On What Cathy Read Next last week
Blog posts
Monday – I shared some thoughts on historical novels published in 2020 that might be contenders for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books On My Winter 2020/21 TBR. I also shared my review of the first in a new series set in the Viking age, A Time For Swords by Matthew Harffy, as part of the blog tour.
Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next…as well as have a good nose around to see what other bloggers are reading. I also published my review of The Running Wolf by Helen Steadman.
Thursday – I took part in the 2020 edition of the My Life in Books meme.
Saturday – I shared my review of The Diabolical Bones (The Brontë Mysteries #2) by Bella Ellis.
As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or so shared my blog posts on social media.
New arrivals
The High-Rise Diver by Julia von Lucadou, trans. by Sharmila Cohen (eARC, courtesy of World Editions via NetGalley)
Big Sister is watching you…
Riva is a “high-rise diver,” a top athlete with millions of fans, and a perfectly functioning human on all levels. Suddenly she rebels, breaking her contract and refusing to train. Cameras are everywhere in her world, but she doesn’t know her every move is being watched by Hitomi, the psychologist tasked with reining Riva back in. Unquestionably loyal to the system, Hitomi’s own life is at stake: should she fail to deliver, she will be banned to the “peripheries,” the filthy outskirts of society.
For readers of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Circle, and Brave New World, this chilling dystopia constructs a world uncomfortably close to our own, in which performance is everything.
The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison (eARC, courtesy of Bookouture via NetGalley)
Montgomery, Alabama, 1955. On a cold December evening, Mattie Banks packs a suitcase and leaves her family home. Sixteen years old and pregnant, she has already made the mistake that will ruin her life and disgrace her widowed mother. Boarding the 2857 bus, she sits with her case on her lap, hoping that the driver will take her away from disaster. Instead, Mattie witnesses an act of bravery by a woman named Rosa Parks that changes everything. But as Mattie strives to turn her life around, the dangers that first led her to run are never far away. Forging a new life in a harsh world at constant risk of exposure, Mattie will need to fight to keep her baby safe.
Atlanta, Georgia, present day. Ashlee Turner is going home. Her relationship in ruins, her career held back by prejudice, she is returning to the family who have always been her rock. But Ashlee’s home is not the safe haven she remembers. Her beloved grandmother is dying and is determined to share her story before she leaves… When Ashlee finds a stack of yellowing letters hidden in her nana’s closet, she can’t help the curiosity that compels her to read, and she uncovers an old secret that could wreak havoc on her already grieving family. As she tries to make sense of what she has learned, Ashlee faces a devastating choice: to protect her loved ones from the revelations, or honor her grandmother’s wishes and follow the path to the truth, no matter where it may lead.
Dublin’s Girl by Eimear Lawlor (eARC, courtesy of Aria via NetGalley)
Falling in love with the enemy is the ultimate act of betrayal…
1917 – A farm girl from Cavan, Veronica McDermott is desperate to find more to life than peeling potatoes. Persuading her family to let her stay with her aunt and uncle in Dublin so she can attend secretarial college, she has no idea what she is getting into. Recruited by Fr Michael O’Flanagan to type for Eamon De Valera, Veronica is soon caught up in the danger and intrigue of those fighing for Ireland’s independence from Britain.
The attentions of a handsome British soldier, Major Harry Fairfax, do not go unnoticed by Veronica’s superiors. But when Veronica is tasked with earning his affections to gather intelligence for Sinn Féin, it isn’t long before her loyalty to her countrymen and her feelings for Harry are in conflict. To choose one is to betray the other…
The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin (eARC, courtesy of Aria via NetGalley)
Sometimes the past won’t stay hidden, it demands to be uncovered…
Arthur Pettinger’s memory isn’t what it used to be. He can’t always remember the names of his grandchildren, where he lives or which way round his slippers go. He does remember Maryse though, a woman he hasn’t seen for decades, but whose face he will never forget.
When Arthur’s granddaughter, Maddy moves in along with her daughter Esther, it’s her first step towards pulling her life back together. But when Esther makes a video with Arthur, the hunt for the mysterious Maryse goes viral.
There’s only one person who can help Maddy track down this woman – the one that got away, Joe. Their quest takes them to France, and into the heart of the French Resistance.
When the only way to move forwards is to look back, will this family finally be able to?
On What Cathy Read Next this week
Currently reading
Planned posts
- Blog Tour/Book Review: Winterkill (Dark Iceland #6) by Ragnar Jónasson
- Top Ten Tuesday
- Waiting on Wednesday
- Book Review: The Long Traverse by John Buchan
What Cathy Read Next... 