Thought Corridor

The last book to review for the moment is A Great Act of Love  by   Heather Rose  and this one was a difficult one for me to review.  This book is a difficult one to review. Let's start with the summary from the publisher " Caroline examines a stolen map. And there she finds it, at the edge of the Western Hemisphere, a black mark at the 30th latitude smaller than a flea: Norfolk Island. Her Aunt thinks she's a fool for wanting to follow her father to the other side of the world. He is no longer the man who taught Caroline about philosophy, apothecary and dreamt of returning to the France of his childhood. He is a convicted murderer, mad, deported, condemned. But, when she understands that Caroline is determined, her Aunt has one piece of advice: she must leave her past behind and invent a new story. In 1839, Caroline lands in Van Dieman's Land, a young widow of means with a boy in her care. In this insular colony of exiles and opportunists, no-one talks too much abou...

This next review is for The Pie & Mash Detective Agency  by  J.D. Brinkworth Jane and Simon are a millennial couple and on a whim, Jane enrolls herself and Simon in a local private detective night class. Their instructor assigns them a "cold case" he assumes they'll never solve: the disappearance of Nellie Thorne . Now Nellie is not the first person with that name to go missing and its up to Jane and Simon to solve the case and pass their course.  This book has a bit of a slow start for me  but that's largely due to the scene setting. Its very cosy so don't expect any high stakes here. It's entertaining but it does feel a bit too slow for me personally.  Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley as always for this ARC. 

 The next book for me to write my review of is The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee. This is a classic  enemies to lovers plot with the added bonus of vampires. This was a surprising read for me as its not usually my go to genre but the world building really pulled me in and the main character is well written and she has flaws that we can relate to. Its the first sapphic book I have read but it will not be the last  Its a slowburn that sets up the plot to be continued in the next book.    Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley as always for this ARC. 

 Back to my list of books read and this time it's The Night Hag by Hester Musson, This was the first time I'd read anything by this author and it take me a little while to get into the book but once I did then I enjoyed it. It has its roots in folklore in Scotland in the age of Victorian spiritualism. The writing is very descriptive and beautiful but at times it feels as if this drags the plot down with it. It is a dark, gothic historical mystery with a logical archeologist as our protagonist. Lili is the daughter of a famous (and probably fraudulent) medium, she has rejected the supernatural in favor of the dirt and hard facts of archaeology and we follow her as she uncovers her past.  Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley as always for this ARC. 

The next book read was  Tea You at the Altar  by   Rebecca Thorne This book series is so much fun It's described as  The Princess Bride  meets Travis Baldree,  Tea You at the Altar is  the third  cosy fantasy in Rebecca Thorne's bestselling Tomes & Tea series. This time our sapphic adventurers must navigate the ultimate maelstrom – their own wedding! Kianthe and Reyna are finally ready to walk down the aisle, but like most best laid plans their plans are going all wrong. Pirates, baby dragons and more are causing mayhem, This book continues in the footsteps of the earlier works, it blends cozy vibes with a political edge as t he wedding ceremony is being used as a trap to lure out the tyrannical Queen and overthrow her. This book deepens the characters and adds more weight to them as we learn more about their inner conflicts. This book is perfect for those who love the found family trope, it is a cosy read with an edge. This is a book that you...

 Onto the next book review. Checking my notes I can see that it is  A Case of Life and Limb  by  Sally Smith.  This is a great follow up to A Case of Mice and Murder, it is another  murder mystery set in Gabriel Ward's world of the Inner Temple .   The Victorian era has just ended, and the Edwardian age is beginning and Gabriel Ward our  protagonist, an  idealistic barrister, is struggling to make a name for himself in the stuffy, tradition-bound world of the London Inner Temple its a typical Old Boys Club.  This book, like Smith's other has an  authenticity to the dialogue used in the courtroom. Despite what people might expect with stuffy courtroom dramas of the past here the pacing is remarkably fast. If you have read the first book then you';ll enjoy seeing more of Gabriel but it can equally work without prior knowledge of the first book.  Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley as always for this ARC. 

   Hello You! I hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year.  Today will see me catching up this blog of mine with all the books I read over the festive period.  To begin lets start with  Traitors Legacy, Traitors Legacy is the first in a new series by S. J. Parish. It is a highly engaging, gripping tale of political espionage. Here t he stakes are deeply personal and politically explosive. The book mixes real historical characters and events with the fictional world and its highly engaging. Parish excels at making 16th-century England feel vivid and alive from the London stage to the halls of power. The chapters feel fast paced and for a big book it is easy to get lost in its pages. I highly recommend this book even though its outside of the genre I usually read I really enjoyed it and will seek out more works from S. J . Parish.  Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley as always for this ARC.