This was a fun read, set in late Regency 1820s London. Enter Miss Olivia Featherstone, who is smart, adventurous, and skilled at throwing daggers at villians. When she seeks to right a slur on her family’s name, Delavel Chêne-Craven, a mysterious aristocrat with mysterious ties to both foreign and domestic governments, crosses her path. Soon […]

I am saying goodbye to ‘My book of the month’ in 2022. Instead, I’ll be adding more regular reviews of books I have read. This means you’ll see what an eclectic reader I am. There are certain types of novels I avoid (horror and fantasy – I’m looking at you) and there are certain genres […]

What an irresistible novel; a story full of stories. Start for the mystery but stay for the powerful words and the spaces between them. Jasmine is an Indigenous lawyer who takes her mother, Della, on a tour of English literary sites. Their relationship is, like those within most families, filled with unspoken thoughts. Triggered by […]

Sarah Addison Allen writes stories that, although ostensibly set in the real world, contain elements of the inexplicable – commonly thought of as magic. I’ve always enjoyed her novels because they always made me wonder ‘what if?’. Recently, I’ve discovered this type of story is part of the magical realism genre of books. These are […]

For the past few years, I’ve set book reading targets for myself on Goodreads but it’s not really a goal for me to read that number. I know that sounds like a contradiction but I think of the targets more as records of my book reading in a particular year. I rarely write reviews on […]

I’ve always been interested in plants and, when I was young, toyed with the idea of studying botany. I’m not sure why that didn’t eventuate; perhaps it was simply that the attraction of other subjects was too strong. My interest in the subject has never left me, though. This was such a good read. Set […]

Stories sustain us. They allow us to encounter times and worlds we will never see for ourselves and experience the lives of other people. They can provide information and solace. They can take us away from our own lives and widen our perspectives. Stories can make us cry and laugh. They can provide relief from […]

Oh, this is a goody. Pamela Hart (who also writes as Pamela Freeman) has branched out into mysteries. This is the first in her Poppy McGowan series and the sentence on the front cover sums it up: “Renovations are hell – and that’s before you find the body beneath the floorboards”. I read this book […]

Reading a new book in a series is like catching up with an old friend. You discover what has happened in their life since you last communicated and whether circumstances have changed. The main character in Hemlock seems like one of those friends. I’ve been reading about China Bayles’ life through 28 books so I […]

Reading keeps me informed and entertained while our lives are still restricted by the plague. I read articles from many, many magazines each month, thanks to my public libraries. They subscribe to hundreds of titles through PressReader and Libby so members can read them for free. Does your library offer these services? It’s especially handy […]