Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music
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Grammy Award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo is known for her electrifying voice and fearless...
My Mortal Enemy
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My Mortal Enemy is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926....
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Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn’s...
Sanditon and Other Stories
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In time for the highly-awaited TV series, a new edition of Jane Austen’s delightful final work,...
The Mansion
7.0
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After two years of living on cheap beer and little else in a bitterly cold tiny cabin outside an...
Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon
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Catherine Hewitt's richly told biography of Suzanne Valadon, the illegitimate daughter of a...
America's Femme Fatale The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness
8.0
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How does a Norwegian farm girl become an infamous American serial killer, responsible for upward of...
True Crime Nonfiction
Merissa (14224 KP) rated The Schoolmaster's Daughter in Books
Apr 24, 2025
Julius is neck-deep in debt and has come up with a plan to marry an heiress to get himself out of it. When a friend tells him of an heiress in Bath, far from the London crowd that knows of his predicament, he travels there and tries to win her hand. Unfortunately for him, the woman he presumes is the companion is actually an heiress herself and none too pleased with his plan. So Lydia decides to teach him a lesson, all of which leads to an amusing story of brightly coloured fashion disasters and wayward children.
This story is well-paced and treads lightly on topics such as generational debt, forced elopement, blackmail, and poverty. It made for a great read to see Lydia's feelings of guilt make themselves known once she started to have feelings for Julius. It is a sweet read, with no spice, that perfectly suited the cooked-up scheme between Julius and Lydia.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 18, 2025
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Nightcrawling in Books
Aug 27, 2022 (Updated Aug 27, 2022)
Kiara, 17 years old, gets drawn in to prostitution and is picked up by a group of corrupt cops who like to ‘invite’ young sex workers to their parties. And a lot of these girls are too young. Kiara included.
It really angered me that people who were supposed to take care of and protect people, young black girls included, should take advantage and blackmail them.
Kiara and her neighbours son Trevor, live in poverty. Kiara has stopped going to school, so has no qualifications and no one will employ her. Trevor’s mother goes missing for days at a time, and Kiara sees children's services as a last resort, wholly unacceptable. So to feed them and to pay the rent, she walks the streets, sells sex, and does what the cops want her to do. These men made me feel quite murderous, actually.
Nightcrawling made me feel emotionally exhausted, but I had to read every page. It’s a story that drags you in, grabs your attention, and doesn’t let go until the last page. The fact that it’s based on a true story makes it even more saddening.
If you’re up for a challenge, I’d recommend this. It deserves its place on the Booker Prize long list.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole.
When the Stones Held
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When The Stones Held is an unforgettable historical novel inspired by the true story of William...
Historical Fiction