Hera by Jennifer Saint
30 May 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Greek Myth, Greek Mythology, Hera, Jennifer Saint, Retellings, zeus
My FIve Word TL:DR Review : Hera: Misunderstood or Jealously Vicious
I’ve loved all the Greek mythology retellings by Jennifer Saint and Hera is no exception, although ultimately, my overall feelings reading this book were frustration, anger and ultimately sadness. Hera’s tale is such a complicated one and the story portrayed here covers vast swathes of time. There’s a lot to take on board starting with the fall of the TItans, Zeus and Hera united in their battle to overthrow the monsters, then ranging to the Trojan war and beyond. And, throughout we have Hera, well known for her jealous rages and venting her fury on those that Zeus has thrust his passions upon, but here perhaps given a little more context.
Okay, I’m not in love with Hera, so there is that. She’s one of those women who takes out her anger on the other women that Zeus uses and abuses and being a powerful God her punishments are harsh. You can’t help thinking why not take her vengeance out on Zeus? Basically, in a nutshell, this story demonstrates that she didn’t have the power to confront Zeus. He thwarted her at every turn. He used her to help defeat the Titans, then he took the power of Olympus for himself. Hera he forced into an unwanted wedlock, trying to sweeten the deal by saying she would be his Queen, then he made her the Goddess of marriage, a role she didn’t seek out but one that held her within the constraints of her own wedlock whilst he roved the world, raping and having children with countless other women. Yeah, I pretty much wanted to punch him in the face almost every waking minute of the day. I’m not sure that level of anger is healthy but I have to hand it to Saint – she can inspire such passions!
Herein lies the conundrum. I would say that Hera is still not my favourite, but this story at least gives a little more context to her rage, her sadness, the way she was trapped, misunderstood by her sisters and rejected by her own children (although she was very frosty herself so didn’t really encourage loving embraces). It’s an intriguing tale and one that frequently makes you want to slap your head.
I loved the writing. Saint is brilliant at setting the scene. Everything flows so easily. No info dumps or over wieldy descriptions. You’re totally sucked into the place and the era but in such an easily accessible way and Hera is a good storyteller, unflinchingly honest.
Ultimately, my overall feelings reading this were sadness. Here we have an immortal, powerful and beautiful woman who is trapped by the machinations of an abusive and controlling male and unable to escape her gilded cage becomes petty and cruel. Yet, even with this feeling of sadness I would say this is a very good read and I would recommend all the retellings by this author.
A powerful look at the Greek Gods and their ultimate demise that ends with a slightly more hopeful note.
I would say that this book almost feels like the finale to the series, particularly given the ending, but I shall keep my feelers out in case there are more books planned.
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
Friday Face Off : A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher
19 April 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Sorceress Comes to Call, Book Review, Fantasy, Friday Face off, T Kingfisher
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 my book is A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher. I’m loving this author’s work. A Sorceress Comes to Call is due for release in August and has two covers. Here they are:
My favourite this week:
Which is your favourite?
Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers.
The Gathering by CJ Tudor
4 April 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, CJ Tudor, fantay, murder-mystery, The Gathering
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Murder Mystery, Prejudice and Vampyrs
My first thoughts upon finishing The Gathering – I hope there is more yet to come from this world and these characters. What an unusual combination of murder mystery and vampyrs (I’m not spelling it wrong, that’s how it’s spelt in this story). This is no typical immortals story. The setting is dour, there is no glamour here or false romanticism and the vampyrs, well, they’re not movie versions. They are strong and fast, they live longer, although not forever as we witness in this story, they can recover from injuries that a human would not walk away from, they are. naturally, predators, but they’re also survivors and over the years have had to change in order to survive. There are more humans than vampyrs, and they are well armed.
Deadhart, Alaska. 873. Living.
Deadhart is a small Alaskan town. It’s a town of extremes. Cold weather, short days, few prospects and a back history of harsh brutality. This is a former mining town, no stranger to vampyrs, the occupants have had run ins before and have dealt with ‘matters’ themselves. However, in this more enlightened age, vampyrs being almost extinct, they are now protected and so we have a ‘colony’ of vampyrs living cheek by jowl with Deadhart. The situation is one of tension to say the least and so when a local teenager is murdered, and the signs clearly point to a vampyr attack, the gloves are off, the residents demand a culling and a special detective, Barbara Atkins, of the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department, is sent to investigate. Barbara is no pushover, she’s not going to simply rubber stamp the culling of an entire colony to satisfy some of the town’s more enthusiastic haters. She’s a determined woman and she’s going to investigate this killing thoroughly.
So, what did I love about this book.
Well, firstly, this isn’t a traditional vampyr story at all. The vampyrs here are more an analogy of minority groups and the abuse and prejudice they suffer. There’s a good degree of small mindedness and unwillingness to change. Something bad happens in Deadhart and the first reaction is to break out the torches and pitchforks and, well, questions can be asked later. There is plenty of bad blood between the town’s occupants and the vampyrs, they have a long history, that has not been forgotten, and to be honest, this is mostly one-sided, the town people hunting, killing and tormenting the vampyrs whenever they see fit.
As you may imagine, Barbara isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms and her work is not made easy by some but she is determined to uncover the truth. Barbara is a fantastic character. I really liked her. Her own story slowly unfolds and gives you a welcome insight about why she is so relentless in pursuit of the truth. She is eventually joined by a retired, former sheriff known as Tucker, who reluctantly returns to the role. They make a great team in more ways than one.
Tudor has totally nailed the small town feel of fear, prejudice, ignorance and tension. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife and you’re reading with this ever increasing fear that you know what is going to hit the fan and it’s going to be nasty.
I really liked the mystery aspects to the story. Barbara is a great investigator and her and Tucker make a good team, bouncing ideas off each other. His own story and knowledge of Deadhart are invaluable and Barbara is both clever and trustful of her own natural instincts. She immediately feels like something is ‘off’ about this killing and starts to dig deeper, eventually uncovering not only a horrific black market in vampyr artefacts, a brutal history concerning an establishment known as the ‘bone house’ but also a potential serial killer. There is some dark material here for sure but at the same time there’s almost a toned down delivery of the story that prevents it from becoming too bloody or unpalatable Like I said, this isn’t your typical vampyr story and the murder investigation is the main focus.
In conclusion, well this is another fantasy murder mystery that I couldn’t get enough of. I was glued to the page and gobbled this up in literally two sittings, staying up well into the night to read ‘just one more chapter’.
A really good start to what I hope will become something more. Fingers crossed that Barbara will grace the pages of another story where her investigative skills are put to good use.
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
Gods of the Wyrdwood (Forsaken #1) by RJ Barker
1 April 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Fantasy, fiction, Forsaken #1, Gods of the Wyrdwood, RJ Barker
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Fantastic World Building, Slow Pacing
RJ Barker is an author that I can’t recommend enough. I’ve loved his previous two series and so couldn’t wait to grab a copy of his latest. Set in a stunningly imagined world this is a cruel place to live, Gods wax and wane with indecent haste and the magic is fueled by death.
As it is, it took me a little while to get into this one, there’s a lot to take on board as the story begins and although I loved the writing the plot was a little slow to surface. I would counsel patience with this book. Take the time to absorb the detail and get a feel for the place, the characters and the way of life. This is a fascinating world that the author has created and in a sense it steals the show, making the plot and characters take a backseat for a while.
Our MC, Cahan du Nahere, was taken as a young boy to be raised as the ‘Chosen One’, the Cowl-Rai. Destined for greatness his fortunes fell and instead he took the path of a warrior before returning to the home that he briefly knew as a child. Clanless, and alone his is looked down upon by virtually everyone. The farm that he owns is hard work and hardly prosperous and yet he has to struggle to keep others from taking what is his. And, he also struggles to keep repressed the magic that bubbles just below the surface, always looking for a way to take control. Known by the local villages as Forester, he is respected – but in a very peevish and mistrustful way, called on for his knowledge whilst being frequently belittled.
The forests here are places of power. Packed with unusual flora and fauna nothing is ever quite what it seems and what may look like a peaceful glade in which to stay the night is quite likely a deadly trap waiting for an innocent traveller to stop for rest – never to be seen again. Mostly, nobody wanders into the forest unless it’s totally necessary, and then usually keeping to the margins.
The other characters of note are Udinny, a monk who has fallen from grace as her ‘God’ is no longer recognised. I actually enjoyed this particular character very much – she has an almost childlike curiosity and chatters incessantly, she definitely brought a much needed lighter element to the read. Venn, is a young boy who is waiting to bond with his Cowl – something that requires a level of violence that he doesn’t want to commit. He and Cahan’s paths will eventually cross ultimately leading to death and destruction.
I will say that I love the way this author writes. He has a wonderful turn of phrase that I really enjoy and he definitely has no shortage of imagination.
Overall, although I felt this one started a little slowly it does get into it’s stride and has a very dramatic finale. I think that when I first picked this book up I had the wrong frame of mind and also I think my expectations had led me in the wrong direction a little. I look forward to seeing where this series takes us next.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. I also purchased the audio version so that I could both read and listen. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 3.5 of 5 stars
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
29 February 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, fiction, Katie Lumsden, Mystery, reading, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Victorian gothic
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Gothic Victorian Mystery, Modern Style
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden is one of my backlist books from the first half of last year. I’m trying to read at least one book from my unread review books each month, two if I can manage it, so far so good.
This was a very easy read. I liked the writing style and it was easy to sink into.
As the story begins we meet Margaret Lennox, recently widowed she has found herself in dire straits necessitating a return to the governess lifestyle she practiced before marrying. Margaret is on her way to Hartwood Hall, set deep in the English countryside, where she will be responsible for her sole charge, Louis. Lost in the woods the coachman stops at a local village to seek directions and it becomes obvious that the locals have nothing to do with the Manor or it’s mistress which immediately gives you a sense of foreboding.
I won’t give away too much of the story. We learn early on that Margaret’s employer has few servants working at the Hall, she is somewhat suspicious and in fact very protective of Louis making it very clear that Margaret must accompany him fastidiously. On top of this, entry into one of the wings of the Hall is forbidden – well, in the interests of safety as it is in a state of disrepair. The rest of the staff are very close knit and there is an overall feeling of secrecy and close lippedness that eventually makes Margaret somewhat paranoid. The Hall is dark and poorly lit and there are strange noises at night which eventually lead Margaret into jumpiness and an overall feeling of fear of the house in general.
I liked Margaret but I didn’t get along with her totally. She bonded really well with Louis which was a nice element to the story and felt very protective of him. Margaret herself, still in mourning, is carrying a secret of her own that plays on her mind and makes her anxious. Eventually, her story unfolds and it makes it a little more easy to understand the choices she makes. She needs to work. She has no other income and her lack of references for the more recent years plus the fact that she has problems hearing in one of her ears, following a childhood accident, limits her choices a little. Eventually, almost because of her fear of the house Margarent finds solace in the arms of the gardener, a younger man who is very good natured but is also keeping things from Margaret.
Overall, I found this a very easy read. I really enjoyed the writing. There are clearly nods to classic gothic fiction although nothing that feels over referenced. More a general feeling of an enjoyable gothic set in a slightly creepy manor house with a mystery surrounding not just the owner but a few of it’s occupants. That being said, this story, whilst in some ways feeling reminiscent of Victorian novels has a more modern inclination. The characters sometimes resort to more uptodate dialogue and the ending definitely feels more contemporary. On top of that Margaret is a little more reckless with her reputation than you might expect from a story of this period – but, there are very few staff available who might witness her indiscretions – so, hidden silver linings.
My only issue with this book was the ending. In some respects it felt a little rushed, also maybe a little busy particularly in comparison to the rest of the story and ultimately a little disappointing – or perhaps bittersweet might be a fairer description. I think I found it difficult to swallow Margaret’s reasoning come the end but this didn’t stop my enjoyment of the story in general.
In conclusion, this was a compelling read, well written and very atmospheric. I shall definitely read more by this author.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 3.5 of 5 stars (rounded to 4)
Books and travelling with Lynn 