Explore: London

Explore The World 2022
through books, films, etc.
November: London
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READ:

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
by Jenny Bayliss
Contemporary, Romance, Holiday, Christmas | Published: 2022 | Goodreads

Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.

The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk...


VISIT: someday...

Word on the Water
The London Bookbarge
instagram| website
An independent bookshop on a 1920s Dutch barge situated in Granary Square, King's Cross.

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* part of Explore the World (here)

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Find out more about this book and author:
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Published: 2017
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Historical, Romance, Women's Fiction, London, Indian culture
Hardback: 304
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
Why did Mindi want an arranged marriage?

Every woman has a secret life . . .

Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a "creative writing" course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community.

Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind.

As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s "moral police." But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.

My two-bits:

Despite the title, this story is a bit more serious with a slightly dark edge.

Learning about the culture and Indian side of London was interesting. The erotic stories were entertaining. And, the overall romance layer pulled everything together nicely.

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* part of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club (here)

* part of World Reads challenge - India (here)

The Tercentennial Baron by Will Damron

The Tercentennial Baron
by Will Damron
narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Smashwords | Audible
BookExcerpt | Website
Facebook | Twitter

Just released: October 27, 2017
Publisher: Odyssean Studios
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Scotland
audio version
Rating: 5

Bellirolt Chronicles series:
The Tercentennial Baron
book 2 - tba

First sentence(s):
Scotland - the present
The boy scrambled up the rim of the shadowy hill.

A vengeful, wild-eyed warrior, he’s the most sinister figure in Scottish legend. For three centuries, the Tercentennial Baron has fought his way through famous battles—then vanished without a trace. Now he’s reappeared in the quiet town of Bonnybield, where he’s about to be discovered by thirteen-year-old Percival Dunbar…

Armed with a secret stash of books on the supernatural, Percival is the only one to recognize the ghostly signs emerging around his town. When he tries to decipher them, he’s terrified to suddenly find himself face to face with the murderous Tercentennial Baron. However, the Baron reveals he’s come not to attack Bonnybield, but to save it from an ancient, demonic evil.

Through an epic journey from the battlefields of 17th-century Scotland to the underworld of Victorian London and beyond, Percival races to uncover the truth of the Baron’s past—and what it means for his own destiny.

My two-bits:

Got pulled in with the telling of this tale. But confess that the scottish accent was a major draw.

The story is a good start of a series that includes the backstory and beginning of mentor and friendship relations in a paranormal setting.

--~ Audio Giveaway ~--
signup to win this audiobook (here)

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* Listened to audiobook version.

* review copy courtesy of publisher