‘Sisters Behaving Badly’ by Maddie Please

Genre: Adult Fiction – Drama

Published: 2023

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

This book is so so funny – it’s brilliant! 4.5 stars really (come on Goodreads!), there was just a little something missing that I can’t put my finger on which stopped it being perfect. It’s not like anything I’ve read before. It’s a light and funny story with some more serious undertones but it’s not a romance, it’s about family and people, how we can reconnect with something thought lost, and make our own choices to determine the course of our own lives.

What a brilliant story. Two sisters in their 60s who inherit a farmhouse desperately in need of renovations, but the sisters haven’t spoken in years. What ensues is lots of French builders renovating the house, some chaos, and decisions that the sisters have to make in terms of their lives and what they want their lives to look like.

The characters just make this story come alive and the animals have their own personalities – Blanche the chicken, Hector the donkey, and Gigi the cat. Jenny and Kitty fight like sisters do and rile each other up, but there is a way back because they want to apologise but are both being stubborn and unsure how to reconnect.

I was laughing out loud on the train into work, and I laughed so hard at one point that my cat leapt off me looking offended. If you want some fun but with a serious undertone about seizing the day and making the most of what you have, then this is the book for you.

‘Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court’ by Owen Emmerson & Kate McCaffrey

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction – Historical Biography

Published: 2022

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

A brilliant study of Anne Boleyn’s early years at Blickling, Hever, Mechelen, and in France, up to her debut at the English court. Been a while since the exhibition which this book was designed to go alongside, but I’m really glad I’ve read it now. It’s a lot of information but still easy to read and engaging.

It is sometimes difficult to write about Anne Boleyn and try and bring a new angle to it. But there is not generally a lot written about Anne’s early years on the continent – it’s said she came back to England with a sort-of exoticism which captured Henry VIII and that she may have developed reformist religious ideas while there, but not much more is said in many books. This book is different; it only focuses on the period before Anne appears at the English court, and on the people that she was around during this pivotal period like Louise of Savoy, Claude of France, and Marguerite of Angouleme.

There is work from various historians brought together, like Elizabeth Norton, Tracy Borman, Claire Ridgway, and Lauren Mackay, as well as Emmerson’s and McCaffrey’s views. There are also a lot of primary sources used including Anne Boleyn’s letter to her father from 1513, the accounts of George Wyatt, and George Cavendish, and excerpts from the Letters and Papers which can be accessed on British History Online.

Emmerson and McCaffrey have done an inspired job of bringing together the existing research with new insights. It’s a brilliant book to add to my collection, and one I’ll return to in order to better understand Anne’s earlier years and the influences that shaped her into the famous English queen we know today.

‘Aria’s Travelling Book Shop’ by Rebecca Raisin

Genre: Adult Fiction – Chic Lit

Published: 2020

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★★★

Another great read from Rebecca Raisin. This one is quite emotional at points as we were introduced to Aria Summers in the previous book in the series ‘Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop’ and saw how supportive she was of Rosie starting a new life. In this one, we get Aria’s own story as she tries to come to terms with the death of her husband and the prospect of falling in love again.

I adore both Rosie and Aria, and particularly their relationship with each other. When Rosie finds out her news during the course of this story Aria is just adorable. And seeing more of Rosie and Max after their relationship started in the first book was also lovely. I knew from the first book who Aria’s love interest was going to be, but I really enjoyed seeing how they got there, and it was emotional finding out more of Aria’s back story.

I love Raisin’s writing style. It’s easy to read and the chapters aren’t too long so if you need to stop reading (even though you won’t want to), it is easy to pick it back up again. It’s a great and easy summer read.

The Travelling Shops idea is great – it means as the reader we get to see so many different characters, places, and situations. The healing power of books is also great, and something I completely understand and believe in. Books about books are always great and this one is no different. It’s a great combination of love, hope, and inspiration. Can’t wait to read the third one in the series!

‘Casanova and the Faceless Woman’ by Olivier Barde-Cabucon

THE OLD WORLD IS CRUMBLING 1759: Outside the gates of the magnificent Versailles palace, the city of Paris sits mired in squalor and crime. One night a young woman’s body is found with ghastly mutilations that shock onlookers to the core. SPIES ARE ALL AROUND The Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths begins investigating this macabre outrage, but the clues he uncovers draw him into a deadly web of intrigue, and bring him face-to-face with notorious adventurer and seducer, Giacomo Casanova. A SECRET STRUGGLE RAGES As a second butchered corpse is discovered, the Inspector finds his life in grave danger and his revolutionary past exposed. Can he navigate between the factions secretly warring for power and find a way to the truth? [Description from Waterstones]

Thank you to Pushkin Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is the first of a series of seven books to be translated into English from the original French, but the translation reads as if it was always written in English, so you don’t have to struggle to read it. The mystery is engaging right to the end, with the Freemasons, Brotherhood of the Serpent and the royal court all involved in the intrigue around a letter sent by Madame de Pompadour, mistress and favourite of King Louis XV of France.

I became more and more intrigued by Volnay as the story went on, especially his relationship with the monk and his frenemy, Casanova. Volnay seems to have had such a colourful past and we are only fed it in dribs and drabs, or parts are hinted at but not fully explored. It keeps you, as a reader, completely hooked. The monk also seems to have had an interesting past, again fed in dribs and drabs until the connection to Volnay is finally revealed right at the end. Casanova started off pretty much as I imagined he would be, but he certainly didn’t end that way; I was very surprised with how his story ended. I found the portrayal of Madame de Pompadour fascinating as well, and I hope we see more of her in future books, as she seems to be nearing the end of her primacy and clinging on to power and wealth.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the various different plot points which didn’t seem to be connected at the beginning, but actually were by the end. I figured they must be connected in some way, otherwise what would be the point in introducing them? But I was very pleasantly surprised at how well all of the different strings came together to create an ending which made sense.

The setting was very evocative, though I doubt it was as familiar to me as it would be to someone in France. In some ways this made it seem more historical because it isn’t just England with some different cultural views, but a completely different environment. I haven’t really read much fiction based in France, but I would love to read more of this series as I think it sets up the background really well.