I had an email from Booklikes a day or two ago, asking for a couple of book recommendations for a summer reading list. Well, it’s winter here, but I have lots of books to recommend anyway. So I guess you’re all just lucky.
I’m going to stick with just two for a couple of reasons. Reason #1 is that I’ve been pretty sick the last few days and I literally do not have the energy required for a huge blog post. Reason #2 is that I have too much proof-reading that should have been done yesterday and is still not done. Fortunately enough, I now have 5 consecutive days off to rest, recuperate, and proof-read.
So without more ado, here are my summer/winter (heck, read ’em all year round!) reading recommendations!
#1) The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
The Franchise Affair is the story of Marion Sharpe and her mother, and at first indirectly, that of Robert Blair. Robert Blair is a local solicitor, who is called in when Marion and her mother are rudely knocked out of their quiet country lives by the accusations of Betty Kane, who claims that the women kidnapped her, beat her, and treated her as a maid. She has intimate details of the house and the bruises and cuts to prove her story.
I first read this book when I was about 15- I found it in an opshop as I did most of my books in those days. It was the first of Josephine Tey’s books that I read to boot, and I’m so glad I started with this one (the others are all awesome, too, but The Franchise Affair holds a special place in my heart). It’s quiet, thoughtful, and entirely addictive. Trust me on this: The Franchise Affair is a book you’ll be thinking about long after you finish it.
#2) The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
For lovers of the Tam Lin/True Thomas/Fairy Queen stories, The Perilous Gard is the story of Kate Sutton, who through her sister’s mistakes (read ‘treason through stupidity) is exiled by Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard. There she meets Christopher Heron, and there she is swept up in an underground world peopled by the Fairy Folk- whose customs are even older than the Druids’, and involve human sacrifice…
I honestly don’t have enough good things to say about this hidden gem. Again, it was a book I only discovered because I found it in an opshop. The characters are wonderful, the adventure eerie and atmospheric, and the conclusion utterly satisfying. The whole world is immersive, and the main antagonist is at the same time thoroughly chilling and delightfully compelling. GO OUT AND BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW.
That’s it for me. I’m off to watch more of the A-Team and bully the much-to-be-pitied Hubby into making me more tea. What recommendations do you guys have for me? Share and share alike, guys!
0 Comments