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.

The Sunday Post 22; It's Monday What are you reading? 22

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a chat and a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see ... I'm trying to think! Work was much the same as always, but that's not a bad thing. 

We came second again at quiz on Wednesday - only one point off the leaders. But it was a fun night.

Spawn had one of his wee friends over for a sleepover on Friday night. (Spawn and his friends are all teenagers, and most are taller than me. It amuses me greatly to call them his wee friends).

I've started to list some cross-stich charts on Facebook that I know I'll never get around to doing, and posted one of those yesterday. Spawn came with me, and we trawled a couple of secondhand stores - I'm on a quest for new kitchen chairs. So far nothing, but I persist.

I've been working on a gift for a workmate who's birthday was this month. It's a bit late, but I'm sure she'll like it anyway. And I went to my friend's last night as usual. We've been watching Hunted Australia, and also The Traitors NZ. The UK one is starting here in a few weeks, which I haven't seen at all, but we're greatly enjoying the NZ version. 

I finished The Land of Stories, and also The Writing Retreat.

So now my bedtime reading is Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P G Wodehouse. And I'm trying this thing where I alternate a library book with one from my own shelves, to actually READ some of the books I own. Since The Writing Retreat was a library book, I've decided to pick up Some Kind of Fairytale by Graham Joyce - in my opinion a criminally under-rated writer.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post 21; It's Monday! What are you reading? 21

 
The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a chat and catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are your reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see ... MUCH less drama this week! J has got the insurance ball rolling for the garage door, which is going to take a while apparently. The car - luckily - is fine. It just needs a superhero bandaid on its bumper and it'll be fine.

We came second at quiz on Wednesday - with our HIGHEST SCORE EVER. I'm a bit competitive, so I'm still slightly bitter. Amazing score, but still second. *Sigh.*

Work again was a thing I did to facilitate paying my bills. 

I went to the library yesterday morning, and wavered on going around the secondhand shops, but ultimately decided I was too lazy. We need new kitchen chairs, but they don't need to be new-new. I haven't found anything I like yet.

I did some reading, and went to my friend's as usual last night to watch TV and do some stitching.

When I got home, there was a power cut in my part of town, which was interesting. So I was navigating by iPhone torch. Luckily it only lasted a couple of hours in total.

And now here we are. :)

I'm still reading The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer, and I also started The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post 20; It's Monday! What are you reading? 20

 
The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a chat and catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see. My week was largely uneventful. We came second at quiz on Wednesday night, and I had taken Thursday off as Spawn was supposed to go to the dentist to have a crown fitted. However, the dental surgery cancelled due to staff illness. Which would be fine, but all the text they sent me said was that they'd contact me to reschedule. Which means I'll need to arrange more time off.

On the bright side, it was nice to have the day off and not have to go anywhere in particular. So I let Spawn stay home, since I wasn't going to send him to school anyway, and we went to the library.

On Saturday morning, I was all set to take Lily to the vet finally. So I duly put her in the back seat of J's car, got in, and I was trying to adjust the seat as I'm a lot shorter than J. And then did the dumbest thing I have ever done. I accidentally put my foot down on the accelerator and drove right through the door of the garage. (We don't keep the cars in there as there's not enough room, and it was closed).

J was in there, as he keeps a computer in there. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the car seems to be okay apart from a few scrapes and scratches. Not my finest moment in my 52 years.

I still managed to take Lily to the vet (in my own car this time), and the good news there is her thyroid has finally stabilised, and she doesn't need to go back until November.

I spent the rest of yesterday afternoon reading, and then went to my friend's as usual.

Today has been quiet, though I did go to the library again to take some books back.

I've also done some stitching and watched Red, White and Royal Blue, which was super cute. 

I've finished Carpe Jugulum, by Mr Sir Terry Pratchett, and also Tangerine by Christine Mangan.

I started The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten, but got 50 pages in before I realised I was looking down the barrel of a love triangle. I hate love triangles. So that got returned to the library today.

I have The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer lined up (which has been on my bookshelf for many years) and I'm thinking of starting The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz.

That's a lot of sentences starting with "I". 

Anyway. I had also started Open Grave by A. M. Peacock but in the first two pages the main character talks about two work colleagues who don't like him/don't like working with him. I call that "Oi, Guv" - a character who Bucks the System or doesn't Get Along with Others but Gets Results. I hate it. People can get along and still catch serial killers. 

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading? 

Sunday Post 19; It's Monday, what are you reading? 19

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a chat and a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see .... work was once again a thing that happened in order to pay bills. 

I've been driving my husband's car as mine still doesn't have an up to date warrant of fitness (we work opposite hours). I basically drive a hot wheels (a Nissan Tiida) and J drives a Suzuki Escudo (a tank). So that's been fun. 

We won at quiz on Wednesday night, and I was peer-pressured into going to a quiz on Thursday night as well. Normally back-to-back nights out - especially during the week -  are my nightmare, but I did it anyway. To add injury to insult, our team didn't place. 

Spawn and I watched Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Friday night, and it was absolutely hilarious.

Saturday I was meant to take Lily to the vet but she vanished until 5 minutes before the appointment, so I had to reschedule. 

Spawn and I went to the library yesterday, and I trawled the withdrawn book shelf as I always do. The books are $1 unless priced higher for various reasons. I picked up The Legend of Sigrud and Gurun by 

J R R Tolkien and a dictionary on the history of the fashion industry. I know the second one sounds a little bit out the gate, but it should come in handy for quiz research. 

Saturday night I went to my friend's as usual.

Today, I've been playing the closed beta for the game Palia: https://palia.com/ which is a cosy exploration/setting up home type game. It's had a couple of glitches, but so far I'm enjoying the overall vibe.

I've done some stitching today, and listened to a couple of episodes of one of my go-to podcasts - You Must Remember This, which is about the first 100 years of Hollywood history.

I'm still reading Carpe Jugulum, and I also started Tangerine by Christine Tangan, a novel set in Tangiers in the 1950s about two former college room-mates who reconnect after a year and some kind of Terrible Event. It's very atmospheric - almost claustrophobic, and gives me strong 1940s/50s noir vibes.

How about you? How's your week? What a re you reading?

Review - The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

 

The Grief of Stones is a sequel to The Witness for the Dead, and the third book set in the same universe as The Goblin Emperor.

I don't think you need to read The Goblin Emperor to understand The Witness for the Dead (but you should read it anyway) as it largely stands alone.

Thara Celehar - who was a minor character in The Goblin Emperor - takes centre stage in these novels.

He's a Witness for the Dead in the city of  Amalo, which means basically people come to him when someone has recently died to try and solve particular mysteries.

In some cases, it's how they died, or if they were murdered. In others, it's to find out things like where the money is hidden - or the scone recipe. Celehar takes all the cases on their merits, and gives them the same care and consideration.

When a Marquise is found to have been poisoned, Celehar finds himself entangled with a school for orphaned girls - and a terrible, terrible cover-up. 

In Witness for the Dead, Celehar is largely insular and guarded, having come through the horrific trauma of watching the man he loved be executed for murder. While that still haunts him in The Grief of Stones, he also finds his circle widening with friends, colleagues - and possibly even a new romance. 

The series is called The Cemeteries of Amalo, and somehow they blend fantasy, a little bit of steampunk and mystery in a very compelling and readable way.

Also, there are cats, so I'm naturally biased.