Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Cafe by Jessica Redland

I have read quite a few of the author's previous works and enjoyed the first batch and was not enamoured by the last few. This instalment brought back the 'feels' from that initial introduction to the series. The main protagonist has been in the background of the series from the very beginning and finally gets…

A Year at Appleyard Farm(Tales From Appleyard #1-4) by Emma Davies

This is a collection of four different novellas, and for the first time, I probably would have preferred reading them separately. They are very distinct pieces of work, although the location of the stories is in and around the Appleyard. There is a twinge of magic, the unexplained version that is threaded through every tale.…

A Dangerous Language (#8) & A Testament of Character (#10) – A Rowland Sinclair Mystery by Sulari Gentill

I have read a few books out of order of this series, but each of them wanting to meet these people again My reviews are linked below: For once I picked up where I had left off in this series. I read the previous book and knew the mental state of everyone involved. After a…

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

I am probably not the only one who has was watched the recent movie Enola Holmes and not liked the depiction of Mycroft Holmes. I have not read the books that the film is based on, but I strongly recollect the few cases of Mycroft's arrival in the original series, and this was not how…

Chief Inspector Littlejohn #18,#35 by George Bellairs

Dead March for Penelope Blow Since I was on a roll, I thought I would tackle multiple Bellairs that I had on my shelf. The narrative begins with an intriguing premise. Penelope Blow has been trying to meet Inspector Littlejohn, unsuccessfully. She paints a very pitiful picture and definitely evoked my sympathies. The author conveys…

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

I honestly say this often, but this time I mean it in a whole other sense when I say – I did not know what I was getting myself into. It is an epic tale, a retelling of the French revolution and other European disturbances at the time including slavery. The difference? The existence of…

Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea and Japan by Michael Booth

I lived in Hong Kong for five years, with my move recent enough to miss the feel of the place at the most random of moments. I carry the feeling of its rough beauty (the concrete jungle of the posters is the lesser of its charms)of it in my memories. The author notices something similar…

The Water Keeper by Charles Martin

This was one of the books that kickstarted my latest reading binge. In the beginning, I found the story only mildly interesting and was reading only solely because I felt like I had to. The writing was smooth and introduced an enigmatic character who is alone and harbours a secret past. I had to give…