Posted on March 31, 2025 by Chat About Books · 2 Comments

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

Elizabeth Zott is the most fabulous character! I thoroughly enjoyed her story.

She is a chemist, living and working in a male dominated world in the 1960s. The attitudes of some men towards women in the workplace during this time is quite revolting, although not entirely shocking. Elizabeth doesn’t suffer fools gladly though. As a result, her approach to life and work is often misunderstood, and is certainly not tolerated, by some. Her soulmate gets her though and their relationship is heart-warming. My heart broke for her when her life starts collapsing around her.

There are some other great characters throughout this story too. Six-Thirty is a favourite of mine, and I thought Harriet was hilarious. Mad is a little genius.

Lessons in Chemistry is a completely captivating story. It’s clever, funny, thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. I loved it!

Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.

But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality.

Forced to leave her job at the institute, she soon finds herself the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six.

But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook.

She’s daring them to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.
__________

A Book of the Year for:
Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Mail on Sunday, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, India Knight, Hay Festival, Waterstones, Amazon, Books are My Bag and many more!

Author of the Year at the British Book Awards
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Reader’s Choice Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award
Shortlisted for the HWA Crown Award

Praise for Lessons in Chemistry:

‘Full of humour, heartbreak and characters who feel like real people’ Red Magazine

‘Thought-provoking and stylish‘ Guardian

‘Laugh-out-loud funny and brimming with life, generosity and courage’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

‘I loved Lessons in Chemistry and am devastated to have finished it!’ Nigella Lawson

‘A novel that sparks joy with every page’ Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie

‘Witty and sometimes hilarious … the Catch-22 of early feminism’ Stephen King

‘A beautiful, sharp, funny and dark modern classic. I adored it’ Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

Happy reading!

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Chat About Books · 1 Comment

Daisy’s War (A Family at War Book 1) by Roberta Grieve

Daisy’s War (A Family at War Book 1)

by Roberta Grieve

Daisy’s War was a lovely read!

Daisy is a very likeable character who is desperate to do her bit for the war effort, along with everyone else, so she finds herself a job in the NAAFI. It’s hard work, but she loves it (apart from her suspicions that someone might thieving from the stores).

Her childhood sweetheart, boy next door, Bob has been sent abroad, and she fears she may never see him again. She has promised to wait for him though, so when Lofty strolls into her life she tries her hardest to resist him. She is so determined to be true to her Bob and I thought that was so sweet. We can’t help who we fall for though and I really felt for her as she wrestled with her conflicted feelings. Bob and Lofty are both lovely characters too.

I can’t imagine living through a world war with air raid threats, rationing, and your whole life being turned upside down. I know how it feels to be left behind whilst someone you love is in a war zone for months at a time though as my husband was in the Army for 22 years. Even though he was never front line there was always that niggle of worry that each time he went away might be the last time I saw him alive. It’s difficult getting up each day and just carrying on as ‘normal’ but there was nothing else I could do. Especially with two small children. I found Daisy’s worry for the uncertainty of her future very relatable.

Daisy’s family and friends are a good bunch of characters too. Each adding their own depth to the story. I really enjoyed it and hope to read book two in the series before too long. I would have jumped straight into it, but I have other reading commitments right now.

If you love a historical romance, I think you’ll love this book.

** According to Amazon I purchased the kindle edition of this book on the 10^{th of} July 2021 **

Daisy’s War is a historical romance set on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent during World War Two. Daisy is too young to join the WAAFs like her glamorous sister Sylvia and opts instead to work in the NAAFI which serves the sailors and soldiers stationed in the dockyard and garrison with snacks, cigarettes and toiletries. She has vowed to stay true to Bob, her childhood sweetheart. But Bob is serving overseas and she fears he will not return. Enter tall handsome soldier Christopher, known to his friends as Lofty.

Happy reading!

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Chat About Books · 1 Comment

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards @mredwards @MichaelJBooks

The Wasp Trap

by Mark Edwards

WOW!

I have been a fan of Mark Edwards for a good while, so I know I’m in for a treat when I get to read another one of his books. I think he’s outdone himself with this one.

The Wasp Trap is about a group of ex-colleagues/friends who meet up for a dinner party twenty-five years after they all worked together on a project which aimed to change the online dating world forever. That project ended in tragedy, and they all parted ways, apart from two of the friends who married. It’s their big posh house the others have been invited to. Would I have gone along after such a long time? I’m not sure. Maybe curiosity would get the better of me. After reading this book, probably not! Lol!

Will is an instantly likeable character. He feels like something isn’t right on arrival, but others think he’s being paranoid. They soon find out that his instincts are spot on!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!

I could never have imagined the direction this story takes.

It’s an extremely fast-paced story, which kept me gripped throughout. It flits between the dinner party night and back in 1999, building on their history together. Someone is keeping a secret from back then, and someone wants them to confess. The suspense and intrigue kept me turning the pages. I was desperate to find out what was going on, who had what secrets to tell, and how it was all going to turn out if whoever was hiding something didn’t own up, and I found myself panicking along side these people.

Just when I thought I might have it sussed…. nope, another curve in the road!

The ending really shocked me, and the epilogue made my blood run cold.

Such a brilliantly written, highly entertaining read, with a very clever character driven plot. I LOVED it!

I loved the hint of romance too.

An easy five stars for me.

** Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC **

Summer 1999. Will joins five other idealistic graduates working for an eccentric psychology professor. They’re going to launch a website to change online dating forever.

No-one expects it to end in tragedy.

Twenty-five years later, Will gets an invitation: a dinner party. A chance to see the old gang again.

But as soon as he arrives, something doesn’t seem right.

There’s an unexpected guest. The hosts are clearly keeping a secret. And on the way in, Will is sure he heard crying.

Everyone has something to hide about what really happened that summer.

But only one of them is willing to kill to find the truth…

Pre-order now and brace yourself for what is sure to be your favourite read of the summer….

Happy reading!

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Chat About Books · 3 Comments

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter

In a Dark, Dark Wood

by Ruth Ware

Wow! This is quite a story!! It grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me intrigued throughout. I’m not sure I would have made the same decision as Nora; to go the hen weekend of a friend I hadn’t spoken to for ten years. Then again, I can see how curiosity might get the better of you and I understand her desire to make amends, especially as they were best friends back in the day. Also, she had the back up of another mutual friend who had been invited, so what could possibly go wrong!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!

As the story progressed, I really felt for Nora. I didn’t warm to Clare at all. She grated on me. There was something about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. The more I learned about her, the more I understood why. She is not a nice person. She didn’t deserve Nora’s friendship back in their school days, but I can understand why Nora was drawn to her.

Nina is an odd character too. I couldn’t make my mind up about her. I still can’t.

They’re an odd bunch of friends.

This is a fast-paced psychological thriller with short, sharp chapters, interesting if not entirely likeable characters, and an intriguing plot which kept me invested. It’s one of those books that I was thinking about when I wasn’t reading it and couldn’t wait to find out which direction it would go in. It made me question everything and everyone. It made me question what I would do in the same situation. I’m pretty sure my decisions would be quite different to those of these characters, but I’m quite boring. The drama that evolves throughout this book made for extremely tense, sad, shocking, and highly entertaining reading.

** I purchased a paperback copy of this book for the purposes of a buddy read with some of my lovely Bookstagram friends. Great choice, @_shannonslibrary_ **

Nora hasn’t seen Clare for ten years. Not since the day Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back.

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen party arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage – the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her.

But something goes wrong.