This is a fictionalized telling of the life of Coco Chanel, and it strives to give a complete picture of the legendary designer. I admit to knowing next to nothing about her before I read the book, and it was quite fascinating to read how she managed to rise from poverty to become an icon in fashion. Born Gabrielle Chanel, she and her siblings were split apart after the death of her mother and abandonment of her father. During her schooling by nuns, she […]
This head witch needed more training
Set in high society Edwardian England, The Midnight Witch is the story of a young witch who faces the choice between love and loyalty to her coven… This blurb makes the book sound a lot more fascinating than it really was, in my opinion. Lady Lilith Radnor, daughter of the Duke of Radnor, is as young and beautiful as one expects the heroine to be; she’s also a witch. She is engaged to a fabulously handsome young man, who is also a witch. Her father […]
Who Killed the Artist’s Mistress?
This is the second book in the Veronica Speedwell mysteries, set in Victorian England. Veronica, our heroine, is a spunky adventurist and lepidopterist who met up with Revelstoke Templeton (aka Stoker) in the first book. Stoker comes from a noble family, but has been estranged from them for several years due to reasons he has kept to himself. He’s also an adventurer who spent time in the Royal Navy, and now does taxidermy in his free time. He and Veronica formed a strong bond solving […]
Have you read the one about the lepidopterist and the taxidermist?
This is the first book in the new series by Ms Raybourn, introducing intrepid adventuress and lepidopterist Veronica Speedwell. As per the book blurb: London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime. Veronica Speedwell is one of those heroines who seems to be ahead of her time […]