Hayley

I think it was inspired by it, yeah! I’m glad you liked it! I’ve finished The Winter Garden. I did enjoy it overall but it’s not the kind of book I’d immediately recommend to everyone. In fact, I can imagine some people really disliking it. Full review to come soon! I had to really think about what other winter books I owned and ended up choosing The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. I’m fairly sure the whole thing is set in winter but it definitely begins there, in January!

Fox Lane Books have it, if you want to get it from an indie bookshop but don’t mind ordering https://www.foxlanebooks.co.uk/product-page/the-whispering-muse

Ok, that is extremely cute! The noise is not so cute (but does sound a bit like they’re complaining after a long day 😄). That is hilarious . Sneaky possum. You can keep them as pets!?

That makes sense. I wonder whether the stoats and ferrets were introduced to keep the numbers of rabbits down. I also think they’re cute 😄 although I’ve never seen one in person, only in pictures and on American TV shows! I didn’t know about the screeching either though! I like the way the babies ride around on the mother’s back.

Thank you @lunababymoonchild and @France! I obviously haven't been keeping up very well with new releases because I just added a lot of new books to my wish list

And they look up as if to say “excuse me?” 😄. I also second @France, they have the best ears. That’s a lot of invasive species! I actually didn’t know that you have possums in New Zealand. The most interesting mammals I can get in my garden are foxes and hedgehogs (although I do like seeing both, especially hedgehogs) 🦔.

Aww! Well it has been quite mild so fingers crossed! What an amazing view, I love deer. I did not know they’d eat flowers like pansies though!

Sorry, I didn’t explain what I meant properly! It reminded me of A Christmas Carol because

That was a good one! I kind of wish it was a longer story so I really liked Jess Kidd’s contribution (because you know I love Victorian supernatural things). Stuart Taunton’s one felt like a very dark version of A Christmas Carol!

I came here to post the same thing, I finished it last night 😄. It really was a brilliant collection, they had some great authors with unique styles and varying degrees of creepiness! Did you have a favourite story @lunababymoonchild?

The Bone Readers is now on my to-read list too!

Welcome to the forum Josh! I’m swiftly nearing the end of The Winter Spirits (which I’m actually quite sad about, it’s been a great and really varied collection of stories!) and I think I’m probably going to move to The Winter Garden by Alexandra Bell next.

Better pull your socks up?

I’ve just finished Ada Lark by Jess Kidd in The Winter Spirits. I think it’s my favourite one so far! Just three stories left for me.

I love that description (although I’m sorry that the book was tedious). I would also have been intrigued by the bread poisoning plot so I’m glad to have been warned off this one! I think that’s more because you don’t feel you can do it justice when there’s so much to say that part of you wants to gush about it. I think your reviews are always excellent. Your 5 and 6 star ones often tempt me towards books I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise!

Welcome to the forum Vilandra! I hope you’ll like it here. What are your favourite kinds of books?

Both parts of this are very relatable! I never thought of using the Amazon lists feature that way!

In February by John Addington Symonds The birds have been singing to-day And saying: "The spring is near! The sun is as warm as in May, And the deep blue heavens are clear." The little bird on the boughs Of the sombre snow-laden pine Thinks: "Where shall I build me my house, And how shall I make it fine? "For the season of snow is past; The mild south wind is on high; And the scent of the spring is cast From his wing as he hurries by." The little birds twitter and cheep To their loves on the leafless larch: But seven foot deep the snow-wreaths sleep, And the year hath not worn to March.

Oooh yay! I didn’t notice it was in the kindle sale. It’s definitely worth it from what I’ve read so far! 😄

Hi Leanardor, welcome to the forum! I actually don’t know which book this might have been but your post reminded me of this book I saw in Waterstones just before Christmas. Would similar books interest you!? (I took a picture because I was asking my boyfriend if he thought it would be a good present for one of our friends - it has such a gorgeous cover! 😄)

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It is a very frustrating situation, I hope you find it!

That was a good idea! Maybe a long shot, you’ve probably seen all of these, but goodreads says there were three books in this series published in 2022. Could it have been a bit later than you thought, in November? That cover is more yellow than the others…