On the blog last week
Tuesday – I went off-piste for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday with Books Set in Theatres.
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 Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, one of the books on my list for the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge.
New on my shelves
Venetian Vespers by John Banville (Faber & Faber via NetGalley)
Everything was a puzzle, everything a trap set to mystify and hinder me. . .
1899. As the new century approaches, English hack-writer Evelyn Dolman marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of a wealthy American plutocrat. But in the midst of a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, Evelyn’s plans of a substantial inheritance are thrown into doubt.
As the unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice at Palazzo Dioscuri – the ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo – a series of seemingly otherworldly occurrences exacerbate Evelyn’s already frayed is it just the sea mist blanketing the floating city or is he losing his mind?
Agricola: Commander by Simon Turney (Aries via NetGalley)
In the aftermath of Rome’s civil war, Agricola returns to Britannia in command of his own legion.
This is not the honour it seems at first. Agricola’s new legion threatens mutiny and the frontier province has suffered under troublesome governors. And the Brigantes, a powerful Celtic tribe in Britannia, are ready to make war against Rome.
To stabilise Roman rule and bring peace, Agricola must use all his political and military skills. But when a new commander is posted to Britannia, Agricola’s efforts have counted for nothing.
For General Petilius Cerialis wants to completely destroy the Brigantes. With the tribe roused to throw off the Roman yoke for good, Agricola must prepare for the greatest war yet in Britannia… one which few will survive.
Rage of Swords (Masters of War #9) by David Gilman (Aries via NetGalley)
1368. Amidst the Hundred Years’ War, alliances must be brokered. The Duke of Clarence, second son of King Edward III, journeys from Paris to marry the daughter of the powerful Lord of Milan. Little does he know that he is heading into a trap.
Luckily the Duke is preceded on the road to Milan by Sir Thomas Blackstone, Master of War, on an urgent mission of his own. Blackstone must get his hands on the gold the Prince of Wales needs to wage successful war in France.
But there is a price on Blackstone’s head, and assassins willing to risk everything to claim it before he even gets to Milan. He must outwit a succession of ever deadlier enemies, and the Master of War has other foes to conquer: the ambitions of his son Henry, who has inherited his father’s knack of getting into scrapes. Scrapes that could end in a hangman’s noose…
What I’m currently reading
I’m listening to the audiobook of The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel from my 20 Books of Summer list, I’m reading The Last Apartment in Istanbul by Defne Suman from my NetGalley shelf and also from my 20 Books of Summer list, Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee.
Look out for…
- Book Review: A Beautiful Way to Die by Eleni Kyriacou
- Book Review: The Mare by Angharad Hampshire
- Book Review: Green Ink by Stephen May
What Cathy Read Next... 