Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Can't Wait Wednesday: Blood Line/The Year of the Witching/The Book of Lost Names/Paris is Always a Good Idea



The Old(er) 
I have an embarrassing number of unread books sitting on the shelves in my personal library. Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight and discuss those neglected books in her Books from the Backlog feature. After all, even those older books need a bit of love! Not to mention it is reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!



Blood Line (Anna Travis #7) by Lynda La Plante (Harper Collins, 2011)

Under the watchful eye of DCS James Langton, DCI Anna Travis takes charge of an investigation for the first time. But is it purely a missing person's case - or a full blown murder enquiry? An ominous pool of blood and no victim lead Anna on a desperate hunt for a man who has disappeared without trace. As Anna becomes obsessed with seemingly irrelevant details, Langton fears that she is losing control. They still have no body and Anna is under increasing pressure to make an arrest... [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Yeas ago I was given the opportunity to read and review book #6 of this series, Backlash, which I enjoyed quite a bit. It was my first by the author. While I generally like to start at the beginning of the series, over the years I have broken that "rule" a number of times, always with the intent of going back and starting from the beginning. Somehow I ended up with this book (#7) on my TBR shelf, and I imagine that is part of why this one still sits there unread. My intention has always been to go back and start at the beginning. It's not a good excuse, I know. But there you have it. 


Have you read Blood Line? Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 


The New
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.


The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Release Date: July 21, 2020 by Ace
The Handmaid's Tale for a new generation . . .

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy.

The daughter of a union with an outsider that cast her once-proud family into disgrace, Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol and lead a life of submission, devotion and absolute conformity, like all the women in the settlement.

But a chance mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood that surrounds Bethel - a place where the first prophet once pursued and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still walking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the diary of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realises the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her . . . [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Everything about this book calls to me. Witches, secrets, the church, everything.


The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Release Date: July 21, 2020 by Gallery Books
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.

An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: There was no question I would want to read this one when I first came across it. A long lost book, World War II, a code needing breaking . . . I am really looking forward to this one.


Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay
Release Date: July 21, 2020 by Berkley
It's been seven years since Chelsea Martin embarked on her yearlong post-college European adventure. Since then, she's lost her mother to cancer and watched her sister marry twice, while Chelsea's thrown herself into work, becoming one of the most talented fundraisers for the American Cancer Coalition, and with the exception of one annoyingly competent coworker, Jason Knightley, her status as most talented fundraiser is unquestioned.

When her introverted mathematician father announces he's getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died, and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her gap year. Inspired to retrace her steps--to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy--Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago, can help her find it again.

From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Something lighter and more introspective. I have enjoyed Jenn McKinlay's books in the past and am eager to read this one. I admit from the discription it brought to mind Mama Mia

Do any of these books interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading?


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36 comments:

  1. The Year of Witching sounds just my kind of read. I hope you enjoy all these when you get to read them!

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    1. Louise - I am looking forward to reading it. Thank you for visiting!

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  2. The Year of Witching sounds good! I hope you get to read it when it comes out!

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  3. These all sound like cracking reads - but The Book of Lost Names particularly caught my eye... There's nothing like a book about books for a book lover!

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    1. Sarah - Yes! The Book of Lost Names especially sounds good, doesn't it? Thank you for visiting.

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  4. Nice mix of books here! I hadn't seen Paris is Always a Good Idea, but I'm curious now!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Jenclair - I hope they will be as good as they sound. Thank you for visiting!

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  6. The Year of the Witching is one I'm really excited for as well!

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    1. Tammy - I hope we both get a chance to read it and enjoy it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. The Year of Witching does look awesome. And, of course, Paris IS always a good idea. I totally want to read that one. :)

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    1. Lark - Paris is, isn't it? :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  8. I've liked everything I've ever read by McKinlay and The Year of the Witching can't get here soon enough for me!

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    1. Barb - I hope we both enjoy The Witching! I agree about McKinlay. Although I haven't read near enough of her books yet. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  9. I haven't read any of them but a couple of them sound good to me.

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    1. Mary - Hopefully they will be good. Thank you for visiting!

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  10. I'm loving the sound of The Year of the Witching. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  11. I just started an E-ARC of Paris Is Always A Good Idea and I'm enjoying it so far. The Book of Lost Names looks good too.

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    1. Yvonne - I am so glad to hear you are enjoying Paris Is Always a Good Idea! It sounds really good. Thank you for visiting!

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  12. I love everything about The Book of Lost Names. I think I am going to be a quivering wreck by the end, bit it will be worth it. Paris is always a good idea -- I think you're right -- the book has a wonderful promise of introspection on Chelsea's part. Great picks!

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    1. Verushka - I am really looking foward to reading The Book of Lost Names. It sounds sooo good. Thank you for stopping by!

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  13. This is such a great list of books. I'm especially excited for The Year of the Witching and Paris is Always a Good Idea.

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  14. OOH! The Year of the Witching sounds like my kind of read.

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  15. I just love the cover and the feel of Paris is Always a Good Idea. Hard to not want to browse and read that book. Hope it's fun!

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    1. Athira - Me too! Everything about Paris is a Good Idea makes the book sound like a good idea. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  16. I'm curious about The Year of the Witching and Paris is Always a Good Idea! I know they're two completely different books, but hey! We like what we like, right? I hope these are all winners for you. :)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Lindsi - I can't limit myself to one type of book either--I like a wide variety. It keeps reading life interesting. :-) Thank you for stopping by.

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  17. These all look good but The Year of the Witching especially looks interesting. Happy reading and stay well.

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    1. Naida - I am eager to read that one too. THank you for visiting!

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  18. Well, Paris IS always a good idea so I'd start there :)

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    1. Stacy - Haha! Someday maybe I will be able to visit. Thank you for stopping by!

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