A Potpourri of Opinions

Title: The Herbarium Author: Pamela Chartrand Publication Date: April 30, 2022 Genre: Historical Fantasy/ Time Travel Rating: 4 cowboy boots 👢👢👢👢 Summary:  The Herbarium, an enchanted sacred text written by the ancients, is safely hidden in a monastery outside of Chartres… or is it? In present day California, thirty-something Paige Delaney is struggling to cope. Since the death of her husband, she’s felt lost, aimless and frustrated. At the urging of her best friend, she accepts an invitation to join a Wiccan ceremony. And it’s a night that changes everything. Haunted by the vivid apparition she sees in the bonfire, Paige is sent reeling when her mother reveals a long-kept family secret: that Paige is a descendant of a powerful line of witches. With the help of past life regression expert Jack Kaplan, Paige begins a heart-pounding journey to 600 years in the past. There, two unlikely allies have been tasked with the ultimate mission: to save the gravely wounded King of France f...

  Title: The Nurse's Secret Author: Amanda Skenandore Publication date: June 28, 2022 by Kensington Publishing Corporation Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 5 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary:  Based on Florence Nightingale’s nursing principles, Bellevue is the first school of its kind in the country. Where once nurses were assumed to be ignorant and unskilled, Bellevue prizes discipline, intellect, and moral character, and only young women of good breeding need apply. At first, Una balks at her prim classmates and the doctors’ endless commands. Yet life on the streets has prepared her for the horrors of injury and disease found on the wards, and she slowly gains friendship and self-respect.    Just as she finds her footing, Una’s suspicions about a patient’s death put her at risk of exposure, and will force her to choose between her instinct for self-preservation, and exposing her identity in order to save others. My Thoughts:  Within the pages of this book readers will find...

Title: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle Author: Jennifer Ryan Publication Date: May 31, 2022 by Ballantine Books Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4 glasses of wine 🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary:  After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village. Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay—the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. It couldn’t have come at a worse time; how will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work? Meanwhile, the lo...

  Title: A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons Author: Kate Khavari Publication date: June 7, 2022 by Crooked Lane Books Genre: Historical Mystery Rating: 3 cowboy boots 👢👢👢 Summary:  Saffron Everleigh is in a race against time to free her wrongly accused professor before he goes behind bars forever. Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anna Lee Huber, Kate Khavari’s debut historical mystery is a fast-paced, fearless adventure. London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron...

With a new blog one must take the time to introduce themselves. 😀 I've worked in museums and libraries since 2012 and have been a librarian/branch manager at several different public libraries since 2018. As a librarian I feel I am partly expected to have some kind of literary influencer presence outside of work.   During the pandemic a group of random women banded together and created the blog With A Book In Our Hands. Someone sponsored the domain name and we flooded social media on a weekly basis. We covered all genres and it was pretty remarkable. Sadly, as time went by, the enthusiasm for the blog waned and we lost several of our founding members. That, coupled with an exorbitant amount of technical issues, inclined me to think about taking the lead on my own blog.  I am fortunate that in my position I have been able to host virtual author chats with some AMAZING authors. Debut authors, USA Today bestselling authors, New York Times bestselling authors, and internatio...

Title: The Fugitive Colors Author: Nancy Bilyeau Publication date: May 12, 2022 by Lume Books Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4 glasses of wine 🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary: The highly anticipated follow-up to the sweeping historical thriller The Blue is a story of silkweavers, painters...and spies. As Genevieve Sturbridge struggles to keep her silk design business afloat, she must face the fact that London in 1764 is very much a man’s world. Men control the arts and sciences, men control politics and law. And men definitely control women. A Huguenot living in Spitalfields, Genevieve one day receives a surprise invitation from an important artist. Grasping at the promise of a better life, she dares to hope her luck is about to change and readies herself for an entry into the world of serious art. She soon learns that for the portrait painters ruling over the wealthy in London society, fame and fortune are there for the taking. But such high stakes spur rivalries that darken to sabotage and black...