I love to read, recommend books and open the world of reading to others. I tutor to ensure that the next generation of readers will know the joys of a good book because their reading skills have improved. I am an avid reader, especially of mysteries and fiction. I believe that two of the world's greatest inventions were the public library and eyeglasses!
This was a fun and absorbing read set in both Australia and England.
Protagonist Blaise Hill grew up poor in Sydney. She has promise and wants a career. With the help of one of her teachers she secures a newspaper job. Blaise’s career will take her far, all the way to being the Royal Correspondent of the title.
Blaise’s early jobs taught her a lot about fashion so names like Yves St. Laurent, Mary Quant and Cecil Beaton make appearances in the novel. Her later career puts her in the midst of mid-century history; readers follow her as she covers Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones. Readers also meet John Profumo and Christine Keeler, and learn about spies including Kim Philby. It makes for a fascinating background.
This novel also has a romantic story line, family and friendships. Will Blaise find love with Charlie who seems to have it all; this includes a high government position, a family seat, charm and more. But…there is also the mysterious Adam Rule. He knows a dark secret from Blaise’s past; will he use this against her? Readers also get to know Blaise’s sister Ivy who contracted polio and the close friends with whom Blaise lives in England. Readers will be turning the pages as they await the resolution of the novel’s several strands.
Ms. Joel writes an interesting note at the end of the novel sharing her inspiration and resources. This background places the book in context.
The Royal Correspondent reads easily and I always looked forward to picking it up. Here is a good escapist read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
I have been looking for a book like The Sea Stone Sisters for quite some time. I was wanting to read a novel that would fully engage me with an enjoyable and involving story, as well as having good characters and settings that come to life. Oh, it would be nice if it was a long book so that I could escape for a while (448 pages here). The Sea Stone Sisters definitely met my expectations.
I think that this will be a first in a series as there are four sisters as main characters. This time the story belongs to Iris. Her three flower named siblings will, I hope, mean that there will be four books in all.
Readers can read a plot summary to know more. Know that it is immersive.
The characters are fully brought to life in this story that focuses on several time periods and four special rings. The first time period is pre-historic and sets the stage. Next is a family in a beautiful home on Skarra (Scotland) that has fallen on hard times, and Iris’s story. There is also a story in the present that centers on Roz who has connections to the past.
I did not want this book to end. Those who enjoy women’s fiction won’t want to miss this one. Fans of Lucinda Riley may find a new favorite series here.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 12 March 2026
Post first published on 7 March 2026
Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Description:
from the publisher
Across land, sea and time, the stones will summon them home . . . ‘Unputdownable . . . This book moved me, profoundly’ SANTA MONTEFIORE
It all begins with The Sea Stone Sisters. In this spellbinding series Eleanor Buchanan intricately weaves together the stories of four sisters and their descendants scattered across the globe from the Scottish home that they all yearn to return to.
‘A gorgeous immersive epic’ KRISTIN HARMEL ‘The perfect successor to Lucinda Riley’ ZOE MARRIOTT ‘Evocative, immersive and completely involving’ CLARE FLYNN ‘An enchanting, edge-of-your-seat tale’ CHRISTINA COURTENAY _________________________
Four great stones once stood on a remote Scottish headland – the Sisters of Skara. Legend has it they were raised by a grieving father, to guide his abducted daughters home. A curse was placed on anyone who laid the stones low: their family, too, would be scattered to the winds, never to find their way home.
1931. When Iris Blackmore’s father knocks down the Sisters of Skara standing stones, a dark shadow falls on the Blackmore family. With his fortune lost and wife dead, his four daughters are forced to leave their home, taking only the rings they inherited from their beloved mother.
Iris is the first to depart, travelling east in search of an uncle who might be able to help the family.
Present day. Roz Chatton moves to London from Australia, bringing very little with her other than her mother’s old ring. Grieving and adrift, she stumbles on a painting of four ancient standing stones which ignites an uncanny connection to the ring on her finger.
Determined to learn more about the origin of the painting, Roz unearths the full story of Iris Blackmore, unravelling a family history she could never have imagined.
Four lost sisters. A family scattered. An epic journey home. Will you follow? _________________________
The Sea Stone Sisters is the first of a sweeping and moving series, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley. Let yourself be whisked away from Scotland to Ceylon and from Australia to London in this epic, dual time tale about family mysteries, unexpected love and enduring courage.
When this book was described as a cross between Kate Morton’s Homecoming and Rachel Hawkins’ The Heiress, I knew that I wanted to read it. Although Rimmer has written a number of novels, this is the first book that I have read by her.
Here is a story within a story. Fiona has had a rough time of it. Readers will find out why she has left the city to return to her recently deceased uncle’s home. The house has a reputation for being haunted and this story most definitely has Gothic elements in it.
Readers will follow Fiona’s life. They will get to meet the people who are part of her world.
Fiona discovers that her uncle left behind twelve copies of a novel. She begins to read this and it is quite a tale. Will Fiona’s own story and family intersect with the contents of this novel? If so, how, and will our protagonist survive her experiences? Read this one to find out.
I must give content warnings for the novel within the novel. There is domestic violence and coercive behavior. Some readers may not want to read the novel for this reason.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Post first published on 31 July 2026
Description:
from the publisher
AN INDIE NEXT PICK • A LIBRARY READS #1 TOP PICK
A limited edition paperback featuring foil and embossing, with gorgeous custom designed edges.
“Kelly Rimmer is at her most skillful here… An emotional, haunting tale.” —Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Dressmakers of London
In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.
“Kelly Rimmer always delivers a poignant story with real characters who lodge themselves in your heart.” —New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin
For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for
The Paris Agent
Before I Let You Go
The Things We Cannot Say
Truths I Never Told You
The Warsaw Orphan
The German Wife
From People Magazine:
The cover of ‘The Story Keeper;’ Kelly Rimmer. Credit : MIRA; Kirsten Cunningham Photography
Kelly Rimmer is unraveling another twisty story.
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the author’s latest novel, The Story Keeper, out next summer via MIRA, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The novel follows Fiona Winslow who escapes to her family’s gothic estate, Wurimbirra, after a difficult year. The once-prosperous home is now deteriorating, and Fiona intends to restore it to its former grandeur.
But when Fiona uncovers an old book that belonged to her late uncle entitled The Midnight Estate, she learns that the volume eerily mirrors her own life. Soon, fiction begins to mix with reality, and Fiona is forced to confront the true mysteries of the book and Wurimbirra.
“This story is so special to me,” Rimmer, the bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say and The German Wife, tells PEOPLE. “It’s a book-within-a-book family mystery, a love song to all things books and an ode to small towns like the place I called home as a kid. I can’t wait to share it with readers!”
The cover of ‘The Story Keeper’ by Kelly Rimmer. MIRA
Uncle Tad was a storyteller by nature as well as profession and he loved to tell elaborate stories about the “ghosts” he supposedly shared Wurimbirra with. So many ghosts. Not a menacing one among the crowd of them, at least in the stories Tad told me. I was possibly the first child in history to grow up believing she lived in a haunted house and thrilled about the excitement of it. I used to hope and pray I’d see one of Tad’s ghosts.
Only as I grew older did I learn that there were other stories that circulate around this region — about the mansion’s dark past, about spirits lingering on the land because of unfathomable injustice and unresolved pain. There’s a terrible truth behind all of that — a few years before this house was built, something unthinkable did happen right on the other side of the low concrete wall that bounds the existing property. Even so, I don’t believe in ghosts, and that’s mostly because I lived here for 16 years and in all of that time, I never felt anything but safe and loved.
From Parade Magazine:
For readers who love family secrets, decaying estates and a slow burn, The Story Keeper is on shelves now, and it is the kind of book that rewards a long afternoon and a spot on the to-be-read pile. The result is a summer read with a chill running through it.
Twenty-one Days is an offshoot of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I read the first Charlotte and Thomas book, The Cater Street Hangman, in 1979. I can still remember not wanting to arrive at my destination on the subway because I wanted to keep reading.
So, it was with much anticipation that I began this novel in which Charlotte and Thomas’s son, Daniel, is the protagonist. He is all grown up, has attended Cambridge and is a newly qualified lawyer. Daniel is assigned several cases in this story, the 21 days has to do with the number of days it will be until a man convicted of murder will be hanged…or will he? Is he guilty? Read the story for a complex and engrossing solution.
It was lovely to see Thomas and Charlotte as peripheral characters and to read about Jemima, Thomas’s sister, who is now in New York. Victor Narraway and Aunt Vespasia also are mentioned. There are also new and very likeable characters as well.
If you like Anne Perry, read this! If you don’t know Anne Perry, read this and then work your way through the series starting with the book mentioned above. Highly recommended by me. Many thanks NetGalley!!
I like the way that this title was organized into sections. These include Common Objections to Therapy, Getting the Help You Need and, With A Little Help From Our Friends. Just a few of the subsections are titled Why Should I Talk to a Stranger, How Do I Find a Good Therapist and, Grief Counseling (this third section is about different types of therapy. Other contributors helped here).
The authors jump right in, letting readers know how they became interested in this field. Note that co-author Dr. Brink died before the publication of this title. He is, though, very present in these pages.
The two organized this book as a series of questions and answers. Readers can dip in and out, although they may want to read in order. Either way, many concerns about therapy and how it works are discussed in this accessibly written title.
Those who are thinking about seeing a therapist and/or those who are in therapy will find this to be a good resource. It helps to demystify what therapy is, how it works and more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Koehler Books for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Description:
from the publisher
Plenty of people still don’t understand the basics of therapy-including those with a growing sense that they need help. An Insider’s Guide to Psychotherapy addresses some of the most basic questions you may have about working with a therapist.
Brink and Raubolt have written their guide as a series of answers to questions they’ve encountered during their decades of experience as psychotherapists-ranging from initial skepticism to concerns about whether therapy is working, to developing a clear sense of when it’s time to stop. They’ve also enlisted experts in more specialized fields of psychological therapy, such as couples therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and less well-known specialties such as EMDR or gendered therapy. The result is a trustworthy, one-stop resource that may be of as much help to newer therapists as it is to new or potential clients.
Full of common-sense advice and free of psychological jargon, An Insider’s Guide to Psychotherapy is a no-nonsense guide to getting the help you need.
A Note From the Publisher on the authors:
Richard Raubolt, PhD, ABBP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a board-certified psychoanalyst who has been in independent practice for more than forty years. The founding editor of the online journal Otherwise, he served on the board of the International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education for ten years and was elected president of the Michigan Group Psychotherapy Society. He is the author of two previous books and more than thirty professional papers, and he has produced five films, three of which were nominated for awards given by the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.
Kirk L. Brink, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has served as an adjunct faculty member in several different colleges and universities while maintaining an active practice of individual, group, couples, and family psychotherapy, along with supervision of other therapists. He has also served as a consultant with mental health agencies, businesses, and regional hospitals. He has been a board member of the Michigan Group Psychotherapy Society and the Institute for Individual and Group Psychotherapy for the last twenty years.
This is the fifth title to feature Marlow amateur detectives Becks, Suzie and, of course, Judith. I have read all of the series and also have watched the TV show. Now, I have just read book 5 which I enjoyed.
Book 5 picks up where book 4 ended. This means that there is a subplot about Judith and her ex husband who reportedly died from drowning. Judith’s husband had a daughter with someone else. This daughter is making accusations against Judith. Did Judith do something unforgivable? What did really happen? Those who have read the earlier books will want to know, as will some new to the series.
Around this, there are once again too many murders in Marlow. For a small, pretty place, it has an outsize number of crimes, maybe a bit like in Christie’s St. Mary Mead.
Celebrities have been killed. Why? Is there a common thread? Of course, the intrepid threesome will do their best to find out.
I look forward to a new book in this series and hope Thorogood will give this to readers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 07 July 2026
Post first published on 22 May 2026
About the book:
from the publisher
Description
“Fiendishly clever!” – Kirkus reviews
The new cozy crime novel from the bestselling author of The Marlow Murder Club, now a major TV series on PBS Masterpiece!
Two dead celebrities. One village full of secrets.
Someone is killing celebrities in Marlow. First, it’s a famous soccer player. Then, a bestselling thriller writer. When two shocking deaths rock their quiet riverside town, Judith, Suzie, and Becks—the unstoppable Marlow Murder Club—must untangle a dangerous web of blackmail and scandal to catch a killer.
But with their trusted police ally DI Malik suddenly suspended, and Judith’s own past threatening to resurface, the women are on their own. Suspects are multiplying like tabloid headlines, secrets are stacking up, and time is running out.
Can the Marlow Murder Club crack the case before the killer strikes again—or will this be the end of their crime-solving adventures?
The inviting cover of this book made me want to read it and I am glad that I did. Note that the main characters are all here as are books. What more could a reader hope for?
Most Ardently Yours is a novel that asks for substantial suspension of disbelief. However, readers who are willing to do just that will find much to enjoy in Sampson’s newest novel.
Protagonist Zoe believes very strongly in what romances offer to their readers. Early in the book, she reels off the names of many in this field, some of whom I did not know. (I need to look).
Zoe gets into an argument with bookshop owner Nick whom she faults for not stocking romances but rather what Zoe calls “dick lit.” (Readers will learn more about this) So, while in the store Zoe runs out with a copy of Pride and Prejudice (that she did not pay for) and sets the amazing events in motion.
Imagine, Zoe’s surprise when Fitzwilliam Darcy appears in front of her. How could he possibly have come to life? It will take a bit until Zoe fully understands what happened and the implications.
Sampson has fun with Will’s adjustment to modern life. Readers will watch as he and Zoe get to know one another. What will happen to them? Can a fictional character even have a long term relationship? And, what about grumpy Nick?
Find out as readers get to know Zoe and those around her. Enjoy the time lines.
Think about what it might be like to have a bookshop like Nick’s. Marvel about what books can do for people.
This was a delightful read. Those who enjoy women’s fiction, romance, this author and escapist reads will want to take a look.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 07 July 2026
Post first published on 26 January 2026
Description:
from the publisher
From USA Today Bestselling author Freya Sampson comes a swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romance inspired by Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice that begs the question: what if your book boyfriend jumped from the pages of their story and into your life?
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of many romance novels, must be in want of a book boyfriend.”
Zoe Knight, a struggling romance writer, has sworn off men for good. At least…the ones in real life. Once a believer in a happily ever after, she now curbs her loneliness with the help of the best book boyfriends in literature – and there is no better man than Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. So when she stumbles into a classic London bookshop and argues with the annoyingly attractive store owner, Nick, who refuses to sell romance novels, she decides to liberate him of a dusty copy of Pride & Prejudice abandoned on a top shelf.
But this is no ordinary book.
After reading from the pages, Zoe finds herself in a remarkable situation: she has accidentally summoned the Mr. Darcy to the real world. Now, she’s face-to-face with the man she’s loved forever, and he’s everything she dreamed he would be. Handsome? Check. Brooding? Check. Talks like he swallowed a thesaurus? Check and check. But even in all his regency perfection, can he ever be as good as in the novel? And if he’s here, in her London apartment trying to figure out how to work a shower , what will happen to the literary world he came from? With Nick—the last man she could ever be prevailed upon to work with—urging her to send the fictional Darcy back to his own story, Zoe will have to decide what she really wants from a happy ending, before it’s too late.
This irresistible, laugh-out-loud story full of heart, hilarity, and hijinks stars a protagonist who’s ready to slice, dice, and stir up a second chance at life by enrolling in culinary school to win back her husband’s heart. Imagine Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods meets Jesse’s own Vera Wong—what, like cooking is hard?
Mebel, a doting Chinese Indonesian trophy wife, is 63 and completely unprepared for life’s next act: her husband of 40 years, Henk, leaving her for their much-younger private chef. But rather than wallow, Mebel does what any self-respecting almost-divorcée would do: she enrolls in culinary school. After all, any good wife knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Take that, Henk’s mistress! Henk will be running back to Mebel in no time! Except, instead of kicking off her plans for revenge in a fabulous culinary institute in Paris, Mebel accidentally enrolls in a tiny program in the rainy English countryside. Amid culture shock, kitchen disasters, and unexpected friendships, Mebel begins to realize that maybe this escapade isn’t about getting her husband back. Maybe it’s about finding herself for the first time.
Whether you’re in it for the messiness, the mayhem, or the mouthwatering misadventures of a woman rediscovering her purpose, MS. MEBEL GOES BACK TO THE CHOPPING BLOCK is an absolute treat.
About the author:
Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of adult, YA, and children’s middle grade books. She has an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford University and a BA in English Lit from Berkeley, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial A for Aunties, its sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding, and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Her YA books include The Obsession, The New Girl, and Well, That Was Unexpected. Her MG books include Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and its sequel, Theo Tan and the Iron Fan. Find her on Twitter @thewritinghippo and on Instagram @jesseqsutanto.
My thoughts:
It is always a pleasure to find a book with a protagonist who is a mature woman given a good storyline. That said, readers don’t have to be of any particular age to enjoy this book.
I also love stories that have a cooking or baking background so that also drew me to this novel, as did the idea of finding oneself as a woman in her sixties. It was fun to see how Ms. Mebel makes her way from pampered wife, to a cooking school course, to getting to know new people, and enjoying (and learning) from new experiences.
This book did not disappoint. I will miss Ms. Mebel.
Those who enjoy women’s fiction will enjoy this one. It might well appeal to readers of Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame as well.
This book has gotten many positive reviews. Here are some from the major book review magazines.
“Sutanto’s (Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)) heartwarming, feel-good story of a formerly entitled woman who learns she has desires of her own and is more than arm candy is laced with humor and will appeal to readers who enjoy stories of women reinventing themselves.”—Library Journal
“Sutanto, who is behind the beloved Vera Wong mystery series, has created another unsinkable and unstintingly funny 60-something female character, and readers should derive much pleasure witnessing Mebel’s transformation from castoff wife into Chinese Indonesian Golden Girl. Soufflé lightness, deliciously flavored with feminism.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The lessons beyond the kitchen about trust friendship, autonomy, resilience, (a little) revenge, and most importantly, her true self prove that even ‘at sixty- three, there is still so much more to life, so many more things to discover.’ Let’s hope Sutanto brings Mebel back soon.”—Booklist
“Sutanto keeps the pages turning with tight plotting and thoroughly enjoyable characters. Readers are in for a treat.”—Publishers Weekly
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for the invitation to this blog tour. All thoughts are my own.
January 2027 Prepub Alert: forthcoming titles to know, share, and buy; plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all the titles and an Edelweiss catalog with plot summaries, author profiles, and more.
— Read on www.libraryjournal.com/story/Prepub-Alert-January-2027-Titles
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Twenty-one Days is an offshoot of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I read the first Charlotte and Thomas book, The Cater Street Hangman, in 1979. I can still remember not wanting to arrive at my destination on the subway because I wanted to keep reading.
