B- Reviews / Book Reviews1950s / England / family relationships / older woman / rural setting7 Comments
Mrs. Belchamber was not invited but Mrs. Belchamber came to stay. The changes she introduced into Scotty’s topsy-turvy Kentish farmhouse were past belief. But though Christopher could not help feeling some concern that he had landed on his friend a woman of character as well as three lively French children, ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1950s / assassination attempt / bisexual characters / Cold War / FBI agent / investigation / joint review / Russian / secret agent / Soviet Union / star-crossed lovers16 Comments
Content warnings: Sirius and I reviewed Aster Glenn Gray’s f/f novella, The Wolf and the Girl, early this year. We decided to reunite for her new m/m novel, Honeytrap. Both works feature Russian characters so I’m especially glad to have Sirius, who lived in what was then a part of ... more >
Book Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / 1950s / Gothic / haunted house / horror / Mexico / POC / POC author / romantic-elements / socialite5 Comments
Trigger warning: Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow, your 2019 fantasy novel, was terrific, and Untamed Shore, your noir thriller from earlier this year was also good. I don’t usually care for horror novels but I have enjoyed gothics, so when I learned about Mexican Gothic, your new ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews1950s / Drumberley series / family drama / family relationships / farming / Historical / Post WWII / Scotland / Small-Town1 Comments
James Dering and his new wife Rhoda are returning from their honeymoon, and Jock and Mamie Johnstone are delighted to welcome them to their new home on a neighbouring farm. But Mamie’s concern proves justified, and Rhoda, a talented painter who has chosen marriage over art, finds rural Scotland lonely ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews1950s / boarding school / England / family relationships / teacher / teaching2 Comments
High Ambo, in England, is the setting. It is winter, and Caroline West—a very human, placid and unexcitable person, has gone there to escape her late husband’s relatives. Like so many good-hearted people, she is immediately put upon. Caroline’s sister Iris comes first, full of impulse and determination to be ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews1950s / fashion-industry / Florian series / friends-to-lovers / Paris1 Comments
Marianne was young, she was in Paris – that perfect setting for romance-and she was in love with Nat. The only snag was that she was not at all sure of Nat’s feelings for her. Did he have any more than a brotherly affection for her? Could she possibly hope ... more >