Sunday, June 15, 2025
Review - The Call of the Wrens
AUTHOR: Jenni L. Walsh
NARRATOR: Fiona Hardingham
RATING: ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): 1917 England: An orphan coming of age without a penny to her name, Marion joins the Women’s Royal Navy Service (the “Wrens”) as a motorcycle despatch rider on the Western Front, assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. Despite the hardships and constant threat of danger, Marion feels as if she finally belongs and that she has a purpose. Meanwhile, she and her childhood best friend, Eddie, dream of a future after the war—until tragedy strikes.
1936 England: A society girl, Evelyn has overcome a childhood disability and has found her true passion in automobile racing. When England enters WWII, Evelyn sees an opportunity to use her skills as a despatch rider, but her parents threaten to cut her off if she doesn’t start acting like a lady and marry the man they have chosen for her.
Meanwhile, a fellow Wren shows up at Marion’s door with an unwelcome call to return to her service. Told in alternating narratives that converge in a single life-changing moment, The Call of the Wrens is a vivid, emotional saga of love, war, secrets, and resilience.
REVIEW: This was my first time reading Jenni Walsh’s work and what a beautiful story! I’m always drawn to historical fiction, especially those set during World War II, and learning about the Women’s Royal Navy Service (the “Wrens”) was such a treat. I never even knew they existed and what an incredible group of women! I really enjoyed learning about their jobs as dispatch motorcycle riders during the war, but one of my favorite parts was learning about the women who took care of the carrier pigeons that relayed important intel during wartime. I loved all of the characters, even the secondary characters, because they each contributed something special to the book. You get so much with The Call of the Wrens - romance, suspense, drama, joy, heartache, etc. And I can’t say enough great things about the narrator, Fiona Hardingham. I absolutely adore her voice and accents.
The only thing that distracted me about this audiobook was the pronunciation of Evelyn (Ev-lin) as Eve-lin. Yes, it’s a minor thing, but it kept throwing me off, especially since my mother’s name is Evelyn, and I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way than Ev-lin. Regardless, it certainly wouldn’t stop me from recommending this book because it’s such a wonderful and thought-provoking story. I can’t recommend it enough, and I look forward to reading more of Jenni Walsh’s work in the very near future.
(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Recipe - Red Potato Salad
4 cups baby red potatoes (cut in small pieces*)
1/2 cup green bell pepper (finely diced)
1/4 cup red onion (finely diced)
3 scallions (diced)
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced fat mayonnaise
salt and fresh pepper (to taste)
DIRECTIONS: Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until soft, approximately 10 minutes. Drain.
While the potatoes are boiling, combine red onion, green pepper, mustard, olive oil, vinegar and mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.
Once the potatoes are done, toss them into the bowl with dressing and add scallions and additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTES: *Measure them cut up.
Variations: If you can’t find baby red potatoes, use larger red skin potatoes, russet potato or yukon gold potatoes cut in bite-sized pieces.
Swap the red onion for shallots.
If you want to omit the mayo, swap it with full fat Greek yogurt.
Add additional optional ingredients like dill pickles, celery, garlic powder, or chopped hard-boiled eggs.
NUTRITION INFO: Serving - 3/4 cups, Calories: 107kcal, Carbohydrates: 17.8g, Protein: 2.2g, Fat: 3.2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Fiber: 2.1g
- WW Points: 1
(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
GMA June Book Club Pick - Available Now!
You can find a copy of Good Morning America’s June Book Club pick, Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, in my little free library! The other copy is going to work with me and will be put in our system within the next week or so. If you decide to read it, please return it when you finish so other people can enjoy it too. Thank you!
Hello, dear readers! This week’s prompt from Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl is a fun summer freebie, so I decided to show ten romance books with the word "hot" in the title. I live in the deep south, where we have summer eight months out of the year, and it's extremely hot and humid, so I thought it was fitting. LOL. Here we go! Happy Tuesday!
TITLE: The English Masterpiece (audiobook)
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday - It's Getting Hot in Here
1. As Hot as it Gets by Elle Kennedy
2. Hot Ice by Rachelle Vaughn
3. Too Hot to Handle by Elizabeth Lowell
4. Hot Wheels and High Heels by Jane Graves
5. Hot & Heavy by Sandra Hill
6. Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry
7. Hot Shot by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
8. Hot Under Pressure by Louisa Edwards
9. Hot Property by Susanne O’Leary
10. One Hot Scot by Suzanne Enoch
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Review - The English Masterpiece
AUTHOR: Katherine Reay
NARRATORS: Saskia Maarleveld and Fiona Hardingham
RATING: ★★★★
RELEASE DATE: June 10th, 2025
Summary (from Goodreads): Set in the art world of 1970s London, The English Masterpiece is a fast-paced read to the end, full of glamour and secrets, tensions and lies, as one young woman races against the clock to uncover the truth about a Picasso masterpiece. Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Ariel Lawhon.
As the recently promoted assistant to the Tate's Modern Collections keeper Diana Gilden, Lily helps plan a world-class Picasso exhibit to honor the passing of the great artist--and she's waited her whole life for this moment. The opening is beyond anyone's expectations--the lighting, the champagne, the glittering crowd, and the international acclaim--until Lily does the unthinkable. She stops in front of a masterpiece and hears her own voice say, "It's a forgery." The gallery falls silent.
Lily's boss, Diana, is polished perfection, schooled in art, and descends from European high society. She's worked hard to become the trusted voice in London's modern art scene and respected across the Continent. The Tate's Picasso Commemorative is to be her crowning achievement, featuring not only the artist's most iconic and intimate works, but a newly discovered painting--one she advised an investor to purchase. But when Lily makes her outrageous declaration, suspicion and scandal threaten everything Diana has achieved, as museums and collectors across Europe, already doubting most post-war acquisitions, fall into chaos and rumors of a world-wide forgery run wild.
All Lily has ever wanted is to follow in Diana's footsteps and take the art world by storm in her own right. Yet one comment puts not only her own career at risk but also her mentor's. Unless . . . Was she right? With the clock ticking and the clues starting to pile up against her, Lily must uncover the truth behind the Picasso before she loses not only the career she's always wanted, but her freedom.
REVIEW: After a very long month recovering from surgery, I was so excited to get back to reading. You would think being off work and home healing from surgery would give me a lot of time to read, but unfortunately that wasn't the case between doctor visits and whatnot. Anyway...this was my first time reading Katherine Reay's work, and what a wonderful story! If you've read any of my reviews, then you already know that I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, especially when I have the opportunity to learn something new, and I really enjoyed the interesting facts about the art world that Reay sprinkled in throughout this book. The plot was very intriguing and kept me guessing the entire time. There's mystery, romance, drama...you get a little bit of everything with this story. The fact that it was narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Saskia Maarleveld, was an added bonus. Fiona Hardingham is quite incredible too. It was my first time listening to her, and I adored her soothing British accent. Between her and Saskia, I was thoroughly enraptured in this book from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it to everyone, and I can't wait to read more of Katherine Reay's work.
(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).
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