Category: whimsical
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit 