This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.
Me and my mouth… I should have kept quiet about the sudden appearance of sunshine, because during this week it has become steadily cooler, more overcast, windy and rainy. Of course it has – the schools have broken up and we have the grandchildren for an extended visit.
I’m still timelining The Sunblinded trilogy and am now three-quarters of the way through Breathing Space though inevitably progress is slower as I am in granny mode. And grannies get black marks for spending extended spells on their computers when those precious children want their attention.
This week I’ve managed to read:
An Accident of Stars – Book 1 of The Manifold Worlds series by Foz Meadows
When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena, a magical 
realm on the brink of civil war. There, her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women: Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, chief among them the Vex’Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest.
Once more NetGalley came through – I requested this intriguing book and I’m very glad I did – it’s a cracking adventure that manages to take some of the main tropes in portal world stories and thoroughly shake them up. I’ll be reviewing it at the beginning of August.
The Fifth Season – Book 1 of The Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin
THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS… FOR THE LAST TIME.
A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
I’ve had several people busy recommending this book for a while (yes, Sara Letourneau – I’m talking about you…) and now I know why. Though it sounds like it, this isn’t an account of some grim dismantling of the world after the style of The Passage or a bleak examination of what happens once the apocalypse has descended, as in The Road. It’s something else. With passages in omniscient viewpoint and one main character presented in second person pov, it’s a remarkable read. It has been nominated for a Hugo Award, Nebula Award and Locus Award, which should give you an idea of the quality of this book. It’s certainly one of my outstanding reads of the year, so far.
My posts last week:
Sunday Post – 24th July
NEW RELEASE SPECIAL – Review of Machinations – Book 1 of the Machinations series by Hayley Stone
Teaser Tuesday – featuring The Fifth Season – Book 1 of the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
London-based Spec-Fic Tales – Part 1
*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Shift by Em Bailey
Review of Vowed – Book 2 of The Blackhart Legacy by Liz de Jager
Other interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
How To Annoy a Reader https://livinginthepagesz.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/how-to-annoy-a-reader/ This hilarious rant from an avid reader on some of the things her non-reader friends sometimes say made me grin.
Fantasy: The (Not So) Easy Genre http://melfka.com/archives/1875 An excellent article debunking this myth by Joanne Maciejewska
I really enjoyed this intriguing photo… https://photolicioux.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/untitled-78/ by Photolicioux
Book Blogger Blind Date Presents: UK vs US Slangdown https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/book-blogger-blind-date-presents-uk-v-us-slangdown/ This is fun – and highlights why the Yanks and Brits so often get their wires crossed.
This coming week I’ll be entertaining my young grandson on his own, so we plan to do some swimming, crazy golf, lots of playing games and colouring. If it’s fine we’ll go to the beach, so the reading and blogging will be taking more of a back seat. Many thanks for visiting and taking the time and trouble to comment – and may you have a wonderful reading and blogging week.
Brainfluff 
You seriously do not sound like you can be a grandmother! I bet your grand children think you are the cat’s whiskers! Hope you will have a great week spending time coloring in and playing on the beach. I’ve mentioned your London based spec fic tales on my Sunday Post! http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/07/the-sunday-post-31-july-2016.html
Enjoy your time with your grandson. I’m taking one of my granddaughters up north for a beach visit with family.
Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Have fun with your grandson and thanks for mentioning the slangdown post, I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste but it was fun and meant as a laugh. 😀
And I’m sure that’s how most people will view it – I know I did:))
Enjoy your alone time with your grandson and I do hope the sunshine makes an appearance for you so that you can do some outdoorsy things.
That would be great! We’ve the seaside a 10 minute car-ride from here, so a couple of nice sunny days would be very welcome.
I loved The Fifth Season as well, getting ready to read The Obelisk Gate! And I’ve heard from several bloggers who love An Accident of Stars. I wish I had your cool weather and rain, please send it here to Los Angeles! It’s horribly hot here.
Yes – last week’s reading material was definitely a highlight in a year where I’ve read some of the best sff I’ve ever encountered. I must keep an eye out for The Obelisk Gate…I do wish we could swap weather systems for even a few days. It’s been so cloudy and overcast and I do miss the bright sunlight!
Hope you have a great week with the grandchildren! And also that the weather improves. After a sunny week it got a bit overcast here as well late in the week.
An accident of Stars looks intriguing to me, I like a good portal story every once in a while and that one certainly sounds promising. I’ll have to take a closer look.
Thank you, Greg. Yes – I thoroughly recommend An Accident of Stars – it certainly drew me in to the extent that I’m keeping a keen lookout for the next book in the series.
Aww sorry the weather hasn’t been as good lately. But at least you seem to have had a great reading week!
I’m currently reading Machinations, and it is completely not what I was expecting. I didn’t want to read any reviews so close to when I was about to read the book, but I’ll check yours out after I’ve finished and written mine.
Have fun with your grandson this week, wouldn’t want you to get those black marks on your granny record 😉
Thank you Kristen:). I’ll be fascinated to know what you think of Machinations. Yes… he’s a little poppet and I’ve never grown out of enjoying playing – so fun is pretty much guaranteed…
Oh I hope the sun reappears so you can enjoy a lovely week with your grandson! How precious to have that time together!
I’m very blessed:)
I’m sending sunshine your way so you can get outside and do all of that fun stuff with your grandson! Have a blast:)
Sorry I haven’t been by for a few days. Been busy with family too!
Thank you for your kind efforts – so far the good weather seems to have stalled halfway across the Atlantic, but we had a fab day yesterday, anyway:). And as for your absence – being with family is an excellent reason to neglect the computer, isn’t it?
*chuckling at the Fifth Season mention* But I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! It’s a bit of an acquired read, even compared to Jemisin’s Inheritance books, but it blew me out of the water. I can’t wait for The Obelisk Gate to come out later this month. 😀
Have a wonderful time with your grandchildren! I hope the weather improves and cooperates for you. We’d gladly take some of your rain here; Massachusetts has had a very dry summer so far.
I’d give quite a lot for a slice of your sunshine – it’s overcast and trying to rain… again. And I’m also looking forward to The Obelisk Gate and can guarantee it won’t be languishing on my TBR list for long…
I am sorry to hear the weather were you live hasn’t been as good as you wanted to. I am glad we had some cooler weather this week as we had a very warm week before that. An Accident of Stars sounds like it was a good read, your description of it sure makes me curious.
I hope you’ll have a great week with your grandson!
Thank you, Lola – and I very much hope you have a good week, too!
The weather over there never stays good for too long, doesn’t it? And mentioning the word “sun” or “sunny” seems to be jinxing it in an instant.
I think you’ve been working so hard for the past months, you deserve some quality granny time (until they wear you out and you’re ready to go back to your books 😉 ).
Also, thank you so much for mentioning my post. 🙂
Yes – I definitely think it’s my fault the weather is being so wayward. I shouldn’t have mentioned the ‘s’ word aloud… And I’m having a lovely granny time – he is such a delightful companion… Funny, smart and confiding as only 6 yr olds can be. You’re very welcome – I thoroughly enjoyed your article and felt others would also like it. Have a great week, Joanne:)
Have a great week too! I hope you will get a bit of sun, so you can have some outside granny time too. 🙂
We had a couple intense days of rain last week, but it rolled through and cleared up. Having your grandchildren over sounds so fun! I hope you enjoy your adventures!
Thank you for swinging by, Charlie:). Sadly, it rained fairly solidly this afternoon so we couldn’t get Oscar out on his bike, but we had fun baking, instead…
Hope you have a fun week. 🙂 A few great books there too. Take care!
Thank you for coming over – yes, last week was a lovely reading week. Hope yours is a good one this coming week, Melissa.
Your rainy weather sounds so divine. Haha It’s been so hot here. We are celebrating that the temps are 10 degrees cooler this week, but it’s still pretty hot out, considering. I hope you are enjoying your time with the grandchildren!
We may be visiting the in-laws soon for my father-in-law’s birthday. It’s still in the planning stages as we try to figure out if we can overcome the roadblocks that might keep it from happening.
The Broken Earth series sounds like it gets off to a good start. Definitely something I’ll want to check out.
Thank you for sharing the links to all those interesting posts, Sarah!
You’re welcome, Wendy:)). As for the rain… it started last night and has been raining off and on most of the day and is also rather chilly. I do know that we are ‘lucky’ to have plenty of rain – but I am SO sick of the lack of sunshine! Luckily my grandson is happy to play indoors, but it does seem a shame to have to do so in August. I highly recommend The Fifth Season and hope you have a great reading week and that it doesn’t get too hot for you.
We got nearly torrential rain on Fri & Sat, but I was actually grateful (once I got home safely), since it cooled things off a bit.
Sunday Summary #13
Glad you got some cooling rain. I am sick of the sight of it…