SUNDAY POST – 21st May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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 busy week, as Oscar is now back at school. There are still days when he doesn’t feel all that well, but overall the headaches are definitely improving and are at least bearable when they do make an appearance – such a relief! He’s also back to attending the gym and football practice, again. Ethan has been flat out working on his final assignment for college over the last month, so we were all delighted when he announced on Thursday that he’d completed it. He had to take his first GCSE Maths exam on Friday morning – and at least this time he managed to attend, as there were no problems with the trains. Himself has taken time off work for all the days of Ethan’s exams just in case he needs to drive him to college.

The weather remains cool at night with a mixture of sunshine and showers during the day. The garden is a disgrace – overrun with weeds and utter neglect. I would be ashamed of it, but frankly I don’t have the bandwidth. I’m still not well enough to undertake gardening on top of the steadily growing household chores I’m now able to perform and I’ve no intention of risking a relapse by trying to take on more. So here is the gallery of shame – my poor choked plants blooming despite everything!

I’m making steady progress with my story Casta and the Giggling Knight – I’m hoping to complete it within the next couple of weeks. As you can see below, my reading has very much fallen off recently, as I’m spending less time resting in bed.

Books I’ve read in the last fortnight:-

Lords of Uncreation – Book 3 of The Final Architecture series by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything – the Architects’ greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy’s great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror.

Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris’ discovery, as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of a higher intelligence.

Deep within unspace, where time moves differently, and reality isn’t quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity’s daring – and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.
I thoroughly enjoyed this final instalment of this epic space opera adventure. Tchaikovsky has a knack of depicting flawed and difficult characters that I end up really caring about. Idris is one of my all-time favourites and I loved his journey throughout this adventure. 10/10

AUDIOBOOK – The Wizard Hunters: the Fall of Ile-Rien – Book 3 of the Ile-Rien series by Martha Wells
Once a fertile and prosperous land, Ile-Rien is under attack by the Gardier, a mysterious army whose storm-black airships appear from nowhere to strike without warning. Every weapon in the arsenal of Ile-Rien’s revered wizards has proven useless.

And now the last hope of a magical realm under siege rests within a child’s plaything.
I discovered this audiobook on my Audible +Catalogue and it’s a gem. This steampunk fantasy adventure is full of action and tension with a likeable and complicated main character. The world is vividly described and I enjoyed the magic system that gradually became clearer throughout the book – I liked the fact that different societies view it very differently. Altogether a cracking read and I’ll definitely be getting hold of more books in this series. 9/10

Ukulele of Death – Book 1 of the Fran and Ken Stein Mystery series by E.J. Copperman
Meet Fran and Ken Stein – a private investigator duo who refuse to let a little thing like being not entirely human stop them from doing their jobs. After losing their parents when they were just babies, private investigators Fran and Ken Stein now specialize in helping adoptees find their birth parents. So when a client asks them for help finding her father, with her only clue a rare ukulele, the case is a little weird, sure, but it’s nothing they can’t handle.

But soon Fran and her brother are plunged into a world where nothing makes sense – and not just the fact that a very short (but very cute) NYPD detective keeps trying to take eternal singleton Fran out on dates.

All Fran wants to do is find the ukulele and collect their fee, but it’s hard to keep your focus when you’re stumbling over corpses and receiving messages that suggest your (dead) parents are very much alive. Ukuleles aside, it’s becoming clear that someone knows something they shouldn’t – that Fran and Ken Stein weren’t so much born, as built.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Copperman’s other books in her series featuring the intrepid Sandy. This one didn’t wasn’t quite so sure-footed and I didn’t like Fran as much – review to follow. 7/10

Cursed Crowns – Book 2 of the Twin Crowns series by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.
Break the ice to free the curse,
Kill one twin to save another . . .
I wasn’t quite so sure about the first book in this series – I felt the romance slightly swamped the adventure. But this is where the story really takes off as we are immediately swept away into two thrilling adventures. Review to follow.

AUDIOBOOK – Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman–and a killer–of a certain age.
The premise immediately snagged my attention and I enjoyed the action and narrative progression. I’m not entirely sure the characters always worked – the snark and backchat often had the feel of younger women. And I wasn’t convinced about the reason they ended up on a Kill List, either. That said, overall I enjoyed the action and having older protagonists made a refreshing change. 8/10

‘Unexpected Meeting’ – Prequel STORY to The Grey Gates series by Vanessa Nelson
There isn’t a blurb here – it’s a reader magnet for having signed up for Vanessa Nelson’s newsletter. She is one of my favourite indie authors – I love her writing and inhaled the Ageless and Taellaneth series. I’m now taking it a tad more slowly as I have just got hold of first in the Grey Gates series, which she’s currently working on. She provides wonderful worldbuilding and a very different vibe to her urban fantasy adventures. The romantic element in her books tends to take second place to the narrative, which I really appreciate. 8/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Draconic Musings on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Lords of Uncreation – Book 3 of The Final Architecture series by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring The Launch Party by Lauren Forry

Review of KINDLE Ebook Gray Lady – Book 4 of the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries series by Byrd Nash

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 7th May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

We’ve had a series of warm, sunny days this week – yippee! So it was a real shame that yesterday King Charles and Queen Camilla had such soggy weather for their Coronation. At the end of yesterday morning’s practice, Oscar returned to the car after sloshing around the football pitch, looking like he’d just emerged from a rather muddy lake. The coaches are heroes for giving up their Saturday mornings to assist youngsters in improving their skills – especially in such conditions. As for the Coronation – I was so impressed with the blending of old and new within the service at Westminster Abbey and how the whole event ran on rails. It made me proud to be British.

Another milestone – it was local Government elections earlier this week, and so Ethan voted for the first time. I recall so clearly walking down the same road with his mother and voting with her. Where does the time go??

Other than that, it’s been a quieter week – partly because I’ve been struggling with my energy levels after last weekend’s busyness. So I haven’t managed to get as much writing done as I’d wanted, although I’m still having huge fun writing my novella – Casta and the Giggling Knight. I did watch a bit more TV and finally got around to the Magpie Murders series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It felt a tad like an Agatha Christie whodunit, but with a modern twist. The acting and production values were top notch and the plotting was witty and funny. It’s been a very long time since I enjoyed a murder mystery series so much.

Last week I read:-

AUDIOBOOK – Twin Crowns – Book 1 of the Twin Crowns series by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.

Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?
Aspects of this one worked really well. I liked the fact that both sisters really struggled to adapt in each other’s world and that the envisaged plan didn’t go remotely to plan. What I did find a bit frustrating was the hefty dose of romance that at times meant the girls – Wren in particular – was busy mooning over the man in her life, instead of focusing on keeping alive… But I’m aware I’m not the target audience for this book, so did make a few allowances for the YA genre conventions. Looking forward to reading the next book in the adventure.
8/10

Humanborn – Book 1 of the Shadows of Eireland series by Joanna Maciejewska
Less than a decade ago, the Magiclysm, a tear between Earth and another place, brought magic to Ireland—and worse, it brought back the mythborn. The war that followed left Dublin scarred, and cursed Kaja Modrzewska with chaotic magic that will eventually claim her life.

Struggling with wartime nightmares, Kaja seeks normalcy amongst the volatile peace working as an information broker when a series of explosions across Dublin threatens to reignite the war. Both sides are eager to blame the other, so Kaja reluctantly agrees to investigate.

But finding the terrorists responsible means working alongside the mythborn’s elite killers, and uncomfortable wartime secrets coming to light. Kaja, who had saved a mythborn’s life during the war, finds out she has a life debt of her own, and as she juggles her allegiances and obligations, she’ll have to decide where her loyalties lie, with her old human allies or the mythborn.
I enjoy Joanna’s writing – so was delighted when she asked me if I’d like a review copy of this new urban fantasy series. It’s a wonderful read. Kaja is a strong protagonist in a difficult place, but manages to give us a vivid insight into the full extent of her troubles without coming across as a victim, which is great deal harder to pull off than Joanna makes it look. Review to follow. 9/10

Gray Lady – Book 4 of the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries by Bryd Nash
The young Coralie Floquet desires to marry but the spectral appearance of a Gray Lady portends that her end might be soon. Called in to help by Tristan Fontain, the Duke de Archambeau, Elinor plans to chase spirits and rumors at a country estate in a seaside town.

But as soon as she arrives, ill-will seems to swirl around her, along with tittle-tattle about her relationship with Tristan that has gossips talking. Though Elinor doesn’t care much about stolen government documents, her heart might be lost when the duke finally reveals the truth about his past and why he took Elinor home when he first met her.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this engaging Gaslamp fantasy series – to the extent that I pre-ordered this one. Which didn’t disappoint – I loved the change of scene, Elinor’s struggles to recover after her last escapade and the deft plotting around this particular mystery. Review to follow. 9/10

AUDIOBOOK – Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they’re good at it.

The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn’s ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed. As layers of camouflage fall away, it becomes clear that Janus was never a moon in the first place. It’s some kind of machine – and it is now headed toward a fuzzily glimpsed artifact 260 light-years away. The Rockhopper is the only ship anywhere near Janus, and Bella Lind is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach. In accepting this mission, she sets her ship and her crew on a collision course with destiny – for Janus has more surprises in store, and not all of them are welcome.
This audiobook version is a joy. I particularly liked the narration by John Lee, who did a masterful job in depicting the various voices and delivering this story full of unexpected twists. I never knew where the story was going to go next – and Reynolds’ fertile imagination provided some of the grossest aliens ever. Musk dogs – ewwww… Overall The Rockhopper’s mind-bending adventures took me on an amazing journey that would make a wonderful TV series. Highly recommended. 9/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring March’s End by Daniel Polansky

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Sunday Post – 30th April, 2023

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 30th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

Finally, the weather over the weekend has felt more Spring-like, although the nights continue to be cold and we wake to find the temperatures in the 40s F. and the heating still coming on. On Saturday, we went into Brighton to see a project that Ethan worked on at college featured at the Jubilee Library – helping to produce a comic explaining gender. We knew Brighton would be busy, as indeed it was. The pictures show the window display of the comic Ethan worked on. We’re very proud, as not only did he contribute two pages, but he was one of the main project co-ordinators, ensuring everyone got the work done to the required deadlines, which is excellent practice for his professional career. The other picture is of little Eliza playing dominoes…

It’s the first time I’d travelled to Brighton since I became ill – and as well as the boys, we had our little granddaughter with us as her mother had to work through the weekend. She’s four years old and absolutely enchanting. We’d planned to eat once we returned home, but the traffic meant we got there quite late and everyone was hungry, so we had supper at a burger place that did vegan, veggie and meat burgers, which suited us a treat. My avocado vegan burger with sweet potato fries was yummy and it was enjoyable to eat out together, as it’s something we can’t afford to do very often.

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of Eliza’s company, again. She accompanied us when we did the supermarket run and then she and I played floor dominoes, Junior Dobble, Pairs and Beat Your Neighbour Out of Doors – a card game that doesn’t rely on any sort of skill. We also sorted hundreds of buttons into different colours and sizes and in between all that – we watched short extracts from the movie Ice Age, before she’d ask if we could turn it off and play together again. It was great fun and a lovely way to reconnect, as I don’t see her all that often. She calls me Granny Garden, because when she was about nine months old, I sang Round and Round the Garden to her and for a year afterwards, every time she saw me, she’d hold out her hand for me to sing and play the rhyme to her – so the name has stuck😊.

Last week was also a milestone for Oscar, who managed to return to school for a complete week, afternoons only. He still struggles with feeling very unwell, but is determined to get back to a normal life – and he managed to attend football practice for only the third time since Christmas. He’s stiff and aching, but I’m so very proud of his courage.

I plan to take it easy during Bank Holiday Monday, after such a busy couple of days. Himself and Ethan are playing a tabletop game featuring pirates and sea monsters with a friend of Himself’s and Oscar is recording YouTube videos.

Last week I read:-

Not of This World – Book 4 of the Gideon Sable Series by Simon R. Green
The Preserve in Bath – the British Area 51 – is the secret government dumping ground for all things supernatural and out of space. It is one of the most heavily-guarded places in the world. However, it’s not what protects it that makes it so dangerous but the things that are inside . . .

Gideon Sable – master thief, con artist and self-proclaimed vigilante – faces a challenge he can’t refuse. His client, the former Head of the British Rocketry Group, Professor Neil Sharpe, wants him to break into the Preserve. Once inside, Gideon and his crew of supernatural misfits can get any mystical artefact they desire out of the Preserve’s collection. The catch? To reach it, they must go through the treacherous Box Tunnel complex and not only face trained guards and booby traps but steal something that can’t normally be stolen – a ghost!

Sharpe’s obscure motive leaves Gideon uncertain and suspicious. The only thing he knows for sure is that he can steal anything with just the right amount of preparation – but will he be prepared enough to face whatever the Preserve holds, or will he find himself a permanent part of the government’s collection?
I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy heist adventure series – Green manages to produce all sorts of powerful magical artifacts for his quirky crew to use. But there are also powerful people ranged against them, too… Entertaining and huge fun. 8/10

The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna
The Cleaving is an Arthurian retelling that follows the tangled stories of four women: Nimue, Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, as they fight to control their own destinies amid the wars and rivalries that will determine the destiny of Britain.

The legendary epics of King Arthur and Camelot don’t tell the whole story. Chroniclers say Arthur’s mother Ygraine married the man that killed her husband. They say that Arthur’s half-sister Morgana turned to dark magic to defy him and Merlin. They say that the enchantress Nimue challenged Merlin and used her magic to outwit him. And that Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere ended in adultery, rebellion and bloodshed. So why did these women chose such dangerous paths?

As warfare and rivalries constantly challenge the king, Arthur and Merlin believe these women are destined to serve Camelot by doing as they are told. But men forget that women talk. Ygraine, Nimue, Morgana and Guinevere become friends and allies while the decisions that shape their lives are taken out of their hands. This is their untold story. Now these women have a voice.
I absolutely loved this one. If you enjoyed Madelaine Miller and Pat Barker’s feminist retellings of the Greek myths, then I highly recommend this wonderful reimagining of the Arthurian legends from viewpoint of the women involved. Review to follow. 10/10

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the all-powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the Majoda their victory over humanity.

They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. But when Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands.

Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, she escapes from everything she’s ever known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.
Fantastic sci fi adventure. Tesh’s writing leaps off the page and I loved the progression of Kyr’s character. There isn’t anything particularly original in the scenario depicted – but desperation and fury wrapped up in living such a difficult life is palpable and the pages turned themselves. Review to follow. 10/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Not of This World – Book 4 of the Gideon Sable series by Simon R. Green

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Humanborn – Book 1 of the Shadows of Eireland series by Joanna Maciejewska

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Infinity Gate – Book 1 of the Pandominion series by M.R. Carey

Sunday Post – 23rd April, 2023

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 23rd April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

The weather has still been quite wet and chilly – I keep looking at the Spring blossoms with surprise as it doesn’t feel as if winter has really lifted. On the plus side, the flowers and blossoms are looking fabulous as they haven’t wilted and died too fast, which happens when we get an unseasonably hot spell at this time of the year.

Other than that, it’s been a normal week with nothing outstanding happening – and I’ll take that as a win. I have been contacted by the Long Covid clinic, who have given me suggestions as to how to move forward. I’m a bit stuck with being terribly out of condition and unfit, but afraid to do normal fitness activities in case I trigger another relapse. Let’s hope their solutions help. Talking things through with them made me realise that I’ve come a very long way in a relatively short space of time, given that this time last year, I was still spending most of my time in bed and hardly going anywhere. So I need to be patient and perhaps a bit kinder to myself. The photos are from yesterday – the boys were both away for the day, so Himself and I went for an afternoon treat to the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust and were lucky to get there for a boat ride through the reed beds. It was a gloriously sunny day – the warmest of the year so far…

I’m now line editing Flame & Blame. It’s a slow business as I follow the manuscript while listening to Word’s text-to-speech option, but I pick up bloopers and awkward sentence constructions that I don’t see when just reading it through to myself. I also have completed my outline of the next book in the Picky Eaters series, Conclave of Dragons and I’ve now started writing an exclusive story for my newsletter followers – ‘Casta and the Giggling Knight’. It’s huge fun to be able to sit down and have the words just pour out of the ends of my fingers, again😊.

I just don’t seem to be reading all that much at present – by the time I get to bed, I’m so tired I fall asleep almost at once.

Last week I read:-

AUDIOBOOK – Lost Truth – Book 3 of the Truth series by Dawn Cook
Alissa is steadily advancing in her magical studies with the last surviving Master at the legendary Hold. But she’s haunted by dreams—dreams revealing that other Masters have survived.

Alissa’s dreams lead her to a distant island where she and a rescue party discover countless Masters, alive and part of a flourishing magical society. But instead of being welcomed, Alissa finds that she herself may need to be rescued. The Masters’ leader, Keribdis, believes that she should be Alissa’s teacher, whether Alissa likes it or not. When Alissa rebels, she endangers not only her magic but also her life.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this series. For those who are interested in such things, Dawn Cook is a pen name of Kim Harrison, who also writes successful urban fantasy adventures. I’ve grown very fond of impetuous, disaster-magnet Alissa, though I was increasingly fed up with the love triangle around her. And I’m glad that it’s been resolved in this book. Cook has created a vivid world where magic-users are all somewhat arrogant and short-fused. Which has interesting consequences… Marguerite Gavin does a wonderful job of the narration. 9/10

Infinity Gate – Book 1 of the Pandominion series by M.R. Carey
The Pandominion is a political and trading alliance consisting of roughly a million worlds.

But they’re really all the same world – Earth – in many different dimensions. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they’ll eradicate it by whatever means necessary—no matter the cost to human life.
I wasn’t as blown away by this one as I’d expected. Given this is the author who gave us The Girl With All the Gifts and the wonderful Rampart trilogy – see my review of The Book of Koli – I was rather disappointed at the info-dump prologue and the foreshadowing in places. That said, the world is vivid, the characters nuanced and the action well described. And I definitely want to know what will happen next. 7/10

AUDIOBOOK – Bleeding Heart Yard – Book 3 of the Harbinder Kaur series by Elly Griffiths
Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job–as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School–among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent–and controversial–MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.
I’m a fan of Elly Griffiths writing – but although I’ve enjoyed the Ruth Galloway series, the Harbinder Kaur books are even better, in my opinion. And this latest offering hasn’t changed my view. Griffiths’ masterfully depicts the tensions within a group of eighteen-year-olds and how that impacts on their subsequent lives, for good and ill. And what happens when a shocking murder rakes up a tragedy all of them would rather forget. I thoroughly enjoy Kaur’s dry, slightly sarcastic take on the world – and seeing her get to grips with now living in London. All in all, a cracking whodunit. 10/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Cursed Crowns Book 2 of the Twin Crowns series by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NOVELLA And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 16th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

Given that it was the second week of the Easter holidays, it wasn’t a surprise that the weather has been mixed, with several days of driving wind and rain. I even put the heating back on in the evenings, after having turned it off. On Monday, the boys came back from their holiday away with their stepdad, which they thoroughly enjoyed. So Tuesday ended up feeling weirdly like Sunday as we did the supermarket run, complete with menu plan and shopping list. It was lovely to have them back again – even though it was only a few days, I really missed their daft jokes and hilarity. We intended to go out and about a bit, but the weather wasn’t our friend and no one really wanted to brave the wind and rain for a trip to the beach/Highdown Gardens/Wetland and Wildfowl Trust. Or to go and see a film. Until yesterday when we went for a quick jaunt along the beach – which is what the pics are about. I’m so looking forward to the summer!

On Friday, I finally got around to tackling the BOOKS section of my blog pages, which were hideously out of date. It had been on my To-Do list when I got sick in March 2021… So if you saw a lowering black cloud swirling in a threatening manner over Southern England – that was me trying to recall exactly HOW to add pages. I know I’d done it before, but blessed if I could remember! And none of the videos were very helpful as they were mostly about WordPress websites. One did give a fleeting glimpse of the toolbar I needed, so I was able to figure it out. And then I had another conniption when I visited Bitly for the universal links I needed – the whole site was unrecognisable from the last time I’d used it! After a moment’s hyperventilating, I gritted my teeth, navigated my way around until it all made sense again. Needless to say – the whole job took most of the afternoon and early evening. But I’m ridiculously proud of myself for having tackled the job and got it done. I’ve also been editing Flame & Blame and Trouble With Dwarves to ensure I’ve enough description of the world. It’s a bit of a balance, as I want to give enough details so folks can envisage the place, without over-describing it.

It’s been another reading week where I haven’t got through many books, as I’ve once again been working hard on editing. Though I feel very fortunate to have listened to Paladin of Souls, which is absolutely fantastic.

Last week I read:-

AUDIOBOOK – Paladin of Souls – Book 2 of World of the Five Gods series by Lois McMaster Bujold
In a land threatened by treacherous war and beset by demons, royal dowager Ista, released from the curse of madness and manipulated by an untrustworthy god, is plunged into a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm.

This wonderful sequel to The Curse of Chalion features poor, unlucky Ista, who had been disastrously entangled in the terrible Curse. And though released from its clutches, seems doomed to live a half-life surrounded by fussy old courtiers who are constantly on the lookout for any odd behaviour from her. Until she decides to escape by going on a pilgrimage. And is promptly overtaken by a catalogue of dangerous adventures that spin her onto a completely different trajectory. I simply stopped to give all my attention to the unfolding story, wonderfully narrated by Kate Reading. I love that Ista is a middle-aged protagonist who is justifiably bitter and angry at what befell her – and this nuanced, brilliantly written story explores her emotional landscape, as well as her ongoing escapades. 10/10

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky
All roads lead to Underhill, where it’s always winter, and never nice.

Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children’s books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids’ TV presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His family history seems to be nothing but an impediment.

An impediment… or worse. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn’t delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?
Once again, Tchaikovsky delivers a quirky, thought-provoking book that has left me thinking about it a great deal since I finished reading it. Among other things, it’s a homage to all things Narnia and provides an interesting, somewhat dark, ‘what if’ around the portal fantasy tale. It’s also very funny in places… Review to follow. 9/10

AUDIOBOOK – The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling—and keep the real killer from striking again.

I absolutely loved the Lady Astronaut series – see my reviews of The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky and particularly The Relentless Moon, which was my absolute favourite as it was a wonderful murder mystery set in space. So I was very excited when I heard of this offering. But it didn’t quite live up to my expectations… I thought Tesla was a strong character – I thought her PTSD and physical issues were dealt with very well and Gimlet, her adorable dog was just that – adorable. But there was an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing around the ship that became a tad repetitive and I also found her constant canoodling with her husband in public places somewhat tacky. Even if they were on their honeymoon. And by the end of the audiobook, the cocktail recipes that began every chapter were driving me bonkers – I couldn’t quickly fast-forward through them and they completely yanked me out of the story with some boring yabber about drinks I’ll never try – I’m teetotal. Nonetheless, it still gets a respectable score, because I mostly enjoyed it. 7/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc We Dream of Gods – Book 4 of The Reborn Empire by Devin Madson

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring I, Julian by Claire Gilbert

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of The Exes by Jane Lythell

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 9th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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 an epic week. I’m very grateful that we have a bit of a break with the Easter holidays – no regular ferrying Ethan back and forth to college and no overseeing Oscar’s home schooling programme. The boys and I gave ourselves some major lie-ins during the week. And then, on Thursday they both went away with their stepdad for the weekend – and the big bonus is that they’ll be spending time with their sisters, too. I drove to Lancing to drop them off and then returned home again – the furthest journey I’ve driven since I got sick in March 2021. While I negotiated the heavy holiday traffic with no difficulty, I was a bit shocked at just how tired I felt in the evening and the following morning. But it’s another milestone to tick off and celebrate – the round trip is just over twenty-four miles. However, it took me nearly an hour to get home, given how busy the roads were.

Though that achievement has paled into insignificance compared with another HUGE milestone – both practically and emotionally. I was within touching distance of the end of Problems With Power, which is the third novel in my Picky Eaters series, featuring grumpy grandfather dragon, Castellan the Black. And once I got up and got going on Friday, I was able to sit down and just write without any interruptions. So I decided that I wouldn’t push, but just keep going until I was beginning to feel tired. And that’s what I did. The result was that I comfortably wrote over 4,000 words and was able to type THE END halfway down the last page.

I’ve always written stories, ever since I was a small child – though during the years when my children were very young, I gave up both reading and writing after dreaming that I’d left them in the bath, then got caught up in a book and forgotten they were there! However, once I started writing again in my thirties, I always knew I wanted to be an author. And last year, as the months rolled by and I was still unable to write more than a handful of sentences due to the brain fog and exhaustion that constantly afflicted me – I was facing the prospect that I’d never be able to write again. Even when I asked my very sympathetic Dr if I would make a full recovery, he couldn’t offer me any reassurance. Ironically, it didn’t affect my book review writing. But that is an enjoyable hobby I regard as light relief from the serious job of making up stories that are good enough for other people to read and enjoy.

What makes this particular novel special is that I was halfway through Chapter 8 on 4th March 2021 when I got sick with Covid-19. And it wasn’t until June last year that I began to be able to start writing fiction again, just a few hundred words here and there. Often there were long breaks between my writing days. So it has taken me just over two years to get the first draft completed – and for a lot of that time, I began to think this would be the unfinished manuscript to mark the end of my writing career. I’m still not who I was before – I don’t foresee being able to return to the classroom. Every so often I find myself hunting for a particular word that will not come – the boys think it hilarious, but as someone who has always been effortlessly articulate, at times I feel very diminished. So I’m humbly thankful that my writing mojo has at last fully returned. After writing the final words, I cried with relief.

On Saturday, Himself and I decided to visit Highdown Gardens as a treat. The weather was glorious and the pics are some of the spring flowers we saw growing there. We are so lucky to have these wonderful gardens so close to home.

As I’ve been really busy writing, my reading has taken a hammering – only two books this last week and one of those is an audiobook.

Last week I read:-

The Exes by Jane Lythell
When Holly is bequeathed a large but derelict house, she wants to share her good fortune. So she gets in touch with former boyfriend Ray, a builder who can project-manage the renovation in exchange for the basement flat. The spacious middle floor would make a glorious studio space—perfect for her friend and first love, Spencer. And before Holly knows it, the upper floor is let to soon-to-be ex-husband James, who’s on a path of reinvention from city highflyer to osteopath. What could possibly go wrong?

But no good deed goes unpunished, and soon the house is riddled with tension, rivalry, and petty spitefulness. And as Holly is beset with migraines, nausea, and spiralling self-doubt, even the house itself seems to be turning against her. But for someone, everything is going to plan . . .
I know and enjoy Jane Lythell’s writing – see my review of Woman of the Hour – so when she contacted me to ask if I’d like to read and review her latest release, I was happy to do so, despite domestic noir not being my go-to genre. I’m glad I did. This was a riveting read that had me staying up far too late! Review to follow. 9/10

AUDIOBOOK – Blood Ties – Book 2 of the Agents of the Crown series by Lindsay Buroker
Recently appointed Crown Agents Jev and Zenia must prove that they’re worthy of their new jobs and young King Targyon’s trust. Their mission?

To research the strange “disease of the blood” that killed Targyon’s three cousins and left him unexpectedly ruling an entire kingdom at barely twenty years of age.

There are just a few problems. If someone was responsible for creating that disease, that person could still be in the city, forcing Zenia and Jev to deal with someone very smart and very dangerous. Meanwhile, since Targyon has the same blood flowing through his veins that his cousins had, he’s at risk of becoming the next victim. And as it so happens, Jev shares some of that blood too. Might he become a target before Targyon? When Jev and Zenia signed on for this job, they didn’t realize how deadly it might become.
I thoroughly enjoy Buroker’s magical mix of action, adventure, enjoyable snark and a sprinkling of cute romance. The pacing is always well judged, the characters memorable and nuanced, with traits that can trip them up and add to the mayhem, while the worldbuilding is vividly depicted, so I can effortlessly visualise where they are and what is happening. I am also very impressed with the high standard of her production values – I love Vivienne Leheny’s narration. Once again, this second book has delivered the goods and I’m looking forward to getting hold of the next one in this series. 9/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc The Sinister Booksellers of Bath – Book 2 of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc Frontier by Grace Curtis

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 2nd April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

I’m going to join in the chorus of – ‘Good grief, it’s April already, how come???’. But then I have a theory for that. I think Government cutbacks mean that days, weeks, months and years have been devalued. Back when I was knee-high to a hen, an hour was PROPERLY sixty minutes of distance run, not the modern rubbish that slips past when you’re not looking. Just saying…

We have had a very soggy March and first Himself went down with a shocking cold and then in an unfortunate burst of generosity, he gave it to me. So last week I was properly ill… temperature over 100° F, blood oxygen levels of 94%, sore throat, aching limbs and a runny nose. Which didn’t mean I could get out of overseeing Oscar’s home schooling programme – oh joy. Still, we got through it and I’m now recovered, except for a hacking cough that sounds like I’m a 40-a-day smoker (I’m not…).

I’ve had quite a busy week. Oscar had an orthodontic appointment in Hove, which fortunately Himself could take us to. It was the furthest I’ve travelled since I got sick with Covid in March 2021, so I found the journey fascinating to see all the changes that have happened. And in the evening, I was able to attend one of our Writers’ Group evenings. It was lovely catching up with everyone and I got some very useful feedback on the second book of my Picky Eaters series, Trouble With Dwarves.

On Friday evening, my lovely sister looked after the grandsons while my wonderful sister-in-law drove down from Coulsdon to take me to the Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham to see Samantha Shannon talk about her writing process, particularly in relation to her new book A Day of Fallen Night, which I loved – see my review here. It was a fabulous evening – the big bonus being that she was interviewed by Juno Dawson, author of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven – see my review here. It was an excellent interview, as the women clearly know and like each other and Dawson asked very good questions. I was immensely impressed by the book, anyway – but after hearing what Shannon had to say about the effort she made to name her characters and her worldbuilding process, my respect for her attention to detail has only increased. And both authors were inclusive and very friendly. I came out of the event walking on air – for such a long time, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be well enough to attend such events again. So it was yet another lovely benchmark in my slow, steady return to normal life. And if you get a chance to see either author discuss their work – I highly recommend them as both intelligent and articulate speakers with attractive personalities.

As for my reading – it’s dropped off somewhat as I’m now in the zone with Problems With Power. Another milestone – this last week I managed to write over 3,000 words in a single sitting. The first time I’ve managed to do that since I was ill. Yay! That said, it was a fabulous week, quality-wise as I read two 10/10 books😊.

Last week I read:-

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath – Book 2 of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London series by Garth Nix
There is often trouble of a mythical sort in Bath. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch there, particularly on the entity that inhabits the ancient hot spring.

This time trouble comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger, requiring a desperate rescue attempt from his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, and art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage.

The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery and guarded by monstrous living statues. But this is only the beginning. To unravel the secrets of a murderous Ancient Sovereign, the booksellers must investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.
I haven’t read any books by Nix before – but I shall certainly be reading him again. I love fantasy that is rooted in the myths and legends of our very rich British history. And Nix weaves some of these stories within his excellent adventure, set in a slightly alternate 1983. Wonderful stuff! Review to follow. 10/10

AUDIOBOOK – Beyond – Book 1 of The Founding of Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey
Within the Eastern Empire, Duke Kordas Valdemar rules a tiny, bucolic Duchy that focuses mostly on horse breeding. Anticipating the day when the Empire’s exploitative and militant leaders would not be content to leave them alone, Korda’s father set out to gather magicians in the hopes of one day finding a way to escape and protect the people of the Duchy from tyranny.

Kordas has lived his life looking over his shoulder. The signs in the Empire are increasingly dire. Under the direction of the Emperor, mages have begun to harness the power of dark magics, including blood magic, the powers of the Abyssal Planes, and the binding and milking of Elemental creatures. But then one of the Duchy’s mages has a breakthrough. There is a way to place a Gate at a distance so far from the Empire that it is unlikely the Emperor can find or follow them as they evacuate everyone that is willing to leave. But time is running out, and Kordas has been summoned to the Emperor’s Court.

Can his reputation as a country bumpkin and his acting skills buy him and his people the time they need to flee? Or will the Emperor lose patience, invade to strip Valdemar of everything of worth, and send its conscripted people into the front lines of the Imperial wars?
I enjoyed Briarheart last year – and so when I saw this offering on Audible, I got hold of it. This is a classic, medieval-setting fantasy featuring a likeable protagonist beset by a host of difficulties, while trying to keep his family and those people in the Duchy safe. I shall certainly be listening to more of this entertaining series. 8/10

We Dream of Gods – Book 4 of the Reborn Empire by Devin Madson
THERE ARE NO GODS. ONLY MEN.

Betrayed by her closest allies, Empress Miko Ts’ai is thrust from ruler to pawn. But she won’t suffer the whims of men. A string of dangerous gambles could win Miko her empire for good, but to take back the throne, she must become everything her ancestors failed to be.

Rah e’Torin leads a herd again. Now he seeks to honor a promise he made a lifetime ago-to safely bring his Swords home. Yet Rah’s loyalty to the past may be his ultimate undoing.

Cassandra Marius is lost. Ensnared by memories that aren’t her own, Cass must decide who she really is, but the answer lies beyond one final confrontation with Leo Villius.

And trapped in the heart of the Chiltaen army, Dishiva e’Jaroven is handed unexpected power. The dream of a new homeland is within her grasp – if she risks everything and trusts her former enemies.
This is the climactic final book in this outstanding series. I loved Madson’s vivid writing and twisty plotting right from the start – and keeping up that energy throughout is no mean feat. Full review to follow. 10/10

My posts last week:

Castellan the Black and his Wise Dragonic Musings on Life

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Not of This World – Book 4 of the Gideon Sable series by Simon R. Green

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of NETGALLEY arc One Extra Corpse – Book 2 of the Silver Screen Historical Mystery series by Barbara Hambly

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 18th February, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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 while since I’ve visited – the days trickle by and I’m a bit shaken that we’re already more than halfway through February. The weather has been a lot milder since the beginning of the month, which I’m pleased about. Though we’re about to grit our teeth as our fixed rate fuel tariff finishes at the end of the month – and we will be confronted with a bill that will be nearly triple what we’re paying now. It wouldn’t be so bad if that was the only thing going up in price – but food just goes on steadily getting more expensive, as well as clothing… shoes… electronic goods… you name it!!

Half term is just coming to an end. Though Ethan has been very busy visiting universities and friends, so hasn’t been here all that much. The brilliant news is that he has had an unconditional offer from one of his top two university choices – and it will be the first time that anyone from his college course has been offered a place there. We’re so very proud of him and what he’s managed to achieve. He still has at least two more visits lined up – but now the pressure is off, so hopefully he can relax a bit and enjoy the process. Up to now, it’s been a rather nerve-wracking business!

Oscar has still been struggling with migraine headaches, so we ended up seeing his Dr. She’s prescribing some medication that is intended to actually prevent them from happening. I am so impressed with the care we’ve received from the NHS despite the pressure they’re under – and very much hope that these new tablets will prove more successful. Poor Oscar has suffered far too much since Christmas.

So far, February’s been a trudge. Himself had a shocking cold during his rest days this week, so the trip we’d planned to the Wetland and Wildfowl Trust had to be postponed. Fortunately, he’s recovered well, but we could do with a day out enjoying ourselves and relaxing. What with one thing and another – we haven’t done that since Christmas.

Thank goodness for reading – and writing. I’m now working on the third book in my Picky Eaters series – Problems with Power, charting the adventures of grumpy old Castellan the Black, a grandfather dragon who unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of family life after his grandchildren get him evicted from his lair. It has been a rather stop/start affair, given my health issues, but I am beginning to get some momentum going which makes writing so much more fun.

Last week I read:-

Delicious Death – Book 2 of the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries by Byrd Nash
Thwarting an assassination wasn’t on the menu. Elinor’s holiday is ruined when a poisoner targets a royal guest. What’s even more irritating? The duke thinks he can solve the case before she can.

In the southern town of Vouvant, Elinor’s goal was to eat rich food at the Winter Revels, but an attempt on the king’s life implicates her favorite chef. Between saving a young society lady and solving the problem of a widower who grieves too much, she has her hands full.

Trained as a medium by the elite Morpheus Society, Elinor Chalamet uses her skills to aid the police while she hunts for her father’s killer.

The second of a six part gaslamp fantasy ghost mystery series featuring a strong female character in a slow burn romance.
I thoroughly enjoy Nash’s writing – so finding this entertaining series was a huge treat. The protagonist is experienced and sure of herself, which is a nice change from all those youngsters rather desperately flailing around, trying to work out who they are while grappling with hidden magical talents. There is a nice sprinkling of humour and the slow-burn romance is well handled. All in all, a solid treat. 9/10

Darkwood – Book 1 of the Darkwood series by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
Magic is forbidden in Myrsina, along with various other abominations, such as girls doing maths.

This is bad news for Gretel Mudd, who doesn’t perform magic, but does know a lot of maths. When the sinister masked Huntsmen accuse Gretel of witchcraft, she is forced to flee into the neighbouring Darkwood, where witches and monsters dwell.

There, she happens upon Buttercup, a witch who can’t help turning things into gingerbread, Jack Trott, who can make plants grow at will, the White Knight with her band of dwarves and a talking spider called Trevor. These aren’t the terrifying villains she’s been warned about all her life. They’re actually quite nice. Well… most of them.

With the Huntsmen on the warpath, Gretel must act fast to save both the Darkwood and her home village, while unravelling the rhetoric and lies that have demonised magical beings for far too long.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Gretel and her brother, Hansel, are enjoyable protagonists, as are Buttercup and the White Knight – although my favourite has to be Trevor the talking spider. The humour is unforced and funny – and rides alongside the real danger hanging over the villagers of Nearby village so that I burned through this one, really caring about the characters. It is a joy. I’m always a bit wary of humorous fantasy, as Terry Pratchett has cast a very long shadow over the genre and I’ve read far too many paler imitations. The real disgust at political hypocrisy and lust for power that also runs through Pratchett’s work rang through this one without spoiling the story. I’m really looking forward to reading the next two in the series and finding out what happens next to Darkwood and its inhabitants. 9/10

Before I Sleep – Book 24 of the Bill Slider series by Cynthia Harrod Eagles
The clock is ticking for DCI Slider when a woman goes missing. Can he find her – and does she even want to be found?

Felicity Holland is missing. She left her handsome West London house to go to her weekly pottery class and didn’t come back. She’s a mature, sensible woman with a stable home life and a happy marriage – no reason to abscond. Her distraught husband is convinced she must have been snatched.

DCI Bill Slider and his team know that when a woman goes missing, you have to move fast if there’s to be a hope of finding her alive. But with no evidence of foul play – nothing to go on at all – where do you even start looking?

The clock is ticking. But as Slider tries to retrace the last known movements of Felicity Holland, he is led ever further down a dark and twisted path into the secret past of this beautiful, enigmatic woman.
This is a cracking police procedural that starts with almost a non-event. A well-known writer insists his wife has disappeared and DCI Bill Slider is put on the case before she’s even officially missing. But as he and his team get stuck in, a picture builds up of a lovely, vibrant person who I really cared about. I’ll remember this one for a long time… Review to follow. 1010

AUDIOBOOK – Zahara’s Gift – Book 1 of the Bond of a Dragon series by A.J. Walker
Nineteen-year-old Anders lived a fairly normal life until the only family he had was taken away from him. When he finds himself forced to embark on an action packed adventure, he discovers there is more to the world than he was told. The magical force that flows within everything around him becomes revealed. Dragons, elves, orcs, and goblins lurk around nearly every turn along the path as he pursues his two kidnapped cousins.

As Anders discovers more about his family’s past, he learns of their involvement in The War of The Magicians and the circumstances leading up to the attack of his hometown. When Anders is told about his potential involvement in a prophecy involving dragons and their powerful magic, he will need to make a difficult decision. Will he continue to follow the path that is laid out for him or can he make his own destiny? Will he ever be reunited with his family again? And if he succeeds, will he ever be able to return to the life he once knew?
The plotting and character progression worked well. But I found the dialogue rather clunky and unrealistic – and when listening to an audiobook, that can be trying. It was never bad enough that I was tempted to DNF, but I’m not in a hurry to tuck into the second book. 7/10

My posts last week:

Review of NETGALLEY NOVELLA Delicious Death – Book 2 of the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries by Byrd Nash

Can’t-Wait Wednesday featuring One Extra Corpse – Book 2 of the Silver Screen Historical Mystery series by Barbara Hambly

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* The Luminaires – Book 1 of The Luminaries series by Susan Dennard

Hope you, too, had some brilliant books to tuck into and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 29th January, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

I really should know better… Last week I was celebrating the fact that I’d not had a Long Covid relapse since November – and from Wednesday through to Friday I was back in bed, again. The good news is that it wasn’t longer and although I felt a bit washed out yesterday, I wasn’t shaky and sick – which is a good result.

It’s been another tough week, what with one thing and another – but the light shining in amongst the dark is that my son and his girlfriend have just moved from L.A. to Germany, which is so much closer to us here in the UK. And the reason why is that Zoe, having had a fabulous season playing with the Texas Longhorn’s volleyball team that came top of their league, has now signed up with Munster and played her first professional match against Aachen last night. I don’t know how that went, as I’m writing this on Saturday morning – but my thoughts are with her.

We are just emerging from over a fortnight of freezing nights and bitterly cold days – though at least the rain finally stopped. It’s now slowly warming up – it’s been a treat not to have to thaw out the car before leaping in to ferry the grandsons to various places, as the taxicab of Gran and Papa is in great demand. If only we could charge them – that would set up our pensions into our old age!!

Last week, I got more reading done, particularly audiobooks as lying in bed and listening was all I was fit for. You’ll notice that apart from one Netgalley read, all the books I turned to were by trusted, favourite authors – I wanted the comfort of a solidly written, escapist read and they all delivered, bless them. Thank goodness for books – I’d have gone raving into the night years ago if it wasn’t for my love of reading!

Last week I read:-

Cast Adrift – Book 1 of the Cast Adrift series by Christopher G. Nuttall
Five hundred years ago, the human race discovered it was not alone in the universe when Earth was invaded and forcibly integrated by the Alphan Empire. Over the years, humans have grown used to their position within the empire, serving as soldiers and spacers for alien masters as well as building a place in the universe for themselves. But now, in the aftermath of a violent interstellar war that shattered the power of the Alphans, humanity has rediscovered its pride. Humanity wants to be free.

Facing a war they will lose even if they win, the Alphans give humanity its independence once again. Humanity stands alone in a hostile universe, facing alien threats that regard humans as nothing more than servants – or weaklings, easy meat for armed conquest. And if the human race cannot learn to stand on its own two feet, without its masters, it will rapidly discover that it has traded one set of masters for another …

… And if they lose the coming war, all hope of independence will die with it.
Nuttall is one of my favourite authors. I loved his School of Magic series, as he is clearly a history buff and likes to explore possibilities based on real historical incidents and the progression of the series is smart and inventive. This is a classic alien invasion story – with a bit of a twist. Thoroughly enjoyable and I’m looking forward to tucking into the next one. 8/10

AUDIOBOOK – Hidden Truth – Book 2 of the Truth series by Dawn Cook
Alissa never believed in magic. But then she went to the Hold, a legendary fortress where human Keepers once learned magic from enigmatic Masters. Under the tutelage of the last surviving Master, Alissa discovered that she had inherited her father’s magical ability.

But the Hold is ruled by Bailic, the renegade Keeper who seized the First Truth, a book of magic he will use to harness the might of the city of the dead and wreak a war of total devastation. The book has thwarted Bailic’s every attempt to access it, while it continually calls to Alissa—who must summon all her will to resist it. For if she gives in to the First Truth’s ultimate power and knowledge, she will be utterly changed—and the man she loves could be lost to her forever.
This is a series I discovered on Audible before I realised that Dawn Cook is also the pen name of urban fantasy author Kim Harrison – and it shows in the smart character progression and magnificently nasty villain. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book, though I do find the simpering, ringleted female on the cover rather annoying, given it’s supposed to be Alissa, who isn’t remotely like that. That said, I’m looking forward to tucking into the next book in the series as I can’t wait to discover what happens next. 9/10

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies – Book 1 of the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.
This book is essentially Emily’s journal as she undertakes a field trip in order to discover more about the mysterious Hidden Ones in order to complete her encyclopaedia. I love her ongoing grumpiness and her narrow focus on her studies – as well as her regular rants about Wendell. While aspects of this plot are entirely predictable, I wasn’t sure some of the major characters were actually going to survive. Review to follow.

AUDIOBOOK – Diplomatic Immunity – Book 13 of the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
A rich Komarran merchant fleet has been impounded at Graf Station, in distant Quaddiespace, after a bloody incident on the station docks involving a security officer from the convoy’s Barrayaran military escort. Lord Miles Vorkosigan of Barrayar and his wife, Lady Ekaterin, have other things on their minds, such as getting home in time to attend the long-awaited births of their first children. But when duty calls in the voice of Barrayar’s Emperor Gregor, Miles, Gregor’s youngest Imperial Auditor (a special high-level troubleshooter) has no choice but to answer.

Waiting on Graf Station are diplomatic snarls, tangled loyalties, old friends, new enemies, racial tensions, lies and deceptions, mysterious disappearances, and a lethal secret with wider consequences than even Miles anticipates: a race with time for life against death in horrifying new forms. The downside of being a troubleshooter comes when trouble starts shooting back…
I read the whole series longer ago than I care to recall – but do remember that while I always enjoyed Miles and his madcap adventures, it was the later books after his Admiral Naismith days that I particularly loved. So picked this one up on a bit of a whim – and found it utterly gripping. I’d forgotten enough of the twisting plot that I once more was engrossed – as well as being impressed all over again by the sheer quality of the writing. I’ll be listening to more of this series, which has certainly stood the test of time and reminds me why this author has won so many awards for her writing. 10/10

Range of Ghosts – Book 1 of the Eternal Sky series by Elizabeth Bear
Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking away from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather’s throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.

Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power.

Bear is another favourite author – and this stunning first book in this epic fantasy series is a gem that deserves to be better known. I was immediately swept up in the savage aftermath of a terrible battle and couldn’t put this one down until the final scene, as the vivid writing and charismatic characters held me throughout. 9/10

AUDIOBOOK – The Princess Paradigm by Lindsay Buroker
Then a fearsome warrior from the human empire arrives, a supposed diplomat. Mrothgar is tattooed, muscled, and looks like he’d rather slay elves than befriend them, but he takes an interest in Hysithea. He invites her to accompany him back to his land to visit its great libraries.

As an academic and a historian, Hysithea is tantalized by the offer, but she’s studied his language and overhears his true intent:
Mrothgar is there to gather intelligence on the elves as his emperor prepares an invasion force to conquer them. Hysithea has no choice but to join him, hoping to spy and find a way to sabotage the invasion. Her people need her, and this is her chance to atone for the past.

But Mrothgar is smarter than she realized, and those muscles and tattoos are more intriguing than they should be. Against her wishes, Hysithea finds herself drawn to him. And that’s a problem. She can’t save her people if she falls in love with the man who wants to conquer them.

The Princess Paradigm is set after the events of The Elf Tangent, and brings in a few familiar characters, but it is a complete stand-alone fantasy romance novel (no cliffhangers!) and can be read on its own.
I’ll be honest – if I had to judge this one by its blurb alone, then I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. But… it’s Lindsay Buroker, people! And besides, I’ve already listened to the wonderfully entertaining The Elf Tangent, so I knew how much romance versus fantasy adventure I was getting. And it didn’t disappoint. I love the world with its interesting backstory about the Elvish curse so recently lifted and how that is affecting the humans and their own complex politics. This was often funny, yet also poignant and I loved that Epilogue. I do hope Buroker revisits this beguiling world, as I want more. 9/10

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 22nd January, 2023

As you can see, it wasn’t a good week for blogging, or much else – come to think of it. Hoping this week will be a better one and wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.

SUNDAY POST – 22nd January, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #SundayPost

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.

Well, that’s a shocker! I knew it had been a while since I’d taken part in the Sunday Post – but I’d no idea it had been so long… So – Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a Happy New to all those of you who celebrate thus. I hope your start to 2023 has been a lot kinder than ours.

So far this year, we have had two water leaks and Oscar has been struggling with a series of severe headaches that ended up with him being hospitalised, while they tried to get to the bottom of what is going on. Fortunately, the water leaks didn’t cause the kitchen ceiling to collapse or any major damage. Though the flooring in the bathroom and the bath panel were damaged when the plumbers came in to deal with the leaks, which means we will need to redecorate. Right now – it’ll have to wait until the weather is better. As for Oscar, the good news is that the MRI scan didn’t find anything nasty – and I cannot speak highly enough of the staff at Worthing Hospital who gave him wonderful care and were constantly kind and upbeat, although they were insanely busy. The not so good news is that Oscar is still battling the headaches and we’re no nearer finding the cause. We have cut out dairy cheese and peanuts from his diet, cut down his screen time and made his bedtime earlier – I’m hoping he isn’t growing into migraine headaches, which do run in the family☹.

On a happier note, we had a lovely Christmas Day, which now seems a lifetime away instead of just under a month ago – as my sister and nephew joined us and after a wonderful meal cooked by Himself, we all settled in for games. Another happier note – despite all the stress of having a poorly youngster to look after, I haven’t had a Long Covid relapse preventing me from getting out of bed since the middle of November. That is huge. It’s the longest time I’ve gone without a major setback since I got sick in March 2021. Though my physical strength is pathetic, ditto my stamina – so that I regularly feel very tired, it isn’t on the same scale as the bone-deep exhaustion that regularly used to fell me. Yay😊.

Another happy note – all the universities that Ethan has applied for have come back wanting to either interview him, or see his portfolio, which is a wonderful achievement. And once again, he gained a Distinction for his latest college Assignment. We’re so very proud of him – his determination and sheer hard work bodes well for his future career. Given what’s been going on, you won’t be surprised to learn that I haven’t been reading all that much, recently. Certainly not when compared to what I was getting through last year. Still, I’ve been very happy with the overall quality of my reads – and that’s the important thing.

Last week I read:-

AUDIOBOOK – The Bullet That Missed – Book 3 of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
It is an ordinary Thursday, and things should finally be returning to normal.

Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A local news legend is on the hunt for a sensational headline, and soon the gang are hot on the trail of two murders, ten years apart.

To make matters worse, a new nemesis pays Elizabeth a visit, presenting her with a deadly mission: kill or be killed… While Elizabeth grapples with her conscience (and a gun), the gang and their unlikely new friends (including TV stars, money launderers and ex-KGB colonels) unravel a new mystery. But can they catch the culprit and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?
This is a joy. I quite liked the first book, especially the deft and clever ending. But it was the second book in this entertaining series, The Man Who Died Twice, which really stole my heart, as well as making me laugh aloud. And this offering took up where that one ended. Osman knows how to write movingly and humorously about the very old without coming across as either sentimental or patronising – which is harder to do than he makes it look. In addition, he also delivers a cracking story with plenty of plot twists and a wonderfully satisfying ending. 10/10

City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.
What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?
Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores. Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar,
City of Long Shadows.
City of Bad Decisions.
City of Last Chances.
This is an ambitious book, where the city is actually the main protagonist, portrayed by a cast of not very admirable characters as they desperately scrabble to survive. And Tchaikovsky triumphantly succeeds in making this work, providing an engrossing and thought-provoking read that I will remember for a long time. 10/10

Courting Dragons – Book 1 of The King’s Fool Mystery series by Jeri Westerson
1529, London. Jester Will Somers enjoys an enviable position at the court of Henry VIII. As the king’s entertainer, chief gossip-monger, spy and loyal adviser, he knows all of the king’s secrets – and almost everyone else’s within the walls of Greenwich Palace.

But when Will discovers the body of Spanish count Don Gonzalo while walking his trusted sidekick Nosewise in the courtyard gardens, and a blackmail note arrives soon after demanding information about the king, is one of his own closely guarded secrets about to be exposed? Trouble is afoot at the palace. Are the king’s enemies plotting a move against him? Will must draw on all his wit and ingenuity to get to the bottom of the treacherous and deadly goings-on at the court before further tragedy strikes . . .
I love historical whodunits – and getting hold of a murder mystery set in the court of Henry VIII was a real treat. Will Somers is based on a real jester, who served all the Tudors, but was particularly close to Henry. And Westerson’s depiction of their relationship was fascinating and convincing. Review to follow. 9/10

My posts during the month to date:

NEW RELEASE SPECIAL – Review of City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Review of NETGALLEY AUDIOBOOK The Windweaver’s Storm – Book 2 of T.J. and the Orishas series by Antoine Bandele

NEW RELEASE SPECIAL – Waste of a Life – Book 3 of the Decluttering Mysteries by Simon Brett

NEW RELEASE SPECIAL – Tread of Angels NOVELLA by Rebecca Roanhorse

Wishing you all a happy, healthy week😊.