Category: Historical Fiction

Misery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs

On By TracyIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), American Historical, Gothic Historical, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Misery Hates CompanyMisery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: A Marigold Manners Mystery, #1

Release Date: November 5, 2024

When her parents die of influenza, Marigold Manners learns that they have left her penniless. She is forced to withdrawal from school and abandon her plans to join an archaeological expedition in Greece, and at the attorney’s suggestion, she writes to relatives. With no desire to live off the generosity of her dear friend Isabella Dana, Marigold accepts an intriguing invitation to visit her mother’s cousin on the island of Great Misery, Massachusetts. Marigold has never heard of Sophronia Hatchet, but the island is not that far from Boston, and she can’t ignore the cryptic message Sophronia sent her.

She optimistically sets out for Great Misery but was totally unprepared for the cold and even hostile reception she is met with from the family nor the filthy and desolate house. But ever the problem solver, Marigold doesn’t let their behavior affect her and sets out to clean the house and get to know her cousins. Slowly Marigold breaks though the walls her family has erected and then sets out to help them achieve their dreams. She is further surprised when she finds her old friend (and something of a secret crush) Jonathan “Cab” Cox on the mainland. Cab is there to help his uncle with a legal matter, a request he took knowing Marigold was staying nearby. But it turns out that Marigold will be the one in need of his legal assistance when a body turns up in her garden and she is the prime suspect!

This was a very well written novel, but I don’t know if I would really call it a mystery, it read more like historical women’s fiction with a murder and lots of surprising and interesting twists, along with a budding romance. Overall, this was an interesting, well written story with lots of intrigue, wonderful characters, complex relationships, lots of twists, shocking revelations and a murder. I would definitely read the next installment and would happily recommend this title to those who enjoy a slightly dark, intriguing read.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

On By TracyIn Historical Fiction, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

The Booklover's LibraryThe Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone Title

Release Date: September 10, 2024

Life has never been easy for single mothers and their children, but late summer of 1939 was especially hard for young widow Emma Taylor and her daughter Olivia. With England on the brink of joining WWII, Emma is doing her best to provide for her child, but with her meager savings running low and prices rising, she is beginning to feel desperate. She would willingly work, but with a marriage bar prohibiting married women and widows with children from working most jobs, she is having a hard time finding a job that will enable her to earn a living, but still care for her daughter. Her luck seems to take a turn for the better when she happens to be in the right place at the right time – in this case, the café in Boot’s the Chemist store. She overhears a librarian resigning her position as she is to be married, and she takes the opportunity to ask about a position and is hired to work in the Boot’s Booklover’s Library – a Lending Library. But with war looming, even having a job, might not be enough to keep her daughter safe, decisions will have to be made about Olivia’s future, decisions that no parent wants to make. Keep your child close and potentially in harm’s way or send them away to live with strangers and hopefully away from air raids?

This story is a heartwarming and at times heartbreaking story of not only a woman struggling to keep her tiny family together during the war but rediscovering her own love of books and sharing that love with her daughter and the patrons of the lending library and maybe even finding a happy ending for herself. The story takes place at the start of England’s involvement in the war and gives the reader a glimpse of life in Nottingham during the terror of the blitz, as well as Emma’s volunteer efforts and her relationship with her young daughter, her friends, coworkers and library patrons. In addition to a fantastic story, fans of Ms. Martin’s novel, The Last Bookshop in London, will be delighted when Emma is sent to London and happens upon Primrose Hill Books and meets Grace and Mr. Evans. If you enjoy well-researched, emotional Homefront WWII fiction with relatable characters and literary references, then look no further, you have found your next read!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *