Arms, Legs, Toes, and AARDVARK?

Book Review for “Turn Right at the Rainbow: A Diary of Househunting, Happenstance & Home” by Roz Morris. Summary: "You don’t find home. Home finds you. Roz has lived in her London house for thirty years. She arrived there bewildered and reckless, moving in with a man she'd known for one week, and the house … Continue reading Arms, Legs, Toes, and AARDVARK? →

A Tartan Taste for Murder.

Book Review for “Mayhem on the Marzipan Express” (Claire Walker #2) by Rebecca Connolly. Summary: "Amateur baker and part-time sleuth Claire Walker is looking forward to a vacation with her boyfriend, Jonathan Ainsley. The happy couple boards the famed Scottish train, the Mallaig Steam Express—temporarily renamed “The Marzipan Express” in honor of chef Alan Gables, … Continue reading A Tartan Taste for Murder. →

A Relatively Dangerous Resort.

Book Review for “Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson. Summary: "I was dreading the Cunningham family reunion even before the first murder. Before the storm stranded us at the mountain resort. The thing is, us Cunninghams don't really get along. We've only got one thing in common: we've all killed someone. … Continue reading A Relatively Dangerous Resort. →

A Golden English & Irish Mashup.

Book Review for “Golden Girls on the Run” by Judy Leigh. Summary: "When octogenarian sisters-in-law Sadie and Bronagh find themselves at the centre of a scandalous (and slightly explosive) bake-off fiasco, there’s only one thing to do – steal Sadie’s grandson’s gleaming red Ferrari and make a run for it. Sadie is the practical one, … Continue reading A Golden English & Irish Mashup. →

Do You Believe in Magic?

Book Review for “Miss Carter and the Ifrit” by Susan Alice Kirby. Summary: "It’s the final months of World War II and Georgina Carter, a single woman in her late forties with a drab job in the Censorship office, is convinced that nothing very shattering, nothing very devastating could happen to one after that age. … Continue reading Do You Believe in Magic? →

Similar is NOT the Same.

Book Review for “A Complete Fiction” by R.L. Maizes. Summary: "With little evidence, would-be author P.J. Larkin serves a "nibble" on the trendy new social-media app Crave, accusing editor George Dunn of stealing the novel she submitted to him for publication. The nibble shoots to the top of the site's Popular Menu Items and before … Continue reading Similar is NOT the Same. →

Minor Austen Women Re-Imagined.

Book Review for “Ladies in Waiting” by Various Authors. Summary: "In honor of her 250th birthday, eight authors have come together with wildly imaginative reboots of the lives of several of Jane Austen’s minor characters. Written with plenty of love and wit, these clever stories star everyone from Pride and Prejudice’s snobbish Caroline Bingley to … Continue reading Minor Austen Women Re-Imagined. →

All the Single Ladies (& Gents)!

Book Review for “Miss Plum and Miss Penny” by Dorothy Evelyn Smith. Summary: "Miss Penny is a middle-aged spinster living a cheerful, contented life, complete with perfect housekeeper, in an idyllic English village. Her romantic life consists of an annual Christmas card from her old flame George, and her social swirl involves Stanley, a prissy … Continue reading All the Single Ladies (& Gents)! →

Finding Another One of Us.

Book Review for “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman. Summary: "Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows … Continue reading Finding Another One of Us. →

Small Town American Scenarios.

Book Review for “Something to Look Forward To: Fictions” by Fannie Flagg. Summary: "We meet Velma from Kansas, a loving great-grandmother who struggles to bridge the generational divide with her great-grandchild in California. Why, for instance, does her great-grandchild sign letters to Velma with “(they/them)”? We cheer for Helen, in Ithaca, New York, who takes … Continue reading Small Town American Scenarios. →