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.
May you live in interesting times… It’s an old Chinese curse, apparently. Well, right now Life is waaay too interesting. We noticed a puddle of water in the paved area just outside out back door in a straight line to the outbuilding where we house our washing machine – and realised the mains water pipe under the ground must be leaking. It was. And when the specialist plumbers came to mend the leak, it took them three goes. As soon as they fixed one leak and turned the water back on, the pipe immediately gave way somewhere else… They said our 65-year-old pipes had essentially given up – confronting us with the scenario of the pipes running through the footings of the house starting to leak *shudders at the thought*. So yesterday, we had the firm back to run a completely new waterpipe network down the side of the house and around to the back where they connected it to the cold water system using an underground boring machine. There were 5 holes dug altogether where they fed in the new piping using a nifty underground mechanical mole and tomorrow they are returning to concrete over the holes and box in the new pipework where it goes into the outbuilding and the house. But as you can imagine, this hasn’t been cheap…
At least the weather was good while they were doing all this – in fact it’s been absolutely fantastic – just a shame we couldn’t get out in the garden…
This week I have read:
Winter Tide – Book 1 of The Innsmouth Legacy series by Ruthanna Emrys
After attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. Government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took
them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future. The government that stole Aphra’s life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race. Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature.
For those of you who don’t recognise the references, Winter Tide is set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft, the famous horror and dark fantasy short story writer and novelist.
I fell in love with this spare, gripping tale within a couple of pages – the character and premise immediately pulled me into the story where a paranoid and jittery US Government are seeing threats from anyone who looks different, back in 1949.
Magic in the City by Heather Dyer
Brothers Jake and Simon Grubb are not happy they have to leave their home in Canada to move in with their cousin Hannah and her family in England. But things get interesting for the boys when, on the way there, they encounter a retiring magician at a highway rest stop who presents them with three gifts he claims have magical properties: a carpet, a camera and a stopwatch. Unfortunately, the magician doesn’t provide them with any instructions. So when the boys and Hannah find themselves being swept away on a wild adventure fueled by the magic in these curious objects, they have to learn as they go. But who cares when it’s this exciting!
Dyer also serves up a fair dollop of humour along with the chaos and excitement. I love the depiction of the Queen – whether or not it’s correct, I thought it was a delight. Overall, this is a charming, enjoyable book that delivers an engrossing magical adventure with some hefty family issues wrapped up in the story that will speak to the many fatherless children out there. Recommended for independent readers between eight and eleven years old, depending on maturity.
The Forever Court – Book 2 of The Knights of the Borrowed Dark trilogy by Dave Rudden
Life is returning to normal for Denizen Hardwick. Well, the new normal, where he has to battle monsters 
in quiet Dublin bookshops and constantly struggle to contain the new powers he has been given by Mercy, the daughter of the Endless King. But Denizen may need those powers sooner than he thinks – not only are the Tenebrous stirring again but the Order of the Borrowed Dark face a new threat from much closer to home…
I had forgotten just how punchy and enjoyable Rudden’s writing is – while the world is tense and gothic with plenty of thrills and spills and some genuinely exciting action. I love Denizen as a character and am looking forward seeing where this one goes next. I will be reviewing this one tomorrow.
My posts last week:
Review of Blood Upon the Sand – Book 2 of The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley Beaulieu
NEW RELEASE SPECIAL Review of Magic in the City by Heather Dyer
NEW RELEASE SPECIAL Review of Winter Tide – Book 1 of The Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys
Friday Face-off – Send in the clowns… featuring The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Discovery Challenge 2017 and Tackling my TBR – March Roundup
Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
G is for Grief https://zenandtheartoftightropewalking.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/g-is-for-grief/ Viv is a wonderfully talented writer – but don’t take my word for it. Read her blog. This moving, thought provoking article is typical of her output…
Tales of 100 hearts https://jeanleesworld.com/2017/04/06/tales-of-100-hearts/ A quirky, original slice of Jean’s life – this one left me with a lump in my throat as I still keep wondering who had already learnt that SAFETY matters so much…
Discoveries, Engineering Progress and Science Fiction https://rosieoliver.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/discoveries-engineering-progress-and-science-fiction/#comment-2161 Rosie has a science background and she is very interested in exploring some of the more cutting-edge issues in her fiction. Meantime, once more, she has provided a great roundup of what is going on in the scientific community this week…
The Inconsistency of Truth https://ginnibites.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/the-inconsistency-of-truth/ Ginni nails it, again… Insomniacs everywhere will recognise this scenario.
5 New Science Fiction Books to Watch Out For https://librarystaffpicks.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/5-new-science-fiction-books-to-watch-out-for/ This award-winning library site does a cracking job in featuring books the staff think their reading public may enjoy – obviously this one appealed to me.
Thank you for visiting and taking the time and trouble to comment – and may you have a wonderful reading and blogging week.
Brainfluff 