memes – Page 278 – What Cathy Read Next…

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 topic is Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5* Reads. This is a difficult one for me because, although I have a lot of enticing sounding books in my TBR pile, I’m sparing when it comes to five star ratings. A book has to be something spectacular for me to give it full marks. However, I’m going to be optimistic that I have a few months of wonderful reading ahead of me. Links from the book titles will take you to the book description on Goodreads, where available.

Those Who Are Loved by Victoria Hislop – I’ve enjoyed previous books by the author and I also heard her talk about the book (and had her sign my copy) at Henley Literary Festival in 2019.

Stasi Winter by David Young – although this is the fifth book in the series and I haven’t read the previous books, I liked the extract I read and have seen positive reviews.

The Lost Lights of St. Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford (due to be published by Corvus on 5th March) – I loved the author’s last book, The Good Doctor of Warsaw, so I have high hopes for this one as well.

The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (due to be published by Michael Joseph on 5th March) – another book which I heard the author talk about at Henley Literary Festivallast year and received good reports about since.

When We Fall by Carolyn Kirby (due to be published by No Exit on 7th May) – The Conviction of Cora Burns was a 5* read for me so I’m hoping for similar for this book set in WW2 which is being published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth by Daniel Mason (due to be published by Mantle on 14th May) – I absolutely loved the author’s previous book, The Winter Soldier, and this one looks and sounds fantastic as well.

Conviction The Recovery of Rose Gold Henley Literary Festival

How To Belong by Sarah Franklin (due to be published by Zaffre on 28th May) – Shelter was a book I really enjoyed so I’m anticipating similar good things from this one also set in the Forest of Dean.

Those Who Know by Alis Hawkins (due to be published by The Dome Press on 28th May) – this is the third book in the author’s historical crime series. I really enjoyed the first book, None So Blind.

The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson (due to be published by Head of Zeus on 4th June) – I enjoyed the author’s previous book, Court of Lions, so I was attracted to this one immediately helped, I’ll admit by the gorgeous cover.

Conviction by Hope Adams (due to be published by Michael Joseph in June) – also a book I first heard about at Henley Literary Festival last year and which, as a lover of historical fiction, sounds right up my street.

What gems are you hoping to find in your TBR pile?

It’s the first Saturday of the month so it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation!

Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

Kate says: Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. Join in by posting your own six degrees chain on your blog and adding the link in the comments section of each month’s post. You can also check out links to posts on Twitter using the hashtag #6Degrees

This month’s starting book is Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a book I’d never heard of let alone read before seeing it mentioned here. From the description, I’d say it’s not a book that particularly appeals to me either as it’s about a man having some sort of mid-life crisis.

The Ice House by Laura Lee Smith is another book in which a man is facing all sorts of problems including the potential demise of his business (an ice factory), family estrangement and the possibility of serious illness.

The Ice House is the title of a book by Minette Walters but it’s her historical fiction novel, The Last Hours I’m focusing on here. It tells the story of a small Dorset community attempting to protect themselves from the ravages of the Black Death.

Fortune’s Wheel by Carolyn Hughes also concerns the Black Death but, in this case, its aftermath is the focus. In the year 1489, the villagers of Meonbridge struggle to recover from the impact of the epidemic.

Katherine by Anya Seton tells the story of Katherine Swynford who was thought to have been born around 1489. The book recounts her long love affair with the married John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

An illicit affair is also the subject of Ike and Kay by James MacManus, namely the relationship between General Eisenhower and his female driver. They first meet in a bomb-ravaged London which is also the setting for the final book in my chain.

In the historical mystery The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear, the book’s heroine, Maisie Dobbs, has to work with an American counterpart to solve a murder while bombs rain down on London.

Where did your chain take you this month?