Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 470 pages, 2006 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: I loved Fingersmith; The Night Watch is currently on the shortlist for the 2006 Booker Prize. Synopsis: Four restless Londoners, three women and a young man, deal with war-torn life in the 1940s, struggling to find happiness and love in […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 317 pages, 2005 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: It was on the Booker Prize Shortlist for 2005. Synopsis: 18-year-old Willie Dunne has settled nicely into his young life – he’s got family he’s close to, he has a wonderful sweetheart, Gretta, who he’s hoping to start a life […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 340 pages, 2005 Rating: 8/10 Reason for Reading: Continuing on the big mystery kick I seem to be on lately. Synopsis: It’s 1930, and Maisie Dobbs is working as a private investigator when a strange case falls into her lap. Sir Cecil Lawton vowed to his dying wife […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 449 pages, 1997 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: I initially noticed this one at a used bookstore, but wasn’t really intrigued by the war setting. After I saw the movie, though, which I really liked, I changed my mind. Synopsis: America’s civil war has divided a nation in thought and on […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 182 pages, 2002 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: A group read for one of my Yahoo groups. Synopsis: A lonely horticulturist volunteers to aid England’s war efforts of 1941 by moving to the country and leading a small group of girls in a potato-growing venture. While there, Gwen […]