What We Are Reading This Month

Andrea/Cara here. From dragons and demons to cozy country tea shops and literary sleuthing, the Wenches have been enjoying some fascinating reading peregrinations during the month of April, so without further ado, let's take a peek inside the covers!

Pat
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a lovely leisurely immersion into a contemporary English village. It’s women’s fiction. The protagonist is a retired Major. He’s recently widowed, set in his ways, as is the village and most of his friends and his son. There’s no sex, no violence, just a gradual exposure of human flaws as the Major comes to know a Pakistani shopkeeper and introduces her into his stuffy society. Little by little, he must face his own prejudices and shortcomings until in the end, he becomes a true hero, one much more heroic than the father he worshipped. If you want to just sink into a book and visit another place for a while, give this one a try.

I also enjoyed a couple of contemporaries but didn't have time to write full descriptions: Twenty-nine and Half Reasons by Denise Grover Swank—romantic mystery; fast-paced. The heroine has a right to be innocent, but she’s not helpless. I get a bit tired of the clumsy stupid "heroines" in some cozies, so this one was a fresh outlook. I always like Beth Ciotta's gentle romances, and Beauty and the Biker, Impossible Dream book #1 looks like the start of another great small town romance series.

Susan
Rarely does a book captivate me so much that I can't put it down at night and keep sneaking back to its pages during the day. The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell is one of the best stories - and reading experiences, and that bit is important, hold on - that I've read in a long time. Samantha Whipple is the last in the Bronte line, an American student arriving at Oxford to study literature. Her family's reputation precedes her; she's rumored to have inherited a "vast Bronte treasure" that she knows never existed; and her father, now dead, was a well-known writer. He immersed his daughter in lessons about the Brontes, their books, literary intent, lives, motivations; Dad also taught Sam to think, to question the nature and role of the reader and the writer when studying lit. And off she goes to Oxford, hoping not to be noticed as that Bronte girl.

But her Oxford tutor, James Orville III, a reserved scholar with a notorious past, challenges and presses Sam at every step, making her question all she knows. Sam is quirky, brilliant, irrepressibly unconventional -- and as she follows the mysterious clues her father left, and goes from infatuation to secretly falling hard for a tutor who will not requite, she uncovers a literary mystery that shakes conventional wisdom about the Bronte literary legacy.

Narrated by whimsical and whip-smart Sam, the novel is part literary mystery, part exploration of reading, writing, and literary meaning, part romance, with comic touches and complex, subtle characters who set up camp in the reader's heart. It's also part intellectual journey for its reader, asking questions and prodding - like sitting in a great grad seminar in English lit. Catherine Lowell is a deft and skilled writer with a light yet substantive touch, and The Madwoman Upstairs is one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Brilliant. If anyone borrows my copy, I'm buying another...    

Anne
Reading is my go-to place for relaxation so I always have a book on the go, even when I'm really busy, as I am at the moment. My top reads this month include Trisha Ashley's The Little Teashop of Lost and Found, which is set in Yorkshire, in Haworth (of Brontë fame) and is about the heroine, Alice finding her place in the world and unravelling the mystery of her birth—she was a foundling. I enjoyed so much it sent me back on a re-read of some of her other books. I find Trisha Ashley's books very "sinkable into" -- her world is usually village-based, with an entertaining cast of characters, cosy (without being at all cloying) and is usually about a woman making a new life for herself. She also has a sharp and witty way with words that often gives me a smile or a chuckle. But don't read her if you're dieting because her books are also full of baking and food. ;)


I also read and thoroughly enjoyed the book that wench Nicola recommended in our last WWR, Love Song, by Sophia Bennett, which is a young adult (or new adult?) book that won the RNA prize for romance. Highly recommended.
You can read what Nicola said about it here.

Finally, I devoured book #10 of Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, Silence Fallen and was also tempted to begin a reread of the earlier books. They're werewolf/shifter/vampire/fae books, and I blame Wenches Pat and Mary Jo for getting me started on my Briggs addiction. Mary Jo talked about this book in the last WWR so you can read her review of it here as well.

Mary Jo
Do you like dragons?  Have you ever dreamed of a heroine who is a cross between Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody (Crocodile on the Sandbank) and a female Indiana Jones?
 
Dream no more, because I've just described Marie Brennan's "Memoirs of Lady Trent" series, which is told from the point of view of Lady Trent, a Victorian-ish lady whose passion for dragons matches Amelia's passion for Egyptology.  I've just finished reading the first book, A Natural History of Dragons, and I'm glad the series has four more books in it!
 
This is fantasy, of course, so it's not exactly Victorian, but a fantasy reflection of 19th century Britain and that world.  Young Isabella grows up in a prosperous household with five brothers and a most unladylike passion for natural history.  She collects specimens and muddies her dresses and does many unladylike things that drive her poor mother to distraction.  Most of all, she wants to learn about dragons, about which little is known. 
 
The memoirist, Lady Trent, is speaking from much later, when she has become a celebrity for her life's work of studying dragons in their natural habitats and writing about her discoveries.  She's even become the subject of penny dreadful pulp stories, which was high fame in the late 19th century.  (No, of course she did not lead her own army in an assault on an evil city, as she points out acerbically.)
 
As Lady Trent says in her introduction, "One benefit of being an old woman now, and moreover one who has been called a "national treasure" is that there are very few who can tell me what I may and not write.  Be warned, then: the collected volumes of this series will contain frozen mountains, foetid swamps, hostile foreigners, hostile fellow countrymen, the occasional hostile family member, bad decisions, misadventures in orienteering, diseases of an unromantic sort, and a plenitude of mud.  You continue at your own risk." 
 
A Natural History of Dragons begins with her childhood and takes you on her first expedition, where she organizes data and draws illustrations of their subjects and what they learn.  (Sketches of her work are scattered through the book.)  She gains much knowledge at a steep price, and realizes that the study of dragons is her life's passion, which is how she becomes the foremost authority on dragons in the world--and a "national treasure." <G>  I'm about to start the second book, Tropic of Serpents.
 
In short notes, I heartily endorse Anne's recommendation of Trisha Ashley's The Little Teashop of Lost and Found and Nicola's suggestion last month of Sophia Bennett's Love Song. 

Joanna
I spent most of the last week or so with Anne Dillard’s The Writing Life. It’s half autobiographical and half philosophy, beautifully written. While Dillard speaks specifically of the life of a serious writer of literary fiction, she could be talking about the path of any sort of artist, or athlete, philosopher, or scientist.  In Writing Life we see the writer alone in a writing retreat, bent over the typewriter, oblivious to her surroundings, to comfort, regular meals, to the beauty of her surroundings, to the passing of hours. This is more than admirable concentration; it is an almost religious dedication.
Maybe, at the end, Dillard shows us the price of great prose. I found it fascinating to read, a bit dismaying as an ideal to copy.

Andrea/Cara
I don't usually read paranormals, but after hearing mention of The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman, I decided to give it a try. And am very glad I did! It's a wonderfully crafted story set in 1812 Regency England—but along with fighting Napoleon on the Continent,  there was, as Goodman writes on the first page, "another, even older war being waged: a secret battle that had started centuries before against a demonic horde hidden in plain sight across the cities, towns and villages of the world. Only a small group pf people stood in the way of this multitude and its insidious predation upon humankind."

Think of it as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Jane Austen! Like many aristocratic young ladies of the ton, Lady Helen is preparing for her first Season. She's pretty and an heiress—which her straitlaced uncle and guardian hopes will have her married off quickly. He fears her high spirits and unladylike curiosity and intelligence—combined with the dark scandal surrounding her late mother—will  frighten off suitors if he doesn't keep her under strict control. Helen has no intention of rebelling against what's expected of her . . . until she meets the dark and dangerous Lord Carlston, who reveals that Destiny has chosen her to lead a very different life.

Combining meticulous Regency research with well-crafted, complex characters, Goodman creates a world worthy of Heyer, and then the fun begins! I was totally drawn into the story, and have already ordered the second book in the series.

So what about you? What books have you been reading this month that have swept you away? Please share—because, y'know, our TBR piles aren't high enough, ha, ha, ha!  (But if you're like all the Wenches, you can NEVER have enough good books to keep you company.)

Comments

[Jami S.]

I have so many books to get to, but this month only managed to read 2 books. Both were close to 700 pages though. It was also my first time reading both books. I read "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough. I thoroughly enjoyed both books. I found "Gone with the Wind" to be a somewhat slower read but loved the descriptions and feelings invoked. "The Thorn Birds" is also full of wonderful descriptions but has been a quicker read. They both have some of that unobtainable love theme. Both have headstrong females while "Gone with the Wind" has the more likable male character. I am sure sometime down the line I will read them again. Am going to try some shorter books next month, but glad I read both of these.

[Beverly Abney]

I have enjoyed Trisha Ashley for a long time and she is not found in local libraries very often. I order her titles from THE BOOK DEPOSITORY and read, enjoy, and donate them. I get her newsletter, so I know when to expect a new one. "Little teashop..." has been enjoyed.
I think I will look for THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS.
Hopefully my library will have it.
Bev Abney

[Janga]

Joanna, Dillard's The Writing Life is one of just a handful of writing books that I have on a special keeper shelf so that I can return to it from time to time. An article in The Atlantic last year quoted a reviewer who described it as a "spiritual Strunk & White." I like that.

I'm adding to my TBR list from this month's post with The Madwoman Upstairs at the top of the list. As for my reading, I'm knee-deep in ARCs for summer releases, so much of my reading has been devoted to books that will be released May-August, including upcoming releases from Anne and Jo Beverley and a wrenching women's fiction tale from Emilie Richards (The Swallow's Nest), a historical romantic suspense with a mathematician heroine whom I adore by Manda Collins (Duke with Benefits), and a contemporary sexy reunion story (my favorite trope) that reverses the billionaire trend by Julie Anne Long (Dirty Dancing at Devil's Creek). Also, inspired by digital gifts and sales, I've been rereading old favorites. Last month I reread Mary Jo's Silk trilogy and recommended it to several friends who read--or reread--it. This month I've reread all of Mary Burchell's Warender series that have been reissued in digital format, and I just started on a reread of Jayne Ann Krentz's Eclipse Bay books. I've been reading more poetry than usual to celebrate National Poetry Month. I am rereading favorites in poetry too--Emily Dickinson, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Galway Kinnell . . .

[Sherry]

C.S. Harris's latest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery was my top pick for this month. It might be the darkest in the series in some ways, since it's about sexual sadism and serial killings, but Harris always does a great job describing the Regency setting and building the story.

[Andrea Penrose]

Two classics! (LONG ones at that!) Very impressive!

[Andrea Penrose]

I've added Dragons, too, and I'm not fan miliar with Ashley, so also have her on my radar as well. I love this monthly feature!

[Andrea Penrose]

As usual, Janga, you have such an interesting—and impressive— list of books you're reading! I love the sound of the mathematician heroine—have just added that to the TRB pile. Love Julie Ann Long, so her new one sounds fun too. Sigh. So little time, SO many good books!

[Andrea Penrose]

I've just started it. A great series.

[Sue McCormick]

I have been plagued by "allergy eyes" all month. So it was mostly re-reads, with a few new releases by people you know — people like the word wenches, Jayne Ann Krentz, Stephanie Laurens, and so on. You will have found these by yourselves.

I can't "not read", even when I can't see, but with the spring pollen attacks, I truly don't remember what I had read. I only know that it helped me get through the month.

So thank you to all my favorite authors and their wonderful books, both new and reread.

[Joanne Bourne]

I was impressed and taken aback and delighted by The Writing Life. I will return to it someday, which is something I save for a very few books.

[Joanne Bourne]

I have it beside my desk and am aout to start reading.

Dark , huh? (I will keep cookies nearby)

[Susan/DC]

My local library has had a monthly reading group for the past few years. Each series has a theme (metamorphosis last year, crime and punishment this year), and I'm still making my way through the last month's book (which the librarian gave us two months to read): "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. Unabridged it's 1200 pages, and each page is fairly dense so it's taking me a very long time. Every so often I think about quitting (the idea that when I'd read 600 pages I was still only half way through was daunting), but it's so good I can't quit. When I'm done and can come up for air, there are many new books by Wenches and others that I intend to explore.

[Kareni]

I so enjoy this column every month!

Some of my April reads ~

— a re-read Patricia Briggs’ anthology Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson as well as the author's Moon Called
— Ready to Fall (Wingmen Book 1) by Daisy Prescott which was by an author who is new to me. I have another of her books waiting in Mount TBR which I’m looking forward to.
— an enjoyable fantasy novel which had been sitting on my Kindle for one year minus two days. Those who enjoy books with a time travel aspect might enjoy it; it also contains Nephilim. I’d happily read more in this series. One Way Fare (Null City Book 1) by Barb Taub and Hannah Taub
— a re-read of Lucy Parker’s Act Like It
— Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. I think this book would be most enjoyed by those who are already familiar with Hamilton by virtue of having heard the soundtrack (me!) or having seen the production (I’d like to). This traced the making of the show, shared tidbits about various performers, and addressed points where the story took liberties with history. I enjoyed reading it.
— the contemporary romance Pretty Face (London Celebrities) by Lucy Parker which I also enjoyed. This is second in a series, but it definitely can stand alone.
— I also read the story that is the basis for the movie, Arrival, which I enjoyed.

— a re-read of Wrecking Ball (Hard To Love Book 1) by P. Dangelico which I enjoyed once again. Fans of Mariana Zapata might enjoy this one.
— re-read Lauren Dane’s Tart (A Delicious Novel) which I enjoyed revisiting even though it’s not my favorite of her books.
— for my book group: The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss. Initially, I found the book rather dismal, but I ultimately ended up enjoying it. It’s written in a plain style with no frills. As a lover of romance, I wanted a happy ending but it wasn’t that kind of book.
— The Thing About Love by Julie James. It’s not my favorite by the author, but I definitely enjoyed it and will doubtless be re-reading it.
— paranormal male/male romance Insight (The Community Book 1) by Santino Hassell. I enjoyed the book and will happily read as the series continues.
— Until Now (the Not Yet series Book 2) by Laura Ward. It’s a contemporary new adult romance which I enjoyed.

— re-read Michelle Diener’s Dark Horse, my favorite of the Class 5 trilogy; Dark Deeds; and Dark Minds.
— Tiffany Snow’s Follow Me (Corrupted Hearts) which is the first in a romantic suspense series. I enjoyed the book, but one does need to suspend disbelief fairly often. The main character is a young highly intelligent woman who is both nerdy and quirky.
— Winter’s Fallen (The Conquest of Kelemir Book 1) by A. F. Dery. This was pleasant, but I don’t think I’ll be re-reading it any time soon.
— re-read Patricia Briggs’ Fire Touched (A Mercy Thompson Novel) which I enjoyed once more.
— a rather uninspiring regency romance A Taste For Love by Donna Bell. This is not a book I’ll be re-reading.

-- and I'm re-reading Anne Bishop's The Others series. I'm now in the middle of book two.

[Sherry]

Most of the violence is kept off the page, thankfully. It really is literally about sadism, though--part of the mystery involves Sebastian trying to track down the purchasers of copies of a translation of de Sade's "The 120 Days of Sodom." (Taking liberties with history, since it wasn't published until much later.)

[Joanne Bourne]

I'm trying to decide whether this is total liberties with history or maybe more like ... interpolation.

Tony Perrottet says at Smithsonian.com:

“'I have shed tears of blood,' Sade wrote, and he died believing that the manuscript was destroyed when the Bastille was sacked.

Miraculously, he was wrong. Two days before the mob attacked, an eagle-eyed citizen found the roll hidden in the wall — historians know nothing more about him than his name, Arnoux de Saint-Maximin — and for unknown reasons, decided to save it. The manuscript fell into the possession of a wealthy French family, and finally re-emerged in 1904 in Berlin,"

The more complete story is at:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-marquis-de-sade-180953980/#E3f2mdy2ALu0VVtc.99

So I suppose it's plausible St Cyr might have read a copy of the manuscript that was - let's say - passed around a small group of discreet fashionables while the 'wealthy French family' held it.

[Anne Gracie]

Janga, I've recently read the first two of Julie Anne Long's contemporaries -- I think because the first showed up on several "best of" lists, including the Romance Dish ones -- and have really enjoyed them. Am looking forward to the third one.

[Anne Gracie]

Sue, hugs on the allergies. I also can't "not read" but maybe an audio book could be an alternative. Hope the allergies pass soon.

[Janice]

The best book I read last month was Helen Simonson's The Summer Before the War; actually stayed up late to finish it. Best thing I've read yet this year. I haven't read her first book (Major Pettigrew) yet, but it's on order.

In other genre stuff, I reread Pride and Prejudice; Simon the Coldheart (a dated boy's book, in my opinion); a couple of Barbara Metzgers and Marion Chesneys; and right now I'm halfway through The Wedding by Edith Layton (which is talky, but I loved that lady and her talk, and it's like having her back among us again). I also read Evie's War and Evie's Allies, two Brit WW2 women's fiction novels by Kitty Danton (not polished products but very interesting to me for the wealth of detail about how life was lived 75 years ago); the third one is on order.

I started some vintage regencies for review but couldn't get past half of even one of them, so I won't mention titles here.

It's been hot and I have been lazy, not reading much this month, but watching old movies like Trenchcoat and Cornered, and Dodgers games. Summer has started early in LA :)

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, sending hugs, Sue. I hope the pollen is soon gone as summer is getting closer.

[Andrea Penrose]

A big commitment (no pun intended) but it IS a great book. It's been years since I read it, but very much enjoyed it.

[Andrea Penrose]

I need a nap after reading your list! Amazing selection . . .am madly scribbling notes!

[Karin]

I loved "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" and I've got "The Summer Before the War" but haven't picked it up yet. I'm going on a week's cruise vacation with no internet, so I hope to make a dent in the TBR list while I'm away.

Last month I read a two old Signet Regencies that I had somehow missed the first time around; "Miss Carlyle's Curricle" by Karen Harbaugh and "The Love Knot" by Elisabeth Fairchild. Always good reading with the Signets.
After learning about Emily Larkin here, I got on her email list, and got a couple of ARCs which I enjoyed reading and reviewing, "The Earl's Dilemma" and "My Lady Thief". These are not Larkin's paranormals but straight Regency romances which are being rereleased as e-books.
Then I read "The Enigmatic Rake" by Anne O'Brien and enjoyed it so much I am rereading "Puritan Bride" which I read many years ago. It's an arranged marriage plot, with a Royalist hero and a Parliamentarian bride.

But the book I am really looking forward to diving into on vacation is "An Extraordinary Union" by Alyssa Cole. It's an American Civil War spy story that is getting rave reviews, and it's supposed to be a real nail-biter. The heroine is a free black woman who is posing as a mute slave in the household of a Confederate Senator, which puts her in terrible mortal danger. She has an eidetic memory, so she can quickly memorize documents and pass on the information, but the white people in the household all think she is illiterate. She's based on a real Civil War spy, Mary Bowser. The hero is a Scottish immigrant, a spy for the Union posing as a Confederate soldier. He was also inspired by another Civil War spy, Timothy Webster, who sadly was captured and executed in real life. But in the book they'll get a somewhat HEA(I guess as much as was possible for a mixed race couple in the 19th century!)

[Jo]

I discovered a true gem a year or so ago which I have re read a few times. I don't really re-read books but this is so good. It's Hemlock Tales of a Traveller by N J Layouni. It's a time travel romance which was a new genre for me. A modern day woman finds herself in medieval England and is saved by a lovely rugged outlaw. There are 3 books in the series. It's so well written and is my 'escape' book. I'd love to be out walking one day and suddenly find myself in another time with a handsome stranger, if only!!! I'd recommend this (it's free on amazon to download). It's a great way to spend an afternoon. I re-read it this month for the 4th time.

[Mary T]

I've been reading a lot of re-reads this month and most of the new reads I've done are only so-so. The best of the lot this month is THE RELUCTANT WIFE by Caroline Warfield, the book I'm reading right now.

I really like Ms. Warfield's stuff. They always have me running to the internet to look something up. In this book, the H/h are trying to make their way back to England from Calcutta. They have decided to take the overland mail route, and because I'm such a "visual" person, I'm looking for a map (circa 1835) that shows the route they are taking. But I read romance for the romance and Ms. Warfield delivers every time. She creates character that you really care about and a story that keeps you entertained.

[Nancy M]

Don't you read each other's books? I have read and read books by Mary Jo and Patricia. I am waiting to see if the library will order the CS Harris book, they have the other 11. I had to call . The trouble with ebooks is that they aren't available as often from the library though they do lend out ebooks.
I read about six books a week . These are often rereads. That is apart from the non-fiction, of course.

[Faith Freewoman]

*sigh* so many books, so little time...

The Wenches' What We Are Reading This Month gets me in trouble every time. Well, my greed about books is actually what gets me in trouble, but you Wenches make every book you write about soooo irresistible.

I have to laugh. My daughter has been bugging me to read A Natural History of Dragons since a few months after it came out, not least because I love dragon stories. Then she finally gave up, I think because her thesis took up so much brain space, Dragons was squeezed into a dim, dark, inaccessible corner.

Now her thesis is under consideration and she can relax a bit, what was almost the first thing she did? Sit me down and tell me in great detail about why I need to read A Natural History etc, without any further meanderings, wafflings and other delays.

I just downloaded it, and I an off to hang out with the paranormal version of Amelia Peabody.

Thanks, Wenches for all the recommendations. I'm getting at least two more of this month's books, because you've never failed me.

Cheers, Faith

[Teresa Broderick]

I started off this month with The Wayfarer and The Wayfarer's daughter by Jennifer L Hayes. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one but the second one left me cold. I'm not going to bother with the third one when it's released even though it ties up the story.Then I read Sylvester by Georgette Heyer for the group read that I'm part of. Nothing to say here. I'm a huge GH fan and love her books.
The Girls of Ennismore by Patricia Falvey was a very good read and is set here in Ireland. I love historical stories set here in my own country. I finished up with Ship Through Time by Bess McBride and The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn. I always have Bess McBride's on pre order as I adore Time travel books. Unfortunately this is not one of her best and I was disappointed. Wasn't overly enthusiastic about Echo of Twilight either. Not a bad story but just didn't grab me. Looking back on this comment I can't believe I read so many this month and I'm currently in the middle of Not Just Jane, a non-fiction book about female writers from late 1700's to 1800's.
Love these 'what we're reading' posts.

[Minna]

I'm reading through -again- Tamuli and Elenium series By David Eddings. And since I'm always reading more than one book at a time, I'm also reading Fossil Legends of the First Americans By Adrienne Mayor and I haven't quite finished Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained yet.

[Andrea Penrose]

Karin, I've been hearing a lot about An Extraordinary Union, too. So great to see different and original stories like this one. It's on the TBR pile.

[Andrea Penrose]

This sounds wonderful, Jo! Another new author to discover! Paranormal is n usually my cup of tea, but I do really enjoy time travel, so must check these books out!

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, sigh. Another book for the pile! This sounds right down my alley.

[Andrea Penrose]

Well, yes—it goes without saying that we read each other's books! I guess we're all so laid back that we don't beat the promo drum enough.

[Andrea Penrose]

SO glad you enjoy this feature, Faith. I feel the same way—I always get wonderful suggestions, both from my fellow Wenches and from all of our readers.As you say, so little time. But it always lovely to discover great new books.

[Andrea Penrose]

So glad you enjoy this features, Teresa! I love it, too, and always get great recommendations. If you love romances set in Ireland, have you read "The Daughters of Erin" trilogy by my friend Amanda McCabe—writing as Laurel McKee? I's an older trilogy, but really great. The first book is Countess of Scandal.

[Michelle Athy]

I'm in the middle of A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas and I just finished An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, which I loved and now I have to get at least one of my friends to read it so we can talk about it.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks for sharing, Michelle. An Extraordinary Union is getting great buzz. Looking forward to reading it.

[Andrea Penrose]

A great mix, Minna!

[Janet]

I enjoyed The Summer Before The War very much. To continue the circa WW1 theme, I read Time and Regret by M K Tod. I enjoyed it -there's a good puzzle- but I was able to put it down for days at a time. Then I moved into mysteries set between the wars. The first three Angela Marchmont books by Clara Benson were good enough that I ordered the next. And I gave Celina Grace's Murder in Merisham Lodge a try. The muders are solved by Miss Hart and Miss Hunter, who happen to be a lady's maid and her friend, the kitchen maid. What's interesting is that they have to do their detecting in between their regular duties. Emma Jameson sets her Marriage Can Be Murder in the early days of WW2. I always enjoy Rosalind James - New Zealand! Rugby! Hot rugby players! - and her latest Just Say Yes was no exception. Cheryl Reavis' The Marine and its sequel Band of Brothers kept me up to find out what happened to her people! No one writes more natural dialogue. In the paranormal vein, I love the Incripted series by Seanen McGuire, but Magic for Nothing was a little disappointing in the way it ended. Just read Snared,the latest in Jennifer Estep's Gin Blanco and it was excellent as always. And Unquiet Lands, the latest Sharon Shinn, was really good.

[Margaret]

I managed to not see this post when it slipped into my mailbox, even though I was waiting for it. So I'm going to assume no one will see this comment and wait until next month to wax on and on about Julia Glass whom I discovered during April (I'm pretty sure through a comment on this monthly wallet-sucking-dry column!). The Widower's Tale was fantastic. Now off to hit "buy" for many of the books recommended above. Thanks, as always!