Welcome to Litsy!

16-7 Dec 25 (audiobook)
I enjoyed listening to this Christmas story in the lead up to Christmas. Emma seems to have accepted her grief somewhat and be potentially ready to embrace life again. Islington, Pearce and Hawks are all wonderful characters but I also enjoy the more minor characters, such as Jack, Mr and Mrs Penury, Arabella and, of course, Agnes. Hawks has my heart.

15-6 Dec 25 (audiobook)
Continuing to race through the series. Maybe when I finish I should listen again and do a proper review of each. They have been a pleasant distraction as I try to get organised for the chaos of having numerous birthday celebrations for Polly in the week before again hosting Christmas.

12-4 Dec 25 (audiobook)
As I previously remarked, I really cannot recall where one volume starts and the next stops but I do love the neighbourhood of St Crispian‘s and the lovely vicar, Young Hawks. He may be my favourite character.

9 Dec 25 (audiobook)
Listening to these on audiobook and I am very much enjoying them. I do have a complaint though - they are so short that I begrudge spending a whole credit on each volume. And at this stage (I am not midway through volume 6) I cannot really distinguish between any particular volume. I am not sure why they were not published as one or perhaps two novels but being slightly cynical I do wonder whether it was for mercenary reasons.

Another series where I care more about the detectives than I do the mysteries, even with the inclusion of then Princess Elizabeth and her suitor Prince Phillip. Still, I have so much fun with these characters that I have the next couple of books ready and waiting for when I am next in the mood for a light, historical mystery.

I just loved this.

I picked it up from Book Outlet a while ago on impulse, somehow it had passed my notice when it came out in 2022, and then pulled it off my shelf the other day on a whim. Very much the right book at the right time. McCracken's writing is beautiful, thoughtful, and full of love.

Cont'd in comments

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 8, by Beth Brower (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: This volume takes our heroine through the rigours of The Season and a welcome reprieve with all her lovely man-friends at a gorgeous country estate.

Review: My love for these books is strong and unwavering; that said, I‘d love for the series to show some signs of coming to an end lest it ever suffer from diminishing returns.

This is a somewhat dark urban fantasy story, where protagonists are London police officers, who discover the magic presence by a chancy turn in their investigation. With this discovery they have to embrace change and reconsider their understanding of memory and magic's reliance on it.
The story is interesting, the plot unfolds rather fast, but sometimes the scenes are so very complicated, that you have to go back to understand who did what.

Very enjoyable mystery. I was impressed with the writing quality and the characters remained interesting throughout. Nicely done especially for the author‘s first book! Recommended for British mystery fans.