John Eyre by Mimi Matthews

John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow  

Mimi Matthews  

2021

5/5 stars

This is a well-written retelling of Bronte's Jane Eyre, with the genders switched so that the governess is now a tutor, and the employer is Mrs. Bertha Rochester.  Matthews brings the original plot points and characters together in her own version skillfully, creating believable motives, emotions, and outcomes.

But that's not all there is to John Eyre.

In addition, the author has woven in another classic Victorian novel (and one of my top favorite books) to create a completely engrossing tale of horror and suspense.  (I'm omitting the name of said novel to avoid spoiling the reading experience.)  Matthews surprised me with her choice, but her excellent blending of the two was impressive. Overall, the unexpected duo made for a deliciously gothic, absolutely memorable story.

I wouldn't recommend it for every reader, and not even for all fans of Jane Eyre; however, those who enjoy a creepy Victorian melodrama will find this a pure delight.  I certainly did.

Mission Accomplished!

Today, I finished cataloging my personal library on LibraryThing, and it is such an accomplishment!  My total count came to 1346 physical books, 358 audiobooks, and 453 ebooks, not counting books that belonged to my husband alone.  

If you've not used LibraryThing, I highly recommend it.  I joined about a week after it launched in 2005, but had only piddled with it until lately, when I decided to catalog my library properly.  

Check it out and see if it's for you, and when you do, you can see what books we have in common as well!

September 2024 Wrap-Up

Books Read:

The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen (1932)  3/5 stars

While the solution was convoluted, it was still a good mystery with a well-done surprise.

Death Reports to a Health Resort by P.J. Fitzsimmons (2024)  4/5 stars

This latest volume in the Anty Boisjoly series sees Anty out to save his Uncle Pim from being arrested for the murder of a health resort doctor.  It's fun, clever, and as delightful as the rest.

Princess of Shadows by A.G. Marshall (2016)  4/5 stars

original title: The Princess and the Pea

This is an enjoyable Sleeping Beauty retelling, with a fun use of tale of the princess and the pea, as well.  The world building was above average, it is generally well-written, and I found the plot to be engaging throughout.  I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Poisoned: Snow White's Story by Mary Mecham (2022)  3/5 stars (my review here)

Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell (2023) 3/5 stars
This is a combo of rom-com, two mysteries, and a few serious themes.  It's not my usual genre, and there were loose ends and unanswered questions, but I still found it to be an enjoyable, light read that kept my attention throughout. 

The Love That Made Mother Teresa (Special Canonization Edition) by David Scott (2016)  4/5 stars

Scott explores the scant biographical details we have of Mother Teresa, explains her vision, and discusses her "dark night of the soul".

The Fall Back Plan by Melanie Jacobson (2023)  3/5 stars

When Jolie returns to her hometown with a chip on her shoulder and plans for revenge of sorts, she is shocked to find that her high school enemy, the delinquent punk Lucas, has reformed and is now the Sheriff.  This is a generally enjoyable rom-com, with Jolie coming to grips with the past and learning to forgive, and growing as a character.  Lucas was less than dynamic, and the plot was predictable, but it was still fun, light read that kept my attention.

Scarlett and the Dark Woods by Mary Mecham (2023)  3/5 stars

This is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that takes place in a dystopian world, with some humor and a light romance.  Mecham gives a good twist to the traditional tale, but there isn't a lot of depth to the story.  Despite that, it's still a fun read. 

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson  (2021)  4/5 stars

This is a layered mystery with light romance set in Regency England.  It  generally kept to the feel of the times, had appealing characters with realistic motives, and an interesting story.  The plot twist was good, though I did guess the solution early on. (I blame that on 40+ years of reading mysteries, though, and not any fault of the author.)  Overall, it was compelling and enjoyable. 

Beauty and the Baron by Joanna Barker (2019)  3/5 stars
This novella is advertised as a Regency retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, but contained very little of that tale.  As it was so short, there was very little development of either character or plot.  It was still a sweet story, and I'd certainly be willing to read a full-length novel by the author.

Black Plumes by Margery Allingham (1940)  4/5 stars

Allingham, author of the Campion adventure-thrillers, kept me guessing in this stand-alone mystery.  There are many viable suspects, a good amount of false clues, and several possible motives.  The characters aren't fully developed, but the tension and the uneasy atmosphere is excellent.  Overall, it's engrossing, well-written, and entertaining.

Tuchman

Audiobooks Completed:

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman (1978)  5/5 stars

In this nonfiction classic, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author uses the life of a French nobleman, Enguerrand de Coucy VII, as a way to explain and discuss the high and low points, daily life, pivotal events, and important figures of Western Europe in the 14th Century.  Despite its length (over 700 pages), it is an excellent general overview of the topic, easy to read, coherent, interesting, attention-holding, and accessible to the layman.   

Henry IV: The Righteous King by Ian Mortimer (2007)  4/5 stars    

According to the author, King Henry IV has been misrepresented throughout the ages, and Dr. Mortimer seeks to correct that view with this detailed biography.  It is interesting overall,  with only a few dry patches, and is generally easy to follow.  The arguments were logical and most often convincing.   I do like that Dr. Mortimer keeps the more "personal opinion" discussions of this book confined to the appendices to be read or ignored by choice.  While I didn't find it as engrossing as Mortimer's Henry V: The Warrior King of 1415 (my review here), I still would definitely recommend it to my fellow medieval armchair historians.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)  5/5 stars

I love this sweet novel better every time I re-read it! It's well-written, tender, fun, full of emotion, and an overall joy to experience. (The movie doesn't come close to the excellence of the book, by the way.)

Did Not Finish

1939: The Last Season by Anne de Courcy (1989)

The interwar years are of great interest to me and I'm a social history junkie with Britain as my preference, so this should have been a home run.  It was not.   I listened to six chapters, but there didn't seem to be anything to tie it together; it was a string of society gossip, details from primary sources, and tidbits of social history, one after the other, with no cohesion.  Maybe if I stuck with it longer, the build up to the war would have become the thread to hold it together, but I just couldn't.  On a personal note, I wrote a paper similar in topic and nearly identical to style once, and my college professor gave me a C, remarked how disappointed she was with my effort, and said she had expected more from me.  I now know how she felt.

 

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Comfort Reads

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion hosted by Jen at That's What I'm Talking About. 

I'm a couple of days late, but this week's discussion is "do you have a go-to comfort book?" and the answer to that is a definite yes!

I am a firm believer in rereading.  In fact, if I had to pick between never rereading and never reading a new-to-me book, I'd give up new books in a heartbeat.  I love the excitement of a new book, of course, but the comfort and certainty of an old favorite can't be beat.

Agatha Christie is a long-time comfort read for me, especially on audio with Hugh Frasier narrating.  Even when I remember the plot well, it's a pleasure to follow along and see what clues I've missed in previous readings. 

The Anne of Green Gables series is another I reread for comfort.  I'm currently rereading the first on audio now, and may continue through the whole series again.  The beautiful descriptions, the easy-to-love characters, and the sweet plots bring me such joy.

Jane Austen is my other comfort read.  There's no need to try to explain how wonderful an author she is, others have done it far better, but it was love at first read when I was introduced to her in high school.  (I'm currently in the middle of a leisurely reread of Emma, with lots of notetaking and highlighting.) 

How about you?  Do you reread for comfort?

Shelf Control: A Passage to India

Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by Literary Potpourri to discuss unread books sitting in our to-be-read piles.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but, as much as I love Room with a View and Howard's End, I have never read A Passage to India!  I own it, I've intended to read it, I even started the audio version once, but. . . . I'm intimidated by it.

According to Wikipedia:

A Passage to India is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s

and includes a situation that 

brings to a boil common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British during the colonial era.

If you've read it, let me know how it stacks up to my favorite Forster novels and if it's worth reading.  I feel like I'm probably missing out, but the subject matter just appears heavy and makes me hesitant to start!

Poisoned by Mary Mecham

Poisoned: Snow White's Story 

Mary Mecham 

2022  

3/5 stars

Mecham uses the familiar story of Snow White to introduce the reader to a character with  Severe Intellectual Disability.  Her message is clear and strong, with discussion questions at the end to aid the reader, but it overshadows the actual story, leaving very little room for  romance or fantasy or even plot.  That said, as one with extensive, intimate experience with preschoolers with a range of disabilities, I very much appreciate Mecham's effort and know that readers will benefit by learning how best to interact with people with disabilities and with their caregivers.  

She gives a further lesson, equally important, by showing what emotional abuse, gaslighting, and control can look like.  I applaud her for doing so, but felt that a book with two such strong themes was heavier than needed, and split the reader's focus.

It is still a sweet book with appealing characters, however, and I would not hesitate to read more by the author.

August 2024 Wrap Up

Books Read:

Foreboding Foretelling at Ficklehouse Felling by P.J. Fitzsimmons (2023)  4/5 stars

Anty makes friends with a duck, revels in Epicureanism, and solves yet another locked-room mystery in this fun, well-written, and highly entertaining seventh volume of the series.  

Mystery and Malice aboard RMS Ballast by P.J. Fitzsimmons (2024)  4/5 stars

In this eighth addition to the Anty Boisjoly series, Anty joins friends for a yachting pleasure cruise, only to find his plans interrupted by piracy, smuggling, treasure-hunting, mistaken romance, and a grammatically correct macaw. Oh, and murder.  It's another fun, locked-room mystery bringing together familiar characters and introducing an important new one.  Overall, I've enjoyed this series immensely and am eagerly looking forward to the next volume, to be published in a few weeks.

A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder by Dianne Freeman (2022)  3/5 stars

While the murder was easy to solve, the main character is appealing and the writing engaging, making this another enjoyable (if not exceptional) cozy mystery.

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin (2018)  3/5 stars

This is an interesting and generally well-written cozy mystery taking place in a county house at Christmas.  The culprit was rather obvious, but some of the evidence didn't stack up.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed Major Lennox's voice and will definitely try the second book of the series.

Queen Joanna I

Audiobooks Completed:

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone (2009)  3/5 stars

This was full of interesting information about Queen Joanna and the current affairs going on around her, but was not as lively, engaging, or entertaining as the other two I've read by Ms. Goldstone, and was at times both dry and overly involved.  I most certainly learned a good deal, but not as easily or pleasantly as I expected from my previous experience with this author.

Did Not Finish 

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari (2022)

I decided to give this debut novel a try because of the decent reviews, despite the fact that the botanist heroine's twee name is Saffron.  When, on page one, her dress was "the precise color of her eyes", I rolled my eyes but pushed on.  I didn't make it through the first chapter.  (On a side note, the story is supposed to take place in 1920's London, but the American author didn't trouble to use any English spelling.)  

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan (2015)

What a disappointment.  It started out interesting and informative, but then, after eight chapters, it was obvious that the author had no intention of discussing the actual Silk Roads, the trade routes, the systems, the goods, or the peoples involved.  His focus, this "new history of the world", was the rising conflicts of the Christian, Jews, and Muslims, with a Western based focus on historical context.  (On a side note, the author would benefit immensely from reading the fascinating Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford.)

Chaucer's People: Everyday Lives in Medieval England  by Liza Picard (2017)

Picard's disdain for the beliefs of the times and her overall attitude of condescension made it impossible for me to read.

A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder by Dianne Freeman (2023)

It felt like it was heading toward elder abuse, a triggery subject for me.  I could have been wrong, but decided not to finish.