Some highs and lows this week – including one book that nearly made me scream with frustration at a couple of silly errors – but in the end the good outweighed the irritation really. I’ve also just realised I’ve only finished actual print books this week – so the pile is smaller – but it means I’m probably behind when it comes to the NetGalley books again…
Read:
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
Book, Line and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay
Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody
Nightingales at War by Donna Douglas
Soulless the Manga by Gail Carriger and REM
Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia McNeal
Started:
Dayshift by Charlaine Harris
Still reading:
The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts
I bought three books (for £1!) in the books sale at the library as I try and support it – that’s my story and I’m sticking too it!
No prizes for spotting that the Evanovich obsession continues apace. Not quite as much read this week as I wanted – I’ve had a cold and it’s been busy at work.
Read:
Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
The Liar by Nora Roberts
High Five by Janet Evanovich
A Lady Never Surrenders by Sabrina Jeffries
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Started:
The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne
Still reading:
n/a
As the Stephanie Plum mania continues, I’ve ordered some more – 7 more to be precise, and two other books. Oops.
Having got a bit behind with my book group reading, the early part of the week was spent reading the remaining 450 pages (of 500) of the Sudden Departure of the Frasers – which was definitely worth it. After that, the General Election and nightshifts took over – and I moved into a crime-and-romance mind set. I wanted to finish the Nora Roberts – and it is prime nightshift reading (so far at least) but my copy is a big old hardback, too big and heavy to cart about to work and back.
Read:
The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrew
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish
The Unlikely Lady by Valerie Bowman
A War of Flowers by Jane Thynne
Defying the Earl by Anabelle Bryant
Three to get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
The Lady Hellion by Joanna Shupe
Started:
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Still reading:
The Liar by Nora Roberts
No books bought this week (!) which is particularly impressive because nights usually mean poor impulse control, resulting in binge book buying in the early hours. However I’m still on the Evanovich bandwagon (and now The Boy has joined in) so I’m not sure how long the five that I bought last week are going to last me…
I love lazy bank holiday weekends. So much time to work on the to-read pile. I’ve had so much fun with my reading this week. This coming week is the General Election here in the UK – and I’m on an overnight for the results – and then three more nightshifts afterwards. Expect next week’s reading to major in the light and fluffy – especially towards the end of the week…
Read:
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
The Devil You know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi
George VI: The Dutifull King by Philip Ziegler
All that Glitters by Holly Smale
The Vintage Ice Cream Van by Jenny Oliver
Ivy Lane by Cathy Bramley
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig
How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries
Started:
A War of Flowers by Jane Thynne
The Liar by Nora Roberts
Still reading:
The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish
You’ll have noticed that the Janet Evanovich obsession has continued this week – and that means I’ve had a book buying spree – namely 5 more Stephanie Plums and a couple of other bits and bobs. So 9 books and a Geek Girl novella. Oops.
On Good Reads to-reads shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 445
New books read this month: 37*
Books from the Library Book pile: 4
Books from the to-read pile: 6
Ebooks read: 21
Most read author: Holly Smale
Books read this year: 120
Books bought: 8 actual books
New Year’s Resolutions kept: 1 library book read, 1 non fiction but I did buy 8 paperbacks – but I’ve already read 2 of them and started on a third so the pile hasn’t grown quite the way you’d think. Although it is bigger. My Janet Evanovich habit is not helping with the book-buying though! And I bought a couple of e-books too. My main focus this month has been getting my NetGalley backlog down – and I’ve been really quite successful at that – which is good. Swings and roundabouts
This week’s BotW is Gail Carriger’s latest – Prudence – and you can’t say that I didn’t warn you that this might happen. Because I did, even if it’s a few weeks later than I thought it might turn up here. And that’s because I took an executive decision to save it for my holiday book – for our trip (to Vienna in the end) to mark a Significant Birthday for The Boy. A holiday book should be a treat, preferably something that you know you’re not going to hate, and as it was already on the to-read pile, saving this meant I didn’t incur the wrath of The Boy for buying books again…
I really like the purple and pink theme. And I’m not usually a pink person…
Anyway, Prudence is the first book in Carriger’s new series – the Custard Protocol. Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School books, there are some familiar faces, not least Prudence herself – last seen as a toddler in the Parasol Protectorate series. When Rue is given a dirigible, she names it The Spotted Custard and heads for India on a secret mission. But the situation there is not as simple as she had been lead to believe (and that wasn’t that simple to start with) and before long she’s dealing with dissidents, kidnappings and a pack of Scottish werewolves and it will take all her metanatural skills to deal with it.
Now, I’ve read all (I think) of Carriger’s other series, but I don’t think it would spoil your enjoyment of the book if you haven’t read them* as Carriger has been very careful not to give away too many spoilers for the plots of her previous books.** However, for those of us who have read the previous books, you get the delicious enjoyment of being better informed about the past than our heroine, and equally delightful anticipation of confrontations and revelations yet to come.
When I read Timeless, I spotted a few dangling threads left that I hoped were teasers of stuff yet to come – and I was on the right track. Again, my spoiler policy makes it difficult to be more specific than that, but I really like the direction that this series looks to be heading in. The only problem with having read Prudence in fact is that I now have to wait (probably) a year to find out what happens next in Imprudence – and it’s still more than six months until the final Finishing School book – Manners and Mutiny – where I finally get to find out how Sophronia’s world became Alexias.
You can buy Prudence from all the usual sources – like Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles and Kindle. I’ve also spotted it in my local library already – which I haven’t seen before – and is brilliant, because hopefully it’ll introduce more people to Gail Carriger and then they can fall in love with her world like I have.
* Although the Parasol Protectorate is the more relevant to this book if you want somewhere to start
** Although the identity of Rue’s parents is a bit of a spoiler for Souless, there’s no way to avoid that!
No work this week – we went to Vienna for five dates to celebrate a Significant Birthday for The Boy with Wiener Schnitzel and Art Nouveau. The reading was mostly light and fluffy and frivolous.
Read:
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
All Fired Up by Vivian Arend
Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson
Prudence by Gail Carriger
The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki
Stanley Chambers and the Problem of Evil by James Runcie
Started:
The One and Only by Emily Giffin
The Kadin by Bertrice Small
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood
Still reading:
n/a
I may have had a weak moment on Monday night and ordered some Janet Evanovich after last week’s revelation…
This week I have been mostly tackling some of the longest standing overdue books from my NetGalley list. The good news is, that everything that is left on the list is now something that was published this year. Which is a big step forward!
Read:
Mapp and Lucia by E F Benson
The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor
The Importance of Being Alice by Katie MacAlister
It Girl by Nic Tatano
The Affair by Gill Paul
Spirits, Stilettos and a Silver Bustier by Deanna Chase
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
Summer at Castle Stone by Lynn Marie Hulsman
Started:
Stanley Chambers and the Problem of Evil by James Runcie
Still reading:
n/a
A one-off Saturday nightshift lead to a little bit of book purchasing, but I’ve been very good really. I even took some library books back (after reading them). Although I did then borrow some more…
A good week of reading – some really good stuff in there – and the kindle backlog slightly reduced too. I do love a long holiday weekend…
Read:
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
The Julius House by Charlaine Harris
The Little Things by Jane Costello
Expecting the Earl’s Baby by Jessica Gilmore
The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver
The Harlot Countess by Joanna Shupe
In For a Penny by Rose Lerner
Four Nights with the Duke by Eloisa James
Started:
Mapp and Lucia by E F Benson
The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown
Still reading:
The Affair by Gill Paul
What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor
One book bought – the Julius House on Kindle – after I read Midnight Crossroad last week and felt the need for some Aurora. But I valiantly resisted the urge to buy the next book. And I went into The Works on Saturday and emerged EMPTY HANDED! That’s practically superhuman willpower for me!
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 