Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I've been hearing about the Aunt Dimity series since it first started ... over 25 years ago. Had I started reading them then, I doubt that I would have gotten as much out of them. I was expecting a quirky ghost story. That isn't quite what happened. I was also expecting a traditional cozy mystery. That isn't quite what happened either. What happened is that I fell in love with the very non-traditional telling of a girl, her ghost, and the mysteries of love, loss and finding joy in spite of everything else. 

I'm now 22 books behind ... but I have a feeling that number will shrink quite quickly (especially as I already have the next three in my possession)!

Friday 56 (today is from the 56% mark of the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Someone to Love by Mary Balogh (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Oh, this book! I grabbed it off the shelf as it was the only thing I physically had in my possession that was a regency that hadn't been read and reread ... and I'm participating in the OWNtober readathon for the month of October devoted to books already owned. I debated going out to buy a Julia Quinn before the end of September, but ultimately decided that it would be cheating in a way. I'm glad I went with Balogh instead for now I have another wonderful author to turn to for the blissful escapism my life so frequently seems to need now. This was a surprising read. I had figured out quite early on who was going to end up with who, but how it came about and how it played out was beyond what I had imagined. Their story made me laugh and catch my breath and panic and filled my thoughts and heart with all sorts of "if-only"s. My only regret is that it ended too soon, but I'm hopeful that the next installments in the series will revisit the characters I have come to cherish, even if only briefly.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.