Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

ClareR (6253 KP) rated The Briar Club in Books

Oct 14, 2025  
The Briar Club
The Briar Club
Kate Quinn | 2024 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Kate Quinn books I’ve read so far have been set during WW2, so I was intrigued to see how the Briar Club would go. It’s set in 1950, a time of gangsters, women knowing their place (but wanting more), and McCarthyism.

The house, Briarwood House, is at the centre of this book, and even has its own voice. It helps to tell the story of its inhabitants and enjoys the weekly dinner parties that one of the women, Grace, sets up.

All of the women have secrets that they’d rather other people didn’t know about, and as the book goes on we find out just what those secrets are.

I don’t read many books set I the 1950’s, and it was fascinating to see how single women lived at this time. What also surprised me, was how Washington D. C. was considered to be almost a small town! I didn’t get the impression of a buzzing metropolis at all.

This is a puzzling mystery with strong female leads (I’m a fan) and gave me the opportunity to read about a time I was unfamiliar with. I liked that some of the politicians had actually existed - which was a really nice touch.
  
AH
A House of Bells
J.T. Croft | 2024
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
7 of 220
Kindle
A House of Bells
By J.T. Croft
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A woman haunted by fate, a child silenced by fear, and a house full of secrets and bells.
1918. Stripped of her reputation and haunted by a spirit she failed to protect, the young governess Grace Meadows finds herself out of time and growing more and more desperate. But when she’s offered a strange job from an eccentric medium, she never could have imagined what she was signing up for.

Tasked with caring for a troubled young girl who has lost the ability to speak, Grace must unravel the dangerous secrets at the heart of a run-down country mansion and find the source of the horrors which now threaten both of their lives.

As she’s forced to confront her own demons and reconcile the ghosts of past and present, can Grace protect the child from the living and dead? And what is waiting for her beyond the mysterious silk and bells which protect them from forces unseen?

This was a haughtily beautiful gothic horror. It was so well written. The characters were endearing and dislikeable when needed. I’m glad to have found this author and looking forward to reading more.
  
40x40

ClareR (6253 KP) rated The Persians in Books

Feb 3, 2025  
The Persians
The Persians
Sanam Mahloudji | 2025 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
On the face of it, The Persians is filled with vacuous, materialistic women, but as I read further, these women had been either torn from their homes in order to escape the new religious government in Iran, or were having to live there, having remained. Trauma has a large part to play in the make up of these women.

Both the women in Iran and those in the US are non-conformists, rule breakers - and some more than others. There’s the obvious Shirin, who’s arrested on prostitution charges at the beginning of the book, and Bita, who decides to break away from her family history and wealth, and make her own way. Then there’s the matriarch, Elizabeth, who remains in Iran and uses her age and family name to get away with not following the rules of Islamic law (to some degree), and her granddaughter Niaz, who is arrested and put in a Tehran jail.

A lot of secrets are revealed (there are some big secrets to be revealed!), and when mothers and daughters are honest and truthful with one another, relationships can be repaired. But will they?

A very enjoyable, somewhat escapist read - I mean, the wealth of these people is startling!
  
40x40

Merissa (14068 KP) rated Hell Bound in Books

Apr 12, 2023  
Hell Bound
Hell Bound
Kate Allenton | 2014 | Contemporary, Romance, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a standalone romantic suspense story that starts off slowly before picking up and maintaining speed.

It tells the tale of Riley, a woman with secrets, who is an FBI officer working on a case that is hitting very close to home. Although she would usually have been taken off the case for being too close, due to who she is (one of the secrets) and what is happening, her supervisor has given her the go-ahead to continue working the case.

I enjoyed reading this book although I personally prefer Lifting The Veil which I have only recently read. I found Sam to be slightly too cocky at the start and his "I know best" attitude. However, once things settled down, I started to like him more.

The story is well executed and thought out. You may or may not guess who the 'bad guy' is but even if you do guess, it doesn't take away any of the enjoyment you get from a well-written story.

Recommended for fans of Contemporary Romance with a pinch of Suspense added.

I received this book from Reading Alley in return for a fair and honest review.
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 6, 2016