When I saw the cover for this book, I thought that it would be a typical, light, women’s fiction read. That is not the case at all! This book is much more than that. Protagonist Loveday, who does work in a bookshop, is a unique, idiosyncratic, hurt young woman who does not trust easily. There are reasons for this as the reader learns. She is tattooed with quotes from her favorite novels, has a painful backstory, is bright and someone the reader hopes for. All of the characters from Nathan, to Rob, to Annabel, to Archie, to Loveday’s family are vividly portrayed and each has an important role in her life. This book is definitely worth reading in my opinion. I was inspired to look for the author’s other novels upon completing this. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s for this excellent read.
Miss Benson’s Beetle is by the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a book that I very much enjoyed. So, I was excited to receive this e galley from the publisher. The book does not disappoint.
As has been true in her other novels, Rachel Joyce is a mistress of creating quirky characters for whom readers will care. The beginning of the novel introduces Miss Benson. What teacher will not identify with her ‘losing it,’ even if they might not take the actions that she does?
From this unlikely beginning Miss Benson goes on the quest of her lifetime, to the New Caledonia, in search of a rare golden beetle. Readers learn what led to this obsession and of the tragedies in Miss Benson’s past. Accompanying Miss Benson is the irrepressible Enid Pretty who has her own back story. There is also another less savory and wounded character whom Miss Benson did not hire when she met him.
This is a story about doing what one dreams of in life. It is about embarking on a journey without knowing how it will end. Isn’t this a universal of going on journeys and taking risks? Readers will become attached to the story and character and will immerse themselves in Miss Benson’s world.
This is a novel that has both humor and heart. I highly recommend it.
Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott (Bronson and Louisa May)…Margaret Fuller? Most readers of American fiction and essays know the first few names on this list. They may be less familiar with Margaret Fuller. However, by the time that readers close this book, they will fully appreciate her life with its successes, challenges and tragedy.
Young Margaret was a highly intelligent child, whose father took her education most seriously. When he died, Margaret was left feeling that she needed to support her family. She did that while also being part of the transcendentalist movement and more.
One aspect of the book that I really liked was the way in which icons became human. For example, early in the novel, Margaret visits Emerson and his second wife. Waldo, as Margaret is invited to call him, engages in a flirtation with Margaret. It is in moments like this, that readers get to look at great American figures in a new and less iconic way. Similarly, as the story opens, Thoreau is a young man working for the Emersons, and just beginning his writing career. Bronson Alcott is running a school, while Louisa May is still a child.
Pataki has written a number of works of historical fiction. She has another success on her hands here.
Many thanks toNetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
I just read this book. I enjoyed all of the baking aspects in the plot. Jennifer’s secret is one that has been used many times which was slightly disappointing. All in all, this was a good read though.
Phaedra Patrick writes stories with heart and warmth. She creates characters with whom readers will enjoy spending time in stories that are about human relationships.
In The Year of What If, protagonist Carla has tried to live life through her mind and logic, rather than with her heart. That heart led her to a first marriage that did not last. Carla subsequently went, against the grain of her family that believes in portents, card readings and more, to form a dating agency based on evidence and careful matches. BUT…what if Carla’s premise is wrong?
Carla is engaged to marry someone with whom she has a very close match. Tom is kind, good and mostly a very safe partner. However, for reasons that readers will learn, Carla starts to think back on relationships that she had during her one time of breaking free when she traveled abroad. Watch for what she then does.
Who should Carla be with? How should she decide? Readers will want the best for her as they read this novel.
Carla and the other characters engage the reader. This is a good choice for an enjoyable summer escape. It will appeal to Ruth Hogan fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 25 June 2024
Look for Phaedra Patrick’s previous charming bestsellers!
Not so long ago, I was transported to Paris and the world of Shakespeare & Co. in Ms. Maher’s last novel. This time, readers are placed firmly in the Chicago area in the early 1970s.
It is a time of upheaval and change, even as some cling to a more 1950s lifestyle. Readers are introduced to several main characters who live in the time period.
Veronica is a bit of a free spirit and a person who is involved in the social movements of the time. Most significantly, she becomes a part of the Jane network, providing safe, but illegal, abortion services.
Patty, a friend of Veronica’s growing up years, is more conservative. She is a traditional wife and mother who is concerned about her doctor husband’s recent lack of interest in her.
Siobhan is a newer friend of Veronica’s. The story opens as Veronica accompanies Siobhan to her illegal abortion. Siobhan is an artist who is separated/divorced from her professor husband Gabe. She is active in the Janes.
Margaret is a new Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago. She is finding her way and becomes friends with Phyllis. She also becomes involved with Gabe.
This is a rich historical novel that will remind readers of what life was like in the days before Roe v Wade, a time that we have now reentered. The author tells her story well and readers will become immersed in the lives of these fictional characters and the decisions that they make.
I highly recommend this one. It is being published at just the right time.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
This series launch by Vanessa Lillie does not feel like the work of a beginner. It is beautifully plotted, has a wide variety of three dimensional characters, and brings its people and settings fully to life. Along with all of this, readers will deepen their understanding of the issues that faced the Cherokee people but historically and to this day.
Syd is a Cherokee woman who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She has left the community where she grew up after a horrific home invasion and the death of her close friend. This character, Luna, is very much a presence in the book as Syd repeatedly hears her voice. In her current life, Syd is committed to her work and is in a relationship. Her wife very much wants to be a mother. Syd is not sure if she is up for this.
As this complex story opens, Syd has found a body in Rhode Island, most likely of a Narragansett woman. She is called back to her home community in mid stream when a case needs to be solved there. At the same time, Syd’s sister is missing. Her history includes addiction but would she have willingly abandoned her daughter?
Readers will turn the pages as they try to figure out what has happened to the people of this mystery and get to know Syd, her family and the others around her.. I recommend it very highly. It is atmospheric, suspenseful and (I would say) educational (as regards the treatment of the Cherokee and others.)
Fans of books as diverse as those by Carolyn Haines and Suzanne Chazin will, I think, enjoy this book very much. The writer is like Haines in that she has a ghost speaking to a character. Chazin is recalled because both she and Lillie have a deep understanding of communities and people of color who have not been treated fairly.
I will be most eager to read all of the books in this series as they are released. I hope that there will be many.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
This absolutely gorgeous, WWI-set, historical fiction title is one to savor and read at a leisurely pace. At 448 pages in length, it is one that requires the reader’s time.
Oxford, England-right before war (WWI) breaks out. Two sisters (twins), Peggy and Maude, live on a narrowboat on a canal. They work at the Oxford University Press putting together the books that will one day be read. The job is tedious but, in compensation, Peggy takes home any books with faults, adding to an already large home library.
Maude has an undiagnosed condition that seems somewhat like what today would be called autism. She requires much supervision from Peggy as the story opens. Maude seems content to live in the moment while Peggy is aware of the academic life in Oxford and deeply wishes that she could be part of it.
Oxford-war has begun. A group of Belgian refugees come to work at the press; each has her own backstory. Much attention is given to Lotte, someone who bonds with Maude. Wounded soldiers also come to town and Peggy begins to read to them.
This is how the novel begins; it slowly entrances the reader who wants to spend time in this community and its wide range of characters. There are those who live on the water, those who work in publishing, Gwen (who has the life that Peggy seems to want), the Belgians and many others. Spending time with all of them is a wonderful experience.
Highly recommended to historical fiction readers. They will want to know how the lives of the characters unfold in friendship, family, work and love.
As an aside, those who are interested in how books were actually made in the days long before a digital world, will learn a great deal here. These details enhanced the reader’s ability to enter the characters’ worlds.
Note that the author has written one previous novel; readers may well want to look for that one as well.
Here is what Library Journal concluded in a starred review:
VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction about strong women, like the works of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams, and Laura Willig.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
This is the author’s second novel, following on the well regarded Violin Conspiracy. I very much enjoy that these are music based stories. Think the world of composing is quiet? Well, not exactly when it may turn out that someone who claimed authorship of some works, may have had no right to do so.
What did Josephine Reed compose in the 1930s? What was her relationship with another composer named Delaney? Why is one of Delaney’s relative contacting protagonist Bern Hendricks? Who else will be involved as things become complicated? Will wrongs be righted? What is the role of race in the story and its events? Read this enjoyable, thoughtful sophomore work by the author to find out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Anchor Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Advance praise for Brendan Slocumb’s Symphony of Secrets
“Music lovers will revel in Symphony of Secrets, a novel that is at once a celebration of music and also a cautionary tale about legacy, privilege, and creative genius.” —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid
“Absolutely brilliant! Once again, Slocumb’s consummate skills are on vivid display as he gives us a fascinating page-turner that slips back and forth in time and seamlessly blends a heart-pounding thriller, a heartfelt look at family and quiet heroism, and a searing exposé of issues stretching from deep in our country’s past to the very present. The ‘secret’ of his title is apt indeed. And as for the cast: nobody creates rich, fully formed characters like Brendan Slocumb. Some books we finish and move on. This one will stay with you long after you turn the final page.” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Collectorand Hunting Time
“A twisty, mesmerizing mystery—Brendan Slocumb’s writing is like music itself, dancing elegantly from the page.” —Danya Kukafka, bestselling author of Notes On An Execution
“With Symphony of Secrets, Slocumb has woven an incredible thriller about music, genius, history, and greed—and how easily innocent passion can turn to dangerous, deadly obsession. You won’t be able to put it down until the last note!” —Peng Shepherd, author of The Cartographers
Australian author Jane Harper burst on the mystery/suspense world with her very first book, The Dry. She has gone from strength to strength since then. That first book and this one both feature Aaron Falk as the protagonist detective. I like spending time with him. I think my enjoyment was enhanced by hearing, rather than reading, this novel. Aaron and the other characters just came to life for me through the narrator’s voice.
A mother reportedly left her newborn baby at a festival just a year ago. Did she leave her child voluntarily… or not? What about all of the people that she, Kim, left behind? They include a teenage daughter with Kim’s first husband Charlie, and her second husband, as well as those around them.
Harper does an excellent job creating a setting and a story. Are the events of the story linked to the past of these family and friends? Readers/listeners will surely want to know.
I highly recommend this title. Harper is in a group with other deep favorites of mine like Louise Penny.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this title. All opinions are mg own.
![The Lost for Words Bookshop: A Novel by [Butland, Stephanie]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51p%2BoqwGrmL.jpg)
Miss Benson’s Beetle is by the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a book that I very much enjoyed. So, I was excited to receive this e galley from the publisher. The book does not disappoint.
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Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 