My February 2024 Reading

February was a great month of reading for me with two five-star books, First Lie Wins, which was extremely suspenseful and entertaining, and The Women, which was harrowing (set in the Vietnam era) yet impossible to put down. I also really enjoyed The Cheat Sheet, a contemporary romance with a friends to lovers theme. There were quite a few books that made a very good impression on me, as you will see below:

China Court by Rumer Godden

Title: China Court
Author: Rumer Godden
Publication: Manderley Press, hardcover, 2023 (originally 1979)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Cornwall

Description: When Deborah Quin dies, it is the end of an era. Although she was once Ripsie, a waif from the village, she married one of the sons of the house and has lived in and maintained both China Court and its impressive gardens since then.

Six Degrees of Separation – from The End of the Affair to Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up.   This month’s starting point is The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951), who was one of my grandmother’s favorite writers.  

Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden - inspired to read in advance of the new miniseries

Title: Black Narcissus
Author: Rumer Godden
Publication: Little, Brown & Co., hardcover, 1939
Genre: Fiction

Description: A small group of Anglican nuns sets off to open a school in the Palace of Mopu in the Himalayan mountains, near Darjeeling, India.  Sister Clodagh is appointed the leader of the group, although her superior has doubts and advises Sister Clodagh to remember she “is the servant of all” if she wants to be a successful manager.   Sister Clodagh is more worried about the suitability of the property donated by an Indian General but refuses to admit her misgivings, especially when her authority is challenged by the youngest nun, Sister Ruth.