Welcome to Litsy!

While I had mixed feelings about Jane Austen being a character, this was a delightful Christmasy read and almost a How-To for throwing a 12 day Regency Christmas - with a bit of murder, of course. Nice dose of history mixed with characters that felt straight out of her novels.
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A delightful Cinderella story set in the late 1930s where mousy down-on-her-luck Miss Pettigrew is mistakenly—and fortuitously—sent to the wrong address by an employment agency. The following 24-hour period is chock-full of adventures and various twisty plots with her new glamorous friends and their soap opera level romantic issues. She breaks out of her shell and finds she is quite spunky after all. #happyending #persephonebooks

This is not in my normal reading wheelhouse so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Privileged rich folk frolicking in their English country house in the 1930s exuberantly insulting one another with amusing banter & falling quickly into romantic crushes. Amusing peek into a bygone era & a class of people, but I was easily annoyed by these flighty folk.
Quick, light read. And I can‘t give anything less than a pick to a lovely Virago edition.

4⭐️ A gentle, relaxing treat of a read. It isn‘t at all a plot driven book; rather just immerse yourself in the delicious descriptions of 1930‘s big house life in the countryside. Lady Emily‘s dotty, scatter brained dialogue is amusing as she presides over the collected family members in her home. My first Thirkell and definitely not my last. An enjoyable light, perfect for summer read.

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“Henry, you mustn‘t mind. It is really a kindness to have him.‘ ‘Well, I do mind, Emily,‘ said Mr Leslie, getting up. ‘Kindness is one thing and your family is another.” 😂

🚙📖Road tripping with this gem has made for a few giggles along the way.

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An interesting book in both plot & style: Mary Jekyll stumbles into intrigue with fellow daughters of dastardly scientists (Hyde, Moreau, Frankenstein) and even Sherlock & Watson join in. Murder & a secret society supply the action, but it‘s the backstories & bonding of the gals that is superb. Stylistically, we are listening to their tales 1st person—with interruptions by each voice along the way. It‘s a fun twist + strong, fascinating women 🙌🏻

4⭐️ An original plot involving the majority of the gothic novels‘ antihero/villains. Yet, this book is about their daughters. Mary Jekyll lost her father, then mother. Discovering her mother secretly paid for the care of a Diana Hyde leads Mary into a macabre world of alchemist experimentation and the secret society driving it. A great “girl power” read with strong female leads. 💕🔍⚗️🕵🏻‍♀️

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3⭐️ish..I struggled to like this one as much as I wanted to. The main character wasn‘t entirely likable for me. A reimagining of how the evil Queen came to be in the classic story of Snow White. The story is full of courtly intrigue, magic, murder, and character struggles between good and evil.

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No spoilers because my pal @Jess_Read_This is about to start this - just to say I lost time and happily ignored the world reading this wonderful follow-up to Bear & the Nightingale. Immerse yourself in medieval Russia, dark fairy tale references, and dig deeper into Vasya‘s eventful lifestory. She‘s a tough cookie in a male-centric world and her spirit shines. Looking forward to book 3 this August!
And I am very happy with my gorgeous UK cover😁

5⭐️ and a bajillion more stars. What an enchanting read. The writing was absolute magic itself and I was transported on a bridge between the lands of magic and real life. A story built on dark bloody fairy tales in which the heroine is required to make a choice...of perhaps change the course of a story or two. I was sad to see this one end and will eagerly look forward to the next by Melissa Albert.

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