Author: veritywilde

Journalist, armchair sports fan, book worm and show fiend. There's a sentence you don't hear too often.
books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 31 – August 6

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I said last week that this week was going to be a busy one, and it really was. So very, very busy. But mostly in a good way so that’s positive. Anyway, we’re into August now, and the height of British Summer – which for me last week meant getting rained on *and* bitten to death by an unknown insect, but probably mozzies. I have a really strong reaction to bites, so I spent the second half of the week looking like a plague victim with oozing welts on my arms. Delightful. Fingers crossed this week is better!

Read:

Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

Four Weddings to Fall in Love by Jackie Lau

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

The Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson

A Fire at the Exhibition by T E Kinsey*

Started:

Dating Dr Dil by Nisha Sharma

The Problem with Perfect by Philip William Stover

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*

One preorder arrived and that was it. A positive start to the month, but I still have the Kindle offer post to write so it probably won’t last!

Bonus photo: Sunday afternoon ironing with one of my favourite classic films on the TV. Yes there are some issues with Pillow Talk but I still love it to bits.

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

audio, not a book

Not a Book: I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue

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Every now and again I write about a radio programme instead of a film or a show or a TV programme, and this is one of those weeks – although as I went to a recording in a theatre does it also count as a show? Anyway, the new series of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue starts on Radio Four this week, so I get to tell you about my night out watching them record two episodes in my home town back in June.

I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue started in the 1970s as a parody of TV and radio panel games and has been running ever since. My parents were very much Radio Four people – and it was one of the 6.30 in the evening programmes that I started listening to when I was getting ready for bed when I was little (along with Just A Minute and The News Quiz) and I’ve been listening to ever since. There aren’t many of the original panel left now – it’s Jack Dee giving the panel silly things to do instead of Humphrey Littleton for example, but they’ve managed to replace them with people as funny as the originals.

I tried to figure out a way of describing what’s going on, but I couldn’t do it justice, so I’m just going to settle for giving you this clip from One Song to the Tune of Another because it’s always been one of my favourite rounds and it just sums up the whole show:

There are no winners, some of the games make no sense at all (Mornington Crescent for example) and despite the fact that there are singing games there is always at least one panelist who cannot sing at all (at my recording it was Milton Jones). As children we used to play the completely unconnected word game in the back of the car on the way home from after school lessons – with much complaining from my mum as my sister and I descended into lavatorial humour. Basically it’s one of the silliest ways you can spend half an hour and I’m really looking forward to hearing what makes the cut for the broadcast episode as each recording was at least an hour long.

If you’re in the UK you can listen to I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue on BBC Radio 4, or on the BBC Sounds app – the Northampton episodes start tomorrow, and several of the episodes in the series are already available. If you’re outside the UK, I’m hoping it appears on Sounds for you – but it may also be on some of the other podcast providers too.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

books, stats

July Stats

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Books read this month: 30*

New books: 21

Re-reads: 7 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 11

NetGalley books read: 7

Kindle Unlimited read: 3

Ebooks: 2

Audiobooks: 7

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book this month: Really hard to chose – either Seven Year Slip or Business or Pleasure

Most read author: if you don’t count the Georgette Heyers in the audiobook re-reads, then it’s Kate Carlisle – with the latest Fixer-Upper mystery and one of her Bibliophile mysteries

Books bought: 11 ebooks, 10 books and two pre-orders arriving. Oops

Books read in 2023: 221

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 699

I need to do better on the non-fiction front, but apart from that, I’m doing ok on the variety front but perhaps not so much on the purchasing one…

Bonus picture: the Albert Memorial after the Proms the other night. What a sunset. And so much gold leaf…

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 1 this month

books

Series Redux: Meg Langslow

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The latest book in the series is out this week – the brilliantly titled Birder, She Wrote so considering I did a complete reread of the series finishing earlier this great, how could I not point you at my series post for Donna Andrews’ brilliant Meg Langslow series today? Exactly. It would be criminal. Nb The Good, The Bad and the Emu may still be the best title.

Happy Friday everyone!

Book previews, new releases, reviews, romance, romantic comedy

Out today: The Boyfriend Candidate

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A bonus review for you today, because I was miraculously beforehand with the world and read it last week – and as it was one of several good books I read last week I’ve taken the opportunity to write about more than one of them! The heroine of Ashley Winstead’s The Boyfriend Candidate is shy school librarian Alexis, who decides to step out of her comfort zone after being dumped and try a one night stand. Her plan seems to be going well when gorgeous but sweary Logan rescues her from the attentions of someone she’s not interested in at the bar, and the two of them end up heading for a hotel room. But before they can hook up, the hotel catches fire and in getting out Alexis is photographed in Logan’s arms – and he promptly runs away. The reason for his flight becomes clear when the pictures hit the internet – he’s standing to be the governor of Texas. His candidature has already suffered from claims that he’s a playboy, so his campaign recruits Alexis to pretend that she really is his girlfriend for the two months until election day. As the blurb says: what could possibly go wrong.

I read this across the space of 24 hours and ate it up with a spoon. It rattles you along while it’s happening and is an enjoyable ride, although I had a few issues at the back of my mind when I was reading it and I just wanted to give them a mention too. Firstly Alexis somewhat oblivious to Logan’s feelings for her. This is told entirely from her point of view – and even with that it’s very, very clear that Logan is catching feelings for her and it’s a touch irritating that she doesn’t pick up on it. If you’d had his PoV too it would have been unbearable.* On top of that she’s somewhat lacking in common sense in other aspects of the fake relationship that I can’t explain without giving more spoilers than I ought to. It was also a little surprising that Alexis went from super shy and retiring to being able to give speeches in public happily and comfortably with no in between stage. I know politics in romance novels is also a controversial issue – and the fact that it’s set in Texas might have you wondering what you’re going to get here – so a heads up for those who are interested: Logan is a progressive Democrat. I was also a bit worried about how they were going to be able to sort the whole fake relationship situation out in a satisfactory manner, but it actually surprised me on that front.

Anyway – if you like a fake relationship romance, and don’t mind politics being very much front and centre in the plot then this is worth a look. My copy was from NetGalley, but it’s out today on Kindle and Kobo and apparently also in paperback.

*There is a trend toward The Most Oblivious Heroines That Ever Failed To Notice A Guy Is Into Them at the moment and I do not like it. A bit of not noticing is fine. Not noticing when he’s making heart eyes at you and picking you over everyone else all the time is not fine (Sarah Adams I’m looking at you)

books, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: July Quick Reviews

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The Bodyguard by Katherine Centre

I’d been waiting a while for this one to come out in the UK so I was excited to read it – it’s another famous person and normal person type romance, this time the hero is a film star and the heroine is a personal protection agent aka a bodyguard. She’s hired to protect him from a potential stalker and finds herself in Texas after he goes back to his family ranch to see his sick mum. I wasn’t quite sure what Jack saw in Hannah – and vice versa, but I’ve had that issue with a couple of books recently – so it may be that I’ve just been spoilt by so many really good romances. Anyway, I know that lots of other people have loved this and I liked it enough that I’m still going to be looking out for Center’s latest book, which also just came out here!

My Turn to Make Tea by Monica Dickens

This follows the trials and tribulations of a junior reporter at a local paper in the late 19040s and early 1950s. Poppy’s main issue is not her inexperience but her gender. Her colleagues in the office don’t really think women belong in the newsroom, and her landlady views her with suspicion as well. This is based on Monica Dicken’s own experiences at a provincial newspaper and it has some really witty moments and it is interesting to see how life has changed but – probably because it’s semi autobiographical – not a lot actually happens in terms of an overarching plot. Nice but not spectacular.

You with a View by Jessica Joyce*

This is a new release from this month – and while I didn’t love it, I’m giving it a quick mention because I know that road trip romances are really popular and although I’ve read better ones recently (Mrs Nash’s Ashes for example) if they’re your favourite trope, you’ll probably want to read this. Our heroine is Noelle who has recently lost her grandmother, who she was very close to. In her gran’s paperwork she finds some letters that suggest her grandma had a love affair before her grandfather. Noelle sets out to find out what happened by posting a video including a photo of her gran and the mystery man on Tiktok. And it turns out the man is Paul – still around and who offers to take her on the roadtrip he and her grandma had planned to take together as their honeymoon. Only trouble is Paul wants his grandson to come too – and that grandson turns out to be Noelle’s high school nemesis. I loved this as a premise – but didn’t love the execution. I don’t think there was enough insight into the heroine to understand her properly and their super competitive relationship didn’t feel like a great basis for something long term. But I know that competitive relationships are something that don’t really work for me very well – see also pranking as a love language – but are something that other people really love.

And that’s your lot from me this month. It’s been a very publishing-set books heavy month – with three Books of the Week being romances set in the industry (The Seven Year Slip, Business or Pleasure and The Neighbor Favor) plus a recommendsday. The other BotWs were Acts of Violet and Come as You Are, and I also finally wrote that Marriages of Convenience post I’ve been threatening for actual years!

Happy Humpday everyone.

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Come as You Are

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It’s a new month – welcome to August everyone, and I’m back with another romance pick for this week’s BotW – and this time it’s one with an older hero and heroine and it made a really nice change after a run of early 20s heroines who read as really quite immature.

So our heroine is 46 year old Ashley, a divorced mum of a college aged daughter who is trying to keep her family’s ski hill going after the death of her father. When her mum springs the idea of employing men from the local sober living home for the season to help cut costs, she’s initially against the plan. But she goes with it and soon Madigan and his charges are moving into some of the staff cabins. Like the men who live in his home, Madigan is a recovering addict who has spent some time in jail. He went off the rails when he was guitarist in a grunge band and even spiraled even further after the band broke up. But he’s spent the last decade trying to help other people rebuild their lives the way that he has. The two are instantly attracted to each other – but they both have some issues to work through: Ashley has a cheating ex-husband who is trying to buy her mountain, and Madigan has walled himself off from relationships to concentrate on the men that he’s helping. Over the course of the skiing season they have to figure out what they have – and what they’re prepared to do keep it going.

This is the first book from Jess K Hardy that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. I had some frustrations with Ashley’s mum and there were a few times when I just wanted Ashley and Madigan to have a proper conversation, but the romance is well put together, it’s steamier than I expected it to be and I’m enjoying seeing more older pairings in romance. If you read Cathy Yardley’s Role Playing after I recommended that this time last month, then I think you’ll enjoy this one. Obviously the outdoor life on the skiing hill is very different to the online world in that Aiden and Maggie meet in, but there are definite similarities. It’s also blurbed by Kate Claybourn – who I’ve written about here a fair few times too, so if you like her stuff, then also maybe check this out.

This one is in Kindle Unlimited at the moment, which means it’s exclusive to Amazon in ebook at the moment. Amazon claims there’s a paperback version too, but I haven’t seen it in any of the shops so I suspect e-book is going to be the way to read it. It also reckons it’s the first in a series, so I’m looking forward to seeing who might feature in a sequel.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 24 – July 30

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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

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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

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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.