Tag: sunday summary

Sunday Summary – 18th May 2025

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Another weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Why do they pass so quickly? Nevertheless, I’m here this Sunday Summary to give you another weekly wrap-up of what I’ve been reading and sharing this week.

The first post of this week was delayed by a day and went live on Thursday. In that post, I shared my review of a book I read over two years ago now – Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell. If you enjoy historical fiction with a setting dominated by Saxon and Viking clashes, this is a series I highly recommend!

On Friday, I featured the introduction to a recent addition to my TBR in my First Lines Friday. This book is a little out of my comfort zone; if you were intrigued to find out more, as always, I provide a link to that post.


Books Read


The Poppy War

Progress with The Poppy War this week has come on leaps and bounds. Initially when I started this book, I wasn’t reading it very quickly. Even as recently as last week’s Sunday Summary, I was only 180 pages into the book.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’m pleased to update you that I finished this book today. I read a big chunk of it today, and I couldn’t put it down! I’m so glad I’ve concluded this first book to the trilogy. The world-building and events of the plot are both horrifying and compelling to read.

I definitely won’t be waiting years to read the sequel! Then, no doubt I’ll be reading about the real-life events that inspire the storyline – the Second Sino-Japanese War.


Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

Again, compared to last week’s Sunday Summary update, I have far more progress to share with you.

I’ve enjoyed listening to more of Crashed this week. I’ve made the most of time commuting to and from work, especially to listen to this audio. All in all, I’ve listened to over three hours of the audiobook during this time this week.

Whilst the book has retained somewhat of an emphasis on politics, I appreciate more now why it is inextricably linked with financial markets and past events. I’ve gotten used to this in the audio and whilst I’m sure I’m missing out on many nuances, etc., I’m still following the book reasonably well.

I like that this book hasn’t just focused on the financial crisis of 2007-2008. That was what I expected from this book, but it’s also giving me an opportunity to learn more about the subsequent Greek financial crisis starting in 2010. I do vaguely recall hearing about this on the news. What had passed me by was the troubles that Ireland also had in the same period. It’s definitely an informative lesson and I’m glad I picked this up in audio format.


Ultra-Processed People

After finishing The Poppy War, I made a brief start on Ultra-Processed People before sharing this post.

So far, I’ve only read the introduction and started the first chapter. However, I can already tell this book is going to change how I think about food. Learning what some of the seemingly innocuous ingredients are and why they are present in modern-day food will definitely change my perspective. I’ve already learned that a lot of ice cream contains xanthan gum. Doesn’t sound too disgusting until you learn it’s a bacterial slime. Needless to say, I didn’t have any for dessert today…


Books Discovered

In the introduction to this Sunday Summary, I alluded to an addition to my TBR this week that I featured in my First Lines Friday. That book is Powerless by Lauren Roberts.

This book is a fantasy romance. Whilst on the surface you may think that’s right up my alley, there is a question for me over the romance element of the book. However, as someone who actively tries to read different things all the time and push myself out of my comfort zone, I’m going to give it a go. I have read other fantasy series with romance elements and enjoyed them. Will Powerless and the whole trilogy join these? I hope so!


Coming Up…

My first post of the week will be a discussion about why libraries are so important to individuals and communities. I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and say I don’t use my library as much as I should, and the ways I’d like to change that.

On Friday, I return with my Shelf Control regular feature post. I’m looking forward to sharing what’s coming up on my TBR and why I’m excited to read it. If you’re interested in a forward glance to what’s coming up on my reading list, this is the post to look out for.

Finally, I’m back with another weekly wrap-up in next week’s Sunday Summary update. Fingers crossed I’ll have more bookish finishes to share with you; if I want to get through my monthly TBR, I really need to pull my finger out!

Until next time, stay safe and well, and happy reading!

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Sunday Summary – 11/05/2025

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Good evening, reading friends! I hope you’ve had a fantastic week? I’m looking forward to updating you on my week in today’s Sunday Summary post.

Before we get into my recap of the books I’ve read so far this week, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared so far. The first of those blog posts was a board game book tag. I’d seen this post online and I thought it was a fun idea to share something different. It also worked really well because I got to share a broad spectrum of books all together on one post. If you haven’t seen that post yet, as always, I’ll link to that here.

On Fridays, I typically share one of two feature posts. This week it was the turn of my Shelf Control post. This isn’t just a great way of looking at and getting excited for books coming up on my TBR. In looking at my reading list to decide what was coming up in this feature, I identified and removed four books from my reading list that I’m no longer interested in reading. If you want to take a look at which book did make the cut, there is a link to that here too.


Books Read

The Poppy War

I’ve only really made progress with one physical book this week, and that is The Poppy War.

In the last few days, I have read over 100 pages of this book. That doesn’t include the progress I plan to make after this post goes live either. I really enjoyed getting into the story of The Poppy War and based on what I read so far, I’m looking forward to exploring more of the shamanism Rin had discovered.

Honestly, I have no idea where the plot of this book is going to take us and I’m excited by this fact. I’m grateful it’s not predictable and I love Rin’s character. She’s a bit of a loose cannon and that means anything can happen.


Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

I’ve not listened to much audio this week. However, I’ve been home on my own today and pottering around. I often listen to audiobooks or music when I’m doing jobs like this. It’s been nice to get back to my audio as I’ve not listened to it for a week. I don’t know why – I’ve had the opportunity.

Nevertheless, today’s one and a half-hour progress is better than none!


Books Discovered

I haven’t added any new books to my reading list this week. Pair that with taking four off the reading list when preparing my Shelf Control post, I’m net down on the TBR as of this Sunday Summary.

I still have 205 on the list, mind…


Coming Up…

For my first post next week, I’ll be sharing my review of Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell. If you are unfamiliar, this is the sixth book in his Saxon stories series, also known as The Last Kingdom. I read this book in March 2023, so I’ve got some head-scratching to do to put my thoughts down. What I’m also hoping this review will do, though, is inspire me to pick up the next book in the series, The Pagan Lord. It’s been a couple of years and I’ve not touched this series…

Next up in my regular Friday feature list is a First Lines Friday post. Given I set myself a challenge for this post the last time I did it a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to keep this one nice and open. Hopefully, I can find another book with a captivating intro to share with you!

Finally, my next Sunday Summary post will round off the week next week. Hopefully, I’ll have more bookish news to share with you, including a finish of The Poppy War as well as some other progress.

What have you been reading?

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Sunday Summary – 4th May 2025

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I confess I’ve written a good deal of today’s Sunday Summary in advance. Today, I’ve taken part in a charity walk, which is an 8.8-mile route down the south of the island. In case I’m pooped afterwards, I’ve prepared this post so I don’t have too much to do!

So, what have I been up to this week? On Wednesday, I published my monthly wrap-up post for April. If you’ve yet to see that post and you want to catch up on all the books I read last month, here’s a link to that post.

On Friday, I shared my monthly TBR for May. I’ve got some great books coming up. This TBR is non-fiction and fantasy-heavy… and I’m excited!


Books Read

Normal Women

This week I decided to put down Normal Women and have a little break from the book. It’s not a DNF and I will be coming back to it soon.

 

The Poppy War

As of today’s Sunday Summary, I’ve read a little more of The Poppy War in the last week. Admittedly, I haven’t made the most progress with this book. However, I have enjoyed seeing Rin settle herself into Sinegard. The book is already setting up a narrative where Rin is the outsider. Given there are obvious class and perhaps racial divides in the characters, I’m looking forward to exploring this in a non-British or European setting.

I’m not very familiar with non-Western cultural elements. A lot of the fantasy I have read growing up has been Western as opposed to Eastern, and so I’m not as fast as I could be on where these divides may lie in other cultures. That’s what I’m looking forward to exploring in The Poppy War.


Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Shaped the World

I’ve been doing a fair bit of walking during my lunch hours this week. As a result, I’ve listened to about three and a half hours of Crashed.

I’m definitely enjoying this second part of the book more than the first. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a political element to the narrative. However, the emphasis is on the crisis, and that’s what I’m more interested in reading about.

The book is still a little more technical, so some of the detail goes over my head. However, that’s not impacting my understanding or enjoyment of the book.


Books Discovered

I’ve added The Obesity Code to my TBR this week. I read about this book online, and it promises to change readers’ ideas of how weight loss is achieved.

Even if you aren’t invested in the subject, I’m sure you’re aware of how much conflicting information there is out there. I’m trying to wade through it and bust the myths. This book is very highly rated, so I’m hoping it’s one of the more reliable books 🤞🏻


Coming Up…

I plan to keep content on the light side of things early next week. I’ve seen a book tag online that’s based around board games over at Bewitching Books Ravenous Reads. I think this could be good fun to write, so I’ll be sharing this in the next few days.

On Friday, it will be time for my Shelf Control regular feature. In this series, I take a look at upcoming books on my reading list. It’s a great way to get myself looking forward to a particular book. I hope you can stay tuned to find out what’s coming up on my reading list soon.

Last, but by no means least, I’ll return with a Sunday Summary at the same time next week. I’m looking forward to having more reading updates to share with you and how I’m getting on with progress in my May TBR.

Until next time, happy reading!

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Sunday Summary – 27th April 2025

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It’s been another relaxed Sunday here— and rightly earned! Welcome to today’s Sunday Summary catch-up post. As always, I’ll take you through my updates of the week so far. And, I’ll catch you up on the books I’ve been reading, books added to the TBR, as well as what’s coming up on the blog.

The first port of call is to recap the blog posts I have shared with you to date. The first post I put out this week was a Top Ten Tuesday. In that post, I discussed ten books that surprised me. Most were in a good way, but there were a couple of exceptions to this rule too.

Next, on Friday, I featured a non-fiction book in my First Lines Friday regular feature. I completed the challenge I set myself in last week’s Sunday Summary by featuring a non-fiction; if you’re interested to see which book I chose, you can go and take a look at that post here.


Books Read


Normal Women

Progress with Normal Women remains pretty slow but steady. I confess that I’ve only made progress with this book today, and that progress amounts to another 30 pages (so far tonight!)

I have a hardback edition of the book, which isn’t particularly practical to carry around. As a result, I have been taking my copy of Elektra and then The Poppy War to work. Ultimately, their paperback format has made those the books more accessible to carry around and make progress with.

That said, I am enjoying Normal Women and I confess I’m also enjoying taking it slowly. It’s not particularly light on subject matter, so I would argue this pacing suits the book better anyway.


Elektra

Over the course of this week, I finished my read of Elektra by Jennifer Saint. I really enjoyed going back to Greek mythology. It’s reminded me how much I enjoy the genre. If you are a little partial to feminist fiction now and then, Elektra is a great choice. The book centres around the experiences of three women in particular, Cassandra, Clytemnestra (say that three times quickly…), and Elektra.

I read and finished Elektra pretty quickly. As is generally my experience with retellings, they’re a great way to pick up something quite quickly. They serve as a great refresher in between larger or heavier books.

Elektra turned out to be just the change of scene I needed. I will definitely be picking up more books by Jennifer Saint soon, because Elektra was so easy to read and really enjoyable.


The Poppy War

Finally, the last physical book I have made a start with this week is The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. This is the last book on my April TBR, so I’m really happy to have made it this far through my reading list.

I know I won’t have finished this book by the end of the month, but that’s okay with me! I’m looking forward to the experience of picking up something new and a book that’s come highly recommended to me by others. So far, I have really enjoyed the introduction to Rin’s story and really from now on, it’s about seeing where things go from there.


Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Shaped the World

Given that I’ve completed all of my audiobook listens on this month’s TBR, I decided to start something a little different. A while ago I added Crashed to my reading list as a bit of a stretch listen based on my role at work.

Whilst I had so hoped for something a little higher level, Crashed is going into quite a lot of detail about the financial crises experienced – especially around the early 2000s and the consequences they’ve had for everybody. The book is even going so far as to look at the political and geopolitical landscape to explain why these crises aren’t necessarily so independent as originally believed.

As I said, this is a little over my head. Whilst I do recognise some of the concepts discussed in the book from study I undertook last year, I had hoped for something a little bit lighter. Nevertheless, I’m going to persevere with the book in the hopes that I get used to the style and I’m able to take away what I wanted from the book.


Books Discovered

Given I was naughty last week, I’ve been far more considerate of the bank account this week and not made any purchases. In fact, I’ve not even added anything to my reading list without purchasing either.

Go me 🥳

 

Coming Up…

We’re coming up to the end of another month, so next week you have my monthly wrap-up post coming to you on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Overall, I’ve had a really good reading month and I’ve managed to pick up every single book on my list. Check out that post to find out where I get up to in each of my current reads by the end of the month!

Next, it’s only natural that I let you know what’s coming up on my May reading list, right? So, with this in mind, my next post will be my May TBR which will go live on Friday.

As always, you know you can look forward to my next instalment of my Sunday Summary at the end of the week. In that post, I’ll catch you up on all my reading updates.

Until then though guys, thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary. Happy reading and have a good week!

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Sunday Summary – 20th April 2025

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Happy Easter friends! It may be a bank holiday weekend, but I’m not taking any breaks in content! Today’s Sunday Summary has plenty to update you on. Make yourself a cuppa and get settled in, because I have a few books to share with you!

Firstly, though, let’s catch up on the content I’ve shared with you so far this week.

The first post I published earlier this week was my book review of Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder. If you enjoy science fiction, thrillers, or ideally both, Soul Identity is a great book to try. I really enjoyed this first instalment to the three-part Soul Identity series, and I’m excited to read the next. If you haven’t already read my review, check it out using the link above.

Next, I shared my latest instalment to my Shelf Control series on Friday. In Friday’s post, I featured a courtroom thriller I’m keen to try. The book may not be for everyone given the subject matter, but I am intrigued by the synopsis.

 

Books Read


Normal Women

Progress with Normal Women by Philippa Gregory remains slow but steady.

Over the course of this week, I’ve read another fifty pages or so. I’m now moving into the life of women in the 18th century, and it’s not great. Women’s rights are pretty atrocious at this point in history, so it makes for infuriating reading. It’s no fault of the book at all – it’s thoroughly researched, and there’s a lot of information and aspects of women’s lives covered. It’s how badly women are treated and controlled that angers me.

Hopefully, in the next week, I’ll get to a more positive period of history for women?!


The Perfect Wife

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I was around halfway through my audiobook copy of The Perfect Wife.

Over the last six days, I’ve listened on and subsequently finished this book. It’s a relief to have it read well in advance of our book club meet in the beginning of May. It wasn’t difficult to achieve though – the story was compelling, and as the revelations and mysteries started to come together, I was drawn to read on.

Having recently read another thriller, I wasn’t sure if I’d find The Perfect Wife more of the same. However, the books were vastly different, and I enjoyed reading from the thriller genre again!


Elektra

A book I forgot to talk about last week was Elektra by Jennifer Saint. I was looking for a smaller physical read to take around and about with me. Normal Women wasn’t practical to carry around, so I grabbed my copy of Elektra and read about 30 pages.

Picking up from there this week, I’ve read a further 100 pages. As of this Sunday Summary update, that puts me  just shy of 50% through the book.

Elektra is certainly a Greek Mythology story that focuses on the women’s perspective. Throughout, we see chapters from Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra. All three female characters’ lives are impacted by the war with Troy, and I’m enjoying the often overlooked view. Too often, we can read of the glory of men, but not the suffering of the women. If you like books around this topic, The Silence of the Girls is another great book.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Elektra in the next few days. I hope you can join me for next week’s Sunday Summary post to see how far I get.


Books Discovered


The delight my wallet had at not purchasing a copy of Vulture Capitalism last week ended up short-lived. In my defence, I was allowed in a local bookstore unsupervised and spotted it. So, I got it!

I also picked up 24 Hours in the Viking World and The Twentysomething Treatment because they sounded interesting…


Coming Up…

I have some great posts lined up for you in the next week.

First and foremost, I’m looking forward to sharing a Top Ten Tuesday post. It’s been a while since I shared one of these posts. This week’s theme is books that surprised me – and that can be good or bad. I’ll likely end up going down the positive route as I won’t have many negatives.

On Friday, I’ll be back with a First Lines Friday feature. This week, I plan to set myself a challenge for this post. In this week’s feature, I’ll share a non-fiction book on my TBR. I commit to that here and now but without a set book in mind. Wish me luck finding a suitable book to feature!

Finally, I’ll be back the same time next week with another Sunday Summary update. In that post, I’ll get you up to speed on the books I’ve been reading over the week and let you know where I get up to.

Until next time, have a great week and happy reading!

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Sunday Summary – 13th April 2025

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The end of another week is upon us, so that can only mean one thing! I hope you’re ready to dive into this Sunday Summary update and catch up on the books I’ve been reading this week.

Before that though, as I always do, let’s take a recap of the blog posts I shared earlier this week. Technically, last week’s Sunday Summary post went live on Monday morning to accommodate a blog tour post on Sunday.

Next, I shared my list of five authors I will always buy books by. If you are a regular reader, the authors featured on this list shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. If you are new here though, you can get a feel for some of my favourite authors by checking out this post!

In Friday’s First Lines Friday, I featured a recent release that’s part of a series I adored as a teenager and I want to re-read. If you’re curious to see what that book is and sample the opening lines, take a look at that post here.


Books Read


Normal Women

With no carryovers from last week, I returned this week to Normal Women by Philippa Gregory.

I put down this book a few weeks ago in order to prioritise blog tours and other books of a more time-sensitive nature. Now that I’ve got those commitments out of the way, I’ve picked up this non-fiction again. The focus of this book is on women in society as a whole, as opposed to specific individuals.

I haven’t read a whole lot of this book this week given I only picked it up again for the first time on Saturday. However, I have made 40 pages progress and I’m looking forward to reading more over the next week.


The Perfect Wife

Today, I started listening to the audiobook of our book club pick that will be discussing in early May. In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared that the contenders for this month’s read were All the Light We Cannot See, The Anxious Generation, and The Perfect Wife. In order to avoid a conflict, I didn’t vote in this month’s selection; it would have resulted in a draw. Instead, our other members chose The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney.

I have to say, although this wasn’t my first choice, I am enjoying the book. So much so, I have listened to just under half of this audiobook today. I like audiobooks because they are convenient to listen to whilst running errands. It certainly makes a trip to Tesco more bearable anyway…

That’s now I’m reading this book and it’s a good listen so far!


Books Discovered

I confess that I added one book to my reading list earlier today. However, my wallet can be satisfied because I didn’t purchase it.

In the world of finance and in light of the turmoil we’ve seen in markets this week, a book called Vulture Capitalism caught my attention. Whilst I’m not particularly informed on the content of the book to make an assessment on whether it’s true or not, journalist and author Grace Blakeley certainly seems to be. Would I be surprised at corruption within our capitalist society? Absolutely not.

It’s a completely different subject to what I would normally read, but that’s precisely why it’s caught my attention.


Coming Up…

My first post of the week will be a book review. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder.

On Friday I’ll be back with another instalment in my Shelf Control feature. In this series, I take a look at upcoming books on my TBR and share why I’m excited to read it!

Finally, this time next week I’m back with another Sunday Summary update. I hope you can join me to see all my latest reading updates and goings-on.

Until next time, happy reading!

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Sunday Summary – 6th April 2025

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Today’s belated Sunday Summary post can only mean one thing. It’s the end of yet another week, and I’m with you today to share my latest reading updates.

Today’s post comes a little later than usual, given I had a blog tour obligation to share on Sunday. So as not to steal the thunder of that post, I’m scheduling this live first thing Monday morning local time. That way, I can give the tour the priority it needs. Speaking of which, if you haven’t checked that out yet, here’s a link for you to do so.

Other posts I’ve shared so far this week include my monthly wrap-up for March and my TBR for April. If you want a quick recap of the books I picked up in March, the monthly wrap-up is where to go. Overall, March was a significantly better month than February; I didn’t DNF any of my reads. I didn’t quite get to all the books on my reading list. But, then again, I never do. If anything, I prefer to set too many because it gives me an aim to work towards.

Similarly, if you want to find out which books will feature in the next few Sunday Summary posts, April‘s TBR is where to look. I don’t have any particular reading plan or theme that I’m working towards. Instead, I’ve decided to try and get those books I didn’t get to earlier this year.

 

Books Read


Calamity

I said in last week’s Sunday Summary post that I only had 50 minutes of listening time left of Calamity by Brandon Sanderson. As you can imagine, I listened to this last portion of the audiobook very quickly, so I started the week with an early win.

Calamity was every bit as good as I expected it would be. Whilst I am sad that this is the end of a trilogy, I’m really happy with the resolution. I may not be able to look forward to more books in this series, but I have plenty more Sanderson’s to crack on with…


The Weight’s Over

An impromptu listen I picked up at the beginning of this week is Sandra Roycroft-Davis‘ The Weight’s Over.

I pre-ordered this book a few weeks ago in anticipation of it coming out last month. I picked it up to understand the science behind weight loss and why it’s actually so difficult to do. In fact, Sandra outlines the ways in which our bodies set out to defy our best attempts.

The Weight’s Over was an informative listen, and I’m glad I picked this up. The audiobook is also relatively short. As a result, I both started and finished this book this week. I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in the science behind how our bodies work – and why our bodies and brains are determined to prevent us from undertaking a successful diet.


Enemies of the Crown

Another book I picked up and read in full this week was Enemies of the Crown by Peter Gibbons. There is a reason that this book was read so quickly, and that is because I had the blog tour post deadline. I had debated putting this book on the end of March’s list, but ultimately decided not to. Perhaps in hindsight, I should have, but what’s done is done.

Regardless of how quickly I had to read this book, I enjoyed it a lot. This is the fifth instalment of Peter Gibbons’ The Saxon Warrior series, so I had a solid interest in picking up this book in good time anyway. Although I’ll generally be taking part in fewer blog tours in the future, this series is one I would make an exception for as I want to keep up with it anyway.

I really enjoyed the action and, in particular, the character development of the protagonist in this latest instalment. I could waffle on about the book here; however, as it had a whole post dedicated to that, maybe you could go and take a look there?

 

Books Discovered

Unlike the rest of this Sunday Summary post, I only have a small update in terms of new books — there aren’t any!

 

Coming Up…

I can take a bit of a breather this week in terms of the blog schedule. I don’t have any commitments, so I can post the content I want, when I want.

My first post of the week will be a discussion post. It’s been a good while since I did one of those. This week, I want to feature some authors whose books I will always buy – and why!

On Friday, I’ll return with my usual Friday feature post, First Lines Friday. It’s been a few weeks since I shared my last instalment to the series, and I’m looking forward to picking out a new book to feature with a captivating introduction.

Finally, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the last post I’ll share with you will be a Sunday Summary update! Be sure to check in and find out which books I’ve read over the course of the week to get a feel for where I’m up to with progress on my April TBR. Until then, I hope you have a fabulous week and I will see you around.

Have a great week!

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Sunday Summary – 30th March 2025

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Happy Sunday friends – happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful and amazing women out there… But especially to my mum! Yes, I’m biased, but this is my corner of the Internet so I’m allowed to be…Today’s Sunday Summary post comes after a bit of a break. I decided to take most of this week off from blogging so I could enjoy the end of some annual leave I had taken from work. However, it was also so I had time for some of my other hobbies. Overall, reading progress has been a bit slower, with today being a bit of an exception to the rule.

Shall we take a look?

 

Books Read

Calamity

The only book I’ve progressed with this week is my audiobook listen of Calamity by Brandon Sanderson.

I didn’t pick up this book until around midway through this week once I was back to work. Before today I had only listened to a little less than two hours of this audiobook. Today, however, I’ve listened to over five hours solid!

In fact, as of this Sunday Summary post I only have 50 minutes left of this audiobook until completion. Given where we’re at in the storyline too, this will absolutely be finished in the next day or so! I’m at the final confrontation, or so I gather, so I’m excited to see how the book ends!


Books Discovered

On Thursday this week, I received a recommendation for a book called The Marriage Portrait. It has a bit of a feminine emphasis, or to use the recommender’s words, was more of a woman’s story. Having looked at the book, I’m familiar with some of the characters from history and I’m intrigued to take a look at it for myself.


Coming Up…

It feels like only five minutes ago we were starting 2025. However, next week it’s the beginning of April already. I’m going into a busy period at work, which is why I wanted a bit of a break from the blog beforehand. That’s not going to stop me from my usual schedule now I’m back.

Firstly, I’ll be sharing my monthly wrap-up for March 2025 on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week. In this post, I look back at the books I’ve read throughout the month just gone and catch you up with my reading progress versus my monthly TBR.

Next on the agenda will be my monthly TBR for April, which will go live on Friday. If you’re keen to see which books I intend to pick up in the next month, this post is to look out for.

On Sunday, there’s a slight change of schedule in that Sunday’s post will be a blog tour for Enemies of the Crown by Peter Gibbons. Taking part in this blog tour was a natural choice, as I’ve already read the prior books in the series to date and I would want to keep up with it anyway.

Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, I’ll schedule my Sunday Summary post to go live.

That’s all for me in today’s Sunday Summary – I hope you’ve had a good one and thanks for reading!

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Sunday Summary – 23rd March 2025

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Happy Sunday readers – welcome to this week’s instalment of my regular Sunday Summary feature! Have you picked up any good books lately? I sure have, but before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a minute to go through what else I’ve shared on my blog this week!

My first post of the week was a book review of the illustrated novel, Rise of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin. If you’re interested in the backdrop to the world of A Song of Ice and Fire (A Game of Thrones), this is the approachable edition. Should you like more hardcore lore, go for Fire and Blood instead. If you’re watching House of the Dragon, this is a fantastic book to explain events.

Next, in this week’s Shelf Control post, I feature a graphic novel retelling – The One Hundred Nights of Hero. It’s unlike a lot of books on my TBR, and it’s for that reason I want to give it a go!


Books Read


The Housemaid

Earlier this week, I finished the final couple of hours of audio of The Housemaid. It took a turn I wasn’t really expecting – and the ending was worth the wait!

I really enjoyed this thriller, and if this is a genre that appeals to you, please read this one. My favourite aspect was the characters and dynamics of the story so much. I wasn’t originally planning on picking up the subsequent series… but I am now!


Normal Women

Picking up where I left off last Sunday, I’ve read another 100 pages of Normal Women this week.

I like how the book recaps how the rights and living conditions of women change across time. The chapters are broken down into recognised periods of history and cover a broad range of topics affecting women. From  legal rights to how they had relationships with each other, Normal Women covers a wide spectrum.

This isn’t the type of book I can binge, so I’ve ended up reading this in multiple short bursts. However, I’m engaged to keep coming back, so I’ll be chipping away at this one in the next few weeks.


Calamity

Finally, I started my next audiobook. I recently listened to Firefight by Brandon Sanderson. Whilst events are fresh in my mind, I wanted to listen to Calamity and finish the trilogy.

So far I’m a little under 3 hours, or just shy of 25%, into the audio. I’m listening to the audiobook at x1.2 speed, so I’ve got just under 8 hours left to listen to.

I don’t think I’ll listen to a lot early next week as I’m off work. However, once I’m back into normal routine later in the week there will be opportunities to keep going and see if Calamity can live up to the rest of the series to date.


Books Discovered

The only book I’ve added this week is The Housemaid’s Secret, the sequel to The Housemaid. I’ve decided to stick with the audiobook format for the series and thankfully I had a credit I could use towards it.


Coming Up…

Next week, I’m leaning into enjoying my time off before another busy stretch at work. I’ve decided that next week’s posting schedule is going to be quite light.

I’ll be back this time next week for another Sunday Summary post, but that’s all. I’m going to enjoy the last few days of my annual leave without obligation to post here and pick up my reads and hobbies as much as I can. That way, I’m fully recharged to pick up again and catch you up on my latest reads in next week’s Sunday Summary.

Until next week, I hope you have a good one!

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Sunday Summary – 16th March 2025

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Good evening friends and welcome to another Sunday Summary! It’s been a fun week and I’ve picked up some good books.

Before we get into that though, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared this week. First, I shared a blog tour review of Woden’s Spear by Donovan Cook. It feels weird talking about this in this post because I drafted that post this time last week. However, it went live on Monday… so it counts.

Later in the week, I shared my First Lines Friday post. This week’s feature is one of my current reads. I decided to feature this book having started it this week and really enjoyed the book. The intro really caught my attention, even if I wasn’t reading this for book club, it would have made it onto my reading list anyway.


Books Read

 

A Promised Land

I’m pleased that I can finally report the completion of A Promised Land by Barack Obama this week!

It’s been an interesting read and opened my eyes to perspectives I didn’t imagine. If there was any book on my February TBR that I expected to not finish, it was this one. However, I’d say it was probably one that I enjoyed the most.


The Housemaid

After finishing listening to A Promised Land, I moved on to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.

This is our book club read for March, and I decided to pick it up in audio format as I’m getting through audiobooks a bit quicker than regular ones at the moment.

It’s been a good choice! Although I am spending a good deal of the narrative questioning the actions and reactions of some of the characters, it’s an interesting story. As of this Sunday Summary post, I have listened to the vast majority of The Housemaid and I only have a couple of hours also left.


Normal Women

I’ve picked up Normal Women a couple of times over the course of this week. I haven’t made a lot of progress with the book, but I have moved on from the 20-odd-pages I’d read last week to just over 100.

I like the idea of this book, and I’m looking forward to reading further into more familiar modern history. If you’re unfamiliar with the book, it looks at how women in society shaped Britain’s modern history, even when they were talked about in the history books. It’s not about the famous individuals, but rather women as a whole.


Books Discovered

I haven’t added anything new to the reading list this week, so nothing to update you on here!

 

Coming Up…

The first book post I share next week will be another book review. I confess that as of the point of drafting this post, I haven’t decided which book it is that I will feature all. However, it’s 25 to midnight locally; I’m not going to spend the time looking through my reading list to see what’s coming up next. It’ll be as much a surprise for you as it is for me! 😂

Friday, I’m back with my regular Friday feature, Shelf Control. In this series, I take a look at upcoming books on my reading list, and I’m excited to read them.

Finally, next week, I’m back with another Sunday Summary post. I’m excited to share some more bookish completions with you, so stay tuned!

A fairly quick update from me this week in the interest of time and getting this out on time.

What are you reading?

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