Only Time Will Tell (Book #1 of The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archer

 

Synopsis :

The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.

As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?

This introductory novel in Archer’s ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany.

From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.

This is what I say :

This post will start the review of The Clifton Chronicles of which there are about 6 to 7 titles.  Only Time Will Tell is the first title of the series which I read about a year ago.

I made much effort to gather all the physical books in the series even way before Covid. I got it from book sales, from FB marketplace and even from charity sales and they have a place in my shelf.  However,  about a year ago, I started to take them down one after another to read and now I am in book five

Only Time Will Tell started the tale of Harry Clifton.  The first book explores his identity.  Whose son is he actually?  Harry Clifton was portrayed as a rather gifted child with angelic voices who went to a prestigious school under a scholarship and met some friends and foes there who will impacting his life and the lives of his family in years to come.  The book ended with a rather cliff hanger to entice readers to quickly pick up book #2, The Sins of the Father.

The Godmother by Carrie Adams

 

Synopsis :

Tessa King is The Godmother 

And she's having the time of her life. Trouble is, she doesn't know it.

Sassy and solvent, Tessa King has nothing tying her down but her friends and her four godchidren. She could accept any invitation and go on any adventure.

But she doesn't. She's idling in neutral, waiting for her own 'happy ever after'

The her wish for domestic bliss is granted. Marriage and motherhood coud be hers if she wants them.  But as ever, the devil's in the detail and Tessa soon discovers that 'happy ever after' is just the beginning of the story because some fairytales aren't fair.

This is what I say :

This is yet another title that I read quite a while back.  It was quite entertaining but as of recent reads, I am also not too fond of the main character.  The way it's written, Tessa King just doesnt warm up to me.  

She does well enough to warm up to her godchildren especially the rebellious teen.  Along the way, she tries to find her own man to start her own family but no, it didn't end with her doing just that.

Would I recommend this title?  I dont really think I would.

The Last Secret of The Temple by Paul Sussman

 

Synopsis :

In the year 70 AD, as the Romans sacked and destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, a young Jewish boy was hidden away and chosen as the guardian of a great secret. For seventy generations this secret remained safeguarded. But in present day Israel, a Jewish radical threatens to reveal this hidden truth and use it to rend apart the fragile Middle East—and only an unlikely duo of hardened detectives of very different origins and a young, enterprising Palestinian journalist can unite to ward off disaster.

A relentless and fast-paced thriller that moves from Egypt to Jerusalem to the Sinai Desert, that spans the millennia and involves Cathar heretics, Nazi prisoners, and modern-day suicide bombers, Paul Sussman’s The Last Secret of the Temple is a thrilling, roller-coaster adventure that brilliantly examines the participants on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Timely, important, and completely absorbing, it marks Paul Sussman as one of today’s great thriller writers.

This is what I say 

(with some help from Chatgpt) :

There’s a lot to take in with this title—perhaps too much. The sheer density of the plot made it difficult for me to stay engaged. At one point, I felt completely overwhelmed and unable to follow the story anymore.

That said, the book has great potential. The storyline is thrilling, reminiscent of a Dan Brown novel, full of historical intrigue and fast-paced mystery. However, the writing can be a bit confusing, and unless you're reading it consistently, it’s easy to lose track of the plot and characters. That’s exactly what happened to me, and eventually, I chose not to finish it.

So here’s my advice - if you're planning to read The Last Secret of the Temple, commit to reading it steadily from start to finish. Otherwise, like me, you might find yourself lost in its many layers and twists.