Book Review: Crouchback by Sarah Woodbury

Author: Sarah Woodbury

Title: Crouchback

Series: The Welsh Guard Mysteries #1

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Format: Ebook

Pages: 331

Published: November 14, 2019

Where I got It: My shelf (Amazon)

Summary: 

April 1284. As a newly widowed lady-in-waiting to the very pregnant Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again. She was definitely unprepared to be confronted with murder when she got there--or to find herself face-to-face with Rhys, the childhood friend she lost twenty years before. Rhys had never intended to return home either, but a lifetime of war has deposited him right back where he started--impoverished and owing service to Catrin's older brother.

With Wales having fallen irrevocably to England, and fearful of trusting anyone within the English court of King Edward, Catrin and Rhys join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the half-built Caernarfon Castle. And when the murderer strikes again, the task before them becomes increasingly clear: catch the killer, certainly, but also protect their people from a future that is becoming more dangerous and uncertain with every day that passes.

Review:

This has been collecting virtual dust on my Kindle shelf for a while. I think this was a freebie I got ages ago....I honestly can't remember. 

But here we follow Catrin and Rhys as they join forces against murder, treachery, and intrigue. The two had been friends years and years ago, but they haven't seen each other in ages. Now that Catrin is back in Wales with the Queen. She will find herself face-to-face with her old childhood friend and a murder that could ruin everything. 

This was an intriguing read. I loved the freshness of the plot and the setting. It was nice! 

The mystery was good. I had zero idea what was going to happen. 

I liked Catrin and Rhys. There is a smidge of romance, but it wasn't at all a main plot point, which I'm glad for. 

Some areas were heavy-handed with info...which I understand...but it did slow the story down a bit.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I finally dusted this off to read it! I am curious about book 2...maybe someday ;) 

4 stars from me. 

Blodeuedd's Monday: The Women by Kristin Hannah

Format: Paperback, 476 pages

Published: May 1, 2026 by Pan Books

Historical fiction/own

I liked that I read this one, but at the same time I do not think I will read any more of her books. It felt simplistic. It felt like one of those translated books where you feel something was lost.

Still good though! It made me cry! It made me MAD!

Frances signs up to be a nurse in Nam. Her brother is killed. War is hell! She finds good friends. She lives her life the best she can. And she realise she is good at this.

But that was war. This is also about coming home and this is what made me mad. Yes the war was bad, but people spitting on her!? She was trying to save lives! And that is not the worst part. She has some serious ptsd. But there were no women in Vietnam so she is fine. Arghh!

I liked this book. It was an easy read about a difficult subject.

Their friendship changed lives. Their bravery changed history.

'Women can be heroes, too'. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances "Frankie" McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.

Audiobook Review: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

Author: Helene Tursten
Narrator: Ann Richardson

Title: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

Series: Äldre dam #2

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Short Story, Fiction, Comedy
Pages: Audiobook
Published: October 8, 2020
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library



Summary: 

Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is never looking for trouble, but it always seems to find her. First, a woman in her building met an untimely end: tragic. Then, just recently, a dead body mysteriously appeared in her very own apartment, prompting an investigation by the local Gothenburg authorities. Such a strange coincidence. When it seems suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is, Maud decides to skip town and splurges on a trip to South Africa for herself.

In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface, each triggered by something in the present: an image, a word, even a taste. When she lands in Johannesburg at last, eager to move on from the bloody ordeal last summer, she finds certain problems seem to be following her. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.

Don’t let her age fool you. Maud may be nearly ninety, but this elderly lady still has a few tricks before she’s ready to call it quits.

Review:

We are back baaaabyyyyy! Book 2!

We start where we left off. Maud is old but she doesn't let that stop her from what she wants even if that means blood will be on her hands. We get to see some flashbacks as she goes along her trip.

Maud....we love you even though you are technically a serial killer. She doesn't kill for the thrill of it...sometimes people get in her way, and she isn't about that life. 

I loved watching her on her trip to South Africa. I was curious who in her tour group would fuck up and who she'd have to take out. You know one of them will piss her off....it was only a matter of when and who. Color me surprised by who the victim would be. 

Awww, the ending was good. I want more though!!! Sadly this is it. 

This was a fun listen. I loved the narrator. She did a great job. 

But yes, a quick listen, BUT so dang good. You gotta read these. I loved that we got some good flashbacks. Dark, but good.

5 stars from me. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #39

- Library Love #24

Blodeuedd's Monday: The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Series: Spellshop (#2)

Format: 374 pages, Paperback

Published: July 15, 2025 by Tor UK

Cozy fantasy/library

I like this series, it is sweet, cozy and low stakes.

Terlu was turned into a statue. The capital was set on fire, and somehow someone sent the statue away to an island filled with greenhouses.

And that is the drama we get. Oh no, the green houses are failing! And the hot gardener does not know what to do.

Sure I like my fantasy with war, gods, and such. But this is just so cozy to read. Saving a greenhouse or several. Meeting a romantic interest. Becoming friends with talking plants.

Lovely.

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet, one day, Terlu awakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She's starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes and freshly baked honey cakes - at least until she's ready to sail home.

But Terlu can't return home and doesn't want to - the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing - causing the death of everything within them - Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn't alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.