2015
Tina Burton’s debut novel is a wonderful, warm and touching story of a group of people who meet in a reading group at a wonderful bookshop called Merrilies in a small town in the Cotswolds. It's really two story lines rolled into one. First, there's Clare, the owner of the shop and her friend, Jo. They meet when Jo read Clare's tarot cards one day and as a result, Clare makes a decision to open a shop with the help of Jo. They decide to start a reading group and we meet the characters in the other story line - five very different people who come to develop firm friendships while meeting in the group: Graham, Mollie, Tessa, Felicity and Michael. The weekly interactions between these two groups bind them together and they help support each other when issues arise in each ones lives. A charming and sometimes very sad story with some twists and turns. Looking forward to reading her next book.
March 11, 2015
Chapters Of Life tells of the friendship between Jo and Clare, they have opened a bookshop and started a book reading club.
The characters are ones you will love and who each have a story of their own.
Tina K Burton has written this debut novel in a delightful and 'sing song' way. It is an easy read and one which you can wile away the hours just getting lost in the tale.
It is a superb debut novel and one which i highly recommend. It has love, sadness and touch of thoughtfulness about it, and the setting it just delightful. A book about friendship, reading and doing the right thing.
It will make you cry and make you feel good, i especially loved the growing story between Mollie and Graham and how it gives you hope of the future.
The characters are ones you will love and who each have a story of their own.
Tina K Burton has written this debut novel in a delightful and 'sing song' way. It is an easy read and one which you can wile away the hours just getting lost in the tale.
It is a superb debut novel and one which i highly recommend. It has love, sadness and touch of thoughtfulness about it, and the setting it just delightful. A book about friendship, reading and doing the right thing.
It will make you cry and make you feel good, i especially loved the growing story between Mollie and Graham and how it gives you hope of the future.
June 25, 2015
I loved the setting for this story and the author has a warm and witty voice which soon has you deeply entrenched into the characters’ lives, making it a real page turner. It takes a very talented author to make you laugh and cry along with the characters and Tina Burton is able to achieve that with ease. This is the first book I have read by this author and I am already really looking forward to the next. Highly recommended.
September 13, 2013
I really wanted to like this, but when people have been friends for years and the first chapters are taken up with them asking how they came to be where they are.....it doesn't work, there are subtler ways to bring in history without an over coffee chat. Sadly disappointed, the voice was wrong, the characters interesting, they deserved better.
October 8, 2015
An easy read
I enjoyed it from beginning to end, in fact I didn't want it to Finish. I liked the way characters were introduced into the story, it made it easy to remember who was who. All characters were interesting people.
I will be reading more of Tina K Burton's books.
I enjoyed it from beginning to end, in fact I didn't want it to Finish. I liked the way characters were introduced into the story, it made it easy to remember who was who. All characters were interesting people.
I will be reading more of Tina K Burton's books.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews