#WWWWednesday – 9th June 2021

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

Mrs England by Stacey Halls (eARC, courtesy of Manilla Press via NetGalley)

West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.

The Fort (City of Victory #1) by Adrian Goldsworthy (ARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus)

AD 105: Dacia. The Dacian kingdom and Rome are at peace, but no one thinks that it will last. Sent to command an isolated fort beyond the Danube, centurion Flavius Ferox can sense that war is coming, but also knows that enemies may be closer to home.

Many of the Brigantes under his command are former rebels and convicts, as likely to kill him as obey an order. And then there is Hadrian, the emperor’s cousin, and a man with plans of his own.


Recently finished

Links from the titles will take you to my review.

Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan

Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré 

This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams 

The Serpent King by Tim Hodkinson (eARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

Scandalous AlchemyScandalous Alchemy by Katy Moran (ARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus)

Fontainebleau in 1825 is a glittering international court, rich with intrigue, passion and simmering violence. Lieutenant Colonel Kit Helford must navigate these treacherous waters to deliver the beautiful, self-destructive Princess Royal to her prospective husband. Kit’s childhood friend, Clemency Arwenack, is tasked with safeguarding her royal mistress’s reputation as the princess awaits a marriage she is dreading.

But both have secrets they will hide at all costs. Kit is on the run – from a man shot and left for dead back in London and a lifetime of scandal that includes a liaison with the princess herself. He will do anything to salvage his family’s reputation. Clemency, meanwhile, conducts a perilous trade in lies and blackmail as she seeks to destroy the princess, not protect her.

With the princess’s life under threat, Kit and Clemency are pitted against each other, even as a dangerous attraction grows between them. The past hunts them both, remorselessly, relentlessly, and neither can escape it for long.

My Week in Books – 6th June 2021

MyWeekinBooks

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I published my reviews of Sword of Bone by Anthony Rhodes as part of the blog tour and of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, the book chosen for me in the latest Classics Club spin.

Tuesday This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was a freebie and I chose to post a progress update on My Bookish Resolutions for 2021.  

WednesdayWWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to have a good nose around what others are reading. 

Thursday – I shared my publication day review of Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan, the first book from my list for the 20 Books of Summer 2021 Reading Challenge.

Friday – I posted My Five Favourite May 2021 Reads

Saturday – The first Saturday of the month means it’s time for the #6Degrees of Separation meme. 

As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or shared my blog posts on social media.


New arrivals

KyivKyiv by Graham Hurley (eARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley) 

On Sunday 22nd June 1941 at 03.05, three-and-a-half million Axis troops burst into the Soviet Union along a 1,800-mile front to launch Operation Barbarossa. The southern thrust of the attack was aimed at the Caucuses and the oil fields beyond. Kyiv was the biggest city to stand in their way.

Within six weeks, the city was under siege. Surrounded by Panzers, bombed and shelled day and night, Soviet Commissar Nikita Krushchev was amongst the senior Soviet officials co-ordinating the defence. Amid his cadre of trusted personnel is British defector Bella Menzies, once with MI5, now with the NKVD, the Soviet secret police.

With the fall of the city inevitable, the Soviets plan a bloody war of terror that will extort a higher toll on the city’s inhabitants than the invaders. As the noose tightens, Bella finds herself trapped, hunted by both the Russians and the Germans.

As the local saying has it: life is dangerous – no one survives it.

For Lord and LandFor Lord and Land (The Bernicia Chronicles 8) by Matthew Harffy (eARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy.

When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira.

While the lord of Ubbanford is entangled in the clash of kings, his most trusted warrior, Cynan, finds himself on his own quest, called to the aid of someone he thought never to see again. Riding into the mountainous region of Rheged, Cynan faces implacable enemies who would do anything to further their own ends.

Forced to confront their pasts, and with death and betrayal at every turn, both Beobrand and Cynan have their loyalties tested to breaking point.

Who will survive the battle for a united Northumbria, and who will pay the ultimate price for lord and land?


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré
  • Top Ten Tuesday
  • Waiting on Wednesday
  • Blog Tour/Book Review: This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech
  • Book Review: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
  • The Walter Scott Prize 2021 Shortlist 
  • Blog Tour/Book Review: The Serpent King by Tim Hodkinson