Stacking the Shelves #96

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Happy reading y'all!

Queens at War by Alison Weir (England's Medieval Queens Book Four)

Kindle Purchase: $1.99 on sale this week

I featured this book for a Can't Wait Wednesday post awhile back but now I was able to buy the Kindle version for a great price this week. It will have to go in my to be read pile but I'm glad I could get it. Weir's series on medieval queens is unique and I have enjoyed what I've read from it so far. 

Fate and Fortune: A Hew Cullan Mystery Book Two

Kindle Purchase: $1.99

This series is intriguing to me because of its Scottish setting in the 1500's. I have book one already and this was on sale for a steal. The main character is a young law student who, while trying to complete his education in Edinburgh, becomes involved in solving the murder of a young girl found on a beach. He becomes involved personally when events from his life overlap with the murder inquiry. I love anything set in medieval Scotland but especially a mystery. 

The Belle of Chatham by Laura Frantz

Hoopla Digital borrow

I featured this book in January for Can't Wait Wednesday and it is now available on Hoopla. I am not reading much American history or historical fiction lately but this book caught my eye. It is a little like the Sunfire books I loved as a young girl but written for adults. Two sisters are caught up in love and war in their New Jersey home during the American Revolution and must decided where their loyalties lie. 

Hammer of the Scots by Jean Plaidy (Plantagenet Saga Book Seven)

 

Publication Date:

January 1, 1978

Genre: 

Historical Fiction, Medieval Historical Fiction

Length:  

326 pages

Series:

Plantagenet Saga

Book description courtesy of Goodreads:

The news of Henry III's death reached his son Edward on the long road home from the Holy Land. Now he was England's King and a man fit for his destiny.

Through all the years of his reign, through stark personal tragedy and chill forebodings as his son grew into a weak, corrupted prince, Edward I strove to weld a nation united from England and Scotland and Wales.

When the mighty Wallace raised the Scots in arms and the Welsh Llewellyn strove for power, Edward stood firm to his resolve, still knowing in his heart how much would be lost when his crown passed down to his dissolute son.

My Thoughts:

As anyone who reads my blog knows I'm a huge Jean Plaidy fan. And there aren't that many books about Edward I so I have wanted to read this one for a while. It is really hard to find and I had to buy a used copy online. You can't even get it on Kindle.The cover is funny to me because it was written in 1978 and has that romance novel vibe which this book is anything but. It makes me curious if this actually made some women buy it and be disappointed that it is really historical fiction. It is such a different time now and I guess this is what she had to do to sell her novels back then. 

I seem to be in an Edward phase right now as I have a non-fiction book about him going and plan to read another book that just came out. This book starts with the death of his father, Henry III and finishes with Edward's death so we see the entire scope of his reign. She doesn't spend much time on his early years, just some flashbacks by his mother remembering how things used to be. I have read quite a bit lately about Henry III's reign and so it picked up in a good spot for me to understand what was happening at the time.

The most interesting and unique parts of the book were surprisingly not his clashes with Wales and Scotland (although those parts were great too!) but rather his relationships with his children, especially his daughters Eleanor and Joan. I had read that both he and his father were very devoted to their children and almost indulgent which I don't picture much for medieval Kings. And Joan's story was almost a book in itself with scandals and secret romance, I had no idea! 

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Cherkley Court Conundrum by Benedict Brown (A Marius Quin Mystery Book 7)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Cherkley Court Conundrum, by Benedict Brown. I love this author and this series. Brown's characters are endearing and the mysteries are fun. This book in the Marius Quin series has the main character and his love interest, Lady Bella investigating a murdered maid and stolen jewelry in a country house in the 1920's. While this scene is not new to the cozy mystery world, I think Benedict has an entertaining style that stands out from some of the others. 

Cozy Mysteries, Historical Mysteries

July 17, 2026

Book description courtesy of Amazon Books

A maid found bludgeoned, a priceless treasure stolen, and the likely suspect gone without a trace…

When an old flame from Marius Quin’s past turns up at his door with knowledge of a shocking crime, he is drawn into a new case. A devoted maid has been brutally attacked, a valuable jewellery box stolen, and the head gardener has fled from the grand estate where they work.

With his sleuthing partner, Lady Bella, alongside him, Marius descends on Cherkley Court, the home of the domineering business magnate Lord Sheridan. But conflicting accounts from the man, his glamorous wife, a trio of young artists, and the troubled staff only lead to more questions. Although plenty of evidence points to the missing gardener, Marius isn’t convinced, and his hunch is proven right when the killer strikes again.

Faced with a conspiracy that reaches into the heart of the household itself, can Marius and Bella unravel a devious plot or will the killer get away with murder twice over?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With the Word "Queen" in the Title

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is Books With the Word "Queen" in the Title. I thought this would be an easy topic for me as I read so many books that fit this description. I challenged myself to find books I have not read or reviewed yet. So here is my list. 

Happy reading y'all! 

Click on the book title to link to Goodreads.

1. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

2. Queen of the North by Anne O'Brien

3. Queen Isabella by Alison Weir

4. Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland by Susan Fraser King

5. The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner 

6. The Captive Queen of Scots: The Story of Queen Mary by Jean Plaidy

7. Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

8. Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser

9. Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled An Empire by Julia Baird

10. Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

          

 

 

 

Stacking the Shelves #95

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Happy reading y'all!

Anne Boleyn: A Novel by Evelyn Anthony

Kindle Purchase: $1.99 on sale this week

Normally I'm kind of over the Tudors because I read so much of them years ago. But this author has some good books to her credit and I couldn't pass this one up on sale for this cheap. It tells the story of Boleyn's life and love story with Henry VIII and includes the story of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell's involvement which I'm always looking to learn more of. Published in 1957 I also like that it is a classic which is more likely to lack the modern touches I don't care for in today's historical fiction. 

The Uninvited Guest by Sarah Woodbury (The Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mysteries Book 2) 

Kindle Purchase: 99 cents this week

I have the first book in this series and I've read another book from a different series by this author. So now I have the first two for this series and need to read them. I really admire this author because she has taken on mysteries set in medieval Wales. That is unusual and not easy to research. This book is set during the reign of Owain, King of North Wales in 1143 and the main characters must unravel a mystery about a dangerous uninvited guest at the wedding of the king before he becomes a victim. They remind me a bit of the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. 

Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir 

Paperback: Found in my box of old books!

I love Alison Weir's non fiction books (to be fair, haven't read her fiction books yet) and lately I've been reading a lot about the "three Edwards." This book about the wife and queen of Edward II is one I purchased years ago and I was going through some old books and came across it again. It looks so good now especially since I've since learned more about his life and hers. Their story is one that seems made up because it is so unbelievable. I'm sure Weir has researched it in meticulous detail as she always does.