Can’t Wait Wednesday: Ring the Bells (Stranger Times #5) by CK McDonnell
9 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Can't wait Wednesday, CK McDonnell, Fantasy, Ring the Bells, Stranger Times #5, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Ring the Bells (Stranger Times #5) by CK McDonnell. I absolutely love this series and have devoured the previous four books. Here’s the cover (although this might not be the final cover at this point) and description:
Christmas. It’s the most magical time of the year, but nobody ever said that was a good thing . . .
When a well-meaning book group turned witches coven attempt to perform a ritual of peace, they get a whole load of anything but. Meet Zalas, a chaos-loving old god who is the reason a university librarian apparently slaughtered the rest of her book group. The Stranger Times is hot on his trail, but it’s hard to track down a being that can pass from person to person just by touch. And contact with this demonic visitor leaves his unwitting hosts bewildered and, more often than not, covered in blood. The team are trying to track him down and also trace the mysterious book that was used inadvertently to summon him. It seems the book group were unwitting patsies, but who would benefit by unleashing a force of sheer chaos?
Mind you it’s not exactly plain sailing for Zalas. The modern world’s proving tricky to navigate. Back in the good old days, all he needed to do was demonstrate his capacity for spectacular violence and followers would flock to him. Now everybody runs away screaming.
Like all gods, to thrive and survive he needs believers, but people don’t seem to believe in anything anymore. And as he passes from host to host he can’t find any faith to latch onto unti, that is, he meets Barry Fearns, a down-on-his-luck Santa Claus at Wonderama, the disastrous ‘Christmas experience’ that’s coming soon to a consumer affairs TV programme near you. Thanks to Zalas, it’s transformed into a magical place where dreams really do come true. Because children are the last true believers and Zalas has found a way into their little hearts. Returning home, they find all their Christmas wishes granted – from unicorns and dinosaurs to grandad visiting, even though he died last year . . .
As Zalas’ power grows and grows, the Founders struggle to contain the alarming amount of magic spewing forth into the world and Banecroft and the Stranger Times gang are in a race against time. Because on Christmas eve, when the bells toll, Zalas will gather his followers unto him and when he does, he’ll be unstoppable.
Someone is coming to town and he certainly isn’t jolly. Can The Stranger Times crew save not just Christmas but possibly the entire world as well?
Expected publication: October 2025
Review: Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean (War for the Rose Throne #5)
7 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, fiction, Paved With Good Intentions, Peter McLean, Review, War for the Rose Throne #5
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Brilliant, I absolutely loved it
I’m just going to be honest – I’m not usually a fan of spin off books or prequels – and yet, I loved this. It was such a good read and I think, in all honesty, even if you haven’t read the other books in this series, you could read this as a standalone – and, in fact, it might be a perfect way to discover if you love this world or not.
The story focuses on Eline and basically how she becomes a Queen’s Man.
I’m actually not going to go into the plot. I’m going to focus on what I really enjoyed.
First and foremost, the writing. McLean has some writing chops. This isn’t my first rodeo and I literally fell into this with ease. I really enjoyed it. This is my fantasy, grimdark if you will, kind of story. It doesn’t pull the punches, it’s raw and gritty, maybe a little bit shocking, but it isn’t gruesome or gratuitous.
I loved Eline, her story is so fascinating. Horrifying and yet hopeful. She is one resilient woman. I can’t event begin to contemplate what she went through and yet she is a strong woman, and clever.
The rest of the cast are also really good. Eline has this motherly quality, she has two children of her own and she extends those feelings to the people she finds herself amongst.
I can’t say too much more. Other than, this book is so good. I absolutely loved it. The characters, the setting, the story – all perfect. I would love to read more about Eline and what comes next, or maybe this is as much of her back story as we’re going to discover. For me, this was such a good read, I can’t recommend it enough.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks, the agove is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate June/July
6 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, fiction, June July, Month in review, Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up, reading, TBR, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
This month’s wrap up post will be a bit messy again like last month’s because I’m combining it with my weekly wrap up.
Weekly Update
The weather has been glorious and with the summer comes more socialising. That being said my weekly reading the past week has been good. I did indeed finish A Far Better Thing by HG Parry and not only loved it but have already posted my review – a Dickens inspired world with wicked fae. I then picked up Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean which I also absolutely loved. I also finished listening to Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. I struggled with this one for at least two thirds of the read but I confess the final chapters definitely piqued my interest and the ending in particular. I then picked up and practically inhaled The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. A bewitching tale, a mystery and witches that feel almost akin to vampires.
Next Week’s reads
I’m happy to say that I’ve also started two new books, both of which I’m enjoying very much so far. The Enchanted Greenhouse which I’m about a third into and The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig which is my current audio book.
Reviews Posted:
- A Far Better Thing by HG Parry
Outstanding Reviews
- Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
- Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean
- Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
- The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My Monthly Wrap Up:
Books read in June:
- The Countdown Killer by Sam Holland
- The Rush by Beth Lewis
- The Bodies by Sam Lloyd
- Swordheart by T Kingfisher
- A Far Better Thing by HG Parry
- Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
I’ve had a slow reading month for sure and looking back at my last monthly review I had 11 books queued up to read – The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater was unfortunately a DNF. I also picked up and started With A Vengeance by Riley Sager but it wasn’t working it’s magic – which was a surprise as I’ve been really enjoying this author’s work recently. From the rest of the list I’d already picked up and reviewed We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough which was great, the Shield and the Moth by Rachel Gillig I’m now listening to and Paved with Good Intentions by Peter McLean is now complete (I just didn’t manage to fit it into June).
Here’s what I’m hoping to read in July, in fact I’ve already made good progress as I’ve read The Bewitching and started The Enchanted Greenhouse. I’ve carried over The Knight and the Moth and I’m going to try and squeeze in a couple of backlist books if I can:
- Fateless by Julie Kagawa
- The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst – current read
- The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – read and waiting to be reviewed
- Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
- It Was Her First House by Cherie Priest
- The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
This month I’m hoping to go back to a couple of books from last October that I really wanted to read but didn’t have the time to fit them in. Let’s see how that goes.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo.
and the text version:
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2025 (TEXT VERSION)
| 1. A prehistoric flint knapped stone knife | 2. A lighthouse | 3. An apple on a leafy branch | 4. An archery target with three arrows in it |
| 5. A very large mechanical telescope | 7. A stag | ||
| 9 |
10. A sheaf of wheat | ||
| 15. A stylized sun with a human face | 16. A Roman helmet |
Today, I’m ticking off another of the prompts. No. 11 – the old mechanical typewriter – I’m using The Bewitching for this one as one of the characters is a writer and is actually gifted a typewriter in the story. The book she writes features prominently in the story so I think it’s a good fit.
The prompts I’ve crossed off so far:
No.8 – The ruins of a temple-like structure – I’m using Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb
No. 12 – A cluster of four mushrooms – I’m using Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
No. 13 – A fringed umbrella/parasol – I’m using A Fortune Most Fatal by Jessica Bull
No.14 – A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes – I’m using Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
No.9 – A Crab – I’m using The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – if you’ve read this already you’ll be able to guess why. There are some very unusual creatures in this story.
No.6 – A Human Skull – I’m using The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North – because this is about a serial killer and there are definite human remains included in this one.
Number of books read this year: 44
Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the second half of 2025
5 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025, That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday
This was a recent prompt for one of the Top Ten Tuesdays that I unfortunately missed but still wanted to post something to highlight some of the books that I’m really looking forward to for the rest of the year. I won’t include my July reads as I’ll be including those in this week’s weekly/monthly wrap up. I’ve stuck to ten to fit in with the original TTT post although I could easily have doubled this because there are some fantastic books waiting to be released this year. Without further ado here are some of the books on my shelves that I can’t wait to read:
The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
This is a new-to-me author that I can’t wait to tuck into – just look at that cover and I love the description, plus, you pretty much had me with ‘fire-breathing lizards’.
The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso (The Echo Archives #2)
I absolutely loved The Last Hour Between Worlds, such a fantastic world and incredible imagination, I loved Kembral Thorne and can’t wait to see what she gets up to in this second instalment. If you haven’t started reading this series yet I highly recommend it.
Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher
Put simply I cannot resist reading anything that this author writes and a retelling (or reimagining) of Snow White – what? Colour me happy. That is all
Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Another author that I’m loving and the sound of this Southern thriller totally wowed me. Check it out at the link above.
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
Another author that I find myself unable to resist. I’ve read three winning books recently from this author, Cackle, Black Sheep and So Thirsty and the description of this sounds like another winner – a haunted/possessed house. Sign me up.
House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
Laura Purcell is the absolute Queen of All Things Gothic. I love her writing and actually performed a little happy dance when I saw this forthcoming read about a haunted house.
Ring the Bells by CK McDonnell (Stranger Times #5)
This series is an absolute must. I’m loving it and don’t ever want it to end.
The Last Witch by CJ Cooke
CJ Cooke is a fantastic author who manages to create stories simply dripping with atmosphere. A Haunting in the Arctic is absolutely brilliant and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to read this historical horror.
King Sorrow by Joe Hill
This book is literally a beast. It clocks in at almost 900 pages and is already receiving some great reviews. I am about as excited to pick this up as a person can be. I’m practically fizzing with anticipation.
The Blackfire Blade by James Logan (The Last Legacy #2)
The Silverblood Promise was one of my top ten reads for 2024 so you may be able to imagine how excited I am to read this next instalment. Obviously, I’m going to wait until nearer the release date but I’m not sure I’ll make it to October – the anticipation may drive me crazy.
That’s if for now – let me know what books are on your ‘most anticipated’ list for 2025.
The Friday Face Off: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
4 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Friday Face off, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Bewitching
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). I’ve missed these for the past few months and so would like to get back to comparing covers (and hopefully I will be updating this page with a new banner. This is an opportunity to look at a book of your choice and shine the spotlight on the covers. Of course this only works for those books that have alternative covers (although sometimes I use this to look at a series of books to choose a favourite). So, if you have a book that has alternative covers, highlight them and choose your favourite. If you’re taking part it would be great if you leave a link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
This week I’ve chosen a book that I’ll be picking up very soon. The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Two covers for this one. Take a look and see which is your favourite.
My favourite this week:
Which is your favourite?
Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers
Books and travelling with Lynn 