Mailbox Monday #8

 Another happy Monday! We had a weekend that moved violently between beautifully sunny and dreadfully grey, but I had a lovely meet-up with a friend and did some great reading. I also finally managed to finish up my review for Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley, so that will be up later today! I'm currently doing double the normal course load at university so I am very much swamped with readings and deadlines, but I hope I can squeeze in more reviewing in the next few weeks as well! I'm trying to slow down on requesting too many books as well since it's becoming serious time for me to trim my NetGalley shelf!

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It is hosted weekly over at Mailbox Monday and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads!

The Spires by Kate Moretti (Thomas & Mercer, 09/21/2021)

Strung between two teenagers, an unemployed husband, and a tenuous career, Penelope Cox barely has her life together when the past comes knocking at her door. Willa Blaine, her old roommate, needs her help: refuge from an abusive husband. “Two weeks tops,” she says—but it’s not the imposition that bothers Penelope; it’s the memories Willa brings with her.

Twenty years earlier, Penelope, Willa, and three friends lived together in a converted church. Insular and closed off from the rest of the world, the five roommates formed their own dysfunctional family, celebrating the pinnacle of their lives; they called themselves “the Spires.” But nights of wild parties gave way to a darker undercurrent: jealousy, resentment, unrequited love, and obsession. Tensions boiled over during a night of debauchery that ended in a deadly fire, leaving the Spires scattered and forever changed.

Now Willa is the perfect houseguest: accommodating, helpful, bringing a newfound sense of excitement to the Cox household. Yet Penelope can’t help but feel the cracks in her life widen as she begins to question Willa’s motives. Everyone has secrets, it seems—and the fire may have brought down the Spires, but not everything burned was forgotten.

There is something about the hidden past of a group of friends that haven't seen each other in decades. You just now sh*t went down and I can't wait to see what the Spires got up to!  

The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega, illustr. by Neil Max Emmanuel (Icon Books, 09/14/2021)

The Middle Ages: A Graphic History busts the myth of the ‘Dark Ages’, shedding light on the medieval period’s present-day relevance in a unique illustrated style.

This history takes us through the rise and fall of empires, papacies, caliphates and kingdoms; through the violence and death of the Crusades, Viking raids, the Hundred Years War and the Plague; to the curious practices of monks, martyrs and iconoclasts. We’ll see how the foundations of the modern West were established, influencing our art, cultures, religious practices and ways of thinking. And we’ll explore the lives of those seen as ‘Other’ – women, Jews, homosexuals, lepers, sex workers and heretics.

Join historian Eleanor Janega and illustrator Neil Max Emmanuel on a romp across continents and kingdoms as we discover the Middle Ages to be a time of huge change, inquiry and development – not unlike our own.

Hi, it's me, you're friendly local medievalist, ready to tell you about another book on the Middle Ages! But this one is a graphic history so I'm verryyy excited for it. 

The Bridesmaid by Nina Manning (Boldwood Books, 05/27/2021)

Your best friend. Your worst nightmare...
From the moment they met as children, Sasha knew that beautiful, wealthy, and confident Caitlin would always be her absolute best friend. Sasha would do anything to make Caitlin happy.

Even keep her darkest secrets…

The years have passed, but their friendship remains. And when Caitlin announces she’s getting married there is only one choice for the role of bridesmaid. Sasha will make sure Caitlin’s wedding is as beautiful and perfect as she is. Won’t she?

But as the big day approaches, cracks begin to appear. Because no matter what Sasha does, she never seems to make Caitlin happy.

And the secrets that once bound these two friends, now threaten to rip them apart for good...

Aaah best friends, weddings, secrets, and hopes for happiness, the perfect combination of themes to create a tense novel. I hope this will be a perfect way to distract myself and unwind come summer!

Those are my reads! Aside from that I've been listening to The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan on Audible while taking walks through my local park, which has been amazing. What books did you find in your mailbox?