Reading Update - July #woybs

What's On Your Bookshelf

In 2025, I am again participating in the 52 Week Book Challenge. The Challenge is to read one book each week, to a particular prompt. The thing I most enjoy about this challenge, apart from reading the books, is matching books to the prompts. Its a fun thing to do, and I often end up choosing a book that I may not have otherwise read. That is always a positive. Quite often the prompts have me scratching my head for a while. I do enjoy the hunt for a book to fit a prompt.

52 Week Book Challenge Books

Other Books Read

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Glenrock by Lee Christine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Old School by Steve Higgs
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Book of the Month

I have waited for months for this book to be released, and it didn’t disappoint. I have been a fan of Karen Brooks since I read her novel, The Chocolate Maker’s Wife, in 2019. I’ve since read most of books and have loved them all.

The other reason that I was looking forward to reading The Whisky Widow, is because it is set in the Scottish Highlands in 1780, the area of my family history. I love reading novels from this area of Scotland that are set in this era as they give me an idea of the lives that my family could have lived.

Greer MacAlister, recently widowed and disdainful of her late husband, arrives in a remote Highland village with her young daughter Fen—who is deaf—after discovering her husband left them with nothing. The Highland community is involved in illegal whisky distilling and smuggling, and Greer finds herself in the middle of it.

The Whisky Widow is an adventure story, romance, and a story of bravery with lots of laughs along the way. If you enjoy richly drawn historical fiction—especially tales of strong women, and rebellion, I’m sure you will love this novel.

“This rollicking story of bravery, adventure, love and murder brings to vibrant life the Scottish Highlands of long ago. It is a poem to the art of whisky distilling and the Highland way of life, as well as a eulogy for those who were forced to leave it”. - Goodreads

Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.

For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read any of these books? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made below.

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This post is linked to the monthly #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge linkup hosted by bloggers Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo.