RAE’S READS

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This year (2025) finds me with 53 years of teaching “under my belt.” I have taught all levels from pre-K “(library lady” or “book lady”–volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 34 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the “difficult years.” I had some of the “funnest” experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the “young, fun teacher,” I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a “dream-fit” for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching. This past fall I accepted a part-time teaching job at Apogee Gulf Coast Schools in its first year at the Alvin campus. After my Better Half died n 2022, I achieved a lifelong dream: opening a bookstore of my own, Rae’s Reads. A year later, I sold the house we had lived in for 47 years and moved into the bookstore. My goal is to circulate and repurpose books. Just as teaching is “in my blood,” so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish. This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to “come out and play.”

THE BRONTE PLOT by Katherine Reay: A Review

My “new” favorite author

Thanks to Carla from Carla Loves Books, my new favorite author is Katherine Reay. Carla reviewed one of this author’s books, and the race was on for me to “find them all.”

The Bronte Plot is an excelllent “escape” read, but it is much, much more. The 2015 publication is a romance, but it is much, much more. Sid McKenna , one of Chicago’s most reputable antique dealers/decorator’s, personal assistant,Lucy, is our protagonist. She specializes in antique books, often inscribed with personal notes to a giftee ,and can find just the right “fit” for a customer’s desire for a unique gift. Her father was a grifter as she grew up, shifting the family from place to place and always working a “con,” never holding down a steady job.

Enter James Carmichael, of the Chicago Carmichaels, who wishes to buy a birthday gift for his grandmother. It is not love at first sight for either of them.

Enter the fragile grandmother, striving to make a long-ago wrong right, but who needs a personal assistant to accompany her to England. Lucy is her choice.

Things immediately get complicated. Lucy has an ethical secret she has been hiding from Sid, her mentor.She travels to England with Mrs. Carmichael, looks up her father, has the opportunity to try out her designer skills at an old, inn, and develops an on-again, off-again relationship with James.

The story is easy to follow, truths are peeled away like skins on an onion, and we come to love and worry about the characters. I promise the plot will keep you turning the pages. I stayed up until an ungodly hour to finish this one!

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5 responses to “THE BRONTE PLOT by Katherine Reay: A Review”

  1. sjhigbee Avatar
    sjhigbee

    A great review, Rae. I love the sound of this one – it sounds just the right kind of escape I need just now:)). The idea of worrying about the protagonists because you like them so much is very appealing! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Rae Longest Avatar
      Rae Longest

      I definitely “get involved” when I read! Just like in Mantivore Dreams, during the part where the Uncle is attacked, I was holding my breath saying, “No, no, no!” You certainly wrote that scene in a very vivid manner.

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      1. sjhigbee Avatar
        sjhigbee

        Thank you! I’m glad you found it involving:)). I, too, get swept up in stories when I enjoy them, so I’m delighted that you had the same reaction when reading Mantivore Dreams:)).

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  2. Carla Avatar
    Carla

    Wonderful review Rae. This is one that I have not read, but I do have a copy of it. I will need to move it up Mount TBR. I like that the characters are ones that you can definitely connect with.

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    1. Rae Longest Avatar
      Rae Longest

      This one “spoke to me.”

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