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Friday, June 13, 2025

Danger On the Atlantic by Erica Ruth Neubauer (A Jane Wunderly Mystery Book 3)

 

Publication Date:

March 29, 2022

Genre:

Cozy Mystery

Length: 304 pages

Series: Jane Wunderly Mysteries

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

For young American widow Jane Wunderly, there are worse fates than adventuring aboard a transatlantic liner with the only man who could change her mind about romance. Unfortunately, her first-class itinerary has an unexpected, and deadly, addition waiting just below deck.

Atlantic Ocean, 1926: Voyaging from Southampton to New York, self-reliant Jane is determined to prove herself a worthy investigator on the stately ship--even awkwardly going undercover as the fashionable wife of her magnetic partner, Mr. Redvers. Few details are known about the rumored German spy the duo have been tasked with identifying among fellow passengers, but new troubles unfold once wealthy newlywed Vanessa Fitz Simmons announces the sudden disappearance of her husband at sea.

Miles Van de Meter, the man Vanessa rushed to marry in Monte Carlo, has allegedly vanished into thin air along with his luggage. Redvers guesses the shifty heiress may be weaving tall tales for fun between flutes of champagne, yet Jane isn't convinced, not after the stunning murder of a trusted acquaintance sends them into uncharted waters. Facing two dangerous mysteries and a boat load of suspects, Jane must navigate a claustrophobic quest for answers before the culprits can slip from her grasp on land, or, worse, ensure she and Redvers never reach their destination.

My Thoughts:

I had been reading this series out of order (not something I like to do anymore) so going back to books 2 and 3 was very helpful and I'm glad I did. Although this definitely wasn't my favorite of the series so far, it does tie up loose ends that book 4 (the one I read first because of the cover and location!) had in it. Jane and Redvers relationship is clearer for me now and I can just go straight to book 5 and pick up from there. This book was a nice addition, just not terribly exciting.

When it opens they are taking the ship to America, where Jane lives, and are posing as husband and wife to find a spy Redvers is looking for. Jane is happy to be sharing time and a room with Redvers although still conflicted about her feelings for him. This being the 1920's and all, it is highly unusual and she is careful about opening up to him, modesty especially important, even though she is a widow. 

Monday, June 9, 2025

Noteworthy News: A Slice of Medieval Podcast

 

This last week has been crazy around here and then I went out of town and I didn't get a review in. So I'm going to add a Noteworthy News entry because I haven't done one since February! It also seems these turn out to be about my favorite new poscasts and this one is no different. I have found one I'm totally obsessed with called, A Slice of Medieval,  and want to share for those of you who love the Wars of the Roses, and any medieval history. These two hosts are fantastic and entertaining and have the most wonderful guest authors and historians on their shows. The content is fresh and relevant to today and their style of bantering back and forth and being very human in their discussions make it an all around top three of mine right now.

The hosts are both well known authors, Sharon Bennett Connelly and Derek Birks. They have all kinds of well known guests on to talk about their latest book or a historical time that they are experts in. To name just a few...Elizabeth Chadwick, Matt Lewis, and Kathryn Warner, some of my favorites. Every episode is new and entertaining and I always learn something or come away with a new book to look into. If you love the medieval period and new content this is one you need to subscribe too. So far everything is free too which is great as a lot of the podcasts I love have started charging for premium subscriptions. Hopefully this post will give you a new way to learn medieval history and find great new authors!

Sunday, June 1, 2025

20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge

 


I'm very excited to be joining this challenge!  I didn't do the best my first time in another challenge about reading during the summer but that's okay. No pressure right?? I really like the "rules" because it makes me relax and focus on reading more books I already own. 

I decided to go through my Kindle and meticulously weed out all samples I know I will never read and to create my list from those books I have started and not finished but didn't DNF because I still want to finish them. Shockingly, I didn't have as many of those as I thought so I added a few books that I haven't started and put aside and want to try. Several are sequels, some are big books, and of course cozy mysteries. But all are a TBR pile that I need to finish or already own. I have also listed them in my preferred reading order but that might change. Currently I am reading Stormbird and listening to Murder at the Spring Ball

Here are the challenge rules. Head over to annabookbel.net  or click on the picture above if you want to join. Emma, from the blog, wordsandpeace.com is hosting too but the sign up Linky is on annabookbel.net

  • The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
  • The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15 or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
  • Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
  • If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
  • Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
  • Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!
This is my list....no links as I'm short on time!

1. Stormbird  by Conn Iggulden
2. Murder at the Spring Ball  by Benedict Brown
3. The No. 1 Detective Agency  by Alexander McCall Smith
4. The Land Beyond the Sea  by Sharon Kay Penman (re-reading)
5. Bethlehem Road  by Anne Perry
6. Crouchback  by Sarah Woodbury
7. In a Dark Wood Wandering  by Hella S. Hasse
8. The Falcon of Palermo  by Maria R. Bordihin
9. Lord John and the Private Matter  by Diana Gabaldon (re-reading)
10.The Iron King  by Maurice Druon
11. Winter of the World  by Ken Follett
12. Here Be Dragons  by Sharon Kay Penman
13. The Sister Queens  by Mary McGrigor
14. The Enemy and Miss Innes  by Martha Keyes
15. The Summer Queen  by Elizabeth Chadwick
16. Blood Roses  by Kathryn Warner
17. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman  by Tessa Arlen
18. The Man in the Brown Suit  by Agatha Christie
19. Murder at Everham Hall  by Benedict Brown
20. Murder at Rough Point  by Alyssa Maxwell
21. (if I am feeling ambitious...lol...Emma  by Jane Austen!)

Have you read any of these? What did you like? Dislike? I fully realize this list is ENORMOUS for me and has lots of big books too but I like variety. 

I am going to leave them in a TBR collection on my Kindle and bookshelves to inspire me to keep working through it. Everything else I own is brand new so this list is great for me to see I don't have nearly as many unfinished books as I thought. 

Happy Reading ya'll!