I’m really, really, happy with the number of books I read this month. Due in no small amount to the quality of the books but also the choice I spoke about last week helped a ton. The last three books on this list were from the list, and while I may have been planning to read Paul’s book anyway, it all still helped. Knowing me, I’ll still have a reading slump sometime in the not-too-distant future (I’m on the high now, clearly!) but I expect that if I can keep going with it or, at least, when I keep doing it, it’ll lessen that problem.

All books are works of fiction.

C J Wray: The Excitements – Two nonagenarians are invited to Paris to receive the Legion d’Honneur award and, with one of them a jewel thief with a reason, the other with secrets, and a loyal great-nephew in tow, many ‘excitements’ may occur. Fabulously funny and full of heart; this book contains a lot of world war history, too, in an interesting, well-planned, structure.

Chloe C Peñaranda: The Stars Are Dying – Astraea can only remember the last five years and those have been spent at Hektor’s mansion, hiding from everyone under his command and staying faithful while he sleeps with any woman he wants. When she decides to slip away from the manor to visit her friend who is going to a (we might call it) Hunger Games-esque trial, Astraea starts a cascade of events that begin with her meeting an incredibly handsome man who may be a vampire who has the ability to converse in her head. This is the first in a dark romantasy series and has some basis in the Greek mythology. The only thing I’d bring up here is the pacing – it won’t work for everyone. Some will find it too slow but, certainly, others will adore it.

Éric Chacour: What I Know About You – Writing to Dr Tarek, our second-person narrator tells us Tarek’s history and over time we learn who our narrator is and why he is so into Tarek’s story. (I should note the plot is of an Egyptian man born in the 1960s who becomes a doctor like his father, later gets married, and then one day falls for his male assistant.) Stunning – the plot is well done and everything about the structure and writing is superb. This is the English translation; the author is from Quebec and the original title is Ce que je sais de toi.

Gill Paul: Scandalous Women – A somewhat fictionalised story of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins, this tale looks at the literary journey of both women as well as the life of a editing-hopeful purely fictional character, Nancy. This is an excellently written story, where reality and fiction has been balanced beautifully (you’ll be surprised what is fact!) The research is evident and the look at the literary industry, particularly for women, in the decades (1970s mostly) is awesome – certainly it was my favourite aspect of the book, though learning about two women you could then look up on YouTube was thrilling.

Kaliane Bradley: The Ministry Of Time – A secret government ministry in near-future London has managed to develop time travel and is experimenting with the safety aspects by pulling historical people who were due to die in their own time forward. We follow our unnamed narrator, a guardian-type figure for one of the historical figures which, in her case, is Commander Graham Gore of an ultimately failed Arctic exploratory mission (Gore is, I believe, the sole real character in the book). The two must learn to live with each other, Gore must learn to live in the 21st century, and our narrator must work with the mysterious ministry she’s a part of and yet kept distant from. This is a stunning, stunning, book, often hilarious, and has a great use of narrative.

Kristy Woodson Harvey: A Happier Life – When Keaton’s relationship and career are upended she decides to take on the job of getting her family’s heritage home ready for sale. But travelling from New York to Beaufort in North Carolina becomes a journey she didn’t expect – she likes the house, she loves the town’s people, and the man living next door is very attractive. As she goes about preparing the house she starts to uncover the semi-mystery of her grandparents’ death and starts to feel she might want to stay in Beaufort. As well as this we have a narrative from 1976, the last months of Rebecca Saint James’ life. A nice feel-good story, for all of its mystery and ending – it was difficult to read in parts but overall good. Certainly, as I did Woodson Harvey’s The Wedding Veil, I enjoyed reading about the present day characters more than the past.

So, yes, I’ve really enjoyed this month. I’d say my absolute favourite was Bradley’s book because it’s just so unique even within its time travel genre (the nearest I’ve read is Kerstein Gier’s Ruby Red trilogy). It also totally lived up to the entirely self-created hype I had for it just based on the cover.

What did you read this month?

I didn’t finish quite as many books as I hoped this month, but it was a stellar month for reading. A whole heap of stories and talent to like.

All books are works of fiction.

Edward Carey: Edith Holler – Twelve year old Edith, permanent resident of the only remaining theatre in Norwich (because she may not leave) finds out many things about her city including the many cases of disappeared children. As she continues amongst the theatre folk she comes to understand that a monster of a woman has played a role. This is a completely fantastical novel where you’re never really sure what’s going on but can make some guesses – Edith is the ultimate unreliable narrator.

Eliza Chan: Fathomfolk – In a land where (to us, mythical) sea creatures/people can change into human form and face discrimination as immigrants, water dragon Nami comes to the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi to find the dragon pearl. Meanwhile, half-siren Mira is determined to be an excellent border guard and transform life for her people in the token role she has been given. And sea-witch Cordelia is looking to make bargains always, and to keep her unknowing human husband in her control. A fantastic high fantasy with lots to say about immigration and racism.

Maggie Brookes: The Prisoner’s Wife – Having fallen in love, Czech farm girl Izzy and British prisoner of war Bill make a run for it; they hope to avoid trouble but with Izzy having to pose as a male soldier there’s a lot more at stake. One of the best books I’ve read all year, this is an often brutal story but a very well told one.

Tasneem Abdur-Rashid: The Thirty Before Thirty List – Maya meets Noah on the Tube, he leaves, forgets his notebook, and they both forget to exchange numbers. Maya’s left with his ‘thirty things to do before turning thirty list’ and, together with the encouragement of her co-workers, she sets out to do the items on the list, too. Who knows, she might be able to find Noah again. Worth the fully-understandable-because-the-author-has-to-write-it-first wait.

I had an absolute blast with all four books. The first I finished, Fathomfolk, was a thrilling experience all round. I’d seen the book on Goldsborough Books’ website when I went to buy another, and totally fell in love with the cover. I thought it would be a bit impulsive to get it, and then I saw some negative GoodReads reviews, but something still said ‘buy it’. I did and found the negative reviews to be misinformed: if you look at negative reviews, there is no word on immigration, yet this is a key theme in the book. I don’t know what’s happened here, but I hope more people who ‘get’ it end up reviewing it (there was one which, like I have here, was baffled by the negative reviews). I think I’m going to have to review it myself!…

Next up was The Thirty Before Thirty List and my god, she’s done it again. It was so much fun. So much fun. Following was The Prisoner’s Wife which I originally started in April or May and had to put on hold for a while, chomping at the bit to get back to it. Brookes had told me about the inspiration and premise when we spoke about the book that followed it and I had a feeling then that I’d love it. Yep. I did, very much. It’s one of the best WW2 books I’ve ever read.

And lastly, Carey’s latest… I don’t know what to say that can be contained in a paragraph. It’s my previous post – I waxed lyrical about it. It’s incredibly open-ended, in a way I’m happy with and I know from speaking to him that he’s fine with it, too.

I have two currents reads. Firstly, Gill Paul’s Scandalous Women and after a slow start (caused by my reading Carey’s book in tandem) I’m flying through it. I’m actually finding myself liking the fictional character’s thread most, I think because it is indeed completely fictional and I find that addition, slotting this character in amongst two real people’s lives, fascinating. I am loving reading about Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins, however, and may have to read at last one each of the books Paul chronicles the publication of. Secondly, I’m reading Kaliane (‘Cull yan’) Bradley’s The Ministry Of Time which I thought was probably going to be literary fiction when I saw the cover, then expected historical fantasy, and can now say it’s literary historical fantasy (I see no reason not to bring ‘literary’ into genre). Loving it.

I’ve read some good books this summer (I’ll leave chronicling August until later). I remember some years ago, a blogger called Judith said that she doesn’t write many negative reviews any more (by that time) because she’d got really good at knowing whether she’d like a book or not prior to choosing it. I remember being mystified by this, but now I feel I’m getting there myself.

All books are works of fiction.

Elaine Chiew: The Light Between Us – Tian Wei lives in 1920s China; he finds a letter from a woman from the next century. In 2019 in Singapore, archiver Charlie finds a letter from a 1920s man, written to someone else. By placing their subsequent letters in the way they found their firsts, both Tian Wei and Charlie are able to begin a correspondence across time, and over time it may develop into something more as the pair share their worries and successes. Fans of The Lake House/Il Mare, and The Time Traveller’s Wife will enjoy this in particular, but the subject matter, especially in terms of Tian Wei’s time and life, will interest many others. Chiew’s writing style is focused on details but not at all in a way that becomes overly much – it’s difficult to describe, but her prose is singular and her focuses appealing.

Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song – Ella, Georgia, and Georgia’s daughter, Phoenix, have travelled to the Greek island of Hydra to spread their mother’s/grandmother’s ashes. For Ella, the trip is very difficult – she was last on the island as a teenager, one beautiful holiday with the love of her life before he suddenly and intentionally disappeared; he was a musician and years later she still has to bear listening to his hit song that was written about her. For Georgia it all needs to go strictly to plan but at the same time she probably needs this time away from her husband. And Phoenix is along for the ride. Ella’s turmoil comes to a head when she makes a surprise discovery, and the trip for her mother morphs into something else entirely. There’s a lot to appreciate here – setting, characterisation, and Cowell’s deft decisions when it comes to letting the reader know more; I shan’t be more specific than that to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say it’s a page turner and enjoyable.

Mark Stay: The Crow Folk – Wartime Britain. Faye Bright has grown up in Woodville, Kent (fictional village, real county). She helps her dad with his pub, she’s a local volunteer for the war effort, and she’s a bell ringer at St Irene’s. She’s also started to have some strange experiences and has found a spell book of her late mother’s which has left her, unsurprisingly, with a heck load of questions. One day animated scarecrows approach a group of villagers but none of the villagers believe what they’ve seen. Except Faye… and perhaps Miss Charlotte, the woman commonly thought to be a witch… and maybe also Mrs Teach, there’s always been something about her. So now not only is there a war on, but Faye’s got this book she wants to learn from (which also includes a recipe for jam roly-poly for some reason), and she’s got to work with the bonkers situation of scarecrows coming to life, led by a demon – who’s a scarecrow, too – while the fair number of villagers who saw these scarecrows don’t believe it happened. But they better do at some point – that demon’s not joking. This is a wonderfully comedic low fantasy fairly similar in tone to Terry Pratchett and Claire North’s The End Of The Day.

Mark Stay: Babes In The Wood – Pretty much straight after the episodes with the crowfolk, and getting towards the Battle of Britain, Faye and co have situation on their hands involving Kindertransport children, creepy artwork, and secret meetings. Brilliant again, this time with a little more darkness and specific WW2 themework.

Mark Stay: The Ghost Of Ivy Barn – We reach the Battle Of Britain. It’s coming soon to a witches’ circle near you (well, they hope). Also, there’s the ghost of a pilot in one of the villager’s barns that Faye needs to help. This book has the best dialogue in the series, I’d say, wherein the plan to get the Nazis not to bomb Britain is to communicate to them, in chant, ‘you cannot cross the sea’. In English.

Mark Stay: The Holly King – Book four sees the season of Christmas and the attempt by an ancient god to take over the village. Less travelling this time, if you count Kent to the coast as ‘travelling’, but as always, lots of fun.

Susan Muaddi Darraj: Behind You Is The Sea – A book of connected short stories about which I’ve been using the term ‘fractured narrative’, Muaddi Darraj’s story in stories focuses on American Christian Palestinians as they find their identities, as they work with horrible truths they discover, as they work with wonderful truths they discover, and as they work with the different generations. Focusing mostly on the same family and featuring a good few extremely poignant stories, this is a stunning book told in lovely prose that necessarily differs per point of view.

Was it a ton of reading? No, but it was a ton enjoyable and so far August has been just as good.

Episode 104: Matt Ottley

Charlie and Matt Ottley (The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness) discuss Matt’s type I bipolar disorder and how it has influenced this, his latest book, and his life in general. As Matt is also a composer and illustrator and the book involves both, we also discuss in detail the creation of the music and artwork.

Please note that there are mentions of child sexual abuse and attempted suicide in this episode.

If you’re unable to use the media player above, this page has various other options for listening as well as the transcript.

Apart from what I’ve previously discussed, the year’s reading so far has been great. Looking at this list there’s only one book I wasn’t keen on, The Priory Of The Orange Tree which I read in readalong fashion with a friend until Christmas. I then completed it quickly because it was starting to make all the grief feel never-ending (that is not a criticism of the book – it’s just that I had been reading it all that while) and so my friend fell behind but she’s since finished it, too, and felt similarly to me by the end of it. I posted a brief review to TikTok (I’ve lost my way there, it’s a lot more difficult than writing, I find) but plan to post a longer review here in time.

All books are works of fiction.

Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: This Is How You Lose The Time War – In the far-flung future, two people meet each other across a battlefield and begin sending each other letters hidden in various technological ways. Over time – literally – they fall in love and try to work out how to have a life together when they both belong to different factions that are trying to mould the future to fit their desires. This book is fantastically done but it definitely requires a lot of attention; the description is sparse and much is left to the imagination.

Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ: Dazzling – In two dual timeline narratives we follow Treasure and Ozoemena – one girl whose father was killed, the other whose father has disappeared. We find out about their lives in the Nigerian Civil War and their lives beyond that. Ozoemena has been joined to the secretive leopard society and Treasure is being pressured by spirits; both are somewhat struggling at school. I’ll have to leave it there or risk spoiling the entirety – this is a great magical realism/fantasy/mythological story of two girls coming into their own and being more than what their society has created for them to be.

Diana Gabaldon: Voyager – With Brianna and Roger now second and third voices to help Claire decide what to do, she chooses to go back to Jamie. A lot has changed since she’s been away, for both Scotland and the Fraser family, and with Jamie hiding in plain sight from the authorities, it’s not going to be the same life she had before. So much going on that’s difficult not to spoil. I loved this book for the going-back-in-time-again aspect, and it was nice to get away from the book-length flashback of the previous, but there was one big issue I had with this book concerning a second marriage that did mean I had to pause for a week or so. Unfortunately I found the TV show version of the plot thread made it worse, but I did battle on and finish both. I am still generally happily reading the series and am looking forward to book four, I just could’ve done without the unbelieveable plot thread which was less believeable, to me, than the time travel…

Jacquie Bloese: The Golden Hour/The Secret Photographs – In Victorian Brighton, Ellen and her brother take erotic photographs of women to sell abroad. Ellen comes across Lily who is struggling in an abusive household, and offers her money to pose – Lily takes her up on it so long as the photos do indeed go abroad. Meanwhile, Clementine, from America, is stuck in a disagreeable marriage to a man who won’t let her to anything she wants to do. This is an incredibly immersive book – great sense of location – about a fictional photography business and the music hall theatres that are fairly related, alongside a backdrop of the experiences of women of different classes, all looking to gain agency in their own lives. It’s very well done.

Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates – Jane Austen comes back from a rendezvous with Tom Lefroy to a silent gathering – a woman has been murdered. Unhappy with the seeming lack of seriousness with which the magistrate starts dealing with the situation, Jane decides to do her own investigations much to the surprise and relative shock of the locals. This is a brilliant book, Bull’s homage to Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, and, in the way that it looks at a book that was already a parody, a homage somewhat to Gothic fiction, too.

Kate Weston: You May Now Kill The Bride – Five close friends go to a hen party (one of their own). The bride is killed. They then decide to go to another hen party anyway and now ‘inevitable’ happens. This is a very good whodunnit where the group of suspects are rarely apart from each other. It’s also rather funny.

Liz Fenwick: The Cornish House – Maddie and Hannah are grieving their husband and father respectively. And now Maddie has inherited a house all the way down in Cornwall; they go there – it’s a large old house and needs a lot of work but they could both do with a fresh start. There is also a rather attractive man around Maddie’s age who helps them out when they can’t find the house. This book, Fenwick’s debut, looks at the grieving process and how people move through it. It also sports some romance and there is a mystery element to the house that turns into a whole theme when it drags up stuff from the past that Maddie had thought she’d buried. A really nice, somewhat cosy, read with a great use of dialogue. I’d been wanting to read it for a few years, and I loved it.

Liz Fenwick: The Secret Shore – With all hands on deck for the war, Merry has become a map-maker for the war effort; she uses her abilities and local knowledge of Cornwall to assist with the plans for what would become the Normandy landings. And now, like many women, she suddenly has more agency over her life, but there is a choice to be made in regards to whether she stays single and able to have a career or gets married and loses it all, and there is a handsome American in the ranks who is starting to steal her heart. This is an almost epic tale of resilience in war and person with an excellent thread of female agency running throughout and a great use of Dorothy Sayers’ gentleman detective, too.

Manda Scott: Any Human Power – When Lan dies, she promises her grandson, Finn, that she will communicate with him after death. She soon finds the ability to do so – infiltrate the MMORPG they enjoyed with their online guild. But the promise she made in life means that Lan must linger and not move on. Years later, Lan’s granddaughter, who she never met, posts a controversial opinion on social media and suddenly the whole thing spirals out of control. The family must secure their property, but they also decide to further the politics and create their own manifesto, and Lan is there for it all, helping Finn as much as she can. This book hit me hard – I was grieving and Scott’s writing of death and grief is incredibly powerful. It’s a very up-to-the-minute book with a lot of discussion on how we can change the world for the better and why we must do so. There is also, in Lan’s presence, a constant thread of Shamanistic belief that runs throughout. Worth reading!

Matt Ottley: The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness – A boy deals with bipolar disorder, his mind taking him to fantastical places. This is a wonderful graphic novel (or multi-model narrative as I believe Ottley calls it). The artwork is superb, the prose lovely, and the author/artist is also a composer; there’s a musical work to accompany the book; the whole experience is awesome.

Natalie Jenner: Every Time We Say Goodbye – Vivian leaves Bloomsbury Books and moves to Italy to work in the film industry; the affects of WW2 are still there at Cinecitta, but for Vivian, her time is about being a success and also looking to find out what happened to her fiancé, who fought in the war. An interesting follow-up to Bloomsbury Girls that takes a well-loved character and moves her elsewhere for her very own storyline, this book features Jenner’s now-signature careful use of celebrities passed and steady focus on character development.

Nikki Marmery: Lilith – Thrown out of Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Lilith leaves Adam to his feelings of superiority and beings her search for the goddess she knows was taken from them both. This is a story stretching from Genesis to the present day and beyond and Marmery leaves you with an absolute wealth of information about early religion. It’s beautifully written to boot.

Samantha Shannon: The Priory Of The Orange Tree – The Nameless One is awakening and must be stopped. The kingdom of Berethnet is at odds with others but needs an heir; women inherit the throne. Meanwhile Ead is far from home protecting the Berethnet queen, Tani is preparing for her exams to become a dragon rider, and Niclays is trying to remain on the down-low. this was not a book for me; I didn’t find there to be much story, never got on with the characters, too many characters died to serve the plot, and so on.

Only one I didn’t enjoy very much, and I was disappointed because I’d been looking forward to reading it for so long, but the others were all great experiences. Over this, June, month, I’ve already read Mark Stay’s Witches Of Woodville series – at least the four books currently published – and am now reading both Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Behind You Is The Sea and Elaine Chiew’s The Light Between Us, both different genres and enjoyable.

Episode 100: Liz Fenwick

Charlie and Liz Fenwick (The Secret Shore) discuss the women cartographers who were fundamental in the Allies winning the Second World War and the way women at university at the time had to choose between their career and having a family. We also discuss Liz’s love of Cornwall, her use of Dorothy Sayer’s Gaudy Night, and we go back a few times to the people who were involved in the secret flotillas that preceded the Normandy landings.

If you’re unable to use the media player above, this page has various other options for listening as well as the transcript.

For the first time in a long time, there is some stability to my life. It probably goes without saying that my rabbits continued to be ill (this February had 3 emergencies and a complaint raised before we finally got a diagnosis for a second condition). I also unfortunately lost one rabbit at Christmas due to an abscess or tumour (it wasn’t worth the heartache finding out which). It was a very sudden happening and it’s difficult finding time to grieve when you’ve also now suddenly got a single rabbit who needs you a lot more because she’s lost her pal – or brother, in this case. She has, however, found some happiness in the fact that she can now leave food half-finished, knowing she can go back to it later and it’ll still be there (she loved him, but he was a food vacuum) and in the fact that when she asks me for cuddles there’s a high likelihood she’ll get them. He always asked her for cuddles but never gave her cuddles in return and of course, him being another rabbit meant that she asked him more than she asked me. She has become 1) more affectionate, 2) more cheeky than ever. A) I love her to bits, B) her anger when I’m in her way could move mountains.

All this going on as it has with the pandemic and some health-related issues of my own takes its toll on you massively and my life was just a ball of constant stress and I felt the years piling on to me. I can say that rabbits are absolutely incredible in themselves, best pets I’ve ever had. Intelligent, able to learn their names and follow gestures, and just incredibly cute and loving. The species, however, is awful, evolution choosing to make them breed tons rather than fix their health means you’re far too likely to have a sickly rabbit, and that is hell.

Anyway, I knew at the start of it all that something would have to be put aside and at that time it had to be blogging, no matter how much I love it. I *think*, hope, cross my fingers, etcetera, that I might now have more space to start writing again because I really miss it. I love doing the podcast but it’s not the same and I ought to be able to do both!

I’m going to say the same here that I’ve said before – I’m going to go slowly. I’m totally out of the routine that I’d built, and I’m going to prioritise reviews as my ‘bookish discussions’ self is still in start-up mode. And if it ends up being that I only post once a week as opposed to my original three times, that’s far better than not posting at all.

So, that all said, I’ve looked back at my round ups for 2023; somehow the only one missing is December and… well, I think I’ve explained that one. I only finished one book in December anyway so for once I’m not going to do a round up just for completion purposes – which it sometimes felt like I was doing when I posted a December round up and then a year round up, even if I liked the process (you don’t want to see the level of detail I can go to when I track my reading). The book I read and finished in December was Kristy Woodson Harvey’s The Wedding Veil, which I loved.

Onto the year round up then, because I do feel the need to write this to help me get properly back in the zone. Here we go. No ratings, just the books.

Alex Hay: The Housekeepers – Mrs King, housekeeper of the de Vries mansion, has been fired from her post and is now planning to rob the place of the entirety of its contents along with other disgruntled parties during the time the new mistress of the house will be hosting a ball. Thrilling and hilarious from start to finish, perfectly plotted, perfectly everything.

Amanda Geard: The Moon Gate – In the 2000s, Libby travels from Tasmania to London to find out more about the research her father, Ben, was doing into her mother’s birth family when he was killed in the Moorgate Tube Crash; in the 1970s Ben seeks to find out who has given his wife and himself a house on the Tasmanian coast; in the 1940s Grace is sent to Tasmania along with her hateful companion to see out the war at her uncle’s home and, away from her awful mother, starts to blossom and find her people. A three-timeline historical novel with a strong set of mysteries behind it, this superb book looks at grief, WWII in Tasmania, and Australian poetry, and is worth every word of its almost 500 pages (in hardback).

Amita Parikh: The Circus Train – Following the travels through WWII Europe of an international circus, this book looks closely at the lives of Lena (who has Polio), her illusionist father, and a stowaway Jewish boy, as they try to remain out of the Nazis’ interests, and continue their trade, whilst growing as people. There’s an interesting controversy here where Parikh looks at a Polio-free life for Lena that is in fact supported by mid-1900s medical treatment.

Celina Baljeet Basra: Happy – Happy, of Jalandhar, in a spot that used to be his parents’ land but was sold to a theme park, is looking to move to Europe; he writes his thoughts in various different voices and looks forward to a hopeful film career. But to reader things may seem a bit different. This is an intriguingly told story of migration and poor environments – the narrative takes some getting used to but once you’re there the story opens to you completely, and there is a poignant ending involved.

Eleanor Shearer: River Sing Me Home – When the plantation owner announces that everyone is free but that they must carry on working for no money for several more years, Rachel escapes. She has children to look for, young people who were sold on elsewhere. This book looks at what the concept of freedom means through a number of lens, looks at motherhood, and of course slavery in the Caribbean. It’s done wonderfully.

Elissa Soave: Ginger And Me – Wendy’s mum has died and she’s struggling to cope; she doesn’t have any friends or people to turn to and no one really seems to like her. But then Ginger steps onto her bus and the two teenagers begin a friendship. However for some reason the reader doesn’t yet know, Wendy is recounting this from prison and Ginger is no longer alive. The writer Wendy was Twitter friends with may not be alive either. A stunning story of how people who don’t fit the proscribed norms fall off the radar, and the catastrophic things that can result from that; there is also a lot about friendship.

Elizabeth Fremantle: Disobedient – Artemisia Gentileschi is growing up under the art tutelage of her father, Orazio; they are loosing money and have to move but Artemisia’s talent is eclipsing her father’s and the family is okay. But in the 1600s women are owned and not at all independent and when her father starts bringing around another painter, trying to ingratiate himself into a bigger project, the man takes a liking to her. A richly detailed historical tale, Fremantle brings her story of survival to life.

Gill Paul: A Beautiful Rival – The (fictionalised) story of cosmetics industry rivals, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, Gill Paul starts her tale as the women are already pretty successful, as Rubinstein expands to the US where Arden is already established. The pair were both self-made women in a time when that was not at all the done thing but always ‘had’ to one up each other, starting with products and going so far as their romantic lives. Paul has kept to the history where she can but makes a few compelling deviations. The book in general is compelling and offers a lot about the women, the period, the amount of anti-Semitism during a time when people were fighting against Hitler, and, of course, advertising and product creation.

Jenni Keer: The Legacy Of Halesham Hall – Phoebe wants revenge; her father’s younger brother took the family estate from him in a wretched game led by her grandfather and with her father now dead, she will have the place herself thank you very much. Deciding to be honest with her effective uncle, Sidney (her father is not her blood relative), about her relation to him, Sidney lets her stay on below stairs, and Phoebe gets to work finding out the very last piece of the puzzle her grandfather set which Sidney never actually discovered. A good historical mystery with a fresh concept of board games and puzzles running through it, boasting a bit of cosy mystery and a very satisfying epilogue.

Jennifer Saint: Atalanta – saved as a baby by a mother bear and later taken in by the goddess Artemis, lives in Artemis’ forest with nymphs. She’s sworn to Artemis a life away from men and is quite happy with this but there will come a day when, as the best archer and runner in the land, Artemis will want her to join the Argonauts, the famed band of heroes sent to gain the Golden Fleece. This is a stunning retelling and detailing of the ancient myth, Saint’s careful choosing of what to take from the various original stories excellent.

Karen Hamilton: The Contest – Blackmore Vintage Travel take their Very-Very Important Guests on annual contests where they are split into two teams. The employees of both teams vie for winning status – with it comes more money. But these are not the easiest holidays and there have been accidents, in particular the last trip which left one employee in a critical condition. Now, Florence and Jacob are vying for the crown – Jacob wants to impress his father, who owns the company, and Florence wants a bit of retribution. They’re to take their teams up Mt Kilimanjaro, impressing them with VIP flourishes. But there may be a killer among them. This book has a particularly good ending that is not at all obvious for at least a good while.

Kate Thompson: The Little Wartime Library – When Bethnal Green Library was bombed during the Blitz, the remaining stock is moved to the unfinished Bethnal Green Underground Station which is being used to house East Enders safely away from the streets of London; we follow children’s librarian Clara and her friend Ruby as they help keep up the borough’s morale through the wonders of reading. This is a book big on community and looking at the small pockets of goodness that happened during the war, focusing of course on the value of reading, and while the reading may be important, the community is the best bit. Thompson’s use of language is also great – very British, very right for its time and location.

Kristina McMorris: Sold On A Monday – Ellis takes a posed photograph of two children with a sign beside them that states they are for sale; the family is poor but doing okay, however the photograph leads to the sign being taken literally. A book full of the ways 1930s newspapers worked, this is a delight to read (perhaps so long as you go in knowing it’ll focus on things from the angle of the newsroom rather than the children themselves).

Kristy Woodson Harvey: The Wedding Veil – In the present day, Julia is getting married but she’s understandably got cold feet as her fiancé is… not the best, at all. With the help of her grandmother, she becomes a runaway bride and goes off on her honeymoon alone to work out what she wants. We hear from Julia’s grandmother, Babs, as she gets used to the idea of moving to a retirement community and meets an old flame. And, also, in 1914 we meet Edith Vanderbilt on her wedding day and then, later, her daughter Cornelia; we see both womens’ lives and the slow breakdown of the wealthy lifestyle they lived. This is a fantastic book that grabs you from the first page and has a lot of different locations and atmospheres that keep it fresh throughout. I think I loved Julia’s story the most for its sun, sea, and romance, but the other two narratives are right up there.

Kristy Woodson Harvey: The Summer Of Songbirds – June’s owned her girls’ summer camp for decades but the pandemic lockdowns have reduced the income to problematic levels and she may have to sell out to a house building company who’ll turn the camp into homes for the wealthy. When she lets her niece, Daphne, and friends Lainier and Mary Stuart know – they met at camp in their single digit years and have been friends ever since – the four begin a plan to get donations and funding to save the camp. It’ll be another summer they’ll never forget – Lainier is soon to be married but Daphne has good reason to hope it doesn’t happen, and the love of Daphne’s life, Lainier’s brother, is back in town. A fantastic read with a very special narrative voice; more about friendship than the camp but wonderful all the same.

Lisa See: Lady Tan’s Circle Of Women – A fictionalisation of the life of a woman doctor in 1400s China (fictional because we know so little of her apart from the medicine). Absolutely superb.

Lucy Barker: The Other Side Of Mrs Wood – Victorian medium, Mrs Wood, looks to keep her reputation intact as others fail and looks to stay popular whilst she ages away from being, essentially, new and shiny. When she finds a young woman watching her house, she catches her and the result is that Mrs Wood has a new trainee – great for keeping society’s focus on Mrs Wood herself. But perhaps all is not quite as it seems with Miss Finch – beyond the literal tricks of the trade, of course – and Eliza the maid might have good reason for her distaste. Incredibly witty, well plotted and set, this is a wonderfully immersive and enjoyable book.

Maggie Brookes: Acts Of Love And War – British brothers Tom and Jamie decide to go to Spain during the civil war, each of them supporting a different side; Lucy, loving both of them, finds herself seeking to travel also, to try and get them to come home, but when a fellow teacher introduces her to the work Quaker volunteers are doing in Spain, Lucy adopts a second purpose – she will find the men but in the process help the lives of a great many refugee children. A good look at the Spanish Civil War from a perspective not well known, with a different romantic thread and arguably great ending.

Natasha Solomons: Fair Rosaline – Where was Rosaline in those days when Romeo and Juliet were together? In this tale, Solomons shows us the time of the play through the eyes of the forgotten cousin, matching many of the scenes with her own and creating others that fit until a point where she changes it to suit. This is a wonderful, wonderful book that shows the original story in the light the author feels is Shakespeare’s purpose – and given the new things we’ve learned about Shakespeare it’s very possible. Romeo is not a good guy, Juliet is the young teenager she is, and things are fair from peachy.

Nicolai Houm: The Gradual Disappearance Of Jane Ashland – A woman wakes up in a tent in a Norwegian National Park, knowing how she got there; scenes from the past couple of months show how she came to be in such a place. This is a novel about grief rather than a thriller – though it has an element of that – and a very good one at that.

Orlando Ortega-Medina: The Fitful Sleep Of Immigrants – Marc takes on a couple of cases that are the antithesis of the cases his company usually works on and finds himself with an obsessed client. Meanwhile his partner, Issac, receives letters to attend court for deportation over his earlier arrival in the US as an undocumented asylum seeker. A very satisfying thriller and book in general.

Paula Cocozza: Speak To Me – Our narrator is feeling lonely and neglected in her relationship and life in general, and she very much misses the previous house her family lived in which, they moved away from to please her husband. Her husband, Kurt, is too involved with someone else – his mobile phone. Our narrator tells us all about this, while reminiscing over a past relationship and wishing to find her briefcase which is filled with letters.

Rachel Abbott: Don’t Look Away – The third book in the Stephanie King series, Nancy has moved temporarily to Cornwall after the death of her aunt to look at the cottage she’s been left and sell it. There are no good memories here – when she came her last, her mother had died and then her sister disappeared and her father died in an accident. But her plans to sell up and go back to London are paused when she finds her sister’s filled rucksack in the garden shed where the police didn’t bother to look, and there’s a van that seems to follow her wherever she goes. Meanwhile, a kid has found a skeleton in a cave that matches the year Nancy’s sister ran off but may not be the girl herself. A great thriller that starts off with a simple one-thread story and starts to expand quite a bit.

Radhika Sanghani: I Wish We Weren’t Related – Reeva and her sisters have to go and spend two weeks mourning their father with his relatives… except that their father died many years ago… didn’t he? And it’s not great – Reeva’s sister is engaged to her, Reeva’s, ex, and she doesn’t have a good relationship with her other sister, Sita, either. A well-done comedy that has a lot of heart and reality amongst its bonkers going on.

Ronali Collings: Love & Other Dramas – Tania is newly divorced and looking to find herself, Priya did not receive a much hoped for promotion after giving her all to her long-standing employer, and Helen is discovering herself after years as an unhappy wife (unhappy is an understatement). The book covers their transitions to new milestones. One of the best books I’ve read this year – simple in premise but just so well done.

Sarah Marsh: A Sign Of Her Own – Ellen is preparing to marry Harman in London, but a letter suddenly changes her world; can she please help Alexander Bell and give evidence towards his getting a patent for the telephone? She was a student under his tutelage – Bell continued the work of his father, Visible Speech, aiming to help deaf children to speak, and Ellen was at the forefront of this. She has to make a choice, and as she does so she takes us back to Boston and her experience as a deaf child in the late 1800s, a woman pushed to be in hearing society rather than deaf society and the effects this had on her. This is a wonderful novel about forgotten history and wonderfully written; Marsh’s prose is so well done and her use of different ways of speaking and different languages is superb.

Stacey Thomas: The Revels – When Nicholas’ brother dies, his father summons him home; he’s to journey with Judge Percival, looking into witch trials. But what no one knows is that Nicholas meets the criteria for being a witch; the dead sing of the manner of their death, and Nicholas hears it. He must work with this knowledge, all the while knowing the many women put to death are innocent. But when he meets Althamia, he starts to wonder about his gift, and when he meets her cousin, this gift starts to become very insistent. A beautifully told tale – good storytelling and incredibly fitting prose, that looks at the witch trials of Britain from both a different point of view, person-wise, and different angles, concept-wise. It’s difficult to explain without giving too much away – read it!

Sylvia Mercedes: Bride Of The Shadow King – The Trolde king, Vor, needs a bride and the humans on the overworld swore their princess to him. That princess should be Ilsevel if the King has anything to do with it, and he sends her off to wed a king she does not particularly like. But when Vor came to meet the family, there was the oldest princess, Faraine, and it was love at first sight for both of them. When Faraine has to take Ilsevel’s place she’s not comfortable with the idea – it involves magic and deception – but she has to go ahead. Hopefully Vor will be happy, albeit that the humans are deceiving him. This book has a great fantasy romance premise and held much promise, until two plot twists that turned it into too much angst. The first was okay if upsetting – the reason Faraine goes instead of Ilsevel (because of course she will) – but the way Vor handles it all is too much.

Sylvia Mercedes: Vow Of The Shadow King – The continuing story of no communication, no reason for there not to be happiness, and a scene that needs a trigger warning. I’d already bought the book. I will look for another series by Mercedes that can rival my favourite (the Venatrix Chronicles – it’s one of my favourite series full stop), but it is definitely not this one.

Tasneem Abdur-Rashid: Finding Mr Perfectly Fine – Zara’s mum has told her to find a husband pronto because if she’s not married in a year, by her 30th birthday, she’s off to Bangladesh. Zara joins a Muslim marriage app, and goes to a meet-up but then there’s also Adam from work. Adam’s only nominally a Muslim so it won’t work, but Zara’s drawn to him. At the same time, Hamza, from the singles event, offers a lot more of the things she’s looking for, she just isn’t particularly attracted to him. She’s got some decisions to make. Absolutely loved this one. Worth the lost sleep.

I’m going to forget that I didn’t read as many books as I might have in another year and be happy that in general I very much enjoyed what I read. I am glad, in this way, that I haven’t done a ‘best of the best’ here because that list would be over-run. What I do hope to do, memory depending, is write more reviews of the year’s books than I have already.

So far this year I’ve been able to read more. If that keeps going, great, if it doesn’t, I’ll work with it. And I’ll leave it there – it’s high time I properly moved on to 2024!