Month: July 2023

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 24 – July 30

veritywilde

Finally I have got a book off the long running list finished! I was aiming for two, but I’ll take one. Not a bad week in reading all in actually – there are a couple on here that you’ll be hearing about at various points in the future – this week and beyond! I’ve got an incredibly busy week coming at me this week so we’ll see what that does to the list – but it’s also the end of July so there’ll be the stats and quick reviews so you’re all covered here.

Read:

The Empire by Michael Ball*

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer

Come As You Are by Jess K Hardy

The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead*

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

Ruined by Sarah Vaughn et al*

Started:

Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson*

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker*

The Crane Wife by C J Hauser*

A couple of ebooks bought and one paperback. The ebooks were beacsue I was catching up on samples that I’d got because they were on offer and I was worried the offers would end at the end of the month. And the paperback was an impulse purchase when buying something else

Bonus photo: another Morph model – this time near Liverpool Street.

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

theatre

Not a Book: A Strange Loop

veritywilde

This week has seen at the Proms to hear Beethoven and Elgar but also to the Barbican to see a new musical. I have more Proms to come – and they’re one offs – so today we’re talking about A Strange Loop.

A Strange Loop is a musical about a queer black Broadway theatre usher writing a musical about a queer black theatre usher writing a musical. Still with me? Good. Usher’s story is told by him and his six Thoughts, who are the inner voices in his head and also play all the other characters in the play. It’s very meta. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2020 and the Tony for best musical in 2021.

It’s a really powerful piece – and although I wasn’t sure where it was going or how it was going to end, it did come back around (yes, that’s a loop reference!) from a very bleak point about 20 minutes from the end. The music is great – I came out humming some of the songs and the cast are giving stellar performances. It is definitely not a show for younger audiences – there’s a warning that it’s not suitable for under 16s because of the themes it’s dealing with. So I’m not surprised that it’s on a limited run at the Barbican rather than in the West End. It’s definitely worth seeing if you’re a musical fan though – and I’m not sure when it will come around again. And of course there aren’t that many musicals that have won the Pulitzer – it’s the first since Hamilton, and one of only ten total. It runs until September 9.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

books

Best not new books of 2023 so far

veritywilde

So I’ve already talked about my favourite new releases of the first half 2023, so today I’m talking about my favourite books that I’ve read in the first six months of the year that aren’t fresh releases. And like the new releases post, this is a fairly easy one to write – because so many of them have been Books of the Week.

There are some similarities to the new books list – we’ve got a romance that features a famous person and a normal person in Nora Goes Off Script by Annabelle Monaghan and one with a fake relationship in The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren.

We’ve got some murder mysteries – The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson and Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davison which is the first of the Goldy Schultz series which is one of the two cozy series that I’ve discovered and binged this year, the other being Kate Carlisle’s Fixer Upper mysteries, which I’ve already read all of mostly because I bought the first nine as a job lot second hand and pre-ordered the tenth, whereas the Goldies are older and harder to get hold of.

And finally there’s a Girls Own book – The Cricket Term by Antonia Forest, which I just adored and wish I’d read at the right age back in the day because I would have really loved it, and it probably would have turned me on to the Peter Wimsey series earlier than I otherwise discovered them.

I’ve got such a huge pile of books to read before the end of the year I look forward to seeing what else makes it onto this list by the end of the year.

Have a great Saturday everyone.

books, romance, series, Series I love

Series I Love: The Rules of Scoundrels

veritywilde

And after finally doing that post about some of my favourite Marriage of Convenience romances this week, it’s time to do a series I love that has a marriage of convenience in it’s opening novel!

So the Rules of Scandal series features four aristocrats who have been caught in a scandal and find themselves in the London underworld running a gaming hell. In each book one of them finds love and reclaims their rightful place in society. Or at least the place that they would like to be in anyway! A Rogue by Any Other Name is a marriage of convenience by a hero trying to claim his inheritance, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover has a nearly engaged heroine looking for a taste of the scandalous side of London before she settles down, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished has a hero who is suspected of murdering a woman on the eve of their wedding whose victim reappears alive and Never Judge a Lady by her Cover has a hero who is determined to uncover the secrets at the heart of the gaming hell.

I read these in order as they came out and it has one of the most gasp-worthy reveals at the end of the third book that I have come across in the genre – so surprising that I went back and reread the previous books to check that I hadn’t missed something and that it really was as clever as I thought it was! And I’ve tried not to give too much away in this review – even though if you read the blurb for the last book it gives it away! So don’t do that if you don’t want to be spoiled.

These are fairly old now – but they are available on Kindle, which they weren’t when I first started buying them I don’t think – or at I wouldn’t have started acquiring them in the US mass market format! And yes, it does annoy me that my set doesn’t match. And no I’m not 100 percent sure why because the UK format one isn’t signed so I didn’t get it at one of Sarah’s yea parties – and although the final one is I think it was the first one I ordered from Word. Anyway if you need a good romance series to binge this summer, these would be a good option.

Have a great weekend!

reading challenges

Read Across the USA 2023: Mid Year update

veritywilde

I’m going to admit that there are a couple of July books in here, because I’d coloured the map in for them before I remembered that I hadn’t taken the photo for this yet and I thought it would be confusing to have some states coloured in but no books next to them in the list – but there are only two from July (as I write this) so I was at 27 out of 51 by the halfway point of the and I’m now at 29. This is good news and I’m ahead of target, except that I know that I’ve ticked a lot of the easiest states off now, so (as usual) I need to put a bit of thinking in for some of the remaining ones.

Alabama

Alaska – Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Arizona – For Batter or Worse by Jenn McKinlay

Arkansas – A Crime of Poison by Nancy Haddock

California – A High End Finish by Kate Carlisle

Colorado – Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

Connecticut – Better Late Than Never by Jenn McKinlay

Delaware

Florida – The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Georgia – Wild Dances by William Lee Adams

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky – When in Rome by Sarah Adams

Louisiana

Maine – Happy Place by Emily Henry

Maryland –

Massachusetts – Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Michigan – In Farm’s Way by Amanda Flowers*

Minnesota – Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanna Fluke

Mississippi

Missouri – Diamond Girl by Julie Mulhern

Montana – Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Nebraska – Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico – The Pot Thief who Studied Pythagoras by J Michael Orenduff

New York – Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

North Carolina – Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates

North Dakota

Ohio – A Lie for a Lie by Emilie Richards

Oklahoma

Oregon – Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina – Full Blast by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes

South Dakota

Tennessee – A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Texas – Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump*

Utah – Bookman, Dead Style by Paige Shelton

Vermont

Virginia – Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Washington – Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Washington DC – An Invitation to a Killer by G M Malliet*

West Virginia

Wisconsin – Winter’s Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch

Wyoming

book round-ups, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: Marriages of Convenience

veritywilde

I was surprised when I was writing the series post about The Fitzhugh trilogy to discover that I haven’t written a Recommendsday post about marriages of convenience – so today I’m writing that wrong!

So obviously the first books in this trope that I discovered were the Georgette Heyers – namely A Convenient Marriage and April Lady. Of the two I think April Lady is my favourite because I love the denouement the best – with Nell trying to fix everything without Cardross finding out – whereas Horry in Convenient Marriage is just a bit too foolhardy for me. In more recent historical romances we have Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare which features a battle-scarred hero rebuilding his life after coming back from war and a heroine who is on her own in the world who marry each other because he needs an heir and she needs security. Then there is The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne which overcame my dislike of comedy Scottish accents in the dialogue and a tonne of melodrama with a smart heroine and a tortured bad boy hero. I can’t believe it’s seven years since I read it though!

Let’s jump to contemporary romance where you find marriages of convenience less often than you find the fake relationship – because there aren’t a lot of reasons why you might have to marry someone in the present day. But there are a few – former BotW Roomies by Christina Lauren, featuring a heroine who has come unmoored professionally and marries a musician on an expired visa so he can get his big break on Broadway. Then there is Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams, in her Bromance Book club series – which has another marriage for a visa, this time between the daughter of a Russian journalist with powerful enemies and a Russian Ice Hockey player. It does have a lot of tropes in it all mashed together – but it’s fun.

And finally, as it was the Fitzhugh books that made me write this, I would be wrong not to mention Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas – but you can go and read the aforementioned series post if you want to know more about that. It’s worth it though.

Happy Humpday!

Book of the Week, books, fiction

Book of the Week: Acts of Violet

veritywilde

Yes, today’s pick is the book that I stayed up late to finish on Sunday night. I have a lot of thoughts about it, not all of which I can mention here because: spoilers but it still makes it the book I want to talk about the most from last week’s reading!

It’s nearly ten years since magician Violet Volk disappeared – in the middle of her comeback show. In the intervening decade, her fans haven’t forgotten her – even if her sister Sasha wishes they would. Now with the anniversary approaching there is a fresh burst of publicity – including a hashtag where people are posting pictures of supposed sightings and a podcaster who keeps asking Sasha for an interview. Meanwhile Sasha’s daughter Quinn is doing some digging of her own around the aunt that she idolises and risks finding out some things her mother would rather stay hidden. And then there’s the fact that Sasha has started sleepwalking again. Told from Sasha’s point of view but also through transcripts of the podcast, emails and articles, you follow the run up to and aftermath of the tenth anniversary.

I have a lot of thoughts about this book – and I’m going to have to lend it to someone to read it as well so I can talk about it with them because I can’t say everything that I want to here. But the fact that I couldn’t go to sleep last night until I found out how it all ended says a lot about how engrossing it is. Margarita Montimore keeps you guessing about what was really going on with Violet and Sasha and their relationship and like the magic tricks that Violet was famous for you don’t quite know where it’s all going or who to trust. I’m going to front up and say that I didn’t love the ending, but I don’t quite know what I think would have been better!

Anyway despite that, I’m really glad that I spotted this in Foyles the other week and I don’t begrudge having paid more money than I usually do on a paperback on it – because I enjoyed reading it and I don’t think I would have come across it if it weren’t for that copy misplaced in the romance section. At least I assume it was misplaced – it’s not a romance, but I can see why the cover and format might have confused someone into shelving it there!

It’s also available on Kindle, Kobo (and on Kobo at time of writing it costs even more than my paperback did!) and audiobook which comes complete with multiple narrators to fit the different sections of the book – I had a listen to the sample and it sounds really good. I suspect you’ll need a fairly big bookshop to get a paperback copy – mine is a large format international edition and you don’t see a lot of those around usually.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 17 – July 23

veritywilde

Did I stay awake way later than I should have on Sunday night to finish a book? Absolutely I did. Do I regret it? Well yes and no: I’m glad I finished the book, I wish I had had more sleep but I wouldn’t go back and change it! For the rest of it, it was a reasonable week – a couple of books I really liked and then some I didn’t. Anyway, I’m about to hit a few really busy weeks – I’ve got a couple of nights out this week coming and work is very busy too so we’ll see what that does to the lists.

Read:

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts*

The Hollywood Jinx by Sariah Wilson*

For Batter or Worse by Jenn McKinlay

A Very Lively Murder by Katy Watson

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore

Started:

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker*

The Crane Wife by C J Hauser*

Whisper it quietly, but I did not buy any books. I know. I’m as astonished as you are. I did however receive an order from Words and Kisses that I put in a week or two back so it doesn’t feel like I didn’t buy anything!

Bonus photo: the alpacas that I pass on the train every day. They’re my favourite part of the commute and I have tried repeatedly to get a good picture of them and this is the best I have managed!

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

film, not a book

Not a Book: Bombshell

veritywilde

A film this week and one that features Margot Robbie, but sadly not Barbie as I haven’t managed to get to the cinema to see that one yet. I’m sure I will though. Probably not as a double bill with Oppenheimer though because I’m not sure I can cope with Christopher Nolan at the moment.

So this is a dramatised version of true events – and is inspired by the real life sexual harrassment allegations made against Fox News boss Roger Ailes by women who worked there. Nicole Kidman plays Gretchen Carlson, who was the first to sue Ailes and Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly, who we see at the start of the film being insulted by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump for asking him about his offensive comments towards women. Margot Robbie plays Kayla, a composite character who is a young journalist who joins the newsroom and faces unwanted attentions fromAiles.

I think whether you followed the story at the time or not this is a compelling look at power dynamics in the work place and the pressures that women can face from men in positions of power. I’m not in the US so I don’t really have enough experience of watching Fox News to comment on how accurate the portrayals of Carlsson and Kelly are – except to say that Charlize Theron is unrecognisable (Him Indoors didn’t realise it was her at all!) but the make up teams won the Oscar and the Bafta for their work – and Theron got an Oscar nomination – as did Margot Robbie.* It is a bit of a tough watch – but it is very good – and if you’re planning on doing some of the other films about famous/powerful men who have faced sexual harassment allegations – like She Said (which I’m waiting to hit the movie channels) then this is definitely one to watch.

And because I hate ending posts on a down note – all the reports that I’ve heard about Barbie so far have been favourable, so I really am going to try and get to see that soon!

Happy Sunday!

They lost to Renee Zellweger’s Judy Garland and Laura Dern in A Marriage Story respectively.

books

Beat the To-Read pile 2023: mid-year update

veritywilde

To be honest, I’m not sure that the actual physical pile looks any smaller than it did, but in terms of trying to read at least 80 physical books this year, I’m ahead of target for once. The colours are for the type of book they are – green shades are crime/mystery/detective books of various types, pinks are romances (I feel like I may have coloured Great Circle the wrong colour, or at least it looks wrong in the photo!) and bright blue is Girls Own. So you can see that the theme of the stuff from the pile of the year so far is crime. Lots of cozy crime, a bit of historical crime, and some romances speckled in with it. Fingers crossed I can keep the momentum going through the summer.