Category: Magical realism
+ art, coming-of-age, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, memory, psychiatric hospital, relationships, review, secrets, Thirties, whimsical, World War Two, WW2
Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. Trapped and isolated on the East Anglian coast, Vita takes solace in watching the birds that fly over the marshes. But then she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney. The two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to escape Aubrey’s grasp and be as free as … Read More Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby
+ abuse, adventure, childhood, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, grief, Historical fiction, List, literature, London, loss, love, Magical realism, mental health, motherhood, murder, mystery, police drama, religion, revenge, review, secrets, short stories, short story, sisters, supernatural, thriller, twins
My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
Here are my favourite eight books of the final quarter of 2022. One of these will make it into my top four books of 2022 (I just couldn’t cut it down to three this year). The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw This is the book I have been waiting for! A gothic tale of sinister goings-on, mysterious disappearances, hauntings and macabre artefacts with special powers. … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
+ fiction, India, literature, love, Magical realism, mindfulness, religion, revenge, review, spirituality
The Celeste Experiment by Omar Imady
When modern science fails to save his wife Celeste, Michael turns to religion. When religion fails to cure her, he is left painfully searching for answers. From his grief flows anger, determination, and finally the plan – a meticulous experiment to finally unravel the truth in one of civilizations’ biggest question of all, religion. #TheCelesteExperiment #omarimady @VillaMagna_pub #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #literaryfiction At the heart of this plan … Read More The Celeste Experiment by Omar Imady
+ crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, Magical realism, revenge, review, secrets, supernatural, thriller
Dragonfly Summer by J H Moncrieff
No small town’s secrets can stay buried for long. Moncrieff digs into the treachery of memory and the power of female friendships… Dragonfly Summer is a gripping thriller that asks: What happens when the past comes back to haunt you? #DragonflySummer #JHMoncrieff @flametreepress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Jo Carter never thought she’d return to Clear Springs, Minnesota. But when the former journalist receives a cryptic note about … Read More Dragonfly Summer by J H Moncrieff
+ coming-of-age, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, lies, literature, love, Magical realism, motherhood, review, secrets, sisters, wales, whimsical, World War Two, WW2
Only May by Carol Lovekin
A young woman haunted by ghosts, magic and long-kept family secrets, in a new novel from the author of the Wales Book of the Year 21 shortlisted Wild Spinning Girls. I give you fair warning, if you’re planning on lying to me, don’t look me in the eye. It’s May’s 17th birthday – making the air tingle with a tension she doesn’t fully understand. … Read More Only May by Carol Lovekin
+ Catholic Church, Covid, family, fiction, friendship, Magical realism, marriage, mid-life crisis, motherhood, murder, psycopath, religion, review, serial killer
Broken by Anna Legat
What if you lost the memory of who you are? What if you had to pick up the loose ends of life that wasn’t yours? What if you had to fight somebody else’s battles? What would YOU do ? Camilla’s life will never be the same after her beloved son Christopher is sent to prison. Father Joseph’s faith is sorely tested when a deranged … Read More Broken by Anna Legat
+ brothers, childhood, faeries, fairies, folklore, friendship, Historical fiction, Ireland, jewish history, jews, literature, love, Magical realism, mythology, religion, review, sisters, superstition, tradition
Tunnel Of Mirrors by Ferne Arfin
June 1907. Rachel Isaacson, a spirit child, is born into a large and rigidly orthodox Jewish family in the Lower East Side. Hungry for freedom, dominated by a tyrannical father and haunted by inexplicable visions and voices, Rachel’s quest for independence leads her into a marriage of convenience with tragic consequences. Across the Atlantic, Ciaran McMurrough, storyteller, fiddler and cliff climber, leads a life … Read More Tunnel Of Mirrors by Ferne Arfin
+ art, fiction, literature, love, Magical realism, Paris, review
The Purple Shadow by Christopher Bowden
In the years before the war, Sylvie Charlot was a leading light in Paris fashion with many friends among musicians, artists and writers. Now she is largely forgotten. Spending time in Paris during a break in his acting career, Colin Mallory sees a striking portrait of Sylvie. Some think it is a late work by Édouard Vuillard but there is no signature or … Read More The Purple Shadow by Christopher Bowden
+ fiction, France, friendship, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, mystery, mythology, novel-in-emails, relationships, review, secrets, sisters, supernatural, twins, whimsical, writers, writers group
My Top 3 Books of 2021
It’s January 1st 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my three favourite books of 2021. Last year it was hard but not impossible. There were instant standouts. This year I have found it much harder. I have tried to include a mix of genres but I’ve definitely failed. Maybe I should simply call them all slightly ‘whimsical’. And if that is not where … Read More My Top 3 Books of 2021
+ adventure, child abduction, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, Freedom, friends, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, holocaust, Inuit, kidnapping, List, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, murder, nazi germany, poland, police drama, Polish, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, World War Two
My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
Here are my favourite eight books of the fourth quarter of 2021. So far this has been a good year for books if for nothing else, so it was a really difficult decision. Please note that there may be books amongst the list that are not published until 2022, but these are books I have read this year and may be ARCs. The Flight of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
+ fiction, India, literature, loss, love, magic, Magical realism, relationships, review, short stories, sisterhood, spirituality, supernatural, superstition
The Soul Catcher by Monica Bhide
Set in modern India in a dimension where time and space are fluid, Monica Bhide’s The Soul Catcher, a novel in stories, is a mosaic narrative about destiny, grief, loss, faith, love, and sisterhood. It takes us on a magical journey that begins with an unspeakable tragedy, and concludes with a surprising resolution. It chronicles the life of Yamini Goins — the Soul Catcher — … Read More The Soul Catcher by Monica Bhide
+ brothers, fiction, friendship, germany, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, Magical realism, nazi germany, racism, revenge, review, World War Two, WW2
Man of Clay by Alan Derosby
Retribution comes with a price 1930s GermanyKarl Auerbach escapes Buchenwald concentration camp. Ashamed of the truth of how he fled, Karl vows never to speak of the memories of his imprisonment. Present Day: Rhode IslandWhen Karl’s grandson Zachariah is faced with prejudice of his own and a close friend is subjected to a horrific assault, Karl knows he must finally confront the demons of … Read More Man of Clay by Alan Derosby
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