2025

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.

Happy Monday!

I was back at school today which was a bit of a shock to the system but it was nice to see returning students and meet new ones.

My chosen book to feature today is another recent addition to the Goodreads TBR. I’m really excited to read this book because as a musician I’m intrigued read about Austen’s love of music and hopefully find out which composers were her favourite.

She Played and Sang: Jane Austen and Music by Gillian Dooley

Like her much-loved heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen ‘played and sang’. Music occupied a central role in her life, and she made brilliant use of it in her books to illuminate characters’ personalities and highlight the contrasts between them.

Until recently, our knowledge of Austen’s musical inclinations was limited to the recollections of relatives who were still in their youth when she passed away. But with the digitisation of music books from her immediate family circle, a treasure trove of evidence has emerged. Delving into these books, alongside letters and other familial records, She played and sang unveils a previously unknown facet of Austen’s world.

This insightful work not only uncovers the music closely associated with Austen, but also unravels her musical connections with family and friends, revealing the intricate ties between her fiction and the melodies she performed. With these revelations, Austen’s musical legacy comes to life, granting us a deeper understanding of her artistic prowess and the influences that shaped her literary masterpieces.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 1/9/2025

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 September so far. I have had a busy day of taking my bedroom apart and putting it back together. I never knew getting a new rug would cause so much of a problem!

My chosen book to feature this week is one that has been on my TBR for a very long time but I needed to read the previous book in series before I get to this one. I can’t wait to get reading this as I just love the series.

Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Corey

Thirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper.

In the dead systems where gates lead to stranger things than alien planets, Elvi Okoye begins a desperate search to discover the nature of a genocide that happened before the first human beings existed, and to find weapons to fight a war against forces at the edge of the imaginable. But the price of that knowledge may be higher than she can pay.

At the heart of the empire, Teresa Duarte prepares to take on the burden of her father’s godlike ambition. The sociopathic scientist Paolo Cortázar and the Mephistophelian prisoner James Holden are only two of the dangers in a palace thick with intrigue, but Teresa has a mind of her own and secrets even her father the emperor doesn’t guess.

And throughout the wide human empire, the scattered crew of the Rocinante fights a brave rear-guard action against Duarte’s authoritarian regime. Memory of the old order falls away, and a future under Laconia’s eternal rule — and with it, a battle that humanity can only lose – seems more and more certain. Because against the terrors that lie between worlds, courage and ambition will not be enough…

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 4/8/2025

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 recently attended a talk at the Harvington Hall History Festival by Tracy Borman and it was on The Ambassadors by Holbein. I found the talk absolutely fascinating so of course I had to buy the book. The book is only short so I am sure I will read it soon.

Holbein: The Ambassadors by Tracy Borman

Holbein’s Ambassadors is one of the most famous paintings in the National Gallery.

It is also one of the most intriguing. Laden with hidden symbols and mysteries, the work has been the subject of intense debate among historians during the five centuries since it was created.

Here Tracy Borman unpicks the secrets of this enigmatic artwork, painted during a turbulent time in English history as Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in order to marry the young Anne Boleyn. From Holbein’s experiences as a German-Swiss

émigré who rose to a position as the ‘King’s Painter’, to the two French ambassadors’ troubles at court, this book illuminates the fascinating story behind a masterpiece of the Tudor era.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 7/7/2025

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. I have had a quiet day so I have caught up with jobs around the house and garden and obviously done some reading.

My chosen book to feature this week is a new addition to the TBR pile and one I am hoping to read very soon. I got am email from Harper Collins about this book and knew I wanted to read it.

Under the Lemon Tree by Emma Cowell

Can one Greek summer heal the secrets of the past? Could rediscovering her roots help Kat rebuild a life without her brother…?

Shattered by the sudden loss of her beloved twin, Nik, Kat is struggling to find meaning in a life turned upside down. The comfort of family is both smothering and soothing, but when an unexpected inheritance surfaces — a house on the breathtaking Greek island of Agistri from a mysterious uncle she’s only just heard of — she dares to dream of a new beginning.

Arriving in Agistri, with its crystalline waters and endless blue skies, Kat finds herself surrounded by lush pine forests, secluded coves, and the scent of citrus in the air. Among white-washed houses, the warmth of the island’s people begins to heal the emptiness in her heart. And in their company, she finds both the courage to face her grief — and maybe even the spark of unexpected love…

But as she slowly unearths her family’s buried past, Kat must confront her own fears about belonging, forgiveness, and the possibility of rediscovering happiness in the unlikeliest of places.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 30/6/2025

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.

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have had a busy day of teaching but I have also been enjoying Wimbledon on TV.

My chosen book to feature this week is one that has been sat on my Kindle for a couple of years. I remember buying it for a holiday but not getting around to reading it.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 23/6/2025

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.

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have been going through my book trolleys to see what books I have on them that I have forgotten about and I found this one lurking at the back. I might pop this one on to my Summer TBR pile.

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain

Death stalked the Vale. In every corner, every whisper. They just didn’t know it yet. Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead. In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people’s lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege – the residents have it all. Life is good. There’s just one problem. Olive Collins’ dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they’re shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight. The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive’s neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 16/6/2025

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. I have had a good day of teaching and reading. I can’t wait to go on holiday where I can spend more time reading.

My chosen book to feature this week is the second book of a series that I have recently started. I absolutely adored the first book so I hope the next one will not disappoint.

Vertigo by G. S. Jennsen

The year is 2322 and humanity is under attack. An engineered war between rival superpowers escalates even as the shadowy Metigen armada begins attacking colonies on the frontiers of settled space.

Individuals from across the galaxy fight for their own survival and to protect those they hold dear, while a group of unlikely allies race to expose a secret cabal. As the aliens draw ever closer, leaving utter destruction and death in their wake, the strongest defenders of Earth and Seneca fall to one another in a war of lies and misdirection.

Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano stand accused of terrorism and murder. In a desperate gambit to clear their names and find a way to defeat the invaders, they breach the dimensional portal at the heart of the Metis Nebula. In a strange, mystical realm where nothing is what it seems, they will uncover secrets about humanity’s past and future—and one revelation which will change everything.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 9/6/2025

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. I have had a busy day of teaching but I have managed a little bit of reading in my breaks.

My chosen book to feature this week is a recent addition to my Kindle and a possible holiday read.

The Golden Age of Magic by Luanne G. Smith

Against the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood, a young fairy godmother on a mission is embroiled in malicious magic, mystery, and murder in a thrilling historical fantasy by the bestselling author of The Vine Witch.

Celeste is about to become one of the thirteen Fées Gardiennes, a centuries-old sisterhood of fairy godmothers. To be granted full status, she must usher her first protégé onto their path of destiny. Where better to find a starry-eyed ward than in the land of magic and illusion called Hollywood?

It’s 1927. The moviemaking business is booming when Celeste befriends a young studio seamstress whose dreams outshine everyone else’s. Rose is talented and underappreciated and could use some enchanted intervention in her life. Plans proceed swimmingly, and Celeste even catches the eye of a handsome producer. But after a series of unexplained accidents on the studio lot stir up rumors of a curse, Celeste fears the trouble is more personal―the spiteful meddling of a fellow Gardienne out to thwart Celeste’s success.

But the sabotage turns sinister when a starlet is murdered and it’s Rose who stands accused. As vengeance, dark magic, and betrayal wreak havoc, Celeste must come into her full power to save her innocent protégé and secure her own future in a cherished, ancient, and now threatened sisterhood.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 2/6/2025

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. I was back at school today which was chaotic as most of my students had forgotten their books.

My chosen book to feature today is one that I have had on my Kindle for a couple of years but I am hoping to read it for my 20 Books of Summer challenge.

Lessons by Ian EcEwan

When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines’s life is turned upside down. Two thousand miles from his mother’s protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts piano teacher Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.

Now, when his wife vanishes, leaving him alone with his tiny son, Roland is forced to confront the reality of his restless existence. As the radiation from Chernobyl spreads across Europe, he begins a search for answers that looks deep into his family history and will last for the rest of his life.

Haunted by lost opportunities, Roland seeks solace through every possible means—music, literature, friends, sex, politics, and, finally, love cut tragically short, then love ultimately redeemed. His journey raises important questions for us all. Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without causing damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape our lives and our memories? And what can we really learn from the traumas of the past?

Epic, mesmerising, and deeply humane, Lessons is a chronicle for our times—a powerful meditation on history and humanity through the prism of one man’s lifetime.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 26/5/2025

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. I have had a busy day of Etsy orders which has been nice. The 12 Month Book boxes are proving very popular at the moment.

My chosen book to feature this week is another that has been sat on my Goodreads TBR for a very long time.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle’s walls and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has “captured the castle”– and the heart of the reader– in one of literature’s most enchanting entertainments.

Happy Reading