Can't Wait Wednesday: Grave of the Lawgiver by Peter Treymane (A Sister Fidelma Mystery, Book 36)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, Grave of the Lawgiver, by Peter Treymane. I will be honest, I have never heard of this author, his books, and got this from my Kindle list titled, "upcoming releases for you." I read a lot of cozy mysteries and historical mysteries so that's understandable. This book is number 36th of the series so I'm shocked I've never run across it! The author's bio says he is a Celtic scholar who has written over 30 books on the Ancient Celts and the Irish. 

It is so unique. That is a main reason I'm featuring it. Set in the year 673 it features an Irish sleuth named Sister Fidelma of Cashel who runs into crimes like any good mystery character. In this book she travels to the Kingdom of East Angles to find someone has murdered the "lawgiver" and burned his house down. She is subsequently accused of the crime, as is her friend, Eadulf. They must find out answers to clear their name.

I really want to see if I like this series. Of course I doubt I'll start with Book 36 but wanted to feature it as it is a series that has been around and much loved for a long time it seems. Very much reminds me of the Cadfael Chronicles which I love and am reading faithfully in order. It is set in a time period I know nothing about so hopefully I will learn some history along the way. 

I hope you've found something you can't wait to read! Happy reading ya'll!

Medieval Historical Mysteries

 

July 17, 2025

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

The year is AD 673. Fidelma accompanies Eadulf to his hometown, Seaxmund's Ham in the Kingdom of the East Angles, to be greeted with the shocking news that Eadulf's uncle, Athelnoth, the lawgiver, has been murdered and his house burnt down. And Eadulf's younger sister is missing.

The locals accuse Fidelma and Eadulf of the crimes, and Fidelma's safety is threatened by the first council of the bishops and kings of the Angles and Saxons, who wish to expel all Hibernian missionaries and teachers from the kingdoms.

Against this opposition, Fidelma and Eadulf must unite to solve one of their most complex mysteries yet.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Like To Re-Read

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is "Books I'd LIke To Re-Read." This is a great topic and I already have a few that are in a folder in my Kindle titled TBR: Re-Reads. 

When I first saw this topic posted for the week I thought I'd have a hard time whittling my list down to ten. It has been really enlightening to see the exact opposite happened! I struggled to find more than 8-9 books I'd waste time re-reading all the way through. As I thought about different books I realized there were few worth my time to read again. It also showed me just how much I must love certain ones if I've not only read them more than once but would read them again a second, third, or even fourth time! 

If they are books like cozy mysteries in a super long series or history facts type of books I'd probably never re-read them. But epics or those books that lingered in my mind I often want to go back years later and read again. I'm going to list out to the side of the titles how many times I've already read the book so far. Just to remind myself how amazing it must have been. 

I am excited to see what my fellow bloggers posted and whether or not we share certain books worth re-reading. 

Happy reading ya'll!

Click on the title to link to Goodreads if you are interested in one of these! I have also added a link if I've reviewed it and you want to see my take on why I love it so much.

1. The Sunne in Splendour   by Sharon Kay Penman (1)

2. Gone With the Wind   by Margaret Mitchell (4)-  My Review

3. And Then There Were None   by Agatha Christie (1)- My Review

4. Drums of Autumn   by Diana Gabaldon (2)

5. Lord John and the Private Matter   by Diana Gabaldon (1)

6. Celia Garth   by Gwen Bristow (1)

7. Fall of Giants   by Ken Follett (1)

8. Devil's Brood   by Sharon Kay Penman (1)- My Review

9. Victoria Victorious   by Jean Plaidy (1)

10. Susannah   by Candice F. Ransom (Lost Count!)- My Review

Susannah is a book I read in 5th grade (I don't usually read kids or YA books now) and it sparked my love of reading so much. It also sparked my love of history (at the time of the Civil War) and I was so excited to find a copy on Amazon to buy used. I even reached out to the author and she responded thanking me for telling her how much her book meant to me as a kid. It was wonderful! Have to re-read this one soon :) 

c

 

Stacking the Shelves #61

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Enjoy your reading this week!

The Tangled Thread by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Morland Dynasty Book 10)

Amazon Kindle purchase- $0.99 this week

I have read two books in this series and I know the author has more set in the World War I era, Russia, and another called Ashmore Castle that is currently being written. This is book 10 of the long running 36 volume Morland Dynasty and it was on sale for 99cents. There are so many books covering all of English history chronologically. The latest book came out last year and so I'm guessing she will continue. 

I don't know if I'll read out of order but this particular book covers the Napoleonic/French Revolution era of which I am not as familiar with, and it being so cheap this week I went ahead and bought it. My experience with her other books was positive and she uses them to teach history in an interesting, easy to understand way which I really like. 

A Fatal Encounter in Tuscany by Vivian Conroy (Miss Ashford Investigates Book Three)

Amazon Kindle purchase- $0.99

This is a series I'm reading in order and have actually kept up with! While they aren't my absolute favorite cozies, they do take place in exotic, unusual locations which I love. I don't know anything about Tuscany except that wine vineyards come to mind when I think of it. Hopefully I'll learn about it a bit while seeing Atalanta Ashford also solve a murder. She gets to travel on the Orient Express with her friend Raoul and meet an Italian heiress. Agatha Christie vibes going there. It shopuld be fun. Great deal this week for 99 cents!

Hourly History, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life From Beginning to End

FREE with sign up to Hourly History newsletter (Free Friday books every week!)

Ya'll I have waaaayyyyy too many books and information on Eleanor. So what is the logical thing to do? Get another book on Eleanor, lol. No way can I pass it up. It was free! When you sign up for the Hourly History newsletter, each Friday they give away free, and practically free, (99 cents to $2) books. I just scroll through and pick what I want. I'm really cheap so typically I'll only take the free ones unless there is one I really, really want. 

This one popped up and I just couldn't say no. These books are meant to be read in an hour or less and give an overview of the subject. While I'm not likely to learn anything I don't already know about her, I like the refresher between novels about her that I will encounter again. She never ceases to fascinate me. 

A Leaf On the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Book 8.5)

 

Publication Date:

December 3, 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length:  67 pages 

Series: Outlander

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

Orphaned during World War II, Roger believed that his mother died during the London Blitz, and that his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in combat. But in An Echo in the Bone, Roger discovers that this may not be the whole story. Now, in “A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows,” readers finally learn the truth.

My Thoughts: (Mild spoiler alerts! I try not to do this but it's hard to review this one without that a bit).

I originally planned to re-read all of the Outlander series in order (again, lol) a few years ago and posted that on my blog. Sadly, I am way behind. I discovered other authors with amazing long epics like Sharon Kay Penman and got sucked into another era! But that's okay because I'd already read all the Outlander books twice and am keeping up with the amazing STARZ series of course. The new prequel spin off about Jamie and Claire's parents, Outlander: Blood of My Blood,  is coming out this summer and even though it isn't based off of a particular book, Gabaldon is heavily involved in writing and production and it should be amazing.

Since I'm working my way through other books right now I decided to post a  review of this novella and skimmed it (I've already read it twice before). It's been awhile so I truly ended up reading a lot of it again. So fun to remember these details. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: Call of the Cross: A Historical Novel of Scotland by J.R. Tomlin (William the Bold Book 2)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, Call of the Cross, by J.R. Tomlin. I have only read the first book in her series about The Stewarts, A King Ensnared. It was written accurately from a historical perspective, although re-reading my review I remember it did drag a bit at times. I intended to continue with the series. Now I think I'd like to go back and start at the very beginning of her books chronologically to help me better understand Scottish history. Her books run from the late 1200's to the 1500's and cover Black Douglas, Robert the Bruce, and the Stewarts prior to Mary Queen of Scots. 

Set in 1267 Scotland this series tells the story of Sir William Douglas, who goes on Crusade. I love this time period and Crusader history. I'm sure starting with book one is best though and this is book two. If going in chronological order this series might be first in the timeline. I need to find out.

This is an overlooked time period, especially in Scotland, compared to say the Mary Queen of Scots era so I'm glad she loves Scottish history enough to research and write these. I hope you have found something you can't wait to read this week. Happy reading ya'll!

Medieval Historical Fiction

Scottish Historical Fiction

 July 23, 2025

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

Scotland, 1267: Sir William Douglas, hero of the Battle of Largs, rides to war again. When the Pope calls a crusade, as an honorable knight, he must answer the call. He leaves behind the conflicts of his homeland to fight for the Holy Cross. But once in the Levant, he must question if that is what he is truly fighting for.