Category: week in books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 6 – January 12

veritywilde

Well it’s that time of year where the counters are reset and some of the audiobooks that I listen to more than once a year will appear on the lists again. And aside from that, I’m also trying to be better with the NetGalley reading than I was for some (most?) of last year. So still a bit behind on clearing the long runners, and of course I broke my own rules with last week’s BotW so we’ll see what I do about tomorrow on that front…

Read:

The Cinderella Killer by Simon Brett

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson

Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood

Scared Off by Barbara Ross

Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood*

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Started:

Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany

Murder on the Celtic by Edward Marston

Still reading:

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Only one ebook bought I think, but that’s seems strangely low so I might have missed something…

Bonus picture: beautiful but cold Northamptonshire on the way to Stratford for Twelfth Night on Saturday!

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

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: The Paradise Problem

veritywilde

Yes, for my first BotW of 2025 I am breaking my own rules again and picking a book I finished on Monday. I just can’t help myself. And also if I could have finished it sooner I would have but Carlisle to Northampton is a long drive, even when it’s not snowy/sleeting/raining/foggy – and at various points on Sunday I had all of these, which does make it particularly ironic that this is a book mostly set on a tropical island!

The plot: Anna married West when they were both students in order to be able to access subsidised family housing. She also thought that the papers she signed when they graduated meant they were divorced. But then three years later West turns up on her doorstep, just after she’s been sacked from her gas station job and it turns out they’re not. And also that West is the heir to a huge amount of money and if they can’t convince his family that they’re actually a happily married couple at his sister’s wedding it would have dire consequences. And he’s willing to pay her to help him pull it off and the money would help Anna pay for her dad’s medical treatment but also maybe give her some breathing space to help her focus on her art career.

So there’s a couple of things to note here: firstly Anna would have to be incredibly incurious to not have figured out who West is, especially given she is also friends with his brother (and as a nosy person I had to suspend disbelief here!). Secondly there are a lot of awful rich people in this (not West!) and although there is comeuppance, your mileage on this may vary. But that said, I enjoyed this a lot as escapist fiction with a good twist on the fake relationship-turns real trope and plenty of witty banter. I’m a little unsure how West and Anna didn’t get any action together when they were roommates the first time but hey, staring a relationship with a roommate is a bad idea in case it doesn’t last. Trust me.

This one should be fairly easy to get hold of – I’ve seen the paperback in shops, although I have a copy on Kindle.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 30 – January 5

veritywilde

I finished the old year with possibly the last of the Christmas-themed reading (but who can tell) and started the new with lots of good resolutions about finishing the stuff on the long running list – and then forgot to take any of the physical copies of it up to the Frozen North with me. So one off the list, and a slow start to the year. But it was a busy week, and there was a lot of driving.

Read:

Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan

A Very Lively Midwinter by Katy Watson

The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

A Decent Interval by Simon Brett

Started:

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Six books bought. The January kindle sales have been tempting!

Bonus picture: Snow in Carlisle on Sunday. It was cold. Very cold.

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

Book of the Week, Christmas books

Book of the Week: Christmas Is All Around

veritywilde

I am closing out the year with my second Christms-themed BotW of the season, even if I did read it in Betwixtmas rather than before. Reading this was my reward for getting down to one state to go on the 50 States challenge – because some of the books for those final states have been really hard going and I deserved a treat, especially as I’ve had to put some of the books I really wanted to read before on hold to get the challenge done whilst still being able to do things in Real Life.

These days, Charlotte is an artist and illustrator. But back when she was a child she was the star of a holiday movie that people just won’t let her forget. Unlike her sister, she never wanted to be an actress – her father is a director and got her the role – and she didn’t enjoy the process at the time, or the fact that it’s always brought up in everything she’s done since. So after a trade magazine reveals she’s the reason a reboot didn’t get made and an avalanche of fans pile on to her on her social media (and sometimes in public), she decamps to spend Christmas with her sister in London. Said sister is a new mum and is determined to make Baby’s First Christmas the most perfect and festive ever. Which is how she accidentally ends up at the stately home used as a filming location in said Christmas movie, and when she’s accidentally left behind she ends up getting a lift back to London with the son of the house – whose family business depends on visitors, of whom many come precisely because of that Christmas movie. Charlotte agrees to do a series of illustrations of locations used in famous Christmas movies and Graham agrees to accompany her on her sketching trips – but can there be a happy ending for a Christmas romance when one half of the couple hates Christmas?

The whole premise of this is that someone who hates their involvement in a Christmas movie gets caught up in a romance that could be the plot of a Christmas movie. And it’s just so much fun. Obviously Martha Waters has made up her own movie for the purpose, but I think it’s fair to say that Love Actually may have inspired some of it – there’s a Heathrow Airport joke right at the start and there are a few more nods to the quirks (shall we call them) of Richard Curtis’s Christmas anthology movie as well. If that was all this was doing, it could have run the risk of being a bit one note or basic – but there’s much more going on than that. Charlotte’s got issues that she needs to work through – not just with her former child stardom, but with her parents too – and adds to the layers of the story. There’s also witty banter and a great cast of supporting characters with enough quirks to make them funny but not so many that they become teeth itchingly irritating.

I’ve recommended one of Martha Water’s historicals – To Swoon and to Spar – before, and I have another waiting on the shelf. This is her first contemporary romance and I really hope she does more of them if they can all be as good as this.

I bought my copy in Waterstones, but the Kindle and Kobo editions are 99p at the moment – although you might need to get in fast on that though as I suspect it’s a December deal, and we all know December ends at midnight…

Happy Reading…

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 23 – December 29

veritywilde

Lets start with the big news: I have finished my read across the US challenge for the year – a whole day and a half earlier than I did last year. What a result. For once I managed to get a bit of discipline together – and spend most of December working my way through the remaining states, rather than just the last 10 days… It does mean that I haven’t read all the Christmas books that I wanted to this year, but I’ve got two days left before New Year to sort that out. I should probably be trying to clear the long runners of the list though, but I think I’ve been disciplined enough for one month. It can be my New Year’s resolution…

Read:

Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood

Codename Zero by Chris Rylander

Designed to Death by Christina Freeburn

The Fire Carrier by Jean Hagen

Open Season by C J Box

Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N Holmberg

Started:

A Very Lively Midwinter by Katy Watson

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Surprisingly, only one and it was a pre-order. Kindle Unlimited has been my friend in ticking off those last few states and my wallet thanks it for that!

Bonus picture: my second Christmas jigsaw…

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 16 – December 22

veritywilde

I’m down to the last few states. It’s going to be close but I might just do it. Maybe. If I don’t get distracted. And it’s Christmas this week so chance of distractions is high. We will see. And as it’s Christmas I’m taking a couple of days off this week – so the normal pattern of posts will resume next week.

Read:

Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood

Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick

The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood

A Picture Perfect Frame by Lynn Cahoon

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

Wedding Day and Foul Play by Duffy Brown

Murder in the Dark by Kerry Greenwood

Comic Sans Murder by Paige Shelton

Started:

Codename Zero by Chris Rylander

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Less than you might expect given the way I’m working my way through the final states. Two total – but only thanks to the sterling efforts of Kindle Unlimited.

Bonus picture: some Christmas graffiti from the park on Saturday

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

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Cure for the Common Breakup

veritywilde

Did I finish this on Monday? Yes. Would I have finished it on the train to work if that train had taken ten minutes longer? Also yes. But still. This one was a lot of fun, so it deserves it.

Summer is a flight attendant – and her always moving lifestyle is perfect for her attitude towards relationships. Except… at the start of a long haul flight to Paris, she hears her boyfriend might be about to propose and she’s thinking about saying yes. But then the flight goes wrong and everything changes. Summer needs somewhere to recover (physically and mentally) and heads for Black Dog Bay, a small town in Delaware known as “the best place in America to bounce back from your breakup”. There she finds a small town community ready to welcome her – and a mayor who is definitely not her type and who definitely doesn’t do relationships…

The fact that this is set in Delaware probably gives you the hint about why I was picking this up last week, but often with the books I read at the end of the year to tick some states off, they’re a slog to get through (and I might have given up on them in other circumstances) but this was really nice. If you had told me it was written in the early 2000s I would have believed it too – except for the smartphones! Not because it’s outdated but because there’s just something about it that reminds me of the books I used to read back when I was at university – funny and slightly caper-y, and with a romance but more about the female lead finding herself than just getting the man.

Anyway, this is the first of a series set in Black Dog Bay – and I will happily read more and try and not use them all up as my Delaware option too fast!

I bought my copy on Kindle, but it’s also on Kobo. I suspect any physical copy will be harder to find, but I’m sure the big vendors will try!

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 9 – December 15

veritywilde

A fairly solid list, but the real achievement is that I got four more states ticked off the list as I once again attempt to read a book from every US state. Still a few tricky ones to do, but I’m getting there. And in the real world, it’s fully Christmas now – the tree is decorated, presents are bought (some even distributed) and as well as the trip to A Midsummer Night’s Dream this week, I also went to the kids Christmas show at the local theatre – which is the Jolly Christmas Postman and was excllent.

Read:

Somewhere in the Night by Julie Mulhern

Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood

Hemingway and Sun Valley by Chris Moore

Holiday Hideaway by Mary Kay Andrews

Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood

The Family Tree Murders by Laura Hern

The Winter Widow by Charlene Weir

Started:

Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three ebooks bought as I attempt to get those last few pesky states ticked off…

Bonus picture: Last week I was staying out by St Paul’s Cathedral so I got to see the nightscape again. I do love the way it’s lit.

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

Book of the Week, books, non-fiction

Book of the Week: The Divorce Colony

veritywilde

It’s Tuesday again and as I said yesterday we are hurling towards the end of the year and I’m trying to finish the Reading challenges. Today’s pick covered me off for South Dakota…

It is well know that laws in the US can vary from state to state. And most people have probably read a book or watched a movie where someone goes to Reno for a quickie divorce, but what you might not have come across is the period in time where South Dakota was the location of choice for obtaining a divorce. April White’s The Divorce Colony looks at this time and some of the women who went to the frontier of the US to end their marriages.

This focuses on four society women who made the trip to Sioux Falls and the different challenges they faced. I found the women themselves fascinating as well as the quirks and tribulations of divorce laws. As social history it is fascinating and an illustration of how much has not changed as well as how much has.

My copy has is a hardback, and it’s probably going to be a special order and the Kindle price has dropped since I bought a hard copy!

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 2 – December 8

veritywilde

The end of the year continues to hurtle towards me, as I desperately scramble to tick off those final states for read the USA 2024 – four more off the list this week but there are still a few to do. But a doable number if I keep myself at it! A good week in reading though all in all. So that’s good.

Read:

The Divorce Colony by April White

Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood

Double Mint by Gretchen Archer

Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

God Land by Liz Lenz

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade

Murder on the Oceanic by Edward Marston

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

Murder on a Bad Hair Day by Anne George

Started:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Still reading:

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

No books bought, but I don’t think that’s going to last given the reading challenge situation…

Bonus picture: courtesy of my dad, a beautiful tree out in the village last week before Storm Darragh and all the bad weather hit (again).

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