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

Pat here with May’s collection of favorite reads. Some of us are apparently hunkered down in this enforced isolation and have read entire libraries. And then there’s Jo Bourne:

Jo B:

What people think Romance Writers read: Love's Inventive Gymnastics.

What Romance Writers Actually Read: Essays in Social History, Volume I: The Preindustrial Millennia and The ZTE Cell Phone User's Guide.

We read this stuff because we are nerds and cannot safely be turned loose in a library. Preindustrial Millenia is an interesting look at the economics of Greek and Roman slavery versus peasantry. I come away renewed in my determination to avoid being the bottom rung of the social ladder in the Classical period.

Another ladder I would probably avoid any rung of is Revolutionary France, but it's still a joy to pick up Daily Life in the French Revolution by Jean Robiquet, which is full of pithy wisdom and quotes from original material. I am a sucker for "Daily Life in ..." books altogether. Just skip the politics and battlefields and tell me how they got the clothes washed. I'd recommend picking up Robiquet second hand since it hasn't been put in ebook or even paperback.

What the Wenches are Reading in March!

Pat here, joining the other wenches in bringing you new books and old favorites to fill your days as we watch spring pass by from our quarantines. I hope all of you are staying well and not ready to kill your families yet!

My contribution this month is from a wench favorite, Barbara O’Neal (Barbara Samuels in historicals)—a contemporary women’s fiction titled WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS.

I’ve read Barbara in her very many incarnations from historical romance to contemporary category romance to women’s fiction, and I love it all. She’s an emotion-wrenching writer, and it’s impossible to read her without laughing and crying. It’s also impossible not to be swept into the world of her creation. I’ve saved this book for months. The anticipation of knowing it was in my reading pile for a day when I really needed it made me happy. I finally gave myself permission to open it, and it was well worth the wait. I savored every word.

What We Are Reading-January

Andrea here, compiling this month's list of what we've been reading. To kick off the new decade, the Wenches have been as eclectic as ever, and this month's recommendations range from Christmas stories and timeslip paranormals to epic historicals, bookish memoirs and the rock 'n roll 1960s. Enjoy—and don't forget to share what you've been reading lately!

Pat: I think the wenches have recommended Sharon Shinn quite frequently, but it never hurts to mention her a few more times! Her stories are so effortless that they tug you into her fantasy world and hold you there, fascinated, for hours. Echo in Emerald is Book #2 in her Uncommon Echoes series. Characters from the first book show up, but this book can be read on its own (which is a good thing because my memory just isn’t that strong!). Chessie knows herself as the illegitimate daughter of a noble, a street urchin with the uncommon accompaniment of two echoes—shadows of herself. Except her echoes are more than shadows, they can act independently, and she can enter their heads and be them anytime she likes—in effect, she can be three different people, a boy who runs errands, a sexy waitress, and herself, a nondescript messenger.

What We're Reading for November

Howdy folks. Joanna here.
Hope all those who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a good one.

It's been a good month for reading, it being fall weather and brisk enough that the dog doesn't beg for a walk so much.

 

Andrea brings us a YA and a biography:

It was a strange reading month. I started and didn’t finish a couple of books, which is very rare for me. But they just didn’t catch my fancy. However, having enjoyed the Ron Chernow biography of Alexander Hamilton so much, I snatched up Washington: A Life,  his bio on George Washington, when it recently appeared on BookBub. (It won the Pulitzer Prize some years back) I’m only about a quarter of the way through it, but am really enjoying it.

 

Chernow has a wonderful knack of making his subjects come so alive. Washington’s early life is fascinating, and he comes across as a very different character from the solemn, stately president that the history books present. We see a full range of his humanity—he was a man of passions and pragmatism—and really paints a viid portrait of his many nuances. I’m very much looking forward to glomming through the rest of it in next little while.

What We're Reading - October

Happy almost-Halloween! It’s Nicola here with this month’s Word Wench reading choices. Here in the Northern Hemisphere the nights are drawing in and it’s time to curl up cosily beside the fire with a good book so what could be better than sharing our suggestions here, favourites new and old!

I’ve actually been getting ahead of myself, already reading a Christmas book this month, A Wedding in December by the very talented Sarah Morgan. I love Sarah Morgan’s writing and I enjoyed this book very much indeed. It was deliciously funny as well as sexy and romantic, and Sarah also mixes in some very thought-provoking observations on the subject of family relationships. It’s set in Aspen where Rosie White is having a whirlwind wedding to the gorgeous Dan. Rosie’s elder sister Kate, worried that her impulsive sister is making a huge mistake, is trying to persuade her to cancel the wedding, whilst Rosie’s parents are trying to put on a happy, united front even though they are on the verge of divorce. I loved all the characters but especially Rosie’s parents Maggie and Nick, whose attempts to appear happy and in love were both hilarious and moving. I really love the way that Sarah Morgan goes right to the heart of emotional conflicts we can all identify with, and wraps it all up in a hopeful, heart-warming happy ending that’s just perfect for Christmas.

 

Susan: Most of my October reading time went to little distractions like kids getting married and kids moving, but I did manage to finish some books I had set aside when the madness began. One of them, Christina Lauren's My Favorite Half-Night Stand, puts a fresh spin on a classic yummy romance, exploring online dating, the temptations of an alter ego, and the perils when the guise crumbles and gets in the way of a growing romance. Millie is a young college professor whose closest friends are a group of lovable, nerdy guys who are also college professors. When they have to attend a gala event, they're at a loss for ready dates, so they agree to try online dating to find matches. Millie, emotionally vulnerable, feels safe in this bunch, and very close to her best friend, Reid, who is smart, reserved, and very sexy. They get even closer unexpectedly one night, setting up all sorts of complications. Reid is connecting with online matches, but doesn't realize that Millie is too--with him, under an invented name. As Catherine, Millie can open up emotionally more easily than face-to-face. This is a Roxanne story, a story of reaching past limitations toward emotional maturity and honesty. It's also clever and funny, with endearing, realistic characters, a sexy and heartfelt romance developing, along with the engaging naturalism that Christina Lauren (a writing duo) is so adept at creating. Another thumbs up for CL from me, and I'll go on to read more of their books! This was a print read for me, and I have to say it was a relief on the eyes and for the brain--reading more digitally lately by necessity now, I really feel the difference when I have the chance to sink down into a paperback with all its simple, satisfying presence. 

In audio, I listened to Mary Stewart's The Moonspinners. I've read all of her books a bajillion times by now, but I've never listened to them, and most of them are now available. Listening to one of my most-favorite books ever was a wonderful experience--the lovely nuances of Stewart's language and the subtleties of character and plot are highlighted in new ways. This one is beautifully narrated by Daphne Kouma, who is a superb narrator--and fluent in Greek, adding a fresh new dimension to the story. I loved it! 

Andrea: I‘ve had a really different sort of reading month. I've mentioned on several occasions as
I’m not as into reading fantasy/magic as some of the other Wenches. Nonetheless, I’m very open to dipping my toes in the genre when I hear of something intriguing.I had read really good things about Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, a wildly popular YA fantasy novel. And then, when I read the synopsis of her first adult novel, which sounds really cool, I decided get a taste of her writing with the YA,s as I hadn’t yet gotten my hands on the new book. Wow—am I glad I did! Six of Crows is a classic “caper” trope. A ragtag band of teenage misfits—basically guttersnipes making ends meets as petty criminals in a Game of Thrones type of quasi medieval world (though there are some tanks and powerful armaments created by a type of magical metalworkers) undertakes an impossible mission to break into an impenetrable fortress. If they bring back the requested “item”, they’ll be rich beyond their wildest dreams. 

I found Bardugo’s character building just amazing. The band are a mixed bag of young people, each damaged by a trauma and so vulnerable and wary of friendships. And yet they are alll survivors, with grit resilience and strength. The leader, a brilliant, cagey, and sometimes cruel young punk picks his team for the specific skills he needs to get the job. He couldn’t care less whether they all get along. And so begins a very dangerous journey. The plotting and the twists are fabulous, and the writing is really sharp and compelling. Most of all, the development of the relationships between them is incredibly well done, as are the backstories that Bardugo weaves in about each of the kids. I’m now huge fan. In fact, I immediately went and glommed the second book, Crooked Kingdom, which continues their adventures.

Anne here. October was a very busy month for me, and consequently I haven't read as much as I usually do, but prompted by a discussion on last month's WWR I have been rereading and enjoying some of Anne McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern series. The fantasy world where dragons hatch from eggs and bond psychically with a human, and they work together to save people from a destructive menace called "thread" is a very appealing one. If you haven't read it, and think you'd like to try a bit of fantasy, here's book 1 in the series.

Pat: 

AT YOUR SERVICE, Sandra Antonelli

This is classified as a romantic comedy mystery, I believe, which is why I picked it up—that and the opening pages. It’s also a spy thriller, which would have put me off, but I was too far into it by then. Mae is an Irish butler to Kitt, a man who is obviously into international security of some sort. Mae is also his landlord, which makes for an entertaining relationship right there. When Mae mysteriously inherits a fortune from a husband who’s been dead sixteen years, life becomes interesting—and dangerous.

The dialogue is very dry, which I adore. I love that our heroine is over forty and a mean fighter when necessary. The romance isn’t easy given their situations and characters. While the action is swift and decisive, they do an awful lot of maudlin muddling over their relationship. But the characterization was so very entertaining—much like an old Nick and Nora partnership (Dashiell Hammett’s THIN MAN)—that I forgave them the muddling about.

Mary Jo here.  I've been locked in mortal combat with a recalcitrant book, and as always when in such straits, I'm mostly rereading stories I've enjoyed in the past.  Because  I've read them before, it's easier to put them down and get back to work.

As part of my rereading, I dug out my stash of Dick Francis mystery novels, of which I have many.  He was a retired champion jump jockey and his books were all set in and around the world of British racing.  The mysteries are clever, well written, and told in first person by honorable, likable men with a high pain threshold. <G> 

I just reread one of my favorites, Wild Horses. Young director Thomas Lyons is shooting a movie in Newmarket, the racing capital of Britain, and the story of a decades old crime in the town turns out to have dangerous reverberations in Thomas's production and in his life.  Francis really does his research and the details of how movies are made are convincing and fascinating. Plus, there are horses. <G> 

I've had an interesting experience in rereading two series of connected novellas, many of which were mentioned here when they were first released because I'm not the only Wench who likes these excellent authors. 

The first series was the Penric and Desdemona novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold, set in her world of the five gods. Penric is a very likable cleric who is inhabited by a demon that lived in a dozen different females before it jumped to him.  It's like having a dozen bossy aunts in your head.  <G>  The series is up to seven now: Penric's Demon, Penric and the Shaman, Penric's Fox, Penric's Mission, Mira's Last Dance, The Prisoner of Limnos, and The Orphans of Raspay.  There is a nice romance, but a lot of the fun is the relationship between Penric and Desdemona. 

 The other series is the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews.  The premise is that Earth is a way station for transiting aliens, and Innkeepers are humans who host the aliens, and who have magical power within their inns.  The Innkeepers  job is to keep their guests safe and not let regular humans know of the existence of the inns and the broader universe.  The first three books are told by Dina, a new young innkeeper struggling to get her long dormant inn up and running, which means she'll accept any and all guests--including handsome vampire warriors who get drunk on coffee and run naked through her orchard.  <G>  The fourth book is about Dina's sister Maud. 

The stories are Clean Sweep, One Fell Sweep, Sweep in Peace, and Sweep of the Blade.  All that sweeping refers to the innkeepers' magical and frequently morphing brooms.  There are two strong romances in the course of these books, and a lot of humor. 

 I read all of these short novels as they were originally published, usually about a year apart.  I enjoyed them all, which is why I always read the new releases, but reading the stories consecutively was a whole new level of enjoyment.  These are very good authors, and they keep the sweep of the characters and situations flowing beautifully.  The result is like reading one delicious, lengthy, episodic novel.  Or rather, two of them!  Both of these series are worth trying if you like clever, light-hearted fantasy with romance. 

Joanna: I’ve been reading Rosemary Sutcliff. A blast from the past, as it were. When I was eight or nine I glommed onto every book of hers I could get my hands on. I think she's the author who led me to love historical fiction.

Outcast is the story of Beric. Just every durn bad thing that can happen to somebody in this historical setting happens to him. Shipwreck, expulsion from his Roman-era British village one step ahead of a lynch mob, kidnapping, slavery, sentenced to the galley, shipwreck, drowning-near-as-makes-no-difference … He even has to give his dog away. (The dog ends up fine.)

If I were looking for a tourist brochure to lure me to visit the Classical Roman Empire, this is not so much it. But it’s a cracking fine adventure tale. He’s a brave kid and he deserves his happy ending.

The whole time I was reading I kept asking myself, “What else can possibly happen to him?”

So that’s what we’re reading this month! What are your recommendations, spooky or otherwise?

The Joy of Unexpected Books!

Nicola here, musing on the pleasure of discovering unexpected reads. Last week I visited Tredegar House, which is a fabulous 17^th century mansion in Wales, once the home of the Morgan family. Like so many of these places, the house is magnificent and the family history riveting. There’s also a connection to Ashdown House, which made it even more interesting for me so I wandered around looking at the family portraits and admiring the rooms before heading off to the gift shop and the tearoom!

Most National Trust properties these days have a second hand bookshop and browsing through the history section I came across a non-fiction book about the Norman Conquest. It was a “retired” library book called 1066 The Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry. I hadn’t studied the Norman Conquest of England since I was at college and hadn’t read much about it in the intervening time, so this looked intriguing and I’m also a total sucker for books that promise to solve a history mystery or tell me some sort of secret I didn’t know. That night I sat down to read it, not really expecting a thriller-style read, and I was totally hooked. Even though it was non-fiction it read like a page-turner, putting forward a story that challenged the traditional interpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry as a piece of Norman propaganda and suggesting it had a secret hidden message showing the Anglo Saxon side of the story. It was pretty convincing and I loved it.

One episode in the book particularly caught my interest. It was talking about how the tapestry had survived from 1066 until the present day, which is pretty astonishing when you think about it. It had some fairly close escapes, most notably during the French Revolution when some of the people of Bayeux wanted to rip it up to use it to cover their carts! Soon after that, though, it became a propaganda tool again, this time for Napoleon.

What We're Reading

Susanna here, considering it more than a little ironic that I should find myself in charge of this month’s What-We’re-Reading post, since having been caught in the whirl of activity that accompanies seeing one child off to university (in Europe, since my children never do things by halves) whilst fighting the lure of the ever-present Research Rabbit Holes that keep opening up for my current novel, and trying to pack for a Very Rapidly Approaching trip to Scotland, I’ve had no time for reading anything you’d want to hear about.

Fortunately, my fellow Wenches have plenty of suggestions for your bedside reading stacks:

Anne here.

I had the very great pleasure of a pre-read of Mary Jo Putney's Once a Spy for an interview on the wenches on September 25th. I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it — Mary Jo is so good at weaving love stories and action together. If you missed the interview, it's here. 

Sharon Shinn is a fantasy author I really enjoy, and I subscribe to her newsletter so when her new "Echo" series came out, I grabbed them as soon as they were available. Shinn writes very appealing characters, and her world-building is superb-- and fascinating.

In this world, aristocrats have "echoes" — creatures that are exact copies of themselves, that imitate every movement, but who don't speak or apparently think. The echoes appear soon after a baby is born — first you have one baby, then a blink later there are four, though only one is crying. It's a fair bit to swallow, but fun to imagine, and Shinn makes it work.

Echo in Onyx is the first in the series and the story is told from the point of view of Biranna, a young country girl who comes to the city in search of work, and ends up becoming maid to Lady Marguerite, who is one of the candidates for a royal marriage. I devoured it and went on to do the same for the following books in the series.

Andrea here.

I had been hearing such good things about Bringing Down the Duke, by Evie Dunmore, that I moved it to the top of my TBR pile. And oh, am I glad I did— I just loved it! Dunmore that a very familiar trope—the stiff, reserved gentleman who’s vowed never fall victim to love finding his heart won’t listen to his head—and gives it freshness and depth. At first blush, the characters appear familiar too. There’s the brilliant but destitute heroine, who is forced to work as an unpaid governess for her odious dumb-as-dirt cousin when her country vicar father dies. Desperate to escape, Annabelle finds an ad offering a scholarship to Oxford—the catch is, she has to spend some time working for a group of women agitating for women’s voting rights by approaching important men in government (the year is 1879) and lobbying them to consider the issue. She unwittingly picks the infamous Duke of Montgomery—again, the stereotypical cold, aloof, imperious aristocrat—as her target, and, well, things immediately get VERY interesting! The dialogue is wonderfully witty and clever. But it’s the depth and complexity of the characters that made the book so special for me. Their vulnerabilities, and conflicts are revealed beautifully, and the book becomes much more than a funny romp of manners as they slowly help each other overcome their fears and discover the redemptive power of love. I highly recommend it!

On a totally different note, I've also have been reading the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (the book on which the musical is based.) I knew Hamilton was a very influential thinker, but I hadn't realized just what an extraordinary person he was, and how many facets of shaping country he was involved in. It’s beautifully written, and the story of his life is quite remarkable. You get a wonderful look at colonial America, and the other fmaous personages of the day. (Hamilton was a protege of George Washington, and despite their butting of heads at times, they remained friends lifelong friends.) It’s history at its best—combining a picture of the era as well as a portrait of an absolutely amazing individual. Again, highly recommended!

Nicola here.

I’ve been waiting with bated breath to get hold of the new Robert Harris thriller, The Second Sleep. He is one of my auto-buy authors and never more so than when he is writing a historical novel. I admire his skill at creating tension and page turning quality allied with some really elegant prose. So as soon as I got the book I plunged in. It’s hard to describe the plot without giving away a massive spoiler from the very start so I’ll just say that in the year 1468 a young priest, Christopher Fairfax, is sent to an isolated village in Devon to oversee the burial of the parish priest. Once there he untangles a series of mysteries that lead him to question everything he has learned about the past, which in turn has a profound effect on his life and his future. Everything is not as it seems in this “medieval” world… 

I liked Christopher very much and there were some interesting other characters and some good twists in the story. The sense of atmosphere is very strong. It’s fair to say this is a book I thought about for a long time afterwards. With its themes of memory and history and religion it was very powerful and I found it quite dark and disturbing. In the end, though, for me it couldn’t quite live up to some of Robert Harris’ other books and I was a bit disappointed. If anyone else has read it I would love to know what they think!

My non-fiction read this month was Lovell Our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, closest friend of Richard III and failed regicide by Michele Schindler. I’d say this is a must for anyone who is interested in Richard III and the events around his life and the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. It’s a very well-written book that reads like a novel and I was completely engaged. It’s astonishing that there hasn’t been a biography of Francis Lovell before when he was so closely involved in such a significant period of history. Francis does, of course, have a walk on part in a number of historical novels set in this period, such as the Sunne in Splendour, but it was fascinating to read the real story of this historical figure.

Last but not at all least, after all the recommendations here, I picked up a copy of The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews and enjoyed it very much indeed! It’s a really beautiful love story and I enjoyed the depth and richness of the characters and their relationship. Wonderful and satisfying!

Mary Jo here, and in a fantasy + romance mode.

Firstly, I want to enthusiastically endorse Anne's recommendation of Sharon Shinn's new Echo trilogy. Shinn is an amazing world builder and her stories always have good romances, and these books are no exception. I read all three on my recent vacation, and wish there were more!

My own recommendation this month is for Sorcery and Cecilia, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevemer, friends and fantasy writers in Minnesota. Think Georgette Heyer Regency with magic.

Set in 1817, this is an epistolary novel as cousins and best friends Cecilia and Kate exchange letters after they're separated when Kate is packed off to London for her Season and Cecy is left home and bored in the country. Each author writes one of the main characters. (I think Wrede is Cecilia and Stevemer is Kate, though I won't swear to it.) Magic is part of their world, including a Royal College of Magicians.

The book is light and funny as the young ladies meet young gentleman, worry about their wardrobes, and find themselves involved with magic and annoyingly bossy men who are nonetheless appealing. <G> There are mysteries to be solved, social events to be attended, and budding romance. Great fun.

I first read this book years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly, and recently I found that the authors had written two more books in the series. The second book is called The Grand Tour, and it starts with the double wedding of Cecilia and Kate and their men. Their husbands are best friends and both former officers of Wellington's in the Peninsular Wars. They take off on a joint honeymoon and get drawn into uncovering a perilous plot that threatens the peace of Europe. As one does. <G>

A good part of the fun of this book is that even though both couples are madly in love with their mates, they are learning how to be married. (Since Cecy and Kate are traveling together, they aren't exchanging letters; Cecy's contributions are part of her later deposition with the Royal College of Magicians, and Kate is writing in her day book. The effect is the same as in the first book).

The third book is The Mislaid Magician and is set ten years later. Cecy and her husband are up north looking for a missing German surveyor/magician while Kate and Thomas ride herd on all their magically inclined children. In this book, the husbands also exchange letters.

All three books are bundled together in a box set. My favorite is the first, but they're all good fun, and the authors are pretty darned good at their Regency details!

Pat here.

I am beyond tired of publishers limiting genre fiction to certain parameters that have worn thin. I love romance and cozy mysteries, but right now, I can’t find a single original story. So when PopCo by Scarlett Thomas popped up after I bought a new iPad, and I couldn’t remember reading it, I gave it a go. If you read the opening, you’ll understand my level of desperation that I kept slogging through that morass.

Because it contains a lot of interesting Information (I researched codes and ciphers for Devilish Montague, remember) about logic, math, and code problems, I took my time with it. Probably the first quarter of the book is getting to know the thoughts of the protagonist, who is a very human confusion of hopes, doubts, and fears.

Essentially, the protag works for a major toy company designing new toys. At the last minute, she’s included in a month-long retreat where other people from the company—oddly, not all toy designers—are immersed in how to market toys, particularly to teenage girls. Our heroine has an extremely odd background of family code-breakers and mathematicians and treasure hunters, so creating toys is just one more fun fantasy for which she’s paid very well.

Except as the retreat continues, she comes to realize they are creating brainwashing techniques in the name of profit. And then all the odd things happening in her life, in the company, with all her new-found friends, start snowballing until she finally realizes what she wants out of life. It’s a very odd book with all the puzzles explained by the end and with a happy-in-its-own-way ending. Read it just for the sheer pleasure of reading.

There you have it — our round-up of Wenchly reads and recommendations. Now, what are you reading this month?

What We Are Reading-August

This month's What We Are Reading feature takes us on our usual delightful peregrinations through different worlds and different eras. So get pencil and paper ready to start making notes for your TBR pile!

Anne here: The latest in Ilona Andrews' "Innkeeper Chronicles" series, Sweep of the Blade, came out this month, and the minute I started it, I realized I wanted to go back to the beginning and read all four books in order. Which I did. I really enjoy these books and the world of the Innkeeper -- they're fantasy/paranormal, with magic, werewolves, vampires and aliens -- and a few years back that would have been enough to put me off. Not any more. 

Innkeepers are people who have a special magical bond with their inn -- they can configure it any way they want, even to breaking rules of physics -- and their purpose is to provide a safe haven for their guests, who come from all over the galaxy. The guests must be sworn to keep the knowledge of aliens etc from  ordinary humans. So we're dealing with small town Texas and a galaxy of other-wordly visitors. The books are action-packed and entertaining, and the slowly developing romance very satisfying. If you haven't tried urban fantasy before, give this one a try and start with book 1, Clean Sweep. 

The second recommendation I have is for a Regency—The Work of Art, by Mimi Matthews—which was recommended by wenchly reader Karin last month. With a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and a host of other excellent reviews, it's a classic regency, with an appealing heroine, a wounded hero and a villainous "other man", as well as a small pack of dogs — which the heroine has rescued. A delightful read.

Nicola here: This month I’ve read something old and something borrowed! The “old” was Maya Banks’ McCabe Trilogy, which I first fell in love with years ago.  When I’m in the mood for some hot Scottish historical action these three books are so much fun and I love the way that she gives the characters really powerful emotional conflicts and makes them feel very real. I have a soft spot for romances set in a time of conflict because it adds another layer of tension with divided loyalties as well as personal struggles to contend with. These romances are very satisfying!
 
I also caught up with the only Emily Larkin book I haven’t read, Lady Isabella’s Ogre, a lovely re-telling of the Beauty and the Beast theme.  Emily Larkin is one of my go-to Regency authors and this story was as fun as all her others – Lady Isabella Knox is one of London’s most eligible heiresses although she prefers her independence to any ideas of marriage. When she accidentally ruins the marriage prospects of Major Nicholas Reynolds, a war hero, she sets out to undo the harm she has done by persuading him into a make-believe flirtation. It’s lovely!

I also borrowed a copy of Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah whilst I was on holiday. I read it on a 4 day train journey across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto and this felt totally appropriate as it is a Hercule Poirot mystery and I felt as though I was living in Agatha Christie World! Sophie really does capture the essence of the old Poirot books and the character perfectly. I loved all the old stories and I am enjoying her new take on these! Closed Casket is classic crime fare with a family gathered together in a Gothic mansion, a controversial will and a dastardly murder.

Mary Jo here: The most memorable book I've read lately is Barbara O'Neal's When We Believed in Mermaids.  It's women's fiction, more specifically sister fiction, told alternately in first person by Kit Bianci, an ER doctor, and her two year older sister, Josie. The story begins when Kit sees her sister in a news video from New Zealand--except that her sister died fifteen years earlier in Europe.  Driven by a need to know, Kit flies off to Auckland--and changes not only her own life, but the lives around her.

Josie, now known as Mari, had compelling reasons for walking away from the disaster her life had become, and in the years since, she's found peace and happiness with a new family.  But she misses Kit desperately, and when they meet again, the past erupts into the present.

Barbara is a wonderful writer, and she builds her story as a mosaic as she moves back and forth between the sisters.  In some ways, their childhood was idyllic as they grew up on the California coast in their father's famous restaurant, learning food and surfing and loving the broken runaway boy who becomes part of the family and looked after the two little girls.  But in other ways, their childhood was laced with neglect and abuse, and only as the past is fully revealed can Kit and Mari become wholly healed.

As always with Barbara O'Neal books, the characterizations are wonderful, as are the descriptions of food <G>, and there's a lovely romance as well.  It made me want to visit New Zealand again!

Pat here: This is what caught my fancy this month—Some Die Eloquent (the Calleshire Chronicles) by Catherine Aird. This British cop mystery was copyrighted in 1979 but reads to me almost as if it were written much earlier. Still, we have recognizable modernisms like plastics and conservation and a husband with his wife as she gives birth—in the few minutes he gets away from the case. There is lots of dialogue and not as much setting as I’d like. Mostly, this is a character study and social commentary, which was different enough to appeal to me.

The case involves a science teacher who dies of diabetes with an unexpected quarter million pounds deposited in her bank account. It’s real small town stuff when word of the bank account gets out and is enough to bring in the coroner’s office after the death certificate is already issued. One of the suspects works at the hospital where the Inspector’s wife is about to give birth, which makes for a nice cozy. It’s an entertaining insight into a time before cell phones, when everyone knows the drunk who wrecks the bollards every night. Read if you’re in the mood for something different.

Andrea here: I’ve had a strange reading month, jumping around to various genres. Because it was getting such raves from the Wenches and Wenchly readers, I read The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold, which I very much enjoyed, even though I’m not a huge fantasy reader. Then I picked up a new British mystery set in the 1930s, which was fun and well-written, but the plot was SO predictable, I was disappointed that it didn’t offer any fun twist, so I can’t recommend it here.

The real “meaty” read of the month is The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. It’s a sweeping family saga of three generations of a wealthy WASP family, spanning the 1930s to present day. The modern protagonist is a historian who teaches at a university—there is a marvelous classroom scene where she challenges her students on what IS history. The touchstone of the family is an idyllic island off the coast of Maine they have owned since the late 30s where the generations have gathered every summer. The fact that family money is running out, and the professor and her cousins are facing the prospect of having to sell the island, challenges her to explore her own history—with the requisite buried secrets coming to life.

It’s beautifully written, though in places it drags a bit. I also felt the author perhaps tackled one too many elemental themes in family relationships . . . and there are some structural problems—she head-hops sometimes, and also never gives the date of a section, so sometimes I got a little lost for a page or two. But I overlooked the flaws because the story is very well done, with interesting, vulnerable characters. It's a poignant look at a traditional, orderly world—where all the rules are comfortable and known by heart—giving way to the frightening chaos of modern life.

So, what have you been reading lately?  Please share!

What We're Reading — July 2019

Anne here, bringing you our monthly What We're Reading post from Andrea's house, where five of the wenches have been holding a writing retreat. And I'm running late because my new book, MARRY IN SECRET came out yesterday and I was all over the place trying to promote it.

From Mary Jo:  I discovered Connie Schultz some years back while listening to NPR's Diane Rehm show.  A journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Connie was promoting her first book, …and His Lovely Wife, a memoir of how she met her second husband, Sherrod Brown (he sent a fan email to her at her newspaper comparing her writing to Barbara Kingsolver.  Swoon!  What female writer could resist that???)

At any rate, they married, combined families--and then Sherrod Brown, at the time an Ohio Congressman, decided to run for Senator. He was a real long shot, but like a good wife, Connie took a leave of absence from her newspaper and helped her husband on the campaign trail--and wherever they appeared, she was introduced as "…and his lovely wife."  Connie saw the humor in that, and she was so warm and funny that I bought her memoir.

Later I bought a collection of her newspaper columns, Life Happens.  It's described as about: kids, dogs, politics, men, women, and how it all works, except when it doesn't." <G>  I enjoyed the book then, and I recently came across it on the bookshelf and am enjoying it all over again.

Her columns run about two pages each and they make delightful tidbits that can be wise, funny, heart warming, heart rending, and deeply insightful.  A favorite of mine is called "The real gift of giving unto others," and it's about her mother, who married young, worked hard, never achieved her dream of becoming a nurse, but who was one of God's gifts to the world.

Connie said her mother's one cautionary note to her daughters about marriage was "Don't marry him until you see how he treats the waitress."  She goes on to quote her mother as saying, "Everyone has a name.  Everyone has someone one who loves them.  Everyone deserves to feel that they matter."

Connie gives examples of how her mother lived her philosophy, and ends by saying, "She never held elective office, was never a company president or in charge of anyone other than her daughters.  But, when she died, more than eight hundred people showed up for her calling hours."  That woman had a life worth living, and this is a book worth reading.

What We're Reading!

Hey there, Pat here, bringing you the Word Wenches comments on what we’ve been reading this month. I’ve been hunkered down trying to fine tune my new release while reading up on the next book set in Victorian Edinburgh--my main reading this month. I really don’t think you want to hear about the archives of the University of Scotland, although they are fascinating!

But I discovered I’d missed a Terry Pratchett book and grabbed a copy of RAISING STEAM when it crossed my radar. This is one of the later volumes written with his wife, so the puns aren’t there except in some of the names. What was really interesting about this read is that I started it in e-book format and was feeling a bit let-down and disappointed by it. We have all my favorite characters (except the witches!) and Disc World has just discovered steam engines, which is throwing everything into a tizzy. But I just wasn’t getting into it. Because we have a library of Pratchett books, we ordered a print copy to fill the missing gap. So I opened the book to where I was in the e-reader and tried reading on the page and lo and behold, the experience was utterly different.

What We're Reading: April Edition

by Mary Jo

We Word Wenches love doing these posts because we always find new authors to try! 

Starting off with Pat Rice:

One Plus One by  JoJo Moyes  I love the way romance has expanded into women’s fiction, and One Plus One by JoJo Moyes is a masterful example of how it’s done. It’s clear from the very first that we have a conflicted hero and heroine. Ed is owner of a software company about to go mega-huge. Jess is his housekeeper—and he doesn’t even know she exists because she cleans his vacation home, and he never takes vacations.

But this is not the usual meet cute or billionaire-sweeps-heroine-off-her-feet. They both come with so much baggage that it takes most of the book to unload it, with bits exploding along the way—in suitably dramatic fashion. She comes with a math genius daughter and a goth teenager who isn’t even hers, plus a giant slobbery dog. He has a dying father, a screaming sister, a girlfriend he tried to get rid of by handing off insider stock info, and an ex-wife who helps herself to his bank account whenever she likes.

 

What We're Reading in March

 ... and what a medley it is.

Joanna here, with some lovely book suggestions from all of us.

I’m rereading one of Lois MlcMaster Bujold’s books. The Curse of Chalion. I picked it up at the library because the librarian had it out on the Recommended Shelf and I was reminded of it. 

When we reread books we sometimes come at them a little differently or, at least, I do. This time, when I approached Bujold’s broken, exhausted, emotionally and psychically destroyed protagonist I was better able to see the honorable man beneath. It’s a new way for me to look at heroism and I’m hoping to learn from it.

This is not a Romance, but it’s a satisfying portrayal of a complex protagonist and — yes — a bit of a love story.

 

Andrea writes:

I’m a big fan of Charles Finch’s historical mysteries—I find his Charles Lenox series, set in early Victorian England, an absolute delight. So it’s always a treat when a new one comes out.

Now, Finch has done something really interesting with the series. In the first book, A Beautiful Blue Death, which came out 12 years ago, we meet Lenox as an established amateur detective. He’s a cultured, erudite, clever younger son, so his slightly “black sheep” profession is tolerated by family and friends (it helps that he’s such a lovely, sensitive fellow) And throughout the next nine books, we see him develop, take on new challenges, dabble in politics, get married, have a child . . . all while unraveling some very intriguing mysteries.

Then lo and behold, like the clever mystery writer he is, Finch suddenly surprised his readers with a unexpected plot twist. In his previous book, The Woman in the Water, the 11th in the series, he started writing a “prequel to the series—we meed Charles as a green cub, just down from Oxford, trying to decide what he wants to do in life. He loves solving conundrums, but everyone thinks he’s a fool to consider it as a possible career. Nonetheless, he keeps reading the papers about crime, and finds he has an idea he thinks may help solve one. The police, of course, dismiss him as fop and

What We're Reading in February

Nicola here, introducing the Wenchly reading recommendations in the month of February. As ever we have a big mix of books for you and look forward to hearing what you've been reading too! the picture on the left is the rather gorgeous old bookshop in Marlborough, a town just down the road from me, where I love to browse. Sometimes you might even meet the resident bookshop ghost, which seems appropriate for Pat's first recommendation today!

Pat writes:

SEANCES ARE FOR SUCKERS by Tamara Berry

Ellie Wilde is a cynic, for good reason. As the youngest of triplets, she’s paying to keep her comatose sister in the best nursing home available by using her limited skill set—tricking people. To be fair, she also gives them comfort—by ridding their homes of ghosts she doesn’t believe in. People might call her a psychic medium, but in reality, she’s a great problem-solver and people reader. She has to be, or her sister will be out on the street. Her brother is a gym teacher and can’t possibly afford the cost of nursing care, so it’s up to Ellie. When she’s offered a small fortune and the opportunity to fly to England and live in a mansion while she rids the house of its resident ghost, she happily takes the job.

What We're Reading in January

Detail of a portrait of Madame Pompadour by François Boucher

Susanna here.

Welcome to our monthly What We're Reading post!

I’ve been reading mostly primary documents and very old letters in indecipherable handwriting, but unfortunately I can’t share any of them here because I don’t have permission to, so instead I’ll share the books that are currently on my nightstand, waiting to be read…

What We Are Reading!

This month, as always, the Wenches have been indulging in an eclectic mix of books—many of them perfect for light-hearted holiday reads.

Joanna: I think I’ve mentioned Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series before. The first, Midnight Riot, introduces us to London cop Peter Grant. Grant is not just a canny policeman with an encyclopedic knowledge of the odd corners of the city, but a man who can sense the weird creatures who live in its shadows. Ghosts and monsters. Magical creatures.

This month I read Whispers Underground, Book Three in the series. Grant continues his training under Master Wizard Nightingale. The signature humor continues. The cynicism is firmly in place. The cast of quirky characters still delights.

What We're Reading—October

Anne here, hosting this month's What We're Reading post. As always there's a lovely range of books for all tastes. And just a reminder -- these are not promo posts; they're genuinely what we've read and enjoyed in the last month. 

We'll start with Pat, who says: I'm on a hunt for light-hearted, humorous, feel-good books these days, so I'm over the moon when I find one.

180 SECONDS by Jessica Park qualifies, even though I suspect it's probably called a New Adult romance since the protagonists are in college. But this isn’t about the normal trials and tribulations of overworked, under-loved students. The protagonist Allison has been in foster care all her life, until she was adopted by a gay dad when she was sixteen. She’s closed off, shut down, prepared to peel out of the life of anyone who gets close. She does her best to avoid people entirely. She wants to love her adopted dad, who is a real gem, but she can’t even open his care packages. And then in one freakish moment when she’s forced herself to go into town, she’s caught up in an internet video where she has to stare at a boy for 180 seconds. That scene alone is worth reading the book. Esben, the hero of this story, is almost too good to be true, but he has his major hidden flaws as well. The romance is a rollicking ride of self-discovery and interconnectedness of the internet and how it drives the lives of these kids. So, it’s almost fantasy, but it’s fun fantasy. For a feel good read, try this one. 

Mary Jo read and recommends  David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter Series & Dogtripping

What We're Reading

Pat here:

 Starting off this month’s What We’re Reading blog with something a little different, The Girl with the Kaleidoscope Eyes by David Handler. 

This book is a murder mystery that made me grin, not because of silly hi-jinks but because of the author’s voice—or the protagonist’s voice since it’s in first person. It really needs to be read with tongue firmly in cheek. It’s set in the 1990s, when cell phones are huge clunky things, before the internet and social media. But the entire tone is gritty, cynical noir, as if it were an old time 1940’s film with James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart. The protagonist is a ghost writer for celebrities, one who once had a brilliant literary tome and could never write a second. So he talks cynically of literary and Hollywood agents, of his affairs with Hollywood and literary stars, gives sound advice to teenagers who never asked for it, and is—and I use this phrase in all its nuances—cocksure of himself. And while he’s doing all that talking, he’s solving a closed-door murder case.

For those of you who remember the 1970s, read this just for fun. He strews famous names, music, and film right and left. If you don’t remember the 70’s, read it anyway, and try to imagine seamy Hollywood without Twitter.

What We Read in July

Anne here, hosting this month's What We're Reading post, and what a line-up we have: science fiction, dual timeline, historical romance, women's fiction, non-fiction, and murder mysteries, with quite a few wenches turning to crime.

Mary Jo here.  I recently reread a book I'd read in the past, and I liked it even better the second time around.  John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars  is science fiction, but not the kind with ray guns and evil invading aliens. Instead, it's funny and very entertaining and even has some romance.

Scalzi speaks amusingly  about how he wrote the book in 1997 just to see if he could write a full length novel.  A couple of his writer friends said it was good, and his wife was greatly relieved to like it because if she hated it, she'd still have to live with him. <G>  Then he published it in pieces on his new scalzi.com blog and people sent in a buck if they liked it.  The story wasn't published as a real, print novel until 2005, but it has thrived since, and Scalzi is now a New York Times list bestselling science fiction author of many novels. 

 The narrator is Tom Stein, a young and successful Hollywood agent who has just gotten mega-bucks for his top client, a feather brained but likable young blond beach girl who desperately wants to win the role of a tough-as-nails Holocaust survivor.  His other clients tend to be neurotic and demanding, but that's normal.

Then Tom's life gets complicated.  Carl, the legendarily tough head of his agency, calls Tom in and says that he has been contacted by friendly aliens, the Yherajk, and they've decided they need a Hollywood agent to introduce them to humankind.  The problem is that they looks like blobs of melting gelatin and smell like locker room socks.  Since Tom's boss can't do the job personally, he enlists Tom, who has his work is cut out for him!  So a snarkily likable Yherajk with ADD and the human name of Joshua moves in with Tom, and the fun begins. 

This may sound somewhat boggling, but the story of Tom, Joshua, an old neighborhood dog called Ralph, actress Michelle, and Tom's sharp-tongued Chicana secretary Miranda is very entertaining, and ultimately moving.  I'll be reading it again. (Anne pops in to add her endorsement to this book)

The Many Delights of What We're Reading --June

Joanna here with our monthly round up. What have the Word Wenches been reading in June? What wonderful books have we discovered?

We have particularly exciting books this month.

First up, Anne.
[Warning: cookbook ahead]

Anne here. As usual, I've read a lot of books in the last month. I've always been a prolific reader and it doesn't matter how busy my life gets, reading is a necessary part of my life. 

 

I caught up on my Louise Penny reading, with GLASS HOUSES, a book I bought a year ago and discovered I hadn't read. Absorbing and entertaining, as always, this is #13  in her Chief Inspector Gamache crime series. 

 

Sharon Shinn -- Mary Jo put me onto Sharon Shinn's fantasies first, and after her recent post I discovered that some more of Shinn's books were now available to me on kindle. I read and enjoyed the first two in the series -- TROUBLED WATERS and ROYAL AIRS then discovered that book 3 and 4 are not available to me on kindle. Sigh. So frustrating to know that they are on kindle but not if you live where I do. I really HATE geographical restrictions.

rump grump grump.

 

Finally I read a biography, which I don't often do. It was Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David. She was a food writer,  famous before I was born, but who taught me a lot about cooking when I was a student living in a share house, and using an old penguin paperback of hers, FRENCH PROVINCIAL COOKING. I think it was as much the quality of her lyrical, evocative  prose and the little stories and anecdotes that prefaced some of the recipes that enticed me most. I bought all her books I could find, some from used book stores, and am happy to say they're all back in print.

 

I blogged about Elizabeth David some time back -- you can read it here -- and I found her biography fascinating, not least for the portrait of the difficult and unconventional woman behind the elegant and evocative writing, but also because of the difficulties she had with her various publishers. 

 

Pat brings us magic and what I'd call a "comfort read."

 

Pat here--I'm desperately seeking escape of any sort and a good getaway is hard to find. But here's a couple I've read in recent months that fit the bill.

THE LIBRARY, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDER,  Mindy Klasky

Mindy writes fun paranormal chicklit, and one of her best characters is Jane Madison, a librarian who discovers she’s a witch. In Jane’s books, she has a magical warder assigned to keep her from creating magical disasters. David Montrose, that powerful DC warder, has his own series now, and we get to see all the problems he’s facing behind the scenes. Not only are his personal problems mounting, but magical DC is on the brink of warfare because of his best friend’s actions, while Jane’s talent is blossoming. He’s juggling more than fire balls to solve everything at once, without being demoted again. It’s a fun fantasy ride!

THE SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, Claire Cook

Lovely women’s fiction with a protagonist who was deserted by her adventure-seeking husband and left to survive on her own. She buried herself in raising their child, giving up the travel and hope of family she’d always wanted—until her husband comes home and wants back in her life again. She has to learn to live and trust and develop new relationships. There’s a lot of fun travel tidbits since she acts as a home-bound travel agent. I would have liked to see her learn enough to actually achieve some of her goals instead of just a potential new love, but it was a pleasant journey worth taking for the fun.

Mary Jo with what sounds like a fun read.

Mary Jo here. I had a delightful time reading the latest Trisha Ashley book, The House of Hopes and Dreams.  Her books are usually about creative heroines in their thirties who are rebuilding their lives (probably in Lancashire), and in the process they find a great eccentric guy who is just right for them.  In HHD, the heroine, Angelique Arrowsmith, known as Angel, is a passionate and talented stained glass artist whose life has just fallen apart. 

Angel's lifelong best friend is Carey Revells, whose enthusiasm and skills as a home renovator have made him a reality TV star on a cottage makeover show, but he and Angel haven't met much in person since they left art school and she went north to work with her older lover, a famous stained glass artist.  The book begins with Carey recovering from an accident that left him bedridden for months and cost him his TV show and his girlfriend.  Then a solicitor informs him he has inherited a large, historic, and rundown house from an uncle he never knew he had. 

The house needs lots of work, and it happens to have a stained glass workshop created by Carey's great-grandmother, a noted glass artist.  So very shortly, Angel is living in the house, helping Carey, fixing up the glass shop, and coping with an alien looking black Chihuahua mix that likes biting male ankles.  Soon the house is flowing with friends, workmen, a film crew--and plenty of hopes and dreams fulfilled as well as an old mystery unraveled.  If you like friends-to-lovers stories, this is for you! 

The House of Hopes and Dreams is right up there with my very favorite Trisha Ashley, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Which, by happy chance, is only $2.99 in the US Kindle store.  So if you haven't read it, here's your chance for a Christmas in July.  It will make you happy and hungry. <G>

 

Andrea brings us some frank words about a favorite author,
and dives into Sharpe's Rifles.

Andrea says:  I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth George’s long-running Thomas Lynley detective series for ages. But after she shook up her readers by killing off a major character, I , like many, had a hard time getting back into it, feeling some of the books that followed lost the the sort of subtle psychological insights and interplay that made the books so interesting. I decided to give the last one a try and was heartened to feel George was getting back her mojo. I recently read her latest one, The Punishment She Deserves, and was happy to feel that George is back in top form. 

The plot begins with the apparent suicide of a well-respected churchman in a sleepy English college town. He ’s been picked on an anonymous tip accusing him of abusing children. Lynley’s sidekick, Barbara Havers is part of the two-person police team from Scotland Yard sent to do a routine investigation as the suspect supposedly hanged himself while in local police custody. Her superior is anxious to do a drive-by check up, but feisty Barbara can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right . . .

 

And so begins a probing to college binge drinking, protective parents and an intricate weaving together of mother-daughter relationships from a variety of backgrounds, probing into parental expectations/yearning for their children’s future, and what a parent will do to protect a child. I found it a complex, nuanced and sensitive story that deal with many modern day issues. Watching Lynley and Havers work through some of their own personal issues was also interesting to, as I like them both very much. It’s good to see them back in fine fettle and moving on with their lives! 

 

This month I also re-read Bernard Cornwell’s Waterloo, one of the swashbuckling Richard Sharpe books set in the Napoleonic Wars. My current Lady Arianna WIP is set in Brussels and the battle, and I had read that the book is used in many military colleges because it’s such an accurate description of the battle. Cornell is a masterful storyteller, and the non-stop action is riveting—and heartbreaking because of the carnage. I’ve made some notes for my own story about battle locations and timing (don’t worry—there won’t be so much blood and gore!) and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the entire series. If you haven’t read it yet, get Sharpe’s Tiger, the first book, which is set in India . . . you’ll be in for a rollicking ride!

 

As for me, I was reading S.A.Chakraborty's The City of Brass. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy based on a Middle Eastern mythos. It's a road trip through magical lands -- unfriendly lands full of demons. Much adventure. If I say Djinns and flying carpets it doesn't come close to describing the intricate worldbuilding.

 

There's Revolution and palace intrigue among the magical. So satisfying.

 

City of Brass is Book One of Three so the ending is problematic It's not quite a cliffhanger, but close. And it's good enough to have me looking forward to Book Two.

 

So that June in the Wench Reading Year.  A good 30 days. How's it been with you?

Cozy Criminal Ladies

by Mary Jo

I'm not a major mystery reader. I'm not especially interested in puzzle solving, I want interesting, likable characters, and wit is always good. I absolutely do NOT want gory stories and high body counts. In short, I tend to like cozy mysteries if they're well written and have good characters.

So every now and then I go on a cozy mystery binge with some of my favorite authors, so I thought I'd chat a bit about what I've been reading.

Mrs. Pollifax

The oldest series is Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax books, which started in the '70s and went up to 2000, I think.  (Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled)  Emily Pollifax is a sweet white-haired widow who raises prize geraniums and was really bored with her life. So naturally she went to the CIA and volunteered to work for them. <G>

 

What We're Reading - May

Nicola here, introducing this month's feature on our Wenchly reading. After what felt like a long reading slump I’ve had an amazing month of good books. I was lucky enough to be a judge for the RNA Debut Novel award and really enjoyed the experience; there was a huge range of books in contention this year, ranging from an 18^th century historical set in Ireland that was based on a riveting true story – Heart of Stone by John Jackson - to a laugh out loud romantic comedy – Perfect Match by Zoe May – with a load of other great books as well. You can find the whole list here if you would like to see what else is on there and if you enjoy the 17^th century I can really recommend Traitor’s Knot by Cryssa Basos, a brilliantly-written, fast-paced and romantic historical adventure set during the English Civil War.

As if that wasn’t enough, I read Island in the East by Jenny Ashcroft which is one of the richest and most exotic romantic historicals I’ve read in a long time. It reminded me of MM Kaye in the vivid drawing of the characters, the complex emotional relationships, the beautiful writing and the way that the location was a vivid character in itself.  The story is set in a dual time frame, Singapore in the Second World War and a parallel story forty years earlier.  In 1897, identical twins Harriet and Mae Grafton are sent to Singapore by their wealthy benefactor and their sibling love and support is fractured by rivalry and betrayal. In 1941, Ivy Harcourt, already suffering from wartime trauma, is posted to Singapore where she uncovers secrets from her grandmother Mae's past and experiences a romantic love of her own. I particularly loved Ivy and her hero Kit and were rooting for them all the way through.

 In between I also found the opportunity to glom on more of Emily Larkin’s Regency historicals (thank you, Anne, for the original recommendation!) and found what I think is my favourite so far, My Lady Thief. I loved everything about this book; the admirably confident heroine who had been made all the stronger by her traumatic past, the uptight hero who was utterly gorgeous underneath his stuffy exterior, and the beautiful way in which their relationship developed.

Anne writes: I finished Sebastien de Castell's four book swashbuckling series, "The Greatcoats", and found it a most satisfying read. If you're interested, start with Traitor's Blade.

Next I read Elly Griffiths, Dark Angel.  It's book #10 in her Dr. Ruth Galloway series, and I recommend you start at the beginning, not because each mystery can't be read on its own, but because the development of various characters through the series is a big part of the pleasure in reading these books. Elly Griffiths' narrator, Ruth has a dry, ironic humor that gently infuses her observations. Well worth reading.

I also read an advanced copy of Lucy Parker's new book, Making Up, which I loved. Lucy Parker wowed the wenches with her debut, Act Like It, and the follow-up, Pretty Face, and I felt very smug that I scored an early read of her third book in her "London Celebrities" series. I'm interviewing Lucy Parker on Friday. Stay tuned.

Mary Jo here:

Amanda Quick is the historical pseudonym of Jayne Ann Krentz, and she's made an interesting progression over the years: The Quick books started with Regencies, moved to Victorians, and in her new Burning Cove series, the setting is the 1930s in a glitzy California seaside resort with links to Hollywood.  The first book of the series, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, came out last year and the second, The Other Lady Vanishes, is a new release. 

The book begins with heroine Adelaide escaping from a horrible private asylum where she has been illegally held captive.  Once free, she heads to Burning Cove and a quiet life working in a tea shop.  But the past reaches out to ensnare her, a hot guy named Jake is in town in theory to help his nerves (which are actually made of steel <G>) and the action is on.  I like the 1930s setting, which is both familiar and distant, and there are hints of a world building toward war, though the focus is on Adelaide and Jake.  A rousing good read.

I also noticed that the first books in two series by Sharon Shinn, one of my favorite fantasy authors, are now only $2.99 in e-editions. Shinn is a master of world building, and Archangel is set in a world where human-but-winged angels are overseers for the rest of the population.  Gabriel, who is slated to become the next Archangel, a post that is held for 20 years, needs to find his god-designated wife, but she has disappeared--and when he finds her, she is not keen on the program!  Don't be put off by the dark cover, it's a great read with a powerful romance.

The other series is the Elemental Blessings and the first book is Troubled Waters. Again, there is great world building and a fine romance.  Happy reading!

Andrea: 

This past month I’ve been delving into the far-too-mountainous TBR pile, trying to catch up with all the recommendations I’ve been meaning to read. I heard Louise Penny speak at the Malice Domestic mystery conference last month, so was determined to finally start her Chief Inspector Gamache contemporary mystery series, set in Quebec, Canada. Am I glad I did! The first book, Still Life, follows the traditional cozy trope of a murder—this one of a 70 yr old woman in a small, isolated town, who seemed to have no enemies. But as the Inspector begins delving into the lives of the inhabitants, the peaceful tranquility is not what it seems. Penny writes wonderfully complex and vulnerable characters, and has a sharp eye for the nuances of family dynamics and marital relations. Inspector Gamache is a very interesting protagonist, too, and I’n really looking forward to continuing the series.

I also finally  read Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by Helen Simonsson, a delightfully charming book about a widowed retired English officer—a seemingly ordinary, by-the-book pillar of the community who strikes up a friendship with the Pakistani widow of the local convenience store . . . and suddenly begins to question what’s really important in life. There are laugh aloud scenes as the “new” major deals with his ambitious status-conscious son and his long-time friends at the golf club who think he’s gone off the rails. It’s a sly, witty commentary on modern life, but also a sweetly poignat celebration of "second acts” in life.

From Pat:

I've been in a reading slump lately, so perversely, I decided to clean out my TBR stack. You know how a TBR stack goes--the ones you just don't feel like reading right now drift to the bottom. It's probably a totally unfair means of choosing a book and predictably, I haven't finished a book in weeks. Nothing made me happy except a few old comfort reads I'd bought because they were on sale.

But back before my slump, I read HEIRS OF GRACE by Tim Pratt. Okay, I bought this because I'm a sucker for the fantasy of inheriting a big old mysterious house. In this case, the protagonist is an impoverished art student from Chicago who oddly inherits a derelict hoarder’s mansion in the mountains of NC. She knows she’s an orphan and assumes the person who left her the house was a relative—and quite a relative he was. The story is basically fantasy with Rebekah Lull learning about her magical family and having adventures and learning the morality of being almost all-powerful. There’s a witty boyfriend for the romance plot. I really wanted more on the personal side, but the story was a fun fantasy ride, and I happily followed it to the conclusion. If inheriting old houses and magic is your thing, this one’s for you!

 So, what are you reading  that delights, surprises, moves or intrigues you?

What We're Reading - April

As usual, the wenches have an eclectic and exciting selection of reading favorites from this past month. I think we've covered all the genres from wedding fantasies to biographies, with lots of romance in between!

 

Pat:

Aunt Dimity's Death, Nancy Atherton

This book is labeled a mystery, but it’s not a traditional one, which is probably why I adore it. There is no suspense other than determining the reason the mysterious Aunt Dimity was left alone and unhappy all her life. It’s more a fairy tale ghost story, since Aunt Dimity haunts the protagonists’ life in more ways than one, always in a cheerful, amiable manner. The heroine is the next best thing to the Poor Little Match Girl. She gets to visit what is, to all intents and purposes, an enchanted castle in a modern metropolis, meets a prince who isn’t really handsome but a lawyer, and is given a list of odd tasks she must accomplish to earn a princely sum. It’s all low key, pleasant, and charming, and we all get to live the fairy tale with her. In this day and age, I’m good with that.

 

What We Are Reading

Andrea here, introducing the latest addition of our monthly What We Are Reading feature. March brings a selection of old and new titles (as usual, the Wenches are ranging far and wide through through a variety of genres.) We hope you'll enjoy seeing what been tickling our fancy! And please what you've been enjoying!

Mary Jo: The best book I've read this month is our Anne Gracie's Marry in Scandal, but I'll be interviewing her about the book on Monday, April 2nd, so no more on that for the moment. But a tremendously fun older book that is now available as an ebook was just as funny this time as when I read it many, many years ago: Don Quixote USA  by Richard Powell.

What We're Reading — February 2018

Anne here, hosting our discussion of the books we've read in February.  

We start with Pat's find of the month, THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND, by Katarina Bivald. Pat says: I love this book! It’s a quiet book about a quiet book reader who summons the nerve to leave Sweden to visit an elderly penpal in a quiet small town in Iowa. Not just a quiet small town, but a broken one. The economy has struck the town hard. Residents have mostly died or moved away.

Amy, the penpal Sara comes to visit has also died, but the town insists that Sara stay in Amy’s home because they all knew how much Amy enjoyed reading her letters and how much Amy had been looking forward to her visit. Stunned by her situation, by the graciousness of the residents, and by the enormous library of books in Amy’s empty house, Sara quietly begins to change everything without even realizing she’s doing so.

There’s even a quiet romance. It’s an amazing journey for readers who loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Highly recommended! (And right now, it's only $2.51 at Amazon)  (Anne adds that she and several wenches have read and enjoyed this book, bought on Janga's recommendation on this blog back in September. Thank you Janga.)

 * * * * *

Mary Jo is sailing down a river: Her recommendation this month is The Rivers of London Series, by Ben Aaronovitch. The first book in the series is: Midnight Riot, PC Peter Grant, Book 1

Said to be a cross between CSI and Harry Potter, this series has been mentioned by a couple of other Wenches, Joanna and Pat, perhaps.  I was a little leery since I couldn't quite figure out what it was about, but once I read an excerpt of the first book, Midnight Riot, it made perfect sense.  In a fantasy-ish sort of way.  <G>

Peter Grant is a diligent young London constable with a mother from Sierra Leone and a father who is a talented but often addicted jazz musician.  His mixed heritage plays into the story in various ways, including his being a bit of an outsider.  He become much more of one when he has a chat with a ghost and is seen by a DCI Thomas Nightingale, who turns out to be the only licensed wizard in Britain and in charge of investigating all crimes involving magic and 'other beings.'

In no time at all, Peter is working for him as an apprentice wizard, which turns out to be dangerous but far more interesting than being a police paper shuffler.  Peter is a great character--smart and funny and committed to helping people even when it takes him into mortal peril.

What We're Reading in January

Susan here, on the last day of January 2018 (already!), bringing  you our WWR (What We're Reading) post. Contemporary, historical romance, a treasure trove of mysteries, an English king and a Renaissance giant -- the Wenches have discovered some truly great reads this month! 

Pat says -- 

I still can’t tell if I enjoyed THE ART OF CRASH LANDING by Melissa DeCarlo or was just seriously annoyed with it—which means I really got into it and lived with it, which doesn’t happen often anymore. The protagonist is a hot mess. Her mother was worse. Her life’s screwed up, and then her grandmother dies and she runs off to see if she inherited anything--before even calling the lawyer. She continues to recklessly fling herself into life, other people’s lives, future lives, but with each futile leap, she learns a little more. The reader gets to watch as she opens up, just a little, to the possibility that there are other lives out there besides hers, that they’re as seriously messed up as she is, and maybe, just maybe, she might fix one small thing here and there. There’s a touch of romance, but mostly, this is a woman learning how to live and face the future instead of wallowing in guilt and self-loathing. I don’t think I’d like this woman if I met her, but she’s someone I wouldn’t hate by the end. If I made you curious, try it!

Mary Jo -- 

I've read several good books recently, but for the now, I'll just tell you about Emily Larkin's Trusting Miss Trentham -- #3 in the Baleful Godmother historical series, it features Letty Trentham, a plain woman who is the greatest heiress in England, and has been gifted with the ability to tell truth from lies every time.  Since she's an heiress, this is useful--she's turned down almost 200 proposals because no matter what they say, she knows they're lying and only interested in her fortune.

Then one night at a ball, after she's turned down one proposal, she's approached by gaunt, haunted Major Icarus Reid, recently out of the army, and needing her help to find which of two English officers betrayed secret information that led to the French ambushing Reid's scouting party in Portugal.  Four young men died, and Reid was broken in deep emotional ways.  He wants to see justice done so he can die in peace, and he needs Letty's help to find the liar.

Letty weighs the cost to her reputation against the lives of four men who were needlessly slaughtered, and says yes. This leads the two of them on a colorful journey across country, and a relationship that develops in unusual and fascinating ways.  Well worth reading! 

 

What We're Reading: The Christmastide Edition

By Mary Jo

What have the Wenches been reading, or what are they looking forward to reading in December? Pull up a comfy chair by the fire and find out!

Nicola here:

I haven’t really got into my Christmas reading as yet despite the fact that there are Christmas books all around! At the moment I’m glomming on The Royal Wedding Invitations series, which features books by some of my favourite HMB authors including Sophie Weston, Jessica Hart and Liz Fielding. I’m such a sucker for a royal wedding story and this is a gorgeous series!

However, I have started to get into the Christmas spirit with a novella by Jane Lovering called Christmas at the Little Village School. It’s wonderfully warm, funny and uplifting, it’s out on 12th December but up for pre-order now and I loved it!

WWR — What the Wenches Have Read in October

Anne here, hosting our regular monthly feature, What We're Reading, where the wenches and readers talk about the books they've read and enjoyed in the last month.

We start with Pat Rice talking about Sherry Thomas's A Study in Scarlet Women.
Pat says: I have always adored Sherry Thomas’s writing, and of course, I cut my teeth on Sherlock Holmes mysteries, so the combination of Sherry Thomas writing about a female Sherlock Holmes was just too tempting. Other than the contrived ending to the mystery —and let’s face it, Sherlock was the King of Contrived—the book is absolutely delicious. 

I can’t reveal the shocking opening, but let us say that Charlotte Holmes is a woman of strong spine and beliefs as well as a brilliant mind and regrettably insufficient human experience. There are rough similarities to the Conan Doyle stories, if only in name, but no real attempt to duplicate the other characters. Which is provident, because that leaves room for Charlotte’s enigmatic love interest—a married man who behaves with prudence and respect and is an altogether wonderful hero in his own right. 

This isn’t a romance, by any means, but having an unrequited love makes her just a little more human. Highly recommended! (and the next in the series is just out!)

Nicola is next. She says:
Whether it was going to see the JaneAusten exhibition in Oxford or all the recent chat there has been in my RNA chapter about Austen’s books, I was inspired to pick up (again) Jane Austen Made Me Do It, the anthology inspired by Jane, her life and her writing. I love the way all the authors in the collection put such a clever and individual spin on their source material and being such a fan of the great Jo Beverley, I particularly enjoyed her lovely story Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss which made me feel very Christmassy!

What We're Reading in August

Joanna here:  Season of Mists and Yellow Fruitfulness it may be, but I'm not getting ANY reading done.  You will have heard this excuse before many times. I think I may be the least readingest of all the Wenches. I'm rereading the Lymond Chronicles of Dorothy Dunnett. I'm embarked on the Game of Kings just at the moment. Rereading it is very different from reading it for the first time which was full of "Wow. I want to write that," but also a good bit of "What?" "Huh?" Also beginning and not yet very far into The Natural History of Dragons, of which you have heard other Wenches speak. I'm enjoying it.

 

Here's what Nicola has to say:

I came back from the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference buzzing with ideas and weighed down with a pile of fabulous books I am now reading my way through. First was Here’s To Us by Elin Hilderbrand. I hadn’t come across her books before; here in the UK they aren’t as well-known as in the US but I am so glad I have found her because I didn’t want to put the book down. I loved the exploration of complicated family relationships, the twists, the tensions and the resolutions. I loved the characters and the way that they interacted and found the writing style so crisp and clear. Even more I loved her descriptions of Nantucket which were so rich and vivid that I felt as though I was there! I’m on the hunt for her other books now.

Next I picked up Midsummer Dreams by Alison May. It’s a clever re-imagining of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a contemporary setting. I’m only part of the way through but I am really enjoying the way that Alison has created characters who feel real and warm and alive. It’s funny and poignant and she really pins down the emotional conflicts. As it’s one of a series inspired by Shakespeare I can see myself reading the whole lot!

 

 

 

Anne says:

MY LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP, by Nina George

The story is about a man, Jean Perdu, who runs a bookshop— or what he calls 'a literary apothecary' in a lovely old restored barge on the Seine River in Paris. Jean has a gift for finding just the right book for each customer, a balm for what ails you. He can heal anyone except himself—he's locked in a frozen past (Perdu is French for 'lost')—until a new person arrives in his apartment complex and Jean's frozen present begins to develop cracks. What follows is an adventure of the heart — but be aware, this not genre romance. 

I savored it and, having read a lot of books, enjoyed recognizing the various titles Jean offered his customers. I loved the setting and the layered intrigue of the characters. It's an international best-seller.  I bought it as an e-book, but I'm buying the paper version, as it's a keeper. As Library Journal (who gave it one of their coveted starred reviews) said "if ever a book was meant to be read over and over, this gem is it.”

 

You get two covers for the price of one, because different

 TRUST by Kylie Scott

Kylie Scott is famous for her gritty rock star series, but this is a new area for her — YA (Young Adult.) TRUST has only been out for a week or two, but it already has several hundred reviews. I devoured it in a night.

Kylie Scott has a gift for putting two fairly ordinary young people in an extraordinary situation, and then showing them learn to cope, and grow stronger from the experience. She has a deep understanding of the pressures and conflict that young people today have to deal with. TRUST is a coming-of-age story, and also a romance. Highly recommended.

  

THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan

I think I picked this up from a wenchly recommendation. Life in a small English village during WW2, when normal village life is challenged and disrupted and people discover new talents and strengths in themselves. I enjoyed it very much.

 

Andrea/Cara has two books for us, one by a fellow Wench:

I was so happy to receive my copy of Nicola’s The Phantom Tree from Book Depository recently. (It’s not yet out in the U.S. but Book Depository has free shipping worldwide so you to can snatch it up—which I highly recommend!) It’s a riveting time slip story, with the action moving back and forth between Elizabethan England and the present day. The plot revolves around the heroine seeing a small portrait in a modern-day antique shop that's just created a news buzz by being identified as a lost-lost painting of Anne Boleyn. But the heroine knows that’s wrong . . .

 

I’m not all that familiar with Tudor times, so I loved learning about the intricate politics and family connections as well as aspects of everyday life. The writing is beautifully evocative—the manor homes like Wolf Hall and the surrounding countryside come brilliantly alive. And the characterizations are richly nuanced, both with the actual historical figures and how they entwine with the fictional ones. Nicola creates a wonderfully provocative “what-if” story for Mary Seymour, who in real life was presumed to have died in childhood. I don’t want to give away too much of the mystery twists . . . But add to the plot the heroine’s former flame, a dishy modern historian who has his own hit TV show, and things heat up as they delve deeper into the mystery of the portrait—which brings about some other surprising revelations! It’s a wonderfully layered and engaging story, and I was up until the wee hours of the morning finishing it because I just couldn’t put it down!

 

On a very different note, I also enjoyed My Life With Bob, whose subtitle is: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. It’s part memoir, part musing on books by by Pamela Paul, the editor of the New York Times Book Review. As a shy, introverted high school student, she started to keep a notebook of every book she read, and over the last 28 years, she's kept it up, hauling the tattered volume around the world with her as she goes on life’s journeys, both physically and metaphorically. I like the way the official blurb describes it: "It’s about the deep and powerful relationship between book and reader . . . It’s about why we read what we read and how those choices make us who we are. It’s about how we make our own stories.” There are times when she gets a little too self-consciously precious, but on the whole, it’s a fun, provocative read about how books shape our lives, providing solace, inspiration, escape, and often a prod to be better than we think we can be. And really, who among our Wench family here can resist a book about books!

 

So, what are you reading lately that delights, surprises, moves or intrigues you?

 

 

Reading for the First Time, Again

by Mary Jo

"What books do you wish you could read for the first time again?"

I can't remember where I saw someone ask the question above, but I immediately thought how delightful the question would be for a monthly Ask A Wench topic. And indeed, the Word Wench answers are varied and fun. I did suggest that we didn't need to mention books by Mary Stewart and Georgette Heyer, which are pretty much a given in this crowd, but they did manage to sneak in. <G>

Pat Rice

I’m not entirely certain I can fully recreate the wonder of reading some books for the first time when the difference in experience is so enormous between then and now. I read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice for the first time when I was nine years old. I still savor the joy in finding Real Books instead of the insipid garbage in the school library. Today—aging Britlit, even reading for the first time, would hardly be as engrossing.

What about Catch 22 or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? I was in awe of those as a freshman in college. They’re so brilliant, I might still experience some of the awe, and my cynicism now and then would still enjoy it. But after seeing the movies? Maybe not so much.

And I know many tomes don’t hold up to my more jaded eyes these days. I soaked up Woodiwiss’s Flame and the Flower as if I were a thirsty sponge back in the 70’s, but now? Please. Neither the story or writing would meet my standards today. I think experience impedes my enjoyment of most books these days. I’ll spend a few quiet hours of pleasure, but they’ll never reach the awestruck standards of those earlier books.

 

What We're Reading in March!

Mary Jo here, and as always, the Word Wenches are reading diverse and wonderful things! 

First up is Nicola Cornick:

This month I’ve been reading The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox. It’s dual time frame novel set in the present day and in the 1970s (which seems almost contemporary to someone my age!) and spans London, Tuscany and Hollywood. Victoria Fox is better known for her blockbusters in the style of Jackie Collins and this is something completely different from her. It’s being described as a gothic suspense novel like Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca and it certainly has some dark overtones, but I loved it for the atmospheric descriptions and the beautiful writing. Victoria really does write with such elegance and style; it’s a joy to read.

The Silent Fountain is a big, deep novel about secrets and relationships. There is love and romance, of course – a book usually needs to have those elements to hook me – but also mystery, drama, suspense… A fabulous read if you like books that entwine two complex and fascinating story threads. At the moment The Silent Fountain is only available in the UK but it is published in the US by MIRA in October.