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 had a good start to the week today. I had a reasonably easy day teaching today which was nice, especially in this heat.
My chosen book to feature today is another off my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. I must admit my challenge has slowed down some what after I flew through my first book. I plan some good reading sessions on Wednesday and Thursday so hopefully I might make a dent in the backlog.
Queen Elizabeth II is having a royal nightmare. A referendum divides the nation, a tumultuous election grips the United States – and the body of a staff member is found dead beside Buckingham Palace swimming pool. Is it a tragic accident, as the police think? Or is something more sinister going on?
As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen’s bedroom. But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work – and far too close to home.
After all, though the staff and public may not realise it, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen’s eye to see connections where no one else can …
What are your thoughts on this book if you have read it?
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
I nearly forgot my monthly update for my Reading My Height in Books Challenge! I was really hoping to get more books read in May but sadly that wasn’t the case but at least I managed to read 5.
Awkward picture time!
Lyra is more interested in sitting outside in the sun than being involved in pictures sadly so this month it is just me.
The stack is now the height of 25.5 inches. This means I now have 41.5 inches left to go. I am still ahead from this time last year but only by 1.5 inches which isn’t much sadly. I must keep pushing as I really want to complete the challenge this year.
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 great start to the week. I have been back at school today so less time reading sadly.
My chosen book for this week is another book off my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. This is another book that has been sat on my TBR for way too long.
It was first serialised in the Merry’s Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter “Six Years Afterwards” and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book revolves around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live–but also left out because of her “countrified” manners and outdated clothes.
What are your thoughts on this book if you have read it?
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
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 nice weekend so far. I will be honest I ended up in a bookshop again this week and I bought 3 books. I only went in to buy Yellowface but I ended up buying a few extra books. However, the books were paid for by my Waterstones points so at least they were technically free.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway – I’ve always wanted to read this and I thought it would be a nice short read to read during the summer.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang – I’ve read so many fantastic reviews about this book I just had to get it. I’m really hoping I get to read this over the summer.
Atlas The Story of Pa Salt by Harry Whittaker and Lucinda Riley – This was another book I’ve seen loads of good things about so it slipped into the basket as well.
I’m so excited to get reading these books and I am really hoping I have some time over the summer to read them, preferably in the sunshine with a glass of something nice.
Have you added any new books to your bookshelves recently?
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I started my 20 Books of Summer Challenge today and I am so excited to read the books off the challenge. I really hoped to read more books in May but sadly I only managed 5. This means I’m starting to fall really behind with my Goodreads Reading Challenge so I really hope my reading picks up soon as I don’t want to fall further behind.
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 hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have had a busy day playing for a wedding and teaching but hopefully the rest of the week will be quieter and involve lots of reading.
What I am Currently Reading
I have nearly finished this book and I have really enjoyed it. It could be one of my favourite Maigret books so far.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I really enjoyed this book and will be writing my review soon. Jennifer Saint is definietly an auto buy author for me now.
What I Think I will Read Next
My 20 Books of Summer Challenge begins tomorrow and I am very excited to get reading some of these books and also lower my TBR pile.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.
Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory’s purpose.
To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be.
The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother’s past is coming to upend her fate.
When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.
Review
I was so excited to read this book because I really enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree and thankfully I was not disappointed. As a prequel I was hoping to learn a lot more about the Priory of the Orange Tree and the world it is set in. The prequel takes place 500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree.
This book is a slower read than The Priory of the Orange Tree but I liked that aspect because I learned so much more. The history is more fleshed out and I learnt so much more about the different cultures featured in the book and their different beliefs. I learnt so much about the four different geographical regions, the history and the religious and political beliefs of the different cultures. It really gave me so much more detail into how and why certain changes occur within this book and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
The other element I thoroughly enjoyed was the multi person point of view, although I soon found myself wanting certain characters’ chapters to come around quicker than others because I had favourite characters. The different points of view all flow through each other and we see how they connect but at the same time it felt like reading several books because each storyline was so rich and detailed.
My favourite characters were by far Wulf, Glorian and Tunuva, especially Tunuva. I really hope Shannon writes more books in this series and fast because I would love to learn more about The Priory. I would love a book about the founding of The Priory but I will have to wait and see what Shannon comes up with next. I found this a hard book to rate as in my mind it wasn’t quite a 5 out of 5 Dragon book so I think I will go with a first half rating of 4.5 Dragons out of 5.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Samantha Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. She currently lives in London.
Lady Book Dragon 