Tag: books

books, stats, week in books, The pile

The Week in Books: February 9 – February 15

veritywilde

As expected, I’m too busy watching the Winter Olympics (as well as a weekend away!) to get a lot of reading done, so this is a bit of a list dominated by novellas – although I did get two books finished. It could have been a lot worse. This week I have the Winter Olympics *and* a theatre trip so who knows if the situation will be any better come next Monday. I’m really enjoying the Games though and it will soon be over, so I’m not complaining at all.

Read:

The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters

A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci

Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood*

Valentines Slay by Navessa Allen

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett*

Buried Blooms by Patti Benning

Started:

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Still reading:

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

One book bought, no ebooks

Bonus picture: A photo of a very young Kenneth Branaugh in Hamlet at the Birmingham Rep on Saturday night.

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

romance, series

Romance Series: Improbable Meet-Cute Second Chances

veritywilde

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow and after 2024’s Improbable Meet-Cute series of Originals, Amazon are back with a second set themed around the idea of a second chance after a meet cute. nd I have read them all so you don’t have to. I was really optimistic after the first three, because I really liked all of them, but then it went downhill a little. So I’m going to focus on the ones that I really liked.

The Christina Lauren has a marketing consultant who ends up in the wrong zoom meeting and then gives a brutal critique of the presentation she sees. This leads the company boss to offer her a job, but their emails turn flirty and soon she’s torn between him and her hot but mysterious neighbour. This is a a wild premise, but the banter is good and I raced through it. I’ve mentioned before that Christina Lauren can sometimes come down the wrong side of my tastes when it comes to workplaces and professionalism, but this navigates the workplace romance dynamic neatly and has an actually competent heroine who is good at her job and flirting on the side. It also has just the right amount of plot for the length, which cannot be said for some of the others in the series!

Time Will Tell has a heroine who gets a letter from her deceased grandmother revealing a long held secret – and leading her to a time capsule and a lost love affair. This starts an email conversation with the grandson of her grandmother’s lost love all the way over in England. This is also just the right amount of plot for the length, and the main characters felt really three dimensional. It was my first time reading Hannah Bonam-Young, and I would definitely give something full length a chance on the basis of this.

In Second Act Romance, an emergency replacement is drafted in to play Bex’s leading man when the cast of the musical that she’s in comes down with food poisoning. But it turns out that he’s the same guy she shared some onstage fireworks with years before. Now they’re working together again, and can they work out the misunderstanding that stopped their first encounter going any further. I’m a bit mixed on Julie Soto, but her entry in this series is probably my favourite thing I’ve read of hers. It’s a bit bonkers, but I went with it.

Of the other three, Death to Valentines Day has far too much plot for the length that it is – a murder and and romance in less than 100 pages! – and that means that there’s not a lot of time for characterisation so everyone feels quite caricaturish and over drawn. Valentine’s Slay is (thankfully) not actually a vampire story, but it is the most outlandish in terms of plot. On the other hand, it’s also the spiciest so some may like it best because of that – although for me I’m not sure I’d be up for sex about an hour after waking up buried alive, but hey danger boner is a staple of romance novels so what do I know. Anyway, although I have some reservations, they’re all short and as they were in KU I didn’t have to pay for them, so all in all a nice way to read some romance before Valentines day and try out some new authors as four of the six were new to me.

Have a great weekend!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 2 – February 8

veritywilde

It’s day three of the Winter Olympics proper and I’m having such a good time watching it all I’m almost surprised I finished anything over the weekend. But I did, although it wasn’t any of the long runners that I’m meant to be targeting. Hey ho, onwards and upwards towards the ice dance, where the Brits have a chance of a medal if all the stars align for them.

Read:

The Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy*

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Under Admiralty Arch by S J T Riley*

Familiar Ferocity by Patti Benning

Night Rider by Sloane Fletcher*

Off Script by Bianca Gillam*

Cyanide in the Sun ed Martin Edwards

Started:

n/a

Still reading:

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

One book bought in Waterstones Trafalgar Square

Bonus picture: the Coliseum on Wednesday night before some Gilbert and Sullivan.

*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: January 26 – February 1

veritywilde

As I said yesterday, there’s a new Amazon valentines novella series and so there are a few of those on here. Otherwise I’ve nearly finished one of the long runners and so I’m getting there, despite a night out at the theatre in the week and a very busy weekend. Onwards into February.

Read:

Tide Up by Patti Benning

A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead*

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Cross the Line by Simone Soltani

Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren

Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young

Second Act Romance by Julie Soto

On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry

Started:

Night Rider by Sloane Fletcher*

Under Admiralty Arch by S J T Riley*

Still reading:

The Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy*

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

One book and one ebook bought.

Bonus picture: the Fitzrovia Chapel in almost daylight one day after work this week. It’s getting lighter everyone…

*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

Reading Stats: January 2026

veritywilde

Books read this month: 31*

New books: 26

Re-reads: 5 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 5

NetGalley books read: 5

Kindle Unlimited read: 12

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 2

Favourite book: Meet the Newmans

Books bought: 4 actual books (3 of them in Sheffield), 1 pre-order placed, 5 ebooks

Most read author: Goodreads tells me that the Elissa Sussman is the longest book I’ve read this year so far so it must be that!

Books read in 2025: 31

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 597 (I told you I’d done a cull!)

January started well, but then sailed a little bit off course on account of that entire week of skating in Sheffield. Which was amazing and I regret nothing. The week of recovery I regret a little bit more, but hey these things happen. There are more novellas on this list than usual – because at times that was all my fried little brain could cope with, but also because Patti Benning writes annoyingly readable things and I kept going straight on to the next one but also because Amazon dropped another Valentines Novella collection with a bunch of romance authors I like and I ended up reading those instead of finishing off some of the things I had on the go. I’d like to think February will be a better month in reading, but the Winter Olympics start on Friday and we all know how much I love the Olympics. And given that I can only watch one thing at a time and I also have to work, the reading may get a little sidelined in favour of figure skating, skiing and sliding,

Bonus picture: Another picture from my fabulous week in Sheffield!

*often includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – 10 this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 19 – January 25

veritywilde

Not quite back to normal service after Sheffield because it was a very, very busy week but I’m getting there. And as we’re hurtling towards the end of the month that’s probably for the best. Hopefully now I’m back up to date with everything and I can get down to finishing some more books and not just starting them!

Read:

A Not So Model Home by David James

Managed Mayhem by Patti Benning

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley*

Walled Off by Patti Benning

The Vanderbeekers Ever After by Karina Yan Glaser

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Started:

On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry

Still reading:

The Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy*

Future Saints by Ashley Winstead*

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

No books bought!

Bonus picture: I love an old school logo, and this moving van in Fitzroy square felt like such a mix of modernity and tradition that I had to take a photo!

*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: January 12 – January 18

veritywilde

So I was off work last week, but I was also spending 7 hours a day watching figure skating, so not a lot of reading happened! It was a fabulous week though, it was amazing to see all the European skaters at their last competition before they head to Milan for the Olympics next month. The atmosphere in the arena was amazing and all the people sitting around me were great too. It all went very fast, and I can’t believe it’s over already. Normal reading should be resumed this week…

Read:

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto

Pawsitively Perilous by Patti Benning

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

Running Scared by Patti Benning

How to Spot a Fascist by Umberto Eco

Started:

A Not So Model Home by David James

The Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy*

Future Saints by Ashley Winstead*

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley*

Still reading:

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Three books bought, and you’ve seen them all already.

Bonus picture: an action shot of the Brits on their way to a bronze in the ice dance.

*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: January 5 – January 11

veritywilde

Honestly I really picked the wrong week to do the commute in to work daily (rather than staying down there for a few nights) and it was as very rude awakening for the post Christmas return to normality. Still that number of train delays means more reading time I guess? Anyway, I’m pleased with myself – I’ve read two of my January NetGalley books already and also a non-fiction book so I’m off to an alright start to the year really.

Read:

Silenced at the Book Show by Kim Griswell*

Meet-Cat by Adele Buck

Deliberate Cruelty by Roseanne Montillo

Nose Dives by Patti Benning

Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven*

The Ape Who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters

Started:

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto

Still reading:

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Three kindle books bought because of poor will power while writing the offers post!

Bonus picture: Snow week…

*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

December Stats

veritywilde

Books read this month: 35*

New books: 29

Re-reads: 6 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 7

NetGalley books read: 6

Kindle Unlimited read: 10

Ebooks: 7

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 2

Favourite book: Tough to choose between Season of Love and Second Chance Romance

Books bought: lets not talk about it

Most read author: Really hard to say because there weren’t any repeats ths month except Georgette Heyer rereads. So lets say that

Books read in 2025: 381

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 829 at the end of the year, but has now gone down after the cull I mentioned in yesterday’s resolutions post.

I finished the year pretty strongly once I had finished off my last states I actually managed to read some Christmas books and get some more NetGalley books off the list too. I’ve already said a lot about 2025, so there’s not a lot more to say here for once. But as we are now well into January, it’s time to look forward!

Bonus picture: one last Christmas photo – from Liberty’s main hall, it’s the good ship Liberty!

*often includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – 6 this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 29 – January 4

veritywilde

I finished the Christmas and New Year Period with some more time off work, so I got some more reading done, even if I didn’t managed to finish the two incredibly long runners. Yet. I have made progress though, I really have. Anyway, enjoying the freedom from challenges I read two books that I had been saving since last year because I already had those states ticked off (Illinois and Montana) and two more books that I’d been wanted to read but had had to wait because of the need to finish the 50 States (the Nev Fountain and Mimi Pond) Happy New Year to me!

Read:

The Christmas Alibi by J G Colgan

Do Admit by Mimi Pond

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards*

Lies and Dolls by Nev Fountain

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

The Merchant of Menace by Jill Churchill

Jammed with Secrets by Selina Hill*

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman

Started:

Silenced at the Book Show by Kim Griswell*

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

One pre-order dropped onto my Kindle and two more ebooks bought

Bonus picture: We went to Lyveden New Bield for a New Year stroll. You gotta love a finished moat but an unfinished house. Priorities.

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