Tag: historical fiction

Monthly Wrap-Up – October 2025

Posted on November 5, 2025 by fantasyst95

On the surface, I didn’t have as productive a reading month as September. However, as today’s monthly wrap-up post has shown me, it’s still been decent. I wouldn’t have said that before this post. Honestly, I’d forgotten about some earlier progress in the month. After a bit of a lull and a push to meet some deadlines at the last minute, I’d have said it wasn’t the best.

That said, I’ve actually picked up a few books! Granted, I didn’t get to EVERYTHING on my list. But, frankly, how often does that happen?!

Let’s recap what I did read and make progress with in today’s monthly wrap-up for October!

Books Read

Among the Burning Flowers

As of the beginning of October, I was 40% of the way through the audiobook Among the Burning Flowers.

To be fair, I made good progress with this audio, finishing it mid-month. It helps that I was motivated to continue this series whilst it was fresh in my mind. I’ve read all three of the books in this series in the last 12 months. It’s a completely different experience from my usual habit of waiting 2/3 years before returning to an ongoing series. Hazard of the ‘job’ when I have so many on the go, I suppose 😅

It’s been a refreshing change keeping up, and I’ve loved the stories and wider world of the books. It really appeals to my fantasy-loving, feminist heart!

HR Disrupted

In last month’s monthly wrap-up, I confided that I’d only just started HR Disrupted. I think my worlds were, “it’s barely worth a mention, but…”.

Needless to say, most of my progress fell in the month of October, and this was an interesting read. Would I like to see some of the changes to HR practices suggested in this book? Absolutely. Who likes appraisals as they are? If anyone puts their hand up, I’m calling you a liar!

Shield of Mercia

An early book I needed to prioritise on my October Monthly TBR was Shield of Mercia. As of my last monthly wrap-up post, I’d made a cursory start and read the first 13%.

With my review of the book due on 4th October, I had to get my skates on. Even still, it was a close thing! I was sat up pretty late drafting my post after finishing the book the night before. It’s definitely a key contributor to my overall feelings of not having it together this month. It’s not the only example where I’ve had to rush either. If I had to pick one word to describe October in this monthly wrap-up, it would be ‘oversubscribed’.

Despite the circumstances, I genuinely enjoyed this latest instalment of M. J. Porter’s Eagle of Mercia Chronicles. I’m not going to rehash my thoughts here. Instead, if you want to find out more about this action-filled historical adventure, here’s a link to my full review!

Woden’s Storm

My repeat performance of rushing a read for a blog tour happened again on the 22nd of the month. I blitzed reading Woden’s Storm between the 19th and 22nd October, with another late (but not AS late) night getting everything ready for that obligation.

This is no reflection on the book. Again, I really enjoyed this second book in Donovan Cook’s The First Kingdom historical adventure. By this point, I’d had a bit of a slump in reading and I was firefighting to keep up.

Again, if you want to see more on this book, here’s a link to my review.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Last month, I was well ahead reading A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison. It’s where I wanted to be, and I’d sorted out my library loan to be able to start this early.

Alas, it didn’t happen. On the contrary, I had to extend my library loan on the last day before it was due back. I’d tried to read the last half of the book in one sitting, to no avail.

Technically at the end of the month I had around 100 pages left. However, I finished it on the 1st November. I’ll include in this monthly wrap-up post as it’s not worth mention in my November reading stats given the timing.

It can also make me feel better about reading progress last month, right?!

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Finally, the last book to feature in my October monthly wrap-up is my audiobook listen of The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington. I started this audiobook after finishing Among the Burning Flowers.

Progress has been slow but steady. I’m enjoying the book and the world, magic and setting that’s unfurling. As of this monthly wrap-up post, I’m about 30% or eight hours into the audio. It’s a long one! Needless to say, this will be carried forward and be my majority listen throughout November too.

Summary

In the end, progress was better than I expected. Even if there were some last minute reads to meet deadlines, progress was good overall.

As of this monthly wrap-up, I’m also in a healthy place with my Goodreads reading challenge. I’m currently set to finish the challenge about a month early. That’s if I keep up current reading progress.

I wished for that last month and didn’t quite deliver. However, I have a new release in the post coming that I’m excited to pick up, and generally less in terms of obligations. With more time for ‘fun’ reading next month, I’m optimistic for some good news!

Thanks for reading today’s monthly wrap-up post.

What have you read recently?

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Sunday Summary – 26th October 2025

Posted on October 26, 2025 by fantasyst95

Somehow it’s the end of another weekend, so today’s Sunday Summary is all about catching you up on everything I’ve read this week.

Firstly, let’s recap the blog posts I’ve shared.

On Patreon, I shared a Shelf Control regular feature on Friday. This week’s feature is a horror/thriller novel I’ve got on my bookshelf and owned for about five years!

On the blog, I started early with a guest post on Monday. Ahead of reviewing Vanessa Finaughty’s third Wizard of Ends book shortly, I featured her AI Image Writing Prompts post.

On Thursday, I reviewed Woden’s Storm by Donovan Cook. I enjoyed this historical fiction book and second instalment to his The First Kingdom series. If you want to take a look at that post, here’s a link to my review.

Books Read

The Shadow of What Was Lost

I’ve progressed with four and a half hours of audio of The Shadow of What Was Lost this week.

I’ve had fun with this audio and I’m looking forward to recording a video of my thoughts on this book soon. I’ll be recording that as part of my ChatGPT reading challenge. It’s been a great start and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Woden’s Storm

My priority this week was to finish Woden’s Storm ahead of reviewing the book on Thursday. Thankfully, I finished the book just on time on Wednesday night so I could share my post first thing Thursday morning.

If you enjoy historical fiction based in Britain with lots of action and in-fighting. If you’re a fan of the lines of Bernard Cornwell, Matthew Harffy or M.J. Porter, Woden’s Storm would be a great fit!

I’ve already outlined my thoughts in full detail, so I won’t re-hash them here. Instead, I’ll point you to my review.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

The last book I’ve got progress to share in this Sunday Summary is A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. So far, I’ve read the first 100 pages of the book and I’m enjoying it so far.

I’m hoping Sera figures out what’s happened to her magic and maybe gets it back. Already, I’m invested in her personal story and I’m enjoying the whimsical cast alongside her… especially Roo-Roo and Clemmie!

It’s a complete change of pace from Woden’s Storm in a narrative sense. In a more literal sense, it’s similar in that I have a deadline to read the book. It’s a library loan due back in just a couple of days. So, skates are on and I’ll have more to tell you next week.

Books Discovered

I’m back to a quiet week of no news! The focus is more on getting books read and off the TBR than building it up. So, as of this Sunday Summary, we’re aiming in the right direction.

Coming Up…

I’ve got some catching-up on books to do this week. I’ve got a few bookish obligations coming up. I need to finish my library loan and return it very soon. Our work book club is fast coming up and I may need to push it out a week as I’ve yet to start the book. Then, I’ve got two reviews scheduled for early November.

With this in mind, I’m parking content online this week but for another Sunday Summary next week. I’m hoping that gives me the space I need to catch up on my reading. This month hasn’t quite been the productive reading month I wanted. However, there’s time to rectify that!

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary. What have you read this week?

Blog Tour Review: Woden’s Storm – Donovan Cook

Posted on October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 by fantasyst95

I’m super excited to share today’s historical fiction book review with you. Fans of the genre have had plenty of historical fiction content of late. Today’s blog to review for Woden’s Storm is no exception! Set a little earlier than other well-known authors in the genre like Bernard Cornwell and Matthew Harffy, we get all the drama of in-fighting and war in a slightly different historical setting.

Before we get into my review, thank you to Rachel, Boldwood Books and the author, Donovan Cook, for the chance to read and review Woden’s Storm so I can feature the book/series on my blog again!

If you haven’t caught up yet, my review of book 1, Woden’s Spear, can be found here.

FYI, I received a copy of the book in order to provide my review. However, this is an unbiased review and the views expressed within are entirely my own.

Woden’s Storm – Donovan Cook

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 345

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Original Publication Date: 22 Oct 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Woden’s Storm

A storm is coming.

A storm that will banish the old and deliver the new.

450AD Britain

Octa has the spear of Woden, but the redemption he sought is out of his grasp. With his banishment and the death of his father, he can no longer return to his Saxon homelands. His only salvation is to join forces with Hengist and Horsa, and their Jutish army that beaches itself on Brittania’s shores. But can he trust their motivation or are there greater plans afoot?

The Gods have their own plans, though, and Octa’s fate is not his own to control as Friga, the mother of the Saxon gods, battles to avoid a war with the gods of the Britons and Saxons using Octa as her weapon.

Prince Vortimer, the son of High King Vortigern, is angered by his father’s agreement with Hengist and Horsa as they remain unchecked and their numbers swell. He suspects treachery and encouraged by some well-placed words of a stranger, he rebels against his father and gathers his army to attack the unwelcome visitors.

War is coming to Britannia and as Octa struggles to understand his role and fate, he knows he has one question to answer. Will he run or will he stand and fight?

Purchase Link – https://bit.ly/wodensstorm

My Thoughts

Plot

The gods have a lot to answer for when it comes to driving the plot for this book. Multiple gods and faiths come together and set up a clash for the ages. I love that the diversity and the gods and beliefs of the people set within Britain showcase the diversity of the people at the time.

In modern-day terms, we think of England as one and the same. In Woden’s Storm, that is very far from true!

Following on nicely from Woden’s Spear, Woden’s Storm is full of action, adventure, and the protagonist Octa finds himself in a few scrapes. Octa is a very different character from the first book, and that plays out in the narrative.

Overall, the plot of this second instalment of the series feels different from the introduction, Woden’s Spear. That first book feels more like a personal coming-of-age story; the second book takes a wider scope on events in the country and how Octa’s actions have thrown him into this tumultuous, but entertaining to read, setting.

Setting

If you enjoy early British history, the setting of this book will appeal.

Whilst place names are less intuitive or closely related to those we know today or in later histories (fiction or otherwise), Woden’s Storm is very good to set out this information early on via maps. Woden’s Spear did the same, and given the length of time between reading these books in the series, I appreciated the reminder.

Along with plenty of other books in this genre, there is a good deal of travel and diversity in the places featured throughout the narrative. I really enjoyed this element of action and getting to see more of the sort of familiar, but also a little bit different, land. I personally find the changes of settings help with the overall narrative pacing and my interest in what is taking place in the book.

Having read other historical fiction books where this is less prominent, it’s definitely a narrative device I enjoy in this genre. In my opinion, it keeps events fresh and exciting!

Characters

Much like other books I’ve read in the historical fiction genre, I’ve enjoyed seeing the progression in the Octa’s character from start to present day. He is far from your ideal or stereotypical warrior from this time period. In fact, he is nicknamed Octa the coward. He starts off pretty flawed. It’s a character arc I would like to see more of. I love a flawed or non-altruistic character, so this is refreshing to read about and it’s one of my favourite elements of Woden’s Storm.

Octa isn’t the only troubled character in this narrative. Brigid struggles with her purpose and identity when she can no longer commune with her God, Brigantia. Her brother’s disappearance leaves her stranded. Of course, it is heartbreaking for her, but it raises interesting questions in terms of plot development as to why this might be the case. It’s a folkloric and perhaps a bit less ‘serious’ angle to the narrative, depending on how much you read into it. Naturally, religion is one of the biggest points of interest in history in this period. It feels relevant, yet also lightens the story a little.

I especially enjoyed reading the odd few chapters written from the perspective of the Gods themselves. It adds credibility to the characters and helps us to understand what is going on in the wider narrative.

Narrative Style

Readability of Woden’s Storm did not disappoint.

Much like the first book, I found myself able to read long stints of this book. It was a pretty quick read for me as things go. Short chapters and plenty of action keep the narrative engaging, inspiring you to read on to find out what happens next.

The book’s link is also ideal for anyone who wants to foray into the genre of historical fiction without a huge commitment. At around 350 pages, it’s an approachable narrative in which there is enough content to immerse ourselves, but also not so heavy as to appeal only to readers of more dense/detailed fiction. For me, the book strikes a fantastic balance between action, storytelling, and world-building and character development.

Although I’d argue this book leaves a little towards readers who prefer plot-driven storylines, there is a good deal of character development present so as not to alienate readers of this preference.

Summary

In case it isn’t apparent from this review, I enjoyed following up on Donovan Cook’s The First Kingdom series with this second instalment, Woden’s Storm. This book definitely leaves a cliffhanger, promising a third action-packed instalment to follow. I personally can’t wait to read more about it!

Have you read Woden’s Spear or Woden’s Storm? Is it on your TBR?

Author Bio

Donovan Cook is the author of the well-received Ormstunga Saga series which combines fast-paced narrative with meticulously researched history of the Viking world, and is inspired by his interest in Norse Mythology.  He was born in South Africa and currently lives in Lancashire, UK.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @DonovanCookAuthor

Twitter: @DonovanCook20

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/DonovanCookNews

Bookbub profile: @cookdonovanbooks

Sunday Summary – 19th October 2025

Posted on October 19, 2025 by fantasyst95

It’s been an eventful seven days, so I’m glad I planned a low-content week. After a somewhat more relaxed day, I’m looking forward to sharing my latest Sunday Summary and catching you up on the news!

As always, let’s recap what I’ve shared so far before getting into the bookish updates!

On Patreon, I shared a First Lines Friday post featuring an author I’ve not long read. I’ve enjoyed one series of hers, and she has another well-known and loved I’ve yet to try! That’s the topic of that feature! Haven’t seen it yet? Here’s a link to go check it out!

I was also intending to share a review on Patreon this week, but it didn’t quite make it to publication. Don’t worry though, it’s on its way very soon!

On the blog, I shared a Top Ten Tuesday post, albeit a day later than planned. I’ll explain more as to why in just a bit, but it was a fun post to share. The topic – books I wish I could read again for the first time! What’s one book you wish you could read again for the first time?

The reason things have been a little slow on content, but more hectic behind the scenes is we rescued a kitten last Sunday! This week has been busy juggling two young kittens, trying to introduce them to one another and generally figuring out how best to get our new ex-feral girl comfortable in her new home. It’s been a lot, but worth it already to see the progress she’s made!

Books Read

Among the Burning Flowers

I swore this week I’d complete Among the Burning Flowers, and I did. Thank goodness!

This audiobook was a fun listen and I’m glad I decided to keep up with the series pretty much as it came out. It meant events were fresh in my mind so I could appreciate the timeline better.

Among the Burning Flowers takes place just a couple of years before The Priory of the Orange Tree, but also references events in A Day of Fallen Night. It was a nice in-between, but also works well if you read the books in any order.

Among the Burning Flowers is considerably shorter than the other books, so it’s an approachable start! Not that you’d know it for how long it took me to finish it…

HR Disrupted

Another longer read I finished this week is HR Disrupted. There isn’t any real reason why this took so long to finish either. However, I did finish this and return the book to its rightful owner on Thursday.

I would love to see some of the suggested changes in HR practice come in. I agree that current systems don’t work and infantilise/demoralise staff. It’s a tall order though. Our HR lady is all for some of these, so hopefully we can work towards some radical change in the future…

The Shadow of What Was Lost

After finishing Among the Burning Flowers, I picked up The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington. This is the first read of my ChatGPT recommendations feature. I’m looking forward to recording some of my thoughts on this book soon.

It’s a little early yet, as I’m just a few chapters in. In terms of audiobook time, that’s 2 hours out of a total 25.5 hours. That said, it’s a really interesting start and I’m intrigued as to where the story is going to go! More on this in the next week or so!

Woden’s Storm

Finally, the last book I feature on this Sunday Summary is a book I’m reading for an upcoming blog tour next week.

Woden’s Storm is the second book in Donovan Cook’s The First Kingdom series. My review is due Thursday next week, so priority goes to this book for the next few days!

I’ve made a great start, even pushing onwards today to get to 25% of the way through. It’s been nice and easy to get back into. With plenty of reminders of the story to date integrated in the narrative, plus action to keep us in the present timeline, it’s an engaging historical fiction read!

Again, you’ll hear more on this one VERY soon!

Books Discovered

I’ve finally broken my ‘no new books’ streak, but thankfully my bank balance remains unmolested… for now.

I came across an upcoming future release of The Midnight Train by Matt Haig. It seems reminiscent of The Midnight Library, albeit from a different context. I loved that book so much I’ve read it twice in quick succession. My hope is The Midnight Train delivers on my hopes that it will live up to that book.

That book comes out in May next year. There isn’t even a cover published for it yet, so plenty of time!

Coming Up…

Patreon

I didn’t get to my review of House of Frank this week. However, I promise to get to it this week. You may recall I picked this up alongside the Cotteagecore Fantasy Book Club. It was a stretch out of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I tried it.

Next Friday brings another instalment of my Shelf Control regular feature. Next on the list is a horror/thriller about a placid character with a devastating alter-ego. Dark, with a flawed cast and described as pacey, I can’t wait to share more!

Finally, next Sunday brings my usual Sunday Summary personal round-up of the week. How many books can I finish in the next seven days?

Blog

My first post of the week goes live tomorrow. In anticipation for an upcoming review, I share a guest feature post prepared by Vanessa Finaughty. If you’re an aspiring fantasy writer and want some fun writing prompts to play with, look no further!

Thursday is tour day and my deadline to review Woden’s Storm by Donovan Cook. If you love historical fiction set in early British history (450AD), this will be perfect for you! Stay tuned to read up more on this story in the coming days. I promise to do my best to upsell this book to you!

Then, last but by no means least, I’ll update you on my reading progress and other updates in my Sunday Summary going live in a week’s time. I’m hoping for a more settled week and lots of reading progress. I can only keep my fingers crossed…

Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary! I hope you have a great week ahead? What books are you taking into next week?

Sunday Summary – 12th October 2025

Posted on October 12, 2025 by fantasyst95

Happy Sunday and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary roundup of the week!

It’s been a busy week of content. Here on the blog, I shared my monthly wrap-up for September, my October TBR, and a Shelf Control post earlier this week.

Over on Patreon, I shared my October TBR (early access before readers of my blog), a post about my Patreon purpose, plus details of an upcoming reading challenge and a new content format I’m trialling that will be available to subscribers.

Books Read

Among the Burning Flowers

I was hoping to share completion of my audiobook listen of Among the Burning Flowers this week. Alas, not quite.

I’ve listened most days pretty consistently, so it’s not a lack of picking up the audiobook that’s the problem. I just didn’t quite listen enough. Had I been able to hear properly, I’d have been able to finish the book whilst mowing the lawns yesterday. However, I do struggle with that, so I generally listen to familiar music instead. I listen to Alex Warren’s album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid, a lot at the moment.

Never mind – I am DEFINITELY sharing completion next week instead. No excuses.

HR Disrupted

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I also featured HR Disrupted. I was hoping again to finish this book this week so I can return it to the owner. However, as of drafting this post, I’m not quite there either.

Never say never, I could finish it tonight with a bit of a push. Unfortunately, that’s not in time for this post, so it’s a little disappointing. Again, next week it will be a definite! I’m worried I’m losing the reading momentum of last month. It would be great for me to get that back. Finish these two reads, and I have a fresh start, right?

Books Discovered

Once again, no news is good news this week! Surely I’m getting towards a record of the longest stint without any new books or additions to my TBR by now…

Coming Up…

Patreon

I’m not going to get to a personal Sunday Summary type post tonight on Patreon – it’s already late evening as I’m drafting this! Instead, I’ll post a catch-up tomorrow with some more personal commentary than I do here on the blog.

Surely I’m due to post a new review this week. It’s been a few weeks, so I’ll share my thoughts on the book club read alongside the Cotteagecore Fantasy Book Club, House of Frank.

On Friday I’ll return with my next regular Friday feature, a First Lines Friday post. I haven’t got a particular theme or challenge in mind for this post. I’ll just see what I fancy nearer the time.

Finally, I’ll be back next Sunday for a more timely weekly update post. I won’t leave it so late to post this time…

Blog

The first post to go live on the blog next week will be a Top Ten Tuesday post. The topic – Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time!

I’ve got some reads I need to march on with, so I’m actually going to leave it here and next share my Sunday Summary update at the end of the week. I need to get my reading mojo back!

Have you made better reading progress than me this week? I hope so!

Monthly TBR – October 2025

Posted on October 9, 2025 by fantasyst95

I’m hoping to piggy-back off the success I had in September and planning another ambitious TBR for October. This year, I’m not leaning too hard into seasonal spooky reads in October. That may change in November. However, for now, I have a number of fantasy reads to pick up in this monthly TBR.

Have you read any of the books on this list? Take a look below to find out!

Fixed Reads

Among the Burning Flowers

My first read on this monthly TBR is one of my current read carryovers from September. I made good progress with this audiobook last month and I’m looking forward to getting to the end of this audiobook later this week. I’m optimistic to make quick progress with this to keep up momentum. There are just a few hours of this audio left as well, so it should be a nice, quick finish!

HR Disrupted

The next ongoing read that starts this monthly TBR is HR Disrupted.

I’ve borrowed this book from our HR lady at work, and so far, it’s proving interesting. I’m 40% into the book as of publishing this post (6th Oct) and already I think there are interesting ideas I’d love to see in practice.

My plan is to finish this book in the next couple of days. That way, I can return it to Donna when she’s back from leave.

Woden’s Storm

I’ve got one final blog tour planned at the moment, and that’s for Woden’s Storm by Donovan Cook. I’ve read and reviewed an earlier book in the series, Woden’s Spear, so it makes sense to carry it on to keep up with the series (you may recall, that’s a reading goal for this year) and review it for publication and help out the author as well.

It’s another historical fiction book. Honestly, I hadn’t read the genre for ages and recently I’ve read several books in short succession. After this one, I think I’ll give it a short break. At least this time, this will be a change from a fantasy-heavy TBR.

The God of the Woods

Another break from fantasy on this monthly TBR is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

I’m reading this book along with my work book club. For the first time ever, I’ll also be reading this book on Fable, so anybody reading this can join along with me. If you’re interested in a spooky read this October, it’s the one and only I’ve got on the list. Fable is free to join if you aren’t already, and I hope to see you there with your thoughts on The God of the Woods!

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Another book club read, although not one I host this time, is A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. Instead, I’m coordinating and moderating the chat for this cosy fantasy pick with the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club. If this is more your cup of tea, check out host Sabie’s Bindery page to find out more and join the club!

Again, if you are able, I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on this book either on Fable, Storygraph or in the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club Discord chat.

Mood Reads

A little while ago, I decided I was going to try AI book recommendations. With some past reads I enjoyed in mind, I asked ChatGPT to make me some recommendations. The three books I’m reading towards this challenge, and I’ll be creating a separate feature on these, are The Shadow of What Was Lost, Beyond Redemption and A Crucible of Souls.

This challenge entails nearly 1,600 pages of reading. Is it likely I’ll finish this in October? Perhaps not. I’m going to have a good stab at it though, and of course, I’ll keep you up to date with my usual Sunday Summary update posts.

Summary

Again, today’s monthly TBR is far from shy on page count. Will I get to it all? I can only hope my success in September helps motivate me to read on! I’m also really looking forward to each of the reads on this monthly TBR, which really makes a difference. I have a very fantasy-heavy list, but it IS my favourite genre…

Have you read any of the books featured in today’s monthly TBR?

Monthly Wrap-Up – September 2025

Posted on October 7, 2025 by fantasyst95

I’ve had a really productive reading month. In a first for this year certainly, I have no less than ten books to discuss in today’s monthly wrap-up!

I suggest making yourself comfortable with a beverage of choice. When you’re ready, let’s take a look at the wide variant of books and genres I read in September.

Books Read

The Atlantis Covenant

I left off from my last monthly wrap-up having read 60% of The Atlantis Covenant. With an imminent blog tour at the beginning of this month, I needed to get my skates on!

I finished this book the day before my post went live. It meant drafting my review in a hotel whilst on my way abroad (which was far from ideal as it kept dropping out!), but I got there in the end. Since I went to the effort of writing that review, I’ll point you there instead of talking about the book here. What I will summarise though, is that it was a fun, action-packed read!

Sensitive

Also carried over from my August monthly wrap-up was Sensitive. With just three hours left of the audiobook, I figured I’d finish this quickly.

Admittedly, I didn’t pick this up whilst I was on holiday but when I returned. I’m in the habit of listening to audiobooks as I commute and that’s what I did.

This book is a great listen, whether you know, suspect, or wonder if you or those around you are sensitive. To clarify, this book is about advocating the benefits of sensitivity and the ways people can benefit from these traits. Granted, there are drawbacks too, as with anything. For that, Jenn and Andre offer practical advice for how to work with your sensitivity superpowers rather than considering them weaknesses.

A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison

Our Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read this month was A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison.

For a change, I finished this book uncharacteristically early. In the last few months, I’ve lagged behind and been scraping finishes around the end of the month. Not very helpful when you’re supposed to be prompting and facilitating conversation, right?

However, this month I turned over a new leaf, and reading this book in advance paid dividends. It’s set a precedent I’ll be continuing now, and I’ll be starting our upcoming read very soon!

Gran Familia

In a total change of pace, I picked up Gran Familia in order to review the manga to coincide with publication with Titan Comics. I published that yesterday, which you can find here.

I read this book within 24 hours. It’s only a couple of hundred pages and mostly images, so very quick and easy to read. Gran Familia was a nice change of format, but also a quick win that helped spur on reading progress this month. Overall, I did very well for reading progress. Having these shorter reads and multiple wins definitely helped on the motivation front…

Betrayal of Mercia

Switching back to audio, I listened to Betrayal of Mercia before starting my current read of the latest book in the series.

Having read the remainder of the books in e-book format, it was nice to try this in audiobook. It was also convenient for me because I’d finish it whilst reading other physical books on my TBR. Obviously, I couldn’t start the latest book until I finished this!

Whilst I have a personal preference for reading the books, the audiobook was very good. I’m just used to reading the place names, and the old names are more recognisable to me visually. That’s entirely personal preference.

This book surprised me in that there was less travel than in previous instalments. However, this book was quite political, and the power plays between characters keep up the action and tension.

The Pagan Lord

Another historical fiction I feature in today’s monthly wrap-up is the better-known The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell. If you are fans of this book, or the Saxon Stories more widely, please also check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles by M. J. Porter.

I was looking forward to getting back into the series as it’s been a while. Although the book was decent, I didn’t love it as much as previous books in the series.

Part of the reason I dragged my feet with it was the way I had to borrow it from my library. I’m not a fan of reading on my phone…

Algospeak

Audiobook progress continued with Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. At just under six hours at normal speed, it wasn’t going to last long.

I enjoyed the book and its content, but the narrative voice of the author didn’t really come across as relatable. Although he acknowledges it later in the book, his use of generational language and emphasising his ‘tribe’ so to speak, he is quite condescending about earlier generations and their social media use. I’m not that old, but was kind of made to feel that way.

It was an interesting read, but I probably won’t pick up anything else by this author if he publishes again.

Among the Burning Flowers

A recent release sprung to the top of my TBR after finishing all my planned audiobooks for the month. Among the Burning Flowers came out earlier in September. Having read and enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night this year, I figured it was worth keeping up with the story.

As of this monthly wrap-up, I’ve listened to around 40% of the audiobook. Again, it’s not a long one, and certainly nowhere near the length of the earlier books. I’ve enjoyed listening to this latest instalment so far. My initial concern is that the book would follow the format of the others pretty closely and feel ‘samey’. However, I don’t find that to be true at all. I’ve been pleasantly surprised and I want to wait to read on!

HR Disrupted

It’s barely worth a mention, but I have just started HR Disrupted by Lucy Adam’s before the end of the month. This book is a loan after a conversation at work with our HR lady, who calls herself an HR Disruptor.

A part of me hopes this book challenges a lot of conventional HR practices and argues what we could do better. I think it’ll be an interesting read anyway, and I’ll update you more next month.

Shield of Mercia

Another late start is my current book, Shield of Mercia. I’m publishing a blog tour post later this week, so I need to get a move on with my read of this.

As of this monthly wrap-up, I’m partway through chapter 4, at 13% (unlucky for some…?). I’m looking forward to reading on, and it’s a good job! I’ve only got a few days left before I’m reviewing this read. That’ll be available to all Patreon readers on Saturday – I hope you can join me.

Summary

I’m not entirely sure how I managed to progress ten titles this month. Yes, there were some shorter books in this monthly TBR. That definitely contributed, but also my reading motivation has been pretty high!

Have you read any of the books I feature in this monthly wrap-up? Are they on your list to read?

Sunday Summary – 5th October 2025

Posted on October 5, 2025 by fantasyst95

Happy Sunday friends! I hope you’ve had a lovely week, however you’ve spent it?! It’s been a busy week here. Quarter end is a busy period for me at work, but I’ve also had a good deal of content to share this week. Take a look at my Sunday Summary to see what the latest is!

On Patreon and here on the blog, I shared two free posts this week, both being reviews. The first of these was my review of the graphic novel Gran Familia. I’ll link to that post as usual so if you haven’t taken a look at that post yet, he is and easy place to go and find it. The second post I shared across Patreon and the blog earlier this week what’s my review of Shield of Mercia by M.J. Porter. I shared my review as part of the ongoing blog tour organised by Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources. This is the eighth book in her Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, and I had a great time reading this latest instalment. Again, if you get to take a look at that post, above is a handy link for you to do so.

One exclusive post I published on patriarch this week was my monthly wrap-up post for September. In this post, I share the books I read throughout the previous month and give you a sneak preview of my thoughts on those. Typically, this gets posted on my blog.

This will be posted on my blog next week, but I made it available to potential future subscribers first. If you want to be the 1st to see this post in future, you can subscribe to me there to hear my latest updates before anyone else!

Books Read

Among the Burning Flowers

Listening progress with Among the Burning Flowers has been on the light side this week. There isn’t a particular reason for this in terms of the book. On a practical level, I needed to listen to the radio on Friday whilst commuting home for weather updates. We had our first storm of the season with trees down, localised flooding and road closures. Thankfully, nothing significant and got home at the usual time.

I’ve listened to about 45minutes of the book this week. As I say, not a lot. However, there isn’t much left of the book either so I imagine I’ll share completion in next week’s Sunday Summary.

Shield of Mercia

My reading priority this week was Shield of Mercia by M. J. Porter. As you know by now, I shared my review of this book yesterday as part of the ongoing blog tour. It was fun to take part and I hope M. J. Porter has great success with this latest publication. I really enjoyed seeing where events of the series took Icel next. He’s one of my favourite historical fiction characters from this time period because he is unique, likeable, and always gets stuck into the action!

I could have done with starting this book sooner than I did as I did have to make a last minute push to finish it. However, that was hardly a drag as I really enjoyed the action, wider scope of travel compared to its predecessor and the political scheming amongst Saxons.

Obviously, I’m not going to go too much into depth with my thoughts here as I have a dedicated post for that.

HR Disrupted

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared that I’d just started HR Disrupted. With Shield of Mercia suitably prioritised and now read, I went back to this non-fiction loan I have on the go.

In the last few days, I’ve read the first 40% of the book. It’s an interesting read so far and I definitely agree with a lot of Lucy’s views. Classic HR practices don’t work and it would be interesting to see some practices change. Let’s just see if I can convince some changes to happen in my place! I’ll have to read the rest of the book first, so stay tuned and I can tell you more next week!

Books Discovered

Anyone would be thinking I’m on a book buying ban the way things are going right now. Again, there’s nothing new on the reading list this week and I have zero complaints about this 😅

Coming Up…

Patreon

The first post I’m drafting and publishing for my exclusive subscribers next week is my monthly TBR for October. I have great books and reading plans lined up for this month. My only hope is that my reading success and momentum from September carries forward. It would be amazing to have another super-productive reading month! This is due to go live tomorrow. If you want to be the first to know what I’m reading, as well as find out how to take part in my book club read, subscribe and check out that post!

Mid-week, I’m in the mood to share a more personal post. Rather than a focus on books, I want to share a bit more about why I’ve set up my Patreon, what I hope to offer on it and help a new set of potential subscribers get to know me a little better. I’ve published a couple of reviews last week, so this feels like a good balance.

In the spirit of offering subscribers some exclusive content, I’m going to launch details of a reading challenge I’ll be taking part in very soon! I hope you can check this out. Maybe you want to take part as well?

I write my own, more informal version of a Sunday Summary on Patreon as well. Again, it’s more personal and covers more than just the books I’ve read and featured etc.

Blog

My first post of this week is the monthly wrap-up I initially published on Patreon. If you’re keen to see how reading progress came along last month, you’re in for a treat. I picked up no less than ten books over the course of the month. For the first time in a while, I ended the month on par with my reading goal for the year, if not a little ahead of schedule! Let’s hope October is just as successful!

My Patreon subscribers are only going to see my monthly TBR a few days ahead of you all. However, with time ticking on with the month I feel bad leaving it too late to let you know my reading plans. So, this will go live on Thursday next week.

On Friday this week, I intended to share a Shelf Control post but that didn’t make it due to finishing touches on my Shield of Mercia post. That’ll come this week instead; apologies for the delay!

Finally, I’ll be back this time next week with another Sunday Summary recap of what reading progress has looked like! Hopefully I can share both my current reads are done, and let you know what else is coming up!

Thank you all for sticking with me! I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Sunday Summary post.

What are you currently reading?

Blog Tour Review: Shield of Mercia – M. J. Porter

Posted on October 4, 2025October 4, 2025 by fantasyst95

Historical fiction fans rejoice! Today’s review is for the eighth and eagerly awaited Eagle of Mercia Chronicles – Shield of Mercia! Today, I’m reviewing this brand new release as part of the new blog tour with Rachel’s Random Resources.

Before we get into my review, thank you to Rachel, Boldwood Books and the author, MJ Porter for the chance to read and review Shield of Mercia so I can feature the book/series.

FYI, I received a copy of the book in order to provide my review. However, this is an unbiased review and the views expressed within are entirely my own.

Shield of Mercia – M. J. Porter

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 337

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Original Publication Date: 03 Oct 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Shield of Mercia

Mercia is triumphant. Her king is safe. But Wessex was never Mercia’s only enemy.
Tamworth, AD836

Following a brutally cold winter, King Wiglaf of Mercia is in the ascendancy. Even Wessex’s Archbishop of Canterbury extraordinarily ventures to Mercia to broker a religious accord. But,can the hard-won peace prevail?

Viking raiders threaten Wessex. These blood-thirsty warriors are fast, skilful and have no reticence about killing those who stand in their way. Their aim isn’t to rule but to overwhelm, slaughter and take ill-gotten wealth.

King Wiglaf is no fool. As the Vikings push to overwhelm Wessex, Mercia’s lands look insecure. King Wiglaf needs the shields of Mercia’s warriors to prevent the overwhelming advancement of their deadliest enemy yet.

To save Mercia, Icel must first prevail over the two men who mean to end his life; King Ecgberht of Wessex and his son, Æthelwulf of Kent and only then the marauding Viking army for whom boundaries have no meaning.

An action packed, thrilling historical adventure perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell and Matthew Harffy.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/ShieldofMercia

My Thoughts

Plot

In Shield of Mercia we return to a busy action-packed plot. War is on the doorstep, and the number of enemies keeps rising. Icel, a character who you may recall from Son of Mercia, aimed to be a healer. Instead, he became a renowned warrior. He always manages to find himself in the thick of the action, and in Shield of Mercia, in more danger than any book to date.

The gripping storyline and constant question of who could be trusted kept high tension throughout the plot. When eventually the pot boils over, we are treated to numerous battle scenes and conflicts that have us on the edge of our seat!

Setting

Events in Shield of Mercia are much like previous books in that travel is a greater element of the plot. Betrayal of Mercia felt like a bit of an exception to that rule, and I’m enjoying being back in the thick of the action.

I love this series for its truly country spanning narratives. The political and geographical context of the story is really interesting and far more dynamic than we are today. It’s a great backdrop at the best of times, as life in Britain was far from peaceful anyway. Add Viking raiders into this already tumultuous era and you get an unputdownable action-packed historical fiction novel/series! As I can attest to – I read 75% of this book in one evening!

Characters

Uncertainty between Mercian and Wessex people is rife in Shield of Mercia. The two fractious communities come together in order to oust a Viking enemy. Trust, however, does not come easily. Icel, our main protagonist of the series, has more reason to be both suspicious and wary than ever.

This feeds into a good portion of the plot, so the development of the characters and wider world within works hand-in-hand with driving the plot forward. It’s not therefore one at the expense of the other, but a great balance!

Icel remains one of my favourite historical fiction characters in this period. He is so well-rounded and unlike your stereotypical warrior. His character arc is unique and even so many books on from his humble beginning in Son of Mercia, his core character values are still well-defined and fit into the man he has become out of necessity.

Narrative Style

Shield of Mercia is very easy to read – as I’ve already alluded to, I read most of the book in one go. The style of narrative lends itself to a storytelling structure. With just one point of view, we’re able to get a deeper sense of Icel’s perspective on events.

Rightly or wrongly, his views shape our perception of other characters in the book. For the first time in this narrative, I asked myself whether Icel perceives events a certain way as he has a dislike for certain characters. So far in the series, I’ve taken that perception as truth rather than opinion. However, I’ve enjoyed questioning the validity of the narrative as presented. Outside of historical fiction, I do enjoy an unreliable narrator!

Summary

Shield of Mercia has been a fun eighth instalment to the Eagle of Mercia chronicles to read. I’ve especially enjoyed the greater action and overt conflict on this book as opposed to the political scheming of Betrayal of Mercia. That’s not to say this doesn’t underpin events in the book, because they absolutely do! However, balance has been restored, and I can’t wait to see what scrapes Icel inevitably lands himself with next…

Author Bio

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author’s writing destiny was set.

Social Media Links

Facebook: @MJPorterauthor

Twitter: @coloursofunison

Instagram: @m_j_porter

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Bookbub profile: @coloursofunison

Sunday Summary – 21st September 2025

Posted on September 21, 2025 by fantasyst95

For the second week in a row, my recent break has paid its dividends! In today’s Sunday Summary, you’ll see I have a number of updates and books to catch you up with progress on!

Before I get into the books I’ve read over the course of this week, let’s catch up on the blog posts I’ve shared over the internet.

My first post was a book review for Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy. If you enjoy historical fiction, you’re having a field day with content right now. Not only am I talking about historical fiction in terms of these backlist reviews, but I’ve also been reading a lot of historical fiction this week. More on that in a bit!

On Friday, I returned to more modern fiction and featured a legal thriller by a big-name author I am yet to try. This author has three books currently on my TBR and I’ve still not read a single one of them yet. A few of these are featured in my Shelf Control posts now, so I imagine it won’t be long before one of them finally comes around. If you’re intrigued to know who that is, take a look at my latest post.

Books Read

Betrayal of Mercia

I finished my audiobook listen of Betrayal of Mercia earlier today!

As I mentioned in my last Sunday Summary, it’s the first time I’ve picked up a book in this series as an audiobook. It was really interesting to experience this book in this new format. Historically, I’ve kept up with the series by reading the advanced review copies before the books come out. It gives me a unique opportunity to provide a review of the books in this format.

I really enjoyed Betrayal of Mercia. The book takes on a slightly different form in that there is significantly less travel in the book than I remember from earlier instalments. However, that makes sense in the widest storyline and it was interesting to delve deeper into the allegiances of powerful characters and how that impacts other people’s actions.

I’m also glad I finished it because it means I can start reading Shield of Mercia as soon as I finish my current read. That’s also another historical fiction book, this time by the well-known Bernard Cornwell. By the time I finish all these books, I’ll definitely have read my share of historical fiction for a little while…

The Pagan Lord

I’ve enjoyed going back to Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon stories series in picking up The Pagan Lord this week. Admittedly, I didn’t read this book for the first few days of this week. The vast majority of my progress has come later in the week. However, when it started, it happened quickly!

As books go, The Pagan Lord isn’t actually that long. I read decent-sized chunks of the book per sitting as opposed to chipping away at it. The only reason I would say progress is a little slower than usual is that I borrowed this book via Libby from my library. That means I’m reading the book on my phone, which is probably my least favourite way to do so. However, my eagerness to return to the series and getting into the book has enabled me to get past that.

Algospeak

After finishing Betrayal of Mercia earlier today, I started listening to the British short Algospeak by Adam Aleksic.

I downloaded an Audible copy of this book a few months ago now as I was interested in the subject. I had a place to study linguistics at university but ultimately made the decision not to go. That said, I still have an interest in the subject and particularly how social media has had its influence on language in more recent years.

My only gripe with this book so far is that although I’m not uninvolved with social media and technology, it made me feel a little bit like a dinosaur. If you are from Gen Z, you’ll probably find some of the topics and commentary a bit more relatable. However, from an educational standpoint, I’m enjoying the book so far.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’ve already listened to a couple of hours’ worth of the audiobook and I have around 2 1/2 hours left. Needless to say, I’m optimistic. I’ll be able to polish this off early next week and start another audiobook before the end of the month! Will I get to finish it though? That’s the million-dollar question!

Books Discovered

For the second week in a row, I haven’t added any new books to my reading list and I’ve managed to tick some off via completions!

Is this the start of a run on getting my TBR below 200 books? Place your bets now 😂

Coming Up…

Blog

I was looking around online for some inspiration for a spooky book club read for our work book club. I’ve now chosen the book we’re gathering to discuss in October. However, that sparked a content idea though. I want to share my book recommendations for spooky book club reads. That’s going live on Wednesday.

On Friday I’m back with a First Lines Friday feature. My most recent First Lines Friday features have all had a theme. As of drifting this Sunday Summary, I have no particular theme in mind for this post. Perhaps I’ll share a book coming up on my October TBR? I won’t commit myself, but we’ll see.

Finally, you know what’s coming last. This time next week I’m back with another Sunday Summary update and fingers crossed, I’ll be much closer to the end of my monthly TBR. I’ve already surpassed my reading list in some ways. However, we’re just a couple of books left, I can’t get lazy. Check out next week’s Sunday Summary to see if I keep up the pace.

Patreon

On Patreon, I’m planning to step up the content and post as regularly there as I do here. Next week will be a bit crazy as I’m posting two sets of content. Going forward though, my blog content will broadly be historic Patreon content. So, if you want to see my posts exclusively before everyone else, please subscribe to me there. I’m also launching my book club Discord chat for subscribers, so there are plenty of perks to enjoy!

As a sneak preview, I’m posting my review of Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, a Shelf Control post, and a more in-depth and personal Sunday Summary there.

That’s all for me and today’s Sunday Summary update, though!

What have you been reading?