On What Cathy Read Next last week
Monday – I shared my review of historical novel The Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Bookish Goals for 2023.
Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.
Thursday – I shared my review of The New Life by Tom Crewe.
Saturday – I published my review of Becoming Ted by Matt Cain as part of the blog tour.
New arrivals
In the Shadows of Castles by G.K. Holloway (Silverwood Books)
It’s the 1060s and William of Normandy is establishing a new and brutal regime in England, but there are those who would defy him. As Norman soldiers spread like a plague across the land, resistance builds, but will it be enough to topple William and restore the rightful king to his throne? The English have the courage to fight, but the Normans, already victorious at Hastings, now build castles seeking to secure their tenuous foothold in these lands.
And what of the people caught up in these catastrophic events? Dispossessed but not defeated, their lives ripped apart, the English struggle for freedom from tyranny; amongst them, caught up in the turmoil, are a soldier, a thane and two sisters. As events unfold, their destinies become intertwined, bringing drastic changes that alter their lives forever.
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (eARC, Mantle via NetGalley)
‘My father had spelt it out to me. Choice was a luxury I couldn’t afford. This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .’
A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar.
Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling is a delight to high society, but she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?
The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholemew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads into her grave danger . . .
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press)
In the winter of 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner in the icy hall it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here: he intends to kill her.
Lucrezia is sixteen years old and has led a sheltered life, locked away inside Florence’s grandest palazzo, guarded by her father’s soldiers and her mother’s ladies-in-waiting. Here, in this remote villa, however, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.
What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, the ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.
On What Cathy Read Next this week
Currently reading
Planned posts
- Blog Tour/Book Review: A Winter Grave by Peter May
- Book Review: The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
- Book Review: The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
What Cathy Read Next... 
I loved The marriage Portrait, and on your advice, and now looking forward to the library getting Becoming Ted in stock. But everything you’ve mentioned here looks worth a punt.
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That’s great to hear because my husband recently bought me a copy for my birthday. I haven’t the heart to tell him it’s now in the Waterstones half price sale!
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That’s so lovely of him … ‘cos you’re worth it 😉
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