A good week this week – and some really good books in there too. I haven’t finished my book club book yet though, which is both naughty and concerning – as the discussion is rushing upon us…
Read:
The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne
The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson
The Sound of Music Story by Tom Santopietro
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries
The Evening Chorus by Helen Humphreys
Emily and Colin’s Wedding – Tears of Pearl prequel by Tasha Alexander
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Started:
The Visitors by Sally Beauman
Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey
Still reading:
n/a
I bought one book – and my pre-ordered copy of Prudence also arrived. I’m not allowed to read it until I’ve finished my book club book though!
I had real trouble choosing the BotW this week – because I don’t like repeating – and Gail Carriger has a new book out on Kindle TODAY and in paperback on Thursday (and my pre-order hasn’t dispatched yet – Amazon I’m watching you – you didn’t use to delay posting pre-orders to those of us who refuse to pay postage…) and if Prudence is half as good as her other stuff, it’s going to be a candidate for BotW as well.
But I’ve enjoyed Timeless and the whole Parasol Protectorate series so much, it would have been disingenuous not to pick it as a BotW – especially as it was the my favourite thing I read last week. It’s my own fault for saving Timeless because I didn’t want Alexia’s story to be over.
I don’t love this cover shot – although the costume is one from the book, I think the face is… odd!
Timeless is the fifth and final volume in the story of Alexia Tarabotti – a preturnatural in steam punk Victorian London. And I can’t really say much more than that about the plot of Timeless because anything else would be Spoiling The Previous Four Books. Ms Carriger was on my list of Discoveries of 2014 – and I said then that she was well on course to be on my automatic pre-order list if Timeless didn’t do something dreadful and disillusioning. And it didn’t. It’s not my favourite of the series, but it is still pretty darn fantastic and ties up a lot of the dangling threads from the previous books and then sets up a few new questions too.
Alexia is a fabulous creation – and the world that she lives in is equally brilliant. Carriger has worked out how her world works and wears that very lightly – in fact she’s a big old tease. She really doesn’t want to tell you her secrets – unlike some authors who can’t wait to dump all the rules of the world on you. Even in this last book in the series we’re still discovering new things about Alexia’s abilities – and you get the feeling that Carriger has had this planned all along – none of it comes across as invented for this book. Which either means she’s brilliant at long term plotting – or she’s really good at faking it.
I’ve read all the Finishing School books* that have been released so far – and I can’t wait to see how that pans out – because the world of 20 years before Alexia is very different. And I’m so excited to read Prudence and see what happened next.
My soul is so outrage that the set doesn’t match I can’t shelve them like this
Gosh this review is gushy. Sorry. Now this is where I would usually put links to the book of the week so you can run away and buy it. But if you haven’t read the other four books in the series first, you really won’t appreciate it – so go and buy Soulless from Amazon or Foyles or Waterstones or on Kindle and get started on Alexia’s story. I’m off to re-read them. And don’t tell me off if there’s some more Carriger on here soon…
* In fact Etiquette and Espionage was my first Carriger book – thank you NetGalley for throwing that one in my path – and after I read that and Curtsies and Conspiracies and then started on The Parasol Protectorate. NB in light of the Wrong Size issue in my Parasol set, I am reading Finishing School on Kindle – and waiting til the end of the series to buy myself a matching set. What kind of crazy person am I?!
My Shelving Solution – but I cannot allow a repeat of this situation with the Finishing School books!
We all knew that this was how this would end. Ever since Sir Terry announced he had early onset Alzheimer’s, we knew he would be gone too soon. But I had still hoped it was further away.
Alzheimer’s is always cruel, but it seemed particularly unfair that it should hit a man whose mind was so sharp, so bright, so inventive. I’m terrified of death, but I understood his passionate fight for assisted dying. Pratchett created a flat world carried on four elephants on the back of a giant turtle, where dwarves, trolls and golems lived side by side with people. Why would he want to carry on when his mind was no longer capable of remembering what day it is, or recognising people. I hope it never progressed that far for him.
I was introduced to Discworld by my school librarian when I was about 13 – Jingo was the newest book at the time – although the first I read was Wyrd Sisters. I loved Star Trek, but didn’t really see myself as a fantasy reader. Discworld changed that. I had always read a lot, but Sir Terry’s books introduced me to something new and opened the doors to books I would never previously have considered. Even if few other worlds could compare to the Disc.
Choosing a favourite is near impossible, I love Rincewind, Vimes and the Witches. Tiffany Aching is a joy. Any book is improved by the presence of The Patrician. But Moist von Lipwig was a late arriving treat. I’ve listened to the audiobooks of Going Postal and Making Money more times than I care to count. I wanted the Moist the tax collector book – but Raising Steam was brilliant.
Thank you Sir Terry, for all the joy and pleasure your books have given me and millions of others. I will sit down and read them all again, just as soon as the thought of it doesn’t make me cry.
This week’s BotW is Jane Thynne’s Black Roses – a Nazi Germany set spy thriller – and another example of why I need to get the to-read pile under control. Clara Vine’s mother is German and she heads to Berlin to find acting work at the famous Ufa studios. She gets drawn into a circle of high-ranking Nazi wives – and is soon recruited by British intelligence to report on the goings on in the elite.
Nazi Germany is possible one of my least favourite historical settings as a general rule. I like World War Two settings – but usually from the British side of the fence as anything involving Germany itself has potential to be tremendously depressing. But this has an interesting concept and is also book one in a series (more on this later) so I was fairly confident going in that the heroine would still be alive at the end of the book*!
Clara’s adventures are tense and atmospheric and Thynne paints a vivid picture of what it was like in Berlin in 1933. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t usually “do” Nazi Germany – and it’s a period of history that I’ve always managed to avoid having to study in any depth, so I can’t really pass comment on whether it all fits with the facts – but the historical note at the end was useful for clarifying some of the bits that I had thought were the most bizarre.
I mentioned at the top that this is another lesson in why I need to deal with the book backlog – and this is a particularly ridiculous example. I bought this on Kindle in October 2013 (!) and it’s been sitting in my unread folder forgotten about since then. In October this year I picked up book 2 in the series in Tesco and then picked out book 3 on NetGalley. When I came to update my Goodreads, I realised that I had book 1 and went back to read in order. I’m really glad that I liked it so much – as I already have the other two! And as I said, another example of why I need to get my to-read pile under control.
* One of my least favourite book tactics is the book which kills off the hero/heroine at the end. I’m not saying it isn’t a valid plot device, I’m just saying that, for me, nothing takes the shine off a book that I’ve enjoyed than flood of tears because a character that I liked has been killed off to shock/prove a point.
Started the week off with some promising progress on the Kindle backlog, but progress slowed towards the weekend – despite late shifts all weekend and lots of long (for me) train journeys. But there was some good stuff in the reading, and that’s the most important thing.
Read:
The Captain’s Bluestocking Mistress by Erica Ridley
The Grand Re-opening of the Dandelion Cafe by Jenny Oliver
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Blood Stains by Catriona McPherson
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
Enchantment Lake by Margi Preus
Death in Devon by Ian Sansom
Black Roses by Jane Thynne
A Vintage Wedding by Katie Fforde
Tempest by Lisa Henry and JA Rock
Started:
Itch by Simon Mayo
The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne
Still reading:
n/a
A couple of books pre-ordered – the new Gail Carriger and Eloisa James books – and a few Kindle books too. Naughty Verity
Regular readers to the blog will be unsurprised to discover that this week’s BotW is the new novel from Trisha Ashley. The first review on this blog (and one of the earliest posts) was of her last book Every Woman for Herself and I’ve been waiting eagerly for Creature Comforts ever since. And I managed to control myself – and read the book across three days, rather in one sitting.
Creature Comforts tells the story of Izzy, who returns to her childhood home of Halfhidden, after years travelling around the world. She’s just broken up with her fiancé Kieran and is looking for answers about a tragic accident she was involved in as a teenager. On top of that, she’s starting a new business and helping her friends with a plan to regenerate the village by getting more tourists in. And her aunt’s dog rescue centre is in a spot of bother – with money and with the new owner of the estate that owns the land…
I love the corner of Lancashire that Trisha Ashley has created – and Halfhidden is a great addition to it. I liked the dynamics of Izzy and her gang of friends – and there’s some fun supporting characters (as usual) who are quirky in a non-irritating way. The plot’s a good one too – as Izzy tries to discover what happened that fateful night. Trisha’s heroines always have a bit of baggage behind them to overcome – and I liked that Izzy’s wasn’t a husband/ex-partner as it so often is with books in this sort of genre. I also really empathised over her ex-fiancé – who reminded me of one of my ex-boyfriends* with his attitude towards her and her life.
As usual, after reading on of Trisha’s books, I wanted to go back and read the earlier ones – this is partly because there are always little references to them, enabling you to catch a glimpse of what’s going on with some of your old friends, and reminding you how much you enjoyed reading about their lives.
Creature Comforts is Trisha’s first book to get a hardback release – you can buy it on Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and hopefully in stores too. The Kindle edition is available too and you can pre-order the paperback too if you can control yourself and wait until June.
*Although my exboyfriend didn’t cause me any of the trouble that Kieran causes Izzy!
On Good Reads to-reads shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 440
New books read this Month: 31
Books from the Library Book pile: 2
Books from the to-read pile: 10
Ebooks read: 13
Most read author: Charlaine Harris (3 Harper Connellys)
Books read this year: 51
Books bought: 5
New Year’s Resolutions kept: 1 non fiction book, 2 library books and I bought less than I read from the pile. So some small progress there! And as you can see from the number of books I read in the shortest month of the year, nightshifts (train journeys and meal breaks with nothing to do but read) really do make a difference.
This week’s BotW is Sarah MacLean’s latest historical romance – which has been sitting on the pile since soon after its release waiting for an opportune moment. And after four night shifts I needed a treat.
Never Judge a Lady by her Cover is the final book in MacLean’s Rule of Scoundrel’s series – and tells the story of Georgiana, who MacLean fans first encountered back in her previous series. Since then she’s been leading a double life – disgraced daughter of a duke (complete with illegitimate daughter) by day and something else entirely by night. She is Chase, the powerful figure behind a legendary gaming hell. But will she get her happy ending?*
Another appalling photo. I blame the Huddl2. And the fact that I had 5 minutes before I had to leave for the train. Poor planning from Verity
As you can see I have the American edition (and mine is signed!) despite my embarrassment at bodice-rippery covers (though this is a better cover than many) because I’ve been reading MacLean’s books since before you could get them over here – and we all know I’ve got a thing about matching sets! Also the UK covers are wet and nowhere near as good as the ones other US romance writers get here.
Anyway, when the Big Reveal about Chase took place at the end of the previous book, those who didn’t manage to get accidentally spoilt (unlike me – I found out from the flabbergasted good reads reviewsª) were astounded. It really set the expectations for this book sky high and I’ll admit to being a little concerned that it wouldn’t live up to that – which is perhaps why it has been on to to read pile for a month or two.° But Never Judge a Lady is a brilliant end to what’s been a fabulous series.
The heroine is feisty, smart and independent, the hero is powerful, with a dubious past and missing some key information. Their romance is good (oh lord, the swimming pool scene), the peril is seemingly insurmountable and the dialogue is witty and sparky. Plus we also get plenty of our previous Heroes and Heroines taking pleasure in meddling as they themselves were meddled with. In short, everything you want in a good romance. Perfect post-night shift reading.
You can get your copy of Never Judge a Lady by her Cover from Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones or on Kindle. If you click on any of those, you’ll find out why I don’t like the UK covers – my US edition came from Word in Brooklyn who are Sarah MacLean’s local store and were offering signed copies at the time. Also if you haven’t read the rest of the series, I suggest you start at the beginning with A Rogue by Any Other Name and enjoy the Scoundrels in the order you were meant to. Oh and may be Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart.
* Hint: this is historical romance. Of course she will.
ª I’ve only revealed it here because it’s on the blurb on the back of the book, and if you haven’t read the rest of the series, you won’t mind, and if you’ve only read one or two of them you’ll be wondering why it’s Georgiana’s book not Chases, because the series was clearly going to be a book for each of the Fallen Angel’s owners…
° Also I can’t take a book with a cover like this on the train or into work without risking raised eyebrows and scornful looks.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 