Setting up a new series of reading for 2024

 As this year is soon drawing to a close(not fast enough for some folks, I’m sure!), plans for the new year are about to be implemented and for this blog, one big change will be both a beginning and and a temporary ending to a regular feature here.

For now, however, let’s wrap the tail end of my Series-ous Reading , which had me read five of Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness historical cozy mystery novels.

 Starting with Crowned and Dangerous, then going to On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service followed by Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (yes, there is definitely a wedding!) with Love and Death Among the Cheetahs and finishing up with The Late Mrs. Summers, my adventures with Georgiana “Georgie “ Rannoch /O’Mara have been quite the giddy trip indeed.

For those unfamiliar with this series, it’s set in 1930s England for the most part with Georgie being the thirty fifth member of the royal bloodline in line for the throne yet having to make her own way in the world due to not wanting to marry someone “suitable “ out of obligation.

While occasionally dealing with murders that fall her way(plus various secret tasks for the queen), Georgie has to deal with obnoxious relatives, her globe trotting mother and a delightfully ditzy maid named Queenie. Also, she falls in love with Darcy O’Mara, a nobleman with as little money as herself who goes on mysterious errands for king and country.

What I’ve always liked about these books is the screwball comedy vibes within the various plots, with the humor being aimed at both upper and lower levels of society.

However , these last few entries have given plenty of character development to supporting players such as Belinda,Georgie’s best gal pal who went through an experience involving a secret relationship that appears to have matured her outlook on love(for the most part) and even Queenie has gained solid skills as a cook that moves her up in the world (although not without a slip up or two there).

In addition, Georgie herself has gone from a shy young miss to being strong enough to stand up to bullies of all sorts and pursue justice for the recently deceased, regardless of risk or rank. While I may take a break from this series (I did just finish one more HRS title, God Rest Ye, Merry Noblemen, kind of extra credit , I guess) do recommend it for those looking for an engaging romp into the past that can reflect on the present at times:

Now for the big announcement: my Series-ous Reading is taking a hiatus next year . Instead, my regular reading challenge will be to read three sets of trilogies within a year and it’s going to be called Trilogy Time.

I’m also giving myself prompts for this challenge, the first being to read an author that I haven’t read before and for that, my choice is Nora Roberts and her Irish Born trilogy, starting with Born in Fire.

The books chronicle a trio of sisters, Margaret Mary, Brianna and Shannon, who find their true purpose as well as true love in their lives. Granted, I was once a serious snob about this genre(and Roberts in particular) but hopefully, I have gotten over such nonsense and willing to discover what so many others have enjoyed with Nora Roberts on page:

My next prompt is to reread a trilogy, which was tricky to decide upon but ultimately, I chose Adriana Trigiani’s Valentine novels.

The first one, Very Valentine,introduced me to Trigiani’s lively writing along with her zesty leading lady who wants to continue the tradition of making handcrafted shoes that gave her family a foothold in America when they first arrived to this country.

Learning from her beloved Gram the dedication it takes to create unique footwear while battling with her brother over selling their family’s iconic storefront, Valentine happens to fall in love with Roman, a rather appetizing chef yet on a buying trip to Italy, her eye is caught by Gianluca-and that’s just part one!

I’ve read other works by Trigiani(one of my favorites is Lucia,Lucia) and plan to read one of her newer books next year but revisiting this set of sweet and savvy stories will be a real pleasure for me:

For my last prompt, the challenge is to finish a trilogy and I’m sure some of you are wondering what would stop you from doing just that?

Well, during a sad time in my life, Cornelia Funke released Inkheart and this tale of a young girl and her father having a magical connection with books was like the porridge that Goldilocks chose, just right.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had two more books in mind and while I did read the second , Inkspell, the third one , Inkdeath, has been languishing on my TBR for a good long while now.

I plan to change that but of course, need to reread the other two first(which is why this set is going last). Since I do want to read more fantasy in the new year, this will help a lot. Should be a good way to wrap up this challenge and perhaps inspire more to come:

While all of my reading resolutions for this year didn’t go off quite as well as I planned, at least I did finish Alison Weir’s Six Queens series of books(looking forward to her novel about “Bloody Mary “ Tudor due out in the spring!) and still working on my Jane Austen journey of nonfiction there.

Making resolutions can be daunting but I think that if you’re willing to be flexible when necessary and take your time with certain goals, you can achieve plenty there. 

This trilogy challenge, for example ,is going to be done seasonally (starting with Nora Robert’s this winter into early spring) with check in posts every so often. Trying to keep things fun as well as functional.

One thing that we all can pledge to do next year is to stay positive about what lies ahead of us and focus our energies on making things better for all in need. That’s not going to be easy, no doubt about it, but I do think that we are capable of more than we truly know and can fight the good fight honorably.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year of reading and life in 2024 and happy to see more good things on and off page for us all together: