#WWWWednesday – 28th February 2024

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

The Story CollectorThe Story Collector by Iris Costello (ARC, Penguin)

London, 1915: Tarot reader Katerina is trying to hold her life together amid the wartime chaos. When she opens a bakery that offers divination alongside sweet treats, she is hailed as a beacon of hope. But Katerina is hiding a dark truth that could cost her everything.

Germany, 1918: A mute British soldier is taken to a prisoner of war camp where he meets Miriam, a researcher. She is drawn to his gentle manner and secretly vows to help him. But soon she will have to make an impossible will she save the one she loves, or herself?

Cornwall, Present Recently widowed Edie is astonished to discover a mysterious box hidden in the wall of her newly cottage. As Edie starts to investigate, she uncovers a secret that has lain hidden for over a century…

A Tapestry of TreasonA Tapestry of Treason by Anne O’Brien (HQ via NetGalley)

Her actions could make history – but at what price?

1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, The House of York.

Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband Thomas and ruthless siblings Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry IV.  Will it be possible for this Plantagenet family to safeguard its own political power by restoring either King Richard II to the throne, or the precarious Mortimer claimant?

Although the execution of these conspiracies will place them all in jeopardy, Constance is not deterred, even when the cost of her ambition threatens to overwhelm her.  Even when it endangers her new-found happiness.

With treason, tragedy, heartbreak and betrayal, this is the story of a woman ahead of her time, fighting for herself and what she believes to be right in a world of men.


Recently finished

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (Penguin)

The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce (Allison & Busby)

A Madras Miasma (Superintendent Le Fanu Mystery #1) by Brian Stoddart (Crime Wave Press)

Our Souls at Night by Kent Huruf (Picador)


What Cathy Will Read Next

DivaDiva by Daisy Goodwin (eARC, Aria via NetGalley)

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas is known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she’s the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. Yet her fame has been hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her, Maria learned early in life how to protect herself.

When she meets the fabulously rich shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, her isolation melts away. For the first time in her life, she believes she’s found a man who sees the woman rather than the legendary soprano. Desperately in love, Onassis introduces her to a life of unbelievable luxury, mixing with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then, suddenly, it’s over. The international press announce that Onassis will marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

#WWWWednesday – 21st February 2024

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

The List of Suspicious ThingsThe List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (ARC, Penguin)

Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The Other PrincessThe Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen.

By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a ‘gift’.

From these traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty’s court, friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.


Recently finished

Remember, Remember by Elle Machray (HarperNorth)

In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Head of Zeus)

Notes of Change (Sam Plank Mystery #7) by Susan Grossey


What Cathy Will Read Next

The Story CollectorThe Story Collector by Iris Costello (ARC, Penguin)

London, 1915: Tarot reader Katerina is trying to hold her life together amid the wartime chaos. When she opens a bakery that offers divination alongside sweet treats, she is hailed as a beacon of hope. But Katerina is hiding a dark truth that could cost her everything.

Germany, 1918: A mute British soldier is taken to a prisoner of war camp where he meets Miriam, a researcher. She is drawn to his gentle manner and secretly vows to help him. But soon she will have to make an impossible will she save the one she loves, or herself?

Cornwall, Present Recently widowed Edie is astonished to discover a mysterious box hidden in the wall of her newly renovated cottage. As Edie starts to investigate, she uncovers a secret that has lain hidden for over a century…