It's 1957 in England and unmarried newspaper writer Jean Swinney finds herself immersed in a feature story. Restricted lives and stifled desires are deftly explored in this moving novel.

There were so many parts of this book that I did not like. It was slow, the characters were just bland, the conclusion and how it was handled of the virgin birth, and the ending. I can't go into more specifics without spoiling aspects of the book. I am left after reading this book, just feeling sad, but not in a read a really good book that made me cry kind of way.

Set in 1957 in the southeast suburbs of London, Jean Swinney, a single 39-year-old news reporter is investigating a woman’s claim that she had a virgin birth. Her reporting becomes more when she finds she really likes the Tilbury family and is often included in family outings. She adores the daughter, Margret, and finds herself thinking of husband in romantic ways. I enjoyed the book but was a little bit put of by the discovery or how Margaret was conceived. The ending was devastating. Overall, when I reaching the end, I didn’t find it a satisfying story, but I think there was no happy ending to many of real life stories. Karen Cass’s narration was spot on.

Clare Chambers' SMALL PLEASURES is -- as the title suggests -- about the small things that make life worth it. It's an incredibly introspective work of fiction -- one of my favorites I've read so far this year! I listened to it in audiobook format, which I highly recommend. The narrator was fantastic!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, narrated by Karen Cass.
This book had the feel and tone of a British historical piece; reminding me of Call the Midwives. Karen Cass brought the book alive with her tone and accent. Clare Chambers created characters that were three dimensional and likeable. However, the ending was a punch to the gut. I had to go back to the first chapter to be sure I heard what I thought I'd heard. Is that even a proper conclusion?

Not normally a book I would choose to read, but I really enjoyed the story. Would definitely recommend for book clubs, too.

I really enjoyed this until the end. Great characters, interesting time period and setting but I hated the ending! If I recommended it to people, I think they might not be happy when they find out what happens.

This wonderful novel tells a story of unrequited love found and lost and confused. Jean is resolute that her life will never change. When a unique story comes to her by nature if it being about a women, she has no idea how much it will impact her life.

2.5 Stars, rounding down. Spoilers: not a happy ending. I can deal with a bittersweet or inconclusive ending as long as there is a note of hope or redemption or "this is for the best." This book had none of that. It starts relatively light about mostly content people. Life can be dry and repetitive, but its overall okay for all the main characters at the start of "Small Pleasures." By the end everyone has uprooted the peace of their existence in hope of greater happiness and everyone is (probably) left closer to despair. The actual ending is open enough that you could choose to believe it works out for the best, but the implication is quite strongly negative.

I let this sit over the weekend before writing the review because most of my negativity is about the ending. I enjoyed the ride through the bulk of the novel. The main character was relatable in her struggles and her pleasures. She was neither too good to be realistic nor too bad to cheer on. The book got gradually darker as it went on, showed a beam of hopeful light, and then closed with implied disaster and darkness. Not a fan. Would not recommend unless you like good books with sad, meaningless endings.

I enjoyed the story and the writing but I have to say the ending killed this one for me. I felt cheated and I didn't see a reason to for the author to include this historical event into the story.

This is the review that will be on my blog and Goodreads closer to publication date:

My Thoughts: This book apparently has been getting a lot of attention overseas, so I was curious to see what it is all about. The premise of a virgin birth being reported was certainly interesting. I wasn't blown away by the book as I was hoping, but I did find it an enjoyable read. What I did like was that the woman claiming to have had a virgin book wasn't portrayed as a crazy person, and the journalist took a real look into her claims even though they appeared unbelievable. I found the scientific way they used to try to determine the truth interesting. The relationships that developed out of the investigation was also compelling. The question at the center was if it wasn't a virgin birth, then why was this person claiming so? At the end I realized from the author notes that the story idea came out of two actual events that were reported on the same day in England. I was given an advance audiobook copy by the publisher and Netgalley to review, and I did think the narrator did a nice job with the book. I would recommend it.

An intriguing mystery intertwined with a complicated love story involving compelling characters, leading up to an explosive ending. I enjoyed the weaving of the scientific aspects of trying to prove parthogenesis in with the meandering prose of the rest of the story. I was not altogether pleased with the way the story ended, but I respect the author's choice to end it that way and feel like she pulled it off nicely. The narrator did an excellent job with this audiobook.

The ending was absolutely brutal. I kind of hated it, but mostly I loved it (even if it made me feel a little sick).

Quite a refreshing change to read a historical novel that is not about WW2 these days! The time, place, and circumstances were well planned and really came through. The story line was interesting and, I thought, compelling, and the end comes at you quickly. I enjoyed the narrator, too.

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers is a great story about secrets, true love and doing what is best for yourself. I loved this book.

This book was very interesting. The characters were interesting. The story was unique. The audio was read in a beautiful tone.