It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It is three weeks since I last posted and while I managed to finish all the novels I was currently reading before the end of the year, my reading for 2016 got off to a slow start. The first few days of the new year were spent sorting out the challenges I was signing up for, making lists of books I am hoping to read for those challenges and finally writing sign-up posts.

My last four books for 2015 were all excellent reads. I enjoyed the first of D.K. Broster's Jacobite trilogy, but am not ready to continue with the second book just yet. My re-read, Georgette Heyer's A Civil Contract, while entertaining is not one of my favourites and I now remember why. The ending was a little sadder than most of her other Regencies. Though it ends on a happy note, there are undertones the marriage between our two protagonists will always be one of convenience. Not a usual Heyer ending.

My final books for 2015 were the first two in The Great South Land Saga by E.V. Timms. The next book in the series will be a re-read. I first read The Beckoning Shore a long time ago and as I can't remember any of the story line it will seem like a new novel.

My first book of 2016 was from an author I've read before, Shadow of the Hangman by Edward Marston. I have previously read his Captain Rawson novels set during the War of the Spanish Succession and some of his books featuring Inspector Colbeck, the Railway Detective, which I'd enjoyed. Shadow of the Hangman is the first of the Bow Street Rivals series and introduces identical-twin detectives, Peter and Paul Skillen. Needless to say, their physical resemblance is put to good use and makes for some very entertaining moments. This first book is set in 1815. You can read my full review here.

The other book I finished last week was Thornwood House by Anna Romer. This book had been a part of my TBR pile for a while. It is an excellent mystery story, full of suspense, that kept me reading all weekend and lamenting I should have got to it sooner. You can read my review here.

At the end of last year I had a number of lengthy books waiting to be read, but just couldn't face them. I'm happy to say that the temporary aversion to those books has vanished with the old year. I am currently readingThe Lake House by Kate Morton and loving it. I'm also reading The Mind's Own Place by Ian Reid.

Now that I'm back in the mood for lengthy books I'm hoping to read Now Face to Face by Karleen Koen as it is due back to the library in a couple of weeks.

My Last Books for 2015

The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster

1745. When Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Scotland, the mountains and glens of the Highlands ring to the pipes and drums of the clans who flock to his banner. Charged with excitement, heroism and romance, this stirring tragic adventure that is the unforgettable story of the 'King Over the Water', has never been better told.

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who tactfully introduces him to Mr Jonathan Chaleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter.

Forever to Remain by E.V.Timms

In 1831 the London Lass sets sail for Australia, the Great South Land, with a shipload of settlers eager to start new lives in a new land. Among them is the elegant and beautiful Eleanor, travelling to Australia's hot, dry sun for the sake of her sick brother's fading health. And, seeking the adventure and challenge of the young colony, there is Simon, Eleanor's childhood sweetheart, whom she once jilted but can never forget. Reunited by chance, both are alarmed by this turn of events but they are still attracted to one another - as all on board can see, especially the brutal Captain Lush, who desires the lovely Eleanor for himself; and the vivacious young Penelope, who is determined to win Simon's heart before the end of the voyage ...

The Pathway of the Sun by E.V.Timms

Into the new colony of Western Australia - and into the idyllic love of Simon and Penelope, two if its early settlers - bursts a green-eyed, chestnut-haired hell-cat called Ginny Lockey, alias Margaret Cameron, a convict from Van Diemen's Land who carries the scars of the lash on her back. With the aid of the lecherous Gaston Fonfrede, Ginny has escaped from the penal settlement and has come west to search for her young son who has been so cruelly snatched from her. But even in 1832 the iron hand of the Law could reach out to the free colony of Western Australia to reclaim its victims ...

What I Read Last Week

Shadow of the Hangman by Edward Marston

In this first instalment of the Bow Street Rivals series a riot breaks out in Dartmoor prison, enabling some American inmates to escape. The twin detectives Peter and Paul Skillen catch wind of a projected assassination but the target is unknown. Trouble ensues when a woman from the Home Office vanishes; a mysterious lady turns up at the archery shooting gallery; and Paul’s gambling addiction worsens...

Thornwood House by Anna Romer

When Audrey Kepler inherits an abandoned homestead in rural Queensland, she jumps at the chance to escape her loveless existence in the city and make a fresh start. In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War Two medic - Samuel Riordan, the homestead's former occupant - and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him. But as Audrey digs deeper into Samuel's story, she discovers he was accused of bashing to death a young woman on his return from the war in 1946. When she learns about other unexplained deaths in recent years - one of them a young woman with injuries echoing those of the first victim - she begins to suspect that the killer is still very much alive. And now Audrey, thanks to her need to uncover the past, has provided him with good reason to want to kill again.

What I'm Reading Today

The Lake House by Kate Morton

Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…

One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.

Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.

The Mind's Own Place by Ian Reid

Two women and three men, displaced in different ways by the rapid transformation of Victorian England, travel separately to a small settlement on Australia’s western rim. With them they carry social ambitions and psychological wounds. As their lives intersect in the Swan River Colony, what they encounter is not quite what they expect.

Though fictional, The Mind’s Own Place is partly based on the actual experiences of historical figures: a pair of convicts from respectable backgrounds, talented and enterprising but troubled; two female immigrants, free settlers, not equally fortunate or resilient; and the first detective in Western Australia, who eventually uncovers more than he intends.


What I Hope to Read Next

Now Face to face by Karleen Koen

The beloved heroine from Koen's bestselling Through a Glass Darkly returns in a passionate, unforgettable, romantic tapestry. A widow at age 20, emotionally devastated and financially ruined by the death of her husband in scandalous circumstances, Barbara Devane leaves colonial Virginia for London to confront her enemies and to pursue a deeply satisfying yet dangerous clandestine love.

2015 Reading Challenges - Wrap Up

Here is my wrap-up post for the various challenges I participated in last year. A mixed result, with some successes and some failures, but all enjoyable nonetheless.

AUSSIE AUTHORS CHALLENGE

I failed to read all of the books I'd nominated for this challenge. I only read and reviewed two books from my challenge list. However, looking through the list of books I'd read in 2015, fifteen were by Australian authors. While I haven't fulfilled the challenge, I am still pleased to see I'd read that many Australian authors. I'm signing up for this challenge again in 2016. I know I can do better.

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WRITERS CHALLENGE

This is my second year participating in this challenge. I succesfully completed it in 2014, reading and reviewing three books. Hoping to improve on that in 2015, the level of participation I opted for was Miles: read six – if reviewing, review at least four. I managed to read more than six novels, a mixture of old and new publications, but only reviewed one. According to the rules, I have successfully completed this challenge, though not to my personal satisfaction. I'm signing up again in 2016. Hopefully, I will do better this year with reviews written as well.



BACK TO THE CLASSICS

This was another failure. Of the twelve categories nominated, I only managed to fulfill two. I'm signing up for this challenge again in 2016. I'm not sure if I'll carry over the unread books from my 2015 list to this year's.


BRITISH BOOKS

I successfully completed this challenge. Twelve books read and reviewed. This is another challenge I'm signing up for this year.


GOODREADS

Another success and one that needs no explanation. The simplest of all the challenges I participated in last year. My goal was a 100 books. I read 103. You can see My Year in Books here. It goes without saying that I'm participating again this year.






HISTORICAL FICTION

This was another successful challenge. As I read mostly historical fiction failure was not an option. My goal was 50+ books, which I read comfortably, even allowing for the dual time frame novels and one contemporary novel I read as part of another challenge. I'm definitely signing up again this year.






POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE

This challenge was a bit of fun. I ticked off 18 out of 50 books. Not a bad result seeing as I mainly read historical fiction. A more eclectic reader would have done better. I've all ready downloaded and printed off the 2016 check list. Let's see how I do this year. You can see my 2015 check list here





READING ENGLAND

I did better than I thought with this one. For some strange reason I started at the highest level. My goal was to read 12 books each set in a different county. I managed six counties. So this challenge is another fail, but I'm signing up again to finish my journey.





RE-READ CHALLENGE

I didn't re-read as many books as I thought I would. With one re-read only in 2015, I've decided not to sign up for this challenge again.





THE CLASSICS CLUB

I originally signed up for The Classics Club in January, 2015. To-date I've read two novels from the fifty I've nominated to read by January 2020. Not sure why I'm not on the list of members, so I'm going to sign up again.






Out of nine challenges (I'm not counting The Classics Club as that is still ongoing) I completed four. I didn't expect to complete them all, but my results were better than I thought they would be. I'm hoping to complete a few more challenges in 2016.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Definitely not a good reading week for me. I only managed to finish one book and that was a short one, though the end is in sight for two of the other books I am currently reading (A Civil Contract and The Flight of the Heron). If I'd put a little more effort into my reading I would have finished these two as well, but hot weather, air conditioning, lack of sleep and my brain do not go well together.

Last week's book, Too Few for Drums by R.F. Delderfield, is a quick read (212 pages) and very different from the family sagas this author is famous for. It is a great tale of a young man totally unprepared for command who is stranded behind enemy lines with a small band of men and his attempts to get them all to safety, helped by his seasoned Sergeant and a Welsh camp-follower.

I'm also re-discovering E.V. Timms, an Australian author famous for his romantic historical series set in colonial Australia, The Great South Land Saga. I didn't realise that the book I read by this author years ago was actually the third of a twelve book series. The first book, Forever to Remain was published in 1948. I also have the next two books in my reading pile courtesy of the library. An interesting fact about this series is that E.V. Timms died before he could finish the eleventh book. His wife went on to finish it. She also wrote the twelfth and final book of the series.

What I hope to read next hasn't changed from last week. I'm still eager to read Napoleon's Last Island but I'm not in the mood for lengthy books at the moment. So this one will have to wait, as will The Lake House by Kate Morton and Now Face to Face by Karleen Koen.

What I Read Last Week

Too Few For Drums by R.F. Delderfield

After the British victory at Busaco during the Peninsula campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars, Ensign Keith Graham finds himself cut off from the army, along with a sergeant and seven privates. This ill-assorted, tattered band is joined by a Welsh campfollower, Gwyneth and she and Sergeant Fox help nineteen-year-old Graham achieve both manhood and leadership. Struggling through strange, often hostile country, with insufficient food and sometimes mutinous men, his one aim is to reach the coast and, hopefully, safety ...

What I'm Reading Today

The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster

1745. When Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Scotland, the mountains and glens of the Highlands ring to the pipes and drums of the clans who flock to his banner. Charged with excitement, heroism and romance, this stirring tragic adventure that is the unforgettable story of the 'King Over the Water', has never been better told.

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who tactfully introduces him to Mr Jonathan Chaleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter.

Forever to Remain by E.V.Timms

In 1831 the London Lass sets sail for Australia, the Great South Land, with a shipload of settlers eager to start new lives in a new land. Among them is the elegant and beautiful Eleanor, travelling to Australia's hot, dry sun for the sake of her sick brother's fading health. And, seeking the adventure and challenge of the young colony, there is Simon, Eleanor's childhood sweetheart, whom she once jilted but can never forget. Reunited by chance, both are alarmed by this turn of events but they are still attracted to one another - as all on board can see, especially the brutal Captain Lush, who desires the lovely Eleanor for himself; and the vivacious young Penelope, who is determined to win Simon's heart before the end of the voyage ...


What I Hope to Read Next

Napoleon's Last Island by Tom Keneally

When Tom Keneally discovered by chance at the National Gallery of Victoria that Betsy Balcombe, a young girl living on St Helena while the Emperor Napoleon was exiled there, had become the Emperor's ‘intimate friend and annoyer', and had then emigrated with her family to Australia, he was impelled to begin another extraordinary novel, exploring the intersection between the ordinary people of the world and those we deem exceptional.
Betsy Balcombe moved as a child with her family to St Helena, ‘that high mid-Atlantic rock of exile'. Ten years later her family befriended, served and were ruined by their relationship with Napoleon. To redeem their fortunes William Balcombe, Betsy's father, betrayed the Emperor and accepted a job as the colonial treasurer of New South Wales, taking his family with him. After enduring a profound tragedy on the voyage out, and never quite recovering from the results of his association with Napoleon, William's life deteriorated; however, his family struggled and survived in Australia.
Tom Keneally recreates Betsy's friendship with The Great Ogre, her enmities and alliances with his court, and her dramatic coming of age during her years with them on the island. With his ability for bringing historical stories to life in the most brilliant and surprising ways, Keneally vividly shares this remarkable tale and the beginning of an Australian dynasty.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

I missed posting last week so my reading update today is for two weeks. I've not been overly busy just keeping on top of usual household tasks and lamenting the state of my garden. Not much gardening has been done as the weather has been hot. Despite watering it is still dry and very untidy with the gum trees shedding their leaves at a great rate. It's a battle to keep the ground clear around the house. Rabbits have also been nibbling at a few plants, as have the wallabies. What the wallabies don't eat they break by dragging their tails around. My thoughts often turn to the early settlers who had a much harder life in this harsh country. At least we have town water, even though it is unfit to drink, and should my meagre tomato crop fail, there are always some available from the supermarket.

I thought I was in a reading slump, but when I look back on the books I've read over the last two weeks I found that I'd read more than I thought.

Following on from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, I read the sequel Rose Under Fire. Of the two, Code Name Verity had the greater impact, but Rose Under Fire is also memorable, dealing with life in Ravensbruck, a concentration camp for women, and the atrocities that took place there.

My children's/young adult fiction reading continued with a novel by Hester Burton entitled Time of Trial for which she received the Carnegie Medal back in 1963. It is set during the early nineteenth century when England was involved in the Napoleonic Wars and revolves around a bookseller, who is charged with writing seditious material, and his daughter.

I also finished The Royalist by S.J. Deas. This is the first of a series set during the English Civil War and introduces William Falkland, whose reputation as an investigator earns him a reprieve from execution. I'm not sure whether I wish to pursue another series at the moment so I'm not diving straight in to the next book, The Protector, though it is earmarked for future reading.

Alison Stuart's paranormal historical, Gather the Bones, was a great read, taking only one day from start to finish. I have recently discovered this Australian author and I'm looking forward to reading her other paranormal historical set during the English Civil War, Secrets in Time. I also have my eye on her Guardians of the Sword Trilogy, also set around the time of the English Civil War.

I'm still reading The Flight of the Heron, the first in the D.K.Broster Jacobite trilogy, and A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer. The latter is a re-read saved for bedtime reading.

Once again I'm reading a novel first published in the 1960s. Too Few for Drums by R.F. Delderfield was first printed in 1964 and has been reprinted a few times since. I've read a few other novels by this author, but this particular one, set during the Peninsular Wars, I'd overlooked.

What I'd like to read next is Tom Keneally's latest novel Napoleon's Last Island, which was inspired by a chance discovery at the National Gallery of Victoria.

What I Read Over the Last Two Weeks

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

The thrilling story of one young ATA pilot's unforgettable journey through World War Two. This is Rose Under Fire. Rose Justice is a young American ATA pilot, delivering planes and taxiing pilots for the RAF in the UK during the summer of 1944. A budding poet who feels most alive while flying, she discovers that not all battles are fought in the air. An unforgettable journey from innocence to experience from the author of the best-selling, multi-award-nominated Code Name Verity. From the exhilaration of being the youngest pilot in the British air transport auxiliary, to the aftermath of surviving the notorious Ravensbruck women's concentration camp, Rose's story is one of courage in the face of adversity.

The Royalist by S.J. Deas

William Falkland is a dead man. A Royalist dragoon who fought against Parliament, he is currently awaiting execution at Newgate prison. Yet when he is led away from Newgate with a sack over his head, it is not the gallows to which they take him, but to Oliver Cromwell himself. Cromwell has heard of Falkland's reputation as an investigator and now more than ever he needs a man of conscience. His New Model Army are wintering in Devon but mysterious deaths are sweeping the camp and, in return for his freedom, Falkland is despatched to uncover the truth. With few friends and a slew of enemies, Falkland soon learns there is a dark demon at work, one who won't go down without a fight. But how can he protect the troops from such a monster and, more importantly, will he be able to protect himself?

Gather the Bones by Alison Stuart

In the shadow of the Great War, grieving widow, Helen Morrow and her husband's cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul, are haunted not only by the horrors of the trenches but ghosts from another time and another conflict. As the desperate voice of the young woman reaches out to them from the pages of a coded diary, Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen's husband at Passchandaele in 1917. As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

Time of Trial by Hester Burton

The time, 1801; the place, Holly Lane, in the dark little bookshop in the shadow of St.Paul's. This bookshop, with its musty smell of old leather bindings and parchment and ink, is Margaret Pargeter's home; and her father's books and his book selling are her life - or so they were, until one day disaster struck Holly lane. It was a disaster that unleashed a tide of anger against the social conditions of the time, and a flood of trouble for the Pargeter family. The life of each member was changed completely and Margaret found herself banished to Suffolk with the faithful old housekeeper, Mrs. Neech, separated from her father who lay in prison, and from her friend Robert Kerridge, the medical student who used to lodge with them in Holly Lane. The winter in Suffolk was a hard one, a "time of trial" indeed, but it was also a time of discovery, of growing up, and a time that ends with a surprise for Margaret and a new beginning for all the family

What I'm Reading Today

The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster

1745. When Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Scotland, the mountains and glens of the Highlands ring to the pipes and drums of the clans who flock to his banner. Charged with excitement, heroism and romance, this stirring tragic adventure that is the unforgettable story of the 'King Over the Water', has never been better told.

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who tactfully introduces him to Mr Jonathan Chaleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter.

Too Few For Drums by R.F. Delderfield

After the British victory at Busaco during the Peninsula campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars, Ensign Keith Graham finds himself cut off from the army, along with a sergeant and seven privates. This ill-assorted, tattered band is joined by a Welsh campfollower, Gwyneth and she and Sergeant Fox help nineteen-year-old Graham achieve both manhood and leadership. Struggling through strange, often hostile country, with insufficient food and sometimes mutinous men, his one aim is to reach the coast and, hopefully, safety ...

What I Hope to Read Next

Napoleon's Last Island by Tom Keneally

When Tom Keneally discovered by chance at the National Gallery of Victoria that Betsy Balcombe, a young girl living on St Helena while the Emperor Napoleon was exiled there, had become the Emperor's ‘intimate friend and annoyer', and had then emigrated with her family to Australia, he was impelled to begin another extraordinary novel, exploring the intersection between the ordinary people of the world and those we deem exceptional.
Betsy Balcombe moved as a child with her family to St Helena, ‘that high mid-Atlantic rock of exile'. Ten years later her family befriended, served and were ruined by their relationship with Napoleon. To redeem their fortunes William Balcombe, Betsy's father, betrayed the Emperor and accepted a job as the colonial treasurer of New South Wales, taking his family with him. After enduring a profound tragedy on the voyage out, and never quite recovering from the results of his association with Napoleon, William's life deteriorated; however, his family struggled and survived in Australia.
Tom Keneally recreates Betsy's friendship with The Great Ogre, her enmities and alliances with his court, and her dramatic coming of age during her years with them on the island. With his ability for bringing historical stories to life in the most brilliant and surprising ways, Keneally vividly shares this remarkable tale and the beginning of an Australian dynasty.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Monday comes around very quickly and I can't believe Christmas is only 25 days away. I'm having a quiet Christmas this year. Preparations are low key so thankfully the stress levels aren't rising.

On the reading front, I only finished one book last week and what a great read it was. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is a cleverly constructed novel with several plot twists and an emotional ending. I understand now why reviewers mentioned they couldn't divulge much of the story without spoiling the reading experience for others. This is one of the best YA fiction novels I've read this year. The sequel, Rose Under Fire, is all ready in my TBR pile.

I'm still reading The Flight of the Heron and started two more, The Royalist by S.J. Deas and A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer. The latter is a re-read. I've read all the Heyer novels, admittedly a long time ago, but a review I came across on Goodreads hinted that Heyer was trying to deviate from her normal style when she wrote this one. I don't remember anything about this novel other than the basic plot, so I was intrigued enough to read it once again.

I have several books to collect from the library today which may overturn my reading plans, but I'm determined to read Rose Under Fire next followed by Alison Stuart's Gather the Bones.

What I Read Last Week

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again. He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two. We are a sensational team.

What I'm Reading Today

The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster

1745. When Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Scotland, the mountains and glens of the Highlands ring to the pipes and drums of the clans who flock to his banner. Charged with excitement, heroism and romance, this stirring tragic adventure that is the unforgettable story of the 'King Over the Water', has never been better told.

The Royalist by S.J. Deas

William Falkland is a dead man. A Royalist dragoon who fought against Parliament, he is currently awaiting execution at Newgate prison. Yet when he is led away from Newgate with a sack over his head, it is not the gallows to which they take him, but to Oliver Cromwell himself. Cromwell has heard of Falkland's reputation as an investigator and now more than ever he needs a man of conscience. His New Model Army are wintering in Devon but mysterious deaths are sweeping the camp and, in return for his freedom, Falkland is despatched to uncover the truth. With few friends and a slew of enemies, Falkland soon learns there is a dark demon at work, one who won't go down without a fight. But how can he protect the troops from such a monster and, more importantly, will he be able to protect himself?

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who tactfully introduces him to Mr Jonathan Chaleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter.

What I Hope to Read Next

Gather the Bones by Alison Stuart

In the shadow of the Great War, grieving widow, Helen Morrow and her husband's cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul, are haunted not only by the horrors of the trenches but ghosts from another time and another conflict. As the desperate voice of the young woman reaches out to them from the pages of a coded diary, Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen's husband at Passchandaele in 1917. As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

The thrilling story of one young ATA pilot's unforgettable journey through World War Two. This is Rose Under Fire. Rose Justice is a young American ATA pilot, delivering planes and taxiing pilots for the RAF in the UK during the summer of 1944. A budding poet who feels most alive while flying, she discovers that not all battles are fought in the air. An unforgettable journey from innocence to experience from the author of the best-selling, multi-award-nominated Code Name Verity. From the exhilaration of being the youngest pilot in the British air transport auxiliary, to the aftermath of surviving the notorious Ravensbruck women's concentration camp, Rose's story is one of courage in the face of adversity.

It's Monday! What Are you Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

I spent a lot of time last week searching out books and adding them to various lists rather than actually doing much reading.

I did finish The Tailor's Girl by Fiona McIntosh. I enjoyed this well written post World War I romance and hope to read more books by this author.

The other book I finished last week, The Crimes of Charlotte Brontë by James Tully, was a very interesting re-look at the lives of the Brontës. The author is a retired criminologist with specialist knowledge of 19th century poisons. Finding discrepancies in the accounts of the Brontës' lives and deaths, he decided to research further and was inspired to present his findings in the form of a novel. It is a believable alternative to what we know of this family and as the title suggests Charlotte Brontë does not fair too well. He depicts her as a villain, an accessory to murder motivated by greed, which upset a few people when the novel was first released.

This week I'm reading Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I've only read a few pages so have not read enough to form an opinion, but it's off to a good start.

I'm also reading a novel that I've wanted to read for a long time but never got around to it, The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster. It was first released in 1925 and is the first novel of her Jacobite trilogy.

I recently read an excerpt of S.J. Deas' English Civil War novel, The Royalist and I'm eager to read more. A copy is on its way to me. Hopefully, I'll receive it by the time I've finished the two books I'm reading this week otherwise I'll have to sort through my TBR pile.

What I Read Last Week

The Tailor's Girl by Fiona McIntosh

A humble soldier, known only as 'Jones', wakes in hospital with no recollection of his past. The few fleeting fragments of memory he glimpses are horrifying moments from the battlefield at Ypres. His very identity becomes a puzzle he must solve. Then Eden Valentine comes gliding into his world, a stunning tailoress who has a dream of her own business in high fashion but whose duty to her family may never permit her to fulfil. Her fiancé resents the intrusion of the disarming Jones who is in desperate need of her help to unravel his past. Surrounding the mystery is Alex Wynter, the influential heir to an industrial empire and country manor Larksfell Hall. With his aristocratic family still reeling from a recent tragedy, he brings news that will further rock the foundations of their privileged lives. When their three very different worlds collide, the pieces of the past finally fall into place and lead them into wildly unexpected futures. What they discover will bring shattering consequences that threaten to tear apart far more than just the heart of the tailor's girl.

The Crimes of Charlotte Brontë by James Tully

The story of the lives of the Bronte family is as haunting and tragic as their novels: three sisters and an alcoholic brother shut in the bleak and claustrophobic parsonage at Haworth.
Noted criminologist James Tully became fascinated by inconsistencies he found in the accounts of the lives and deaths of the Brontes, and soon became enmeshed in seeking out the mysteries of Haworth. So dark and unexpected were the results of his researches, he decided to tell the story in the form of a novel which brings to the fore many disturbing questions ... All of which leads to one final question: Was there a cold-blooded and calculating murderer at the heart of the Bronte household?

What I'm Reading Today

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again. He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two. We are a sensational team.

The Flight of the Heron by D.K. Broster

1745. When Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Scotland, the mountains and glens of the Highlands ring to the pipes and drums of the clans who flock to his banner. Charged with excitement, heroism and romance, this stirring tragic adventure that is the unforgettable story of the 'King Over the Water', has never been better told.

What I Hope to Read Next

The Royalist by S.J. Deas

William Falkland is a dead man. A Royalist dragoon who fought against Parliament, he is currently awaiting execution at Newgate prison. Yet when he is led away from Newgate with a sack over his head, it is not the gallows to which they take him, but to Oliver Cromwell himself. Cromwell has heard of Falkland's reputation as an investigator and now more than ever he needs a man of conscience. His New Model Army are wintering in Devon but mysterious deaths are sweeping the camp and, in return for his freedom, Falkland is despatched to uncover the truth. With few friends and a slew of enemies, Falkland soon learns there is a dark demon at work, one who won't go down without a fight. But how can he protect the troops from such a monster and, more importantly, will he be able to protect himself?

Book Review: The Right-Hand Man by K.M. Peyton

K.M. Peyton writes for children/young adults and is famous for her pony stories and, of course, her Flambards novels that were adapted for television back in the 1970s.

The Right-Hand Man is one of her historical novels. First published in 1977, it has been re-printed a few times, but not with such an eye catching jacket as the first edition. The illustrator is Victor Ambrus who has a very distinctive style and has illustrated many children's books including his own.

The Right-Hand Man is set in 1818. Twenty-year old Ned Rowlands is a stagecoach driver with a reputation for speed and recklessness. He is the "... youngest, and certainly the most desirable (not to say the cleverest, cheekiest and most conceited) of the coachmen on the Harwich Road ...".

Arriving at Ingatestone behind schedule, Ned is taken to task by Lord Ironminster, who was once the best dragsman in the land before an accident left him disabled. Still disgruntled by their earlier encounter, Ned is not pleased when Ironminster sits beside him on the box seat for the next leg of the journey. As the journey progresses, Ned and Ironminster soon find they share a common love of horses, coach driving and speed. During their conversation, Ironminster reveals he is looking for a coachman and offers the position to Ned, but Ned declines preferring a life of public driving to that of being a liveried servant and all it entails.

When he loses his job, Ned has no option but to reconsider Ironminster's offer. Presenting himself at Threadgolds, Ironminster's estate, he learns the real reason he has been offered the position. Ironminster has a long standing racing wager against his cousins, James and Rupert Saville, to drive a coach from the gates of Threadgolds to Whitechapel Church in under seventy-five minutes, the prize £5,000. To outwit his cousins and win the wager, all he needs is Ned's help. A partnership is formed and an unusual friendship develops between the pair.

However, there is more at stake than the prize money. Ironminster is not a well man and racing carriages is a dangerous pursuit. Should he die without marrying and producing an heir, James Saville stands to inherit his estate. The dowager Lady Ironminster has found her son a suitable wife, but Ironminster's affections lay elsewhere.

When a tragic accident occurs, Ned is arrested and imprisoned in Newgate. Many rally round to help him, but it is the sacrifice Ironminster makes that shows Ned the true depth of their friendship.

I borrowed this book from the library, but loved it so much that I immediately purchased a second-hand copy (with illustrations) to add to my keeper shelf. From the first chapter to the last I was completely immersed in Ned Rowland's world. The minutia of being a coachman is skilfully woven into the story and there is lots of other period detail.

Not being a horsey person, I was unaware of the skill required to drive a coach-and-four. Now I appreciate there is much more to it than holding onto the reins and giving them a twitch now and then. There are so many variables to consider. I have also learned the value of a good leader, what a wheeler is and how easily disaster can strike.

The carriage racing scenes are spectacular and are responsible for a few heart-stopping moments. At times Ned and Ironminster behave like a pair of Georgian hoons, but this only adds to the excitement and emphasises how dangerous a mixture of speed, horses, bad roads and a disregard for the road rules can be.

The story unfolds from Ned's perspective as he reflects on the day that changed his life forever and the ten months that followed. Even though Ned is more comfortable with horses than people, he is well aware of the effect his "beguiling brown eyes" and his other physical attributes have on the female population, young and old, but is totally unprepared for the depth of feeling Ironminster arouses in him. As he becomes emotionally involved in his new master's life, Ned begins to understand the significance of his role as Ironminster's right-hand man and the true meaning of courage.

The Right-Hand Man is a fast-paced historical adventure. Everything about this novel, the characters, the plot, the setting and K.M. Peyton's expertise in bringing it all together, makes it a very enjoyable and engrossing tale of an unusual friendship. Ned and Ironminster will live on in your mind long after their story is told.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Last week I read three books: Dacre's War by Rosemary Goring, Lord Somerton's Heir by Alison Stuart, an Australian author I'd not read before, and The Right-Hand Man by K.M. Peyton, an historical novel for young adults. While all three were good reads, my favourite was The Right-Hand Man, a story about an unusual friendship involving horses and carriage driving. Once started, I couldn't put it down. You can read my review here.

This week I'm reading The Tailor's Girl by Fiona McIntosh and The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte by James Tully, which is an interesting take on the lives of the Bronte family.

Up next will be another book written for young adults, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I've seen good reviews of this book set during World War II and can't wait to read it.

What I Read Last Week

Dacre's War by Rosemary Goring

Dacre's War is a story of personal and political vengeance. Ten years after the battle of Flodden, Adam Crozier, head of his clan and of an increasingly powerful alliance of Borderers, learns for sure that it was Lord Thomas Dacre - now the most powerful man in the north of England - who ordered his father's murder. He determines to take his revenge. As a fighting man, Crozier would like nothing better than to bring Dacre down face to face but his wife Louise advises him that he must use more subtle methods. So he sets out to engineer Dacre's downfall by turning the machinery of the English court against him. A vivid and fast-moving tale of political intrigue and heartache, Dacre's War is set against the backdrop of the Scottish and English borders, a land where there is never any chance of peace.

The Right-hand Man by K.M. Peyton

It's 1818, and reckless Ned Rowlands is the fastest stagecoach driver for miles around. Ned attracts the attention of the young Lord Ironminster - determined to win a racing wager against his wealthy cousins, the Savilles, and desperate for Ned's help.

Ned is quickly drawn into a strange partnership with Ironminster; as his new friend's right hand man, Ned has an important role to play in helping him outwit the Savilles and preventing his title and estate from passing to them.

Lord Somerton's Heir by Alison Stuart

From the battlefield of Waterloo to the drawing rooms of Brantstone Hall, Sebastian Alder’s elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of dreams. But the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his cousin’s death, provide Sebastian with no time for dreams — only a mystery to solve and a murderer to bring to justice.

Isabel, widow of the late Lord Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Except, her dreams are soon shattered from beyond the grave when she is not only left penniless, but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton.

But this Somerton is unlike any man she has met. Can the love of an honourable man heal her broken heart or will suspicion tear them apart?

What I'm Reading Today

The Tailor's Girl by Fiona McIntosh

A humble soldier, known only as 'Jones', wakes in hospital with no recollection of his past. The few fleeting fragments of memory he glimpses are horrifying moments from the battlefield at Ypres. His very identity becomes a puzzle he must solve. Then Eden Valentine comes gliding into his world, a stunning tailoress who has a dream of her own business in high fashion but whose duty to her family may never permit her to fulfil. Her fiancé resents the intrusion of the disarming Jones who is in desperate need of her help to unravel his past. Surrounding the mystery is Alex Wynter, the influential heir to an industrial empire and country manor Larksfell Hall. With his aristocratic family still reeling from a recent tragedy, he brings news that will further rock the foundations of their privileged lives. When their three very different worlds collide, the pieces of the past finally fall into place and lead them into wildly unexpected futures. What they discover will bring shattering consequences that threaten to tear apart far more than just the heart of the tailor's girl.

The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte

The story of the lives of the Bronte family is as haunting and tragic as their novels: three sisters and an alcoholic brother shut in the bleak and claustrophobic parsonage at Haworth.
Noted criminologist James Tully became fascinated by inconsistencies he found in the accounts of the lives and deaths of the Brontes, and soon became enmeshed in seeking out the mysteries of Haworth. So dark and unexpected were the results of his researches, he decided to tell the story in the form of a novel which brings to the fore many disturbing questions ... All of which leads to one final question: Was there a cold-blooded and calculating murderer at the heart of the Bronte household?

What I Hope to Read Next

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again. He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two. We are a sensational team.

Book Review: The Governor's House by J.H. Fletcher

J.H. Fletcher is an author I've not read before and I looked forward to reading The Governor's House a dual time frame narrative set in the present day and mid-19th century Australia.

Joanne Fletcher is Dean of Historical Studies at a Tasmanian university where she has been assigned the task of locating a precious artefact that went missing over 100 years ago and is somehow linked to her convict ancestor, Cat Haggard. Armed with a journal and a code book written by Cat, Joanne seeks clues within their pages to the artefact's whereabouts and once the Prime Minister takes an interest, pressure from her boss to find it doesn't make her task any easier. However, others are also searching for the same artefact and will resort to violence to get their hands on it.

Cat Haggard, falsely accused of theft, is transported to Tasmania for the term of fourteen years. She endures the four-month voyage and a stay in the Cascades Female Factory before finally being assigned to Doctor Morgan and his wife. Under the tutelage of the doctor, Cat is transformed from "fisherman's brat to lady".

A new house for the Governor, being built on land adjacent to the Morgan's property, becomes a symbol of Cat's new life in the colony. As she watches the walls go up, Cat dreams of one day being invited to the Governor's House.

Cat's adventurous spirit, determination and business acumen bring her romance, wealth and social standing, but when a person from her past arrives in Hobart all that she's worked towards is threatened. Presented with an opportunity to help the colony and a chance for revenge, she becomes part of a daring plan, the consequences of which bring mystery and danger into Joanne's life.

J.H. Fletcher has a style of writing that makes The Governor's House a quick and easy read. The two story lines complement one another beautifully. Cat's is a "rags to riches" story filled with historical detail and moves at a gentler pace than Joanne's present day narrative. Although Cat's story flags a little when the focus is on her later years, the drama and excitement of what is happening to Joanne makes up for it.

I enjoyed this novel and its characters. The setting of colonial Tasmania made a pleasant change from the more popular colony of New South Wales and highlighted how little I knew about the colonization of Tasmania. I found the Author's Notes interesting reading too, helping to separate fact from fiction, and explaining how significant moments in history inspired certain aspects of Cat's life.

For fans of dual time narratives or for those looking for an entertaining read that combines Australian history, romance, mystery and suspense, I can recommend The Governor's House.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Harlequin Australia as a winner of a Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway.