Tag: fiction

• Book Review: Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

  A book dominated by the daily bakes of a British pensioner? Sign. Me. Up. I just finished reading Olivia Ford’s debut novel, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame. A teacher colleague of mine—an avid reader and all around dear friend—gave me two books for Christmas and when I opened the package, this one was on top.…

  michardillo

  December 28, 2024

  books, Essay, food

  baking, book-review, books, British, British pastries, chocolate, cooking, debut novel, English, family, fiction, GBBO, Great British Baking Show, literature, middle school, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, Netflix, novel, Olivia Ford, reading, social media, tea, writer

• A Very Merry Bookmas!

  It’s Christmas Day! I’ve had a wonderful Advent and now Christmas season with my family and close friends. It has to be the most relaxed Christmas I’ve ever had, having retired from teaching this January 12, 2024, I came into Advent this year without reams of papers to grade, midterms to create and then grade,…

  michardillo

  December 25, 2024

  books, Essay, faith, food

  Advent, baking, book-review, books, chocolate, Christmas, cookbooks, cooking, cozy mystery, essays, exercise, faith, family, fiction, food, friends, healthy, Judi Dench, Kate Quinn, Martha Stewart, Maryland, Mass, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, nonfiction, novel, Olivia Ford, prayer, reading, self-care, Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent, teacher, teaching, The Briar Club, The Cookbook, writer, writing

• Book Review: Back After This by Linda Holmes

  This yet-to-be published new book, Back After This, is about the world of podcasting, but that is not why I requested an ARC from NetGalley. When I read the description, I saw that it was by the same author as Evvie Drake Starts Over (Ballantine, 2019), a book I read in 2020 and loved. Somewhere…

  michardillo

  December 10, 2024

  books, Essay

  #Currently Reading, Back After This, blind dates, Bon Appetit, book-review, books, brand collaboration, Christopher Kimball, cooking, covid, dog, Elinor Lipman, Evvie Drake Starts Over, fiction, Flying Solo, food, Goodreads, Great Dane, Kaytee Cobb, Linda Holmes, Meredith Monday Schwartz, Milk Street Radio, NetGalley, novel, podcast, reading, rom-com, Romance, social media, teaching, Washington DC, What Should I Read Next, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

  One of my husband’s nicknames for me is “dolphin girl.” I love the water. I love being in the water swimming laps or just relaxing. I love being on the water in a boat, a ship, a ferry, a cruiseliner, anything. And, somewhat contrary to all of that, I also have a slight obsession with…

  michardillo

  December 1, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, British, Downton Abbey, England, estate, fiction, Frances Quinn, literature, Lord Storton, NetGalley, new money, novel, Random House, reading, The Lost Passenger, Titanic, titled heir

• Book Review: Southern by Design by Grace Helena Walz

  The title of this ARC, graciously provided to me by NetGalley and HarperCollins, called to me on many levels, and I immediately requested this debut novel by Grace Helena Walz. As a dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying Southerner (born and raised in southeast Louisiana), I just knew instinctively that I would enjoy this book, and I did. I…

  michardillo

  November 14, 2024

  books, Essay

  Beaufort, book-review, books, Charleston, fiction, food, Grace Helena Walz, HarperCollins, HGTV, interior design, literature, Louisiana, mystery, NetGalley, New Orleans, novel, Port Sulphur, reading, South Carolina, Southern by Design

• Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Book #1 in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series)

  I recently grabbed a book off of the new mysteries shelf at my local library and knew almost immediately that I was missing quite a bit of backstory, only to realize I was starting with book #7 of a series. I enjoyed An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder – albeit without the backstory…

  michardillo

  November 5, 2024

  books, Essay

  A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, book-review, books, British, Countess of Harleigh, cozy mystery, death, Dianne Freeman, Downton Abbey, England, English, family, fiction, Libby, library, literature, MCPL, mystery, novel, parenting, reading, social media, vacation, Victorian Era

• Book Review: Mystery in the Title (Miranda Abbott Mystery #2) by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

  In a previous post, I reviewed I Only Read Murder by the Canadian Ferguson brothers, and made a not so subtle request for the sequel to read and review – albeit on its very publication date. The Fates (as in NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, lol) smiled upon me, and I’ve just finished Mystery in…

  michardillo

  October 31, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, death, fiction, Hollywood, I Only Read Murder, Ian Ferguson, indie bookstore, literature, movie of the week, MOW, mystery, Mystery in the Title, NetGalley, novel, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, reading, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles, vacation, Will Ferguson

• Book Review: An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder by Dianne Freeman

  The “good news:” This gorgeous cover (you had me at “art” and “Paris”) made me snatch this book right off the shelf at my local library (shout out to Aspen Hill Library, a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, Montgomery County, Maryland). It had been a long week and I was needing to read my…

  michardillo

  October 23, 2024

  books, Essay

  An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, art, book-review, books, Countess of Harleigh Mystery, cozy mystery, Dianne Freeman, England, fiction, France, library, London, mistresses, murder, mystery, novel, Paris, Paris Exposition, reading, tea, Victorian Era

• Book Review: I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

  With a busy week where I was spending a lot of time at my former school directing an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew (written by my daughter, allow me a moment to brag), I had very little time to read, and when I did settle down after wrangling middle schoolers, I was out…

  michardillo

  October 22, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, fiction, Goodreads, Happy Rock, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hollywood, I Only Read Murder, Ian Ferguson, middle school, Miranda Abbott, mystery, Mystery in the Title, NetGalley, Oregon, reading, theater, theatre, Will Ferguson, writer, writing

• Book Review: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

  If you follow me, you might have noticed that I typically write my book reviews immediately after I finish reading a book, while it is still fresh in my mind. But, I finished Richard Osman’s latest book, We Solve Murders (Penguin Random House/Viking/Pamela Dorman Books, 2024), book #1 in a new series, three days ago.…

  michardillo

  September 30, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, fiction, Goodreads, Kindle, middle school, murder mystery, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Pamela Dorman, Penguin Random, publishing, Richard Osman, social media, The Thursday Murder Club, Viking, We Solve Murders, writer, writing