Welcome to Litsy!

A little Christmas mystery novella. # 4.5 in the Jane Wunderly series.

This was an okay mystery.
I l❤️
-the book references
-the quirky characters
-competent police & an amateur detective working together

I did not like
-so many minor character POVs throughout the book
-never got to really know anyone well because there were so many characters
- I didn‘t hate it, but I it was slow & I found myself skimming a bit in the middle.

Thanks to #netgalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I want in a historical fiction book. A young woman in post-WWI England makes a bold new friends running Hazelbourne's Motorcycle and Flying Club who changes her life. It's a book about class and war and pandemics and societal change and feminism and racism/ xenophobia and so many other things. I absolutely adored it.

p. 25: 'By the eleventh century... the church congregation formed a similar grouping to that of its members' everyday lives. One often began, continued, and ended one's spiritual life in the local church. One went there with one's neighbors. Most churches would grow in size in later times, but the essential parish church community had now been created.'

Now that‘s what I‘m talking about. Rosie and Will talk at a bonfire during their last year of secondary school and it is a connection that profoundly changes their lives. This novel follows almost 20 years of their story, providing readers with an intimate glimpse into their feelings about themselves and each other and I was there for it. The angst was off the charts. I devoured this book in two sittings, reading way past my bedtime. Loved!

Started. Looking forward very much to learning what church was like for my ancestors. Recommended to me by Tudor historian Norman Jones.

#UniteAgainstBookBans and #LetUtahRead

My last #Bookspin list for the year!!!

#monthlywrapup #bookreport #november

This was a little softer and more lightweight than I expected. It was sweet and cozy and all the characters were fun to root for. The mystery doesn‘t really get going until the second half, maybe the last third of the book. The plot is mostly predictable, though she does bring a twist out of nowhere, and the resolution of the mystery doesn‘t quite stand up to scrutiny. But that‘s ok, it‘s not a book to scrutinize. Happy endings for everyone. 👑🖤

#TodayILearned what a terrible leader Henry III was. That's probably why there aren't many films or books devoted to him. Still, I'm really enjoying Costain's Plantagenet series. It's very readable, even if some of the feelings and thoughts the author attributes to these real-life characters might have involved some guesswork.

#NFNovember @Bookwormjillk
#BookSpinBingo #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks