A glance at this book’s cover gives readers a good sense of the book’s central theme. There is an unplanned pregnancy that leads a long term couple to choose different directions. Zoe and Sam loved to travel but, with her pregnancy, Zoe rethinks what she wants and needs. It seems she will need to plan her next steps without Sam. What will happen to Zoe? Who will support her and how will she fare? How will she enjoy her new bucket list? Read this title to find out. It is free in Kindle Unlimited.
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK for this title. All opinions are my own.
First off, I was drawn to this book by its appealing cover. I then discovered that this is a novel based on the TV series Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. That was an enjoyable spin off of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, written by Kerry Greenwood and also a TV series. So, I was primed to enjoy this title and I did. However, you could know nothing about Phryne of Peregrine and still come away from this read having been entertained.
As the book opens, an Australian Department Store has had a bridal fashion show and one with a fatal result, at that. What happened? Who did it? Trust that the case will be resolved in part thanks to Peregrine.
Who is she? Peregrine is the niece of Phryne Fisher of the Adventuresses fame. She has disappeared leaving her closest, and down on her luck relative, to move into her home, her car and to share some sleuthing talents.
All in all, this is a delightful light read. Hopefully more books will be published in due course.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
There is no doubt that Dublin has been home to many writers and their creations. Even those who have not read Ulysses know that the characters of James Joyce dwell here. Among the many others to have worked or set works in Dublin were Seamus Heaney, Yeats, and Beckett, up to the more recent, Sally Rooney.
This title is a bibliophile’s delight. The reader’s guide, author Chris Morash, has written extensively on Ireland and is on the judging panel of the Dublin Literary Award. He notes that, when he moved to Dublin, he lived on the street where Oscar Wilde had been born, and where part of Ulysses takes place. Clearly he is one to enjoy the city’s rich literary history. Readers are in good hands.
This title is organized by geographic locations. For example there are chapters set around St. Stephen’s Green, Trinity College, Riverrun and many others. There are many maps and photos that bring the text to life.
The book opens with an extensive chronology that begins in 770 and ends in 2021. There are both historical and literary events noted here. I learned, for example, that in 1551 the first book was published in Dublin. Do you know what it was? See below for the answer.
Morash has included a section called Read On for those who want to dig a bit deeper.
This book offers much to engage both the scholar and the more casual reader. I highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Cambridge University Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 09 March 2023
Note: This is a title in a series that features writers and cities. Other books are on New Orleans, London, Cambridge and New York. Look for them.
Cork – Ireland’s second largest city after Dublin, but also perhaps its most remote way down in the southwest of the country on the Atlantic coast. The very western edge of Europe, the jumping-off point to America for so many. Ciara Doorley, publishing director of Hachette Ireland, recently told the Irish Examiner that Cork’s size…
I recently posted on this title’s companion book about dogs. Again, readers will find a cornucopia filled with everything that they could want to know about this popular pet. Read about breeds, the cat’s senses, mind & behavior, general care, training tips and so much more.
This title is sure to enjoyed by auilurophiles and others. The photos alone make this book so appealing and yet they are just part of it. There is loads of practical advice here.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Virginia Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway, is a genuine favorite of mine. I have read it twice and will be rereading it for a class this semester. I am excited about that. So, given my admiration for that novel, I was very curious to read Daughter Dalloway. I admire the audaciousness on the author’s part in taking on a modern classic but was not sure how I would feel about the book. So, I will just say upfront, that I enjoyed this title.
Many people and scenes from Mrs. Dalloway are in this book’s pages. Readers will undoubtedly remember Mrs. Dalloway going out to buy flowers, as she does here and may also recall her relationship with her husband, with Peter, and with others who are found here as well.
The story is told in differing time frames and perspectives. One focus is on Elizabeth who is the Daughter Dalloway. Readers get to know her in her contemporary time period and also as she was when younger. She is a complex character who has quite a mother with whom to contend. Elizabeth also wants to be her own person, not just a daughter.
Readers of Mrs. Dalloway also will remember Septimus. His sister is the other focus of the story. She bravely goes to London to try and find her brother and to understand the course that his life has taken. Will she find him and, if so, what will she find?
The lives of these two women intersect over the course of the novel. Each learns a lot about herself and those around her as a result.
I think that historical novel will be enjoyed by those with some connection to Mrs.Dalloway although there may be others who feel that they do not want anything to interfere with their love of the original titie. Those who have not read Mrs. Dalloway may find that they want to after spending time with Elizabeth and Octavia.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Take a look at this upcoming title. It will leave you thinking about our world.
Many thanks to Pearl Cadigan and Algonquin Books for this opportunity.
About the book:
Description
In this postapocalyptic story of mystery, suspense, grief, and loss, a girl processes her mother’s death as a serial killer’s presence makes her already dangerous world even more deadly.
The climate apocalypse has come and gone, and in the end it wasn’t the temperature climbing or the waters rising. It was the trees. They created enough pollen to render the air unbreathable, and the world became overgrown.
In the decades since the event known as the Turning, humanity has rebuilt, and Izabel has grown used to the airtight domes that now contain her life. She raises her young daughter, Cami, and attempts to make peace with her mother’s death. She tries hard to be satisfied with this safe, prosperous new world, but instead she just feels stuck.
And then the tranquility of her town is shattered. Someone—a serial killer—starts slashing through the domes at night, exposing people to the deadly pollen. At the same time, Cami begins sleep-talking, having whole conversations about the murders that she doesn’t remember after she wakes. Izabel becomes fixated on the killer, on both tracking him down and understanding him. What could compel someone to take so many lives after years dedicated to sheer survival, with society finally flourishing again?
Suspenseful and startling, but also poetic and written with a wry, observant humor, this “skillful blend of postapocalyptic science fiction, supernatural murder mystery, and domestic drama is unexpected and entirely engrossing” (Publishers Weekly).
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 