Madeleine Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 I enjoyed the first two books, and there are some refs to some of the TB characters too, in the second book. This has also been made into a TV series, hope they show it over here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - this tells the story of 4 women who decide to spend a month at a beautiful villa in the Italian hills - Lotte Wilkins, whose husband Mellersh, an accountant, lets her have an allowance but that's about it; Rose Arbuthnot, whose husband, Frederick, writes racy biogs of long dead aristos and their scandals, which are very successful, but convince Rose that she is living off immoral earnings, and throws herself into her religion and charity work, whilst her husband spends most of his time in London, sometimes for days on end; the beautiful Lady Caroline, aka Scrap, who is fed up with men pawing and groping her, and just wants to be left alone, and widow Mrs Fisher, who also wants time alone. After the usual squabbles over the best room and favourite spot in the garden, the women start to relax and settle into a routine, and then the menfolk start arriving! They're furious when Lotte invites her hubby, then Frederick turns up, and then the house's owner, Mr Briggs, also arrives to see how they are getting on. It's a comedy of manners, with some gentle teasing and gradually a touching study of how the 4 women start to re-discover themselves and get out of the rut they've all found themselves in. I did find the constant references to Scrap's beauty, wonderful voice etc a bit tiresome after a while, but overall it was a nice read and I enjoyed it, and it was especially satisfying to see Lotte and Rose coming out of their shells. I only hope they kept it up once the holiday was over! 7/10 In a dark dark wood by Ruth Ware - this is a well-written psychological thriller (which I can see becoming a TV drama at some point) in which crime writer Nora is surprised to find an email inviting her to Clare's hen night, because she and Clare haven't spoken for 10 years, in fact both have made sure that their paths haven't crossed. So why is she being invited to the hen night, and not the wedding? Her friend Nina, who's also invited, persuades her to go, and so they arrive at a modern, glass house in the middle of afore-mentioned dark dark wood, and are joined by Clare, her friend Flo, who's organised the whole thing, and Tom, a gay man who is presumably treated as a honorary female! As usual the alcohol flows and the bitching starts, but apart from the fact that Nora discovers that Clare is marrying her ex, James, there's still no obvious reason as to why this group has been brought together. Then an intruder is shot on the last night of the weekend, and Nora and Clare are injured in a car accident, but Nora can't remember much after the shooting, and so the second part of the book is taken up with her recovery, and questioning by the police, as gradually her memory comes back in bits, and we finally find out what happened, and also what led up to the shooting. This is the bit which lets the book down a bit (as often happens in this type of thriller), and the more I think about the ending the more plot holes I can see! But it's a gripping page turner, and I liked Nora's resourceful character, even if her memory loss makes her an unreliable narrator at times, but I was rooting for her to come through, even if the eventual reveal was a bit melodramatic. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Just got: The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley Servant of Death by Sarah Hawkswood I see you by Clare Mackintosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Congrats on the new books How do you like the Midnight Texas series ? I loved her Aurora Teagarden books, but couldn`t really get into the Sookie books ( probably cos of seeing the TV show and already knowing what was going to happen). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 I've really enjoyed the first two Midnight books. Have another go at the Sookie books - the TV series deviated a lot from the books - to the point where it was pretty much unrecognisable as being part of the same series, except for the characters - and the books have a totally different ending, and are, pretty much, completely different to the show (and much better I think, as the show got stupider as it went on , I thought). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 3 hours ago, Madeleine said: I've really enjoyed the first two Midnight books. Have another go at the Sookie books - the TV series deviated a lot from the books - to the point where it was pretty much unrecognisable as being part of the same series, except for the characters - and the books have a totally different ending, and are, pretty much, completely different to the show (and much better I think, as the show got stupider as it went on , I thought). I shall note them in my `get to at some point` list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) Finally got "The Essex Serpent". Also "Miraculous Mysteries", a short story collection. Edited April 24, 2017 by Madeleine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 Just finished "A trail through Time", the 4th in the Chronicles of St Mary's series, and whilst I enjoyed it, I did find the constant going along the timeline a bit confusing, and the return of a former enemy wasn't that convincing ( and a bit like going backwards to me, that storyline had been dealt with, and resurrecting it just feels a bit lazy) - however apart from that it was another enjoyable adventure with some very funny episodes; suffice to say that I will never look at the Empress Matilda's escape through the snow in Wallingford (Oxfordshire) in quite the same way again, thanks to the St Mary's re-enactment, which as usual goes horribly and hilariously wrong. 7.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 This weekend I've bought: A High Mortality of doves - Kate Ellis The Hourglass - Tracy Rees The Secrets of Death - Stephen Booth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Just got: To the Bright edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey The Mangle Street Murders by M R C Kasasian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 I quite liked The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, I hope you will enjoy To the Bright Edge of the World (and also The Mangle Street Murders). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 I enjoyed the Snow Child too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 England (48 counties) Bedfordshire Berkshire Bristol Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire City of London Cornwall (including Isles of Scilly) Cumbria Derbyshire Devon Dorset County Durham East Sussex Essex - The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Gloucestershire Greater London (excluding the City of London Greater Manchester Hampshire Herefordshire Hertfordshire Isle of Wight Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire (including North Lincolnshire. and North East Lincolnshire Merseyside Norfolk North Yorkshire (including Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, York, and Stockton-on-Tees south of the River Tees) - Some Veil Did Fall by Kirsty Ferry (set mainly in Whitby) Northamptonshire Northumberland Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Rutland Shropshire Somerset - The Trysting Tree by Linda Gillard Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey Tyne and Wear Warwickshire West Midlands West Sussex East Riding of Yorkshire (including Kingston-upon-Hull) South Yorkshire West Yorkshire Wiltshire Worcestershire Wales (8 counties) Clwyd Dyfed South Glamorgan Mid Glamorgan West Glamorgan Gwent Gwynedd Powys Scotland (35 counties) Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Angus Argyll and Bute Ayrshire and Arran Banffshire Berwickshire Caithness Clackmannanshire Dumfries Dunbartonshire Dundee East Lothian Edinburgh Fife Glasgow Inverness Kincardineshire Lanarkshire Midlothian Moray Nairn Orkney Perth and Kinross Renfrewshire Ross and Cromarty Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale Shetland - Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves Stirling and Falkirk Sutherland The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Tweeddale West Lothian Western Isles Wigtown Northern Ireland Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry/Derry Tyrone Edited just now by Madeleine Quote Edit Options Hide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - I finished this last night, and whilst I enjoyed it, I don't think it quite lives up to the hype and praise lavished on it (unlike say, The Miniaturist, which I think did live up to it's reputation). It's set in the late 19th Century, with newly widowed Cora Seaborne moving from London to the Essex village of Aldwinter, on the Blackwater estuary which is haunted by the legend of the titular serpent. The "creature" first surfaced, allegedly, a couple of hundred years previously, and now it's rumoured to be back, and the villagers are convinced it's punishment for their sins, and blame every bad thing that happens eg a crop failure, a dead sheep, a drowning (even though the victim was known to be a heavy drinker) on the serpent. When Cora arrives, accompanied by her strange son Francis (who by today's definition is probably on the autistic/Asperger's spectrum) and maid/companion Martha, people expect a middle-aged, frumpy widow, and instead get a vivacious young woman (who's been freed from a violent, domineering husband) who wanders around the estuary wearing men's trousers and coats, and collecting fossils. She meets the local vicar, William Ransome, who is trying to fight off the superstitious rumours by keeping his parishioners in check with his sermons, and sparks fly between the two, and Cora also befriends his wife, the ailing Stella, and their 3 children. More strange incidents occur, there's an outbreak of mass hysteria, odd things are seen in the local river, and the villagers become even more paranoid. Meanwhile Cora's attachment to William grows, and she's also lusted after by the doctor who tended her husband. It's very Victorian, with shades of "The Crucible" for it's paranoia, and ticks a lot of the standard Victorian gothic boxes, and although I enjoyed most of it, I felt the ending was a bit weak (thinking about it now, it was probably the only way it could have ended, but still feels a bit flat) and I also felt the scenes in London, especially the sub plot about Martha becoming involved with campaigning for better housing, rents etc for poorer people (nothing has changed since!) felt a bit superfluous and unnecessary. Personally I would have preferred it if it had stayed in Essex, but apart from these quibbles I thought it was a good, but not great, read. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 Just got: The Obsession by Nora Roberts The Forever House by Veronica Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 17 hours ago, Madeleine said: Just got: The Obsession by Nora Roberts The Forever House by Veronica Henry I was tempted to pre-order The Forever House but in the end didn't do so. I'll probably still get it at a later time though, it's just that other books and other pre-orders had priority for me now. I look forward to hear what you think of the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 I still haven't read her previous 2 novels yet, they seem to publish her books quite quickly without the usual long wait between novels! I know they're not a series so it doesn't matter what order they're read in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves - seventh book in the Shetland series, in which Jimmy Perez becomes obsessed after an unidentified woman is found dead in the ruin of a house after a landslide. At first it's assumed that she died in the incident, but the post mortem reveals that she was already dead when it happened, and then the police think they have found out who she is, only to discover she's using a false name, so they have a murder on their hands, and no way of finding the culprit until they find out who the woman was, and why she had suddenly come to Shetland. It seems that the locals have things to hide too, including the family who live near the ruined house, and other islanders also seem to have a connection with the stranger. I found this a solid read, very much a standard police procedural with a great setting and, finally, a bit of a romantic storyline for poor old Jimmy, who's been suffering lately! 7.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 I've read Too Good to Be True, which I think is also part of this series (at least, it features Jimmy Perez). That was a QuickReads novella and I thought it was allright . I'm glad you enjoyed Cold Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 Oh yes, I think I saw that one, haven't read it though, glad you liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 Just got "Blackwater" by James Henry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I had a look back a few pages and on page 1, and I can't see any context for the UK list above, but just wanted to say that for the Northern Ireland counties, if it's a book written by an author from that county (or perhaps set in that county) I have a selection of potential reads for NI as I researched them for my Irish Counties Challenge. You might not need suggestions, but just in case, it's here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Hi Noll, thanks for the list but did you mean to post it on my book blog? I'm probably going to have trouble to do much of the English counties letr alone the rest of the UK, although I have read a few on your list a while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Just got "Death in the Tuscan Hills" by Marco Vichi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 3 hours ago, Madeleine said: Just got "Death in the Tuscan Hills" by Marco Vichi. Ooh, I really liked the first in the series. I`ve got the 2nd one in my TBR pile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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