Here's a round up of what the wenches have been reading this month. In the comments, let us know what you've enjoyed. It's a great library builder!
Nicola:
The Girl and the Sword by Gerald Weaver (UK link) is a historical epic in the true sense of the word. It covers decades and looks a great span of ideas and history. It’s set in the 13th century and tells the story of Pauline de Pamiers who is a young girl from the oppressed Christian sect, the Cathars, and how she refuses to accept subjugation but forms an alliance with one of the most famous crusaders of all, Simon de Montfort. There are big themes in this book – the role of women in medieval society, the establishment of parliamentary democracy, the dominance of religion.
Whilst the character of Pauline is fictitious, Simon de Montfort was, of course, very real and in his author’s note, Gerald Weaver talks about taking an “American” view of a man who has primarily been written about by English historians. It’s fascinating to see the different perspective that he brings to the character and actions of de Montfort, seeing someone who has often been dismissed as an ambitious opportunist as, in fact, a fundamentally good man who was responsible for sowing the seeds of democracy. Whilst I might not have agreed with his interpretation of some of de Montfort’s actions, I did love the sheer swashbuckling scope of the story. This Simon is a real hero of integrity, courage and action. Pauline is an admirable woman and their relationship is a tender and true love story. My favourite aspect of the book was their dialogue which was funny and clever and very entertaining. So if you are a fan of epic historical novels with feminist heroines and knightly heroes, this could be the book for you.
Andrea:
I’ve been under a frantic book deadline, so my reading has been limited this month. But I couldn’t resist diving into Leigh Bardugo’s latest book in her Galaxy “Alex" Stern series, Hell Bent. I mean, how could I possibly resist the promo copy: Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. The Ivy League is going straight to Hell! (Note: this is meant quite literally!)
Bardugo, who writes wildly successful YA fantasy books (Netflix has released a series based on her “Grishaverse”) has set her first adult novels at Yale University, her alma mater (and mine.) Her protagonist, Alex Stern, is a troubled young woman who sees ghosts, a quality that gets her offered a full scholarship to Yale. There’s just one catch—she has to be part of a small and very secret force that monitors the elite secret senior societies at the university—who all possess magic—to make sure their weekly meetings and rituals don’t abuse their powers. Demons and dark magic prowl the campus, mostly unseen by the normal students. It’s Alex’s job to make sure the two worlds don’t collide. In the last book, an investigation into a murder on campus results in her friend and mentor Darlington being snatched by evil forces and dragged down an unseen portal into Hell. In this book, she’s determined to bring him back safely. When the officials in charge of controlling the magic at Yale expressly forbid her to do so, she and the nerdy grad school archivist of magic decide to break the rules and do so anyway, and so they recruit a rag-tag team of friends to help them. They soon discover that Yale’s majestic Sterling Library at Yale University has been made into a portal to Hell by a group of long-ago patrician members of one of the secret societies. All they have to do is discover how to open it . . . and the clock is ticking as faculty members are being bumped off by unknown evil.
It’s a very fun mix of action, arcane history, monsters . . .and friendship. The explorations and decoding of gargoyles and stained glass images in the library are fascinating, as is the exploration of the occult in different civilizations. (Of course an added enjoyment for me was recognizing all the places she talks about as I spent countless hours in Sterling as an undergrad) I’m not a fantasy reader, but I loved it!
Christina:
I have loved Patricia Rice’s Psychic Solutions series right from the start and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all Evie Malcolm’s unusual relatives and fellow townspeople. These books are the perfect blend of mystery, romance and paranormal – totally irresistible! THE PRISM EFFECT is the final book in the series and it was a fitting ending. It brought everything together in a very satisfying manner and I loved every moment.
Evie is about to get married, but there is a film production crew in town and their animal handler has gone missing. Her veterinarian cousin Idonea (Iddy), who reads animal minds, is called in to calm down the ones being used while filming. They are behaving weirdly and Evie suspects there’s a poltergeist at work. Iddy doesn’t really have time for this but can’t resist spending time with the film’s gorgeous line producer, Cade. He, like most people, doesn’t believe in Evie and Iddy’s “gifts,” but he’s forced to work with them to solve the mystery. Although he’s got the rest of his life planned and can’t wait to get away from everything, he finds himself drawn to Iddy, and the little town where she lives begins to grow on him …
I’m going to seriously miss this group of characters. If you haven’t become acquainted with them yet I highly recommend you start reading immediately – you’re in for an absolute treat!
For anyone who loves ice hockey romance and is experiencing withdrawal symptoms from Sarina Bowen’s excellent series about her Brooklyn team, I can recommend Sawyer Bennett’s Pittsburgh Titans series. It starts with a bang – literally – as the entire team (except for three players) have just died in a plane crash, including the millionaire owner/manager. His sister, Brienne Norcross, inherits everything, including the team, and takes on the task of rebuilding it virtually from scratch. She is a tough business woman, used to making hard decisions, and determined to succeed. She manages to find players and coaches to form a new team, slowly but surely molding them into a cohesive unit. Each book in the series focuses on one of the coaches or players, and the reader slowly gets to know them all as they each fall in love. There will be nine stories in total and six are available now, starting with BADEN, and they need to be read in order. My favourite so far is DRAKE, in which a seriously grumpy goalie falls in love with the owner herself, Brienne. They are a very unlikely pair but their chemistry is scorching.
Susan:
I'm catching up on some series reading and had some hours in the car recently, so I listened to Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding, the 12th installment in Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series featuring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line to the British throne in the 1930s. I really enjoy this excellent series and find them great listening while driving, so I've heard most of the series in the car (when I can find consistent time). Sadly, the wonderful narrator of the first several books, Katherine Kellgren, died not long ago, but her replacement, Jasmine Blackborow, is very good (some changes in pronunciation and voice characterizations established so beautifully by Kellgren do take some getting used to). In this 12th book, Lady Georgiana is getting ready for her wedding with the sexy and mysterious Irishman Darcy O'Mara, when her wealthy globetrotting stepfather offers her the long-term use of his manor house. In need of a home and about to start married life, Georgie arrives ready to become lady of the manor. But she finds the butler and other staff to be strangely lackadaisical--and soon realizes they are hiding something. Georgie and her grandfather and mother, who arrive to help out, soon discover that more than one person has dispatched there, and more than one treasure in the manor's collection has gone missing. Sorting through a trail of clues that lead to a revelation, all the while Georgie is left wondering if Darcy, who has been absent, is still keen on marriage. Quick, breezy, and intelligent, with familiar characters, surprises, and red herrings, this is a fun installment. I've got #13 lined up to read on paper, and #14 planned for audio, and onward!
Pat:
I read a ton of mystery novels of all kinds, humorous, weird, historical, contemporary, cozy—I know what I like. Unfortunately, weird, humorous mysteries with quirky characters all too often turn stupid. I require the book to be intelligent, well-plotted, and with an original set of characters. GRAVE RESERVATIONS by Cherie Priest does that. The story is about Leda Foley, a 30-something who has tried every job on earth without success, and has now set up a travel agency. She’s slightly psychic and heeds a hunch that saves a policeman’s life. He’s amazingly open-minded and asks her to help him on a cold case. She’s been grieving the loss of her fiancé who’d been murdered a few years earlier, so she agrees out of curiosity, if nothing else. The result leads them down a fascinating yellow-brick road into more murders, while Leda carries on her travel business plus her psychic karaoke gig on the side. I guessed the killer early on but that didn’t keep me from enjoying the ride. I see there’s at least one more book in the series, and I hope there will be more!
Anne:
I've been spending time in Ancient Rome, reading two authors, both with excellent research, both involving mysteries, and each presenting quite different and fascinating views of Ancient Rome society.
Wenchly readers Donna S and Barbara Monajem recently recommended Ruth Downie's "Medicus" series in comments on a post. Set during the Roman occupation of Britain it's about a Roman medical officer (medicus) who becomes unwillingly caught up in a murder investigation. Along the way he also becomes responsible for a badly injured and despairing British slave woman who ends up complicating his life. Even though I've read a number of Roman-era books, this gave me new insights, while keeping me thoroughly entertained. I enjoyed the first four books in the series and plan to read the rest. The series starts with MEDICUS.
I've also read THE RING THAT CAESAR WORE, which is the latest book in Ashley Gardner's (aka Jennifer Ashley) "gladiator" series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The series starts with BLOOD OF A GLADIATOR (Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries Book 1)but if you're worried that this is a gory, blood-and-violence series, don't be. It's about Leonidas, a former champion gladiator of Rome, now trying to make a peaceful life for himself, only he keeps getting drawn into mysteries.
I've also been rereading some very old favorites, including Mary Stewart's Madam Will You Talk and Lucy Walker's The Moonshiner. But more of those later.
Mary Jo:
Like Anne, I just read the recently released Ashley Gardner mystery, The Ring That Caesar Wore, third in her Leonidas the Gladiator series, It's another vivid mystery set in Rome, and well worth reading.
But Anne's suggestion got me to musing about reading book series. Series are popular because they give readers the chance to revisit favorite characters and meet new ones. In romance, where we like to have a complete courtship and commitment story in one volume, a series will usually be consecutive romances among a friend or family group. Mystery series can follow a particular sleuth through an indefinite number of crimes and solutions.
Science fiction and fantasy also have extended series and some of my favorite rereading is SFF. I like a series book that feels wrapped up and complete at the end, but which advances the overall story and character arcs. Most series benefit by starting with the first book since that's where major characters are likely to meet each other and the basic situations are laid out.
Which brings me to Lois McMaster Bujold's delightful Penric and Desdemona fantasy series, which is now up to 11 installments, 10 of which are novellas, and one of which. The Assassins of Thasalon, is a full length novel. It's a rip-roaring story that begins with the attempted assassination of Penric's brother-in-law, the famous General Arasaydia.
This is definitely a series where it's best to begin at the beginning with the first story, Penric's Demon, in which young Penric, on his way to his betrothal, stops to help a dying Temple divine--and he becomes the new host of the divine's chaos demon. Penric's life changes immediately, and the first novella tells how Penric and his demon become friends with each other. Penric is a very kind, intelligent young man and he treats his new inhabitant with respect, including asking her what she wants to be called, which is how she becomes Desdemona. It's a delightful story that I've reread a couple of times.
All of Desdemona's previous hosts have been female, so that right there is an issue they have to figure out! Over the course of the series, Penric travels, becomes educated, and learns how to work with Des so that they can deal anything that fate sends their way. He also falls in love and marries the resourceful and warm-hearted Nikys. Which brings us to The Assassins of Thasalon, where a number of previous story threads are resolved in unexpected ways, but for full enjoyment, it's best to start with Penric's Demon!
So, what do you think about series? Do you have any great recommendations?