2nd March 2026
Hello my loves,
How have you been?
How are we three months into this year already? Where is it going?
I am doing so well.
I have been to see a lot of theatre recently. In February I went on a family day out to see Les Miserables (I can never get the accent on the e the right way round!) and on Saturday just gone Bethan took me to see the fabulous pink powerhouse that is Legally Blonde. It was amazing. Thank you for my first theatre night out in ages babe,
I love how easy it is to get to The Mayflower Theatre and the fact they have a Changing Places toilet now.
Anyway, the show was so toe tapping and WOW Amber Davis! I can’t believe how much stamina she had to have for all the costume changes alone. Davis’s singing voice was stunning. I knew her dance skills were great from watching her on Strictly Come Dancing but acting was great too. I could tell she was at home treading the boards of the stage. The theatre career she has had would certainly corroborate this. She has had roles in shows like Pretty Woman and 9 to 5 to name just two things she has been in. there is so much much more to her then her Love Island life, just like Elle she has achieved so much in her career.
I would love her to teach me how to Bend & Snap. Elle Woods can tell us a lot about how to grow and learn. We have a lot more in us if we just believe in ourselves. We just have to keep it positive. I know I would be in safe hands if I got her to represent in a Court of Law.
Bethan and I even got to meet to meet the actor playing Emmett (Elle’s second love) George Crawford. He was lovely and so was Annabelle Terry who portrayed Vivienne (Warner’s new girlfriend). We met them at Stage Door and got them to sign our programs. We also saw the two best trained actors in the musical, the cute dogs, Sprout and Milo, who gave us their best Bruiser and Rufus. Paws up for those guys.
In short this is just the show for you if you need a pop of colour and a pick me up. The songs just stay in your head and turn on when you need teed them, from OhMiGod You Guys to So Much Better to Bend and Snap to the title tune Legally Blonde this musical is a court room full of bangers.
I am so glad I finally got to see Legally Blonde it was something I will never forget. I have wanted to see it since Sheridan Smith was in the role of Elle many years ago. So, thank you again to Bethan for a night to remember.
I don’t know if you remember last time we visited the Reading Corner I said we would be going back in time for a while. Well let me close the courtroom doors and take you on a little trip. Court is adjourned. Everyone got passports at the ready?
Author: Kate Mosse
Series: The Joubert Family Chronicles
Book: The City of Tears (book 2)
Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Imprint: Pan Books
Audiobook
Audiobook narrators: Kate Mosse, Hattie Morahan
Book Choosers
My one of a kind Mum. Thank you for opening my eyes to such a wonderful set of books and strong female leads.
Thank you to my fabulous sister, of whom I couldn’t be more proud. Thanks for gifting these to Mum Jess.
Ways of reading: Paperback/audiobook
Read stars: *****
Date started: 17th September 2025
Date completed: 30th September 2025
Genre: Historical
First published: 3rd February 2022
Original language: English
Number of pages: 560
Audiobook length: 16 hours, 42 minutes
Enjoyment factor 5/5
Ease of read: 4/5
This second installment of the Joubert family line goes from the years 1572 -1621. We see so much happening on such a colourful backdrop. If Carcassonne was well drawn and breathing in The Burning Chambers, than Amsterdam is alive with vibrant colour. The changing season and red loss of human life. This is a series of books with so many threads that it can sometimes be hard to catch and unspool each one. The thing that holds them together is Minou and the power of the pen.
‘It was her custom to write in the afternoons, carrying parchment and ink up to the open viewing point at the top of the keep. It was her way of linking the girl she had been to the woman she had become. So, though duty was calling, she decided to allow herself a few moments more of solitude. Writing helped her make sense of the world, a testimony on life as she lived it. Writing, if nothing else would calm her conflicted thoughts.’
I really feel like Minou,, especially when we chat. I feel like we are just able to just chill. I find talking to you and telling about my life so cathartic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do? I hope that one day these chats will be part of my legacy.
She is the glue that binds the Joubert family together. I don’t want them to go through so much in the next book.
I wonder where Kate Mosse will take us next when we step onto The Ghost Ship? There is such a haunting beauty in the way she writes that I can’t wait to go sailing on The Ghost Ship.
I hope you have enjoyed today’s chat and I will see you in the Reading Corner again soon, I promise. We will be returning the world of Lord John when we come back into the Library. I hope that is okay with everyone?
I love you all loads.
From Hatts
Xxx
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