July is here, and in my part of the world, the weather is glorious. I am very much hoping to carve out time to sit outside with a book, plastered in factor 50 and preferably in the shade.
I hope you find lots of time to sit and read this month. It is so important that we take a little time out for ourselves, take a deep breath, and live in the moment. I hope you all have a wonderful month.
Here are ten books that I would like to read this month.
The Bewitching by Silvia Morens-Garcia
'Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches': that was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva - stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that's why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay's most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay's manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.
Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.
The Many Faces of Ann Boleyn by Helene Harrison
Mistress. Queen. Reformer. Traitor. Icon.
This book is not like any others you might have read on Anne Boleyn. It is not a biography of the life of Henry VIII’s second wife and queen. What this book does is to examine Anne Boleyn through images and perceptions of her. Through documents, letters, images, propaganda, films, novels and historical biographies, this book explores Anne Boleyn through more than 500 years of history. Explore how perceptions of her have changed and developed over time. Whether she is seen as a mistress, a queen, a mother, a reformer, a traitor, or a tragic heroine, Anne Boleyn continues to inspire so much exploration and even new discoveries today. See Anne through the eyes of people who knew her, loved her, hated her, and studied her. In the present day, Anne Boleyn has quite a devoted scholarship, honed through perceptions built over the last half a millennium. Her life, reign, and tragic death at the hands of the man who tore England apart to be with her have made Anne Boleyn one of the most divisive and exciting figures in English history.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Nolan family are first-generation immigrants to the United States. Originating in Ireland and Austria, their life in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn is poor and deprived, but their sacrifices make it possible for their children to grow up in a land of boundless opportunity.
Francie Nolan is the eldest daughter of the family. Alert, imaginative and resourceful, her journey through the first years of a century of profound change is difficult - and transformative. But amid the poverty and suffering among the poor of Brooklyn, there is hope, and the prospect of a brighter future.
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The Lady in the Tower by Elizabeth St. John
London, 1609. Lucy St.John, a highborn orphan at the glittering court of King James, is drawn into a dangerous affair with the Earl of Suffolk—a fateful choice that creates powerful enemies. Betrayed by her sister, Barbara and cast out in disgrace by the formidable Countess of Rochester, the Earl's vengeful sister, Lucy’s life at court is shattered.
Armed with her intelligence, education, and skill in healing, she refuses to accept defeat. In a world where women’s fates are often sealed by the ambitions of men, Lucy fights her way back into society. An unexpected marriage elevates her to the position of mistress of the Tower of London, where she faces the harsh realities of plague, political upheaval, and tragic executions of both enemies---and friends. Inside the walls of the Tower, she tends to aristocratic prisoners and criminals alike, confronting the stark brutality of the world around her.
As Barbara's fortunes rise through a marriage into the powerful Villiers family, Lucy is drawn into a dangerous game of power and survival. Her sister’s alliance with the king’s favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, promises wealth and influence but brings treachery and peril that could destroy Lucy and everything she holds dear.
In a court rife with deceit, ambition, and shifting loyalties, Lucy must navigate a perilous path, fighting to protect her honour, her family, and her very survival.
Based on the true story of Elizabeth St.John’s ancestor, Lucy St.John, this critically acclaimed novel offers a vivid portrayal of one woman’s resilience in the face of betrayal, and her courageous journey through the turbulent politics of seventeenth-century England.
Murder on the Train by John J. Eddleston
In the spring of 1910, a shocking murder rocked Edwardian England. John Innes Nisbet, a quiet, unassuming man, was found brutally shot five times in the head aboard the 10.27 Newcastle Central train, and the colliery wages he had been carrying were stolen. Days later, John Alexander Dickman, a gambler by trade, was arrested and convicted of the crime, despite the conviction resting solely on circumstantial evidence.
Sent to the gallows, Dickman maintained his innocence until the end. Over a century later, this gripping investigation reopens the case, re-examining the evidence and exposing the flaws in Dickman’s conviction. Could the real killer have escaped justice? With new insights and a compelling alternative theory, Murder on the Train unveils what might truly have happened that fateful day.
The Last Laugh Club by Kate Galley
In life, Norman George – passionate knitter, excellent friend and secret youtube sensation – liked nothing better than a good laugh. And, it seems, he gets the last laugh even in death, because at his funeral, he invites his three closest friends to scatter his ashes in a place close to his heart, the Shetland Islands. The only issue is, while Bridget, Gloria and Derek might have loved Norman, they can’t stand each other.
So it’s with trepidation that the eclectic trio set off in their minivan on the ferry to Lerwick, each harbouring their own reason for wanting to grant Norman this last request. But as storm clouds roll in over the Shetland Islands, all of them are about to discover that some secrets are best shared, and that even after death, good friendship can change everything…
Bleak Times at the Orchard Cottage Hospital by Lizzie Lane
Somerset, 1932
In the dead of night, a young woman is abandoned on the steps of Orchard Cottage Hospital and a man is seen fleeing. Nobody knows their identities.
When the young woman dies, Doctor Frances Brakespeare is keen to solve the mystery of her identity and find those responsible for her fatal injuries.
With her mother’s failing health and a very patient admirer, the last thing Frances needs is a dream job offer from a top London hospital. Torn, Frances must decide what matters more to her; her career or remaining in a small town she’s become attached to surrounded by those who need and love her…
With the society wedding of the year fast approaching will Nurse Lucy Daniels be able to unburden her shattering news and will Devlin Compton-Dixon be honest with his feelings and anxieties?
As Christmas blossoms into Spring there are huge decisions to be made, honest truths to be told and long kept secrets to be revealed – let’s hope happiness doth prevail.
Stormy Times for the Dockyard Girls by Tracy Baines
The Great War is over, and few families have been left untouched. Those who remain face a tough and uncertain future.
Letty Hardy has managed to keep her family afloat by running a café and chandlers on Grimsby Docks. She’s grateful for the safe return of her husband Alec from minesweeping duties, when many women were not so fortunate.
War has left deep scars buried beneath the surface and one explosive secret is set to blow the family apart.
Trawler owner Richard Evans worked hard to leave a legacy. Something to hand down through the generations. With his sons lost to war, Ruth, his only daughter, stands to inherit the Excel Trawler Company, so it's important that she marries well. But is her current suitor the right husband for Ruth?
Can the folk of Great Grimsby rebuild their lives and find the peace they so desperately seek?
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There's Something About Mira by Sonali Deve
Mira Salvi has the perfect life—a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone.
While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.
As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason…right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet either.
The Girl on the Balcony by Diana Wilkinson
Jade’s new life in Spain is quickly unravelling. Homeless, broke, and out of options, she’s struggling to make it as a real estate agent.
But Jade isn’t just hiding from the truth of her situation. She’s hiding from her past. And maybe, from a particular person. Someone who knows exactly what she did that fateful day in Marbella...
When journalist Hayley stumbles across a story that could make or break her career – a suspicious death, a murderous widow and a personal invite to the scene of the crime – she jumps on the first plane to Marbella.
However, soon paradise feels like a prison, and Hayley may have made the worst mistake of her life coming to the mansion of a self-confessed killer. Will she get out alive?
