Tag: books

book round-ups, Recommendsday

Recommendsday: January Quick Reviews

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I’m rechristening this post for 2022 – to quick reviews. What practical difference it makes I don’t know, but it feels like less pressure from where I am so I’m going with it! And there’s only three today, because frankly I’ve already written about so much of what I’ve read this month – which has been a particularly productive one on here.

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

This is the third book in the Once Upon a Con series, and although you’ll get most out of it if you have read the previous ones you don’t need to. This is a twist on Beauty and the Beast (as the title suggests) with a disgraced/out of favour young Hollywood actor exiled to a small town and a high school student who accidentally damages a book from the library of the house he is staying in. A pleasant YA way to wile away a few hours.

Rare Danger by Beverly Jenkins

A romantic suspense contemporary Novella from Beverly Jenkins. What is not to like. No seriously, what is there to complain about. Jasmine is a librarian who curates books for private libraries (I want this job) who ends up investigating the disappearance of a book dealer with a private security man – who she also happens to have he a meet cute with. It’s got romance it’s got peril and it’s very satisfying even if it is only just over 100 pages. This is great. I could have read pages more of it.

Capital Crimes ed by Martin Edwards

Honestly at this point it feels like it wouldn’t be a end of month round up without a British library crime classic. This one is a collection of London-set stories and actually features some creepier ones as well as a Margery Allingham Campion short and an Anthony Berkeley too. There’s also a story about a serial killer on the Underground, which was so realistic when it was first serialised, that passenger numbers dropped! Here the ending is a little truncated from that original serialisation, but you can still see why it would have freaked people out!

So that’s it for the January round up. Stat’s coming tomorrow, but Books of the Week this month were: Beware False Profits, Ashes of London, Vanderbilt, The Christie Affair and The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym (although I finished that last one at the end of 2021 rather than in January). I’ve also chattered about The Royal Spyness and Cupcake Bakery series as well as some of the newly published books from January, Magical Worlds and some Vanderbilt-related books. And when I write it all out like that, it’s really quite a lot!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 24 – January 30

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This is a week of mostly audiobooks. Can’t quite figure out why, except that the Paustovsky book is really long and I’ve been trying to prioritise reading it, and I’ve done a lot of cooking and wandering around this week and that’s when I tend to listen to audiobooks. I wish I had more exciting things to say today, but really this has been a busy week and my brain is frazzled!

Read:

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

Too Much Blood by Simon Brett

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

Capital Crimes ed Martin Edwards

Beware False Profits by Emilie Richards

Started:

The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian

Home Work by Julie Andrews

Worn by Sofi Thanhauser*

Still reading:

Death Goes on Skis by Nancy Spain

The Story of a Life by Konstantin Paustovsky*

Several preorders dropped onto the kindle, and as mentioned in the post, I bought the next Cupcake Bakery book in the series…

Bonus photo: did I go to Ikea after work on Tuesday and buy more houseplants? Why yes I did!

Houseplants in an ikea trolley

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

 

The pile

On my wishlist: Historical Cozy Mystery series

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I am rapidly coming towards the end of the Mary Russell series – I’m about to start book 15 of 17 – so I’ve started looking out for a replacement series. I originally called this post historical mysteries and then realised that this week’s Book of the Week was a historical mystery, but that’s not what I’m looking for. I want the historical equivalent of a cozy crime and I probably want it set in the twentieth century. I tried twentieth century mystery in the title but that would also cover books that are a bit more violent than I want. I’m after a series I can binge while I wait for the next Phryne Fisher, Royal Spyness and Maisie Dobbs and to help fill the gap now Carola Dunn has retired and there are no more Daisy Dalrymples coming. I want Golden Age mystery level gore and clever solutions and if it can have a bit of a sense of humour about, so much the better.

The problem – as you can tell – is that I’ve already read a lot of series in this area, which makes it hard to find more. There are a lot of books on kindle that look like they might fit the brief but it can be hard to tell from the sample if they’re actually what your after – or all to easy to tell that it’s not. So if you have suggestions – do hit me up in the comments.

Before you do though, I have got a couple of books laid in to try. Now not all of these are series, but these are what I’ve picked up from the Works recently in the hope of finding a lead somewhere in there. Martin Edwards is the editor of all of those British Library Crime Classic anthologies and this is a sequel to a book of his I’ve read already. I’ve read one of the Sulari Gentil books already – and have another one on the pile too. Edward Marston had loads of series and this is just the one that appealed to me the most from the options. And Victoria Walters is a romantic fiction writer who has made the shift across so I think it might be in a style that appeals. So, suggest away!

Book of the Week, historical, historical, mystery

Book of the Week: Ashes of London

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This week’s fiction book is a historical mystery that has been sitting on my Kindle waiting for me to read it for literally years. And as is so often the case, something I’ve been meaning to read for years turns out to be very good. So I’m owning up and writing about it!

So as The Ashes of London opens, the city is on fire. It’s 1666 and as the cover illustration suggests, the heart of the capital has gone up in flames. Among those watching St Paul’s cathedral going up in flames is James Marwood, who has been forced into a position as a government informer because of the actions of his printer father. In the aftermath of the fire he is drawn in to the investigation into a corpse found with his thumbs tied in a tomb that should have been empty. The investigation takes him back into circles that he would rather not be in but also brings him into contact with Cat Lovett. Cat is searching for her father but is also trying to escape from the people who are looking after her. But the secrets she is hiding are tied up with the answers that James needs.

Firstly an important warning: if you don’t read books with sexual violence in them, then avoid this. Spoiler alert, but in the interest of not letting people in for stuff they don’t want: there is an on page rape in this, which is over quickly but which forms part of Cat’s motivation going forward. I get why Andrew Taylor did it, but I wish he’d come up with another way of achieving the same thing. I’m going to read the second book in the series and I’ll update you if you can jump straight to that without missing too much background.

Now I’ve got that out of the way, I really liked the Restoration setting of this book and the slow drip, drip reveal of all the characters’ backstories. I don’t even think you need to know that much about the period to get the most out of it – as long as you know that Charles I was executed (in 1643) and that for nearly 20 years England was a republican commonwealth ruled by a Lord Protector. In 1660 the monarchy was restored and Charles II (son of the executed Charles) becomes king. And now I’ve told you do you do, and toh can get stuck into the intrigue and suspicion of the Restoration court, and in fact country. I liked the mystery, and the suspense and although ther is some violence and gore, it isn’t too graphic. If you’ve been a fan of the Tudor-set mysteries, and fancy a new scene then try this and if you do like it there are now four more books in the series. As I said at the top, I will read book two and take it from there.

As mentioned this has been on my kindle for ages and was actually part of the NetGalley backlog. But it’s on Kindle and Kobo for £2.99 as I write this and it should also be fairly easy to get hold of in paperback – Foyles have click and collect copies which is always a good sign!

Happy Reading!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 17 – January 23

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A good week in reading. I’ve already written about two of the new books on the list, and you’ll see that Gaudy Night is making it’s 2022 appearance on the list as the Wimsey re-listen continues (again). I’ve also managed to get through most of the books that I’d started but not finished, and I have a bunch of ideas percolating for posts because of them. In a very brave move, I’ve started reading some Russian Literature. Konstantin Paustovsky’s The Story of a Life has just been published in a new translation and I got a copy via NetGalley. It is very long and very dense, so it may well scupper my goal of finishing all the January NetGalley books in January, but I’m going to keep going at it, as much as I can manage in a day before my brain gets frazzled. I’ll keep you all posted…

Read:

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor*

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers

A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle*

The Maid by Nita Prose*

The Wedding Setup by Charlotte Greene*

Spies in St Petersburg by Katherine Woodfine

Forever Young by Hayley Mills

Started:

The Story of a Life by Konstantin Paustovsky*

Beware False Profits by Emilie Richards

Capital Crimes ed Martin Edwards

Still reading:

Death Goes on Skis by Nancy Spain

As you’ll have seen in the Books Incoming post, a few things got added to the pile – four of them from my trip to the works at the start of last week and another bought while I was writing Recommendsday. Then there was one e-book purchase too. So not my most restrained week!

Bonus photo: This was Tuesday morning last week in the park – which you’ll be very familiar with by now, but the frost and the sunlight was just so beautiful I couldn’t help myself.

Frosty early morning in the park

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

 

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 10 – January 16

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Can confirm: a couple of things got in the way of the reading last week. Firstly, the figure skating was on – and you can’t read and pay attention to the skating – and secondly it was my birthday. On top of all the usual stuff, that means the list is shorter this week. Also Ashes of London is really long.

Read:

Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers

The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R King

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

Anthropology by Dan Rhodes

Started:

Death Goes on Skis by Nancy Spain

Spies in St Petersburg by Katherine Woodfine

Still reading:

Forever Young by Hayley Mills

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor*

A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle*

I may have bought myself a couple of books as birthday gifts. But I was quite restrained really.

Bonus photo: In years past, the photo would have been of a trip for my birthday, but the omicron wave means this was my second birthday in a row at home (after almost a decade of going away for it!) so here I am on the sofa with some champagne and a book. And this very laptop in the background on the other sofa because I wasn’t paying proper attention to my backgrounds. I’ll never be an influencer will I?!

A copy of Death of Skis rests on a tartan rug while a hand holds a glass of champagne

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

 

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 3 – January 9

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Just when I thought I was finished with the Christmas reading, I read two more Christmas books. What am I like?! Keen eyed readers will notice that I’ve already finished one of my anticipated books and have started a second. And I’ve read one and started another from that pesky NetGalley backlog.  A couple of Wimsey’s are on here – as audiobooks – as I continue to relisten to them all as I putter around the place. I’m making good progress on Vanderbilt – which is a hardback so not quite as portable as some of the other options, otherwise I think it would be finished already! The end of year/start of year posting frenzy is coming to an end I think, but I do have some ideas for posts coming up to try and keep a bit of the momentum going, even if it’s not quite as much as it has been for the last three-ish weeks!

Read:

The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

Death in the Wasteland by George Bellairs

Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers

Recipe for Redemption by Anna J Stewart*

Rare Danger by Beverly Jenkins

God Rest Ye Royal, Gentlemen by Rhys Bowen

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari*

The Christie Affair by Nina de Grammont*

Started

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor*

A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle*

Still reading:

The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R King

Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Forever Young by Hayley Mills

Two books bought – one physical, one ebook.

Bonus photo: This week, as the only place I’ve been that isn’t my house is the park, the corner shop and Aldi, I thought I’d give you a change. Here’s an attempt to be creative – with some flower arranging…

An attempt at flower arranging

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

 

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 27 – January 2

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Well I do hope you have been enjoying the positive orgy of posts over the last two weeks – and we’re not done yet! Obviously there’s a book of the week post tomorrow, but there’s also the Mini-reviews on Wednesday as usual too. But on top of that I’ve been thinking about my Kindle Unlimited reading in 2021 and my anticipated books of 2022. As for this post, because I finished the 50 States challenge just before Christmas, my goal for the week between Christmas and New Year was to try and finish off all the books that have been hanging around on the Still Reading list for weeks. And as I managed that, I threw in a last a last bit of Christmas Reading as well. I’ve also made a start on a couple of my Christmas Books, as well as what seems like my annual attempt to improve my life in some way with some self help/productivity type books. I didn’t manage finish everything I started though, so the Still Reading list may be empty for one week only! And as we were not really going out because we were close contacts of a Covid case, there was plenty of time for reading so this week’s list is a long one – and as we’re in a new calendar year, the re-read count is reset, hence the appearance of Death in a White Tie again – which was my audiobook for most of the week. 

Read:

The Christmas Card Crime and other stories by Martin Edwards

Release the Beast by Bimini Bon Boulash

Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne*

Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess

Theroux The Keyhole by Louis Theroux

Yule Log Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross

Blood at the Bookies by Simon Brett

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Started

The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R King

Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari*

Forever Young by Hayley Mills

The Christie Affair by Nina de Grammont*

Still reading:

n/a

I bought myself the Hayley Mills, and laid in the next Mary Russell after the one I started this week, but that was it I think. I’m kinda pleased with me!

Bonus photo: Some gorgeous colours at sunset (well nearly sunset) on Sunday after my very wet and cold trot around the park.

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

 

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 20 – December 26

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Hands up anyone else whose Christmas didn’t quite work out as planned? Yes, quite a lot of us really isn’t there. Still in our case it could have been worse – there was only one positive test, and the rest of the family are still clear. For now. Anyway, it came at the end of a very, very busy week and consequently this week’s list is mostly the tail end of the 50 states challenge (I finished!) and then Christmas (or at least festive) themed novellas. But that was what I fancied reading, so it’s allowed! Onwards to the last few days of the year. Coming up this week we have the end of year extravaganzas – as long as I manage to write them all…

Read:

Buzz Off by Deb Baker

Movie Night Murder by Leslie Langtry

A Very Beery New Year by Jackie Lau

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R King

The Ordeal of the Haunted Room by Jodi Taylor

Toast of Time by Jodi Taylor

Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker

Started:

The Christmas Card Crime and other stories by Martin Edwards

Release the Beast by Bimini Bon Boulash

Still reading:

Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson

Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne*

Theroux The Keyhole by Louis Theroux

Blood at the Bookies by Simon Brett

A couple of books received for Christmas, a couple more bought on the Kindle. Positively restrained.

Bonus photo: a scene of Christmas Eve chaos – as the present wrapping gets done even later than ever before…

Wrapping paper, gift tags and other gift wrapping acoutrements!

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

 

Book of the Week, cozy crime

Book of the Week: Christmas in Paradise

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A short post this week, but a festive -themed one. I read a whole bunch of books last week for my 50 states (and D.C.) challenge but there wasn’t a lot I wanted to write about – except this one which is not the first in a series and is a series I’ve written about before. But hey ho, rules are made to be broken at Christmas aren’t they?

Christmas in Paradise is the fourth book in Kathi Daley’s Tj Jensen series. The series is set at a resort on a lake in a town called Serenity. As you might suspect from the title, this one is set at Christmas and Tj is planning a big celebration but also waiting for the arrival of the man who says he is the real father of one of her sisters. Tj’s mother is dead – and she’s the guardian of her two younger sisters and is worried about what this might mean for their little family unit. When the new boyfriend of one of her neighbours is found dead in the grounds of the resort, Tj can’t help but try and find out who did it – to clear her friends’s husband of suspicion.

This is another Henery Press cozy crime from the period where they were really on good form. This isn’t too gory or thrillers – it’s a good mystery that runs nicely alongside the ongoing story strands for the main characters. I’ve read these wildly out of order, but this is the seventh in the series that I’ve read and they’re a very easy way to pass a few hours. And of course this has the added bonus of being set at Christmastime – and we’re just days away now.

Christmas in Paradise and the rest of the series are in Kindle Unlimited, which means they’re off the other digital platforms at the moment – unless you want the audiobook. But if you’re a KU member, it’s an ideal time to binge!

Happy Reading!