This week’s BotW is Armistead Maupin’s eighth book in the Tales of the City series – Mary Ann in Autumn. I discovered the series last year as book nine came out and have loved every installment so far.
In Mary Ann in Autumn our favourite characters have reached middle age with new challenges and old ones. Mary Ann has never been my favourite character in the series, but in this she comes across as the most human and real that I’ve seen her. It does make me sad that Mrs Madrigal is much older and frailer in this book, but that’s life and that’s aging. And it means we get more of Jake.
I think it’s a real testament that Maupin has been able to keep the series feeling fresh and real and relevant 30 years after it started. Not all authors would have been happy to keep bringing their characters up to date – and still less of them would have been able to do it and make it beliveable and true. The “final” book in the series is just out in paperback and I need to get my hands on a copy asap. Although with the current state of the to read pile I may try to hang fire on that for a week or two.
You should be able to get Mary Ann in Autumn from all the usual sources, but do yourself a favour and start from the beginning of the series. Even The Boy likes them!
Another week gone and the Janet Evanovich obsession continues. I got really into book ten on the train journey at the start of the week and was so excited by the developments therein that finding out what happens next took over my week. I also had a rarity this week – I book which I gave up on (which isn’t on this list). I know. Terrible. And I still can’t find my copy of Chateau on the Lake…
Read:
A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean
Motherland by Jo McMillan
Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
Ladies Who Launch by Milly Johnson (novella)
The Major’s Faux Fiancee by Erica Ridley
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
Plum Lovin’ by Janet Evanovich
Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
Started:
Fetch Nurse Connie by Jean Fullerton
Still reading:
The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts
The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley
One ebook bought this week – so a massive improvement on last week. Not all of last week’s purchases have arrived yet either…
This week’s BotW is Charlaine Harris’ Day Shift – the second book in the Midnight, Texas series – which I think is going to be a trilogy (or that’s how it looks at the moment anyway). And yes, I know Midnight Crossroad was Botw 2 months ago. But this was the best thing I read last week excepting Janet Evanovich, and we’ve already had that discussion…
We pick up where we left off (almost) in Midnight – the same characters that are left at the end of the last book are still in situ, but there’s a strange (even for Midnight) boy who is staying with the Rev and a mysterious company has started renovating the abandoned hotel. This book is faster paced than it’s predecessor and works the better for it. Some of the characters in book one were hard to warm to because they were just *so* mysterious. Well a lot of that is cleared up in book two – although there’s still a lot of unresolved plot strands at the end of the book. And of course Day Shift has a mystery-of-the-week too – which is neat and intriguing – and works well alongside the Bigger Picture puzzle as well.
But what I really loved was the crossovers. Oh the crossovers. I mentioned in my review of Midnight Crossroad that there were some familiar faces from previous series, but in this one the guest appearances are brilliant. I can’t say anymore (as per usual) or I’ll spoil it, but I was thrilled to see some more old friends reappear – I’m the sort of reader who doesn’t like to say goodbye to characters* and so crossovers like this, and side characters from previous books reappearing in bigger roles really makes me happy. I’ve got my fingers crossed for more in the last book!
And that’s pretty much all I can say without spoiling the plot and the excitement for you. I honestly don’t know how well these would work for you if you were coming entirely new to Charlaine Harris’ worlds, but for me, I passed several happy hours reading this.
Day Shift is only in hardback and e-book at the moment, but you can get your copy from all the usual sources – here’s Day Shift at Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones and on Kindle. And if harback prices are too eye-watering for you, then Midnight Crossroad is available in paperback from Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones and Kindle.
* I’m always hoping for a sequel to rom coms to see the happily ever afters, but get really annoyed when sequels turn up where the couple break up and make up to create a plot. Yes I know. A book full of happy people wouldn’t be very interesting. What can I say. I’m a difficult audience.
Not a great week in terms of quantity – but there were a couple of really good books in there (and a few less good too). I’ve also misplaced my copy of the Chateau by the Lake – which explains why I haven’t finished that one!
This week’s BotW is Deanna Raybourn’s Silent on the Moor – which is the third in her Lady Julia series, and I think these best so far in that two books worth of serious tension and angst comes to the boil in the harsh and unforgiving setting of the Yorkshire Moors.
Lady J had invited herself to Nicholas Brisbane’s new house, which is not only in the middle of nowhere, but had some unexpected (to Julia at least) residents. There are secrets and tensions and grim discoveries and oh so much Gothicky drama. I hasn’t realised that this was what this series has been waiting for, but it totally was. And thinking about it – unconventional widows, gypsies, seers, eccentrics – should have screamed melodrama to me.
The solution to the book’s puzzles is suitably ghastly – with definite ick factor – but it’s so in keeping and well executed that it seems both perfect and obvious once you’ve read it. Do not let the horrible pink cover of my copy confuse you, is is not saccharine or run of the mill by the numbers romance. There is romance (mostly of the will they won’t they kind) and there’s mystery, but Julia (although she makes mistakes) is not a too stupid to live heroine. You’ll jump to some of the same conclusions she does, albeit with a nagging voice in the back of your head that you’ve missed something somewhere that she doesn’t always have.
I know I keep mentioning books that are from series and then telling you to go back to the start first, but I really do mean it with this, you need two books worth of build up to get the full emotional whack from this. So good. And a catnip (as the Smart Bitches say) that I didn’t know I had!
Some highs and lows this week – including one book that nearly made me scream with frustration at a couple of silly errors – but in the end the good outweighed the irritation really. I’ve also just realised I’ve only finished actual print books this week – so the pile is smaller – but it means I’m probably behind when it comes to the NetGalley books again…
Read:
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
Book, Line and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay
Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody
Nightingales at War by Donna Douglas
Soulless the Manga by Gail Carriger and REM
Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia McNeal
Started:
Dayshift by Charlaine Harris
Still reading:
The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts
I bought three books (for £1!) in the books sale at the library as I try and support it – that’s my story and I’m sticking too it!
I had trouble picking a BotW again this week – my top rated books of last week were Janet Evanovichs (and I can’t do another of hers for BotW or you’ll all think I’m insane) and a Nora Roberts that I’ve reviewed for Novelicious (I’ll post a link to the review when it goes up). So, instead I’ve gone for the fifth in Sabrina Jeffries’s Hellions of Halstead Hall series – because I’ve really enjoyed reading about the Hellions, and wanted to share it with you.
So, these are historical romances about the Sharpe siblings, whose parents died in scandalous circumstances when they were very young and who have issues tied up with that. At the start of book 1, their domineering grandmother – who holds the purse strings – tells them she’ll disinherit them if they don’t all find themselves spouses with the year. Over the course of the books we see them all find their happiness – and they investigate what really happened to their parents all those years before.
I suggest that you read the books in order – not because you’ll spoil who the other siblings end up with but because you’ll ruin the mystery plot if you don’t – and I don’t think it would be the easiest to follow that part of the book if you haven’t got the full backstory.
My favourites in the series were the first two books and I didn’t love book four, but as a whole the Hellions’ stories ticked a lot of boxes for me and gave me 10 (ish) hours happy reading – hence the BotW post on book five. There is a sixth book in the series – featuring a secondary character from the previous five – which bridges the gap between this series and Jeffries next one – The Duke’s Men (which I’ve already read one of, out of order ), which I’m going to try and get my hands on soon.
So there you go. An unusual BotW from me – and a reminder that I need to slow down on the Janet Evanovich’s to keep my reading material balanced…. You should be able to find Sabrina Jeffries’ Hellions series where ever you usually pick up your US romance novels – I read mine on Scribd, but you can also get them on Kindle and in paperback. The first one is The Truth About Lord Stoneville – and I suggest you start there.
No prizes for spotting that the Evanovich obsession continues apace. Not quite as much read this week as I wanted – I’ve had a cold and it’s been busy at work.
Read:
Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
The Liar by Nora Roberts
High Five by Janet Evanovich
A Lady Never Surrenders by Sabrina Jeffries
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Started:
The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne
Still reading:
n/a
As the Stephanie Plum mania continues, I’ve ordered some more – 7 more to be precise, and two other books. Oops.
This week’s BotW is Louise Candlish’s The Sudden Departure of the Frasers – which was my Curtis Brown Book Group book for April, but which didn’t get finished until last week because that was when the discussion was.
This has such a striking cover I know I would have looked at it in the shop, I’m not sure if I would have bought it without the Book Club
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers tells the story of Christy and Joe Davenport, who have just bought the house of their dreams in a leafy London area they never expected to be able to afford. The previous owners, the Frasers, renovated the house and then abruptly disappeared. As the Davenports settle in to their new home, Christy becomes obsessed with why the Frasers left and particularly what happened to Amber – beautiful, popular, charming and the centre of the social whirl – and why the atmosphere on the street is so tense.
This is another book that I probably wouldn’t have picked out for myself – but ended up really enjoying* – in fact, I read the vast majority of it across the course of one afternoon and evening because I got sucked in and then I Needed To Know. It’s one of those books where you can’t put it down because your brain is frantically trying to work out what has gone on and you just need to read one more page/chapter/section because then you might be able to figure it out.
One of the reasons this book worked so well for me is that the setting and the characters seem utterly believeable. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had the fantasy that one day the dream home that you’ve always wanted will pop up on the market miraculously in your price range despite being worth oh-so-much more usually. And then obviously the old adage about “if it looks too good to be true, maybe it is” springs into your mind. Now scenarios like this usually lend themselves to horror or ghost stories (definitely not my thing) but this is neither. It’s a gripping little thriller, which will mess with your head but not leave you with nightmares about blood and gore and ghosts.**
Now I am breaking one of my own rules in writing about this now – because The Sudden Departure of the Frasers doesn’t come out until the 21st. But after a long deliberation I’ve put it up as this week’s BotW – because a) it was really good, b) if I didn’t BotW would probably be another Janet Evanovich (the obsession continues) and c) it will be a really, really good beach read, so preorder it for your holiday and you’ve one less thing to worry about!
You can pre-order The Sudden Departure of the Frasers from all the usual outlets – here is a selection of links – Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and Kindle – and I suspect that when it does come out it may pop up in your local supermarket as it’s being published by Penguin.
* Which illustrates why I have such a massive to-read pile. I like so many different books. And if I had bought myself this, it would probably have sat of the shelf for years because of the backlog because it’s not obviously a book that I’d like. Then you’d get another of my patented posts saying that I loved it and I can’t believe how long it sat on the shelf and why didn’t I read it sooner. I know. I’m a nightmare.
** I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that there isn’t any blood or gore or ghosts. It’s not that sort of book. But you know what I mean.
Having got a bit behind with my book group reading, the early part of the week was spent reading the remaining 450 pages (of 500) of the Sudden Departure of the Frasers – which was definitely worth it. After that, the General Election and nightshifts took over – and I moved into a crime-and-romance mind set. I wanted to finish the Nora Roberts – and it is prime nightshift reading (so far at least) but my copy is a big old hardback, too big and heavy to cart about to work and back.
Read:
The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrew
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish
The Unlikely Lady by Valerie Bowman
A War of Flowers by Jane Thynne
Defying the Earl by Anabelle Bryant
Three to get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
The Lady Hellion by Joanna Shupe
Started:
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Still reading:
The Liar by Nora Roberts
No books bought this week (!) which is particularly impressive because nights usually mean poor impulse control, resulting in binge book buying in the early hours. However I’m still on the Evanovich bandwagon (and now The Boy has joined in) so I’m not sure how long the five that I bought last week are going to last me…
In Mary Ann in Autumn our favourite characters have reached middle age with new challenges and old ones. Mary Ann has never been my favourite character in the series, but in this she comes across as the most human and real that I’ve seen her. It does make me sad that Mrs Madrigal is much older and frailer in this book, but that’s life and that’s aging. And it means we get more of Jake.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 