But, in just one day, everything changes.

In just one day, Flora’s life falls apart.

In just one day, Flora has to learn how to live again.

From the nostalgia of seaside Britain to the breath-taking beauty of Venice, in tears and laughter, join Helen McGinn for this emotional, uplifting and joyful story about love in all its guises. But above all, this is an unforgettable story of one little girl and the brother she adores.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

‘I’d rather have Pete than not and, I don’t know, maybe it won’t last forever but I love him, and if that means trusting him when he’s face to face with much bigger tits than mine then that’s what I have to do’… Tilda looked over at Pete. ‘I think it’s time I went and retrieved him.’ She rolled her eyes at Susie. ‘What is it about boys and boobs?’

My Review:

This was my introduction to the stellar word skills of Helen McGinn, and what could be better than finding the main character was a wine specialist as I specialize in drinking it. Her poignant and agile storytelling hit all the feels with humor and profound insight and somehow miraculously maintained a well-honed balance in emotional tone while raising serious family issues and intense grief without being overly dreary. I sank right into the thoughtfully crafted storylines and was ardently and empathetically present with her enticing characters as if I were sharing their air. Helen McGinn has mad skills and a new fangirl.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

There was a distasteful, meditative look in his eye as though she was a fly on his bowl of trifle and he was working out how best to swat her.

If a man had been unfaithful once, why would you assume it wasn’t his habit? Saskia struck her as someone who’d been on cloud nine and failed to look down.

His ego was like a cobweb: painstakingly constructed but easily destroyed.

My Review:

This tale had a slow and maddeningly meandering progression to the well-crafted head-scratcher of a mystery, with oddly unlikable and prickly victims and a multitude of suspects as nearly everyone in the cast had cause to snuff out these vile players. The writing was lively, light with storylines that were entertaining and easy to follow.

Amongst a nest of entertainment professionals, it proved to be even more difficult to determine if reactions and statements were real or an act.   The little village was abuzz with gossip and rumors, and Eve was still working to keep her relationship under the radar. The intrepid Eve and her lovable little Gus were on the case from the beginning being extras on the set where the murders occurred and Eve being the very one to find the first body. I wasn’t the only one having a hard time narrowing down the guilty party, Eve was flip-flopping as well, but luckily she had little Gus and the lovely Robin to talk things through.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Why can’t a woman operate outside the kitchen? Why can’t a wife work? She thought that when the war ended, the fighting would be over, but it seems that for her, and so many women like her, it’s only just starting… peace hasn’t turned out to be quite as simple as she’d hoped.

They were all set for me to go home and swan around with Mother, waiting for the season to start so I could put on a ridiculous extravagance of a white dress and catch myself a husband. Their main ambition was for me to get someone “with all their limbs”.

I sometimes think that so many of us gunner girls –and all the other servicewomen and factory workers and land girls –fought harder after the war than we did during it. Society wanted to slot us conveniently back into our kitchen-shaped holes, but we’d grown and we weren’t going to shrink ourselves to fit back inside. ‘It was the same all over Europe. We think of feminism as starting with the bra-burnings in the seventies but, let me tell you, it was the second half of the forties that got things moving.

My Review:

This was dual-timeline and historical fiction done right, and the feminist in me cheered. The storylines were thoughtfully layered and shrewdly paced with family drama, an intriguing mystery, romance, and insightful bits of history while it entertained and hit all the feels.  The overall premise was eye-opening, as silly me, I had not stopped to think about the women of WWII this way.

The book drove home the realization that the post-WWII era was actually the kick-off of women finding their voice and value outside of domesticity on a larger scale across the globe. While the women may not have been all that interested in taking on the vacant jobs and roles of their men at war, they felt differently about themselves for having stepped up and into the fray, yet the returning men and peacetime societies weren’t receptive to women’s efforts to continue moving forward. While the end of the war was a good thing for the world, the war ending had ignited the beginning of women’s personal battles to get out of the kitchen, stay relevant, and hang on to their jobs and self-worth.

Needless to say, this book took me much longer to read as the story threads led me down a rabbit hole of Googling which was ignited by the inspiration of these endearing Ack-Ack characters, with Ack-Ack girls actually being my first inquiry. Anna Stuart was a new name for me when I picked up this book and I now have the deepest respect for her craft and appreciate the lessons learned from her endless hours of research and preparation.

Now that the world sees her as a man, Delia’s determined to double down on society’s double standards. With a smart suit and powerfully pink necktie, she hits New York’s financial district with a big gamble in mind.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I watch his reflection on the sleek mahogany desk scan my resume up and down. Up and down. What’s he looking for? Waldo?

I hand him my New York driver’s license, which I use more for drinking than driving.

I raise my arm and take a whiff. “Ugh.” It’s like Old Spice and old onions had an all-out battle. Old onions won.

My Review:

I enjoyed this uniquely quirky tale of a women’s frustrated birthday wish to be someone else coming true. The storylines were laced together with snarky wry humor, amusing observations, and interesting insights as the character encounters and withstands the perspective of and reactions to themselves as different genders. It was an interesting and thought-provoking education as the character contemplated the freedom, challenges, constrictions, and limitations experienced by both extremes of our species.   Learning the art of snake charming of the capricious trouser anaconda alone was smirk-worthy and made my afternoon.

Her Previous Self 
(The Guernsey Novels #8)
by Anne Allen

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

Marriage and motherhood had given Lucy a different view of family and after losing her child and the subsequent breakdown of her marriage, her view had sharpened.

My Review:

This book was a unique hybrid of genres including women’s fiction, family drama, mystery, historical fiction, and a budding romance; and I enjoyed them all. While not my typical read, I enjoyed the tale as well as the variation from my usual habits. Ms. Allen has woven quite a chronicle with writing and storylines that were easy to fall into and featured a cast of likable and relatable characters and detestable villains, an intriguing mystery, and an unusual predicament with tragic and paranormal aspects. It ended a bit too soon for me, I would have liked a bit more, but then I always do when reading a good tale.

About the Author

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Something was expected of her, something that might change the course of what was transpiring, but whatever it was felt just out of reach, like a word one might search for and though it shimmies around the tongue, it can’t be called up.

His voice is a painful thing in my ear that has settled in the corners of my mind like broke glass. I cannot bear the feel of his words.

She reaches across the table and takes his hand in hers. It’s so big, has always been so big around hers. She squeezes and he lifts his other hand from his lap, places it over hers. She knows now that she had been miraculously caught in the depths of a fall, cushioned by this man with the deepest of hearts.

This was an intensively emotive read that was so perceptively written it was startling. I tumbled right into this itchy, prickly, and heart-squeezing tale and I grew to love these oddly compelling and uniquely crafted personalities. The characters weren’t people I would ordinarily seek out to spend time with yet they become so very knowable to me and I found their story addictive and gripping.

The storylines were cunningly crafted and maddeningly paced with intriguing, painful, and cringe-worthy elements that will stay with me for quite some time. Yet even those uncomfortable events were painted in an uncommonly personable and deeply observant manner and were so very thoughtfully presented that I found an odd wetness seeping from my eyes and hot rocks in my throat as I gasped to catch my breath. I am astounded by the quality and depth achieved by a first-time novelist. Shawn Nocher is definitely one to watch and was quickly added to my list of new favorites.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

There are three things you should always keep a secret: your love life, your income, and your next move. Once you lose your mystery, you can’t get it back. As the saying goes, sincerity is glass, discretion is diamond.

My Review:

I continue with my fascination with the intriguing and maddeningly paced storylines culled from the dark recesses of Britney King’s irregularly curved and bendy imagination. I never know where her cunning arrangements of words is going to take me, or who the actual culprit will be in her devious and snark-laden tales, but I have so much fun flinching and cringing while I postulate and toss aside a multitude of wild theories along the way. She excels at the fast-paced itchy tales that keep me on edge and unable to put my beloved Kindle down without a struggle. With her newest release of Passerby, she continues to reign supreme on my thriller hit list where I have given her the designation of High Priestess of Word Voodoo.