Lucy, I wonder of anybody will ever comprehend you altogether?Charlotte Brontë, Villette (1853) Over the April and May this year, I revisited Charlotte Brontë’s fourth and final novel Villette (1853; but it was the third to be published; her first, The Professor, was published later) with a book group on Goodreads. Villette is seen as…
Book Review: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis #Narniathon21
The penultimate book in the Narniad, The Magician’s Nephew (1955), like the previous entry in the series, The Horse and His Boy takes a leap back in time, but a much larger leap, all the way to the beginning, before there ever was a Narnia. (This post might be slightly spoilery for the book). Young…
Book Review: Bookmarked: Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life by Pamela Erens
My thanks to Ig Publishing/Ingram Publisher Services and Edelweiss for a review copy of this book. Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life is part of the ‘Bookmarked’ series by Ig Publishing in which various authors reflect on different works of fiction and nonfiction that have impacted and inspired them in different ways. This is the first…
Shelf Control #186: Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sandition by Jane Austen
Wednesday, the 25th of May, and time for Shelf Control once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it--what…
Book Review: Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
My thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. Black Butterflies is a beautiful, powerful, heart-wrenching, and haunting story of a city torn by war, and of its people, coping not only with the adversities of daily living, but also the helplessness and heartbreak of seeing the city they love…
Book Review: Taobao by Dan K. Woo
My thanks to Buckrider Books and Edelweiss for a review copy of this book. Taobao is a collection of short stories by Canadian–Chinese author Dan K Woo, set in modern-day China, which sadly turned out to be rather different than I had expected, and which didn’t end up really working for me. The stories are…
Book Review: The Cat and the Pendulum by Mandy Morton
My thanks to Farrago Books and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. The Cat and the Pendulum is a whimsical and delightful mystery by Mandy Morton brimming with puns, food, and fun but also a solid mystery (in fact, two … no, make that three) at its core. This is book 10 in…
Book Review: Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read by Rebecca Alexandra Simon
My thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. Anne Bonny and Mary Read may not have been the only female pirates who operated in what is known as the Golden Age of Piracy (1650–1730; dates debated), but they were amongst the best known. From inspiring ballads and having…
Shelf Control #185: The Rescuers by Margery Sharp
Wednesday, the 18th of May, and time for Shelf Control once again! Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it--what…
Book Review: Sam and James: A Test of Will by A. A. Freda
My thanks to author A. A. Freda for a review copy of this book via BookTasters. Sam and James: A Test of Will is the third of the series by author A.A. Freda to feature his characters Samantha Powers, the daughter of a minister who is married to James Coppi, a former street-hustler and Vietnam…
Literary Potpourri 