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 Retiree Harold Fry has spent most of his life, he thinks, being a failure. He’s let down his son, never advanced very far in his career, virtually separated from his wife Maureen despite living in the same house, and lost the only friend he really made. When he receives a letter from that friend, Queenie Hennessey, dying of cancer 600 miles away in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Harold at first simply writes her a nice note and leaves the house to take it to the post box. When he reaches that post box, he thinks – why not go a little further into town? And so begins Harold’s walk up England and his quest to keep Queenie alive, transforming the remainder of his life for good.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has been getting tons of press lately; lots of reviews from bloggers and a lot of attention from mainstream media too. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012 and highlighted by Waterstone’s, I found it impossible to resist reading this charming little book for myself. In fact, I bought and started reading it on the same day, very curious to see what all the fuss was about.
What I found was an insightful, truly heart-warming and moving book about an old man’s quest to find the friend he adores. Harold is such a timid soul; he despises attention and has no confidence in himself whatsoever. He’s not seeking attention and he’s not even sure that he can do it. But he reckons, inspired by a girl he meets in a garage, that if he can walk 600 miles, his old friend from work, Queenie, can stay alive, and maybe even get cured. He loves his wife, Maureen, but the gulf between them is now so wide that he doesn’t even tell her he’s going, bringing us to the other half of the story; the woman left behind.
It’s hard to review this book without really giving away much of the story. I didn’t really know much at all and I liked it very much that way. The story is by turns sad, sweet, and even funny sometimes, as we follow Harold on his unlikely journey north. My heart broke for him and Maureen on a regular basis, it seemed, as they played out the memories of their life together, the slow road they travelled together away from love and towards estrangement. The slide towards taking each other for granted, towards settling rather than striving, towards mediocrity. It makes Harold’s journey so, so poignant and perfect in comparison, the completely unexpected act of a man who has always done the expected.
The book itself is written in beautiful, at times deceptively simple and easy to read yet perfect prose, making the story come to life. Harold’s hardships are by no means ignored; he spends a large part of the early walk in serious pain from lack of preparation until he meets a woman who was a doctor once. The descriptions of the English countryside are beautiful, especially in the beginning of the book, and the level of Harold’s reflection is directly tied to his mood. As I read and experienced their past, I was completely swept away by emotion and found myself near to tears more than once.
There is a reason that The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has received so much acclaim. It is a simply beautiful, charming, at times heart-rending book that is very much worth your time.
All external book links are affiliate links. I purchased this book.
 Since young adulthood, Charles de Lacey has led a profligate life mostly full of care, isolated from his family and completely uninterested in the dealings of his estate. As the heir to a dukedom, he’s simply let his brother Edward take charge alongside his father, while his soldier brother Gerard served the purpose of bravery. But when Charlie’s father dies, haunted by a blackmailer who’s discovered a deadly secret, this devil-may-care nobleman must whip himself into shape in order to ensure he secures his inheritance. On the trail, Charlie meets Tessa Neville, a stubborn, intelligent woman whose presence around the suspected blackmailer raises Charlie’s curiosity. How is she connected with the case – and can she help him rescue his family?
The Way to a Duke’s Heart is the third in a trilogy of books about the de Lacey brothers. I’ve also reviewed the first two. You don’t have to read the first two to enjoy this book; as with most romance novels, the external plot is not really that tight and the focus is much more on the romance. All you really need to know is that Charlie is hunting for a blackmailer who could rob him of his inheritance, making him and his two brothers into virtual paupers overnight. Some clues were found by Edward and Gerard over the course of the first two books, but it is really down to Charlie to find the answers and save his own fortunes, as well it should be.
That’s because Charlie is most definitely the wastrel of the three; we learn very early on that he was driven away by his father holding him to too-high standards as his heir, while failing to allow him to marry the woman he thought he loved at a tender age. But now that Edward and Gerard have in some sense settled down with their wives, he’s left on his own to solve the mystery and prove himself worthy of his title. Tessa, on the other hand, is a businesswoman before they really existed. Running her brother’s estate, she’s left to make all the decisions for him and has made a huge success of herself. She’s in Bath to investigate a canal building project – and she does a cracking good job of it – where she and her elderly companion run into Charlie. Sparks fly, Tessa doubts, Charlie charms, and solves the mystery while he’s at it.
All in all, this was a really delightful ending to the trilogy. I liked that Charlie finally got his resolution in more ways than one; it’s obvious that it’s going to happen, but I was very pleased with the way it all turned out for him. I was completely satisfied with the finish of the mystery that has lasted over the course of the trilogy, too. Even though the blackmailer plot more or less served as a way to get these three brothers in contact with their three new wives, I did find that it intrigued me and I wanted to know what happened to their father in his younger years. And I loved Tessa, as you might expect; she’s so very intelligent with her businesslike mathematical mind, I could see why she would have had so little previous luck with men. I enjoyed Charlie’s charm and persistence with her greatly, and I very much cheered for their happy ending.
A very entertaining and highly recommended trilogy of romantic novels!
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review.
 Theodora Saxby and James Ryburn, the future Duke of Ashbrook, have been friends for their entire lives. When James proposes to his “Daisy”, as he affectionately calls Theo, hardly anyone can believe it. After all, Theo is no beauty, and everyone has expected him to aim somewhat higher. But Theo and James discover happiness almost immediately, when they realize that the friendly affection they’ve always harbored for one another does in fact run deeper. That’s until Theo hears the real reason for their marriage; that James’s duchy is deeply in debt, and in reality he needed her money to stay afloat. Dismayed and heartbroken, the couple separate for years. After he nearly loses his life in battle as a pirate, James returns to London, determined to persuade his transformed duchess to give him her heart once again.
I loved the way that Eloisa James immediately drew me into this book with the incredibly sweet way that Theo and James immediately fall for each other. It’s the perfect friendship turned love story, until she tears it apart. What better way to make you truly care for these two characters before their story really even begins? Even though I knew what was going to happen, in that James was going to leave Theo at her own request, I really didn’t want it to happen. I wanted them to continue being happy. But if that had occurred, we wouldn’t have had much of a book.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really like the rest of the book as much as I liked the sweet beginning. Theo’s transformation from ugly duckling to graceful swan takes place while her husband is far, far away, learning how to be a pirate. Her marriage, though it turns into a sham, is the perfect catalyst to free her from the usually dominating parents and allows her to exercise her rather obviously excellent taste in clothing and style. What I didn’t like was the relationship with the press, although it was certainly very realistic; it’s Theo who has driven off her husband, Theo who is at fault for everything; it made my heart break more for her, but I didn’t like it regardless. The couple spend the middle section of the book apart, then reunite for the last third.
As usual, Eloisa James delivers a very enjoyable, thoughtful romance. Though I still don’t think this is a match for the amazing Desperate Duchesses series, it also didn’t bother me the way that her last did. Not entirely my favorite, but The Ugly Duchess is a good read for a historical romance reader.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review.
 I discovered a link today via Lady Business of this fall’s most exciting science fiction and fantasy releases which reminded me just how many books I have to look forward to this fall and early winter in two of my favorite genres. We’re really spoiled for choice this year and there are a number of books I just cannot wait to read.
I’m going to start by telling you about the books from authors I already love, which I will definitely purchase; I do intend to try some new ones, but here are my guaranteed reads this fall:
 Ashes of Honor, by Seanan McGuire – this one isn’t actually at the link above, although I’ve seen it on others; it’s the sixth October Daye book. Seanan McGuire has become one of my favorite authors for this series and others. I wrote at length on how much I simply adore this series for being epic, heart-breaking, and amazing, and I can’t believe the next book is actually out a week from Tuesday, although Amazon is predicting I will have to wait a little bit longer. I preordered it in April as soon as they released the cover and have been stamping my feet in impatience ever since.
The only question now is whether I should attempt a re-read of the entire series before this one arrives. If I do decide to, it will be next weekend, and I’m sure you will hear about it. I’d never recommend you start with this one, but if you’re craving urban fantasy, Rosemary and Rue is calling your name.
 Next up, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, by Tad Williams. An epic fantasy author goes urban fantasy and, by all accounts already, does a fantastic job of it. I actually already have this book for review (thank you, Amazon Vine) because I have read and really enjoyed some of that epic fantasy in the past. As far as I recall, it didn’t really break the stereotype of farmboy saves the world, but when an author does stereotypes well, you’re reminded why they exist in the first place. That’s exactly what Tad Williams did there, and is another reason I’m excited to read this book. It’s in my “immediate TBR” pile, so you’ll be hearing about it from me very soon. I haven’t even read the summary, so I have no idea who Bobby Dollar is, but that’s okay; I’m ready for Williams to introduce me to this new world his way.
 Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey, another new urban fantasy, is a completely obvious must-read for me. I adored her original Kushiel trilogy when I first got into epic fantasy, and I’ve not quite found another match for something that so very brilliantly evoked a new world and mythology, while creating absolutely fantastic characters, a perfectly epic saga, and an incredible love story. Even Carey’s own later novels haven’t quite matched it, but I simply love the way she writes and haven’t failed to like a single one of her books. I may have fallen behind with her epic fantasy (although I still own it all) and haven’t read Saints Astray yet, but that hasn’t stopped me craving this book too (also despite the cover, which I do not like).
This is another book I know virtually nothing about as it stands, but as I’ve mentioned, I like new releases that way.
 Finally, for the purposes of this list, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold is one book I will definitely be reading. I fell in love with the Vorkosigan saga recently and have been recommending it up and down to anyone I know who actually reads books, so resisting this book is an impossible feat. I’ve actually still not read Cryoburn because it’s the last and it hasn’t had the world’s greatest reviews, but having this book on the horizon makes me very excited.
I’ll still say, even if you think you don’t like science fiction, give Young Miles a try. You might be surprised.
This is only a short list, but my craving for urban fantasy here is really obvious. I’m glad the public craving for it seems to match my own, mainly because I generally find these books to be satisfying in so many different ways, and they’re much faster reading than epics. I still love epics, but I no longer have the time to sink into a huge series. I love all of the different worlds; though they’re usually based in cities in our world, the differences between them and the varying levels of darkness are fantastic. I love the fact that they can feel epic in a shorter space of time, that the main characters are often women who can kick butt and have feelings at the same time, and that they create long-lasting relationships between characters that really matter.
What new releases are you looking forward to this fall? Is there anything on the list above that’s new to me I simply must try?
 Standing on the edge of the Peninsular War and the true beginning of her adult life, newly married Harriet Raven moves to London, restless and discontented. Her husband, James, is posted to Spain as a Captain of the 9th Regiment, under the command of Lord Wellington. While Harriet befriends Lady Wellington in London, witnessing progress firsthand and trying to work out what she should do with herself, James is thrust for the most part into the thick of battle. Over the course of three years, lives change, and married couples form in isolation of each other, unprepared for what life intends to throw at them.
This is a complicated story that is incredibly difficult to describe. There is a host of historical characters, from Lord and Lady Wellington to the Prince Regent and Frederick Winsor, the man who introduced gas lighting to Britain. Harriet, her husband, and most of the people we are more closely involved with are fictional, seemingly designed to set in contrast the difference between war and home and as always the way society changes. There are many threads to this novel, from the enticing prospect of blood transfusions, to marital infidelity, to war and the endless human need to wage war with one another. Painters, writers, businessmen, scientists, doctors; we get a huge swathe of society in just over 350 pages.
As you might expect, then, this book is something of a challenge; the third person narration switches between characters who are together sometimes within the same paragraph, leaving me feeling somewhat on edge and careful to check that I understood what was happening. The Peninsular War is a conflict that was new to me and in this case Tillyard’s view as a historian ensures that the book contains all the small details that make such a war fleshed out and understandable for her readers. There are many historical events taking place here, changing the very face of London with gas lighting, changing healthcare with experiments on blood transfusion, changing the lives of workers with the introductions of mills and factories.
It’s perhaps too many issues for a single book, and the large cast of characters and huge number of causes limits the author’s ability to simply tell a good story. It’s beautifully written with a number of passages that caught my attention, but there is almost too much happening for any single focus, which means that the book isn’t really all that compelling. It never called to me from its place on the bedside table, although I certainly felt that it should. I just never particularly liked any of the characters, barring perhaps one, but he doesn’t really appear in the narrative quite often enough to draw me in, and I didn’t feel that there was anything about the plot (if there really was one) to keep me going.
Ultimately, I found Tides of War disappointing, even as someone who loves history.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from Amazon Vine.
 Ruling Rome is a dangerous business, and Emperor Nero is on the throne without an heir, about to learn this to his peril. Young Aulus Caecina Severus, nearly thirty years old and just recently covered in glory thanks to a successful campaign against Boudicca in Britain, is caught up in a scheme against Nero that could lead to incredible danger or even more glory and authority. For his appointed emperor, he’s required to lead armies, commit treason, fight against his own people, and even suffer torture. Told from the perspective of his older self, Severus takes us through what is called the Year of Four Emperors as we witness some of the worst depths of the Roman political machine.
Unlike a lot of the other Roman focused historical fiction I read, this isn’t really a blood and guts, down to earth, as it really was book. It could have been fairly easily and at times it approaches that level. After all, Severus sees his fair share of battles, and the book opens with one. But Severus’s tone makes it very clear to us that he is more sophisticated than that. He’s not a plain soldier, but a man who feels he warrants greater things and who has been educated to take them. I think the book’s mildly arrogant tone perfectly fits a Roman citizen who spends most of the book amongst people he calls barbarians in Rome’s conquered territories.
Though the politics of this particular period in history are fairly complex, Venmore-Roland does a good job of simplifying them enough that he won’t lose his audience while keeping the tension high. I’d never heard of this period in history, and I was definitely intrigued enough to keep on reading throughout. There are a lot of back door conversations and at times the info-dumping gets very severe. This is a natural consequence of the fact that our main character is far away from Rome, the nerve center of most of the rebellion, and has to receive information and instructions from messengers. He’s also very, very reactionary in this respect. There are a few times when he takes action, like when he leads a battle and saves his men from complete destruction, but usually he hears about or is faced with an event and has to react to it.
What this book does focus on is the level of treachery that could go on within the Roman empire. Severus takes part in a rebellion against the sitting emperor, other people join the rebellion and then defect, he fights against men who are essentially on the same side as him thanks to treachery, and so on, without spoiling the actual events of the book. It’s an entertaining ride through treason, that’s for certain.
The Last Caesar would be a great historical fiction read for someone who is particularly interested in the Roman empire or would like a battle-focused novel without the same blood-and-guts feel of similar books in the genre.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review.
 Chess Putnam is a ghost hunter, a member of the Church of Real Truth aiming to save humanity from the risen dead. Her job is to investigate hauntings and banish the ghosts that arise, reimbursing citizens for their genuinely reported spooks. But Chess isn’t all good; she’s seriously addicted to drugs and in debt to a dangerous drug lord, Bump. When Bump needs her help with a very dangerous job, Chess has no choice and must oblige him, but with corruption in the church and an alarming attraction to Bump’s lead enforcer and a rival gang leader, she’s in for trouble.
I’ve never managed to say no to more urban fantasy, and when I stumbled upon this book half price at the Strand in New York City back in April, I really couldn’t resist buying it. At first I found it more difficult to get on with, but the origins of a new fantasy world are always daunting. There are new rules of magic to learn, characters to get acquainted with, and bad guys to worry about. Once I was 100 or so pages in, I started to get invested in the story and, as usual, really enjoyed my latest foray into a more city-focused world of magic.
This book is definitely set in the underworld, despite Chess’s job as an ostensible protector of the public. I was really surprised by the fact that she has a drug addiction and that she is severely torn between two different men. Love triangles are fairly typical in books like this, but the fact that she’s attracted to and goes relatively far with both men was a surprise for me. I’m used to the tamer conflict in the October Daye series as an example, where there are competing love interests but the feelings are somehow subtler. With Chess’s drug addiction on top of this, I was surprised I liked her at all, since she’s a person so completely different from me; but I really, seriously did, and I wanted the best for her. I also managed to have a favorite of her two love interests, of course, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that turns out in subsequent books.
I also liked the historical component of the ghosts and the reason behind the haunting that she investigates for Bump; there is a lot of mystery going on here, although I did manage to guess the culprit of one of the mysteries well before Chess managed to figure it out. By the end of the book, I became very swept up in her story and completely sympathetic to her, and I immediately wanted book 2 (and 3, and 4) of the series so I could continue. I’ve read reviews and I know it gets even better, so I’m definitely looking forward to delving even deeper into this world.
Recommended for urban fantasy enthusiasts, Unholy Ghosts is a dark yet enthralling read that will immediately leave you craving more.
All external book links are affiliate links. I purchased this book.
 Bletchley Park is now widely known as the center of British codebreaking during the Second World War, leading to huge advances in intelligence and in computing by some of the geniuses who were recruited to work there. But during and for years after the war, Bletchley Park was treated as a complete secret by the government and the many people who held jobs there during those years. McKay interviewed a number of the Bletchley Park veterans once the information was finally available to the public and has compiled his book in large part from their stories as well as archives held in the Bletchley Park museum.
This book received a lot of coverage towards the beginning of the year and, curious sort that I am, I decided that I should read it for myself and find out exactly what happened at this well-known place. It hasn’t always been well known; the secret was kept for over thirty years after the war and many who worked there went to their deaths without breathing a word of its purpose. More recently, though, the achievements of those who worked within the park have been acknowledged and celebrated, with many of these intelligent people decorated for their efforts.
McKay covers the period right from the start of Bletchley Park, with its purchase and first use, until its eventual abandonment and resurrection as a museum. In between, of course, we meet several of the enigmatic people who worked there. Alan Turing, for example, is given a prominent place within this book, as he is one of the most well-known people who worked on the code-breaking machines which were the forerunners of today’s computers. He interviews a number of people who worked there, including some couples who met and fell in love while working there, and emphasizes mainly what life was like for them, from the conditions of their billets to the meals they ate and the truly grueling work that many of them performed.
For quite a few of them, who were brilliant young people recruited into the service without knowing much about what they were doing, Bletchley Park was something of a continuation of school and university, full of like-minded people who worked hard but enjoyed themselves in the little bit of downtime that they got. But their work was of critical importance to the war, and McKay never dodges around the simple fact that their hard work resulted in a massive amount of intelligence and huge steps taken in the war. He explains how they cracked the codes and the intelligence that resulted, which adds an interesting layer to the history I already know about World War II.
Despite the book’s discussion of computing systems there, I don’t think this is quite the book for those who are more interested in technology, but there are aspects of it involved here. I didn’t really feel like I grasped what was going on in this respect, other than some machines decoded encrypted messages in brilliant ways. Overall the writing in the book is relatively basic; the focus is much more on what happened than literary eloquence.
Very recommended to those who are interested in the history of World War II, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park is an engaging read that delves into the lifestyle behind the scenes in every way.
 In Gujaareh, it is the Gatherers’ job to shelter innocent civilians and lead them to a peaceful death once their time has come. Their tithes allow the city to run smoothly and peacefully, while the remains of their dreams are given to the sick who deserve healing and longer lives. Gatherer Ehiru has Gathered souls under the Dreaming Moon for most of his life when he slips and makes his first mistake. Already doubting himself, Ehiru soon finds himself in an even deeper conspiracy, as a woman he was sent to kill instead reveals damaging truths about his world. Now Ehiru must protect Sunandi in order to prevent the war which threatens all he’s spent his life working towards.
N.K. Jemisin’s debut, the Inheritance Trilogy, was a fantastic set of books that explored concepts of godhood in serious depth. Once again, with The Killing Moon, Jemisin has written an engaging book that looks closely at religion, and what the differences between religions are, in a setting reminiscent of ancient Egypt. Her book is centred on two city-states, Gujaareh and Kisua. Ehiru and his apprentice Nijiri are Gatherers from Gujaareh, while Kisuan Sunandi is fundamentally opposed to them due to her inherent and insistent hatred of their religious practices, a hatred and disgust shared by her people. Yet this trio finds common ground as they try to prevent their homes from flying headlong into war.
Because Jemisin always aims to do something a little bit different (she explains in an interview in the back of my edition why she eschews more typical medieval based fantasy tropes), her books come with a little bit of a learning curve. She likes to throw her readers right into her books, which means there is some learning to be done about the world and culture. Even though this is based on Egypt, it didn’t really *feel* to me like ancient Egypt. It certainly didn’t feel typical, but nothing about it was shouting “Egypt” – instead, it felt like a new fantasy world, and one which intrigued me as I settled deeper into the book.
What I always like about Jemisin’s books are the relationships between characters and how well they work. All of them feel very natural; Nijiri’s love for Ehiru, for example, is something that would bother many people in our culture, as a young man in love with one who is much older, but it is something here that is viewed as completely natural. And I liked the way they both interacted with Sunandi, and she with them, as they all struggle to get over their prejudice and accept each other as human beings.
Jemisin delivers another wonderful epic fantasy with The Killing Moon. I’m now looking forward to reading The Shadowed Sun and finishing this duology!
I received this book for free for review from Amazon Vine.
July was a busy month, and in the most delightful of ways; I spent a lot of it travelling! Just over a week in Europe with a couple friends from home and another weekend camping a bit further up north in County Durham. We also spent last weekend with my husband’s family, which meant that I didn’t have a single quiet weekend all month. (I’m making up for it today).
As always happens, the reading and blogging have suffered somewhat for all this fun. I read just 9 books in July, which is only slightly over two a week, and not really enough to sustain the pace that I was hoping for in terms of reviews – not that I’ve had huge amounts of time to write those reviews, in actuality. I was also incredibly good about buying books and didn’t purchase a single print book in all of July. I’m making up for that now:
Atop this pile is the new second Kindle in our household; that’s right, my husband decided to purchase a Kindle. He has preferred mine to actual books for a while and I was personally hoping that Waterstone’s would get their own e-reader and supply a viable alternative to Amazon. Instead, they partnered with Amazon, and when a discount arrived in my email on Friday, the time had clearly arrived. I, on the other hand, made up for the purchase from the evil giant by buying four new books from my local bookstore, on the bottom there. I’ve been longing for three of those books for a long time and The Popes called out to me from the table as well.
Anyway! What did I read in July?
- Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Way to a Duke’s Heart, Caroline Linden
- A Lady by Midnight, Tessa Dare
- The Making of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr
- The Wicked Ways of a Duke, Laura Lee Guhrke
- How to Survive the Titanic, Frances Wilson
- The Iron King, Julie Kagawa
- Unholy Ghosts, Stacia Kane
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson
Favourites of the Month
 
Yes – unsurprisingly, the two books I actually managed to review, I appreciated the most. I had a lot to say about these two lovely books, completely different but appreciated all the same, and I am very happy that I read both of them.
How was your July?
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