Weekly Reading Round-Up

I had very good book luck this week. All three of the books I read were winners.

— Deanna Raybourn, Night of a Thousand Stars.

Have you been missing Lady Julia and the Marches? In this wonderful, 1920s set adventure novel, we meet March the next generation– and revisit a bunch of the older generation. (Not to mention find out what happened with Julia and Brisbane.) It’s a wonderful combination of screwball comedy and swashbuckling adventure novel. Rather like The Mummy.

Night of a Thousand Stars comes out in October. I’ll have to see if I can wheedle Deanna into doing a give away or something here on the website….

— Kristan Higgins, Waiting On You.

I don’t read much contemporary romance, but I never miss a Kristan Higgins. This was one of her best. Snappy dialogue and comic side characters mixed with making-sniffling-noises-on-an-airplane heart-squeezing emotion.

— Shona Patel, Teatime for the Firefly.

I have to thank Barbara Peters at the Poisoned Pen bookstore for this one: she handed it to me and said, “Read it”. When Barbara says to read, I read. I’m not sure how to describe this book. It’s a love story and a formation of a marriage and a woman’s coming of age and a snapshot of a world in flux. Most of all, set in India in the 1940s, at the end of World War II and a little after, it’s one of those historical novels that brings you forcibly to another time and place, creating a world so real it’s a little disorienting to emerge from it.

And now… I have to figure out what I’m going to read next.

What have you been reading this week?

25 Comments

  1. jeffrey on June 13, 2014 at 9:26 am

    I have devoured all 4 of Shanna Hatford’s Pendleton Petticoats series which all take place at the turn of the century in and near Pendleton Oregon. Billed as “sweet Western romances,” they can be read as stand alone works but the stories are so compelling, being full of relationships between the men, women, families and community that it is difficult to read just one. The author has actually lived in Pendleton so the stories are full of fascinating historical details regarding this colorful location. The books are best read in this chronological order: Aundy, Caterina, Ilsa, and Marnie.

    • Ella on June 13, 2014 at 1:36 pm

      Thanks for the recommendation! Been wanting to read a western but hadn’t an idea where to start. I like that it’s set in my neck of the woods.

  2. Sheila on June 13, 2014 at 9:36 am

    I just finished That Summer, and absolutely loved it! I also read Ricochet, by Judy Fridono, the non-fiction account of this inspiring woman and her dogs. It was an incredible read and I highly recommend it. And Secret Lives of Great Authors by R. Schnachenberg was a hoot.

  3. MichelleK on June 13, 2014 at 10:08 am

    Ooo, I can’t wait for Deanna Raybourne’s next book! I love her writing!!
    I feel like I’m slogging through my TBR pile, I am obligated to do a number of reviews for several sites and that makes the reading less fun. Oh well, first world problem

  4. Lianne on June 13, 2014 at 10:49 am

    I just finished The Summer last night. So fun, Lauren! Thank you. I’m listening to Book 3 of the Pink Carnation, so your words are floating around in my brain! I’m not sure what to read next, possibly one of Rainbow Rowell’s delightful little books.

  5. Kimberly on June 13, 2014 at 10:52 am

    Well, the last two books I read were That Summer and The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams. lol Next up is a WWII account written about the 4th Armored Division that my grandfather was in. And then Overseas by Beatriz Williams.

    Last week I read the first two books in a series by Fay Weldon–Habits of the House and Long Live the King. If you like Downton Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs, you will like these books. Fay Weldon was one of the writers for Upstairs, Downstairs. There is a 3rd in the series I haven’t read yet–The New Countess.

  6. Heather on June 13, 2014 at 12:23 pm

    I’ve been on a Stephen King kick in anticipation of “Mr. Mercedes,” so I re-read “Under the Dome” and “Dreamcatcher”. That was while I was on vacation in Michigan. Once I got home, I found the ARC of “The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla” I won from Goodreads in my mailbox! Been devouring it since.

    • jeffrey on June 13, 2014 at 3:11 pm

      (psst, send it to me when you’re finished)

  7. Ella on June 13, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Set my essay aside because I couldn’t wait to read your book!
    It reduced me to a blubbering sniviling girl from the last quarter of the book on… through the night and periodically at work the next day if I thought about it too much.
    After getting a grip I decided that is was beautiful, haunting, inspriational and just lovely.
    So, thank you for another book.

    • Lauren on June 16, 2014 at 10:40 am

      Thank you, Ella!! I’m so delighted.

  8. Elizabeth Lefebvre on June 13, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    After much cajoling from friends I’ve finally started Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments Series… so far, it’s meh.

    • Gina on June 14, 2014 at 12:04 am

      When I first started them, I was 16 and it was just fantastic. (And as such, I have a nostalgic fondness for them.) But I’m fairly certain it may be a series I would put down now if I hadn’t read them before.

      • Elizabeth Lefebvre on June 14, 2014 at 2:52 am

        So far the second book is far better!

        • Gina on June 14, 2014 at 3:17 pm

          Well, I hope you enjoy them! They definitely keep their teenager vibe, but the characters do grow up a fair bit over the course of the 6 books.

  9. Ashley on June 13, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    I am so glad “Teatime for the Firefly” was good. It has been hovering in my TBR pile for a while. This week, I am reading “That Summer”! Also, I just finished an ARC of Anna Lee Huber’s “A Grave Matter.” It was excellent!

  10. Beth on June 13, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    I actually got the audiobook of “That Summer” last night, and I’m really enjoying it! Let’s see, what else am I reading…I’ve recently re-read (or, well, listened to this time) Attachments by Rainbow Rowell–which I adored.

    • Yvette R on June 15, 2014 at 5:40 pm

      Yes! I listened to the audio book of That Summer this week, and I am sooooo glad that they got such a good reader to do it. Nicola Barber is great.

  11. Gina on June 14, 2014 at 12:05 am

    I just finished That Summer about 20 minutes ago, and haven’t yet recovered. So good! Ah!

    • Lauren on June 16, 2014 at 10:41 am

      Thanks, Gina!

  12. Christina on June 14, 2014 at 10:00 pm

    I read Etiquette & Espionage and Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger and I am sad that I have to wait awhile for her next two books! I also read Night Diver by Elizabeth Lowell. I liked the setting but the mystery was so so. I also read The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. It was my first Quinn but I rather liked the Bridgertons so I’m sure I’ll read more.

  13. Allison on June 15, 2014 at 11:12 am

    I am tearing through the Amelia Peabody books for the first time, and becoming hysterical as I get closer and closer to the end. Where does one go from here? There is no other like her! What do I do?!

  14. Tracy on June 15, 2014 at 12:42 pm

    I’m working my way through Anne Perry’s Victorian mysteries, & just finished Midnight At Marble Arch, which I think was the best yet. I’m not reading them all in order, but each one stands alone really well. I also just finished the last in Susan Carroll’s Dark Queen series, The Lady of Secrets. Next up is the first in Madeline Hunter’s Perfect Blooms series, Ravishing in Red. I read a little excerpt from it, and I can’t wait to start on the series — it sounds great!

  15. Yvette R on June 15, 2014 at 5:46 pm

    I listened to That Summer this week, and it was great! I had to wait until the weekend (last weekend) so that I wouldn’t get interrupted by having to go to work in the middle. Thanks Lauren, for another great book!

    • Lauren on June 16, 2014 at 10:41 am

      Thank you, Yvette!

  16. Bryana on June 18, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    Just finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I haven’t cried while reading a book in years, but this book made me cry in the most beautiful way possible. It’s one of the most moving books that I’ve read in years.

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