Stacking the Shelves #104

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

Click on the cover to learn more about the book!

Queen of Trial and Sorrow by Susan Appleyard

Hoopla Digital borrow: free

I can't believe in all my searches for books about historical figures I've not yet run across this author. I've already started this one and it's fantastic! It is essentially the same type of book as Philippa Gregory's The White Queen, covering the life of Elizabeth Woodville and her adventurous journey through the Wars of the Roses. It is written in first person and draws you in immediately through her relationship with King Edward IV and her desperation after the death of her first husband. The great thing is that this author has multiple books on other topics and people that look just as promising. 

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book 36)

Libby Audiobook borrow: Free

I didn't know Christie had written a Halloween book and was even more excited to find out it was with Poirot as the lead detective. I love listening to these in the car with Hugh Fraser as the narrator. In this book, a young girl is found drowned in a barrel at a party where they were playing an apple bobbing game. As Poirot digs into the girl's life and the party guest list he finds she may not have been beloved and may have witnessed another murder herself, prompting someone to want her dead. A good one just in time for October.  

Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Menuhin (Heathcliff Lennox Book One)

Kindle Purchase: $2.99 this week 

This cover made me stop and look, as did the price and the fact that it is book one in a series I haven't tried. I also love the 1920's mysteries with male inspectors for a change. This will be a good one to get ready for Christmas posts. When Major Lennox finds a body on his doorstep it leads him to his uncle's country estate just in time for snow and more murder. The synopsis says "Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie with a touch of Wodehouse and a dog of distinction." I love it already!

Stacking the Shelves #103

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

Click on the cover to learn more about the book!

Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth Century Europe by Sarah Gristwood 

Kindle purchase: $1.99 

This book by an author I featured last week is a study of the most powerful women of the sixteenth century, during a time when women were not likely to rule much. From Isabella of Castile to Elizabeth Tudor this study of powerful women rulers looks like an interesting read. And not just because they are women, but because they shaped history in their time. I like books that include many historical figures and give an overall snapshot of their lives and accomplishments. 

Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman

Kindle purchase: 99 cents

Pen and Sword history has some of the best books from England that I want to read so badly but often I can't get them here in the U.S. or they are incredibly expensive. When I ran across this book today I was so excited! I'd featured it a long time ago on my Can't Wait Wednesday post and now it is available for a great discount. Matilda II from Scotland, wife of Henry I is a queen that is rarely written about and I love to learn about the more obscure royals and events that don't get a lot of attention. And also, look at that gorgeous cover! This is one book I'm going to put on my TBR list. 

A Question of Betrayal by Anne Perry (An Elena Standish Novel Book Two) 

Kindle purchase: $1.99

There are five books in the Elena Standish series and I now own the first two. Anne Perry is one of my favorite authors and since she passed away not long ago I'm glad I still have a long way to go with all her many books.  In this series, set between WWI and WWII, the heroine becomes involved in her first mission for MI16 British intelligence during the Mussolini years. Perry is so adept at combining real historical events with mystery, intrigue, and authentic settings. 

Stacking the Shelves #102

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood 

Kindle purchase: 49 cents with points

Goodreads says "The true story of Philippa Gregory's The White Queen" for the summary of this book. While I know some complain that Gregory's books  aren't historically accurate, this author's is because it is not historical fiction. It covers everyone in the Wars of the Roses from Anne Neville to Margaret Beaufort. I look forward to reading it and seeing what new things I uncover about all these women. 

Poison in Piccadilly by Kelly Oliver (A Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery Book Six)

Libby audiobook borrow: Free

This is the last book in the FIona Figg series. After that I'd like to begin Oliver's Agatha Christie series. These are fun to listen to in the car and while doing chores. I like the recurring characters and keep waiting to see if Fiona will ditch Archie for her much more charming and exciting nemesis, Fredrick Fredricks. Since this is the end of the series I know we are going to find out soon!

Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden (Emperor Book One)

Kindle purchase: $1.99 

I enjoyed the first two books by Iggulden in the Wars of the Roses series and need to finish the other two. I grabbed this book because I want to eventually read a series about Rome and Julius Caesar even though it isn't my favorite subject. I just think I should try to learn something of that time period. Hopefully this series is good by a solid author. Learning in an entertaining way is my motto with most of my reading.

Stacking the Shelves #101

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. Happy reading y'all!

The Big Four by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot Book Five)

Libby: Borrow, free audiobook

I have really neglected Agatha Christie this year. So it's time to get back into the latest Poirot book. I have enjoyed listening to her books while commuting or doing chores and so this one was next in line. Unfortunately, I've read nearly all the books for Read Christie 2026 so this one is not on that list. It was originally a series published in the paper and then cobbled together into a book. Looking forward to catching up with Poirot and Hastings in this very different book about espionage. 

The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer by Ian Mortimer 

Hoopla Digital: Borrow, Free

I have always been fascinated by the marcher families in medieval times. The Mortimers are part of that story and so this looked interesting. Ian Mortimer is known for being a great researcher and although I may not read every single page I'm sure I will get the gist of his life. And it's free with Hoopla so win win!

Anna Komnene and the Alexiad: The Byzantine Princess and the First Crusade by Ioulia Kolovou

Kindle purchase: $2.99 this week

Anna Komnene is remarkable for her time. She is a rare woman, being the only Byzantine female historian and modern researchers are lucky to have her material to draw from even a thousand years later. I heard a lot about her when I was listening to the History of the Crusades podcast years ago. This book caught my eye because it was on sale this week and I haven't seen many books about her life before. 

 

Stacking the Shelves #100

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

Path in the Dark by J.R. Tomlin (A Medieval Mystery)

Kindle purchase: $2.99 this week

This author has several series set in medieval Scotland and this is the start of a brand new series but with fictional characters and a mystery theme. Her other series focus on real characters from history but this is the first I'm aware of that has fictional ones. Robert the Bruce plays a part in it though, so real historical characters are present. It will be interesting to see how she works a mystery into the time and setting. 

The Imprisoned Princess: The Scandalous Life of Sophia Dorothea of Celle by Catherine Curzon

Kindle purchase: $2.99 this week

I had heard of the story of Sophia Dorothea before but never delved into the details. This is the only straight history book I've seen of the scandal although Jean Plaidy wrote one about her life called, The Princess of Celle, that is hard to find now. I thought this looked original and interesting and was on sale for a great price this week. 

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (Albert Campion Book Two)

Kindle purchase: $0.51 this week

I have book one from this series and now book two is on sale this week. I have yet to read the first in the series but this author is a famous one from the Golden Age of Detective mysteries and I really need to give it a go soon. I thought since book two was so cheap I'd go ahead and get it. Campion tries to keep a judge and his family safe from a sinister, elusive gangster in this classic mystery. 

Stacking the Shelves #99

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. Happy reading y'all!

A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 0.5)

Kindle purchase: Free with points or $2.99 to by this week

I need to read this one before I continue with the series as it is the prequel and explains how Brother Cadfael went from Crusader to monk. I have been collecting these over the years and the library has them all but I am glad I could find this one for free.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare 

Libby borrow: Free

I am returning to my teaching job after almost a full year off due to medical issues. I am a reading specialist and am so excited to get back to teaching kids to read! This book came up in the Libby America 250 celebration book list and it made me want to read it again. Looking forward to sharing it with my kids too. It is about a young girl, Kit Tyler, who tries to survive her harsh Puritan community in Colonial America. 

Water Under the Bridge by Jason Vail

Kindle purchase: Free with points or $2.99 to buy this week

The cover and title of this book caught my eye. It was published this year and is by an author I'd featured before for his other series. When I read the summary and saw it was a murder mystery set in Henry VII's England I had to check it out. The main character is in hiding from the King and imprisonment and works undercover to solve the murder of a friend in medieval London. 

 

Stacking the Shelves #98

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

The Bangalore Detectives Club (Bangalore Detectives Club Book One)

Hoopla Digital Borrow: Free

I love mysteries and I love books set in India so this one looked like a win. It is a 1920's cozy murder mystery series which is not hard to come by but books set in India definitely are! This features a married doctor's wife turned sleuth who works to find out who murdered someone at a fancy country club. It will take her to the highest and lowest parts of society.

The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (The Lymond Chronicles Book Two)

Kindle Deal: $1.99

This is a book that many have praised and so it is considered somewhat of a classic to me. Set in 1500's Scotland written in the 1960's it traces the story of the Crawford family and the main character's attempt to save his Scottish homeland from English invaders. 

Countenance of War by J.R. Tomlin (The Black Douglas Trilogy Book Two)

Kindle Deal: $2.99

I have book one in this series and have read another by this author. She has several series set in medieval Scotland and this one concerns the Black Douglas, a real Scottish warrior named James who fights Edward I's attempts to conquer Scotland.

Stacking the Shelves #97

 

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. Happy reading y'all!

A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett 

Kindle Purchase: $1.99 on sale this week

I wanted to read this rare stand alone book by Follett as he is best known for his series ones. I just thought it was interesting he wrote this one all by itself. It is one of those sweeping sagas that takes place over many years, beginning with the death of a young boy at an exclusive private school. The summary reminded me of Anne Perry's books and the setting in 1866 is similar. 

The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse: The Curious Destinies of Queen Victoria's Granddaughters by Frances Welch

Kindle Purchase: $1.99

I will always be fascinated with Queen Victoria but it is her children and grandchildren I have read even more about. They all led extraordinary lives and this book is the first I've ever come across that focuses entirely on the Hesse granddaughters exclusively. They all married powerful, influential men and several had tragic endings. I am excited to see them all discussed in one book.

Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie  

Kindle Purchase: $1.99

This collection of short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple is on sale for a great price this week. There are eight stories in all and seem to be a good variety of different locations, sleuths, and plots. It should be a good book to have when I want to read a quick story here and there.