Hello, bookish friends! I honestly didn’t think I read that much this week until I sat down to write this post. Life’s been a little bit of a lot lately, but I still managed to read five full books, so I guess it didn’t slow me down that much. It’s another variety pack, with a couple darker historical novels, a light romcom, and yes, you guessed it — more Vorkosigan books!
Operation Lightning Bolt by Hilary Green: A fast-paced, enjoyable WWII spy thriller, Operation Lightning Bolt had me on the edge of my seat — I stayed up far past bedtime because I needed to know what happened! This is not a deeply emotional read, which actually works well because the story is so intense (though never gratuitous), you, much like the characters, just need to keep moving so you don’t get bogged down by the horror of the war. If you’re up to it, and certainly if you’re a fan of the genre, consider adding this one to your list. My thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James: After reading An Inquiry Into Love and Death, I found this one less creepy. A big reason for that was that, while I understood the ghost was scary and therefore why the characters were so scared of her, I found her much too pitiable to fear — and honestly, I was rooting for her spectral revenge. The truth of what happened to Maddy Clare is not for the faint of heart, so I can only recommend this with a lot of trigger warnings for sexual assault of a child (this is not a spoiler — the mystery is more about the whodunnit than the whatdun). But woven alongside that is an excellent story about lost people looking for meaning in the years after the Great War and finding courage and love in the unlikeliest places.
The Champion (A Series of Worthy Young Ladies #4) by Kate Archer: Another charming entry in Archer’s screwball series, with all the things I loved in the previous books: formidable society matrons, eccentric butlers, hilariously tangled plots, and endearing romance. While each book in the series begins with the same premise (a daughter-less matron decides to sponsor a young lady for a London season), Archer does a great job mixing up other factors, so no two couples — or their love stories — are interchangeable. And they are all delightful. My thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Vorkosigan Saga #17-18 by Lois McMaster Bujold: This was a great pair of stories. Diplomatic Immunity is a good old-fashioned mystery adventure, with plenty of action, humor, and danger that will make you ask “What else can Miles impossibly survive?” While equally adventurous, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance is one of the more farcical entries, with Miles’s cousin Ivan taking center stage in a good old-fashioned marriage-of-convenience comedy of errors. That also happens to have spies, buried treasure, and a few petty criminals thrown in for good measure because this is a Vorkosigan book, after all.
I have to dash, but I hope you’re all having a wonderful week, filled with good books! Till next time, I leave you with this recording I found of Nancy Wilson performing live. She’s one of my absolute favorites, and the way she sings “The Very Thought of You” is pure magic… pure Nancy.
—b
Book It With Becca 
I just added The Haunting of Maddy Clare to my TBR. It sounds really good. I loved The Sundown Motel back when I read it.
LikeLike