Tag: Currently Reading

My Week in Books – 20th May ’18

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MyWeekinBooks

New arrivals  

SnapSnap by Belinda Bauer (review copy courtesy of Transworld)

On a stifling summer’s day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. Jack’s in charge, she said. I won’t be long.

But she doesn’t come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed for ever.

Three years later, mum-to-be Catherine wakes to find a knife beside her bed, and a note that says: I could have killed you.

Meanwhile Jack is still in charge – of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure nobody knows they’re alone in the house, and – quite suddenly – of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother.

But the truth can be a dangerous thing . . .

BlacklandsBlacklands (Exmoor Trilogy #1) by Belinda Bauer (prize, courtesy of Transworld)

Twelve-year-old Steven Lamb digs holes on Exmoor, hoping to find a body. Every day after school, while his classmates swap football stickers, Steven goes digging to lay to rest the ghost of the uncle he never knew, who disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery.

Only Steven’s Nan is not convinced her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home, standing bitter guard at the front window while her family fragments around her. Steven is determined to heal the widening cracks between them before it’s too late. And if that means presenting his grandmother with the bones of her murdered son, he’ll do it.

So the boy takes the next logical step, carefully crafting a letter to Arnold Avery in prison. And there begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a desperate child and a bored serial killer…

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Tuesday – I took part in the blog tour for The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl, posting my review of this intriguing crime thriller set in Norway.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now and what I’ll be reading next.   I also participated in the blog tour for The Things We Learn When We’re Dead by Charlie Laidlaw, sharing my review of this quirky, fun read as well as my Q&A with Charlie which included some quick fire questions designed to appeal to those who’ve read the book.

Thursday –My Throwback Thursday book was The Biographies of Ordinary People, Volume 1 by Nicole Dieker.  I’m currently reading Volume 2 which is due to be published on 22nd May.  I was also thrilled to take part in the blog tour for The Dome Press’s latest release, Juliet & Romeo by David Hewson, sharing my review and a Q&A with the author.  Described as a ‘novel retelling’ of the story immortalised in Shakespeare’s play, I was lucky enough to be invited to the book launch and to meet David in person, along with other book bloggers and some of the lovely people at The Dome Press.

Friday – I featured a wonderful guest post from Katherine Stansfield, author of The Magpie Tree.  I’ve just finished reading The Magpie Tree, the second in the author’s Cornish Mysteries series (review coming soon).  Since I haven’t yet read the first in the series, Falling Creatures, the subject of the post, about whether sequels look forward or look back, was particularly relevant to me.

Sunday – I shared my review of The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings, a powerful story of obsession set in Cornwall.

Challenge updates

  • Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge – 76 out of 156 books read, 4 more than last week
  • Classics Club Challenge – 14 out of 50 books read, same as last week
  • NetGalley/Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2018 (Silver) – 25 ARCs read and reviewed out of 25, 2 more than last week
  • From Page to Screen– 10 book/film comparisons out of 15 completed, same as last week
  • 2018 TBR Pile Challenge – 5 out of 12 books read, same as last week
  • Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2018 – 37 books out of 50 read, 1 more than last week
  • When Are You Reading? Challenge 2018 – 7 out of 12 books read, same as last week
  • What’s In A Name Reading Challenge – 1 out of 6 books read, 1 more than last week
  • Buchan of the Month – 4 out of 12 books read, same as last week

On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Blog Tour/Review: I Will Find You by Daniela Sacerdoti
  • Book Review: Mr Peacock’s Possessions by Lydia Syson
  • Book Review: The Magpie Tree by Katherine Stansfield
  • Book Review: The Biographies of Ordinary People, Vol.2 by Nicole Dieker
  • Blog Tour/Review: That Summer in Puglia by Valeria Vescina
  • Buchan of the Month: A Lost Lady of Old Years by John Buchan
  • Book Review: The Last Day by Claire Dyer
  • Book Review: War Girl Ursula (War Girl #1) by Marion Kummerow

WWW Wednesdays – 16th May ‘18

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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 Cliff HouseThe Cliff House by Amanda Jennings (eARC, NetGalley)

Cornwall, summer of 1986.   The Davenports, with their fast cars and glamorous clothes, living the dream in a breathtaking house overlooking the sea.

If only… thinks sixteen-year-old Tamsyn, her binoculars trained on the perfect family in their perfect home.  If only her life was as perfect as theirs.  If only Edie Davenport would be her friend.  If only she lived at The Cliff House…

Amanda Jennings weaves a haunting tale of obsession, loss and longing, set against the brooding North Cornish coastline, destined to stay with readers long after the final page is turned.

The Biographies of Ordinary People, Vol.2The Biographies of Ordinary People, Vol. 2 by Nicole Dieker (eARC courtesy of the author)

A millennial-era Little Women that follows three sisters from 1989 to the present, The Biographies of Ordinary People is the story of the Gruber family: Rosemary and Jack, and their daughters Meredith, Natalie, and Jackie. The two-volume series begins in July 1989, on Rosemary’s thirty-fifth birthday; it ends in November 2016, on Meredith’s thirty-fifth birthday.

The second volume follows the three Gruber sisters as they each leave their rural Midwestern hometown and try to make their way in the larger world. Meredith is determined to pursue a career in the theater. Natalie begins sorting and filing for an insurance company. Jackie… well, Jackie still wants to sing, and if the classical music world isn’t interested in what she can do, she’ll figure out how to do it on her own.

Set against the Great Recession, Presidents Obama and Trump, and a growing sense of national unrest, this final volume explores Meredith’s question: is it possible for ordinary people to make art? It also takes us into the close emotional connections between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends, and the people we choose to love as adults.

Recently finished (click on title for review)

Our Kind of CrueltyOur Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall (proof copy, courtesy of Century)

Mike knows that most of us travel through the world as one half of a whole, desperately searching for that missing person to make us complete.

But he and Verity are different. They have found each other and nothing and no one will tear them apart.

It doesn’t matter that Verity is marrying another man.

You see, Verity and Mike play a game together, a secret game they call ‘the crave’, the aim being to demonstrate what they both know: that Verity needs Mike, and only Mike.

Verity’s upcoming marriage is the biggest game she and Mike have ever played. And it’s for the highest stakes.

Except this time in order for Mike and Verity to be together someone has to die…

Jane Semour The Haunted QueenJane Seymour: The Haunted Queen (Six Tudor Queens #3) by Alison Weir (eARC, NetGalley)

Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for a cloistered life as a nun. But her large noble family has other plans, and, as an adult, Jane is invited to the King’s court to serve as lady-in-waiting for Queen Katherine of Aragon. The devout Katherine shows kindness to all her ladies, almost like a second mother, which makes rumours of Henry’s lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn—who is also lady-in-waiting to the queen—all the more shocking. For Jane, the betrayal triggers memories of a painful incident that shaped her beliefs about marriage.

But once Henry disavows Katherine and secures his new queen – altering the religious landscape of England – he turns his eye to another: Jane herself. Urged to return the King’s affection and earn favour for her family, Jane is drawn into a dangerous political game that pits her conscience against her desires. Can Jane be the one to give the King his long-sought-after son or will she meet a fate similar to the women who came before her?

Mr Peacock's PossessionsMr. Peacock’s Possessions by Lydia Syson (eARC, NetGalley)

Oceania 1879. A family of settlers from New Zealand are the sole inhabitants of a remote volcanic island.

For two years they have struggled with the harsh reality of trying to make this unforgiving place a paradise they can call their own. At last, a ship appears. The six Pacific Islanders on board have travelled eight hundred miles across the ocean in search of work and new horizons. Hopes are high for all, until a vulnerable boy vanishes. In their search for the lost child, settlers and newcomers together uncover far more than they were looking for. The island’s secrets force them all to question their deepest convictions.  (Review to follow)

The Boy at the DoorThe Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl (review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus)

Cecilia Wilborg has it all–a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a gorgeous home in an affluent Norwegian suburb. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard…

There is no room for mistakes in her life. Even taking home a little boy whose parents forgot to pick him up at the pool can put a crimp in Cecilia’s carefully planned schedule. Especially when she arrives at the address she was given and finds an empty, abandoned house…

There’s nothing for Cecilia to do but to take the boy home with her, never realizing that soon his quiet presence and knowing eyes will trigger unwelcome memories from her past – and unravel her meticulously crafted life…

The Magpie TreeThe Magpie Tree (Cornish Mysteries #2) by Katherine Stansfield (review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby)

Jamaica Inn, 1844: the talk is of witches. A boy has vanished in the woods of Trethevy on the North Cornish coast, and a reward is offered for his return. Shilly has had enough of such dark doings, but her new companion, the woman who calls herself Anna Drake, insists they investigate. Anna wants to open a detective agency, and the reward would fund it. They soon learn of a mysterious pair of strangers who have likely taken the boy, and of Saint Nectan who, legend has it, kept safe the people of the woods. As Shilly and Anna seek the missing child, the case takes another turn – murder. Something is stirring in the woods and old sins have come home to roost.  (Review to follow)

Juliet and RomeoJuliet & Romeo by David Hewson (uncorrected proof copy courtesy of The Dome Press)

Verona 1499, at the birth of the Renaissance.  Two young people meet: Romeo, desperate for love before being sent away to study; and Juliet, facing a forced marriage to a nobleman she doesn’t know.  Fate and circumstance bring them together in a desperate attempt at a secret marriage to thwart their parents.  But in a single fateful week their intricate scheming falls terribly apart.

Shakespeare’s most well-known and well-loved play has been turned into a gripping romantic thriller with a modern twist. Rich with the sights and smells of medieval Verona, peopled with a vibrant cast of characters who spring from the page, this is Shakespeare as you’ve never read it before – and with a killer twist at the end.  (Review to follow 17th May)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

I Will Find YouI Will Find You (Seal Island #2) by Daniela Sacerdoti  (eARC courtesy of Headline)

After her mother dies, grief-stricken Cora discovers she has been left a cottage, a crumbling shelter on a mysterious Scottish island. The moment Cora arrives on the windswept isle of Seal, she falls under its spell and is drawn to brooding Innes, back on the island to confront his past.

As Cora begins to trace her mother’s roots, she learns Gealach Cottage has a dark, turbulent history. Another young woman has sought refuge here, fleeing terrible danger, and waiting for her lover to return. What became of her? Only by unravelling a forgotten story of passion and courage can Cora understand what has pulled her to Seal…and led her to a man of many secrets.

TThat Summer in Pugliahat Summer in Puglia by Valeria Vescina (review copy courtesy of Eyewear Publishing and Bookollective)

Tommaso has escaped discovery for thirty years but a young private investigator, Will, has tracked him down. Tommaso asks him to pretend never to have found him. To persuade Will, Tommaso recounts the story of his life and his great love. In the process, he comes to recognise his true role in the events which unfolded, and the legacy of unresolved grief.

Now he’s being presented with a second chance – but is he ready to pay the price it exacts?