Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. This week has been a good week for blogging and reading.
Blog Posts
Currently Reading
I’m mainly reading Iron Flame and Unleashed but I have been dipping into Evelina on and off through the week.
Happy Reading
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.
Happy Reading
A Three Dog Problem by S. J. Bennett
Blurb
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.
Purchase Links
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith
(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
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.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
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.
Happy Reading
Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and now being hosted by Meeghan reads.
Hello!
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.
Time to start the book related fun!
Happy Reading
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 back at school today which has been a bit of a shock to the system. I took my book to read between lessons so I did manage a little bit of reading which was nice.
My chosen book to feature this week is one that has sat on my TBR for quite a long time and I’m not sure why as I love the author.
The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse
Rooted in the elemental landscapes of Sussex, Brittany and the Languedoc, here are tales of ghosts and spirits seeking revenge, grief-stricken women and haunted men coming to terms with their destiny.
Happy Reading
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. This week has been really good for reading and blogging but next week I am fully back teaching so I might not manage to be so productive with my reading.
Blog Posts
Currently Reading
My buddy read is going really well and so far I haven’t missed a day. I started Iron Flame yesterday and so far I am really enjoying it.
Happy Reading
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Blurb
IT’S THE NIGHT BEFORE HOGSWATCH AND IT’S TOO QUIET.
Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker…
Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won’t be a morning. Ever again…
The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).
As they say: You’d better watch out…
Review
This was a reread for me but I really wanted to read it over the Christmas period as it is one of my favourites.
This book is a story about the nature of belief. How without belief then things don’t exist and that people have to at work belief. Oh and Death is meddling again. I love it when Death meddles in the Discworld books and that he has a thing for cats. Death is one of my favourite characters in the Discworld series so I love the books where he is one of the main characters.
I also love Susan’s character. Sadly, we don’t see much of Susan in the Discworld series but I think she is wonderful. Susan tries so hard to be normal and the more she tries the more it all seems to go wrong. However, one thing is certain when she is told to do something she generally does the opposite and her Grandfather knows this.
We also have the Unseen University and the wizards feature heavily in this book which always promises to be amusing. They really are like a group of naughty school boys but with much bigger waist lines and an army of servants.
This book is the perfect festive read which includes all the necessary elements that a festive book needs. It has robins, snow, sherry, a jolly man in a red suit, chimneys, presents and of course an elf. Oh and a very naughty pig who did a very big wee. I absolutely love reading this book and I think I might make it a new Christmas tradition and read it each Christmas. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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Purchase Links
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith
(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
Sir Terence David John Pratchett OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humorist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his Discworld series of 41 novels.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have had a busy teaching but in every gap I have had I have managed some reading which has been nice. I am thoroughly enjoying my chapter a day of my buddy read book and I am finding it a nice way to start my day.
What I am Currently Reading
Unleashed which is my buddy read is going really well and I am finding it really interesting so far. A Three Dog Problem is absolutely brilliant and I can’t put it down. I am already looking forward to the next book in the series.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I quite enjoyed this but it wasn’t what I was expecting. My review will be posted soon.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I have no idea what I will read next. I have so many books planned at the moment that I feel a bit overwhelmed and have no idea what to read next as I just want to read them all!
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Happy Reading
Death Comes at Christmas edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
Blurb
The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic, British period crime stories. From locked room mysteries on Christmas eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these thirteen original seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn. So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.
Review
I’m not a huge short story fan but at Christmas I always make an exception and buy some short story books because you can’t beat a good Christmas murder mystery.
I will be honest I wasn’t overly enthralled with this book. There were some stories that really caught my interest but most just lacked the lustre that I usually enjoy in a short story about a Christmas murder mystery. I won’t go into every story but here are the ones which have stayed with me for good and bad reasons.
One of the stories that I really enjoyed was one of the first stories in the book. How to Commit Murder in a Bookshop. I thought this story was very clever and I really had no idea what was going on till the very end. It was beautifully written and I loved the characters, especially the bookshop staff.
The Red Angel was also a good story and was very surprising. I loved the ending and really didn’t see it coming.
Christmas Yet to Come was a piggy back on the classic A Christmas Carol and to be honest I thought it was rather an insult to Dickens. I could see what the author was trying to do but I didn’t enjoy the story and didn’t find that it flowed very well. It was also rather predictable.
Icarus was probably my least favourite story of the collection as it felt unfinished and it was also the shortest story in the book. It just felt like the author had forgotten the storyline and then not bothered to finish it.
Overall, I could take or leave this book as it just felt a bit ‘meh’. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
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Purchase Links
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith
(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.)
Lady Book Dragon 