ShortBookandScribes November 2025 Reads, Book Post and Stats

Hello December! Normally at this point I’d say something about the month that’s just gone but I can’t think of anything of note that happened in November so I’ll just tell you about the books that I read.

The Christmas Magpie 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.

 

Small Acts of Resistance 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.

 

Mrs Miniver 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. This is a lovely Persephone edition that I got as a Christmas gift last year so I’m really pleased to have read it before this Christmas comes along.

 

The Shame Game 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.

 

The Abyss and The Hidden Shore by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Book 18 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 19, especially the hidden heiress, Charlotte.

 

A Baby for the Home Front Girls 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.

 

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Book post received this month with thanks to the named publishers:

California Gold by Jodie Chapman (sent by Michael Joseph)

Dead Heat by Sabine Durrant (sent by Century)

The Undoing of Violet Claybourne by Emily Critchley (sent by Zaffre)

What Happened That Summer by Laura Pearson (sent by the author)

The Cat Share by Angela Jariwala (sent by Simon & Schuster)

Unreliable Narrator by Araminta Hall (sent by Pan Macmillan)

Hollywood Husbands by Jackie Collins (sent by Simon & Schuster)

Mrs Pearcey by Lottie Moggach (sent by Phoenix)

Five by Ilona Bannister (sent by Juniper)

 

I was also very lucky in November because lovely Susanna Bavin/Maisie Thomas/Polly Heron sent me all of these which was an amazing package to open. There are books 2-9 in the Railway Girls series, books 2-4 in the Surplus Girls series (my review of book 1 is here) and book 2 in the Wartime Hotel series (my review of the first book is here). Here they all are on their newly created Susanna/Maisie/Polly shelf. Lots of captivating reading ahead for me!

 

I also bought:

Possession by A.S. Byatt

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (to read before I watch the recent series)

Christmas at Flora’s House by Freya North

Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman

The Queen Who Came in From the Cold by S.J. Bennett

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Finally, my Storygraph stats for November: