Tag: fiction

Unraveling Family Lies in Homecoming: A Review

Sadly, I’m not Wonder Woman and I placed too many expectations on myself in October. I continued to write, and I’m now at 100,000 words . I eschewed most tv in favour of reading. My book of the month is definitely Homecoming what a tour de force!

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of the grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.

Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.

Nora has always been a vibrant and strong presence: decisive, encouraging, young despite her years. When Jess visits her in the hospital, she is alarmed to find her grandmother frail and confused. It’s even more alarming to hear from Nora’s housekeeper that Nora had been distracted in the weeks before her accident and had fallen on the steps to the attic—the one place Jess was forbidden from playing in when she was small.

At loose ends in Nora’s house, Jess does some digging of her own. In Nora’s bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime—a crime that has never been resolved satisfactorily. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find…

An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth. Above all, it is a beguiling and immensely satisfying novel from one of the finest writers working today,

547 pages, Hardcover

My Review.

This book surprised me and continued to surprise me, each time I’d figured something out, the parameters shifted. As an expat myself, I know the sense of dislocation and divided loyalties that can engender. Families are complicated and none more so than in this story. Loneliness and isolation, regrets, secrets and lies, motherhood, identity, jealousy. Some lyrical descriptions of the Australian bush, a continually shifting landscape, which is as much a character as anyone. A big book, but you will be swept along and keep reading. It is so worth reading.

The Postcard by Fern Britton

Penny Leighton, TV Producer and wife of the local vicar Simon Canter, is struggling to cope with motherhood. The couple have had their only child Jenna, while Penny is in her forties and it’s been a big shock to her system. When Simon engages the services of a nanny, Ella, as a way of helping Penny, it only serves to push her further away from him and from Jenna.
After Penny’s sister arrives in the village after the death of the woman Penny called her mother, it brings memories of her troubled childhood to the surface. As a distraction, she finds herself drawn to the village’s new Doctor, but he isn’t quite the charmer than he seems, as new arrival, Ella, is about to find out. But will all this be too late for Penny, who is about to risk everything?

This is the first Fern Britton book that I have read.  It wasn’t what I expected being quite depressing. Penny seems to have it all but is struggling with later in life motherhood. It was hard to like her, and I found myself reluctant to pick the book up. We all have our everyday problems and rather than being escapist fiction this plunged me into another person’s life and problems.

The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan.

“The perfect gift for readers who relish heartwarming tales of sisters and love.” — Booklist on The Christmas Sisters

In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…

Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…
As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?

My Review.

Having previously enjoyed Sarah Morgan’s books I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, for me it didn’t deliver, perhaps because my reading time was fragmented. I was continually having to  remind myself who was who .If you can find some solid blocks of reading time, I’m sure its enjoyable

Mrs Spy by M.J Robotham

Get ready for a pulse-pounding, laugh-out-loud ride through 1960s London as Maggie Flynn, unexpected MI5 operative and single mum, unravels the intelligence agency’s most treacherous secrets.


Maggie Flynn isn’t your typical 1960s mum.

She’s a spy, an unsuspecting operative for MI5, stalking London’s streets in myriad disguises.

Widowed and balancing her clandestine career with raising a Beatles-mad teenage daughter, Maggie finds comfort and purpose in her profession – providing a connection to her late husband, whose own covert past only surfaced after his death.

But Maggie’s world spins out of control when a chance encounter with a mysterious Russian agent triggers a chilling he knew her husband. And what’s worse, the agent suspects someone on home soil betrayed him.

As Maggie searches for answers, she’ll question everyone – and everything – she thought she could trust. In the murky and perilous world of espionage, can she outsmart those determined to keep her silenced?

352 pages, Hardcover

My Review.

An interesting take on the spy genre, less glamour and more hard graft. Can an ordinary mum really find answers and if she does, who and what, does she endanger? Thought-provoking, but to me not quite believable.

Meanwhile, my cat sleeps on without a care in the world.

Will I ever finish this manuscript? It’s taken over two years of my life, but the end is in sight. I will miss it, but look forward to holding a real book in my hands instead of the many pages of notes and computer files. And the year end is approaching with a host of birthdays and Christmas festivities. I have another project once this memoir is finished an as yet untitled Viking romance already written and critiqued. But , that’s for next year.

A Sentimental Journey through September Memories

September, we were hoping for spring weather in the Southern hemisphere, but it’s been wetter than usual. Time to curl up with a good book, or even time to try and write one! My reviewing philosophy is,if I didn’t finish a book, or disliked it, I don’t review it.Taste is personal and what appeals to me, may not appeal to you. That’s fine, well have differing expectations and experiences we bring to our reading.


I’ve been industriously building my memoir.Like a spider’s web it has many strands.

I’m 92,000 words or so into the memoir and Im hoping to send it to my editor shortly. Briefly, it tells how when my marriage broke up, I started working as bus conductor in 1960 Britain

I worked on double decker buses.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven By Juno Dawson

If you look hard enough at old photographs, we’re there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple.

At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls–Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle–took the oath to join Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she’s a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.

Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven.

My Review

Initially I enjoyed reading  this and the concepts it explores .Women are so often simply  a foot note to history, marginalised or ignored. A story about women and not just women , but women with extraordinary powers was  appealing. The empathy Niamh shows was very relatable.  However, because  I was reading it over a few days I gradually got confused about  who each character was.

  The concept of a ‘cursed child’ is often the stuff of fantasy so that too was relatable. Gradually, I began to experience less enjoyment in reading, feeling  I was reading a polemic. I finished the book and  decided that although the story remained unfinished, I wouldn’t read  further volumes. It wasn’t for me; it may be for you.

Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly.

A brilliant, illuminating reassessment of the life and work of Jane Austen that makes clear how Austen has been misread for the past two centuries and that shows us how she intended her books to be read, revealing, as well, how subversive and daring–how truly radical–a writer she was.

In this fascinating, revelatory work, Helena Kelly–dazzling Jane Austen authority–looks past the grand houses, the pretty young women, past the demure drawing room dramas and witty commentary on the narrow social worlds of her time that became the hallmark of Austen’s work to bring to light the serious, ambitious, deeply subversive nature of this beloved writer. Kelly illuminates the radical subjects–slavery, poverty, feminism, the Church, evolution, among them–considered treasonous at the time, that Austen deftly explored in the six novels that have come to embody an age. The author reveals just how in the novels we find the real Jane Austen: a clever, clear-sighted woman “of information,” fully aware of what was going on in the world and sure about what she thought of it. We see a writer who understood that the novel–until then seen as mindless “trash”–could be a great art form and who, perhaps more than any other writer up to that time, imbued it with its particular greatness.

My Review.

Jane Austen subversive. Jane Austen deliberately employed the despised novel not just to entertain, but also to inform her readership ,about so much that was going on in her time. The idea of Jane,  a spinster, who hadn’t travelled far, as a country mouse is far from the truth. She had five brothers , men who were involved with the church, the military and the war. Doubtless she heard and understood plenty ,from the conversations around her and formed her own opinions. She had sisters in law whose pregnancies she observed, and she knew that this was a dangerous time for a woman as many died in childbirth. Of course her thinking permeated her novels-but she still wrote to tell an entertaining story, or who would buy her next book?

The Radio Hour: A Novel by Victoria Purman.

From the bestselling author of The Nurses’ War comes this charming, funny, pointed look at the golden years of radio broadcasting in post-war Australia, celebrating the extraordinary unseen women who wrote the radio plays that held a nation captive. For readers of Lessons in Chemistry.

Martha Berry is fifty years old, a spinster, and one of an army of polite and invisible women in 1956 Sydney who go to work each day and get things done without fuss, fanfare or reward.

Working at the country’s national broadcaster, she’s seen highly praised talent come and go over the years but when she is sent to work as a secretary on a brand-new radio serial, created to follow in the footsteps of Australia’s longest running show, Blue Hills, she finds herself at the mercy of an egotistical and erratic young producer without a clue, a conservative broadcaster frightened by the word ‘pregnant’ and a motley cast of actors with ideas of their own about their roles in the show.

When Martha is forced to step in to rescue the serial from impending cancellation, she ends up secretly ghost-writing scripts for As The Sun Sets, creating mayhem with management, and coming up with storylines that resonate with the serial’s growing and loyal audience of women listeners.

But she can’t keep her secret forever and when she’s threatened with exposure, Martha has to decide if she wants to remain in the shadows, or to finally step into the spotlight.

My Review.

I’ve just finished reading The Radio Hour,  I enjoyed it so much and  it really resonated with me. Maybe young women today will realise how far women have come and how easily those gains could be lost .

All this happened in my lifetime. It pains me to think how disparagingly women and girls were treated. Underappreciated, underpaid and the hard working glue that often held companies together. Casual sexism was a way of life.

The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh.

Now in his seventies, Robert Parkin is stunned to find himself the unlikely sex symbol of the village gardening club.

Living in happy solitude with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook, entertained by his mischievous chickens and goats, Robert has never figured out the rules of romance. But as the local ladies vie for his company, it soon becomes clear that Robert’s Victoria Sponge cake is the lure, and as his baking prowess grows, so does his confidence.

Cheesecakes, meringues, puddings, Robert can do it all, but his real masterpieces are his scones – ginger, rosemary, coconut, fruit, his recipes are inspired and soon come to the attention of the local media. Which county does the best cream tea – Devon or Cornwall? It’s time for an age-old debate to be settled with a competition.

Robert’s sisters Bunty and Hattie are both at crossroads in their lives, so news of their brother’s baking competition is the perfect excuse to bring them to Millbrook. And as the siblings relish each other’s company, and Robert relishes being at the heart of his community, a summer of scones may just light the way to long-lasting happiness for them all.



My Review.

I’m surprised the blurb for the book starts with Robert, as he only appears halfway through the story. Initially, we are introduced to Hattie, who is regaining her confidence after her controlling husband left her. It’s a delight to see her venture into new territory ,encouraged by her good  neighbour.Then Bunty arrives, having left her marriage and Hattie had to assert herself. Robert  lives in Devon and is a doyenne of the local gardening club. His sense of humour is revealed in the names of his  animals, but his romantic senses are lacking. The local ladies vie subtly and not so subtly for his attentions. The cookery competition between rival counties is a highlight. Mouthwatering concoctions are mentioned and it’s a shame the book didn’t include a recipe section.

Close-up of a person holding and preparing to eat a cupcake topped with cream and a strawberry.
This book definitely made me feel hungry!
More about life as a bus conductor next time.

Finding Joy in Books During Rainy Days

August wasn’t a happy or productive month for me. Winter often affects my mood and August is winter in Australia.This was our wettest winter in over thirty years. Additionally, there was a family bereavement , numerous and expensive vet visits for my diabetic cat and if that wasn’t, enough there were low temperatures as well as almost continuous rain.

Do you find that the weather influences your mood? I believe Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD syndrome is real. The TV shows, mostly repeats held little appeal, so once again, I turned to books.

Would you disturb him to get a book?

Just One Taste by Lizzie Dent.

“I love, love, love Lizzy Dent.”—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Olive Stone is about to spend four weeks in Italy with the most beautiful man she’s ever hated.

When Olive Stone and her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father fell out fourteen years ago, annoyingly handsome Leo Ricci slipped right in as his surrogate son and sous-chef. No one is more surprised than Olive when her father wills her his beloved (and now failing) restaurant. Or that his dying wish was for Olive and Leo to complete his cookbook…together.

She’s determined to sell the restaurant. Leo is determined to convince her not to. As they embark on four weeks in Italy, traveling from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria, they’ll test each other as often as they test recipes. But the more time Olive and Leo spend together the more undeniable their attraction grows. Olive finds herself wondering whether selling the restaurant might be running away, and what it might be like to try Just One Taste of Leo Ricci. Because he isn’t who she expected, and this trip might reveal more about who Olive is than she’s ready for.

My Review.

If you enjoy a good “enemies to lovers’ “ story, then this will appeal. Add to that those  stunning descriptions of  regional Italy and the mouthwatering  food. For Olive the  trip is a necessity to fulfill her father’s wishes, it doesn’t mean she has to enjoy it, or to like Leo. However unwillingly she does start to appreciate Leo’s good qualities and feel a growing attraction between them.Maybe  just one taste of  Leo’s lovemaking will satisfy her curiosity?

The Stranger Times by C.K Mc Donnell, Caimh Mc Donnell

Stranger Times 1

There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them…

A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that’s their pitch. The reality is less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered, and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor… well, that job is a revolving door–and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who’s got problems of her own.

When tragedy strikes in Hannah’s first week on the job, The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they’d previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.

432 pages, Paperback

My Review.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It is cleverly written and the premise that all those odd things reported in the wackier press are true, plays into our love of conspiracy theories. But it’s cold , all at one emotional pitch-which feels very much like newspaper reporting. Of course, this may have been a deliberate stylistic choice, but it doesn’t tempt me to continue with the series,

Foul Play at Seal Bay by Judy Leigh.

Morwenna Mutton Mystery 1

A brand-new series perfect for Richard Osman readers and all fans of a page-turning whodunnit.

 It was meant to be the start of quiet season in the sleepy Cornish village of Seal Bay, but not for sexagenarian librarian and wild swimming enthusiast Morwenna Mutton. Because when a local businessman is found on the beach with a bread knife is his back, bungling police officer DI Rick Tremayne is soon out of his depth. Morwenna knows it’s going to be down to her to crack the case.
The list of people the victim upset is long, the evidence is slight, and an arrest illusive. Morwenna has plenty to occupy her time what with ghostly goings-on at the library and skulduggery at her granddaughter’s school, but she could never resist a challenge. And even the most ruthless of murderers should quake at the sight of this amateur sleuth getting on her bike to track them down.
If you love Miss Marple and The Thursday Murder Club, then you’ll love The Morwenna Mutton mysteries.


My Review,

The start of a new series by popular author Judy Leigh, so of course, there is quite a lot of “set up” involved. It’s easy reading, although at times it feels a bit repetitive. Heavy footed detective  DI Rick Tremayne is almost a cartoon cop. I guessed the solution and was proved right.

Second Act at Appleton Green: An absolutely heartwarming and uplifting romance about family, love and starting over by Kate Forster.

When the curtains close, a new beginning waits in the wings

After losing her voice before the audition of a lifetime, West End hopeful Lily Baxter flees to the one place that’s always felt like her grandmother Violet’s cosy cottage in the heart of Appleton Green.

Violet is overjoyed to have Lily back under her roof, even if it’s not under the happiest of circumstances. As Lily muddles through lost dreams and what-ifs, Violet is quietly nursing her own worries-and hoping this unexpected visit might help them both them heal.

When charming local nurse Nick encourages Lily to join the village’s amateur dramatics group, she reluctantly agrees – and soon finds herself swept up in script readings, prop-painting parties, and something that feels a lot like falling in love.

As opening night draws near, Lily must decide where her heart truly back in the bright lights of London, or centre stage in Appleton Green.



My Review,

Lily seems to be living her dream, getting call backs to audition for roles she wants. When her voice deserts her ,so does her confidence. She needs comfort and sanctuary and finds it with her perceptive grandmother Violet in Appleton Green. The two have always shared a deep bond of understanding.
It’s time for Lily to decide what her future holds, what she wants. The village has ( mostly) taken her to their heart. And there is local nurse Nick, who supports and encourages her. Yet, even in the village there is rivalry and jealousy. Does Lily want a lead role on stage, or something different in her life? Time to choose.
I enjoyed this book for the lovely relationship between Lily and her grandmother, Violet. Her relationship with her mother struck a chord and of course, I felt just a little bit in love with Nick!

Thanks to Net galley for an advance copy.I read this  earlier in the year. I couldn’t release my review until now.

The Duke’s Runaway Bride by Jenni Fletcher.

Regency Belles of Bath  3

When Beatrix, Duchess of Howden, writes to her estranged husband offering a divorce, she’s stunned when he arrives on her doorstep with a different proposition: a six-week marriage trial! Quinton Roxbury seems cold and inscrutable, but Beatrix gradually realizes his rough exterior hides a heavy burden. As their connection deepens, dare she trust him with her own scandalous past and risk the marriage she never knew she wanted?


My Review.

An easy-to-read enemies to lovers with enough hesitancy make it interesting.

The Return of Her Long-Lost Husband by Joanna Johnson

A husband’s redemption…
A second chance at love?

Nathaniel Honeywell returns from being presumed dead expecting to be welcomed home with open arms. He’s shocked when his wife, Hester, isn’t pleased to see him! But Nathaniel can’t blame Hester for believing he abandoned her when she needed him most… During their marriage, he foolishly valued money over his wife. Now his experiences have left him a changed man, and as the simmering attraction between them grows, Nathaniel is determined to prove it!

My Review.

Couldn’t help but feel for Hester over the return  of her thick-headed husband. Then, her happiness in discovering him a changed man.  Hints of his past suffering…and why his character changed. All good .Then, I lost patience with Nathaniel ..

Starting September with a more optimistic frame of mind , a cat to cuddle and of course, a heap of new books to enjoy. Do you read more in winter?

Warm Drinks and Good Books: Perfect Winter Companions.

Here in the Southern hemisphere, its winter and time to get cosy. What is cosier than a purring cat, a warm drink, tea or coffee, your choice and a good book to read? This month I’ve read a few books, as well as starting to learn watercolour painting and attending two other art classes.

Reminder: As an expat Brit living in Australia I use British spelling

Time
to get cosy.

Same Time Next Week by Milly Johnson


      Welcome to Spring Hill, home to a square of independent shops and cafes, a thriving local community and nearby the newest  venture, Ray’s Diner. Here a group of women meet once a week  over a cup of something warming.
 
      Amanda is primary carer to her elderly mother and one of the only women in a  male-dominated company. Used to being second-best all her life, is this her time to finally break ranks and shine?
       
      Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts. But her heart beats for the one man who is strictly off-limits.
 
  Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years. Then when he   goes to his old school reunion, life as she knows it will never be the same again.
 
      Erin is trying to get over a traumatic loss where her guilt weighs more than her grief. Can she find the first step to healing lies in sharing an hour with strangers   once a week? 
 
   Astrid is feeling in need of a change and a challenge. But when a fantastic    opportunity presents itself, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk?
 
   Can these women find the answers to their worries, acceptance, courage,         support here? Join them at the same time next week to find out…
 

My Review. There is something so recognisable about the trials and tribulations that these women face. Unrequited love, sexism, tokenism, infidelity, loyalty. And where do they find support? From other women. A couple touched me more than others, downtrodden Amanda who can never please her deluded mother and Mel, shaken to the core by her husband’s actions. If you’re like me, you will be cheering them on from the sidelines. Milly Johnson’s writing  has the warmth to be compared to Maeve Binchy’s work.

Second Act at Appleton Green by Kate Forster.

After losing her voice before the audition of a lifetime, West End hopeful Lily Baxter flees to the one place that’s always felt like home: her grandmother Violet’s cosy cottage in the heart of Appleton Green.
    Violet is overjoyed to have Lily back under her roof, even if it’s not under the happiest of circumstances. As Lily muddles through lost dreams and what-ifs, Violet is quietly nursing her own worries-and hoping this unexpected visit might help them both them heal.
    When charming local nurse Nick encourages Lily to join the village’s amateur dramatics group, she reluctantly agrees – and soon finds herself swept up in script readings, prop-painting parties, and something that feels a lot like falling in love.As opening night draws near, Lily must decide where her heart truly lies: back in the bright lights of London, or centre stage in Appleton Green.

My Review.

I was fortunate to get a pre-release copy through Net Galley. It’s out in October.

Lily seems to be living her dream, getting call backs to audition for roles she wants. When her voice deserts her ,so does her confidence. She needs comfort and sanctuary and finds it with her perceptive grandmother Violet in Appleton Green. The two have always shared a deep bond of understanding.

It’s time for Lily to  decide what her future holds, what she wants. The village has ( mostly) taken her to their heart. And there is local nurse  Nick, who supports and encourages her. Yet even in the village there is rivalry and jealousy. Does Lily want a lead role on stage, or something different in her life? She has to choose. I enjoyed this book for the lovely relationship between Lily and her grandmother, Violet. Her relationship with her mother struck a chord and of course, I felt just a little bit in love with Nick! 

Murder Takes Root by Rosie Sandler.

Steph is excited to get her hands stuck into her latest gardening project. This time, she’s been commissioned by Lady Clara of Ashford Manor to restore the stately gardens to their former glory.
      But the estate is suddenly thrown into chaos when a dead body is discovered in one of the rooms. The police rule it as suicide, though Steph’s convinced they’re barking up the wrong tree. Because she knows the deceased better than they do and it could only be one thing: murder. And if the police won’t listen to her, then Steph will have to get to the bottom of the case herself.
      As Steph starts digging for the truth, it seems the staff are hiding are more than it seems. But one thing is for sure, she’s not going to let the killer lead her up the garden path…

My Review.

This is the second book in the series, but not having read the first didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book .Steph, a garden consultant, is accompanied by her large dog called Mouse. They make an engaging pair of sleuths, while of course garden matters are highlighted, there is also a suspected murder .It seems the police are happy to accept the death as suicide , but Steph isn’t convinced. A relatable cosy mystery that will appeal especially to gardeners.

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris By Evie Woods

Edie is … not in Paris?

Edie Lane left everything behind in Ireland for a once-in-a-lifetime job at a bakery in Paris. Except, thanks to a mistranslation, the bakery is not in Paris, and neither is Edie.
      The tiny town of Compiègne, complete with its local bakery on the Rue de Paris, holds many secrets. This might not be where Edie intended to be but it’s not long before she realises it’s exactly where she needs to be…

My Review.

      An adventure, Edie has finally braved fulfilling her dreams and is setting off for Paris. But by some twist of fate her destination isn’t Paris at all. I found  the story engaging and enjoyed it. Although at times there was so much factual information it read a bit like lecture notes. It was necessary to understand parts of the story but perhaps could have been better conveyed. Evie is a relatable heroine, and I  learned a lot.

The Last Will And Testament Of Daphné Le Marche By Kate Forster.

        Paris, 1956. Eighteen-year-old Daphné may be from a tiny French village, but   she knows she’s destined for more. Stepping off a bus into bustling Paris with a suitcase full of her home-made beauty products, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to claim her stake in the world.

      London, 2016. Scandalous love affairs and an iconic cosmetics brand have    kept Daphné Le Marche in spotlight – but her darkest secrets have never         come to light. Now, in her London penthouse, enveloped in her rich signature scent, the Grande Dame of glamour has died.
  But not even those closest to her could have been prepared for what came     next.
      The Last Will and Testament of Daphne Le Marche is a sweeping story of    heartbreak, scandal and the importance of keeping it in all the family…

My Review.

Reminded me of the sex and shopping sagas of the 1980s. It has all the ingredients to make  a tv mini-series. Beauty, youth, rivalry ,love affairs, scandals and power dynamics. The world knew Daphne Le Marche as the enigmatic head of a cosmetics empire; they didn’t know how that began, and what her success has cost her. Now her heirs are about to find out far more than they expected. Kept me guessing!

The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey

Would you swap houses with a stranger? Nina has always played it safe. But when her divorce papers come through on her fortieth birthday she decides enough is enough.

She’s always chosen the sensible route, staying in her stable job and marrying her rather boring ex. In fact – she realises – she’s chosen security over excitement for years. Ever since she refused to elope with her first beautiful, poetic, thoughtful Pierre, the man she met aged 17, on her French exchange. The only man who ever made her heart race.

Maybe it’s time to take a few risks?

Impulsively she goes online and finds another kind of French exchange… a house-swap. She can’t imagine what French businessman Jean-Luc wants with her terraced home in rural England, but she can’t wait to stay in his beautiful, spacious, bougainvillea-strewn villa on the French riviera.

She’s not just there for the house though. She’s decided to find the love she missed all those years ago. But will Pierre still be the man of her dreams after all this time?

As two lives collide, will love bloom on the French riviera? A gorgeously escapist story for fans of The Holiday, from the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse.

My Review.

Easy reading escapist fiction. A whim results in a house swop and  life reappraisal. I guessed several plot points, but it was easy and undemanding reading, that not to say it is easy to write like this, it isn’t. Great for those times when you simply want to escape your mundane life.

What next?

I’m still working on my memoir, as I have for almost two years. It’s slowly taking shape and I think the end is in sight.That is both exciting and a little scary!

Unexpectedly, I’ve been asked to run a few writing workshops.It’s always good to connect with other creative people.

My cat’s diabetes has returned, so we are back to him getting twice daily injections .He’s very good about it.

I have another stack of book to read for next month, hope to see you then!

Happiness is being cosy and having a good book!



Book Reviews: Love, Philosophy, and Cozy Mysteries.

Spring in the Northern Hemisphere but heading into winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

It’s getting chillier and wetter in the Southern Hemisphere,  so it’s  ideal weather to curl up by the fire with a good book. Here  is what I read in May. I’ve read part of more books, but I choose not to review any book I haven’t finish as that seems unfair .

I’m British expat living in Australia and as such I use British spellings.

I’ve also been working on my memoir, which at times has brought up some uncomfortable emotions. But it’s a little bit of social history, and also the story of my unexpected short term career as a bus conductor Many people have been generous with their time to help me reconstruct the past.

Sifting through memories.

Love Life: How to Raise Your Standards, Find Your Person, and Live Happily by Matthew Hussey.

In Love Life, relationship coach and expert Matthew Hussey explores the most important and foundational relationship of all—the one we have with ourselves.

More than a book about navigating our love lives, Hussey’s new book is about the deeper issues our love lives reveal. Love isn’t the answer to our problems, Hussey explains. It’s a doorway to them; not a way out, but a way in. Like most of us, Hussey has gone through major changes over the past decade, and he shares some of those experiences, vulnerabilities, and mistakes.

What happens when we date, fall in love, or when we are faced with loneliness? What decisions do we make that cause us more pain and send us further adrift from what we want? Who hasn’t shied away from taking risks because they feared rejection? Who hasn’t put up with the wrong behavior because they’re afraid of losing someone or of expressing what they really need? Who hasn’t lived with the fear and anxiety of not being good enough for their partner? Or knowing their partner isn’t good for them, but stay in a bad relationship that is ultimately self-harming? In Love Life Hussey addresses these questions and more.

Our love lives hold the uncanny power to elevate or eradicate all the adjacent joy in our lives. The deeper purpose of Love Life is to ensure your love for your life will never be dependent on your relationship status. It’s about finding your love for life even while still on the journey to finding your person

      My  Review.

I was expecting something more from this much hyped book. More insight, suggestions and actual practical advice. Instead, the book veers through personal reminiscences and excerpts of advice. Organisation of the topics could have been clearer and better.

The Philosophy of Love by Rebecca Ryan.

What is love? Is it something spiritual or wholly physical? Can our feelings be explained and quantified? Or are we all actually two halves of a whole?

Ask Alice and Luke and you’d receive vastly different answers.

Despite her world having been recently dismantled by a messy break-up, Alice would tell you that love is the most important – albeit ineffable – human experiences. But when she once again crosses paths with her old school nemesis, Luke, he challenges this. Luke is a scientist and he’s certain love can be measured and explained – just like everything else.

So the two decide to make a  bet they’ll each venture back into dating and if one of them falls in love, Alice wins, if not, then Luke does.

But can anyone win when you’re playing with emotions?

 My Review

I enjoyed this quirky tale of love laced with philosophy. Do we plan to fall in love, can we plan it, or resist it? What if the person we are meant to be with isn’t the person we expect? Luke takes the objective scientific approach to life and to love. Alice leads with her heart as they discuss philosophy and love.

The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted by Rebecca Raisin.

Can you ever swear off love, in the city of love? Coco is having a hell of a month. She’s lost her boyfriend and her business, been forced to uproot her daughter to move back in with her parents in Paris, and now an infuriatingly handsome stranger is yelling at her for acting like a tourist… Right underneath the Eiffel Tower.

Storming away from him – and swearing off men for life – she decides she’s going to take the first job that comes her way.

Then, as if fate hears her, later that day she stumbles into a little bookshop – but not any old bookshop. This one comes complete with a café, cocktail bar, reading room and secret tunnel of books, and just a little hint of magic in the air. So when Coco’s offered a job selling books there, it feels like the perfect fit.

There’s only one problem… propping up the bar in the bookshop is none other than the grumpy, gorgeous stranger she’d met earlier that day…

A totally romantic, bookish and gorgeously escapist romantic novel, set in Paris in Springtime. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Sarah Morgan.

My Review.

Rebecca Raisin knows the delights of Paris well and allows her characters to explore them in this gorgeous book. You will feel as if you are propping up the bar and meeting all the characters in this starting over romance. Relationships and friendships, parental relationships and romantic ones all devolve around the bookshop.

Witch You Well by Collen Cross

Westwick Witches 1

A Westwick Witches Cozy Mystery Novel Cendrine “Cen” West has an intriguing secret. . . Cen is a journalist descended from a long line of powerful witches who have inhabited the small town of Westwick Corners for generations. Except, Cenis a witch who craves an ordinary life, and as the family black sheep, she doesn’t even want to dabble in the craft. . . much to her troublemaking Aunt Pearl’s dismay.

Then days before Cen’s wedding to a “normal” guy, a visiting billionaire is murdered at her family’s cozy inn–and now all evidence points to her eccentric Aunt Pearl. If Cen hopes to prove her aunt’s innocence, she will have to embrace her own magic and do a little sleuthing. Yet her investigation only uncovers more questions than answers after she discovers a supernatural connection to the murder, a strange vortex beneath the town, and a disturbing secret about her gorgeous fiancée.

For help she turns to the town’s sexy new sheriff, Tyler Gates. But working with him only adds more complications to her already harried life once Cen starts feeling an overwhelming attraction to the no-nonsense man.

But are her feelings for Tyler real, or just the result of pre-wedding jitters? Cen will have to find out! And will the two of them be able to get past their personal baggage to solve the case in time to save her aunt?

My Review.

This really sounded promising but unfortunately for me it fell a bit flat. It has all the ingredients for a cosy witchy mystery,small town, family, secrets, hot guy , so you may feel differently.

My cat and I will snuggle up and enjoy the pause in the seasons.

As I’m writing more, I’m not reading as much, but I will always have a book or three on the go. Other people’s word entertain me and inspire my own.

Finding Love and Magic in Life’s Later Chapters

April always makes me think nostalgically of bluebells. A strong childhood memory is of entering a bluebell wood, and feeling I was in the presence of magic. The stillness, the shade with the carpet of blue flowers all around me. The subtle scent of the massed flowers. Of course, I’d pick some, although I knew I wasn’t taking the magic home with me. Clutched in my hot little hand they would wilt almost as soon as we left the wood.

Now here in Australia I can still get nostalgic, remembering my childhood. This month reinforcing my nostalgia, I’ve been reading about London and Ireland

It is easy to believe in magic in a bluebell wood.

Aged to Perfection: A funny and feel-good later-in-life romantic comedy proving that passion has no age limit! By Niloufar Lamakan

‘Dating in your 60s? This is what you need to know.’ The Telegraph

At sixty, Sophia Stone outdoes Bridget Jones in this deliciously daring romcom!
Sophia is determined to grow old disgracefully and refuses to be invisible. She craves fiery passion and steamy romance, not targeted ads for funeral plans. After a heart-shattering breakup, she ditches love to date a new man each week for a year.
As she flirts, fumbles and sips fizz through an array of encounters, from an opera buff in a cape to an orgasm whisperer, she discovers it’s never too late to rewrite your own love story, even if it’s not the one you expected…

My Review.

As someone who has dipped her toe into the online dating pool, I found this interesting, but a tad unrealistic. But of course, London, England, is totally different from Australia. At first, I thought it was an amusing concept but inevitably it became a bit repetitive.  Her goal to meet a new man each week is pretty well unachievable as you get older. So, it’s good for light reading, but don’t take it too seriously!

The Guest House By The Sea by Faith Hogan

    People come to the guest house for fresh air and views across the Atlantic.      But if they’re lucky, they might just leave with the second chance they didn’t know they needed…
      Esme has run the guest house for as long as anyone in Ballycove can remember. But in her declining years, her sight is failing, and when she has a fall on the eve of the summer season, she is forced to take a back seat for the first time in her life.
      From her chair in the entry hall, not much passes Esme by. There’s Cora, the wife visiting indefinitely… without her husband; Niamh, the city professional       with a life-changing decision to make; and Phyllie, the grandmother whose family is slipping away from her.
      Esme’s guests provide the colour that helps her keep her grip on the world. All of them have something they want to escape – or to hold on to. But can Esme help them find their way before the summer is over?

    My Review

    Reading this it almost felt as if I was staying there with the guests but with the added bonus of being privy to everyone’s thoughts and feelings. Each woman is facing some crisis or personal dilemma. Even Esmee who is incapacitated and forced to direct operations from her chair in the entry hall.  Many women will relate to Cora who has finally realised how lack lustre her marriage is. Can it be redeemed or should she start again? Niamh is seeking both emotional distance and clarity. While Phyllie wishes things could just stay the same. As with many Irish writers’ this book is filled with ‘heart and empathy.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

   In #1 of series, Jackson Brodie PI follows three 30-years cold, unconnected Cambridge family cases:
      1 A little girl disappears in the night.
      2 A beautiful young office worker falls to a maniac’s attack.
      3 A new mother is overwhelmed by demands from her baby and husband – until  a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.
Result : Startling connections and discoveries emerge. . . .

389 pages, Paperback First published September 1, 2004

My Review.

In many ways an unsettling book. Events happen seemingly at random, and I kept reading through interest and wanting to discern a pattern. Can events from thirty years ago still resonate? They can, they do. If you want things neatly solved and explained this isn’t the book for you.

The Girl I Used to Know by Faith Hogan

A beautiful, emotive and spell-binding story of two women who find friendship and second chances when they least expect it. Perfect for the fans of Patricia Scanlan.

Amanda King and Tess Cuffe are strangers who share the same Georgian house, but their lives couldn’t be more different.

Amanda seems to have it all, absolute perfection. She projects all the accoutrements of a lady who lunches. Sadly, the reality is a soulless home, an unfaithful husband and a very lonely heart.

By comparison, in the basement flat, unwanted tenant Tess has spent a lifetime hiding and shutting her heart to love.

It takes a bossy doctor, a handsome gardener, a pushy teenager and an abandoned cat to show these two women that sometimes letting go is the first step to moving forward and new friendships can come from the most unlikely situations.



My Review.

For me , it was a more emotional read than the previous Faith Hogan book. I read The Guest House by the Sea. And enjoyed it. Perhaps because there were only two major characters in The Girl I Used to Know , that  enabled me to feel more closely connected to them

 It was easy to relate to Amanda,  gradually aware that the surface perfection of her marriage is a façade.

Tess, alone, a bit bitter and lonely with spiky energy. Long held in hurt can hide in anger, I loved how her heart softened first towards the cat, then young Robyn, and gradually other people. Recommended.

A relaxing break with a good book

I’ve not managed as much reading as I would have liked this April. I was midway through another book which I will post about next month. I have been continuing working on my memoir and the end is in sight. It has taken me about two years and I find it intriguing how one memory can spark another. Some of my memories are painful and it’s given me a deeper understanding and allowed me to let them go.

Creative Reflections: Memoir Insights and Artistic Journeys

Hoping my creativity keeps flowering

How can it be March ? It was Christmas a moment ago. Here in Perth Western Australia, it’s been hot. The air-conditioning has been running night and day, and our gardens have wilted under the heat. We move at a slower pace. Since my skin cancer scare and surgery, if I am outside, I automatically seek the shade. The surgeon did a brilliant job, but I don’t want a repeat performance. So,I’m using a Factor 50 sunblock.

I’m STILL writing the memoir and have approximately 65,000 words. I’ve typed so much I gave myself RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). I’ve been typing mainly left-handed.  At times it’s hard to continue but I believe my story is worthwhile  and deserves to be told. It’s a human story and a piece of social history.In 1960s northern England, work was scarce and I took a job as bus conductor, learning so much after a very sheltered upbringing. The finish line is close, I just need to find a title. Ones I like have been used hundreds of times and I’ve not come up with something clever…..yet!

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Cold cases are a lot easier to solve when you can travel back in time to find new evidence—unless, that is, you get stuck in the nineteenth century.

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Ali’s work seems like a safe desk job, but what her friends—and even her beloved son—don’t know is that her team has a secret: They can travel back in time to look for evidence.

So far Ali has made trips only to the recent past, so she’s surprised when she’s asked to investigate a murder that took place in 1850. The killing has been pinned on an aristocratic patron of the arts and antiquities, a member of a sinister group called “The Collectors.” She arrives in the Victorian era during a mini-ice age to find another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions. But when her son is arrested, Ali attempts to return home only to find herself trapped in 1850.

SOME MURDERS CAN’T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.

Ali Dawson is a police officer working on crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are not only cold but frozen. What most people don’t know is that the team travels back in time to complete their research. The process has been pioneered by the mysterious Italian physicist, Serafina Pelligrini, known to the team as Jones.

So far, the team has only ventured a few years back but Ali’s boss has a new assignment for her. He wants her to step back to 1850, the heart of the Victorian Age, to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of Tory MP Isaac Templeton.

To prepare for the challenge ahead, Ali researches the Victorian era. She learns that Cain Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Ali also researches fashions, behaviour and habits. Duly prepared, she arrives in London in January 1850, at the peak of the so-called mini ice age. She finds herself in a house used by artists, with a dead woman at her feet.

Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse – she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present and her son, Finn.

My Review.

An intriguing start to what promises to be a fascinating series .Past and present collide as events in one era seem connected to the other. Ali is a relatable heroine, her colleagues a mixed bunch.Then there is the enigmatic Jones .One case closes ,but there are still more questions than answers .I’m  looking forward to book 2

Thoroughly Disenchanted By Alexandra Almond

A weekend away that has lasted a century. True love’s kiss can’t break this spell … A cosy, romantic fantasy mystery for all fans of Rebecca Ross, Legends and Lattes and Assistant to the Villain.


A hundred years ago, Genevieve and Oliver spent an amazing weekend together in Riverswood manor. They wished they could stay there forever … and then their wish come true.

Blessed with immortality but trapped for eternity, the two former lovers are now thoroughly tired of one another’s company. Then, one dark and stormy night, a stranger called Ella arrives with a cheery disposition and a secret that could be the key to their salvation. With the help of Ella and the return of their best friend, Fionn, Genevieve and Oliver learn more about Riverwood’s tangled history.

If they can come to terms with their own feelings, and the truth that has kept them locked away, they might stand a chance at breaking this curse. True love certainly hasn’t worked.

 My Review.

 A book that is hard to categorise, part mystery, part fantasy, it’s thoroughly readable and enjoyable.  Living side by side for almost a century  Genevieve and Oliver’s’ life has become predictable, broken only with occasional visits from Fionn. The arrival of Ella is a catalyst for change, and as usual change comes at a price.

The Confession of a Lady by Darcy McGuire.

A BRAND NEW spicy upstairs/downstairs historical romance featuring the Queen’s Deadly Damsels! Dare she risk her secrets?

In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation and sets her traitorous heart racing.

Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously challenges his every order. Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?

My Review.

Almost a Cinderella story, but Cinderella was never so sharp tongued, or quick witted. Growing up with nothing Penny has survived on her wits and  she cant let a growing attraction to her employer get in her way. But he continually surprises her in word and deed. She’s losing her heart but can she trust it?

This Isn’t Working for Me: A Practical Guide for Making Every Relationship in Your Life More Fulfilling, Authentic, and Intentional by Ilene S. Cohen ,Edrica D.Richardson.

We all want to avoid drama and pain in our relationships, yet we remain stuck in never-ending cycles of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and triggering interactions. Sometimes it just seems easier to decide we are “done” with people rather than continue trying over and over again. Even our best and closest relationships―with our partners, friends, family, and colleagues―can feel unduly challenging.

In this straightforward guide, expert relationship therapists Edrica Richardson and Ilene Cohen get to the heart of what it means to really be in fulfilling relationships and why connecting with the ones you love can feel so hard. You’ll learn how “doing the work” encourages healing and growth within yourself and within your relationships.

Filled with activities, quizzes, and prompts that offer support in every step of the process, This Isn’t Working for Me will help you go deeper in your relationships by exploring:
• Six steps to creating the relationships you want―Discover the foundational elements that will help you build (or build back) strong, sustainable connections.
• Self-empowerment―Learn how a willingness to focus on yourself helps cultivate resilience, trust, and a stronger sense of self.
• The science of relationships―Understand what happens in the brain and body when you are upset and angry, and learn the benefits of turning impulsive reactions into responses that you choose.

Creating and maintaining strong, fulfilling relationships doesn’t mean disregarding your own boundaries or letting go of what you want for the sake of “keeping the peace” in your home, family, friend group, or workplace. Instead, it means being more yourself! By moving into the fullness of who you are, you can claim freedom and agency in your own life, learn how to release blame, and cultivate happier and healthier relationships with those you love.

My Review.

This book was recommended to me by a friend, who is a relationship counsellor. Because of its relatively higher price I bought the Kindle version, and I regret that, as the hard copy would be more useful.  It’s basically  a workbook that you can refer to again and again, with quizzes and spaces to write down insights/feelings.

The Secret Book Club  by Shauna Robinson

Maggie Banks loves books. And running a bookstore sounds like the best job in the world. Except in Bell River, a place that refuses to let her sell anything written this century. But in Maggie’s world, book rules are made to be broken. And what better way to break tradition than by starting an underground book club?
But keeping her new club quiet, selling forbidden books and dodging the strict literary society is proving harder than it seems. Especially when Maggie unearths a secret that could upend everything…

My Review.

The book description says Maggie loves book, but she doesn’t, she’s a reluctant reader.( How disappointing!) She’s at the bookstore to help a friend ,after drifting through  various jobs. Bell River is stuck in time warp as far as fiction goes. Only books pre 1935  are allowed to be sold .The Store is a homage to the town’s one author, Edward Bell. It displays his desk, stocks his book and is firmly stuck in the past. The Historical society makes the rules and enforces them, and the store is losing money. Unless  Maggie can turn its fortunes around, her best friend Rochelle will have nothing to return to.

Cat are such good company.

I haven’t read as much as I hoped to this month, or even written as much as I hoped to. But I’ve attended three art classes a week. Pastels, life drawing and casual drawing. As well as sharing a weekly coffee and chat catch up with one or two girlfriends. Progressing on the memoir and obtaining permission to use some photographs. Managing my cat’s diabetes( currently in remission) with measure meals, and monitoring his water intake. He’s taken to sitting on my desk as I type and negligently adding a sentence or two. Usually along the lines of 9999999999999999999. The weather is cooling down and soon it will be autumn, maybe I will have more time to cosy up with a good book. What do you like to read? Do you read only one genre or across genres? If you read crime is it cosy crime, or more edgy novels? Romance, historical or contemporary ?Do you have a favourite author?

Romance Picks for Booklovers This Month February 2025

Unusually, I was watching TV.

February was a hot month here in Australia  providing plenty of reading time in air-conditioned comfort. After a skin cancer scare  and couple of  skin cancer removals, I was not keen to be out in the sun. Even if I was slathered in Factor 50 sunblock. Reading was escapism at its best! I’d also signed up for an online writing course and had weekly writing related Zoom meetings. I also got enthralled in reality TV’s Married at First Sight. It all meant that I read far less than usual this past month.

The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard.

The Second Lady Silverwood

London, 1815. Cassandra Hazeldon is on the run.

Under duress to marry a repellent friend of her uncle, Cassandra has made her escape, but now she is very much alone. With luck and quick thinking, she finds a refuge in a grand mansion in Mayfair, and a protector in Lord Irlam, or Hal to his friends.

Posing as a friend of Hal’s sister, Cassandra is swept up into the social whirl of a Brighton summer. But the attraction between her and Hal is starting to scorch, and when jealousy is added to the mix, things are set to reach boiling point.

Dear Reader, this wonderfully romantic story has passionate and steamy scenes, enjoy …

My Review.

This is an entertaining and lighthearted romance, although it does tackle serious issues such as the forced marriages many young women endured. Cassandra shows her spirit by escaping and hiding from her uncle and the proposed repellent match.

Luck is with her, and Lord Irlam not only believes in her, but he also assists in her entry into society. No longer friendless Cass learns about friendship, love and duty

The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan

Joy Blackwood has no idea why her French art dealer husband has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ballycove, a small town on the west coast of Ireland, but she is determined to find out.

She arrives in Ballycove to find that Robyn runs a rather chaotic and unprofitable bookshop. She is shy, suffering from unrequited love for dashing Kian, and badly in need of advice on how to make the bookshop successful.

As Joy becomes entangled in the daily dramas of Ballycove, uncovering the secrets behind her husband’s painting grows increasingly challenging. When she finally musters the courage to confront the truth, her revelation sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community she’s grown to love.

My Review.

A delight of a book, reminiscent of Maeve Binchy’s warmth and characterization. You will cheer with shy Robyn as she struggles with the bookshop. Loving books isn’t enough, she has to make a living. The village wonders why American Joy is staying in a quiet Irish village. Joy begins to forge friendships and relationships, but the secrets she’s keeping gnaw at her conscience.  I loved it!

From New York Times bestselling author Jenna McKinlay comes the Museum of Literature RomCom Omnibus.
For the first time all three novellas are in one volume.

Royal Valentine

The Attraction Distraction

It Happened One Christmas Eve

Come join the fun with a secret identity and a trip to England, a second chance romance while in search of an ancient literary artifact in Greece, and a holiday caper starting with a hijacked sleigh! As the intrepid librarians and archivists of the Museum of Literature travel the world for the love of books, curating their own happily ever afters along the way. What more could any romcom adoring book lover want?

 My Review.

Each story is complete and satisfying and it’s hard to pick a favourite. All convey a special attraction that deepens into love. Great banter, and fun filled stories. Royal Valentine,they so obviously were meant to be together.The Attraction Distraction, attraction, a quest and rivalry. It Happened One Christmas Eve, don’t we all just love a feisty heroine, especially when she is escaping from a predictably boring marriage ?

Sunshine hot enough to sizzle eggs on the pavement.

Yes it’s still warm,a mild 27C (80F) today but a 37C (96F) forecast for later this week. We are slowly easing into Autumn, but there are many hot days ahead of us yet. I’ve few books downloaded that I’m excited about, as well as some physical books. What about you? Do you have a reading preference?

Navigating Challenges with Pets and Health and Escaping into Books.

Suddenly it was September  — where has the year gone? It’s been quite a challenging month. Sadly, I lost one of my cats in August. Annabelle had been with us for fourteen years since she was an 8-week old kitten. A tortoiseshell cat with an assertive personality, she was a definite presence. She sat on my desk or on my lap, quietly purring. It was a heartbreaking decision to say goodbye, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I miss her company and her loud purrs.

I decided to be proactive and take my other cat for a checkup as he’s thirteen. It was a wise if expensive decision. He was diagnosed as diabetic so a drastic change in his diet and insulin injections twice daily. He also needs his blood glucose monitoring. There is some good news, diabetes in cats is 80-85% reversible, but not so for dogs. It’s been a tough learning curve for both of us.

My lovely boy asleep on the car>

Additionally, a routine eye check found two suspicious spots close to my eye. They had to be biopsied and turned out to be basal cell carcinomas. I will be having surgery to deal with that, soon. It has been a disruptive time and I haven’t read as much as in other years, but so be it. I accept that I won’t reach my reading target this year.

It’s certainly NOT pretty

Educated by Tara Westover.

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes and the will to change it.

My Review.

As others have said, this is a tour de force of a book. As fiction the story would be heart-rending enough- but this story is true. Imagine realising that your worth/value was only a twelfth of the man who would be your husband. It was expected that Tara would have a husband, as was normal in her world. While questioning this was wrong and the devil’s work. Her husband would then decide everything for her, just as her father had. Rebellion meant exclusion.

The Right Side of Mr Wrong by Jane Lightfoot.

One-off, moving on sex, wasn’t meant to be this hot…

When determined singleton Shea Summers is persuaded to become the “wife” of the Lord of Edgerton Manor, the last thing she wants to do is play house with a stranger.

Brooding playboy Brando Marshall is far from happy when Shea turns up at his sprawling estate with production crew in tow. Surely she’s just another woman after his wallet? And if she’s looking for Mr Right, she’s definitely hitting on the wrong guy. Then again, after catching an unscheduled glimpse of her knickers, perhaps Brando needs to teach this “gold-digger” a lesson!

She’s seizing the moment, he’s breaking the rules, and when bad boys can be so much fun, who can resist getting on the right side of Mr. Wrong…

My Review.

A fun read with steamy sex and delicious banter. A hot guy who knows how to push Shea’s buttons and a woman who wants to resist, but finds she cant. A quibble, the name Brando didn’t resonate with me. I immediately connected it to Marlon Brando which spoiled the image

Coffee and Cake at Wildflower Lock by Hannah M Lynn.

Wildflower Lock 2

Daisy May is embarking on a new chapter of her life as a permanent resident at the idyllic Wildflower Lock. Determined to seize this second chance she’s been granted, Daisy is putting her all into making her new business venture a success. As her friendship with Theo grows ever stronger, her happily ever after seems within reach.

However, life isn’t always smooth sailing. When a string of unfortunate mishaps and an unruly stag party leaves Daisy’s finances in dire straits, she starts to question her decision to launch a coffee shop. But just when she’s nearly lost hope, the mysterious and generous Christian enters her life. Astute and eager to assist Daisy, he proposes a solution that could be the answer to all her problems…or will it be the beginning of even more challenges.

My Review.

I had been looking forward to this, but I was disappointed. I accept that a certain amount of repetition may be necessary to orientate a new reader, but this seemed excessive. Also, Daisy May behaves quite idiotically with Theo and seems to have lost all her decision-making abilities or confidence. Another man adds to the complications but she floats along letting things happen So much could have been resolved with an honest conversation. I won’t be reading book three.

A Cornish Cottage by the Sea by Jane Linfoot.

Hurtling through the sky was supposed to be Edie Browne’s flight of independence. But when she falls head over champagne bucket while celebrating her successful landing, her life is changed in an instant.

But starting over has its benefits, and as Edie relearns the basics under the watchful eye of her Aunty Josie and an entire Cornish village of new friends and neighbours, she finds love and joy she never could have imagined in the unlikeliest of places…

Come home to Periwinkle Cottage for a romance full of love, laughter and friends for life!

My Review.

Finding a supportive community has continuing positive effects on Edie as she loosens up returns to baking and starts to embrace life and love again. Relatable

Josephine’s Garden by Stephanie Parkyn.

A captivating story of love, nature and identity in Napoleon’s France

‘Stephanie Parkyn is one very talented storyteller.’ -Mrs B’s Book Reviews

France, 1794. In the aftermath of the bloody end to the French Revolution, Rose de Beauharnais stumbles from prison on the day she is to be guillotined. Within a decade, she’ll transform into the scandalous socialite who marries Napoleon Bonaparte, become Empress Josephine of France and build a garden of wonders with plants and animals she gathers from across the globe.

But she must give Bonaparte an heir or she risks losing everything.

Two other women from very different spheres are tied to the fate of the Empress Josephine – Marthe Desfriches and Anne Serreaux. Their lives are put at risk as they each face confronting obstacles in their relationships and in their desire to become mothers.

From the author of Into the World comes a richly imagined historical novel about obsession, courage, love and marriage.

‘Enthralling novel, rich in historical detail … Highly recommended.’ -Good Reading on Into the World

My Review.

I was looking forward to reading about this less well-known part of Josephine’s life. Most of the initial story is of Napoleon’s attraction to Josephine which I knew about. These were perilous times and Josephine accepted the inevitability of a man who could protect her. Sadly, for me the story felt oddly disjointed and as if the two parts were hardly related but two separate entities.

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

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 a story that kept my attention. I enjoyed this book. The depiction of grief, guilt, and indecision was relatable. I enjoyed this book. Verity is a strong character, but even strong characters can buckle. Loved the school, the food descriptions, and the hot chef. Who wouldn’t want to attend a few classes?

The Very Virile Viking by Sandra Hill

Magnus Ericsson is a simple man. He loves the smell of fresh-turned dirt after springtime plowing. he loves the feel of a soft woman under him in the bed furs. He loves the heft of a good sword in his fighting arm.

But, Holy Thor, what he does not relish is the bothersome brood of children he’s been saddled with. Or the mysterious happenstance that strands him in a strange new land – the kingdom of Holly Wood. Here is a place where the folks think he is an act-whore (whatever that is), and the woman of his dreams – a winemaker of all things – fails to accept that he is her soul mate…a man of exceptional talents, not to mention…A Very Virile Viking

My Review.

With a title like that, how could I resist picking this book up? An absolute romp, suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. A clash of cultures and plenty of hot and steamy sex.It should have you chuckling.

Reading has kept me sane this month!

Overall it has been a difficult month emotionally both for my own health and also worrying about my cats. My reading has been an escape and a pleasure. Do you enjoy escaping into a good book?

February 2024- What Did I Read?

Depending where you are in the world, February can be a challenging month. For me here in Perth, Australia, it was very hot and humid month and I was glad to be able to spend time indoors under the air conditioning Meanwhile, in my old Uk hometown of Southport they were experiencing record low temperatures and the potential for snow.

For some, there is a spark of romance and maybe a valentine card or two and flowers. The rest of us have to make do by reading romance.

Romance in February?

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

My Review.

A glimpse into the not-too-distant past which will engage and potentially enrage. Elizabeth is one of those rare women who knows who she is and what she wants. Unfortunately for her, what she wants, which is to be treated as an equal, is practically unattainable. She may be a brilliant chemist BUT she’s also a woman. A combination that is problematic for most of the men she deals with. Sharply observed.

My Lady’s Secrets by Katy Moran

Regency England

When rebellious aristocrat Cressida and Lord Greville parted ways, they swore never to meet again. Their short marriage had already descended into bitter estrangement, destroyed by scandal and betrayal.
            Years later, Greville is a soldier in the Peninsular War and Cressida is following the drum as another man’s lover. Scorned by society, she has learned to survive as a spy – until the day she is caught behind enemy lines, by none other than Greville himself.
           Threatened with paying the ultimate price, Cressida is offered a deal: she must entrap and betray the most famous man in England. And Greville, unforgiving, angry and still shockingly attractive, must ensure she complies.
                  Catapulted to the heights of fame, Lord Byron is just as chaotic, charming and ruthless as he was when he, Greville and Cressida were teenagers. As the three old friends gather for a summer house party in the Scottish Highlands, Cressida is forced to confront her past and ask herself a terrifying question: is it too late for she and Greville to fight for one another at last?

352 pages, Hardcover Expected publication July 4, 2024

My Review.

I started to read and felt as if I needed to catch up. Events were on the page that I had no context for. I checked to see if my copy was missing a vital first chapter, but it wasn’t. Action burst onto the page, but it failed to engage me, as I needed to situate the characters first. For me, this complicated story could have worked if more of the setup had preceded the action.

Heart Strings by Judy Leslie.

Can broken hearts be mended after 14 years—or will they forever sing the blues?

Dive into this second chance, music star, small-town romance set in the mountains of Leavenworth, Washington.

Kim Holloway, a local singer and music teacher, has her hands full with a rebellious teenager. Just when she needs a break, Ethan Williams, her long-lost love and a country music sensation, walks back into her life after 14 years. She is not happy about it and wants Ethan to pack up and leave. If that isn’t enough to deal with, Kim’s ex—a local cop—will stop at nothing to win her back.

Seeking forgiveness for his part in their breakup, Ethan offers to help out with Bobby by suggesting a fake romance. This a charade Kim cautiously accepts hoping it will deter the cop that won’t take no for an answer.

However, Bobby’s presence brings up Ethan’s painful memories of his childhood and now he is curious about Bobby’s missing father and why Kim never told Bobby who his father was. Meanwhile, Kim’s ex-boyfriend is upping the stakes by threatening her.

This story will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, of love, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bond between a parent and child. Don’t miss out on this heartwarming tale of love and redemption!

My Review.

I enjoyed this small-town, second-chance romance. It’s easy reading but with characters that you come to care about. Single mum Kim has put her musical dreams aside to care for her son Bobby. Now a rebellious teenager. Ethan has a colourful past and is seeking redemption part of which is seeing Kim again. They had a connection once, but can you ever go back?

Driven to Murder by Debbie Young

A perfect cosy crime for fans of M C Beaton’s Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series.

Change is coming to Wendlebury Barrow – and not everyone is happy about it…

When the local bus company announces it will be stopping its route through their quaint Cotswold village, the people of Wendlebury Barrow are up in arms. Not least Sophie Sayers, whose driving lessons with her boyfriend Hector get off to a bumpy start.

But the locals’ peaceful protests against the decision turn deadly when a body is discovered on the Number 27. No one can work out how Janice Boggins met her demise, let alone how the driver didn’t notice. While the police wait for the post mortem results, Sophie immediately suspects foul play, and launches her own investigation.
Can she solve the murder before another passenger is hurt?

My Review.

Easy, pleasant and relaxing reading. Although part of a series, there was enough information to catch up without feeling you had missed anything. The village community was well portrayed, and Sophie comes across as an engaging character.

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.

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.

This lovely gentle book is deceptively simple yet profound. The charming cover simply adds to its appeal. This is a book that stays with you once you have closed the final page. It felt as if I knew these people well, that they were old friends and I imagined them going on with their lives. Credit to the translator Alison Watts for such a seamless translation.

February went by very quickly even though we got an extra day this year.Hoping for a mellower March.UK visitors were surprised to know that hot sand could burn bare feet! Hopefully we wont get too many more of those 40C days.

Photo by Gui Basto on Pexels.com



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