The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage
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
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
Rating 4/5
