🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of October 13

I finally finished The House in the Cerulean Sea. Very sweet book. Interesting. I listened to it and really enjoyed hearing characters and not a straight listen. I understand the second book is out but not available on my sub for listening and about 21 weeks wait at my library. Oh well, I have plenty to read while I wait.

I did start Weyward by Emily Hart. I am enjoying it and it seems a quick read. Or it would be. I am trying something different with this book. I am annotating. Or at least flagging some pages with quotes I like, or foreshadowing. I don't think I will do this with every book but this one seems easy enough to work on.

Weyward
Emilia Hart
4.07
Goodreads Choice AwardWinner for Best Historical Fiction (2023), Winner for Best Debut Novel (2023)
I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Shoot, I forgot to add I am also listening to Anxious People by Fredrick Backman. Which I thought for sure was made into a TV series and I kept putting off watching it until I read the book. I was swiftly corrected by my DD that told me I was thinking of Normal People. I conceded to her but I also seem to think I was right. We did find out there is a production done in Sweden. Which makes sense. But for now, I let her win. I told her then I was half right. I remember seeing something about it on Netflix. But I am old now (60) and I have lost my mind. So who's to say...

I read, Mrs Jeffries Aims To Win, by Emily Brightwell. This is a long running Victorian era mystery series featuring household servants who help their boss, a police inspector, solve murders, but without him knowing they are helping. I like this series, I've spent all of my adult life reading them. 4 stars.

To Fetch A Thief, by Spencer Quinn, the 3rd book in the Bernie and Chet mystery series. Chet is a German Shepherd, and its written in his point of view. Strange as it sounds, it works. Its charming. (These aren't cozy mysteries. The perps (as Chet calls them) are nasty, and the crimes can be brutal.) But the charm is in Chet's point of view, it works, and I enjoy them. 4 stars.

Miss Morgan's Book Brigade, by Janet Skeslien Charles, a fictional retelling of Anne Morgan's (daughter of JP Morgan) work in France during WWI. Solid. Great ending. 4 stars.

Sisters of the Rising Sun, by Heather Morris. This is about a group of Australian army nurses who were captured, along with civilians, by the Japanese during WWII. This is a fiction of a true story. 4 and 1/2 stars.

Angel of Vengeance, by Douglass Preston and Lincoln Child. This is another long running favorite series of mine, Pendergast, an FBI agent, though the last few have nothing g to do with the FBI. I love this series, and these characters, perfect. 5 stars

I'm a slow reader because I only read at night in bed while waiting to fall asleep. So, I don't usually join these threads bc I can't keep up with "weekly" and it's been a while since I read anything worth really weighing in about. I just finished Tana French's second book in The Searcher series, called The Hunter. As usual it had me googling how to pronounce certain Irish names and thinking in Irish slang by the end. It wasn't her best though.

But

I am currently reading Three Body Problem (having a hard time getting into it, set aside for now) and All Fours. Now THIS one has me staying up late to read, but I have no idea how I feel about it. I have no idea if I identify with the main character or find her repulsive. I do identify with the aging Gen X mom part who is no longer a hot commodity. But the rest is...wild. I'm totally curious to find out what happens, page after page.

My ODS pointed this book out to me Saturday morning while we were wandering around in Barnes and Noble. He also mentioned it was a Netflix series. I really do not need to add any more books to my TBR stack but I may peek into the series.

I finally read a book I felt worth mentioning here. Room I thought it was so good.

Feel free to comment on all the books you read! If you didn't like it then tell us why. Your review might save someone else from reading it next. lol. At least we could push it down on our TBR list. Or sometimes I like trying a book that someone else didn't like just to see if I agree or disagree...I always find it interesting how one person says "BEST BOOK EVER!" and someone else says "omg this dragged and I ended up not finishing it". lol

Powerful and very original storytelling.  One of my all time faves even though the content is so disturbing in  many ways.  The message re: strength of the human spirit is much appreciated.

I tried to read The Plot, but after a few starts and stops over my three week library check-out, it's on my DNF list.

I listened to Ina G's Be Ready When the Luck Happens. It was good, but after about 2/3 in I was ready for it to be over. Up to that part it was new-ish material for me, then when it became current times I was over it. KWIM?

I read Look Closer by David Ellis. I gave a rare 5 stars. This one kept me guessing. I promptly put a hold on another by the same author.

I listened to Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. It was good. I also started The God of the Woods but am not that far into it.

I have to admit that I have been "reading" The Covenant of Water on my Kindle for MONTHS. I have a few other books from the library that came in from being on hold around the same time and I have had my Kindle in airplane mode since then so that they don't all disappear. But then that means that I have to delay the delivery of new books when they come in. I am still only 8% into this 700+ page book and I think I decided that I need to read something else. I just haven't gotten to a point yet where I WANT to read it instead of scrolling or watching something else and I don't know how long it will take to get to that point, if ever. So, tonight I am going to start Such a Quiet Place or Forsaken Country.

You said that so much better than I did! Have you seen the movie?