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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2330 KP) rated Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

Jane Steward is trying to get more income to her family’s Storyton Hall, already famous as a retreat for readers. But her idea of a Mystery and Mayhem Week begins with a murder and a stolen book. What secrets will she uncover?

This book attempts to do something a little different with the cozy genre, and I’ll admit it took me a little while to get on board, but once I did I found I liked the idea. I also really did love the characters. Unfortunately, the plot came up short, leaving us with some loose threads and a plot hole or two along the way. I wanted to like this book more, but the weak plot really does bother me.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-murder-in-mystery-suite-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

Kudos

Milleen (47 KP) rated Birdcage Walk in Books

Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)

Birdcage Walk

Helen Dunmore | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This period drama has a dark, gothic uneasiness to it, but the tightly drawn characters, descriptive backdrop and DunmoreÕs powerful prose keep you reading. Lizzie Fawkes has been raised by a feisty mother, Julia an early advocate of women's rights and her stepfather Augustus who writes rousing political pamphlets. Lizzie has chosen to marry a sober, stoic gentleman, John Diner Tredevant, a property developer who has invested heavily in the construction of a terrace in Bristol and the entire household has moved to the Avon gorge to maintain their supportive, close-knit relationship. As the French Revolution rolls across the Channel, the house full of radicals await news from afar and the disruption echoes through their homes. Secrets and suspicions keep you interested in the story but it's the characters that provide the entertainment and emotional pull.

Kudos

Kate (493 KP) rated Clio at War in Books

Oct 27, 2019

Pleasantly surprised

I wasn't sure whether I was going to enjoy this book as it is based in the war but I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the secrets which both myself as a reader and the main character Clio is trying to uncover.
I wouldn't normally read this type of book but glad I did.
The story took me a few chapters to get into and sometimes I felt I was going off it but something always happened to bring me back.
It was nice to see how Clio grew throughout the book and the friends she made. She really fit in within the community at the end.
Then book definitely exceeded the blurb. When I read the blurb I wasn't sure if it was a book I would enjoy but I am glad I took the opportunity and read it.