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My 5 Favourite November Reads

I read twelve books in November and, although there were no five star reads, plenty of others came close and vied for contention in my top five.

You can keep up to date with all my reading in 2019 here with links to my reviews. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

First up it’s historical fiction and The Photographer of the Lost by Caroline Scott. The book movingly explores the legacy of war, in this case the First World War, through the stories of Edie and Harry. Read my full review here.

Next it’s Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy, a standalone novel from the author of the Bernicia Chronicles series. Set in 9th century Wessex, former warrior, Dunston, sets off on the trail of a band of ruthless killers alongside Aedwen, the daughter of the man they murdered. The story involves plenty of dramatic action scenes, as you would expect from the author. You can read my full review here.

Staying with historical crime, Death Makes No Distinction by Lucienne Boyce is the latest in her Dan Foster Mysteries series. Dan, Principal Officer of the Bow Street Runners, investigates the murders of two women at opposite ends of the social scale. I described it as ‘an assured historical crime mystery with a wealth of period detail’ but you can read my full review here.

More crime but this time from an author described as ‘a masterful pioneer of psychological mysteries and thrillers’. I confess I’d never heard of Margaret Millar before reading The Listening Walls, first published in 1959, and if you think the final page reveal is a modern invention, think again.

My final choice is a book I read as part of Nonfiction November, The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. It’s an unflinching and honest account of the author’s recovery from alcoholism as she returns to her childhood home on the Scottish island of Orkney. You can read my full review here.

What were your favourite books you read in November? Have you read any of my picks?

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Boy With Blue Trousers by Carol Jones, published on 14th November in paperback but also available in hardback and as an ebook. Thanks to Lauren at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy via NetGalley. Do head over to Instagram to check out my co-host, Kirsty at paperheartsink

About the Book

On the goldfields of 19th-century Australia, two very different girls are trying to escape their past.

1856, China. In the mulberry groves of the Pearl River Delta, eighteen-year-old Little Cat carries a terrible secret. And so, in disguise as a boy in blue trousers, she makes the long and difficult passage to Australia, a faraway land of untold riches where it is said the rivers run with gold.

1857, Australia. Violet Hartley has arrived off the boat from England, fleeing scandal back home. Like the Chinese immigrants seeking their fortunes on the goldfields, Violet is seduced by the promise of a new frontier. Then she meets Little Cat, a woman who, like her, is trying to escape her past.

As their fates inextricably, devastatingly entwine, their story becomes one of freedom, violence, love and vengeance, echoing across the landscapes of two great continents.

Format: Paperback (320 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 14th November 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase links*
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com| Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Boy With Blue Trousers on Goodreads

My Review

I really enjoyed Carol Jones’s previous novel, The Concubine’s Child, set partly in 1930s Malaysia. What I particularly admired about the book was the rich cultural detail. The same is true of The Boy With Blue Trousers, especially in the early sections set in the Pearl River Delta where the reader is immersed in daily life in a small village – its inhabitants’ social customs, spiritual beliefs and traditions. Not to mention the fascinating information about the farming of silkworms!

Unlike The Concubine’s Child there is no modern day story running alongside the historical narrative, instead The Boy With Blue Trousers switches two or three chapters at a time between the stories of Little Cat and Violet Hartley. Both women have reason to flee their past and the constraints of social expectations. For me, the story of Little Cat was the most powerful and compelling because she faced the greater adversity and jeopardy. I couldn’t engage quite as fully with Violet’s story although I liked her independence of spirit. Her sense of realism about her position as a single woman and what might be necessary to enhance it was, if not admirable, at least refreshingly honest.

From the beginning, the reader is aware the two storylines will converge but not how. The intriguing prologue provides an extra layer of anticipation and the author skilfully manages the coming together of the two stories in order to keep the reader turning the pages.

The Boy With Blue Trousers will delight fans of historical fiction with its compelling story of love, duty, sacrifice and vengeance, and its wealth of cultural detail.

In three words: Dramatic, compelling, engaging

Try something similar: The Concubine’s Child by Carol Jones (read my review here)

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About the Author

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Carol Jones taught English and Drama at secondary schools before working as an editor of children’s magazines. She is the author of several young adult novels as well as children’s non-fiction.

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My Five Favourite November Reads