The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Mad Women’s Ball was an interesting read. Touching on dark themes using beautiful language and a muted tone, it follows a few short weeks in the lives of several women committed to the infamous (and real) Salpetriere in 1885 in the […]
historical fiction
Review: The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams
‘Morbs, Mabel? What does it mean?’ ‘It’s a sadness that comes and goes,’ she said, pausing for breath. ‘I get the morbs, you get the morbs, even Miss Lizzie ‘ere gets the morbs, though she’d never let on. A woman’s lot, I reckon.’ The Dictionary of Lost Words follows the slow creep of feminism into […]
Review: Woman 99, by Greer Macallister
This book was SO GOOD! Woman 99 is a brilliant, gripping story from an incredibly talented writer. 19th century San Francisco. Charlotte’s sister, Phoebe is committed to a local asylum when she tries to interfere in her mother’s matrimonial scheming. Charlotte hatches an heroic but extremely naive plan to get herself committed under a false […]
Review: Gulliver’s Wife, by Lauren Chater
I really enjoyed this story. I love Lauren Chater’s writing and was a huge fan of her first book, The Lace Weaver, set during World War II. Gulliver’s Wife takes us further back in history – to 1702 in London – to imagine what life might have been like for the fictional wife of Jonathan […]
Review: Blackbirds Sing, by Aiki Flinthart
In an effort to distract myself from the anxiety-inducing news cycle, I’ve decided to catch up on my book reviews instead. I’m starting with Blackbirds Sing, by Aiki Flinthart, because it’s a 5-star read that’s immersive, fascinating and ultimately hopeful. Blackbirds Sing is the story of the attempted assassination of King Henry VII of England. […]
14 of the best novels of 2019 that I plan to read in 2020
I read nearly 70 books in 2019 and still I feel like I missed out on so many great novels that kept shooting past my feed! Luckily I’ve saved them all to my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ list. There are currently 269 books on that list so, unless I win the lottery and withdraw from […]
