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 

By Stacey Irving February 9, 2026
I just finished Howling Women By Shelby Hinte and here are my thoughts. Sabine has spent her life running. She is currently running from a perfectly nice husband and her boyfriend… She ends up in New Mexico and meets a woman who calls herself the Howling woman. Unable to escape her abusive past, she is haunted in her present. After she shoots a man from her past with the howling woman, she now has to explain the events that lead her to that one violent act. I was mostly drawn to the cover because the synopsis was wild…. I was sucked right in. We start off with Sabine and she’s already been arrested and then it jumps back in time to just after she ran and what happened in her childhood. It’s a solid plot but the magic is in the characters. They are unique and robust.. The howling woman is the epitome of a secondary pivotal character and how they can be used to make a story really strong. It was a powerful story of abuse and the devastation of the aftermath of not dealing with it. I felt connected and enthralled by how Sabine found and connected with different people. It was good, some really solid writing here. The pacing was a tad slow but it worked really well here. 4 stars Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for my gifted copy. Make sure you check out my store Bookaloriandesigns.com Bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com Unique bookish merch for the book dragon connoisseur. You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A Youtube.com/@litdulterous #thehowlingwomen #bookish #bookreview #bookalorian #litdulterous #literature #literaryinfluencer #bookpodcast #bookinfluencer #bookreel #bookreview #bookblog
By Stacey Irving February 9, 2026
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By Stacey Irving February 8, 2026
Book review - fiction - audiobook - paranormal romance Undead and Unwed by Sam Tschida Imagine being undead and a hot mess… Tiffenie is single with a dead end job at the blood bank. When she finds out her stolen identity has inherited an old house in Vermont… She has nothing holding her back.. After accidentally unaliving her neighbour, the two of them head off. Things are looking up except when her ex Vlad finds her and he has things to say about the way she is living her undead life. I bloody loved this book!! What a clever and unique story!! I loved Tiffenie! She wasn’t the kind of vampire that makes things go bump in the night! She is just like you and me… A mess… Trying to get through the day (or night)! I really loved the lore of the vampires and how they are supposed to live and her grating against it. I liked Vlad too! I think he loves her in a way that he would be willing to make endless night for her. SIGHHH I liked the writing, I loved the narration and I am so glad I got this one! 4 stars Than you to @netgalley for my gifted copy #bookcommunity #bookalorian #bookinfluencer #bookish #bookdragon
By Stacey Irving February 8, 2026
Book review - Fiction - ALC Audiobook - Romance - Fantasy - Romantasy Tempest Awakening by Emma Moon Tess never expected to become a part of the world she loved to read about in her books but that is what happens. Landing a job in a magical library has her pinching herself at her luck… Then something she never expects… To bond to one of the most powerful dragons… A mere human and it has the magical world in a tizz. Can she make it through the training? Or will she be everything her mother says she is? I actually found this audiobook to be pretty dang good! Yes it's pretty generic… A touch cringey but I kinda adored it. This is book one and I think the author did a good job of introducing us to Tess (Tempest) and the three men gravitating to her… The gargoyle is my favorite! They were friends as kids and he left her life when she was 9 so that was such a sweet reunion for me. It did a decent enough of world building without leaning too heavy on character vs plot so that was a pleasant surprise Some of the things you can expect… She loves books Slow burn Reverse harem Dragons Fae Shifters And a ton of cute banter. I liked it. I know a lot of people had rather negative things to say but I think it was a great start to a series I’m intrigued by. 4 stars #supernaturalromance #bookishblog #readersofig #bookinfluencer #magicallibrary
By Stacey Irving February 5, 2026
Book review - Fiction - Ebook - ARÇ - Dark Academia - New Adult - Dark Romance ★ Dark academia meets Southern Gothic in this emotionally intense, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, morally gray, twisted college romance filled with secrets, violence, and impossible love I just finished Pretty Vicious. A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Romance by Lexi Davis and here are my musings. Laurel was just delivering pizza when she ends up witnessing a murder and ends up a prisoner of The Order, a dangerous society that rules with violence and Carrson Ashford doesn’t plan on letting her go.. He has marked her as his but she’s not willing to to be claimed without a fight… DANGGGGGG I am still not over this book. That cliffhanger… GAHHHHHHH… It's been on my mind for days….and days…… It literally started out with a massive crescendo and I was hooked… One of the things I don’t like in books normally… dual POVs but I didn’t know I needed to see Carrson’s POV until I got it and it really rounded this story out. It was a slow burn… I didn’t mind that as we got each character development in a really clever way and you can actually see how and why they connect the way they do. I loved the way the story unfolded and you are in for some of the best triggers! I enjoyed the writing and the build up! I really enjoyed this book! I devoured it in one sitting! Cannot wait to see where the story goes. 4.5 stars Thank you to @netgalley for my gifted copy #bookreview #enemiestolovers #booklover #bookblog #readersofig #bookblogger #reader #bookalorian
By Stacey Irving February 5, 2026
I just finished The Hanging Dolls by Ruhi Choudhary and here are my musings. Zoe Storm is called in when Lily Baker’s, a little girl who went missing, body was found in the woods. A tree nearby has 3 nooses hanging from the branches. What does it mean? When another girl goes missing from her bed, Zoe knows she is racing against the clock to find her alive. I think I just found my next series. I love Zoe Storm. She is dedicated and with her background, she has a unique perspective in her role as an FBI agent. She is fearless and flawed and I need that in my life. I did an audiobook version which was AMAZING!! I thought the plot and tone of the book were on point and I was thoroughly engaged throughout the whole book. I liked the pace and everything was done with perfection. I did get a tad confused on who was who a couple of times but that was probably just me. It was a great thriller and I highly recommend it. 4 stars thank you @bookouture for my gifted copy Make sure you check out my store Bookaloriandesigns.com Bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com Unique bookish merch for the book dragon connoisseur. You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A Youtube.com/@litdulterous #thehangingdolls #ruhichoudhary #thriller #thrilleraudio #audiobook #booktube #bookalorian #bookish #litdulterous #netgalley #audiobookgirlie #thrillerbooks
By Stacey Irving February 4, 2026
Book review - Fiction - Paperback and ALC - YA Thriller - Young adult - dark academia I just finished Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone and here are my musings. Eva wants one thing and one thing only…. To study at Oxford… She is over the moon when she is invited to interview-week with her bestie George… Welcome to the competitive and ambitious elitist students in the world of academia. What Eva doesn’t expect is to find her best friend dead.. Murdered and everyone is looking right at her. Can she clear her name and win her spot? OK so again, I am a greedy little book gremlin and I received a paperback and the ALC of this one… So glad I did. The audio was fine, It didn’t blow me away and I found myself reading more than listening. I did do a bit of the immersive reading and that was fun but the voice for Eva.. BLEAHHHHHH. It was a hard thing to listen to. I adored the read though. It felt better to hear it in my internal monologue so I highly recommend the book. I did find Eva annoying regardless. She had a whininess I didn’t like… Like she didn’t get why people thought she did it. COME ON! Haha. I found that I enjoyed the storyline a lot more than I was expecting. It was eerie and clever. It was a tad slow in spots but it drove up the intensity of what was going on so it actually worked for me. I actually liked her dad a lot. I also did not love the female cop. She irritated me a lot. There is the perfect amount of suspense and has some really solid twists! All in all it was well written and a solid YA novel. I was pumped to see there's more books to come so I will look forward to seeing what comes next. 4 stars… the audio is slightly less with 3.75 stars but I would have rounded that anyway haha. Thank you @wednesdaybooks and @macmillanaudio for my gifted copies. OUT NOWWWWWW #bookreview #bookishblog #readerblog #lionessofliteracy #reading #bookalorian #bookinfluencer
By Stacey Irving February 4, 2026
I just finished A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard and here are my thoughts. When you have the kind of job Capri does.. Giving walking tours about serial killers, you know you are doing to see and hear some weird things… When one of the people on her tour apparently sees someone being attacked… The police go and check it.. Knowing she can’t forgive herself if the cops are wrong, she decides to check it out herself. Why would a witness lie? The things Capri uncovers, starts to put her in danger… Again. I loved the first book in this series so I was whooping with joy when I got the audio and the ebook of this bad boy! I did read and listen… The audiobook was magic and I did most of the audiobook, purely because the narration was on point!! I adore Capri. She is a badass FMC and she’s older, has an adult kid and that makes me feel so seen! She built her business up, she’s living life on her terms and she is exactly the kind of representation I love! The story was phenomenal. Intrigue… Hunting for treasure… Dead bodies and a hunk cop to flirt with. It checked all the boxes for me. I was fully invested in Capri becoming an investigative journalist on top of her tours. I am a big fan girl of women getting their dues and this book gave me the girl power in SPADES!! Still hate her ex husband. That just cemented my hatred for the tool haha. It was well paced and exciting! I cannot wait to see where the story goes next! 4.5 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ARC copy and @macmillan.audio for my gifted ALC! You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A You can find all my book merch at Bookaloriandesigns.com and bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com #bookalorian #atourtodiefor #michellechouinard #mysterybook #mysteryreader #bookreview #lionessofliteracy #bookishpodcast #bookpodcast #bookrecs #tbr #bookinfluencer #literaryinfluencer #SMPearlyreader
By Stacey Irving February 3, 2026
I just finished The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas and here are my musings. Tasha needed the break with her husband and thanks to her high flying sister, they got a break and she babysits for her…. Everything is great until that fateful call. Someone broke into her house, put her sister in hospital and killed her brother in law… Who would want to hurt her family? The note she just received doesn’t explain anything either… except it was supposed to be YOU. It was a really good twisty thriller. It wrong footed me the whole way through. It was clever, well paced and electrifyingly good!! So many tendrils all tangled in one web of deceit. I will say that I didn’t much care for the characters. Tasha meh… her husband and the flirty woman? MEHHH. Dead BIL… MEHHH haha. The magic was in the mystery of the missing sister for me and why she was pivotal to the story. It was very entertaining! 4 stars Thank you @harpercollinsca for my gifted audio an @netgalley for facilitating it! #thewrongsister #clairedouglas #thriller #thrillerreader #thrillerreads #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookpodcast #bookinfluencer #bookrecs #halloweenreader #halloweenread
By Stacey Irving February 3, 2026
Book review - Non fiction - Historical - True Crime I just finished BoomTown - The True Story of the Wickest town in Texas by Joe Pappalardo and here are my musings. Did you know Borger Texas in 1927 was the most violent town? It was to support the oilfields but instead became a haven for pimps, gamblers and bootleggers run by a corrupt city hall. YIKES! Frank Hamer was brought in to curb the criminal activity in the town.. The man who brought down Bonny and Clyde.. A man who would give his life for justice… Dudes I had no idea this town was a hob of danger and I actually had no idea who Frank was. I am so glad I got a copy of this book because DANGGG IT… WAS… AMAZING! I really enjoyed the writing. I also could tell, after falling down a history rabbit hole, and the book was well researched but dang, there were a lot of people to keep track of and that was a tad annoying. Also the format… It could have been laid out better. It was crazy how it was all lump together and it felt a little cramped and if you are new to historical books…. This may put you off. I also think pictures of each person would have helped because I had no idea what any of these people looked like. Real shame! It was a really interesting topic though but it was a lot of info. 3.5 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my SMP early reader copy #truecrime #bookishreview #bookblogging #lionessofliteracy #bookinfluencer #literaryinfluencer #bookpodcast #litdulterous