Can't Wait Wednesday #36

The Librarians of Lisbon is a WWII story based upon historical figures. What I like about the book is the take on the war from Portugal, a setting that I never knew was connected with the war. The book was published earlier this month and I cannot wait to read it. 

The story takes place in 1943 Lisbon. The city harbors spies and two Boston librarians, Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, are working for the Allies. They have officially been enlisted to collect banned books but both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network. Both ladies become entangled with two of Lisbon’s most notorious men, the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal spy, code name Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms with Luca, the more bookish Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy world of informants. Then a betrayal occurs. I have to assume that the librarians fall in love with the men but will not know until I read the book.

What book(s) are you waiting to read?

Can't Wait Wednesday #35

Emilia Hart, author of Weyward, has a new book coming out on April 1, 2025. The Sirens is about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea. There are three perspectives that set out the story. We read about Lucy in 2019, Jess in 1999 and twins Mary and Eliza in 1800. 

The publisher's summary:

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack―but Jess is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them―and in her―that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

I like reading stories with dual timelines but cannot remember whether I have read one with a triple timeline. It's going to be fun finding out because Hart is a phenominal author. Weyward was one of my top books for 2023 so my expectations for The Siren are high.

Can't Wait Wednesday #34

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at the Wishful Endings blog.  We spotlight the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

I am anxiously awaiting the publication of Matcha Murder. I have not read anything by the author, Kirsten Weiss but my love for matcha tea makes me want to read this book. This 9th Tea and Tarot Cozy Mystery will be published on February 28, 2025.

The main character is Abigail. Together with her partner, Hyperion, the two must sift through a whirlwind of lies to crack the murder of a business coach. Along with sleuthing, Abigail has to deal with her missing boyfriend as well as a storm raging along the California coast.

Let's hope it's a good read.

Can't Wait Wednesday #34

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. Fiona Davis is one of my favorite authors. I have never read a book by her that I did not enjoy so I am looking forward to reading her latest novel, The Stolen Queen.  It will be published on January 7, 2025.  

The publisher's summary:  Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes.

New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.”

 

Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly 

The synopsis above sounds like it is a treasure hunt story. I love treasure hunts. Several of my favorite authors write them but the first person to write one is Dan Brown. His DaVinci Code started the ball rolling with this exciting new mystery sub-genre. So, as the name of this weekly meme states, I cannot wait to read The Stolen Queen.

Can't Wait Wednesday #33

I love this weekly meme where we showcase books that we are excited about but haven't yet read. Usually they are books that haven't been published yet. 

This week I want to highlight The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister. The story is based on a real woman from history. It takes place during the gilded age and is narrated by the glamorous Aimee Crocker. Aimee reveals everything about her from her mischievous days in German finishing school to dinners with Hawaiian royalty to lavish Astor parties in Manhattan. But behind Aimee's public notoriety, there's private pain over something that happened to her when she was ten years old.

The plot interests me but the book title has me engaged. Who had 13 husband's and how did she get rid of them all? I simply have to read this novel. It goes without saying that I'm excited to read about dinners with Hawaiian royalty because Hawaii is my favorite state. 

The book was published yesterday and I will be reading and reviewing it soon.

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Can't Wait Wednesday #33

The book that I am anxiously awaiting publication is Mel Starr's newest book in his medieval mystery Hugh de Singleton series. The Way of the Wicked will be published on September 19, 2024. It's the 17th installment of the series and we read that Kendrick Wroe has been poaching fish from a lord. Oh my goodness gracious! One of Kendrick's friends is murdered and another one is in peril.  To make matters worse, Kendrick's daughter Bessie is abducted. As people begin searching for her, a member of a plow team dies in mysterious circumstances. Hugh has a lot of murders to investigate but readers of this series know that he will solve every question that is put to him.

Can't Wait Wednesday #32

Agony in Amethyst is the 5th installment of the Harriet Gordon cozy mystery series. The series takes place in Singapore during the 1920s. It will be published later this year in October. When the 4th installment came out last year the author announced that it would be the last novel in the series. I love this series so I am thrilled that there is another book to read.

Per the publisher, our protagonist Harriet Gordon faces uncertainty in her budding relationship with Robert Curran, who has just returned from months in Kuala Lumpur. Curran's expected promotion turns sour when the position is given to an old adversary from his Scotland Yard days. The arrival of the Colonial foreign secretary, Sir Henry Cunningham, revives memories of one of Curran's unresolved cases. The death of a schoolgirl at a lavish ball, hosted by the Governor in honour of the visitor, brings Curran into direct conflict with his new superior officer. When he confides his suspicions to Harriet, she inadvertently betrays his trust, threatening his already shaky career.

October seems so far away! I cannot wait to get hands hands on this book.

Can't Wait Wednesday #31

This meme is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. 

This week I cannot wait to read Alex Michaelides' The Fury. The book was published in January but I haven't yet found the time read it. The plot concerns a reclusive ex–movie star, Lana Farrar, and her famous friends whose Easter trip to Lana's private Greek island was interrupted by a fierce storm. The group found themselves trapped on the island overnight. When the storm's fury stopped, a group member was found to be murdered. 

I loved the author's Silent Patient novel and have high hopes for this book.

Can't Wait Wednesday #30

This meme is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well.

On May 2, 2024 Harini Nagendra will publish the third book in her Bangalore Detectives Club series, A Nest of Vipers.  In this installment of the series amateur sleuth Kaveri Murthy gets herself involved in a dangerous plot that endangers the life of Edward, Prince of Wales. When the prince begins a tour of a number of Indian cities, he encounters passionate crowds demanding independence from Britain, with rioting on the streets of Bombay in November 1921. The mood of the prince's subsequent trip to Bangalore and Mysore in January 1922 appears, at first glance, very different and is made to large, welcoming crowds. Not all is what it seems though. While exploring another seemingly unrelated crime scene, Kaveri becomes tangled in a complex web of intrigue that could endanger the life of the visiting prince. This new novel also takes us into the world of jadoo, Indian street magic, with magicians, snake charmers, and rope tricks. Of course, Kaveri and Ramu continue their sleuthing, with help from the Bangalore Detectives Club, amidst the growing rumblings of Indian independence and the backdrop of female emancipation. I think it is going to be a fun read.

Can't Wait Wednesday #29

This meme is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. 

This week I am happy to report that Laura Childs has another new novel to be published this year. Peach Tea Smash is expected to be published on August 8, 2024.  In this installment of the Tea Shop Mystery Series our heroine Theodosia Browning is hosting the Mad Hatter Masquerade, a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the Opera on the grounds of the old Pendleton Grist Mill. Duri g the event Harlan Sadler, husband of Cricket Sadler, the chairwoman, is killed. He’s been hit in the head with a croquet mallet, and his body hung on the chains and paddles of the grist mill. Nobody can figure out why since Harlan was much beloved by everyone. It’s only after Cricket and Delaine beg Theodosia to investigate that she realizes the killer might have mistaken Harlan for his crazy son, Duke. After all, Duke is a slum landlord and recently injured a woman in a boating accident. 

It sounds like another good yarn from Ms. Childs.

Can't Wait Wednesday #28

The Can't Wait Wednesday meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. While I am having a difficult time this month concentrating on books, I am still interested in adding books to my TBR list. Go figure. This morning I discovered that Susan Witting Albert will be publishing the 29th China Bayles cozy mystery novel on June 4, 2024. This is something to celebrate. When she did not publish a book for the series last year, I was afraid that the series was over. I am thrilled to hear about this new novel, Forget Me Never.

In this installment of the series, Pecan Springs resident Olivia Andrews has a blog and podcast, “Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim’s Storyboard,” that is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. She has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs, someone who isn’t the man everybody thinks he is. Olivia is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she’s out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident—or something else? Her sister and China Bayles want to know.

Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? Then there’s another murder. With a cousin's scrapbook that was compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims, China wants to determine whose face was scissored out of the photos. The answer to that question may solve the murder investigations.

I love that a scrapbook is part of the story and cannot wait to read more about it.

Can't Wait Wednesday #27

The Can't Wait Wednesday meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. While my reading time has plummeted this month because of collage work and planning a trip to Japan, that doesn't mean I won't keep picking up books.  am currently interested in Tom King's Animal Pound comic series. 

When animals grow tired of being caged, killed, and sold off, an uprising puts them in control of the pound. The animals quickly find themselves as comrades, united against everything that walks on two legs. However, with this newfound power comes the challenge of determining how best to lay the groundwork for their new democracy as they write their first constitution.

I know that I am going to love this lighthearted story. The first three releases have already been published but they will be followed up with another three. Also, I can't wait for them all to be published in one book which happens alot with comic book series.

Can't Wait Wednesday #26

I am anxiously awaiting the publication of Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River.  It will be released on December 5, 2023.  I have not read the author's earlier two novels and, frankly, never heard of her. The attractive book cover made me read the synopsis of the story and I ended up pre-ordering a copy.  The book is a historical fiction account of a real-life midwife by the name of Martha Ballard.

The publisher's summary:  Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is  record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.  Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

The plot sounds pretty interesting. I like that the story is based on a woman from history.   My December is heavily booked with holiday parties and concerts so I may not get a chance to read the book until January. I am excited about the read though.

Can't Wait Wednesday #25

I have been anxiously waiting for the publication of the next book in the Harriet Gordon historical cozy mystery series by A. M. Stuart. Terror in Topaz will be published on October 18, 2023. Unfortunately, it is the fourth and final book of the series. This one has a new publisher and Alison Stuart remarked on her website that she hit a stumbling block while writing the story and with administrative issues to deal with it took her some time to get it done.

In this installment of the series Harriet and her brother Julian leave Singapore for a few days and travel to Kuala Lumpur. Julian had been invited to visit a prestigious school (he is a teacher). While the two of them were there, another visitor was murdered on the front steps of the headmaster’s bungalow. Inspector Curran joins them after he is ordered to investigate the Topaz Club, which is the center of corruption in the Malaysian government. Harriet and Curran then work together to shut down the club but they come across a devious criminal who tries to stop them.

The plot sounds magnificent but I think Stuart was tired of writing the series. Changing the venue in just the fourth book of a series is telling.

Can't Wait Wednesday #24

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This week I would like to highlight a book that I have been anxiously awaiting to be published. The Deserter's Tale is the newest installment of Nathan Dylan Goodwin's geneological mystery series. It will be published on September 15th. The series features Morton Farrier as the sleuth. 

When forensic genealogist Morton Farrier accepted an invitation to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to speak at the RootsTech genealogy conference, he had been unaware that one of his co-panelists was to be none other than his former girlfriend, Madison Scott-Barnhart. While he prepares anxiously to meet her for what will be the first time in twenty-six years, and hopefully to discover the unresolved truth behind her abrupt ending of their relationship, he takes on the case of researching his wife’s mysterious great-grandfather: a man who deserted his Sussex family shortly after the First World War. In the course of his investigations and time in the States, Morton uncovers some shocking truths, some of which are uncomfortably close to home.

I have read about half of the books in the series. This series is my favorite among geneological stories. Check it out.

Can't Wait Wednesday #23

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

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I am looking forward to the April 25 release of Colleen Cambridge's Mastering the Art of French Murder. It the first book in a new series, An American in Paris Murders. The book features Julia Child's fictional best friend Tabitha Knight. Upon arrival in Paris for an extended stay with her French grandfather, she meets his neighbor Julia Child and learns how to cook. Tabitha also tutors Americans in the French language, visits the markets and samples Julia's homework from the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. One awful December day the two of them find a body in the cellar of Julia's building. The murder weapon is a knife that was taken from Julia's kitchen. I think that this is going to be a fantastic series and I am excited about reading Mastering the Art of French Murder.

Can't Wait Wednesday #22

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The book I am anxiously waiting to read is Ken Follett's The Armor of Light.  It is book number 4 in the Kingsbridge Series. Unfortunately, I have to wait until September 26, 2023 to get a copy of it. The Armor of Light is the sequel to A Column of Fire and heralds a new daw for Kingsbridge, England, where progress clashes with tradition, class struggles push into every part of society, and war in Europe engulfs the entire continent and beyond.

Per the publisher:  

The Spinning Jenny was invented in 1770, and with that, a new era of manufacturing and industry changed lives everywhere within a generation. A world filled with unrest wrestles for control over this new world order: A mother’s husband is killed in a work accident due to negligence; a young woman fights to fund her school for impoverished children; a well-intentioned young man unexpectedly inherits a failing business; one man ruthlessly protects his wealth no matter the cost, all the while war cries are heard from France, as Napoleon sets forth a violent master plan to become emperor of the world. As institutions are challenged and toppled in unprecedented fashion, ripples of change ricochet through our characters’ lives as they are left to reckon with the future and a world they must rebuild from the ashes of war.

I believe that The Pillars of the Earth, the first book in this series, will be required reading 100+ years from now for students taking American Lit classes. This 4th book will most likely become extra credit. Given its 928 pages, you will want extra credit for reading it. For me, I just want a relaxing read and I am certain that it will be a great read.

Can't Wait Wednesday #18

I am anxiously awaiting the April 4, 2023 publication of Harini Nagendra's Murder over a Red Moon.  It is her second novel in the Bangalore Detective Club Series. 

In this installment of the series, new bride and amateur sleuth Kaveri Murthy agrees to investigate a financial crime for her mother-in-law. Her husband's cousin is facing financial ruin while there is talk in his company that someone embezzled funds. All of this occurred under the blood moon eclipse. Soon thereafter, Kaveri's life is threatened. The story takes place in 1921 colonial India. Anti-British sentiment is rising and women's suffrage is being debated giving the book some political flair.

Can't Wait Wednesday #17

The Can't Wait Wednesday meme has been hosted by the Wishful Endings blog for awhile. Here, we discuss the books that we haven't read yet. 

I have tried to purchase Christine DeMelo's newest book The Apprentice. It was published two months ago but my Kindle purchase will not go through. DeMelo writes historical fiction stories set in Italy during the Renaissance and I have loved every one of her previous 13 novels. All of them have been standalones as is The Apprentice. This novel is a tale of forbidden love and danger that revolves around historical facts from 1600 Naples, Italy. A man named Carlo convinces Florentine Maestro Giovanni Balducci that he should be hired as an apprentice. The two travel south to complete important commissions such as the adornment of the San Gaudioso catacombs. Here, Carlo meets and falls in love with a local monk. Later he meets a famous nun, Sister Giulia de Marco and her confessor, Father Aniello Arcieri, while restoring an altarpiece in a church. Sister Giulia and Father Arcieri draw Carlo into their Confraternity of Carnal Charity, whose wealthy noble acolytes believe divine glory can be achieved through sexual ecstasy. Unable to continue living a lie, Carlo confesses his secret to Sister Giulia and she assigns him a prominent role within the cult. The problem? Carlo captures the attention of the Holy Inquisition.

So, what's up Amazon? Why can't I buy my book?

Can't Wait Wednesday #16

This is my first Can't Wait Wednesday post of 2023. There are two books which I want to showcase that I discovered last month from the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. The Bright Ages and The Light Ages are histories of the medieval era which is my favorite era in history. I am awaiting their arrival from Amazon.

The Light Ages is a history of medieval science. Author Seb Falk gives us this history through the eyes of a fourteenth century crusading astronomer monk, John of Westwyk. Westwyk was born in a rural manor, educated in a grand monastery and then exited to a clifftop priory. He navigated by the stars, cured diseases, and told time with an ancient astrolabe. During Westwyk's travels he encounters an English abbot with leprosy, a French craftsman and spy and a Persian polymath who founded the world's most advanced observatory.  The book kind of sounds similar to the travels of Marco Polo but with a scientific bent.

The Bright Ages is a new history of the medieval era.  I am not sure what is "new" but will soon find out. Advertised as a magisterial history, The Bright Ages captures this era from Europe to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. The publisher's summary of the book states that it will give the reader a fresh look on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. The burning of heretics is also covered and I am interested in this because I have 6 direct ancestors who were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs. 2 of them were Roman Catholic and the others were Protestants.