Who Can Afford to Improvise?: James Baldwin and Black Music, the Lyric and the Listeners
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More than a quarter-century after his death, James Baldwin remains an unparalleled figure in...
According to Yes
8.0
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Dawn French, number one bestselling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous and Oh Dear Silvia, returns with...
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Cunning Women in Books
May 15, 2021
I’m on a bit of a 17th century bender at the moment, and witches seem to crop up frequently. Basically, if you were female, didn’t have a man about the place (preferably one you were married to) and knew things other than washing, cleaning and popping out babies, you risked being accused of witchcraft. Add to that a birthmark, and/ or an opinion or two, AND not going to church regularly, then you might as well start picking your own stake out.
Sarah and her mother, brother and little sister, all live in a hamlet abandoned after all the inhabitants died of plague, known as the Plague Village. They have no money and little income after the death of Sarah’s father, and what money they do have comes from selling potions, small spells and begging. They’re outcasts, and there’s an atmosphere of dank, dark poverty in where they live and what they wear. They are avoided by pretty much everyone in the village - it seems to be a really lonely existence.
Then comes a spark of hope when Sarah meets the local farmer’s son, Daniel. He lives a very different life: one of open spaces, plenty of food, light and comfort. He’s treated poorly by his father and a farm hand, but he’s never hungry, and his living conditions are so much better than those of the Haworth family.
This is a story that feels so raw and real. You just know that it’s not going to be a happy ending. How can it? DOn’t get me wrong - I rather like endings that are unresolved or just plain unpleasant (weird, I know), but the youth of these protagonists had me hoping throughout for a better life for them.
Ahh, the 17th century - great to read about, but I’ve never been so glad to have been born in the 1970’s!
This is a really enjoyable, heartfelt historical fiction novel, and I’m so pleased that I got the chance to read it. Many thanks to Windmill Books for providing me with an e-arc through NetGalley.
Dead on Arrival 2
Games and Entertainment
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Intense co-operative zombie survival! PLEASE NOTE: Not compatible with iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4th...
Suite Francaise
10.0
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By the early l940s, when Ukrainian-born Irène Némirovsky began working on what would become Suite...
Innocent Traitor
7.0
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I am now a condemned traitor . . . I am to die when I have hardly begun to live. Historical...
Break Me (Make or Break, #2)
8.0
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Break Me is the second book in Amanda Heath’s Make or Break series. It can be read as a...
The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)
10.0
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For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent comes a story like no other... A toxic river divides...
Debbiereadsbook (1788 KP) rated Walking on Broken Paths in Books
Jul 24, 2025
Jesse ran when his brother died, and hasn't returned since. He doesn't know if he is staying but bought a house to fix up over the summer. Coming face to face with his childhood best friend was a shock, but Jesse wants to keep Parker in his life, if only for the summer. Parks is dealing with his father's death and he doesn't know what he wants to do. Keeping Jesse in his life, however briefly, is top of his list.
This book has a lot. A lot of emotions, a lot of pain, of joy, of love and I absolutely bloody it.
Jesse's pain is long lived: 15 years since his brother passed away but Jesse still talks to him, Jesse just can't hear him. He carries a lot of the past on his shoulders, but things are getting better a little every day. Parker's pain is new: a few weeks have gone by since his dad lost his fight to cancer, and Parks is struggling with what to do with his dad's dinner cruise business. He knows it's not really going to work for him, but it was his dad's pride and joy.
These guys fall straight back into their friendship that very quickly morphs into more and both are asking themselves, but not yet each other, if they can make it work long distance.
I loved that there was no 3rd act break up/make up. Loved the steam level was low-ish and it was perfect for this book.
There were some other hockey players mentioned, as Parker wants to write a book about gay hockey players and their history and the names rang some bells. I had to go back through Aislin's backlist and find them! Loved that.
AN Absolutely wonderful book, that was just what I needed a the time.
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere