I thought this might be a bit dry, but it was an inspiring and encouraging read. Explanations of godliness with two main aspects: deep devotion to God, and the building of godly character. Plenty to ponder. A little old-fashioned in places, and I didn’t agree with every word, but overall well worth reading.

Serena takes a house with her young widowed stepmother, although she is furious that Rotherham, to whom she was once engaged, is her trustee according to her late father’s will.

Serena is another outspoken and strong heroine, while Fanny, her stepmother, is sweet and rather naive. There’s a typical Heyer resolution to romantic difficulties that seem inextricably knotted at times. Enjoyable Regency story.

The main thesis is that pain is an invaluable part of our nervous system; to demonstrate this, the first part of the book charts much of Dr Brand’s early life, and his calling into medicine and – eventually – working with a leprosy mission in India as an orthopedic surgeon. I had already read his biography, ‘Ten Fingers for God’, less than a year ago; so some of the material was not new to me.

Nonetheless, it was written in such an interesting way that I didn’t skim; there were extra reminiscences and asides which, as ever, were fascinating to read. There were also several medical histories which I had not previously read about.

Excellent! Highly recommended. Christian input is low-key so likely to be of interest to anyone.

What a wonderful book! Third in the ‘Undercliff’ series, this follows the lives of a young teenager who’s just had a baby, an elderly woman farmer whose life changes, a restaurant owner who’s trying a new venture, an unpleasant Irish priest, and many others. Warm, believable people (other than the priest) with a plot that’s tense in places, making a highly readable and very enjoyable novel.

Both encouraging and frustrating. Good to see Introverts championed, and some interesting examples of possible Introvert problems with suggested solutions, and real life anecdotes.

On the other hand, the author seems to confuse Introversion with the NF (Idealist/catalyst) temperament at times, and some of what is written wouldn’t apply at all to – for instance – ISFP or ISTP Introverts.

I’d say five stars for the first half, which looked at Introversion in general, but only three for the second half, where the discussion was more about the INFP personality type – interesting though it was, but confusing to anyone who doesn’t know about the Myers-Briggs/Jungian types. So four overall.

Certainly recommended to Extraverts who are struggling to understand their Introverted colleagues or loved ones.

A complex plot for a short novel, involving a huge number of characters and two rather unpleasant murders.

Of course, Georgette Heyer is excellent at characterisation, but the sheer volume of people meant that several of them simply weren’t memorable. So when the mystery was solved, it didn’t feel very satisfying.

Not bad for a light read – perhaps three and a half stars would be a fairer rating – but nowhere near the standard of this author’s other novels.

Autobiography of Selwyn Hughes, the well-known Christian writer of the ‘Every Day with Jesus’ Bible-reading notes.

I’d no idea Selwyn was also a well-known preacher/speaker who travelled all over the world in his younger days, so it was interesting to learn some more about him.

Disappointing that there wasn’t much about his family as an adult, while the majority is about his ministry – it’s full of names and facts, all of which are important, but not very interesting for the general public. I would like to have known more about Selwyn Hughes as a person, rather than his achievements and connections.

Well written with a good flow, but basically unexciting.

I loved this book, a modern family novel based in both the UK and Corfu. Wonderful writing, excellent characterisation from an elderly grandmother down to six-year-old Jake. Moving in places and almost impossible to put down. Highly recommended.

This is a sequel to Joanne Harris’s first (and very popular) novel ‘Chocolat’. Told from three perspectives, it has more of an occult thread than previous books by this author. As the book progresses, it becomes a good vs evil battle, increasingly dark in places.

Very well written, full of symbolism and stories, with a reassuring ending. Hard to put down once started!

Excellent – Anne Tyler at her best. Introspection, brilliant characterisation and wry observations of everyday life. The style is easy to read, yet surprisingly thought-provoking. Enjoyable.