Space Station Mir

These have gotten a lot easier since joining book clubs! I still had to look up a few more though to see what else is coming out--there've been a couple of recent and upcoming new releases that I'm very excited about but waiting until I have time to read, since the book club reads have to come first. Happy Purim and happy St. Patrick's Day to those celebrating this week! Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books on My Spring 2022 TBR The German House by Annette Hess (Book club read for April)--I know, it made me think of The Dutch House too, but this is a totally different book, about the Frankfurt trials for SS personnel involved in Auschwitz, which took place in the 1960s. I didn't know about this, and I avoid Holocaust books these days since I've already read so many, but this sounds different, so it might be interesting. It's also originally written in German, translated to English. This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Wi

  Court of Venom drips with atmosphere, magic, and intrigue. The Middle Eastern fantasy setting and unique magic system reminded me of Tasha Suri's Empire of Sand , however, the protagonist, Badriya, is darker than Suri's Mehr. Partially blackmailed, partially driven by her own motivations into being the queen's assassin and the court's herbalist (for a price), when Badriya says she's full of poison, she doesn't mean it figuratively. The title is absolutely apt for this royal drama set in a lush yet venomous oasis amid a treacherous desert, and the tight cast of characters each surprise you in their own way.  I would highly recommend the book to Middle-Eastern-inspired fantasy fans, and I would happily read a sequel! Received for review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. 

The school year definitely has me back in its grip. I did a lot more Netflixing than reading this month, and when I did read, I started or continued a bunch of books that I have going, but I did manage to finish a few. Books Read This Month The Temple Scroll by Erez Hassul--Read my review here The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser--recently divorced mid-40s heroine inherits a house full of fancy books in Scotland with the requisite grumpy bookstore owner down the street.  The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (book club)--a novel with a contemporary and historical storyline, centered around the story of a formerly enslaved woman and "The Book of Lost Friends," newspaper ads where African American people tried to find their lost friends and family members in the years after the Civil War