I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have had another lovely day reading and teaching.
My chosen quote this week is by C. JoyBell C. who is the most frequently quoted author on Goodreads, is a leading female thinker and writer in our world today, and is a mentor to many modern-day leaders, as well as an inspirational figure to people from all walks of life.
“Before, I wanted to say: “I found love!” But now, I want to say: “I found a person. And he belongs to me and I belong to him.”
Today has been a great day for reading which has been lovely and I have made good progress with my current reads.
I am trying to be good this year with whittling down my TBR pile so I think this is good topic for me this week. These are 5 books I fully plan on reading this year.
I really want to read more Alison Weir this year and this is one of my planned reads. Harry Sidebottom and Rosie Hewlett are new authors for me so I am hoping I’m hoping I enjoy these books.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week so far.
My chosen book to feature this week is one that I actually stocked for my Etsy shop and really liked the sound of so I have also added it to my Goodreads TBR. I’m really looking forward to reading it soon.
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.
Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.
A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I haven’t managed much reading today but I have managed a lovely walk and got a few jobs complete around the house.
I have recently finished book two of Her Majesty Investigates series and wanted to move on to book three but discovered that I owned book four but not book three. This obviously meant a little book shopping and as I had a few books to preorder I thought I would add it to the order.
Only one book bought this week.
I’m hoping to read this book in February as I can’t wait to get reading the series again.
My chosen quote this week is by the American poet and writer Helen Hunt Jackson. Jackson became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government.
Dawn
With a ring of silver, And a ring of gold, And a red, red rose Which illumines her face, The sun, like a lover Who glows and is bold, Wooes the lovely earth To his strong embrace.
Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to the bestseller The Windsor Knot, in which Her Majesty must determine how a missing painting is connected to the shocking death of a staff member inside Buckingham Palace.
At Buckingham Palace, the autumn of 2016 presages uncertain times. The Queen must deal with the fallout from the Brexit referendum, a new female prime minister, and a tumultuous election in the United States—yet these prove to be the least of her worries when a staff member is found dead beside the palace swimming pool. Is it truly the result of a tragic accident, as the police think, or is something more sinister going on?
Meanwhile, her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi, is on the trail of a favourite painting that once hung outside the Queen’s bedroom and appears to have been misappropriated by the Royal Navy. And a series of disturbing anonymous letters have begun circulating in the palace. The Queen’s courtiers think they have it all ‘under control’, but Her Majesty is not so sure. After all, though the staff and public may not be aware, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen’s eye to see connections where no one else can.
Review
I read the first book in this series a few years ago but for some reason I have taken ages to pick the next book up despite loving the first book. I will not be making the same mistake with the third book.
I absolutely love the idea of this series and find the idea of the Queen being a super sleuth fantastic. I also love how this book really links in to events that were happening during the year 2016. The Queen has a new Prime minister to deal with, and it is uncertain times for Buckingham Palace the last thing the Queen needs to deal with is a dead body in the swimming pool and one of her paintings missing.
Rozie the Queen’s assistant private secretary knows what the Queen is like and knows her ability as a secret super sleuth. Rozie is on the hunt for the missing painting but at the same time she is also picking up little clues that help the Queen build up a picture of what is exactly going on within her kingdom.
As with the first book in the series the thing I love most about this book is the interactions the Queen and Prince Philip share. We have no idea what exactly went on between the Queen and Prince Philip behind closed doors but I can just imagine all the exchanges from this book actually happening. Each interaction made me smile and have a little giggle. Princess Anne also makes an appearance in this book which I hugely enjoyed. I also throughly enjoyed the scenes with the Queen and her dogs.
There are some wonderful characters in this book, each with their own histories and personalities. However, the real star of the book other than the Queen is Rozie. Rozie is loyal to the Queen and to her family. She helps people and tries her best to be friends with everyone. She defends the weak and does everything she can to help the Queen keep her sleuthing secret.
I love this book and I have bought the next book in series ready to read next month. I give this book a big 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
SJ Bennett was born in Yorkshire, England in 1966, and lives in London. An army child, she grew up travelling around the world. Her first novel was published when she was 42, after a varied career and lots of procrastination. She is the award-winning author of several books for children and teaches and podcasts about writing.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I have had a fab day of teaching and reading. Wednesday is always a busy and long day but I have quite a few gaps of just half an hour which makes perfect reading time.
What I am Currently Reading
The buddy read of Unleashed is going really well and we have planned a weekend of double chapters as we are both wanting to read a bit whilst we have the extra time. I started Iron Flame this week and I can’t put it down. I have Onyx Storm preordered and I can’t wait for it to arrive.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I am absolutely loving this series. My review will be posted very soon.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I have no idea what mood I will be in when I choose my next book but these are high contenders.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
My chosen quote today is by the American political figure, diplomat and activist Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). She was also the longest serving first lady of the United States.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
Welcome to my first Top 5 Tuesday of 2025. I have already posted my goals for 2025 but I have other little resolutions for my reading this year that are good for this topic.
If it isn’t fun it gets the big DNF. I’m really bad at pushing through a book that I’m not enjoying so this year I am making an effort to just give up the bad book.
Don’t get overwhelmed. Last year I tried to complete too many goals and I found myself reading too many books at once which meant I took forever to just finish one book and it just stressed me out. This year I will have a daily buddy read and my main book and no more.
Stop hoarding books I don’t even like. I am a terrible book hoarder and I’m quite proud of this fact but I do tend to keep books that I didn’t enjoy reading. I think I’m trying to give the books a second chance and that I will read them again and like them. This year I’m going to go through the books and get rid of the books I didn’t enjoy.
Keep my bookstagram up to date. I am really good with my blogging but terrible with my bookstagram which I want to change. I love engaging with fellow bookstagrammers so I really need to make more of an effort.
Read as much Tolkien as possible. Tolkien is my favourite author but I haven’t read any of his books for ages so I plan to remedy this.
Lady Book Dragon 