new arrivals

MyWeekinBooks

Josephine’s Daughter by A. B. Michaels (eARC, courtesy of the author)

In the Golden City, the only thing worse than having a mother
like Josephine Firestone… is being just like her.

In the late nineteenth century, wealthy and headstrong Kit Firestone chafes under the strictures of the Golden City’s high society, especially the interference of her charming but overbearing mother, Josephine. Kit’s secret rebellion leads to potentially catastrophic results and keeps her from finding true happiness.

When her brother nearly dies from a dangerous infection, Kit defies convention and becomes a working nurse. Through her troubled romance with a young doctor and a series of dramatic events, including a natural disaster and her mother’s own critical illness, Kit begins to understand who her mother truly is and what their relationship is all about. She may not get the chance to appreciate their bond, however, because, through no fault of her own, a madman has Kit in his crosshairs.

Set amidst the backdrop of the Gilded Age and beyond, Josephine’s Daughter explores many of the social and medical issues facing women of that era -issues that resonate today. Independence, reproductive rights, birth control, childbirth, and parenting are all put to the test in Josephine’s Daughter.

The Serpent’s Mark by S. W. Perry (eARC courtesy of Corvus and NetGalley)

Treason sleeps for no man…

London, 1591. Nicholas Shelby, physician and reluctant spy, returns to his old haunts on London’s lawless Bankside. But, when the queen’s spymaster Robert Cecil asks him to investigate the dubious practices of a mysterious doctor from Switzerland, Nicholas is soon embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens not just the life of an innocent young patient, but the overthrow of Queen Elizabeth herself.

With fellow healer and mistress of the Jackdaw tavern, Bianca Merton, again at his side, Nicholas is drawn into a dangerous world of zealots, charlatans and fanatics. As their own lives become increasingly at risk, they find themselves confronting the greatest treason of all: the spectre of a bloody war between the faiths…

The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey (ebook courtesy of Vintage and NetGalley)

15th century Oakham, in Somerset; a tiny village cut off by a big river with no bridge. When a man is swept away by the river in the early hours of Shrove Saturday, an explanation has to be found: accident, suicide or murder? The village priest, John Reve, is privy to many secrets in his role as confessor. But will he be able to unravel what happened to the victim, Thomas Newman, the wealthiest, most capable and industrious man in the village? And what will happen if he can’t?

Moving back in time towards the moment of Thomas Newman’s death, the story is related by Reve – an extraordinary creation, a patient shepherd to his wayward flock, and a man with secrets of his own to keep. Through his eyes, and his indelible voice, Harvey creates a medieval world entirely tangible in its immediacy.

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I joined the blog tour for Summer on the Italian Lakes by Lucy Coleman and shared my Q&A with Lucy.

Tuesday – I published my review of The Phoenix of Florence by Philip Kazan, a wonderful historical novel set in 15th century Tuscany.

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 have a good nose around to see what other bloggers are reading.

Thursday – For my Throwback Thursday post I revisited my review of The Last Day by Claire Dyer.

Friday – I published an introduction to February’s Buchan of the Month, Salute to Adventurers by John Buchan.

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

On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

Top Ten Tuesday
Waiting on Wednesday
Throwback Thursday: Sugar in the Blood by Andrea Stuart
Book Review: The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea
Book Review: 99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai
Book Review: Louis & Louise by Julie Cohen
Blog Tour/Book Review: The Horseman’s Song by Ben Pastor

MyWeekinBooks

New arrivals

The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs #15) by Jacqueline Winspear (proof copy courtesy of Allison & Busby and Random Things Tours)

When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. He is accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice – Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie get out of Hitler’s Munich in 1938. MacFarlane asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon’s death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the British Isles, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect Anna, the young evacuee she has grown to love and wants to adopt. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend – and the possibility that she might be falling in love again.

Pre-order The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs #15) from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)

Hetty’s Secret War (Women at War #3) by Rosie Clarke (eARC courtesyof Aria Fiction and NetGalley)

In 1939, with the world on the brink of war, one women faces a future more uncertain than she had ever imagined…

Georgie – when the man she has always loved is sent to France on a secret war office mission every knock of the door fills her with dread of it being the feared telegram boy…

Beth – orphaned as a child, Beth is coming of age and determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow… and one expecting a baby who will never know his brave father. Can she find happiness again?

Hetty – desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her beloved family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg where she joins the resistance and risks both her heart and her life fighting for charismatic resistance leader Stefan Lefarge…

However dark the times, courage, determination and the power of friendship can overcome the hardships of war.

Pre-order Hetty’s Secret War (Women at War #3) from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer (eARC courtesy of Random Things Tours and NetGalley)

What would you sacrifice for love? Inspired by the author’s family history, a searing page-turner of war, family secrets and a love to defy all odds.

World War Two – Alina and Tomasz are childhood sweethearts. The night before he leaves for college, Tomasz proposes marriage. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn’t know if Tomasz is alive or dead.

Present day – When Alice’s cherished grandmother is hospitalised, a hidden box of mementoes reveals a tattered photo of a young man, a tiny leather shoe and a letter. Her grandmother begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she held dearest. In Poland separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942.

As a painful family history comes to light, will the struggles of the past and present finally reach a heartbreaking resolution?

Pre-order The Things We Cannot Say from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)

The Cornish Lady by Nicola Pryce (eARC courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources)

Educated, beautiful and the daughter of a prosperous merchant, Angelica Lilly has been invited to spend the summer in high society. Her father’s wealth is opening doors, and attracting marriage proposals, but Angelica still feels like an imposter among the aristocrats of Cornwall.

When her brother returns home, ill and under the influence of a dangerous man, Angelica’s loyalties are tested to the limit. Her one hope lies with coachman Henry Trevelyan, a softly spoken, educated man with kind eyes. But when Henry seemingly betrays Angelica, she has no one to turn to. Who is Henry, and what does he want? And can Angelica save her brother from a terrible plot that threatens to ruin her entire family?

Pre-order The Cornish Lady from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)

The Familiars by Stacy Halls (hardcover, review copy courtesy of Bonnier Zaffre and Readers First)

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn¹t supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.

When she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife, Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong.

When Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the North-West, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye?

As the two women’s lives become inextricably bound together, the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood’s stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake.

Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Pre-order The Familiars from Amazon UK (link provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme)