Tea Time at Grosvenor Square (for fans of Bridgerton)

If you are a fan of Downton Abbey and Bridgerton and past days this is one for you. Seventy Five delightful receipes ranging from sandwiches with their crusts cut off, to scones, clotted cream and various jams and then on to the cakes and petit fours of the time this is a must read if not to cook to at least drool over. I thoroughly enjoyed the precise and beautifully descriptive receipes. Sent by Skyhorse Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Wind Chime by Alexandra Walsh

Amelia has had more than her share of grief. She lost her mother, father and then her young daughter Molly within a few years. She has been coping with illness and death for so long that she now feels that a proper retreat of some kind is necessary. She also comes across whilst clearing and cleaning out instructions from her mother to clear out the attic. Discovering that the attic was cleared and clean, only a few boxes very neatly packed leaves Amelia puzzled. Together with her friends who have stood behind her throughout her difficult days, she comes across a box of letters, photographs and memorablia which speak of unknown people, names which have a connection though indistinct and intriguing photographs. She also discovers her mother's will through her lawyer leaving her a inheritance of seven cottages which leaves Amelia very comfortably off for the rest of her days. The story told in two sections of Pembrokeshire 1893 and present day 2019 London are in itself different. The stories of 1893 deal with a family well established, in trade and very comfortably off but with a chequered history and very complicated characters. That those characters were related to her mother is obvious and why her mother never spoke about them is what puzzles Amelia the most. She seeks to solve the mystery. Present day 2019 Amelia is coming to terms with her losses, then she meets Edward part of the Pembrokeshire clan and she has to reconcile her feelings of today, with the history that she is faced with and which is not quite right and at times very unsavoury. A little bit of the faery and magical mixed in the history of the story, the two time lines and the vast amount of history of the families involved added to the complicated story leading to the present times. May not be for everyone, as it was so many strands of a family but brought together the book was a page turner for me. Characterization was spot on, very descriptive at every turn it kept me going wanting to find out what happened to all the characters of 1890s. Sent by Sapere Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

What's Left Unsaid by Emily Bleeker

Hannah is trying to put the pieces of her life together living with her grandmother in a small town of Senotobia. Hannah had been rejected by her partner of many years totally unexpectedly and this pushed her into a breakdown. She lost her job as a journalist and is now filling in at the local rag covering odd events and at the beck and call of a very conservative owner. When given the task of clearing out a basement of old files, Hannah stumbles upon a story of a young woman reaching out to the agony aunt of this same paper decades ago - a story of love, trauma and a shooting which left her paralysed and forgotton. Hannah is intrigued by the story and tries to unravel the history of this young woman. In doing so she unsuspectingly steps on the toes of an influential family who wants the story to stay hidden so as to keep the unsavoury secrets of their own family safely hidden. When Hannah is determined to pursue the story she meets with unforeseeable opposition. Very well written the story is documented carefully - especially the story of Emily which Hannah unearths from hidden documents. Justice is sought for the dead Emily and Hannah is vindicated for her journalistic prowess. Sent by Lake Union Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Best Thing About Bennett by Irene Wittig

Bennett Hall has lived a rather uneventful life. Living with a mother and an Aunt who was dominant, pressurised Bennett into doing exactly as she wanted she has moulded Bennett into a compliant woman with no will or interests of her own. When Bennett decides to get rid of the enormous house that she lived in all her life, with all its furnishings, she steps out of her comfort zone into a world of strangeness - a world where she can decide what she wants to do next. For Bennett however this is not easy. She has no idea what she wants to do, has no desires or longings of her own to fulfill and is hesitant to even try out anything new. Her adventure starts with buying a ordinary house in a quiet neighbourhood and then befriending a neighbour. This sets off a chain of events which will bring adventure, love and a new focus in her life. It is an idealistic way of looking at the way Bennett's life changes - all for the better, with a few initial hiccups on the way. It made for easy reading as well. It is an ideal read to take on vacation. You can pick up where you left off without any worries. Sent by BooksGoSocial for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Clockmaker's Wife by Daisy Wood

Two time lines both full of adventure. 1940 London. and present day New York. Ellie has returned home to a sick mother. Her mother has always been different from other mums according to Ellie. She now sees that there is a fair amount of family history that her mother is keeping silent about. Now in stage four of a cancer treatment Ellie drags a reluctant mother to divulge even a few tidbits about her father, his second marriage, her grandmother and relations she knows nothing about. Going back to 1940 Ellie's grandmother Nell was happily married to Arthur who was working in a most unusual place. Handling Big Ben in London and ensuring that everything went well. It was a complicated and a responsible job but with WWII hovering over the horizon Nell had to leave her beloved Arthur and go live in the countryside. When Arthur disappeared, the local Lord of the manor seemed to be somehow involved and Nell would not give up her search for her husband whom she knew to be loyal and true to his country despite anything anyone said. It led her to a dangerous situation not just for Arthur but for herself. Fast forward to present day Ellie and her search for some kind of history of her family. She unearths the plot where Arthur and poor Nell were involved. Their loyalty to the country and how it was rolled under the carpet and makes sure both of them are remembered for their services to the nation. Ellie is able to slowly recover traces of the story of what actually happened and reconcile with her London family on the way as well. All ended well. An interesting take on a family in WWII London then moving on to present day New York and then moving back to London again. Like all WW stories this had so much history, so much sacrifice (unknown and unspoken of) and one begins to realise it is not the published and the known heroes at a time like this, but the unsung and unspoken stories that always abound. Sent by Avon Books UK for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley

Mystery at the Church by Clare Chase (No 6 in the series)

It is full blown excitement to have a TV crew filming in the small sleepy village of Saxford St Peter. Celebrities abound and the village people are also taken in as extras for various scenes. Life is very exciting and full at the moment. It takes a turn when one of the celebrities are killed and the whole film crew and village are under scrutiny. Eve and her daschund Gus both keen detectives are able to find out much more than the detectives on the case. Eve has been on the TV site, has befriended many of those working there and her keen skills are much better than the oafish Detective Palmer whom we have seen in action before. Altogether a well put together cozy mystery murder. Bodies, suspicion galore, lots of suspects and a winding trail. A good stand alone in the series. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

A Lyon's Pride by Emily Royal

It seemed like a good arrangement. He wanted a rich wife, she wanted respectability and a father to her two girls. She knew England was not a country that was going to let her girls stand a chance without the legitimacy of two parents. She was willing to sacrifice anything for the twins. What she did not take into account that the partner that was set up for her, was the love of her life who deserted her for an aristocratic wife so many years ago. It was a light hearted romance. Just nice for a Sunday afternoon reading. The setting was descriptive and romantic and I like the way the town and countryside were both described. Everything worked out nicely after a few initial hitches, like all good romances do. Sent by DragonBlade Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.