New arrivals
This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik (hardcover, courtesy of Readers First)
Accountant Bilal Hasham and his journalist wife, Mariam, plod along contentedly in the sleepy, chocolate box village they’ve lived in for eight years.
Then Bilal is summoned to his dying mother’s bedside in Birmingham. Sakeena Hasham is not long for this world but refuses to leave it until she ensures that her son remembers who he is: a Muslim, however much he tries to ignore it. She has a final request. Instead of whispering her prayers in her dying moments, she instructs Bilal to go home to his village, Babbels End, and build a mosque.
Mariam is horrified. The villagers are outraged. How can a grieving Bilal choose between honouring his beloved mum’s last wish and preserving everything held dear in the village he calls home?
But it turns out home means different things to different people.
Battle lines are drawn and this traditional little community becomes the colourful canvas on which the most current and fundamental questions of identity, friendship, family and togetherness are played out.
What makes us who we are, who do we want to be, and how far would we go to fight for it?
The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake (eARC, courtesy of Endeavour Quill)
Buried for over 300 years and now brought triumphantly to light by Dr Livesay, this is, at last, the true story of what happened on the fateful Treasure Island…
The truth about Captain Flint and his fabled death. The truth about Long John Silver and his coveted wife. And the truth about Jim Hawkins, that double-dealing turncoat of the first order: the traitor of Treasure Island.
On What Cathy Read Next last week
Blog posts
Monday – I shared my review of A Devil Comes to Town by Paolo Maurensig.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books I Wouldn’t Part With and I found plenty on my bookshelves vying for a place on the list.
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 – I published my review of historical romance Stealing Roses by Heather Cooper.
Friday – I joined the blog tour for Tell Me Where You Are by Moira Forsyth, sharing my review of this intimate family drama.
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
- Book Review: Where the Hornbeam Grows by Beth Lynch
- Book Review: Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor by Rebecca Rosenberg
- Waiting on Wednesday
- Book Review: The Lost Shrine by Nicola Ford
- Blog Tour/Book Review: Aurelia (Roma Nova #4) by Alison Morton
- Book Review/Reading The Walter Scott Prize Shortlist: The Long Take by Robin Robertson
About the Book
About the Author
