Category: whimsical
Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell
In 18th century London, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of knowledge is deadly. When ambitious apprentice chemist and secret alchemist Peter Woulfe is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book, the Mutus Liber, he quickly realises that the grimy underworld of Georgian London is even more dangerous than he first believed. #SparksOfBrightMatter #LeeanneODonnell @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour Soon the book is stolen … Read More Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell
My Top 5 Books of 2023
As we slip quietly into 2024 it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of 2023. I used to pick three but I’ve had to up that to five as I just couldn’t narrow it down. It’s always hard. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to five. I have tried to include a mix … Read More My Top 5 Books of 2023
The Stargazers by Harriet Evans
How can you ever know yourself when you were deprived of love as a child? It’s the 1970s, and Sarah has spent a lifetime trying to bury her disjointed childhood, the loneliness of her school days, and Fane, the vast and crumbling family home so loved – and hated – by her mother, Iris, a woman as cruel as she is beautiful. Sarah’s solace … Read More The Stargazers by Harriet Evans
+ childhood, crime fiction, kidnapping, List, mental health, murder, religion, spirituality, superstition, whimsical, witchcraft, witches
My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part Three
Here are my favourite eight books of the third quarter of 2023. One or two of these might make it into my top four books of 2023. Still a way to go. Once again only a bit of ‘crime’, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. So here we go. Saving Grace by Cristina Slough Wow! This … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part Three
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found… For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. … Read More The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
+ Australia, community, grief, loss, love, Magical realism, motherhood, relationships, review, Scottish Highlands, supernatural, superstition, whimsical, witches
Salt & Skin by Eliza Henry Jones
Grief-stricken and on the verge of a breakdown, photographer Luda Managan leaves Australia for a commission, bringing her two teenage children to a remote, weather- ravaged but beautiful Scottish island. Luda, isolated from her two resentful teenagers, turns her attention to the records from the 17th century island witch hunts and the fragmented life stories of the executed women. Min, her daughter, restless and … Read More Salt & Skin by Eliza Henry Jones
+ feel-good, female friendship, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, grief, List, literature, loneliness, loss, love, motherhood, music hall, obsession, psychiatric hospital, relationships, review, secrets, strongman, strongwoman, suffragette movement, whimsical
My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part Two
Here are my favourite eight books of the second quarter of 2023. One or two of these might make it into my top four books of 2023. Still a long way to go. While I read a lot of crime novels all of these books are other genres, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. So … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part Two
+ 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
+ childhood, coming-of-age, crime fiction, fiction, friendship, murder, murder mystery, review, sixties, superstition, wales, whimsical
Tiding by Sian Collins
A lyrical, engaging coming-of-age murder mystery set in the Great Freeze December 1962. Eleanor O’Dowd, a middle-aged piano teacher, is found stabbed and bludgeoned to death. As the Great Freeze of 1963 takes hold, local vicar’s daughter Daphne Morgan finds herself forced to navigate the confusing currents of the adult world, where she must face up to her own crimes and what she knows … Read More Tiding by Sian Collins
+ abuse, alcoholism, brothers, childhood, domestic noir, family, fantasy, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, folklore, forgiveness, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, List, literature, loss, love, music, paranormal, piano, relationships, review, secrets, sisterhood, sisters, slavery, suffragette movement, supernatural, superstition, tradition, whimsical
My Top 4 Books of 2022
It’s approaching the very end of 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of the year. Last year it was hard but this year is even harder. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to four. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read … Read More My Top 4 Books of 2022
Elfing About by Cat On A Piano / Theatrephonic
Elves! Assemble! If you ever wondered what those pesky Christmas ‘Elves on Shelves’ get up to when you are asleep, they are ‘elfing about’, climbing up and down the tinsel and knocking things over in people’s houses (accidentally of course). ‘We are here to watch the children of this household to make sure that they deserve to be on the Good List,’ says Elfie. … Read More Elfing About by Cat On A Piano / Theatrephonic
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, community, cult, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, germany, grief, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, lies, List, literature, loss, love, motherhood, murder, music, nazi germany, piano, rape, relationships, religion, review, secrets, sisterhood, suffragette movement, whimsical
My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
Here are my favourite eight books of the second quarter of 2022. You will notice that it doesn’t include any crime dramas, detective novels or serial killer thrillers. While I love those genres, they rarely bring something totally new to the table and my favourites tend to be feel-good, whimsical or magical realism. Or totally original or make me cry. There are a couple of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
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