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 Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviews / D Reviews / DNF Reviews / Reading ListsBaron / Duke / Earl / marriage-of-convenience / mistress heroine / Reading lists / seduction / virgin / widow9 Comments
This past January, I read Mary Balogh’s Huxtables series. Although it was a mixed bag for me, even the Baloghs that don’t work for me often make for interesting reading. Here are my thoughts on the books: First Comes Marriage After a short prologue setting up the hero of book ... 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 >
A Review Category / A Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readschildren / enemies to lovers / farming / Historical / Late Victorian / neurodiversity / reformed hero / widow16 Comments
Dear Ms. Kleypas, Devil’s Daughter begins with Phoebe, Lady Clare (daughter of Sebastian and Evie from Devil in Winter) on her way to her brother Gabriel’s wedding. Phoebe is widowed and the mother of two young boys. Phoebe’s late husband, Henry, was her childhood best friend, and frail. Phoebe loved ... more >
B Reviews / B Reviews Category / B- ReviewsBaron / England / Historical / joint review / Older-Woman-/-Younger-Man / Regency / slow burn / widow17 Comments
Kaetrin: I admit the Westcott family tree is a little confusing to me at times so I appreciated that Balogh went back over the relevant history just enough for me to remember who Colin Handrich, Lord Hodges, was to Wren, the Countess of Riverdale and why they had been estranged ... more >