12Booksof2025 May

This small but perfectly formed novel was the best thing I read in May, and one of my top picks for the year.

The story of a wilful racehorse sent to India in the days of the British Raj and of a wily nun who teaches a rich man about the blessings of generosity. Delightful!

#12Booksof2025 April

The uncompromising and unapologetic Geraldine was the most memorable character I encountered this year and her story was my favourite read in April.

The framework of this novel is the progress of a love affair over the course of one year, but the guts of it is an exploration of love in various forms (familial, marital, romantic, erotic) and the social expectations of women in 1970. It‘s the sort of story I want to devour in one sitting, and because I had plenty of time today I could do just that. I loved it, my favourite #PersephoneClub read this year.

I thought it would be fun to read a light and frothy Christmassy romp and this one fitted the bill perfectly.

#12Booksof2025 March

This tale of domestic warfare fought between a genteel but hard up British lady and her crass American tenant in the immediate aftermath of WWII, read with the #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub, was my favourite read in March.

#12Booksof2025 February

My pick for February is Indian Horse, read as part of @Jess861 ‘s #OCanada group

#12Booksof2025 January

One of my favourite books of the year came from @TheKidUpstairs ‘s #AuldLangSpine list

Thank you so much Barbara! I‘m 99% sure I‘ll love it too!

My Christmas #bookhaul

I got Ice Planet Barbarians in my extended family‘s White Elephant gift swap, much to the horror of my son‘s partner who clearly doesn‘t know me well enough yet 🤣🤣🤣

Thank you for my lovely #JolabokaSwap parcel, Julie. I‘ve not been home, so only just got a chance to open it. Hope you had a great Christmas Day.

Thanks for organising Chelle.

Some cosy Christmas Eve reading.

Over a long hot summer in the English countryside copy editor Pauline watches anxiously as her adult daughter‘s marriage repeats the pattern of her own unsatisfactory union. I loved the gradual unfolding of the mirroring past and present and the authentic, heart-wrenching depiction of maternal devotion, but I think the thing I loved most were Pauline‘s chats with the young male author of the romantic novel she was editing.

Penelope Lively brilliantly encapsulates parenthood in one page.

Thanks to #OhCanada for the impetus to get this off the shelf.

It‘s always good to be back in Three Pines, enjoying the company of the residents, but the mystery in this book felt overly complicated and stretched my credulity. For most of the series Gamache‘s standing as the ideal good man was part of the charm, but in the last few I‘ve felt that Louise Penny has rather overplayed her hand & I‘m finding it a bit irritating. A low pick.

#MyLitsyAwards

Top L-R My #PersephoneClub book of the year; the character whose company I enjoyed most; food for thought.
Bottom L-R My new favourite author; I‘d love to know what happens next for these characters; surprised by how good it is.

Thanks for the template and for getting this started @CSeydel

#PersephoneClub

I‘ve gone back to the beginning of the catalogue to find my suggestions for October. Fidelity tagged, Every Eye tagged in comments.

My #JolabokaflodSwap parcel has arrived.

I‘m excited to explore these titles in my #AuldLangSpine list from @Chelsea.Poole ! Heart the Lover and Pet are already high on my TBR, and I am reconsidering Flesh, which I had decided against, but I‘m not familiar with most of the others. The tagged book and Raising Hare are both calling to me! Thanks Chelsea, I‘m looking forward to comparing notes with you. I hope you are finding interesting things on my list too 😊

#AussieSecretSanta and #JolabokaflodSwap parcels in the mail today.
@thegirlwiththelibrarybag @MaleficentBookDragon

#BookReport for November

Bit of a slow reading month. Seascraper is the standout, but I thoroughly enjoyed Thrown for a Loop too.

#RomanceRoundup

Thrown for a Loop - Second chance romance between a hockey player and a figure skater. When Sarina Bowen is good she‘s very good. I loved this one.
On the surface - Well written hockey romance with convincing conflict & conflict resolution.
SCU hockey books 4 & 5 - Low spice m/m with some nice demi/asexual representation.

Thank you, everyone, for lowering my expectations - I enjoyed this a lot. I loved straight talking Ivy with her witchy connection to wild things (including budding artistic geniuses) and the skewering of the “respectable” for their rigid adherence to social class and accepted behaviour. The final chapter was very satisfying, letting us know how things turned out for everyone. A great finish to our reading year with #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub.

Bleak, beautiful and never predictable, a seriously good book. I loved it, but I worried about the horse a lot 😬

Finally finished last month‘s #PersephoneClub read. I‘m not usually put off by a book being dated, but this time I found it really hard to let go of my modern mindset. Bee & David annoyed me, the crooks were unbelievable for a lot of reasons and Lucia‘s overwrought internal monologue made me unpleasantly anxious rather than thrilled. I‘m ruining this book‘s 100% pick record. Sorry 🫣

Thoroughly entertaining spy caper with quite a few laughs as well as chills. I particularly enjoyed the nods to some real life characters. This is the latest in the series, chosen by my IRL book group for this month. I‘ve only read the first in the series previously and I don‘t think I‘d have enjoyed it much more if I‘d read all of them, but I do think I‘d have enjoyed it less if I‘d not read the first one.

Fun cozy mystery set in a small town in New Zealand with lots of literary as well as NZ references. I‘m sure I missed as many as I got! #NZfiction

Very late #BookReport for October. All good reads, In a Fishbone Church the standout.

#RomanceRoundup for October

After the Siren - enjoyable MM romance in the world of Aussie Rules with some excellent supporting characters
Unloveable Player - MM hockey romance I can barely remember
Changes trilogy - first 2 are MMM about the same triad, 3rd a different couple with triad as supporting characters, cop, cowboy and hockey subgenres alll covered

I think Catherine Chidgey is my new favourite author. This is so different from The Axeman‘s Carnival, but just as good - such vivid characters! Multiple POVs of three generations of a New Zealand family living through the second half of the 20th century, capturing the changes in outlook and opportunities over the years. #NZfiction

Might have picked up a couple of books on my travels 😆 #NZFiction

Some more beautiful NZ South Island scenery

Top left: Kaikoura, Top right: mirror pools on the road to Milford Sound
Centre: Lake Tekapo and Church of the Good Shepherd
Bottom left: Off the coast near Nelson, Bottom right: Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere from Mahaki Paoa Lookout

Edith Wharton was only 14 when she wrote this, and it shows. An interesting bit of juvenilia nonetheless. #WhartonBuddyRead Thanks @Graywacke @Lcsmcat and fellow buddy readers.

Photo is Dunedin harbour from the turret of Lanarch Castle

Midsummer on Sandhamn was a lot less fun than these spoilt teenagers were expecting. Another great murder mystery, number 5 in the series. #SeriesLove2025

Picture is Mount Cook from my hotel room window.

So lovely to be back in the company of the Thursday Murder Club. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I‘m on holiday in the South Island of New Zealand. The scenery is stunning. Picture is Lake Wanaka (I think 😬)

Because I‘m a wuss & often find psychological violence more disturbing than physical violence, I skimmed most of the abduction parts, but I loved the machinations of the spies. Thank you to @thegirlwiththelibrarybag for giving me this book last Christmas.

#BookReport for September

Ordinary Saints is my top pick for the month, special mention for Bringing Down the House and Tom Lake.

Only 2 books for #RomanceRoundup this month. I bailed on a few that aren‘t worth mentioning.

The Earl is a delightfully different take on m/m romance & a sweet, slow burn, low spice story.
Unsanctioned Play is second in a series and while it follows a new couple, the couple from the first book are a significant presence. I enjoyed it more than book one.

A romcom that riffs on Much Ado About Nothing with particular reference to Kenneth Branagh‘s film version (probably my least favourite of all the versions I‘ve seen, but that‘s just me). There‘s more depth to the central character here than is usually the case in this kind of book. A good light read. #ozfiction

The sequel to the delightful Miseducation of Evie Epworth. Not as good as the original, but still a lot of fun.

This book about faith, family & grief is deeply moving. I liked its illustrations of the way the beliefs you are brought up with hang around in your head even when you don‘t actually believe them anymore. So, the vestiges of my Protestant nonconformist upbringing make me uncomfortable with saints, I actually think it‘s a bit creepy. I‘d love to know how someone raised Catholic reacts to the story. Thanks to @TrishB for putting it on my radar.

How clever is Ann Patchett to find a way to write about a happy family without sacrificing dramatic tension? The warmth of the family relationship and the angst of Lara‘s coming of age are so beautifully balanced. I‘m really glad I waited until I‘d read Our Town (serendipitously chosen by my play reading group last term) to read this book. While I think I would have enjoyed it anyway, it made the story much richer. I loved it.

If I‘d read this as a Kindle Unlimited romance I would have thought it was decently written, amusing and an enjoyable romcom, but as a full priced book from the general fiction section it left a lot to be desired. Which just goes to show how much impact my expectations have on my reading experiences. A very low pick. #ozfiction

Almost every time I read a new Heyer I decide it's up there as my favourite! This one isn't quite as funny as Sophy, but I think it shades it for romance - Sir Richard's declaration made me swoon.

Like the first Canon Clement book this is a mash up of a cozy mystery with the Church of England liturgy. This one digs a little bit into the variations in Anglican theology ranging from the “bible based” (as described here) evangelicals to the “if it moves bless it” (as Catherine Fox puts it) school of thought. The Canon leans towards the latter. I‘m not CofE but I‘m kind of fascinated by them so I enjoyed this even if the mystery is a bit thin.

An effective portrait of a disintegrating relationship. At about the half way mark I was disappointed that it seemed to be heading in an all too obvious direction but it turned out that was just a step on the way to something more interesting. A good read. #ozfiction

@Reggie I thought you might like to see my favourite big thing - the Big Merino in Goulburn (Lian Moriarty referred to it as a ram, but it‘s not just any old ram🤣) When we lived in Canberra we would see it regularly on the way to or from Sydney. It was a sight to behold at night with its eyes lit up a demonic red! These days the Hume Highway bypasses Goulburn so travellers miss out. We paid a nostalgic visit on our last Sydney road trip.

A one star review, some associated bad behaviour on the part of the male reviewer & the female performer‘s revenge provide a framework for discussions around the me too movement, cancel culture & the ethics of reviewing in general. The story is narrated by the reviewer‘s female colleague who is dealing with her own challenges in balancing her professional & family lives. I liked it a lot.

Although Molly Clavering gets compared to DE Stevenson, on the strength of this book, at least, her work is darker and less charming. I found it difficult to be enthusiastic about either of the romances because both men engaged in some bad behaviour towards the women early in their acquaintance (in one case one particularly unforgivably). I liked the Susan‘s rejected suitor best of all of them. A low pick. #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

#14books14weeks

I did it! Read them all. Thanks for the impetus to get these books off my TBR @Liz_M