2026

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

It’s June already! Bring on summer sunshine and blue skies!

I had a nice week last week — after a long holiday weekend, I took one more day off mid-week to spend time with an old friend visiting the area. It was lovely to reconnect and have time to catch up, and we also hit some local tourist spots and went to a beautiful Matisse exhibit.

Bookish odds and ends:

Each week, there seems to be some new and exciting book release news! Tor just shared this cover reveal and release date:

The Double Dorothy by Olivia Waite, 3rd installment in the Dorothy Gentleman series of sci-fi novellas, will be released in March 2027.

What did I read during the last week?

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan: Terrific summer fiction. My review is here.

Obstetrix by Naomi Kristzer: Chilling, tense story set in a near-future world. My review is here.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell: My book group’s pick for May. Highly recommended. My review is here.

Take Me with You by Steven Rowley: Finished Sunday afternoon — watch for my review later this week!

Pop culture & TV:

I’m completely hooked on For All Mankind! I’d originally thought I’d take a break after the first season… but once I got to the final episode, I couldn’t do anything but keep going. I’m just past the halfway point of season 2… and unless something really changes, I’m guessing I’ll want to binge straight through until I catch up with the newest season (#5)!

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier: My newest Classics Club Spin book! Just getting started. I’m excited to have the spin as motivation to finally read this book.

Now playing via audiobook:

I have quite decided what I feel like listening to next… but I think it’ll be one of these two options:

Let’s see where my mood takes me!

Ongoing reads:

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe: My book group’s newest classic read. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week. Progress: 26%. Coming up this week: Volume 2, chapters 2 and 3.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare: I’m reading a little bit at a time; about to start Act II.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

31May2026

Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Marriage Portrait
Author: Maggie O’Farrell
Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: September 6, 2022
Length: 355 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.

Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?

As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.

Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.

I hesitated about picking up The Marriage Portrait, despite having loved Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. I tend to shy away from “literary” fiction, and assumed this book might not be for me. Fortunately, with a book group discussion to motivate me, I went ahead and started… and then couldn’t put it down.

The Marriage Portrait is a taut, beautifully written story about a powerless young girl forced into marriage and a life she never wanted. Set in the mid-1500s, the book starts with a shock: Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is at dinner with her husband, and realizes with utter certainty that he intends to kill her.

From there, we move back to the beginning of her story. The middle child and youngest daughter of the Duke of Florence, Lucrezia de Medici has always been a bit odd — defiant, artistic, and with her own private passions and flights of fancy. When her oldest sister dies on the eve of her marriage, Lucrezia is expected to wed Maria’s fiance, despite the fact that Lucrezia is only thirteen. The marriage can only be delayed so long, and by age fifteen, she’s wed to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara.

Alfonso seems at first to be good-hearted, but his kindness is a veneer for a ruthlessness that Lucrezia only uncovers through missteps and dangerous confrontations. Slowly, she comes to see that theirs is not a marriage of companionship or even affection, as her own parents’ marriage is. Instead, she’s firmly under Alfonso’s control, cherished when she behaves, but shown just how badly things could go for her if she doesn’t. As a year passes and Lucrezia does not become pregnant, her situation becomes more dire. Timelines converge, as the chapters where Lucrezia anticipates her own murder are interspersed between longer sections following her earlier life and the timeline of her marriage.

From the historical record, we know that the real Lucrezia died at age fifteen after a year of marriage, supposedly of a sudden, severe illness, and that doubts remained about the true cause of death. In The Marriage Portrait, the author keeps readers on our toes, providing room for doubt and for the possibility of other outcomes while building a sense of growing dread with each passing chapter.

The book shows how devastatingly trapped Lucrezia is, even leaving aside the issue of what a sociopath her seemingly charming husband turns out to be. She wishes for rescue, and wishes that she hadn’t been forced into this marriage — but being forced into a marriage is literally the point of her and her sisters’ existence. A marriage for her family’s political gain was invitable; if she’d been lucky, she may have ended up with a kinder man, but the prospective husband’s character was never going to be a deciding factor. For girls of her status and rank, the power and advantages of a marriage are all that matters.

The theme of being trapped is established early on, as a young Lucrezia is allowed to see the exotic tiger newly added to her father’s menagerie:

The cry again! It was not so much a roar, no, which is what Lucrezia had expected: this had a yearning, desperate rasp to it. The sound, Lucrezia thought, of a creature captured against its will, a creature whose desires have all been disregarded.

There’s a sense of doom in even the most mundane of descriptions. Lucrezia can never escape the signs that her future is full of danger:

In the square room, from a hook in the wall, hangs the skirt of the gown. The bodice and sleeves are separate entities, draped over the credenza and the table. To Lucrezia, as she steps over the threshold, it looks as if a woman has been cut into four pieces and calmly arranged around the furniture.

Once I started The Marriage Portrait, I found myself completely immersed and didn’t want to put the book down. Lucrezia is a fascinating, tragic character, trapped in a world that offers her no safe refuge and no true allies. She possesses an artist’s soul and a fiery will, and neither trait is valued by her husband or his court. As Lucrezia senses her own violent death looming just ahead, there seems to be few options. No one is coming to save her. She’ll have to save herself… or literally die trying.

Once again, this was a terrific book group pick, and I’m so thankful I had that little push that I needed to dive in and read this gorgeous, terrifying, powerful story. Highly recommended.

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

25May2026

The Monday Check-In ~ 5/25/2026

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

Four day weekend! Due to a holiday this past Friday as well as Memorial Day today, I’ve had a nice long weekend to mainly just relax, read, and de-stress! Weekend plans included dinner with friends, a few errands and minor chores, and then all day Sunday on an outing with my husband for a walk through redwoods and then a visit to a cute seaside town.

Bookish odds and ends:

Another 2027 new release to get excited for!

Emily Wilde’s History of Dark Faerie by Heather Fawcett will be released in January 2027!

What did I read during the last week?

The Shippers by Katherine Center: A silly, light rom-com from a favorite author. My review is here.

A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz: Epistolary fiction with a quirky small town setting. Lots of fun. My review is here.

The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline: Fascinating historical fiction told from the perspective of a woman in one of the most famous marriages of the 19th century. My review is here.

My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows: A delightfully bonkers reimagining of the life and times of Mary, Queen of Scots. So much fun. My review is here.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan: Loved it! Watch for my review later this week.

Pop culture & TV:

I was mostly satisfied with the outcome of Survivor 50. I can’t say that I cared all that much by the time we got to the end. My real favorites were all eliminated earlier, but of the finalists, I was happy for the winner.

I liked the season finale of Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and I’m glad the show will be back for a 2nd season. I’m enjoying being creeped out by Widow’s Bay, and I’m trying to find time for more episodes of For All Mankind — I have just one episode left from the first season, and I plan to keep going!

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week.

What will I be reading during the coming week?