I hope everyone is having a good week so far. My February reading wasn’t quite as good as my January reading but I was still really happy with what I managed as some of the books were quite big. I have fallen behind with my book reviews though!
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 full day of teaching and Etsy order making but I have also managed some reading which has been nice.
My chosen book to feature this week is one that has been sat on my TBR pile for quite a long time but has recently surfaced and reminded me I own it and haven’t read it yet.
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
Once upon a time, in Derry, Maine, four young boys stood together and did a brave thing; something that changed them in ways they hardly understood. 25 years later, at their annual reunion, a stranger stumbles into their camp.
I am currently half way through this reread of Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. This is my third time reading this book and it is so nice to return to the world of Anne Bronte.
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 had another preordered book delivery this week. I will be honest I had completely forgotten just how many books I had preordered last year!
This one is another by a favourite author and the fourth book of a series I really must start reading soon!
I am determined to start The Bone Season this month and get cracking with this series.
In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?
Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .
As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
Review
Stacey Halls is one of my favourite authors and is definitely an auto buy author for me so I was very excited when I bought this book. As usual though it got added to my TBR pile and didn’t get read straight away.
The thing I always love about Halls’ books is how well researched her history is and this books makes no exception. This book features Urania Cottage which was a second chance for women who had fallen. Urania Cottage was a refuge for prostitutes, thieves, criminals and the destitute. It gave them new skills and a new chance at life. The cottage was real and just like the book was founded by Charles Dickens and the heiress Angela Burdett-Coutts. However, the thing I love about this book is that Halls features the women in this book and Dickens is only mentioned at certain points. It could have been so easy to make a big feature of such a famous author but thankfully he only gets a very tiny bit part and we get to learn more about the actual women in Urania Cottage and Angela Burdett-Coutts.
There are various women featured in the book whose histories we only learn about as we read through the book. Martha and Emily (who were actual inspirations for people in David Copperfield) and Josephine and Annie. At the other end of the social ladder we get to learn more about Angela Burdett-Coutts which is again based on the true history of Angela Burdett-Coutts. Angela is hugely wealthy and loves to help others, she also loves to travel and host parties. She is a woman of means who should have no worries but sadly she is plagued by a stalker who has stalked her life for the past ten years. As the book goes on these characters’ worlds collide and it is fascinating to see it all unfurl.
I enjoyed this book but I did find it lacked the special something Halls’ previous books had. I found Annie very annoying so I was quite pleased she wasn’t featured massively. The one thing I really liked though was that these women who had totally fallen never lost their strength, their pride and their drive. They remained strong characters throughout. This book also also drove me to do further research of my own into Urania Cottage and Angela Burnett-Coutts. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Stacey Halls grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire, as the daughter of market traders. She has always been fascinated by the Pendle witches. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and moved to London aged 21. She was media editor at The Bookseller and books editor at Stylist.co.uk, and has also written for Psychologies, the Independent and Fabulous magazine, where she now works as Deputy Chief Sub Editor. The Familiars is her first novel.
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. I have been back to teaching this week and it has been a super busy day. I am really looking forward to curling up with a book later.
My chosen book to feature this week is another new purchase but one that I really want to read soon.
Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll
Quiet and reserved, Clemmie is happy in the background. But although her parents may overlook her talents, her ability to read hieroglyphs makes her invaluable at the Egyptian relic parties which have made her father the toast of Victorian society.
But at one such party, the words Clemmie interprets from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. The beautiful and dangerous glyphs she holds in her hands will change her life forever.
Five years later, Clemmie arrives in Egypt on a mission to save what remains of her family. The childhood game she used to play about the immortal sisters, Isis and Nephthys, has taken on a devastating resonance and it is only by following Nephthys’ story that she can undo the mistakes of the past. On her journey up the Nile she will meet unexpected allies and enemies and, along with long-buried secrets and betrayals, Clemmie will be forced to step into the light.
I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I have been doing ok with my reading this week but blogging hasn’t gone so well. I am also way behind with my book reviews.
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!
My plan to buy less books in 2025 is really not going well so far. There are just so many good books out there!
My two latest purchases are:
Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll is a book I spotted on Bookstagram and really liked the look of so I popped it on preorder and it arrived this week. I really hope it won’t disappoint.
The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon is purely because I want the set all in hard back. I hate having a mix of hard backs and paperbacks in a series. It really upsets my OCD!
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 wonderful day of walking, reading and dining out. I am doing quite well with my reading currently and I am averaging a book a week which is much better than how I was doing last year.
What I am Currently Reading
I am very close to finishing this now and I have really enjoyed it so far.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I have finally finished this as my buddy read and thoroughly enjoyed it as did my friend. My review will be arriving soon.
What I Think I will Read Next
I really want to finish at least two more books before the end of the month so I will probably choose a shorter book.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Lady Book Dragon 