www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/30/books/review/early-american-quiz.html
Mysteries
An e book bargain-Why is it: The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
#TheBookClubforTroublesomeWomen #NetGalley
The early sixties were a time of nascent change for many, including women. There was restlessness as some felt that being a housewife and mother was not fully satisfying in and of itself. (This may have been true before, of course, but it was at this time that Betty Friedan published a book that spoke to and legitimized these feelings).
In this novel, Marie Bostwick looks at a group of women who are living in a planned, suburban community outside of Washington DC. The group includes Margaret who was a bright, successful college student when she met her husband. Now she is a mother of three. When she gets an opportunity to do a bit more will she take it?
Bitsy married an older man. She loves horses but passed on vet school to marry a vet. Readers will find out why. Bitsy is having trouble with the suburban dream because she hasn’t been able to have a child.
Viv is a mother to many with a husband who seems supportive. But, when she wants more and looks for a job, will she tell Tony?
Then there is artistic, chaotic Charlotte. She challenges Margaret and the others. Will she cross a line too far?
These women meet regularly in a book club with the first book being The Feminine Mystique. Readers follow their lives over the course of this long and satisfying novel that is special to the author (read what she says).
Recommended to those who enjoy (women’s) fiction and would like a look at the 1960s.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 22 April 2025
Historical Fiction-Women’s Fiction
384 pages
From the publisher:
From the Publisher
How did she get there: Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman
#MrsChristieattheMysteryGuildLibrary #NetGalley
Those who enjoy cozy mysteries, are fans of Agatha Christie, are willing to suspend disbelief, enjoy lots of book references, enjoy accurate NYC locations, a murder and a good, fun plot will rush to buy Chapman’s novel. I very much enjoyed it.
I loved the setting. Chapman has created a special library that features a replica of Christie’s own library at Greenway. I wanted to go to this (imaginary) library set on Washington Square and spend the day. Glad I could do so virtually.
Protagonist, Tory has inherited the running of the library from her grandmother. She also is a book restorer. Tory has eccentric relatives, including her cousin Nic. Nic leads to Tory right into suspicious events and murder(s).
Speaking of eccentricity, how is it that Mrs. Mallowan (you should know who she is) is found sitting in the library? She very much wants to be involved in the events of this story.
Some suspension of disbelief is required but do this and there is much to enjoy here. I look forward to what comes next for this author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 26 August 2025
320 pages
Mystery
An e book bargain-What might have transpired: The Christie Affair
A Novel
by Nina de Gramont
Avid readers of Agatha Christie’s novels may well know that the famous author herself was the star/subject of one of her greatest mysteries. Why did Mrs. Christie disappear for all those days? It is not really a spoiler to say that she learned that Archie was having an affair. Still, where did she go? What made Archie seem so appealing to two very different women?
In addition to that mystery, who was the other woman? What was her story? Can readers empathize with her?
Learn more about both women in this historical fiction title. Nina de Gramont tells her story well. She makes Nan’s story believable and this is more her story than Agatha’s.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 01 Feb 2022
From the Publisher
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An e book bargain-The Book Club Hotel (Sarah Morgan)
This is a repost
#TheBookClubHotel #NetGalley
This is the perfect book to sit down with on a fall night. It is nicely written and plotted; the characters are people with whom readers will wish to know. (Too bad, they can’t come for a real visit).
The Maple Sugar Inn just seems like the perfect place to go to relax. The setting is gorgeous, the rooms are beautiful and the inn keeper cares about her guests…even as she has her own struggles.
Inn owner, Hattie is carrying on the dream of her husband which was to run this inn. Readers learn early in the book that he died in a freak accident, leaving Hattie a widow and a very young one at that. Will she want to keep the inn going?
Three friends are going to visit. Their lives are quite different from one another’s but the relationships go back years and are deep. One is a single, su
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Also:
If interested, I did a blog tour for this one. It is on my site.
From the Publisher
An e book bargain: The Stolen Queen
A Novel
by Fiona Davis
This is a repost from when the book was first reviewed
#TheStolenQueen #NetGalley
Mark you calendar for the pub date for Fiona Davis’s forthcoming new novel. I think that this may just be her best book yet. I thoroughly enjoyed The Stolen Queen.
As is often the case, the story is told in two time lines and in two countries. Interestingly, both time lines have characters in common.
Readers first meet Charlotte Cross when she is a young girl embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. She has left her society family behind to be part of a 1930s dig in Egypt. So much happens to Charlotte there in terms of both her professional and personal life, but readers need to find out all of this for themselves.
The second timeline takes place partly in NYC right around the time of the famous King Tut exhibition. Now Charlotte is working in the Egyptian section of the museum when a necklace becomes part of an exhibit and leads to many events.
In this second time line, readers also meet Annie. She has been an enabler to her mother. Unexpectedly Annie secures a position working for the very well known Diana Vreeland just in time for a major fashion event. As was true for Charlotte, things don’t go according to plan.
It is not long before Charlotte and Annie travel to Egypt together. There is, again, much that happens while they are there.
Davis handles all of the plot elements flawlessly. It is also clear that she did her homework in order to give this book a real sense of its historical authenticity.
Anyone who has enjoyed a novel by this author will want to read this title. My guess is that this one will also bring her many new fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group-Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 07 January 2025
Other books by Fiona Davis
A Masterpiece of historical fiction (Davis)
What happens to “The Chelsea Girls”? (Davis)
Bibliophiles rejoice: The Lions of Fifth Avenue A Novel by Fiona Davis
Do you know the story of “The Magnolia Palace”?
Just published: The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
An e book bargain-So glad to return: More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
A Novel
by Satoshi Yagisawa
#MoreDaysattheMorisakiBookshop #NetGalley
Anyone who read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop will, I am sure, be delighted to spend “More Days” there. Here is everything that made the first novel charming-the narrator and her family, a number of quirky characters, the neighborhood filled with bookshops, and, of course the books.
Those who have not read the first book will be easily brought up to date though they may well want to seek out the earlier title. Both books are short and quick reads even as readers may wish they were longer.
This is a book for bibliophiles, lovers of Japan and those who like unique and quirky stories.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 02 July 2024
From the Publisher
The first book:
I would like to spend some: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (by Satsoshi Yagisawa)
An e book bargain-Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell
#DeathUnderaLittleSky #NetGalley
‘I LOVED this. I found it totally immersive, and couldn’t wait to squeeze some time from my day to return to it. The writing is very classy and the conclusion came as a surprise, which is always a treat’ Ann Cleeves
My thoughts:
Death Under a Little Sky is the first story that Abell wrote featuring Jake, Livia, Diana and the many others who live in a small, rather isolated community. The people and the place are both lovingly described in much detail with the resultant creation of a world.
How did Jake come to be here? He was a police officer who went through some hard times both professionally and in his marriage. An uncle left him this place that is indeed “Under a Little Sky.” Existence is literally out of this world; Jake has no modern conveniences or cell phone service. He does have an amazing library and excellent music though. How Jake adapts and creates a meaningful life is one theme of the book.
Even away from much of the world, bad things can happen. When old bones are unearthed they point to a murder. Jake cannot stop himself from investigating despite the fact that many wish he would do no such thing. There are threats yet Jake persists even when a second person is murdered.
Readers will be interested in the outcome of the case but much of what makes this novel intriguing is getting to know Jake and the many other characters. I read the second in the series before this (not a problem) so enjoyed each person’s first entry into the story in these pages.
Recommended to those who want a good story that proceeds at a bit of a leisurely pace with much excellent description.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 29 February 2024
From the Publisher
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 