What I read on My Summer Vacation

How did these books end up in my suitcase?

Did you ever have to write an essay in school about what you did on your summer vacation? I’m pretty sure that we had to write at least one when I was in grade school. I read many more books during my trip to the UK than I’ve read in a while. I read five books and started a sixth. My reading increased partly due to long train rides and difficulty getting the television in my hotel room to work. I had planned to read only those books that were on my Kindle. That plan went out the window before I even left the United States with the first book I read on my trip. By the end of my first day in London, I’d bought a book.

Books that I read on my vacation

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally—I have had this book on my TBR pile since it came out last year. It’s the first book in the Lady Petra Investigates series. I wanted something light to read on the plane, and since this book is set in England, it seemed to be a fitting material. Lady Petra is beautiful, rich, and happy to be a spinster since the unfortunate death of her fiance. She doesn’t need to marry and is happy being independent, but her independence threatens a particular segment of society, namely the men. When ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of “melancholia” while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper—uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Lady Petra has reason to believe her friend is not dead, but a prisoner, her headstrong actions and thirst for independence are used to jeopardize her freedom. I enjoyed this book once it got going. It was Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie for sure. I liked Lady Petra, and I’m looking forward to her adventures in the future.

Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett is the third book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, in which Queen Elizabeth II solves mysteries and crimes. I enjoyed the first two books in the series. In the first three books, she's aided by her assistant private secretary, Rozie, who is ex-military and one of the few black people to work at the palace. I enjoyed seeing Rozie’s outsider view of the inner workings of the palace. It is December 2016 - A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's estate at Sandringham during Her Majesty’s Christmas break. Prince Philip makes a few brief appearances, but most of the Royal Family is kept off the pages unless they have something to reveal about the mystery. What I like about the books is that even though the reader gets inside the Queen’s head as she investigates, she’s still an enigma.

Game of Hearts: True Stories of Regency Romance by Felicity Day - I picked up this book while browsing the British History section in Waterstones in Piccadilly. Fans of the Bridgerton books and Jane Austen will love Felicity Day’s collection of true stories from women who lived and loved in Regency England. Many of the women, for example, Lady Caroline Lamb, are well-known, but many of the stories featured in the book were new to me. This book will be staying on my research shelves for the foreseeable future.

Different Aspects: A Memoir by Michael Ball - I’ve had a crush on Michael Ball since I saw him play Marius in Les Miserables in the West End. I’ve been lucky to see him play Raoul in Phantom of the Opera and Anatoly Sergievsky in Chess: The Musical. This memoir is more about his creating the role of Alex in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love and then returning to the show over thirty years later to play the role of George in the recent West End revival, which he spearheaded. If you love musical theatre and want to know what goes on behind the scenes regarding putting on a show, this book is for you.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - I picked up The Rose Code at the HNS UK Conference for two reasons: I like Kate Quinn, and I’ve been to Bletchley Park. I highly recommend a trip to Bletchley Park. It’s a beautiful day out, and the place is full of history. I got to see a demonstration of the Bombe, but I still couldn’t tell you how it all works. The Rose Code is about a beautiful blue-blooded debutante, a tart-tongued London shop-girl, and a shy crossword-solving spinster who join the war against Nazi Germany as codebreakers of Bletchley Park, only to find that the real puzzle lies inside the Park itself as a traitor sets them against each other in a betrayal reaching past the end of the war.

What books have you read lately on your vacation that you would recommend?