SUNDAY POST – 18th October, 2026 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

This is part of the weekly, or fortnightly 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.

We have had spells of wind and rain, but for most of the week, we have been treated to more sunny, dry weather. The heating has come on once for a short time, when the temperature dropped below 64 degrees F early one morning. But most of the time, it has been in the mid to high 60s, which is amazing at this time of year. Insects are still flying, weeds and grass are still growing and leaf fall has hardly started. We did have an extraordinary incident – a young sparrowhawk killed a seagull in the back garden and was frantically trying to eat enough of it, so it could carry it away. It occurred on one of the few days when it was pouring with rain and I’ve included the short video I took. Apologies for the poor quality, but I took it from an upstairs window as I didn’t want to disturb it. I’ve never seen a bird of prey in our back garden, before – and don’t expect to do so again. It’s just not the place where a raptor should be hunting. It didn’t manage to eat enough of the seagull to carry it away so I had to clear it up. Needless to say, we shut Amari inside during the whole business.

Last weekend, Himself had two days in the garden room playing Warhammer with work colleagues. He had a wonderful time, but by Sunday evening was somewhat hoarse. And on Tuesday, the builders came and fixed the issue with the roof. We were lucky that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, which is a relief – but we still have the scaffolding up. They are coming to take it away on Wednesday. I’ll be glad to see the back of it. I went to have my hair done on Friday – it had become too long and very untidy, so I was looking increasingly deranged. As well as having it cut, I also had my highlights redone – plum and blonde.

Young sparrowhawk in the back garden eating a seagull…

The pics this week are the video I took of the sparrowhawk feeding on the seagull in the back garden; Himself’s game on Saturday with one of his work colleagues; my new hairstyle and colour; and the recently released paperback copy of Ring the Bells by C.K. McConnell, which I loved reading last year (see my review) – to the extent that it made my list of Outstanding Reads of 2025. The publishers got in touch to ask if I wanted a copy of the paperback. I’m tempted, but thought instead, I’d post a pic of it. It would make a fab Christmas pressie for someone who enjoys fantasy adventures with a splash of humour.

At the suggestion of Laura, my lovely reflexologist and friend, last week I joined the choir that she belongs to. It was so much fun singing alongside other people and with harmonies. Everyone is very friendly and the two ladies running the choir are not only exceedingly talented singers – they are also hilariously funny while teaching us. I came home feeling on a high.

I’ve been listening to a very long, historical book and got a bit stuck on a time travel adventure, so this fortnight I haven’t read many books.

Since my last Sunday Post, I’ve read, or listened to:-

The Library of Botanical Witchcraft by Jasmine Wigham
The Evergreen Conservatoire of Botanical Witchcraft is off limits to anyone without magical gifts.

But Thalia Sylvestre has just landed herself a prestigious job as an assistant in Evergreen’s library, granting her rare access to this unique repository of botanical witchlore.

It’s Thalia’s perfect to be surrounded by gilded tomes of magic and enchanted plants with minds of their own. Most importantly, it gives her the resources she needs to research, in secret, a cure for the curse that afflicts her twin sister Hebe.

If only the place wasn’t teeming with troublesome witches. Witches like August Hawthorne, a post-graduate student from a distinguished line of magical botanists. August is standoffish and clearly disdainful of Thalia. But his research could be the key to helping Hebe – if Thalia can stop acting so flustered around him for long enough to find out.
A charming read – see my review.



Pride and Practicality by Pepper Basham
Thomas Bridges, the new rector of St. Groves, has a simple plan: gain the support of local wealthy parishioners to finance a boarding school for the orphans of St. Groves. With his stellar reputation and good heart, everything seems to be working well, even if he has to avoid his mother’s matchmaking with the eligible ladies of the town. But his plans are rerouted when the “lost” sister of Lord Ravenscross returns and she happens to be the same woman in which he shared a secret and unexpected kiss eight months before.

Arianna Reeves has returned home a secret heiress, trying to redeem her past. With money to spare, a desire to earn back the favor of those she loves, and a hope of being useful she not only puts herself in harm’s way to help the children of St. Groves but creates an “anonymous benefactress” to support Thomas Bridges’ plan. However, their mutual attraction threatens to not only defrock Thomas but also ruin all their best-laid plans for the children.

When a man from Arianna’s past comes to St. Groves with a plan to expose Thomas and Arianna’s secret, their characters and hearts are tested. Could the truth about one unexpected kiss ruin their futures? After all . . . it was just a kiss, right?
This historical romance, set in the Regency era, is full of fun. I would add that there is a previous book in the same series, Sense & Suitability, which doesn’t show up in either Goodreads or Amazon, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
8/10



As We Fall Through Time by Claire North
In the beginning, the world will end. This is the story of what happens next.

When Cal meets a soldier of the French Revolution, he knows his lover is destined to die. But what is the point of being a time traveller if you can’t make a few small tweaks to the course of history? A little paradox here, an alteration there – nothing Cal can’t fix, to save the man he loves.

When Fadimatu walks into a museum in 2018, she stumbles upon her own mummified corpse, setting her on the path to a betrayal that has already killed her, and a murder that has not yet come to pass.

And when a sudden rupture in the fabric of history rips through the lives these travellers have built, breaking both past and future, they must reckon with death foretold, love forsaken, and a secret that will shatter time itself.
Interesting take on time travel – review to follow.



AUDIOBOOK – The English and their History by Robert Tombs
In The English and their History, the first full-length account to appear in one volume for many decades, Robert Tombs gives us the history of the English people, and of how the stories they have told about themselves have shaped them, from the prehistoric ‘dreamtime’ through to the present day.

If a nation is a group of people with a sense of kinship, a political identity and representative institutions, then the English have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. They first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

The English have come a long way from those precarious days of invasion and conquest, with many spectacular changes of fortune. Their political, economic and cultural contacts have left traces for good and ill across the world. This book describes their history and its meanings from their beginnings in the monasteries of Northumbria and the wetlands of Wessex to the cosmopolitan energy of today’s England. Robert Tombs draws out important threads running through the story, including participatory government, language, law, religion, the land and the sea, and ever-changing relations with other peoples. Not the least of these connections are the ways the English have understood their own history, have argued about it, forgotten it, and yet been shaped by it. These diverse and sometimes conflicting understandings are an inherent part of their identity.
This is a tour de force. I loved that it covered the whole of the period from the early days right up until 2014. While I don’t agree with some of the conclusions – I don’t like Tombs’ dismissive attitude towards the suffragettes, for example – overall, I feel he has dealt with the sheer scale of the topic with impressive scholarship and thoroughness. It was a beast, taking 45.5 hours to complete.
9/10


Posts during the last fortnight:

Castellan and His Wise Draconic Tips on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Evie Walters Takes the Wheel by Kathleen Fox

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 14th October, 2026

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo

Castellan and His Wise Draconic Tips on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Library of Botanical Witchcraft by Jasmine Wigham

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 7th October, 2026

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Court of Venus by Bel Banta

Sunday Post – 4th October, 2026


Wishing you a happy, healthy fortnight crammed with fabulous books😊.

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

Despite our dwindling numbers, some parents still think it acceptable to let their younglings fly off with little or no schooling in how to deal with eddies, downdraughts or whirlwinds. It isn’t. Flying fatalities such as these are no longer acceptable and parents should be punished if their offspring suffer such deaths.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Evie Walters Take the Wheel by Kathleen Fox #BrainfluffNETGALLEYbookreview #EvieWaltersTakestheWheelbookreview

This isn’t my usual genre. But as the protagonist is also not that far apart from my own age and I’ve a weakness for strong, sympathetic older protagonists – I requested it and was glad to get an arc.

BLURB: Evie Walters has lived most of her seventy-one years according to others’ expectations. But on the day of her husband’s funeral, she receives an anonymous egret orchid. The same flower a Montana ranch hand once gave her decades ago—Novel Daniels, the boy who thought she could do anything.

So now, she does.

Defying her children’s plans to move her into a retirement home, Evie buys a camper van and leaves life in North Carolina abruptly behind. Accompanied by her devoted rescue dog, she heads west to find her cowboy, befriending an unlikely cast of characters along the way. Free-spirited young van-lifers, roadside waitresses, eccentric billionaires, and kindhearted widowers all show Evie a side of life worth living.

But Evie’s drive toward the future takes her back to the past, to memories of the family ranch and childhood dreams. Now, with a second chance as open as the road before her, there’s no telling who Evie Walters will become.

REVIEW: Evie is a strong character, who I enjoyed reading about. That said, she was brought up in a particular time by a domineering father on a ranch. So she was expected to knuckle down, do chores and be obedient. I think youngsters nowadays have no idea how strict home life could be only a couple of generations ago. Circumstances meant that she wasn’t able to follow her dreams and instead, she married a respectable young man with a solid career and brought up three children.

Now she’s widowed, she receives a gift which changes everything. And all those suppressed dreams surge to the fore. Aided and abetted by her cadre of feisty friends, she decides to buy an RV and go on an extended road trip and revisit the town in Montana where she was born and raised.

While the book started strongly, setting up the premise and introducing us to the main characters without holding up the pace – once Evie went on the road, the whole story shifted gear (see what I did there?) and really sang off the page. The author goes on the road herself – and it shows. The scenes of negotiating a large vehicle in a busy town, or searching for a decent park to stay had the ring of truth. I loved the cast of characters that Evie meets once she’s on the road. Though I’m pleased to see that it isn’t too cosy – Evie is the victim of a mugging and has to consider carefully where she’ll stay so that she’s safe.

There’s also the issue of Evie discovering that she isn’t as in charge of her own affairs as she’d thought. Her somewhat controlling husband, convinced she’d make a hash of her own finances, has put two of her children in charge of her bank account. And one of them is keen for her to move into a retirement complex, where she’ll be properly looked after. Very keen. I was pleased to note that her daughter’s determination to see her mother booked into the complex comes from concern for her welfare and grief for a dead father. A father she’d promised that she’d take care of Evie after he was gone. I thought the whole issue was well handled. It could so easily have degenerated into an emotionally charged quarrel, depicting the daughter as a domineering wretch, who wanted control of her mother’s finances. Rather than the reaction of an over-controlling personality, grieving for the loss of her father and very concerned that her mother slide into old age being thoroughly looked after.

As for the ending – there’s a sudden twist that took me utterly by surprise, but also opens the door to a possible sequel. Either way, I don’t mind. This book turned out to be a charming read that also didn’t flinch from dealing with some gnarly issues. Highly recommended. Though I obtained an arc of Evie Walters Takes the Wheel from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 14th October, 2026 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

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:

#paranormal romance #ghosts and demons #feisty hero/heroine #humour

Meet Me After Life by Anneka-Rose Burrell

Release date – 17th October, 2026

BLURB: Ever had your date bombed by a hot ghost?

As it turns out, living in a fantasy world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Miller V. Brown has collected a plethora of credentials over the years — professional orphan, mediocre journalist, pathetic lowly mortal… then of course there’s her most recently acquired title ‘victim of immortal gentrification’. Inner city taxes have been raised for humans. So, Miller has to move.

She never expected the mortal subsidised housing program to be perfect. Her new house is next to a haunted forest overrun with demonic chickens, for starters. And then there’s the talking tree with an attitude problem who happens to be her neighbour. But as Miller begins to acquaint herself with her strange new surroundings, she finds friendship and community along the way. Life isn’t perfect but she’s managing. Until she discovers her new lodgings are inhabited by the haughty (albeit unquestionably hot) poltergeist, Walker.

With nowhere else to go, and Walker intent on making her life miserable, Miller’s only option is to resort to supernatural warfare. But somewhere amidst possessed poultry attacks and failed exorcisms, Miller and Walker unravel each other’s defences. An unlikely friendship and undeniable attraction makes Miller question everything she knows about acceptance and belonging. Could it be that this orphan has finally found her forever home, even if it is a little haunted?
I’ve been reading and listening to some books on the serious side and wanted something that would make me smile. An enemies-to-friends romance between a poltergeist and a slightly grumpy mortal who is being bothered by demonic chickens sounds like a lot of fun!

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo #BrainfluffNETGALLEYbookreview #TheScarletBallbookreview

I really liked the premise for this one. I’ve been reading a lot of historical fantasy adventures recently – and this one sounded intriguing. And it also has some aspects in common with Adrian Tchaikovsky’s novella, Preaching to the Choir.

BLURB: Judith Ban, former convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief, is on the lookout for her next identity. The daughter of a Vietnamese adventuress and a French naval officer, she’s no stranger to risk, but she’s unprepared for the secrets of New York’s legendary Four Hundred, or for the women who build their power at the city’s heart through blood-soaked, gold-etched rituals of demonic marriage.

In exchange for enough wealth to outrun her past, Judith strikes a deal with the matriarch of the powerful Howard family: she will stand in for the missing Howard granddaughter, who was poised to make her debut when she disappeared. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall’s face stitched over her own, Judith is white, rich, and about to risk body and soul in the deadly games that determine which girls will find a match—and which will be devoured. If she can keep her wits and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power who will be hers to command… so long as she can keep his infinite hungers fed. But to survive the season, Judith will have to seduce a storm in the shape of a man, before the night to which everything has been leading—the Scarlet Ball where the demons choose their brides.

REVIEW: I loved this one. Judith stumbles into the situation she finds herself in, after being engulfed by a terrible storm while delivering a hatbox to Miss Marshall. She has a peculiar and not particularly pleasant encounter with the formidable Mrs Howard, Miss Marshall’s grandmother. But Judith is made of stern stuff. Brought up in Paris, she only arrived in New York the previous year and is in the process of trying to establish herself. Which is being hampered because she’s on the run from someone very dangerous and powerful. So she’s desperate enough to agree to a remarkable bargain that will keep her safe and in a degree of comfort that would be otherwise utterly unattainable. That said, it’s clearly highly dangerous…

I loved Judith. She is feisty, intelligent and tough. I would just mention that while it doesn’t occur on every page, there is a fair amount of swearing and use of the f- word. And there are a couple of steamy sex scenes. None of it gratuitous or out of character, but if such content offends you, then you might want to give this one a miss.

Vo’s evocation of a slightly alternate Gilded Age New York is very well done. The gorgeous dresses Judith wears and what a debutante fills her days with, running alongside the visceral danger of the demonic beings drawn into making marriages with certain families, makes for a pleasing dissonance. One by one, the girls who began the season with The White Ball, are whittled down. The morning after each significant event, Mrs Howard and Judith read the society pages to discover who made it home safely – and who didn’t.

Judith is initially hired to stand in for the first few weeks of the season, as Mrs Howard is convinced she will track Ginny down. But the weeks wear on and Judith continues to be her stand-in – until she attracts her own demon. The danger and stakes become steadily higher as Judith is drawn ever deeper into this darker, violent underbelly of high society responsible for providing power and money to chosen families. She isn’t completely safe within the family home – for Mr Howard is also a demonic being, who has to be kept fed and happy by his wife. And the metaphorical aspect of this story can also be taken into account. In reality, highly sheltered young women were displayed to men looking for wives – and many found themselves married to debauched rakes without the option of divorce or much shelter from the law.

The premise is clever and the savage cost of courting such dangerous beings is beautifully done. I read far later than I’d planned to, unable to tear myself away from this one – and once I finished, I experienced that mix of happiness and disappointment that only comes from an outstanding read. Very highly recommended. Though I obtained an arc of The Scarlet Ball from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Tips on Life #BrainfluffCastellanthe Black #WiseDraconicTipsonLife #PickyEaters

Acquiring a reasonable hoard and a reputation as a strong fighter are the two more important goals for a young lord – but do try to have fun along the way. There are established alphas who have striven so hard to achieve their ends, they’ve forgotten what joy is.

Castellan the Black, mighty dragon warrior, features in my Picky Eaters series. All proceeds for the duration of the publishing life of Picky Eaters, first book in the series, are donated to mental health charities. The second book, Flame & Blame, and the third book, Trouble With Dwarves, are now available.

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Library of Botanical Witchcraft by Jasmine Wigham #BrainfluffNETGALLEYbookreview #TheLibraryofBotanicalWitchcraftbookreview

I loved the cover, but what closed the deal was the mention of the Emily Wilde adventures which I loved. So would this book hold the same place in my heart?

BLURB: The Evergreen Conservatoire of Botanical Witchcraft is off limits to anyone without magical gifts.

But Thalia Sylvestre has just landed herself a prestigious job as an assistant in Evergreen’s library, granting her rare access to this unique repository of botanical witchlore.

It’s Thalia’s perfect job to be surrounded by gilded tomes of magic and enchanted plants with minds of their own. Most importantly, it gives her the resources she needs to research, in secret, a cure for the curse that afflicts her twin sister Hebe.

If only the place wasn’t teeming with troublesome witches. Witches like August Hawthorne, a post-graduate student from a distinguished line of magical botanists. August is standoffish and clearly disdainful of Thalia. But his research could be the key to helping Hebe – if Thalia can stop acting so flustered around him for long enough to find out. As Thalia and August grow closer, time is running out for Hebe. But within Evergreen are secrets yet to be unearthed . . .

REVIEW: This story is being marketed as a light academia with an enemies-to-lovers romance. And I can absolutely see why. Wigham is extremely good at depicting a vivid setting, complete with mood music. Thalia and Hebe live on the edge of a town that has a lot in common with Stars Hollow, the picture-perfect place where the Gilmore Girls live. Wigham has skilfully blurred the exact era where this is set. Thalia uses a bicycle but there isn’t any mention of cars and the clothing could come from almost any time from the 1920s onwards.

The magical and non-magical live alongside each other without there being too much friction about it. Although certain members of the magical community clearly feel superior to their non-magical neighbours and no one non-magical is considered as a student at the prestigious Evergreen Conservatoire. There is the inevitable steady stream of delicious baking treats provided by an obliging and gifted baker – another must-have ingredient for cosy fantasy stories. There is also a cast of quirky characters, most of whom turn out to be reasonably pleasant, despite Thalia’s initial fears.

However, there is an interesting issue with this story. Not a criticism, but something I began aware of, having recently read a book involving a curse with a much darker tone. For despite being touted as ‘light’ the actual story isn’t remotely cosy. Hebe, Thalia’s twin, has somehow fallen foul of a really nasty curse. Bark-like patches are growing across her skin, she is becoming increasingly unwell and if Thalia cannot discover the cause, or some sort of remedy reasonably soon – Hebe is likely to die. If it hadn’t been for the chirpy, feel-good setting, complete with all the necessary genre tropes – including a cute cat – this book could have easily been written as a tension-filled dark academia tale with strong gothic vibes.

To be clear – I’m not having a moan about this dichotomy. I found it fascinating. And it certainly didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the story. I was initially a bit impatient at Thalia’s nerves and general faffing around. But as the story wore on, I became invested in her quest as the relationship between the sisters was three-dimensional and layered. While she was spending as much time as she could combing the library for a cure and evidently adored her sister, there were times when Thalia felt trapped and guiltily resentful at having to spend so much time and energy looking after and generally worrying about Hebe. And while that isn’t a particularly admirable trait, it certainly felt realistic. Other times, the closeness between the siblings was evident and moving.

The romantic relationship worked well – though given how predictable it was, the fact that I really cared about a happy outcome for them speaks highly of the writing. All in all I found this a charming and entertaining read with sufficient grit to prevent it being too treacly. Though I obtained an arc of The Library of Botanical Witchcraft from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 7th October, 2026 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

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:

#fantasy adventure #time travel #feisty hero/heroine

As We Fall Through Time by Claire North

Release date – 13th October, 2026

BLURB: In the beginning, the world will end. This is the story of what happens next.

When Cal meets a soldier of the French Revolution, he knows his lover is destined to die. But what is the point of being a time traveller if you can’t make a few small tweaks to the course of history? A little paradox here, an alteration there – nothing Cal can’t fix, to save the man he loves.

When Fadimatu walks into a museum in 2018, she stumbles upon her own mummified corpse, setting her on the path to a betrayal that has already killed her, and a murder that has not yet come to pass.

And when a sudden rupture in the fabric of history rips through the lives these travellers have built, breaking both past and future, they must reckon with death foretold, love forsaken, and a secret that will shatter time itself.

Fall through history on a thrilling journey of shattered time, broken futures and a love that can never be erased.


I’m a fan of North’s writing, which is always thought-provoking and memorable, see my reviews of Slow Gods, The Pursuit of William Abbey, The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Touch and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. I’ve also loved her books when she was writing as Kate Griffin. Here are my reviews of A Madness of Angels and Neon from her outstanding Matthew Swift series and a review of Stray Souls from the quirky and very funny Magicals Anonymous series. But her Songs of Penelope series, looking at the events in Ithaca, while Odyssus is away fighting at Troy is superlative – see my review of The Last Song of Penelope.

So I’m keen to see what she does with time travel – always a solid favourite of mine when done well.

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Court of Venus by Bel Banta #BrainfluffNETGALLEYbookreview #TheCourtofVenusbookreview

I’m a sucker for suspenseful, well-told tales of court politics, preferably with a splash of magic. So when I saw this one, I immediately requested it.

BLURB: In Alvion, magicians have always ruled beside kings. Blessed at birth by one of the seven planets, their abilities are miraculous and extremely rare. Magicians born under Jupiter influence luck. Saturnborn can speak to the dead. Venusborn read the desires of the living.

At the moment of Bianca Mortlake’s birth, the stars and planets aligned just so, making her the first Moonborn magician in over a thousand years. A sorcery so rare that even the history books cannot say what she is capable of.

After a childhood training under the realm’s most powerful magician—and alongside a most insufferable Venusborn named Roland—Bianca lives a quiet life far from court. Until a chilling missive arrives in the night, summoning her back.

A mad and deadly court awaits. Two queens have met the executioner’s blade, and one wrong move could see any of them next beneath its steel. As power is pulled between ruthless royals and courtiers like the tides by the moon, Bianca must rely on the last person she would ever want to—the infuriatingly alluring Roland. Because something is terribly wrong in Alvion. And only this moon-blessed magician and her oldest rival can save the court—and each other—from the dark fate they see written in the stars.

REVIEW: This is a slow burn tale, with Bianca returning to the court after terrible changes have been wrought, leaving it a far more dangerous place for her. Courtiers stare, whispering and those in power are not overly pleased to see her. She is quiet, secretive and clever – all characteristics she needs to employ to stay safe.

Elderly King Richard has just married a new wife, having executed two previous wives and his mistress along with his court magician. And the magician who is now by his side and the power behind the throne is a former fellow apprentice and playmate, the obnoxiously beautiful and confident Roland, whose powers fall under the auspices of Venus.

Bianca’s feelings around him are tangled, to put it mildly. But we are not initially aware of exactly what is going on, as Banta steadily reveals the emotional backstory, in addition to giving us a ringside seat into Bianca’s efforts to discover exactly what happened to the Crown Prince. If done well, this type of storytelling is a favourite with me. And it’s done well here. I loved the tension and palpable sense of danger that drew me into the world as Bianca negotiates the social shark tank, while doing her best to avoid Roland. I quickly bonded with her and was firmly on her side throughout.

Bianca changes quite a lot throughout this book, becoming more assertive and less prone to fade into the background. Roland’s nickname for her – Mouse – certainly is no longer a good fit by the final third of the book. There is shape-shifting, magical duels, curses and dangerous grimoires running along the good old-fashioned court politics of betrayal and double-dealing, all overseen by a cruel king desperate for a living heir.

I blew through this one, as the pages turned themselves, keen to discover what happens next. I will mention that it does end on something of a cliff-hanger, despite not being advertised as the first in a series. Though I obtained an arc of The Court of Venus from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

SUNDAY POST – 4th October, 2026 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

This is part of the weekly, or fortnightly 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.

The cupboards have now been fitted in the garden room and Himself is thrilled. He has spent hours in there, organising scenarios and filling the cupboards with wargaming armies and scenery. The weather continues unseasonably warm and dry, which I’m enjoying far more than the summer, because at least the heat is a sensible temperature and any sunny, warm weather now shortens the approaching winter. Oscar has been ill with a feverish cold all week – which isn’t a surprise as he has just started at college and is mixing with people on the train and in classrooms, however he is now feeling better. I’ve been feeling a bit green about the gills, but that’s down to my seasonal flu injection. Ethan has got a part-time job to tide him over while he continues looking for animation jobs, which starts tomorrow. I’m so proud of his can-do attitude. He’s also just completed a commission for a musician friend who is releasing an album in the coming fortnight.

Last Sunday, we had Eliza for the day and visited the Wetland and Wildlife Trust in Arundel with the boys. And in the evening, Himself and I went to a concert held in Arundel Cathedral featuring The Lark Ascending and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. With the amazing acoustics in the cathedral, the music sounded stunning and the cathedral looked fabulous.

The pics this week show the cupboards in the garden room; one of the scenarios Himself arranged on the wargaming table; our boat ride through the reedbeds at the WWT; Eliza looking across the reedbeds at the Wetland and Wildlife Trust; the three siblings together where she was telling them all about the boat ride; and Arundel Cathedral before the concert started.

Since my last Sunday Post, I’ve read, or listened to:-

The Green Man’s Debt – Book 9 of The Green Man series by Juliet E. McKenna
Dan Mackmain’s mum is a dryad, so he knows asking someone from the supernatural world for a favour means there’ll be a price to pay, sooner or later. He’s been waiting for the Hunter, the antler-crowned guardian of predators and prey, to call in his debt.

He wasn’t expecting this to happen when he and his girlfriend Fin were planning to visit her sister Iris and her new husband Conn. Dan has prepared for this unknown challenge, reading up on Irish folklore. So far, he’s learned how different those who live in that unseen realm will be from anyone he’s encountered before – and that crossing them could be very dangerous.
Well written as ever, but perhaps without the narrative pace and tension I’ve come to expect from this superb series. But that still means it’s an enjoyable read. 8/10



AUDIOBOOK – Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky
In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals work in the shadows. Genetically engineered Little Helpers, serving humanity—unseen, unheard./

Meet Skotch. Racoon, P.I.—Yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn’t too illegal, whatever that means.

A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn’t raise any hackles, nor any alarms, but this mouse has something that everyone seems to want, though nobody appears particularly eager to say what that something is.

The fee is good—perhaps too good. Certainly not something Skotch can easily turn down. If only Skotch can work out where the mouse is hiding, what he’s hiding, and why his secrets are upsetting a lot of animals caught up in the Green City wars.
Talking animals, who perform all sorts of tasks so humans don’t have to. And nope – this isn’t remotely like Peter Rabbit. I enjoyed it and was rooting for Skotch all the way, but would have preferred there to be not quite so much telling, which slowed the pace somewhat. 8/10


AUDIOBOOK – The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

When Poppy Hill was a child, she was stolen from her family’s Montana homestead and taken ‘Otherside’ to the land of the Fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King’s castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers faerie bargains, checking for loopholes in their contracts.

But when a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong, she must return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.
This is a solid delight. Poppy is a tough heroine, who has been damaged far more than she realises. And the Otherside is a difficult, dangerous place for humans. I dreamt of this one – and was miserable when it finished. Though I’m delighted that a second book in the series is coming out next year. 10/10



AUDIOBOOK – The Gameshouse #1-3 by Claire North
Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets…

It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost through chess, backgammon – every game under the sun.

But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league… a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent. Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all…
This novel was originally published as three digital-only novellas: The Serpent, The Thief, and The Master. The concept of major disasters happening because shadowy figures are using humans as playing pieces in a series of complex games isn’t original – but North takes the idea and turns it into an immersive, memorable story. 9/10



The Court of Venus by Bel Banta
In Alvion, magicians have always ruled beside kings. Blessed at birth by one of the seven planets, their abilities are miraculous and extremely rare. Magicians born under Jupiter influence luck. Saturnborn can speak to the dead. Venusborn read the desires of the living.

At the moment of Bianca Mortlake’s birth, the stars and planets aligned just so, making her the first Moonborn magician in over a thousand years. A sorcery so rare that even the history books cannot say what she is capable of.

After a childhood training under the realm’s most powerful magician—and alongside a most insufferable Venusborn named Roland—Bianca lives a quiet life far from court. Until a chilling missive arrives in the night, summoning her back.

A mad and deadly court awaits. Two queens have met the executioner’s blade, and one wrong move could see any of them next beneath its steel. As power is pulled between ruthless royals and courtiers like the tides by the moon, Bianca must rely on the last person she would ever want to—the infuriatingly alluring Roland. Because something is terribly wrong in Alvion. And only this moon-blessed magician and her oldest rival can save the court—and each other—from the dark fate they see written in the stars.
Gripping fantasy adventure set in the middle of lethal court politics. Review to follow.



The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo
Pick a face, pick a fate.

Judith Ban, former convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief, is on the lookout for her next identity. The daughter of a Vietnamese adventuress and a French naval officer, she’s no stranger to risk, but she’s unprepared for the secrets of New York’s legendary Four Hundred, or for the women who build their power at the city’s heart through blood-soaked, gold-etched rituals of demonic marriage.

In exchange for enough wealth to outrun her past, Judith strikes a deal with the matriarch of the powerful Howard family: she will stand in for the missing Howard granddaughter, who was poised to make her debut when she disappeared. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall’s face stitched over her own, Judith is white, rich, and about to risk body and soul in the deadly games that determine which girls will find a match—and which will be devoured. If she can keep her wits and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power who will be hers to command… so long as she can keep his infinite hungers fed. But to survive the season, Judith will have to seduce a storm in the shape of a man, before the night to which everything has been leading—the Scarlet Ball where the demons choose their brides.
A debutante’s season in New York during a slightly Gilded Age where girls attend a series of social events with the goal of getting a husband. But what if your suitor is capable of killing you if you make a wrong move? Review to follow.



Evie Walters Takes the Wheel by Kathleen Fox
Evie Walters has lived most of her seventy-one years according to others’ expectations. But on the day of her husband’s funeral, she receives an anonymous an egret orchid. The same flower a Montana ranch hand once gave her decades ago—Novel Daniels, the boy who thought she could do anything.

So now, she does.

Defying her children’s plans to move her into a retirement home, Evie buys a camper van and leaves life in North Carolina abruptly behind. Accompanied by her devoted rescue dog, she heads west to find her cowboy, befriending an unlikely cast of characters along the way. Free-spirited young van-lifers, roadside waitresses, eccentric billionaires, and kindhearted widowers all show Evie a side of life worth living.

But Evie’s drive toward the future takes her back to the past, to memories of the family ranch and childhood dreams. Now, with a second chance as open as the road before her, there’s no telling who Evie Walters will become.
A contemporary road quest novel featuring an older female protagonist who is on a mission to recapture an important part of her past. Review to follow.



Posts during the last fortnight:

Castellan and His Wise Draconic Tips on Life


Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 30th September, 2026

Review of AUDIOBOOK The Lost Hero – Book 1 of The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

Castellan and His Wise Draconic Tips on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Case of the Christie Honeymoon Murder – Book 5 of The Detection Club series by Kelly Oliver

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 23rd September, 2026

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore

Sunday Post – 20th September, 2026


Wishing you a happy, healthy fortnight crammed with fabulous books😊.