The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

New Author

Once Upon a Book Club - June 2018

A little mystery, a little romance, a little statement on domestic violence and the foster system.  Little enough that the book really didn't grab me fully. English which is often a drier read with words and places unfamiliar to me.

I enjoyed meeting the characters; the endearing Archie and the troubled Loveday, but I didn't get attached to them.

Not a bad read, just not an overly remarkable one.

Quotes:  "Idiot that I was, I liked that he liked me.  I should have known better.  In retrospect, I think that maybe he didn't like me much beyond the fact that I was talking to him about him and what he was interested in."

                              The Retreat  -  Mark Edwards
                                    New Author

"You should be careful what you believe !"

There is a legend of the Red Widow that kids tell each other at bedtime, around campfires, or just to scare each other.  The Red Widow takes young children and eats their souls.  She needs a child every 35 years. That time is approaching and Lily goes missing.!!!!

Now, 2 years later,  Julia , Lily's mom,  has opened a writer's retreat. Max, Suzi, and Lucas are her first guests and Lucas becomes interested in the disappearance of Lily. Once he starts looking into what happened 2 years ago,  strange things start happening. 

Mark Edwards is a new author on my TBR and he really kept my interest in this page-turner thriller.  I will definitely look for more of his books.   Enjoy this read,  but don't read it at night !!!!! 

                                   The Glass Ocean

                     Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
                                     (Historical Fiction)

2 time periods,  3 women.
Sarah , in 2013, is researching her family history for a new novel she is trying to write.  Her great-great-grandfather was a steward on the Lusitania.  She finds a connection with a family named Langford and travels to England to meet John Langford , whose great-great-grandfather was also on the Lusitania.  They start digging in the family archives and discover some hidden family secrets.

In 1915, we meet Tess and Caroline, who are both on board the Lusitania.  Caroline is a first-class passenger who is questioning her marriage  and Tess is second-class passenger who is a thief trying to steal something from Caroline. 

There is intrigue, espionage, and romance in this novel.   However,  I find it difficult to classify it as a true historical fiction.  For me,  I need more historical facts than the time and place in which a novel takes place.  Also,   I do not enjoy romantic love stories, which this book had too much of. 
But still an enjoyable read.