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Before the Swallows Come Back

Posted on 9th July 2023 By Nicola

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shortbookandscribes

UK book blogger (Sheffield), Bookstagrammer and lover of all things bookish.
Just one person trying to read all the books.
Physical books only.

Ad/PR product. New review: Room 706 by @ellie_leve

Ad/PR product. New review: Room 706 by @ellie_levenson. To be published by @headlinebooks on 15th January.
🛎️
Kate is in a hotel room with her lover when they hear that the hotel is under siege. This is the outward premise of this novel and I was immediately enticed by it, wondering how Kate would deal with this turn of events, the life or death situation, and whether her betrayal of her husband Vic would be discovered. However, there is so so much more to this story than just the fateful day in question. The reader is taken back to when Kate and Vic first met in Italy and this thread follows their life together over the ensuing years, including two much-loved children. A third thread tells how Kate met her lover James and the progress of their affair. The three strands when woven together tell a story of love, need and desire, and of balancing stability and family life against those brief snatched moments of excitement.
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Room 706 is an incredible book. I had fairly high expectations that I would like it but it exceeded everything I could have imagined. It’s complex and authentic, and it made me ponder on those decisions we make when we think nobody will find out. The chapters in the hotel room felt so tense with Kate and James holed up in a quiet room, not knowing what’s going on and if rescue will come. The other chapters told of a long-lasting love, a solid marriage and a happy family life. Despite this, the question is not really one of why Kate made the decision to have an affair, but one of how to deal with whatever the fallout may be.
🛎️
This is a beautifully written book with a superb storyline. It’s full of heart and soul and felt completely real. It totally blew me away and oh my goodness, the ending! This is my first book of 2026 and I know for sure that it will be one of my favourites of the year.
🛎️
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #Room706 #5starreads #favouritebooks #shortbookandscribes

Bookish Christmas Gifts 🎁 I don't very often ask f

Bookish Christmas Gifts
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I don't very often ask for books as gifts as I feel too guilty when they languish on my TBR pile for years. As I've already read one of the two that I got I don't feel so bad this year.

❄️Winter by Val McDermid is a lovely memoir of the author's favorite season and all the things she loves about it. There are some really lovely illustrations to accompany each special memory. It was the ideal book to end 2025 with.

⛪Love Divine by Ysenda Maxtone Graham is a beautiful Slightly Foxed novella set in a Church of England parish in London through the course of one calendar year. I'm really looking forward to reading it.
🎁
I also got a book light which I'm really pleased with. As you can see, it's personalised and when it is opened up it's like the pages of a book. The light can be either one colour or changing colours 🤩
🎁
Did you get any bookish Christmas gifts?
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#bookishgifts #bookishchristmasgifts #booklight #books #shortbookandscribes

Some Favourite 2025 Reads 📚 I wasn’t sure whether

Some Favourite 2025 Reads
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I wasn’t sure whether I would do a favourite reads post for 2025 but then realised I had marked a nice round ten books as standouts and they were easy to locate in my book stacks so here we are.

I’ve excluded the Morland Dynasty books by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. I read 21 of them in 2025 (the series runs to 36 books) and they’re absolutely in my top reads of the year but I don’t really want to list them all!

I’m very generous with my scores so I rated lots of books 4* and 5* reads but these ten have a little red * at the side of them which means they were extra special. In no particular order:

📖Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
Highly recommended for a grown up love story, warts and all.

📖The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
This time-travel book offers mysteries to be solved in an extraordinary way.

📖Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
An epic love story that burrowed its way deep into my heart.

📖Killer Instinct by Nicola Williams
This legal thriller has a killer storyline and I loved every bit of it.

📖The Hometown Bookshop by Jenna Warren
An ideal summer read about life, love, friendship, reinvention and books.

📖A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Re-read of this epic story of a young housemaid who makes her fortune.

📖A Place in the Sun by Jo Thomas
The perfect blend of travel and food – feel-good fiction at its very best.

📖What Happened That Summer by Laura Pearson
A unique and utterly gripping podcast novel.

📖Human Remains by Jo Callaghan
Gripping story of a police officer and her AI sidekick. What a chilling ending!

📖Getting Away by Kate Sawyer
A multi-generational, beautifully portrayed family story told through the holidays they take.
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#favourite2025books #favourite2025booksstack #readsoftheyear #shortbookandscribes

December 2025 Reads As always, my book post and st

December 2025 Reads
As always, my book post and stats for the month are on my blog (link in bio).
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📖A Twelfth Night Miracle by Callie Langridge
A lovely time slip/time travel novella in which Freya is transported back to another Twelfth Night ball.

📖Christmas at Hollybush Farm by Jo Thomas
A joyous story of community and farming in West Wales. I love everything this author writes.

📖New Beginnings for Christmas by Sally Page
This novella is a sequel to The Book of Beginnings, my favourite Sally Page book. It felt a little bit magical and is poignant and hopeful and full of festive cheer.

📖The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
Takes the real life inventors of Cluedo, Anthony and Elva Pratt, and places them in their own whodunnit as they are asked to create a murder mystery game for hotel guests to play in 1943.

📖Christmas at Flora’s House by Freya North
Gorgeous novella about Maggie who is spending Christmas on the Isle of Harris. The beauty of the island and the power of love and healing make this an emotional, yet hopeful, story.

📖The Harbour Lights Mystery by Emylia Hall
Book two in the brilliant Shell House Detectives series sees Ally and Jayden investigating the murder of a chef. I loved that it was set in Mousehole when the annual Christmas lights were up.

📖What Happened That Summer by Laura Pearson
This podcast novel follows the story of how teen singer and heartthrob, AJ Silver, died in a tragic accident at a UK theme park. I didn’t want to put this book down and thought it unique and gripping.

📖Winter by Val McDermid
The author’s memoir of her favourite season and all the things she associates with it. I thought it was a charming read with some lovely illustrations too.

📖The Winter Journey by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
20th in the series – Charlotte, Duchess of Southport sets up her own hospital and her brother Cavendish leaves to fight in the Crimean War.

📖The Outcast by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
21st in the series – Benedict Morland takes an orphaned boy to live with his daughter Mary in the American south, just before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
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#monthlywrapup #December2025Reads #monthlyroundup #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: What Happened That Summ

Ad/PR product. New review: What Happened That Summer by @laurapauthor. To be published tomorrow by @theboldbookclub.
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What Happened That Summer is a podcast novel consisting of eight episodes. Presenter Danny Drake asks the question: what happened during the summer of 1996 that led to American teen singer and heartt hrob AJ Silver losing his life at Birmingham theme park, Wildworld?
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Wildworld was owned by the Hunter family and Danny interviews them along with AJ’s family and his manager/staff. In this way, the whole story unfolds, from how AJ shot to fame and the Hunter family’s difficulties, to the long-reaching effects of the events of that summer. Gradually the reader gets to see the whole picture of a spoiled teenage star and those who must orbit around him, and the people who believed that his visit would change their fortunes.
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A narrative structure like this, with the story told in soundbites, could have left me feeling a bit disconnected from the characters but it absolutely didn’t as each one felt so fully rounded and so real and I was completely engrossed in their stories. From early on, when AJ’s manager is tasked with finding a theme park in the UK for him to spend the summer at, right up until the conclusion, I was totally hooked and didn’t want to put it down. The soundbite style gives it a fast pace and made it easy to keep reading.
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What a book Laura Pearson has written with What Happened That Summer. I loved the podcast style, it has a tragedy and a love story, it’s a family saga and it has ‘I’m with the band’ vibes. Put all that together with the fun of the 90s theme park with rollercoasters, water rides and the good old pirate ship and this is a unique and utterly gripping read, a total triumph. In fact, it’s just crept in as one of my favourite reads of 2025.
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Thank you to the author for sending me one of her amazing proof packages.
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#bookreview #WhatHappenedThatSummer #podcastnovel #5starreads #shortbookandscribes

New review: The Harbour Lights Mystery by @emyliah

New review: The Harbour Lights Mystery by @emyliahall_author. Published by Thomas & Mercer and out now.
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I read The Shell House Detectives a few months ago and had book two, The Harbour Lights Mystery on my TBR pile ready to read. When I saw a post on Instagram by the author, Emylia Hall, saying that it was set in December and featured the Christmas lights that go up annually in Mousehole, it seemed the perfect book to add to my Christmas reading pile.
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It really was ideal and I enjoyed it so much. The Shell House Detectives consist of Ally Bright, whose late and much missed husband Bill was the local sergeant, and Jayden Weston, an ex-constable from Leeds who now lives in Cornwall with his wife and baby daughter. After inadvertently becoming amateur detectives and solving their first case in book one, in this book they get involved in the case of the murder of a local chef, JP Sharpe, a man with a few foes and an unexpected link to one of their friends, local beach/surf cafe owner, Saffron.
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I loved how the story unfolded and it was as much about Saffron as about solving the murder. The case itself offers a twisty storyline but I think what stands out most for me are the regular characters and the Cornish settings. Both are so vividly drawn by Hall to the point that I felt a bit lost when I finished the book. It’s abundantly clear how much the author loves Cornwall and the way of life there of fishing, surfing and community.
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The Harbour Lights Mystery is a wonderful book and I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and the characters’ lives in Porthpella and Mousehole. I’ve now lined up book three, The Rockpool Murder, and I’m looking forward to another Cornish escapade.
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#TheHarbourLightsMystery #bookreview #crimeseries #cornwallfiction #shortbookandscribes

New review: Christmas at Flora's House by @freya_n

New review: Christmas at Flora's House by @freya_north_author. Independently published and out now.
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Christmas at Flora’s House is the first in four planned novellas from Freya North. If you’ve read Little Wing then some of the characters and settings will be familiar but if not then this works perfectly well as a standalone, although I highly recommend reading Little Wing too.
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Maggie Birch and her husband Roger will be spending Christmas at Flora’s House, a holiday rental on the Isle of Harris. It’s a big change for them as all their previous Christmases have been spent at home in Alderley Edge, but they’ve brought their own Christmas decorations with them to make them feel more comfortable. Maggie soon finds the community run shop and stocks up with all manner of gorgeous-sounding items but Roger is a bit more distant and keeps taking himself off for walks on his own.
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To say anymore about the story itself might mean spoilers but what I can say is that this is a beautifully written and poignant story of community spirit, especially at Christmas, and the power of love and healing. As with Little Wing, this is a love letter to Harris and its windswept and wild beauty and I now want to go and stay at Flora’s House and visit Shona at the shop to buy Scottish tablet and Talisker whiskey from across the water on Skye, both buildings feeling so real to me.
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Emotional yet hopeful, Christmas at Flora’s House is an absolute delight to read and I can’t wait for the next novella to see who the inhabitants spending Spring at Flora’s House will be.
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#bookreview #ChristmasAtFlorasHouse #festivereads #festivenovella #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Christmas Clue by @

Ad/PR product. New review: The Christmas Clue by @nicolaupson. Published by @faberbooks and out now.
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The Christmas Clue takes the real life inventors of Cluedo, Anthony and Elva Pratt, and places them in their own whodunnit. It’s Christmas 1943 and the Pratts return to the hotel where Anthony played the piano pre-war. They’ve been asked to run a murder mystery game for the guests but from the moment they arrive in the village they are thrust into their own murder mystery when they discover the body of the owner of the local sweet shop. Can the Pratts find out who did it and why?
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I think Nicola Upson has hit upon a genius idea with this book. I’ve never given any thought to the inventors of Cluedo, despite playing it many times over the years. This story blends real life and fiction really well and it’s interesting to think about how the inspiration for the game may have come about. I’m not sure the Pratts were involved in any real life sleuthing but certainly the first subtitle of the game was Murder at Tudor Close, being the hotel the couple had visited before the war and the hotel they visit in the book.
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The Christmas Clue will appeal to all fans of classic crime. It’s a well-written crime mystery and I was fascinated by the hints as to what would one day make up one of the best-known board games of all time (did you know one of the original weapons was to be a syringe?).
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Thank you to the publishers who kindly sent me a proof copy as part of a Harrogate at Home goodie box.
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#bookreview #TheChristmasClue #festivenovella #festivereads #murdermystery #crimenovella #crimefiction #fortheloveofbooks #christmasbooks #ilovereading #bookish #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #bookblogger #booksread #shortbookandscribes

New review: New Beginnings for Christmas by @bysal

New review: New Beginnings for Christmas by @bysallypage. Published by Harper Collins and out now.
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The Book of Beginnings is my favourite of Sally Page’s books and so I was really looking forward to reading this festive sequel novella. Whilst the first book was Jo’s story as she met new friends, Rev Ruth and Malcolm, this second story focuses much more on Malcolm and Ruth with Jo taking more of a supporting role.
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Malcolm really wants to treat Ruth to Christmas dinner, just the two of them, as a thank you for her friendship and to help her wind down. What he perhaps failed to realise was that a vicar’s busiest time is over Christmas and that Ruth actually enjoys all the carolling, the Christingle, the special services and the bonhomie that comes with the festive season. Malcolm finds himself railroaded into something more of a community get-together than the quiet meal he had anticipated but maybe, if he could let himself enjoy being with others, he will find it’s actually just what he needed after all.
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New Beginnings for Christmas is a gorgeous festive read. It’s contemplative with lots of meaning behind everything that happens. There’s a kind of magical feel to it all and I loved the way Ruth quietly and surreptitiously steered Malcolm into the meal, helping him whilst letting him believe he was helping her. This book is all about Christmas spirit and festive cheer, it’s poignant and hopeful, and it has a lovely nod to the Twelve Days of Christmas that I thought was achieved with aplomb by Sally Page. Highly recommended for a touching Christmas read whether you have read The Book of Beginnings or not.
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#bookreview #NewBeginningsForChristmas #festivenovella #christmasbooks #festivereads #fortheloveofbooks #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #ilovebooks📚 #bookish #booklover #readersofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

New review: Christmas at Hollybush Farm by @jothom

New review: Christmas at Hollybush Farm by @jothomasauthor. Published by Transworld and out now.
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I don’t need to know what a Jo Thomas book is about, I just know I will want to read it. She’s taken me around the world to beautiful destinations and treated me to descriptions of mouthwatering foods. So reading Christmas at Hollybush Farm this festive season was an absolute no-brainer and what a beautiful and utterly satisfying book it truly is.
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It begins with Jem and her boyfriend Matthew driving to see her father at his farm in Wales. Jem is high up in the hotel industry and so she’s grabbing a little time before Christmas to go back home. Lucky she does really as her father is unwell and the farm is failing. Matthew is pretty scathing about the farm but Jem realises that no matter how hard she has striven to reach her place at the hotel chain, it’s here on the farm that she truly belongs.
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This revelation leads to new friends, new ventures, and maybe new love. What jumps out most in this book is the community spirit, the way that people who were feeling dispirited because of the decline of farms and the small towns and villages that relied on them, with a little enterprise and the power of social media could try to turn things around. It’s never that easy but pulling together and solidarity helps enormously.
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I found Christmas at Hollybush Farm such a joy to read (I would expect nothing less from Jo Thomas). She transported me so effectively that I felt I was there in Wales on the farm for Christmas with Jem, Llew, Mae et al, and I felt excited for all of the ideas that could save the farm and the wider community from ruin. I also loved the little cameo from Beca from Summer at the Ice Cream Café and it warmed my cockles to think of her and Jem going on to do more together, along with the folk who supply jacket potatoes, knitted dog scarves and so much more. It’s an absolutely lovely story and it’s always a pleasure to have a Jo Thomas book in my festive reading pile.
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#bookreview #ChristmasAtHollybushFarm #festivereads #feelgoodfiction #christmasbooks #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #reader #reviewer #booksread #shortbookandscribes

New review: A Twelfth Night Miracle by @callielang

New review: A Twelfth Night Miracle by @callielangridge. Published by @stormbooks_co and out now.
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A few years ago I read Callie Langridge’s first Mandeville book, A Time to Change. I loved it and whilst, despite my good intentions, I haven’t managed to read the other books in the series yet, I have now read the novella, A Twelfth Night Miracle, which also takes us back to the Mandeville seat, Hill House.
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Freya is grief-stricken after the loss of her beloved grandmother. They ran a baking business together but Freya’s diary is now empty. When she is called upon to step into the breach and bake themed pastries and cakes for the Twelfth Night ball at Hill House she gets more than she bargained for: she meets Callum, the estate manager who she realises she is becoming attracted to and Hill House works its magic on her when she slips back in time to the past and another Twelfth Night ball.
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This is a lovely read, just long enough to give the story plenty of substance but ideal to fit in during those busy days in the run up to Christmas. I can never resist a timeslip/time travel story and it was wonderful to return to the magical joys of Hill House again. I loved the descriptions of the food and the meaning of the items that Freya made, the chemistry between her and Callum made my heart sing and overall this is a heartwarming and enjoyable tale.
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#bookreview #ATwelfthNightMiracle #novella
#festivereads #festivenovella #fortheloveofbooks #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #booksread #ilovebooks📚 #bookish #booksofinstagram📚 #shortbookandscribes

New review: A Baby for the Home Front Girls by Sus

New review: A Baby for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin. Published by @bookouture and out now.
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A Baby for the Home Front Girls is the fifth and final instalment in the Home Front Girls series which follows the lives of three girls, Sally, Betty and Lorna, as they do important work at the salvage depot, repurposing items to help the war effort in many unexpected ways.
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The girls are moving on with their lives, with all three of them now married and the natural next step is children. When Betty finds a newborn baby abandoned at the depot she and her husband Samuel decide they want to care for her. With this baby and Sally’s new pregnancy, babies are very much at the forefront of this book. Of course, nothing runs totally smoothly but the series ends with, if not quite happy ever afters given that the war is still raging, at least with happiness for each of the main characters.
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I’m going to miss them all, including other standout characters such as Mrs Beaumont, the Star House landlady, and Deborah, Sally’s childhood friend whose own story is only just beginning. I don’t really want to let them all go but I must and I’m very happy to have had the pleasure of reading five absolutely lovely books featuring them and their wartime heroics, both when quietly going about their day to day salvage work and when called upon to help in other ways, such as assisting with rescue attempts.
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Susanna Bavin writes sagas beautifully and emotively, with all the joys and sadness that life during wartime brings. I particularly liked the tiny nods to characters and locations in her other books (as Maisie Thomas) and got quite excited when Dunbars Hotel was mentioned. A Baby for the Home Front Girls is a delightful and uplifting book and I recommend it and the series as a whole to anyone who loves reading about life on the home front.
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#bookreview #ABabyForTheHomeFrontGirls #sagabooks
#historicalfiction #warfiction #wartimebooks #fortheloveofbooks #booksread #bookblogger #reviewer #reader #ilovereading #ilovebooks📚 #booklover #shortbookandscribes

November Reads 📖 #TheChristmasMagpie by Mark Edwa

November Reads

📖 #TheChristmasMagpie by Mark Edwards
An easy to read Christmas thriller about a couple who move into a new neighbourhood and are terrorised by the strange things that start to happen.

📖 #SmallActsOfResistance by Anita Frank
A heartbreaking and memorable story of a French family who shelter a British officer during WWI which is brave enough in itself, but then two German officers are billeted with them and things become very tense.

📖 #MrsMiniver by Jan Struther
This is a collection of the columns that appeared in The Times in the late 1930s, telling of the life of a middle-class lady from Chelsea and her family.

📖 #TheShameGame by L.D Smithson
Four friends, each with a secret. To keep their own secrets they must betray another. Quite a complex story but one which is well-plotted.

📖 #TheAbyss and #TheHiddenShore by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Book 17 of the Morland Dynasty focuses solely on brothers Nicholas and Benedict Morland. I enjoyed it but I was glad to meet up with the rest of the family again in book 18, especially the hidden heiress, Charlotte.

📖 #ABabyForTheHomeFrontGirls by Susanna Bavin
This is the fifth and final book in the series set around a salvage depot in WWII and I’ve loved reading each one. Babies are the natural next step for the married girls but they have a rocky road ahead of them to get to their happy ever afters.

November's book post and stats are on my blog (link in bio).
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#NovemberReads #November2025Reads #NovemberReads2025 #monthlyroundup
#monthlywrapup #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #bookblogger #reader #fortheloveofbooks #historicalfiction #sagabooks #thrillerfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Small Acts of Resistanc

Ad/PR product. New review: Small Acts of Resistance by @anitafrankauthor. To be published on 20th November by @hqstories.
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Small Acts of Resistance is set in 1915 in a small village in France. Henry Farrier is in the Royal Flying Corps when his plane goes down in occupied territory. In trying to maintain his freedom he comes across Claudette and her granddaughters, Marie and Élodie, who make the brave decision to shelter Henry in their home. Without this he would surely be taken prisoner or shot. Further peril comes to the household when two German officers are sent to stay with them.
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I was expecting disaster at every turn of the page. How could Henry possibly survive? What if he sneezed or coughed and he was heard? I was on tenterhooks so I cannot imagine how the characters must have felt. I have no doubt that this kind of bravery actually happened during World War One and I don’t think I could have dealt with it as well as Claudette, Marie and Élodie.
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Anita Frank really brought the occupation of the village to life for me and the hardships that the Germans imposed on the French villagers. This is a beautifully written story, one that is of a slower pace and in which each scene can be savoured. I was wondering how the characters’ stories would be wrapped up and believe me, it’s not the most obvious one. I loved the epilogue and the questions it answered.
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Small Acts of Resistance is a tale of loyalty, bravery, solidarity and love in a time of danger and conflict. I thought it was a heartbreaking and memorable read.
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#bookreview #SmallActsOfResistance #warfiction #firstworldwar #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #historicalfiction #reader #reviewbooks #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Christmas Magpie by

Ad/PR product. New review: The Christmas Magpie by Mark Edwards. Published by @michaeljbooks today!
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Noel and Dani have just moved into their new home and are looking forward to the upcoming festive season. Until, that is, odd things start to happen such as strange parcels left on their doorstep and a peculiar sense that something just isn’t right. Is one of their new neighbours watching them and leaving the parcels? Who can they trust? Alongside their story is that of a notorious serial killer who is incarcarated in the local prison.
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Not having read any of Mark Edwards’ other ‘Magpie’ books, I came to this one without any knowledge of who the serial killer is, which actually didn’t matter in the slightest although I think fans of the series might get a bit more from this novella. I enjoyed it for what it was and found it a nice, easy thriller to read.
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If you eschew the cosy Christmas vibe and prefer a festive chiller then The Christmas Magpie might be one for you.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #TheChristmasMagpie #festivenovella #novella #festivereads #fortheloveofbooks #bookish #ilovethrillers #thrillerfiction #shortbooks #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksofinstagram📚 #bookblogger #booksread #shortbookandscribes

💚The Barbecue at No. 9 by @jennie.godfrey💚 Look a

💚The Barbecue at No. 9 by @jennie.godfrey💚

Look at this amazing box of goodies that @hutchheinemann have sent to me. A cap, an apron, a playlist, bookmarks and postcards, sweets, door hanger, magpie pins and of course a fabulous copy of the book. What a fantastic treat - thank you so much!

Synopsis:
It's the summer of 1985 and the residents of Delmont Close are preparing a neighbourhood barbecue to watch the biggest music event in history: Live Aid. A day like no other that will end having reached millions and changed the lives of all who attend.

House-proud Lydia Gordon, whose idols are Princess Di and Delia Smith, is determined to put on a show that will impress everyone - with her posh garden and state-of-the-art television, and her sweet husband and two children, Hanna and David.

But as the guests flood into number nine, so do all of the secrets that have been kept in the close.

Rita, a new neighbour from Australia, is hoping for a fresh start but harbours a shocking event in her past; Steve, a young Falklands veteran, battles his own demons; and Mr Wilson is surely too good-looking to ever be trusted.

But as the hours count down to the last performance of the night, it's Lydia who faces the heart-breaking truth that her immaculate home and flawless family might not be so perfect after all.

And if each of their neighbours is guilty of hiding something, so are the Gordons at number nine ...

#TheBarbecueAtNo9

Ad/PR product. New review: The Toll House by Carly

Ad/PR product. New review: The Toll House by Carly Reagon. Published by Sphere and out now.
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Kelda moves into the Toll House with her son, Dylan. It’s a fresh start for them in an unusual historic property in a fairly remote setting, but it isn’t long before things start to happen in the house that make them both feel very uncomfortable. Kelda finds a death mask hidden behind a wall and strange sights and smells start to occur. Alongside the modern day storyline is that of the last toll keeper in the mid 1800s and the two narratives start to converge until the reasons for the peculiar happenings become clear.
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I don’t consider myself to be susceptible to ghost stories and tales of supernatural episodes at all but I have to say that I found this book to be thoroughly creepy and some bits sent a chill down my spine. It felt as realistically possible as any ghost story can be and the historical aspects really added to the chill factor. From the descriptions of the toll house I was able to conjure up an image in my mind of the property with the sign on the wall and the carts and carriages that passed by for which a toll had to be paid. It all felt very eerie.
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The Toll House is well-written and I found it to be atmospheric and authentic. There was a nice little twist towards the end too which, whilst not necessary for the momentum of the story, was a clever addition. I really enjoyed this book and will look out for Carly Reagon’s other books, especially at this time of year.
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Thank you to the publishers who sent me a copy of the book on publication.
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#bookreview #TheTollHouse #ghoststories #supernaturalstories #fortheloveofbooks #eeriereads #ilovereading #booklover #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

October Reads and Book Post 📖 I had a good month’s

October Reads and Book Post
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I had a good month’s reading in October with 9 books finished (as it was my 9 year blogging anniversary on the 25th the number nicely matches my blog years!). Here they are:

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
A couple move into a new home in the country but straightaway there is something off about the house. This is a really clever supernatural story but for some reason it didn’t really grab me.

#AWeddingForTheHomeFrontGirls by Susanna Bavin
This is book 4 in the series and it was my favourite so far as the girls from the salvage yard continue to navigate the war years.

#WomenOfWar by Louise Morrish
A fascinating story based on fact about a young suffragette who pretends to be a man and joins the army in WWI and the female doctors who treat her when she gets injured in France.

#TheMurderAtWorldsEnd by Ross Montgomery
A fun locked room mystery with unlikely crime-solving duo Stephen Pike and Miss Decima Stockingham trying to work out who killed the Viscount of Tithe Hall.

#TheTollHouse by Carly Reagon
A house with history and a death mask hidden behind a wall made this a genuinely spine-chilling ghost story.

#HoldtheDream by Barbara Taylor Bradford
The follow-up to A Woman of Substance and another re-read for me. The focus in this book is Paula, Emma Harte’s favourite granddaughter who she charged to ‘hold her dream’.

#TheReckoning by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
#TheDevilsHorse by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
#ThePoisonTree by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
The Morland Dynasty series can literally do no wrong for me. Napoleon is finally defeated, there is happiness and tragedy for the family, the age of steam brings a rise for the railways and cholera lurks.
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Swipe to see:
Review books received in October
Books I bought in October including some with very pretty sprayed edges.
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What was your favourite October read?
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#OctoberReads #October2025Reads #OctoberReads2025 #monthlyroundup #monthlywrapup #historicalfiction #bookseries #ghoststories #sagabooks #crimefiction #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #booksread #reviewbooks #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #bookish #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Murder at World's End b

Ad/PR product. New review: Murder at World's End by @mossmontmomery. To be published by @vikingbooksuk on 30th October.
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Murder at World’s End is the first book in a new series to feature Stephen Pike and Miss Decima Stockingham. Stephen goes to Tithe Hall on a tidal island in Cornwall in 1910, as a new member of staff, just at the point when Halley’s Comet is due to pass Earth. There was a public panic and many believed the comet would destroy the earth so as Stephen arrives he finds the Viscount frantically making some rather irrational preparations. When the Viscount is found murdered Stephen teams up with Miss Decima, the Viscount’s elderly aunt, to try and solve the locked room mystery.
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As settings go, this was a perfect one for a locked room mystery. Not only is it a tidal island but everything was to be sealed and everybody was to be enclosed in their rooms until morning, so how the Viscount met his death is a true conundrum. I liked the two main protagonists and can see how they will work well together in a series. Stephen is a bit hapless at times but a kind and thoughtful person. Miss Decima is foul-mouthed and sharp as a tack. As a crime-solving duo they fit perfectly.
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I didn’t see the denouement coming at all so that was a clever bit of plotting, Murder at World’s End is witty and incisive and good fun for those who enjoy a historical crime caper.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof package.
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#bookreview #MurderAtWorldsEnd #historicalfiction #historicalcrimefiction #crimeseries #cornwall #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogger #reader #reviewbooks #reviewer #booksread #shortbookandscribes

Book Review: Women of War by @louisemorrish_books.

Book Review: Women of War by @louisemorrish_books. Published by @michaeljbooks and out now.
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Women of War tells the story of two remarkable women and their experiences in WWI. Edie Lawrence is a young suffragette and when war breaks out and she finds herself left with nothing, she decides to pursue her dream of being a journalist by dressing as a man and joining up as a soldier. When she is injured she is sent to a hospital set up by Dr Lucinda Garland who is in charge of a mostly female team. After her plans to set up a hospital in London were rejected by men who couldn’t countenance the idea of a female doctor, she works with the Red Cross in France to offer her invaluable services there instead.
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From beginning to end this is a story of plucky women metaphorically sticking two fingers up to anyone (any man) that says they can’t do something. The action all takes place over a few short months between August and December 1914 and portrays in all its horrors the hell of the First World War. Edie’s war is devastating - as soldiers returning from the front say to her, it’s basically a massacre. Lucinda and her colleagues deal with the fallout and the shocking injuries which are like nothing they have seen before.
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The leading female characters are based on real women and their courageous feats. Louise Morrish brings them to life in Women of War in alternating chapters from both Edie and Lucinda’s points of view. I found this to be an extremely engaging, heart-rending work of historical fiction, impeccably researched and so well-written.
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#bookreview #WomenOfWar #warfiction #firstworldwar #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #historicalfiction #histfic #shortbookandscribes

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