I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

The fourth in Julia Quinn’s bestselling and beloved Bridgerton novels, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix. Welcome to Colin and Penelope’s story …

Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London …

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for … well, it feels like for ever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret … and fears she doesn’t know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can’t seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, Colin must decide … is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The fourth in Julia Quinn’s bestselling BRIDGERTON SERIES is an entertaining Georgian romance where most of my interest came in seeing where the story and characters differ from the Netflix series. It utilises the trope of friends to lovers and although some of the writing isn’t technically great (everyone feels the need to use each other’s name all the time), there’s some sharp dialogue and fun lines such that I’d read the rest of the series.

The Blurb On The Back:

When Jake’s stomach growls, it’s the Voice that answers.

Don’t eat that garbage!
You already ate an apple today!
You didn’t exercise enough!

But listening to the Voice isn’t good for Jake. His mom knows, his grandma knows and the staff at Whispering Pines, where Jake has been sent to heal, all know too. If Jake is going to lead the life he wants - the one he deserves - he must learn to silence the Voice and find his own.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

John Schu’s YA novel told in verse form is an incredibly moving book based on his own experiences of having an eating disorder. I felt desperately sympathetic to the vulnerable Jake whose relationship with his grandmother is clearly very important to him but more could have been made of his relationship with his parents, which is much too lightly sketched and should have been explored given his mum’s anxiety issues seem to feed into Jake’s.

LOUDER THAN HUNGER was released in the United Kingdom on 4th April 2024. Thanks to Walker Books for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

November 1924

The Endeavour sets sail with 2,000 passengers - and a killer - on board …

When a man’s body is found on deck, ship’s officer Timothy Birch is ready to declare the death a tragic accident. But Scotland Yard inspector James Temple is certain there’s more to this misfortune than meets the eye.

Mounting an investigation, the pair uncover the theft of a priceless painting and encounter a string of suspects with secrets to hide.

With just days remaining until the Endeavour reaches New York, their search for the culprit is fraught with danger.

And all the while, the passengers roam the ship with a killer in their midst …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Tom Hindle’s debut historical crime novel is packed with red herrings, an emotional backstory for Birch and has a sucker punch twist at the end that genuinely left me surprised. Although this is very much a First Class passenger affair, I enjoyed the Agatha Christie vibe and the allusions to Birch’s war service but Temple is notably under-developed in comparison, which is a shame as fuller characterisation would have taken this to the next level.

The Blurb On The Back:

The streets of Georgian London can be dangerous. Not everyone is what they seem …

Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle live very different lives.

Lizzie works at her family’s buzzing Westminster tea shop, while Belle leads a quieter life at the majestic Kenwood House. Their worlds collide when disaster strikes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Lizzie’s father’s life is put under threat.

Why is someone after Ignatius Sancho?

And who is the shadowy figure on the theatre balcony?

Friendship, a fight for freedom and a race against time to solve the mystery before danger strikes again!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

J. T. Williams’s historical mystery novel for readers aged 8+ (the first in a series) has a solid central mystery combining suspense and a wide array of suspects whose motives are seen through a Shakespearean lense while Simone Douglas’s illustrations bring atmosphere. However, there is little sense of period here and I’m uncomfortable with the use of two real life historical people because it risks doing a disservice to their actual story.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

We have no need to protect ourselves from the bad sort because WE are the bad sort …

The year is 1831. Down the murk alleyways of London, acts of unspeakable wickedness are taking place and no one is willing to speak out on behalf of the city’s vulnerable poor as they disappear from the streets.

Out of these shadows comes Hester White, a bright young woman who is desperate to escape the slums by any means possible …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Laura Carlin’s debut novel is a gothic historical thriller that effectively recreates the squalor of the 1830s but relies heavily on credibility-defying contrivance to drive the plot. The romance between Hester and Rebekah doesn’t convince due to its ‘insta love’ beginnings and the failure of either woman to question it in the context of the period. Ultimately this just wasn’t for me and I can’t say I’d rush to read Carlin’s other work.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

In 1906, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili - who would later take the name Joseph Stalin - met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili’s poetry, they agreed the beginnings of a plan.

With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili’s hardened crew of “expropriators”, they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia’s history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

David Tallerman’s historical novella focuses on a notorious robbery, which cemented Joseph Stalin’s status in the Bolshevik movement. The narrative sticks to the facts with Tallerman noting at the back what he’s fictionalised but it’s a weirdly detached read with Tallerman not capturing Stalin’s psyche and being more interested in the more colourful Kamo (who benefits from an epilogue). Ultimately it’s fine but didn’t grab me as much as I hoped.

THE OUTFIT by David Tallerman was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd March 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

I’d always carried with me a burden of conviction I could not set down. I could not deny the beliefs that shaped me any more than I could deny the colour of my eyes.

It made for a lonely life.

It’s been several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the world has evolved. Tensions are high, hate crimes are on the rise, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down. SHe’s too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots.

Shadi is named for joy, but she’s haunted by the loss of family and friendship. And then, of course, there’s the small matter of her heart - it’s broken. Trying to navigate her crumbling work by soldiering through, Shadi says nothing, each day retreating farther and farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything changes.

She explodes.

An Emotion Of Great Delight is a searing look into the world of a single Muslim family in the wake of 9/11. It’s about a child of immigrants forging a blurry identity, falling in love, and finding hope in an ever-changing world …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Tahereh Mafi’s YA novel is an uneven mix of melodrama, romance, coming-of-age story and recent historical events that, for me, is hampered by the fact that the main character is incredibly passive so all the events happen to her rather than her driving them. Although that’s a believable reaction as Mefi is overwhelmed and shutting down, I didn’t find it interesting to read so that and the melodramatic style left me somewhat disappointed.

AN EMOTION OF GREAT DELIGHT was released in the United Kingdom on 10th June 2021. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Olav lives the lonely life of a fixer.

When you “fix” people for a living - terminally - it’s hard to get close to anyone.

Now he’s finally met the woman of his dreams.

But there are two problems.

She’s his boss’s wife.

And Olav’s just been hired to kill her.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jo Nesbo’s standalone crime noir novella (translated from Norwegian by Neil Smith) is a tightly written story with some inky black humour and although it is a little predictable, it’s fast-paced and at times oddly moving. For some reason, I have not gotten around to reading much of his work, but this novella has shown me I need to correct that.

The Blurb On The Back:

Alva rushes through the trees in the dead of night with her sniffer wolf, Fen. Being out alone when there’s a kidnapper on the loose is reckless, but if she ever wants to be an investigator like her Uncle Magnus, she’ll need to be first to the crime scene.

But what Alva discovers raises more questions than it answers, drawing her into a dangerous search for truth, and for treasure …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Janina Ramirez’s first novel for children aged 9+ is a sturdy historical adventure set in Viking times with a determined and rebellious female main character and featuring moody and evocative illustrations by David Wyatt. However, the writing is stiff in places, the mystery elements rely on backstory that wasn’t previously mentioned and there are a couple of anachronisms that threw me out (although children probably won’t notice).

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India’s first female attorney, The Widows Of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp and promising new sleuth.

Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes women’s legal rights especially important to her.

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X - meaning she probably couldn’t even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah - in strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realises her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sujata Massey’s historical crime novel (the first in a series) is a well constructed affair that does an excellent job of portraying 1920s multicultural Bombay, what the rise of the independence movement means for the city’s various religious and cultural groups and the problems faced by women, but the murderer is a little easy to guess and I wanted more of Alice and Perveen’s friendship than what’s on the page.