On What Cathy Read Next last week
Blog posts
Monday – I shared my proposed list for the 20 Books of Summer 2021 Reading Challenge.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books With Nature On The Cover.
Wednesday – WWW 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 review of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, one of the books on the shortlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2021. (The winner, announced later that day, was Luster by Raven Leilani.)
Friday – I published my review of The Assistant by Kjell Ola Dahl, translated by Don Bartlett as part of the blog tour.
Saturday – I shared my review of historical novel The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper.
As always, thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on or shared my blog posts on social media.
New arrivals
With Face Aflame by A.E. Walnofer (ebook, courtesy of the author and Zooloo’s Book Tours)
1681. Born with a red mark emblazoned across her face, seventeen-year-old Madge is lonely as she spends her days serving guests and cleaning rooms in the inn her father keeps.
One day, she meets an unusual minstrel in the marketplace. Moved by the beauty of his song and the odd shape of his body, she realizes she has made her first friend. But he must go on to the next town, leaving her behind. Soon after, while she herself is singing in the woods, she is startled by a chance meeting with a stranger there. Though the encounter leaves her horribly embarrassed, it proves she need not remain unnoticed and alone forever.
However, this new hope is shattered when she overhears a few quiet words that weren’t intended for her ears. Heartbroken and confused, she flees her home to join the minstrel and his companion, a crass juggler. As they travel earning their daily bread, Madge secretly seeks to rid herself of the mark upon her cheek, convinced that nothing else can heal her heart.
The Baby Is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite (ARC, courtesy of The Reading Agency and Midas PR)
When his girlfriend throws him out during the pandemic, Bambi has to go to his Uncle’s house in lock-down Lagos. He arrives during a blackout, and is surprised to find his Aunty Bidemi sitting in a candlelit room with another woman. They both claim to be the mother of the baby boy, fast asleep in his crib.
At night Bambi is kept awake by the baby’s cries, and during the days he is disturbed by a cockerel that stalks the garden. There is sand in the rice. A blood stain appears on the wall. Someone scores tribal markings into the baby’s cheeks. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?
On What Cathy Read Next this week
Currently reading
Planned posts
- Book Review: The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier
- Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences
- Waiting on Wednesday
- Book Review: The Distant Dead by Lesley Thomson
- Blog Tour/Book Review: The Hunting Season by Tom Benjamin
- Book Review: A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville
- Blog Tour/Book Review: Pathfinders by Cecil Lewis
What Cathy Read Next... 