Stacking the Shelves #7

 

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 jogs your memory of something you want to read. Enjoy your reading this week :)

I am really enjoying this book and can't wait to write my review for it, hopefully later this week. It is one of Follett's first books and so I got it for a steal price. A fast paced read, it is hard to put down!

This is one of the books available with my Amazon Prime first reads account. It is the June historical fiction pick so if it's free, why not? It is listed as number one in women's historical fiction right now so I'm willing to try it. 

On sale for only $1.99 I grabbed this one up on my Kindle. I haven't read anything by this author yet but have seen several titles that intrigued me. This one is about Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and I'm always up for anything about the Wars of the Roses.

What books have you collected this week? What are you reading that you enjoy?

Outlander Books: Ranked

 

The day we've waited for is here! It's the premiere of Outlander Season 7 on STARZ and I can hardly contain my excitement! After many production glitches and Covid restrictions, the show is back on track with a whopping 16 episodes for its fans. This season is based on the book An Echo in the Bone and it is one of my favorites. We will go inside more of the American Revolution and see many new characters added to the storyline. 

In honor of the day I have chosen to rank all the Outlander books in the order I love them best. Enjoy....whether you have read them all or not! Happy Outlander premiere day!

"The Big Books"

1. Voyager- Book 3

Always my favorite...I love the Battle of Culloden, Jamie and Claire's reunion, and the voyage to Jamaica. On my third re-read of it now.

2. Dragonfly in Amber- Book 2

The story of Claire and Jamie's political activities in Paris and the addition of Roger and Brianna make this one a close second to Voyager for me.

3. Outlander- Book 1

 

Even though I ranked this third in my level of enjoyment, it is still amazing.. and the original that started it all.

4. An Echo in the Bone- Book 7

The American Revolution takes center stage in this volume as well as a new cast of characters I love.

5. Written in My Own Heart's Blood- Book 8

Time Travel is featured more in this one and that is one of the main parts of the books I love. Also, more of the war and my absolute favorite last page of the whole series.

6. Drums of Autumn- Book 4

I really did enjoy this book but felt it had some areas that dragged. It is a great depiction of their move to the American colonies though and that along with the Roger and Brianna storyline has it ranking ahead of some of the others on my list. 

7. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone- Book 9

This volume wrapped up numerous loose ends from the previous one and her fans waited seven years for it. So I enjoyed finally getting to catch up with the Fraser clan after being so patient. But it felt like a series of choppy short stories so it wasn't as satisfying an epic as I had grown accustomed to with these books.

8. The Fiery Cross- Book 5

Oh The Fiery Cross....this book has been rehashed so many times in Outlander circles as to whether or not it is downright terrible, repetitive, and wordy or whether it is a masterpiece of life on the "Ridge." If you are a fan of the books you know exactly what I am talking about! Having read it twice now I have decided it is both. And my second re-read really did make me a little more of a fan. Yes it could have been pared down, but that isn't Gabaldon's style. And if you really savor it and don't expect constant drama and action it can be a nice break from all the crazy travel of the other books. 

9. A Breath of Snow and Ashes- Book 6

So many people say this is their absolute favorite book. It is my least favorite. So I'm probably not going to win anyone over who loves it. But.....although I really, really want to like this book I just don't. It has graphic depictions of sexual assault, characters I loathe like Tom and Malva and their whole story, and just an overall feel of depression. There are a few interesting moments where you find out some tidbits of information related to the whole story arc and so you can't skip it altogether but most of it for me was either boring or disturbing. I was glad to finish it and won't miss Season 6 of the T.V. series either.  

Just for good measure....here is my order of enjoyment of the Lord John books and the other side stories!

Lord John Grey Series (including novellas with him)

1. Lord John and the Private Matter

2. A Plague of Zombies

3. The Scottish Prisoner 

4. Besieged

5. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

6. Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Other Novellas, Short Stories, and "the rest"

1. A Fugitive Green

2. The Space Between

3. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows

4. Virgins

If you are an Outlander fan, what order do you rank the books in? 

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Murder Wears a Hidden Face: A Gilded Age Mystery (Book 8) by Rosemary Simpson

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Murder Wears a Hidden Face by Rosemary Simpson. The cover drew me in and then when I read the description I thought it sounded detailed and intriguing for a mystery. Also, it is unique in that it is set during the Gilded Age but the characters travel through New York's Chinatown, which I know nothing about. So I thought maybe I'd learn a little history and culture along with a solving a good mystery. 

November 28, 2023

Historical Fiction/Mystery

Description Courtesy of NetGalley

A diplomat’s murder draws heiress-turned-lawyer Prudence MacKenzie and former Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter away from the opulent mansions of Gilded Age New York’s high society and into the dark heart of Chinatown . . .

February 1891:

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of Chinese art objects, timed to coincide with the arrival of a new Chinese cultural attaché, Lord Peng. Prudence and Geoffrey are invited to attend the opening ceremonies. But among the throng of dignitaries making their way through the galleries is one decidedly unwelcome and unexpected visitor—an assassin who stabs the attaché to death, then flees through Central Park.

As witnesses, Prudence and Geoffrey quickly become immersed in the case and join former New York detective Warren Lowry in investigating the murder. But there are complications. The Peng family will no longer enjoy diplomatic standing and is threatened by deportation and possible disgrace or execution in their homeland. Desperate to remain in the West, they flee into the labyrinth of Chinatown, enlisting the protection of a long-lost uncle, now the leader of one of the city’s most feared Tongs. But that alliance comes with a price; Peng’s son must become his uncle’s apprentice in crime, while his eldest daughter will be forced to marry a Tong leader she has never met.

With a killer still at large, bent on revenge for a long-ago injustice and determined to eliminate every member of the Peng family, Prudence and Geoffrey are plunged into the heart of a culture about which they know very little. Each foray into the narrow streets and alleyways of Chinatown could be their last.

Murder At the Fair by Verity Bright (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery) Book Six

 

Publication Date: June 11, 2021

Length: 316 pages

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

This is book six in this series and this time Eleanor is going to the May Fair. She is looking forward to time with the citizens of Little Buckford and enjoying the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, she will become tangled in yet another murder. They just seem to find her!

Lady Eleanor Swift is delighted to be the special guest at the May Fair and is having a great time watching the homemade raft race. When the much beloved undertaker, Solemn John is found dead it turns into mayhem and Eleanor and Clifford, her butler, are determined to find out how and why he died. As they delve into things Eleanor clashes once again with her love interest, Detective Hugh Seldon, who wants Eleanor to leave it well alone. She agrees briefly, but then after a heartfelt conversation with Solemn John's widow she secretly renews her commitment to finding the killer. 

Strangely, an obituary appears in the local paper concerning John's death and it is not flattering of him. It appears to have been written by his apprentice, Willie Green, who has some sort of beef with his former, deceased boss and no one is exactly sure why. 

Meanwhile, Eleanor is fending off unwanted suitors and eventually becomes tangled in not one, but two more possibly related murders. Another strange obituary appears in the paper again and then she is attacked as well. Sure enough, an obituary it written about Eleanor and the ominous warning has her rattled. She and Clifford must find out what on earth is going on before she is silenced permanently. 

An enjoyable read, Murder at the Fair is humorous and follows the rhythm of past books. Eleanor and Clifford are their usual witty selves, Clifford always a step ahead of her in both etiquette and charm, Eleanor trying to be the "lady of the manor" but finding her return to her common self more authentic. Their interactions with the staff of Henley Hall, Eleanor's inherited residence, is sweet and endearing and one gets a thorough description of what spring cleaning was like in a country manor in the 1920's. The housekeeper acquires a new contraption called a "vacuum cleaner" which she names Victor. The usual cast of characters appear and continue the coziness of past books. 

I thought this was a great way to spend what has been an extremely busy May and beginning of June for me, winding down the school year, and they are a go to if you want fun, cute recurring characters, and a mystery that has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I'll be tackling Book 7 this fall as I like to read them in order and according to the matching seasons. If you like this type of cozy mystery you won't be disappointed in this installment!

Can't Wait Wednesday: Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman. I have always loved reading about the reigns of Henry I and II but it is hard to find anything on the wife of Henry I. Much has been covered about their daughter, the Empress Matilda, but not so much about her mother, also named Matilda. I am glad to see this subject given a whole book and hope it is informative and interesting. 

*I'm not finding it anywhere for sale in the United States yet but hopefully it won't be long.

Happy Reading!

June 30, 2023

History

Description courtesy of NetGalley

The wife of King Henry I and the mother of the Empress Maud is a woman and a Queen forgotten to history. She is frequently conflated with her daughter or her mother-in-law. She was born the daughter of the King of Scotland and an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her name was Edith, but her name was changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage.

The Queen who united the line of William the Conqueror with the House of Wessex lived during an age marked by transition and turbulence. She married Henry in the first year of the 12th century and for the eighteen years of her rule aided him in reforming the administrative and legal system due to her knowledge of languages and legal tradition. Together she and her husband founded a series of churches and arranged a marriage for their daughter to the Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was a woman of letters to corresponded with Kings, Popes, and prelates, and was respected by them all.

Matilda’s greatest legacy was continuity: she united two dynasties and gave the Angevin Kings the legitimacy they needed so much. It was through her that the Empress Matilda and Henry II were able to claim the throne. She was the progenitor of the Plantagenet Kings, but the war and conflict which followed the death of her son William led to a negative stereotyping by Medieval Chroniclers. Although they saw her as pious, they said she was a runaway nun and her marriage to Henry was cursed.

This book provides a much-needed re-evaluation of Edith/Matilda’s role and place in the history of the Queens of England.