Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I thought I’d share two recommendations that were given to me by customers at the bookshop.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with books that are set in space so when a customer ordered in the book for themselves I was immediately intrigued.  It’s not somewhere I’m ever going to myself but I’m excited to experience it alongside the characters.

Book Synopsis:

Life on our planet as you’ve never seen it before: in this spellbinding and uplifting novel six astronauts rotate in the International Space Station. They are there to do vital work, but slowly they begin to wonder: what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?

Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents, and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.

Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.

The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it.

House Of Dudley by Joanne Paul

One of my favourite periods of history is the Tudor period and I’m always interested in learning more about it.  A customer mentioned that this had been recommended on radio 4 when ordering it for themselves.  I had a quick look at it when it came on and it sounded fascinating so I knew I’d have to get myself a copy.

Book Synopsis:

Was the House of Dudley out to steal the throne?

This was the question on the mind of Elizabeth I’s courtiers when a forbidden book accused generations of the Dudley family of poisonings, plottings, murders, treason, incitement and other ‘evil stratagems.’

For decades, the Dudleys had been close to the throne, rising from nobodies to the land’s highest offices.

Under Henrys VII and VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and, finally, Elizabeth, they risked execution and imprisonment as they audaciously stole, murdered and swindled in the name of the monarch.

But were they loyally protecting the crown, or did they secretly covet it for themselves?

What was the last book you bought from a recommendation?

Book Synopsis:

Austria, 1938

After years of hardship, Ella is full of hope for a better future for Austrians, and when Hitler marches into Linz, she can’t help but become swept up in the euphoria of her boyfriend, Max.

But she soon realises her mistake. When she witnesses a woman being shot in the street and a childhood friend’s Jewish department store is closed down, she knows she must do something.

It’s a dangerous time to be a resistor, especially when her fascist boyfriend proposes to her. Knowing the secrets she can uncover, Ella enlists in a Reich Bride School, finding herself propelled into the social elite of the Nazi circle.

Ella knows she has a duty – to her family, her friends, and her country – so while Europe teeters on the brink of WW2, a desperate race begins to save the people she loves. But betraying the Nazis could be her death sentence…

A powerful and unforgettable story of the strength of women and the unwavering courage of those who seek a better world. Fans of Suzanne Goldring, Mandy Robotham and Debbie Rix will devour this heartbreaking tale.

My Review:

As regular readers of my blog will know I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, especially if it’s set in WW2 and features events that I didn’t know anything about previously. I thought The Austrian Bride was a emotional, gripping and thought provoking read that will stay with me.

The story is told from the point of view of Ella and her mother Marlene which helps the reader see events from two different generations. I really like Ella who came across as a very brave girl. I loved how realistic she was depicted and how she grew from being an excited supporter of Hitler to being a fighter against the Nazis. Her mother is also a very brave lady and I enjoyed following an older character throughout this period. They make a great team and I really admire them for standing up for what they believe in.

I hadn’t read much about the Nazi’s early occupation in Austria so I found it fascinating to learn more about it. It was especially interesting to see how welcomed they were initially by the citizens and to learn more about the Reich Bride School which I hadn’t heard about before. I found it quite chilling to see how women were treated and how they were prepared to be good Nazi wives. It was also quite sad to see how Ella’s boyfriend Max transformed into a perfect Nazi soldier which made me feel very sad for Ella.

I thought the story had a great pace to it and I soon found myself drawn into the story. The story is incredibly gripping and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my glued to the page. My heart was in my mouth in some of the scenes as I prayed that Ella and her mum would be alright. This was the first book that I’ve read by this author and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publishers for my copy of this book. If you like absorbing historical fiction than I highly recommend this book.

About The Author:

I come from London but now live in Hamburg, Germany with my husband, daughter and rescue dog. I gave English lessons to retired Germans for twenty years and became intrigued by many of their wartime stories. I have ancestors from Austria and I spent my summer holidays there for years which inspired my next novel. I have always loved reading and writing, and now finally have the time to devote to writing.

Book Synopsis:

Maggie Bird is many things. A chicken farmer. A good neighbour. A seemingly average retiree living in the seaside town of Purity. She’s also a darned good rifle shot. And she never talks about her past.

But when an unidentified body is left on Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a calling card from old times. It’s been fifteen years since the failed mission that ended her career as a spy, and cost her far more than her job.

Step forward the ‘Martini Club’ – Maggie’s silver-haired book group (to anyone who asks), and a cohort of former spies behind closed doors. With the help of her old friends – and always one step ahead of the persistent local cop – Maggie might still be able to save the life she’s built.

The Spy Coast is the first novel in the Martini Club series.

My Review:

The Spy Coast is a fast paced, gripping read that I read over the course of a weekend. 

The story is told from the point of view of three people two former spies Diana and Maggie old team mates from their time in the field as well as Jo the local acting chief of Police. I absolutely loved Maggie and her wonderful group of old spy friends. They were such a great close knit group of friends, who have all had the same life experiences and it was great the get to know them all throughout the book. Maggie was one of my favourite characters and I thought it was great to see how she was still such a strong, capable lady despite many years out of the job. I wasn’t too sure about Jo as I felt she was a bit prickly at times. I did get where she was coming from as it must have been frustrating to be sidelined like that but I felt she was a real jobsworth at times and could have worked with Maggie rather than against her. However that might have made the story seem less realistic.

I thought the book had a great pace to it and I was quickly drawn into the story, unable to put the book down as it was so gripping. The book has two timelines to it one following Maggie and her friends in the present day with flashback to Maggie’s past work as a spy. I loved watching both timelines unfold and it was fascinating to learn more about Maggie’s life. There were lots of twists that kept me guessing and lots of action that ensured I couldn’t put the book down. I ended up reading all through the weekend, ignoring the housework and letting the kids spend too much time on their tablets as I was desperate to read a little bit more of the story. 

The ending was amazing and I loved watching all the action unfold in what I thought was a very realistic manner. This is the first book in a promising new series and I can’t wait to read the next book. It is being compared to the Thursday Murder Club series and I definitely think that the fans of that series will enjoy this book too. 

Huge thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bantam for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction and in 1987, her first novel, Call After Midnight, was published. It was just the first of 32 suspense novels that she’s written over a 36-year writing career. She also wrote a screenplay, “Adrift,” which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess’s 1996 medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list and her novels have hit bestseller lists around the world ever since. Among her titles are Gravity, The Surgeon, Vanish, Listen to Me, and her upcoming spy thriller, The Spy Coast, which has just been optioned by Amazon Studios for a television series. Her books have been translated into 40 languages, and more than 40 million copies have been sold around the world.

Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TNT television series “Rizzoli & Isles,” starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

She lives in Maine.

Good morning everyone I hope you all had a good weekend. I thought I’d do a little reading update today!

❤️Last:
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
The Beholder’s by Hester Musson

🧡Now:
The Longest Goodbye by Mari Hannah
The Philosophy Of Love by Rebecca Ryan

💛Next:
One Love by Matt Cain
Death On The Lusitania by R L Graham

I finished The Spy Coast yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll be posting my review a bit later as part of the blog tour. I have a few more pages left of The Beholders but after a slow start I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m currently reading The Longest Goodbye by Mari Hannah and The Philosophy Of Love by Rebecca Ryan, two authors I’ve enjoyed before so I’m excited to read them soon.

I’m then hoping to read One Love by Matt Cain and then Death On The Lusitania by R L Graham two books I’ve been hearing lots of good things about!

It’s my day off today and I’m planning on a quiet one as I’m feeling pretty exhausted. I’ve had an almost constant headache for a few days and I think it’s worn me out.

What are you currently reading?

Good morning everyone! Here are some of the fantastic looking books I’ve added to my tbr pile this week:

❤️The Secrets Of Blythswood Square by Sara Sheridan*
🧡The Postcard by Anne Berest
💛 Emily Wilde’s Map Of The Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
💚The Wartime Bookclub by Kate Thompson *
💙Haven by Fiona Neill *
🩵The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone *
💜Death Flight by Sarah Sultoon *
💟Token by Beverly Kendall *
🩷 Winter In Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
🤍Death And The Penguins by Andrey Kurkov

Most of the books above are for my 24 Countries In 2024 challenge and the books with stars next to them were kindly sent by publisher’s for blog tours.

I’m working today which I always enjoy but hopefully it’s not going to be too quiet. I’m then looking forward to a roast with the family tonight and reading some more of my fantastic book. I’m currently reading The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen and have a few more pages left.  I’ll be posting my review tomorrow as part of the Random Things Tours.

What are your Sunday plans?

Eek so excited to receive a copy of this today. I was such a huge fan of The Fair Botanist by this author and often recommend it at the bookshop that I work in. 

The story has definitely stayed with me so much so that I bought a diary from the Botanical Gardens that where featured on the book as it now holds a special place in my heart. You can therefore imagine my excitement when I was invited onto the blog tour for her next book The Secret Of Blythswood Square. 

Huge thanks to Alainna from Hodder Books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

Out 8th February 2024.

What setting in a book has a special place in your heart?

Book Synopsis:

You wouldn’t suspect it, but scandalous secrets are being kept on Blythswood Square…

1846. Glasgow is a city on the cusp of great social change, but behind the curtains, neighbours are watching, and rumours of improper behaviour spread like wildfire on the respectable Blythswood Square.

When Charlotte Nicholl discovers that the fortune she has been bequeathed by her father is tied up in a secret collection of erotic art, she is faced with a terrible dilemma: sell it and risk shaming her family’s good name or lose her home.

An encounter with Ellory McHale, a talented working-class photographer newly arrived in Glasgow, leads Charlotte to hope she has found not only someone who might help her, but also a friend. Yet Ellory is hiding secrets of her own – secrets that become harder to conceal as she finds herself drawn into Charlotte’s world.

As the truth begins to catch up with both women, will it destroy everything they’ve fought to build – or set them both free?

About The Author:

“History is a treasure chest of stories. I love them.”

Sara Sheridan works in a wide range of media and genres but mostly historical and especially the stories of women. She loves exploring where our culture comes from. In 2018 she remapped Scotland according to women’s history. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she was nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has received a Scottish Library Award and has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize and the Wilbur Smith Prize. Her work was included in the David Hume Institute’s Summer Reading list 2019. She has sat on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of ’26’ the campaign for the importance of words. She took part in 3 ’26 Treasures’ exhibitions at the V&A, London, The National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. She occasionally blogs for the Guardian about her writing life, the Huffington Post about her activism as a writer and a feminist and puts her hand up to being a ‘twitter evangelist’. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. Sara is a member of the Society of Authors and the Historical Writers Association. A self-confessed ‘word nerd’ her favourite book is ‘Water Music’ by TC Boyle. In 2016 she cofounded feminist perfume brand, REEK: artefacts from the project are now held at the National Museums of Scotland and the Glasgow Women’s Library.

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday. It’s the weekend yay! I realised yesterday I hadn’t done a Spell The Month post yet so wanted to post before the month has ended 🤣

J- JAMES by Percival Everett
A- A Quiet Contagion by Jane Jesmond
N- NINETEEN Steps by Millie Bobby Brown
U- UNLADYLIKE Lessons In Love by Anita Murray
A- ASSISTANT To The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
R- RED Queen by Juan Gomez -Jurado
Y- Every Breath YOU Take by C. L. Taylor

I had fun trying to do this stack, especially as I tried to use books I hadn’t used in previous challenges. I couldn’t find a book that started with Y so had to use the one featured. I haven’t read any of these yet but hope to get to them soon.

We’ve got a busy day today with lots of playdates and a birthday party. I’m hoping to fit in a few more pages of my current read The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen which I’m really enjoying so far.

What are your weekend plans?

Book Synopsis:

What does it mean to remember?
Joined at birth, then pulled apart, Selina and Zora’s relationship is marked by a pattern of closeness and separation. Growing up in 50s’ and 60s’ London under the shadow of Enoch Powell, they are instinctively dependent on each other, and yet Zora yearns for her own identity. But in the eyes of the people around them, the twins are interchangeable.
 
They come as a pair.
They are Selzora.
 
Now in her seventies and living with the early stages of dementia, Selina is tracing shards of memory. She is intent on untangling the traumatic events of the past that changed the twins’ lives. Perhaps Lydia, who has reintroduced herself to Selina with sharp, cool charisma, will help her find answers. But even as Selina struggles to make sense of her memories, it’s all too clear that Lydia is hiding something.
 
In Memory of Us is a profound evocation of memory, and the strategies employed for illusion and survival in the wake of racism. It offers an often-overlooked insight into life as a Black Briton after the Windrush generation.

My Review:

In Memory Of Us is an emotional, absorbing and thought provoking read which has definitely stayed with me. 

The story follows two sisters Zora and Selina, previously co-joined mixed race twins . Zora’s chapters focus on their life in the past as they try to negotiate life in Britain after the war while Selina’s focus on her life in the present as a 70 year old struggling with memory loss. Out of these two timelines I did prefer the one set in the past as it was intriguing and horrifying to follow the two girls through their lives. I was shocked to learn about the casual racism that existed in this period with adult spitting on children and the twins constantly being told to go home when they had actually been born in Britain. 

There are lots of different subjects mentioned in this book which I found very interesting to explore alongside the characters. Along with racism, memory is also explored throughout the book both how everyone’s memories can be different and how important it is to keep them safe as you can lose them as you get older. I really felt for Selina who is suffering from an unnamed condition, which I assumed to be dementia. It was heartbreaking to see how much she had forgotten and how confused she is about certain things.

I thought the story had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. Even when there wasn’t I just enjoyed hanging out with the twins and experiencing life from their point of view. There are lots of unexpected twists that took me by surprise, including one that made me cry as it was truly heartbreaking. The ending was very emotional and I closed the book with a lump in my throat, sad that I had to leave the twins behind. 

Huge thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for inviting me on the tour and Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book.  

About The Author:

Jacqueline Roy was born and raised in London. Her father was Jamaican and her mother was English. She lectured in English at Manchester Metropolitan University for many years, teaching Postcolonial Literatures and Creative Writing. She writes fiction for both adults and children.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! I was asked to compile a list of fantasy recommendations for the Rossiter book section on bookshop.org recently which was very exciting. One of the best parts of my job is when I get to give people recommendations and get books I’ve loved into other people’s hands!

Here are some of the books I added to the list:

❤️Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
🧡Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
💛 Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
💚 Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
💙The Altas Complex by Olivie Blake
🩵 Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
💜Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
💟Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
🩷Once A Monster by Robert Dinsdale
💞The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune
🤍A Witch’s Guide To Fake Dating A Demon by Sarah Hawley

You can find the full list on the Rossiter Books
website under the Bookshop.org section or via the link below.

Are there any other books I should add to my list?

Eek I’m so excited to receive a copy of this fabulous looking book! I absolutely loved The Little Wartime Library and rate it as one of my favourite books ever so I can’t wait to read this one.

The Wartime Bookclub is out on the 15th February 2024 but I’ll be posting my review on the 22nd as part of the @randomthingstours.

If you could go back in time, what period would you go to?

Book Synopsis:

Jersey, 1943. Once a warm and neighbourly community, now German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island.

Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back. So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.

But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .

Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.

About The Author:

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for twenty years on women’s magazines and national newspapers. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons and two rescue dogs. After ghost writing five memoirs, Kate moved into fiction. Kate’s first non-fiction social history documenting the forgotten histories of East End matriarchy, The Stepney Doorstep Society, was published in 2018 by Penguin. She is passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories.

Today Kate works as a journalist, author and library campaigner. Her most recent books, The Little Wartime Library (2022) and The Wartime Book Club (2023) by Hodder & Stoughton focus on two remarkable libraries in wartime. Her 100 libraries project, celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians work and the vital role of libraries in our communities.