Jeannie Johnson

Wow the war is finally over and so much has changed in their lives, but the three M's are still tight friends. What a great journey! complicated for each of them, such depth. Gives you a good overview of what life must have been like during the war, from different perspectives. Stretches your heartstrings with sorrow, joy, wondering, unknown, starting new. Excellent long read.
I received this book free from the authors, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
#NetGalley #AFondFarewellfortheTobaccoGirls #LizzieLane #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #BoldwoodBooks #HistoricalFiction… (more)

New Neighbors for Coronation Close by Lizzie Jane takes us back to 1936 in Bristol. We get to meet Jenny Crawford who is in an unhappy marriage. She is married to Ron who is a dock worker. Ron takes out his unhappiness and anger on his wife. Jenny takes care of the home and their two daughters. The family lives in a rundown tenement. Ron becomes involved with the Blackshirts. His involvement gets the family moved to a new council house on Coronation Close. With Ron busy with Sir Oswald Mosley’s organization, Jenny is at loose ends. Most of the residents on Coronation Close are friendly. Jenny soon makes friends and begins to come out of her shell. Jenny also has two men who would love to spend time with her. If Roy should find out, the consequences would be dire for Jenny. I enjoyed New Neighbors for Coronation Close. The beginning is a little slow as the author takes the time to establish the setting and the characters. When the family moves to Coronation Close, the story picks up. I thought the characters were realistic. They suited the location and time period. The author brought the locale alive with her vivid descriptions. I could envision the tenement where Jenny lived (it sounded awful). Coronation Close is the opposite of Jenny’s former residence. The story does have some dark sections. Roy was a violent man. He is a bully who takes his anger out on his wife. We learn something about him at the end that explains his attitude. I liked Jenny’s new friends on Coronation Close especially Thelma Dawson. Jenny had some interesting neighbors. The author captured the time period with historical events such as the abdication of Edward VIII for a certain divorcee. I was sorry when the story ended. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series. New Neighbors for Coronation Close is a touching tale with a vicious spouse, a dirty dwelling, spiteful letters, friendly neighbors, a brutal beating, a caring charmer, and a startling revelation.… (more)

a-bit-of-snark, amateur-sleuth, Bath England, cosy-mystery, family-drama, family-dynamics, hotelier, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, overt-humor, read, relationships, romantic, series, single-parent, situational-humor, sly-humor, verbal-humor, wedding-madness*****

If you are looking for a deep, dark, adventurous police procedural--you are so in the wrong place!
But if you need a cozy mystery that will have you laughing your sox off and forgetting about work, bills, or whatever else--this is the very thing! The sleuthing finds a lot of weirdness, each character is zanier than the next, and definitely great world building.
It really can be read as stand-alone because anything important from the earlier books is alluded to. Absolutely loved it!
The sleuthing is interesting, and really ramps up when another body is located elsewhere.
If you like your cozies irreverent and with a lot of laughs, you'll love this one as much as I did!
I requested and received an EARC from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!… (more)

Bristol 1936. Jenny Crawford has resigned herself to a loveless marriage living hand to mouth with her two children. Roy, her husband, struggles to find work. A chance encounter turns the tide for the family and they are given a council house. Jenny has a fresh start, especially with Roy spending less time at home. Jenny encounters an old love and her knight in shining armor during all these changes. Does she allow herself a chance at happiness?
So this book was really confusing to follow a lot of the time. I wish it had some trigger warnings because the abusive spouse dynamic came as a surprise. It didn't seem like it was going to be that type of novel. The book jumped around in topics a lot and didn't really seem to have a logical progression. I really struggled to like any of the characters which made it more difficult to read this one. A lot of the novel was full of moments which contradicted those stated just a few pages earlier. Jenny, who wasn't living the most extravagant lifestyle, was incredibly judgmental of people who were in a similar situation to herself.
I spent most of my time confused with the flow of the book and when Jenny moved to Coronation Close it almost read like a different novel. I felt very unfulfilled by reading this one. It didn't feel that anything was resolved and Jenny's infatuation with her childhood love and basically a random stranger really felt out of context, and neither of these dynamics was resolved. The conclusion presented a "reasoning" for Roy's behavior but changed nothing about the outcome of the story. It also didn't resolve any of the issues and then the book ended with a whole other topic. Unfortunately this one was a huge miss for me.… (more)