All these posts by Catherine Heloise:
Book Review

The Virgin who Ruined Lord Gray by Anna Bradley

I picked this ARC up for the title, which delighted me, and for the setting, which centres around a charity school for Wayward Girls in Georgian England that is in fact a secret training ground for young women on a mission to bring justice to corrupt aristocrats. The Virgin who Ruined Lord Gray straddles the line between traditional historical romance and romantic suspense, and I found it an enjoyable, but flawed read. This story centres … Continue reading The Virgin who Ruined Lord Gray by Anna Bradley

Book Review

The Love Study by Kris Ripper

With thanks to Tara. The Love Study is a romance between Declan, who swore off romance after leaving his boyfriend at the altar six years ago, and Sidney, who has no interest in dating, but who does have a YouTube channel called ‘Your Spinster Uncle’ where they provide relationship advice. (Sidney is gender nonconforming and prefers they/them pronouns). Declan might be commitment-phobic, but he is also 29 and beginning to wonder if he would, in … Continue reading The Love Study by Kris Ripper

Book Review

All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore

Content warnings: Everyone in this book is reacting, one way or another, to the death of Susan’s mother at the start of the book. There is a character with disordered eating and she plays a large role in the book. Another character has untreated anxiety which manifests itself as hypochondria. There is also an enormous amount of snobbery and classism. 2020 seems to be the year for food-themed, contemporary re-tellings of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and … Continue reading All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore

Book Review

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

Content warning: racism, including the extra messy and painful kind that comes from people who love you and really ought to know better… The Duke Who Didn’t is a complete delight. It’s a low-tension friends-to-lovers story set in a small English village over the course of three very busy days. (All Chloe’s days are busy.) The village is notable for two things – first, it has a very high population of Chinese, half Chinese, and … Continue reading The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

Book Review

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Content warning: Death from cancer – this occurs before the start of the book, but since Carla was Eileen’s granddaughter and Leena’s sister, there is quite a bit of reference to it. We also have a secondary character who is dealing with domestic violence, and there is infidelity and dealing with the aftermath of that. I want to be Eileen when I grow up. There, that’s my review. What, is that not enough? Oh, fine … Continue reading The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Book Review

Drowned Country by Emily Tesh

Drowned Country is the direct sequel to Silver in the Wood – indeed, it could almost be described as the other half of the story. It shares with it the dense, green atmosphere that feels almost more real than the real world, as well as the charm and humour of the characters. It is also absolutely impossible to discuss without spoiling Silver in the Wood terribly, because it starts where that story ends. Really, do … Continue reading Drowned Country by Emily Tesh

Lightning Review

Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig

Who’s That Earl is a light, fun, Regency romance that felt like snuggling down under a warm blanket. It is gleefully tropey. Jane Quayle, cast out by her family, makes her living writing wickedly erotic novels under a pseudonym. As if one pseudonym wasn’t enough, she also pretends to be her own secretary under a second pseudonym. She does all of this in a neglected Scottish castle in the company of two neurotic dogs and … Continue reading Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig

Book Review

The Road to Ironbark by Kaye Dobbie

Content warning: References to child abduction, the sexual abuse of children, and sexual exploitation generally. It is all referred to in fairly vague terms and is not depicted on the page, but there is a lot of upsetting back story. There is also a subplot that hinges on infidelity. The Road to Ironbark is two stories in one. At the tail end of the Gold Rush, Aurora Scott, a respectable widow with a less than … Continue reading The Road to Ironbark by Kaye Dobbie

Book Review

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

Content warning: A secondary character is a survivor of domestic violence. Also, the hero makes a living downsizing companies and firing people, which Catherine thinks ought to count as a trigger in this day and age, and makes Sneezy consider the merits of expressing herself with a flamethrower. The Marriage Game is a romantic comedy set in the Indian-American community in San Francisco, and it has an amazing sense of atmosphere and family. It’s also … Continue reading The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

Book Review

Or What You Will by Jo Walton

Content warning: There is an emotionally abusive parent. There is a very realistic and rather grim depiction of an abusive marriage. And there is either a miscarriage or an abortion – we never really find out which. Every so often I read a book, and as I read I start making a list of all the people I know who will love this book and then I keep reading and writing down more names, and … Continue reading Or What You Will by Jo Walton

Other Media Review

Movie Review: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

How do I even begin to review Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga? There were parts of it that made me squee with delight, and parts that made me laugh because they were so true, and also parts that made me just cringe in horror and want to hide under the couch or throw things at the TV…and these parts followed each other in such quick succession that it’s honestly hard for me … Continue reading Movie Review: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

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