Goodreads Monday: 8/9/2025

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.

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

Stacking the Shelves: 6/9/2025

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’ve managed some reading today which has been lovely. I had two books arrive this week that I had preordered ages ago.

  • Medusa by Rosie Hewlett – I’m really excited to read this version of Medusa’s story. I always find the story of Medusa a hard story to read because she was a very wronged woman.
  • The Stolen Crown by Tracy Borman – I am a huge fan of Tracy Borman and can’t wait to read her latest book.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

September 2025 TBR

Hello!

I will be honest my August TBR didn’t go very well and I only read one of the books I planned to read.

I will try better with my September TBR I promise!

  • She Played and Sang by Gillian Dooley
  • Unfortunately She Was A Nymphomaniac by Joan Smith
  • Holbein The Ambassadors by Tracy Borman
  • The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
  • Hera by Jennifer Saint
  • Aphrodite by Phoenicia Rogerson

I really hope I get to read some of these but I have just started Villette by Charlotte Bronte and i know that will take me quiet a while now I am back at work.

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

Stacking the Shelves: 30/8/2025

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!

This week has involved a lot of book shopping and a preordered book arriving. I can’t wait to get stuck into reading them all. I went to my favourite bookshops in Bath this week and had one delivery from Waterstones.

Persephone Books

I’m not going to do pictures of these books because they all have the same cover and are never very clear in the pictures. My dream is to own the complete set of Persephone Books and one day read them all.

  • Mariana by Monica Dickens
  • Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple
  • Fidelity by Susan Glaspell

Mr B’s Emporium

I’ve seen some interesting reviews of the Great Eastern Hotel by Ruchir Joshi so I thought I would purchase it and give it a read. The book is huge so it will take me a while.

Unfortunately She Was A Nymphomaniac by Joan Smith looks like a very different history of Rome’s Imperial women.

Toppings and Company Booksellers of Bath

I always try and add another Alison Weir book to my collection and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading Elizabeth The Queen because Elizabeth is my favourite monarch.

Phoenicia Rogerson is a new author for me but I am looking forward to reading her version of Aphrodite.

She Played and Sang by Gillian Dooley looks like a fascinating read about Jane Austen. As a musician myself I am looking forward to reading about Austen’s love of music.

Waterstones

This was my preordered book. R. F. Kuang is a bit of an auto buy author for me so I am very excited to read her new book.

I can’t wait to get reading!

Happy Reading

Etsy

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

August 2025 TBR

Hello!

This post a little bit late this month but I haven’t been great with my blogging since been on holiday. I need to get back into the blogging routine.

Here are the books I am planning on reading this month.

  • The Cardinal by Alison Weir
  • Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett
  • The Mime Order by Sammantha Shannon
  • The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
  • Hera by Jennifer Saint
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I’m not sure if I will manage all of these books but I will give it a try as they have been sat on my TBR pile for way too long. I also need to start catching up on my reviews as I am very behind.

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

WWW Wednesday: 23/7/2025

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.

  • 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. Apologies for the absence recently, I have been away on a lovely holiday which involved a lot of reading so I am now very behind with my book reviews.

What I am Currently Reading

I am about a quarter of the way through with System Collapse and absolutely loving it. I only have a few pages left of Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

Here are the books I read on my week away. My reviews will follow soon.

What I Think I will Read Next

I’m still really in a sci-fi mood but some of these might be possibles as well.

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

Stacking the Shelves: 5/7/2025

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 have been busy buying Kindle books this week ready for my holidays and I’m sure I will probably buy a few more before I go. Here are the ones I have bought so far and they are all new authors for me.

  • Who Is the Liar by Laura Lee Bahr
  • While The Dark Remains by Joanna Ruth Meyer
  • Under the Lemon Tree by Emma Cowell

I’m quite excited to get reading these so hopefully I manage to read them whilst on holiday.

Happy Reading

Etsy

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