Rhoda Baxter's Blog, page 8

Book review: Becoming Crone by Lydia M Hawke

I spotted this on Netgalley and requested it out of sheer curiosity. (‘The Crone Wars’ – how could I resist?!)

Claire has spent her life making herself small and fitting in around her husband and son. But turning sixty coincides with the dawning of her powers.

I enjoyed finding out about Claire’s powers (although, I got a bit impatient with her standing around going ‘what?’ at key moments). The magical aspects were entertaining and interesting. The gargoyle and the wolf-shifter were gr...

Would you like your name to be in a book?

Rather short notice, but if you hurry, you can bid in a book auction that I’m helping to run. We’re raising money for the East Yorkshire Food Bank. There are a whole bunch of things you can bid on to win – signed books (lots of different genres – romance, crime, fantasy, saga, women’s fiction, even colouring books), feedback on your writing from published authors, even … the chance to have your name given to a character in a romcom. Whoever bids the highest, gets the item. The books are mos...

Book review: Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson

I absolutely loved this book! I raced through it in a day (which isn’t something that happens often). It’s the sort of book where I read it while I was cooking, read it while I was waiting in line, just to keep reading.

Essie is a witch and lives in Beldam house with a coven of other witches – There’s Blessing who is a fertility witch and qualified midwife, Avery who helps manifest people’s desires (and makes medicines), Prudence who is a ghost and Maude who knits the future (maybe affect...

Book review: The Breakup Agency by Sheila McClure

This book was so adorable! I LOVE Gus! American Dan is an absolute gem, too, but Gus the dog really stole the show for me. In my head, American Dan looked like Chris Evans, so that’s saying something.

Ellie runs Softer Landings – a service for gently breaking up relationships so that the dumpee is not destroyed. This all started when she had to let down lovely American Dan, who was dating her friend Thea. Then Dan left, leaving Gus the dog with Ellie. And now he’s back … which means Ellie...

Book review: Killers of a certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This book was a hoot! I kept reading well past my bedtime to find out what happened.

Four elite assassins – all part of the all-female team Project Sphinx – are on a cruise to celebrate their retirement, when they realise they are now the target of the same company they used to work for. They can run and hide, for a while, but there’s only one way to really get the target off their backs. Kill or be killed.

I love how the four women are so different to each other. They are all super co...

Book review: Marple (collection of short stories)

I used to really enjoy Miss Marple stories, so when I saw this on Netgalley, I snapped it up. This book does exactly what it says on the cover – twelve new Miss Marple mysteries, written by established crime writers. They were all different, but captured the essential spirit of Miss Marple, whilst providing a short mystery, neatly wrapped up by the end of the story. Since the stories were short, you could read them one a day (which is what I did – it was a lovely way to wind down at the end ...

Book Review: The Practice Kiss by Sara Martin (My K-Drama Life Book 1)

I picked this up after reading an article about books influenced by K-Drama. I love K-dramas, but when I watch one, it takes up all my concentration. I’m a bit busy right now, so I figured I’d get a quick K-drama hit by reading this book.
Chloe goes to Korea for a job – which turns out to be a scam. Penniless and drunk, in the rain, she gets spotted by a talent scout and offered a job. She’s cast in a K-drama alongside a handsome actor … who knew her when she was a teenager.
I wanted a quick K...

Book review: A Murder of Principal by Saralyn Richards

I bought book this on a whim after seeing it on Twitter (I can’t remember what it referenced – the books by Arthur Hailey, maybe?). It’s been a while since I’ve read a book written in this style. There was a lot of background about school procedures etc, but it was still a murder mystery and it was still compelling. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed reading Arthur Hailey’s detail rich books. I’ll have to go read The Moneychangers again.
There are a lot of POV characters, but the main one i...

New covers for the Trewton Royd books

Last month, I went to the RNA conference where there were many excellent talks. One of the talks I attended was on book covers. It was led by Stuart Bache, who is an expert cover designer. He offered to critique some covers that people had submitted. I sent in my cover for Snowed In. Stuart’s comments were:

The covers for small town romance have moved on a bit – here’s what the book covers in that genre have in common now:

The countryside takes up the lower third of the cover. The sky mak...

Book review: The Love Arrangement by Ruby Basu

Annika loves her travel-heavy lifestyle. Her world is arranged just the way she wants it to be. Unfortunately, all the travelling and working in remote places isn’t exactly conducive to a long term relationship. But, when she impulsively blurts out to her parents that she has a boy friend … she needs to produce one.
Enter Rav, Annika’s childhood nemesis turned handsome entrepreneur. He needs someone to pretend to be his partner for a business thing. It’s the perfect arrangement. It’s almost a...