Happy Mother's Day (in North America) this weekend to those of you who celebrate! I'm currently reading our group read book, Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke — which is about a tradwife/mother social media influencer who wakes up in 1855. It's excellent so far! What are you reading right now, as we head into the weekend?

So I’m just about finished this book that I picked up at an airport. If I hadn’t read the back of the book, I likely would have skipped it based on the cover. The cover to me suggests some sultry romance. Well it has some of that, the story is about Agatha Christie the author and her disappearance for 11 days in the 1920s. The characters are also dealing with things after the First World War. Interesting historical fiction novel.

I'm in a Facebook group that does this with literary fiction, and I think it's kinda fun. Even well-loved, super-popular, award-winning books have their serious haters! 😂 This is historical fiction. All guesses are encouraged (no googling, though!). This is meant to be fun. Don't be dismayed if you disagree with the review. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors were copied directly from the review. I’ll post the correct answer tomorrow (6th May 2026). ⭐ A glimpse into [Main Character]’s life and also the lives of her friends, family and neighbors. [Main Character] is a midwife in 1789 and is privy to the town’s secrets. Things are about to get salty. Oh, my. Everyone loves this book and it’s an understatement to say I did not. I’m still cringing and rolling my eyes. The weird thing is I’m a feminist and a liberal, but this is sadly over the top. I dislike being preached to, and there are 432 pages of that here. Maybe there are people out there who need to be told what’s right from wrong. I’m not one of them. The pacing is glacial at best and the writing felt a little lazy and immature. The murder mystery being solved by this caped crusader is so very slow. The main character is overly preachy and although the story takes place in 1789, she miraculously has command of a 2024 vernacular. 🙄 ⭐ What do think? What's the book? (In this case, if you can think of only the title, but not the author, that's ok!)

Mine was The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. Great characters and a really entertaining, complex plot — with fascinating folklore elements — that came together wonderfully at the end. Yours?

Of course, it doesn't have to be historical fiction, although mine happens to be HF: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. I'm loving it so far (about halfway through).