The 5 Books I Need to Read in the last 5 Months of 2020!

With five months left in 2020 *gulp* I want to make a small to-be-read pile of books that I’m determined to pick up before the year is over. I’m a massive mood reader but I thrive when I have a reasonable stack of priority books to read rather than trying to pick from all my books!

1324, Kilkennie: A time of suspicion and conspiracy. A place where zealous men rage against each other – and even more against uppity women
A woman finds refuge with her daughter in the household of a childhood friend.
The friend, Alice Kytler, gives her former companion a new name, Petronelle, a job as a servant, and warns her to hide their old connection.
But in aligning herself with a powerful woman, Petronelle and her child are in more danger than they ever faced in the savage countryside…

This book has featured on not one TBR post, not two TBR posts, but three TBR posts so really I need to actually read it. I really want to! I don’t know why I haven’t apart from my piles and piles of other books. I tend to lean more towards royalty in historical fiction. But the more I read about witches, the more I want to know the trials. I don’t know if these characters actually identify as witches but either way, I’ll hopefully learn more about the Kilkenny Witch Trial.

The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams*

Since this is a sequel, I won’t post the spoiler-y blurb but here’s my spoiler-free review for The Ninth Rain.

I loved The Ninth Rain with my heart and soul. The only reason I haven’t read this is just that I’m just a massive coward when it comes to both sequels and chunky books. I did not, as I said in my review, immediately pick up The Bitter Twins. I let it sit on my shelf. It doesn’t deserve that! And I deserve to read books that I know I’ll love!

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow*

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

This book hits a lot of the notes of things I enjoy: witches, suffragists and the late 19th century. I’ve picked this up a couple times but put it down because stress was getting in the way of my reading and I knew about ten pages in that this was something special. I want to savour it. But I also want to savour it soon!

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Born on the fringes of Bethel, Immanuelle does her best to obey the Church and follow Holy Protocol. For it was in Bethel that the first Prophet pursued and killed four powerful witches, and so cleansed the land.
And then a chance encounter lures her into the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel.
It is a forbidden place, haunted by the spirits of the witches who bestow an extraordinary gift on Immanuelle. The diary of her dead mother…
Fascinated by and fearful of the secrets the diary reveals, Immanuelle begins to understand why her mother once consorted with witches. And as the truth about the Prophets, the Church and their history is revealed, so Immanuelle understands what must be done. For the real threat to Bethel is its own darkness.
Bethel must change. And that change will begin with her…

Another witch book. I’ve created an accidental theme. This was a pre-order that I have stayed hyped for since ordering. Instead of letting it drift to the back of my mind, I checked the release date a bunch of times. Spirits? Diaries? Sinister churches? Count me in. Linda suggested I read this so I have high hopes!

Three Men on the Brummell by Jerome K. Jerome

Three Men on the Bummel records a break from the claustrophobia of suburban life some ten years later; their cycling tour in the Black Forest, at the height of the new bicycling craze, affords Jerome the opportunity for a light-hearted scrutiny of German social customs at a time of increasing general interest in a country that he loved. This account of middle-aged Englishmen abroad is spiced with typical Jeromian humour. 

I read Three Men on a Boat in February. It was actually my first time not listening to the abridged version of the audiobook… Although I did listen to that right after because Hugh Laurie does such a fantastic job. So the sequel has been one of those things that I’ve been absent-mindedly thinking about reading for a while now! 

What are you hoping to read in these last few months? Have you read any of my picks?