Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Rowan by Davis Bunn – release date 4th July, 2023
BLURB: Pulitzer prize-winning investigative writer Valentina Garnier loves a good story, so when she learns that CIA director Agnes Pendalon wants her to travel to Kunashir Island in Russia’s easternmost province, she jumps at the chance. Top scientists, political aides, CIA agents and even the vice president’s daughter have all made mysterious trips to the island in recent weeks. Could it be coincidence, or is something more alarming at play?
When Val arrives in Kunashir, she’s mesmerized by a magical rowan tree and its leaves that turn to golden threads, encircling the visitors. Something incredible and transformational is happening in front of her . . . With the CIA determined to hunt down this unknown force and everyone affected by the rowan, is a new battle for the future of humanity about to commence? I was first attracted by the cover – then thought the blurb looked enjoyably quirky. The idea of braiding a classic international thriller with a paranormal twist appeals, although I’m a tad concerned at the rather low ratings to date. However, I shall come to this one with an open mind and hope it fulfils its promise to be an unusual and satisfying read😊.
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – In the Shadow of the Bull – Book 1 of An Ancient Crete Mystery series by Eleanor Kuhns – release date 4th July, 2023
BLURB: Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment, and betrayal still run wild . . .
When her sister Arge drops to the floor in convulsions and then dies at her wedding, fifteen-year-old Martis, a young poet and bull leaper in training, is certain her sister was murdered. The prime suspect is the groom, Saurus, a barbarian from the Greek mainland, but when Arge’s Shade visits Martis, swearing Saurus is not her murderer, Martis vows to uncover the truth.
As Martis begins asking questions, she discovers that while her sweet sister Arge may have had no secrets, many of the people around Martis certainly do. but if the murderer is not Saurus, then who is it? The Egyptian lady who frequents the docks, one of Martis’s other sisters, her father, or someone entirely different?
Martis is in a battle against time to save her sister’s Shade from eternal unrest and uncover the killer before they strike again . . . I love this era of history, having inhaled Mary Renault’s fabulous books back when Noah was knee-high to a hen. So when I saw this offering, I immediately requested it. Fingers crossed it proves as good as it looks!
I’m a fan of Nash’s writing – see my review of A Spell of Rowans, which was the book that introduced me to her work. Then I was lucky enough to encounter this fantasy Gaslamp series – see my reviews of Delicious Death and Spirit Guide, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.
BLURB:When the ghostly Gray Lady walks, a lover dies. Can Elinor stop destiny?
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.
REVIEW: I really enjoy Elinor as a protagonist. She is an experienced, rather cool character who, after a family tragedy, joined the Morpheus Society and has extended her natural talent for seeing ghosts by means of rigorous training. We start this latest adventure with Elinor at a very low ebb. She is still struggling with an injury she sustained in a previous escapade and she has lost her apprentice. And while she complained vigorously and at length about said apprentice’s shortcomings – she is badly missing her young charge. Not least because she’s seriously worried about what she’s being asked to do on behalf of the Morpheus Society, as Elinor’s faith in the organisation has been seriously undermined.
So being invited to investigate a gray lady – a particularly dangerous and persistent form of ghost, who has appeared over the years to young females, all of whom have ended up dying within the year – makes a welcome break from her melancholia. We finally see some progression on the very slow burn romance between Elinor and Tristan. I’m not sure whether I’m completely convinced by Elinor’s behaviour regarding their relationship – it strikes me as rather modern. But that’s probably the only quibble I have regarding the whole adventure.
As usual, the handling of the ghost mystery is written with plenty of pace, a nice number of suspects and the solution to this one worked particularly well. I loved the rather gossipy nature of the house party and how we were included in the machinations within a number of complex relationships that aren’t anything like their initial appearance. I tore through this one as the pages whipped by far too fast – and all too soon I realised I’d devoured the complete book, despite this one being longer. Highly recommended for fans of historical whodunits with a twist of ghostliness about them – but whatever you do, don’t start with this one, go back to the first book, Ghost Talker. This delightful series deserves to be read in the correct order. 9/10
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Scarlet – Book 1 of the Scarlet series by Genevieve Cogman – release date 11th May, 2023
#historical fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #French Revolution setting #vampires
BLURB: It is 1793 and the French Revolution is in full swing. Vampires—usually rich and aristocratic—have slaked the guillotine’s thirst in large numbers. The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, a disguised British noble, and his League are heroically rescuing dozens of aristocrats from execution, both human and vampire. And soon they will have an ace up their Eleanor Dalton [sic].
Eleanor is working as a housemaid on the estate of a vampire Baroness. Her highest aspiration is to one day become a modiste. But when the Baroness hosts a mysterious noble and his wife, they tell Eleanor she is the spitting image of a French aristocrat, and they convince her to journey to France to aid them in a daring scheme. Soon, Eleanor finds herself in Paris, swept up in magic and intrigue—and chaos—beyond her wildest dreams. But there’s more to fear than ardent Revolutionaries. For Eleanor stumbles across a centuries-old war between vampires and their fiercest enemy. And they’re out for blood. . . .
Scarlet is the first book in a wildly engaging new series from Genevieve Cogman, which reinvents the beloved tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel. This time around, it was the author’s name that snagged my attention. I loved The Invisible Library series – see my reviews of The Invisible Library, The Masked City, The Secret Chapter, The Dark Archive, my mini-review of The Lost Plot and my review of the final book in the series – The Untold Story. So when I saw she’d just started a historical fantasy adventure, I jumped at the chance of getting hold of an arc. I am rather behind with my TBR pile, but there will be a review to follow in due course…
I am a fan of Joanna’s writing. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying her Sand and Sorcery series Pacts Arcane and Otherwise – see my reviews of By the Pact,Scars of Stone and Shadows of Kaighal. So when she contacted me with news that she was starting a new urban fantasy series and asked if I was interested in reading a review copy of Humanborn – I was delighted to do so.
BLURB: 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.
REVIEW: I don’t know Ireland at all. But I do know that Joanna has lived in Dublin for a while – and I love how she has woven her knowledge of the city into this adventure, and then given it an almighty twist. It’s also a clever move – because one of the snags about using a real setting when you no longer live there is that your knowledge rapidly becomes outdated, which is always a distraction for readers who know the place. And the way Joanna has stepped around this problem is having mythborn magic distorting and twisting the city during the terrible war.
This could have been an utterly grim, post-apocalyptic trudge through a shattered city with the embittered, battle-scarred survivors eking out a living that is a shadow of the richness and luxury they formerly enjoyed. And there are elements of that – certainly enough to keep the story believable. But Kaja’s dry humour and determination to take each day as it comes means the tone isn’t too bleak – which is something of a relief, as right now I’m reading for escape. So I mention it for those of you who might be in a similar situation.
Kaja is a great protagonist. It’s a relief to have a main character who knows exactly who they are, including their strengths and weaknesses. I grew very fond of her complete lack of self pity, even though she’s had a really tough time of it. And her knack for finding workarounds and ways of dealing with the mythborn without bitterness, even though she has personally suffered a terrible loss. Her courage and even her bone-headed stubbornness are endearing – especially as they help her cope with a terrible fate awaiting her. For Kaja is already being catastrophically changed by the magic she’s been exposed to and knows that once that change is complete, she’ll become a monster.
The use of magic in the story is a refreshing change. It comes with perils and huge disadvantages that make sense. I also like the dynamic between the humanborn and mythborn – overall, the leaders are hoping for the uneasy peace to prevail, along with the majority of the population. Which doesn’t prevent a significant number of embittered, angry folk on both sides wanting more retribution. This tension pervades the book and makes each journey across Dublin an exercise in self-preservation. As the story progresses and Kaja’s involvement with the mythborn grows – she finds herself marooned in the middle, as other humanborn increasingly look on her with distrust.
This is all done very well. The pacing isn’t foot-to-the-floor and there is a fair amount of description to set up the world. However, I didn’t mind as I was seeing the situation through Kaja’s eyes and I enjoyed her voice sufficiently that it didn’t feel like a trudge. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one – the pages flew past as I wanted to know what would happen next. All in all, there is a sense of difference with this urban fantasy adventure that makes it stand out from the crowd, partly to do with the unusual setting and premise – but also, Kaja’s character is both tough and likeable, which is harder to achieve than it looks. If you enjoy the genre, but feel a tad jaded – give this one a go. I received a review copy from the author, which has not influenced my honest opinion of the book. 9/10
I knew Emily Tesh is a talented author, as I’d read and enjoyed her novella Silver in the Wood – see my mini-review. And when I spotted this offering on the Netgalley dashboard, I immediately requested it, hoping for something special. And I wasn’t disappointed. In fact I was completely blown away…
BLURB: While we live, the enemy shall fear us.
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.
REVIEW: For those of you who are interested in such things, the title of this science fiction timeshift adventure is taken from Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ describing a gas attack in WWI in terrible detail. The final four lines read thus: My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.
It’s a wonderful poem, I urge you to look it up if you don’t know it. And the subject matter and sentiment is absolutely spot on for the tenor of this story.
Gaea Station is one of the final holdouts for humanity that remains true to our species, now our home planet has been blown up by the alien’s sentient governing A.I., the Wisdom. Although there are traitors who have thrown in their lot with the majo who are responsible for killing fourteen billion human beings, Gaea is still raising children with the warbreed genetic strain. So they are bigger, faster, deadlier than the average human and committed to revenging themselves upon those who destroyed our world and its military might. And one of the most committed and loyal is Kyr, who is determined to serve by training the hardest. After all, she has a point to prove – her elder sister fled the station in a disgraceful act of disloyalty. This is where Kyr is at the start of the book.
And from then on, she finds herself confronted with nasty truths that increasingly undermine this version of her life and her ultimate aims. It forces her to act in ways that would have been unthinkable only a short time previously… And yes – this is familiar and oft-trodden territory for sci fi space opera adventures. But rarely have I seen it done so well. While Kyr is a teenager, I really like how her sexuality is handled. It makes perfect sense that she is so incredibly committed, she has locked down her aberrant sexual desires. For starters, like every other youngster on the station, she is malnourished and worked incredibly hard. She doesn’t have the time or inclination to start wondering why she isn’t remotely attracted to any of the boys and men training alongside her – other than to feel resentment at their inbuilt extra strength. This is a refreshing change from so many books dealing with youngsters in dire circumstances, where they constantly are examining and acting on their sexual desires, no matter the dangers they are being exposed to.
The other characters are also vividly portrayed with perception and depth, so I found myself rooting even for obnoxiously clever Avi, who does something terrible. The storytelling is fabulous – the descriptions of the station and the nearest planet are wonderful and this book reminded me all over again just why I LOVE science fiction so much! My one sorrow… it’s a standalone, so I won’t have another slice of this world through the eyes of Kyr. Very highly recommended for fans of superb science fiction adventure. While I obtained an arc of Some Desperate Glory from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own. 10/10
This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books they’ve read and share what they have got up to during the last week.
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
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Humanborn – Book 1 of the Shadows of Eireland series by Joanna Maciejewska – release date 6th May,2023.
#urban fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #Ireland setting
BLURB: 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’ve thoroughly enjoyed Joanna’s entertaining sand and sorcery series Pacts Arcane and Otherwise – see my reviews of By the Pact, Scars of Stone.and Shadows of Kaighal. I currently have the next one, Demon Siege, which came out in January, waiting to be read. So I was delighted when she contacted me to ask if I wanted an arc of Humanborn, which is the start of a new series. I’m hoping to get to it after I finish my current read – and I’m really looking forward to seeing what she does with this intriguing premise.
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
I was very pleased to be contacted by the author and asked if I would consider reviewing this book. As it was easy to pick up a KU copy, I didn’t need a review arc. And the reason why I agreed so quickly is that I know and enjoy Lythell’s writing – see my review of Woman of the Hour. And she is also a lovely person who I met when she came to talk to West Sussex Writers’ – which now seems a lifetime ago…
BLURB: 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 . . .
REVIEW: Let me say at once – I’m not a huge fan of domestic noir. I get irritated if the victim is too wimpy and I’ve found too many books (and films) which suddenly decide that everything isn’t quite creepy/tense enough, so then add a ridiculously OTT scene that completely yanks me out of the story. However, I know Jane Lythell’s writing and trusted that she isn’t prone to such nonsense – so when she approached me and asked if I would consider reading and reviewing her latest book, I was delighted to do so.
Holly is an engaging protagonist. I liked that she wasn’t a young twenty-something, but a mature woman whose romantic history had left her with three former partners. Each one needed somewhere to live – at least for a while and when she is unexpectedly left a large Victorian house by an aunt, she invites them to stay. The other bonus with knowing a local writer, is that the setting is also reasonably close to home. Brighton is blessed with a number of these beautiful, large Victorian houses, so it was very easy to envisage the neighbourhood and I also know the beach where Holly liked to walk.
I enjoyed the fluid writing style that stands Lythell in good stead as she describes Holly’s everyday routine, adding in the increasing list of upsetting and unexplained incidents. Because I identified so strongly with Holly as she tackles this monster house with its years of neglect, the slow, steady build-up works very well. Getting the pacing absolutely spot on in this genre is a tricky business – and is one of the reasons why I generally find myself abandoning books. I’m either bored with all the mundane details, because the author hasn’t managed to make me care sufficiently about the protagonist. Or I get fed up as the story rapidly flips into a gothic parody of itself. Not so in this case. Lythell holds the pacing and increasing sense of wrongness in perfect balance. To the extent that I simply couldn’t put the book down – and ended up reading until the wee small hours to find out what happens, while willing Holly to be okay.
There is a very nice extra twist near the end that brings a sudden jolt of danger that works extremely well. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and was very grateful to have picked it up. Highly recommended for fans of domestic noir if you enjoy a slow-burn story with a sympathetic protagonist in a vividly depicted setting. 9/10
Brainfluff 