Portobello Book Blog

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading one of my current library borrows. These Days by Lucy Caldwell is on the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

About the book

Two sisters. Four nights. One City.

April, 1941. Belfast has escaped the worst of the war – so far. Following the lives of sisters Emma and Audrey – one engaged to be married, the other in a secret relationship with another woman – as they try to survive the horrors of the Belfast Blitz, These Days is an unforgettable novel about lives lived under duress, about family, and about how we try to stay true to ourselves

What have you finished reading?

I’ve just finished The Old Bookshop of New Beginnings by Joanne Boden. I have a really fun guest post from her tomorrow so watch out for that. And I’ll be sharing my review of that book next week.

About the book

Can two lost souls find themselves in Little Bluewater Bay?
In the space of a single day, Harry Taylor achieves the impressive feat of losing a girlfriend, his London flat and his bookshop job. So, when his cousin Lucas invites him to his home in the seaside village of Little Bluewater Bay to recuperate, Harry jumps at the chance.
Beth Smith works at a diner and is quickly overstaying her welcome sleeping on her friend’s sofa. Overhearing a conversation about Little Bluewater Bay reminds her of better times, and she decides to throw caution to the wind and try her luck for happier memories in the coastal village.
Could a bookish business proposal and oldest new bookshop in Little Bluewater Bay lead to the new beginnings Beth and Harry so desperately need?

What will you read next?

Another bookshop themed read is up next I think – Something New at the Borrow a Bookshop by Kiley Dunbar. I read the first in the series earlier this year and really enjoyed it. This book is out tomorrow from Hera.

About the book

A fairytale ending isn’t just for fiction…

The Borrow-a-Bookshop is recovering, seven months on from the winter flood that destroyed all its stock, and the latest temporary bookseller, Joy Foley, arrives in Clove Lore with her daughter, five-year-old Radia Pearl. As a tech expert, she’ll be working on dragging the Bookshop into the twenty-first century.

But what no one knows is that Joy is running from Radia Pearl’s father. She can’t settle down here or anywhere … moving on is how she stays safe. So when Radia befriends Monty Bickleigh, ex-fisherman and the new cook at The Siren’s Tail pub, despite herself, Joy finds herself growing closer to him, and the quirky community of Clove Lore.

While Joy settles in to the bookshop, Araminta Clove-Congreve, local lady of the Manor, is finding running her new wedding business harder than anticipated. She needs to hire a chief wedding planner, and fast – and Joy’s family may have the answer.

As Joy finds her heart softening by the magic of Clove Lore, can her new friends – and Monty – be enough to convince Joy to stop running and find a new life?

So that’s WWW Wednesday complete. Have you read any of these books? Do any catch your fancy? Let me know in the comments and if you take part yourself, pop a link to your post in the comments too. I do like to see what everyone is reading!