Happy November, Friends! 😄🍂🍁
I'm so happy to be back on the blogging wagon. (I really need to make it a priority to post at least once a month.) How are you? Have you had a lovely autumn so far?
As usual, I have way too many books on my TBR (more than any human can possibly read—lol!), but I'm loving all of the ones I've read in October. Now that it's November, I'm finishing up reading my last "spooky" book (Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp 👻) and getting ready to start my Christmas reading (my FAVORITE time of the year!) 😍❤️💚🎄
Quickly, I'll share a couple of pics from my October reading and ratings (with links to my Goodreads reviews). Then, we'll get right to all of the Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow magic! 🤩✨✨
OCTOBER READS:
🧡 One Dozen and One by Gladys Taber 4.75🌟 (buddy ready with @carosbookcase!)
🧡 Thornyhold by Mary Stewart (buddy re-read with @gina.stanyer.books) 4.75🌟
🧡 Halloween Party by Agatha Christie 5🌟
🧡 Countess Kate by Charlottte Mary Yonge 3.5🌟 (Victober)
🧡 The Gingerbread Shop by P.L. Travers 4🌟
🧡 A Doll for Marie by Louise Fatio 4.75🌟
🧡 Sunlight by Sally Cartwright 4🌟
🧡 Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts 4.75🌟
🧡 Meg and the Ghost of Hidden Springs by Holly Beth Walker 4.25🌟
🧡 The Last Seance by Agatha Christie 4.5🌟
🧡 The Yellow Warning by Betsy Allen 4🌟
🧡 A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney 4.5🌟
🧡 The Girl and the Cathedral by Nicolas Jester 4.5🌟
🧡 Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow 5🌟
🧡 Autumn Term by Antonia Forest 4🌟 (recommended by @carosbookcase!)
🧡 Secret Marriage by Kathleen Norris 4.5🌟 (buddy read with @sorrythankyou79!)
🧡 Marple by Naomi Alderman 3.5🌟
🧡 The Talking Dolls by G.R. Mills 4🌟
🧡 The Secret Gardens of Frances Hodgson Burnett 5🌟
🧡 Mary Jane's Kindergarten by Claire Ingram Judson 5🌟
In my last Furrowed Middlebrow Friday post, I mentioned how much I would love to own some Dean Street Press post cards to hang on my wall. Victoria generously (and thoughtfully!) sent me a bunch of press samples for my post card collection. Omg, it was the BEST DAY EVER when I received that package in the mail with a sweet note from this lovely lady! 😍❤️
And a few pics along with similar books to my collection. Aren't they amazing?? If there were postcards for every book in the Furrowed Middlebrow and Golden Age mystery collection, I would totally buy them up! They're so awesome!
Now, onto my review of Miss Granby's Secret: or The Bastard of Pinsk by Eleanor Farjeon!
Rating: 4🌟
A crazy and compelling ride!
This is my first experience of Eleanor Farjeon's writing and I have to say that, at first, I was a little doubtful that I'd like it. I felt that the pace of the story fluctuated between slightly frantic to slow, with (for me) some confusion in between.
I wish I'd had a hard copy version of Miss Granby's Secret because there were some sections I wanted to go back and refer to a few times (such as Adelaide's own definition of terms). But, in spite of a transition at the beginning of the book (in which I was adjusting my mind to the way it was written), there came a point where the story completely caught hold of me and I was all in!
Both the main story with Miss Granby's niece, Pamela, and the story-within-the-story of The Bastard of Pinsk became entirely addictive. At one point, near the end, I forgot that this book wasn't entirely The Bastard of Pinsk by Miss Granby! lol. It was so amusing and I was dying to know what would happen at the end.
The very end of the story became confusing (for me) again and I'm not sure I fully loved the way the author brought the novel to a close. I was a little disappointed at the end, but this could be due to my not being used to Eleanor Farjeon's writing style. Overall, I enjoyed the book so much more than I imagined I would!
I own a pretty little book of Ms. Farjeon's poetry for children, so I'm excited to dip into that book very soon and see if I like it. Many thanks and gratitude to the wonderful team at Dean Street Press Ltd. for sharing this e-book with me for review! I always love a Furrowed Middlebrow book—and this one was definitely a new adventure for me!
Highly recommended you give this book a try! (or ANY Dean Street Press book!)
Please make sure to check out Caro's awesome review of Miss Granby's Secret, too!
So...
I guess that's about all for now. Ian and I went on a trip to Florida this month (post-cancer treatment for him plus a little late 31st wedding anniversary beach vacation for the two of us) and I'll share pics (along with my favorite lighthouse themed vintage books!) very soon.
I hope you're having the most cozy, comfortable and joyful book reading month, dear friends! I'll start sharing my holiday book favorites, recommendations and TBR at the beginning of December (including my favorite Christmas books by genre, favorite Christmas movies and activities!) I can't wait!
Much love as always and would love to hear from you in the comments below! Tons of hugs! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕
