Welcome to Litsy!

This was a great book to borrow from the library; it was good but not one I‘d need to own to re-read again. I loved Veronica (I don‘t know what it says about me that when I see ‘Curmudgeon but charming old woman‘ in a book summary I instantly think, “I have to read this!!”), she was feisty and fun. My only complaint was that this book dragged for me in the middle. All in all, it‘s a soft pick for me.

This book looks at the tiny, remote culture of St Kilda, an outer Hebridean island group evacuated of its human population in the 1930s. It‘s a very interesting read told in an engaging fashion with little bits of humor here and there. I really enjoyed it and would love to visit there someday.

Hamish kept me company all day yesterday as I cleaned the house and finally put the Christmas decorations away. 😆 Hamish along with Agatha Raisin are my comfort listens and I love both series. Highly recommended if you like cozy murder mysteries. 4⭐️

#audiobook
#HamishMacbeth
#MCBeaton
#cozymysteries

A summary of Christmas 🎄 and the first book of 2025. Hard to believe I am on this book of this series. Difficult to contemplate that I will be saying goodbye to the Frazer-MacKenzie Clan. Which might explain why I am reading so slowly. 🤔🥺💙 #outlander

Focusing on Dutch artist C. Fabritius and his painting A View of Delft with a Musical Instrument Seller‘s Stall, painted in 1652, the author tells Fabritius‘s story, her own, her father‘s, Delftt, and other Dutch artists. In other words, it is an all-encompassing book about Dutch art history but always comes back to Fabritius. He was killed as a result of a “thunderclap” of an explosion of stored gunpowder near his house, but that killed many ⬇️

Book 25 in the Hamish Macbeth series is a good one. Hamish almost gets faux baby trapped at the altar. His love life is a mess as always. The murders in this book were particularly gruesome. Love this series. 4⭐️

#audiobook
#HamishMacbeth
#MCBeaton
#cozymysteries

2½✨

The atmosphere of this book was done exceptionally well, you could feel the cold, remote emptyness. But I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.
It started off very slow, and the dynamica of this supposed friend group just felt wrong.
The characters are mostly horrible people; I actually felt like killing some of them just to not have to listen to their POV anymore.
And in the end I felt cheated by the unreliable narrators.

When Mrs Tim first appeared she was a military wife in peacetime, but now war has broken out & Tim is already in France while other old friends get ready for active service. In spite of the changed circumstances regimental politics continues & Hester‘s good nature and diplomacy are called on more than ever. Nearly as delightful as the first instalment. I don‘t know why it‘s taken me so long to get around to reading this one.

Recent acquisitions:

📖 Shetland (Islands) by James R. Nicolson
📖 American Trinity and Other Stories from the Mormon Corridor by David G. Pace (signed by the author)