📖 Book Review ~ The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma by Sarah Mallory

 

Harlequin Historical
December 2024

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

Conham, the new Earl of Dallamire, is resolute: he must wed a wealthy bride. It’s the only way to bring the estate that his late father squandered back into prosperity. But a late-night encounter with beautiful stranger Rosina Brackwood leads Conham to question his carefully laid plans…

Running away from her abominable brother, Rosina is in desperate need of refuge. So when Conham offers her a position as his land steward, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Yet as they live and work together in close confines the crackle of chemistry is impossible to ignore…

📖 My Review..

As always with the Regency romances from this talented writer we are transported back in time to a world of restrictions where women were very much at the mercy of men, be it their fathers, brothers or husbands. Rosina Brackwood very much falls into this category as in escaping her tyrannical and profligate brother she must find employment however with her life in danger she takes a chance on becoming the land steward to Conham, the new Earl of Dallamire. This in itself is an unusual situation as women do not become employed as managers of large estates but Rosina is no shrinking violet and pretty soon Conham realises that there is far more to this feisty young woman than he could ever have imagined.

There’s the fine attention to historical accuracy that we have come to expect from this author’s books but there is also a wonderful array of characters who flit into and out of the story each bringing their own brand of magic to this sparking story. I have been quite engrossed in this wonderful world and have loved spending time and getting to know Rosina and Conham. At its heart, of course, is a tender and romantic love story but there is also so much more to take in especially with those nefarious characters who, hopefully, get what they deserve.

The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma is great escapism which brightens even the darkest of days. It’s an adventurous story, beautifully described, with wonderful characters and a tender love story, what’s not to like 😉

About the Author

Sarah Mallory was born in the West Country and grew up with a love of books and history. She has had over 40 historical novels published and won the Rona Rose Award from the Romantic Novelists Association in 2012 and 2013.

Website

Twitter @SarahMRomance

BlueSky sarahmallory.bsky.social

📖 Blog Tour ~ A New Chapter at the Little Penguin Bookshop by Joanna Toye

Penguin
26 January 2025

thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour

 

Carrie Anderson’s business selling books at her local train station is thriving and, with her beloved Mike returned from war, everything feels as though it is falling into place. That is, until Mike is sent to Washington as a liaison between Britain and America.

When her twin brother, Johnnie, a fighter pilot, is injured, and her bookstall falls on hard times, Carrie misses the sage advice and comfort of Mike more than ever.

Bolstered by her supportive station community, can Carrie battle through this challenging new chapter and reach the happy ending she deserves?

📖 My Review..

Those who have read The Little Penguin Bookshop will be entirely familiar with Carrie Anderson and her little railway book shop and those who are new to the story will soon pick up the thread as it’s possible to read this as a standalone story. In this continuation we meet again with Carrie, and the rest of the characters, pretty much where the first book ended, with Carrie and her boyfriend Mike picking up their relationship, only for Mike to be posted to America.

It’s 1941 and Britain is finding that the pinch of war is biting hard. Food rationing is causing genuine hardship and with the devastation of the blitz in London, Carrie and her family and friends are finding it difficult but as ever their stoical nature shines through and Carrie finds, more than ever, that her bookshop with its colourful array of Penguin sixpenny titles is her refuge when the book shop experiences difficult times. As always the author brings time and place to life so perfectly that it is no hardship to spend time in the company of this lovely bunch of characters. 

The story flows beautifully, historically accurate, packed with emotion and at times, sadness, but there is always a sense of duty and flashes of humour. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time at the little bookshop and relished reading about this new chapter in its existence. I hope it won’t be too long before we meet again with Carrie, Mike and the rest of the characters who make these lovely WW2 sagas so special.

About the Author

Jo wrote for many years as a writer and producer on saops ranging from Radio 4'ds The archers to TV's Doctors and EastEnders. She wrote several spin-off books and novelisations before inventing her own fictional world in six previous sagas: her World War Two 'Shop Girls' and 'Victory Girls' titles. She lives in the countryside near Bath - perfect for walking and plotting!

X @JoannaToye #ANewChpaterTheLittlePenguinBookShop

@centurybooksuk

📖 Book Review ~ Mumageddon! And The Food Magician by Sonya Anise

 

Books Beautiful
12 December 2024

My thanks to Cameron Publicity for my copy of this book

MUMAGEDDON! And the Food Magician is a deliciously laugh-out-loud story of a budding chocolatier who loves baking. Though he's a food magician, his loathsome stepmother bans him from the kitchen, and sends him to beastly boarding school where terror reigns and prefects rule. Seeking sweet revenge (using his culinary smarts) he mixes a potion, fingers crossed, to cause commotion...

A rambunctious rollercoaster must-read for all ages, will make kids squeal with delight, fright and disgust!

Bursting with vibrant full colour illustrations on every page, and told in verse reminiscent of Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, it's perfect for fans of best loved children's classics George's Marvellous Medicine and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Cinderella.

Though fantastically silly, this David Vs Goliath saga is ultimately a heart-warming tale about compromise, acceptance, forgiveness and unconditional love, with a great message about following your passion and using your voice.

Enjoyed by the whole family, Sonya’s raucous rhyme rolls off the tongue and is really fun to read aloud – you'll want to read and re-read it again and again.

A comic triumph of outstanding originality, MUMAGEDDON! And the Food Magician is destined to become a classic beloved by children, parents (and hopefully stepmothers) everywhere.

📖 My Thoughts..

You're never too old for a children's book and I have enjoyed reading this fun rhyming story although it would also appeal to young readers who enjoy colourful illustrations and an intrepid chocolatier who gets sent away to boarding school by his beastly step-mother. Whilst at boarding school he uses his culinary skills to his advantage with unexpected results. The story has snippets of useful information, a note on home safety and a reminder not to try some of the experiments at home which acts a useful reminder to both children and adults alike.

Coming in at around 100 pages, its a generous sized book, which is a perfect size for confident readers aged about 8 and upwards, although I am sure its also one of those interesting books which can be read together as a bedtime story, The rhyming is good and sets its own pace, the illustrations are fun and colourful and the Food Magician is a delightful character. There is a message in the story about following what you believe in and also about learning to understand and compromise.

About the Author

Sonya Anise is a fine artist, photographer and interior product designer who studied art and design at Central Saint Martins. Born in Dublin to British parents, Sonya has lived in England, Ireland, Spain, Australia, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Sonya enjoys a nomadic life traveling of the beaten track in search of colour. and all things weird and wonderful. She is also passionate about cooking ( and especially chocolate)

Being an ocean lover, Sonya's currently on a small Balearic Island working on her next book...

📖 Book Review ~ Ten Poems about Museums from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
2024

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this pamphlet

In these vivid poems selected by David Clarke we enter museums both real and imaginary to discover a host of beguiling artefacts.

Museums manage to contain whole worlds. They can show us life as it was lived in past centuries or prompt us to imagine how the future might unfold. Some of the objects in a museum may be workaday, but they have a remarkable power to express deep truths about our human lives. In the ‘room of clocks’ at the British Museum:

“Time thickens here, revolves,

regards itself in mirrors;

almost, each minute holds its place.”

from ‘Visit to the British Museum’ by Frances Horovitz

What characterises every museum is the ability to inspire a sense of wonder and possibility. Museums are places we should cherish and these poems demonstrate and celebrate that compelling fact.

Poems by Alison Brackenbury, David Clarke, Glyn Edwards, Suzannah Evans, Helen Farish, Thomas Hardy, Frances Horovitz, Robert Minhinnick, Tom Sastry and Lesley Saunders.

Cover illustration by Jane Burn.

📖 My Thoughts...

I love a good museum, be it some grand establishment, or a tiny local treasure tucked away on a back street somewhere, there is something quite magical about searching glass cabinets for that glimpse of our long ago past. I remember my very first museum, it was a school trip to the British Museum in London. The whole excursion captured my imagination, from the exciting journey by train from the North West ,and my first ever visit to our capital, the magic still remains.

This fine collection of ten poems captured my imagination in the same way, from its stunning cover and the Wedgewood blue of its end papers, to the fascinating content and the reminder that in visiting museums we are looking for a glimpse into the lives of those who have gone before and who have laid the foundations of the lives we live today. I remember being with a group of primary schoolchildren as they explored domestic items in a local museum, items which would have been in common use in the early part of the twentieth century, and enjoying their questioning minds I reminded them that one day items they take for granted will become artifacts in a  museum. Time passes, but things remain.

"Bobbin, Hook and tools my father's 

farming uncle might have had a use for.

Crazed china, stamped with coronation heads

Green bottles dulled by patent medication.

Mangles. Smocks and dominos. A copper

jelly mould shaped like a sleeping hare"

From The Museum of Lincolnshire Life by David Clarke

I find that the lull after Christmas is a perfect time to visit a museum and we are so lucky to have so many to choose. This lovely collection of poetry has certainly whetted my appetite for a visit to a museum but if that's not possible then Ten Poems about Museums is the next best thing, or perhaps give 'instead of a card' to someone who loves a good museum.

About the Publisher

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Twitter/X @poetrycandle

Blue Sky @candlestickpress.bsky.social

Website

📖 Book of my Month ~ The Players by Minette Walters

 

Allen & Unwin
2 January 2025

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

A gripping tale of compassion, imposture, trickery and surprising alliances set against the backdrop of The Bloody Assizes, from the bestselling author of The Last Hours and The Swift and the Harrier.

The much-anticipated sequel to The Swift and The Harrier

England, 1685. Decades after the end of the civil war, the country is once again divided when Charles II's illegitimate son, the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, arrives in Dorset to incite rebellion against his Catholic uncle.

Armed only with pitchforks, Monmouth's army is quickly defeated by King James II's superior forces and charged with high treason. Those found guilty will be hanged, drawn and quartered.

As Dorset braces for carnage, the redoubtable Lady Jayne Harrier and a small group of trusted allies - including her courageous son and the independent-minded daughter of a local lawyer - contrive ways to save men from the gallows.

Compelling and powerful, The Players is a story of guile, deceit and compassion during the dark days of The Bloody Assizes. Secrets are kept and surprising friendships formed in a dangerous gamble to thwart a brutal king's thirst for vengeance...

📖 My thoughts..

Having been impressed with The Swift and the Harrier when it was published in 2021, I was excited to discover that the much anticipated sequel was to be published in 2025. 

As the novel begins in 1685 we have now moved considerably on from the English Civil War and whilst King Charles II's reign brought a period of stability to the country, his brother, and successor, King James II is a very different monarch. When the Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate eldest son of Charles II incites insurrection examples must be made of those supporters who took part in the ill-fated rebellion and it is there where we meet again with Lady Jayne Harrier who lives in Dorset with her son Elias, Duke of Glanville. We learn something of what has gone on in the previous years with Jane but largely the book focuses on the events following the Monmouth rebellion and the Bloody Assizes which took place in the aftermath when James II was hellbent on revenge.

The story brings a true sense of the injustice which was meted out to Monmouth supporters whether they be guilty, or innocent, and whilst Lady Jayne and her son do what they can to ameliorate the damage, history still carries the scars laid down by Judge Jeffreys and his harsh punishments. The characterisation is, as always, excellent with a whole host of fully rounded fictional figures who sit very comfortably alongside those from history. The timeline is recreated with a fine eye for even the smallest detail and the way in which time comes to life is testament to the author's skill at bringing history alive. 

I've have enjoyed reading The Players so much that I am delighted to make it the Book of My Month for January.

About the Author

Minette Walters is one of the world's best-selling crime writers. She is the author of twelve novels, winning the CWA John Creasey Award for The Ice House, the Edgar Allan Poe Award in America for The Sculptress and two CWA Gold Daggers for The Scold's Bridle and Fox Evil. The Last Hours and The Turn of Midnight mark an exciting new direction for Minette. She lives in Dorset with her husband.

Website

Social Media

#ThePlayers

X @AllenAndUnwinUK 

📖 Book Review ~ The Girl in the Window by Diana Wilkinson

 

Boldwood 
13 December 2024

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book

Every morning on my way to work, I settle with my cappuccino in the corner of my favourite café, Angelo’s, and watch the world go by.

I’m especially riveted by the flat across the street. It’s where a pretty brunette comes and goes. I try to imagine things about her. Her age. Her life. Her background. What makes her tick.

Once a week at least, a man in cycling gear rings her bell. Sometimes he dares kiss her on the lips. More often, the door is swiftly closed, and he follows her up the stairs. I watch bereft, and imagine all sorts of things.

It’s all regular as clockwork. He’s never late. He always wears the same cycling outfit. He’s not a Lycra sort of man. His new helmet, with an edging of red around the black, is as far as he’ll go to appear professional.

I’ve worked out lots about him from just watching. But then I know a whole lot more about him too.

Because he’s my husband.

Keeping a secret life from an unsuspecting wife takes not a little cunning. But I’m no longer an unsuspecting wife. The question is, will I be able to keep the knowledge of what I know from my husband……until I decide what I’m going to do...

📖 My thoughts..

Izzy sits in a coffee shop each morning, watching as her husband visits another woman in the house opposite and there begins a tense psychological story which spirals ever more out of control. With a tightly woven plot the author weaves a story of intrigue and danger and with Izzy getting more and more involved in piecing together this mysterious relationship so she gets pulled ever further into a deadly game.

I really enjoyed reading this one and look forward to more from this talented writer.

About the Author

Diana Wilkinson graduated from Durham University with a degree in geography, then after a short spell in teaching, spent most of her working life in the business of tennis development. A former Irish international player, Diana finally stepped off the tennis court to become a full-time writer.Born and bred in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the height of the civil unrest, she now lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her husband and son.

Social media

X @DiWilkinson2020 #TheGirlInTheWindow

X @BoldwoodBooks 

A New Year of Books ~ 2025 📖

 

Looking forward to another year of Jaffareadstoo with lots of exciting books due to the published this year.

Here are some of the books I am looking forward to reading in the first few months of 2025:

Famous Last Words - Gillian McAllister (January)

The Queen of Fives - Alex Hay (January)

The Players - Minette Walters (January)

Six Poppies - Lisa Carter (January)

The Wolf Tree - Laura McCluskey (February)

The Woman in the Wallpaper - (February)

The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths (February)

The Lollipop Man - Daniel Sellers (February)

The Lamplighter’s Bookshop - Sophie Austin (March)

The Mysterious Bakery on the Rue de Paris Evie Woods (March)

The Lost Passenger - Frances Quinn (March )

Greater Dins - Gabrielle Griffiths (March)

The Eights -  Joanna Miller (April)

The Homemade God- Rachel Joyce (April)

The Blackbirds of St Giles -  Lila Cain (April)

The Midnight Carousel - Fiza Saeed McLynn (April)