Mary Stewart’s novels have a marvelous sense of place, and that is one of many reasons I enjoy reading them. They also tend to feature smart, independent women as heroines, which is another huge mark in their favor for me. With this month’s TBR theme of “Location, location, location,” I dove right into a Mary…
Fearne Hill’s Island Love series wraps up with Vine, a heartrending and heartwarming story about a young man struggling with serious mental health issues and the neuro-divergent (or “differently normal”, as he puts it) gentle giant who helps him find his way towards a brighter future. The author’s presentation of mental illness is honest –…
You know how they say you should never judge a book by its cover? Well, I did, and boy was that ever a mistake. The lovely artwork on the jacket of The Winged Tiara envelopes a slap-sticky 1920s heist plot starring two very shallow characters glamorously traversing the world in search of a particular item…
As Fearne Hill is known primarily for writing m/m romance, I’m opening this review by making potential readers aware that Oyster, the second book in her Island Love series, is a queer m/f romance featuring a transwoman protagonist. As I’ve come to expect from this author, we’re treated to a beautifully written and emotionally satisfying…
Fearne Hill’s Salt is book one in her new Island Love series of romances set on the beautiful Île de Ré off the western coast of France. It’s a gorgeous, slow-burn, May/December love story between a young French salt farmer and an Englishman who has come to the island to recuperate after an illness. The…
I didn’t have to look far to find a book to read for the “opposites attract” prompt this month. I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while, and as the two protagonists in Fearne Hill’s To Take a Quiet Breath (book three in her Rossingley series) are as opposite as opposite can be – in terms of…
Twisting the tragic tale of the Habsburg dynasty (which gave the world Marie Antoinette), The Embroidered Book throws potent magic into the existing pile of family tensions, political chess playing, and romantic complications. A few clunky turns of phrase, awkward pacing and a weak magical subplot keep this one from a higher grade, but the…
Marvelous is a tender, aching novel based somewhat loosely on the real life story of a man who was adopted into the French court at the age of ten for the entertainment of the king and queen. Molly Greeling fictionalizes the life story of Petrus “Pedro” Gonsalvus, who was taken from his home in Tenerife…
The Porcelain Moon splits its focus between two different Chinese women living in France at the end of World War I. They are related and harboring secrets from each other which are threatening to slip out. Easy to read and beautifully sculpted, the book provides an experience that moves with grace from chapter to chapter….
Suzanne Fortin’s All That We Have Lost is an interesting but flawed story of how a widow, trying to rebuild her life, discovers a secret about a girl who lived during the Nazi occupation of France. I liked the premise a great deal, but have some caveats about the execution. Let’s start with the good….
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