
TRWrites started reading...
13h

Weyward
Emilia Hart
I am a Weyward, and wild inside. 2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century. 1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom. 1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom. Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Wow. As someone who loves tea and loves to know the origins of things I absolutely loved all the detail about the growing, and preparation of the tea. The yearning of both mother and daughter in this book adds intensity to the beautiful ending.

TRWrites finished a book
13h

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Lisa See
In their remote mountain village, Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. For the Akha people, ensconced in ritual and routine, life goes on as it has for generations—until a stranger appears at the village gate in a jeep, the first automobile any of the villagers has ever seen. Slowly, Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, begins to reject the customs that shaped her early life. When she has a baby out of wedlock she rejects the tradition that would compel her to give the child over to be killed, and instead leaves her, wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake tucked in its folds, near an orphanage in a nearby city. As Li-yan comes into herself, leaving her village for an education, a business, and city life, her daughter, Haley, is raised in California by loving adoptive parents. Despite her privileged childhood, Haley wonders about her origins. Across the ocean Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. Over the course of years, each searches for meaning in the study of Pu’er, the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for centuries.

TRWrites TBR'd a book
15h

Murder in the Dressing Room
Holly Stars
*PRE-ORDER NOW! A THRILLING MURDER MYSTERY FROM AN EXCITING NEW VOICE IN CRIME FICTION, PERFECT FOR FANS OF JANICE HALLETT AND TOM HINDLE* Drag queens aren't just dramatic. They're deadly...By day, shy hotel accountant Joe hides behind their desk and plays by the rules.By night, Joe takes to the stage as Misty Divine, an upcoming star of the London drag scene. But when Misty’s mentor, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room, Misty finds herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Because Lady Lady was murdered – and as the only ones with access to her room, Misty and her fellow performers quickly become prime suspects.Heartbroken by the loss, and frustrated by the inaction of the police, Joe is determined to uncover the killer in their midst. But what can they, a mere hotel accountant, possibly do?This is a case for Misty Divine…

Such a fun romp of a book. I love the depth of the characters as well as the banter between them. No character is without a reasonable and compelling backstory. The double duplicity in this book by the 2 main character groups makes for a wonderful storyline as you read along. And Archer's yearning is chef's kiss. A fun summer read with just the right amount of spice.

TRWrites finished a book
3d

Scandal of the Summer
Alexandra Vasti
A desperate debutante meets a ragtag smuggler in this sexy Regency romp by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti. Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom. Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met. Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party. But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.

I loved the novel and I have to say I love this adaptation as well. It is always fun to see renderings of the characters you have grown to love and this book offers that in spades. The found family, the community feel of this book is so amplified by the graphic novelization. Thimble especially is so incredibly endearing. The characters are expressive and the illustrations are very pleasing to the eye. A great low fantasy read.

TRWrites entered a giveaway...
3d
Knopf Doubleday giveaway

Shady Hollow
Juneau Black
The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony--until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case. Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy. Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case.
print • 10 copies • US only

TRWrites started reading...
6d

Death of a Pop Star, Vol. 2: A WEBTOON Unscrolled Graphic Novel
Violet Karim

TRWrites started reading...
6d

The Road Not Taken and Other Poems
Robert Frost
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." These deceptively simple lines from the title poem of this collection suggest Robert Frost at his most representative: the language is simple, clear and colloquial, yet dense with meaning and wider significance. Drawing upon everyday incidents, common situations and rural imagery, Frost fashioned poetry of great lyrical beauty and potent symbolism. Originally published in 1916 under the title Mountain Interval.