The Radcliffe Ladies Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas
Stacey Irving • June 11, 2023
Beautiful and haunting Historical Fiction

I just finished The Radcliffe ladies’ reading club by Julia Bryan Thomas and here are my thoughts.
Alice loves her little book shop. It’s 1954 and women are rarely allowed to aspire to want things outside of a house, husband and kids but not Alice. Books are her life.
She wants to share her love of reading with other women so when she sets up a book club at the store, she is over the moon when college students Tess, Caroline, Evie and Merritt all show up to discuss the first book.
The girls all find safety and independence within the walls of Alice’s bookstore and when the worst of the worst happens to one of the girls…. Alice is there to help get her through it.
Wow, this book was so good. I am a sucker for historical fiction that empowers women and this one really warmed my heart. Women in the 50s were pretty much just homemakers and trying to figure out who you are back then must have been so hard.
Alice became the mother figure to the 4 girls in a way that she not only protected them and encouraged them to voice their own opinions but she showed them that you don’t have to just be someone's wife to be fulfilled. The setting of 1950s Massachusetts was brilliant and it made me want to go there during fall. The writing was lucid and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book.
I don’t usually put trigger warnings in but I will add one this time.
TW Rape resulting in pregnancy/miscarriage.
I would have liked some more development on the characters. I felt like I didn’t understand why Tess was the way she was and that left me with a slightly empty feeling. It would have been more well rounded with some more back story on all 4 of the girls and Alice but maybe it was leaving it open for spin off books. I could get on board with that.
4 stars. I finished it in one sitting and I was so entertained the whole way through. If you love historical fiction that discusses books, this is a winner.
Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for my gifted copy
#netgalley #sourcebooks #juliabryanthomas #theradcliffeladiesreadingclub #booksaboutbooks #bookstagram #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookalorian #booklover

The storm by Rachel Hawkins Have you read any books by this author before? I’m a fan of hers so I’m a teeny bit biased but this book was amazing! The Rosalee inn sets a scene. Geneve owns the place and when her old friend returns after she left through a scandal.. all the secrets bubble to the surface! What will cause more carnage? The lies of the past or the hurricane heading directly for them? The book had a slow but brilliant start. One thing I love about her books is she knows how to set the stage and when things really get going… Oohh watch out! I loved the tone and the pace: the writing is always excellent but I felt the more dark edge in this one. The characters are all well developed and I wanted to learn more about them and hello!! Set in an inn!! Love that! Not always a massive fan of weather related plots in books but I actually quite liked that there was something coming that couldn’t be stopped! Felt the ending was done right and all in all.. solid book! 4 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. SMP early reader - book influencer - book review - thriller

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Book Review - Non fiction - History I just finished Tom Paine’s War - The Words that Rallied a Nation and the Founder for our Time by Jack Kelly and here are my musings. I don’t know a lot about American history but 1776 is a year I recognize. A country fighting for its independence…. FIST PUMP! What I didn’t know was anything about Tom Paine. He wrote a pamphlet called Common sense.. Something I see a lot of people without lately and he convinced people they could rule themselves. He didn't just write, he fought on the ground… I had no idea all the information I learned reading this book about how America started out its baby steps into independence and I have to say it was impressive! When did we as a civilization get so compliant? These men fought for America's future and we allow the cuff to be tightened all the time in the name of security. It was an eye opening book. I really enjoyed the writing and the whole tone of the book. It was well researched and I was thoroughly entertained. It’s a really good starter book if you want to dip your toe into the revolutionary war! 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. Out jan 6th… Oh that date… Nice timing haha Check out my book podcast!! https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A #Bookcommunity #bookalorian #bookblog #bookishbanter #litdulterous

I just finished Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London and here are my musings. Lorna is awkwardly fumbling through her life and the only place she feels in control is at work but her team hates her and when she accidently sends an email talking smack about her team.. Management mandates she must do a wellness program to work on her issues. Giving herself over to the program means facing things she does not want to face and making peace with a past that shaped the woman she hates looking at in the mirror. I didn’t think I was going to love this book. It started and I was like yeahhh ok. She is not my kind of person. Turns out I was wrong. She really grew on me. She was dealing with perceived baggage of her childhood that she held onto for dear life. It defined her and she didn’t let people get close enough to hurt her. I was charmed, utterly charmed. I loved the audiobook. It was just how I like my narrators to be. I felt connected and enthralled. She has to make amends to people in her past to get the money her mother left her when she passed away and what she found at the end was priceless. I laughed, I teared up, I felt like I was right there in her story. It was a real transformation story and finding oneself and I loved it so much. I loved the writing and the characters were just…. Sighhhh… Perfect! 4.5 stars Thank you to @harpermusebooks and @netgalley for my gifted ALC! You can find all my reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A Book merch - bookaloriandesigns.com and bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com #everythingisprobablyfine #julialondon #bookreview #bookishreview #booklover #readersofig #readingislit #bookalorian #litdulterous #audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobooklover #audiobookreview

I just finished Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft and here are my thoughts. Nola is a late night call in radio host that has its callers ringing in with ghost stories. That is until one night, a caller describes what is happening… It’s eerily similar to a serial killer’s MO. A killer who murdered Nola’s babysitter all those years ago. One thing is sure, Nola is being watched again and the hiding man is coming for this time This is just what I needed!! I loved the thrum of underlying fear that this book built up in spades. It is exactly the kind of tension I needed and the pacing was brilliant! I loved the narration as well, it was absolutely creepy AF! I liked Nola. I think the author did an awesome job of showing that she was the potential victim of the serial killer but also strong and fierce. It was nice to see the balance of this in the FMC. She also wasn’t annoying haha. I have been on a run of annoying MC’s so this broke the streak. THANK YOUUUUU. It was all perfection until the end. That was a total bummer! It just kinda fell flat. I was expecting some big crescendo…. Alas… This was not meant to be. All in all I was entertained though. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio my gifted copy. You can find all my reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A All book merch at Bookaloriandesigns.com and bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com #nightwatcher #thriller #bookalorian #booktok #booklover #bookloversunite #bookreview #audiobookreview #audiobooklover #alc #audioreader #audiobookstagram

I just finished The Liar I Married by D.K. Hood and here are my musings. How do you cope when you find that your husband wasn’t the man you thought he was.. You cannot remember things and he won’t let you see your children and you are the reason you had a bad accident? Oh man I didn’t see any of this stuff coming! I love books that keep you on the edge of your seat.. That keeps you unbalanced…. You never know who’s telling the truth… Where is the danger… This book had that in spades. I didn’t trust anyone. I was questioning everything. The story was so well done with the best of the best pacing. The narration was excellent. I was hooked. I could not put it down and that ending…. YAHOOOOOO I was shocked I tell ya… SHOOK TO MY CORE!!! If you read psychological thrillers, you have to add this page turner to your TBR! 4 stars Thank you @bookouture #theliarimarried #dkhood #thriller #thrillerreader #thrillerbook #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #bookcommunity #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookblog #bookinfluencer #bookrecs




