September Round Up

A leaner month, this month, because I’ve only managed six books. No particular reason, just the way it’s panned out. However, four of them have been Library books which I find very pleasing. There was a time when I was getting numerous books from publishers to review that I found it hard to fit in Library books. But because I don’t get quite so many now, it does mean I can use my Library more. Another reason I’m using my Library more is because I have just got so many books, I’ve had to consciously curb my book buying. That sounds sacrilege, doesn’t it? But I’m getting old and when I finally pop my clogs, somebody’s got to clear all these books out and find somewhere for them. I feel it’s irresponsible for me to keep adding to them. So, a lot of books that I might previously have bought, I am reserving at the Library. I’m also glad that authors do benefit from my borrowing. I know that the Public Lending Right scheme provides direct payment to authors for each loan and I’m sure there must be a host of other benefits to for both author and publisher so I don’t feel quite so bad about doing it. But I’m wittering on so without further ado let’s get to the roundup.

 

A friend of mine mentioned that she'd found a Dawn French book at a charity shop and she was really enjoying it. It reminded me that somewhere on my TBR shelves I had a Dawn French book that’s been languishing there for years. I used to belong to a website community called Read It Swap It. Basically, you offered up your superfluous books and swapped them with one of the other members for one of their superfluous books. And that was how I came about this Dawn French book. It’s called According to Yes. I found it to be an engaging story about British Rosie quitting the UK for a job as a nanny to a somewhat privileged American family. Rosie challenges the regime of the house somewhat and there is a rather unlikely premise that I’m unwilling to divulge because it would be a spoiler yet it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the book as much it could possibly have done. The book had an easy narrative flow to it, and I quite liked Rosie as a character. Plus, there was something satisfying about relieving my TBR shelf of one of its probably oldest residents.

 

Next up is a library book – R.F.Kuang’s Katabasis. I was delighted to snaffle a copy of this so soon after publication, although I had put in my request a while back. I think I may even have got a pristine unread copy. I just can’t make up my mind about this author. I read Babel and Yellowface. I enjoyed them both although I thought Babel was perhaps over long. I think Yellowface suffered from a lot of social media hype and whilst I enjoyed its savage satire, I’m not sure it lived up to the hype. Katabasis though is hell to read! Pun Intended. It’s complex and ambitious. Pure fantasy. Yet it offers some thoughts about the world of academia. How the pursuit of the mind and intellectual activities take precedence over the health of the body. It’s also a love story. But probably not anything along the lines of Mills and Boon. It’s a complex plot, an intelligent one. I would say though that the main female character, Alice Law, did get on my nerves a bit. Am I allowed to say that? Well, I have. So there.

 

My third book this month was that unusual thing nowadays a book from a publisher and a place upon a block tour! I was disproportionately over the moon. The book in  question is Appointment in Paris by Jane Thynne.I wrote about it on my blog.

 

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/09/appointment-in-paris-jane-thynne.html

 

Another Library book which I was really interested to read. Ova Ceren’s debut novel The Book of Heartbreak. I think at one point many years ago over she may have been a blogger like myself. I think she moved on to becoming an ‘influencer’ on TikTok and Instagram. But whilst most bloggers and influencers stay on their social media sidelines Ova has only gone and written a book! It’s supposedly a young adult book but I’m an old adult and I really enjoyed it. I was really impressed. It’s well written with a lovely flow to the narrative. It’s well plotted, exciting with a satisfying conclusion. I think many a young adult will really enjoy reading this fantasy story. It’s pitched just right.

 

Probably because of my long recovery from Covid, I haven’t attended as many bookshop events as I did last year. But I’ve had a run lately and I spent the most enjoyable evening listening to Jo Wood. Jo is probably the highest profile celebrity who’s been to the bookshop. But she was an absolute delight. So down to earth and genuine. And she’s written a novel. I haven’t read it yet it’s sitting there patiently waiting for me, but I was so interested in everything Jo had to say that I found her autobiography in the library and I read that. My goodness what a life she’s led. And I feel even more privileged to have chatted with her and had my photo taken with her. I know it's become something of a cliché now for anybody with any claims to fame to write a memoir or an autobiography, I’ve read some that are dire, but this isn’t one of them. It’s really engaging and entertaining.

I read Nydia Hetherington‘s A Girl Made of Air and was completely captivated by it. It contains one of my favorite names for a character of all time – Serendipity Wilson! I wrote about the book on my blog.

 https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-girl-made-of-air-nydia-hetherington.html

So I was delighted to find a copy of her next book, Sycorax, sitting on the Library shelf, begging me to take it out on loan. I obliged willingly. Sycorax is the witch in Shakespeare’s the Tempest, never seen, but described as a witch in the mother of Caliban. Nydia Hetherington has created a wonderful fictional tale of Sycorax from her origins right through to the birth of her son, Caliban. It’s a richly imagined tale, encompassing issues, such as living with chronic pain, isolation, and being an outcast as well as weaving a wondrous story of a lesser character.

  

Appointment in Paris – Jane Thynne

 

My introduction to Jane Thynne was via her two dystopian novels, Widowland and Queen High, under the name C.J.Carey. Both stories had mind blowing premises; the former saw the UK having submitted to Germany and the latter, a sequel, where Wallis Simpson is the reigning monarch! Both stories make for thought provoking reads. 

So, I jumped at the chance to read Appointment in Paris which appears to be a second story featuring Harry Fox and Stella Fry, the first being Midnight in Vienna.

 

Whilst a distinctly different genre there were recognisable elements of style and narrative that I had come to enjoy and admire from Thynne/Carey’s work.  Appointment in Paris is an espionage thriller set in those dramatic days before the outbreak of WWII. Set in both the UK and France the catalyst for the story’s evolution is Trent Park, a stately home once owned by Siegfried Sassoon’s cousin, Philip Sassoon. After Sasson’s death the house was requisitioned by the government to house captured Germans and extract information from them via ‘listeners’.

 

Everything is thrust into disarray when the body of a Luftwaffe officer is found in the grounds and on that same day one of the ‘listeners’ goes missing.  Fears that they could expose the entire operation ignite a desperate search to find them ensues. MI5 step in to engage the services of Harry Fox and pair him up with his previous associate, Stella Fry. 

 

What follows is a work of historical fiction, diligently researched, an authentic atmosphere palpably created and populated with believable characters which moves along at a steady pace. It is not a white-knuckle thriller but it is very much a thriller. Something I admired was how subtle and underplayed some of the events, were creating a sense of unease and impending danger that seemed all the more thrilling for not being thrust obviously in the readers’ path. Something of a mystery story, too, as identities and motives are unfurled. I had to chuckle in some places for as I came to a realisation or conclusion it was often echoed by Harry, and I ended up thinking that he and I would make a good team! 

 

The relationship between Stella and Harry is adroitly depicted. There’s an element of will they, won’t they, but there’s no, shall we say, exclusivity!

 

Something else I found quite delightful was the inclusion of real-life characters. And I am loathe to identify them here because I would see that as a spoiler. It was something else that reminded me of the C.J. Carey books, where Wallace Simpson is Queen of England.

 

The conclusion is satisfying yet there is a sense of an unresolved connection between Fox and Fry so it paves the way potentially for more from Harry and Stella. I hope so. In the mean time I shall seek out a copy of Midnight in Vienna.

 

My thanks to Emily Patience and Quercus Books for a gifted copy and spot upon the blog tour.