#WWWWednesday – 10th February 2021

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

Daughters of NightDaughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (eARC, courtesy of Mantle via NetGalley)

Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’

London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly-paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thief-taker, Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.

But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous than she can know…

The Diplomat's WifeThe Diplomat’s Wife by Michael Ridpath (ARC, courtesy of Corvus and Readers First)

1936: Devastated by the death of her beloved brother Hugh, Emma seeks to keep his memory alive by wholeheartedly embracing his dreams of a communist revolution. But when she marries an ambitious diplomat, she must leave her ideals behind and live within the confines of embassy life in Paris and Nazi Berlin. Then one of Hugh’s old comrades reappears, asking her to report on her philandering husband, and her loyalties are torn.

1979: Emma’s grandson, Phil, dreams of a gap-year tour of Cold War Europe, but is nowhere near being able to fund it. So when his beloved grandmother determines to make one last trip to the places she lived as a young diplomatic wife, and to try to solve a mystery that has haunted her since the war, he jumps at the chance to accompany her. But their journey takes them to darker, more dangerous places than either of them could ever have imagined…


Recently finished

Links from the titles will take you to my reviews

Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison


What Cathy (will) Read Next

MadamMadam by Phoebe Wynne (ARC, courtesy of Quercus)

Light a fire they can’t put out…

For 150 years, above the Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat as a beacon of excellence in the ancestral castle of Lord William Hope. A boarding school for girls, it promises a future where its pupils will emerge ‘resilient and ready to serve society’. Rose Christie, a 26-year-old Classics teacher, is the first new hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose feels overwhelmed in the face of this elite establishment, but soon after her arrival she begins to understand that she may have more to fear than her own ineptitude.

When Rose stumbles across the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor – a woman whose ghost lingers over everything and who no one will discuss – she realises that there is much more to this institution than she has been led to believe. As she uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, Rose becomes embroiled in a battle that will threaten her sanity as well as her safety…

#BookReview The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison @Bookouture

The Girl On The Back of the Bus - Blog Tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison. My thanks to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in the tour in the company of so many other wonderful book bloggers, and to Bookouture for my review copy via NetGalley.


The Girl at the Back of the BusAbout the Book

‘I watched in awe as Miz Rosa stopped those men on the bus with her clear, calm “no” and I thought about that word. What if I said no? What if I refused to follow the path these White folks wanted for us? What if I kept this precious baby?’

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 them. 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 honour her grandmother’s wishes and follow the path to the truth, no matter where it may lead.

Format: eARC (310 pages)                     Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: 8th February 2021 Genre: Contemporary/Historical Fiction

Find The Girl at the Back of the Bus on Goodreads

Purchase links
Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme


My Review

Told in alternating chapters, The Girl at the Back of the Bus depicts how one small but significant act of defiance inspires three generations of black women to take control of their lives and rise above the discrimination they face.

I admired the clever way the author had Ashlee learn her grandmother’s story, initially just catching up on the story we as readers have already been witness too but then learning, alongside the reader, what happened next. It was also fascinating to see the parallels between the challenges faced by Mattie and those by Ashlee, and how Ashlee takes inspiration from what her grandmother had overcome.  As Ashlee reflects, “My having education and economic power that she hadn’t possessed didn’t simplify my options.  We both had decisions… Something in her proactiveness, her bravery, surpassed me, spoke to me, demanded introspection, was sobering”.  In return, Ashlee is able to fulfil her grandmother’s dying wish and carve out a more rewarding future for herself at the same time.

The book is full of strong, determined women. Not just Mattie but her mother, Dorothy, and Ashlee’s mother, Savannah.  As Ashlee comes to recognise she is the product of “indomitable spirits of transcendent women”. And, of course, there is the woman who inspired it all – Rosa Parks. As Mattie observes, “Her sitting gave me courage to stand.”  And what courage Rosa Parks needed given the injustices she and other black people experienced at that time. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book for me was the insight into the daily iniquities, such as the shorter loan period for library books or having to board a bus, pay the driver, then get off and enter by a rear door to sit at the back of the bus.

Although some of the men in the book are distinctly unpleasant characters, I’d like to single out Ashlee’s grandfather and Ashlee’s partner, Brad, as positive role models.  I’m sure I’m not alone in being touched by the tender scenes between Ashlee’s grandmother and grandfather towards the end of the book.  I  also liked the realistic depiction of Ashlee’s and Brad’s very modern day relationship involving the juggling of personal and career aspirations.

The Girl at the Back of the Bus is an enthralling and touching story of how courage and tenacity can overcome injustice and inspire others.     

In three words: Romantic, heart-warming, emotional

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Suzette D HarrisonAbout the Author

Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Mrs. Harrison pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison as legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. The award-winning author of Taffy is a wife and mother who holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking. Mrs. Harrison is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes.

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