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May, June, And July 2021 Reading Round Up

It made sense to put these months together; it was getting late last month to write about my June reading, I’d only finished one book, and then I realised I hadn’t accounted for May either. I did a lot of reading during that week-long heatwave where I spent most hours of the day situated outside. I’m also thrilled to say I’m double vaccinated; the second dose gave me a weird half flu for a few days but I’m glad to have had it. Photos suggest bookshops still exist; I’m looking forward to visiting them.

All books are works of fiction.

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Christina Courtenay: The Runes Of Destiny – A young woman finds a Viking brooch on a dig site and is transported hundreds of years in the past where she is taken captive; struggling first to believe what’s happened, she must get used to her new life and not be distracted by the leader of the expedition abroad. A good, fun, follow up to Echoes Of The Runes that expands on the general idea and improves on it by leaps and bounds.

Diana Gabaldon: Dragonfly In Amber – Back in her own time, and twenty years on from when she spent two years in the Scottish Highlands of the 1700s, Claire Fraser Randall has returned to Scotland to try and find out what happened to Jaime during the Battle of Culloden. She’s brought her daughter, Brianna, who is yet to discover that her father was a man who lived 200 years previously; now Frank has died, Claire is about to change that. Where the first book was pretty much pure fantasy, the second offering builds on the history to deliver something very detailed and historical and, badly-placed sex scenes aside (why tell your daughter all that?), it’s a great piece of escapism. One can only hope that the person who, in the TV series, is told the truth about Claire, also learns it in the book series, too, at some point.

Gill Paul: The Second Marriage – First Lady of the United States Jackie Kennedy, and opera singer Maria Callas were connected – both had relationships with the shipping magnate Ari Onassis. Paul looks at the lives, loves, and marriages of both women, the connections between them, and the way context and social values affected them. Called Jackie And Maria in the US, this is a strong, bold, work of fiction that offers possible answers and a well-written story of two famous women.

Louise Douglas: The Scarlet Dress – Alice disappeared at the caravan park when Marnie was a young child and Will a young man rather in love with the holidaymaker. Years later, the park is being dismantled for redevelopment but hits a problem when a body is found in ground beneath a structure. Marnie has to remember the past, Will has to work with what’s gone on (it had a massive impact on him, leading to career as a thriller writer) and the mystery of what happened to Alice must be solved by everyone remaining whose lives were linked with the park. A good, fast-moving, mystery revolving around a close-knit group.

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Nicola Cornick: The Last Daughter – When Caitlin’s body is found in a long-sealed coffin, Serena is forced to confront the past that has alluded her for so long to try and work out how her modern-day twin came to be buried in the 1800s. In a second narrative Anne Neville, wife of a close friend of Richard III’s recounts the story of her earlier years and the strange story told to her by a mystical woman about a familial lodestone with a powerful magic. As strong as Cornick’s previous time slips, this looks at a possible answer to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.

Rachel Hore: A Beautiful Spy – When Minnie is approached by a family acquaintance about potential work and later contacted by MI5, she finds herself a spy, spying on British sympathisers of communist Russia and living two lives that cannot be blended together. Based on a real life spy, this is an interesting work that focuses more on the person than the work, showing the reality of life as well as bringing to the fore a woman who could never be noticed.

Rosanna Ley: The Orange Grove – When Holly bakes a cake to celebrate her business news, she knows it’s one her mother has never made, but doesn’t know why. Ella is shocked by the news but agrees to Holly’s proposal, that they go to Seville together to research products and meet vendors for her forthcoming orange-based shop. There’s just that trepidation – Ella visited Seville when she and and husband Felix were younger, but Felix left early to look after his mother, and Ella stayed on. She wasn’t entirely alone. A great book that blends interesting business trip with a past holiday spirit and an excellent look at the extraordinary in the ordinary.

All these books have helped me through the last months, with their balance of fun and escapism with excellent studies and commentary. The fantasies, too, have included their studies. The Gabaldon definitely took a while to read – a few hours in the garden every week or so (it took over four months) – but I’m glad I decided to carry on with the series and am looking forward to getting back to the adaptation.

I’m currently about a quarter of the way through Sharlene Teo’s Ponti and have just begun Tyler Keevil’s Your Still Beating Heart. The first was a present last Christmas and a long-awaited read that I’m enjoying, the second a newer book that employs the second person, which had me intrigued.

It’s been a while: how are you all and what have you been reading?


Charlie and Rachel Hore (A Beautiful Spy) discuss the life and work of a female spy in the years between the First and Second World Wars, the man who inspired James Bond’s M, and how Rachel took care to do right in her representation of a real person.

To see all the details including links to other apps, the episode page can be found here.

 
 

Kelly

August 9, 2021, 9:02 pm

Your Still Beating Heart sounds interesting. The second person perspective sounds interesting, as well.

I’ve read quite a variety this year, including a couple of good memoirs. I also read Table Manners, a collection of short stories I believe I learned of here. I enjoyed it.

jessicabookworm

August 10, 2021, 10:16 am

Charlie, I am glad to hear you’ve been able to have your second jab and that over the last couple of months you have been helped along by plenty of fun and escapist reads. ❤Similarly I have been reading a lot comfort books from favourite authors, like Terry Pratchett, Mary Stewart, Laurie R. King and M.C. Beaton. Last month my favourite was a re-read of The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. 😊

Take care and happy reading in August! 🙂

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