Can’t Wait Wednesday : I Always Find You by John Ajvide Lindqvist
6 June 2018
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, I Always Find You, John Ajvide Lindqvist, 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: I Always Find You by John Ajvide Lindqvist:
In September 1985, nineteen-year-old John Lindqvist moves into a dilapidated old building in Stockholm, planning to make his living as a magician. Something strange is going on in the building’s basement – and the price of entry is just a little blood. I Always Find You is a horror story – as bizarre and macabre as any of Lindqvist’s bestselling novels. It’s also a book about being young and lonely, about making friends and growing up. It’s about magic, and the intensity of human connection – and a society’s communal responsibility for a devastating act of political violence.
Expected publication: September 2018
Close, but no cigar.
5 June 2018
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday, Unfinished Series
Top Ten Tuesday
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 :
Series I Did Not Finish
I’ve changed this slightly to series that I seem to be struggling/reluctant to finish. These are series where I started off by loving the first book, or more, but then for reasons unknown just lost the impetus to continue and it’s now been so long that I’m unlikely to return to them:
- Divergent by Veronica Roth – only read the first book. I enjoyed it but the impetus to continue fizzled out for me.
- The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger – I read the first four books but never completed the series – which is a shame.
- The Sci fi books by Hugh Howey – read Wool and Shift.
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Only read the first. Everyone seemed to love this series and I enjoyed the first book but I recognise that I probably won’t complete it now.
- Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – I confess that I went off these a little.
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, I read the first two books. The first was okay but I did have a couple of issues. The second didn’t really work out for me although it’s a series that has plenty of love.
- The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle – I enjoyed the first one and do have the next two books. Part of me would like to have the chance to get to them but at the same time I recognise I’m probably just being hopelessly optimistic.
- Ashes and Shadows by Ilsa Bick – I still need to read Monsters but I think unfavourable reviews at the time slowed me down and it’s so long ago since I read these now that I’d probably need a reread.
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin – another book that has heaps of praise and that I enjoyed and yet here I am no further along. It’s all about the time I suppose.
- Left blank for your unfinished series ???
The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
After a rather crazy month of May I’m pretty much dedicating the month of June to catching up with all my errant reviews.
The Beast’s Heart is a retelling of my favourite fairytale – Beauty and the Beast. It’s a rather beautifully written love story told from the perspective of the Beast.
I can say immediately that I enjoyed this book very much. The style of writing is a perfect mix of beautiful description and bewitching storytelling and it’s a tale that I already know and love. I have a couple of little issues that kept this from going from a good read to a great one but overall this was a lovely story that I devoured in a couple of sittings.
I won’t go into the plot too much. I’m fairly sure that most people know the storyline for Beauty and the Beast and for the most part The Beast’s Heart is a faithful rendition that takes the opportunity to give us the Beast’s perspective.
We start off with the Beast living wild in the forest, terrorising the other animals until he remembers his humanity and the curse that brought him so low. After he recalls his past he returns to his home, a fantastic and crumbling chateau that is also cursed. The whole place is bewitched, it has it’s own seasons, the gardens can change at will and the house has it’s own personality being able to change from a place of warmth and comfort to one that is hostile and unwelcoming depending on it’s own feelings as events unfold. Eventually, following the natural course of the fairytale Isabeau comes to stay with the Beast after an agreement is reached that she will stay for the duration of one year.
Gradually the two form a sort of friendship and fall into a daily pattern however their friendship is hampered by the secrets that they both withhold from each other and a general lack of openness.
What I particularly liked about this was the style of writing. This story lends itself so well to the gothic and the author has a lovely way with words that evokes the classics. The descriptions and attention to detail are really well executed and I also particularly enjoyed the way the story splits between the time spent at the Chateau and the glimpses of Isabeau’s family and the lives they are now living, which we are able to witness alongside the Beast using his magical mirror. Isabeau’s sister’s both have their own storylines going on that help to break things up nicely whilst at the same time increasing the tension. I particularly liked that the nature of the two sisters was slightly different here. Yes, they relied heavily on Isabeau but to an extent the fact that she looked after them so thoroughly left them without the will to try things for themselves. When Isabeau left they had to cope and in doing so their characters flourished. Much as Isabeau needed more from her life so did the two sisters need more from theirs.
This is undoubtedly a love story, which I was expecting going in to the read. It focuses strongly on emotions with the Beast’s loneliness and desperation seeping onto every page. He despairs of his current form, he can’t imagine how Isabeau can ever love him and yet every day he persists in asking her to marry him – even though he can see how unhappy it makes her.
The issues I had with this book related to two different things. Firstly, the nature of the Beast’s curse – which was changed slightly but I’m not quite sure why – and in fact it made the whole cursing seem a little unfair to me. The other thing I felt was a lack of ‘beastliness’ from the Beast. To be honest, he was just too damned nice, always charming. Always trying too hard. I realise that he doesn’t want to scare Isabeau away but I almost felt like shaking him at one point. There was one part of the book where the altercations between the two became a bit tedious because of the lack of somebody having a bit more bite or backbone about them. Of course, don’t get me wrong, I can see the motivations for the Beast’s good behaviour but I think I expected every now and again for his animal nature to get the better of him and perhaps we’d witness a teeny outburst.
Fortunately there was nothing that really spoiled the read for me, just a short spell that could have become a little stilted but for the alternate chapters spent with Isabeau’s family.
On the whole I enjoyed reading from the Beast’s pov. The writing was quite captivating and rich with a delicious gothic vibe and I would certainly read more from this author. But – if love stories aren’t your thing – be aware that that is the major gist of the story here.
I received a copy from the publisher courtesy of Netgalley. My thanks for the copy and apologies for the tardiness of this review. The above is my own opinion.
Weekly Wrap Up : 03/06/18
It’s been almost a month since my last weekly wrap up which I regret because these posts really do help me to keep track. So, hopefully, I’m going to jump back on board with these summaries. The past week I read a couple of books and started a new one which I’m almost half way through. My books last week:
- Where Loyalties Lie by Rob J Hayes
- Death March by Phil Tucker
Next Week’s Reads:
- Legendary by Stephanie Gerber
- The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
Upcoming reviews: – I seriously need to update this list so pay it no heed!
- Starborn by Lucy Hounsom
- Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace
- School for Psychics by K C Archer
- The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
- Devil’s Night Dawning by Damien Black
- Noir by Christopher Moore
- Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
- Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough
I’d love to know what you’re reading this week.
Friday Face Off : Clinging and invasive
1 June 2018
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
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. This week’s theme:
Clinging and invasive – a cover featuring creeping vines
Hopefully everyone found this week a little easier. I had a few in mind for this but went with Susan Hill’s Woman in Black. A very atmospheric read indeed:
Again, there were a lot of covers for my book this week. I like a couple of these but my favourite is:
Next week – a cover featuring a stormy sky
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)
8th June – Raining Cats and Dogs – a cover featuring a stormy sky
15th June – Live in the saddle. Die on the hog – a cover featuring riders
22nd June -‘Murder most foul, as in the best it is’ – a cover featuring a murder scene
29th June – ‘Lips as red as the rose’ – a cover that is predominantly red
6th July – ‘The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow, ‘ – a cover that is windswept
13th July –‘There’s more of gravy than of grave about you’ – a cover featuring a ghost or spectre
20th July -‘In winter with warm tears I’ll melt the snow’ – A cover featuring icicles or snow
27th July – “I saw huge buildings rise up faint and fair, and pass like dreams.” – a cover that is steampunk
3rd August – “Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” – a cover featuring a starry sky
10th August – ‘…Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again! – A cover with a mask
17th August – ‘Knock, knock… ‘who’s there?’ – A cover featuring a door ajar or closed
24th August – ‘To be a legend, you’ve either got to be dead, or excessively old!’ – A cover with a title featuring the word ‘legend’
31st August – ‘“Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy’ – A cover featuring a goblin or dwarves
7th September – ‘Mirror, Mirror on the wall – A cover featuring a queen
14th September – “He had killed man, the noblest game of all, and he had killed in the face of the law of club and fang.” – A cover featuring a wolf or wolves
21st September – ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ – a cover featuring clouds
28th September – Eyes wide shut – a cover featuring eyes
5th October – “He sounded like a man who had slept well and didn’t owe too much money.” – A cover that is ‘noir’
12th October – “The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.” – A cover for a mystery novel
19th October -“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!” – A horror cover
26th October – Trick or treat – A halloween inspired cover
2nd November – ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November,’ – A cover inspired by Bonfire Night
9th November – ‘All right! They’re spiders from Mars! You happy?’ – A cover feturing a critter of the eight legged variety
16th November – There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.’ – A scary cover
23rd November – ‘The child is in love with a human. And not just any human. A prince!’ – A cover featuring a mermaid/man
30th November – “..the children of the night. What music they make!” – a cover with a vampire
7th December – ‘I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.’ – A cover featuring a hero
14th December -“Heavy is the head that wears the crown” – A cover featuring a crown
21st December – ‘ho, ho, ho’ – A seasonal cover
28th December – A freebie – choose one of your favourite titles and compare the covers
2019
4th January – A cover that is fresh – New beginnings for a New Year
11th January – ‘I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king’ – A cover that depicts a novel set in the Tudor period
18th January – A cover featuring an Amulet – either in the cover or title
25th January – ‘Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.’ – A cover featuring a monk/priest/person of the cloth
1st February – A comedy cover
8th February – ‘Hi little cub. Oh no, don’t be ssscared.’ – A cover with snakes
15th February – A heart – for Valentine’s day past
22nd February – “Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; the worst is death and death will have his day.” – A cover with abandoned building/s
1st March – ‘who will buy this wonderful morning’ – A cover featuring a shop or market
8th March – ‘Two little fishes and a momma fishy too’ – A cover featuring a fish/fishes or other sea creatures
15th March – ‘Beware the moon, lads.’ – A cover with a shapeshifter
22nd March – ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’ – A cover featuring a king
29th March – “I thought unicorns were more . . . Fluffy.” – A cover featuring a unicorn
5th April – ‘nomad is an island’ – A cover featuring a desert landscape
12th April – ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide – A cover featuring a longboat
19th april – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – A cover featuring a school
