pick3.5 Stars • In The Restoration Garden by Sara Blaydes, landscape architect Julia restores Havenworth Manor‘s neglected gardens, finding a WWII-era diary by Margaret. It reveals a family scandal of alleged treason. With Margaret‘s godson Andrew, Julia decodes floral clues, uncovering secrets of love and heroism while healing her own past.
#TheRestorationGarden #SaraBlaydes #Bookish #suvataReads
pickThis was an insightful look into the creation of Frankenstein!
I read Frankenstein earlier this year and loved it, so naturally I had to read this book. I was impressed that Mary Shelley wrote a masterpiece at age 19.
The best part of the book was the depiction of female rage. Mary‘s rage starts off quietly and then slowly simmers into an inferno.
Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/review-love-sex-and-frankenstein/
"For all his talk about free love, he has never truly wanted her to be with another man. He offered her freedom because he never believed her capable of taking it."
Oh. Hell. Yeah.
Really enjoying this!
“Author‘s grandmother inspires 1920s-era historical fiction novel on Chautauqua circuit.
After finding a box of mementos and learning that her grandmother, Verna Hintz Kurtz, traveled with the Versatile Quintet in the Swarthmore Chautauqua circuit as a trombone player and performance whistler in the 1920s, Melora Fern was inspired to write her debut novel, “Whistling Women and Crowing Hens.”
https://tinyurl.com/7vzj26pd
And yet life remained interesting.
so-soSeptember has not been a good reading month for me. I've only finished 3 books and might finish a 4th tonight. I've struggled to get into any of the books I've picked up. This was my #JaneAustenThenandNow selection for June 🤦♀️. It was okay. I liked the fictionalized interactions with Sir Francis Austin, but not a lot else. @Crinoline_Laphroaig
Looking so forward to learning more about Julia Child!
