#WWWWednesday – 21st December 2022

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 Girl From Simon's BayThe Girl From Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch (Allison & Busby)

Simon’s Town is a vibrant seafaring community in a picturesque part of the Union of South Africa. Louise Ahrendts, daughter of a local shipbuilder, nurtures the dream of becoming a nurse amid the unwritten, unspoken rules about colour that might hold her back.

As the port becomes a hub of activity following the outbreak of the Second World War, Louise crosses paths with man she is determined to be with – despite all the obstacles that life and war can throw in their way.

But when a new troubled moment of history dawns, can they find their way back to each other?

Along with several others, this was a book on my list for the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge that I didn’t get to. I’m trying to polish a few more off the list before the end of the year.  

ResurrectionResurrection by David Gilman (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Somewhere in the Sahara, on the desolate border between Sudan and Chad, a P51 Mustang with long-range drop tanks slowly emerges from the dunes. Inside, the skeletalized remains of a man missing for three decades. His flying jacket bears no insignia, a worn leather attaché case lies by his side, held securely by a manacle around his left wrist. Inside a document men will kill for. Die for.

The sands of time have shifted, and whoever finds that aircraft finds information that could expose the most valuable spy the UK intelligence service has ever known.

The British, the French, and the Russians are on the trail. And so is Raglan.

I loved the previous two books in the series – The Englishman and Betrayal – and I’ve been looking forward to this latest instalment, especially as I have a bit of a crush on Dan Raglan, ex-Foreign Legionnaire. One for fans of action-packed international thrillers. 


Recently finished

Skelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses by David Stafford (Allison & Busby)

Devils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste, trans. by Sam Taylor (Gallic Books)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

BellatrixBellatrix (Legion XXII #2) by Simon Turney (ARC, Head of Zeus)

Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. And the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion…

Egypt. 25 BC. Titus Cervianus marches into the unknown as he and the Twenty Second Legion contend with the armies of the Bellatrix: the Warrior Queen of Kush.

The Kushites and the Egyptians have united against the Roman presence in their lands – but there are complex political and military forces at work. Marching deep into the deserts of north-eastern Africa, Cervianus and his comrades must contend with the perils of unknown territories, ever wary, as they brace themselves for a furious onslaught.

Under blazing skies, Cervanius and the rest of the legion approach their destiny as they prepare to take on the might of the Bellatrix. Will the alliance against the armies of Rome prevail, and will the men of the Twenty Second survive – or perish in a distant land? 

#WWWWednesday – 14th December 2022

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

Skelton's Guide to Blazing CorpsesSkelton’s Guide to Blazing Corpses (Arthur Skelton #3) by David Stafford (Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

Guy Fawkes Night, 5th November, 1930. Bonfires are blazing, rockets burst. In a country lane, revellers discover a car that has been set on fire. At first, they assume that this is the work of vandals taking the Guy Fawkes spirit a little too far, sitting at the wheel is a body, charred beyond recognition.

The initial assumption is that the owner of the car, Mr Harold Musgrave, a successful travelling salesman has taken his own life in a particularly grisly act of self-immolation. The post-mortem, however, reveals that Mr Musgrave was either unconscious or dead before the fire was lit. When Tommy Prosser, a local criminal, is charged with the murder, barrister Arthur Skelton believes him to be innocent, so sets out to ensure justice is served.

I really enjoyed the previous two books in the series so found it impossible to resist requesting this when I came across it on NetGalley.  It’s a lot of fun.

Devils and SaintsDevils and Saints by Jean-Baptiste, trans. by Sam Taylor  (Gallic Books)

An elderly man gives virtuoso piano performances in airports and train stations. To the incredulity of the passers-by, he refuses their offers to play in concert halls, or at prestigious gatherings. He is waiting for someone, he tells them.

Joseph was just sixteen when he was sent to a religious boarding school in the Pyrenees: les Confins, a dumping ground for waifs, strays, and other abandoned souls. His days were filled with routine and drudgery, and he thought longingly of the solace he found through music in his former life.

Joe dreams constantly of escape, but it seems impossible. That is, until a chance encounter with the orphanage’s benefactor leads him to Rose, and a plan begins to form…

A review copy courtesy of the lovely people at Gallic Books. I very much enjoyed the author’s previous book, A Hundred Million Years and a Day and this one is proving just as good.


Recently finished

Elena by Rupert Colley (free novella available via author’s website)

The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O’Reilly (HQ via NetGalley)

The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually by Helen Cullen (Michael Joseph via NetGalley)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

The Girl From Simon's BayThe Girl From Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch (Allison & Busby)

Simon’s Town is a vibrant seafaring community in a picturesque part of the Union of South Africa. Louise Ahrendts, daughter of a local shipbuilder, nurtures the dream of becoming a nurse amid the unwritten, unspoken rules about colour that might hold her back.

As the port becomes a hub of activity following the outbreak of the Second World War, Louise crosses paths with man she is determined to be with – despite all the obstacles that life and war can throw in their way.

But when a new troubled moment of history dawns, can they find their way back to each other?