As a regular reader of this blog, you know I’ve been blogging about books for years. Throughout my married life, my husband’s illnesses, my academic studies , widowhood and grief. Books have been my companion and often consolation. I’ve usually managed to read four or five books each month. This month I read only two and half books and you can blame it on The Aussie Bloke.
I’m a British expat and a long-time resident in Australia. I thought I knew all about Aussie blokes, good hearted, salt of the earth types. They had weather-beaten skin, called women Sheila, and enjoyed a beer or three. Loved their cricket and footy, Holden cars and their dog. Mostly inarticulate and at a loss around women.
An Aussie bloke.
Then, I met this guy on a dating site. An Aussie bloke but not the typical Aussie bloke. A decent Ish photo -most blokes have terrible photos with an intelligent profile. Possible, well at least a maybe. Then, he ‘winked’ at me, an invitation to know him better.
We began exchanging messages and not the banal kind.
Credentials were established; he could banter with the best of them. Intellectually provocative and fun!
Mystery man.
I could of course, feed his ego more, but its already pretty healthy. He’s tall, but not dark haired. Handsome? Maybe, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
We’ve met twice but there were definite sparks. He’s got the sensuality and the moves. We know we are here to play chess and not checkers.
In the interim we have those long conversations which meander for hours and suddenly its two in the morning. Which explains why I’ve read so little this month.
The Paris Bookshop Secret: An enchanting new historical mystery, the perfect gift for book lovers by Iris Costello
How far will they go to find their story? When Alexis meets Maeve – a reclusive woman in her eighties – they feel an unexpected and beautiful kinship. Alexis is embracing nomad life after burning out as a big-shot editor. And Maeve is mourning her glory days as a bestselling author.
Their friendship inspires Maeve to write again. Her last novel pours out of her – a story of love and heartbreak, centred around a bookshop in 1950s Paris.
But the line between fact and fiction is as fine as a whisper, and the novel unfurls a long-buried mystery, one that has haunted Maeve’s existence.
And will reverberate into the lives of both women, decades later…
My Review.
I enjoyed this book although, there were hints of connectivity throughout. It’s a good story and fascinating how the strands were woven together. After a leisurely introduction the pace speeds up considerably. Poignant, even heart breaking, dealing with loss, abandonment ,doubt, and family secrets.
Onwards and Upwards by Celia Anderson
A retitled alternate cover edition of this ASIN B0D2JFP3WH can be found here A New Lease of Life
A laugh-out-loud story of fun and friendship, for women of a certain age! Ingrid is desperate to sell up and move on. Recently widowed, she no longer needs the large house or the treasures (and tat) collected by her late husband, Tommy, an auctioneer. Then there’s the debt he left her with, too.
So, she jumps at the chance to downsize and move to Willowbrook on a temporary lease. She’ll open a pop-up shop for just one year – to dispose of Tommy’s accumulated goods – and then move on. No getting embroiled in village life.
But Ingrid hasn’t reckoned on Willowbrook’s extrovert local ladies (known as the Saga Louts). Or handsome local craftsman Joel, with whom there’s a definite attraction. They all want to help set up ‘The Treasure Trove’. Surprisingly, it turns out Ingrid can also help them.
Will she ever achieve the fresh start and simpler life she craved? Or will Ingrid discover a wonderful new way to move onwards and upwards.
346 pages, Kindle Edition First published November 16, 2024
My Review.
Undemanding reading, but with some twists and turns along the way. There are more than few surprise for Ingrid, about Tommy, and their relationship and about herself. Currently I’m drawn to books about widows and enjoy books about new beginnings.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
A Good Reads readers’ choice
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility, a novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel—a beautifully transporting novel.
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal. He is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances give him access to a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
495 pages, Paperback First published September 6, 2016
My Review.
The half book of the title. I’ve yet to finish reading, as it is a book to be savoured. Not a fast paced read , more of a meander through a series of vignettes.
Always make time to read…
Will I get more or less reading time next month ? Is my dating life going to impact more? Maybe I can plan my schedule better. Or choose shorter books. Whatever the choice, reading is and always will be a significant part of my life.
Here in Perth, Australia, it was a very wet and chilly July. Nothing the TV stations were showing caught my interest and even Netflix let me down. What better excuse is there to curl up with a cuppa, possibly a cat, and a good book?
I love black and white cats, but this isn’t my cat.
It Started with A Secret by Jill Mansell.,
Feel-good chick-lit from international bestseller Jill Mansell, with a chaotic cast who must let go of their grudges and secrets to build the lives they’ve dreamed of. Thanks to a little white lie, Lainey and Kit arrive at their new jobs in blissful, summery Cornwall only to find themselves in the midst of a lovable but overwhelming family―where every family member is having an identity crisis at the same time. Widowed mom Majella has done her best for years, but can’t quite grasp why things are falling apart. No one can guess what’s causing the chaos because everyone is keeping secrets. In classic Jill Mansell style, Lainey and her friends are drawn through a hilarious multi-generational soap opera. By the end, happily-ever-afters are available to anyone willing to tell the truth about their heart’s desire. Romantic fiction with characters you can root for, this is the perfect beach read for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Elin Hilderbrand. 336 pages, Paperback. First published January 1, 2020.
My Review.
More chic-lit than romantic fiction, in my opinion. Easy to read, relatable. Set in Cornwall, The English Riviera, the characters are vividly brought to life. They could be you, your sister your mum or a friend. It is unpredictable enough to be enjoyable.
Her Lessons in Persuasion by Megan Frampton.
Megan Frampton dazzles in the first book in her new series, A School for Scoundrels. Five gentlemen with unbreakable bonds navigate life–and love–in London. Perfect for fans of Sarah MacLean and anyone who loves BRIDGERTON!
To Lady Wilhelmina Bettesford, the “game” of finding a husband is a competitive sport she wants no part of…until her much-younger step mama forces her to play it. So when her stepmother asks sexy barrister Bram Townsend to pretend to woo the amateur astronomer to boost Wilhelmina’s popularity, it’s up to Wilhelmina to navigate a fake courtship that will keep the family from forcing her into a marriage–any marriage–before she finally receives the inheritance that will allow her to live as she wants.
The trouble is every time Bram takes her in his arms she has a most difficult time remembering theirs is an act…the make-believe passion feels very real indeed.
Bram Townsend is a man on the way up: living for his books and his beliefs. Squiring Lady Wilhelmina through London’s dusk-to-dawn social whirl is hardly an ordeal–she’s beautiful, bright, and bold, everything he finds tempting in a woman. Their deal means he can meet the “best” people while she keeps her family at bay. The challenge is he quickly finds himself wanting her to say “yes” when she’s so determined to say “no.” She persuaded him to make this impetuous bargain, but how can he convince her to make it real? 384 pages, Mass Market Paperback.
My Review.
Fake courtship and a reluctant heroine, right up my street. Enjoyable reading with an engaging heroine who is determined to say “no”, but who sometimes wishes she’d said, “yes.” Passions are raised and neither wants their bargain to end and neither do we!
Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries by Kate Mosse.
Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries brings together Kate’s rich and detailed knowledge of unheard and under-heard women’s history, and of how and why women’s achievements have routinely been omitted from the history books. This beautiful, illustrated book is both an alternative feminist history of the world and a personal memoir about the nature of women’s struggles to be heard, about how history is made and by whom.
Split into ten sections, each covering a different category of women’s achievements in history, Kate Mosse tells the stories of female inventors and scientists, philanthropists and conservationists, authors and campaigners. It is the most accessible narrative non-fiction with a genuinely diverse, truly global perspective featuring names such as Sophie Scholl, Mary Seacole, Cornelia Sorabji, Helen Suzman, Shirley Chisholm, and Violette Szabo. And in deeply personal passages Kate writes about the life of her great-grandmother, Lily Watson, where she turns detective to find out why she has all but disappeared from the record.
432 pages, Hardcover Published October 13, 2022.
My Review.
A total compendium of women in many fields and what they have achieved. This is not a superficial book. Each section explores a diversity of women who were active and engaged in their chosen field. So many from so many places and times in history. How maddening and frustrating that we have heard of so few of them. It’s dense reading but worth it.
Gentleman Seeks Bride by Megan Frampton.
In this delightful flip of a classic romance trope, Megan Frampton creates a handsome, witty, hero in need of a wealthy bride who meets his match in Lady Jane Capel, from A Wicked Bargain with the Duke. Perfect for fans of Sarah MacLean, Tessa Dare, and Eloisa James.
It’s a well-known fact that, when a man is in search of a bride, a good dowry is never a hindrance.
Thomas Sharpe is handsome, well-bred, and desperately in need of a wealthy bride. His father has lost their income, his sister needs looking after, and so, to save them all from a life of poverty, he travels to London in search of an heiress.
Enter Lady Jane Capel. After her fiancé ended their engagement two years ago, Jane boldly left her parents’ home and moved in with her half-brother, Percy. What does one more scandal matter to a family with such a curious reputation? Jane is independent but not as well versed in life—and love—as she wants.
The two of them strike a deal: Thomas will show her all there is to know about the world—and intimacy—and Jane will help him find a bride. But the more time they spend together and the closer they get, the two of them soon realize that things aren’t so simple when it comes to men and women…
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
My Review.
How difficult can it be to find a bride for Thomas? He’s handsome and charming, with a bit of a reputation and he needs to marry well. By well, he means he needs to marry money. It’s the same bargain young women have accepted for decades.
But wealthy young ladies are much in demand and Thomas has had no luck in securing a bride. He persuades Jane to help him, and Jane states her terms, an education in lovemaking. She proves eminently tempting, but Thomas can’t marry simply for love.
The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins.
Present day. As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat. The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives. But it isn’t long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden. 1682 Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett’s healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mis-move and Grace’s fate looks set… Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter’s spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now. USA Today bestselling author Judy Leigh writing as Elena Collins, brings you this unforgettable, heart-breaking, gripping timeslip novel set in a world when women were hung as witches, and fates could be sealed by a wrong word. Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Diana Gabaldon and Louise Douglas. Praise for Elena ‘A profoundly moving, beautifully written and emotional story that skilfully combines two time frames into one unputdownable book. I was completely immersed in Grace’s story despite it taking place 400 years ago. The modern day storyline was also delightful with some wonderful characters. In short, a wonderful book by a fabulous author, very highly recommended.’ Louise Douglas. Published May 17, 2022.
My Review.
I enjoyed this book and found both stories equally interesting. The author perfectly describes a sense of other worldness, a presence, without going over the top. Some seriously chilling moments. For Grace, you can see the forces at work destined to trap her. While for Selena, a move to the country should provide peace and tranquillity. She delights in her rediscovering creativity and having the freedom to paint. Selena senses something is troubling about the past.
Heartbake by Charlotte Ree.
‘The discovery of cooking for others again ignited something in me—it gave me meaning, and in some ways it brought me back to life.’
In this heartfelt memoir of food, love and self-discovery, Charlotte Ree takes us along her journey of learning to cook in the wake of a divorce that left her feeling unsure of who she was and what she wanted at a time when the whole world was turned upside down.
With each meal that she masters—a boiled egg, grilled cheese, lasagne, ricotta and pesto ravioli in a brown butter and sage sauce—we follow the story of Charlotte’s search for love—in friendship, in family, in romance, and love in herself as she begins to heal from the narratives she’d been telling herself for years.
Deeply personal and rich with emotion, her prose heart-wrenching, hilarious and hunger-inducing in equal measure, Charlotte explores the complexities of her familial relationships, reflects on how the models she observed affected the love she chose to accept and felt she deserved, recalls both disastrous and delightful dates, and revels in the joy of sharing good food with strangers and significant others alike.
336 pages, Hardcover First published May 2, 2023.
My Review.
I think this is a brave book for its honesty and self-revelation. How many of us have subscribed to the equation that food is love? That theme certainly resonates with me. How intimate it is to invite someone into your home and to cook for them? Can love be found on one of the many dating apps? Can you love anyone if you don’t love yourself? The recipes look achievable too.
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.
Get ready for a thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge in Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate.
There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.
When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral…Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?
And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate…lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.
My Review.
I read the book quickly, as I was drawn into the domestic drama of Pippa and Gabe’s apparently perfect life. But perfection comes at a price, in this case, it’s Pippa’s general unease with where they live. When Gabe fails to save the latest victim, questions begin to surface. Kept me guessing.
As usual, it’s a mixed bag of reading. I prefer varying my reading, with a serious book and then a lighter one. I’ve also started to read memoirs as I am currently writing one.
Do you read one genre exclusively, or do you prefer to mix it up?
Sonia Bellhouse- Author. 