The publisher notes that this book is from an esteemed National Geographic explorer and forest ecologist making her the perfect companion for these pages. Nadkarni has loved trees since childhood and, by now, has climbed trees on four continents.

Readers will enjoy dipping into this author’s essays which she says are about “celebrating everyday trees and their relationships with everyday people who encounter them.” These encounters can include even simple things like using chopsticks.

The book is organized by seasons. Entries are short, engaging and easy to read. By the end, readers will walk away with a deep appreciation for nature’s gifts and will know that it is important to preserve our natural resources.

Many thanks to NetGalley and National Geographic for this title. All opinions are my own.

Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the Publisher

My First Words UK, Book 1

by Polly Owen

#CarsVansAndDiggers #NetGalley

I have one young buddy who would absolutely adore this book. I think that his parents would find that he kept it close by all day (and night).

This is a book to delight kids who love everything related to transport. It is filled with photos and some facts. There are sections on small vehicles; cars and vans; lorries and tankers; loaders and dozers; tippers and dumpers;diggers and excavators; cranes; roads and paths; on the farm; emergency vehicles; holidays and fun; public transport; and, finally other ways to travel. To further entertain, there are questions to answer and sections on counting and colors.

I highly recommend this one for its intended audience. Those kids will be thrilled.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pint Size Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date:03 March 2025

by Lindsey Kelk-an e book bargain

#LoveStory #NetGalley

Here is such a fun and feel good story and one that confirms what author Lindsey Kelk believes-that we love happy stories during difficult times. Her protagonist and, I think the author as well, see a role for romances as fiction that is just as worthy as any other reads.

Este Cox has written a book that takes off and becomes a huge bestseller. But…there is no Este, she is really teacher Sophie. Sophie is from a literary family and does not want to acknowledge her authorship of a sexy, romantic read to them. Lots of shenanigans ensue from this decision.

Playing against Este is Joe. As this is an enemies to lovers tale, readers watch as these two spar and come together. Watching them and the other characters in this story made for a delightful read.

I could pretty much say that, moving forward, I will read anything that Ms. Kelk writes. She knows how to help readers escape and enjoy her world for a few hours. Kelk gives readers a nice mix of plot, character, humor and heart.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 17 September 2024

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

I subscribe to this author’s newsletter so had been hearing about The Lost and Found Bookshop for months before it was published.  I entered a number of giveaways in my enthusiasm, did not win the book and eventually got it from the library.

The story is about Natalie who suffers some losses from which she must recover.  The reader encounters those with whom Natalie is involved as she moves from a high powered, but unsatisfying career, to become the proprietor of her family’s bookshop.  There is Peach, clearly to be a romantic interest; a popular author who wines and dines Natalie; Dorothy, the precocious daughter of Peach; Grandy, who is slowly sinking into dementia and others.

Ms. Wiggs love of bookstores and what they offer to people and communities come across clearly.  The city of San Francisco is also painted by someone who is fond of both its history and what it offers now to those who live there.

The resolution of the story is satisfying but…somehow I had hoped for a little more from this novel.  Its insights were not unique although they were true.

If you enjoy women’s fiction, I recommend this title.  However, there are books by this author that I have enjoyed more including the Lakeshore Chronicles series, Map of the Heart and Just Breathe, to name a few.

Have you read this book?  What did you think?

#JaneAustensGarden #NetGalle

2025 is a significant year to fans of Jane Austen as it marks 250 years since the author’s birth. There are many events happening in light of this, so much attention is being paid to the author.

Personally, I am currently taking a class on the six major Austen novels and am enjoying (re)reading them. They stand up to the passage of time incredibly well. So, with Austen so prevalent for me right now, I was very excited to see this title appear on NetGalley. I think that it will be enjoyed by those who are looking for ways to connect to the author and her stories.

Williams states that it is her intention to “create a compendium of Regency era horticultural references that Jane Austen included in her major novels.” In doing this, she offers connections between the novels and nature. She also provides much else in this title such as time lines, summaries of the novels, quotes from the books, projects and more.

I especially enjoyed the illustrations that appear throughout this title. They are lovely and inviting.

Jane Austen’s Garden would make an excellent gift for an Austen lover. It can be explored in any order.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 March 2025

#TheHazelbourneLadiesMotorcycleandFlyingClub #NetGalley

I knew that I wanted to read this novel as soon as I saw the beautiful cover and the name of the author. Many may recognize Helen Simonson from her book Mr. Pettigrew’s Last Stand. In that work and this, Simonson writes with her own distinctive sensibility.

The Hazelbourne story begins not long after WWI has ended. Readers may think that the armistice resolved everything; however, for many figuring out a life post-war was not always easy. In this novel, the author spends time with some of those folks.

Constance grew up somewhat beholden to the family of her mother’s best friend. There were class differences between them but a relationship endured. During the war, Constance managed the family’s estate. Once the war was over, her sense of purpose was taken away since the job was given back to a man.

Poppy is a happily unconventional young woman. She seems to live as she likes. A big part of this is her motorcycle business. Riding along in one of these vehicles when driven by a woman was not expected at the time.

Poppy’s brother served and lost a limb. All he wants to do is fly again but no one will look at him as capable as the story opens.

The lives of these characters come together at a seaside hotel when Poppy asks Constance for a favor. Poppy’s mother, brother and she have seemingly taken up long term residence there While Constance is visiting as a companion to an older woman.

In addition to these main characters, many others are in these pages. In this way, the author creates a broad canvas for her story.

Lots happens as readers get to know the characters in this novel of manners that unfolds at its own leisurely pace. Issues are covered that are reflective of the time period.

Readers will become attached to many in this story and will wait to see how things l turn out. They will enjoy every bit of this over 400 page book.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 07 May 2024

A Novel

by Dervla McTiernan

I very much enjoyed this author’s Ireland set mysteries of which there were three, The Ruin, The Scholar, and The Good Turn. In The Murder Rule, the author changes everything up. This new book is not set in Ireland, but rather in the U.S., around the UVA Law School. The book is meant to be a thriller with an unreliable narrator who is single minded but not straightforward among most things.

Laura and her daughter, Hannah, share a very close relationship, albeit one with role reversals. Hannah worries about and cares for her mother who suffered enormous trauma in the past. The story behind her mother’s circumstances is what motivates Hannah throughout these pages.

Hannah is a third year law student at the University of Maine as the novel opens. She manipulates her way into a semester at UVA (the University of Virginia) Law School and to a spot on their Innocence Project. Hannah is there for her own purposes but her desire to see justice done does not mesh with the goals of the others with whom she works on Michael Dandridge’s wrongful (is it?) murder conviction.

Readers get to know Hannah, Laura and their situation well. They also spend time with the other law students, the head of the program and those involved in, and impacted by, the actions of Michael Dandridge.

I wanted to like this book as much as the others that I have read by this author, but, sadly for me, I didn’t. I found that there was a lack of warmth in these pages. I know that Laura was wronged and traumatized but somehow I didn’t care quite enough for her. The plot of this story also depended on actions that did not always feel realistic to me.

Those who like thrillers, law and courtroom stories and idealistic young lawyers to be may well enjoy this book. I just wished for more even as I respect that the author was trying to write something completely different from her earlier novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 10 May 2022

#HasAnyoneSeenCharlotteSalter #NetGalley

French, actually a husband and wife team who write together, has penned a long (544 pages), suspenseful and immersive read in this latest novel. It definitely kept me coming back on a regular basis to find out what happened.

Here is a domestic drama that is filled with suspense in its portrait of two families and the impact that Charlotte’s disappearance had in the past and also in the present day. What happened to Charlotte? Each of her four children has a take on her. Husband Alec, whose decade birthday she missed, initially seemed dismissive of her absence while Elizabeth/Etty (a daughter) was very worried.

Around the same time that Charlotte is missing in the past storyline, a body is found in a river. Is this death related to the disappearance of Charlotte? Readers will want to know.

The story moves forward thirty years when A LOT happens. There are secrets, murder, podcasts and a case that will challenge Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor. She is a terrific character and readers will hope that she gets a sequel.

Recommended for fans of domestic drama and crime stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 19 March 2024

The Åre Murders

by Viveca Sten

#HiddeninShadows #NetGalley

I have long been a fan of Sten’s Sandham series that features Nora Linde. There are reviews of a number of these on my blog. (See them by typing in Viveca Sten at http://www.joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews.wordpress.com.)

Hidden in Shadows is part of a newer series that, so far, has two titles published in the U.S. Instead of a more idyllic looking Sandham, these take place in the far north of Sweden where the nights can be long and the weather can be brutal.

In Hidden in Shadows, a champion skier has been murdered. There are many suspects and some subplots as well one of which (trigger warning) has to do with spousal abuse.

Two investigators, Daniel and Hanna, are the ones to figure things out. They do but it is not easy. Of course, while working on the case, each also has a backstory and personal life.

This book is for those who can take their mysteries a bit less sunny. It is not a traditional cozy but is a good example of a more noir like genre. I liked the characters that Sten created in her investigators.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 05 December 2023

NOTE: Both the Sandham Murders and The Are Murders are available to stream. Sandham on MHZ and Are on Netflix.

From the Publisher

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.

In “Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame,” Olivia Ford whips up a sweet confection about a septuagenarian cook with reality TV dreams.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/books/review/mrs-quinns-rise-to-fame-olivia-ford.html