Category: Reading Challenges

My Bookish Goals For 2025 – A Winter Check-in

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One month to go to complete the ten goals I set myself. Time then to check whether or not I’m on track…

  1. Achieve my Goodreads goal of reading 104 books – I’ve read 91 books so far this year meaning I’m 5 books behind schedule.
  2. Read more of the books I already own, including:
    • At least 20 books that have been in my TBR pile for longer than two years, i.e. January 2023 or prior – I’ve read 15 so far and quite pleased with that.
    • The 5 remaining books on my Backlist Burrow list, a challenge I started in 2023 but have made little progress with – No progress, sadly and unlikely to be in the time remaining
  3. Attend Henley Literary Festival and at least one other literary event – I went to several events at Henley Literary Festival and attended the Borders Book Festival in Melrose for the first time.
  4. Complete two historical fiction reading challenges:
    • When Are You Reading? Challenge (see my updated post here) – I’ve matched 10 of the 12 time periods and have books identified for the final two.
    • Historical Fiction Reading Challenge – By my calculation I’ve already surpassed my target of 50 books.
  5. Complete the What’s in a Name Challenge (see my updated post here) – Annoyingly, I’m just missing that last one…
  6. Read all the books on The Walter Scott Prize 2025 longlist before the shortlist is announced – I didn’t manage this but I did read all the shortlisted book before the winner was announced. And I was there at the Borders Book Festival when it was!
  7. Reach the point where I’m read and reviewing every book on my NetGalley shelf in advance of publication – I nearly managed it! Just one book left on my shelf that’s a 2025 publication, the rest are 2026. My feedback ratio is now 99%. I know, showing off…
  8. Take part in a reading challenge I haven’t done before (see my updated post here) – I took part in the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shellyrae at Book’d Out and read three, which was my target.
  9. Finally bite the bullet and update my blog’s theme – Pretty obvious I haven’t got around to this yet again.
  10. Embrace audiobooks and aim to listen to one per month – It hasn’t been strictly one per month but I’ve listened to 12 with one more I hope to finish before the end of the year.

I think I’m going to give myself 7/10. If you set yourself any bookish goals this year, how are you getting on?

Book Review – Divination: A Conspiracy of Blood by J. A. Downes #NovNov2025

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About the Book

Cambridge University, 1547. Young scholar John Dee’s quiet academic life takes an unexpected turn when a visiting Polish astronomer is found dead just hours after sharing revolutionary astrological secrets.

Suddenly thrust into a world of Tudor court intrigue, Dee must navigate the treacherous politics of Hampton Court Palace while unraveling the astronomer’s cryptic final prediction about a Midsummer coup.

Format: ebook (114 pages) Publisher:
Publication date: 11th July 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

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Download the ebook of Divination FREE here

My Review

Divination is a novella that acts as an introduction to the author’s historical mystery series featuring Dr. John Dee, mathematician, astrologer and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. The series encompasses the reigns of King Edward VI to Queen Mary, a very turbulent period in English history. A perfect setting then for a historical crime mystery!

Although a real historical figure, in Divination John Dee is cast in the role of investigator as he seeks to find the person responsible for the murder of Polish astronomer, Mikolaj Kopernik. Working out the motivation for the murder is probably his easiest task because Kopernik had claimed his astrological calculations indicated a threat to the peace of the realm. But from whom? That’s the task Dee is given, requiring him to try to replicate Kopernik’s intricate calculations based on his scribbled manuscripts. And there’s pressure for him to do it quickly. Fortunately, Dee is a mathematical mastermind. Unfortunately, there are people who will do anything to prevent details of their plan being discovered, placing Dee’s life at risk.

Although taken under the wing of an influential figure, Dee soon discovers the Tudor court is a place of intrigue, espionage and competing factions. Prime amongst these is the rivalry between the man appointed Lord Protector to the young King, Edward Seymour, and his brother Thomas Seymour, a man who believes he has been overlooked.

The story builds to a dramatic conclusion. Along the way, Dee proves quite capable of a spot of deception himself, including one that comes with side benefits!

Divination is a well-crafted and enjoyable historical mystery that will appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom’s Shardlake series. The good news is you can get another free novella featuring John Dee – Speculation – by signing up for the author’s newsletter here. An excellent way to get a taster before you embark on the whole series.

In three words: Intriguing, atmospheric, entertaining
Try something similar: The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman

About the Author

J. A. Downes was born and raised in England and educated at Imperial College, London where he gained a BSc in Physics. He pursued a busy career in Information Technology in England before moving with his wife to Alberta, Canada, where they had a horse ranch in the foothills of the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains. The IT work continued in parallel for another twenty years or so, until retirement and family responsibilities beckoned back in the UK. He now indulges his passion for history full-time with research, writing, and European travel.

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