Short reviews

 

Tangerine by Christine Mangan is set in Tangiers in the 1950s.

Alice Shipley has come to Tangiers with her new husband. However, Alice feels uneasy and out of place and seldom leaves their apartment.

The very last person Alice expects to see on her doorstep one day is her old college room-mate, Lucy Mason. Not after what had happened...

Tangerine has a very strong 1950s Hitchcock film or film noir vibe. It's claustrophobic and tense, with secrets simmering just under the surface.

Even the cover looks like a film poster from the era.

The only quibble I had with the book was the ending, which I wasn't a big fan of. Otherwise, enjoyable.

Carpe Jugulum, by Mr Sir Terry Pratchett. This is a treat, but basically anything by Terry Pratchett is a treat. 

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Agnes are preparing for the christening of Magrat and King Verence's baby girl. Before that can take place, however, there are other things the witches need to contend with.

The family of vampyres for a start, that intend to move into Lancre Castle and basically take over. Then there's the falconer, searching for a phoenix. 

And we can't forget the Wee Free Men ... Discworld is pure escapism, but also very very clever, and all you can really do is hop on your broomstick and go along for the ride.

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. I have to confess - I have had this book on my bookshelves for a very long time.

I've decided to make a bit more of an effort to actually ... read my own books, and so I started here.

The Land of Stories is a series of books by former Glee star Chris Colfer, starting with the Wishing Spell in which twins Alex and Connor find themselves trapped in a fairytale world, and have to find a way home.

It's a cute, easy-to-read middle grade/intermediate fantasy that can definitely be enjoyed by kids of all ages who secretly still believe in magic. (It's me. I'm kids.)

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz is a ... wild ride, to say the least.

Five young women are invited to the isolated mansion of an eccentric write for a month, after winning a competition.

They will spend a month at the retreat, writing a novel and being mentored by the famous author. At the end of the month, the idea is that they will have completed manuscripts.

It's not long, however, before everything starts to go a bit pear-shaped.

Then it gets strange, THEN it straight up goes whack-a-doodle. 

I wasn't a great fan of Alex, the protagonist, but she kind of grew on me as the book progressed. And I can definitely say I was entertained. If I had to classify it genre-wise, I'd call it a modern-day gothic thriller. Entertaining and readable and honestly? Bonkers.