My thanks to author Barbara Venkataraman for a review copy of this book. Five Fortunes (2023) is a short, fast-paced, feel-good teen/young adult story about friendships and misunderstandings (also family) which left me with a smile on my face. Megan, Rihanna, Lory, and twins Alison and Abby are a close-knit group of friends, all students…
Book Review: Barkcuterie: 25 Pawsome Snack Boards Your Dog Will Love (2023) by Hammy and Olivia
My thanks to Rock Point for a review copy of this book via Edelweiss Hammy's sophisticated palate has been the biggest inspiration for the dogfriendly boards your dog is about to enjoy. His spunky sister, Olivia can be a very picky eater when she wants to be and very much prefers the finer things in…
Book Review: The Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten (2022) by Philipp Schott
My thanks to ECW Press for a review copy of this book via NetGalley. The Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten (2022) is the third volume of memoirs/anecdotes by German-born, Canadian veterinary doctor and writer, Dr Philipp Schott (I have previously read and reviewed the second volume, How to Examine a Wolverine, as well…
Book Review: The Grey King by Susan Cooper #TDiRS22
The fourth entry in The Dark is Rising sequence, and my final completed read of 2022, The Grey King, takes us to a completely new setting (as indicated at the end of Greenwitch)—Wales—and is rich in place, language and legend, besides Arthurian lore. From all the books in the series so far, this was the…
Book Review: The Black Cabinet by Patricia Wentworth #DeanStreetDecember
First published in 1925, The Black Cabinet is a standalone mystery/adventure by Patricia Wentworth, fast paced and entertaining as always, and my third entry for this year’s #DeanStreetDecember hosted by Liz at Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home. Young and beautiful Chloe Dane works at a dressmaker, Miss Allardyce’s in the small town…
Book Review: Always Gardenia (2018) by Betsy Hanson
My thanks to the author Betsy Hanson for taking the trouble to mail copy of this book all the way to me (and a very lovely one it is), and also to Ali from Heavenali for putting me in touch with Betsy. Always Gardenia (2018) transports readers to the charming, gentle, and yet very real…
Book Review: Mrs R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan
26 August is International Dog Day, and what better way to celebrate than review a book featuring a dog? Well, reviewing a book featuring a dog who’s an attorney of course! Mrs R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan and illustrated by Jon Davis is an imaginative and fun little children’s title which can be enjoyed…
Book Review: The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Lancashire 1612: The trial of the ‘Pendle witches’, twelve accused living around Pendle Hill in Lancashire at the time, most from two families the Devices and Chattoxes who apparently also made allegations against each other, besides others including one Alice Grey. The group was alleged to be responsible for the deaths of 10 people through…
Book Review: Fifty-Four Pigs by Philipp Schott
My thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. Fifty-Four Pigs is the first in a series of mysteries by veterinarian and author, Dr Philipp Schott, a volume of whose nonfiction memoirs I had the chance to read and review some moths ago, and which I enjoyed very much. So…
Book Review: The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
My thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for a review copy of the book. In The Family Chao, author Lan Samantha Chang gives us a retelling of The Brothers Karamazov but by setting it amongst a Chinese-American immigrant family, she weaves in further complexities of discrimination and prejudice and also of identity and belonging. Leo…
Literary Potpourri 