What We Are Reading!

Christina here with this month's summary of what the Wenches have been reading — and we have read a lot! As always, it's an eclectic selection and hopefully some great suggestions for everyone, but we appreciate your input so please let us know what you'd like to add. We can never have enough book recommendations!

Patricia:  MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE by Andrea Penrose

Another brilliant historical mystery in the Wrexford and Sloane series … Conducted against the pageantry of the 1814 Peace Celebrations in London, the intrepid earl and his artist countess unwind a treasonous plot involving the plans for a revolving pistol every nation wants to lay hands on. So much for celebrating peace! In the process of investigating the murder of the pistol’s inventor, the pair acquire the inventor’s brilliant nephew, Peregrine, as a companion for their own wards Hawk and Raven. I love the ongoing family sagas that continue despite the murder and mayhem in the world beyond their safe walls. The history is impeccable and one can truly imagine the scheming that probably did take place with so many powerful men in one place. Highly recommended!

Christina:  I too read and loved MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE by Andrea Penrose. I had been eagerly looking forward to book six in this series and I wasn’t disappointed — it’s absolutely wonderful! Andrea manages to come up with the most ingenious plots that fit in so well with the time period — the Regency — and I’m in awe of her skill at weaving it all together. The series is going from strength to strength and the cast of characters is expanding and becoming an amazing, tight-knit group of friends and allies that you can’t help but want to spend time with. I loved the addition of Falcon and really felt for him — no spoilers but I can’t wait to see more of him in future books. Set against the backdrop of the (premature) Peace Celebrations in London in 1814, when the European leaders congregated for a month to honour their victory against Napoleon (who had been imprisoned on the island of Elba), the story once again involves murder and intrigue. Wrexford and Charlotte are newly married and hoping for some peace and quiet, but instead they are drawn into a dark web where it’s hard to know who is friend and who is foe. Loved ones are threatened and there is even more at stake as their investigation could have huge international ramifications. It’s lucky they have sharp intellects and each other, plus their stalwart friends, as they race to solve the mystery. I honestly couldn’t put this down and yet again can’t wait for the next book in the series — just fabulous!

I also read HER CASTILIAN HEART by Anna Belfrage which is the third instalment in this wonderful series of historical romance and adventure, featuring Sir Robert FitzStephan and his fiery wife Noor. The couple are now back in England, having endured trials and tribulations in Spain in the previous book, and the reader hopes that they will finally have some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, that is not possible as long as Robert’s evil half-brother Eustace is alive. He bears a bitter grudge and is consumed by greed and jealousy of his more capable, well-liked and respected sibling. And he will let nothing stand in the way of complete annihilation of Robert and everything he holds dear. There is also a vengeful queen plotting in the background, so to say that the couple have their hands full is an understatement! But they have loyal friends and allies — and make some surprising new ones along the way — and they are both strong and able to fight for what is right and those they love. Therefore, there is a chance that good will triumph over evil. I enjoyed every twist and turn of this story, and of course rooted for Robert and Noor, hoping they would finally be allowed to enjoy marriage and family life without worry at their idyllic manor house. I am also completely in awe of the author’s incredible grasp of the politics of this era — it must have been very complicated even for those who were in the middle of it! But everything is clearly explained and I now feel I know all about it as well. This is truly an epic historical novel, well-written and researched, and I would highly recommend the whole series!

Finally I read THE LEGACY OF HALESHAM HALL by Jenni Keer which is an absolute treat! An epic dual time historical set partly in the Victorian era and partly just after WWI, it had me hooked and intrigued from the start. My heart went out to the hero Sidney, a little boy trained by his cruel father to be mistrustful of everything and everyone, and conditioned to always expect disappointment in life. At far too young an age, he is pitted against his older brother to see who is worthy of being their father’s heir to the board games company their wealth rests on, and I really felt their frustrations and impotent rage against a man who should have loved them instead of pulling them apart. I wanted to just hug Sidney and tell him it was going to be alright. Twenty years later — enter the heroine, Phoebe, whose upbringing couldn’t have been more different. She’s been loved and cherished all her life and her outlook is sunny and positive, although she has come to Halesham Hall with secret intentions. When she starts to banish the shadows in the monstrosity of a Gothic mansion Sidney lives in, he slowly begins to change too. And Phoebe discovers that not all is as she believed, and Sidney is not quite the villain she’d been imagining. But his father had always played nasty twisted games with his offspring and could come between them even in death. I loved seeing how they went about solving the puzzles and uncovering the truth of what had happened at Halesham Hall. And I adored the slow burn romance developing between them as they got to know each other better. It was incredibly satisfying and I couldn’t put the book down until I’d reached the end. The twists and turns were so cleverly plotted and kept me guessing throughout. Brilliant!

HOLD UP! I must just squeeze in a late entry — RAINBOW RECIPE by Patricia Rice, book four in her Psychic Solutions mystery series. This landed on my kindle yesterday and I devoured it in one sitting. It continues the tale of Evie the ghost buster and her crazy but lovable family, but the story is shared by her cousin Pris this time. Pris can read and influence minds, but she doesn’t always want to as the clamour becomes too much sometimes. But when there’s a murderer on the loose and she’s the accused, she has no choice but to use her gift. The search for the real murderer takes her to Italy and Dante Rossi, a man who also has a gift he tries to suppress. I loved the developing relationship between Pris and the grumpy Italian count, and her reluctant bonding with his adorable five year old twins. Throw in some truly heinous villains and a pretty useless ghost and you have a cracking story. I’m already looking forward to the next one but if you haven’t started yet I’d recommend you begin with the first book in this amazing series. You won’t want to miss it!

Nicola:  Christina and I have been reading all the same books this month! First there was Andrea’s MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE which I thought was a brilliant, intricate and clever story. I loved catching up with Wrexford and Charlotte, whose developing relationship has fascinated me through the series. Then there were the weasels and all the other wonderful characters who make up the close knit if unusual “family.” It was great that Cordelia and Sheffield’s romance made progress too. Another wonderful read in this series.

I also enjoyed both HER CASTILIAN HEART by Anna Belfrage, which is a gripping and epic historical novel, and THE LEGACY OF HALESHAM HALL by Jenni Keer. Jenni’s dual time stories are magical and a real treat. Christina’s reviews give a wonderful idea of what great reads these are.

I also came across a Christmas novella by Mary Jo Putney that I hadn’t previously read this month and eagerly downloaded it. It’s a reprint of a story from 1997 so you may already have read it, but if like me you missed it first time around, grab it now! THE BEST HUSBAND MONEY CAN BUY is completely charming and enchanted me. I loved the premise; that a small act of kindness led to the heroine inheriting a fortune. I loved Emma the heroine too – she was a very sensible and practical with a very generous heart underneath. The hero, Anthony, whilst appearing to be a total reprobate at first was of course a rake totally ready to be redeemed. The way that the friendship developed into love between these two was completely credible and enjoyable, with the chemistry between the two of them a complete delight. Throw in some holiday festiveness as well (even in September!) and it was wonderful!

Mary Jo here. Today I'm talking about a book that has already been recommended by Word Wenches: THE WINDSOR KNOT: THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES #1 by S.J. Bennett.

I have my doubts about mystery series where real historical people are turned into detectives, so I didn’t read it until the book was recently chosen for a small online book club I'm in. It turned out to be perfect timing since I read it just when Queen Elizabeth died and I was able to really appreciate the incredible research that S. J. Bennett had done into the Queen, her life, and her surroundings.

There is a strong sense of how busy and complicated the queen's life was, but also how caring she was. The story begins when a young Russian pianist who had performed at Windsor Castle died, possibly suicide, possibly murder. The Queen has a keen and observant mind, and refuses to accept the opinions of the devoted but rather obtuse male courtiers around her. So she asks her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, an Anglo-Nigerian former army officer and veteran, to make inquiries.

Rozie is a wonderful character: discreet, intelligent and enormously capable, and she develops a quiet bond with the Queen, who wants justice but can't involve herself personally in the investigation. The mystery is intricate and intelligently worked out, and it creates a sense of what it would be like to be a 90 year queen, loved and respected by all around her, but frequently underestimated so she must use a very delicate touch.

I enjoyed THE WINDSOR KNOT so much that I immediately read ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN, second of The Queen Investigates books. (A third will be out in 2023) This time the mystery is triggered by one of the Queen's paintings going missing, a small picture she's very fond of. Rozie is once more enlisted in running down the truth among a forest of possibilities. Again, I was fascinated by the portrait of the Queen and how her gentle suggestions pointed the police in the right direction. These books are fiction, of course, but they create a vivid sense of a complex royal world, and a woman who never shirked her responsibilities — and loved her family, her horses and her corgis.

Anne here, and this month my reading has been a mix, as usual — though all with a happy ending, which is a must for me. Last month Mary Jo mentioned the first Ashley Gardner "Gladiator" story, which reminded me I had the second book in the series waiting on my kindle so, as is usual for me, I reread the first book and the novella that follows it before I read Book #2, A GLADIATOR’S TALE. (Ashley Gardner is a pen-name for Jennifer Ashley, of whom I'm a great fan.)

These books, set in ancient Rome in the time of Nero, follow the adventures of Leonides, the champion gladiator of Rome, unexpectedly set free by a mysterious benefactor. He is granted freedom, a small apartment (which he must pay rent for) and a slave — Cassia, a scribe — to look after him. But no money. With no income and no savings – he never expected to leave the arena alive — Leonides must find work to support them both.

This is a most enjoyable series. Leonides has had enough of death and fighting, but he's famous as a fighter, and what else can he do but become a bodyguard? Cassia, born a slave but raised as an educated woman, is clever and ingenious, and when they become accidentally associated with a murder, they must work together to solve it and save themselves from Rome's rough justice. Highly recommended.

Start with the first book, BLOOD OF A GLADIATOR, and progress to the next, BLOOD DEBTS, a novella, before reading A GLADIATOR’S TALE.

And if you've already read and enjoyed this series, why not try the brilliant Lindsey Davis "Falco" series also set in ancient Rome.

Next came SWEETWATER AND THE WITCH by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick). Last month I learned that Jayne Castle's "Harmony" series – paranormal with dust-bunnies – had become available (for Australians) on Kindle, although to my frustration, the first four books in the series are still unavailable for me to buy. This is a fun series, set on a world, colonized a couple of centuries ago from earth, but where a combination of the physical properties of the planet, plus the abandoned remnants of a previous alien civilization means the Psi talents of some people have been hugely expanded. The stories have plenty of action and intrigue, and the love story in each book is satisfying. Recommended.

Other books I've read include the latest JD Kirk Scottish crime novel — HERE LIES THE DEAD — I highly recommend this series. Good mysteries, good characterization, and lots of laughs. Also lots of swearing, which I know puts some people off. Not me. I really enjoy the books.

Finally I want to mention a book that's a little bit — or maybe a lot — different. THE NEAR DAPHNE EXPERIENCE by Alison Reynolds is an epistolary novel — though in this case it's a combination of emails, texts, notes, letters — all sorts of documents. And the character Daphne never actually appears. But as you read, you start to put the clues together and the story unfolds. It's clever, funny, quirky and very original. I loved it.

Andrea:  Well, we seem to be having a Wench mutual admiration society in this month’s WWR, as I was busy this month glomming Christina and Nicola’s new books.

First off, I was swept right into Christina’s atmospheric story of Viking intrigue and revenge and modern-day mystery in her latest dual timeslip HIDDEN IN THE MISTS. The setting in remote Scotland is so well wrought the you can feel the chill of wind and rain, and the spookiness of the mists curling through the forest trees. I always love how she brings both her ancient and modern characters wonderfully to life and makes the emotional connections between them brilliantly believable. In this book, her modern heroine Skye is struggling to keep her farm and her self-esteem afloat after her marriage falls apart. Wary of men, she’s leery of Rafe, who appears out of nowhere looking for work. She reluctantly agrees to his offer of staying and working for a few weeks in return for food and shelter, as she desperately needs the help and has little money. It’s clear he has hidden secrets … but then, so does she.

As Christina shifts to ancient times, the reader learns of Ottarr, taken captive as an adolescent when his settlement is attacked and his family killed. Now a free man after years of enslavement, he’s obsessed with taking revenge on the people who shattered his life … but he doesn’t quite count on the effect that Asta, his enemy’s strong-willed daughter, has on him. She, too, is intent on dealing with an injustice …

When Skye and Rafe both begin to have strangely vivid dreams of the past and start to see shadowy figures moving through the mists, the past is about to tangle with the present … No spoilers! Just settle in with a woolly blanket and a cup of cocoa – and get ready to be enchanted!

Rich with historical detail and intensely memorable characters, Nicola’s THE WINTER GARDEN, which releases later this month, weaves a mesmerizing tale that takes us back and forth between the 17^th century and the present as a historic house in Oxfordshire reveals its shadowy secrets.  

Lucy, a concert violinist, has come to her aunt’s house to recover from the trauma of a devasting illness that has robbed her of her career. She just wishes to be alone as she struggles to cope with her grief, but the presence of Finn, a taciturn garden historian and restoration specialist who is working with his assistant to restore the historic grounds, is an unwelcome distraction.

She soon realizes that along with her grief, there is an unsettling aura of darkness shadowing the estate, which becomes even more oppressive when she discovers that Finn has also suffered a recent personal loss. And as she learns more about its history and connection to Robert Catesby, one of the infamous Gunpowder Plot conspirators of 1605, the past and its sorrows become unnervingly real.

Catesby’s story, as told by his mother, is beautifully woven in flashbacks through the present-day story as Lucy and Finn seek to unravel the dark mystery surrounding the place. There are ghosts … along with modern-day vandals, ancient legends of the Knights Hospitallers and hidden treasure. It’s an absolutely spellbinding tale. I couldn’t put it down!

So how about you - what have you been reading this month? Do let us know please!

Comments

[Mary M.]

I'm posting about two books this month, very different from each other.

The first is Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickham. By turns quirky, serious, amusing, philosophical, and biographical, it's above all an exploration of the meaning of life, as experienced between Coalwood, WV, and Key West, FL, in the height of the Great Depression.

Ostensibly a quest to find a forever home for the Albert of the title, but so much more, it's an odyssey/road trip/love story, with its own Homer (as participant, not author, though the author and narrator is Homer, Jr. … oh, never mind); his wife, Elsie; her alligator, Albert; an unnamed but essential rooster; a 1925 Buick with a bathtub in back for Albert; a couple of inept hoodlums, Slick and Huddie; walk-ons by John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway, and holding the whole thing together, Buddy Ebsen. Oh, there's a hurricane, too. And more. I loved it.
~~~~~
My second recommendation is How to cook the Victorian Way with Mrs. Crocombe by Annie Gray and Andrew Hann, from the personal notebook of Mrs. Avis Crocombe, head cook at Audley End House in Essex in the late 1800s.

This is a coffee table book with ample photos and illustrations of Victorian life, and "upstairs" recipes such as A Cod’s Head and Shoulders, Almond and Potato Pudding, the bluntly named Brain Cakes (specifically, lamb’s brains), and A Gertrude a la Creme (a dessert that looks like a fancy Easter hat).

My personal favorite: Apple Hedgehog—no hedgehogs were harmed in the making, rather it’s a cake made to look startlingly like the animal and one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. Full page illustration I’d like to pull out and frame, but I had the book on InterLibrary Loan, had to give it back intact.

There are photos and drawings throughout illustrating life in the kitchen and above stairs. A section is titled “The Nursery, The Sickroom and the Poor,” an interesting juxtaposition. I noted a comment that “every” Victorian kitchen had a vast supply of copper pots and pans, which reminded me of my sense of wonder at the Charles Dickens Museum (his house) kitchen in London when I saw an entire long wall of said utensils.

In a section on recipes for servant meals, I found Savory Roly Poly Pudding (Dead Man’s Leg), which is lugubriously descriptive (there’s a photo) and would never make it onto an Upstairs menu.

All of the featured recipes are modernized, but at the back are some of the originals as deciphered from Avis’s handwritten journal.

A chapter on Mrs. Crocombe and the Staff notes that Avis, by choosing to start lowly in a great house as opposed to a lesser household with only a few servants, had ambition and a career plan (which she eventually realized). She reminded me of Kat Hollaway in the Below Stairs series I like so well: Kat, too, keeps a notebook and is worthy of a star turn like this, but works in a small household that suits her purpose of secretly supporting a young daughter; however I think she would feel right at home at Audley. For authors and readers of the Victorian era, probably Regency, too, this book is a treasure trove!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you so much for these recommendations, Mary! A pet alligator called Albert? LOL! And I love the names of some of those dishes - wonderful! I'm sure this would be a treasure trove for lots of authors.

[Misti]

I also finished Sweetwater and the Witch. That series is just so much fun. I love Leonides the Gladiator also. Getting ready to start Murder at the Serpentine Bridge!

[Kareni]

Over the past five weeks ~

— completed my Touchstone series reread with In Arcadia and Snow Day both by Andrea K Höst.
— reread Paladin of Souls (Chalion Book 2) by Lois McMaster Bujold which I enjoyed revisiting. While I’ve reread The Curse of Chalion many times, this was my first reread of this book.
— read Soul Taken (A Mercy Thompson Novel Book 13) by Patricia Briggs. While I enjoyed it, I still favor the author’s Alpha and Omega books.

— the science fiction romance Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik which I enjoyed. You should definitely start with the first book in the series to best understand this story.
— for my distant book group, I read The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich; this was an intriguing book with a touch of magical realism that is set mostly on a Native American reservation in the 1950s.
— The Call: A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Building the Circle Book 1) by Maggie M Lily. I found the book confusing in parts particularly the psychic element which I’d imagined would concern the hero or heroine but did not.

— The Power: A Psychic Paranormal Romance by Maggie M Lily which follows The Call. This was an okay book, but I don’t plan to continue on.
— String Theory by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James; I quite enjoyed this contemporary male/male romance which is set after a one year long Covid pandemic.
— for my local book group Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This was a thought provoking read that was both lovely and saddening.

-- Alpha (Ghost Mountain Wolf Shifters Book 1) by Audrey Faye was an enjoyable read; I'd happily read on if my library carried this paranormal series.
-- enjoyed the contemporary male/male romance, The Caretaker (The Sin Bin Book 2) by Dahlia Donovan.
-- two science fiction romance books, which I enjoyed -- Breakaway (Verdant String Book 1) by Michelle Diener and Interference & Insurgency (Verdant String) by Michelle Diener. The last is a collection of two novellas. (Admittedly, my favorite book by the author remains Dark Horse.)
-- I learned that a new book in a favorite series had been released. I promptly bought and read Murder in All Fury: A Doyle & Acton Mystery by Anne Cleeland. It was fun revisiting these characters, but I don't even try to solve the mystery.

-- The Evasion-English Dictionary: Expanded Edition by Maggie Balistreri, a short non-fiction book on language usage. A review I read mentioned a similarity to Ambrose Bierce, so I was expecting some humor/wit. I was rather disappointed.
-- a science fiction romance by Michelle Diener which I enjoyed ~ Trailblazer (Verdant String Book 3) by Michelle Diener.
-- several romances by Kathryn Moon featuring reverse harems (where it is a woman who has multiple partners).
**Lola & the Millionaires: Part One and Part Two. These have a contemporary setting.
**Good Deeds which is a science fiction romance. All three were enjoyable.
-- The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady (The King Henry Tapes Book 1) by Richard Raley; I quite enjoyed this urban fantasy and may actually (gasp!) spend money to read on. The title is very apt as there is a lot of foul language. It's written in an intriguing/interwoven way that covers three times in the lead character's life (teen years as a student at a school of magic; working in his twenties; later as the parent of a teen).

[Kareni]

Both books sound fascinating, Mary M.! Now I want to see the Apple Hedgehog....

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you Misti. Sounds like everyone loves those stories - I must give them a try!

[Christina Courtenay]

Many thanks, Kareni, as always a very impressive list! Lots of intriguing suggestions for us to try!

[Marianne McA]

I've read 'Tweet Cute' by Emma Lord - one of those books where the hero and heroine have a relationship in real life (where they dislike each other) and a - unbeknownst to themselves - relationship online where they confide in each other plus, for added fun, are fronting a twitter war on their parents' behalf.
I was initially very irritated by the twitter war, and that probably colours how I felt about the book, but it did all make sense in the end.
I also read Sally-Ann and Clothes-Pegs by Susan Scarlett (Noel Streatfield) and while the romances were impossible to buy into - no part of me wants to see a 17 year old get married - the details of life in the 1930s were fascinating, and somehow just the right background noise for the economic crisis.
Also 'Utopia Avenue' by David Mitchell - I'm profoundly unmusical, and exactly the wrong age to care about the 1960s, and I never actually finished 'The Thousand Autumns...' though I always meant to - so this book about an emerging 60s band with Jacob de Zoet's descendant in it should not have worked for me at all, but I was so invested by the end. Just a great read.
Then 'The Golden Enclaves' by Naomi Novik, the third in the Scholomance trilogy, which I've been looking forward to so eagerly that I hardly know what I thought of it: I'll need to reread it to clarify my thoughts.

[Constance]

Kareni - your lists are always fascinating to me! I agree about the disappointing Evasion-English Dictionary, but given your taste for books about word usage, I highly recommend Index: A History of the, by Dennis Duncan - it was a delight!

[Jcp]

Another oldie and a Moc story from the now defunct Harlequin love inspired historical line Marriage of Inconvience by Cheryl Bolen. My last recommendation is The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch (1st in a lovely trilogy and a MOc plot.

[Constance]

Not as much reading time as I like this month, combined with the shock of realizing just how many unread books I have accumulated in my Kindle library (thanks, Wenches and Commentors!), resulted in gobbling several of the earliest in that library - before I let myself go for newer titles! That meant a few from the Stephanie Laurens Cynster series, including The Ideal Bride, And Then She Fell, and The Promise in His Kiss - not sure how I missed those “back in the day.”

As for newer, Jill Mansell’s And Now You’re Back was a treat (recommended last month here, perhaps?). Totally predictable, but clever, funny and poignant. A small village couple who met and fell in love in their teens, split but never forgot each other, come together again when he returns to care for his dying father, a small time criminal with the proverbial heart of gold. The father was my favorite character of the several lovely secondary characters.

And as recommended above to Kareni, Index: A History of the, by Dennis Duncan, is exactly as subtitled - “A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Mnuscripts to the Digital Age.” While I have always loved having a really good index for any reference book, I had no idea about the intricacies and intrigues they can include. BTW, I gifted Index to my historian brother-in-law, who always claims it takes longer to proof the index than the text of any of his books, and he loved it, too.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you Constance, sounds intriguing!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you Marianne! I read Tweet Cute last month and enjoyed it. Have read David Mitchell's 'The Thousand Autumns ..." a long time ago and liked it, but probably only because I used to live in Japan and had visited the book's setting. Don't think I'd like anything about the 60s either but you never know!

[Christina Courtenay]

Many thanks, Jcp, all recommendations welcome!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Constance - you've made me take a look at my Kindle now and oh dear ... really should read what I have before buying more! Many thanks for all the recommendations too. Jill Mansell's stories are always lovely.

[Annette N]

I want to thank each of you for all the lovely suggestions.

[Kareni]

Constance, thank you for the recommendation of Index! I have put in a hold request at the library.

[Karin]

Thank you to everyone for all the great recommendations! I read "The Unkept Woman" by Alison Montclair. It's another excellent addition to this mystery series about 2 women in post World War II London who run a matchmaking service, but keep stumbling across murders. I am also catching up with a couple of Jayne Ann Krentz's Harmony series paranormals. I read the last book in Michelle Diener's Class 5 sci-fi romance series. They are all very similar, about human women who get kidnapped by aliens and find themselves in another universe, so either you like them or you don't. I find them to be good escapism.
And I read the last book of Joyce Harmon's Regency Charades series, "The World's a Stage". I highly recommend these for anyone who enjoys Georgette Heyer. The writing quality is excellent, very humorous, with such engaging characters. But you must start at the beginning with "A Feather to Fly With".

[Quantum]

I recently tried the free (for members) audio books by Debra Mullins from Audible. 'Just One Touch', 'The Night Before The Wedding', 'Three Nights'.
The books are classified Historical Fiction and all have strong elements of suspense with some very passionate love scenes.They are well written with good narration and held my attention throughout ... I think I might use some credits to listen to more! Some of Pat Rice's Magic series is also free at Audible and I enjoyed book 1 'Merely Magic'. I'm a bit like Drogo, trusting science to explain the universe, but am also interested in pushing the boundaries towards currently poorly understood phenomena and enjoy the introduction of a little magic ....another great free listen.

[Patricia Rice]

Thank you, Christina, for the lovely review! Reviews from fellow authors are special because you know exactly how hard it is to pull off these stories!

[Teresa Broderick]

Only reading this post now. For some reason the site wouldn't load for me the last day or two.
I've had a few good reads this month. Still rereading some of my childhood books, The Island of Adventure and The Castle of Adventure. Also two from The Secret series of Blyton's books.
Then on to The Winter Garden by Nicola. That was a five star read for me. I loved it!
I also listened to Hercule Poiret's Christmas on audio. Very enjoyable.
I'm definitely going to put The Legacy of Halesham Hall on my list. I like the sound of it a lot!

[Christina Courtenay]

So glad you enjoyed them, Annette!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you so much, Karin, that all sounds great!

[Christina Courtenay]

Many thanks, Quantum, I love Pat's Magic series too! It's great that you can get them on Audible.

[Christina Courtenay]

You're so welcome - I love this series and can't wait for the next book!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Teresa, and I think you'll enjoy Halesham Hall! I loved Enid Blyton - must try to reread some of them when I have time. And yes, the Winter Garden was fabulous, wasn't it!
(The blog site has been down for the last couple of days, some technical glitch I believe - apologies for that!)

[Anne Gracie]

Constance, I've just bought a new kindle and was going through my list, and oh dear, soooo many bought-but-unread unread books. And many I had no idea why I'd bought them. Probably a recommendation from someone that I'd forgotten about.

Thanks for the recommendation of Index: A History of the, by Dennis Duncan. As someone who gets really bugged by lazy indexing, I'll be interested, Im sure. A few examples of lazy indexing — cookbooks where you go to look up an almond biscuit recipe and eventually find it under C for crunchy! And the manual for my new-ish car has a heap of entries listed under I for If or In -- eg, "If X happens do this", or "In case of X do Y." Drove me bonkers when I was trying to work out how to do things.

[Anne Gracie]

Teresa, the Enid Blyton "Adventure" series was one of my faves when I was a kid. I haven't read them since, however. I particularly loved Kiki the cocky, as we had a cocky who, while not quite having the instant vocabulary as Kiki, was very mischievous and funny.

However I've found some of her books a bit cringy in relation to racism or classism etc these days, and don't want to spoil my happy recollections of those stories. I'm not one to point the finger and blame authors of the past who exhibit attitudes that were quite acceptable and normal for the times, though. I think we just need to accept that the past was different, and move on.

[Vicki L]

I've been re-reading some of the Miss Fisher books as I've been waking up in the middle of the night and I don't want to read a new to me book!

Bar Sinister by Sheila Simonson (Karin recommended it back in June.) I managed to acquire a copy and thoroughly enjoyed it. An old style regency full of chuckles. Definitely worth looking for a copy.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan. Recommended by Constance in June as well. Loved the book. 3 romances. Lots of character growth. Real people and events woven together to make a wonderful story. The history was spot on as well. Set in WWII England but it is not a sad book full of death and disaster.

Sweetwater and the Witch - Jayne Castle. I'm so glad she had started writing Harmony/Dust Bunny books again. She quit for 7 or 8 years.

I too want to thank everyone who mentions books each month and the Wenches for compiling their book recommendations. I've "stepped out" of my normal reading stream so many times and found so many enjoyable books.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you very much, Vicki - your choices sound great too! I really must try those Jayne Castle books as you're all recommending them.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thank you, Misti! I hoe you enjoy!

[Andrea Penrose]

This sounds SO interesting. Am going to find it!