Friday Face Off : ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’
19 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Richelle Mead, Schools, Vampire Academy
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, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – 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. This week’s theme:
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ – A cover featuring a school
Schools – I think this has been a past theme but I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. I thought this one should be relatively simple and there’s one very obvious choice that we could all use. My book this week is: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead
My favourites are :
My favourite this week :
Which one is your favourite?
Like last week I’ve added a Mr Linky here so that you can leave a link if you wish or please leave me a link in the comments so we can all visit and check out each others covers. Thanks
I’ve updated the list and included themes through to the end of 2019 – I’ve also included events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share that let me know in the comments). I also have a list prepared for 2020 and so will set up a separate page soon for forthcoming themes. As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment.
Next week – A cover featuring a sunrise/sunset
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)
2019
26th April “The sunrise was the colour of bad blood” – A cover featuring a sunrise/sunset
(May is the month of Wyrd and Wonder – details here, Twitter: @wyrdandwonder)
3rd May – “How sweet to be a cloud, floating in the blue” – A cover that is predominantly blue
10th May – “As full of spirit as the month of May” – A cover featuring a festival/party/celebration
17th May – “The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow!” – A cover featuring a fantasy beast
24th May – “bibbity, bobbity, boo” – A cover that features ‘magical things’
31st May – “simples” – A favourite fantasy cover
7th June – “One swallow does not make a summer” – A cover that makes you think of Summer
14th June – “Coraline opened the box of chocolates. The dog looked at them longingly.” – A cover featuring something sweet
21st June – Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year – Pagan rituals/standing stones/blazing suns – a cover with your own interpretation
28th June – “And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas” – A cover that is striped
5th July – “The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe… has been answered” – a cover featuring something/somebody historic
12th July – A wrap around cover
19th July – “You can’t choose between life and death when we’re dealing with what is in between.” – A cover that is grainy or looks like ‘white noise’
26th July – “Ludo ….. down” – A cover that is Upside Down
2nd August – “There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.” A cover featuring children
9th August – “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” – A cover featuring Pirates
16th August – “The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes” – a cover featuring feathers
23rd August – A cover that is a movie tie in
30th August – “I wandered lonely as a cloud” – a cover that is predominantly yellow
6th September “Warm September brings the fruit” – a cover that is seasonal for Autumn/Fall
13th September – Friday the 13th – unlucky for some! A cover with ‘curse’ in the title
20th September – “Your hair is winter fire,January embers.” – A cover featuring hair
27th September – Freebie
4th October – “Feed me Seymour” – A cover that is 60s horror
11th October – ““And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.” – a cover featuring an Inn
18th October – “It’s your favorite scary movie, remember? He had on the white mask, he stalked the babysitters.” – A cover featuring a scream
25th October – for Halloween – pick any scary cover you like
(I’m hoping that November will once again bring to us SciFiMonth – Twitter @SciFiMonth)
1st November – A cover that is predominantly grey
8th November – “big badda boom” – a cover that features an explosion
15th November – “No thinking thing should be another thing’s property, to be turned on and off when it is convenient.” – a cover featuring a robot
22nd November – A cover that is Futuristic
29th November – “When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.” – a cover that is 60s sci fi
6th December – Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York” – a cover that puts you in mind of winter
13th December – A cover that features a temple/or religious icon
20th December – Longest Night – a dark and foreboding cover
27th December – the festive season – a cover that is glittery or sparkling
(2020 – January is Vintage SciFi month so I’ll be including possible themes to take that on board.)
The Binding by Bridget Collins
The Binding is a book that I’d been looking forward to picking up for quite some time. It has an intriguing description that tells us this is “An unforgettable novel of enchantment, mystery, memory, and forbidden love, The Binding is a beautiful homage to the allure and life-changing power of books—and a reminder to us all that knowledge can be its own kind of magic.” I really enjoyed this for the most part. It’s a beautifully rendered love story with a historic backdrop and a low fantasy feel.
As the story sets off we make the acquaintance of Emmett a young man who works the land on his family’s farm. We soon learn that Emmet has been unwell, he seems unable to complete his regular duties and is burdened with feelings of guilt and self-doubt. Returning home from a day in the fields Emmett hears his parents arguing about a letter they’ve just received – a letter that summons Emmett to become an apprentice book binder. Books are forbidden and the local binder is thought to be a witch – and yet, Emmett’s parents submit to the request and he’s taken off to begin his apprenticeship. The first part of the story is really well done. I found myself easily pulled into the pages and the way of life. There’s enough description of the time and place to create a vivid picture and the entire first part is loaded with tension and mystery. There is a good deal of significant looks, brimming with meaning, and whispered conversations and just as I was about to explode with the mystery of it all we moved into the second part.
To be honest, it’s difficult to continue the review after this point without giving away spoilers. Basically the second section of the book takes us back to an earlier period and shines a light on all the secrecy alluded to in the first part. I loved these chapters. They had a wild unkempt feeling that put me in mind of Wuthering Heights. I could envisage the farm and the way of life, the secrets, the forbidden meetings. Obviously I could see in which direction things were going to go but it all added to the tension and fear for the characters themselves. Very evocative indeed.
The third section is the part that I struggled with a little and I’m not sure I can completely put my finger on why that is. These chapters take on a very dark and gothic feel, almost Machiavellian in the scheming and intrigue and packed with some pretty nasty characters. I mean, in some respects I can see what the author was aiming for here and I absolutely love the idea of it. The sense of despair, of things being too far out of control. The difference in tempo moving the story out of the country and into the city, the sense of grime, the disparity between the rich and the poor, the exploitation. It felt almost Dickensian in contrast to the Bronte feel of the first two parts. I guess, for me, it felt a little jarring and maybe a little over the top in terms of what was going on. I think it could have been calmed down somewhat whereas as it was it felt a little scattered and chaotic. I think if a little of the busyness had been stripped from this final third this could well have been a perfect read for me.
I can’t tell you too much more about the plot. The central concept here is one of memories and the power they hold over a person. It’s not something I’ve really ever considered before and this story definitely gave me some food for thought.
I really enjoyed Collins writing, I thought she had a lovely way with words and I enjoyed the historical feel. I would say that the fantasy and magic behind the whole aspect of ‘book binding’ is very light and I wouldn’t say that I had a really strong understanding of the binding or how it works. In fact, I would say that you probably just need to go with it and don’t look too hard for explanations.
I think given the nature of how this story is written readers will likely have very different experiences when they read this. I wouldn’t be surprised if some readers love the third part and find the opening chapters a little too drawn out. Overall, I had a good time with this. I didn’t love the concluding chapters as much as I’d have liked but I found the first two parts of this very intriguing indeed and I confess that I read the whole story in two sittings I was so gripped.
I received a copy through Edelweiss, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Can’t Wait Wednesday : Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell
17 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, Kelly Powell, Songs from the Deep, 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 : Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell.
A girl searches for a killer on an island where deadly sirens lurk just beneath the waves in this gripping, atmospheric debut novel.
The sea holds many secrets.
Moira Alexander has always been fascinated by the deadly sirens who lurk along the shores of her island town. Even though their haunting songs can lure anyone to a swift and watery grave, she gets as close to them as she can, playing her violin on the edge of the enchanted sea. When a young boy is found dead on the beach, the islanders assume that he’s one of the sirens’ victims. Moira isn’t so sure.
Certain that someone has framed the boy’s death as a siren attack, Moira convinces her childhood friend, the lighthouse keeper Jude Osric, to help her find the real killer, rekindling their friendship in the process. With townspeople itching to hunt the sirens down, and their own secrets threatening to unravel their fragile new alliance, Moira and Jude must race against time to stop the killer before it’s too late—for humans and sirens alike.
Due for publication : November 2019
The Brotherhood of the Wheel (Brotherhood of the Wheel #1) by R.S. Belcher
16 April 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Brotherhood of the Wheel #1, RS Belcher, The Brotherhood of the Wheel
I loved this book. Great urban fantasy that just so happened to give me a serious case of the hebejebes! Why didn’t anyone tell me to pick this up before now? Okay, so maybe you did tell me to pick it up but I’m plain stubborn – sometimes I need more of a shove than a nudge. Urban fantasy with a good dose of horror mashed in for good measure, this is a world that involves all sorts of nightmares, ghosts and ancient creatures. Fortunately the roads are patrolled by an ancient order of knights – well, here is an excellent description taken from Goodreads that describes this order to a tee:
‘In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon–a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order’s original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them.’
This is a dark read populated with some real heroes and some hideous villains. The roads and interstates are stalked by much more than depraved serial killers who use this vast network to stay hidden. Older and more ancient evil lurks on these highways just waiting for the right opportunity to cause havoc.
The story fairly bursts out from the starting blocks as we meet Jimmy Aussapile, a trucker and defender of the roads and knight of the Brotherhood of the Wheel. He’s hot on the trail of a serial killer and is closing in. I won’t go further into the detail other than to say that a little later Jimmy picks up an unusual hiker, a ghostly entity with a strange tale that sets him onto the tail of something much bigger and incredibly sinister in nature. The ramifications of what Jimmy is about to uncover are huge and could be even more far reaching than first expected. This is a story that involves over a century’s worth of missing people and it takes urban myths to a whole new level.
What did I really like about this? It’s scary first and foremost. It tackles a whole lot of nasty, things that really could and do happen and that is frightening enough in itself, but then rope in a whole bunch of creepy myths, a town that can’t be found on any map and some seriously creepy, black eyed kids and you can consider me hooked to the pages. Now just to be clear, because obviously I don’t want to put potential readers off. This is UF meets horror but I wouldn’t call this gory. It’s not particularly visceral. I’m not really making myself very clear to be honest because I don’t want to put people off who think this might be too much. It is dark and scary but at the same time I’m something of a wimp – so there is that.
On top of the scary this is seriously a good story. I have to applaud an author who gives me the goosebumps but this isn’t just about the fear factor. This is a very well told story and it’s positively gripping.
The characters. Jimmy is very easy to like. He’s a great character and relatable. He wants to do the right thing and in fact puts himself, his job and his livelihood at risk in order to do so. He looks at the bigger picture and his actions go down the route of whatsoever will be better for the greater good. I know that I’m really liking a character when I actually want to hold them back out of danger. Yes, I wanted him to rush in all guns blazing but at the same time I didn’t want him to get hurt. Ohh the dilemma.
Along the way Jimmy finds himself with a squire – I loved that for an old fashioned concept. Heck is a character with a complicated past that I don’t believe we’ve fully got to the bottom of just yet and discovering his secrets is something that I’m looking forward to. The story also crosses paths with a police investigator, working a suspiciously similar case, named Lovina Hewitt. I simply have to applaud Belcher for coming up with such good characters – these aren’t the only ones that we meet and they all feel well rounded and easy to picture.
The setting – well, as if the highways themselves wasn’t such a great idea we also have the town of Four Houses. Oh my. What can I even tell you, where to begin. This is just deliciously spooky and dark. A town that can’t be found and once it is found can’t easily be undiscovered. Houses of power. And, much more. Just read the book. Don’t do a ‘me’ and leave this languishing on a dusty wishlist. Pick yourself up a copy and read it. If you needed any more motivation I can tell you I have the second book already lined up and I’m excited to begin. I think this could be the start of an excellent series and one that I could easily fall for. I hope for lots more instalments.
Where I picked up a copy: I bought the audio version of the Brotherhood of the Wheel from Audible.
A comfy chair and a good book
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:
Rainy Day Reads
I don’t know what everyone else wants to read on a rainy day but here are a few very good stories that could work perfectly on a wet day when all you want is a comfy chair and a good book:
- The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
- Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
- Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
- A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Longbourn by Jo Baker
- The Martian by Andy Weir
Books and travelling with Lynn 