November Goodreads Update Pt. 1

We are halfway through the month (basically) and I have added several thinds to my TBR. Let's get those out of the way before it gets too out of hand.

A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge - To paraphrase a Chinese Curse: May you publish in interesting times. This is definitely an interesting time to publish a book about the English monarch dying at Balmoral Castle. In the book, the monarch in question is King Eric who dies of poisoning just before officially naming his successor. All hell breaks loose and only the chef is composed enough to find out who did it.

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell - This is a brand new YA historical fiction book about Mr. Rochester's ward, Adele. After she is sent to boarding school in London, she sees how men treat women and gets together with a con woman to exact justice on bad men. It sounds a lot like Jane Slayre, but with a different protagonist.

Sirius: The Story of a Little Dog Who Almost Changed History by Jonathan Crown - This is fiction. The story was dictated by Mr. Crown by his dog, Louis, Sirius' grandson, which, considering that the events of this book took place over 80 years ago and the average dog lifespan is about 12 years, seems unlikely. But it promises to be a cute story.

Prize for the Fire by Rilla Askew - This is also fiction, but Anne Askew (the main character) was a real person. It is set in Reformation England and Anne is married to a cruel man in the place of her sister who died instead. Anne had a lot of strikes against her as an independent, literate, Reformist woman. Rilla Askew is an Oklahoma author, who usually writes about Oklahoma. I like the ones I've read and I'm interested to see how she writes about a new setting.

The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Dynasty by Natalie Livingstone - I learned a lot about this family just from reading the summary of this book. Like, I didn't realize that they weren't in the U.S. until the 20th century. I thought they were all mixed up with the Vanderbilts and all those types. And I love a book about the women behind the famous men.

Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen - Here's the set up: Andy Mills has just lost his job on the San Francisco Police Department because he was caught in a raid on a gay bar, and it's the 50s. He takes a job at Lavender House investigating the death of the family matriarch whose recipes for fragrant soaps are highly guarded secrets. But the family at Lavender House is different. The matriarch's widow is actually married to man who is partnered with a woman whose partner is actually another woman. It's all very legal, but everyone in the household is gay. And one of them might be a murderer.

Portable Magic: The History of Our Love Affair With Books by Emma Smith - The title comes from a Stephen King quote: Books are a uniquely portable magic. The subtitle sells this one for me. It's about books and reading. Sign me up.

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson - Lettice Davenport (think Agatha Christie) wrote a series of mysteries about Dahlia Lively. There is a fan convention at the upscale Aldemere hotel. The original actress from the movie about the first book is there. The actress who played Dahlia on the TV show is there. As well as the girl who is set to play her in a movie reboot. But when people start dying, the actresses have to become real detectives.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - I have been avoiding putting this on my list for a long time. Despite the fabulous cover, I just didn't see myself enjoying it. It's about a girl whose mother has been exiled to the moon by the Celestial Emperor who doesn't know about our girl. Once her magic starts up, she has to run away to the Celestial Kingdom and hide out while learning how to use magic in order to save her mother by challenging the Celestial Emperor.

Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice by Vanessa Zoltan - My sister found this at a bookstore in Santa Fe we were visiting this weekend. I snatched it out of her hands and bought it. Oops. Anyway, another book about books and reading? Gimme.

I'm pretty glad I didn't let this list sit until the end of the month. It could get pretty hairy if I keep adding books the way I am.