Rhoda Baxter's Blog, page 19
February 6, 2020
The House of TreLawney by Hannah Mary Rothschild
House of Trelawney by Hannah Mary Rothschild I loved The Improbability of Love so much, that when I saw there are another book by the same author, I jumped at the chance to review it.
Trelawney castle is old, beautiful and crumbling away. The family all love living there, but there is a tradition that once the current earl comes of age, his siblings are banished from the castle with a symbolic gift. These siblings have to make their own way in the world. The current Earl fancies himself an...
February 4, 2020
RoNA Award shortlisting for A Convenient Marriage
As you know, I write women’s fiction under the name Jeevani Charika. I’ve talked before about A Convenient Marriage and how it was the book of my heart (we all have one of those stories that we love a little bit more than the others). I’m over the moon to tell you that it’s been shortlisted for a RoNA award (Contemporary Romance category).
The RoNAs are the UK Romantic Novelists Association’s annual awards. Sort of like the RWAs, RITA awards, but smaller and hopefully less problematic. (The...
February 2, 2020
Inheritance Books: Celia Anderson
Welcome back to Inheritance Books! I’m hoping to run this ‘season’ for a year.
Kicking off the 2020 season, here’s Celia Anderson, writer of women’s fiction with all the feels. Hi Celia, welcome to the Inheritance Books sofa. While I go put the kettle on, why don’t you plump up a cushion and tell us a bit about yourself?
[image error]January 29, 2020
Book review: The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey
The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Oh my goodness, this book!
I adored Iona Grey’s first book (Letters to the Lost) so I was excited to read this one. I was completely absorbed into the worlds of Alice and Selina from the the start. I ended up reading into the small hours of the morning, because I couldn’t bear to stop.
The book starts with Alice, whose miserable life at her grandmother’s house is enlivened by letters from her mother, Selina, and a treasure hunt which...
January 15, 2020
Book review: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr
The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was fascinating!
There are many books that talk about how humans are wired for story. This books goes into the science (particularly the neuroscience) of WHY this is. Written in a clear and accessible style, it was easy to follow and genuinely interesting.
If you’re a storyteller and you want to know why people get hooked on stories, you definitely need to read this book.
I received a review copy from Netgalley.
December 29, 2019
Book review: Let It Snow by Sue Moorcroft
Let It Snow by Sue Moorcroft My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am a fan of Sue Moorcroft’s books and I normally read the ARCs before they come out. I missed doing it with this one, so I saved it to read over Christmas.
We go back to Middledip for this story. I like this sort of thing, where you see characters from other books pass through in the background. It makes me feel like part of a community.
Lilly finds out about her father the day he dies. She has complicated feelings about her blood family...
December 11, 2019
Book review: Christmas At The Country Practice by Sharon Booth
Christmas at the Country Practice: A Bramblewick Novel by Sharon Booth My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was looking for a cosy book that I could read in a day or so and this definitely delivered.
Nell believes in love at first sight and The One. She thinks The One for her is Riley.
Riley doesn’t believe in romance or true love much.
Nell’s attempts to get Riley to notice her make Riley think she’s a bit weird. I loved that. At first Nell came across as a bit daft, but her own awareness of how...
December 3, 2019
Christmas For Commitmentphobes is out now!
As if one book wasn’t enough, I’ve got a second book out just in time for Christmas. This one is a shorter read (but still a full story). It seems 2019 is my year of releasing LGBTQ+ romances. Christmas for Commitmentphobes and A Convenient Marriage were written many years apart and released under two different pen names, but it seems that now is the time to release books about BAME people who are queer.
[image error]At Christmastime, the last thing you need is more commitments.
Lara needs to give her...
November 27, 2019
Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa by Nancy naigle
Christmas In Evergreen: Letters to Santa: Based On the Hallmark Channel Original Movie by Nancy Naigle This book is so Christmassy. I hadn’t seen the movie, although, I’ll look out for it now.
Lisa goes to Evergreen on a last minute whim. There she finds that her professional skills could be useful to selling the general store – which used to be a special Christmas landmark to her. The store used to have a letterbox where people sent letters to Santa. There’s also a snowglobe that grants...
November 25, 2019
A New Christmas novella! Christmas For CommitmentphobES -coming soon!
At Christmas time, the last thing you need is more commitments.
Lara is so busy trying to get her fledgling software company off the ground that she’s up in Yorkshire, pitching for business, just before Christmas. When bad weather sees the trains cancelled, the only place she can find shelter is a small pub called the Trewton Arms.
Thilini (‘Tilly’) loves that her art helps feed her travel addiction. She’s back in England for Christmas after two years away and can’t wait to be on the move...
