My Five Favourite March 2023 Reads

I read twelve books in March. Lots of rainy days prevented me getting out in the garden which helped with my reading but not with my garden To-Do list.  Below are my five favourite books. Links from each title will take you to my review. You can find a list of all the books I’ve read so far in 2023 here.  If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Faber & Faber, époque press, Head of Zeus and Gallic Books for providing me with review copies.

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry (Faber & Faber) – A truly brilliant piece of writing that’s also proof a novel doesn’t have to be big to deliver a powerful punch.

Three Gifts by Mark A. Radcliffe (époque press) – A beautifully written, gentle and heartfelt story that will make you smile, laugh, ponder and maybe shed a tear or two.

The Spy Across the Water by Jim Naughtie (Head of Zeus) – A terrific spy thriller whose intricate plot will keep you on your toes and which is also a story of friendship against the odds and the compromises that have to be made between duty and personal relationships.

The Romantic by William Boyd (Viking) –  On the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023, a wonderfully entertaining romp through the 19th century with the most engaging travelling companion you could possibly hope for.

Birthright by Charles Lambert (Gallic Books) – An absorbing combination of suspenseful mystery and complex family drama.

What were your favourite books last month? Have you read any of my picks?

My Five Favourite Reads March 2023

My Week in Books – 2nd April 2023

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

Monday – I published my review of Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry.

Tuesday – I shared my publication day review of science fiction novel, A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar.  

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. 

Saturday – I took part in the #6Degrees of Separation meme forging a literary chain from Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen to Death of a Gossip by M. C. Beaton. 


New arrivals

The Blood of OthersThe Blood of Others by Graham Hurley (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Dieppe, August 1942. A catastrophe no headline dared admit.

Plans are underway for the boldest raid yet on Nazi-occupied France. Over six thousand men will storm ashore to take the port of Dieppe. Lives will change in an instant – both on the beaches and in distant capitals.

Annie Wrenne, working at Lord Mountbatten’s cloak-and-dagger Combined Operations headquarters, is privy to the top secret plans for the daring cross-Channel raid.

Young Canadian journalist George Hogan, protege of influential Lord Beaverbrook, faces a crucial assignment that will test him to breaking point.

And Abwehr intelligence officer Wilhelm Schultz is baiting a trap to lure thousands of Allied troops to their deaths…

Three lives linked by Operation Jubilee: the Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942. Over six thousand men will storm the heavily defended French beaches. Less than half of them will make it back alive.

The WallThe Wall (City of Victory #3) by Adrian Goldsworthy (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Britannia, AD 117: Roman centurion Flavius Ferox is trying to live a quiet life of dignified leisure, overseeing his wife’s estate and doing his best to resist the urge to murder an annoying neighbour – until someone else does it for him. Dragged back into a life of violence, Ferox finds himself chasing raiders, fighting chieftains and negotiating with kings, journeying far into the north just as war breaks out.

With the new emperor, Hadrian, sending agents from Rome, the whole world seems to be changing: old friends become enemies, enemies claim they are friends, and new and deadly threats lurk in the shadows.

When, five years later, Hadrian himself comes to Britannia to inspect his great wall, a new war erupts suddenly, dividing tribes and families. Ferox is the only one who can save the emperor – but with his family, and his own life, in danger, Ferox must first decide whose side he is on…


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu
  • Book Review: The Drums of War (Thomas Tallant #3) by Michael Ward
  • Book Review: Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
  • My Five Favourite March 2023 Reads