Category: Reviews

My Week in Books – 20th April 2025

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On the blog last week

Monday – I published my review of dualtime novel The Belladonna Maze by Sinead Crowley.

Tuesday – I went off-piste for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday with a list of The Oldest Books On My To-Read List.

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 Q&A with Laury A. Egan, author of murder mystery Fair Haven.

Saturday – I reflected on the shortlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025.

New on my shelves

Absolutely nothing!

What I’m currently reading

I’m switching between Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (one of the books on the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction), Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke for the blog tour and a review copy of Sister Rosa’s Rebellion (The Meonbridge Chronicles #6) by Carolyn Hughes sent to me by the author.

Look out for…

  • Book Review: Legionary: Devotio by Gordon Doherty
  • Book Review: The CIA Book Club by Charlie English
  • Book Review: Defender of the Wall by Chris Thorndycroft
  • Book Review: Eden’s Shore by Oisin Fagan
  • Blog Tour/Book Review: Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 Shortlist @waltscottprize

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WalterScottPrizeThe shortlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 was announced on 15th April 2025. Congratulations to the authors and publishers of the shortlisted books. Some fantastic books have made it through to this final stage.

I ventured a prediction of the books that would make the shortlist and got three right. They are all ones I’ve read. The three I haven’t – The Mare, The Book of Days and Glorious Exploits – I’m pretty confident I can read before the winner is announced on Thursday 15th June 2025. And the exciting thing is I’ll be there when the announcement is made because I’m making the long trek to attend the Borders Book Festival for the first time.

So without further ado, here are the books on the shortlist. Links from the titles will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (Canongate) Read
The Mare by Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press)
The Book of Days by Francesca Kay (Swift Press)
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree)
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre) Read
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking) Read

Have you read any of the books on the list? Are there any you’re planning to read? Is there a book you’d like to see win?