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Fictionophile's APRIL 2024 Reading Wrap-Up #bookblogger #MonthlyWrapUp #Fictionophile #AprilReads

April by the numbers: Total titles read: 10 Published recently: 9 Backlist titles: 1 Five star reads:  3 Debut novels: 0 Blog Tours 2 Books that are part of a series: 4 Goodreads challenge: 38/120 (32%) GR NetGalley challenge: 21/50 (42%) GR Edelweiss challenge: 10/25 (40%) In March, my armchair travels took me to England (twice) U.S.A. (twice) Scotland (three times)Australia (once)Ireland…

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Fictionophile's APRIL 2024 #BookHaul #Bookbloggers #ForthcomingTitles #TBR #AnticipatedReads

This month I added TEN new review commitments to my TBR mountain. Five were publisher widgets sent to me that I couldn’t resist ; Three were ‘Read Now’  ; and I requested two. Temptation won me over… (All book descriptions are linked to Goodreads.) I received five of these titles from NetGalley. My request was granted to read and review this title from HarperCollins Focus/Harper Muse – October…

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"Welcome to Hollyhock Farm" by Georgina Troy - Book Review #BlogTour @BoldwoodBooks @GeorginaTroy @rararesources #WelcomeToHollyhockFarm #BookReview #BoldwoodBloggers @TheBoldBookClub

If you are looking for a light romance read with a stunning setting – look no further. Lettie, in her mid-twenties, has recently been made redundant from her job in London’s fashion industry. When she is summoned home to the Island of Jersey, she discovers that her father has been having health problems and is determined to get rid of the farm that he worked on for decades. Lettie, aghast at this…

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"The Irish Key" by Daisy O'Shea - Book Review @Bookouture #TheIrishKey #BlogTour #BookReview @westcorkwriter #BookoutureBooksOnTour

Book One of the Emerald Isles series This charming novel was set in a rural village in West Cork, on the Mizen Peninsula. Grace has run away from her handsome, wealthy, controlling, and manipulative husband. She fled with her seven year old daughter upon learning that her husband enrolled Olivia in a boarding school.  Years earlier, her grandmother seemed to intuit that Grace’s marriage wouldn’t…

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"Abigail Returns" by Pauline Tait - Book Review @FB_Publishing @PTait_author #AbigailReturns #BookReview

I have a blog tour coming out next month for the sequel to this book, so thought I’d better read this one first. “Abigail Returns” is the initial book in the Maren Bay series set on the picturesque Isle of Skye. First off, I have to say that the setting was idyllic. An old cottage on the shore of a loch in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.The protagonist, Abigail Sinclair, was a sympathetic…

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Top Ten Tuesday - Unread books on my shelves that I want to read soon #TopTenTuesday #TuesdayBookBlog #BookTwitter #bookbloggers #AnticipatedReads #TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your…

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"Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth - Book Review @StMartinsPress @MacmillanUSA #DarlingGirls #BookReview @SallyHepworth

As readers of Sally Hepworth know, she is a master of the plot twist. There were several in “Darling Girls“, so in that respect she doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. Within these pages we learned the stories of four women. Jessica – went to live at Wild Meadows when she was just four years old. She bonded with Miss Fairchild but was bitterly disappointed in her when she changed with the advent…

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"All We Cannot Leave Behind" by Iain Kelly - Book Review @BookGuild #AllWeCannotLeaveBehind #BookReview @IainK_Writing

Wow! This latest offering by Iain Kelly really packs a punch! Two protagonists, both pitiable, damaged, and yet strong. The setting is the small suburban town of Liberton, just three miles from the centre of Glasgow. Dr. Thomas Stevenson is a veteran of WWI and he is deeply traumatized by the events and the suffering that he witnessed during his time as an army surgeon. Home now, he endures his…

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Top Five Tuesday: 5 books with neurodivergent characters #Top5Tuesday #TuesdayBookBlog @MeeghanReads #TopFiveTuesday

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Bookworm, now hosted by Meeghan Reads. If you’re interested in participating, check out their blog to get the details and the prompts for each week! This week, we’re picking out books that have neurodivergent characters in recognition of Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month. So, with no further ado, here are my choices: (as I usually do, I’ve linked…

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"The Seafarer's Secret" by Carol Ann Collins - Book Review @BeaufortBooks @authorcacollins #TheSeafarersSecret #BookReview

It was the setting that first attracted me to this novel. The Outer Banks of North Carolina – a place I visited once and long to return in person, though via fiction will have to suffice for now… The novel centers around a police chief, William Templeton who is in his thirties and is a widower. Just one year ago his wife died in a tragic accident – they were separated at the time. Guilt plagues…

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"Death In A Lonely Place" by Stig Abell - Book Review @HarperFiction @HarperCollinsUK #DeathInALonelyPlace @StigAbell #BookReview

Jake Jackson series #2 Written partly as an homage to detective fiction, this second installment in the Jake Jackson series has cemented my vow to pursue this series avidly. Former London police detective Jake Jackson is now firmly ensconced in his new rural home – he is a changed man. He is very fit and self-sufficient. Having no television, internet, or even phone service gives Jake the…

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"The Murmurs" by Michael J. Malone - Book Review @OrendaBooks #TheMurmurs #BookReview @michaelJmalone1

This is not my first Michael J. Malone novel and I have come to expect quality writing and an intense reading experience. One again, I was not disappointed. I adored the Scottish settings, the pacing was spot-on, and the characters were well developed. I particularly enjoyed the twin/sibling relationship between Annie and her brother Mark. The charming and charismatic preacher was a man who…

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"The Night In Question" by Susan Fletcher - Book Review @UnionSqandCo @sfletcherauthor #TheNightInQuestion @doubledayca #BookReview

“Florrie learned, long ago, that society forgets an old person was ever young.” Florrie was a remarkable old lady. She has seen much in her eighty-seven years. She has loved many, travelled afar, and experienced many losses. Also… Florrie holds a secret which she has kept from everyone for over seven decades. Now, after a tragic accident, she has lost her left leg and is confined to a wheelchair.…

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"Clear" by Carys Davies - Book Review @ScribnerBooks @simonschuster #CarysDavies #Clear #BookReview

“Clear” was a novel that brought history to life. Rendered with empathy and beautiful prose, the author’s love of language is evident. The novel takes place in 1843, when the final stages of the Scottish Clearances was taking place. John is a minister, who, along with his wife Mary are desperately poor. When he is given the opportunity to travel to a remote Hebridean island to evict the last…

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Fictionophile's MARCH 2024 Reading Wrap-Up #bookblogger #MonthlyWrapUp #Fictionophile #MarchReads

March by the numbers: Total titles read: 9 Published recently: 6 Backlist titles: 3 Five star reads:  5 Debut novels: 1 Books that are part of a series: 4 Goodreads challenge: 28/120 (23%) GR NetGalley challenge: 14/50 (28%) GR Edelweiss challenge: 8/25 (32%) In March, my armchair travels took me to England (once) U.S.A. (twice) Scotland (twice)Canada (once)Ireland (3 times)In this past month…

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Fictionophile's MARCH 2024 #BookHaul #Bookbloggers #ForthcomingTitles #TBR #AnticipatedReads

This month I added NINE new review commitments to my TBR mountain. Six were publisher widgets sent to me that I couldn’t resist ; One was a ‘Read Now’  ; and I requested two. Temptation won me over… (All book descriptions are linked to Goodreads.) I received five of these titles from NetGalley. My request was granted to read and review this title from HarperCollins Canada – August 6, 2024…

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"No Strangers Here" by Carlene O'Connor - Book Review @KensingtonBooks #NoStrangersHere #ReadingIrelandMonth24 #IrishFiction #CarleneOConnor #CountyKerryMysteries

“There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.” – William Butler Yeats County Kerry Mystery #1 Dimpna Wilde was one of the most unique and enchanting characters I’ve encountered in some time. She is diminutive in size, colossal in heart, has been dealt many crushing blows in her life, yet she remains positive and funny. She works as a veterinarian and loves all animals without…