Tag: Reading Challenges

Book Review – Dwell by Rue Baldry @northodoxpress #20BOS26

whatcathyreadnextLeave a comment

About the Book

January 1919. A new gardener at a snowbound boarding school catches everyone’s attention. It’s rumoured he is a war hero.

He’s nineteen-year-old Albert, haunted by Great War experiences and fighting the temptation of one particular prefect. What they want is illegal. Being caught would ruin them. 

Then Albert’s past finds him, making their quest for a place where love can safely dwell look impossible.

Format: Paperback (336 pages) Publisher: Northodox Press
Publication date: 11th June 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Dwell on Goodreads

Purchase Dwell from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

Dwell is an exquisitely told love story about two people whose attraction to each other is so strong that no obstacle must stand in the way of them being together, even though that brings with it great risk.

Despite being similar in age, Albert’s and Edgar’s life experiences couldn’t be more different. Edgar’s life so far has been one of privilege. His father is a successful solicitor and it’s expected Edgar will eventually join the family firm and marry well. His mother and his sister are already on the lookout for suitable candidates.

Albert grew up in poverty and joined up to escape his violent home life. Now the war is over, he’s adrift. The terrible things he experienced during his time on the front line, not all of which were perpetrated by the enemy, continue to haunt him. He suffers nightmares in which he recalls harrowing scenes. He has catatonic episodes and flashbacks, sometimes triggered by seemingly innocuous things. The reader shares Albert’s experience of these sudden shifts from present to past. In vividly drawn scenes we witness the horror of the battlefield, the ultimate demands of comradeship and the malevolent actions of those with power over life and death.

From their very first encounter, Edgar and Albert seem destined for each other. For Edgar, his attraction to Albert confirms the sense he’s had about his sexuality but has been unable to act on before. Albert is equally smitten but is conscious of Edgar’s innocence and inexperience. He also has a secret he fears would change how Edgar feels about him.

Both are aware of the risks they’re taking. Edgar knows discovery of their relationship could result in prosecution and disgrace, including for his family. Albert’s war experiences have left him with the notion that others have been punished for his ‘sin’ of being attracted to other men. What if Edgar too is punished because of Albert’s actions?

Ironically it is the difference in their social class that eventually provides a ‘cover’ for their relationship. Hidden in plain sight, if you like, but still not without risk because that thing in Albert’s past could still bring everything crashing down. It’s why Albert’s instinct is to remain in the shadows, to resist Edgar’s desire to venture out into the underground gay community. As it turns out, Albert was right to be wary.

I loved that, as well as the passion of Albert’s and Edgar’s relationship and their delight in each other’s bodies, we witness moments of tenderness and domestic intimacy: a reassuring embrace when awakening from a nightmare, the gentle application of lotion to inflamed skin, the drawing of a bath to soothe aching limbs, the preparation of an early morning cup of tea.

The author writes with real compassion and insight. By the end of the book I was totally invested in Albert and Edgar’s story and left with the profound hope they would be able to make a future together. It’s Albert though who will really stay with me.

Dwell is an emotionally charged, tender and compelling story of a love that must remain hidden. It’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

I received a proof copy courtesy of Northodox Press. Dwell is book 2 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Intense, intimate, moving
Try something similar: The Two Roberts by Damian Barr

About the Author

Rue Baldry has a BA in English Literature from York University and an MA in Literature with Creative Writing from Leeds University. She still lives in York, where she met her husband and they raised their five children. In 2015 she was a Jerwood/Arvon mentee, in 2017, the The Bridge Awards/ Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer, and in 2021, a Women’s Prize Discoveries longlistee.

Her novel, Dwell, won the 2024 First Novel Prize. Other work of hers has won the 2023 Canada and Europe region of the Commonwealth Prize, come second in the Yeovil Prize, been longlisted for the BBC NSSA, and placed in the Caledonian, Bridport, Reader Berlin, First Page, Odd Voice Out, Retreat West, and Flash 500 competitions.

Thirty of her short stories have been published in journals such as Granta, Ambit, MIR Online, Mslexia, The Honest Ulsterman, Fairlight Shorts, Fictive Dream, Litro, Postbox, and The Incubator. Her plays have had amateur performances and professional workshops. (Photo/bio: Publisher website)

Connect with Rue
Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | Bluesky

Book Review – Deception by Alan Parks @johnmurrays @AlanJParks #20BOS26

whatcathyreadnextLeave a comment

About the Book

New York, December 1941. Joseph Gunner, former soldier, is off the front lines and on the streets of New York, tasked with helping tip America into the Second World War.

Working for a section of the British Secret Service, Gunner spends his days covertly encouraging pro-war sentiment through planted news stories, radio broadcasts and even blackmail.

But when a honeytrap mission with a prominent US politician goes wrong and the young woman involved is found dead, Gunner realises he has a target on his back. Who silenced her? Who knew their plan? And who has betrayed Gunner?

As he investigates, Gunner is plunged into the secretive world of Nazis in America, the NYPD and the mobs of New York, as the body count quickly stacks up. With world events accelerating, Gunner finds himself in a race against time before he becomes the next victim. Soon, he’ll uncover a conspiracy that goes beyond what he thought was possible.

Format: Hardcover (352 pages) Publisher: John Murray Press
Publication date: 2nd July 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

Find Deception on Goodreads

Preorder/Purchase Deception from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

Alan Parks is a new-to-me author who I discovered when I happened to see Deception on NetGalley. As an avid reader of historical fiction, the fact it’s set in New York during WW2 really appealed to me. Parks is the author of the Harry McCoy series set in 1970s Glasgow and Deception is the second in a new series featuring former Glasgow detective Joseph Gunner, the first being Gunner which is now on my wishlist.

Wounded whilst serving on the front line in France and often needing to resort to morphine to keep pain at bay, Gunner has found himself in New York engaged in covert work aimed at bringing the United States into the war. Propaganda, false flag operations, whatever it takes. While his boss Nickerson wines and dines influential American figures, Gunner is involved in less salubrious activities designed to counteract pro-German sentiment, a surprising amount of which exists in certain areas of New York, as he discovers.

When several people who worked alongside Gunner in a ‘honeytrap’ operation die in suspicious circumstances, he’s determined to discover the people behind it but finds not everyone is so enthusiastic. His investigation brings him up against some shady and exceptionally ruthless individuals. However, he also finds allies. But is everyone exactly who they profess to be? And do we ever really know what someone is capable of?

I really enjoyed getting to know Gunner. He may be a streetwise Glaswegian but he’s a fish out of water in New York. He never really gets his head around the subway and is introduced to food he’s never heard of or tasted before like salami and spaghetti (yes, really). And the bright lights of New York are a contrast with the dark streets of Glasgow under the nightly blackouts.

There’s an interesting moral ambiguity about events in the book. For example, how do you weigh up the loss of hundreds of lives caused by a pro-German atrocity in the heart of New York against the millions of lives that might be saved if such an act shifts sentiment towards the United States joining the war? Those who know their history will be aware of the significance of the book being set in December 1941.

Deception is an enthralling, fast-paced historical thriller with moments of high drama and walk-on parts for real life figures. I’m hoping there will be more to come in the series.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of John Murray Press via NetGalley. Deception is book 4 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Gripping, suspenseful, atmospheric
Try something similar: Nemesis by Rory Clements

About the Author

Alan Parks worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to crime writing.

His debut Bloody January was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, February’s Son was nominated for an Edgar Award, Bobby March Will Live Forever won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, the Prix Mystère de la critique in the foreign fiction category, and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and The April Dead was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The fifth Harry McCoy book, May God Forgive, was published in April 2022 and won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022. It was also shortlisted for the 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and longlisted for the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The Harry McCoy series is optioned for television.

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city as well as spending time in London. (Photo/bio: Agent website)

Connect with Alan
Website | X