The London Year

What to Do and When

by Yolanda Zappaterra; Sarah Guy

Those who live in England, along with those who plan to visit will find this book to be essential. It highlights the many events that happen in London over the course of the year. For each, there is a helpful description and there are also a number of photos. For example-in April be part of The Tweed Run, in July attend the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and so on.

Whenever a person is in London, this book should be part of the trip.

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

Five stars Those who live in England, along with those who plan to visit will find this book to be essential. It highlights the many events that happen in London over the course of the year. For each, there is a helpful description and there are also a number of photos. For example-in April be part of The Tweed Run, in July attend the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and so on.

Whenever a person is in London, this book should be part of the trip.

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

Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Novel

by Shelley Noble

#TheColonyClub #NetGalley

In The Colony Club, author Shelley Noble creates a world and invites the reader to happily visit. This is the gift of talented writers of historical fiction. I love when I can imagine myself in another place and time with a mix of fictional and real characters.

When a reader opens this novel, they will quickly find out what inspired Daisy Harriman to create a club for women. Spending time with her and the many Gilded Age women who surround her was so much fun with the novel offering a Who’s Who of the rich and famous of her time.

Among the expansive cast of characters, three are featured. There is, of course, Daisy Harriman, also the fascinating Elsie De Wolfe, and architectural student Nora. The plot is further made involving with the story of Stanford White.

I have actually been to the Colony Club which added to my delight in learning about its origin. However, it is not necessary to have had that experience to enjoy this novel.

Readers who read historical fiction and the works of authors like Marie Benedict, Stephanie Dray and others will want to read this one.

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

Pub date: 01 October 2024

Hike, Camp, and Enjoy Nature with the Peanuts Gang

by Kristin Mehus-Roe

#SnoopysGuidetotheGreatOutdoors #NetGalley

This book is not just a collection of comics, rather the Peanuts gang adds their take to the many subjects that are covered in this title. This will make a fun addition to the bookshelves of nature lovers.

Earn virtual merit badges-for example, Outdoors Essentials for Beagle Scouts or Safety Smarts. Dip in anywhere and find something of interest. Learn about different types of clouds, find out what wild animals live in the city, go on a scavenger hunt, learn how to use a compass and much, much more.

This book is a great choice for a person who likes to spend time outdoors. It entertains and teaches.

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

Pub date: 08 October 2024

An e book bargain

 #ADeadlyWalkinDevon #NetGalley

Here is the first entry in a promising new cozy series. The protagonist, is Rick who goes by the nickname Chase; he is a retired detective whose partner died not long ago. Chase continues to miss him.

Chase has made plans to go on a walking tour in England. Also on the tour is his very good friend Billie, a retired librarian. They are two in a group of travelers. The most obnoxious of these has been threatened and indeed is murdered.

This is not a locked room but there is the concept of a contained group of people who come together. Who had the strongest motive? Will Chase be drawn in the solve the murder? Of course! The fun is in watching how things go.

I enjoyed getting to know Chase and Billie. I did indeed find the victim to be obnoxious and I enjoyed my virtual trip to England. Recommended for cozy fans who like their mysteries with some armchair travel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 26 March 2024

Percival Everett’s “James,” Salman Rushdie’s “Knife” and Diane Seuss’ “Modern Poetry” are among the honorees. Winners will be announced next month.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2024/10/01/books/finalists-2024-national-book-award.html

Inspiring Quotes from Children’s Classics

by Annie Sarac

I think that kids will be drawn to the lively and engaging artwork that Ruth Burrows has created in these pages. Her work dovetails neatly with the quotes.

As for the quotes…there are loads of them in this nearly 200 page book. They are organized by category. Just a few of the many subjects covered include Curiosity, Forgiveness, Helping Others, Making Mistakes, and Taking Risks.

Adults will undoubtedly enjoy seeing old favorite reads featured with a quote. Kids may well enjoy the many quotes too. This book also would make a great resource for choosing a child’s next book.

The very first quote is from Narnia; a later one was from my favorite Miss Rumphius. These showed me that there is rich material in this title. Each of these quotes could lead to interesting conversations between an adult and child.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for Kids for this title. All opinions are my own.

Five stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For many readers, including me, just seeing Katherine Cemter’s name on the cover of a book is enough to make it a must read. Center is a master of writing stories with good characters, plots that keep the pages turning and, most importantly, humor and heart. Readers come to care about her characters and their lives, almost as if they are real people. This book is no exception.

Emma is woman with unrealized dreams and potential. She works freelance on writing projects for her old high school boyfriend. Emma’s father was in a catastrophic accident and requires her to be around full time. Her sister has, in some ways, been living out Emma’s dreams. She has gotten to go away to college and is about to begin a prestigious internship as the story opens.

A plot twist then comes. Logan, the high school boyfriend, offers Emma a ghost writing job with her absolute idol, screenwriter, Charlie Yates. Let’s just say that Emma has an unbelievable crush on Charlie and his films. However, his latest attempt, an update of one of Emma’s favorite movies (It Happened One Night) is an absolute disaster.

So…Emma makes the necessary arrangements for what she thinks will be the job and experience of a lifetime and flies out to L.A. Okay…I’ve set the scene but don’t want to spoil the fun by saying anything else.

This book is a perfect summer read. Anyone who picks it up will be sorry to see it end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 June 2024

The Audio Version

I both read and listened to this book, enjoying the audio when I was going for walks or doing household stuff. As a real treat, it is partly narrated by the author. The audio is excellent and invites the reader right in.

Either way (or both) that is chosen, here is a book to put on a must read list.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for this delightful listen.

#TheHunter #NetGalley

The Searcher…The Hunter. These linked and simply titled novels by Tana French are highly recommended. While The Hunter can be read without having read The Searcher, they are best as a pair (even if, for any reason, a reader picks up The Searcher second.)

These stories feel different from the author’s earlier Dublin Murder Squad books. I loved those and miss them but these two titles tell of new directions (and welcome ones) on French’s part.

Ardnakelty, the setting, a small, Irish, mostly farming community feels so real that a reader will believe that they could visit. It is a place with a population that includes some quirky characters.

Readers will get to know the most important characters well (although I think that some of the secondary characters sometimes were hard to keep track of). Among these are Trey. To me, she feels like a kindred spirit to Scout in Harper Lee’s book. Both have strong opinions and beliefs. Trey is a teen who has become close to Cal, initially despite herself. Cal is an incomer to Ireland. He has become a kind of mentor to Trey and their relationship has much meaning to both. Lena has become involved in a relationship with Cal though she does not want to marry. She also cares about Trey.

In this novel, Trey’s ne’er do well father, Johnny, is back from England. He has a grand scheme in mind. Readers can find out about this when the pick up the novel…and they should! How will Johnny’s arrival impact Trey who is just beginning to have some stability? Will there be a great deal of destruction?

This book, for me, was kind of a slow burn. I relished its pace however and was in no hurry to turn the last page.

It is very easy to recommend The Hunter. Its characters, setting and story are all memorable.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 05 March 2024

This book has received lots of publicity and some excellent reviews.  I would give it three stars.  The story is clever and I especially loved how the novel within the novel was so authentic, with advanced praise and comments about being made into a television series.  I did not find the story as engaging as I had hoped that I would, nor did I find the characters to be especially likeable.  Give this a try though because I think I am in the minority in not rating MPM more highly.