The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani and Translated by Geoffrey Brock - #bookreview

'On that day, ten years ago, I saw my parents for the last time. Since then I’ve changed phone numbers, houses, continents, I’ve erected an impregnable wall and put an ocean between us. They’ve been the best ten years of my life.'

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the publisher. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org  affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

A son is celebrating a bittersweet anniversary. It is a decade since he saw his parents: the father who ruled through petty acts of intimidation and fear, the mother who silently accepted it, fitting herself in the spaces around others’ lives. As he looks back, he recalls the airless family home, unsettled only by the ringing of a telephone, or a visitor who was soon rejected. And he remembers how he became possessed by the irrepressible desire to be free, to live his own life. But can you ever escape the grip of your origins?

At once unflinchingly honest and razor sharp, The Anniversary is above all a novel of liberation which dismantles the tyranny of the family. It becomes a mirror in which we glimpse something that, even if we have not known it, affects us all.

My Review

This slim book of just 144 pages is quite remarkable. Translated from Italian by Geoffrey Brock, it tells the story of the narrator's estrangement from his parents. In fact, the titular anniversary is in recognition of the ten years since he walked away and has never contacted them since.

What has led him to this decision is the need to escape his father's violent, controlling and narcissistic behaviour. His mother has resigned herself to a life of servitude to her husband, never contradicting him, just silently moving around him as though not to be noticed. Initially, I felt sympathetic towards her character but at times, and by the end of the book, I wanted to pick her up and shake her; make her see sense and walk away from this man.

However, these situations are notoriously difficult to escape and both history and current times see women tied to violent or coercive men. That said, the narrator often felt his mother was complicit in his father's violence towards him by withdrawing herself from the situation, never speaking out to protect him and remaining silent. 

This is a powerful novella which considers the effects that growing up amidst violence and aggression can have. It is a short work and the author has portrayed much. Every word is considered and accurately placed. The author has contained the larger than life character of the father, along with the meekness of his mother, ingeniously within the covers of this book and has created a great work in doing so.

This novella is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 0241766507

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 144 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Andrea Bajani is the author of several award-winning novels including If You Kept a Record of Sins, Every Promise and The Book of Homes, which have been translated into over twenty languages. The Anniversary was a bestseller in Italy and won the Strega Prize in 2025. Born in Rome, he now teaches creative writing at Rice University in Texas.

Other Blog Posts Featuring Translations

Through Three Rooms by Sven Elvestad

Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal

Some Kind of Company by Nan Ostman

The Tunnel by A. B. Yehoshua

US cover

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(author photo courtesy of Rice University)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Hyena's Daughter by Jupiter Jones - #bookreview

 1797

If she were herself, Mary Wollstonecraft would feel sick as a dog from all the wine they have made her drink. Red wine to compensate for blood loss. But she is not herself. By now, she is half-ghost...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the publicist. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

The Hyena’s Daughter tells the far-too-untold story of a c19th sisterhood, the daughters of Mary Wollstonecraft: Fanny Imlay and Mary Shelley, the famed writer of Frankenstein, plus their step-sister Claire Clairmont, lover of Lord Byron.

Are they the three graces? The fates? They’re women, as alive and breathing and rebellious and analytical as you and me, and well aware and critical of the hemmed-in nature they’re expected to accept as women of their time – a time of “a new way of thinking, a new-world independence, a revolutionary world.”

It features their connection to Percy Bysshe Shelley – “how could we not love him, with his lofty ethics and words that flew like birds?” –and many of the other contemporary poets and thinkers of the time.

Pacy and assured, it turns its history to life from fragment to sensuous fragment. If the dead brought to life is to be Mary Shelley’s theme, this novella asks what the real source of life spirit is, the vital spark. This book, full of detail and richesse, is a piece of vitality in itself.”

My Review

This is an enjoyable novella about the daughters of Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Most of us are aware of her middle daughter, Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. However, the two remaining daughters have remained in the background.

The youngest daughter, Clara Clairmont, is largely known as the wife of poet, Lord Byron. However, the eldest daughter, Francoise Imlay, also known as Fanny Godwin was unknown to me and for this reason I found her the most interesting of the three.

It is through Fanny that we really see how the role of the unmarried spinster played out during the 19th century. The book is full of detail and we get a real insight into the role of women in society at the time.

The book is written in short chapters and which move the book along at a fast pace. Much surrounds the scandal of Mary and Clara running away to be with the poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Although the book is set in the early 19th century it felt very relevant. It addresses themes of sisterhood, family and the role of women. It considers what happens when people faced financial difficulties. For such a short book it packs quite a punch and my heart went out to Fanny in particular. To be the oldest daughter who remains a spinster was considered shameful. She also ends up as the go-between between her sisters and parents.

The book is an impressive and creative addition to our knowledge of the Wollstonecraft/Shelley/Byron canon of books. I enjoyed reading it very much and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1068176609

Publisher:  Weatherglass

Formats:  Paperback

No. of Pages:  200 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Weatherglass Books

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Jupiter Jones is the winner of the Philip Hoare Prize for creative non-fiction and the Colm Toibin International Short Story Prize. She is the author of three previous novellas: The Death and Life of Mrs Parker; Lovelace Flats; and Gull Shit Alley and Other Roads to Hell.

You can also find Jupiter at:

Author Website

X

Bluesky

(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Doubles by Nora Gold - #bookreview

Wednesday, August 14, 1968

My favourite subject is math. I love math, even though I'm not especially good at it. I'm not good at anything really, or good for anything, as Dad often says...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the author. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

Doubles takes place in 1968 in an institution for troubled youth, and is told from the perspective of a brilliant, spunky, 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with math. Engagingly written and often funny, this novella explores how a sensitive young teenager changes over a six-month period from a polite, quiet "good girl" into a delinquent. Although set in the past, Doubles has direct relevance to today, with our recently heightened awareness of the harsh reality in some of our residential institutions during that era (including for Indigenous children, but not only).

My Review

I am not new to this author's work and I will include links to my reviews of her other books at the bottom of the post. When she asked if I would review this book for her, I was delighted to accept as she is a talented author.

This novella exceeded my expectations. It is rare for me to attribute five stars to such a short book, but this is worthy of the sparkle of each of them.

It tells the story of a girl who has been removed from her home by the authorities and placed into a children's home. Needless to say, she doesn't want to be there. She just wants to return home and does not understand why she can't.

Set in 1968, the entire story is told from her perspective through her diary entries. However, this is a multi-faceted novella and what the reader can ascertain from reading between the lines is significant. The reader's adult eyes allow us to understand what this narrator cannot. My heart was breaking for this girl as I read her diary entries and I found it very moving.

The reason for my giving this book five stars is because of the levels within the narrative. It is powerful, heart-rending and thought-provoking, and the author writes with compassion and sensitivity.  I think she has done a brilliant job with this and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Publishing tomorrow, I strongly suggest you get your hands on a copy of this novella. I think you will enjoy it every bit as much as I did.

To read my other reviews of Nora's work, please click on the respective titles.

In Sickness and in Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym

The Dead Man

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1778490361

Publisher:  Guernica Editions

Formats: Paperback

No. of Pages:  86 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon US

Amazon CA

About the Author

Dr. Nora Gold is a prize-winning author of five books. Her first, Marrow and Other Stories, won a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award and was praised by Alice Munro. Her second book, Fields of Exile, won the inaugural Canadian Jewish Literary Award for best novel, and was acclaimed by Ruth Wisse and Irwin Cotler. The Dead Man was honoured with a Canada Council translation grant and published in Hebrew. Her most recent book, 18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages (an anthology of translated works), was praised by Publishers Weekly, Cynthia Ozick, Dara Horn, and Joseph Kertes. Gold's fifth book, In Sickness and In Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym (two novellas), will be published by Guernica Editions in March 2024.

Gold received her PhD from University of Toronto, was a tenured professor for ten years, and left her academic position to write fiction fulltime. Subsequently she was associated with the Centre for Women’s Studies at OISE/University of Toronto, where she was, for six years, its Writer-in-Residence and created and coordinated the Wonderful Women Writers reading series.

In addition, Gold is the founder and editor-in-chief of JewishFiction.net, a prestigious online literary journal that publishes first-rate Jewish-themed fiction from around the world. To date, Jewish Fiction .net has published almost 600 works of fiction that were either written in English or translated into English from 20 languages but never before published in English. These include works by eminent authors such as Elie Wiesel and Aharon Appelfeld, Canadians Gary Barwin, Chava Rosenfarb, George Jonas, Sidura Ludwig, Morley Torgov, David Bezmozgis, and Sonia Zylberberg, and many talented emerging writers. A story from Jewish Fiction .net was selected for the Fall 2023 Pushcart Prize anthology, and Jewish Fiction .net has readers in 140 countries.

You can also find Nora at:

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Instagram

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(author photo and bio courtesy of The Writers' Union of Canada)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Six Mile Store by A.M. Belsey - #bookreview

The store had always been there. By the time it got into your blood, it was already old, grimy and hunkered down by the side of the road in a way that seemed like it was growing out of the foothills it neighboured. It sat on a crossroads, linking nowhere to nowhere...

***

It has recently come to my attention that I must make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the publicist. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

SOMETHING UGLY’S WAITIN’ FOR YOU

Honey’s working weekends down at the Six Mile, trying to figure her life out. Her boyfriend’s about to leave the country, her college advisor hates her guts, her momma ain’t listening, and she’s got this cop breathing down her neck just about all the time.

She finds a friend in her new colleague Lisa, but when one of their regular customers turns up dead, everything goes sideways faster than a greased hog at the county fair…

My Review

This character-driven novella made for excellent reading.

Set in Arkansas during the 1990s, the story revolves around Honey and the characters she works with or meets whilst working in the titular Six Mile Store.

The author did a great job of packing so much into just 125 pages. That said, it didn't feel rushed and moved along at an appropriate pace for the genre. She writes very well and this made for absorbing, albeit short, reading.

The book is told from Honey's perspective until later in the novel when it switches to one of her colleagues, opening up a different side to the day-to-day routine of the store/petrol station.

Honey is a great character. She is ambitious for her education and is working for her MA alongside supporting herself by working at the store. I loved her determination and slightly feisty character.

This book is well worth reading. It is packed with atmosphere and has a great narrative with some twists and turns along the way. It makes for reading in one sitting and was most enjoyable.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1917090124

Publisher:  Deixis Press

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  125 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

A M Belsey was born in Arkansas but moved to the United Kingdom at age 21. She ain’t never looked back.

You can also find her at:

Instagram

Substack

(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Books I Have Read This Month - February 2026

 

As we near the end of winter, the only thing keeping me going is the thought that spring isn't too far away.  When I see the crocuses popping up their glorious little mauve coloured heads, it fills my heart with joy as they promise that spring is just around the corner.

Of course, the other thing that has kept me going through this grey, wet February is the books that I have read.

The Heart-Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman

This novella was a quick and excellent read.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer

I felt very privileged to have had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien

I have read that the author of this book wrote it as it combined two of her greatest pleasures – reading and knitting.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

The Man Who Wore All His Clothes and Other Stories by Allan Ahlberg

This is a collection of very funny stories. The humour contained in both text and illustration are very well done and it made these stories come alive.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

The Other Mother by Heidi Field

This book made for fabulous reading.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

Less by Patrick Grant

This is a fabulous book written by The Sewing Bee's Patrick Grant. It discusses over consumerism and is quite the wake up call. My review will be following.

Love Struck by Ally Bloom

This was a tense story line. Review to follow.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

This is one I'd been wanting to read for ages. It's set in a Jewish/Black neighbourhood. It made for excellent reading.

Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur

My review of this book about Iranian women will follow.

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

Written with a dual timeline, this book kept me hooked throughout.  If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

Grave of the Fireflies by Akiyuki Nosaka and Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori - #bookreview

On the mainline Sannomiya Station, bayside exit, Seita sat slumped against a column, its tiles peeling off to expose the bare concrete, with his bottom on the floor and both legs stretched out straight before him...

The Blurb

The heartbreaking Japanese classic telling the story of two orphans fighting for survival at the end of World War Two, published in English for the first time

In the dying days of the War, Seita and Setsuko must fend for themselves. Firebombs have obliterated their home in Kobe, leaving them searching for shelter and scrambling to survive in the depths of the countryside. But, as their suffering becomes a constant companion, so do the lights of the fireflies – shining from the bomber planes, and the insects glowing by the lake at night.

This unforgettable semi-autobiographical tale by Akiyuki Nosaka won him the Naoki Prize, cementing his place in the Japanese cultural canon. Published here for the first time as a standalone story, Grave of the Fireflies illuminates the untold sorrows of normal people who live in the shadow of war.

My Review

Publishing today this short but heartbreaking and raw novella is an absolute must read. 

It is the story of Seita and Setsuko who have been orphaned by war. Brother and sister are aged about fourteen and four respectively. Reading of how the older sibling tries to take care of his younger sister amidst such terrible and harrowing circumstances made me feel quite emotional. 

 The author describes everyday life for them as society disintegrates around them as Japan faces defeat. Originally published in 1967, this book is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Our media is full of war and the suffering of innocent people and I could not help but think that nothing has been learned from the past.

At less than 80 pages I found this to be a concise telling of the harrowing hardships of war.  This semi-autobiographical work which was originally a short story made for excellent reading. 

Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori she has done an excellent job of bringing this story to the attention of the wider reading community and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 0241780213

Publisher:  Penguin Classics

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  80 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Blackwell's

Waterstones

About the Author

Akiyuki Nosaka (1930-2015) was a novelist, singer, lyricist and former member of the House of Councillors in Japan. Born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, his memories of living through the Second World War – including the loss of his adoptive father in the 1945 Kobe bombings – served as the inspiration for his most famous short stories. In 1967, he won the Naoki Prize for Grave of the Fireflies and American Hijiki, both based on the Japanese experience of the War. Nosaka also wrote erotic fiction, including The Pornographers (1963), and in later life he continued his career as a newspaper and TV journalist, as well as a politician and chanson singer.

(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)

(author photo courtesy of Wiki)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

A Necromancer Called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe - #bookspotlight #blogtour

Today I am shining the spotlight on this book. A Necromancer Called Gam Gam was the 2nd place finalist in BBNYA 2024!

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads. 

The Blurb

A grandmotherly necromancer seeking resolution for her past with the help of her loyal entourage: an undead cat and a spectral knight.

A girl on the run from the Eternal Empire for the mysterious power she possesses.

When a chance encounter pulls them together, Gam Gam will do what it takes to protect Mina from the rogue sergeant hounding her–including raising the dead. As long as they're dressed for the occasion.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1960544001

Publisher:  Bounty Ink Press

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  110 (paperback)

Series:  Book 1 in the Chronicles of Gam Gam series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon CA

About the Author

Adam Holcombe daylights as a programmer and moonlights as an author. After spending years toying with the idea of writing, he decided to fully commit and work toward releasing his first novel. Then Gam Gam got in the way, and his first novel became his first novella. The novel will come later. When he's not locked in a cold basement, typing away, he can be found hanging out with his wife, his dog, and his tortoise or playing D&D or board games with friends.

You can also find Adam at:

Bounty Ink Press

Instagram

Bluesky

(media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(author photo courtesy of Bounty Ink Press)

(all opinions are my own)

10 Ten Exciting New Releases in March 2024

 

If we are already looking ahead to March that means that spring should not be too far away. Bring it on...

In no particular order, here are ten exciting new books due to be published in March.

And Now the Light is Everywhere by L.A. Macrae

Where does a story end and the truth begin?

Argyll, 1998.

Stories run deep in the MacArthur family, passed from generation to generation. Tales not just of selkies and changelings, but of the lives and deaths of the family themselves. Anna MacArthur has heard how her beautiful grandmother Netta boarded a ship for Canada after the war, leaving behind her young son Donnie, and was never seen again.

Now, fifty years after her disappearance, Anna accidentally pulls a loose thread in the story of Netta's fate, causing the tale of her vanishing to unravel completely. As Anna pieces together a far more disquieting version of events, she is also forced to examine her own memories of her father Donnie's death.

Yet the truth is sometimes bent and buried for a reason. And bringing to light what some have concealed for years may not be free of consequences . . .

At the Stroke of Midnight by Jenni Keer

It’s 1923 and in a decade that promises excitement and liberation, Pearl Glenham and her father are invited to a mysterious country house party on the Dorset coast, by a total stranger.

Her father claims not to have any prior association with Highcliffe House, but upon arrival, it is apparent that he has a shared history with several of the guests, although he won’t admit it. Belatedly discovering that her father was blackmailed into attending, Pearl’s worries are compounded when their host fails to arrive…

Intimidated by everyone at the party, she escapes to the nearby cove and stumbles upon a mysterious mercury clock hidden in a cave. This strange encounter sets in motion a series of events that will culminate in an horrific house fire, claiming the lives of all the guests, including Pearl herself.

But then Pearl wakes up back in the cave, seemingly destined never to live past midnight. She can repeat the day. But can she change its outcome?

The Rebel Pianist of Majdanek by Nicola Pittam

Former Polish teenage piano prodigy Mosha Gebert is teaching when the Nazis come for her. They kill her student, but she is taken to Majdanek concentration camp. There, Commandant Josef Hanke spots her and recognises her as the pianist he fell in love with years earlier.

Hanke demands that Mosha play ‘Ode to Joy’ for him, but she refuses. She will never play in such a horrific place – or for such an evil monster. So begins a battle of wills and repeated torture. Even when Hanke causes her to lose her hearing, Mosha refuses to play.

When her sister arrives in the camp, Hanke tries to use her as leverage but Mosha is steadfast in her hatred for Hanke and the Nazis. Even when her sister is subjected to worse punishment, Mosha does not waver. Instead of playing for Hanke, she begins teaching the women camp songs.

Hanke finally turns his anger on Mosha, breaking one of her fingers. She convinces prison guard Elsa to smash the rest of her fingers with a rock.

Mosha believes crippling herself is the only way for her to survive and triumph over Hanke, but what will this do to him? Will Hanke forgive her? Or will this last desperate act finally push him over the edge?

Be My Sunflower by Kathryn Simmonds

A warm and reassuring picture book about finding your courage even when you'd rather play it safe.

The children are planting sunflowers at school and Carla gets given a seed called Vernon. All the other children's seeds are excited to get out of the packet and start growing. Not Vernon. He knows about slugs, and birds, and thunderstorms. The world is scary.

Carla waters him lovingly, but Vernon is the only seed that doesn't grow into a seedling. "Safe and snug, snug and safe," mutters Vernon, until he realizes how upset Carla is. Vernon understands that he needs to pluck up his courage, push himself out of the ground, and face the world. He needs to do it for Carla. And as Vernon blossoms into a sunflower, he discovers that although the world is not perfect, it can be ... wonderful.

In Sickness and In Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym by Nora Gold

This flip book features two separate novellas: In Sickness and In Health: Lily's most cherished goal in life has always been to be "normal," so as an adult she has painstakingly constructed a "normal" life for herself, with family, friends, and career. But her need to keep hidden her invisible disability, due to its stigma and her shame, now threatens to destroy everything she has worked so hard for. Yom Kippur in a Gym: Five isolated strangers in a synagogue on Yom Kippur – a day of intense reflection and soul-searching – are each struggling with a major personal crisis, when unexpectedly they are thrown together by an emergency that, in one hour, changes all their lives forever.

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

You're trained to save the lives of others. How far would you go to protect your own?

Ruthlessly ambitious Olivia, anxious perfectionist Laura and free-spirited risk-taker Anjali couldn't be more different. Yet their friendship, which began on the first day of medical school, has kept them inseparable for twenty-five years. As wild all-nighters and exam pressures gave way to the struggles and joys of new motherhood and intense jobs, their bond remained unbreakable. Years ago they promised that nothing would come between them and that they'd do anything for one another, including burying one night they have never spoken about: a drug-fuelled university party that forced them to make a deadly choice that could still destroy them.

When an eerily similar tragedy strikes involving their teenage children, everything the three women have built threatens to shatter around them. And they are left asking: just how far can you stretch a friendship before it snaps?

A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoka Murata

The year is 1903, and tenacious and spirited Aoi Ichi is sold to the most exclusive brothel in Kumamoto, Japan, becoming the protégée of Shinonome, the oiran, or the highest-ranking courtesan.

Through Shinonome's teachings, fifteen-year-old Ichi begins to understand the intertwined power of sex and money. Education for a courtesan extends beyond the art of seduction, and as Ichi is taught to read and write she develops a voice that refuses to be dampened by the brothel's rigid hierarchy.

Outside the cloistered world of the red-light district, rumours of local worker strikes grow, and as the seasons change in Kumamoto, Ichi, Shinonome and their fellow courtesans begin to wonder how they might redistribute the power and wealth of the brothels among themselves.

Critically acclaimed veteran writer Kiyoko Murata creates in stunning detail the harsh yet vibrant lives of women in a red-light district at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on real-life events, A Woman of Pleasure is a testament to the bonds between women and the power of owning one's language and freedom.

The Final Hours of Muriel Hinchcliffe M.B.E. by Claire Parkin

Muriel, a former bestselling romantic novelist, and Ruth, a journalist, are best friends. Inseparable since they were little, they’ve shared everything; unable to be without each other, even after the most vicious of fights.

Now fate has left them living together in a North London home, with Ruth caring for Muriel in her deteriorating health, playing Scrabble, arguing and making up, passing the days in monotony, ignoring the scars of their relationship. Then one afternoon, Muriel makes a shocking and sinister announcement, sending Ruth’s world into chaos. Only one thing is certain. Life, as she knows it, will never be the same again . . .

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy

The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.

Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquility—until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real—and frightening.

Defying Pete’s demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen’s help, Loretta’s life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he’s worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.

As Loretta’s powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself.

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways by Eve Kellman

Are you on a date that doesn’t feel right?

Can’t shake that creepy guy at the bar?

Worried you’re being followed home?

Message M.

After one too many terrifying encounters, Millie Masters sets up a hotline for women who feel unsafe walking home alone at night: Message M.

But very quickly she realises that there’s much more to be done to help the women who call in. Because the men just do it again the next night, and the next, and the next…

And when her own sister is assaulted on a night out, the temptation to take the law into her own hands becomes too much to resist.

Because M can also stand for murder…

The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson - #bookreview #blogtour

 

It was the books that Charlie smelled first - the books that drew him in.

Charlie Briggs had a nose for business, and he wasn't about to let a little thing like the "closed for lunch" sign hanging on the door of the bookshop get between him and a chance to make some unearned cash...

***

A spine-chilling winter ghost story set in the months after the Great War. Perfect for lovers of MR James and Susan Hill

The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.

Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he's forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can't believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there's a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London's mobsters is lurking in the shadows.

Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he's suffocated by his own greed?

***

I usually steer well clear of any book that has the genre of horror attached to it. However, when I was offered a copy of this for a blog tour and saw it was authored by the talented Victoria Williamson, who I have read and enjoyed previously, I could not resist.

I am so glad that I decided to read it as it was beautifully written and I did not find it remotely scary. Rather it has an eeriness to it which is engrossing. 

It focuses on a character called Charlie Briggs, who is a petty criminal who has fraudulently evaded serving in the First World War.  He is a thoroughly unlikeable character but that did not deter me from being completely engrossed in this novella from the first page to the last. Charlie is haunted in two ways; first by the ghost of a man who died in the war and whose book Charlie has stolen; and secondly by the war itself.

At just under a hundred pages, this made for a quick read. However, the horrors of the war did not make for light and entertaining reading, and the book dealt with some very difficult themes as even though we are just over a century on from the war, the horrors and the experiences of the men in the trenches is still shocking to read.

However, Ms. Williamson, handles her subject in a way which is not gratuitous but she writes in a way which gets her point across admirably. It is astonishing that she has been able to convey the atmosphere and subject so well in such a short piece of writing. I highly recommend this book and it is perfectly sized to slip in a pocket... or the Christmas stocking of an older teenager or adult if you would prefer.

If you would like to read my reviews of the books I have previously read by Victoria Williamson please click on the title links below.

The Whistlers in the Dark

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

Norah's Ark

ISBN: 978 1738436408

Publisher:  Silver Thistle Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  100 (paperback)

About the Author:

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

(book and media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

Reading Roundup for November 2023

 

How has November been for you, my friends?  It has been a quiet month for me which isn't a bad thing as it has given me lots of reading time.

Have you started shopping for the festivities yet? Hopefully, you are more organised than I am. I have made a start but I still have lots to do! I will get there. I always do.

Have you read anything good this month? Do tell!

Here are the books which I read this month.

Books I Have Read

New York Miracle by Margo Laurie - A sweet Christmassy ghost novella. You can read my review by clicking here.

Number 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer - This was my favourite book this month. It scored an easy five stars. You can read my review by clicking here.

Ghosted by Rosie Mullender - This was a delightful rom-com which I really enjoyed. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Counterfeit Detective by Simpson Grears - A dual timeline novel with overtones of Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Heretic's Daughter by Michael Lynes - The second book in the Isaac Alvarez series, and probably my favourite of the trilogy. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Red Citadel by Michael Lynes - The perfect book to end the Isaac Alvarez series. You can read my review by clicking here.

Into the Lion's Mouth by Nancy McConnell - I read this book for the BBNYA Awards and I will post my review after the judging has taken place.

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney by Mac Barnett - The age old question is considered in this lovely picture book for children. You can read my review by clicking here.

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson - This was my book group pick this month. One or two members really liked it but the majority thought it was less enjoyable than some of her previous books.

Bunnies in a Sleigh! by Philip Ardagh - I loved this picture book for young children. Lots of reasons to make children (and adults) giggle. You can read my review by clicking here.

Christmas at the Cabin by Rebecca Boxall - A gorgeous tale that is the perfect festive read. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Library Girls of the East End by Patricia McBride - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which is the first in a planned series. You can read my review by clicking here.

A Woman of Courage by Rita Bradshaw - I enjoyed this book very much. You can read my review by clicking here.

Moroccan Traffic by Dorothy Dunnett - The seventh book in the Dolly series. You can read my review by clicking here.

Books I Am Partway Through

The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan

The Only Way Out is Death by Varun Gwalani

The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh

(header photo courtesy of Dollar Gill/Unsplash)