Hi book friends! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying these early days of summer. Our area has been surprisingly cool for temps and damp with some moisture. Loving it! However, I think we're about at the end of these lovely things. Each morning when I go out to walk, I try to remember to be grateful for lots of things. Those include temps in the 60's (in June!!!) and fresh air because it might have rained a bit overnight.
I've been having a good time catching up on a few mystery series that I had fallen a bit behind on. Those include J.D. Robb's Eve/Roarke books and also Ann Cleeves' Vera series. I have been attending a few book group meetings at our library, but (whispering) I haven't been reading the books. Just attending the discussions. I always have a good time regardless, though I do think some consider that a bit odd (the not reading the book part). Ha! It's always great to talk about books, right? We were able to visit family in Austin over Memorial Day weekend and had a good time and our daughter and son-in-law have recently been here to see us. We have vacations upcoming and I tried a yoga class here that I've been meaning to (enjoyed it a lot). I also found and went to the closest 'in-person' Weight Watchers meeting to my area. I did have to drive 30+ miles, but it was nice to get encouragement on my health journey from members and also to give it in return. Maybe life is getting back to a new 'normal'.
I want to share four more books that I'm 'waiting on'. Two will be published in August and two in September. They are all on my radar and I'm eagerly anticipating them! Here's the scoop:
Mrs. Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce
From the author of the bestselling “jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People) Dear Mrs. Bird comes a charming and irresistible novel featuring plucky aspiring journalist Emmy Lake as she navigates life, love, and friendship in London during World War II.
London, April 1943. A little over a year since she married Captain Charles Mayhew and he went away to war, Emmy Lake is now in charge of “Yours Cheerfully,” the hugely popular advice column in Woman’s Friend magazine. Cheered on by her best friend Bunty, Emmy is dedicated to helping readers face the increasing challenges brought about by over three years of war. The postbags are full and Woman’s Friend is thriving.
But Emmy’s world is turned upside down when glamorous socialite, the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter, becomes the new publisher of the magazine, and wants to change everything the readers love. Aided by Mrs. Pye, a Paris-obsessed fashion editor with delusions of grandeur, and Small Winston, the grumpiest dog in London, Mrs. Porter fills the pages with expensive clothes and frivolous articles about her friends. Worst of all, she announces that she is cutting the “Yours Cheerfully” column and her vision for the publication’s future seems dire. With the stakes higher than ever, Emmy and her friends must find a way to save the magazine that they love.
Heartwarming, funny, and joyfully uplifting, the third novel in the Emmy Lake Chronicles is a moving tribute to friendship and overcoming adversity.
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After That Night by Karin Slaughter
Will Trent and Sara Linton are back in an electrifying thriller featuring GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter.
After that night, everything changed . . .
Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.
Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.
And the past isn’t going to stay buried forever . . .
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The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—returns with The Raging Storm, the extraordinary third installment in the Matthew Venn series.
Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.
When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.
This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.
As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.
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The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
The brand new installment in the highly acclaimed international bestselling series, featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym of J.K. Rowling.
(And, oddly enough, that is all the info I can find about this new Cormoran Strike book. I think it might not be as long as the previous book, The Ink Black Heart, but it still runs over 900 pages. So, no description and no cover. Surprises to come!)
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Hope this will give you some books to consider for August and September. I'll be around again at some point to tell of what I've been reading or what I plan to read. Enjoy your June!!
June has been unseasonably cool here. I am not complaining though. I get to have my windows open and keep the air conditioner off longer. I know other parts of the country are not so lucky.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are keeping busy--and enjoying yourself! Rumor has it the local indie bookstore will be opening in their new location before the month is out. They have an author visiting in early July I think Mouse might enjoy, so I am hoping we can do that.
I like the sound of Mrs. Porter Calling and will have to add that to my wish list.
I hope you have a great June, Kay!
How exciting to have a new bookstore location! I do hope you and Mouse will be able to go to the author event. I have a lot of fun at ones I attend. A great June right back at you, Wendy!
DeleteI don't seem to be reading mysteries so much anymore - a few rereads, and a couple very cozy ones, but can't take much violence. Same with TV shows. I always lean toward nonfiction, and I do love it.
ReplyDeleteApril 1943 is when my folks got married!
Nan, I think sometimes our reading preferences change and I also think we all have to search out the kinds of stories that we find satisfying. I'm glad you are finding yours. My parents married in March, 1946. Kind of amazing how many years ago that was. LOL
DeleteSo glad to hear you were able to spend some fun time with your family! Crazy that our weather has been relatively mild right? I heard that next week we'll be hitting 100s all week. Yikes. I sometimes go to book group without reading the book and feel slightly guilty but it's always good to hang out with bookish friends! Lots of great books to look forward to and I would add all of those to my TBR too! :) Have a wonderful weekend, Kay!
ReplyDeleteIliana, I think we are at the end of the 'cool' season. Yesterday was much warmer and I think we are to be in the 90's or maybe even touch 100 in upcoming days. Sigh. Enjoy your weekend too!
DeleteI would like to try the 1st book in the Matthew Venn series. Maybe later in the year. I am also interested in the Will Trent series because I watched the first season of the TV show, but I fear that the series is too brutal / violent / tense for me. Will investigate more.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to see a post from you.
Tracy, I'll watch for your thoughts on either of those series should you decide to try them. I will say that the Will Trent books are a bit different than the TV series. Won't disclose exactly in what way, but definite differences. They might be a little 'rough' for you. Have a good weekend!
DeleteSo glad to hear that it's staying cool over there in Texas at the moment. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it carries on for a while.
ReplyDeleteI've read the first Emmy Lake book and absolutely loved it, quite sad in places but also quite uplifting. I must get to the next two, I have the second one waiting on my Kindle.
Cath, I think we are winding down the cool. Yesterday was much warmer the forecast for this coming week is pretty hot. We'll see. I read the first Emmy Lake book too, DEAR MRS. BIRD, and I also have the 2nd book. Need to read it before the new one comes out. I'm looking forward to both of them.
DeleteI like the look of Mrs. Porter Calling! And it's always nice when you're able to catch up on favorite series. Lately I seem to be falling more and more behind in mine. ;D Happy reading this month.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my best to think through the series that I want to 'catch up' on. Wish I could read them all!
DeleteHave you watched the Will Trent TV series? My husband and I really enjoy it. We especially love Betty the chihuahua. I haven’t read the books yet, and I’m wondering how they compare. Enjoy those cool temps! It’s been lovely here in Kansas too.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have watched Will Trent (TV version). The books are different (as you might expect). I would say you would find them darker, more violent - but that is a Karin Slaughter thing. The various characters in the show are definitely different than the books. No spoilers though. LOL
DeleteThe weather can't decide what it wants to do here. We are fluctuating between boiling hot and 60s/70s. It's kind of bizarre! I've been busy lately and my reading has taken a hit but the JD Robb series is one I want to try and I really want to read Anne Cleeves Vera series.
ReplyDeleteWell, our weather finally decided to go to the mega-hot side. Whew! I will be so glad when the humidity lessens, because it has been quite uncomfortable. The Vera series is great.
DeleteI'd love to have some cool weather. It's been hot over here! There was a day it even hit 36C! :(
ReplyDeleteReading-wise, I've been a few romances just for a change. But I know I'll pick up more thriller books soon since they'll be due to return to the library. Hope you've a great week and happy reading, Kay!
OK, I mentioned the weather and now the hot has come. Ha! That's what happens. I'm thinking of rereading some series that I've enjoyed in the past. Kind of scares me that some of them are no longer available in many libraries. That is sad.
DeleteSlaughter and Reeves are two of the thriller/mystery authors whose books I look forward to. Have a good rest of month.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of rereading some Karin Slaughter books. Watching the Will Trent TV series made me think of that. My husband hasn't read them and I was having a hard time telling him what was different about the books and the TV adaptation. Hope you have a good rest of June as well!
DeleteI really enjoyed Dear Mrs. Bird. I didn't realize it was a series! I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteYes, this new one will be #3. I haven't read #2 as yet, but I'm thinking of going back and rereading Dear Mrs. Bird - for fun!
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