The Holley Sisters of Thornthwaite

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A Vicarage Christmas, A Vicarage Reunion, A Vicarage Wedding and A Vicarage Homecoming by Kate Hewitt

In this charming series of four contemporary novels set in the Lake District of northwest England, four sisters all deal with turning points in their lives, including jobs, romances, housing, and personal growth. The Holley sisters grew up in the Thornthwaite vicarage and have returned home in A Vicarage Christmas. They are all dismayed to learn that their parents, Roger and Ruth, plan to leave soon for missionary work in China.

Esther, Anna, Rachel, and the much younger Miriam cope with a number of serious issues, including an unexpected pregnancy, a possible divorce, stuttering, and unresolved grief. Local teacher Rachel is looking forward to a big wedding, a very large house, a puppy, and a family of her own. Sharp-tongued Esther is suddenly discontented with everything in her life. Quiet Anna realizes she must finally deal with her stuttering and some grief issues, while Miriam has been traveling the world, ending up in Australia before heading back to England to start over without a university degree or good job prospects.

I enjoyed listening to this series on audio, available from my public library on Hoopla, narrated by Hannah Curtis. I plan to look for more books by Kate Hewitt, especially if they’re narrated by Hannah Curtis.

Brenda

The Last Ride of the Pony Express

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The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-Mile Horseback Journey into the Old West by Will Grant

Readers who enjoy real life adventure, American history, armchair travel, or horses will likely enjoy Will Grant’s new memoir. The Pony Express, in which a letter could be delivered by horseback from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento in a blistering 10 days, only lasted about 19 months from 1860 to 1861. In 2019, horse trainer and journalist Will Grant set out to ride the same 2,000-mile path. He planned to take 100 days, with two horses, riding one and leading the other with packs, riding four days, and resting one. Of course, the journey doesn’t go quite according to his plan, partly due to weather. The selection of the horses begins the tale, then Will sets out in early May, with an escort over the Missouri River bridge from St. Joseph, Missouri, into Kansas. Sensibly trailering his horses around a few cities on the route, Grant details life on horseback, the history and present state of the Pony Express stations, and the people he meets along the way. In a few arid locations, he has water and hay caches located for the horses. Grant rides his horses at a walk, not the gallop of the Pony Express, and he ponders how challenging it would have been for the Pony Express to keep enough horses ready at the stations, and supplied with enough feed and water for the horses and their handlers. Grant clearly loves horses and the American West, and is very good company for the journey. Rinker Buck’s The Oregon Trail and Life on the Mississippi are very good readalikes.

Brenda

Birder, She Wrote and other Cozy Mysteries

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One of my very favorite cozy mystery writers is Donna Andrews. Birder, She Wrote is #33 in the delightful Meg Langslow series. Meg is a blacksmith in Virginia with a large extended family. It’s not a spoiler to share that she marries actor and drama professor Michael and they have twin boys. Almost every year, Donna publishes a winter holiday mystery and another mystery. The audiobooks are narrated by Bernadette Dunne, and I can’t decide whether I enjoy reading the print books or listening to the audiobooks more. There is good character development, lots of humor, and a good mystery. Also, pets, mostly dogs and sometimes a whole litter of Pomeranian puppies. Living outside Caerphilly, the extended family also has a number of other animals, from sheep to occasional peacocks and more. All of the books have a bird in their titles, beginning with Murder with Peacocks. They always entertain and amuse me, and are even good to reread or to listen to again. Most of the audiobooks can be downloaded from Hoopla or Libby/Overdrive library collections. I think readers can jump into the series pretty much anywhere, especially any of the first five or six books.

I recently reread the third book, Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, set near Yorktown, during a Revolutionary War enactment. Meg is selling her wrought iron wares, hiding a case of flamingos made for her mother’s friend, admiring Michael in his French officer’s uniform, and making peace after Michael’s mother hands out another fine as she seeks complete authenticity among the crafters and reenactors.

Book 17, Good Emus, Bad Emus has the Langslow family searching for Meg’s grandmother Cordelia, who gave her son up for adoption. Meg looks just like a young Cordelia, and they’ve found her cousin. A murder must be solved, and the whole clan are trying to rescue a group, or mob, of feral emus.

In Meg’s latest mystery, Birder, She Wrote, she is hoping for a lazy summer day, lounging in a hammock sipping a cold drink and watching hummingbirds sip nectar from feeders. This sounds like a perfect day to me as well. Alas, Meg soon has several tasks to add to her to-do list. Edgar, a wildlife photographer and beekeeper, is missing, Meg’s father wants help moving beehives, and Edgar’s new neighbors keep complaining about his beehives. Meg goes along on a search for a lost graveyard and finds a body, but it isn’t Edgar. And then there’s a persistent young reporter who wants to interview Meg’s grandmother for a magazine profile. More mysteries then in many of the earlier books, but as full of family, humor, and animals as the others. More, please!

Brenda

Good Night, Irene

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Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea

This is stunning, emotional read. Inspired by the experiences of his mother Phyllis in World War II, the author did a lot of research with his wife and daughter in the United States and western Europe to tell the fictional story of Irene, Dorothy, and an assortment of Third Girls. Irene and Dorothy joined the American Red Cross in 1943 and traveled to England, France, Belgium, and Germany. Driving a truck called Rapid City, they provided comfort and cheer to the American troops, serving up coffee and donuts, playing records, and handing out gum candy and cigarettes. Sometimes they got too close to the front lines and had as much emotional trauma to deal with as the soldiers and aviators they supported. But there was camaraderie, romance, and occasional rest breaks in places like Cannes on the French Riviera.

While this is very different from Naperville author Urrea’s amazing book The House of Broken Angels, they are both compelling reads and unforgettable stories. Good Night, Irene is heartwarming, hard to put down, very grim in parts, and is vividly written. It was especially interesting to read after The First Lady of World War II, in which Eleanor Roosevelt visited Red Cross sites in the South Pacific. If your book group reads some historical fiction and is looking for their yearly World War II novel, this would be a good selection, along with Mrs. Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce. A fascinating epilogue and the author’s notes are a must read.

Love, Theoretically

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Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

One year after completing her Ph.D., Elsie is an adjunct instructor at three Boston area universities. She has no health insurance, which is especially problematic as she has Type 1 diabetes. Elsie’s also a people pleaser, reluctant to be her authentic self with anyone because she fears rejection. Her roommate, Cece, doesn’t know Elsie’s feelings about artsy movies, Cece’s pet hedgehog, or Twilight. They do have a love of cheese in common, and both go on fake dates for the Faux app.

Elsie can be herself with one person she really dislikes: experimental physicist Jack. Jack works at M.I.T., where Elsie has an interview for the only open physics position on the east coast. Elsie is a theoretical physics, longing for time to do more research on liquid crystals, but knows that an experimental physicist is more likely to get the position. Jack also turns out to be connected to one of Elsie’s regular fake dates, and they met at a family gathering where she said she was a school librarian. Definitely not a meet cute situation! There are sparks between them, and Elsie feels free to react naturally to situations when she’s with Jack.

I learned a bit about the clash between experimental and theoretical physics, and the challenges of being an adjunct instructor. Elsie gets many, many emails from her students asking for extensions, explaining their absences, asking for references, and so much more. Along the way, Elsie and Jack spend more time together, although they don’t so much as kiss until two-thirds of the way through the story. Elsie finally learns to say no to her mother, and the truth about her physics mentor is revealed. There’s tenderness and humor here, along with romance and Elsie’s journey of self-discovery. A remarkable read if you enjoy contemporary rom-coms, especially ones featuring women scientists. Readalike authors include Talia Hibbert, Helen Hoang, and Lucy Parker.

Brenda

Tales of Enchantment & Deeds of Youth

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Tales of Enchantment by Shanna Swendson and Deeds of Youth by Elizabeth Moon

I enjoy novellas and short stories by favorite authors, and it’s fun to see a new collection. This month I’ve read two new collections by fantasy authors, both of which I enjoyed. Their settings and tones are very different, though both are best enjoyed by readers already familiar with their work.

On the lighter side, cozy contemporary fantasy writer Shanna Swendson is best know for her series beginning with Enchanted, Inc., set in New York City in the mid-2000s. I’ve read two of these stories before, including the darker Paint the Town Red, but others are new novellas. There are also some author’s notes about writing the series and its setting. Katie is from a small town in Texas, and is new to Manhattan. She keeps seeing very strange happenings, and beings. She turns out to be immune to magic; spells don’t work on her and she can see through illusions and spot magical beings such as fairies and gargoyles. Owen is the very talented young wizard who’s a bit shy, while his friend Rod is very skilled with illusions. Sam is their non-human coworker. Their boss is a very famous wizard.

These novellas make for very enjoyable reading, with some humor, just a little romance, and give both some backstory to the series, and a little closure. Owen & Rod are featured in Spelling Test, set at Yale, where they’re both students and there are two rival magical societies. Sam, who works in security, is on the case in Criminal Enchantment. Katie’s grandmother gets to shine in Power Struggle, set in Texas. Now I need to go back and re-read book 9, Enchanted Ever After. Read more about the Enchanted, Inc. world at http://shannaswendson.com/blog/

Elizabeth Moon writes heroic fantasy and science fiction, and is best known for her character Paksenarrion, a sheepfarmer’s daughter who becomes a paladin. This is definitely not a safe and cozy world, but it’s wonderfully drawn, with plenty of room for more stories. This collection of short stories features children and young adults coming of age. There is generally at least one adult providing the support and guidance the young people need, but not necessarily a parent. There is often the threat of danger or dishonor. Horses feature prominently in Dream’s Quarry and The Dun Mare’s Grandchild. The adopted son of a lord learns about responsibilities in A Bad Day at Duke’s East. Another recent collection is Deeds of Honor. Read more at http://www.paksworld.com/blog/

The First Lady of World War II

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The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back by Shannon McKenna Schmidt

 In August and September of 2023, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt spent five weeks in New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific, at the request of the President. Eleanor was also appointed a special Red Cross delegate and asked to inspect American Red Cross facilities. Well known for her newspaper columns “My Day,” the first lady was 58 and her four sons were all in the armed forces. Much of her visit was kept secret, with most of her columns published after her return and labeled, somewhere in Australia or somewhere in the South Pacific. I was surprised to learn that she traveled without an aide or companion, or even a single dress. She wore only Red Cross uniforms in seersucker or wool, and packed her manual typewriter, wiring her columns to her editor in New York.

While touring hospitals, Red Cross stations, cities, villages, military bases, and camps, she tried to spend as much time as possible with women doing war work, hospital patients, and enlisted men. The author spent four years researching and writing this book, which was a compelling and educational read for me. Eleanor visited Christmas Island, New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, and Oahu, among other islands. She wasn’t allowed to visit New Guinea and had to ask repeatedly to visit Guadalcanal. While there was some controversy over her trip, her visits with the troops were reportedly much enjoyed, and she tried to send a note to the family of every hospital patient she visited. The trip was very hard on her; she lost quite a bit of weight and was exhausted and depressed for a while upon her return, as the hospital visits took a toll and the sights she saw on the islands, including makeshift cemeteries, made her sad. Her observations for the President led to some improvements in conditions for the troops; her columns about her 25,000 mile journey helped educate Americans about life for Americans in the south Pacific, and she most definitely boosted morale for many. This fairly short, well researched and inspiring read certainly enlightened me about events and conditions in New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific in 1943. You can read Eleanor Roosevelt’s “My Day” columns here.

Brenda

The Housekeepers

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The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

This historical thriller is set in fashionable Mayfair, London in 1905. The DeVries mansion on Park Lane will be the location for a lavish costume ball in June, and possibly a grand heist to rival that of Ocean’s Eleven. The housekeeper, Mrs. King, has just been fired. She has an unexpected connection to the recently deceased Wilhelm DeVries. Wilhelm was originally Danny O’Flynn, who made his fortune the South African diamond trade, funded with a loan from his sister, Mrs. Bone. Winnie is the previous housekeeper, Alice is seamstress to Miss DeVries, Hephzibah is an actress, and Janes One and Two are temporary parlormaids as well as trapeze artists.

Previous maids have disappeared; perhaps they learned too many secrets, or were pregnant. The seven women, headed by Mrs. King, decide to clean the house of all its valuable contents the very same night of the ball. The costume ball is Egyptian themed, including camels, a miniature pyramid, and a water feature.

Can the women agree on an equal partnership, find the funds to hire specialized help, and come up with a detailed plan, as well as backup plans? Mrs. King must decide if the handsome footman William needs to be included, and what to do about the creepy Lord Ashley, possible suitor to Miss DeVries. The ball and the heist are both astounding, and well detailed. Neither the ball or the heist goes to plan, of course, and very important guests might arrive just as the heist is taking place.

Very cleverly plotted and entertaining, with an intensifying pace. Although I don’t believe film rights have been sold, this debut novel would be visually stunning and very witty as a movie.

Brenda

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving Medieval England

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The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

If you’re in the mood for lighter science fiction with a bit of fantasy and Norse mythology, here’s the perfect choice. A man wakes in a field with no memory of his past, his name, or how he arrived in what appears to be early medieval Britain. He meets brave Ealstan, lovely scop Sefawynn and others, and they call him Runian the aelv. Runian finds many pages of a partially burned copy of the Frugal Wizard’s Handbook, part guide and part advertisement. Runian, or John West, has traveled to another dimension, a parallel Earth. He learns that he can draw, had some police training in Seattle, he can fight and has some augmented plating in his arms, along with medical nanites. And has lost his wife Jen. John remembers an awful boss named Ulric, his former best friend Ryan Chu, and Quinn, who won their last fight.

With his enhancements, John helps Ealstan and Sefawynn repel Hordamen from the sea, and learns about Norse gods and helpful wights. Gradually John remembers more of his past, including that his best talents are lying and running away. Will John escape back to modern Seattle when he has the chance, or choose a new future for himself? An entertaining read, but one that made me think, just like Terry Pratchett. Terry Pratchett’s Long Earth series is a good readalike. My favorite book by Sanderson isn’t as well-known as his series; it’s the teen novel The Rithmatist.

Brenda