Young Rose Sweetly is a computer in Victorian England. This means she works for a male astronomer, doing amazing feats of arithmetic and calculation to help him in his work. She lives with her pregnant sister, taking care of her while waiting for her brother-in-law, a naval doctor, to return from abroad. Preferably before the baby is born. She’s also very much in love with her neighbour, the infamous author and columnist Stephen Shaughnessey. Yet she heeds her sister’s advice. He is a legendary scandal […]
The further adventures of Jamie and Claire Fraser – we’re getting closer to the American Revolution
3.5 stars This is the sixth book in the Outlander series, and really not the place to start reading. You will have missed out on literally thousands of pages of plot developments, intrigue and characterisation. If you are interested in checking out the series (which thanks to the current TV show, I suspect more and more might be), start at the beginning with Outlander. Ok, where do I even begin to summarise the plot here. The mass market paperback is over 1400 pages long and the action spans […]
A historical romance with Chinese martial artists and past betrayals
Both books: 4 stars In Beijing in 1873, young Ying Ying discovers that her father is one of the white foreign devils, and while her mother is the pampered courtesan of an important court official, she’ll be lucky to ever make a suitable match. Her Amah starts training her in secret martial arts, so she’ll have a way to defend and support herself once she grows older. Over in England, young Leighton Atwood discovers that his parents have secrets, that it wouldn’t do for his […]
I know I’m late, but I really did like it when I finally got round to reading it
Because I read this book a month ago, and the plot is somewhat convoluted, I am resorting to the plot summary from Goodreads to help me explain what the book is about: Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fiercely opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace, to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she’s a best friend, and simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed […]