Word Wenches

What We Are Reading!

Andrea here, posting this month’s eclectic (as always!) array of books we’ve been reading this month!

Pat: I hate WWII books. I know the horrible, depressing history and simply don’t need to wallow in it. But I cannot resist bookshop books, and Anne recommended this one, so I gave The Last Bookshop In London, by Madeline Martin, a try. I almost quit after the first chapter—boring, formulaic, whatever the excuse. But I was in a crummy mood and didn’t like anything else either, so I kept on reading. The heroine is timid and never does anything unless pushed. It takes the death of her parents, and her aunt shoving her out of the house, to accept the offer of her mother’s best friend to live in London. It’s 1939. We know what’s going to happen.

What We're Reading in May 2023

Anne here, and before we jump into talking about the books we've read in the last month, some of you have noticed that the comments on some posts seem to have disappeared. We don't know why, we have reported it to #Typepad (the blog host) but be assured your comments ARE making it through to the site, and we hope they'll be restored soon. So feel free to comment — we'll still respond.

Now, on to the books we've been reading.
We start with Pat who is recommending T. L. Huchu, THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD

This is a dystopian young adult set in an Edinburgh after some disaster that’s laid waste to. . .well, whatever the author needs out of his way. Apparently some people still have modern housing and normal lives, but the protagonist is a fourteen-year-old girl who can enter the spirit world and lives in a camper with her grandmother and little sister after her middle class  life was destroyed by something or other. Despite my quibbles, this is a brilliantly written book. The protagonist is bold, probably a genius, and intent on taking care of her small family. When forced by guilt to forget making money to help someone for free, she’s dragged into a nightmare that she almost doesn’t escape. But in the process, she learns about an underground magical library, meets a snarly magician who helps her out, and finds a wheelchair-bound best friend. I loved the spirit parts and skimmed the violent ones, but I’ll be ordering the next book as soon as the ebook becomes a reasonable price.

Next is THE HEART PRINCIPLE, by Helen Hoang

In ways, this book is almost painful to read. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a brilliant book, the characterization and conflict are spot on. I just finished, and I’m thinking of reading it again. But it’s intense. I could feel the tension from the very first page, recognized the character’s autism before she does, and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying it’s obvious the author knows what she’s writing about.

The themes are universal—know and accept yourself, caregiving is tough on everyone, and forgiveness is love. The story is beautifully romantic. The sex is graphic. The dry humor is very low level compared to earlier books THE KISS QUOTIENT and THE BRIDE TEST. But it’s well worth reading. Highly recommended.

Mary Jo here, and I have two bride stories here for June!

First is The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick, which is the historical pseudonym of Jayne Ann Krentz. 

As the blurb says:   "Being Madame Ariadne, Psychic Dream Consultant, wasn’t Prudence Ryland’s ideal gig, but it paid well which was reason enough to do the work—until she realizes that her latest client intends to kill her. But Prudence, a master at reinvention, finds a new job and home as far away as possible and is finally able to relax—which turns out to be a big mistake. Letting her guard down means being kidnapped and drugged and waking up in a bloodstained wedding dress in the honeymoon suite next to a dead man. With the press outside the hotel, waiting with their cameras and police sirens in the distance, it’s obvious she’s being framed for the man’s murder. Prudence knows who is responsible, but will anyone believe her?"

What We're Reading!

Christina here and can you believe it’s already time for our monthly round-up of Wenchly reads and recommendations! No idea where the time goes … As always, it is a very mixed selection, from generational stories to timeslips and everything in between. Have a look and see if anything takes your fancy!

Pat:  Sonali Dev, THE VIBRANT YEARS, is a fast-paced book that sucked me in from the very first, even if I usually despise women’s fiction where everyone is beautiful, talented, and brilliant. The three-generational protagonists here are Indian, so their obstacles aren’t just jealous bosses or spiteful exes, which was refreshing. They’re fighting against their culture, the expectations of family, and their own fears. The youngest is a genius computer programmer who can’t relate to people but is desperate to save her mental health software from an ex. Her mother destroyed her loving marriage by daring to take on a TV career that was destined to spit out someone her age and race. And the grandmother … We should all have grandmothers like Bindu, gorgeous, free-spirited, and trapped by humiliating old memories and fears. When a wealthy, famous lover dies in Bindu’s arms, causing outrage in her senior community, all three women come together in support. The last half of the book has a lot of mental perambulation, but by that time, you’re hooked into their stories and need to know how they fare in life and love. Definitely recommended.

What We're Reading!

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 13^th 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.

WWR—What We've Read in February

Anne here, and it's my pleasure to present to you some of the books we wenches have been reading in the last month. 

We start with Pat, who read Deb Richardson-Moor's book, MURDER, FORGOTTEN 

I got quite excited when I started reading this contemporary mystery, thinking I’d found a really good new mystery writer. And the book is definitely well-written, with well-drawn characters and lots of red herrings and one could never be absolutely certain who the killer was until the end. There was even a point at the beginning where I was becoming annoyed with the main character for not realizing the obvious—and the author turned it around beautifully. Unfortunately, she picked up the same clue again later and let the character be an idiot. Worse yet, she killed off a POV character to whom I was attached. And from the very beginning, the one major clue everyone kept asking about was so verrrrry obvious. . .

But its redeeming value is the women’s fiction setting of Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, with lots of lovely beach homes and nosy neighbors. The two main protagonists are mother and daughter, the mother a writer and the daughter an artist. The book starts with the mother slipping into dementia and her husband already murdered. As the police examine all the close-knit neighbors, secrets are unwound, and it’s impossible to know how much more is hidden. I’ll admit, I read every word and enjoyed it—but there were points when I really wanted to scream: Stop being stupid! So if you want to sink into a southern who-dunnit, this is fine. Just don’t expect perfection.

Next we have Nicola, who read and recommended  A SEASON FOR LOVE by Ally Sinclair, and had a bunch of Wenches running off to buy it. (It's on special too at the moment)

Emma Love takes over her mother’s matchmaking company and with the help of her brother determines to expand the business through a series of events with a Jane Austen style Regency theme.  However, this is Regency with a modern twist in the sense that the book is a contemporary Rom Com so the couples embarking on this old-fashioned style of courtship are more accustomed to online dating and casual hook ups than dancing the cotillion. Our heroine Emma is too fixated on developing the business to consider romance herself – until she bumps into the infuriating Mr Knight, for whom she just doesn’t seem able to find the perfect match. Meanwhile her friends Annie, Jane and Lydia are all at different stages of relationships and all are looking for something but not sure what form, if any, their HEA will take. The plot is structured around a modern version of the events of the Season and it’s completely charming and at times laugh out loud funny. A Season for Love is a book that manages to explore so many different aspects of love, friendship and relationships in a way that is thoughtful, diverse and emotional. It’s such a joyful book but profound and thought-provoking at the same time. I loved it and it left me feeling uplifted.

(Anne notes, this is the English author, Ally Sinclair, not the Australian author, Alli Sinclair.)

What We're Reading in January!

Nicola here, introducing this month’s What We’re Reading. As usual we’ve got an interesting mix, and we’re really looking forward to hearing about your latest reads as well. Looking at my Kindle, all the most recent books on there are recommendations I’ve picked up from the other Wenches and these posts.

Having read every single one of the Jayne Castle Harmony and Rainshadow series, with attendant dust bunnies, I turned to the Arcane series and now to the Fogg Lake series, which is a contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal elements. There’s a Midwich Cuckoos vibe going on here. Years ago, the small town of Fogg Lake experienced something called The Incident, a mysterious explosion in the cave system beneath the town. The residents were knocked unconscious and when they recovered, they found they had new psychic powers.

Book 1 in the series is The Vanishing,written under her Jayne Ann Krentz name. Catalina Lark and her friend Olivia St Clair witness a murder when they are teens but no one believes them as it took place in the caves of their hometown Fogg Lake, and people think they were hallucinating. Years later, Olivia disappears and it becomes clear that someone is hunting the witnesses to the murder. Catalina sets out to find her friend with the help of Slater Arganbright, a mysterious operative from a shadowy law enforcement agency called The Foundation.

There are lots of parallels with the futuristic books in terms of the special powers that the protagonists possess, the strong heroines and the very hot heroes and even hotter romance. But – no dust bunnies!

November What We're Reading!

by Mary Jo

Christina kicks off:

Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan.

Ms Morgan has done it again – I didn’t think she could improve on last year’s Christmas story, but this is her best one yet and I absolutely loved it! It was one of those books where you can’t wait to finish to see how it ends, but at the same time you are devastated to have to leave this fictional world. There is plenty of family drama, lots of delicious romance and some wonderful characters, all set against the backdrop of a gorgeous country house in the wilds of Scotland.

I think my favourite character was the grandmother, Nanna Jean, whose outspoken comments had me laughing out loud. I hope I can be like her when I’m old! One of the heroines, Lucy, has no family left and is dreading Christmas, but when she ends up spending it with the Miller family everything changes. She’s an outsider but they make her feel welcome and included, and it was incredibly heart-warming.

And although the family may seem perfect to her, they are far from it, with tensions and undercurrents rife. Daughters of the house, Alice and Clemmie, have their own problems and heartache, and I felt for them as they fought for what they wanted. Being snowed in proves to be a blessing, as they are all given the chance to work through their problems rather than run away from them. I was rooting for all of them every step of the way and couldn’t have put this book down if my life depended on it! Highly recommended.

 

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!

What We Are Reading!

Mary Jo: I just read the second of Ashley Weaver's Electra O'Donnell historical mystery series, set in London right at the beginning of WWII, and the books are narrated by Ellie, who was taught the skills of a safe cracker by her Uncle Mick.  The family runs a legitimate locksmith business, but when money is tight, Ellie and Uncle Mick quietly break into unoccupied houses of the rich for a spot of burglary. 
      The first book, A Peculiar Combination, begins when Ellie and her uncle break into a house and are ambushed by Major Ramsay, a British army intelligence officer who needs a skilled safe cracker and is quite willing to blackmail the O'Donnells into helping him. 
       Ellie is happy to use her nefarious skills and is reluctantly attracted to the rigidly controlled Major Ramsay.  She also has a possibly developing relationship with a talented forger friend of the family, Felix Lacey. She's smart, stubborn, and determined, and in the first book, she finds that she enjoys the danger and satisfaction of  risking her life for her country. And she wants to do it again.
       In the second book, The Key to Deceit, Major Ramsay turns up again needing her skills.  The body of a well-dressed young woman with no identification has been found in the Thames, and she has an unusual bracelet locked around her wrist.  Ellie unlocks the bracelet, and soon she and Major Ramsay and her friends are chasing a Nazi spy ring around London.  
      The advancing war is palpable, and at the end of the book, the Blitz has begun as masses of German bombers begin pounding London.  It only makes Ellie, her friends, and her fellow Londoners more determined to remain unbroken.  Clearly there is much more that can be done with this series and these characters, and I look forward to the next installment!

July What We're Reading

Christina here with a round-up of what the Wenches have been reading this month. This is a truly varied selection and I hope there will be something for everyone and that you find something that appeals to you. I’ve already clicked on a few things myself …

My own favourite reads this month were the two new Wench books – The Crystal Key by Patricia Rice and The Rake’s Daughter by Anne Gracie.

The Crystal Key is the third book in the Psychic Solutions Mystery series, and these stories just keep getting better and better. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, which broadened the cast and built on the previous books in a most satisfying way. Ghostbuster Evie Malcolm Carstairs has finally got together with gorgeous lawyer Jax Ives and they are raising their ward, Loretta, together while trying to make ends meet – her by speaking to ghosts and him by setting up a new law practice in the tiny town where they live. When Evie and her hacker team at the Sensible Solutions Agency take on a new case that involves a dead former FBI agent – an old lady who had been poking around in things she shouldn’t have – and a potential murder, things start to heat up. Jax tries to keep Evie out of trouble, but she has her own way of dealing with things and doesn’t think she needs his help. He wants to do things the proper way while Evie and the others don’t always take the legal approach. Add to that the fact that his reclusive sister Ariel starts to help his best friend to uncover a major scamming network run by some seriously unscrupulous people – while slightly coming out of her shell – and he has his work cut out for him making sure everyone is safe and the bad guys get their come-uppance. With a huge cast of crazy but wonderful characters, this is a fabulous story that kept me turning the pages. I can’t wait for the next book in the series to see what will happen next!

June What We're Reading!

Mary Jo here…

…with the Wenches' ever popular "What we're reading" blog.  Dig out your credit cards, we're going for a joy ride!

I've always known that Jennifer Ashley is a very talented, prolific author who writes historical romances, paranormals, and historical mysteries, but I hadn't found her Leonidas the Gladiator series, written under her Ashley Gardner pseudonym.  So far there are only two novels and a novella, but more are coming.  The first book is Blood of a Gladiator.

Leonidas is the premier gladiator in Rome, a rock star fighter who is recognized in the streets, but he has reached the point where he can't face any more killing.  That is the moment when he receives his freedom from slavery and can finally quit being a gladiator and make his own life--if he can figure out how.

He has no financial resources, but an unknown benefactor gives him a modest apartment and a slave of his own: Cassia, who is a scribe.  Illiterate Leonidas doesn't know what to do with  a slave who does doesn't cook or do housework, but she can help him find jobs and is very good at negotiating contracts and making sure they get paid. 

Initially Cassia is afraid of him, but he's a good guy and doesn't ravish her and gradually they develop a bond of trust.  And have to deal with unexpected murders.  Ashley Gardner creates a wonderful sense of place and what it would be like to live in Rome during the reign of Nero.  But the best part is the characters and their slowing developing relationship. 

 

What We Read in May

Anne here, and it's that time again, where we share the books we've read and enjoyed in the last month. Brace your credit cards . . . 

We start with Christina:
My favourite read this month was Sue Moorcroft’s latest novel Summer at the French Café.  This story is an absolute delight and exactly what I needed right now to sweep me away from real life! It’s a wonderful tale of learning to trust, the importance of being open and honest with everyone, and the healing power of love. The reader can’t help but empathise with the hard-working heroine Kat from the start. She’s independent and capable, but with a positive outlook on life, and she never complains even when things go decidedly pear-shaped. A child of divorced parents, she has lots of emotional baggage, but for the most part, she manages to ignore it. Then the hero Noah arrives on the scene and he seems almost too good to be true. He has his own problems to contend with, but instead of charging in like a bull in a china shop, he stops to consider the best way of solving them. I fell head over heels in love with him – how can you not love a man as determined as he is to do the right thing for his very sensitive 8-year old daughter, while at the same time being the perfect boyfriend? Kat has to decide whether she dares to take a chance and believe that he is every bit as great as he seems, and I was rooting for this couple all the way. This is definitely the perfect summer story!  (If the links above don't work for you, try this one.)

I also very much enjoyed Under One Roof, a novella by Ali Hazelwood which she calls “STEMist”. The heroine Mara is an environmental engineer and extremely brilliant at what she does, but she’s fighting against sexism and prejudice in her workplace. She’s just been left a half share in a house by her former mentor, but she hadn’t reckoned with having to share it with the woman’s nephew Liam. At first glance he is everything she hates – a corporate lawyer working for a company that has no regard for the environment whatsoever. They try to co-exist as house owners, but drive each other nuts. But everything is not as it seems, and slowly but surely they begin to find common ground. I absolutely loved the chemistry between these two and watching the romance develop. This is only the first novella in a series of three and I can’t wait for the other two!

Pat Rice tells us about: SEVEN DAYS OF US by Francesca Hornak.

The basic story here is that Olivia Birch has been treating some kind of plague in Africa and when she comes home for Christmas, she has to quarantine for a week. So her family quarantines with her in their stately old, crumbling manor in Norfolk. Olivia is the no-nonsense doctor out to save the world. Andrew, her father, was a journalist who once thought he could save the world. Now he’s a food critic. Emma, his wife, gave up her dreams to be a mother and has buried herself in tradition. Phoebe is the younger sister with no purpose other than getting married. Into this suffocating atmosphere drops Jesse, an American son fathered by Andrew while he was in a war zone. He had been given up for adoption and is now searching for his birth parents. Nuclear explosion ensues.

Make no mistake about it, this is a deliberately literary novel, so you won’t get your fun and games happy ending, but the writing is positively compelling. The reader is dragged into their mixed-up lives and really needs to know how all these good, but confused, people fix themselves or each other. We root them on as they grope about in their darkness. I can promise that they find a new kind of light at the end of their week of togetherness, so it’s well worth diving into for your escapism addiction.

What We're Reading

Christina here with a roundup of what the Wenches have been reading this month. As usual, it’s a wonderful mixture and I hope you will find something to your taste.

We start with Patricia who recommends Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank:-

I love women’s fiction that veers off the standard path, and Frank always accomplishes that. Holly Jensen is a 30-year-old substitute teacher and beekeeper still living with her mama in coastal SC. She’s seriously in love with the little boys next door and thinks their widowed father is mighty fine as well, even if he is ten years older and a fancy college professor with a Harvard degree. But Holly really only talks to her bees. She does everything for everyone and thinks that ought to be enough, until it isn’t. Her married sister comes home to announce her wealthy husband is a transvestite who wants to star in Las Vegas reviews. The boys’ father develops a serious case of lust for someone else. Little by little, Holly’s passive little life falls apart and has to be put back together in a completely new picture with a fascinating set of family and friends who give her the confidence to finally speak her mind. And what a mind it is!

I’m not fond of Frank’s simple voice but the story is worth wading through the plain speaking and simple sentences.

What We're Reading

Pat here with the Word Wenches monthly reads!

My contribution is Lizzie and Dante by Mary Bly (Eloisa James)

I imagine most of you recognize Eloisa James as a wonderful historical romance writer. This first contemporary under her real name is a romance, but also heartbreakingly uplifting, original women’s fiction. Lizzie is a Shakespeare professor with cancer who agrees to take an all-expenses paid trip to Elba with her gay best friend, a horror writer, and his still-in-the-closet famous superhero actor lover. I suppose everyone in the book needs to be rich and famous and talented to make up for the fact that the protagonist is dying. She is preparing for death throughout the story. What she isn’t prepared for is the rich life  she discovers dealing with her friend’s frustration, a twelve-year-old looking for a mother, a brash breast cancer survivor, and the man of Lizzie’s dreams, a brilliant cook who creates food she hates but who pours his joy into living. As this family of friends forms around her, Lizzie is faced with actual life-and-death decisions. And this is still the most romantic, tear-jerking, lovely story you may have ever read.

Coffee Table Books

Christina here. During the Christmas holidays I’ve had a chance to relax a bit and do things I don’t normally have time for. One of them is to leaf through some of the many coffee table books I own – and I have to admit there are rather a lot of them!

I’m not sure why I have so many. They’re not exactly necessary and yet seem to accrue of their own accord. Many of them are from exhibitions I’ve attended, especially those of my favourite artists, while others are on subjects close to my heart. I’m never quite sure why I buy them as I don’t usually read them – I’ll only flick through the pages to look at the photos. Admittedly, most of them do have gorgeous pictures!

Today I thought I’d tell you about a few of the ones I love best, the ones I keep returning to and never tire of looking at, and why. Then I’d love for you to tell me about yours! (Even if that means my collection grows larger as you tempt me …)

My absolute favourite is The Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball by Sophia Murphy. On 2^nd July 1897 the then Duchess of Devonshire held a fancy dress ball in her London mansion in Piccadilly, Devonshire House. It was a glittering occasion and a very special ball, but what made it unique is that the duchess had all her guests photographed as they arrived and then had the pictures put into a privately printed album for herself. The costumes are out of this world, and some of them must have cost an absolute fortune. Some of the guests look ridiculous, others uncomfortable, and one can only wonder how they managed to dance all night in their finery. For me, the guest that stood out the most was the Duchess of Portland who was so beautiful, she would have looked regal in a sack. I can readily imagine her as the heroine of a romantic novel as she must have had suitors in droves!

WWR—What We've Read in November

Anne here, and this month we have a bumper crop of recommended reads for you, from YA to timeslip, to Christmas treats, romance, literary fiction, crime and more.

We'll start with Christina: This month I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of books recommended by fellow Wenches. First and foremost, The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan which was exactly as wonderful as I had hoped. The fact that it is set in snowy Lapland in the north of Sweden was just the icing on the cake! I now long to go there to take sleigh rides through the forests and see the aurora borealis in all its glory.

Then there was Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was very happy to find that it was the first in a series penned by different authors, all connected through the fictional US college Moo U in Vermont. The second book in the series, Blindsided by Victoria Denault, was just brilliant! As well as keeping up with hockey practice and his studies, hockey star Tate Adler is trying to save his family’s farm by doing an illicit side job. Their neighbours the Todds have their own problems. They are sworn enemies so when fellow student Maggie Todd finds out what Tate is doing, she doesn’t hesitate to blackmail him. But whenever they meet, sparks fly and their chemistry is off the charts. Can they risk a relationship or will the feud remain forever? This love story was just explosive and I loved every minute of it. I’m now reading my way through the rest of the series.

A friend also recommended a brilliant YA series by L.J. Shen, starting with Pretty Reckless. It’s raw and angsty with a lot of misunderstandings, but I’m thoroughly enjoying these stories too. Penn Scully is from the wrong end of town with a drug addict mother and a deadbeat step-father, while Daria Followhill is a rich and spoiled princess. He believes she took away the only thing he ever loved and is out for revenge. When Penn’s mother dies, Daria’s parents decide to take him in as a foster son and he can set his plans in motion. As for Daria, she’s tired of always coming second in her mother’s eyes and wants to lash out at everyone and everything. But things don’t go to plan for either of them …

Next comes Pat, who says: If you’re in a literary mood, Anne Tyler is always a good bet.

In REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, Micah Mortimer, is a 40-something computer tech. He’s the youngest of a large, messy family, and in consequence, he’s a tad obsessive about keeping his personal life contained, so contained that he has a bad habit of shutting doors on the world. The story follows Micah through a series of events that opens his eyes to what he’s been missing all his life. There’s no violence, no sex, just a lovely journey of discovery told by a fabulously talented writer. It’s wonderful to settle in for the evening in safe hands—I didn’t skim a single page!  

What We're Reading in October

Nicola here with our monthly blog post on What We Are Reading. As usual, there's a wonderful range of intriguing books—so dive in for some great recommendations and be sure to tell us what YOU have been reading too!

Christina: This month I’ve read my way through Sarina Bowen’s True North series, starting with Bittersweet. I wasn’t sure if I’d like these stories as much as the ice hockey ones (Brooklyn Bruisers), but I did and once I’d started, I couldn’t stop until I had devoured them all. Bittersweet is the story of Griffin Shipley, a farmer and cider brewer who has had to step into his father’s shoes far too early and shoulder the responsibility for the family, thereby giving up some of his dreams. He feels the strain and the last thing he has time for is dating, but then an old flame turns up unexpectedly and suddenly he’s not as tired as he thought … It was great seeing this gruff and grumpy man being tamed by the right woman – a wonderful start to the series. But my favourite of all is Speakeasy, because the hero, Alec Rossi, is simply irresistible! He’s a total player, but with a fabulous sense of humour and he’s way smarter than he gives himself credit for. I fell in love with him right from the first page and wanted him to prove the doubters wrong!

Another story I really enjoyed this month was Jenni Keer’s Hawthorn Place, a timeslip story with magical elements. It is based on two amazing Arts & Crafts houses (from the late 1800s), mysteriously designed and built by the same architect, and the heroine Molly in the present visits them both. To begin with, she is naïve, spoiled and entitled, but she is also endearing and the reader can’t help but like her. Bewildered by her parents’ sudden tough love, we watch her grow in maturity and blossom as she gains some valuable insights and starts to turn her life around. Her adventures throughout a summer spent with her grandfather in Dorset were a joy to read about. Then there is 19^th century architect Percy, whose unrequited love seems hopeless, even though the reader wants nothing more than for him to be happy. Gentle humour abounds, and there is a simmering love story in the present, as well as an all-consuming one in the past. Both were equally riveting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them – a lovely dual time story.

Finally, I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Sue Moorcroft’s new book, Under the Mistletoe. If you’re in the mood for a perfect Christmas story, this is it! I loved this book from the first page to the last, and stayed up way too late to finish it. Laurel, the heroine, has returned to the village where she grew up in order to help her sister, who suffers from agoraphobia. It’s the last place she wants to be as she has bad memories from an incident that happened there when she was a teenager. Making things worse, she immediately comes face to face with some people from the past who she’d rather not see again. But meeting up with old flame Grady awakens feelings she thought long forgotten, and he’s such a wonderful hero – how could she resist him? I definitely couldn’t! I was rooting for this couple all the way through and hoping they could find a resolution to their problems. I really wanted Laurel to forgive and forget, because Grady didn’t deserve to suffer for something he didn’t do. This is a truly festive read, complete with mistletoe, snow and Christmas cheer!

Pat here: I recently dived into the ARC for Andrea's MURDER AT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS for the next episode in her wonderful historical mystery series featuring Wrexford and Sloane, the earl and the satirical artist. In this one, the intrepid pair set out to find who murdered a scientist who had found a cure for malaria—and for the plant that might save millions. And they really need to solve this case before their wedding! The familiar cast of characters grows in depth and interest and are just as fascinating as the mystery. Historical mystery fans--and anyone who just likes a great story, highly recommended!

And then for a lovely departure from history:  Rosaline Palmer takes the Cake by Alexis Hall is hilarious, angsty women’s fiction about a single mother who expected to become a doctor. Instead, she ends up on a British bake show in hopes of winning enough to fix her alien boiler. Warning: tons of the funniest swearing I’ve ever read, a bit of graphic sex, an almost-forced sex scene, and truly terrific depictions of not-always-heterosexual perspectives. If this all sounds like a contradiction in terms, that’s because this book is. It has romance but it’s not a romance. It has amazing mother/daughter scenes while being totally about a fascinating collection of bake show contestants. Let’s just call this book original and funny and if you want to get out of your rut, give it a try.

Susan writes: The other day I finished 500 Miles from You by Jenny Colgan, and loved it. She is a favorite among the Wenches, though this is the first of her books that I've read. When Lissa, a nurse based in London, witnesses a shocking accident and is devastated by the experience, she is assigned to a temporary post far away from the madding crowd to give her a chance to recuperate mentally and chill a little. The assignment sends her to the Scottish Highlands to substitute for another nurse, a former Army medic who will temporarily take her place in London until they swap jobs again. Cormac, a native Highlander, is not keen on taking on duties in London, which seems a foreign and unappealing place to him. The swap has both Lissa and Cormac experiencing some culture shock. The city girl is not used to the peace and quiet of the Highlands or the whimsical laid-back attitude of the locals, and the country guy is at odds with the pace and demands of city life, and for both, the medical duties are very different as well. Jenny Colgan sets up a unique romance that grows slowly between two people who are only texting and emailing - an interesting story challenge - and the progression is fascinating, as they begin to rely on and care about one another. When they finally meet, it's unexpected and deliciously romantic, and I adored it. This is a comedy of errors with wonderful characters, humor, and real depth - and a nice plus is that it incorporates one of my favorite Scottish rock songs, the Proclaimers' "And I Would Walk (500 Miles)." Colgan writes with a light hand and yet with true wisdom and a deft touch that is at times poignant, meaningful, touching, yet without ooky sentimentality. Just lovely, and I will be glomming her other books soon. No wonder she's a Wench favorite! 

Nicola: It’s no secret that we Wenches are big fans of Sarah Morgan and I grabbed her latest book The Christmas Escape as soon as I could get my hands on it. As with all Sarah’s books, it’s a wonderful multi-generational story full of reflections on friendship and relationships, with some gorgeous Christmas sparkle! Christy Sullivan had planned the perfect Christmas on a dream trip to Lapland with her family and her best friend Alix. Then her marriage to Seb is plunged into crisis and she has to ask Alix, and Seb’s oldest friend Zac, to take her daughter Holly on the trip, aiming for them all to meet up to celebrate Christmas Day together.

Alix is a career woman who is inexperienced with children and terrified that she’ll not be up to the task of taking care of Holly. Plus she has history with Zac that she’d rather not remember. The spiky relationship between the two of them is funny and sexy whilst the barriers that Christy and Seb have to overcome to find honesty between them are deftly handled and thought-provoking. It’s a happy feel-good read with depth and poignancy and it’s also so, so Christmassy! I wanted to run away to Lapland for Christmas and ever after!

Andrea here:

I was lucky enough to snag two ARCs this past month and am delighted to give a big shout-out to both! First of all, our own Mary Jo has a new Rogues Redeemed book, which is always cause for celebration. Once A Laird (which just released!) features the enigmatic Kai Ramsay, who has been an intriguing presence earlier in the series. He's been summoned home to the remote Thorsay Islands in Scotland after years of absence. The old laird is dying, and Kai must face his duty of taking over the responsibilities of caring for the islands and his people . . . and who better to teach him than the fiery Signe Matheson, who has been handling the demands in his absence. Needless to say, sparks fly when the old acquaintances meet and need to work together despite their complicated past. What I love about Mary Jo’s books is that her characters are so wonderfully real and “mature”—they have suffered disappointments and set-backs, so they are bruised, but also strong, having gained wisdom and resilience. They think beyond their own needs to make honorable and hard decisions . . .which is why it is always such a joy to watch them slowly come to discover love and fulfillment with the perfect partner. Complementing the engaging characters, the setting of the starkly beautiful islands is magical . . . and who can resist a one-eyed cat named Odin!

The Regency-era setting continues in Stephanie Barron’s latest book in her delightful mystery series starring Jane Austen as the sleuth. In Jane and the Year Without A Summer, we find a mature Jane now beginning to suffer from fragile heath—which she thinks is caused by the travails engulfing her family. With money short, and the future uncertain, she decides to take her apothecary’s advice and splurge on a visit to the spa in Cheltenham with her sister Cassandra in order to take the waters. The weather is wretched—Britain is suffering from a horribly cold and wet summer—and so they find themselves much confined to their lodging house . . .where the presence of a beautiful invalid and her quiet companion soon draw Jane into the middle of a dark mystery. The invalid turns out to be a runway wife, and when her husband appears demanding to take her back home, a number of questions arise, complicated by the intentions of the other guests at the lodging house. I love this series, as Barron always creates such a wonderful ambiance, a twisty mystery and a lovely imagining of Jane, based on meticulous research. It’s a slightly bittersweet story as we see Jane struggle with her health, but it’s a wonderful read— and it has poignant romantic element that mirrors the manuscript that Jane is currently writing.I highly recommend it!

From Mary Jo: I've had a bunch of reading fails this month, and the books I like most were rereads of old favorites. But I found one new winner:

Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen. Sarina Bowen is popular with the Wenches, and this new release was great fun. It's set at Moo U, which I assume is Bowen's version of the University of Vermont.  Naturally, the hero is a hot hockey player. <G>

The heroine, Abbi, is another student who works long hours as a slinger of burgers and chicken wings to pay for her cold, tiny apartment.   She particularly likes it when the hockey team comes in after practice or a game because they're fun, they tip well, and she has a quiet crush one of the players, the handsome and charming Weston Griggs.

Abbi doesn't want to go home for Thanksgiving for a good reason, so when she sees an anonymous posting on a bulletin board:

Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will talk hockey with your dad. I will bring your mother flowers. I will be polite, and wear a nicely ironed shirt…

When she finds out it's posted by Weston, she makes a pitch and he chooses her.  Of course he recognizes her from the restaurant, they get along find, and he is just the buffer/fake boyfriend she needs for Thanksgiving.

It turns out that Weston has good reasons for not wanting to go to his home for Christmas, so he enlists Abbi to go as his fake girlfriend….  As I said, the book is lots of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Anne here, and this month I have three recommendations for you. The first is The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martin. August 1939 and war is hanging over England. Orphaned Grace Bennett comes to London with her friend Viv, hoping for a job in Harrods. Instead she gets one in a messy, cluttered and dusty bookshop in the heart of the city. Grace is no reader, but she's a good worker and has a gift for organization and sales and soon the bookshop is attracting more customers. She meets an attractive man, but before their first date can happen, he's called up. He gives her his favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo, and that eventually starts Grace reading.

The war finally hits London, in horrific nightly bombing raids, and one night Grace starts reading her current book aloud to the others sheltering in an underground station. And it becomes a regular thing.

I won't tell you any more, except to say it's a wonderful story. It's very evocative of what it must have been like for people stuck in London during the Blitz, and while it doesn't shy away from the terrors of war, it's also heartwarming and ends on a positive note. As well, it's an ode to the power of good books. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

As regular readers will know, I'm a fan of Trisha Ashley's books, especially her Christmas ones, and her latest book, One More Christmas at the Castle is a worthy addition to the collection.

Elderly widow Sabine is dying, and she wants one last Christmas in Mitras Castle, her grand family home — the kind of Christmas she loved as a child. To this end she invites the people who most matter to her for Christmas and hires Dido Jones and her business partner Henry, who run a brilliant service called Heavenly Houseparties to organize and cater the whole event.

It's classic Trisha Ashley with an intriguing collection of characters, a number of family and other secrets lurking beneath the surface, a lovely dose of romance, and all the fun of Christmas, including her trademark lashings of English comfort food. Most enjoyable, and I've already read it twice.

Lastly, if any of you have been reading the JD Kirk Scottish crime series I've regularly recommended, I bought and read the first in his new series — Northwind — a spinoff that stars disgraced former Detective Superintendent Bob Hoon. I wasn't sure I'd like it — in the original series Bob Hoon distinguishes himself as foul-mouthed, infuriating and not particularly likable. However in recent books he showed there was more to him than that. To quote from the amazon blurb: "He may be a disgraced ex-copper, a barely-functioning alcoholic, and a borderline psychopath, but Bob Hoon still believes in justice."

Anyway to cut a long story short, it's funny outrageous and dramatic, and if you've hesitated about picking up the Hoon book, don't — I loved it.

Now it's over to you! What are your reading recommendations this month? Please share!

 

What We Are Reading—The September Edition!

Andrea here, putting together our monthly feature on What We Are Reading. As usual, there's a wonderful range of intriguing books—so sharpen your pencil and start making a list! And be sure to tell us what YOU have been reading!

Anne: This month I'm recommending a new YA author and some re-reads — one a contemporary rock band series and the other historicals set in Europe in the 1930's and onwards.

The new YA author was recommended to me by a friend.  Sarah Dessen's Just Listen  was the first one I started with. It's about a young woman in her last years of high school. Annabel's life seems pretty perfect, until something devastating happens. She tries to deal with it by blocking it out and withdrawing, avoiding all confrontation. But when school starts up again after summer, her problems all come crashing back. She's lost all her friends and all her confidence. An unlikely friendship with another loner, Owen, shows her the way back. He's a music buff in an anger management program, and he helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. 
I loved this book and went on to read three more of Sarah Dessen's books. When YA books are this well written, they're not just for young adults.

The rock band reread came about from a wench discussion with Christina, when we were talking about our love of Kylie Scott's rock band series, and I suggested she read Karina Bliss. Rise is about Zander, the charismatic, outrageous singer and leader of the incredibly successful rock band Rage. After the old band split up, he's started the band again with new members, taking huge risks to rebuild their popularity in a Resurrection Tour. 
At the same time, he's invited Elizabeth, a prestigious and award-winning academic writer to write his biography — a controversial move for them both. But Zander is hiding secrets, and one that could explode all his efforts to rebuild his band and reputation. 
I read this (and the others in the series) seven years ago and I loved them all over again.

August What We're Reading

Collected by Mary Jo

Christina Courtenay Contributes:

Following a Wench recommendation, I have spent this month immersed in the world of the Brooklyn Bruisers, a series by Sarina Bowen. Starting with Rookie Move, it follows the members of a new ice hockey team based in Brooklyn, each of whom falls in love in spectacular fashion. As a huge fan of ice hockey, I’ve really enjoyed this series and am now working my way through various spin-offs as well. I’ll probably also read all the other books by this author as soon as I can.

Rookie Move features Leo, a player who has spent the last six years trying to succeed in the NHL and also get over the girl who broke his heart in high school. Unfortunately for him, when he’s taken on by the Bruisers he finds that the team’s publicist is his former girlfriend Georgia, and the coach is her father, who hates him with a vengeance. As for Georgia, she had suffered her own trauma and the last thing she wants is to work with Leo. Keeping their relationship strictly professional is never going to be easy …

 

Cat Tales

Nala's World

by Mary Jo

Today's blog was inspired by a comment Mary M. made in the June "What We're Reading" blog, always a great source of inspiration and credit card charges.  She specifically directed me toward the book Nala's World: One Man, His Rescue Cat, and a Bike Ride Around the Globe, by Dean Nicholson.  (Mary M., you've earned a book from me for inspiring a blog. Post in the comments and we'll talk about what you'd like.)

Dean was a big hairy tattooed laborer in Dunbar, Scotland, by whose own admission has spent much of his 20s drinking beer and smoking pot. With 30 approaching, he decided that he wanted to bicycle around the world: "take to the road to find his road."

He set off in September 2018 with a pal.  They split soon since they had different interests and Dean wanted the wild open spaces.  A couple of months later he was cycling through Montenegro when he heard a plaintive meowing behind him. He stopped and found that he was being pursued by a skinny tabby cat who desperately wanted to make friends.  Being a big old softy, he picked her up, fed her some pesto which she liked, and put her in his bicycle's carrier because he couldn't leave her in such a barren.

 

Ask A Wench - One Special Book

Nicola here, introducing the July Ask A Wench. This month we’re talking about a book that is special to each of us, whether it’s something that was recommended to us, or a book that was given to us a child, or something we came across on our own that sparked a new reading interest. The results are fascinating and varied, funny and poignant, and we hope you will enjoy them and contribute a special book of your own to the discussion! As you might imagine, choosing just one book was a real challenge to such a bunch of avid readers and the horrified response was "One book only?" We hope you don't find the task as hard as we did but we think you just might...

Mary Jo writes:

Georgette Heyer, the gateway drug

When Regency addicts gather, the topic of "My First Heyer!" often comes up. I found my first Heyer when I was in college and browsing for cheap books in the bargain basement of the Economy Bookstore in downtown Syracuse, NY.  I didn't know it was illegal to sell stripped books, but as a poor student, five cent books were appealing and they had a lot by this Heyer person.

 After much perusing, I walked out with Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle, which looked like an interesting parody of the Gothic romances. 

 And that day, I changed my future, because that led me to fall in love with Regency romances.  Heyer's voice and wit and characterizations and plotting appealed to me in a way that the historical romances of the day didn't. I read and reread my favorites, and in the process developed something of a Regency voice myself.

Which is why years later, when I got my first computer and learned how to use the word processing program and decided to find if I could write the stories that were always jumbling in my head, I started writing the book that became The Diabolical Baron. 

 By sheer chance, I'd found the genre niche where I fit during a time when the romance genre was expanding and editors were looking for new voices. And in the process, I found a career as a writer that had once been only the vaguest of dreams.

 I've written a whole lot of books since then, including fantasy, Georgian, Victorian, contemporaries, fantasy, and Regency fantasy YA.  But by and large, I've stayed true to Regencies because it's such a great period to work in.

 And it all started with a five cent stripped novel by Georgette Heyer…

 Andrea:

I was a senior in high school, and I don’t remember how the topic came up, but my Mother and I began discussing books. Now, my mother was an avid reader, but her tastes ran to The New Yorker and non-fiction books. She didn’t read a lot of novels. However, she had once told me that she polished her English when she first came to this country (she was from Switzerland and came to NYC to attend Pratt Institute, an art college) by going to the public library and asking the librarian to give her some of the classic works in English literature. So, when I started talking about books we were reading in English class and what I was really enjoying, she asked in an offhand sort of way what I thought of Pride and Prejudice.

I paused for a moment and said, “Umm, I’ve never read that." Her eyebrows shot up in shock. “You’ve never read Austen?” (I was ashamed to say I hadn’t.) “You must!” she intoned, in a tone that was more of an order than a suggestion. “Get it tomorrow at the library. I think you’ll like it.”

Well, I did . . . and I did (like it, that is—or rather, loved it.)  Of course I immediately ran out and read all the others, and fell in love with the Regency romance. it took me a little longer to discover Heyer, and then the Signet Regencies, so it was P&P that ultimately changed my life.  That I was drawn into writing by the classc Regency romance tropes is all because of Austen. And as footnote, our local library has a well-known summer sale of used books (it’s huge, and people come from all around New England to browse through the huge tents set up on the lawns) and next time it came around, my Mother bought me a lovely multi- volume set from the 1920s of Austen’s novels. I still have it, and it's one of my special book treasures.

Christina:

I get very fed up/bored/annoyed with people who denigrate romantic fiction, as if it’s some kind of lesser type of reading material, so I retaliate by being biased against so called literary fiction. That means I don’t normally buy Booker Prize winners or anything recommended by the posh literary reviewers in papers like the Sunday Times. However, a friend once gave me Possession by A S Byatt (which had just won the Booker Prize) and told me I had to read it. I said thank you, of course, without actually having any intention to do so, but eventually I figured I’d better in case my friend asked me what I thought of it. And OMG, I was completely blown away! Yes, it was very literary, with incredible prose and long Victorian style poems, but the actual story (or stories plural as it’s a dual timeline novel) were fantastic. I was totally spellbound and later watched the film of the same name as well, which I thought was a wonderful adaptation of the book. So I guess this taught me to be less judgemental in my choice of reading material and that you never know where your next great read is going to come from. I would recommend Possession to anyone who wants a truly epic love story. Here is a photo of my copy - I bought myself the first edition as a treat.

Anne:

This is such a hard question — I have so many special books that I simply can't make up my mind. But if I narrowed it down to childhood beloved books, I'd have to say The House at Pooh Corner and Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne, which I knew chunks of by heart, well before I could even read. My parents and older siblings used to read the stories aloud, and it taught me that books could make me laugh. Those books are full of wonderful humor and gentle wisdom. I've never grown out of reading them — they speak to adults as well as children.

Many years later, when I was teaching adults how to read, I remembered the lesson of those AA Milne books — that reading could be fun. So much of the curriculum was about serious practical reading and writing, and it never occurred to my adult students that books and reading could be anything other than work. So I did my best to find things to make them laugh, or take their breath away, so that reading was not just something hard and boring they had to do, but was something that could also be a pleasure. Thank you AA Milne, and Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore and Wol and all the rest of the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood. And thank you to my family who read those stories aloud, over and over.

Pat here:

Since I’m normally surrounded by less experienced readers, I spend more time recommending books than having people mentioning them to me. Although, I once had an elderly neighbor recommend the Pollyanna books. She brought me a stack of them when I was twelve. By that time, I was reading the likes of ATLAS SHRUGGED, and Pollyanna was more than a wee bit twee for cynical me. But I was desperate for reading material back then and would read cereal boxes if handed one.

 My one great story recommendation—which was great at the time and wouldn’t be so great now—was way back in the late 70s. I was a young mother, a fan of literary and historical fiction, with a limited book budget. The library generally provided what I needed, but I liked having a paperback when we traveled. So as I stared at the array of colorful covers at our local Kmart, a little blue-haired old lady pointed at one historical, but slightly spicy cover, and whispered, “Get this one. It’s really good.” So I bought it. That book was the FLAME AND THE FLOWER.

 I had never read anything other than classic literary romance before, so I was captivated—and a bit wide-eyed at the graphic scenes. I went on from there to grab every historical romance I could find, learned which ones I liked, and when I couldn’t find them—started writing them for myself. There was no turning back after that. So there was one recommendation that made a difference!

(and the image is of that original copy that set my career in motion!)

Susan writes:

I'll pick just one among the many books that I have found unforgettable, books that have had a profound impact on me as a person and as a writer -- I could go way back to Pippi Longstocking (hey, I was six, that book turned my life around!) or Jane Eyre (in high school, I read it over and over, literally would close it and start it again). Those and more are on a special keeper shelf that I'll tote around with me until I'm, well, not around anymore. Today I'll choose a more recent read from that shelf: Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers was a profound reading experience for me. It is the story of four women among the 900 Jews on Masada just before the Romans arrived to place them under siege. The power of the story, the characters, the writing, spoke deeply to me--I've rarely been so completely immersed in a novel. The story is vibrant, gritty, whole cloth, the characters walking that landscape so strong and real that the book displaced the world around me. Part of its impact for me is that it not only pulled me in, but demanded something of me, the little reader in her safe little world -- I came to love these characters, cared about them, felt dread and hope for them. Hoffman weaves such a tight net of reality with language, image, and historical authenticity that I was in awe--and more than that, I realized the story was asking courage of me. The Dovekeepers is a powerful reading experience and I found it unforgettable. I will one day draw up my courage again and give it another read. It will be worth it. 

 

Nicola: I've mentioned before that my grandmother had a big collection of romance books hidden away at the back of the wardrobe in her spare room which I discovered at about the age of eleven. One of the books on the shelf was Madam, Will You Talk, by Mary Stewart. I'd already discovered the Regency genre via Nanna's collection of Georgette Heyer books and now it was the turn of Romantic suspense. As you might imagine, this opened up a whole new world for me. Glamorous and exciting stories with danger and adventure, set in places like the South of France, Corfu and Greece that were impossibly exotic to me! It was amazing! I was transported all over the world through my reading, and the books were so romantic too!

I was lucky enough to find almost all Mary Stewart's books in my local library and grabbed them one after another, detouring from romantic suspense into the Arthurian world of The Crystal Cave and its sequels, which also enchanted me. Eventually I tracked down every one of Mary Stewart's books and created my own collection, but one evaded me - the novella The Wind off the Small Isles which had been published in the UK only in 1968 and never re-published. I looked for that book in every secondhand shop I came across which in the days before the internet and online shopping was a life's work! Eventually I tracked it down to the famous Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland, and couldn't believe it! I snapped it up and here it is. Inside it's inscribed "To Pat, with love and best wishes, Feb 1969, from Eve and James." I hope Pat enjoyed as much as I still do!

So now it's over to you - please share with us the one special book that means a lot to you and tell us how it came into your life!

What We're Reading--June 2021

Pat here: I think this is our favorite post every month. The wenches all madly grab up each other's recommendations, then eagerly await what our readers are loving. Good thing for credit cards!

This month I'm recommending INTERVIEW WITH A DEAD EDITOR (Book#1 in the Lucky Lexie mysteries.) I’ve always enjoyed Shanna Swendson’s books, and I was delighted to realize she was writing mysteries now.

Lexie had just been laid off from her reporter’s job when she surprisingly gets a call for an interview for an assistant editorship in the most perfect small town in Texas one could ever find. Sure, half the town is descended from a freak show that got side-railed there a century ago. And unfortunately, the editor who was supposed to interview her is dead upon arrival. But the food is great. The ghosts—well, the original newspaper owner from the 1930s smokes too much. When a snowstorm and a mysterious car ailment prevent Lexie from turning around and leaving, she gets caught up in solving the former editor’s murder, of course. Shanna is a great writer with a sense of humor, and even though I figured out the killer early on, it’s a fun tale, and I’ll be back for more.

WWR — What We're Reading in May

Anne here, bringing you the latest reading recommendations from the wenches. There's a fair bit of crime — some cozy, some police procedural, some medieval mysteries, there's time slip and WW2, there's a delightful word exploration book, and there's even some romance! 

Pat recommends THIEF OF SOULS  by Brian Klingborg She says: I enjoy the occasional police procedural if the writing is strong and there’s a good hook. The author kept me reading,  and the setting was an unusual hook—a small town in northern China. The protagonist, Lu Fei, is a middle-aged (although they keep calling him young, he’s forty) inspector on the police force, never married, who drinks too much, and is good at martial arts. Okay, raise your hand if you’ve read that before. <G> But it all works. Young women are being murdered, their organs removed, then sewed up again. The author takes us through the workings of the police department, all the petty government hang-ups, the interdepartmental fighting, all the things we normally see in the usual Brit and American police stories, only with a Chinese twist. I had to look up the author to see how he knew these details, and he’s apparently lived in China but isn’t Chinese. Still, it felt authentic.

Inspector Lu has never married because he wants to marry for love. He quotes Confucius but he’s an independent thinker and an honest cop. You really have to like him because he tries so hard. And better yet, the author manages to keep the killer a secret almost to the point that Lu works it out. So we get to feel smart and not too annoyed with our hero when it takes him a few pages more. If you enjoy  a good police procedural and reading about China, you might want to check this out.

Andrea says: this month I seemed to be a WWII state mind, as I read two books set in the era. They were very different in style but I loved both them.

I’m a huge fan of Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network and The Huntress, and her latest novel, The Rose Code, is equally mesmerizing. It’s a heart-thumping dual timeline story set at Bletchley Park, the famous top secret British codebreaking enclave during the war, and several years after as the three heroines are forced to crack one last code . . .

It features three young women from completely different backgrounds and temperaments who find themselves thrown together as roommates after their skills at solving puzzles bring them to be part of the British efforts to crack the enemy codes—an effort that is keeping the country from defeat. Quinn gives readers a fascinating look inside Bletchley Park as she weaves a compelling tale of friendship, heartache, secrets and betrayals as each of the women struggle to define her dreams and deal with her own weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

A shocking betrayal breaks their friendships apart at the end of the war, only to have a coded message several years later force them to reluctantly come together again to catch a traitor. I couldn’t put it down!

What We Are Reading

Christina here with this month’s round-up of Wenchly book recommendations! The recent beautiful spring weather, and the fact that lockdown has been easing in many places, has meant that the Wenches have been able to go out and about a bit more, but we have still been doing quite a lot of reading. Below we have another eclectic selection for you – from fantasy to romcom to Shakespeare (well, sort of) and more – and we hope that you will join in as always with your own recommendations!

Anne:  Two very different books have hit the spot for me this month. The first is An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris, the first in her "Gunny Rose" series. Set in an alternative "America" where a combination of the 'flu plague of the early 20th century, the assassination of the US president, the escape from Imperial Russia by the Tsar and all his court, fleeing The Red Army, and general "wild west" style lawlessness in some parts of the country have resulted in the break up of the former USA and the formation of "new" countries or territories.

Lizbeth Rose is a 19 year old "gunny" – a brilliant sharp-shooter whose job it is to guard people and shipments from outlaws, would-be-slavers and thieves, and there are plenty of them. Add in a paranormal thread, where some of the Russian refugees (now running a territory called the Holy Russian Empire – California to the Canadian border) can perform magic, and you have a cracking good yarn.

There's quite a lot of shooting and killing, but isn't the kind of graphic violence I shrink from. Only baddies are killed. And Gunny Rose is a very appealing character – loyal, principled, and she's never failed a client – yet. And of course there's a handsome Russian wizard on a secret mission who keeps getting in her way. The first book in the series is called An Easy Death, which is what people traditionally wish gunnies when they head off on a mission. I've since read the other two in the series and can't wait for #4.

What We Are Reading!

From timeslips, Viking warriors and fantasy worlds to contemporary romance and historical mysteries, the Wenches have been reading up a storm this month. Check it out! (And don't forget to share your reading list with us!)

Pat: Now, for a completely different twist. . . A Murder In Time by Julie McElwain This is essentially an historical timeslip novel, with a murder mystery, a contemporary story arc, and a hint of romance. Who could ask for anything more? 

What We're Reading in January

by Mary Jo

Here is the monthly round up of books Word Wenches have enjoyed recently.  I hope you find some new reads you'd enjoy!

Pat Rice here:

Rainy Day Sisters by Kate Hewitt is women’s fiction of the philosophical, emotional sort, except a lot more original than most. There’s a couple of up-and-down romances to keep the stakes high, but the real focus is on the development of a relationship between half-sisters who barely know each other. The younger grew up in the US, the older in the UK, and their only common ground really is their fury at their narcissistic mother. I enjoyed watching their lives grow as their relationship grows. There were a lot of loose threads at the end, obviously leaving room for more stories in the series. This is a well-written, quieter novel you can sink into, enjoy getting to know the people of the small Cumbrian town, and watch the sisters open up and become stronger.

Why Shoot a Butler?

Christina here.  Why Shoot a Butler? is the title of one of Georgette Heyer’s country house mysteries/crime stories. It kind of makes it sound as though a butler isn’t even worth shooting, which is a bit odd! Or maybe that’s just the slant my mind put on it and it wasn’t what the author meant? It did make me think though …

I have just reread all Heyer’s mystery/crime books, and although most of them are ostensibly set during the 1930s (only the last one is after the war), the settings seemed to me almost identical to those of her Regency novels. They all take place either in stately homes or among people of the upper class. The characters are similar to her Regency ones as well – strong alpha males, sensible girls who triumph over the pretty but vapid ones, matrons with decided views on things, etc. And then there are the servants, particularly the butlers, whom I couldn’t help but notice even if the other characters don’t pay them much attention.

What We're Reading in December

Nicola here, welcoming you to the Word Wench "What We’re Reading" feature for December. It’s a bumper edition, including both Christmas-themed and other books, so jump right in and check out our choices, and let us know what you recommend this month!

Anne here, and as usual I've read quite a bit in the last month and have several recommendations. The first is The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Elderly artist, Julian Jessop is lonely and unhappy and, claiming that authenticity is the only possible solution for changing his life, he writes down how he feels in a small exercise book, and leaves it in a local cafe. The owner of the cafe finds it, and inspired by his words of wisdom, writes down her own secret dreams and fears. And leaves the book in a nearby park. And so it goes from person to person. Of course, all their paths begin to cross, and various stories begin to unfold. Quirky and fun -- I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

In crime, I’ve just finished the latest JD Kirk — A Snowball's Chance in Hell. This is  the 9th book in JD Kirk's excellent Scottish crime series. I've mentioned his books before. Crime, good characterization, humor, tension and a compelling mystery. I put his books on pre-order the minute they appear. They develop, so start with the first book in the series.

I'm also rereading E F Benson's "Lucia" novels, which I haven't read for years. They're delightful novels — very funny and gently satirical, about the intense rivalry, pretensions and ruthless one-upmanship (one upwomanship?) that takes place in the upper middle class society of a small English village in the 1930s. The series builds — for my money the pick of the crop is the middle book, Mapp and Lucia, where two strong-minded ladies battle it out for queen (or top of the pecking order) of their little society.

As the moment you can buy all six of the books in one collection for the ridiculous price of $2 (with a slight variation according to country.) But they're all good. If you have any doubts about whether you'd enjoy the books, read the first few pages of Mapp and Lucia (by clicking on the "look inside" feature on Amazon.)

What We Are Reading!

This month's What We Are Reading features a wonderful array of delights, including a lovely selection of traditional holiday stories, a Viking timeslip and thrilling real-life historical  adventures. Remember that books make marvelous presents—and be sure to treat yourself  . . . because Santa thinks we all deserve some comforts to end a very difficult year. So curl with a good book this holiday season and stay safe and well! Now on to the treats!

Pia: Last year I travelled to Sweden with my friend Sue Moorcroft because she wanted to do some background research for a Christmas story and I was very happy to show her around. We had great fun and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the resulting book – I wasn’t disappointed! Christmas Wishes is a wonderful festive tale, partly set in my native country and partly in a little English village. The heroine, Hannah, has been living and working in Sweden, where she has her own shop in Gamla Stan (the old town) in Stockholm. It’s not doing as well as she would like and things are not going great with her Swedish boyfriend either, but when she runs into her teenage crush, Swedish Nico Pettersson, her life begins to change. Nico has big problems of his own as a single father, with an ex-wife who is battling depression and drug dependency, and a tiny step-daughter who needs him as much as his biological daughter does. As his world unravels, he is forced to take some drastic measures in order to cope, and in addition he has a secret he doesn’t like to share with anyone either. I loved this story, and I was rooting for these two characters all the way. The snow, the Christmas cheer and the many festive customs and touches from both countries add loads of charm, as do the two little girls. Nico is the kind of hero you can’t help but fall in love with and I definitely did! The best Christmas story I’ve read in a long time!

To Catch a King by Charles Spencer is historical non-fiction at its best! Earl Spencer is a master at telling a story at the same time as imparting all the pertinent facts and that makes for a thrilling read. The tale of how the future King Charles II escaped his enemies after losing the battle of Worcester is so fantastic it could actually have made a great fictional story. On the run through ten of England’s counties for six weeks, Charles had to improvise and trust those who were firm royalists. His life was in constant danger and with a price of £1,000 on his head (an enormous sum at the time!), there were many people who wouldn’t have hesitated to turn him over to the authorities. Lord Wilmot, his constant companion, was a flamboyant man who ran many risks during those weeks, but seemed to be born under a lucky star. Charles himself was more circumspect and donned several different disguises, as well as suffering hardships such as walking for miles in shoes that chafed his feet raw. He proved to be resourceful, quick-thinking and incredibly courageous. This, as well as his innate charm to everyone he met, proved part of his salvation. Reading this tale, one can’t but cheer him on and rejoice as he finally set sail for France and safety. And there is huge satisfaction in hearing about the rewards he gave those who helped him, as well as his revenge on those who had sought to end his life. This is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys history and especially from the Stuart era.

Pat: For fans of satirical sf/f, Douglas Adams, and Neil Gaiman, Carpet Diem: Or How to Save The World by Accident by Justin Lee Anderson is a mad trip into an earthly world caught between heaven and hell. Simon Debovar hates people. He’s the ultimate introverted hermit. He doesn’t even have to put up with family because all of them, except his great-aunt and one cousin, were blown up at a family reunion. He inherited everything, including a rug that apparently heaven and hell have made a wager on. In Simon’s world, the devil is a female, represented by a female demon, and our heavenly father is a domineering, uptight male god, represented by a male angel. The carpet could very well be the end of the world, unless Simon and the mostly clueless and wildly irreverent crew he grudgingly collects can find a way to keep heaven and hell from winning it. I am on a violence avoidance kick and even though Simon and his crew are threatened with every conceivable kind of death and nearly killed over and over—no one ever dies, even the villain with his head off. Read it as a rollicking adventure. If there’s a moral to the story, I don’t want to know what it is.

My second report is on a novella meant for savoring, our own Anne Gracie's The Christmas Bride. I know you've heard about it from us before but I just wanted to pitch my praises. I love this novella. It has all the wonderful Gracie trademarks--a heroine in trouble, a hero who can help her but not himself, and lovely, lovely romance with the added fun of children, brides, and a duck. For extra reading pleasure, we also have a glimpse of the Chance sisters from a previous series and a great manor house Christmas holiday! It's just a perfect confection for a cozy evening by the fire (or for those down under, a day at the beach).

Andrea: I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of our own Christina Courtenay’s new Viking timeslip, The Runes of Destiny, which releases on December 10! (One of the many wonderful things about being a Wench is we often share our books with each other before the official release.) I just loved it—it’s a marvelous combination of a captivating love story and enthralling history. . . and had me staying up way too late as it that swept me along in a magical journey.

Linnea Berger, a specialist in ancient Norse languages, is taking refuge from the emotional trauma of a recent car accident by working at a summer archeological dig. Because she’s spooked by the idea of digging up bones, she’s sent to a deserted field with a metal detector, and discovers a magnificent silver brooch . . only prick her finger and pass out. When she awakes, she surrounded by a band of men in Viking dress—led by the hunky Hrafn, who promptly informs her that she is now his captive. Thinking they are Viking reenactors, she plays along for a bit . . . until it becomes shockingly clear that she’s somehow been transported to the ninth century.

Initial panics gives way to logic. The brooch must have brought her here, so perhaps it can take her back. The only problem is it belongs to Hrafn’s horrible half brother, and the only way to have a chance of getting her hands on it is to go along with their plan to take her with them on a long and perilous trading journey to the city we know as Constantinople—where Hrafn intends to sell her as a thrall.

The journey is absolutely riveting. Christina’s meticulous descriptions—the river journey through Russia, the trading towns, the details of everyday life and the dangers the party faces—really makes history. But even more compelling is how she develops a friendship between Linnea and Hrafn based on mutual respect for each other’s courage and moral principles, sentiments that soon develop into something way more complicated. And as they reach Constantinople, there are some very difficult decisions to face . . . Fix a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle into a comfy chair and escape into a thrilling and heartwarming adventure!

I also got the chance to read Anne's new Christmas novella, The Christmas Bride, and echo Pat's praises. It's absolutely delightful, with wonderfully engaging characters . . .and a little brother of the heroine who will steal your heart!

Nicola: This month I picked up The Rebel Heiress and the Knight by Melissa Oliver, which recently won the Romantic Novelists' Association Joan Hessayon Award for best debut novel. I'm partial to a bit of medieval romance and this story, set in the reign of King John, was a great combination of adventure and romance. Eleanor, the heroine, has been widowed after an abusive marriage and when the King decrees she should marry Hugh de Villiers she's pretty horrified. Hugh isn't thrilled either as he hadn't planned on getting married at all, least of all to Eleanor, whom he finds standoffish and arrogant.
 
The journey these two characters make through respect and admiration to love is at the emotional heart of the story, with Hugh recognising the scars from Eleanor's first marriage and wooing her gently. There's also a fun adventure story mixed in as Hugh tries to track down the outlaws who have been causing mayhem in the local area and who keep giving him the run around... All in all it was a very enjoyable and romantic read!
 
I also read Jane Austen's Best Friend by Zoe Wheddon, which is a biography of Martha Lloyd and examines the long and close friendship between Martha and Jane over many decades. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it to start with because it kept talking about BFFs and seemed to be trying too hard to use modern concepts and parlance to describe the friendship, but when the book got down to details it was fascinating. I particularly liked the way that it examined the relationship between the two friends through different aspects of their lives - everything from fashion, to socialising, to Jane's writing. It was an interesting approach and let us get to know Martha as well as to see Jane in a different way. The book is up for pre-order and out next year.

Mary Jo: Some months back, there were recommendations here to read Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare. (I think Anne Gracie first called the book to our attention--I'm one of several people who read and loved it.)  It was a clever story of a man and woman sharing a flat but never seeing each other because he works nights and she works days. But they write  each other notes….  It's called a romantic comedy, but with more than the usual number of layers.  

O'Leary's much anticipated second book, The Switch, had big boots to fill, and she succeeds beautifully.  Leena lives a fast paced, high stress in life in London while her much loved  79 year old grandmother, Eileen, lives in a village in Yorkshire, lonely and yearning for more out of life.  When Leena is ordered to take two months off work to rest up, she goes to visit Eileen--and comes up with the idea of the two of them swapping their homes for two months.  Eileen can live with Leena's hip young flatmates, and Leena can relax in her grandmother's charming cottage and garden.  
 Naturally things are not that simple.  The book is funny and romantic, but the beating heart of the story is the earlier loss of Leena's sister to cancer, a tragedy that devastated Leena, her mother, and her grandmother, so the subtext is growth and reconciliation as well as new chances for love.  A great read with a thoroughly satisfying resolution! 
 
Anne: For some reason, this month I've been doing a lot of rereading. I have plenty of new books waiting in the TBR pile, but instead, I've gravitated to old books I know I will enjoy, even for the second (or third or fifth) time around. 

While I was waiting for the US election results (and also waiting for my novella to come out) I started reading old favorite Christmas stories, some of whom were by the Wenches. MJP's lovely collection in Christmas Revels (5 excellent stories—4 historical and 1 contemporary—in one anthology), Pat Rice's Tin Angel, some of Mary Balogh's Christmas stories and others, not forgetting the Wenchly Christmas anthology (The Last Chance Christmas Ball) I usually reread Trisha Ashley's Twelve Days of Christmas but I haven't yet. I have however reread her Invitation to Christmas, which is a favorite too, and that sparked a reread of several other of her books. 

I also read (new) Jenny Colgan's Christmas at the Island Hotel, and enjoyed it very much. It has rather a large case of characters and though I think you could read it as a stand-alone, it would probably be better if you'd read the others in the series. In other rereads, I enjoyed Nancy Warren's Toni Diamond series, where Toni, a larger than-life character is a makeup consultant who gets involved in murder mysteries. Lots of fun, and I'm sad there are only four books in the series. Another series I wish were longer is Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper series, and I reread that whole series, too. Next I think I'll reread either one of Sharon Shinn's series, or maybe one by Patricia Briggs

Now, let keep adding to the TBR pile! What have YOU all been reading lately? Please share!

 

WWR — What we read in October

Anne here, hosting our monthly "what we're reading" post, and have we got some great recommendations for you, from contemporary magic realism, to English women's fiction/rom com, medieval historical romance, rock romance, crime fiction of various sorts, and fantasy romance. Read on — and then add your own recommendations in the comment stream.

We begin with Pat: For fans of magical realism and Barbara Samuel—MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACK BIRD CAFÉ by Heather Webber is a lovely, heartwarming, “wrap up in a cozy blanket and dream pleasant dreams” story. There is enormous heartbreak and death, but the book is not just about learning to cope, but to overcome and become stronger through forgiveness and love.

For tragic reasons, Anna Kay has never lived in the town her mother called home, until her grandmother dies and leaves her a café. Anna has no intention of staying. She’s on her way to medical school. But the will requires that she stay and run the café for two months before she can sell it, and she desperately needs the funds. Over those months, she learns about the rare blackbirds inhabiting her backyard, the mulberries that bring magical dreams, and about the father she never knew. And while Anna is changing, the whole town is changing with her. Every character shines like a polished gem, and I wanted to root for all of them to have their happy endings. Definitely a feel good story for a dreary evening!

Christina says: Jane Lovering writes the quirkiest rom coms I’ve ever read – and I mean that in the best possible way! – so when I noticed that she had a new book out, I downloaded it immediately. In The Country Escape, heroine Katie has moved herself and her teenage daughter to a ramshackle cottage in deepest Dorset following her recent divorce because it’s all she can afford. Her ex-husband was French, rich and selfish, so the change in circumstances is particularly noticeable. With jobs harder to come by than she’d thought (she is a French teacher), their prospects for the coming winter look bleak until a couple of chance encounters. One with a pony, who turns up in her orchard one morning (together with an abandoned gypsy caravan), and the other with a man called Gabriel. Jane Lovering’s heroes are always unusual and unique, and Gabriel is no exception. Despite being very handsome, he’s not your average alpha hero, and he has been scarred by things that happened when he was young. But although Katie tries to resist, she can’t help but be drawn to him. Quietly witty and resourceful, as well as self-deprecating, Katie is the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and she is hiding some secrets of her own.

What We're Reading--September 2020

Pat here, hosting our monthly wench book review event. We have way too much fun behind the scenes reading each other's recommendations and adding to our TBR piles! We have some great ones this month. And just to keep the bookstores (or libraries) busy, we welcome all reader recommendations in the comments below.

Christina:

I haven’t been reading much this month, but I couldn’t resist picking up The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson because the cover really appealed to me and I love stories set in Cornwall. This is a gripping and engrossing dual time story, alternating between the present and World War II. And although I don’t normally read much from this period, The Sea Gate gave a whole new perspective on things as the story takes place in a small fishing village on the coast. Here, the war seems far away, but it has a way of finding the protagonists all the same. For 16-year old Olivia, it changes her life in numerous ways, and has repercussions that resonate throughout her long life. In the present, we meet her again as an irascible old lady in her nineties, and I absolutely loved her character! She is refreshingly direct and downright rude, and the sheer strength of her will is remarkable. The story in the present mainly centres on a young relative, however, Rebecca, who has been through the wringer in more ways than one. Lacking in self-confidence and suffering from anxiety and depression, coming to Cornwall to help the elderly Olivia is the making of her. I so enjoyed watching her going from doormat to roaring lion – a favourite trope of mine – and was cheering her on, hoping for a happy resolution to all her problems. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves dual time stories and/or tales of World War II – it’s wonderful!