Stacking the Shelves #16

 

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 :) 

I have still not read any of Chadwick's books and I know everyone who is into this time period seems to love her. I got this book for 99 cents on Kindle and so I'm hoping to start it soon. I am especially interested in this one as it tells the story of Nesta, daughter of the Welsh Prince Rhys of Deheubarth. I have become fascinated by medieval Welsh history in the last few years thanks to Sharon Kay Penman's novels. So this one is a winner!

Another steal at 48 cents on Kindle this is another author I always hear about but have never read anything by. This one is all about the Empress Matilda and the Anarchy period. Although I know a lot about this subject now this looks like a good historical fiction take on it with attention to Maud's character. 

I have meant to read this series many times but with so many great cozy mysteries I just never started these. I'm thinking of just jumping into the newest one since there are so many. It's doubtful I'll have time right now with my TBR pile to start at the beginning and read them all. So for blogging purposes I'm going to read and review the newest one and if I love it who knows....maybe I will go back to the first one soon.

Stacking the Shelves #15

 

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 :) 

Plaidy usually focuses on women's stories and so this is a departure for her to make Phillip the main tie between the three featured queens. Yes, the queens are major players but they are seen through the eyes of Philip of Spain and his story is told with detail and insight. I have read the first three chapters and am learning a lot I didn't know about him and about Spain at that time. With her simplistic style she packs in so much research and history. I just love her books.

I have wanted to start this series many times. There are 32 Miss Silver Mysteries and Wentworth is called "another Agatha Christie queen of mystery" and, "a great addition to the cozy genre of the 1920's." If you've read any of her books from this series, did you enjoy them? 

This is one of those books that intrigues me based on the cover and the subject but I probably won't be able to sit down and read every single word of. I am fascinated with the time period and the life of Edward of Woodstock, son of Edward III, but the details of all the battles and wars get dry quickly. Still, his story is interesting in that he never got a chance to rule England, dying early, and I always wonder had he lived would things have gone very differently. The Wars of the Roses might never have taken place at all, probably not. So much promise cut down too soon. So I'll skim through it and if it's really good I might enjoy it more than I think!

Stacking the Shelves #14

 

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 :) 

Several of my fellow book blog friends have recommended this author to me. Loving historical mysteries set in India I thought I needed to try it. Looking over the series this one appealed to me first even though it is book 3. Weird because I almost always like to read a series in order, but I just was more interested in this story line. I'm borrowing it from the Libby app and if I like it I might buy the first one. Hopefully it's a good one.

In keeping with my desire to read more straight history this year, I bought this biography on one of my favorite subjects...Eleanor of Aquitaine. I just can't seem to tire of her and have read several takes on her life including Jean Plaidy's The Courts of Love and Sharon Penman's excellent novel, Devil's Brood. But I haven't read a strictly biographical account before. Alison Weir is the best at this and so I'm going to give it a try. It is a very long, thorough book as hers always are so it might be awhile before it's read!

This is the Read Christie 2023 September choice. I wasn't too interested in last month's book but this one looks pretty good. And it's a Hercule Poirot mystery which are my favorite of hers. I'll go ahead and admit that while I prefer reading this I might borrow and download the audiobook to listen to when I'm short on time. Yes, I wrote a whole post on how I don't care for audiobooks but occasionally I cave and listen. David Suchet, who played Poirot for many years on the television series narrates too which is a lot of fun! Maybe I need to revise my original thoughts on audios :) 

Stacking the Shelves #13

 

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 :) 

I got this book for free which is my kind of deal! I had some Kindle credits and it was on sale for $1.99 already. It's the story of Maria Theresa and her daughters. The most famous of which is Marie Antoinette. I have been really neglecting history books this year and so this one looked like one to tackle. I hope I have the time and energy. Cozy mysteries and short historical fiction have been on my radar lately due to being incredibly busy. If you've read this one did you like it?

My Mom says she read the Thomas Costain books in high school and loved them. I have heard them recommended for years and I bought all four on the Plantagenets. This one in particular I'd like to read as it is hard to find good books about the first three Edwards. So in keeping with my theme of reading some straight history books, this one was added to my shelf. At only $1 on Kindle it is a steal!

This looks like a very unique historical mystery. The title and cover made me curious and I'd never heard of this author either. This is book one of the Joe Sandilands mystery series set in Calcutta in the 1920's. It looks like an original premise and lately I've been on the hunt for good historical mysteries with male detective characters. I love the female leads in cozy mysteries but for some reason I really prefer men in the grittier more serious roles. Maybe it's my fondness for Hercule Poirot?

Stacking the Shelves #12

 

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 :) 

I have run across J.R. Tomlin books many times and had just not been interested. I'm not much into books that spend a lot of time in the minutiae of battles and wars. I think I assumed this was the style of her books but boy was I wrong! This is the first book in the Stewart trilogy set in the early 1400's and I am really enjoying it and learning a lot about Scottish history. Very entertaining and I hope to continue with this series. She has several others that look just as fantastic. 

This is book one of the Gabriel Taverner Mystery series by Alys Clare. Set in 17th century Devon, England it looks like an original premise with the main character being a former ship's surgeon who is now a country doctor. He ends up involved in solving a murder and investigating clues that lead him to the world of the silk trade. I love finding books set in this time period and know nothing about the town or the silk trade. So hopefully this is entertaining.

While reading Trouble in Nuala last week I looked into other books by this author. In addition to her historical mysteries set in Sri Lanka in the 1930's she also previously wrote historical fiction set in Paris in the 1800's. The two settings are so vastly different I wasn't sure I had the same person but apparently she wrote this set of books first, called The Paris Chronicles. I bought this first one and hope to tackle it soon. I enjoyed the first of her mystery series of books.

Stacking the Shelves #11

 

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 :) 

I just love Kindle credits. My family (or me) is always wanting something on Amazon and I have it delivered on Thursdays and receive credits which get me new books! It's a win win. This book was free with my Kindle credits and I read a wonderful review on Between the Lines book blog about another book in the series, which got me interested in this first book. So thanks Cathy at that blog for suggesting it. The cover, setting, and time period drew me in. How many books are historical mysteries set in the 1930's in Sri Lanka? Very unique.

This was a Book Bub find and while I didn't buy it yet (because I'm cheap and it's not on sale!) I thought it looked interesting enough to download the sample. My rule is that I read a sample and if I make it all the way through and still want to know what happens, I buy or borrow it and read it. This is a series some of my fellow book bloggers have covered in reviews. It's book one of the Crispin Guest Mysteries and I think the time period is pretty unusual. He is a former knight, living in London in the middle ages around the year 1380. Not a lot of stories with that hook so I might need to give this one a try.

I am always looking for books that take place during the period of the Crusader states. They are hard to find. This one is during the very exciting period of Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and the epic battles for the recapture of the Holy Land. 

The publisher synopsis says "Pillars of Light is a powerful and moving novel about the triumph of the human spirit against all the odds. It will delight fans of Philippa Gregory, Ken Follett and Diana Gabaldon." That is enough to sell me on it. I'm still trying to finish Penman's Lionheart so this one may have to come after. But I didn't want it to get away.

Stacking the Shelves #10

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 :) 

I was excited to join Kindle Unlimited for free for three months! This book is one I really wanted to read but didn't want to buy just yet. So now I have it ready to go with my trial membership. If I read fast enough maybe I can finish the others in the series too. The first one, Murder In Venice, was a cute cozy mystery and I love anything set in Cairo. This is book three but I like this setting more than book two's Paris so I'm probably going to read it first. 

There are so many series that take place during the Second World War that when I find one surrounding World War I it is refreshing. From what I've read of Harrod-Eagles she is solid with her research and an entertaining storyteller. I'm not sure how much of this one will focus on the actual history versus romance (which I'm not big on) but it looks like it could be a good one. There are six books total which cover the entire war period. 

This book looks very original. It's another one I have access to through Kindle Unlimited. It takes place in a setting I'd never heard of...Farallon Island off the coast of California in 1859. Also, the main character is a teacher to the lighthouse keeper's children and that relates to me as I begin my 20th year in education this Monday. Hoping it is as good as the cover promises :) 

 

Stacking the Shelves #9

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I have become very interested in the lives of the rich and famous during the Gilded Age. The Vanderbilts, the Astors...they are just fascinating families. This story chronicles the rise and fall of a family trying to marry their daughters into the upper crust of New York society circa 1870's and how they find out things aren't always as golden as they seem. 

This is the Amazon Prime Historical Fiction free read choice for July. It is about a woman escaping the Irish famine of the 1840's, a subject that always interests me. She goes to America and has to make hard choices to survive. Yes, it's been done many times, but I thought it looked worth giving a try. Just skimming through it so far it may be a little dark and gritty for me though.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I am a sucker for the colorful covers and the cute characters. The mysteries are always great fun to solve too. This is book 13 and I am only on book 7 so it will be awhile before I read this one. I can't help it...I'm going in order because they do build on one another with Ellie's love life especially. But this one was absolutely free this week! So of course I had to buy it. 

Stacking the Shelves #8

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I love watching this series on Ovation but didn't realize until recently it was first a series of books. This one is on sale for 99 cents through Amazon Kindle this week and even though I don't really like starting series books out of order, I went ahead and got this one, figuring I know the characters enough to read book three first. Hoping it is as enjoyable as the T.V. show.

I have read and reviewed one book by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, The Chevalier, that was more history based but this one looks intriguing. I started it yesterday and am loving it so far. It is like reading the story of Downton Abbey. So many interesting characters so far and I think it's a series I'm really going to like.

This is book one of the Scott-De Quincy mystery series. I loved the cover, it's so beautiful and mysterious looking. The author is entirely new to me and the premise of the story looks original. I'm thinking maybe a cross between an Anne Perry/Victorian vibe but with a main character of the nobility rather than the lower classes. Either way it is a historical mystery....my favorite kind of book!

I hope you have found some new books to treasure this week!

Stacking the Shelves #7

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I am really enjoying this book and can't wait to write my review for it, hopefully later this week. It is one of Follett's first books and so I got it for a steal price. A fast paced read, it is hard to put down!

This is one of the books available with my Amazon Prime first reads account. It is the June historical fiction pick so if it's free, why not? It is listed as number one in women's historical fiction right now so I'm willing to try it. 

On sale for only $1.99 I grabbed this one up on my Kindle. I haven't read anything by this author yet but have seen several titles that intrigued me. This one is about Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and I'm always up for anything about the Wars of the Roses.

What books have you collected this week? What are you reading that you enjoy?

Stacking the Shelves #6

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I have been working my way through Anne Perry's Christmas books for years now. She passed away just a few weeks ago and so she'd been on my mind lately. I thought I'd get a jump on one of the last three of these books I have left. It's a little sad to realize when I finish them, there won't be another one. I so look forward to them each holiday season. 

The fourth book in this series was on sale for Kindle but I'd rather start with the first book in a series so I got this one instead. It got good reviews for period accuracy which is important to me in historical fiction books, even mysteries. And it's based on a real person I'd never heard of ...Ela Longespee of Salisbury. Some of the reviews say it is a bit thin in the details department but I'm willing to give it a shot. I like this time period and the cover kind of drew me in.

I read Fall of Giants, the first in this series years ago and loved it. I learned so much about the lead up to World War I and even though sometimes the characters could be a bit one dimensional, I appreciate the way Follett tried hard to incorporate a ton of history. It's a great way to learn without getting bored or totally confused. I have put off reading this one because this time period seems so depressing. But it's summer and I may have the strength to finish it!

Stacking the Shelves #5

 

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. Here are this week's new to me books! 

This is the Read Christie 2023 June book and I can't wait to get started. It's actually on hold through the Libby App but I'm hopeful I'll get it any day now. I like to stay ahead on these and am starting to feel like a Christie book a month is a habit I'll keep....weird how I didn't like her much a year ago. Now it is strange not to have a book going all the time.

This book is not a subject I've seen before. Yes the Nevills appear in any book on the Wars of the Roses but not in a book exclusively their own. Glad I ran across it. Not sure if I'll love it, but I had to try it out and see if I learn some interesting side stories not found elsewhere about this powerful family. 

This book was one of my free choices for May with my Amazon Prime membership. It isn't one I might choose to buy but if I can borrow it, why not? It is currently listed as number one in historical mystery and thrillers so it's worth a shot. 

Happy reading this week!