This is one of the reviews that I wrote during spells in the last three years when I was well enough to do so – but then got sick again and didn’t post it.
BLURB: When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system–and NerisCo isn’t hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope…to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.
REVIEW: This isn’t the first time I’d read this author’s work – I enjoyed The Wizard’s Butler. But I doubt that I would have made the hop sideways from fantasy to space opera, without Himself having done so, first. And I’ll join in the general chorus that resounds about this series of books – it really has a different feel from most space opera. There are no aliens, no spectacular space battles. It’s a story of a teenage boy in first-person viewpoint, who is just a bit too old to get any proper help when he is unexpectedly orphaned – and how he fares when he joins a merchant spaceship. It’s all about how to make coffee, coping with watch patterns, making friends and money.
Ishmael is clearly very clever and rather precocious in that way only children often are, especially if they’ve been especially close to a single parent. And his relationship with his mother is key. She was an ancient literature professor and obviously a strong, opinionated woman with a lot of passion, who loved her son very much. I inhaled this book and then went straight onto the next. I don’t do that very often – and I’m delighted to discover that there are a fair few books in this series. When reading this one, I kept turning the pages as I got lost in the world, rooting for Ishmael to succeed on board, while he continued growing up. I’m very much looking forward to the next book, Half Share.
Highly recommended for fans of space opera, especially if you enjoy books where it’s more about the world rather than what happens in it. 9/10
After writing the above review, I went ahead and read the read all the books in this twelve-book series, which charts Ishmael’s progress as a merchanter and takes the story in some unexpected places. It’s stayed in my memory as an unusual space opera reading experience, but overall very enjoyable.
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week.
It’s been a really quiet, peaceful week – a healing week. The days are lengthening and despite bursts of torrential rain and rather bitter northerly breezes, Spring continues to spring in the garden, which is disgracefully weedy and overgrown. I’m hoping as the weather improves that this is the year I get to grips with it for the first time in three years. The pics below show the brave plants prepared to battle the weeds to make a showing – my favourite is the Amber Wave heuchera which is looking fabulous.
The boys went off to Cornwall with their Dad and sisters on Monday. By all accounts and the slew of pictures, they all had a wonderful time. They returned yesterday so everyone had a lovely break. Himself and I hadn’t appreciated just how much we’d needed a few days together, without being Papa and Gran, to just focus on ourselves and each other. Himself has been busy painting his models and looking forward to reorganising his Warhammer orc and goblin armies – it’s lovely to see his enthusiasm again. As for me, I spent a fair amount of the week sitting next to him, while writing the fifth book in the Picky Eaters series, Conclave of Dragons.
Books I’ve read this week: On the Horns of Death – Book 2 of the Ancient Crete Mystery series by Eleanor Kuhns Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. When young bull leaper Martis finds Duzi, the newest member of the bull leaping team, dead in the bull pen early one morning. Made to look like he met his end on the horns of the bull, it’s clear to Martis that this was no accident . . .
Martis once again finds herself thrown into a dangerous game of hunting down a murderer as the deaths start to mount. An old friend of Martis’ sister, and possible lover to Duzi, is the next person to be found dead, and Martis’ investigations lead her to believe love and jealousy are at the heart of these crimes against the Goddess.
Is someone targeting the bull leaping community? Or is there something else at play? With only the Shade of her sister Arge to confide in, Martis struggles to untangle the growing web of secrets which stretch around her. Without a doubt, the ancient Greek setting and details about Martis and her daily life is what stood out for me with this entertaining historical whodunit. I also really like the young protagonist. 8/10
About Time – Book 4 of the Time Police series by Jodi Taylor Patience is not a virtue known to the Time Police. And Commander Hay is facing the longest day of her life…
After their heroic efforts to safeguard the Acropolis and prevent the Paris Time-Stop, the Time Police have gone from zero to hero. Then one fateful mission to apprehend a minor criminal selling dodgy historical artefacts blows up in all their faces.
An officer is attacked within TPHQ. A prisoner is murdered. And investigations are about to lead to the one place where no officer can legally tread. Worst of all, trouble is brewing for Luke, Jane and Matthew as a shocking revelation threatens to tear Team Weird apart for good. No one else writes with quite the energy that Taylor brings to her books. Funny, full of action and often poignantly sad – they are always a roller-coaster read and this highly enjoyable offering is no exception. 9/10
AUDIOBOOK – Witch King by Martha Wells “I didn’t know you were a… demon.” “You idiot. I’m the demon.” Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ Witch King…
After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.
But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence? Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers. I’m not sure why the dialogue is included in the blurb – it makes it sound as if this book is funny, and it isn’t. While I enjoyed it, particularly the setting, I found Kai rather closed off and unlike the wonderful Murderbot, we aren’t in first-person viewpoint to be able to fully appreciate his character. However, I loved the world and the stakes and would happily read more about Kai and his adventures. 8/10
Terminal Uprising – Book 2 of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series by Jim C. Hines Human civilization didn’t just fall. It was pushed.
The Krakau came to Earth in the year 2104. By 2105, humanity had been reduced to shambling, feral monsters. In the Krakau’s defense, it was an accident, and a century later, they did come back and try to fix us. Sort of.
It’s been four months since Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos learned the truth of that accident. Four months since she and her team of hygiene and sanitation specialists stole the EMCS Pufferfish and stopped a bioterrorism attack against the Krakau homeworld. Four months since she set out to find proof of what really happened on Earth all those years ago.
Between trying to protect their secrets and fighting the xenocidal Prodryans, who’ve been escalating their war against everyone who isn’t Prodryan, the Krakau have their tentacles full. Mops’ mission changes when she learns of a secret Krakau laboratory on Earth. A small group under command of Fleet Admiral Belle-Bonne Sage is working to create a new weapon, one that could bring victory over the Prodryans … or drown the galaxy in chaos.
To discover the truth, Mops and her rogue cleaning crew will have to do the one thing she fears most: return to Earth, a world overrun by feral apes, wild dogs, savage humans, and worse. (After all, the planet hasn’t been cleaned in a century and a half!) What Mops finds in the filthy ruins of humanity could change everything, assuming she survives long enough to share it. Perhaps humanity isn’t as dead as the galaxy thought. I love this series, which is very funny in places. Mops is a wonderful heroine and this adventure, set within the ruins of a vanished civilisation, is vividly depicted. I’m looking forward to getting hold of the final book in the series with mixed feelings as I’ve loved my time with the Pufferfish crew and would like more than just three books. 9/10
The Ward Witch – Book 1 of the Unholy Island series by Sarah Painter Mysterious, magical, and a little bit deadly… Welcome to Unholy Island.
Esme Gray runs the guest house and tends to the ethereal wards that protect the island. She’s sheltering from a terrible past and will do anything to stay safely hidden.
Luke Taylor has been searching for his missing twin for months, but has begun to believe that his brother might be dead. With his hope in tatters, a tip off leads him to a remote tidal island in the North Sea. It’s further out than the famous Holy Island, and far stranger.
Visitors shouldn’t be able to stay for more than two nights, so when Luke breaks this rule, the close-knit community is sent into turmoil. The residents of Unholy Island have secrets and they intend to keep them.
When Luke stumbles across one of the islanders dead on the shore, he finds himself under suspicion, made worse by his own troubles washing up on the tide.
Esme is drawn to Luke, but she doesn’t trust her own instincts. That’s not ideal for a witch — especially when there is a killer on the loose and a storm is rolling in… I’ve loved Painter’s Crow Investigations series and have read all the books so far. I was pleased to see the new series is set in the same world with the same interesting magical system. This book grabbed me from the first page and wouldn’t let go – Painter beautifully evokes the beauty and isolation of a magically hidden community. An outstanding start to a new series. 10/10
The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? This is the plot of The Other Bennet Sister, a debut novel with exactly the affection and authority to satisfy Austen fans.
Ultimately, Mary’s journey is like that taken by every Austen heroine. She learns that she can only expect joy when she has accepted who she really is. She must throw off the false expectations and wrong ideas that have combined to obscure her true nature and prevented her from what makes her happy. Only when she undergoes this evolution does she have a chance at finding fulfillment; only then does she have the clarity to recognize her partner when he presents himself—and only at that moment is she genuinely worthy of love. I absolutely loved this one. Hadlow provides us with a sensitive, intelligent young woman, who has been dismissed for her plain looks even as a child. Mary Bennet’s over-serious, pompous declarations throughout P & P are shown as her attempts to find a place within a family where beauty, wit and charm are prized above everything else. I loved this version of Austen’s classic and will be looking out for anything else by this author. 10/10
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week.
A very happy Easter Sunday to those of you who celebrate. And for those of you in the UK – let’s take a moment to cope with the fact we lost an hour of sleep when the clocks jumped forward last night… It’s been a tricky fortnight. I spent last Saturday sorting through my deceased sister’s personal possessions, which was every bit as terrible as I’d feared. If I hadn’t had my fabulous sister, Marianne, alongside to help, I don’t think I would have got through it. And the following few days were grim. The weather wasn’t remotely helpful, with lots of wind and rain.
But both boys have now broken up for Easter and Ethan is back at home – except when he’s back in Portsmouth at work, or off visiting friends. They are both going away for a holiday with their Dad and other siblings for a few days, which will be lovely for them and give Himself and me a bit of time for ourselves. As luck would have it, it’s his long weekend off, so we hope to be able to have some ‘us’ time. We went out together on Good Friday – and this courgette and lemon cake was my Easter present to myself. I justified it by claiming that it covered two of my five-a-day… And yes, it was every bit as delicious as it looks😊.
Books I’ve read this last fortnight: Shadow Rites – Book 10 of the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter Jane is keeping the peace between visiting groups of witches and vamps in the city, but then trouble comes knocking on her doorstep. When her house is magically attacked, the wild chase to find her assailants unearths a mystery that has literally been buried deep.
A missing master vampire, presumed long deceased, is found chained in a pit…undead, raving mad, and in the company of two human bodies. Now it’s up to Jane to find out who kept the vampire hidden for so long and why, because the incident could tip already high supernatural tensions to an all-out arcane war. I’m dawdling through this classy, well-written shapeshifter series because I don’t want to come to the end. Though I’m encouraged to see there’s a spin-off series, too. Once again, Jane’s adventures are an engrossing, thrilling read. 9/10
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky Professor Arton Daghdev had always wanted to study alien life up close. Then his wishes become a reality in the worst way. His political activism sees him exiled from Earth to Kiln’s extrasolar labour camp. There, he’s condemned to work under an alien sky until he dies.
Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem like nothing seen on Earth. The monstrous alien life interacts in surprising, sometimes shocking ways with the human body, so Arton will risk death on a daily basis. However, the camp’s oppressive regime might just kill him first. If Arton can somehow escape both fates, the world of Kiln holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it, and might just set him free . . . Loved this one. Tchaikovsky at his clever, witty best. 10/10
The Dragons of Kellynch – Book 5 of Jane Austen’s Dragons series by Maria Grace One would think Anne Elliot, a baronet’s daughter, would find the marriage mart far easier to navigate than a more ordinary woman. One would be wrong.
After refusing a poor, but otherwise perfect sailor, on the advice of her friend Lady Russell, Anne finds an unhappy choice before marry deathly dull Charles Musgrove or hope against hope that another suitable proposal might come her way before she becomes a spinster on the shelf.
Anne’s disgracefully independent choice to refuse Charles’ offer turns her world entirely arsey-varsey and not in the expected turned upside down sort of way. She begins to see things … hear things … things like dragons. And once one sees dragons, one talks to them. And when one talks to them, nothing is ever the same again. Must a young lady marry well if she hears dragons? I love this series. Grace’s addition of dragons to Austen’s world is clever and takes the classic stories into slightly unexpected places, but at no stage was I unhappy with the premise and I’m FUSSY about my Austenesque adventures. Very well done. 9/10
Kellynch: Dragon Persuasion – Book 6 of Jane Austen’s Dragons series by Maria Grace Keeping a hibernating dragon should have been a simple thing. Should have been, but it was not. Apparently, nothing involving dragons was ever simple, at least not for Anne Elliot, junior Keeper to dragon Kellynch.
With the estate in debt, Anne’s father in denial, and the dragon’s treasure missing, Kellynch’s awakening is shaping up to be nothing short of catastrophe. Not to mention, there was the pesky matter of her own broken heart and resentment against the old friend who had caused it.
Captain Frederick Wentworth had spent his life making something of himself in the Navy. With the war that kept him employed at an end and a small fortune in prize money, he found himself beached and at loose ends. What was he to do with himself now—take a wife like Laconia, his dragon Friend, insisted? Not when none compared to the woman who had broken his heart.
Working as an agent of the Blue Order, managing dragon matters across England, seemed a much better alternative. At least until investigating one such matter sent him directly in the path of Anne Elliot, the woman who had ruined him for all others. Now a royal dragon rages, a sleeping dragon lurks, and too many treasures have gone missing. Can Anne and Wentworth lay aside resentment, pride, and heartbreak to prevent Kellynch’s awakening from ending in bloodshed—or worse? This continues Grace’s clever retelling of Persuasion, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The fact that I read these two back to back is proof I’m finding this series irresistible. 9/10
AUDIOBOOK – The Blighted Stars – Book 1 of The Devoured Worlds series by Megan O’Keefe When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.
She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.
He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.
Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them. This is a compulsive listen. It would have been a 10 from me, but for the fact that I found the love story a tad annoying at times – especially as the unfolding puzzle surrounding the plot that puts them on the dead planet in the first place is both complex and very cleverly done. I’m definitely going to get hold of the second book in the series. 9/10
A Rip Through Time – Book 1 of A Rip Through Time series by Kelley Armstrong May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.
May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot.
When Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late. This time-travelling portal whodunit was sufficiently gripping that I stayed up way too late to discover who did what to whom. I very much liked the dynamic of an experienced cop finding herself in a teenager’s body and will be getting hold of the next book in this series. 9/10
AUDIOBOOK – Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea – Book 1 of the Tomes and Tea Cosy Fantasies series by Rebecca Thorn All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.
But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town that boasts more dragons than people, and open the shop of their dreams.
What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world. This enjoyable feel-good fantasy is more than a nod to Legends & Lattes, but it does differ in some important areas. Review to follow.
A Westerly Wind Brings Witches: A Cornish Odyessy by Sally Walker Moira Box, with not a lot going for her, legs it down to Cornwall to join a cantankerous coven of stroppy women. Shapeshifting poor Mogs back to The Burning Times, when women’s role in the lingering rural folkways was disappearing from Merrie England. But today, wild women wrapped in cloaks pop up amongst the Cornish standing stones on a full moon basis! Wriggling out of the closet woodwork, giggling and garnished with glitzy-witchy fashion accessories, still stubbornly non-compliant and undoubtedly up to mischief…
Witches and Wisewomen, reclaiming female spirituality, unearthing our buried pagan roots. An outside-the-box book, a feel-good tale, a pick-me-up for the perpetually put-down, a bag of comforts for the comfort eater. Sweep away the acceptable respectable and jump on your broomstick! Fly past perimeters, transcend our taken-for-granted reality and hang on tight for a bumpy ride! This is a quirky read that gave me some unexpected food for thought. Review to follow.
Strange Cargo – Book 3 of the Mennik Thorn series by Patrick Samphire What do a smuggling gang, a curse that won’t go away, and a frequently lost dog have to do with each other? They’re all here to disrupt Mennik Thorn’s hard-earned peace and quiet.
As the sole freelance mage in the city of Agatos, Mennik is used to some odd clients and awful jobs. But this time, one of his clients isn’t giving him a choice. Mennik might have forgotten about the smugglers whose operations he disrupted, but they haven’t forgotten about him. Now he is faced with a simple help them smuggle in an unknown, dangerous cargo or flee the city he loves forever. Time is running out for Mennik to find an answer, and things are about to get completely out of control. This is a shorter book that doesn’t have quite the bite of the other two books I’ve read. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoy Mennik’s chaotic adventures – no one attracts trouble quite like him – and I’m looking forward to tucking into the fourth book in the series sometime soon. 8/10
BLURB: On the distant world of Kiln lie the ruins of an alien civilization. It’s the greatest discovery in humanity’s spacefaring history – yet who were its builders and where did they go? Professor Arton Daghdev had always wanted to study alien life up close. Then his wishes become a reality in the worst way. His political activism sees him exiled from Earth to Kiln’s extrasolar labour camp. There, he’s condemned to work under an alien sky until he dies.
Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem like nothing seen on Earth. The monstrous alien life interacts in surprising, sometimes shocking ways with the human body, so Arton will risk death on a daily basis. However, the camp’s oppressive regime might just kill him first. If Arton can somehow escape both fates, the world of Kiln holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it, and might just set him free . . .
REVIEW: Adrian Tchaikovsky’s writing not only encompasses an impressive range of subjects and sub-genres within SFF – his stories also vary in tone between the angry savagery of City of Last Chances and the mordant humour running through Spiderlight. I loved the sound of this premise, as Tchaikovsky’s aliens are always interestingly different and was hoping for something with a bit of wry humour, given my current mood.
As luck would have it – I was in for a solid treat. This tale is told in first-person viewpoint by Professor Arton Daghdev, an academic specialist in xenobiology and environmental systems. He is also an outspoken critic of the Mandate, the political orthodoxy running all humanspace. And while there were plenty of disappearances and arrests, he was under the impression that those academics speaking out against the ideas underpinning the Mandate were being given a free pass. They weren’t. They were being given sufficient leeway to thoroughly incriminate themselves. Hence he’s ended up on a penal colony thirty light-years away from Earth with no prospect of returning.
I was thoroughly on Arton’s side from the opening paragraph – his disgust at the situation he’s found himself in, his dark humour, his searing honesty about his own weaknesses and fears were both poignant and endearing. It was a nice change – often Tchaikovsky’s protagonists aren’t all that likeable. It didn’t hurt that the book started with a bang, as Arton wakes up while the ship is disintegrating around him. And from then on, the tension doesn’t let up. The prisoners’ lives are horribly cheap – after all, there will be a new consignment of victims being ejected into the atmosphere in due course.
Arton gives us a ringside seat into his life as a prisoner on the one planet, other than Earth, with proven intelligent life. Life that has simply disappeared, after leaving unmistakeable traces of their existence in the form of buildings covered with writing. And Arton is on the team to try to figure out what the signs are saying. He has his doubts regarding the whole exercise – and being Arton, doesn’t bother to keep his views to himself. Which gets him into a packet of trouble in a place where that sort of bother can easily kill you…
I loved the tale, tearing through the 400-page book in two days as I was desperate to discover what would happen next. Tchaikovsky doesn’t do predictable plots. And this one has one doozy of a twist that has me now thinking about the very clever way he’s flipped this whole sub-genre on its head. With me thoroughly rooting for Arton. This story is every bit as compelling as Children of Time and Spiderlight – two of Tchaikovsky’s best works in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if he garnered yet another award for this one. Whatever awesomeness is waiting in the wings during the rest of the year – I’ll eat my keyboard if this one doesn’t make My Outstanding Reads of the Year 2024. Very, very highly recommended. While I obtained an arc of Alien Clay from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own. 10/10
I had a rather rocky relationship with Frontier, which was Curtis’s debut novel – see my review. But the premise for this one was so intriguing and I’m an absolute sucker for thrillers set in space, so I decided to give it a go.
BLURB: Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as: Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?
Each guest has a secret, every member of staff a universe unto themselves. At the center of these interweaving lives and interlocking mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime manager, devoted caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl’s comprehension converge on the Abeona, he has to face one final question: when is it time to let go?
REVIEW: I immediately fell in love with Carl, whose plucky decision to join the Grand Abeona Hotel probably saved his life. He is an absolute sweetheart. But this isn’t a sentimental read – there are also a number of really edgy, hardcore characters that feature. And one of them doesn’t get to make it to the end of the book…
This is a deceptive read. I started by thinking it was going to be reasonably upbeat and gentle, however as the story wore on, the general mood steadily darkens. We quickly learn the world beyond the Grand Abeona Hotel is run by a 500-year-old megalomaniac, who cannot bear to think of any other Life existing out in space apart from humans. The main character is Carl and having become the Manager of the Grand Abeona, his life is subsumed by the demands of running a luxury hotel catering to the whims of the entitled wealthy. I read one review, where the reader is very indignant that Curtis has sugar-coated the hospitality industry. But I don’t think that’s the case. It’s no accident that most of the longest serving staff are on the run – and Curtis doesn’t hesitate to show us entitled guests being difficult. And while I’m determined not to provide any Spoilers – I would just mention that the ending wouldn’t have felt half so upbeat and optimistic, if Curtis was depicting working in hospitality as the pinnacle of careers.
As for the mystery side of things, it is a slow-burn buildup where we gradually appreciate that things within the Grand Abeona are not as they should be. By the time the pace begins to pick up, I was thoroughly hooked. I’m not always thrilled with a book that appears to be one sort of read, only to discover halfway through that it’s something else. However this time around, I thoroughly enjoyed the mash-up and the cast of quirky characters, reading until late into the night to discover how it all works out. Recommended for fans of dark deeds set in space. While I obtained an arc of Floating Hotel from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own. 8/10
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week.
Last Sunday was Mothers Day and we celebrated as a family by getting together as a family at my lovely sister’s house. We were lucky that the rain held off during our journey there and back, as the roads are shocking. There are far too many deep potholes that could break a wheel or puncture a tyre, so we didn’t want them disguised at the bottom of a puddle. What we did notice was just how waterlogged the countryside is – there are floodings in areas where we’ve never seen standing water before. But it was absolutely worth it to be able to all get together and celebrate. My mother and father were there, as well as my nephews and my sister, her husband and son. Ethan couldn’t make it as he was working.
My sister, Marianne, provided a wonderful sit-down meal for everyone, including the annoying vegans (us!) which was delicious. The gathering was photographed by Himself and provides a lovely souvenir of a happy day. The other pics are signs of Spring – my rosemary is now in flower and the escallonia is now beginning to sprout leaves. Lovely to see the bright green begin to appear in the bushes along the side of the road.
On a more sombre note, on Friday it was my mother-in-law’s funeral. She was eighty-eight, afflicted with dementia and slipped away peacefully, so in many ways her ending was a relief as it could have been so much worse. But it is the end of an era, as my in-laws had lived in the same house for forty-seven years and had been the family hub. She was laid to rest at a Woodland burial site, just opposite my father-in-law. It’s a beautiful spot and she will have a flowering cherry tree planted over her grave.
My sister-in-law gave the eulogy and did a wonderful job summing up a kind-hearted lady with a strong community spirit, who faced up to her final illness with courage and cheerfulness. We stayed overnight, as neither of us wanted to do the journey there and back in a single day, so my mother and father took us out for meal on Friday evening. The boys accompanied us to the funeral and once more, were a wonderful support and great company. We returned home yesterday really tired. I’m hoping this year is going to get better sometime soon!
Books I’ve read this last week: To Cage a God – Book 1 of These Monstrous Gods series by Elizabeth May Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living weapons. Raised to overthrow an empire―no matter the cost.
With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.
While Sera reunites with her estranged lover turned violent rebel leader, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empire―or bring it all down. This is basically a class struggle between the magically entitled alurea and the commoners who wait on them hand, foot and finger. Well written and engrossing.
A Fate Inked in Blood – Book 1 of the Saga of the Unfated by Danielle L. Jensen Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back. Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.
Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, strongly bonding with Freya from the first page. Review to follow.
Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as: Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?
Each guest has a secret, every member of staff a universe unto themselves. At the center of these interweaving lives and interlocking mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime manager, devoted caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl’s comprehension converge on the Abeona, he has to face one final question: when is it time to let go? This is an interesting read that turned into a page-turner… Review to follow.
Evernight – Book 1 of the Evernight series by Claudia Gray She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.
Then she meets Lucas. He’s not the “Evernight type” either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.
“I couldn’t stand it if they took it out on you,” he tells Bianca, “and eventually they would.”
But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed. This is a Romeo and Juliet type romance set within a school for vampires. The main character is sympathetic and well depicted, while the story pacing is effective. Overall, I enjoyed this one – although I do feel the author is slightly guilty of keeping back a major detail for the sake of the narrative. 8/10
I’ve read the first two books of Bennett’s trilogy The Founders – which reminds me that I must get hold of the final instalment – see my reviews of Foundryside and Shorefall. So when I saw the first in this new series on Netgalley, I immediately requested it.
BLURB: In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears–quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.
Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
REVIEW: I’ve a really soft spot for well plotted murder mysteries in SFF settings. There are a handful of authors that have managed to provide outstanding reads in this sub-genre – Katherine Addison with The Witness for the Dead and Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Relentless Moon both come to mind. But to be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything of that calibre when I opened up this offering.
So you can imagine my joy when I rapidly realised that this is an absolute gem. Din captured my heart from the outset – which is a feat with a character so genetically altered. In the past, I’ve often found it difficult to fully bond with protagonists who are so radically different. But Bennett depicts Din as young, uncertain and constantly worried that his guilty secret will be discovered. So the sudden change in his demeanour when he is at a crime scene or taking witness statements is refreshing and gives us the sense that underneath the vulnerability is a thoroughly capable young man, who pays close attention to all those pesky details that make such a difference in this sort of story. Pairing him with highly eccentric and capricious Ana is a stroke of genius. They make a quirky Watson and Holmes couple, with Ana being slightly unstable, but possessed of the gift of making clever, intuitive leaps based on all those clues lesser beings don’t pay attention to, or even see.
The plot is also beautifully handled. What starts out as a single, rather gruesome murder steadily expands to become a plot that endangers the whole Empire. I loved the ongoing danger posed by the leviathans and how their very existence has altered the environment. All in all, this is a triumph.
I couldn’t put this one down and read waaay into the night to discover who did what to whom – and came away with a massive book hangover that had me dreaming of Bennett’s world for the rest of the week. That doesn’t happen very often. The plotting, the unique world and the stresses it puts on all the main characters, the two main protagonists and the risks they are facing – all this added up to an outstanding read that will stay with me for a long time. Very highly recommended if you, too, have a weaknesses for exotic murder mysteries. Or if you are a SFF fan. While I obtained an arc of The Tainted Cup from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own. 10/10
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering:
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky – release date – 28th March
#science fiction #colony adventure #troubled hero
BLURB: On the distant world of Kiln lie the ruins of an alien civilization. It’s the greatest discovery in humanity’s spacefaring history – yet who were its builders and where did they go?
Professor Arton Daghdev had always wanted to study alien life up close. Then his wishes become a reality in the worst way. His political activism sees him exiled from Earth to Kiln’s extrasolar labour camp. There, he’s condemned to work under an alien sky until he dies.
Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem like nothing seen on Earth. The monstrous alien life interacts in surprising, sometimes shocking ways with the human body, so Arton will risk death on a daily basis. However, the camp’s oppressive regime might just kill him first. If Arton can somehow escape both fates, the world of Kiln holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it, and might just set him free . . .
I enjoy Adrian Tchaikovsky’s world-building and this tooth-and-claw colony adventure featuring an exiled academic sounds right up my street. And who could resist that beguiling cover?
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering:
Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis – release date – 21st March
#science fiction #cosy mystery #space opera adventure #troubled hero
BLURB: Welcome to the Grand Abeona home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently— who is driving the ship?
Each guest has a secret, every member of staff a universe unto themselves. At the center of these interweaving lives and interlocking mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime manager, devoted caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl’s comprehension converge on the Abeona, he has to face one final when is it time to let go?
I am a sucker for whodunits set in space. For starters, it’s always a really good setting to plonk a bunch of people into a space ship/colony/station and then have things start to go very wrong. Because due to space being a very hostile environment, no one is going anywhere without a lot of help and resources. I love the cover and the premise of this one and very much hope it’s going to be as good as it sounds.
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week.
It’s been a tough week. February is my least favourite month, anyway – it tends to be cold and gloomy, with the sense that the winter has dragged on forever. Add the fact that I’m now coping with the grief of losing my sister right at the end of 2023 and still being very run down after recently going down with covid again – it’s been grim.
No photos this week, I’m afraid. I simply haven’t been out of the house except for the school run and a couple of shopping trips. And even then, I’ve found it difficult to actually get out. I’m hoping that once the weather brightens up, so will my mood.
On the plus side – thank you so much for all your kind comments and sympathy. It’s been much appreciated – I keep hearing about the toxic effect of social media on the News, but I’m blessed to be part of a lovely community of kindly, caring people who are linked by our love of books. I’ve even received a wonderful care package of pens, bookmarks and a lovely uplifting little cross with a very comforting message by a fabulous blogging friend. It has provided a beacon of light at a dark time for me and my family.
I’ve also had a lovely reading week – and as you can see below, I’ve been doing a great deal of listening and reading as it has provided a much-needed escape. I simply don’t know how non-readers cope when Life doesn’t play fair – thank goodness for books and their lovely readers!
Books I’ve read this last week: Wanderer’s Escape – Book 1 of the Wanderer’s Odyssey boxed set by Simon Goodson Jess was born a prisoner, grew up a prisoner and at sixteen knew he would die a prisoner. When his turn comes to try to break through the traps protecting a spaceship it seems his day to die has come. The ship, and others like it, have already claimed the lives of hundreds of prisoners.
Instead he manages to avoid the traps and gain access to the ship with two other prisoners, beginning a frantic flight to freedom. Soon Jess finds himself loose in a brutal universe ruled by the Empire and riddled with pirates, slave traders and worse. Can Jess manage to learn the rules of the universe and the capabilities of the ship he has stolen in time to stay alive? I quite enjoyed this one. While the characters aren’t particularly complex, the plot provides plenty of twists and the pace is fast with plenty of action. I bonded sufficiently with the main protagonists that I’m going to continue reading this series. 7/10
AUDIOBOOK – Don’t Stop Believing – Book 3 of the Midlife Mulligan series by Eve Langlais I had it all. Awesome, blossoming business. A cute boyfriend who gave me butterflies. My kids living at home and reconnecting with me. Plus, I was a witch. There, I said it out loud. I’m a sorceress who can do magic. Not bad for a woman my age. I should have known better to get so cocky.
The other shoe dropped, bounced, and hit me in the face, then bounced again and whacked me in the shin. It proceeded to ricochet once more and— What should have been the most amazing night turns into a disaster. I’m crushed, in more ways than one.
When I recover, it’s to find my reality has shifted. My cat can speak. Some of the townsfolk appear to be possessed by demons, and I’m supposed to be sacrificed to free magic. Seriously? I just wanted my damned happily ever after. And I will fight to get it. I’ll be honest, there were times during this series when I wanted to shake Naomi until her teeth rattled. But when it came to the crunch and everything turned upside down, she develops a spine and really fights for what she wants. The plot twist is a doozy – rarely has a long-running story been so completely turned on its head. It seems that readers fall into two camps – those that simply cannot accept it, or those that love it. I happen to fall into the latter camp and this is my favourite book of the series by far. 10/10
AUDIOBOOK – Dragon Tear – Book 5 of The Agents of the Crown series by Lindsay Buroker Now that Jev is no longer obligated to marry a manipulative noblewoman, Zenia can finally pursue a relationship with him. But there’s something else she must deal with first. She’s learned that the magical dragon-tear gem she wears around her neck is linked to a living dragon, one that is being held prisoner and tortured.
Zenia owes her life several times over to the creature. She must set aside personal desires and lead a team to the distant and dangerous continent where the dragon is imprisoned. But it took someone – or something – very powerful to capture such a great creature in the first place. Zenia, Jev, and their friends may not have the magic or might necessary to free their scaled ally. If they fail, the dragon will be enslaved forever by a cruel master, and Zenia and Jev may never see their homeland again. A real sense of menace pervades the quest to free the dragon in the final instalment of this entertaining series. As a result, I tore through it to ensure that Zenia manages to survive to live the life she so richly deserves. Once again, a pleasing balance of action and banter with plenty of plot twists in this swords and sorcery adventure that makes Buroker’s writing so very readable and morish. 9/10
AUDIOBOOK – Illuminations by T. Kingfisher Rosa Mandolini knows in her heart that her family are the greatest painters of magical illuminations in the city. But the eccentric Studio Mandolini has fallen on hard times and the future is no longer certain.
While trying to help her family, Rosa discovers a strange magical box protected by a painted crow. But when she finds a way to open the box, she accidentally releases the Scarling, a vicious monster determined to destroy the Mandolini family at any cost.
With the aid of her former best friend and a painted crow named Payne, it’s up to Rosa to stop the Scarling before it unmakes the magical paintings that keep the city running, and hopefully save her family in the process! This is apparently a middle-grade read. But Kingfisher’s adventures are far too good to be devoured by only the youngsters among us. This story was a thumping good listen and had me staying up far later than I should to hear the outcome. Very highly recommended. 10/10
Echoes of the Past – Book 2 of the Wanderer’s Odyssey boxed set by Simon Goodson Freedom was only the start. The crew of the Wanderer face ever greater challenges as their journey continues. Knowing the Empire will hunt them down Jess and the others must seek help from another source.
Turning to the criminal underworld seems like their only option, but it soon threatens to end in disaster. Especially when past events return to haunt the present.
Will even the incredible Wanderer be enough to keep Jess, and those he cares about, safe? This is the second book in this boxed set that I read this week to vary my rather urban fantasy-rich diet. I enjoyed this adventure even more than the first book – Goodson is nifty at throwing in unexpected plot twists and this time around there is a bit more depth to the characterisation. 8/10
AUDIOBOOK – Cetaganda – Book 9 of the Miles Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold When the Cetagandan empress dies, Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan are sent to Cetaganda for her funeral as diplomatic representatives of Barrayar. Upon arrival, the two men are inexplicably attacked by a servant of the late empress. When the same servant turns up dead the next day, Miles and Ivan find themselves in the middle of a mystery.
Miles tries to play detective in a strange, complicated, and deceptively alien culture, while lascivious Ivan manages to get himself involved with several noble females at the same time, a diplomatic no-no of the first order. As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that it’s up to Miles to save the empire. This one popped up on the Audible Catalogue Plus listings and as anything Lois writes is worth listening to, I snapped it up and thoroughly enjoyed listening to disaster-magnet Miles getting entangled in this diplomatic murder mystery. 9/10
Magic Bites – Book 1 of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way… I’d read this one way back in 2020 – but I thoroughly enjoyed the reread and have now got hold of the second book in the series. Just as well as it ends on something of a cliffhanger. 9/10
AUDIOBOOK – Witch Way Home – Book 4 of the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery Boxed set by Danielle Garrett Life on magical parole can be a real witch… I’ve got a final shot at freedom, but when my strongest ally is found murdered, everything is on the line—including my own life.
With my rag-tag band of supernatural friends in tow, I have to launch my biggest—and most dangerous—investigation yet. I’ve got to stop the killer without setting off the SPA’s alarms or else I can kiss my last chance goodbye. This adventure, featuring impulsive and strong-minded Holly Bolt, had me thoroughly rooting for her. And when she suffers a major setback at the hands of a very unfair system, I was highly indignant on her behalf – I’ve also got a soft spot for her tabby cat Boots. So I’m delighted to have the next two books in this entertaining series. 9/10
The Holy Terrors – Book 1 of the Holy Terrors series by Simon R Green Welcome to Spooky Time, the hit TV ghost-hunting show where the horror is scripted . . . and the ratings are declining rapidly. What better way to up the stakes – and boost the viewership – than by locking a select group of Z-list celebrities up for the night in The Most Haunted Hall in England (TM) and live-streaming the ‘terrifying’ results?
Soon Alistair, a newly appointed Bishop, actress Diana, medium Leslie, comedian Toby and celebrity chef Indira are trapped inside Stonehaven town hall, along with June, the host and producer of the show. The group tries to settle in and put on a good show, but then strange things start happening in their hall of horrors.
What is it about this place – and why is the TV crew outside not responding? Are they even on air? Logical Alistair attempts to keep the group’s fears at bay and rationalise the odd events, but there are things that just can’t be explained within reason . . . Can he stop a cold-blooded would-be killer – even if it’s come from beyond the grave? I’m a solid fan of this author and his mix of humour and creepiness, so was delighted to get hold of this arc of a new series. Review to follow.
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby Make them laugh, and they’re yours forever . . .
Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn’t want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh.
So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation’s hearts. I’ll be honest – this one would never have been a book that I’d have picked up. But Himself got hold of it. If you’ve ever been nostalgic for the era that produced such TV sitcoms as The Likely Lads and Til Death Us Do Part, then this is recommended reading. Both funny and poignant, I loved it. 9/10
Brainfluff 