My Christmas Week in Books – 24th December 2022

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

Monday – I published my review of historical crime mystery, Skelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses by David Stafford.

Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books I Hope Santa Brings This Year.

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 sign-up post for the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.

Friday – Another day, another sign-up post – this time for the What’s In A Name? 2023 reading challenge.


New arrivals

No fancy publisher’s gift boxes like some lucky people, instead three lovely ARCs via NetGalley. 

The Lace WeaverThe Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

1941, Estonia. As Stalin’s brutal Red Army crushes everything in its path, Katarina and her family survive only because their precious farm produce is needed to feed the occupying forces. Fiercely partisan, Katarina battles to protect her grandmother’s precious legacy – the weaving of gossamer lace shawls stitched with intricate patterns that tell the stories passed down through generations.

While Katarina struggles to survive the daily oppression, another young woman is suffocating in her prison of privilege in Moscow. Yearning for freedom and to discover her beloved mother’s Baltic heritage, Lydia escapes to Estonia.

Facing the threat of invasion by Hitler’s encroaching Third Reich, Katarina and Lydia and two idealistic young soldiers, insurgents in the battle for their homeland, find themselves in a fight for life, liberty and love.

No Life for a LadyNo Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

It’s remarkable how men react when women break the rules… but the people of Hastings are about to discover, women can be remarkable too…

1896. At 28, Violet’s father is beginning to fear she will never marry. But every suitor he puts forward, she finds an increasingly creative way of rebuffing. Because Violet is a woman who knows her own mind – and her mind is on her mother, who went missing 10 years earlier, vanishing from Hastings Pier without a trace.

Looking for the missing is not a suitable pastime for a lady. But when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off an unexpected chain of events that will throw her life into chaos.

Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton’s vanishing? Or will trying cost her more than she can afford to lose? 

The Last Party at Silverton HallThe Last Party at Silverton Hall by Rachel Burton (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Two women. Two centuries. A life-changing night…

1952: Vivien and Max collide in the thick London smog. Within a few years, their whirlwind romance sees them living a quiet life on the Norfolk coast, blissfully happy with their beautiful daughter – at least, that’s how it appears…

2019: Isobel is hoping for a fresh start when she inherits her beloved grandmother Vivien’s house in Silverton Bay. But when she discovers an old photograph of Vivien at one of the infamous parties held at Silverton Hall in the 1950s, Isobel is forced to question how well she really knew her grandmother. Silverton Hall is a place Vivien swore she never went and never would – but why would she lie? And what other secrets was she keeping?

Together with an old friend, Isobel searches for answers. But is she prepared for the truth? 


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: Devils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste Andrea
  • Book Review: The Girl from Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch
  • Book Review: Resurrection by David Gilman
  • Book Review: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

#WWWWednesday – 21st December 2022

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

The Girl From Simon's BayThe Girl From Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch (Allison & Busby)

Simon’s Town is a vibrant seafaring community in a picturesque part of the Union of South Africa. Louise Ahrendts, daughter of a local shipbuilder, nurtures the dream of becoming a nurse amid the unwritten, unspoken rules about colour that might hold her back.

As the port becomes a hub of activity following the outbreak of the Second World War, Louise crosses paths with man she is determined to be with – despite all the obstacles that life and war can throw in their way.

But when a new troubled moment of history dawns, can they find their way back to each other?

Along with several others, this was a book on my list for the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge that I didn’t get to. I’m trying to polish a few more off the list before the end of the year.  

ResurrectionResurrection by David Gilman (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Somewhere in the Sahara, on the desolate border between Sudan and Chad, a P51 Mustang with long-range drop tanks slowly emerges from the dunes. Inside, the skeletalized remains of a man missing for three decades. His flying jacket bears no insignia, a worn leather attaché case lies by his side, held securely by a manacle around his left wrist. Inside a document men will kill for. Die for.

The sands of time have shifted, and whoever finds that aircraft finds information that could expose the most valuable spy the UK intelligence service has ever known.

The British, the French, and the Russians are on the trail. And so is Raglan.

I loved the previous two books in the series – The Englishman and Betrayal – and I’ve been looking forward to this latest instalment, especially as I have a bit of a crush on Dan Raglan, ex-Foreign Legionnaire. One for fans of action-packed international thrillers. 


Recently finished

Skelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses by David Stafford (Allison & Busby)

Devils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste, trans. by Sam Taylor (Gallic Books)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

BellatrixBellatrix (Legion XXII #2) by Simon Turney (ARC, Head of Zeus)

Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. And the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion…

Egypt. 25 BC. Titus Cervianus marches into the unknown as he and the Twenty Second Legion contend with the armies of the Bellatrix: the Warrior Queen of Kush.

The Kushites and the Egyptians have united against the Roman presence in their lands – but there are complex political and military forces at work. Marching deep into the deserts of north-eastern Africa, Cervianus and his comrades must contend with the perils of unknown territories, ever wary, as they brace themselves for a furious onslaught.

Under blazing skies, Cervanius and the rest of the legion approach their destiny as they prepare to take on the might of the Bellatrix. Will the alliance against the armies of Rome prevail, and will the men of the Twenty Second survive – or perish in a distant land?