Thank you to everyone who contributed a review in March for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. It's been a good start to the 2026 challenge. Currently there are more than 40 links for March! I will be back in the next week or so with all the statistics for the month.
I am looking forward to reading your reviews throughout the rest of the year! I am sure there is going to be a lot of great historical fiction discovered and shared with fellow HF lovers over the course of this year!
If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! The sign up post is here.
Just to recap what participants need to know. At the beginning of each month I will put up a post which will have a Mr Linky embedded into it for you to add your link.
Please remember...
add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review).
it doesn't matter where you review - Bookstagram, Goodreads etc as long as you share a direct link to your review.
any kind of historical fiction is accepted (fantasy, young adult, graphic novels...)
if you have time, have a look some of the other links that are present. You never know when you will discover new blogs or books!
You can also join the challenge group on Facebook which you can find here and don't forget to use the #histficreadingchallenge hashtag on the socials.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.This week the theme is Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book (These words or phrases can be in the title, synopsis, marketing materials, reviews, author blurbs, etc. and immediately pique your interest or immediately make you say “NOPE”. Examples include: fae, forbidden romance, morally grey characters, unreliable narrator, found family, magical worlds, love triangle, marriage of convenience, dark academia, stranded, dragons, dual points of view, starting over, etc.)
I am focussing on just one word out of that theme - Buzz!
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - I was very late to the party having only read this book around 18 months ago. (my review)
Go Tell the Bees I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - I still haven't read this book which is the latest in the Outlander series. Maybe I will one day.
The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden - I have had this book out from the library a couple of times now. Next time I borrow it I really need to make sure that I actually read it!
All the Bees in the Hollow by Lauren Keegan - I have this second book here to read soon, and then I will go back to this one.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray - I heard Paul Murray speak about this book at Melbourne Writers Festival a couple of years ago.
The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia - I did have this on my shelves for a while. I can't remember if I kept it the last time I did a book purge.
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang - Where there's bees there is often honey! I didn't love this book when I read it at the beginning of last year. (my review)
Lion's Honey by David Grosman - I read this a very long time ago now (my review)
Honey: Recipes From a Beekeeper's Kitchen by Amy Newsome - This was a Jamie Oliver Cook Book Club selection a whie ago
The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsen - A reminder that no everything that buzzes is a bee!
Last week I started reading The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport as my selection for Her Story category on the Goodreads Challenge. I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to be able to finishe it before the end of the month as it felt like I was getting through it very slowly! However, it turns out the last 35% of the book were all the footnotes, photos and references so all of a sudden at 65% I was done!
I also finished reading Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett for my book club selection. The theme this month is books you have borrowed from someone. I borrowed this from Bree at All the Books I Can Read more than 10 years ago so it is probably time I finally read it! Now that I have read it I am wondering what I was waiting for as it was a really good read! You can see the pile of other books above. Our next theme is Mothers and Daughters. I have no idea what I am going to read!
Now I need to get on with my review books for April, so I have read Love Blooms at the Cornish Cafe by Kim Nash. I have a couple of reviews due this week and a couple more next week so hopefully I can get through them
I did also read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans which was a lot of fun. It was due back at the library a couple of days ago so I need to go and return that one and pick up at least one other book that is currently on hold!
I'm watching
We have watched all three previous seasons of the show where Amanda Holden and Alan Carr buy a dilapidated house in Europe and then do it up. The first two seasons were in Italy and the third season was in Spain. This season they are on the Greek island of Corfu. It's a lot of fun
Life
We had a very busy weekend this weekend. I baked, we had brunch with friends at a new cafe on Sunday morning and I had book club on Saturday morning.
On Friday night we went to see the first of three shows we are seeing at the Melboourne International Comedy Festival. We went and saw Australian comedian Emma Holland in her show, The Dog Dies at the Beginning. It was an interesting show, talking about her reaction to losing her dog.
On Saturday night we went to see (and hear) the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra do their show Art of the Score, which is when they focus on the music of a particular composer's movie scores. This time it was James Horner so featured music from Avatar, Titanic, Field of Dreams and so much more!
The big news is that we have made a call on our upcoming trip. We had been looking at the state of the world and wondering if we should go or not. We knew we would have to find new flights that didn't go through Dubai. We have decided we are going so booked our new flights over the weekend
When Lexi Villiers' father and brother are killed while skiing, she suddenly finds herself whisked off to London to take up her place in the succession to the the throne. Princess Alexandrina had walked away from the royal family years before and was living in Tasmania and studying to be a doctor. Now she needs to decide does she want everything that being royal means (both the good and the bad) or does she want to live a normal life.
This is the royal family but not as we know it. The starting point is that Charles II makes his mistress Barbara Villiers his queen and the crown passes down through the Villiers family. It is a really interesting premise to base a story on! Even though it is a fictionalised royal family, you can definitely see where it has been inspired by the real royal family. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story, although it was probably too long.
Rating 4/5
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
This is the third book in the Ernest Cunningham series and as you might surmise from the title this time the story is set at Christmas time. Ernest gets a phone call from his ex-wife whose new partner has just been found dead and she is the prime suspect. Soon Ernest is trying to solve a murder where there everyone has a secret, where sleight of hand and magic are the everyday business of some of the suspect and where nothing is quite as it seems.
This was shorter than a normal book but longer than a novella and at times it felt a bit rushed, but it also has a fun advent calendar style format! Already looking forward to the next book! And I have just found out that Benjamin Stevenson is coming to my local library in May so I have booked tickets for that!
Rating 4/5
Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon by Sophie Green
I have been meaning to read Sophie Green's books for several years now but I just hadn't been able to fit one in! This book tells the story of four women who are all at different stages of their lives who all come together in a hairdressing salon in a small town on the Central Coast of NSW. What they all have in common in addition to the salon is that they are all trying to find themselves.
Trudy is a widow who is the owner of the salon. Since her husband died she has sort of been going through the motions. She doesn't really connect well with her only son, but the people in her salon are almost like family to her.
Single mum Evie has never really had much luck with relationships. She is trying to balance work with raising her son but really her secret desire is to fall in love. Could the new male hairdresser Sam finally bring love into her live.
Anna is feeling neglected in her marriage and so she separates from her husband Gary. She brings her mother into the salon regularly but could changing her life start with changing her hair.
Finally, there is Josie who joins the salon as an apprentice. She has been bought up in a very strict household and so when she meets a young man, she needs to keep everything a secret!
I had so much fun with this one. It is set in the mid 1980s and there were so many nods to music, pop culture, world events and of course hairstyles!
This one counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host
When I saw that this book was the selection for February/March for Cook the Books, I wasn't 100% sure if I would read it or not as it would be a reread for me and I don't generally do rereads. However, FOMO is real and so I did end up reading it again, and I am glad I did.
I have a potted history with this book, which is also published under the title Miss Eliza's English Kitchen. Originally I tried to read it on an Easter road trip back in 2022. I struggled to keep interested so I put it down, only picking it up again 6 months later. I had to start reading the book again, and this time I thought it was quite good! However, I think it is a book that grows on you because when I started it again for this post, I struggled to be able to put it down. It's a book that seems to get better each time you read it!
The Language of Food tells the story of Eliza Acton and her assistant Ann Kirby as they developed what is credited as the first cookbook targeted at domestic cooks. She was also the first person to include a precise list of ingredients as part of the recipe, although she had it at the bottom rather than at the top.
It is a shame that Eliza Acton is not more well known, as her story is interesting and she has left a lasting legacy. Interestingly, she started as a poet but when her poems were rejected she was tasked with writing a cook book. At the time, she couldn't cook at all. However, when her family fortunes are decimated, she and her mother find themselves running a boarding house for respectable people in the town of Tonbridge. Eliza is determined that she can do better than the cookbooks that were available at the time, and so she starts to teach herself to cook and write the recipes, testing the recipes for preciseness and taste.
Ann's story is also interesting, albeit almost opposite to Eliza. She came from a very poor background with a father with a penchant for drinking and a mother who is demented. Her local priest finds her a place with the Actons. She soon shows that she not only is a hard worker but she has a good sense of taste and cooking skill. Soon Eliza is talking about her book as "our book" with Ann, which suggests a closeness but both of them are keeping very big secrets from each other.
When I read a book for Cook the Books, I am always on the look out for what it is that I am going to cook so I take note of all of the mentions of food. I am glad I didn't keep a list for this book because there are SO many mentions of food the list would have been more than a page long. However, as soon as I got to a particular section, I knew that I at least had a direction, partially due to the fact that I have recently visited India.
At one point in the book, Eliza has a suitor named Mr Arnott who is a spice merchant, which seems an ideal match for her. Mr Arnott loves curry, and there is a mention at one point of egg curry, and that was my decision made.
Last year, I wrote about a cook book called Everything is Indian. I previously shared a recipe for delicious Curried Sausage Rolls, but one of the other recipes we have tried from the book was an Egg Curry, and so today, that is the recipe that I am going to share today.
The next selection for Cook the Book is called The Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn. I see some Spanish food in my future!
This book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here and Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.
Rating 4.5/5
Egg Curry (Anda Tarkari) - Justin Narayan
6 eggs, at room temperature 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60-80ml) light olive oil 1 large brown onion, thinly sliced 15-20 fresh curry leaves 2 bird's eye chillies, halved lengthways 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder 1 large ripe tomato, roughly diced or 1/2 x 400g (14oz) can diced tomatoes
Pour some iced water into a bowl. Bring a saucepan of water to a gentle boil, then add the eggs. Boil for 6 minutes, then immediately transfer them to the iced water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the eggs.
Line a plate with paper towel. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Fry the boiled eggs until golden brown al over, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the eggs on the paper-towel lined plate.
In the same pan, add the onion, curry leaves, fresh chilli and whole spices and cook until the onion is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered spices and a pinch of salt and mix. Add the garlic and tomato and cook until the tomato has completely broken down, about 5-6 minutes. Return the eggs to the pan and simmer for 2-5 minutes so all the ingredients get to know each other.
Taste and adjust with salt. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti and rice.
Tip: If you don't have fresh tomato, use half a can of tomato and you'll get the same result. Use the whole tin if you want it to be saucier.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Sunday - Chicken and Chorizo Orzo Monday - Bacon, mushrooms and zucchini pasta Tuesday - Eggs on Toast Wednesday - Beef and Broccoli Noodles Thursday - Egg curry Friday -
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week the theme is Books on My Spring 2026 To-Read List but as always we are in the opposite season so this is my Autumn 2026 To-Read list
Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - If Maggie Christensen has a new book out then I am reading it! Turns out she has this one coming out in April and another stand alone novel coming out in June!
Love Blooms at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash - I do enjoy Kim Nash's books and this is the third book in the Sandpiper Cove series. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak - We are meant to be going to Turkiye in a couple of weeks time. I am not sure if that is going to happen or not given the state of the world. I have loved Elif Shafak's other books so this was a good opportunity to read her given that she is a Turkish author.
Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki - Someone reviewed the follow up book to this for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge and I was intrigued!
Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama - I have read a couple of this Japanese authors books previously so I am keen to read this one
Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson - This is the fourth book in the Ernest Cunningham series. After reading this one I will be all caught up with the series and will have to wait for the next one.
Start at the End by Emma Grey - I am so excited to read this one! I read both of Emma Grey's books last year and they were both 5 star reads.
Early Mornings at the Laksa Cafe by Janet Tay = The title of this one caught my attention.
Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn - This is the next Cook the Books selection. I am expecting to feel the need to make something Spanish after reading this!
The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport - Trying to read this one by the end of March as the Her Story category is the last one I need to finish for the current Goodreads Challenges
I am feeling the pressure of the end of month at the moment. I have set myself the goal of finishing all the categories in the Goodreads Challenges, I have library books due back and book club is next week. I then have several review books due in the first week of April. I do feel like I made quite a bit of progress this week though.
One of the book I needed to finish was my first Classics Club Spin selection which was The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I read most of this on the plane last week so I was able to finish it off and write my review this week! Go me!
I had started Heir Apparent by Australian author Rebecca Armitage before I went away but I had to return the library book when I was only half way through. I ended up buying it so I could finish it. I ended up having a bit of fun with it. This was my selection for the Star Selection category of the Goodreads Challenge.
Then I needed to reread The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs. This is the current Cook the Books selection. I have decided what I am going to cook, and when I say I I actually mean what Robert will cook, and just need to finish the post ready for next week. A quick look at the top of this post might give you some idea what direction my thinking is going.
My next two reads were both for the Goodreads Challenge. For the Persona Picks category I read We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida and for Choice Archive category I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
I started reading The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport as my selection for Her Story in the middle of the night on Saturday night. I am not sure if non fiction books should be middle of the night reading really!
I also started reading Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett for my book club selection. The theme this month is books you have borrowed from someone. I borrowed this from Bree at All the Books I Can Read more than 10 years ago so it is probably time I finally read it!
I'm watching
Nothing really
Life
I have picked up a cold/flu/infection on my travels which I could have done without. I have felt very average all week and today my ears are blocked so I don't think it is quite done with me yet!
I did take some time this weekend to say farewelling to Jane who used to blog from Janezworld (also Life at Number 8 and a blog/zine thing that was A String of Pearls). She passed away last week. I actually met Jane pre-blogging days on the Oprah Book Club boards. Jane and I almost met in person a couple of times but it didn't quite happen. She was, however, always very supportive of me and I was sad to hear of her passing.
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