Nope on Ford Madox Ford but yes on Plath

Catching up on book reviews and making plans.

Epic fail on my Classic Club Spin.  I just couldn't get on with A Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford so it's a DNF.  Having planned to knock out one of my titles on the list I chose The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.  Now I need to edit my Classic Club list on the tab.

I'm sure Sylvia Plath used much of her own thoughts in writing the character of Esther Greenwood.

This novel was before the pill, medical knowledge of mental illness, women's studies and a bit like that TV series Mad Men in regard how women were viewed. The character  Esther recognized this despite her mental illness, or perhaps because of it.

She wanted more from life than the traditional path expected and having depression and suicidal thoughts didn't help with her mental state and decision making.

Noting how it would turn out if she married - "And I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secetly wanted when the wedding ended was for her to flatten out underneath his feet like Mrs. Willard's kitchen mat."

She just wanted more out of life.

 The character mentions she should be grateful for the friend of her mother, Mrs. Guinea, for affording Esther to stay at a nicer sanatorium during her treatment.  But she was no more grateful than being gifted a ticket to Europe, or a world cruise or trip to Paris to sit and enjoy a sidewalk cafe...she'd still be under that vacuum, that Bell Jar, feeling nothing but misery. It wasn' that she was an ingrate, she was mentally paralyzed.

Medical knowledge and treatment were woefully lacking in those days regarding depression. Esther's mother was always asking her why was she like this, as if it were her fault. Knowing Plath's true life story made this a sad read. 4 stars

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Frankie by Graham Norton

I've read a few of Graham Norton's fiction and this one, true to form, gives us a setting in Ireland and lots to think about.  The plot centers around Frances Howe and how her very sad childhood changed her path in life.  The different time periods are well described, in my opinion. We start with Damien who is a care giver living in London.

Frances, dubbed Frankie once she arrived in New York, is now in her eighties and has broken ankle.  Damien is sent to her for the temporay care she needs.  As they are both Irish and Damien knows the area Frankie grew up in this opens a window for them to reminisce.  He's great at getting his clients to chat and this opens up a flood of memories from Frankie as she slowly tells him her life story.  From county Cork in Ireland to London, Frankie finds happiness for a while and it's an interesting journey.  

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This week I posted and tried to join in on Nonfiction November Here. Upcoming I have a stack of books and need to decide which to tackle first, some depend on library due dates.

Hope your reading week is a good one!

 Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Reading, CrocktoberFest and Planting

Hello bookish friends.  First week of October has me reading outside thanks to cooler temps, using the slow cooker and planting pollinators. I hope your week is going well.

Currently reading The Elements by John Boyne.  

From Goodreads - "The narrative follows a mother on the run from her past, a young soccer star facing a trial, a successful surgeon grappling with childhood trauma, and a father on a transformative journey with his son. Each is somehow connected to the next, and as the story unfolds, their lives intersect in unimaginable ways."

I'm over halfway through with this book and it's quite a page turner.  Set in Ireland and England, there are triggers on rape and abuse but nothing graphic. 

Four different stories and circumstances with the point of view of a perpetrator, a victim and I am not so sure about the enabler label on one story. Anyway, Boyne is linking up these stories and people in each section titled Air, Earth, Water and Fire. I can't put it down.

Surprise in the mail - Thank you to Deb at Readerbuzz for the seed packet and lovely card!  I have planted them and hope for some pollinators to visit.  I also planted my Seed Pop but so far, only a few sprouts.  Maybe I am overwatering.  We will see.

Here is the one I planted.  They come in different varieties for butterfly, bees and birds.

CrocktoberFest time.  This slow cooker isn't mine but I thought it looked so cute .

First thing I wanted to do was make this Peach and Pear Cobbler (click on link for recipe).  I made it ages ago and posted on my defunct food blog.  Dessert in a slow cooker - yes please.  Next crock effort is a lentil soup.  We are starting to get cooler temps.  Very excited.

Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Boxing and Reading

Hello fellow book bloggers. The whirlwind of putting the house on the market, selling in two days and getting in contract for another put my head in a spin. While I had finished two books prior I've yet to get it together for reviews.  Those two are coming up next week as I have to have a goal.  And I need some fun time that doesn't involve boxes, bubble wrap and labels  😊

Currently reading Elena Ferrante's book The Story of a New Name, the second in the trilogy, with Susan as a buddy read. I like it better than the first book and the story picks up where book one left off.

I had finished The Book Club by Roisin Meaney and couldn't remember if I posted it so...here it is.

The Book Club by Roisin Meaney grabbed me by the name of the book as well as the setting. A book club and it's in Ireland - yes, please. Just about all of it takes place in Ireland with some London memories thrown in. I enjoyed the mentions of Doolin, Cliffs of Moher and Nenagh, all places we have visited years past.

The main characters are listed in the front so I bookmarked that page for reference as I read. A makeshift library was created by Beth Sullivan as the town didn't have a library for the residents and the book club met in this cozy book filled cabin. The location was near the Sullivan home off a cliff with ocean views. That might be a deal breaker for me - moving to a town without a library. Good for Beth creating an impressive collection for the readers in town.

Beth is a 72 year old retired widow who has had her share of tragedy. Her only daughter, son-in-law and a granddaughter were killed in a car accident. Immediately after the accident her other granddaughter named Lil dropped out of college, stopped speaking then then moved in with her grandmother. This is important to the entire story line.

The story weaves in and out with several characters overlapping each other's lives. Not one single unlikable character in the book. Next door to Beth we have Tom, the newest addition to the community who has moved from Dublin to the Kerry coast. He is renting a house from Beth located next to hers. The empty house was her deceased daugher's so you know there will be emotional moments over that. Tom also has a secret and he doesn't reveal that to his new community.

The characters are well developed so I had a good mental picture of them and the dialogue was smooth. A coastal Kerry setting, a book club, a pub, a gift shop and nice people made this a feel-good book. While I wasn't tempted to abandon the book there were things that I wish had panned out differently near the end.

For instance, we eventually learn what Tom was hiding but it doesn't come up until near the end of the book. It's something people may not be comfortable with had they known about it without understanding the circumstances. Also Lil's constant writing in a notebook to communicate, as it's evident she has no medical reason to remain silent, got a little contrived. Things wrap up quite neatly but so quickly at the very end...meaning a few pages from the end. All the secrets and turmoil could have been introduced earlier, in my opinion, instead of a rushed ending. It leaves the reader to come up with their own conclusions to what happens to certain characters.

That said, I would read another of Irish author Roisin Meany's books as I was kept interested and love the setting. 3.5 stars

Loki

Last but not least - have a look at unbridled joy.  Loki rolling in the sunshine.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon and Joy for British Isles Friday.

What a week......

I ended up behind this week in everything. Blogging, correspondence and the house is a  tip. 

Tuesday my husband had a dentist appointment and he was turned away because the blood pressure was something like 200/100 - stroke territory.  He's on BP meds so next day we went to the primary care. New meds. There are other reasons for this but suffice it to say he ought to be back to "normal" much later in the year.

Thursday I had my annual opththalmologist appointment - cataract followup and pressure checks.  Once I am dilated I am pretty much done for hours as to looking at a tablet or phone.  Can't even read. Ugh.  OK, old lady talk finished now. haha

Book chat

 So....this week I finished Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain.  My third book for the Classics Club - review HERE. It was a tough read for me and thankfully I had JoAnn laboring along with me to complete a buddy read.

I also finished The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks. Very much enjoyed hearing about fell farming life and reading Rebank's memoir.

Library acquisitions

The series Blue Lights, set in Belfast Ireland.  It's been a while since we've watched a police drama and we are enjoying this one very much.  It has six episodes per season.  The tensions in northern Ireland are well represented.

Also plan to start Pastoral Song by James Rebanks, the secord book he has written about farming the fells in Cumbria.

Later today I hope to catch up on emails and do some visiting!

 Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Vicki for Mailbox Monday

Joy for British Isles Friday

Reading and Watching

I know I have mentioned being appreciative for having access to such a good library in previous posts.  They keep me in entertainment and I don't spend any money.  If a book or movie isn't for me, I just return it.  This week's bounty has been good.

This week I finished Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. Review HERE.  My husband wanted the latest Godzilla movie and we watched/read that.  It's all subtitled and the special effects were cool.

Into season 5 now of Madam Secretary and will finish that series before the end of January. Alas, I did not get to Moonflower Murders in time but have returned it and placed a new hold.

Today I watched The Quiet Girl, an Irish film based on the book Foster by Claire Keegan.  As I said in the review of the book, the themes of kindness, hopefulness and love bring this short story to life, both on film as well as the book.

The Irish country setting was beautiful and reminded me of places we'd visited many years ago. 

That's it for the week. Hope your week was good.

Loki‘s in there somewhere!

Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Vicki for Mailbox Monday

November Reading Roundup

I can't believe I am getting my November reading round up posted in November! I read four books this month and made plans for some great challenges next year.   Looking forward to more buddy reads, classics and nonfiction....but for now let's get this short post started.

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Bullfighting by Roddy Doyle

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

November book travel took me to Rhode Island, Ireland and Italy.

📚 Currently Reading 📚

That's it for the November round up.   Looking forward to more good reading in December. I'd love to know what books you favored this month and what reading goals you may have for next year.  Hope life is good for you all :-)

Here’s a snap of Loki soaking up the sunshine.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

Roddy Doyle and Elena Ferrante {Armchair travel to Ireland and Italy}

When it rains I end up inside reading quite a bit.  No complaints about that!  First up is a trip to Ireland with Roddy Doyle's book of short stories titled Bullfighting.

In this collection of short stories the meandering stream of consciousness of an older man dominates the narrative.  I can see things from the female point of view when he wonders at what point in time did his wife move to another room.  When did certain things occur when he was, apparently, not paying attention.

The stories take you into a middle aged man's life in Ireland.

Getting older wasn’t too bad. The baldness suited Martin. Everyone said it. He’d had to change his trouser size from 34 to 36. It was a bit of a shock, but it was kind of nice wearing loose trousers again, hitching them up when he stood up to go to the jacks, or whatever. He was fooling himself; he knew that. But that was the point—he was fooling himself. He’d put on weight but felt a bit thinner.

The story Bullfighting is about four male friends in Spain and their honest conversations.  They are all middle aged and facing the realities that life is half over for them.  Admitting loneliness and being honest...for once.

Not my favorite book by Doyle by a longshot but a nice respite to read something short between anything else I am currently doing.  Themes of aging and loneliness with some humor and a great deal of Irish culture. 

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Next up we visit Naples Italy in the 1950's with My Brillant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  This was an enjoyable buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.

This book starts off in Turin Italy, present time with Elena getting a frantic phone call from Rino, her best friend Lila's son.  His mother is missing. Lila and Elena had been friends for over 60 years and more than 30 years ago, Lila had confessed to Elena she wanted to disappear one day.  Leave without a trace. Apparently this is what happened.

The book is about Elena's account of friendship with Lila growing up in 1950's poverty stricken Naples. Lila was from a poor family, her father a shoemaker with little money to spare on a girl's eduaction...or anything else.  She was very intelligent and headstrong, teaching herself to read and educate herself  despite being held back by her family and financial standing.  That said, she never let anything dampen her spirit for life and learning.

Elena and Lila crossed paths in school at a young age but it wasn't an immediate or tender friendship. In the era described, their lives were filled with misogeny and violence, something they didn't find appalling as it was predominent in their culture and upbringing.  It was just life.

I think each girl challenged the other to do better.  Possibly from Elena's point of view she was motivated by Lila's  strong will and refusal to conform to the norms of their society.  Lila was intrigued by Elena's stubbornness and her refusal to capitulate to her bullying.  Not many stood up to Lila's strong personality.  That is my opinion on the ongoing relationship.

If you have read the synopsis this won't be a spoiler - it ends with Lila's wedding.  I was half expecting it to end with her appearance in the story, finding out where the 66 year old went and some resolution to her disappearance.  Book 2 will no doubt continue the story and I am looking forward to that eventually.

This would make a good series of books to read in August for the Women in Translation month/project but I can't wait that long to tackle books 2 and 3.

Currently I am working on a list of bookish goals for next year and hope to post about that next week. Happy reading to you all!

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday for Long Island and The Life Impossible.

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle

Well, we are recovered from more travel than we usually do and now I can read again.  Yea! I started with the new Roddy Doyle book.  Also went to vote early and made another slow cooker meal for Crocktober - click HERE for Thieves Stew..

From my fall reading list I have managed to fit in Roddy Doyle's latest book The Woman Behind the Door. Our main character is Paula Spencer and one I am familiar with.  My introduction to Paula and her story was in the 90's with in The Woman Who Walked into Doors.  She was a young 39 year old reminiscing about her childhood (which was good) and dealing with her marrige to an alcoholic, becoming one herself.

Then ten years later the book Paula Spencer  was published. Continuing her story Paula is a widow, dealing with her new sobriety but also the PTSD of beatings and a horrible marriage.

This may well be Paula's final chapter (no pun intended) as we now see her as a sober 66 year old.  I loved the language and how you could grasp the raw emotions in some scenes, especially between Paula and her daughter Nicola. Not a cozy, feel good novel but a powerful look at a life with broken dreams, surviving it all and the impact it made on her daughter growing up.

The only two complaints I have is the way the conversations were not written with quotes or the typical identifier on the speaker.  It wasn't hard to keep up with but that's my preference.   The other is the excessive detail in some scenes about the ordinary things like making tea, etc.  

3.5 stars

Other books by Irish author Doyle which I have enjoyed are Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and A Star Called Henry.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

Women in Translation month and zucchini fritters

Let's start with my PSA regarding turtles and comments :-) So far, no turtles I can see and the nest does not appear to be disturbed but..we have had some serious storms and hard rains so, who knows.  

Also, if you don't see your comment here within 12 hours or so you can email me.  What is up with the spam redirect? Ugh.

What is new....

Watching the first two seasons of The Unit, an older series from 2006.  This is based on Eric Haney's nonfiction book Inside Delta Force.

I have read through the July entries of The Kitchen Diaries. Inspired I prepared the zucchini fritters.  I've done the fritters before and if you'd like to check out that recipe, click HERE to see it on my retired food blog. I've started Nigel's August entries already.

Currently reading A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio for Women in Translation month.

Just finished Trust Her by Flynn Berry.

More about this author HERE.

Coming up is September by Rosamunde Pilcher and one other book I haven't decided on yet. I need to rework my summer list as some titles weren't available and I bailed on others.

That's it.  Just in and felt like updating. Hoping you are well, the storms have missed you and you've good books lined up.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.

The March book wrap up

Lovely Spring flowers around our place....

Blink your eye and it's April.  As Gilmour sang  in Time,  "then one day you'll find, ten years have got behind you..."

That's the truth.  Time goes so fast.  Since bringing this site back to life I updated on my February books here. This post is is a roundup of my March books.  Then I'll be on track with some sort of schedule that suits me.

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In March I finished the second book in the Cormac Reilly series by Dervla McTiernan.  I liked the first book, The Ruin, better than this second one - The Scholar. There are a few more to go before I am fully caught up.  If you like police procedurals this would be a good one for you, set in Galway Ireland.

Also read in March:  The Women by Kristin Hannah and Three by Valérie Perrin.

Three:  In 1986 three young children meet in school and become inseparable. They are all ten years of age and come from different home lives. Etienne, Nina and Adrian. They hold hands all the time, they support each other, assist with school work and personal issues. You can't imagine these three ever having a falling out.

The story is told in flashbacks and in great detail. By the time they are ready to graduate school and move on to university in Paris, the relationships are as strong as ever, even if there are a few secrets between the three. Then a fallout. A big one.

In 2017 a car is pulled from the water with a body inside. There is much speculation about a young lady missing for years - could she be in that car? As you go back and forth between time periods, reading about the very descriptive aspects of their lives, I found myself very supportive of some characters and almost despising another. It's a slow read but the last several chapters have revelations I never thought about. Loyalty, betrayal, love and forgiveness are the themes.

You don't know who the narrator is in this book until the end.  Then things fell into place.

This is the second book I have read by Perrin, translated by Hildegard Serle, and I will say I enjoyed Fresh Water for Flowers a bit more. She is an incredible author and I have already preordered her newest - Forgotten on Sunday.

March book travel took me to Vietnam, France, Ireland and California.  That's it for the March round up

 Looking forward to good reading this month.  Hope life is good for you all :-)

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday. and Reader Buzz for Sunday Salon.

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Getting current here on my February books.........

It's been a while since I book blogged...burnt out on the food blogging but books have always pulled me back to the keyboard.  Here are three of my February books. 

Beyond That, the Sea is a book spanning decades.

The working class family Reg and Millie Thompson decide to send their young daughter Beatrix from London to America during WW II.  The girl doesn't want to go but joins other children in relocation, safe from the bombs and destruction.

All the chapters are short and told from different viewpoints.  There is the Thompson family in London and the Gregory family in the U.S.  Nancy and Ethan Gregory have two sons, William and Gerald.  They welcome Beatrix with open arms and she eventually blends into their family, becoming the daughter they never had.

Meanwhile Millie is missing her daughter, feeling like she is missing out on Beatrix's childhood and indeed she is.  Mille and Reg are dealing with war, food shortages, burnt out buildings and hardship.   Bea, as the American family call her, lives with the Gregory family for five years and has many wonderful experiences.

Over the decades the stories are about love, death, disappointment, friendship and hope.  The settings are New York, Boston, Maine and London. 4.5 stars

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When All is Said by Anne Griffin is reflective story of a man's life and the people who meant the most to him.

Eighty-four year old widower Maurice Hannigan reflects on his life as he sits on a barstool, raising a toast to the five people he loved the most and the influences of others (not always positive) who shaped his life. He starts with his brother Tony and sips a stout, moving on to the other dear people in his life with a different whiskey and ale for each.

As he reflects on his regrets, triumphs, grief and revelations you are transported to another time when he was younger. I loved all of this book and true to Irish literature there are very sad moments.

The story unfolds and intertwines with the lives of the rich Dollard family and how they effected each other. Near the end some fairly interesting twists came to light.

The setting is Meath Ireland.

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Skylight by Jose Saramango

This is a novel translated from Portuguese by a Nobel Prize winner author. It's a slice of life from the 1950's in a small town, getting into the everyday lives of regular people. There are fractured relationships, secrets, love and deception.

Something I found interesting was the preface explaining about the author and how this novel came to be published after his death. He sent it to a publisher and unbeknowst to him, it was placed in a drawer and forgotten for over 30 years. When the company was moving to a different location the manuscript was discovered.

Imagine 30+ years later getting a call about this manuscript. Saramago immediately went to pick up his typed work, was offered to have to publsihed and he declined. He stated you must respect people and so he wouldn't have it published until after his death.
I rounded up to 4 stars.

One more to go and I'll start my March book stats.  So far, so good :-)

The No-Show and The Switch by Beth O'Leary

 

I liked this book. The author's first book The Flatshare was a nice easy read, chicklit in my opinion, and I knew I would read another as I like her style. 

This book focuses on two women, both named Eileen Cotton. There's the younger called Leena and her grandmother Eileen. Leena is used ot the fast paced corporate world of London but she is burnt out. After an incident at work she is placed on a two month sabatical so she heads up to Yorkshire to visit her grandmother. Leena has always been close to her grandmother and calls her all the time. 

She is barely on speaking terms with her mother Marion and this puts Eileen (the grandmother) in the middle. This is all a result of Leena's sister dying from cancer and decisions made which Leena couldn't come to terms with. It's all explained.

Eileen is 79 years old but don't think she sits around knitting and is all alone. She is very active and is always trying to get involved in new projects, organizing a festival, helping with crime watch and walking other folks dogs....you get the idea. Leena gets the idea to switch households for the two months as it's obvious both women need a change of scenery. Leena would live in Yorkshire and her grandmother would live in her flat in London.

It's nice to read about older people who had vibrant lives in their youth I was enjoying the parts set in Yorkshire as well and honestly, if I could and I had the physical stamina for those sort of cold winters, I would love to live in that area. 

This is a nice easy read that features love, infidelity, grief and life changes. I would read more by Beth O'Leary as she takes you right into the scenes. Love the descriptive parts about Yorkshire.

The No-Show: This book has quite a few surprises.  It appears Joseph Carter is a scoundrel who is juggling three different women, managing to stand them up on Valentine's Day.  As you start the book you will be supportive of these ladies outing him and possibly getting a bit of revenge. Word of warning, don't make assumptions as this is not a cookie cutter romance template.

This is not a story about a man cheating on his girlfriends.  There is a back story to each of the relationships which the author deftly weaves to a surprising conclusion.

There is heartbreak but I assure you, it won't be a scenario you're expecting. Somehow Beth O'Leary writes a light hearted story while interjecting real life hardships and situations.

There is more than one emotionally significant event to experience here. 

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy

 

The setting is Lough Glass in Ireland and it's the early 1950s. The story follows Mary Katherine McMahon's life as a child and the approximately ten years after her mother Helen disappears. It's thought her mother drowned but Mary (known as Kit) worried her mother killed herself.  She had a note from her mother but burned it without reading as if it was a suicide note she couldn't have a church burial.

Kit misses her mother very much and leans on friends and distant family to help her. She gets into a pen pal relationship with a woman named Lena Gray who claims to have known her mother.  There is certainly a surprise lurking for Kit in that relationship!

If you want to submerge yourself into 1950s Irish culture this will be a good book for you. It's dated in references but I liked it. The themes are loss and love.  I liked the comparison of English life vs Irish life from Kit's perspective.

 This is another book I am clearing from the shelves in my mission to read more books from the stacks at home.  It's already in the mail to a friend who may enjoy it!

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction challenge.

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

 I am so happy to have discovered this author as I now have a new-to-me series to catch up on.  Police procedurals and mysteries are one of my favorite genres as are books set in Ireland.

Cormac Reilly was once a detective at an elite Garda station in Dublin.  He transfers and demotes in rank to a police agency in Galway as his partner Emma relocates for her work. For someone with his experience and skills the Galway posting is wasting his talents on cold cases.  One case in particular is a blast from his past.

The prologue tells how twenty years earlier Cormac was young officer sent out to a rural home for a domestic violence call.  What he found was Maude, a neglected thin 15 year old girl who was taking care of her 5 year old brother Jack.  Their mother was dead in an upstairs bedroom, liquor and drugs surrounding her.  

Then chapter one starts us in present time when Jack, now 25 years old, has commited suicide.  His partner Aisling is not convinced Jack took his life. The past has a way of being interjected in this investigation. There are so many facets of this story that are interesting and Cormac is now one of my favorite detectives.  I am very much looking forward to the next few books in the series and seeing the character development.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction challenge.

A Few of the Girls by Maeve Binchy

 

As Maeve Binchy died in 2012 I was quite surprised, yet delighted, to see a new book available at the library.  The forward is written by her husband Gordon Snell.  He explains how she would type up a storm and get her thoughts out, never once seeing her staring at a blank page as she searched for inspiration.

As a big fan of Ms. Binchy I grabbed a copy and settled in to read the short stories.  I will say I prefer her novels more than this collection and these stories are dated in the narrative of how women defer to men.

That said, this is a book of stories about friendships and relationships.  Some show how women support one another and others where women stand up for themselves. If you haven't read Binchy before I would not start with this collection as her novels are much better.  I have read all of her books and Light a Penny candle remains my very favorite.

Sharing with

 Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday 

 Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.