Month: February 2021

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Sing me a secret by Julie Houston Review: 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sophie's Books Galore

I absolutely loved this book. It was a wonderful treat, a lovely quick easy read to devour on the weekend. It follows the lives of four sisters all brought together again when one moves back to Yorkshire from London. With a secret at the very heart of this tale the sisters must come together to overcome their troubles.

In the Yorkshire village of Westenbury life is spectacularly eventful. With a choir competition, family drama, secrets, romance and a whole lot of fun it is no surprise that I loved my first of Julie Houston’s books.

Houston is perfectly marvellous in her storytelling, she captures the beauty and pain that befalls the sisters. This is an entertaining read though moments of emotion are portrayed with exquisite poignancy. The characters are well developed and lovable with the exception of a few individuals who you shall discover your dislike upon reading!

My favourite of the sisters is Juno, her lovely house with the chickens, a rather naughty pony and two precocious children is just charming. The philandering father of these lovely daughters unsurprisingly a Classicist given their names. Each of the daughters have their differences yet ultimately their love for each other will bring them all together again.

It is without a doubt, that I can say I will be reading more of Houston’s wonderful work. It was an utter joy to read and I feel as though I was back in Yorkshire. This book made me feel nostalgic about my life in Yorkshire and I long to go back.

I want to thank the publishers Head of Zeus for this gifted copy.

Synopsis:

The four Sutherland sisters have all had very different paths in life, but one secret and a slighty tense production of Jesus Christ Superstar are about to bring them all back together again…
When the news that pop-superstar Lexia Sutherland is returning to Westenbury, not everyone is thrilled by the news – including Lexia. There are too many memories she doesn’t need to face – or need re-surfacing.

Meanwhile, Juno Sutherland just wants a little peace and quiet. As the local village doctor, she’s got her priorities in order; kids, job, husband, tenacious pony, a role in the village musical… So when the sexy new locum turns up – and steals her office – the last thing she needed was to be hit with rising temperatures and an over-active imagination.

Will these sisters be able to uncover the past, deal with the future and put on the performance of a lifetime?

book blogger, book review, Books, culture, review

Book Tour Review: The Domestic Revolution by Ruth Goodman @omarabooks @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours

Sophie's Books Galore

My rating: 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a truly brilliant book!!! Ruth Goodman adds another layer to the research she does through actually implementing the methods and practices which she discusses in her work. This is one of the many things that make her work even more interesting, as she is able to add her own experience of practicing these historical methods. This action seems to add credibility to the facts and even makes it clearer to visualise how they would have been done. Goodman writes in a way which draws the reader in, she has an easy style which captivates the reader, through her discussion and analysis of each aspect. As someone who is interested in the social history of England, yet by no means claiming to be an expert, I felt I was in safe hands reading this book. The engaging way she writes does not detract from the content of what she writes. I found her examination of different fuels used in England before coal became universal to be highly interesting. From learning about the history of peat which I knew barely anything of to coppicing and pollarding the first few chapters alone give you are wealth of information to ponder for an extensive period of time. This is all before we get to coal and how it burned, or even how it became to fuel of choice. The depth of the research, the quality and quantity of information is truly great. It only goes to show that Goodman, of course, an expert in the field is able to create incredible work such as this whilst making it accessible, and fun to read without sacrificing the quality of her work. She shows that the introduction of coal had a huge impact on society as a whole, as well as individuals day to day life. In the latter part of the book she explores the impact of the change to coal on cooking and cleaning, which shed a new light and perspective on the daily lives of ordinary people – a topic which is discussed and examined less often.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would heartily recommend to anyone with an interest in British or social history. 

A huge thanks to @omarabooks @lovebooksgroup for allowing me to be part of this book tour and for this #gifted copy. 

book blogger, book review, Books, culture, review

An Unkindness of Ravens by S.E. Smith @PublishingShip #BlogTour @LoveBooksGroup

Sophie's Books Galore

It’s my stop on the book tour for this wonderful book, I gave it four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Louis misbehaving!

Review:

This is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone. Although this was my first foray into the world of Symington, Earl Byrd I didn’t feel lacking too much knowledge in not having read the first book. I thoroughly enjoyed this enthralling historical mystery. It has everything you could want, an intriguing and complex plot to get you completely hooked an intent on discovering the person committing the heinous crimes whilst also having well developed and interesting characters. It also doesn’t give too much away too quickly so you can contemplate the action and ponder over the storyline. I read this over a few sittings to allow for maximum thinking time to discover what happened before the ending! Overall a fun read and I would highly recommend to one and all- especially if you have a thing for mysteries! 

I will of course be going back to the first and making my way through the rest of the series as it really was a pleasure to read! A massive thanks to the fabulous @lovebooksgroup for allowing me to be part of this tour and for providing me with a #gifted copy. 

Synopsis:

When Symington, Earl Byrd is called in to investigate the murder of Robert Langley, he’s confused. Why shoot a man when you’ve already poisoned him? Much to the prime minister’s disgust, a trip to Wales complicates matters further. But the prime minister is the least of Byrd’s worries. Rumour has it, Jack the Ripper’s back – tying up loose ends. But when did Jack start using poison?