Top Ten Tuesday : Books Too Good to Review Properly
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s topic is:
Books Too Good to Review Properly
I like this prompt although when I first started making a list I felt like it was turning into a ‘best of’ list so instead I’ve looked back across a few years. I was actually trying to find those reviews where I actually say something along the lines of ‘I don’t think I can do this book justice in a review’ and I think I have found four or five reviews that say something similar. Plus a couple of reviews where I apologise for gushing profusely because I loved the book so much. Anyway, here are ten excellent books:
- The Ladies of the Secret Service by Constance Sayers
- The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
- Come With Me by Ronald Malfi
- The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd
- The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
- The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
- The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
- Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
- Sea of Rust by C Robert Cargill
This Charming Man (The Stranger Times #2) by CK McDonnell
14 February 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: CK McDonnell, The Stranger Times #2, This Charming Man
My Five Word TL:DR Review : A Good Deal of Fun
I’m loving this series. It’s funny, fast paced, has good storylines and characters that I’m becoming attached to.
If you’re planning on picking this up I would suggest reading The Stranger Times first – although to be fair I think you could probably read this as a standalone – I just really enjoyed the first in series and so basically think ‘why deny yourself the pleasure of reading it?’ Also, it’s possible that this review will include spoilers so be aware of that before reading on.
So, once again we meet up with the staff of the Stranger Times. Things are moving forward since events in the first instalment and work is being carried out to the old church that the Stranger Times newspaper works from, mainly to accommodate the fact that one of the staff (Stella – a young girl who there is much more to than originally meets the eye) is now temporarily living in the building in order to stay safe. In fact this feeds into one of the plotlines involving a potential kidnapping.
At the same time as the staff are investigating who or what might be interested in secreting Stella away it appears that vampires are suddenly sprouting up in the streets of Manchester. An occurrence that causes great consternation as although the ‘folk’ the ‘founders’ and other weird and wonderful entities do actually exist – everyone agrees that vampires are simply a work of fiction. Until bodies start to crop up, torn to pieces and drained of blood.
Again, I will reiterate that I love the setting. I may be slightly biased of course having worked in Manchester for many years but I really do feel it lends itself well to this storyline and I think the author really captures the place and the essence of the people, their banter and humour really well. I also think that Manchester has some wonderfully gothic buildings that would really lend themselves to future storylines.
I’m also becoming very easily attached to the characters. Banecroft, the boozy and prickly long suffering editor with a heart of gold, Hannah, his latest recruit and journalist with a detective love interest, the suffering secretary Grace who seems to be able to accomplish virtually anything, Ox and Reggie, the other investigative journalists, Stella who is becoming a great point of interest and quite possibly a new addition to the team that I won’t elaborate on here.
On top of this the team get out and about plenty. I loved that they come across a character who lives on the canal. I’ll leave you to discover about him, his unique canine companion and his unusual story about why he lives permanently on water. There’s also some new additions to the strange world of the Folk that involves a visit to a Godfather type who is not to be crossed.
I thought all the elements came together really well and I was so in the mood for a fun adventure with vampires and an underlying mystery that I simply didn’t see coming.
I’m loving this series and can only reiterate my comments from the first instalment – ‘more please’.
In terms of criticisms. I really don’t have anything. For me this worked on every level. I liked the setting. The author had me smiling and laughing with his excellent comedic flourishes. The pacing was good. There isn’t a dull moment to be honest. The characters are likable and the plot was intriguing. Colour me happy.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
13 February 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Booking Ahead, Caffeinated Reviewer, Weekly wrap up
I’m trying to get back into the habit of doing a round-up of the week just completed and also take a look at my plans for the forthcoming week. I rather got out of the habit of doing this but I would like to reinstate this type of post as I feel it keeps me on track. So, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post over at Kimberly’s Caffeinated Reviewer. Without further ado:
This week I’ve started catching up with blog hopping and I’ve been reading three books, one for SPFBO, one a readalong with my good reading buddy and one a review book. I managed to finish This Charming Man by CK McDonnell which was a good deal of fun. I also started The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan – I’m loving this book, I’m about two-thirds into this so suspect I’ll finish it tonight (but you never know, the best laid plans, etc).
Books read this week:
Next Week’s Reads:
I’m aiming to complete The Justice of Kings. Hopefully complete my SPFBO book and start one of the others. I will also continue with my buddy read which will take me to 75%. All going well I might make a start on The Hemlock Cure by Joanne Burn
- Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Outstanding reviews:
This Charming Man by CK McDonnell
Friday Face Off : Sealed with a kiss
11 February 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Sealed with a Kiss
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout.
I’ve added themes in below. For information, I’m trying out some new ideas so along with coming up with particular items for book covers I thought we could also look for certain elements contained within the book or that play a large part in the story – this really broadens things out because I have plenty of more ideas with this – I’ve gone for a few of the Tough Travel Themes (so a book with that theme – just choose any book – the theme isn’t necessarily on the cover, then compare covers), also, I’ve thrown in some genres and some colours. Hopefully this will open things out a little and give us some more freedom to come up with new books.
This week’s theme:
Sealed with a kiss – lips, or the impression left by a kiss
How on earth did I come up with this theme – I hope you all managed a little easier than I did. I was a bit stumped and although I did eventually find two books that fit they’re both from quite a few years ago. I’ve gone for Shadow Kiss, book 3 in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Here are the covers:
I’m not absolutely in love with any of these covers. I think my favourite two are:
Which one is your favourite?
If you’re taking part in this week’s theme feel free to leave your link in the comments below.
If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
Next Week – Tough Travel Tropes – Hate to Love
2022
Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Oh my days, that start
Flipping heck this book starts with a total mind blowing scene – by which I mean you’ll need to sit behind a cushion. To be honest, having read Hex, I already knew that this author could write some creepy prose and Echo is no exception. What really stands out for me with both Hex and Echo is that although they’re both completely different stories they both rely on superstition and ever increasing fear. I will mention that this book is not a book to race through, it’s also not a slasher-type-in-your-face horror. What it is is a character focused tale involving a traumatic experience that is slowly revealed with insidious subtlety until the dramatic conclusion ends in a turbulent finale.
I will only briefly describe the plot. As the story begins we make the acquaintance of Nick Grevers a mountaineer who wakes up in hospital with horrific facial injuries, his climbing partner Augustin is missing presumed dead and all the evidence points to anything but an actual climbing accident. From here we meet Nick’s partner Sam and experience his struggle to come to terms with what’s happened and from there other accidents occur and things start to look bleak.
Okay, what I really liked about this book.
The attention to detail in terms of the mountain climbing, the cold, the snow and the physical danger are excellent. It’s atmospheric and then some.
There is a heavy play on superstition, the sort of elements that are woven into the story with such a deft hand that you could read this as hysteria, delusion or knee jerk reaction. It’s a brilliant touch because you’re never quite sure what’s really going on and it puts you on the edge of your seat reading furiously to find out.
On top of this there’s the mystery of what actually took place and this is kept under wraps and revealed little by little. The writing is well done and I loved the way the author uses references to other horror stories with opening chapters taken from well known books together with references to Prometheus and Frankenstein.
The other really clever element is the characters. Primarily Nick and Sam but also Sam’s sister, one of the medical staff who treated Nick originally and the people in the small village who really don’t like outsiders and any sort of upset in the balance. We jump back to an earlier trauma that Sam and his sister experienced and how this affected them both in later life – in particular in terms of misremembering things and how this leads to feelings of guilt.
However, the really winning element of the story is the mountain itself. Unfathomable, dangerous, elusive, ever changing, defying any attempt to conquer it. Dark, mysterious and foreboding.
In terms of criticisms. I think this is longer than I expected. There is an element of reinforcement of certain aspects that begins to feel a little repetitive and certainly some points are stretched out. Not enough to spoil my enjoyment but I think it’s good to be forewarned that this is a slow burn.
I don’t want to really give too much away here which is why this review will be necessarily short. This is a creepy and menacing story that relies heavily on exceptional characters, family ties and superstitions that have become so deep rooted that they almost feel like hysteria.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars.
Books and travelling with Lynn 