Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post! If you read last week’s you may remember that I was sort of addicted to a historical series: M J Porter’s The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles. There was one more on my list, so I read that first before taking a break from the series for a while…

The book was #05 in the series, Protector of Mercia. Here is the blurb:

“A deathbed oath leaves the lives of two infants hanging in the balance. Tamworth AD833 After successfully rescuing her husband from the Island of Sheppey, Icel hears the deathbed confession of Lady Cynehild which leaves him questioning what he knows about his past, as well as his future. In the unenviable position of being oath sworn to protect their two atheling sons when Lord Coenwulf is punished and banished for his treason against the Mercian ruler, King Wiglaf, Icel is once more torn between his oaths and the secret he knows. When the two children are kidnapped, Icel, good to his word, and fearing for their safety, pursues their abductors into the dangerous Northern lands, fearing to discover who is behind the audacious attempt on their the queen, the king’s son, or even Lady Ælflæd, a friend to him in the past, but now wed to the king’s son and aunt to the two abandoned children. Alone in the Northern lands, Icel finds himself facing his worse fears. Can he rescue the children from their captor, or will he fail and lose his life in the process?”

And this was my response written on the Goodreads site:

Protector of Mercia by M.J. Porter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another enjoyable and escapist read! I really liked the travelling aspect of this book and the motivation behind this, from Icel’s point of view. This brought something a little different to the story and showed new aspects of our hero’s character. The ending came along quite abruptly, however, but it seems that this particular arc is not yet over.

I will certainly continue with this series, but will now take a break.

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I have enjoyed the pure escapism of reading a series like this, whilst living a fairly stressful life! After this book, I decided to make a random choice and this is it…

This book came up on the Library’s ebook app: The Hideout by Camilla Grebe. The blurb was interesting, so I decided to download the ebook. Here is the blurb:

“The Hideout is an eerie psychological thriller from the award-winning Swedish bestselling author Camilla Grebe.

When 18-year old Samuel finds himself at the centre of a drug deal gone wrong, he is forced to go underground to escape the police and an infamous drug lord. Seeking refuge in a sleepy town in the Stockholm archipelago, he takes a job as a personal assistant to a disabled boy. But when Samuel moves in with the beautiful Rachel and her son Jonas in the remote house by the sea, he soon realizes that nothing is quite what it seems . . .

Meanwhile, the bodies of young men have been washing ashore in the archipelago and investigator Manfred Olsson fears that they have a killer on the loose.

Set against a sweltering summer backdrop, Camilla Grebe’s flawed characters come alive as a chilling tale unravels to reveal evil lurking in the most serene of surroundings.”

The book was another four star read – I seem to be making good choices at the moment! This was my short review:

The Hideout by Camilla Grebe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting and inventive book with a rather slow start. The pace eventually became faster as the plot climax came in sight and I became thoroughly gripped with my heart thumping in my chest!

The characters were varied and well drawn, with one who really irritated me until close to the end. I will definitely read more books by Camilla Grebe and am disappointed to see that this is currently the only one available on the library’s ebook catalogue.

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I do hope that all of you are reading fantastic books!

Happy reading to you all.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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