Tag: Pasadena CA

The Queen of Roses by Julia Kelly (Historical Fiction)

.Julia Kelly writes beautiful historical fiction, encompassing story with a personal immersion in the social and physical context of the times. This novel brings to life Pasadena in the early 1900s through dual timelines: one following Adele — an English rose imported from England against her inclination in 1903 — and Theresa — a woman journalist trying to break away from the dead-end (pun intended!) obit desk in 1960. An opportunity to interview a reclusive “old lady” living out of town in a gorgeous rose nursery may be the break she is looking for. Pasadena (as we all know after the recent fire) is fire country, and fire plays a role in both timelines.

I love Kelly’s writing — she’s a “show not tell” writer so all of the detailed and gorgeous prose describing life, surroundings, manners, and society comes naturally as part of the story. There are no long, dreary (to me) descriptions of wainscoting, tableware, or dress tufts that I am forced to skim through, and yet I can picture the houses, the grounds, and the clothing with ease. And the ambiance of the place at that time — the openness, the newness, the literal feel of opportunity and space — are incredibly real. I happened to be reading this while in a nearby section of Los Angeles — definitely a stark contrast! The pace is slow, and yet never boring. Just the right amount of words used to smoothly carry you from start to finish. Never choppy. I forgot that I was reading. Plenty of story with a satisfying conclusion. Gardening — in a way appealing (I think) to even non gardeners.

Very enjoyable.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on October 20th, 2026.

Crown City by Naomi Hirahara (Historical Mystery)

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5

It’s 1903 and 18-year old Ryunosuke Wada — a novice carpenter — has made his way from Yokohama, Japan to Pasadena, CA alone after the sudden death of his Master Carpenter father. While there, a number of mysteries come his way — a missing painting, a dead body, a possible attempted murder, some anti-Japanese threats — that he tackles with his older Japanese roommate, “Jack.” These are resolved successfully and in a satisfyingly complex way, but for me the novel is really the story of the very observant and continually reflective “Ryui” as he becomes both an adult and an “American.”

The author’s prose is precise, contemplative, and acutely descriptive, exploring cultural practices and clashes, historical settings, and routine practices of living and working at the time. The lovingly detailed rendering of the Master Carpenter’s process for hand crafting beautiful objects and buildings, spanning architectural thought to wood selection to the final transformations was beautifully done — drawing me in despite my initial lack of interest in the subject. The characters had depth and conflicts were clarified from multiple perspectives. I felt as though I gained some real understanding of the time and place in which the story occurred.

I listened to the audio book and thought the narrator did an excellent job of imbuing the story with a relatable voice. This is a new author for me and she is going right onto my list. Crown City is “book 3” of the “Japantown Mysteries.” I have no idea how this volume fits into the first two, but if they are written with the same level of character and cultural insight, I’ll be happy to find out!