On the blog last week
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025.
Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading. I also shared my review of the Sir Walter Scott Prize shortlisted Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon.
Thursday – I published my review of Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid.
Friday – I shared my review of SPIT by David Brennan.
New on my shelves
The Blazing Sea (The Whale Road Chronicles #8) by Tim Hodkinson (Head of Zeus via NetGalley)
Einar and the Wolf Coats have angered most of the kings of Northern Europe. With England no refuge, their only solution is to set sail across the Whale Road.
A chance encounter with a slave trader leads them to Muslim Spain, but what starts as a joyous homecoming for one of the crew ends in the Caliph’s infamous dungeons.
The Mediterranean proves a perilous sea. Byzantine warships roam, armed with liquid fire that can torch man and ship alike. Viking mercenaries and pirate lords alike spill blood for gold or glory.
With a chance to retake his stolen kingdom of Orkney, Einar must first save an innocent life… and risk his own and those of his crew once more.
The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse (eARC, Moonflower Books)
First came the darkness. Then the storm. Now Alex has no choice: it’s time to face the fire.
Following a fighter jet crash in the Haitian hinterland, special agent Alex Lamarque is taken captive by a violent, drug-addled gang, the only authority in this lawless territory.
Unknown to Alex, his lover Mariam Jordane has escaped the deadly flood of her home valley in the Pyrenees. But Mariam, along with Alex’s mother Gloria, is trapped on the wrong side of the world, facing a crescendo of dangers: the AI viruses crippling the digital state; the breakdown of law and order; and unexpected, terrifying news from a Paris observatory.
Four thousand kilometres to the south, in the remote Sahara, the consequences of the cataclysmic events at the Aswan dam continue to reverberate throughout the world.
With the woman he loves presumed dead, his mother in danger, and no hope of rescue, Alex must tackle his greatest challenge yet: break free from the gang, uncover the truth, and finally face the perpetrators of the global conspiracy that’s seemingly hellbent on destroying the world. Can he – and the people he loves – escape the coming fire?
What I’m currently reading
I’m continuing to listen to the audiobook of Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson from my 20 Books of Summer list, I’m reading One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter from my NetGalley shelf and a review copy, Green Ink by Stephen May.
Look out for…
- Book Review: The Mare by Angharad Hampshire
- Book Review: A Beautiful Way to Die by Eleni Kyriacou
- Book Review: One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter
- #6Degrees of Separation
- My Top 5 June Reads
What Cathy Read Next... 