all these tales untold

Synopsis: It’s December 1805, and Eliza Hamilton is determined to seek justice. One young woman is dead, another has vanished—both residents of a house where Eliza’s friend, Alice, lives among other craftswomen struggling to survive in a city unforgiving toward widows and orphans.

With no help from the constabulary because the young woman’s body was found in a bad part of town–and was dressed as a man–Eliza vows to protect the women and uncover the truth. She suspects a connection between the death and the disappearance, especially given that the young lady who disappeared went missing while searching for the woman who was later found dead.

As Eliza traces their last known steps, she unearths a hidden world of dangerous secrets lurking beneath the city—secrets that could tear apart everything she holds dear.

I first stumbled across this series when I discovered the first book, The Lace Widow, as a freebie on Libro.fm as part of their Librarian ALC Program. When I first saw it, I was drawn to it immediately. Being a Hamilton nut, there was no way I was going to turn down a story starring everyone's favorite philanthropist and Founding Mother. I found it engaging and well-written, and was happy to see all of the hints that it might only be the first in a series of other adventures for Eliza.

This second book seems to take place a little over a year after the first one, which occurred in the weeks after the death of Eliza's husband in the infamous duel. In that book, we saw Eliza engulfed in a mystery while still deep in the first throes of grief for her Hamilton. Now, some time has passed, and it seems that the story is picking up on some of the threads established in the first book, notably the character of Alice and the group of craftswomen that she resides with in New York City, struggling to live and make a living in time when there were few, if any, resources for the assistance of widows and/or orphans.

Very much looking forward to the next installment in Eliza's adventures!

Reading Options: Check with your local library! Depending on your library's resources, you may have your choice in format - print, ebook, or audio. Also, since this book is still some months off of its release date, you might even suggest it to your library for purchase!

Purchasing Options: Bookshop.org (print & ebook) | Libro.fm (audio)

October 2025 Reading Stats

Total Number of Books: 11

Total Number of Pages/Hours Read: 1,717 pages | 61 hrs, 5 min

Total Number of Formats Read: Audio: 6 | Ebook: 1 | Print: 4

Library vs. Owned: L: 9 | O: 2

Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Fiction: 8 | Nonfiction: 3

Reading Levels: Adult: 10 | Juv: 0 | YA: 1

Average Rating: 4.00

Favorite Book of the Month: Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who

Reading Challenge Updates

1. Audiobook Challenge

Books Read This Month: 1. Island of the Mad, by Laurie R. King (Sept 28-Oct 3) 2. Doctor Who: The Last Days of the Powell Estate, by Timothy X. Atack (Oct 4) 3. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman (Oct 6-10) 4. Riviera Gold, by Laurie R. King (Oct 4-15) 5. Castle Shade, by Laurie R. King (Oct 15-23) 6. The Lantern's Dance, by Laurie R. King (Oct 24-28)

Total Read Towards Goal: 69/75 books

2. Historical Fiction Challenge

Books Read This Month: 1. Island of the Mad, by Laurie R. King 2. Riviera Gold, by Laurie R. King 3. Castle Shade, by Laurie R. King 4. The Lantern's Dance, by Laurie R. King

Total Read Towards Goal: 35/25 books

3. Library Love Challenge

Books Read This Month: 1. Island of the Mad, by Laurie R. King 2. The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, ed. by Lesley S. Klinger, et al (Sept 28-Oct 3) 3. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman 4. Riviera Gold, by Laurie R. King 5. The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (Oct 3-21) 6. Castle Shade, by Laurie R. King 7. The Lantern's Dance, by Laurie R. King 8. The Presence, by Heather Graham (Oct 15-26) 9. Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who, ed. by Deborah Stanish & L.M. Myles ()

Total Read Towards Goal: 21/40 books (Autumn Semester)

4. Print Challenge

Books Read This Month: 1. The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, ed. by Leslie S. Klinger, et al 2. The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs, by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa 3. Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf, by Jody Houser (Oct 23-24) 4. Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who, ed. by Deborah Stanish & L.M. Myles

Total Read Towards Goal: 52/60 books

My Thoughts

Absolutely delighted to have finished my reread of the Mary Russell series! It's been some years since I last did so, and doing it again now has reminded me of why I enjoy the series so much! Russell is a character after my own heart - intelligent, witty (and a bit of a smartass at times), fiercely independent, and just that cool tbh.

I'm continuing my Sherlock Holmes pastiche survey for a while, having put a few of them on my TBR list. I just recently started listening to Anthony Horowitz's The House of Silk. We'll see how that and the others turn out in comparison.

I'm also continuing to delve into Doctor Who stories. I pre-ordered Big Finish's latest series of the Ninth Doctor Adventures, particularly since this series stars not only Christopher Eccleston, but the delightful Billie Piper who has returned as Rose Tyler, my first and forever favorite Companion. Big Finish is giving me more Nine & Rose adventures, all seemingly set after the events of Father's Day (total angstfest that) and before the two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, where Rose and Nine adopt a certain barely-housebroken Time Agent. Big Finish is giving me more of these two, something that I've longed for ever since the first time I watched Series One and watched Nine regenerate far too soon (no matter how much I adore David Tennant and the Tenth Doctor).

In addition to the audio dramas, I'm also reading various essay compilations written about both New and Classic Who characters/episodes/seasons/whathaveyou. Chicks Unravel Time was brilliant, and actually made my favorite read of the month.

On another track, I've got a few audiobooks on hold that also sound interesting - Joanna Hickson's The House of Seymour, Rachel Parris' Introducing Mrs. Collins, and Tracy Borman's The Stolen Crown. Two books about medieval/Renaissance England (one fiction, one nonfiction), and a third a Pride and Prejudice pastiche that I'm super curious about. A chance for Charlotte Lucas to have a happy ending? Count me in!

Here's a look at my October 2025 Library Love!

The library is a great place to pick up new and old releases in books, movies, manga, audiobooks, magazines, and more. Check out the $$ I saved in the library books/audiobooks that I finished this month!

October Savings: $131.66 (audio) + $85.58 (print/ebook) = $217.24 Audiobook prices come from Libro.fm, while print and ebook prices come from Bookshop.org, or the book publisher's website.

Title: Mary Russell series, by Laurie R. King Series Length: 19 books (as of June 2025)

I first discovered this series in July 2017 thanks to a conversation with a coworker. We were chatting about books we'd been reading recently and I mentioned that I'd just finished listening to the collective stories of Sherlock Holmes on audio - quite an undertaking, with 4 novels and 56 short stories to get through. My coworker asked me if I'd heard of the Mary Russell series, and I said that I hadn't. The description he gave me about the series left me intrigued enough that I decided to check out the first book in the series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, and take it with me on my approaching vacation. The memoirs of a young woman who the author based off of the question, "What would Sherlock Holmes look like if he were a woman, born in the 20th century, and was interested in theology?" Here we have it, in the form of a series of memoirs written primarily from the main character's perspective.

The first book opens with fifteen-year-old Mary Russell, a half-American, half-British girl walking across the Sussex Downs - her nose buried in a book, something that immediately endeared her to me because that is something I would definitely do if I lived in any kind of countryside that permitted such a thing without getting hit by a car - when she almost steps on an older gentleman who seems to be out hunting honey bees.

Said older gentleman turns out to be Sherlock Holmes.

I was absolutely enthralled with the first book, so much that I had finished by the time I returned home and instantly set out to request the next several installments from the library.

My journey into Russell's memoirs continued to fascinate me. The second book alone floored me with the development of Russell and Holmes relationship, which led to their marriage in the end. I know this turned out to be controversial with a lot of readers for a variety of reasons - Holmesian/Sherlockian purists disliked the idea of Holmes marrying anyone, for one, but also the fact that Holmes had been a mentor and even substitute father figure to Russell since she was fifteen years old. That alone makes for dynamics that would make any modern reader cringe. The key word here is 'modern'. To see where Russell and Holmes are coming from in their reasons for marrying, one has to look at the society and timeframe in which they live. It's the early 1920s, and while the Great War did much to liberate society from previous strictures that had held sway for years (it's not called the Roaring Twenties for nothing, folks), many of those strictures still held some power. Reputations, particularly for women, mattered. While she was under age, Russell and Holmes could get away with many of their antics. She could visit him with impunity at his home because Mrs. Hudson was present and served, ostensibly, as a chaperone. Never mind that Russell and Holmes would often depart the home on their own adventures. The appearance of propriety was observed. However, once Russell reached her majority and came into her inheritance, there would be the societal expectation that she would put childish things aside and act as an appropriate adult. This would include the establishment of some measure of decorum between her and her interactions with men, including Holmes. This would mean that their crime/mystery-solving days would have to come to an end.

This, of course, is unacceptable to both of them. Both parties have come to rely on one another, become a part of each other, and, yes, even love each other. Russell and Holmes are very logical individuals. When faced with all of these facts, they look for a solution that allows them to maintain their reputations and also their friendship. The obvious solution? Marriage. As a married couple, they can both do as they please, together or apart, and no one will say a word. Of course, just because it seems straightforward doesn't mean that it is. Even for these two brilliant individuals, and there is still drama and a great deal of soul-searching to contend with.

After A Monstrous Regiment of Women, we have a time gap of about two-and-a-half years before the third book, A Letter of Mary. From that point, Russell and Holmes are off on one adventure after another, with barely much of a break in-between. This is all so tightly plotted that Ms. King even has a chronology for the series posted on her website here. I freely admit it's one I look at quite often, to keep things straight in my head.

Books Three through Six detail a series of adventures that, with the exception of Book Five O Jerusalem (which is actually a flashback to the time of The Beekeeper's Apprentice), keep Russell and Holmes hard at work on cases within Britain. The Moor even takes the reader back to Dartmoor, the site of one of Holmes' most famous cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Book Six, Justice Hall, reintroduces not only characters from O Jerusalem, but also expertly brings home some of the many tragedies of the Great War. I have read that installment three times, and each time I was brought to tears, no matter if I was reading the text or listening to the audio.

Books Seven and Eight send Russell and Holmes abroad for the first time since the events of O Jerusalem. Book Seven, The Game, brings them to India, in search of a lost, long-time agent for the British government who has his own measure of fame similar to Holmes, being the subject of well-known book. Here we see Holmes and Russell immersing themselves deep into the culture of India for a time, though, interestingly enough, Russell eventually ends up almost jumping back and forth to different identities - from a common traveler to a European visitor to even her own (nonexistent mind you) twin brother!

Book Eight, Locked Rooms, is perhaps one of the most pivotal books in the series, as Russell and Holmes travel to San Francisco, Russell's own childhood home and the site of her greatest loss - that of her parents and younger brother, who had been killed in a car accident that left her as the only survivor. Here we delve into Russell's past, and even her own mind, as she begins to uncover and remember things that had either eluded her conscious mind or had been buried deeply by the trauma she'd suffered. It is also in this book that we are first introduced to Holmes' own point of view within the stories. The first, but by no means the last.

Books Nine and Ten, The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive, are essentially a two-part story. No sooner have Russell and Holmes arrived home from their long sojourn that they have a visitor, this time from Holmes' own past - his illegitimate son with the famous, late Irene Adler, Damian. The young man's troubles immediately suck Holmes in, and although Russell lingers back a while, she too becomes intimately involved in her stepson's problems, particularly when the search for Damian's missing wife and young daughter quickly balloons into so much more. The God of the Hive picks up immediately on the heels of its predecessor and suddenly Damian's problems are only one symptom of a wider conspiracy within the British Government, one aimed directly at the seemingly immovable Mycroft Holmes.

I will say, the first time I read these two books? I recall not caring for them quite as much as the ones that came before. However, upon rereading them this year, I actually enjoyed them much, much more. The thriller aspect was spot on - you've got murder, religious fanaticism, political intrigue, corruption. It's all packed into one incredible story and my opinion was much improved.

Books Eleven and Twelve see Russell and Holmes again going abroad - and with barely more than a week of a breather from the events of the previous book, no less! I will say, Pirate King is perhaps the strangest book in the series, and Russell herself says that the events of the book are so outlandish that she would take no offense if people were to dismiss it as fiction. Garment of Shadows brings the reader back into the swing of things, though, with more political intrigue and the return of some previously introduced characters.

Book Thirteen, Dreaming Spies, is actually a dual time-period story. The first half of the book takes place back during the period between The Game and Locked Rooms, where Russell and Holmes make a stop in Japan after leaving India but before they cross the Pacific to San Francisco. There they are both the students of a new culture - novelty for Russell, since she is more accustomed to Holmes already having a deep familiarity of the culture of wherever they are visiting - and are brought into contact with some very august personages who have some very troubling problems on their hands. The second half of the book takes place in the 'present' (that is, after the events of Garment of Shadows), which then proceeds to wrap up the case that was left so unsatisfyingly dealt with back in Japan.

Book Fourteen, The Murder of Mary Russell, is next. I have to say, this book is another one of my favorites in the series. Here we learn the backstory of the redoubtable Mrs. Hudson, known throughout the world as Holmes' landlady during his Baker Street days and who now serves as Holmes and Russell's housekeeper in Sussex. King crafts an ingenious story about Mrs. Hudson's background, one that is perhaps, say, more colorful than one might assume. The sins of the past return to haunt both Mrs. Hudson and Holmes, but it may be Russell who pays the price.

This last run of the series features yet more traveling for Russell and Holmes. Island of the Mad (Book 15) takes them to the glorious City of Canals on the trail of a vanished aunt of one of Russell's friends. Venice is its romantic self, so much that even Russell herself falls under its spell a bit, though not without the rude wakeup calls to the growing presence of Mussolini's blackshirts within the city's confines. Fascism is on the rise everywhere, as we know of the 1920s.

Book 16, Riviera Gold, takes us to Monte Carlo on the Riviera to catch up with Mrs. Hudson and a score of other problems (naturally). Book 17, Castle Shade, brings Russell and Holmes into the employ of Queen Marie of Romania owing to some rising tensions at her personal castle retreat. Oh, and the possible threat of vampires.

Book 18, The Lantern's Dance, brings us back to the personal once again as Russell and Holmes travel to France on their way home, to visit Damian Adler and his family. They arrive to find the family gone and seemingly under threat. Holmes races after them, leaving an injured Russell to mount some kind of defense of the Adler home - only to discover some well-hidden secrets about Holmes' own family.

Finally, the latest book, Knave of Diamonds, sees Russell and Holmes return to England. Here, Russell is approached by her late father's ne'er-do-well younger brother, Jake Russell, about a case that brought scandal to a government and even confounded her own husband - the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels. There is much dashing about in this story, but at least it is kept within the confines of the British Isles (though Russell and her stomach thank absolutely no one for having to make multiple sea crossings between Ireland and England).

As you can see, this series is a long one! Nineteen books, and this doesn't even cover the short stories that serve as companions, many of which (though not all) can be found published together under the title of Mary Russell's War. Laurie R. King has crafted a tightly plotted series (again, I refer you to the chronology linked above), with so much action in it that at this point, I would not be shocked if she were to write a short story where Russell takes a week to herself and goes someplace absolutely quiet where absolutely nothing happens, just so she can get a little rest!

There is so much that happens in these books, it's impossible to categorize or discuss it all here. Russell and Holmes skirt along through the era of the 1920s, seeing or at least glimpsing history in the making. Their adventures are harrowing at times, and yet underneath it all, there are themes we know so well. Family, in all its varieties, has an immense presence within the series. The loss of family, the bonds of a found or chosen family, familial conflict are just a few things that intersect in the lives of Russell and Holmes, and it's amazingly and touchingly written.

Long though it is, I can't recommend this series enough! For a series that began its run in the mid 1990s, it has aged remarkably well. The stories are wonderful, the characters fascinating, and it's overall an utter joy to take part in! I will say, however, if a long series like this isn't for you, then at least take the time to read the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, which works magnificently as a standalone.

Reading Options: Check out your local library! Depending on your library’s resources, you may have a choice of formats, including print, audio, or ebook.

Purchasing Options: Given the number of books in this series, I'm going to just provide you with the series list here. If you're interested in purchasing the series, I recommend Bookshop.org or Libro.fm, depending on your format preference.

Synopsis: Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean, in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house―a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed.

After Sonya, her boyfriend, Trey, and their friends are forced to hear, see―and feel―the suffering of the house’s many ghosts as their torment is reenacted by the evil presence, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story, putting the picture together, unearthing small treasures, and uncovering the moments of joy that existed among the sorrows. She’s determined to bring light to this haunted place―to fill it with people, with life and hope, once again.

But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover, to come at her in frightening forms. They may be illusions―but illusions can be powerful enough to wound and kill. She feeds on fear, and lies are her weapon. This dark-hearted witch wants to be mistress of Poole Manor, at any cost. And Sonya will need to fight a battle across two realms to finally take possession of the house on the clifftop―and of her own future…

Nora Roberts, I think, needs no introduction. She's known worldwide for her romance novels and also for her science fiction work, which she publishes under the pen name J.D. Robb. I myself have never been all that much into romance, but in April 2024 I stumbled across the first book in the trilogy, Inheritance, and read the synopsis which included things like Long Lost Relations, Unexpected Inheritances, Rambling Old Mansions, and picturesque Maine seaside villages. Oh, and the ghosts. Mustn't forget about them.

All of these things caught my attention, and I thought, "Okay, I can give this a whirl, and just grit my teeth through the romance that is sure to crop up."

I had no idea what I was in for. I borrowed a copy of the book from my library via the Libby app and was immediately sucked in, thanks in large part to the narrator, Brittany Pressley. Sonya captured my sympathy from the very start, going through a rough time in the first several chapters. I adored her best friend, Cleo, and her lovely, supportive mom, Winter. I particularly liked that Sonya wasn't a believer in the supernatural from the beginning, but was in fact highly skeptical of the concept and had to go through a long period of denial before finally reaching a measure of acceptance. I also loved Sonya having to process the fact that her father, whom she knew had been adopted and had grown up an only child, did in fact have a large, extended biological family that he had been cut off from as an infant. These journeys made the story all feel more real.

The Poole family history was equally fascinating and tragic. Each of the characters, in particular the Lost Brides, were distinct and unique. Astrid, Catherine, Marianne, Agatha, Lisbeth, Clover, and Johanna - seven names for seven women whose lives were stolen from them. We learn their individual stories throughout Inheritance and the second book in the trilogy, The Mirror.

I was also quite surprised to find myself enjoying the romance that, as I thought, did crop up. Roberts handled the romance with real class, building the relationship slowly, organically, and then when it reached its foregone conclusion - sex, that is - it was done very tastefully, which was a real relief for me. In that regard, I'd give Inheritance a PG-13 rating. The Mirror did ratchet it up a bit, so I'd bump that one up to an R in terms of adult content.

In the end, I loved Inheritance so much that I actually ended up listening to it a second time in November, in the lead up to The Mirror's release. Then I listened to both books (third for Inheritance, second for The Mirror) earlier this year. I have a feeling that this trilogy is going to be one that I come back to again and again.

So after two fantastic books, I am literally chomping at the bit to get my hands on the third book when it comes out in mid-November. Thankfully, because of my participation in the National Book Foundation's Summer Reading Adventure challenge this year, I earned a credit for a free audiobook from Libro.fm and used to to pre-order a copy of The Seven Rings, which I will get right on its release date!

Reading Options: Check out your local library! Depending on your library's resources, you may have multiple borrowing options, including print, ebook, or audio.

Synopsis: Triumph and tragedy, love and loss, murder and malice in the lives of five fifteenth-century queens.

The fifteenth century was a turbulent the Hundred Years War between England and France, and the Wars of the Roses dominated the lives of people both inside and out of the royal courts.

Joan of Navarre, Katherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Wydeville and Anne Neville were the queens who stood by England's sovereigns, caught up in wars that changed the course of their lives, and the course of history.

They were also formidable women who defied the limitations of their times, often living out the brutal consequences of their determination.

Alison Weir uncovers their stories in this final volume of her ground-breaking series on the queens of medieval England. Queens at War is a stunning culmination of research by a historian at the full extent of her powers and gripping account of five women on the throne.

I've enjoyed Alison Weir's nonfiction works since I was a teenager going through the first throes of my Tudor Obsession. I first read her book The Six Wives of Henry VIII when I was a freshman in high school. It was enough to keep me invested in her scholarly works over the years and while I may not always agree with some of her conclusions, I have an enormous respect for the work she puts in in writing these works.

I've been following her England's Medieval Queens series for several years. I was delighted that Weir was taking the time to research and invest time in some of the Queens of England that had barely been more than a footnote in the country's histories, like Adeliza of Louvain, the second wife of Henry I of England. Weir did an amazing job teasing information out of sources both well-known and obscure to give us a more complete picture of the lives of these women and the impact they had in the realms of politics, the arts, and other such spheres of influence. These women were not decorative. They were active within the wider royal court, they were doing things, and Weir is excellent in finding out just what they did, and rendering it into a well-organized, highly readable format.

Reading Options: Check out your local library! Depending on your library's resources, you may have multiple borrowing options, including print, ebook, or audio.

Synopsis: The King of Tyre is dead, his final words anointing his clever and strong-willed daughter, Elissa, as the new queen until his young son, Pygmalion, comes of age. But betrayal and danger soon haunt Elissa, and she is forced to flee the kingdom - exiled with a band of loyal followers and a broken heart.

After an arduous search for a new home, Elissa and her people settle in North Africa, and she is crowned Queen Dido: the ferocious and devoted ruler of her newly established city of Carthage. Soon a powerful trading hub, Carthage thrives under Dido's governance.

But when a band of Trojan survivors, led by the valiant Aeneas, washes up on a nearby shore, Queen Dido is reminded of a promise she made long ago, never to trust or to love another again. Can Dido overcome her past and open herself - and her city - up to Aeneas, or is their love doomed to burn everything to the ground?

We know the story - Dido ruled the city of Carthage and gave hospitality to the wandering Aeneas and his band of fellow refugees from the Trojan War. She and Aeneas fell in love but he was commanded by the gods to leave Carthage and continue his journey, as he was fated to found a city elsewhere. After he left, Dido, out of anger and despair at being abandoned, built her own funeral pyre and stabbed herself with Aeneas' sword, cursing his people and hers to forever be in conflict with one another.

That's the story that comes down to us in the Aeneid, by Virgil, as a way of providing context to Rome's frequent wars with the city of Carthage in the earlier days of the Republic. Now Claire Heywood, whose previous books such as Daughters of Sparta and The Shadow of Perseus have also taken on the myths of the ancient world to much success, has taken Dido's story in hand. I am so excited for this book. Many authors have taken up the stories of ancient or mythological women to give them new life, to look beyond the misogyny that has buried their true selves for thousands of years, and Heywood is, I think, among the best of them. Cannot wait to see what magic she will weave into Dido's story.

Reading Options: Check out your local library! Depending on your library's resources, you may have a choice of format, such as print, ebook, or audio.

Purchasing Options: Bookshop.org (print & ebook) | Libro.fm (audio)

Badges

Bronze: 5 square filled

Silver: 9 squares filled

Gold: 25 squares filled