Countdown to 2026: Day 25 – Christmas Day – A book you received as a gift
25 December 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Book You Received as a Gift, Christmas Day, Countdown to 2026, Day 25, Emily St John Mandel, Sea of Tranquility, Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel
Once again I am counting down to the New Year, as with the previous years I shall be highlighting at least one book per day to fit the prompt on that given day. The main aim for this countdown is to highlight some of my reads during the past year and to shine the spotlight on them once again (although some of the prompts relate to forthcoming reads).
Today is Day 25 of the countdown to 2026 and a list of prompts can be found here if you wish to join me in counting down to 2026 and casting a spotlight on some of your favourite books.
Today’s Prompt: Christmas Day – a book you received as a gift:
I’ve chosen a book that I loved and read quite some time ago but recently received a copy from a friend – because its impossible to know which books I have and haven’t read after all! And I was so happy to receive this physical copy because I read the book on Kindle (always nice to own your own hard copy). On the face of it I could have chosen a gift that I haven’t already read to highlight today but I love this author’s work so much that I couldn’t resist using it here. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandell. I highly recommend this – not to mention her other work, in particular Sea of Tranquility and The Glass Hotel.
6 Days Remaining
Tomorrow’s prompt: Boxing Day – feeling bloated, a palate cleanser
Best of the Best
1 January 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alice Feeney, Best of the Best, Emily St John Mandel, Heather Fawcett, John Gwynne, Mark Lawrence, Quenby Olson, Richard swan, Sarah Pinborough, ST Gibson, T Kingfisher
Every year, around this time, I pull together a top ten list of books that I’ve read. This is usually a difficult choice because over the course of 12 months I usually manage to fit in a good number of books and given that I don’t force myself to read those that I’m not enjoying these are mostly all good reads. This year is no exception although for once (in perhaps 15 years) I haven’t read 100 books. This is a new all time low for me which I put down to a mid year hiatus where I read and blogged very little. My reading is back to normal now, I’m pleased to say, and I have plenty of great books to look forward to so far this year. So, this is part 1 of my ‘Best of’ list. I’ll be doing a further post to highlight some of my other great reads but this is about choosing my absolute favourites. Without further ado:
January
The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence
In a nutshell. This book has so many winning elements. A thrilling adventure. A twisted ending. Characters that you can love (and hate), a jaw dropping conclusion and also one that is packed with emotion and a series that manages to be fantasy and science fiction combined.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
This story compelled me to keep turning the pages into the early hours. I loved the choice of narrator, the world is developed with (more than likely) deceptive ease, the murder mystery is intriguing and more complex than first meets the eye and, well, put simply, it just won me over so easily and quickly. I can’t wait to read the second instalment which is now waiting on my shelves.
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
I would say that not only did I like Insomnia but I liked it even more than Behind Her Eyes. It’s a perfect jumble of crazy mixed up, spiralling out of control, sleepless insanity. Every time I thought I had a handle on what was going on it turned out I was wrong and I just love the way that the ending is totally out there – let’s just say #wtfthatending
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
Gwynne is an author who excels at action scenes and all them are breathtakingly described. I had my heart in my throat every time shields locked wondering whether any favourites would fall under the axe. There’s also wonderful moments of camaraderie and banter, or cunning snippets of other scenes playing out and weaving the story together. The pacing is just so well planned and I loved the way that as the story progresses you have these shorter chapters that really pack a punch and I have to acknowledge it drove my reading on into the early hours with the age old ‘just one more chapter’.
Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher
Fairytale style stories are absolutely one of my favourite reads and I’m always on the lookout for more. This is an author that I hadn’t read before but have wanted to do so for quite some time and now, with the benefit of Nettle and Bone under my belt, I can genuinely say that I will be visiting all her previous books. I loved this book so much. It’s full of everything that I enjoy, it’s got elements of old fairy tales but as the same time feels unique. It takes us on a wild ride to a far away kingdom. There are princesses in distress, people who can talk to the dead, a dog that came back to life, amazing characters and the beginnings of a sweet romance.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandell
I am in complete awe of this author and can’t even begin to outline how impressive this book is. On the face of it this is a standalone story that fundamentally connects the lives of four people who share an experience through a strange anomaly, a glitch in the system if you will, that in the future will be scrutinised and investigated by a time travel agency. Dig a little deeper and this novel actually brings together elements from the author’s previous works (definitely The Glass Hotel and also I think Station Eleven) in the most eye popping feat. If that wasn’t enough, one of the characters is an author herself, of a post apocalyptic book that has become a bestseller. There are so many little twists and turns in this book all finished off with a mouth dropping conclusion that is simply brilliant. Read it – please.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
I picked this one up and was immediately intrigued with the storytelling voice. There’s an almost ethereal feel to the way the narrative is delivered and this is strengthened by the unusual setting and the dysfunctional family that we are introduced to. Feeney starts out with a captivating hook, she then lets us run on the line enjoying the freedom to explore the remote setting and the histrionics of the Darker family before reeling us in to a climatic and dramatic grand finale. Brilliant.
A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
I will say from the outset that I loved this. I was gripped from beginning to end and couldn’t put it down. This is my catnip. Retelling famous stories from the point of view of side characters, victims or misunderstood characters is popular without a doubt at the moment and I for one am enjoying this trend. Dowry of Blood is no exception. Take the classic vampire story, Dracula, and take a look at him and his life through the eyes of three of his ‘children’. Dracula’s chosen ones. A story with a message.
Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
Miss Percy is an absolutely delightful, regency period, fantasy of manners style story that won me over with ease. The writing is wonderful, the plot is well thought out and totally absorbing, the characters are Austen-eque but with a slightly more uptodate sensibility and for those readers out there who usually shy away from fantasy elements, but who are in good need of a period drama, I implore you to give it a try, because, whilst I cannot deny that the inclusion of a dragon definitely falls most firmly into the realm of make-believe, the way this story is told, it feels almost less sensational than forgetting to wear a bonnet. Please give it a try, I’d love to discuss your thoughts about this one.
Emily Wilde Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
I don’t have a link to a review for this book yet as it’s a recent read that I’ll be posting about shortly. I did love this book though and highly recommend it. Simply superb.
Countdown to 2023 – Day 13 ‘Feast’ (18 days remaining)
13 December 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Countdown to 2023, Day 13, Emily St John Mandel, Feast, Sea of Tranquility
Today is day 13 of my countdown to 2023. Today’s prompt is ‘Feast’. The prompts can be found here if you want to join in. I’m hoping to use mostly books read this year. Let’s begin:
FEAST (A book that was magnificent)
Earlier this year I read Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel and frankly I don’t think I can even begin to express how in awe I am of this author. What an amazing book. On the face of it, this is a standalone book and so you can read it on it’s own but I would suggest backtracking and reading the earlier books because this will then mean so much more. Layers people, many layers. Please do yourself a favour and read this author – I beg you.
Tomorrow: Christmas pudding – if you could squeeze in just one more book for 2022
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
30 May 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Emily St John Mandel, Sea of Tranquility, Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel
My Five Word TL:DR Review: This book equals mind blown
Words actually fail me right now – which isn’t the best start to a review is it? I am in complete awe of this author and can’t even begin to outline how impressive this book is. On the face of it this is a standalone story that fundamentally connects the lives of four people who share an experience through a strange anomaly, a glitch in the system if you will, that in the future will be scrutinised and investigated by a time travel agency. Dig a little deeper and this novel actually brings together elements from the author’s previous works (definitely The Glass Hotel and also I think Station Eleven) in the most eye popping feat. If that wasn’t enough, one of the characters is an author herself, of a post apocalyptic book that has become a bestseller. There are so many little twists and turns in this book all finished off with a mouth dropping conclusion that is simply brilliant.
If that doesn’t intrigue you enough to delve into this author’s work then consider also that her writing is absolutely beautiful and I could easily have had a whole stack of quotes at this point but for the fact that I’m so lazy at keeping notes, especially when I’m deep in the throes of a book I’m loving.
So, I know I’m going to make a complete muddle of trying to describe the plot but here goes. We basically meet four individuals from different times and places. A young man who in 1912 finds himself exiled from his family who travels to Canada to start a new life. A teenage girl from the year 1994 who is walking through a forest taking a video, a short film that picks up a strange anomaly. Her film will be used 26 years later to accompany a musical score that her brother composes. In the year 2203 we follow an author on an extended book tour, separated from her husband and young child and missing home. Jump forward again to 2401 where an employee of the Time Institute is given a case to investigate – a case that will tie all these threads together.
Firstly, time travel books can be very hit or miss for me but when they work well, as is the case here, I find them thought provoking in the extreme. With this particular story it feels like the potential to become tangled (did you read my synopsis of the plot?) is highly possible. However, the author’s writing chops prevents that from becoming the case. Each narrative seems to flow without either beginning or end. I know that sounds crazy but it’s one of the thoughts I distinctly remember having whilst I was reading. It’s magical, one minute you’re reading a person’s narrative and thoughts and then you’ve moved to another player and there’s no confusion or muddy waters, just a really elegant transition that is so smooth that each player seems to simply blend into the background or come back into focus as the story dictates, like a camera panning round and zooming in or out to capture a person or moment. And the story doesn’t necessarily flow in chronological order but jumps backwards and forwards in time, but, again, I would stress that I never experienced any confusion.
Secondly, the author has written of a fictional author who has published a successful post apocalyptic novel that becomes even more poignant when the time in which she lives falls victim to a vicious pandemic. Layers within layers within layers.
The settings jump about. We travel not only on earth but on planets that have been colonised, some more successfully than others. Planets where huge domes provide faux skies, clouds and rain and others where the technology has failed and the skies are permanently dark.
I don’t think I can add too much more. I liked the characters. I loved the inclusion of little elements taken from previous stories. I thought the plot was skillfully managed and the threads all came together in an extremely satisfying way. I think the only thing I can say further at this point is I feel like a reread is in order.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this book, Station Eleven or The Glass Hotel although I would stress that each novel can be read as a standalone.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 5 of 5 stars
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
My TL:DR Five Word Review : Could not put it down
To be honest, I requested a review copy of The Glass Hotel because I loved Station Eleven. I didn’t read the description and when I picked up the book I’d only read a couple of reviews and had very little idea what to expect, although I was becoming a little nervous because on the face of it the premise seemed a little outside of my comfort zone. In fact, if somebody was to try and give me an idea of what The Glass Hotel was about I think it would probably come across really badly and I’d undoubtedly run a mile. So, basically, I’m not going to talk about the plot at all because I think at best I would end up tying myself in knots and at worst maybe even discourage others from reading this because of my botched attempt at summarising the gist of the story.
Here’s a snippet from Goodreads :
‘From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, a captivating novel of money, beauty, white-collar crime, ghosts, and moral compromise in which a woman disappears from a container ship off the coast of Mauritania and a massive Ponzi scheme implodes in New York, dragging countless fortunes with it.’
So, I’m going to focus on other things here and it’s all going to be positive.
On the face of it a story spread over a couple of decades with a backdrop that examines the financial crisis of 2008 particularly centring on ponzi schemes couldn’t sound less appealing to me even if it tried. And yet, here I find myself absolutely loving this book and wanting to wax lyrical about it. To be blunt, I simply can’t believe how much I enjoyed this story. I feel like I’ve been mesmerized or hypnotised or some special magic has been worked. I read this in one day, ignoring the everyday mundane banalities such as eating or chores and in fact staying up until the wee hours to finish it and even though I was shattered when I eventually crashed into bed I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
This book is complex. It goes back and forth between people and times and yet it all comes together in perhaps one of the most satisfying ways I’ve ever encountered. The characters are so well imagined that I feel like I know them and the strong emotions that this creates really contributes to the overall experience.
On top of this the writing is brilliant. I take my hat off to the author for pulling together such a myriad of tales using what can reasonably be described as quite ‘dry’ material and yet managing to make this into a compelling tale filled with mystery, sadness and unexpected depth.
To be honest, I’m not going to say too much more because I feel like my review has taken on the semblance of a headless chicken running around hysterically.
In a nutshell I loved this book. It’s a haunting story, beautifully written, that depicts people in many guises. Like a pebble dropped into a pond it look at the ripples we cause through our actions, sometimes knowingly, sometimes whilst fiercely in denial and sometimes by pure chance. It’s not a heartwarming tale of love and laughter. It’s not a tale of swords and sorcery. But it’s a book that managed to overwhelm me in the most unexpected way and, because of that, I love it.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Rating 5 of 5 stars
Books and travelling with Lynn 