Good morning everyone and happy Sunday! Well my book buying ban got smashed this week as a few of my orders came in. Here are some of the books I’ve picked up:
❤️The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard 🧡 Divorced Not Dead by Harper Ford 💛 Sisters Of The Sky by Lana Kortchik 💚The Only One Left 💙Big Swiss by Jen Beagin 🩵King Of Wrath by Ana Huang 💜King Of Pride by Ana Huang 💟A Demon’s Guide To Wooing A Witch by Sarah Hawley 🩷Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald 🤍The City Of Stardust by Georgia Summers
As you can see it’s a bit of a mixed bag from a variety of genres. Some of these like Riley Sager, Anna Huang and Sarah Hawley I’ve read before so I’m very excited to read their new books. The rest are all new authors for me, from recommendations that I’ve had from my fellow book lovers on here, and I’m looking forward to reading them soon.
I’m working today which is always fun as Sunday is normal quite busy. It tends to be people from out of town who have come to visit Malvern for the day so it’s fun to meet new people. I’m really hoping that one of the books I’ve been looking forward to has arriving the two days I’ve been off too.
What was the last book you bought? Do you see any I should bump up my list?
Good afternoon everyone I hope you’re having a great Saturday. I received a copy of this fabulous sounding book in the post this week. I have a bit of a fascination about AI and what it might be able to do in the future so this book instantly appealed.
Huge thanks to Jasmine from Viking for my copy of this book.
Out 14th March 2024!
What’s your opinion of AI? Useful or something to be feared?
Book Synopsis:
From the acclaimed authors of the runaway New York Times bestseller 2034 comes an explosive work of speculative fiction about a radical leap forward in artificial intelligence that combines with America’s violent partisan divide to create an existential threat to the country – and the world.
The year is 2054. It is twenty years after the nuclear war between the United States and China that brought down the old American political order. The new American Dream Party has emerged in the US and held power for over a decade. Many fear the president will stop at nothing to remain in the White House. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. After a flurry of misinformation, the administration reluctantly announces his death. A cover-up ensues, conspiracy theories spread like wildfire and the country descends into civil war.
A handful of elite actors from the worlds of computer science, intelligence and business have a fairly good idea what happened. All signs point to a profound breakthrough in AI, of which the remote assassination of an American president is hardly the most game-changing ramification. The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest: the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this breakthrough. As some of the world’s great powers – old and new, state and nonstate alike – struggle to outmanoeuvre one another in this new Great Game of scientific discovery, the outcome becomes entangled with the fate of democracy itself.
Combining a deep understanding of AI, biotech and the possibility of a coming singularity, along with their signature geopolitical sophistication, Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis have once again written a visionary work. 2054 is a novel that reads like a thriller even as it demands that we consider the trajectory of our society and its potentially calamitous destination.
About The Authors:
ELLIOT ACKERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Halcyon, 2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoir The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan, and Places and Names: On War, Revolution and Returning. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and nonfiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and Marine veteran who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.
Admiral James Stavridis
Admiral Jim Stavridis, USN (Ret.), spent more than thirty years in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of four-star admiral. He was Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and previously commanded U.S. Southern Command, over-seeing military operations throughout Latin America. At sea, he commanded a Navy destroyer, a destroyer squadron, and an aircraft carrier battle group in combat. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he recently served five years as dean. He received fifty medals in the course of his military career, including twenty-eight from foreign nations. He is the author of ten other books, including Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans and Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character, and is Chief International Analyst for NBC News and a contributing editor of Time magazine. He is currently the vice chair, global affairs, and managing director of the Carlyle Group and the chair of the board of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Good morning everyone I was tagged by the lovely @nothing.beats.a.good.book to share a stack with your favourite Disney film and a cold stack so, as they complimented each other, I thought I’d combine the two.
I absolutely love the film Frozen and always try to steer my kids towards it when we’re trying to choose a film. The characters in it are fantastic and I really love the catchy songs. I’m quite sure if it was around when I was younger I’d have bought everything to do with it. Instead I have to try and live precariously through my daughter who has recently declared she’s too old for it now sob .
When I was a kid my favourite film was Mary Poppins and apparently I used to go out in the garden with an umbrella, twirling it around and singing. I also love Tangled but the kids didn’t have any toys from that film 🤣
We’ve got a busy day today as my youngest have clubs this morning and my daughter has two birthday parties. I’m hoping to take the boys for a haircut and we may visit the bookshop so they can spend their book vouchers.
I’ve tagged a few people who might want to take part, but as always, no pressure.
Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel: plumping pillows, sweeping up secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But the hotel’s reputation is sullied when a guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead on the tearoom floor.
As suspicion swirls in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about a dusty old house, and everything else she’s tidied away in her memory.
Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time – and she knows his secrets too . . .
My Review:
The Mystery Guest was a compelling, absorbing and heartwarming read which I really enjoyed.
Firstly I really loved Molly and enjoyed following her throughout the book. She’s such a sweet person who seems to really care about those closest to her. She calls things as she sees them which made her seem very endearing to me and often made me wish I could just reach into the book and give her a huge hug. We find out more about her childhood in this book and I found it heartbreaking to discover how she was treated when she was younger. It made me glad that she’s found herself a good place in the hotel with friends who get her and seemed to really care for her.
I thought the mystery side of the story was well done and I enjoyed watching everything unfold. The story is told in two timelines one sent in the present day following the murder investigation and the other flashing back to Molly’s childhood. It was very intriguing watching things unfold and watching the two timelines slowly reveal some secrets as the story continues. There were a lot of surprising twists that I wasn’t expecting and I honestly didn’t guess who the murderer was until just before it was revealed which I really loved. I was actually completely convinced it was another person so I thought it was clever that the author kept me guessing.
Overall I adored this book and really hope this isn’t the last we see of Molly. I felt it was a bit of a slow burn as it took a while for the mystery to get going but I didn’t mind as I was having so much fun hanging out with Molly. I listened to this on audiobook and though the narrator did a great job telling the story, I particularly liked the different voices she was able to do for each characters. I found this book very gripping and I often found myself paused as I listened as I was so absorbed in the story. The ending was brilliant and I closed the book very sad to leave Molly behind.
Huge thanks to Indie Thinking for my physical copy of this book, as well as Libro and Harper Collins for providing me with ALC of this book. If you like a cosy, absorbing mystery with a lovable thought slightly flawed main character then I highly recommend this book.
About The Author:
Nita Prose is the author of THE MAID, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was published in over forty countries. A #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, THE MAID won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction and was an Edgar Award finalist. Her second novel, THE MYSTERY GUEST, publishes in November 2023 in North America (January 2024 in the UK). Prose lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is moderately clean.
Good morning everyone and happy Friday. It’s the weekend finally whoop!
I was lucky enough to receive these fabulous looking books from @gallicbooks this week:
❤️Edith Holler by Edward Carey
💚 Clara Reads Proust by Stéphane Carlier
💙 The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh
💜 The Innocents by Bridget Walsh
I’m a huge fan of Edward Carey and absolutely loved his last book Little so I actually squealed when I received a copy of Edith Holler. It sounds amazing and I love that it has more wonderful illustrations in it.
I’ve heard great things about Bridget Walsh’s books and, as I’m fascinated by the Victorian era, I can’t wait to read these soon. They are set in the Victorian music halls which I haven’t read much about before which is always exciting.
Clara Reads Proust is set in a French village and I always enjoy books set on different countries. I’ve been hearing great things gs from my fellow book friends so I’m very intrigued.
Huge thanks to Gallic for sending me these it’s really appreciated.
Edith Holler by Edward Carey
Edward Carey’s witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse – and the mysterious figure who threatens its very survival.Norwich, 1901. Edith Holler spends her days among the eccentric denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave.
Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, young Edith decides to write a play of her own about Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy, Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar woman named Margaret Unthank, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play – the one thing that’s truly hers – from the newcomer’s sinister designs.
Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by Carey’s trademark illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control and craft her own creative destiny.
Clara Reads Proust by Stéphane Carlier
A tender and witty coming-of-age story about the power of literature to inspire new beginnings, peppered with a cast of quirky characters and a unique heroine.
Clara is a hairdresser at Cindy Coiffure, a sleepy French salon with an identity crisis. Her relationship is fizzling out. Her tanoholic boss Madame Habib worships Jacques Chirac and talks longingly of her days in Paris. The highlight of the week was when the dishy technician came to repair the display cabinet. And now Madame Lévy-Leroyer wants to go blonde. Clara can’t help but wonder if there’s more to life . . .
Everything changes when a customer leaves behind the first volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. As Clara reads, she discovers a whole new world, leading her to strike up an unexpected friendship. And slowly but surely, she will work out who she wants to be.
The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh
1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, a feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook to help her find justice.
Together they navigate London, from its high-class clubs to its murky underbelly. But as the bodies pile up, they must rely on one another if they’re going to track down the killer – and make it out alive . . .
The first in a sharp, witty series of Victorian mystery novels, The Tumbling Girl is sure to delight fans of Sarah Waters, Elizabeth Macneal, and Miss Scarlet and the Duke.
The Innocents by Bridget Walsh
In the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Tumbling Girl, Minnie and Albert take on a new crime-solving quest in the world of a Victorian music hall.
The Variety Palace Music Hall is in trouble, due in no small part to a gruesome spate of murders that unfolded around it a few months previously.
Between writing, managing the music hall and trying to dissuade her boss from installing a water tank in the building, Minnie Ward has her hands full. Her complicated relationship with detective Albert Easterbrook doesn’t even bear thinking about.
But when a new string of murders tears through London, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Strangely, the crimes seem to link back to a tragedy that took place fourteen years ago, leaving 183 children dead.
And given that the incident touched so many people’s lives, everyone is a suspect . . .
Eek I’m so excited to have received a copy of this fabulous book today. I was such a huge fan of The Maiden so I can’t wait to read The King’s Witches very soon.
Huge thanks to the lovely Chloe from Pan Macmillan and for sending. I’m very excited to read it!
Out 6thJune 2024
Book Synopsis:
The King’s Witches by Kate Foster is a gripping and beautiful historical novel, giving an unforgettable voice to the women at the heart of the real-life witch trials in sixteenth-century Scotland.
Women whisper secrets to each other; it is how we survive.
1589 Princess Anne of Denmark is betrothed to King James VI of Scotland – a royal union designed to forever unite the two countries. But first, she must pass the trial period: one year of marriage in which she must prove herself worthy of being Scotland’s new Queen. If the King and the Scottish royal court in Edinburgh find her wanting, she faces permanent exile to a convent. Determined to fulfil her duties to King and country, Anne resolves to be the perfect royal bride. Until she meets Lord Henry.
By her side is Kirsten Sorenson, her loyal and pious lady’s maid. But whilst tending to Anne’s every need, she has her own secret motives for the royal marriage to be a success . . .
Meanwhile, in North Berwick, a young housemaid by the name of Jura is dreaming of a new life. She practises the healing charms taught to her by her mother, and when she realises she is no longer safe under her master’s roof, she escapes to Edinburgh. But it isn’t long before she finds herself caught up in the witchcraft mania that has gripped not just the capital but the new queen . . .
Will Anne, Kirsten and Jura be able to save each other and, in doing so, save themselves?
About The Author:
Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years and is the Health Editor for the Scottish Daily Mail.
She won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers for her debut novel The Maiden, which she wrote on a Curtis Brown Creative six-month novel writing course. The Maiden was published in April 2023.
Good morning everyone I was tagged by the lovely @nothing.beats.a.good.book to tell a tale through thriller book tiles.
Here’s what I came up with:
EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT so I’m going to LEAVE NO TRACE, LISTEN FOR THE LIE, watch EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE Suppress THE FURY Until you are in THE INSTITUTION
I’ve tagged a few people on Instagram who might want to take part but, as always, no pressure.
I’m working today which is always fun, especially as there’s some great books being published today. I’m also hoping that some of the book post I’ve been waiting on will arrive today though it’s bound to come when I’m off. I’ve then got a busy evening ferrying kids to different clubs before hopefully getting to read some more of my book. I’m currently reading Maud Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook and I’m absolutely loving it so far.
Do you read thrillers? Who’s your favourite thriller writer?
It begins with a troubling encounter on a flight to Venice. She is a Roman aristocrat and art dealer on the search for undervalued paintings and he a mysterious tour guide. She is invited to cosmopolitan parties by Venetian social and art glitterati. Mr. Silvera, a guide whose erudition and distinction are in sharp contrast with his beat-up suitcase and stain-spotted raincoat, drags his shabby tourists from monument to monument. Their passion will last three days, long enough to be exposed to unscrupulous art dealers and other scammers, passing off worthless paintings as part of a famous collection. Silvera seems to know every language and all secrets. But who is he really? Around them, the canals and lagoons of Venice, a city which becomes a character in the novel in its own right.
My Review:
The Lover Of No Fixed Abode is a quirky, entertaining love story that I really enjoyed.
Firstly I absolutely loved the author’s vivid descriptions of Venice which made me feel like I was actually there experiencing everything alongside the characters. It’s one of the places that is top of my wish list to visit so I loved learning more about the city, the beautiful parts that the tourists might see and the back water places frequented only by the locals that were perhaps a little more run down. It was especially interesting to learn a little more about the underbelly of the art world through the characters and see how art fraud is carried out. It’m even more determined to visit Venice soon.
The characters where very interesting creations that I enjoyed following throughout the book. I liked how the author’s don’t reveal much about the characters at the beginning and instead we learn more about them slowly as the book continues which I though was very interesting. It made the character’s seem much more intriguing and I liked slowly unravelling the mystery surrounding them as the book continues. It was especially interesting to see how they interact in the social occasions they attend together and how others perceive them as a couple.
I thought the book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something intriguing happening to keep me reading. There is lots of humour in the story, along with healthy dose of sarcasm at times which made me laugh and made the story very entertaining at times. The conclusion was quite surprising which I always love. This is the first book by these authors and I’d definitely be interested to read more from them in the future.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me on the blog tour and to the publishers for my copy of this book.
About The Authors:
Carlo Fruttero (1926-2012) (photo) and Franco Lucentini (1920-2002) are legendary authors in Europe, known aspioneers of the modern crime genre. The Lover of No Fixed Abode, their most successful novel, is one of six works of fiction they wrote together. It was published in 1986 in Italian and never before available in English. In 2025 Bitter Lemon will be publishing Runaway Horses, their murder mystery set in Siena during the Palio, the city’s colourful annual horse-race.
Gregory Dowling grew up in Bristol and read English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. Gregory lives in Venice. He is a celebrated translator from Italian, a novelist (The Four Horsemen and Ascension, both set in Venice) and a local university professor.
‘Women can be heroes, too’. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California’s idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.
My Review:
The Women is powerful, absorbing and thought provoking read that will be staying with me for a long time.
Firstly I must admit to not knowing much about the Vietnam war so I found it fascinating to learn what it was like to serve over there. It must have been a very intense experience with medical staff having to deal with horrific injuries in very difficult situations, often without appropriate equipment. My heart was in my mouth as I watched Frankie and her friends deal with all the casualties often while under attack. It was very interesting to learn that the people posted over there also tried to help the local population by offering medical help that they wouldn’t have otherwise be able to access.
The story follows Frankie both during her experiences in Vietnam and when she returned home to California. I did prefer the scenes set in Vietnam but Frankie’s experience when she returned home were absolutely shocking to read about. I can’t believe that people treated Vietnam veterans that way and that there was almost no support available for them, especially for the women who served. My heart broke for Frankie as I watched her struggling with her reality whilst battling the nightmares from her experiences. It made me so angry to realise this was probably what a lot of Vietnam veterans experienced at the time.
I absolutely loved the friendship that blossoms between Frankie, Ethel and Babs which was so heartwarming to read about. It was so lovely to see them grow gradually closer and see them support each other through the toughest moments they could experience. I really liked that they stay friends and continue to be present for each other in the important moments of there lives.
Overall, as you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone. The book had a great pace to it and there was always something happening to keep my attention. I read this book over a weekend which is no easy feat with three children but I just couldn’t put it down! I feel this is a book that everyone should read not only because it describes an important moment in history but it also lays bare the experiences of war that can last long after the fighting has finished.
Huge thanks to the lovely Chloe from Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.
The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Good morning everyone today one Two For Tuesday I’m featuring two fabulous books by Helen Russell.
I absolutely loved The Year Of Loving Danishly as it was absolutely fascinating learning more about life in a different country. I’m therefore very intrigued to read her new book, How To Raise A Viking, as I’m very intrigued to see how parenting differs in Denmark. I’m wondering if I’ll pick up a few tips on how to change my own parenting.
Huge thanks to @indie_thinking and @4thestatebooks for my copy of How To Raise A Viking.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go?
The Year Of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
Given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.
Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.
In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too – or. her understanding of it – has shifted. It’s a messy and flawed place, she concludes – but can still be a model for a better way of living.
How To Raise A Viking by Helen Russell
What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a lot…
After a decade of living in Denmark and raising a family there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic children are different. They eat differently. They learn differently. They run, jump and climb out in nature for hours a day, even though the weather is terrible and it’s dark October to March. And then they grow up to be some of the happiest adults on the planet. Her question was: how?
In How to Raise a Viking, Russell takes a deep dive into the parenting culture of Denmark and the other Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure, screen time, and the surprising customs that lead to happy, well-adjusted humans. This fascinating peek behind the cultural curtain allows readers a glimpse of another world, where babies sleep outside in their prams up to -20°C and pre-schoolers wield axes.
Refreshingly funny and unfailingly optimistic about the new generation of humans growing up in the world right now, this is a heart-warming love letter to Russell’s adopted homeland and proof that we could all use a bit more Viking in our lives.
About The Author:
Helen Russell is a British journalist and internationally bestselling author of The Year of Living Danishly, Leap Year, Gone Viking, The Atlas of Happiness and How To Be Sad – the key to a happier life.
Formerly the editor of MarieClaire.co.uk, Helen has worked as a Scandinavia correspondent for the Guardian, as well as writing a longstanding column for the Telegraph. She now lives in Denmark and writes for titles including The Observer, Stylist, Metro, Grazia and The Independent.
Over The Rainbow Blog 