#WWWWednesday – 8th January 2025

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!


Book cover of The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever.

Book cover of Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (Sceptre via NetGalley)

There are moments when a single choice can define an entire life.

Haiwen and Suchi are teenage sweethearts in 1940s Shanghai; their childhood friendship has blossomed into young love, and they believe that they are soulmates. But when Haiwen secretly decides to enlist in the army to keep his brother from the draft, their shared future is shattered. Their paths take them far afield from each other, with the exception of one pivotal chance encounter on the Hong Kong ferry in 1966.

Sixty years later, Haiwen, now in his late seventies, is bagging bananas at a 99 Ranch in Los Angeles when he lifts his head to once more see Suchi. As they begin to rekindle their friendship, it feels like they might have a second chance to live the life they were supposed to have together. But the weight of the past lives with them at every moment, and only time will tell if they are able to forge something new.


Book cover of The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

In the snowbound city of Kiev, aspiring historian Mila Pavlichenko’s life revolves around her young son – until Hitler’s invasion of Russia changes everything. Suddenly, she and her friends must take up arms to save their country from the Fuhrer’s destruction.

Handed a rifle, Mila discovers a gift – and months of blood, sweat and tears turn the young woman into a deadly sniper: the most lethal hunter of Nazis.

Yet success is bittersweet. Mila is torn from the battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America while the war still rages. There, she finds an unexpected ally in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and an unexpected promise of a different future.

But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a terrifying new foe, she finds herself in the deadliest duel of her life. (Review to follow)


Book cover of The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss

The Ghosts of Paris (Billie Walker Mystery #2) by Tara Moss (Verve Books) 

It’s 1947. The world continues to grapple with the fallout of the Second World War, and former war reporter Billie Walker is finding her feet as an investigator.

When a wealthy client hires Billie and her assistant Sam to track down her missing husband, the trail leads Billie back to London and Paris, where Billie’s own painful memories also lurk. Jack Rake, Billie’s wartime lover and, briefly, husband, is just one of the millions of people who went missing in Europe during the war. What was his fate after they left Paris together?

As Billie’s search for her client’s husband takes her to both the swanky bars at Paris’s famous Ritz hotel and to the dank basements of the infamous Paris morgue, she’ll need to keep her gun at the ready, because something even more terrible than a few painful memories might be following her around the City of Lights…

#TopTenTuesday Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025 #TuesdayBookBlog

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025. There are way more books that fit the bill than this topic allows so I’ve just listed the first ten in publication order (which only covers January and February!) plus a little bit about why I’m excited to read them. All of these are via NetGalley so thank you to the publishers concerned for approving my requests. Links from the title will take you to the book description on Goodreads.

  1. Another Man in the Street by Caryl Phillips (published on 16th January by Bloomsbury) – the story of a young West Indian man’s search for home in 1960s London by an author I know of but have never read
  2. The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan (published on 16th January by Head of Zeus) – the seventh book in the DS George Cross crime series (I’ve read the previous two) plus I’m on the blog tour!
  3. The House With Nine Locks by Philip Gray (published on 23rd January by Vintage) – a historical suspense novel set in post-war Flanders from the author of Two Storm Wood which I loved 
  4. The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay by Flora Johnston (published on 23rd January by Allison & Busby) – a story inspired by the life of a pioneering Scottish aviator by the author of The Paris Peacemakers, one of my top 10 books of 2024
  5. A Cold Wind From Moscow by Rory Clements (published on 30th January by Zaffre) – the eighth book in one of my favourite historical thriller series. Welcome back, Tom Wilde!
  6. The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor (published by Vintage on 30th January) – the much anticipated (especially by me) follow-up to My Father’s House
  7. The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler, trans. by Katy Derbyshire (published on 13th February by Canongate) – described as ‘a story of the hopes, kindnesses and everyday heroism of one community [that] has charmed millions of European readerswhich sounds good to me
  8. The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner (published on 13th February by Aria) – described as ‘an unforgettable story of courage, friendship and resistance, inspired by the true story of a Jewish ballroom dancer in WWII Paris’
  9. Agricola: Warrior by Simon Turney (published on 13th February by Head of Zeus) – the second book in the historical adventure series about the renowned Roman general, sure to be as action-packed as all the author’s other books
  10. The Language of Remembering by Patrick Holloway (published on 25th February by epoque press) – a mother and son embark on a journey of personal discovery