A varied week in books this week – a non fiction account of addiction, various sorts of crime and some romance. I’m fairly pleased with me! And of course if you missed it over the weekend, do go read my interview with Duncan MacMaster and my review of his new book.
Read:
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
No Way Home by Annette Dashofy
Mystery at Maplemead Castle by Kitty French
Rivers of London: Black Mould 5 by Ben Aaronvitch et al
Rogues’ Holiday by (Margery Allingham writing as) Maxwell March
Blu Heat by David Burnsworth
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
Started:
Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
The Accidental Detective by Michael RN Jones
Still reading:
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I was reasonably good this week – I bought a kindle book and preordered another, but that was it. And I took some library books back as well!
I had trouble picking my Book of the Week this week for various reasons, and I’m sorry that this post is a bit short. Anyway, this week’s BotW is Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley. I read this last week, and while bits of it didn’t work for me (of which more below) it’s a story that I haven’t read before (maybe I haven’t been looking in the right places!) and that needs to be represented more in fiction – particularly YA fiction.
15-year-old Aki is bi-sexual, but so far she’s only told her best friend Lori. She’s off to Mexico for the summer with her church youth group and the pair have a plan to start getting out there and living an interesting life. At the camp, Aki meets Christa and the two have a connection. But it’s not easy trying to navigate your first relationship with everyone watching you – especially if you’re trying to keep it quiet. And how do you know if it’s love anyway?
There was a lot about this that I liked. It’s a diverse (in every way) queer coming of age story that (spoiler alert) doesn’t end in deaths and disownment. But that’s not to say there isn’t plenty of angst, because there is. In fact that was my main gripe with the book – that at times Aki just went too far over my whining teenager limit and there was a lot of petty drama that I could have done without. But I have a low tolerance for that sort of thing – so it may work much better for the target market of angsty teenagers than it does for me!
But although it’s not perfect, stories like this need to be told and need to be out there. And the world needs more happy YA love stories (or at least I do!)- whether they’re F/F, M/M or M/F.
A better week in reading with a lot of ground covered and a real mix of genres – historical fiction, children’s fiction, mystery, YA, fantasy – and I’ve really enjoyed it!
Read:
A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
Seven Scamps by Elinor M Brent-Dyer
HER by Michael R N Jones
The Summer Hideaway by Susan Wiggs
Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince
Dishing the Dirt by M C Beaton
First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab
Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley
Started:
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
Still reading:
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A little bit of backsliding on the book buying front – I picked up a paperback and a kindle book as well. But I did read three library books and finished a non-fiction book so that’s good for the March targets – and ticked off a few Read Harder categories too. So it could be worse.
My brain was still on a bit of a post-nightshifts go-slow this week, but in the end I read quite a bit – and caught up on my comic book reading!
Read:
The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley
Class by Jenny Colgan writing as Jane Beaton
Balconies and Blue Nets by Mabel Ester Allen
Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson
Rivers of London: Black Mould Part 3 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Rivers of London: Black Mould Part 4 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Death of a Nurse by MC Beaton
The Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy
Started:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Seven Scamps by Elinor M Brent-Dyer
Still reading:
First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
A bit of backsliding on the book-buying front – because the theatre bookshop that I walk past on the way to and from work is closing down and having a clear-out sale and I couldn’t resist picking up a few play scripts for Terry Pratchett adaptations…
I know. This is a day late. What can I say – nightshifts really wiped me out. I have spent so much time sleeping – and then a lot of life admin to do to try to catch up after two weeks of living nocturnally. So this is a Recommendsday post instead – and you can wait until tomorrow for February stats. Sorry. Anyhow, this week’s BotW really brightened my nightshifts commutes up last week – Lucy Parker’s second book, Pretty Face.
You know its in London because of the bridge!
Lily Lamprey is an actress. Unfortunately she’s handicapped by a sexy voice and curves that saw her cast as a man-stealing bitch in a popular period drama. But now she’s leaving the show and she wants to do something different. Respected theatre director Luc Savage has poured his heart and soul into restoring his family’s London theatre and now he’s casting the opening production. Some of his partners think that Lily giving a role would be a great way to sell tickets. But he’s not convinced she can pull it off. When the two meet there are sparks – and instant attraction. But Lily’s mum has a reputation for getting ahead through her relationships and Lily knows what people will say if she starts seeing Luc. Luc’s long-term relationship has just finished and he’s older than Lily – he’s sure it’s just a mid-life crisis and he’s not willing to risk his career and reputation on it.
This is just what I like in a romance. It’s an enemies to lovers story with witty banter, plenty of snark and a great set up. Both characters have their issues and their reasons for avoiding a relationship with each other and the way things are worked out and worked through is fun to read about. Parker’s depiction of the world of the theatre is great – full of well-rounded characters and personality. If I have a problem with the book it’s that a few of the British references and British-isms jarred for me and didn’t ring entirely true. But that’s little nitpicky details that most people probably aren’t going to spot/be annoyed by.
Pretty Face was just what I needed last week – fun and romantic, with a bit of emotional peril and a satisfying conclusion. And I liked it more than I liked her first book, Act Like It, too. I just hope we don’t have to wait too long for another one.
My copy came via NetGalley, but you can get an ebook copy from Kindle or Kobo, who also have Act Like it as well (Kindle, Kobo).
Nightshifts are finally over and I’m busy trying to get myself back onto normal person time – which is proving harder than usual after two weeks on nights. The reading is still of the light and happy variety, but there’ve been some gems in there.
Read:
Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
Hack by Duncan MacMaster
Here We Go Round by Mabel Esther Allen
Judy the Guide by Elinor M Brent Dyer
A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde
Rivers of London: Black Mould Vol 1 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Rivers of London: Black Mould Vol 2 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Started:
A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
Still reading:
First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
I didn’t buy any books. None. Despite the nightshifts. I’m so proud of myself. It’s the simple things.
I’m on my second week of nights, so I’m hoping that when this publishes, I’ll be asleep. Or if not asleep, just waking up well rested and raring to go. Fat chance Fingers crossed. Anyway, this week’s BotW returns to a familiar face to regular readers – yup, it’s another Fahrenheit Press book. In fact I had to go back through the archives to make sure I hadn’t already talked about Christy Kennedy, aside from the brief mention in last week’s Half-Term Reading* because The Ballad of Sean and Wilko is the fourth in the 10-book series.
The covers are all quite dark and brooding – and Camden
In the Ballad of Sean and Wilko we rejoin Christy Kennedy as he investigates the murder of the frontman of a 70s band who is found dead in his locked dressing room mid-show. Kennedy has to pick his way through a tangle of complicated relationships – professional and personal – to try and figure out what happened. Then another body turns up, in another locked room.
Christy Kennedy is a Northern Irish detective with a fondness for the Beatles and a soft spot for a local journalist called ann rea (no capital letters – like kd lang). He has a methodical approach to solving mysteries and you know as much as he knows (most of the time). There’s a collection of supporting characters who are interesting in their own right and who never feel like fillers. And late 1990s Camden is a character in itself, painted with love and affection
Paul Charles started writing the Christy Kennedy series nearly 20 years ago and they have aged well. The music may be on CD or vinyl and there may not be many mobile phones, or much talk of the internet but because it was written at the time it all feels perfectly natural. Charles has worked in the music industry and boy does it show. I’ve learned so much about the mechanics of the industry from these books – particularly this one – but it’s all worn very lightly so you only realise later how many facts are packed in there.
Anyway, to summarise: good murder, great setting, excellent detective. What more could you want. The Ballad of Sean and Wilko is available on Kindle for the bargain price of £1.99. I got my copy as part of my Fahrenheit Book Club subscription which I have banged on about enough already.
Now I’m off back to bed. I can only hope this post makes sense. My brain is not a very coherant place right now.
Happy reading.
*Which I’m obviously now regretting because it’s making me sound repetitive and I hate that. But I did like it best out of last week’s books so sod it, and let it be a lesson to me to plan better in future.
Nightshifts all this week. Nightshifts all next week. Take a guess at what I’ve been reading. Yup. No literary fiction in sight! There are some very good books among them and I’ve managed to get away from the cozy crime a little too!
Read:
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti
The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams
The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNeal
Shunned No More by Christina McKnight
The Ballad of Sean and Wilko by Paul Charles
Headgirl at Vivians by Patricia K Cauldwell
Kennelmaid Nan by Elinor M Brent-Dyer
Started:
Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James
Still reading:
First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
No books bought. I’m actually quite proud of myself for resisting the urge to order a tonne of Kindle books in the early hours.
Nightshifts are well underway here, so hopefully I’ll be asleep when this publishes. I say hopefully, if day one is anything to go by I’ll have been woken up half a dozen times by assorted phone calls, tradesmen and delivery people. Anyway, as I said last week, I’ve been looking for a new cozy crime series. And as you know, I’m always looking for new historical crime series. So this week’s BotW is a new historical crime novel from the cozier end of the spectrum which I’m hoping is going to be the start of series.
Cover of The Riviera Express
The Riviera Express is the first book from TP Fielden* about Judy Dimont, a newspaper reporter in a south-coast seaside town in the 1950s. Miss D has a nose for a scoop, an editor who doesn’t always appreciate her and a rivalry with the paper’s other lady reporter. The Riveira Express is both the name of the paper and the name of the train which brings holiday-makers to the resort of Temple Regis and one of Miss Dimont’s regular jobs is meeting the train if it’s got a celebrity on board. But when she and her photographer arrive to meet film star Gerald Hennessey, they find him dead in his first class compartment. Called away from the scene to a second death, Judy becomes convinced that there is a link between the two – even though the police aren’t convinced that either is the result of foul play. Soon she’s investigating the links between the film star and the seaside town as well as between the two men and dealing with a couple of highly strung actresses who are mourning the dead star. Will Judy find out the truth – and if she does will her editor let her publish it?
I hope that sounds like fun, because this book is a lovely romp through an English seaside town with pretensions of grandeur led by a charming character in Judy Dimont. One of the toughest things to do in stories like this is create a leading character with an excuse to go poking about in murders and mysteries – and a reporter is an ideal one. Judy has a perfect excuse to nose around and to get information from the police and the authorities. It also means that she is going to keep coming across bodies in a more natural way than a private citizen would. And it makes a change from private detectives of all shapes and sizes well. The secondary characters are well drawn and there’s plenty of potential here for on-going plot strands without it feeling like there’s lots of set up being done. I’m looking forward to finding out more about Miss D’s past in the next book.
Here’s the rub – The Riviera Express isn’t actually out for another 9 days yet – but you can pre-order the hardback from Amazon or Waterstones and hope it turns up on the day or on Kindle or Kobo and it’ll download itself on the 23rd as a lovely treat.
Happy reading.
*I would love to know who TP Fielden is – this doesn’t feel like a first novel and there’s very little information that I can find on TP, but their Goodreads biography says that they are a “leading author, broadcaster and journalist” so it feels like a pen name – and I’d love to know who is behind it!
A busy week at work, with four and a half commutes means lots of reading done, which is nice. I finally finished American Wife – which took me a while because it was my bedtime book – and made some inroads to my NetGalley list (it’s so easy to find and request stuff on there).
Read:
Copy Cap Murder by Jenn McKinlay
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Waiting for an Earl Like You by Alexandra Hawkins
The Mystery of the Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine
The Riviera Express by TP Fielden
Verity Fair: Custard Creams and Pink Elephants by Terry Wiley
Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy
Started:
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti
Still reading:
First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds
I didn’t buy any books this week – although I did pick up a big stack of books that I ordered a few weeks ago for a bargain price. Two steps forwards, one step back!
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 