Janet Gordon is married, retired, obsessed with her Westlake Terrier, Rollo – and books are her passion. She reads multiple books a week across all genres and reviews them for Rest Less.
This month’s round-up features Queens and Kings, Death on the Royal Yacht, F##k it, it’s Christmas, Fabulous (& Furious), and Blood on the Snow.
Note: Prices can often change, so you may notice some variations on the providers’ websites. Prices and availability are accurate as of the 6th of November, 2026.
Queens and Kings by Lucy Worsley (Amazon £20.00, Kindle £14.99)
Lucy Worsley has a penchant for dressing up as historical characters in her wonderful television shows. As a former Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, she’s worked in some fantastic places, including the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, and even lived in a small apartment inside Hampton Court Palace.
Queens and Kings is a fascinating read, packed with gossip about Britain’s most influential rulers over the last thousand years. This includes Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, and the modern monarchy. Worsley takes a refreshingly different approach to many of the monarchs, including those with long-standing bad reputations.
This would make a wonderful Christmas present for anybody with even the slightest interest in history. It’s an absolute delight to read.
Death on the Royal Yacht by S J Bennett (Amazon £13.99, Kindle £8.99)
Staying with the royal theme, Death on the Royal Yacht is set in 1966, when our late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are touring the Caribbean aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Everything on a royal tour is timed to the second and nothing is allowed to go wrong, but this time something does: the Queen’s personal diary secretary is found dead on the floor of her cabin. The Queen takes an interest and, after viewing the body, decides to turn detective herself.
With more than 200 crew on board, including an admiral, there’s no shortage of suspects, and the Queen must investigate every one of them while carrying on as normal at state occasions, waving, smiling, and playing host to visitors.
It’s a lovely, gentle read, perfect for fans of a cosy mystery.
F##k it, it’s Christmas by Holly Atwood (Amazon £4.99, Kindle £5.99)
Christmas is coming, and hopefully you’re getting organised. There are shopping lists, present lists, and lists for everything else we have to do before the big day.
F##k it, it’s Christmas is by Holly Atwood, the festive pen name of a bestselling romance author. In her latest novel, main character Laurie is a working mum of two who’s reached the end of her tether – or tinsel, if you prefer. All she wants for Christmas is five minutes of peace and perhaps a Baileys or two (or three).
Laurie tries hard to get everything perfect, and this year, as every year, she’s hosting for “Perfect Clara”, Clara’s husband, and their two children, so even the Christmas pyjamas need to match. Then she opens the door to find Clara and the entourage a week early, and that her husband, Dave, has forgotten to tell her they’re staying even longer than planned. That’s when Laurie loses it.
Oh, how I feel for Laurie. If this is you, pour yourself a Baileys (other tipples are available!), take a seat, and enjoy.
Fabulous (& Furious) by Harper Ford (Amazon £9.49, Kindle £0.99)
Main character Nell loses it at a children’s party and goes off on a major rant at the entertainer. Afterwards, she realises it’s just one of many rants she’s had recently…and she’s, in fact, angry all the time.
Her daughter Sasha has noticed, too, and buys her a voucher for a new rage room that’s just opened. Nell insists she doesn’t need or want it, and isn’t going. But, of course, she does go and discovers how much she enjoys smashing, throwing, breaking, and screaming in a soundproofed room. So much so that she opens Rent-A-Rant, a place where every woman can speak her mind, let off steam, and eat as many cakes, biscuits, and chocolates as she likes.
Fabulous (& Furious) is a funny and highly relatable novel about midlife rage. What wouldn’t I give for a rant room of my own!
Blood on the Snow by Alex Pine (Amazon £9.49, Kindle £0.99)
Is it a thing that authors with festive-sounding names publish books around Christmas? With Alex Pine’s new novel Blood on the Snow, I can’t help wondering whether he changed his name to something Christmassy.
In this seventh book of the DI James Walker series, James investigates the murders of two women found dead in their hot tub over Christmas. Friends Nicola and Emily were enjoying a holiday break when they were attacked so brutally that the water ran red. There’s no sign of forced entry, and their phones are missing, which leaves Walker stumped.
As he digs deeper, he uncovers a tangled web of betrayal, with every suspect holding a motive for murder. Can he solve it before more victims turn up this holiday season?
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Have you read any of these books? Or have you added any of them to your reading list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.