This one I pre-ordered and I have an email from the Book Depository saying its on its way. Its by Irish author Carmel Harrington who has recently become an auto buy for me. I don’t really care what its about as I anticipate it’ll be good anyway. It says on the blurb something about perhaps size doesn’t matter. When this book will arrive? Who knows? I am not sure if we are allowing online stuff from overseas coming into the country. But I guess it’ll arrive sometime this year!
I liked the first book I read by this author and I will certainly buy and read this one. Here is a bit of the blurb “In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.” Paranormal – fantasy.
I’ll need to wait until August for this romantic suspense book. There are big but very quickly read. This is #24. I haven’t read them all but this is #2 in the Sacramento books and I read the #1 of that plus the Cincinnati books.
This one publishes in June and I’ll buy it. This is the USA cover although mine will be the dark black international one. This involves a wolf and an Arrow. Can’t come soon enough. The Pay Changeling series is one of my big favourites in case you didn’t know by now!
Does this one need any introduction? Romantic suspense usually at its best with Nora Roberts. This one comes out in May, I may buy the audiobook of this one depending on the narrator. I don’t need to know what its about, I know it will be readable for certain.
When it all Turned to Custard by Danielle Hawkins is one I own and bought after I read a review by an Australian blogger. I haven’t read it yet but its in the queue. It too is set in New Zealand. Hmm I just see a recommendation on the back by one of my favourite Australian authors – Fiona Lowe who says ” An entertaining read full of humour, heart and soul.” I should move it up the list. Published 2019
Soraya Lane has written both romance and women’s fiction. Its the latter that I enjoy. The Spitfire Girls is set overseas and is an insight into the courageous contribution women made in both England and the USA towards the WW2 endeavours. These women were willing to put their lives on the line and take on piloting planes to where they were needed. And… they were very successful.
What a honey of a book. I was originally enticed into this book by the US edition with its warm tones on the cover, however as I read the book I came to love this cover too. Sugar is a treasure and the amazing ‘family’ of people she gathered around her was endearing and satisfying. As it says on the cover – a novel of honey, love and manners.
Finally a book I bought this week. This is by Farid Ahmed about his wife, the Christchurch massacre and his journey to forgiveness. All royalties go to St John Ambulance. As the one year date for this awful shooting and I heard about this book o the radio, I was immediately interested in reading it. Farid’s wife was killed in this massacre. I believe the book will build my understanding of the experience of another New Zealander.
This book was on the Summer Reading Guide ’19 by Anne Bogel and I bought it, although I did read another of this author’s books Tell Me Three Things before I finally reached this one. I loved Tell Me Three Things and at present am reading this one. Julie Buxbaum writes YA books but as someone once said to me, any book well written is for everyone and anyone.
This one is part of the Thunder Point series written by Robyn Carr and published in 2015. This is a story of a woman who has a broken marriage and the loss of a child. The woman’s name is Ginger and she makes a very gutsy as she looks for new hope in her life now and into the future. As ever Robyn Carr writes a very good book with a wide range of interesting characters.
This is by Australian author Rachael Johns and she has become an author I’ll automatically read. This book is set in Hope Junction and its about a couple who have been burned by life and have the opportunity to grasp something new and positive… if they can find that hope and trust.
From my favourite paranormal series comes this book by Nalini Singh. I love her themes and explorations of issues. In this story…Awakening wounded in a darkened cell, their psychic abilities blocked, Aden and Zaira know they must escape. But when the lethal soldiers break free from their mysterious prison, they find themselves in a harsh, inhospitable landscape far from civilization. Their only hope for survival is to make it to the hidden home of a predatory changeling pack that doesn’t welcome outsiders.
This is another book by an Australian author. Its the story of Augusta – a twin to Julia who is always so good and Augusta – well she gets rather squashed for her forthrightness and view of life.
An unusual book, it tells the story of Tom an Australian farmer and his love for Hannah and Peter. Hannah has suffered and lost so much and her story of Auschwitz is heartbreaking. Tom too is not a stranger to sadness yet he is extraordinary in his quiet way. I loved his way with people and animals and his ability to work and craft beautiful bookshelves. I really enjoyed the Australian flavour to this book. I laughed aloud at some of the recognised colloquilisms. Hannah is a difficult character, but she has been through so much, her struggle understandable. I liked her determination to gather and sell books to make up for the many destroyed by the Nazis. My heart went out to Peter, so young and yet so much heartbreak for him. It had a lot more appeal for me than I thought it would.
I listened to this one on audiobook and I found that at times I had to push myself to pick it up to listen to. I may have liked this a lot more if I’d just read it. Nina works in a book shop, is a total book nerd, loves her cat and is a trivia expert. She has never known her Dad, but when he dies she finds out she has lots of family -some lovely some not. There is also a little romance and Nina finds herself wondering is it better to be alone or is it better to be alone with someone who loves her as she is.
This one is a true bookish book. It is about a bookshop and the people who own it and work in it. It has lots of bookish talk and yet its about so much more. It’s about relationships and what makes them, its about valuing and loving people in spite of what might appear on the surface. We often judge, but are we making that up in our heads, is it really what’s happening? I loved the explorations and paths this book took me down. Its definitely one for my keeper shelf.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is not immediately bookish, but it is still about the power of story and words and captures much of the magic of books. It is fantasy but often feels very real. January the young heroine of the book loves to read and write. There are doors that lead into other worlds, and there are those who want to lock them up tight and keep the world safe and to their order and power. Safety at the cost of freedom and choice. January stands at the centre, she is key. Magic, time travel, a coming of age story. It’s thought provoking. The characters, especially January and Sam and Bad really appeal. Maybe not for everyone but I am pleased I gave this one a chance. If you want to know a little more read this 
The Book Charmer has a small town approach with a librarian – Sarah who often has books that “talk” to her and she gives books to people because she “knows” they need them. And most often she is proved right. Grace turns up in town and Sarah knows that Grace is destined to stay in the town but Grace is not inclined. It was a good read although I didn’t entirely warm to it. However other readers I follow did award it 5 stars so it could have just been me. I gave it a solid three stars.
Back in 1994 it all began for me. I was teaching and I can’t remember how I chose this book, but I did. On the staff another teacher was hooked too and we often talked about that Scottish Highlander Jamie. It’s time travel at its very best.
The Troubleshooters is fast paced romantic suspense. The characters carry on from book to book, with one character mostly to the forefront. There are about seventeen main books in this series – I have them all. I want to do a reread at some point. Navy seals – what’s not to like!
Once I was stymied what to read. Nothing satisfied me. I’d read a little online about Virgin River and I thought well I’ll take a chance. This was pre-Kindle days. So I bought a second hand copy I think on the Thriftbooks website. The rest is history. I was hooked and ever after that I bought every one that came out. Mostly via Amazon I think
The Pay/Changeling series I was slow to take up. I read others comments on the SEP board and was semi tempted. I thought it would be too hot for me. I saw a copy of one of the books in a staff members bag and I asked her about the series. She lent me some of the first ones.
I like all things royal and this one sounds interesting. Of course we are still with the British monarchy here and so I’ve been interested since early times. Our magazines always carry something royal! I heard a review of this book on the radio.
I love all things Obama too! How come I just haven’t read this one yet. I have it in hardback and audio form. I need to get onto it!
This is a memoir and while I haven’t really read much of Pat Conroy’s books I thought I’d give this a go. The title draws me in. At the same time I also bought the memoir by his wife.
Nancy Zieman had a quilting TV show for years. I didn’t see them but have seen some of her videos on You Tube. She strikes me as a very gutsy woman who overcame challenges. She died far too young but I think left a huge amount of inspiration.
This one is from a teen favourite author and I didn’t read all her books, or if I did I’ve forgotten them. They have somewhat updated covers! This one is about a young nurse starting out. Many of these books have been published recently in Kindle format and I have been buying them all up! But I need to read them!
Bought back in July 2019. I think it was on a deal and a few people have recommended it. It may be a Rom Com which isn’t my preferred reading but will give it a go sometime.
Bought this back last year in July too and its historical romance, #3 in a series and I enjoyed the first two. I need to get to it! It’s a marriage of convenience trope.
Another July ’19 purchase! Again a deal I think and maybe a recommendation from Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs Darcy blog. The blurb says ………………… A searing debut novel from the award-winning author of You Know When the Men are Gone, about jealousy, the unpredictable path of friendship, and the secrets kept in marriage, all set within the U.S. expat community of the Middle East during the rise of the Arab Spring.
In this novel we meet a writer hiding ashamed from one big mistake he made – he plagiarised from a little known author and he was dobbed* in by an “unknown source”. I know, immediately we judge him as a reader, we don’t like plagiarising, we see how it affects authors. But… suddenly I found myself remembering a little plagiarising I did myself as a thirteen year old. We had to write a description, I was under pressure just like Anthony, and I picked up a description of a cowboy from Zane Grey. Thank you Zane! Anyway of course the teacher didn’t buy it, I mean I am and was no Zane Grey. But I do remember the shame and I was cured of plagiarising! Of course as a teacher many years later I’d come to realise the value of mentor texts and how we can learn and model our writing on those writers who write wonderful sentences and descriptions! Anyway my small life experience brought to me some sympathy for this character Anthony and it turns out it wasn’t misplaced.
This is the first book written by British author Lucilla Andrews – written in 1954. It is less a romance and rather a fascinating look at hospital nursing life in this era. It will be interesting to see how her writing develops as I read through her books in the order they were written. Who knew that prem babies were fed breast milk with a little brandy! Very realistic and worth reading although a little too much description. I connected to it because way back in the ’60’s I spent a year as a nurse aide in a maternity hospital. It was fascinating to see how things had moved on since 1954. For example after giving birth the women were carried down stairs on a stretcher to the ward after giving birth. At great cost to those carrying. In my day of course they were wheeled back in a bed. Nowadays if they are at a hospital they are often on their way home a few hours later!
Rival’s Break is a suspenseful cozy mystery sort of book, but what I connected to were the characters and the fact that some of them had quite Catholic connections and some Irish. Emma Sharpe one of the main characters – an FBI member and art expert once belonged to an order of nuns, and there is a Father Finian who became a priest after losing his wife and daughters in an accident. So with my own Catholic upbringing and a good dose of Irish in me I felt very at home in the book!
As soon as I started The Country Guesthouse I was making connections. I was thinking of all those times we did things as a staff to build rapport and trust etc. The fall back the heroine had to make to someone who couldn’t be trusted at work ( and she wasn’t caught!) I hated those team build times as much as Hannah. And then 5 year old Noah has lost his mother and doesn’t want to forget her. It reminded my of my nephew Max and the hard time he had and still does at the loss of his great grandpa when he was 5. And I loved and could identify with Owen’s love of a quiet life in a less populated area. Already I’ve stopped in the early parts of the book to reflect. So much so, my Kindle has turned off a few times while waiting for me to go on!
Many readers I follow enjoyed this author and book so I wanted to try it out. I am growing in years and the characters in this book are experiencing many of the things I know about. They are a bit older than me, but not much and so their thoughts and feelings I can really identify with and it makes me stop and think, and admire their struggles and kindnesses, and their knowing that life is still for living and the great choices they make. I really admired Frank and Lucille’s honesty with each other in this story and their acceptance of each other and the love and friendship they had for each other. Never too old! And I totally identify.