B- Reviews / Book Reviewschildhood friends / Christmas / Fantasy / Historical / holiday novella / North-Carolina / novella / Post WWII / PTSD / Retelling / War / Military / World War II1 Comments
A bride-to-be without answers. A soldier who never came home. A nutcracker that might hold one last Christmas wish… World War II has been over for three months, but Clara can’t join in the Christmas festivities with her friends and family. The fiance she sent off to Europe three years ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviews / C+ ReviewsA Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery / Agent/Spies/Undercover / amateur sleuths / class differences / English historical mystery / female friendship / Historical / joint review / London / matchmakers / mystery / Post WWII / Royalty / widow5 Comments
In London 1946, The Right Sort Marriage Bureau is just beginning to take off and the proprietors, Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, are in need of a bigger office and a secretary to handle the growing demand. Unfortunately, they don’t yet have the necessary means. So when a ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1940s / A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery / amateur sleuths / banter / England / female friendship / historical mystery / London / matchmakers / Post WWII / spy / widow4 Comments
Dear Allison Montclair, I heard good things about you debut historical mystery, The Right Sort of Man, from Barb in Maryland and Liz McCausland. The book concerns two women, Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge, who open a marriage bureau (matchmaking agency) together in 1946 England. Even though I don’t usually ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews1940s / African American / American historical / Decades: A Journey of African American Romance / Historical / musician / novella / POC / POC author / Post WWII / PTSD / SoldierNo Comments
*LOVE’S SWEET MELODY is part of the Decades: A Journey of African American Romance series. Each book explores a decade between the 1900s and the 2010s. This book covers the 1940s.* Autumn, 1946 Warner Hughes returns home from war with the lingering effects of battle. Abandoned by his sweetheart and ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads18th-century / A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery / autobiography / documentary / English historical mystery / France / Historical / History / journalists / London / Movie / murder mystery / neurodiverse / non-fiction / Paris / Post WWII / sailing / science / tv adaptation / Vietnam / War / Military / World War II17 Comments
The Right Sort of Man: A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery by Allison Montclair In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readschildren / children's fiction / family relationships / fathers and daughters / middle grade / mothers and daughters / Post WWII / second chance at love / Small-Town / texas / widow4 Comments
For fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Louisiana’s Way Home, this heartwarming novel tells the story of ten-year-old Glory Bea as she prepares for a miracle of her very own—her father’s return home. Glory Bea Bennett knows that miracles happen in Gladiola, Texas, population 3,421. After all, her grandmother—the best matchmaker in ... more >