Weekly Reading Round-Up
Okay, folks! I’ve been in a big reading slump and need recommendations. What have you been reading this week? And is there anything that has particularly stood out for you lately?
Okay, folks! I’ve been in a big reading slump and need recommendations. What have you been reading this week? And is there anything that has particularly stood out for you lately?
Similar title to yours is Stephanie Thornton’s The Secret History (ends there) about Empress Theodora and Justinian in ancient Constantinople. I’ve also just picked up her second novel Daughter of the Gods, about Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut. Can’t put down kind of books.
I read Berkeley Square Affair by Teresa Grant this week and LOVED IT!!!! Napoleonic War era book with spies. Right up your alley! And Kraken King by Meljean Brook is fabulous.
I just finished “Berkeley Square Affair” too and loved it!
So did I. Brilliant!!!
I finished An Unsuitable Attachment (Barbara Pym) and absolutely loved it, but I’m pretty sure you’ve read Pym? She’s the best. If you enjoy Italy, gritty mysteries, and culture/food you might like Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series, set in modern day Venice, which I just adore. I read Drawing Conclusions (#20) this past week but the first one is Death at La Fenice. Leon presents Venice/Italy with great love but with an honest and forthright understanding of its imperfections. They are just terrific.
It’s hard to not love the Commissario, Pam. I read recently where Donna Leon and BBC are joining up to dramatize the series -won’t that be cool?
I’ve been reading the ice series by Anne Stuart, about a group of bad boy assassins who save the world and are of course reformed when they meet the right girl. They’re very easy to read, fast paced and pure escapism (because you would never want to meet such people in real life!). I recommend it.
Three things I loved here recently
1. The Divergent Series, I am almost done with the third book, love it!
2. The White Queen by Philipa Gregory, the whole series is exceptional! I love reading the same story through different eyes.
3. The River of No Return, you know about this one already, but if a sequel doesn’t come out soon I will scream!
Also, if you are in the mood for some trashy, but amazing romance novels, I have to say The Devil Wears Kilts was pretty entertaining. (Think the Scottish version of the Malory family) I pre-orded the next book, with an equally silly name, Rogue with a Brogue!
This a list that is actually about two weeks’ worth.
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands, Natasha Solomons, as always beautifully written.
Moonrise, by Anne Stuart, a thriller, it is pretty good.
The Innocent. another thriller by David Baldacci, great plot, needs more info about his characters and needs longer sentences.
What She Left Behind, Ellen Marie Wiseman, my fav of these, intense, chilling , very well-written story of the plight of a socialite who couldn’t live up to her family’s expectations in the late 1920’s.
And Hero at Large, an early Janet Evanovich, which was frothy and fun.
For the past few weeks it’s only been text books for my English 101 class. Then I found A Rose in Winter by Woodiwiss at goodwill and sneaked in a quick read.
Her books are so much fun. But now it’s back to essays for a while.
Right now I’m reading Bird Box by Josh Malerman, which is wonderful creepy suspense. Before that I read The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher, 19th century fantasy with a tone that reminds me a lot of Neil Gaiman.
I finished up Mortal Arts by Anna Lee Huber, the second in her series. Hawkwood, first in that series; it is about a Bow Street runner with an interesting past, of course! And I’m working my way through the Deadwood series by Ann Charles. Mystery, humor, hot sex, what more could you want?
Finished Middlemarch, which really picks up once Eliot decides to drop all the overwriting about religion in the first hundred pages. My review is already up for ‘This’ Summer… http://strange-and-random-happenstance.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-george-eliots-middlemarch.html
Then a re-read Possession, which was a lot better the second time, but amazing how dated it felt with the xeroxes and lack of computers.
Now I’m reading The Shadow of the Wind, which is nothing what I expected. Instead of being a mystery, it’s more coming of age.
I recommend to you the Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourists Histories, book 4 just came out this week and they are SO AWESOME!
Lately I’ve read City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn ( I loved the setting) and The Julius House (Book #4 of Aurora Teagarden) by Charlaine Harris.
When I get in a reading slump it’s either time to take a little break from reading to get a few other things done or time to read something completely different than my usual fare. So maybe try something you wouldn’t ordinarily consider reading?
I finished up Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series this week, not quite as overwhelmingly charming as Phryne Fisher stories, but she’s great with a colorful cast of characters in her heroine’s life.
I have been re-reading Anthea Malcolm’s (Tracy/Teresa Grant) regency romances. They are just delightful. The first 2, The Widow’s Gambit and The Courting Of Philippa, are very funny, but no. 3, A Frivolous Pretence, is a lot more serious and you can really see her interest veering towards mystery as opposed to straight romance.
I am taking a management class at work so, my reading has been put on hold for a few weeks.
Am looking forward to reading ARCS of Shana Galen and Grace Burrowes next books. Hope to start them soon.:)
Read the fourth Glamour book “Valour and Vanity” by Mary Robinette Kowal. I love this series but have to be honest. This one isn’t really grabbing me. I feel like I am slogging through it. It may just be a case of needing to read it another time. I hope! Also read “Murder in Thrall” by Anne Cleeland. Reminds me a bit of The Lord and Lady Hetheridge series by Emma Jameson. Murder in Thrall wasn’t quite what I was expecting as the hero is a total stalker. Still, I liked his complexity and for some reason the book really worked for me. I look forward to the second on the series.
Sorry to hear that Alice. I just devoured Valour and Vanity. Just loved the Italian setting and the random Dr. Who cameo!
Recent reads and loves were The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and Dangerous by Shannon Hale.
I reread The Firebird after reading Kearsley’s The Shadowy Horses and The Winter Sea, and am so glad I did. It is even better after knowing about the previous connections through these books and I loved it the first time.
I am now going to embark upon a group of books that tell about the lives of Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford – fighters for Irish freedom. I found out about them by researching a beautiful song “Grace”. Joseph Plunkett was executed on May 4, 1916, 4 days after the failure of the Easter Uprising in 1916. Seven hours before his execution, he married his fiancee, Grace, in the prison chapel. Grace went on to continue his fight. I promised myself I would read about these brave people during the anniversary of Joseph’s death – 16 Lives:Joseph Plunkett, Unlikely Rebels:the Gifford Girls, and Grace Plunkett and the Fight for Irish Freedom.
Shana by Kathleen Woodiwiss…it’s a must every 3 years!