Sunday Summary – 2nd August 2026
Last week’s Sunday Summary post was written ahead of normal time, and this week’s timing is a little off as well. However, we are the other way this time. Whereas last week’s Sunday Summary was drafted in the afternoon because I had friends coming over, this Sunday Summary has been drafted at normal time, but has been scheduled to go live first thing on Monday morning. Why? Because I had a blog tour review post scheduled for Sunday that needed to take priority.
It’s one of two blog tours I have part taken in this week. The first of those was for a book called A Painkiller to Die For, which I reviewed on Tuesday. Then, between these two blog tour obligations, I shared a First Lines Friday feature. Finally, on Sunday I took part in the blog tour for a book called Duel of Beasts.
Books Read
Empire of Storms

In recent weeks, progress with Empire of Storms has been pretty slow. Whilst I have had the time and opportunity to listen to this audiobook, I confess I haven’t made the most of those opportunities.
Truthfully, that’s the same for this week, with the exception of today. Conscious that I am now once again slightly behind on my read along, I made a solid push with this audiobook today. I have only listened to to this audiobook today, but I managed to plough through six and three-quarter hours. The other half was at work today, so I pretty much kept it on for company whilst pottering around the house and enjoying some crafting hobbies.
I’m curious to see how Empire of Storms will pan out. Whilst there are aspects of this narrative, I’m really enjoying, we are seeing a bit more in the way of romance coming into the storyline. I’m not a huge fan of these sections, so the slightly heavier leaning into the romance aspect isn’t my cup of tea. However, I do want to see where the main plot line takes us and where Empire of Storms will conclude.
A Painkiller to Die For

I started this week having made a start with a painkiller to die for, but I confess I had a decent junk of the book still to read before sharing my review on Tuesday. Nevertheless, I hunker down on Monday night to finish the remainder of the book before getting my post out on time.
I enjoyed this medical/science themed thriller. It was an interesting book full of characters that you end up with mixed feelings about. They aren’t exactly moral or altruistic, yet we can understand their positions and motives. It’s a complex narrative, and one that has you thinking long after the book has been closed.
I won’t rehash my whole review here. You can go and find it here if you want to find out more.
Duel of Beasts

I hadn’t started Duel of Beasts before this week, so I’ve dedicated a solid amount of effort into reading this ahead of Sunday’s blog tour post.
In my review, I talked about how this book started as a bit of a stretch goal for myself, but quickly became a book. I was looking forward to picking up. I’ll admit I had precious little understanding of European Medieval history. So, from this book, I learned that Spain was run by sultans of the Muslim faith between the eighth and 15th century. Duel of Beasts is set in the 14th century, so towards the end of their dynasty and during a time of political intriguing as well as religious conflict.
Historical adventure sums up Duel of Beasts perfectly – full of action, conniving and intrigue, there is action in every chapter and the protagonists Willa and Gerard are out of their depth really. If you’re keen to find out more based on this snapshot, go check out my full review here.
Books Discovered
Another week of no news here – I really do have to be on a record right now. I haven’t added a book to my TBR in seven weeks now!
Coming Up…
What I’m Reading…
In this section, I give you a heads up on my planned reads for the next seven days. Here’s what I’m hoping to tackle:-
- Finish Empire of Storms – I’ve only got 3hrs of audio left
- Listen to The Midnight Train
- Continue The Pillars of the Earth
- Continue with Katabasis
So, the theme of next week’s reads is to try finish up some ongoing reads ready for a clean slate.
Blog
It’s the beginning of August, so that can only mean it’s time to share my progress with reading in July. That post will go live on Tuesday.
Next, I’ve got my August TBR to think about. I’ve got a couple of blog tours later this month, but otherwise, you’ll see some familiar titles on my August TBR…
Finally, I’ll round up my week with my usual Sunday Summary. There’s nothing special next week, so it should come to you at the usual time!
Summary
Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary! I hope you have a fantastic week coming up and I will catch up with you shortly.
Happy reading!

Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Goodreads | Threads | YouTube

























