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Lenny Henry (Maria Isabel Sanchez Vergara)

#LennyHenry #NetGalley

This is another good entry in the long running series that can always find a new little person with big dreams to profile. This time the spotlight turns to Lenny Henry. Humor has been a part of his life since childhood as is well demonstrated here. In addition to the ways in which humor helped Lenny both personally and professionally, the comedian founded Comic Relief, thereby helping many others.

This book is illustrated in a fun style. As always, there are additional facts at the back of the book.

Anyone collecting this series, will want to add Lenny Henry to their pile.

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

Pub date: 06 February 2024

Now out: Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr

#ReturntoVirginRiver #NetGalley

Robyn Carr wrote her first Virgin River novel back in 2007. Many books followed before Ms. Carr moved to other series including Thunder Point and Sullivan’s Crossings. Perhaps the author was inspired to return to Virgin Riven because of the TV series that is now on Netflix. Whatever the motivation, long term readers of the Virgin River novels will undoubtedly be happy to return. They know that they can count on good people, a nice community and a love story.

This novel is about Kaylee and Landry. Kaylee is an author of suspense novels who is experiencing writer’s block following the death of her mother. Through family friends, she chooses to travel to Virgin River in the hope that she will finish her novel. No spoiler to say that she does and even that she moves into a new genre, that she falls in love and that some unexpected things happen to her. That is the Virgin River formula.

Kaylee’s romantic foil is Landry, an artist and dog trainer. He helps Kaylee to overcome her fear of dogs and to move forward even as she recognizes that she will always miss her mom.

The relationship that Kaylee had with her mom is lovingly described and maybe even idealized a bit. I suspect that many readers will wish for the same closeness, acceptance and encouragement that Kaylee’s mom gave her.

There are other characters in Kaylee’s orbit but readers will perhaps most enjoy that the names of all the characters from the earlier novels are called out here. While many make an appearance, it is Jack and Mel who are most featured.

As an extra treat, the story is seasonal. Readers will enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas in this most perfect of towns. I especially enjoyed the description of the tree lighting.

This is a sweet novel. I don’t know if Robyn Carr will write about Virgin River again. Regardless, this novel is a gift to her fans.

An additional bonus in the novel is a section describing the making of the TV series and Ms. Carr’s visit to the set. There is also a long excerpt from one of her other novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Now out in Paperback: The Shadow of Death by Willan

The Shadow of Death is a cozy mystery by an author who is new to me. The novel’s protagonist, Sister Agatha, is a Jessica Fletcher like amateur detective. In the book the reader finds murder, financial shenanigans and characters who have troubled pasts. The delights in the novel are the setting, the insights into modern (un-stuffy) religious life and the warmth of the characters. My guess is that I will soon be reading the sequel.

Review to come.