August Reading Recommendations: Atmospheric Crime Fiction and Feel Good Novels

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August can still be wintery weather for us in Perth Australia and when the rain is pouring down nothing beats settling down with a good book. I’ve been branching out and reading some unfamiliar authors. I love the thrill of discovering “new to me” writers.This month its a mixed bag of four crime fiction and three “feel good” stories.

All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye by Christopher Brookmyre.

Jane Fleming, forty-six and three years a grandmother has always played by the rules, never hurt anybody, never lied, never even had a parking ticket. But she’s about to put all that right in a very big way…
Intrigue. Espionage. Advanced technology. Clinical violence. Hoovering. It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.

My Review.

The story starts quite slowly and as usual with Brookmyre, the reader is thrust into the thick of a gradually unfolding action. Ok, industrial espionage, so you think you have a handle on the story. Suddenly you get Jane Fleming, a suburban mum, and wonder what the connection is. Things are about to get interesting! In one sense it morphs into every downtrodden woman’s fantasy. Jane takes control, and ignores her domestic responsibilities, finding amid the panic and terror that she is far more capable than she had ever realised. Who is this woman? Some very bad people are about to find out.

New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock by Hannah M Lynn.

Wildflower Lock 1

The start of a BRAND NEW series from Hannah Lynn, bestselling author of the Holly Berry Sweet Shop series! New starts and hopeful hearts…

At 25, Daisy May’s life is not living up to expectations. Her childhood dreams of being an artist feel as unachievable as a committed relationship or managing to save enough money for a deposit on a house. But a surprise inheritance could change all that.

After Daisy learns she’s now the new owner of a forty-foot narrow boat, she sets out for Wildflower Lock, where the fresh country breeze and the calm water is enough to assure her everything will be okay.

With the help of the ruggedly attractive, yet grumpy riverman, Theo, she begins to work on her new home, the September Rose. Can she breathe new life into the old boat and learn to navigate not only the canals themselves, but also the people who live there? Or will the whole venture pull her under?

My Review

I got this through the library app Borrow Box. It is what I expected, an easy and fun read and along the way, I learnt a little about cruising the waterways of Britain and also restoring a narrow boat. Daisy’s life isn’t without its complications so it’s not all plain sailing, Unexpectedly the book ended without a resolution for most of the problems.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths .

Ruth Galloway 1

When she’s not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist lives happily alone in a remote area called Saltmarsh near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea.

When a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help. Nelson thinks he has found the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing ten years ago. Since her disappearance he has been receiving bizarre letters about her, letters with references to ritual and sacrifice. The bones actually turn out to be two thousand years old, but Ruth is soon drawn into the Lucy Downey case and into the mind of the letter writer, who seems to have both archaeological knowledge and eerie psychic powers. Then another child goes missing and the hunt is on to find her. As the letter writer moves closer and the windswept Norfolk landscape exerts its power, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory—and in serious danger.
The Crossing Places marks the beginning of a captivating new crime series featuring an irresistible heroine.

My Review.

I enjoyed this atmospheric book with its sense of place and interesting characters. It was easy to inhabit the skin of Ruth Galloway and experience her emotions. Ruth is no fool, but she has her blind spots too. I also enjoyed having a Northern hero, with his direct ways. To tell you how much I enjoyed it, I’ve already got book two on my TBR.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up… If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her. As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife. When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to earth and reconnect with the mysterious stranger, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start at life. But in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind.

My Review.

Pure escapist fun! I enjoyed this immensely as Delphie is just the sort of nerdy heroine I enjoy reading about. Can the deadline change her luck? She will have to behave in ways she never has and do things she never thought she would. But love and life are worth fighting for. I’m going to be checking out more books by this author.

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food by Cathy Bramley

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food was originally published as a four-part serial. This is the complete story in one package.

Verity Bloom hasn’t been interested in cooking anything more complicated than the perfect fish finger sandwich, ever since she lost her best friend and baking companion two years ago.

But an opportunity to help a friend lands her right back in the heart of the kitchen. The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is due to open in a few weeks’ time and needs the kind of great ideas that only Verity could cook up. And with new friendships bubbling and a sprinkling of romance in the mix, Verity finally begins to feel like she’s home.

But when tragedy strikes at the very heart of the cookery school, can Verity find the magic ingredient for Plumberry while still writing her own recipe for happiness?

My Review.

I like to mix my reading up, so after something heavy, something lighter, what I’d classify as an easy read. A relaxing book with enough in it to keep me interested. The Plumberry School of Comfort Food delivered all the things I wanted. Characters I cared about, a setting that inspired me and story that kept my attention.

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz.

Hawthorne & Horowitz 5

In New York Times–bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fifth literary whodunit in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Detective Hawthorne is once again called upon to solve an unsolvable case—a gruesome murder in an idyllic gated community in which suspects abound

Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong and tranquillity from behind the security of a locked gate.

It is the perfect idyll until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, a gaggle of shrieking children and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and they quickly offend every last one of their neighbours.
When Giles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator that can be called on to solve the case.
Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?

My Review.

I usually enjoy the interplay between Hawthorne and Horowitz, but this time the story fell a bit flat for me. Maybe it was the lack of Immediacy and the usual acerbic exchanges between them. The map at the front of the book recalled classic crime novels and was a welcome addition. I doubt anyone could have worked out the solution. I certainly didn’t.

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.

The Janus Stone is a riveting follow-up to Griffiths’s acclaimed The Crossing Places.

My Review.

As I had enjoyed the first book in the series, I was happy to get this. It’s an interesting story with a definite Gothic horror feel. While I enjoyed the ongoing “not a relationship” between Harry Nelson and Ruth Galloway the story’s structure ( interspersed diary entries) didn’t work so well for me. I will still be reading the next in the series though.

Last month I sadly lost my cat Annabelle at fourteen years old.Here is my other cat Alexei as a kitten.He’s all grown up now and just one year younger than Annabelle. Instinct or caution, made me take him to the vet and he’s just been diagnosed with diabetes. That was a bit of a shock, but we will learn to deal with it together.

Wishing you all good health, good company and good reading!

Chilling Crime and Heartwarming Stories: Book Reviews

Yes, it’s winter in Australia and while we mostly don’t get snow, it can be cold and bleak. I live in Perth, Western Australia and being used to sunshine, the cold grey days can really get me down. TV holds a few programs that interest me. So, I snuggle up with a hot drink and a good book .

My reading has been less predictable than usual, as I simply read books that caught my eye, ones I’d been waiting for or ones that appealed to me.

The Overlook by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch 13

In his first case since he left the LAPD’s Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special Squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctor’s death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city.

Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry’s one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Bosch’s job to prove all of them wrong. First published May 22, 2007

My Review.

I watched the first two seasons of Bosh on TV and enjoyed them. A friend loaned me this book. I hadn’t realised it was number thirteen in the series so there were quite a few gaps in my knowledge of the back story. It was still easy to follow the main story. Given the time it was written, America’s preoccupation with terrorists seems justified. But never discount a cop’s instincts. Even though the evidence points one way Harry senses there is more to the case. Teaming again with Rachel sometimes pits them against each other and at other times they are allies. Interesting dynamic.

Suddenly Single At Sixty by Jo Peck

An uplifting, witty and hilarious memoir about the road from the shock and despair of a sudden marriage break-up to a fabulous new life.
Dumped by her husband of twenty-five years, Jo Peck-smart, successful and sixty-is totally floored. There’s the complete bombshell of the news, the cliche of a younger woman-a much younger woman-there’s the disappointment of cancelled retirement travel plans, and there’s the foundation-rocking loss of her sense of identity-if she’s no longer Rex’s wife, who the hell is she? She’s lost and angry and hurt and confused. But not for long! There’s the comfort and support of excellent friends and newly forged connections with extended family, there’s therapy. And there’s internet dating.
This inspiring, witty and at times hilarious memoir tells the story of the road from shock and despair to an unexpected new life, of friendship, romance and racy sex, proof that being suddenly single at sixty is not the end, it’s an opportunity for a fabulous new beginning.

My Review.

I wouldn’t quite describe it in terms of the burb. I think being suddenly single and dumped is a fairly common experience no matter what our age. Of course, it was a shock and Jo was lucky enough to have supportive friends who rallied around as well as a fairly comfortable lifestyle and income. I found her online dating experiences relatively tame, having fished in the same swamp!

A Snowball in Hell by Christopher Brookmyre.

Each society gets the serial killers it deserves…
How sick are you of our vapid celebrity culture, reality TV shows and tawdry talent contests? Not as sick as Simon Darcourt—but let’s face it, nobody is as sick as Simon Darcourt. A deranged but inventive killer with a genuinely wicked sense of humour, he is busy creating his own celebrity talent show, one that is generating more publicity than its contestants have ever had in their lives. The catch is that those lives won’t be very long.
With the police losing the ratings war, they turn to Angelique de Xavia, a cop who has crossed this psycho’s path before. Having given the best years of her life to a thankless career, concluding unfinished business may be the only motivation keeping her in the job. However, the police are not the only people who want Darcourt, and ruthless measures are engaged against Angelique asleverage in determining his final destination. Now she’s faced not only with tracking down her quarry and spiriting him from under the noses of her fellow cops, but the even more daunting task of ensuring she doesn’t end up dead once she’s served her purpose.
Scared and alone, Angelique knows she’s got a snowball’s chance of pulling this off, which is why she’s going to need a little magic…
A viciously dark satire, a breathlessly exhilarating thriller and a most unlikely romantic comedy: this is Christopher Brookmyre at the very top of his game.

My Review.

Manipulations and misdirection are the name of the game, but who knew that more than one person was playing? Better keep your wits about you to follow the twists and turns of this meticulously plotted thriller. If you like your humour dark, Christopher Brookmyre delivers, as well as thought-provoking reflections on our obsession with celebrity culture and who qualifies as a “Celebrity.” The mirror he holds up to our society isn’t an edifying one.

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns.

A feel-good romantic comedy by Australia’s bestselling romance writer, ideal for fans of Emily Henry and Marian Keyes.

Named after a famous fictional character, librarian Bridget Jones was raised on a remote cattle station, with only her mother’s romance novels for company. Now living alone in Fremantle, Bridget is a hopeless romantic. She also believes that anyone who doesn’t like reading just hasn’t met the right book yet, and that connecting books to their readers is her superpower. If only her love life was that easy.

When handsome Italian barista Fabio progresses from flirting with love hearts on her coffee foam to joining the book club she runs at her library, Bridget prays her romance ‘curse’ won’t ruin things. But it’s the attention of her cranky neighbour Sully that seems to be the major obstacle in her life. Why is he going to so much effort to get under her skin?

With the help of her close friends and the colourful characters who frequent her library, Bridget decides to put both men to the test by finding just the right books to capture their very different hearts. She soon discovers that not all romances start with a meet-cute, but they might just end in happily ever after…

Written by Australia’s most beloved romance writer, The Other Bridget is a delightfully uplifting book about books, and a gorgeous celebration of the power and pleasure of romance novels throughout the ages.

496 pages, Paperback Published January 30, 2024

My Review

A book featuring books and libraries is an almost automatic choice for me. This one has a plethora of book recommendations for adults and teens… I got my copy via Borrow Box and was disappointed to find the complete reading list wasn’t included. It is however available online.

Imagine being called Bridget Jones, a joke that was funny once but not when repeated a thousand times. No wonder she chooses to call herself Bee.

Bee believes herself as cursed as Bridget with a disastrous taste in men until the Fabio the sexy Italian Barista chats her up. Life appears to be looking up but for her, apart from her interactions with her grumpy and annoying neighbour Sully. Can she break her relationship curse?

Venus with Pistol By Gavin Lyall

ASSAULT, GUNFIRE AND MURDER’ New York Times

‘COOL SMOOTH STYLE COMBINED WITH HOT PACE. A GRIPPER’ The Sun

For a skilled art smuggler like Kemp, the job looked easy.

All he had to do was sneak a few extremely valuable paintings over the border from France into Switzerland—a simple task for a man of his experience.

But when Kemp wakes up in a Zurich park covered in blood and without the priceless Cézanne he’d been carrying, it’s clear things have gone badly wrong.

To add to his problems, Kemp has no memory of the attack—and no idea who carried it out.

The next day Kemp runs into Harry Burroughs at the airport. Kemp suspects this is no coincidence—because Burroughs is a fine art dealer and an even finer crook.

If Burroughs really is mixed up in all this, then Kemp knows that from now on he will have to earn his money the hard way—or he will lose more than just his fee.

My Review

In one part of the book, a character criticises a John Le Carre novel saying, “Not enough guns.” It’s not a criticism that can be levelled at this book, especially as our ‘anti-hero’ Bert is a dealer in antique guns. For the majority of the book, I pictured him as a grumpy middle-aged man. The story is plot-driven with little emphasis on character. I enjoyed the bits of art history. Of its era.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

My Review

I enjoyed this book with its enemies-to-lovers trope. The characterisation was good, the banter was top-notch, while the sex was sizzling. Of course, there were problems and misunderstandings and a will they, won’t they moment. Additionally, for me there was the bonus of the book-related content.

Storm Child by Michael Robotham Cyrus Haven 4

My Review.

While it would be possible to read this as a standalone, I wouldn’t recommend it. So much of the story relates to Cyrus and Evie’s shared past traumas and how they have come to a calmer place.

A rare day out for them spirals out of control when bodies start washing up on the beach. What follows is a tale of secrets, of lies, menace and murder.

Fast-paced, compelling reading. But have we seen the last of Cyrus and Evie?

Loving My Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband: A Memoir of a Whirlwind Romance Gone Wrong by Kerstin Pilz.

Kerstin is childless by choice and married to her job when Gianni, a charming Italian, turns her life into a champagne-coloured fairy tale.
Soon after their runaway wedding, Gianni is diagnosed with cancer and Kerstin becomes his dedicated carer. But when she discovers that he has been cheating on her all through their relationship, she is faced with a difficult walk away, or continue to care for the man who betrayed her. She turns first to wine and then to therapy, eventually ending up in a Buddhist monastery. There she realises that finding a new way of loving her lying, dying husband might offer a chance to grow from her pain rather than be crushed by it – and to avoid liver damage.

My Review.

An interesting book that prompts self-reflection. Initially, it reads like the start of a fairytale a whirlwind romance, with an appealing Italian man. But like most fairy tales there is darkness at its core. In this case, Kerstin discovers that her new husband has cancer. The details of illness and disintegration are realistic and hard to read. Most damaging of all she learns that he has been seeing other women throughout their relationship. This gives her a choice, to leave him when he needs her most or to stay. It’s a choice that many women would baulk at.

After Gianni dies she is deep in grief and finally allowing herself to feel all the feelings she suppressed. For me, this is the book’s most honest and thought-provoking part.

Its the weather for staying home and for comfort and that is what I’ve been doing,apart from attending an art group, and a writing group and an occasional coffee catch up with friends.

A little over a week ago I noticed that Annabelle wasn’t eating much and didn’t seem her usual self.I wasn’t too concerned ,as she was only fourteen and most of our cats live until around the 20 year old mark. Sadly, it was bad news and I had to say goodby to Annabelle. I miss her, I miss her quiet presence, and her feisty independence .There is an Annabelle shaped hole in my heart.

Apologies that this post was delayed a few days.

May 2024 I Was Reading and Writing.

Our almost endless summer continued, with day after day of warmer than average temperatures and endless speculations as to when and if the rains would come. In a dry land like Australia, those rains are important to fill the dams.

TV provided few distractions to my reading. In the lead-up to the launch of The Regent’s Menagerie I had some proof reading to do. Lucky I did, as I found a mistake and I hate seeming those in a finalised book. It happens , even in books by well known publishers.

The Booklovers Retreat by Heidi Swain

One long summer. One perfect setting. Can fiction inspire real life…?
Sometimes a book grabs you by the heart and grows to mean everything to you. That’s what Hope Falls is to friends Emily, Rachel and Tori. So, when they get the chance to spend a whole summer at the cottage in Lakeside where the film adaptation was located, they know it is going to be the holiday of a lifetime.
Spending six weeks away will give them a chance to re-evaluate their life choices. For Emily to decide which way her career will go – the safe route, or the more risky creative option? And for Rachel to decide whether to move in with her partner Jeremy. Then Tori has to drop out at the last moment, and her space is offered to another Hope Falls afficionado, Alex.
But when Alex turns out not to be who they expected, the holiday takes an unforeseen turn. And as the summer develops, so does their friendship. Could this be where they uncover their future selves, find love in all its forms and where their lives will change course forever. First published April 13, 2023

My Review

The book didn’t surprise me there were a couple of scenarios which I saw coming up, but I found it an enjoyable read. The book that inspired them all Hope Falls was made into a film and has achieved cult status. The Holiday Cottage has a waiting list of devoted fans all wanting the Hope Falls experience. Can anything live up to the hype?

Return to Half Moon Farm – Spring Fever by Holly Hepburn.

**PART ONE in the brand new series from Holly Hepburn, perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley and Katie Fforde**

When Daisy’s mother falls ill she is forced to return home. With her twin sons in tow, she moves back to Half Moon Farm, her family’s ancient hop farm.
But a new life in the Kent countryside isn’t necessarily as idyllic as it might seem. Daisy’s relationship with her mother is complicated and the tumbledown farm isn’t the only thing that needs rebuilding. Daisy and her sons must adjust to life with estranged family, a leaking roof, and no Wi-Fi.
Luckily for Daisy, she might yet find some distraction in silver fox farmer, Drew, or in the haughty heir to the nearby estate, Kit, who she can’t seem to avoid.
Daisy must learn to juggle her new life, the boys, and the daunting task of updating the farm. But there are secrets lurking in her family’s past that might throw everything into further disarray…

81 pages, Kindle Edition Published May 11, 2023

My Review.

I really should look before I leap! I got this from my library’s online book collection without realising it was only part one. To me, this is an annoyingly ridiculous concept. Why would I only want to read part of a book? Having said that it’s a good beginning and I will access the other sections.

Percy’s Bus by Susan Briars

“If you are smiling, you can’t be crying”. That was the motto of Percy Taylor, the father of Susan Briars.

Using a century of journals written by Susan Briars’ father, Percy, and grandfather, Ernest Taylor, this book chronicles the everyday lives of her extraordinary, extended family, as told from her father’s viewpoint, covering the war years and observing the changing society.
The narrative begins his life in the austere Edwardian period, going through his time in service and then onto his many years driving buses and coaches. Here we meet a myriad of interesting characters and find out just what real life is like “on the buses”.

My Review.

This was another e-book from the library collection. Anyone who expects to learn a lot about buses may well be disappointed. There are some anecdotes from Percy’s driving career, but much of the book is from a family perspective. A portrait of a bygone era.

The Novel Project by Graeme Simison.

‘Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.’ Variously attributed to Thomas Wolfe, Paul Gallico and Ernest Hemingway, the quote portrays writing as mysterious, romantic and, implicitly, unteachable. This book is about another approach, based on established theories of creativity and design—and on the experience of authors who have adopted a more structured and reliable process.

It’s aimed at those who want to write a book for publication, or at least one that others will want to read. It could have been called What They Don’t Teach You in Writing School, because its focus is on the writing process as a whole: it treats writing a book as a step-by-step project.

Easy to follow, practical and highly entertaining, The Novel Project is the inside scoop from an author who started his writing career at fifty and whose novels have sold millions of copies around the world. It will help you craft the best book you’re capable of—no blood on forehead required.

208 pages, Paperback Published March 1, 2022.

My Review,

A highly logical and practical approach to writing a novel or even a memoir. It will suit those who appreciate such a structured method. Intellectually I know that it makes sense , but it didn’t resonate with me.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden.

A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed…

It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.

But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.

My Review.

I found the first half of the book more engaging than the second. It certainly hit all the tropes for Victorian melodrama. Margaret is a puzzling character at once strong-willed and determined but then put in an invidious position by a servant.

Interesting story line with an unexpected twist.

Love From Scratch by Amy Hutton.

Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud rom-com about a heart-throb actor, the grumpy woman who minds his beloved dog, and the cat that steals his heart.

Ethan James has a problem: he’s about to start shooting a movie and he needs someone to mind his anxious dog, Harry. This film could make or break Ethan’s career, and he knows he has to give it all his attention, but Harry’s new minder turns out to be more of a hindrance than a help. She’s gorgeous and funny and throws so much shade in his direction that Ethan can’t think straight.

Hazel Conor has a problem: she’s just lost her job as a sous chefat the fancy beachside restaurant she uphauled her life for. And if she doesn’t get another job soon, she won’t be able to afford food—or worse, cat food, and then her grouchy cat Kevin will finally murder her in her sleep. So, when she sees an ad for an easy dog minder job, she goes for it.

Hazel finds everything about Ethan annoying; he’s flashy, flirty, and a total charmer. She probably wouldn’t look at him twice if it wasn’t for her cat. Because Kevin, the cat who hates everyone, is totally smitten with Ethan James.

And with each purr, cheek rub and head bump that Kevin bestows on Ethan, Hazel begins to wonder if there’s something her cat can see that she can’t.

288 pages, Kindle Edition Expected publication June 5, 2024

My Review.

If you are a fan of Grumpy/sunshine, you will adore this book. It’s amusing and heartwarming and you will probably fall just a little in love with Ethan yourself.

Kevin the cat is the archetypal aloof cat, yet he’s kittenish with Ethan. Is Hazel the only one who doesn’t fall for Ethan’s charm? What if two ambitious people want their careers and love? I enjoyed it.

Angelique De Xavier 2

The Sacred Art of Stealing by Christopher Brookmyre

Let us prey …
The press tend to talk about bank robberies as being daring, ingenious and audacious. They don’t describe many as Dadaist, even the ones who know what ‘Dadaist’ means. But how else does one explain choreographed dancing gunmen in Buchanan Street, or the surreal methods they use to stay one step ahead of the cops?
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is a connoisseur of crooks, and she’s sure that the heist she got caught up in wasn’t the work of the usual sawn-offs-and-black-tights practitioners indigenous to the parish. She knows she’s dealing with a unique species of thief, and it’s her job to hunt him to extinction – though the fact that it’s not just his m.o. that’s cute might prove a distraction.

This thief, however, has greater concerns than his own safety, and a secret agenda more valuable than anything he might steal. He can afford to play cat and mouse with the female cop who’s on his tail; it might even arguably be necessary. What he can’t afford to do is to let her get too close; he could end up in jail, which holds terrors enough; but even more scary, he could end up in love.
Honesty is a virtue. Deceit is a talent. Theft is an art form.
The Sacred Art Of Stealing: prepare to be misled. 410 pages, Paperback First published January 1, 2002

My Review.

A friend recommended this book It is the second in a series, the first book is called A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away. You don’t have to have read that, but it would add more context. I hadn’t read book one, but I intend to.

Unlike anything I’ve ever read, clever, cynical, dark and brutally funny. It will either grab you or you will wonder what the hell it’s all about.

Summer Love by Holly Hepburn

**PART TWO in the brand-new series from Holly Hepburn, perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley and Katie Fforde**
When Daisy’s mother falls ill she is forced to return home. With her twin sons in tow, she moves back to Half Moon Farm, her family’s ancient hop farm.

But a new life in the Kent countryside isn’t necessarily as idyllic as it might seem. Daisy’s relationship with her mother is complicated and the tumbledown farm isn’t the only thing that needs rebuilding. Daisy and her sons must adjust to life with estranged family, a leaking roof, and no Wi-Fi.
Luckily for Daisy, she might yet find some distraction in silver fox farmer, Drew, or in the haughty heir to the nearby estate, Kit, who she can’t seem to avoid.

Daisy must learn to juggle her new life, the boys, and the daunting task of updating the farm. But there are secrets lurking in her family’s past that might throw everything into further disarray…

86 pages, Kindle Edition Published July 6, 2023

My Review.

Continues the story and adds more complications, an old mystery surfaces and now two men are on Daisy’s radar. Of course, I will get part 3.

A Devil of a Duke by Madeline Hunter

Decadent Dukes Society 2

New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter comes the latest sexy tale of three untamable dukes and the women who ignite their decadent desires . . .

HE MAY BE A DEVIL

He’s infamous, debaucherous, and known all over town for his complete disregard for scandal, and positively irresistible seductions. Gabriel St. James, Duke of Langford, is obscenely wealthy, jaw-droppingly handsome, and used to getting exactly what he wants. Until his attention is utterly captured by a woman who refuses to tell him her name, but can’t help surrendering to his touch . . .

BUT SHE’S NO ANGEL EITHER . . .

Amanda Waverly is living two lives—one respectable existence as secretary to an upstanding lady, and one far more dangerous battle of wits—and willpower—with the devilish Duke. Langford may be the most tempting man she’s ever met, but Amanda’s got her hands full trying to escape the world of high-society crime into which she was born. And if he figures out who she really is, their sizzling passion will suddenly boil over into a much higher stakes affair . . .

249 pages, Kindle Edition First published April 24, 2018

My Review.

Initially a bit of a slow start to this one. It has all the elements, but somehow for me ,it dragged in places. Gabriel is an appealing hero and is well-matched with Amanda and the sexual tension sizzles.

Fallen Angel by Christopher Brookmyre.

To new nanny Amanda, the Temple family seem to have it all: the former actress; the famous professor; their three successful grown-up children. But like any family, beneath the smiles and hugs there lurks far darker emotions.

Sixteen years earlier, little Niamh Temple died while they were on holiday in Portugal. Now, as Amanda joins the family for a reunion at their seaside villa, she begins to suspect one of them might be hiding something terrible…

And suspicion is a dangerous thing.

My Review.

A domestic noir with a dual mystery at its heart. Has the past influenced the present? Can an outsider (Amanda) see more than the others? Kept me guessing , while admiring the writer’s versatility.

My Review.

A domestic noir with a dual mystery at its heart. Has the past influenced the present? Can an outsider (Amanda) see more than the others? Kept me guessing , while admiring the writer’s versatility.

Autumn Dreams Return to Half Moon Farm 3

When Daisy’s mother falls ill she is forced to return home. With her twin sons in tow, she moves back to Half Moon Farm, her family’s ancient hop farm.

But a new life in the Kent countryside isn’t necessarily as idyllic as it might seem. Daisy’s relationship with her mother is complicated and the tumbledown farm isn’t the only thing that needs rebuilding. Daisy and her sons must adjust to life with estranged family, a leaking roof, and no WIFI.

Luckily for Daisy, she might yet find some distraction in silver fox farmer, Drew, or in the haughty heir to the nearby estate, Kit, who she can’t seem to avoid.

Daisy must learn to juggle her new life, the boys, and the daunting task of updating the farm. But there are secrets lurking in her family’s past that might throw everything into further disarray…

112 pages, e book Published September 14, 2023

My Review.

As the story continues, we learn more about a past romance that may still affect the present .Daisy chooses one of the men, but has she made the right choice?

News

Excitement is mounting for the June 21st release of the dual set of The Regent’s Menagerie. There are both sweet and spicy versions depending on your preference. Or why not indulge yourself and treat yourself( or a pal) to both?

After June 21st the price rises to $4.99 so grab your copy now. Slightly later paperbacks will be available. Based on the page count they will be the size of standard brick!

And now I’m onto my next project, which I will tell you more about next time. Until then Happy reading.

What did I Read in April 2024 and My Birthday Extravaganza.

April is always one of my favourite months. When I lived in the UK it held the promise of Spring and Spring flowers and bluebell woods. Now, I’m living in Australia it’s the middle of autumn, with thankfully cooler days after a record-breaking summer. It’s also the birth month I shared with my Dad.

Is there any space more magical than a bluebell wood?

This year April has been incredibly busy, as I was racing to finish my elephant story for The Regent’s Menagerie. Mine is in the Sexy set, but both books promise to be so much fun. Currently, both books are available for Pre-order at a special 99c/ 99p price.

Release date is June 21st

Volume 1, Sweet:

https://books2read.com/SweetMenagerie?store=amazon

or shorter url https://tinyurl.com/4nkff89a

Volume 2, Sexy:

https://books2read.com/SexyMenagerie?store=amazon

shorter url: https://tinyurl.com/58pvnzs5

Additionally, I had my flu jab and sore arm for few days. My writing group was producing an anthology .They graciously held space for my contribution. There were birthday celebrations-more about that later, and I still found time to read!

Summer at The Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin.

A Greek island holiday. A fake-dating pact. A chance at true love?
After losing her job as a book scout, hopeless romantic Evie needs a fresh start. So when she hears that her eccentric grandmother has just taken on a small bookshop in Santorini, Evie jumps at the chance to visit her.
But life on the island is not as idyllic as it first seems. Gran has a tempestuous relationship with her landlord and he’s threatening to take the bookshop away from her. So when Gran asks Evie to fake a romance with her landlord’s Greek God of a grandson, Georgios, to keep the family on side, she reluctantly agrees.
As the sun sets on Evie’s Greek holiday, can she save the bookshop – and fake date her way to love?

352 pages, Paperback Expected publication May 7, 2024

My Review.

An enjoyable escape from humdrum reality. Evie’s family has a problem with Grandma. She has never behaved as a grandma should. Now she has bought a bookshop in Santorini. As Evie is currently unemployed it’s obvious, she’s the one to sort it out. For book nerd Evie, a bookshop is a paradise, but she’s not as well equipped to handle all grandma’s problems. These include an irate landlord who is threatening to sell the shop, his gorgeous nephew Georgios, as well as Grandma’s disappeared husband (no 9) and a pack of rescue dogs.

Despite knowing it would all end happily, I enjoyed the twists and turns of this journey. A great holiday read!

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan.

It’s a dream assignment. Former Senator Dorothy Gibson, aka that woman, is the most talked-about person in the country right now, though largely for the wrong reasons. As an independent candidate for President of the United States, Dorothy split the vote and is being blamed for the shocking result. After her very public defeat, she’s retreated to her home in rural Maine, inviting her ghostwriter to join her.

Her collaborator is impressed by Dorothy’s work ethic and steel-trap mind, not to mention the stunning surroundings (and one particularly gorgeous bodyguard). But when a neighbor dies under suspicious circumstances, Dorothy is determined to find the killer in their midst. And when Dorothy Gibson asks if you want to team up for a top secret, possibly dangerous murder investigation, the only answer “Of course!”

The best ghostwriters are adept at asking questions and spinning stories . . . two talents, it turns out, that also comes in handy for sleuths. Dorothy’s political career, meanwhile, has made her an expert at recognizing lies and double-dealing. Working together, the two women are soon untangling motives and whittling down suspects, to the exasperation of local police. But this investigation-much like the election-may not unfold the way anyone expects.

336 pages, Hardcover First published January 23, 2024

My Review.

This book has created a lot of buzz and it certainly sounded intriguing. Of course, I was drawing comparisons between the fictional Dorothy Gibson and Hilary Clinton. It’s interesting to reflect on the difficulties for a ghostwriter to accurately convey someone else’s thoughts and feelings. Especially someone as guarded as a practised politician. The break with routine should provide them with time to do that, but then there is a murder. All the ingredients are there, but sadly the book didn’t gel for me.

The Wake -Up Call by Beth O’Leary

Two hotel receptionists–and arch-rivals–find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.

It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So, when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.

The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel–and their jobs.

As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?

356 pages, Paperback. First published September 26, 2023

My Review.

A fun, easy-to-read and engaging story. Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, competitiveness and rivalries are all compounded by the ticking clock of a post-Christmas closure.

I Remember Paris by Lucy Diamond.

‘I enjoyed it SO much!’ MARIAN KEYES’As multi-layered, rich and enjoyable as a giant mille-feuille. You will adore it’ MILLY JOHNSON.

Jess Bright, single mum and journalist, feels her life has stalled. So, when she’s offered a writing job in Paris for the summer, she leaps at the chance to go. Hasn’t she always felt that she left a piece of her heart in the city years before. Her subject is the iconic artist Adelaide Fox, whose personal life has been steeped in scandal and intrigue. Now approaching eighty, she’s ready to tell her side of the story – and serve up some scalding-hot revenge in the process. Amidst a stormy working relationship, Jess and Adelaide must face up to their pasts. As passionate affairs, terrible betrayals and life-changing secrets surface, there may be more surprises in store than either of them dared imagine . . .Set in the city of love, with two unforgettable protagonists, I REMEMBER PARIS is a glorious, life-affirming novel about second chances, unlikely friendships and finding your way back to yourself

‘Escapist, romantic and a little bit scandalous, this is Lucy Diamond at her page-turning best’ VERONICA HENRY.

My Review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. A writer is invited to ghostwrite an autobiography of an intriguing female artist. Mistakes both past and present affect the future. Add in Jess’s family dynamic. Adelaide’s stubborn nature, old flames and secrets combined with Paris itself. There is so much to savour and enjoy

The Happiest Ever After by Milly Johnson

What if you could write your own perfect storyline…?
The heartwarming, feelgood novel from the much-loved Sunday Times bestselling author, Milly Johnson

Polly Potter is surviving, not thriving. She used to love her job – until her mentor died and her new boss decided to make her life hell. She used to love her partner Chris – until he cheated on her, and now she can’t forget. The only place where her life is working is on the pages of the novel she is writing – there she can create a feistier, bolder, more successful version of herself – as the fictional Sabrina Anderson.

But what if it was possible to start over again? To leave everything behind, forget all that went before, and live the life you’d always dreamed of?

After a set of unforeseen circumstances, Polly ends up believing she really IS Sabrina, living at the heart of a noisy Italian family restaurant by the sea. Run by Teddy, the son of her new landlady Marielle, it’s a much-loved place, facing threat of closure as a rival restaurant moves in next door. Sabrina can’t remember her life as Polly, but she knows she is living a different life from the one she used to have.
But what if this new life could belong to her after all?

My Review,

Many of us will identify with how Polly’s life was before she lost her memory. What does it say about that life that no one was actively looking for her? I was cheering Polly on as her new life unfolded, willing her to succeed. In my opinion, Milly Johnson has created a character many of us can relate to and care about. I think Milly has taken over Maeve Binchy’s mantle

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

Victorian high society’s most daring equestrienne finds love and an unexpected ally in her fight for independence in the strong arms of London’s most sought-after and devastatingly handsome half-Indian tailor.

Evelyn Maltravers understands exactly how little she’s worth on the marriage mart. As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she’ll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London’s attention she’ll need a habit-maker who’s not afraid to take risks with his designs—and with his heart.

Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row’s infamous Pretty Horsebreakers—but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.

But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?

First published January 11, 2022

My Review.

Great title and an interesting read, parts of which would be of interest to those who know more about riding than I do. For me, the most appealing parts were the discussions on how to dress and also how the romance progressed.

The Cat Who Caught a Killer. by L.T Shearer.

Conrad the Cat Detective 1

Meet Conrad the cat. You’ve never met a detective like him before.
Neither has Lulu Lewis when he walks into her life one summer’s day. Mourning the recent death of her husband, the former police detective had expected a gentle retirement, quietly enjoying life on her new canal boat, The Lark, and visiting her mother-in-law Emily in a nearby care home.

But when Emily dies suddenly in suspicious circumstances, Lulu senses foul play and resolves to find out what really happened. And a remarkable cat named Conrad will be with her every step of the way . . .

318 pages, Kindle Edition First published October 27, 2022

My Review.

It seemed as if this book would be like catnip to me, a cat detective who is a talking cat. I wanted to like the book, but unfortunately, I didn’t.

It was heavy-handed in the extreme with info dumps and non-sequiturs. It felt as if I was reading information straight from Google or Wikipedia. And then incidentally in the middle of the book was a recipe for how to cook fish.

As there are currently three in the series, I must assume that some people have found these books enjoyable.

The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter.

Decadent Dukes Society 1.

Three sinfully handsome dukes, three scores to settle, three hearts about to meet their matches. All in one thrilling new trilogy from New York Times best selling author Madeline Hunter…

NOTORIOUS NOBLEMAN SEEKS REVENGE.

Name and Title :Adam Penrose, Duke of Stratton. Affiliation: London’s elite Society of Decadent Dukes. Family history: Scandalous. Personality traits: Dark and brooding, with a thirst for revenge. Ideal romantic partner: A woman of means, with beauty and brains, willing to live with reckless abandon. Desire: Clara Cheswick, gorgeous daughter of his family’s sworn enemy.

FAINT OF HEART NEED NOT APPLY.

Clara may be the woman Adam wants, but there’s one problem: she’s far more interested in publishing her women’s journal than getting married -especially to a man said to be dead set on vengeance. Though, with her nose for a story Clara wonders if his desire for justice is sincere- along with his incredibly innerving intention to be her husband. If her weak- kneed response to his kiss i any indication, falling for Adam clearly comes with a cost. But who knew courting danger could be such exhilarating fun?

My Review

It’s a pleasant change to read a book with an older heroine and one who has a purpose beyond matrimony. Clara’s thirst for independence runs counter to Adam’s desire to marry her. Having recently tasted freedom why would she choose to give it up? Yet, she cannot deny in spite of the suspicions and doubts there is an attraction between them. Family secrets have to be probed and past events re-examined before they can hope to have a “happily ever after.”

Birthday! Actually Birthday months…

The stars aligned, I don’t know how it happened but I will be celebrating until June. All I can say is I have some wonderful friends. So far I have had a casual lunch, a luxurious and expensive lunch, a coffee catch up, where I was gifted with a manicure /pedicure voucher .There is another lunch next week taking my birthday well into May. But wait! There’s more… a dear friend bought tickets to a show I have been longing to see and that happens in June!

What else have I been up to?

Next week I’m writing a passion project close to my heart, a memoir of my late teens and early twenties. My life was far more complicated and challenging then and its something I’ve avoided talking about for a long time. Somehow now, it feels as if the time is right.

Why Was I Reading Murder in March 2024 and Not Romance ?

Simple! I was reading Murder because I was writing Romance and there was no way I wanted to inadvertently plagiarise or copy someone else.

The only exception was a Regency romance I had read in December but was unable to comment on until its March release. I figured that by this time those words were out of my system as I had read and written the review back then.

Didn’t want to freak anyone out to much!

Once Upon A Murder by Samantha Larsen.

A Lady Librarian Mystery

Miss Tiffany Woodall must sleuth the slaying of a footman to clear her beloved’s name in the second Lady Librarian mystery, in the vein of Deanna Raybourn and perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

1784 England. Officially hired as the librarian for the Duchess of Beaufort, Miss Tiffany Woodall is through with masquerades and murders for good. That is, until she stumbles upon the frozen dead body of former footman Mr. Bernard Coram. The speed with which her peaceful new life is upended is one for the record the justice of the peace immediately declares her the primary suspect in the murder.

As Tiffany hunts for the truth to clear her name, she learns that Bernard got into a fight over a woman at the local pub the night of his death–but he was also overheard blackmailing Samir. The justice of the peace arrests Samir, and Tiffany realizes that her life may have more in common with a tragic play than a light-hearted romance.

With her love locked up in jail and her own reputation on the line, Tiffany must attempt to solve the murder before the book closes on her or Samir’s life.

My Review.

This is the second in a series and unfortunately, I had not read the first book. This left me at a bit of a disadvantage, but I assumed I’d pick the nuances of the story up. Sadly, it didn’t hold my attention which could be that I hadn’t a connection to the characters. If you are planning to read this series, I suggest you read it in order.

A Death in Diamonds by S.J Bennett.

The royally brilliant fourth book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates mystery series!

1957 – A young woman is found dead in a mews house a mile from Buckingham Palace, wearing only silk underwear and a a diamond tiara. An older man is discovered nearby, garrotted and pierced through the eye with a long, sharp implement.

According to the police, a high society card game was going on downstairs that night. One of the players surely committed the murders, but each of them can give the others an alibi.

When someone very close to her is implicated, the young Queen is drawn in to the investigation…

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2024.

My Review,

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and the journey back in time to 1957 is well-researched and conveyed. High society London had its own rules and caveats. The police are investigating , hampered at every turn by M16, HM the Queen for reasons of her own wants to know about the investigation too. A fun bit of nostalgia and a puzzling mystery.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, Alison Watts (Translator)

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader’s life.

What are you looking for?

This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves—but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they’re looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi—and the surprise book she lends each of them—will have life-altering consequences.

With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 2020

My Review.

I loved this book! Everything about it appealed to me from the delightful cover design to the way the story evolved. Kudos to Alison Watts for such a great translation. A gentle story, which had an almost dreamlike effect. Thoroughly recommended.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo- Reum,Shanna Tan (Translator.)

The Korean smash hit available for the first time in English, a slice-of-life novel for readers of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.

Yeongju is burned out. With her high-flying career, demanding marriage, and busy life in Seoul, she knows she should feel successful, but all she feels is drained. Yet an abandoned dream nags at her, and in a leap of faith, she leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a small residential neighborhood outside the city, where she opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

For the first few months, all Yeongju does is cry, deterring visitors. But the long hours in the shop give her time to mull over what makes a good bookseller and store, and as she starts to read hungrily, host author events, and develop her own bookselling philosophy, she begins to ease into her new setting. Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that connect them all, she finds her new story as the Hyunam-dong Bookshop transforms into an inviting space for lost souls to rest, heal, and remember that it’s never too late to scrap the plot and start again.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2022.

My Review.

By some weird coincidence, I read this just after What You Are Looking For is In the Library. It might have been better if I had read another book in between these two.The tone of this book is far more serious as it interrogates topics such as work-life balance, and whether your career always takes precedence. What if you fall out of love? Do you need to be married to be happy?

Charlotte’s Control by Maggie Sims

A young rake soon to inherit an impoverished estate…a lonely widow unable to produce an heir…a love they must renounce.

Widowed at thirty, Charlotte, Dowager Countess of Peterborough, finds herself on the lonely edge of Society, caught between the young chits vying for a husband and older matrons. In a moment of vulnerability, she meets a young rake who tempts her to forget propriety and reclaim her feminine powers of seduction…for a while. Their affair can only last until he marries a wealthy debutante who can give him what Charlotte cannot. An heir.

In his final year at Oxford, William Stanton, heir to the Earl of Harrington, is forced to manage the earldom for his drunken father and provide for his family. With the prospect of an advantageous marriage looming in his future, he yearns for the frivolity of his peers. But when he encounters a lovely widow, he’s drawn to her keen mind as much as he is to her beauty. She believes they are destined to part. To keep her, he must battle Fate, time, and the rules of Society that conspire against them.

311 pages, Kindle Edition Published March 19, 2024

My Review.

He falls first and hard, and Charlotte enjoys educating him.
Fans of the genre won’t be disappointed by this spirited tale of femdom.
This is an age-gap romance between an older woman younger man.
Charlotte is a young widow who doesn’t want to give up on life or love.
William, her younger lover grows and matures throughout the book.
There is lots of sexual tension, sexual chemistry, and some bondage and orgasm control. I received a special copy from the author, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

It’s been a busy month for me as I have been writing the latest novella for The Regent’s Menagerie Anthology, which releases in June but is up for pre-order now at a special introductory price. My story features Badala a baby elephant, what could be cuter than that?

There are two volumes. One is sweeter and the other is spicier to suit all tastes.

You can pre-order your copy now!

I’m back to reading romance this month, but I have another exciting project on the horizon.Until next time , happy reading!

What Did I Read in January 2024 and Why Wasn’t It More?

This time of the year is always more social than I expect and sometimes I’m just too tired to read. Time to turn on the TV instead!

I had an 81,000+ manuscript to read over Christmas, as well as a couple of smaller pieces to comment on. As the manuscript isn’t published I can’t add it to my reading list

Writers often ask other writers they trust to comment on their work.

This year I’m also supposed to be writing a story for the latest Regency anthology.

The Regent’s Menagerie is based on a true event. The Prince Regent (later George 4^th) was extravagant and was always short of money. While acting for his father King George 3^rd he discovered that they paid an enormous amount of money for the upkeep of the various exotic animals kept in the Tower of London.

George had a brainwave, a master- stroke. He would gift animals to people as a mark of esteem. In doing so getting rid of the expense while showing favour.

Can a saucy heroine tempt my hero? I hope so!

Our stories are in two collections either Sweet or Spicy and will focus on the animals,the adventures and of course, love and romance. My animal is a baby Asian elephant. So I’ve been reading up about them. At the moment I’m trying to work out an entertaining plot, which doesn’t always come naturally to me. I usually just prefer to write and see what happens, but there is a looming April deadline to think about.

There were also a couple of Books I Did Not Finish. They weren’t bad books, just the wrong books for me at this time. So I won’t comment on them.

The Little Village of Booklovers by Nina George.

A young woman with the extraordinary power to bring soulmates together searches for her own true love in this tender, lyrical standalone novel inspired by the “bona fide international hit” ( The New York Times Book Review ) The Little Paris Bookshop

In Nina George’s New York Times bestseller The Little Paris Bookshop, beloved literary apothecary Jean Perdu is inspired to create a floating bookstore after reading a seminal pseudonymous novel about a young woman with a remarkable gift. The Little Village of Book Lovers is that novel.

“Everyone knows me, but none can see me. I’m that thing you call love.”

In a little town in the south of France in the 1960s, a dazzling encounter with Love itself changes the life of infant orphan Marie-Jeanne forever.

As a girl, Marie-Jeanne realizes that she can see the marks Love has left on the people around her—tiny glowing lights on the faces and hands that shimmer more brightly when the one meant for them is near. Before long, Marie-Jeanne is playing matchmaker, bringing true loves together in her village.

As she grows up, Marie-Jeanne helps her foster father, Francis, begin a mobile library that travels throughout the many small mountain towns in the region of Nyons. She finds herself bringing soulmates together every place they go—and there are always books that play a pivotal role in that quest. However, the only person that Marie-Jeanne can’t seem to find a soulmate for is herself. She has no glow of her own, though she waits and waits for it to appear. Everyone must have a soulmate, surely—but will Marie-Jeanne be able to recognize hers when Love finally comes her way?

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2023.

My Review.

I enjoyed this lyrical novel-and you don’t need to have read The Little Paris Bookshop to enjoy it yourself. Marie-Jeanne knows which soulmates belong together, but getting them to connect can be a struggle. However, she can always help romance to flourish by recommending a book. One for the romantics amongst us

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows. For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate, they were given an elusive second chance of a happy family life. But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects? A thrilling page-turner by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth of sisterhood, secrets, love and murder.

My Review.

Secrets and betrayal, who was trusted and who to trust? Jessica, Norah, and Alison have bonded like sisters, but each knows only a little about the others’ current lives. Now grown up, they are facing their own troubled pasts at the home known as Wild Meadow. My opinions shifted while reading this book as I was entertained and appalled in turn. A page-turner.

February already!

We could all use a little romance in our lives.

I’m getting down to work, I’ve cancelled Netflix and made a promise to myself to get this story done. My hero and heroine wait off stage for me to give them words and a memorable story. So watch this space!

December 2023 -The Books I Read.

I hope that you all enjoyed Christmas and the New Year. December seemed to go by so quickly and now it’s almost mid-January.

For me, December was a month that flew by between a mixture of social obligations and chores. Now, a confession- I didn’t make my reading goal to read 100 books in 2023. If I’d chosen to add books that I hadn’t enjoyed, I could easily have reached the target. I prefer not to do that, and simply because I don’t enjoy a book, it doesn’t mean that someone else won’t enjoy it.

Sadly, I only managed to read 95 of my self-prescribed 100 books.

She -Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentle Women: British Women in India by Katie Hickman.

The first British women to set foot in India did so in the very early seventeenth century, two and a half centuries before the Raj.

Women made their way to India for exactly the same reasons men did – to carve out a better life for themselves. In the early days, India was a place where the slates of ‘blotted pedigrees’ were wiped clean; bankrupts given a chance to make good; a taste for adventure satisfied – for women. They went and worked as milliners, bakers, dress-makers, actresses, portrait painters, maids, shop-keepers, governesses, teachers, boarding house proprietors, midwives, nurses, missionaries, doctors, geologists, plant-collectors, writers, travellers, and – most surprising of all – traders.

As wives, courtesans and she-merchants, these tough adventuring women were every bit as intrepid as their men, the buccaneering sea captains and traders in whose wake they followed; their voyages to India were extraordinarily daring leaps into the unknown.

The history of the British in India has cast a long shadow over these women; Memsahibs, once a word of respect, is now more likely to be a byword for snobbery and even racism. And it is true: prejudice of every kind – racial, social, imperial, religious – did cloud many aspects of British involvement in India. But was not invariably the case.

In this landmark book, celebrated chronicler, Katie Hickman, uncovers stories, until now hidden from history: here is Charlotte Barry, who in 1783 left London a high-class courtesan and arrived in India as Mrs William Hickey, a married ‘lady’; Poll Puff who sold her apple puffs for ‘upwards of thirty years, growing grey in the service’; Mrs Hudson who in 1617 was refused as a trader in indigo by the East Indian Company, and instead turned a fine penny in cloth; Julia Inglis, a survivor of the siege of Lucknow; Amelia Horne, who witnessed the death of her entire family during the Cawnpore massacres of 1857; and Flora Annie Steel, novelist and a pioneer in the struggle to bring education to purdah women.

For some, it was painful exile, but for many it was exhilarating. Through diaries, letters and memoirs (many still in manuscript form), this exciting book reveals the extraordinary life and times of hundreds of women who made their way across the sea and changed history.

400 pages, Paperback.

My Review

A fascinating and well-researched book on a topic that has until now attracted little scholarly interest. The women endured a lengthy sea voyage only to be thrust into both an unfamiliar and hostile environment. That so many thrived and survived seems almost miraculous. For some, it provided them with opportunities they could never have imagined. While for others it took their health and families.

The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont.

The Australian Women’s Weekly Great Read ‘there is a freshness and vivacity to this cooking school novel that is utterly beguiling.’ –The Australian Women’s Weekly Life rarely serves up the perfect dish, but second chances are always on the menu . . . There’s nothing quite so beautiful as Paris in the spring; and when you add in the chance to learn the French way of food, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, who can resist? Not Gabi Picabea or Kate Evans who have come from Australia to Sylvie Morel’s Paris Cooking School. Both are at a crossroads, and learning to cook the French way in Paris, far away from all their troubles, seems like the perfect escape. Still bruised from a shocking betrayal by her ex-husband, Kate is trying to find a new place for herself in life, and emotional peace, while French–Australian artist Gabi is struggling with a crippling creative block. Meanwhile, Sylvie is facing challenges of her own – a mysterious harassment campaign against the school and a reassessment of her relationship with her commitment-shy lover, Claude. For each of the women, that extraordinary April in Paris will bring unexpected twists and transformations that will change the course of their lives.

A delectable novel about love, hope and the consolations of the perfect strawberry tart, The Paris Cooking School is a treat for the soul.

My Review.

The book is a love letter to Paris, you will feel that you are there, walking beside the Seine. My mouth was watering while I was reading as each week both delectable recipes and food ideas were discussed. It was easy to identify with all three women as they faced their personal challenges. Not forgetting about Nina, a most adorable fictional dog!

Crossing the Bridge by Nancy Cunningham.

Can two wounded hearts find peace in a time of war?
1944. Widow Poppy Guilford is fighting to save her farm, the one thing tethering her to her husband – and the legacy promised for their young son. But a devastating secret from her husband’s past threatens to derail her struggle to save the property and keep her son by her side. Former soldier JB Beaton’s wartime injuries and personal losses have left him with scars, both inside and out. Believing he’s too damaged to be the father his son deserves, he leaves him with his sister and takes on a job as a farmhand, far away from the city and his failures. Poppy, battling the elements and the heartache of her husband’s secret, finds the new farmhand is never far from her thoughts, and JB’s world is thrown into disarray by one of the most beautiful and capable women he has ever met. Neither can battle the surge of attraction they both feel. In a small town where gossip reigns, will they surrender to duty or follow their hearts?

367 pages, Kindle Edition Expected publication January 1, 2024

My Review.

Such a poignant and atmospheric book, which takes us back to wartime Australia. It reminded me of the Australian TV show The Sullivans. Set in the era of austerity, of make do and mend, and far more conservative behaviour than we see today.

In a small town where everyone knows everyone Poppy Guilford is a topic of speculation. Surely, she can’t keep managing the farm on her own. The town has decided on a suitable candidate for Poppy.

Then, JB arrives to help on the farm. He admires Poppy’s handling of the responsibility and workload of the farm. He’s far from perfect and has his own demons. Yet he’s drawn to Poppy and she to him. Their relationship could be a small-town scandal.

I received an Advance Reader Copy through Net Galley

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

My Review.

The title was what initially drew me to this book, and it was such a delightful read. The characterisation and the dilemmas each faced made me speed through the book, eager to learn what was next. Then I would go back to read a passage again as it contained so much information. The story always came first, but there are many references to things literary. A top pick for me and I was sorry to leave Martha and Henry behind without a completely resolved happily ever after.

The Truth About Elephants: Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals by Maxwell Eaton 111.

Did you know that an elephant’s tusks never stop growing?

Did you know that elephants can sometimes purr like giant cats?

And that they use six sets of teeth throughout their lives?

Impress your friends and teachers with these facts and more in The Truth About

Elephants, a wildly entertaining (not to mention hilarious) nonfiction picture

book offering everything you want to know about this majestic animal.

My Review.

I’m reading to learn more about elephants and this book is full of useful and surprising facts. That’s my top research tip when studying an unfamiliar topic- it’s to start with children’s books. There are all the basic facts in an easy-to-understand format.

Elephant Dawn: The Inspirational Story of Thirteen Years Living with Elephants in the African Wilderness by Sharon Pincott.

In 2001, Sharon Pincott traded her privileged life as a high-flying corporate executive to start a new one with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe. She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years – the worst in Zimbabwe’s volatile history – this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them. Now remote from Robert Mugabe’s rule, Sharon writes without restraint sequentially through the years, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we’ve been waiting for. Powerfully moving, sometimes disturbing and often very funny, Elephant Dawn is a celebration of love, courage and honour amongst our greatest land mammals. With resilience beyond measure, Sharon earns the supreme right to call them family.[The book includes 32 pages of colour photographs.]

392 pages, Kindle Edition Published May 25, 2016.

My Review.

Like Africa itself, this book is beautiful and yet ultimately heart-breaking. Immerse yourself in what it is like to live in Africa and to be passionate about their wildlife when it appears that few others care. To fight the same battles again and again, over access to land, and to water. Feel helpless as shooters can pick off protected species. Face constant threats and intimidation, all in one of the most tumultuous periods of Zimbabwe’s’ history. A brave book and an enlightening one.

Royal Animals: A gorgeously illustrated history with a foreword by Sir Michael Morpurgo by Julia Golding, Emily Sutton ( Illustrator)

A beautifully illustrated history of royal animals in Britain from 1066 to the present day, with a foreword by Sir Michael Morpurgo.

Why do the three lions on the British crest look so much like leopards? When did the first elephant set foot on British soil? Was there really a polar bear who fished in the River Thames? Full of astounding facts and amazing true animal stories, delve in to discover royal giraffes, elephants, spaniels, parrots, ravens, pelicans and, of course, Queen Elizabeth II’s corgis. Royal Animals is engagingly written, with artwork from Emily Sutton, the illustrator of Everyone Sang, William Sieghart’s poetry collection. Emily is also the illustrator of Paddington creator Michael Bond’s Castle Mice series. This fascinating exploration of 1000 years of royal animals is written by Julia Golding, the author of The Queen’s Wardrobe, illustrated by Kate Hindley.

My Review.

A total delight to look at and to read. Any animal-loving child should enjoy it. For the purposes of my research, there was only a two-page spread, but that was informative.

And now in January, it’s hot, far too hot. So what better excuse to curl up with a good book? So wherever you are and whatever you are and whatever your climate- Happy reading.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives on Pexels.com

Chatting with Nancy Cunningham, About her January 2024 New Release Crossing the Bridge.

Are you in the cooler Northern Hemisphere or basking in the sun in the Southern Hemisphere? Either way, why not pause and give yourself the gift of time to rest and relax, maybe read a new book.

It’s a pleasure to welcome author Nancy Cunningham to talk about her new book Crossing the Bridge.

Thank you for joining us- tell us about your book Crossing the Bridge which will be released 1^st January 2024. You can pre-order it NOW

1944. Widow Poppy Guilford is fighting to save her farm, the one thing tethering her to her husband—and the legacy promised for their young son. But a devastating secret from her husband’s past threatens to derail her struggle to save the property and keep her son by her side.

Former soldier JB Beaton’s wartime injuries and personal losses have left him with scars, both inside and out. Believing he’s too damaged to be the father his son deserves, he leaves him with his sister and takes on a job as a farmhand, far away from the city and his failures.

Poppy, battling the elements and the heartache caused by her husband’s secret, finds the new farmhand is never far from her thoughts, and JB’s world is thrown into disarray by one of the most beautiful and capable women he has ever met. Neither can fight the surge of attraction they both feel.

In a small town where gossip reigns, will they surrender to duty or follow their hearts?

‘You’ll be cheering for this wartime Australian heroine well before the last page as she fights to find her voice, her feet and love after heartbreak. Nancy Cunningham’s emotional debut novel is a cracker.’ —Bestselling Australian author Victoria Purman.

‘Crossing the Bridge’ is available as an eBook through the Harper Collins/Escape website and all good online stores: https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=9781867299738&camp=247…

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781867299738…

https://books.apple.com/…/crossing-the-bridge/id6458265282

https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/crossing-the-bridge-9

An early Christmas present for yourself or someone you know perhaps?

I was fortunate enough to receive an Advance Reader Copy through Net Galley ( you can see my review on Good Reads) and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Nancy will be in conversation with Victoria Purman on Sunday the 21st of January at Payneham Library and celebrating Crossing the Bridge with a CWA-style afternoon tea. You will need to book your place

What drew you to this topic, why did you want to tell this story?

When I wrote the first draft of Crossing the Bridge, I happened to be reading a lot of historical fiction stories but was surprised to find that there weren’t a lot of 20^th Century historical Australian stories on the shelf, and I wanted to write that story – basically, I wrote the story for me!

Are you writing anything else?

I have lots and lots of story ideas and currently have around 5 unpublished manuscripts, one I have out on submission, and the other I am polishing as just last week I had a request for a full manuscript and will also send it to my current publisher (Harper Collins) the other 3 are sitting waiting in a bottom drawer somewhere! I have too many ideas and too little time.

About Nancy

I am in awe of Nancy who works as a scientist- (please tell me your proper scientific title!) and also writes romance. That is quite a leap from the logical analytical part of the brain to the emotional, feeling part of the brain. Does it ever cause problems or confusion?

For me anyway. I find I can compartmentalise the different aspects of both being a research scientist and a romance writer and I rarely get confused between the two. I work as a senior (insect researcher) and am involved in entomological-related projects. As part of my role, I also curate the Waite Insect and Nematode Collection – a large collection of insects and arthropods – many specimens date back over one hundred years! Being the collection manager, it appeals both to my scientific curiosity but also the historical aspect of the collection is fascinating!

Nancy also contributes insightful and supportive comments to the Romance Writers of Australia Aspiring Writers Group.

Some quick-fire questions.

Late nights or early mornings?

Early mornings/mornings I find are when I am at my brightest. Night times are usually a little fraught as I am usually pretty tired and sometimes exhausted. It’s often the time I spend relaxing with my family.

What’s for breakfast?

I like to vary it, Weet-bix/muesli/porridge sometimes toast or a poached egg, I occasionally have fruit smoothies!

Night out or Netflix?

I’m definitely a homebody but not opposed to the occasional evening out.

G &T or Tea/Coffee?

Tea and coffee every day, G and T for those days you come home and its hot and you want to chill.

Perfect weekend?

Saturday – A little sleep-in followed by brunch out, come home, relax in the garden, or read. Yummy dinner, either home-cooked or takeaway, Sunday – rinse and repeat!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a zoologist, but also a scriptwriter (for the movies!)

What is for dinner tonight? Can you cook? What would you rather be eating?

Tonight, it’s an easy stir fry with beef, veggies, and noodles (probably teriyaki). I can cook but find during the week especially I prefer really easy to prepare dishes. I think I feel like pasta tonight!

What brings you joy? Lifts your spirits, and chases away a down mood.

I have a relatively sedentary role both at work and as a writer, so I like going for a walk every day – usually with my dog and sometimes my daughter comes too. I love time just to relax and unwind either with family or friends but also, I love time alone just reading a book or occasionally going out and having a massage (there’s a place in every shopping centre these days!)

Your hero?

My partner – he really grounds me and makes me laugh! I am definitely richer for having him in my life.

If you could choose three people (living or dead) to invite to a dinner party, who would they be and why?

Marie Curie – a ground-breaking female scientist – I’d like to know what motivated her to continue when she had so many setbacks. Agatha Christie – because she writes the most wonderful murder mysteries where she hides everything you need to know in plain sight! David Attenborough – because he is utterly awesome and I’m sure we could discuss anything and everything!

Do you have any non-writing-related interests?

I like to draw, have made wooden furniture and like doing graphic design stuff (including making book covers!)

What would surprise people to know about you?

I love playing video games (usually with female protagonists in story-rich games) and have written many words of fanfiction (before I decided maybe to give this original fiction author business a go!)

Life lessons-what do you wish you’d known earlier?

That it’s okay to fail because what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

Questions about Writing.

What is your writing process like?

I like to plan my first draft – I often spend a lot of time thinking about it before I’ve written a single word. Then I plan roughly each scene/chapter indicating beats – I like to use beat sheets and I write a rough GMC for each chapter. Then with my first draft, I read my GMC for that chapter and go for it. The first draft is very ugly – lots of grammar and spelling errors and I often have to do more research. 2nd draft is a tidy-up and to check structure, 3^rd and 4^th drafts are polishing and prepping for submission.

Do you have any other projects in the works?

I am currently working on another 1st draft which is a follow-up/sequel to Crossing the Bridge and will feature characters Ronnie (Veronica) and Charlie, set post WW2- fashion, wine, a little bit of espionage and a whole lot of love! I am also tinkering on a novella.

Have you ever resuscitated a project you’d shelved? What helped it work better the second time around?

I wrote a short story that failed miserably in a competition – some of the judge’s comments were odd and not really helpful (they didn’t like WW1 stories so marked me down) I shelved it and then about a year later Clare Griffin asked if I’d like to contribute with her and two other writers, Ava January and Sarah Fiddelaers, to a self-published anthology – 20^th Century Historical Romance with an Easter theme.

I resuscitated/rewrote it into a longer story and I am very proud of that contribution! Clare, Ava, Sarah and I went on to do another anthology, this one based around a store in Paris, through the seasons and through four different time periods. We’ve been trying to organise a fourth but we’ve all been so busy!

What writing resources have been most helpful to you?

Scrivener is a fantastic tool and I love ‘One Stop for Writers’ which is the online version for all the thesaurus that Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have produced (‘The Emotion Thesaurus’) I’ve also found the many writing groups on Facebook a font of knowledge for writing-related questions.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the beginning of your writing/publishing journey?

Do not ever compare your journey to others – you will only find discontentment!

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

I like to write my first drafts in a very short amount of time (National Novel Writing Month is good for that!) then I edit and edit and edit and edit.

What inspired your new book?

I knew when I wrote Crossing the Bridge that my side character of Veronica Guilford was a fab character, in fact, she was one of 3 POVs (Point of View)in the original story! She had to have her moment in the sun – and now it’s time!

What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

I think getting the structure and beats right. If you miss those there is often something off about the story. Also, your main character’s goal motivation and conflict has to be rock solid. Sometimes that needs work!

Did you do any research for your current book?

I write historical so there is always the need for research! Today I was looking up Australian female jazz musicians who worked in bands in the 1940s and 50s!

Do you have a favourite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special?

That’s like asking me who my favourite child is (I only have one child so that’s kind of given she’s my favourite) but I love all my characters in different ways. Poppy and Ronnie from Crossing the Bridge I have a great fondness for. I love Poppy because the way I initially wrote her she didn’t have a great character arc (it was pretty flat, and she didn’t have a lot of agency) – I worked hard on her to make her all the things a reader would like without compromising what I loved about her. Ronnie is my sassy character and I have to say I love writing how rude and loud she is! I really loved writing from a male perspective too– and JB was a lot of fun to explore!

Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions?

Not necessarily – I did Becca Symes’s Strength for Writers’ workshops and discovered that my top five strengths are empathy, harmony, positivity, adaptability and woo (working others out). Most of these are in the relationship-building area not the areas that are supposedly related to writers – but the empathy one I had a real revelation as Becca said in the workshop that people with high empathy often have difficulty getting emotion onto the page. Which seems at odds with the very thing being experienced. The reality is that people with high empathy are so caught up in feeling the emotion they are writing – they think it’s been translated to the page when it’s not– learning to translate that to the page is a technical skill that must be learned. How many times has an editor or beta reader said to me when reading my work ‘Nancy, tell me how she feels!!!’

Best writing advice/ Worst writing advice you ever received?

Best – At my very first Romance Writers of Australia conference I was walking to the venue and I met this lovely lady on the street going to the conference. We talked about writing and romance, but it wasn’t until we got to the venue that I realised that it was the late great Valerie Parv, I was gobsmacked, and she wrote about our meeting in her memoir how for a moment we were just two writers talking – Valerie always said that perseverance for a writer is key. Finish that manuscript. Get a rejection? Submit again. Not getting traction? Keep writing, write another manuscript, then another and another. Keep learning, keep writing, keep submitting, it’s a long game and you must have the stamina to keep going if you are to be a success. For me, I like to think it’s a ‘when’ not an ‘if’.

Worst – you have to write every day. Working full time and having a family and other commitments makes it physically, intellectually, and emotionally impossible to write some days. To write you don’t need to flog yourself! A little bit each day goes a long way.

Best money you have spent as a writer?

Joining the Romance Writers of Australia.

Do you have a favourite author and why?

I absolutely love Beatriz Williams novels – honestly, every book she writes is like a dagger through your heart – the story, the characters, the settings, the beautiful writing. I read her work and think I will never ever be that good. She’s amazing!

What are you reading now?

I’m a multitasker – I usually have a few on the go – an audiobook for my commute to work- After the Forest by Kell Woods and I have just received ‘A Country Vet Christmas’ by Lily Malone, Alissa Callen, Penelope Janu, Stella Quinn and Pamela Cook

What books or authors have most influenced your writing?

Beatriz Williams, Amy Harmon, Victoria Purman, Penelope Janu, Soraya Lane

Favourite quote (does not matter the source)

“We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” D.H. Lawrence.

Favourite book/story you have read as an adult?

It’s gritty but I cannot go past Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North. I read it several years ago but there are still bits I think about that move me to tears. It was a book that touched my soul.

Favourite book/story you have read as a child?

Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree books were favourites of mine growing up!

Nancy Cunningham is a historical romance writer from Adelaide, with several award-winning short fiction and unpublished manuscript excerpts under her belt. When not working in her role as an entomologist, looking after family, reading, watching too many historical dramas and spider wrangling, Nancy writes about spirited and stoic heroines of the past overcoming adversity.

You can find Nancy at:

Where History and Science meets Heart

https://www.instagram.com/nan_writes

https://www.facebook.com/NancyMCunningham197

Thank you so much for spending time with us Nancy and best wishes for your book’s success.

What Was I Reading in November 2023?

November seems to have come around very quickly, and so has the heat in Western Australia. We’ve just survived a record ten days with daytime temperatures of over 30C. The last time that happened was in 1915 and it must have been unbearably hot given their clothing and housing then. These days, it’s no hardship to sit in air-conditioning and read.

And There Was More

Additionally, we were having some house renovations done, which was neither quick nor quiet. Thumping and banging and radios on constantly. My reading choices were very much dictated by that- books were selected to be happy and accessible ‘comfort reads.’

An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan.

New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan brings us a delightful summer novel that will sweep you away to the remote Scottish island of Mure, where two very different weddings are about to take place…

On the little Scottish island of Mure–halfway between Scotland and Norway–Flora MacKenzie and her fiancé Joel are planning the smallest of “sweetheart weddings,” a high summer celebration surrounded only by those very dearest to them.

Not everyone on the island is happy about being excluded, though. The temperature rises even further when beautiful Olivia MacDonald–who left Mure ten years ago for bigger and brighter things–returns with a wedding planner in tow. Her fiancé has oodles of family money, and Olivia is determined to throw the biggest, most extravagant, most Instagrammable wedding possible. And she wants to do it at Flora’s hotel, the same weekend as Flora’s carefully planned micro-wedding.

As the summer solstice approaches, can Flora handle everyone else’s Happy Every Afters–and still get her own?

388 pages, Paperback.

My Review.

Jenny Colgan’s books are incredibly popular, and I’ve enjoyed reading many of them, including some of the Mure series. I’d have been confused with the story if I hadn’t read about Mure previously. It’s an enjoyable story with familiar characters and a feeling of warmth and acceptance. There are conflicts, jealousy and heartaches, but we know we and the characters will reach a happy ending. I enjoyed it.

The Wartime Bookshop by Lesley Eames.

The first in a brand-new nostalgic and heart-warming WWII series, perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Elaine Everest.
Alice is nursing an injured hand and a broken heart when she moves to the village of Churchwood at the start of WWII. She is desperate to be independent but worries that her injuries will make that impossible.
Kate lives with her family on Brimbles Farm, where her father and brothers treat her no better than a servant. With no mother or sisters, and shunned by the locals, Kate longs for a friend of her own.
Naomi is looked up to for owning the best house in the village. But privately, she carries the hurts of childlessness, a husband who has little time for her and some deep-rooted insecurities.
With war raging overseas, and difficulties to overcome at home, friendship is needed now more than ever. Can the war effort and a shared love of books bring these women – and the community of Churchwood – together?

My Review,

Reminiscent of a Maeve Bincy for its warmth and characterisation. Each woman has her own challenges and problems to deal with. My heart went out to all of them but especially to Kate and I’m looking forward to further books in this series.

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin.

Internationally bestselling author Sophie Irwin brings us another fresh, witty take on a romantic escape led by a deeply lovable heroine determined to start living on her own terms

When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season–no matter that he was not the husband Eliza would have chosen.

But ten years later, Eliza is widowed. And at eight and twenty years, she is suddenly left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. Instead of living out her mourning quietly, Eliza heads to Bath with her cousin Margaret. After years of living according to everyone else’s rules, Eliza has resolved, at last, to do as she wants.

But when the ripples of the dowager Lady Somerset’s behaviour reach the new Lord Somerset–whom Eliza knew, once, as a younger woman–Eliza is forced to confront the fact that freedom does not come without consequences, though it also brings unexpected opportunities 359 pages, Paperback First published July 6, 2023.

My Review. The title alone beguiled me and of course, I was mentally cheering Eliza on. Breaking free of the shackles of conformity takes courage and at first, she doesn’t feel as if she has that. Each test provides another chance to remake her life and potentially scandalise society.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall.

For fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a debut novel that explores the shields we build around our hearts to retain our own magic.

Sadie Revelare has always believed that the curse of four heartbreaks that accompanies her magic would be worth the price. But when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer with only weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake McNealy, returns to town after a decade, her carefully structured life begins to unravel.

With the news of their grandmother’s impending death, Sadie’s estranged twin brother Seth returns to town, bringing with him deeply buried family secrets that threaten to tear Sadie’s world apart. Their grandmother has been the backbone of the family for generations, and with her death, Sadie isn’t sure she’ll have the strength to keep the family, and her magic, together.

As feelings for Jake begin to rekindle, and her grandmother growing sicker by the day, Sadie faces the last of her heartbreaks, and she has to decide: is love more important than magic?

Readers who love the magic of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and the sense of community found in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches will enjoy this warm, witchy novel.

322 pages, Paperback First published September 19, 2023

My Review.

Another book whose title drew me in, it kept me entertained and almost believing in magic. Sadie is a relatable character and her past with Jake has relevance throughout the book. The book has a gentle charm and I’m hoping for more from this author.

Villa of Sun and Secrets by Jennifer Bohnet.

Carla Sullivan’s 50th birthday is fast approaching when her whole world is turned upside down. Discovering her feckless husband is having yet another affair and following her mother’s death, she is in need of an escape. Finding an envelope addressed to her mother’s estranged sister Josette in the South of France gives Carla the perfect plan.

Seizing the moment, she packs her bags and heads to Antibes to seek out the enigma known as Tante Josette. But as the two women begin to forge a tentative relationship, family secrets start to unravel, forcing Carla to question her life as she has always known it.

A heart-warming tale on the beautiful French Riviera, which will keep you guessing.Perfect for the fans of Jill Mansell and Fern Britton.

Published August 8, 2019

My Review.

Finding yet another betrayal one too many, Carla defies expectations and flies to France on a whim. Meeting an aunt, she has never really known and feeling some form of connection. Despite her daughter’s suggestion that she return home and forgive her husband. Carla knows that this time it’s too late. A new life beckons if only she has the courage to face it.

Christmas Everyday by Beth Moran.

When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose – no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better…

Her grumpy, but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.

Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love, learning to bake, to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.

Warm, wise, funny, and utterly uplifting, what one thing would you change in your life before Christmas comes around?

My Review.

Just the right book for this time of year. Jenny escapes to her deceased grandmother’s cottage. She wants to hide but must engage with the community to survive. Little by little and one interaction at a time, she starts building a new life for herself.

Renovations Are Hell!

Because I knew the cats would be scared, I decided to stay home with them while the workmen were in the house. I was concerned about the cats escaping from the secure room they were confined in.

The front door was wide open, the front gates were open, there was knocking and constant banging, radios blasting out. Quite different from our normal quiet home environment.

It was lucky I was home as one cat escaped, twice, moving a sheet of marine plywood, a 5 kilo bag of cat litter and 2x 2.5 kilo dumbells.I managed to get him back in the safe room.

In addition, with the renovation madness all around me, I attempted NaNoWriMo but didn’t manage to reach the targe fifty thousand words as I have in other years. That’s okay ,as I’ve got about 27,000 words down.

Just In Time for Christmas

And just in time for Christmas, these swoon- worthy romances are on sale at this special price for one week from December 6th. Dont order them earlier or you wont get it

www.books2read.com/Abdu or

www.books2read.com/knapp

That wraps up November for me, I will be back in about a week with an interview with Nancy Cunningham about her new book Crossing The Bridge.

Its set in WW2 and is a romance.I’m currently reading and enjoying it.

The Books I Read in March 2023.

My reading was quite a mixed bag in March as I read a memoir, contemporary fiction, domestic noir, historical fiction, as well as romance.

inspired by my reading I was mentally in Paris.

Lunch in Paris; A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard.

In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman–and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pave au poivre, the steak’s pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce?

Lunch In Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs–one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine. Packing her bags for a new life in the world’s most romantic city, Elizabeth is plunged into a world of bustling open-air markets, hipster bistros, and size 2 femmes fatales. She learns to gut her first fish (with a little help from Jane Austen), soothe pangs of homesickness (with the rise of a chocolate souffle) and develops a crush on her local butcher (who bears a striking resemblance to Matt Dillon). Elizabeth finds that the deeper she immerses herself in the world of French cuisine, the more Paris itself begins to translate. French culture, she discovers, is not unlike a well-ripened cheese-there may be a crusty exterior, until you cut through to the melting, piquant heart. Peppered with mouth-watering recipes for summer ratatouille, swordfish tartare and molten chocolate cakes, Lunch in Paris is a story of falling in love, redefining success and discovering what it truly means to be at home. In the delicious tradition of memoirs like A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, this book is the perfect treat for anyone who has dreamed that lunch in Paris could change their life.

First published December 21, 2010

My Review. It’s like having chat with a talkative and foodie best friend. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I would continue reading, memoir isn’t really my thing, but I was gradually won over. There was such a sense of exuberance and enjoyment at finding ingredients and cooking. As well as acute observations on French manners and their way of life. The recipes sound achievable too.

A Secret Scottish Escape by Julie Shackman

When Scotland’s sleepiest hamlet becomes the centre of hot gossip, Layla Devlin finds herself caught in a mystery…

When Layla’s fiancée has an unexpected heart attack and dies – in another woman’s arms, no less – Layla is determined to pack up and leave Loch Harris, the village she’s always called home. But an unexpected inheritance and love for her quiet corner of Scotland send her down a new path.

Now Layla finds herself facing a whole new kind of drama. Rumours swirl that a celebrity has moved into Coorie Cottage and Layla is determined to have him headline her opening night at local music venue The Conch Club. But the reclusive star is equally determined to thwart Layla’s efforts. Rafe Buchanan is in hiding for a reason, and soon his past comes to Loch Harris to haunt him…

My Review. I enjoyed this book although it is difficult to categorise it. Part romance, part mystery, it is written in the first person. Although on two occasions it jarringly left first person to tell us something the narrator could not have known. Apart from that it’s an engaging story, which perhaps needed a little more romance.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls.

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.

My Review. This captured my attention in part by being set in my part of the world, Lancashire. On a trip back to Uk we visited Lancaster Castle and saw the bleak hole in the ground these supposed ‘witches’ were confined in. I had also studied a unit on witchcraft in Salem at university, so I had some background knowledge.
Without the benefits of modern medicine people often relied on cunning men or women to cure their ailments. This was fine until something went wrong. Diseases we recognise and can treat today were unknown then. It was a climate where misogyny could be dressed as virtue and poorer and troublesome women could be silenced. The King, James 1st of England had a pathological fear of witches. What better way for an ambitious man to worm his way into favour than by denouncing witches?
This book explores this in a story that will hold your attention and make you think how lucky we are today. I enjoyed this immensely.

Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill

Sulari Gentill, author of the 1930s Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, jumps to the post-modern in Crossing the Lines.

A successful writer, Madeleine, creates a character, Edward, and begins to imagine his life. He, too, is an author. Edward is in love with a woman, Willow, who’s married to a man Edward loathes, and who loathes him, but he and Willow stay close friends. She’s an artist. As Madeleine develops the plot, Edward attends a gallery show where a scummy critic is flung down a flight of fire stairs…murdered. Madeleine, still stressed from her miscarriages and grieving her inability to have a child, grows more and more enamoured of Edward, spending more and more time with him and the progress of the investigation and less with her physician husband, Hugh, who in turn may be developing secrets of his own.

As Madeline engages more with Edward, he begins to engage back. A crisis comes when Madeleine chooses the killer in Edward’s story and Hugh begins to question her immersion in her novel. Yet Crossing the Lines is not about collecting clues and solving crimes. Rather it’s about the process of creation, a gradual undermining of the authority of the author as the act of writing spirals away and merges with the story being told, a self-referring narrative crossing over boundaries leaving in question who to trust, and who and what is true.

My Review. Initially confusing reading, but as you get caught up in the story you acclimatise to making the brain switches required. Both protagonists claimed my attention, both for their stories, but also for their musings on the craft of writing and authorship. Is the author the creator alone or do we as readers share a part of that creation? Writers sometimes talk about a character rebelling about how they are written, which sounds absurd but does happen. Here we are left to grapple with just who is the author and who is the character.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

THE HUSBAND
A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.

THE DAUGHTERS
Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father’s fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she’s after their father’s money.

THE FORMER WIFE
With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family’s secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is.

THE YOUNGER WIFE
Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses in all of them?

My Review. A friend recommended Sally Hepworth to me, and I came to the book with no preconceptions. It is simply put, a page-turner, and as each page turns you want to know more. Subtly layered to reveal portions of the story which allows you to make your own assumptions. Some connections seemed to me, while others were more opaque. Recommended.

The Marquess Meets His Match by Laura Martin.

Sparks fly in this fun, romantic Regency!

The marquess she loves to hate

…or the man she can’t resist?

Farmer’s daughter Charlotte Greenacre regrets attending a matchmaker’s party when she has to spend it avoiding her enemy, Lord Robert Overby! Until she learns that the handsome widower is not the villain she thought—and that after his unhappy marriage, he doesn’t want a new wife. It should mean she can now relax in his company…if it wasn’t for the irritating flare of attraction between them!

My Review. An easy and uncomplicated read, with enough dynamic tension between the couple. Charlotte is an engaging heroine and amuses Lord Overby who has little to be amused about for quite some time. He is predisposed to distrust love, but could an unpredictable young lady change his mind? I really disliked the cover.

The Second Lady Silverwood by Emma Orchard.

Sir Benedict Silverwood needs a new wife, an heir and a mother for his young daughter, but he can’t envisage any of the eligible young debutantes taking the place of his late wife. Then Kate Moreton, the granddaughter of a friend, an impoverished spinster and Italian teacher, is suggested and what seems at first an outlandish idea grows on him, alongside his attraction to Kate.

Kate has been hopelessly in love with Benedict for years so the idea of marriage to him is appalling, considering he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, but also so very tempting…

When Kate steps into her new life as Benedict’s wife, sparks fly, but as it becomes clear that there are incendiary secrets that threaten their fragile new life together, the question is whether Benedict will be able to love and trust the second Lady Silverwood?

My Review.

Initially a bit of a slow-burn romance that turns sizzling hot. Kate has loved Benedict for years, after one magical dance with him. She saw him turn away from her, mesmerised by another young woman. Now fate has presented her with another opportunity. Can she risk her heart again and if he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, will the status of being married to him be enough? She learns that he is an enthusiastic and inventive lover, and she matches him, but will she win his heart? A naughtily steamy romance. I enjoyed it. Thanks to Net Galley.

Mrs England by Stacey Halls.

When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.

Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, weaving an enthralling story of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception. Set against the atmospheric landscape of West Yorkshire, Stacey Halls’ third novel proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our times.

My Review. This was an unsettling read, everyone seems to have secrets and a gradual sense of menace crept up on me. I felt the pacing was slow and yet I wanted to read on. It was such a contrast to the previous book of hers I’d read, The Familiars. Perhaps if I had read this first I wouldn’t have chosen to read more by this author. She is certainly versatile.

The One and Only Dolly Jamieson by Lisa Ireland.

The One and Only Dolly Jamieson is a compelling feel-good novel featuring a proud and gutsy heroine with a truly unbreakable spirit.

Life is full of downs and ups . . .

Dolly Jamieson is not homeless, she’s merely between permanent abodes. The 78-year-old spends her days keeping warm at the local library, where

she enjoys sparring with the officious head librarian and helping herself to the free morning tea. It’s not so bad, really.

But it’s certainly a far cry from the 1960s, when this humble girl from Geelong became an international star of the stage. As the acclaimed lead in the Broadway production of The Rose of France, all Dolly’s dreams had come true.

So how, in her old age, did she end up here?

When Jane Leveson, a well-to-do newcomer to the library, shows an interest in Dolly, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship – and soon Jane is offering to help Dolly write her memoirs.

Yet Dolly can detect a deep sadness in the younger woman’s eyes. Perhaps by working together to recount the glittering highs, devastating lows and tragic secrets of Dolly’s life, both women can finally face their pasts and start to heal . . .

My Review.

I galloped through this book, I wanted to know all about Dolly and through the dual timeline I learned of her past and present. In the swinging sixties, Dolly had a string of stage success, when she had it all. Looks, love and success. In the present, how did she come to need to seek refuge in the local library? There she is greeted with disapproval from some and welcomed by others.

Dolly knows the value of keeping up appearances but it’s particularly difficult when you don’t have a home. She is well aware that her appearance can be rather offputting. Yet, Jane speaks to her and over time a slightly wary and unlikely friendship is formed. Each seems to recognise something in the other.

Dolly doesn’t consider herself homeless, she just hasn’t got anywhere to live and in her seventies that’s not a comfortable position to be in. Once fawned upon, now she is dismissed and ignored. But Dolly has a story worth telling and Jane is the person to help her. Each woman has the ability to help the other.

This story examines uncomfortable topics with sensitivity and heart. I was cheering the indomitable Dolly on.

The Secret Diary of Shirley Sullivan by Lisa Ireland.

The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan is a charming, nostalgic and heart-warming story for women of any age – and it all begins when 79-year-old Shirley kidnaps her husband from his nursing home for one final adventure. .

‘An endearing novel about one gutsy, smart and inspirational woman. I want to be Shirley when I grow up.’ Rachael Johns

‘Elderly. Is that how the world sees me? A helpless little old lady? If only they knew. I allow myself a small smirk.’

When Shirley Sullivan signs her 83-year-old husband, Frank, out of the Sunset Lodge Nursing Home, she has no intention of bringing him back.

For fifty-seven years the couple has shared love, happiness and heartbreak. And while Frank may not know who his wife is these days, he knows he wants to go home. Back to the beach where they met in the early 1960s . . .

So Shirley enacts an elaborate plan to evade the authorities – and their furious daughter, Fiona – to give Frank the holiday he’d always dreamed of.

And, in doing so, perhaps Shirley can make amends for a lifelong guilty secret . .

My Review. It’s very easy to sympathise with Shirley, who has been sidelined by her daughter in caring for her husband Frank. Fiona is a concerned daughter convinced she is doing the best for her parents. But she doesn’t know half of their story. Shirley wants to take Frank on one last adventure, she owes him that. While Frank can’t always remember things, he wants to go home and Shirley has a plan. It’s funny, it’s poignant and as anyone who has dealt with Alzheimer’s will tell you, it’s very true to life. I was cheering Shirley on, up until the last few pages where I felt rather let down.

Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop, Wigtown – Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover’s paradise? Well, almost …

In these wry and hilarious diaries, Shaun provides an inside look at the trials and tribulations of life in the book trade, from struggles with eccentric customers to wrangles with his own staff, who include the ski-suit-wearing, bin-foraging Nicky. He takes us with him on buying trips to old estates and auction houses, recommends books (both lost classics and new discoveries), introduces us to the thrill of the unexpected find, and evokes the rhythms and charms of small-town life, always with a sharp and sympathetic eye.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell.

My Review. A wry yet sympathetic look at owning and running a bookshop. Presented in the manner of a cautionary tale, with George Orwell’s quotes as chapter headings. His love of books and bookselling is reflected in the pages. The book is in part an advisory tale about the madness of owning a bookshop. Shaun tells dolefully that booksellers are prominent among bad back sufferers.

It’s more a book to be dipped in and out of than to be read in a sitting.

Final thoughts.

Eleven books that I read this month and as always it’s an idiosyncratic collection. I source books from my local library, they do a terrific job and usually have tempting to displays of new books. I also read on my Kindle, and although I prefer the physicality of a book the Kindle has it beaten for sheer convenience. These days I read on the Ipad, which is even easier.

I’m happy to take a chance on a book because the cover or its blurb appeal to me. I also review some books for Net Galley. Or, I choose a book because I read a review, or because a friend recommended it.

How do you choose books? At random? What appeals from the cover? The blurb- an industry term for the persuasive words on the back of a book that persuade you to read it.

Bookshops and libraries are the places where I feel most at home. The ambience, that sense of being surrounded by so many books, so many thoughts.

Books can connect us through time and space and reading enables us to travel when we have to stay home.

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All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye by Christopher Brookmyre.

New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock by Hannah M Lynn.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths .

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food by Cathy Bramley

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz.

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

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The Overlook by Michael Connelly

Suddenly Single At Sixty by Jo Peck

A Snowball in Hell by Christopher Brookmyre.

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns.

Venus with Pistol By Gavin Lyall

My Review

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

My Review

Storm Child by Michael Robotham Cyrus Haven 4

My Review.

Loving My Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband: A Memoir of a Whirlwind Romance Gone Wrong by Kerstin Pilz.

My Review.

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The Booklovers Retreat by Heidi Swain

Return to Half Moon Farm – Spring Fever by Holly Hepburn.

Percy’s Bus by Susan Briars

The Novel Project by Graeme Simison.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden.

Love From Scratch by Amy Hutton.

Angelique De Xavier 2

The Sacred Art of Stealing by Christopher Brookmyre

Summer Love by Holly Hepburn

A Devil of a Duke by Madeline Hunter

Fallen Angel by Christopher Brookmyre.

Autumn Dreams Return to Half Moon Farm 3

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Summer at The Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin.

My Review.

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan.

The Wake -Up Call by Beth O’Leary

I Remember Paris by Lucy Diamond.

The Happiest Ever After by Milly Johnson

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

The Cat Who Caught a Killer. by L.T Shearer.

The Most Dangerous Duke in London by Madeline Hunter.

Three sinfully handsome dukes, three scores to settle, three hearts about to meet their matches. All in one thrilling new trilogy from New York Times best selling author Madeline Hunter…

Birthday! Actually Birthday months…

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Once Upon A Murder by Samantha Larsen.

A Death in Diamonds by S.J Bennett.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, Alison Watts (Translator)

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo- Reum,Shanna Tan (Translator.)

Charlotte’s Control by Maggie Sims

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The Little Village of Booklovers by Nina George.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

February already!

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She -Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentle Women: British Women in India by Katie Hickman.

The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont.

Crossing the Bridge by Nancy Cunningham.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

The Truth About Elephants: Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals by Maxwell Eaton 111.

Elephant Dawn: The Inspirational Story of Thirteen Years Living with Elephants in the African Wilderness by Sharon Pincott.

Royal Animals: A gorgeously illustrated history with a foreword by Sir Michael Morpurgo by Julia Golding, Emily Sutton ( Illustrator)

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Some quick-fire questions.

Questions about Writing.

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And There Was More

An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan.

The Wartime Bookshop by Lesley Eames.

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall.

Villa of Sun and Secrets by Jennifer Bohnet.

Christmas Everyday by Beth Moran.

Renovations Are Hell!

Just In Time for Christmas

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Final thoughts.

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