It’s Saturday and that means it’s time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
This week we aren’t at home as we are spending the weekend in the gorgeous city of Bath. We’ve spent the morning wandering around the city and had to visit the gorgeous bookshop Mr B’s Book Emporium
Obviously I can’t visit a bookshop without buying a book so I added these two to my shelves
As we’re in Bath, that means that I haven’t been able to make my usual visit to the library. Instead, this week’s STS post is mainly all about my latest additions to my NetGalley shelf.
One of my self challenges this year was to not request so many books on Net Galley. Last year, I found myself feeling pressured to get books read and reviewed before their publication date. I also felt that I was having to rush through some of the books.
I can confess that this is challenge that I am currently failing at. My Net Galley shelf currently has 3 more books on it than it had at the beginning of the year!!!!
It’s not my fault! There are so many amazing books coming out this year that it’s hard not to want to read them. Then Net Galley announced that they had a new publisher for Science Fiction and Fantasy and a couple of their books sounded really interesting. Finally yesterday I was thrilled to get an email from Sarah Morgan’s publishers inviting me to read her latest book and I definitely couldn’t say no to that could I?
So here are my latest additions to my Net Galley shelf.
Summer Wedding by Sarah Morgan I just put this on my shelf without even looking to see what it’s about. I’ve never read a book by Sarah Morgan that I didn’t love.
The Detective by Ajay Chowdhury I loved the author’s previous two books, The Waiter and The Cook featuring detective Kamil Rahman. He’s now actually working for the Met Police and has to prove himself to them.
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd Robinson I loved the cover of this book and the blurb sounds brilliant. It’s the story of a young fortune teller in Georgian Bath who is determined to solve the mystery of her mother’s death.
Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans This is another one that I requested without even looking to see what it is about. I love Maz Evans’ books for middle grade readers and can’t wait to see how she writes for adults.
The BookBinder of Jericho by Pip Williams The next book by the author of the Dictionary of Lost Words was another automatic request.
Rivers of Treason by K J Maitland I could have ignored this one and waited for the library to get it but I couldn’t resist the chance to find out what happens next to Daniel Pursglove in this mystery series set in the reign of James 1
Hammer of Fate/The Fury of Kings These are both new releases by the publisher Second Sky. They are both the first volume in new epic fantasy series which I am always interested to read.
Hammer of Fate by G N Gudgion “No surrender. No retreat.” With twenty enemy swords at their backs and a broken bridge ahead, the last knights of an outlaw order turn to fight. A young woman with forbidden magic joins their final stand. And as blade meets blade, she starts to sing…
The Fury of Kings by R S Moule In the shadow of Eryispek—a mountain said to have no summit—a dark power is stirring. Storms rage in the frozen heights. Unexplained disappearances shake the kingdom below. And old enemies are sharpening their swords…
I am really excited about all of these books and determined not to request any more until I have got my shelf down by a few books!!!!!!!!
What have you added to your bookshelf this week? Do any of these appeal to you?
It’s Saturday again. Doesn’t it come around quickly? This weekend we’ve treated ourselves to a weekend on the south coast. I’m enjoying typing this while looking out at the sea from my hotel bedroom window. Then we’re off out for a walk along the beach. Apparently, the temperature is about 5 degrees C so we need to wrap up!
View through my hotel room window
The Christmas decorations are already up and lit too which means that’s really pretty at night time.
Saturday means it’s time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
My STS posts are generally my library books. I’m a great supporter of libraries, mainly because I could never afford to buy all the books that I want to read, and visit mine every week whenever possible. I love the fact that I can look at the online catalogue and request books to borrow. This is great for books that are recommended to me by different bookbloggers.
However this week, as we’re away on the coast for the weekend, I haven’t been to the library. As I haven’t got any new library books, this week’s post is the books that I have recently added to my Net Galley shelf.
I keep trying not to add books as I’m trying to keep the numbers down so that I can review them all before their publication dates. It’s so difficult though. Especially when I see reviews on blogs of ARCs and then I go and see if it’s available here in the UK. It is! Ooops, that’s another book added to my shelf😲 The books are so good though and my review rating is still at 90% which I ‘m pleased about.
These are the ARCs that I have been approved for in the past couple of weeks. I’ve been requesting a few more light hearted books lately rather than my normal crime or epic fantasy. I think my brain needs a rest after Babel and the latest Robert Galbraith!
The Golden Oldies Book Club Judy Leigh A book club formed mainly of older women and the second chances that they get to find love and romance. I love Judy Leigh’s books and I’m really looking forward to this.
The Ivory Tomb by Melissa Caruso This is the concluding novel in the Melissa Caruso’s Rooks and Ruin trilogy. I’ve enjoyed this although not quite as much as the previous trilogy but then it was always going to be hard to beat that as I loved it so much.
Sunrise with the Silver Surfers by Maddie Please 60 year old Elin Anderson is newly single and decides that it’s time for an adventure so she heads off to Australia to visit relatives. While she’s there, she joins the Silver Surfers club and heads off to the coast and the waves. Another book about older people having fun which definitely appeals.
The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner Seances and murders all set in 1873 in Paris and London. This one sounds like a brilliant read.
That’s what I’ve added to my online shelves over the past couple of weeks and I am so looking forward to reading all of them.
It’s Saturday again and time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
My STS posts are generally my library books. However, this week we’re on our travels again as we enjoy our final holiday of 2022. At the moment we’re by on the Mediterranean coast right down in the south of France in the gorgeous town of Collioure. We first came here in 2005 and fell in love with the town and surrounding area so we come back quite regularly.
This is our last day and I’m going to be really sad to have to go home. We’ve had a brilliant holiday and I’m sure we’ll be back in the not too distant future.
As we’re on holiday, I can’t go to the library so this week’s Stacking the Shelves post is my Net Galley and ebook additions.
I’ve only added two books to my NG shelf as I’m not requesting so many books now in an effort to keep my shelf under control.
Waste of a Life by Simon Brett I’ve read all of Simon Brett’s earlier books and I guess they would come under the heading of cosy crime. He has a nice line in sarcasm for some of his characters though and I always enjoyed his novels. This is the first in a new series so I’m looking forward to something different.
Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver I’m always a complete sucker for an Art deco cover so obviously had to request this when I saw it. It’s set in 1917 and all about singers and spies so sounds brilliant.
I’ve also just added two ebooks to my kindle this week
Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis This is the latest in the Frank Merlin mysteries which are set in London during WWII. I’ve loved the previous books so hoping that this will be as good. There’s definitely a wartime theme developing this week.
Sabriel by Garth Nix I’ve never read this series as it wasn’t published until I was an adult. My daughter loved them all though and when I saw that Jordyn was doing a Read-along, it seemed like a good opportunity to remedy this gap
We’re flying home tomorrow and so next week, I’ll be back at the library again where there is at least one book waiting for me.
That’s what I’ve added to my shelves this week. What’s been added to your bookshelves?
It’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for WWW Wednesday. This is one of my favourite memes and I love taking part in it and reading everybody else’s posts. It’s currently hosted by Sam and it can be found on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here.
The idea of WWW Wednesday is just to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read so here goes for this week.
We’re off on our travels again for our final holiday this year. This post is coming from the beautiful town of Collioure in South East France. We discovered Collioure in 2005 and fell in love with it so we have returned at regular intervals ever since. Here’s the amazing view from our bedroom
What I’m currently reading
Sabriel by Garth Nix
I’ve never read this series before and I’m really enjoying this fantasy. I guess it’s Middle Grade or YA but it was written before such classifications existed
Picture you Dead by Peter James
This is the latest in the Roy Grace series and is a very complicated tale of lost Art works and forgeries. I definitely have no idea how it’s going to end up
What I haverecently finished reading
Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon I really fancied rereading something last week so I ended up binge reading all three books in the Deeds of Paksenarrion series and this first book in the follow up series. There’s something really satisfying about curling up with a set of books that you really enjoy
The Hidden Palace by Dinah Jefferies
I loved Daughters of War but didn’t find this one quite so engrossing. The characters didn’t come alive for me in the same way and there wasn’t the same sense of peril as there was in the earlier book
What I am intending to read next
This is by my bed ready to start this evening. A story of three women who meet on a beach and become friends. Perfect holiday reading
That’s the current state of my reading this week. What does your WWW Wednesday look like?
Sundays in bed with is a meme hosted by Midnight Book Girl but I came across it recently on Jill’s Book Blog. It is simply a chance to share the book that is by your bed at the moment (or that you wish was by your bed). This week my book is actually by my bed as we’re in the lovely town of Buxton in the Peak District. We’ve just finished performing at the Opera House which was brilliant and will be heading home later.
Our view as we are breakfast this morning
The book by my bed today is The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Clare Marchant
This is a historical fiction novel set mainly in London in 1580, a time when England was constantly worrying about the threat of a Spanish invasion and Spanish plots to overthrow Queen Elizabeth in favour of her catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. This is one from my Net Galley shelf and I need to get it read and reviewed soon as it’s due to be published on Sept 1st.
Blurb from the book: Present day: When thirty-six-year-old Robyn Willoughby discovers an exquisite yet blood-stained Tudor map in her father’s antique map shop, desperate for a distraction from her problems, she decides to investigate. But as Robyn delves into the mystery, she finds herself caught up in a centuries-old secret – one that will change her life forever.
1569: Forced to flee Holland to escape persecution, twenty-year-old Freida Ortelius uses her mapmaking skills to start anew in London. Soon her rare talent catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth, who demands Freida’s help in fighting the Spanish threat. Freida must now embark on a deadly mission, the consequences of which will echo down the ages…
I do love a dual timeline story. This is the story of Robyn who is still recovering from the disappearance of her husband during a sailing race seven years previously and the story of Freida who creates a map for Sir Francis Drake. It’s mainly Freida’s story but the story of how Robyn pieces together the history of the map is fascinating. A great read so far.
It’s Saturday again and time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
My STS posts are generally my library books. The library is where I get most of my books and I hope that maybe I can inspire other people to use their local library. Our libraries are constantly under threat of closure but the more people that use them, the less likely that is. My library is also how I manage to read a lot of newly released hardbacks as I can order them. Sometimes they can take quite a while to arrive if a title is really popular though.
The Opera House in Buxton
This week though, we’re in the gorgeous town of Buxton in the Peak District as we’re performing The Desert Song at the opera house. That means that I haven’t been to the library this week so this week’s post is about the books that I have recently added to my Net Galley shelf.
I have definitely slowed down requesting books from Net Galley as it put me under too much pressure to read books to a deadline. I currently only have 17 books on my shelf but my review rating is up to 90% which I’m really pleased about. These are the books that I have recently been approved for.
The Dazzle of the Light
Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful – and one of the Forty Thieves’ most talented members.
Harriet Littlemore writes the women’s section in a local newspaper. She’s from a ‘good’ London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament – but she wants a successful career of her own.
After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society’s rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet’s stories become increasingly intertwined.
Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.
The Cruise A glamorous ship
During a New Year’s Eve party on a large, luxurious cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship’s dancer, Lola, goes missing.
Everyone on board has something to hide
Two weeks later, the ship is o ut of service, laid up far from land with no more than a skeleton crew on board. And then more people start disappearing…
No one is safe Why are the crew being harmed? Who is responsible? And who will be next?
Mum calls me Maame. It has many meanings in Twi, but in my case, it means woman.
Meet Maddie.
To her mostly-absent mum, she’s Maame, the woman of the family. To her dad, she’s his carer – even if he hardly recognises her. To her friends, she’s the one who still lives at home, who never puts herself first.
It’s time to become the woman she wants to be.
The kind who wears a bright yellow suit, says yes to after-work drinks and flirts with a thirty-something banker. Who doesn’t have to google all her life choices. Who demands a seat at the table.
But to put ourselves together, sometimes we have to fall apart…
Snowed in for Christmas She’s snowed in with the family. The only problem? They’re not her family.
A family gathering This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal – to avoid their family’s well-meaning questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.
An uninvited guest Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone, and the prospect of losing her job – unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller. She’ll deliver her proposal to his family home in the Scottish Highlands and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller’s perfect family Christmas.
A Christmas to remember When Lucy appears on the Miller’s snow-covered doorstep, she is mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. But by the time the confusion is cleared up, a storm has hit and Lucy is stuck. As everyone settles in for a snowed-in Christmas, tensions bubble to the surface and suddenly Lucy finds herself facing a big family fallout with a family that isn’t hers…
The Mystery of Four Tess Morgan has finally made her dream of restoring beautiful Kilfenora House and Gardens into a reality.
But during rehearsals for the play that forms the opening weekend’s flagship event, her dream turns into a nightmare when a devastating accident looks set to ruin her carefully laid plans.
There are rumours that Kilfenora House is cursed, but this feels personal, and becomes increasingly terrifying when more than one body is discovered. Could someone be closing in on Tess herself?
Clarissa Westmacott, ex star of stage and screen, certainly believes so, particularly when she learns that purple-flowered aconite has been picked from the Poison Garden. And Clarissa will stop at nothing to protect the friend she has come to see as a daughter.
Needless Alley Birmingham, 1933.
Private enquiry agent William Garrett, a man damaged by a dark childhood spent on Birmingham’s canals, specialises in facilitating divorces for the city’s male elite. With the help of his best friend -charming, out-of-work actor Ronnie Edgerton – William sets up honey traps. But photographing unsuspecting women in flagrante plagues his conscience and William heaves up his guts with remorse after every job.
However, William’s life changes when he accidentally meets the beautiful Clara Morton and falls in love. Little does he know she is the wife of a client – a leading fascist with a dangerous obsession. And what should have been another straightforward job turns into something far more deadly
Driving Home for Christmas Driving home marks the start of the holidays for Kate and Ed, who have made this journey every Christmas of their ten-year long relationship. Normally the seasonal hits blare from the car stereo, and they are guaranteed to be wearing ridiculous jumpers in anticipation, but this year a frosty silence fills the car…
A massive argument leads to the immediate collapse of their relationship. But the show must go on, so they decide to brave their families together one last time.
With three Christmases to celebrate, an old flame waiting under the mistletoe and a shed load of expectation around their future together, this most wonderful time of year is anything but. There will be turkey, tiffs and tantrums galore, but it’s sure to be a Christmas they’ll never forget.
Stay Buried Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer has been side-lined to working cold cases, following a bad decision he made in a recent investigation in order to support a friend. Lockyer isn’t too bothered though, as it gives him the chance to review some of the cases that keep him up at night and to look into his own brother’s senseless killing which still remains unsolved.
On a quiet afternoon Lockyer receives a phone call from prisoner Hedy Lambert – a woman he put inside for murder fourteen years ago. She informs him that the man she was originally accused of killing has turned up alive and well. She begs him to reopen her case.
All those years ago, Lockyer had been the one to pin down Hedy’s motive, but deep down he’d never wanted to believe she was guilty. The thought that he might have sent an innocent woman down for life doesn’t sit well with him and he agrees to reopen the investigation. But has it become too personal and is he being manipulated? Perhaps there are some cases that should just stay buried.
So that’s my recent ARC approvals. They’re mainly mystery books with a couple of Christmas ones to read in the Autumn. There’s a definite lack of fantasy so I might need to go and search out a couple of new fantasy authors to read.
That’s what I’ve added to my shelves this week. What’s been added to your bookshelves?
All pictures and details taken from Net Galley site.
It’s Saturday again and we are approaching a heat wave. Today is gorgeous: a perfect Summer day. However, it is supposed to get hotter from tomorrow and by Monday we could be seeing temperatures of 38 degrees or over 100 in Fahrenheit. I have to say that I’m very tempted to pack up the cat in her basket and head north. Trouble is that she hates car travel and I don’t think she would like being cooped up for hours on end. I guess I’ll just have to stay here and read as it will be too hot to do anything else.
Saturday means that it’s time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
My STS posts are generally my library books. The library is where I get most of my books and I hope that maybe I can inspire other people to use their local library. Our libraries are constantly under threat of closure but the more people that use them, the less likely that is. My library is also how I manage to read a lot of newly released hardbacks as I can order them. Sometimes they can take quite a while to arrive if a title is really popular though.
This week is a bumper library haul as there are a couple of giant books in my stack. It’s a great collection though with epic fantasy, historical fiction and a couple of thrillers and should keep me going through the heat wave.
The Botanist by M W Craven I love M W Craven’s thrillers and I’m very excited to read this latest outing for Washington Poe and the amazing Tilly.
The Last Hours by Minette Walters This is a historical fiction novel about the Black Death in the fourteenth century. I saw Minette Walters recommended in another blog and I feel really bad because I can’t remember who it was. I did make a resolution to try and note down where I get recommendations from but you can see how well I’m keeping to it.
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne This one weighs in at 633 pages so it might take a while to read. I loved John Gwynne’s previous two trilogies and I’ve heard really good things about this latest one.
Dark in Death by J D Robb This should provide a bit of gory light relief after the epic fantasy and black death. I’m continuing to work my way through the copies of the In Death series that the library holds. Eventually I’ll be up to date but I’ve a few to go yet.
That’s what I’ve added to my shelves this week. What’s been added to yours?
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, it was relaunched on February 15, 2013 by Billy @ the Ramblings of a coffee addict. . Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
This weeks question is: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, do you prefer listening instead of reading? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews)
I don’t listen to audio books at all. I read either physical books or ebooks and it’s a relaxation activity for me.
I know a lot of people listen to audio books while they are driving or exercising but I will generally listen to music at those times instead.
One thing that puts me off audiobooks is how long they are. The library sent me an audiobook by mistake once and I think it was something like 10 hours long.
I do like the idea of having the story read to me and I’ve heard great things about some audio versions so it might well be something that I will come to at some point.
It’s Saturday again and it’s my birthday!!! They do seem to come round quickly nowadays. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in England and I fully intend to spend at least part of today sitting in my garden with a cold drink and a book.
Saturday means that it’s time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. This is my 50th Stacking the Shelves post which means I’ve been doing this meme for a year nearly a year now! Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
My STS posts are generally my library books. The library is where I get most of my books and I hope that maybe I can inspire other people to use their local library. Our libraries are constantly under threat of closure but the more people that use them, the less likely that is. My library is also how I manage to read a lot of newly released hardbacks as I can order them. Sometimes they can take quite a while to arrive if a title is really popular though.
We’re back from our trip to the Mid West USA and so my library visits are back as normal. Here’s what I added to my shelves this week.
An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan This is a book that I have been waiting for for a few weeks now. I’m really excited to read the next instalment of life on the Scottish Island of Mure and catch up with the lives of Flora, Saif and the rest of the Islanders.
Summer on the Little Cornish Isles by Philippa Ashley This is obviously part of a series set on the Scilly Isles but I’m hoping that it doesn’t matter. I’m looking forward to a feel good story set by the sea.
Murder Fest by Julie Wassmer I love this cosy crime series set in Whitstable. This is the only book that I haven’t read in the series. I really love the way that Whitstable itself plays such a huge role in the books. I love books that make you want to visit the places where they are set.
Silent Parade by Kiego Higashino I read Malice by this Japanese author a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I’ve never read any of this series about Detective Galileo though so I’m looking forward to discovering a new detective.
That’s what I’ve added to my shelves this week. What’s been added to yours?
Welcome to this week’s Top 5 Tuesday post. Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now being hosted at Meeghan reads!! For details of all of the prompts for April to June see Meeghans page here.
AAAAAAAAAGH!!!! How can I be expected to choose my top 5 books? I’ve read some amazing books this year and picking 5 is just going to be hard.
To narrow it down, I’m going for my top 5 fantasy books that I’ve read this year so far.
Each one of these was a 5 star read for me and they were all by authors that I hadn’t read before this year.
Have you read any of these? What would be in your top 5 so far this year?
Wicked Witch's Blog 