Review: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
27 January 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, fiction, Grady Hendrix, Review, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Not for the faint hearted
I’m very much enjoying this author at the moment and although, I own up that this wasn’t my favourite book by him, it was a compelling read. I will just say that this is a little bit harrowing in parts and also possibly triggering for some people.
Set during a sweltering summer in the 1970s this story takes a good long look at the treatment meted out to young girls who found themselves compromised (pregnant). This was an age where a girl that becomes pregnant is a source of deep shame, a ‘thing’ to be hidden away until the pregnancy is over and the baby adopted. Then they can return home and never speak of ‘it’ again. Fifteen year old Neva (soon to be known as Fern) is one such girl. Driven to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida by her father she is to be secreted away until her pregnancy reaches its natural conclusion. Neva’s father is livid with his daughter to the extent he doesn’t even wish her goodbye after depositing her.
The other girls at the home are of varying ages and stages of pregnancy and Fern soon becomes firm friends with a few of the others. Life at the home is dull. The girls are expected to clean and wash the house itself, they don’t receive any education and most of their time is spent watching old films and playing cards. Their food is monitored and dietary restrictions imposed to control weight etc. Basically, they have no say or control of anything that is happening either to or around them and they’re kept in the dark about everything.
Fern is a keen reader and looks forward to the arrival of the mobile library. This is when things start to spice up a little, the girls find themselves in possession of a witch’s spellbook, a grimoire if you will, and when they achieve success with their first attempt at casting a hex they start to think of other ways that the book can help during their incarceration.
What I really liked about this is, first and foremost, the writing. Hendrix writes in such a way that you’re almost immediately hooked and although at first I began to wonder if this was going to include any ‘witching’ or fantasy aspects once our little coven eventually forms things escalated quite quickly.
I enjoyed the friendship between the girls and the way they ground each other. It’s sad in a way that they had such high hopes, little realising just how very little real control they actually had. They had their minor rebellions but at the end of the day they were children and the adults around them were capable of so much manipulation and lying to achieve their end goals.
To be fair, life at the home wasn’t abusive as such but the treatment they received at the hand’s of some of the adults was incredibly harsh and utterly judgemental.
If I had any little niggles it would probably relate to the witches and their portrayal. In some respects I think this was handled really well, their lifestyle quite grim and constantly on the move to avoid detection, but, at the same time I think I would have preferred it if their aims had been more by way of helping the girls – rather than helping themselves. Although, perhaps this is just a statement of fact in that all the adults involved were capable of manipulating these young women for their own gain and things did have a way of working out eventually.
Now, I mentioned above that some of this is harrowing – and I’m not joking. There are a couple of quite explicit ‘birthing’ scenes that might not be for everyone. Also, some of the ‘sacrifices’ that the girls were required to make to pay the price for their witching was also particularly gruesome. You have been warned.
All told, this was a quick read, I was hooked almost instantly and was keen to discover what was going on, I was even more intrigued to discover how things would pan out and in that respect the ending is both what you would expect and at the same time a little bittersweet. Some definite food for thought here though and I’ve found myself thinking of this often since completing it.
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
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
26 January 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, book-blog, Booking Ahead, Books, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Fantasy, SPFBO, Sunday Post, Weekly wrap up
Books read this week:
So, you may have noticed a slight absence from me for the past (almost two weeks). Just for the record, I’m not having a reading burn out or ditching my blog. I’ve been really busy personally and then I got the winter stomach bug that totally floored me. On top of that my language courses restarted after Christmas break and so that sucked some of my time (a lot of my time). My reading has been slow, but, I’ve read all my review books for January (thankfully this was a quiet month) and I’m just about to complete my second SPFBO finalist. I need to come visit all you lovely peeps and write a couple of reviews to catch up – easy right – what could possibly go wrong!
Once I complete my second SPFBO finalist (this evening) I’m definitely picking up Grave Empire by Richard Swan.
Hopefully complete Grave Empire and then make a start on Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett.
Reviews Posted:
None.
Outstanding Reviews
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- The House of Frost and Feathers by Lauren Wiesebron
- Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
- SPFBO x 1
- SPFBO x 2
That’s it for me this week, what have you been up to, any good books to shout out about. Let me know.
Review: Daughter of Chaos (The Dark Pantheon No.1) by AS Webb
6 January 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: AS Webb, Book Reviews, Daughter of Chaos, Fantasy, fiction, The Dark Pantheon No.1
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Greek Mythology and Ancient Prophecies
I had a really good time with Daughter of Chaos. For a debut novel the pacing is good, I liked the MC and the story moved forward constantly.
We start the story on Paxos where we meet Danae. Danae’s father is a fisherman and their life is a simple one but full of love. Until disaster strikes. We follow Danae and her mother and sister as they attend a ceremony to the Gods. Everyone is nervous, if the Gods are not happy sacrifices will be called for. Anyway, the ceremony descends into chaos for reasons that I won’t go into and from here disaster strikes the family – again, sorry to be mysterious but I don’t want to give away spoilers.
Long story short, Danae finds herself being blamed for certain outcomes and has to flee the island. With a little help from her father she becomes a stowaway, intent on reaching the Oracle of Delphi who she believes will help discover if she’s been cursed and this is really where Danae’s adventures begin linking her to many well known names from Greek mythology plus revealing her role in a prophecy that foresees the fall of the Gods.
What I really liked about this.
Well, it has a refreshing simplicity to it. The author doesn’t try to make this a real period piece with olde worlde talk and elaborate descriptions. Instead I felt like each section was brought easily to life on the page. Naxos, small and simple, the families there quick to judge and shun others. Everyone sits in fear of the Gods and their punishments. Then Athens, a bustling city and port, merchants and nobles and more wealth and people than Danae has ever seen before. Her own path takes her on a strange journey and we begin to see that fate is taking a strong interest in her journey. The Gods can be very cruel and this novel certainly highlights some of their worse qualities.
We go on a real adventure with our MC. She makes friends and is fortunate to receive a good deal of help along the way from some most unexpected places. You could be forgiven for thinking that sometimes things fall into her lap a little too easily but at the same time I was happy to let things run their course without being too judgemental. In fact I was genuinely curious at points about how Danae was ever going to get anywhere. Disaster and bad luck trail her relentlessly.
I liked Danae, like I said, she has some good fortune where things fall in her lap but this is offset by a good deal of misfortune to balance things out. I would say that the one thing that I did feel was Danae came over much more confident than I would have expected, particularly when it came to mixing with demi gods, princes and renowned heroes. I think I expected her to be a little more timid in parts, although, at the same time she is playing a role and she was never scared to speak her mind even when on Naxos. She, also sometimes seems very well spoken for a young girl who has led such a sheltered life on a small island – but, I was enjoying the story and this was only a tiny little niggle.
In a nutshell, I had a good time reading this. The story is quite captivating, it’s fresh and told with a modern tone that makes it easy to get along with. I enjoyed the inclusion of so many characters from Greek mythology and I’m genuinely curious to see how Danae’s tale pans out.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Review: The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by HG Parry
23 December 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books, Fantasy, fiction, HG Parry, reading, Review, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
My Five Word TL:DR Review: This Book is Utterly Delicious
What more can I say. I loved this book. This is one of those books that is simply beautiful. It’s well written, it has so many things going for it. It wants to be savoured but begs to be devoured. It’s magic, it’s fae, it’s dark academia. It has this wisp of A Secret of History, coupled with magical studies, found family and is set during a chaotic period of history where things were changing rapidly.
The story is told by Clover Hill. Clover lives on a farm in the shadow of Pendle Hill but she has ambitions and she’s bright and intelligent. All she needs is a little push and so when her brother is cursed during a battle (WW1) Clover is determined to find the cure. With this in mind, and a little help from others, she gains access to an elite school of magic, shrouded (quite literally) in mist and mystery, this is a place for Family – the upper echelons of society who send their children here to learn magic. As you might imagine, at first Clover doesn’t really blend in very easily until, quite remarkably she’s taken under the wing of the golden boy of the school and his small group of friends. What could possibly go wrong.
Let me tell you the ways in which I loved this book.
Firstly, the writing is so lovely, I found myself reading this in a leisurely way, absorbing the words and not giving a fig how long it was taking to move forward. In fact, I’m sorry it’s over, I really am.
Secondly, the characters. Clover is a great character. She’s real. She’s honest. She recognises that sometimes she does things for selfish purposes, she tries occasionally to kid herself but then she just calls it out for what it is. The secondary characters are really well drawn. They’re all different, with different motivations and they form into this really great unit – until everything goes horribly wrong.
The setting works really well. We have the period feel, WW1 has just ended, it’s a time of change and possibility. Then we have the secret magical world, hidden from most, by the upper classes who believe that magic should be kept for them alone, a belief that has led to the keeping of some very terrible secrets. And, we have the world of the fae, tantalisingly close but locked away (for the most part at least).
And, then, the story. I’m not going to go into any details. I loved it.
In case you can’t tell, I loved this and I’m only here to say good things and spread the love. My one wish – I would love to return to this world, but this feels like a novel that is complete (I hope I’m wrong though). Time to go back and check out this author’s backlist methinks.
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
Review: The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso
16 December 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Melissa Caruso, Review, The Last Hour Between Worlds
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Groundhog Day meets Dante’s Inferno
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from The Last Hour but Melissa Caruso is an author I like so I was immediately attracted to this and I’m really happy that I requested it. This is such a captivating story, I loved the writing, the characters the plot and the setting. Put simply it was quite magical.
I’m loving my mysteries at the moment and this definitely brings that element to the story by the bucket load. Caruso has taken a setting which she then uses relentlessly throughout the entire story. You’d think it would become tedious but it’s actually exactly the opposite because each time the clock tolls the hour the room is transformed. Basically, in this world there are echoes. Echoes are like the ‘real’ world but with changes, subtle at first but increasing in oddity and danger as the echoes get lower and lower. I realise I’ve probably made an absolute mess of explaining that but in my head it all makes perfect sense.
So, picture the scene. It’s New Years Eve and Kembral Thorne is going to a party. Kem is an investigator for the Hounds but currently on maternity leave with a young baby. She’s still struggling to come to grips with everything, especially as the father made a swift exit when he discovered the pregnancy. This is the first time that Kem has been out since the birth and she’s 50% elation and 60% guilt. She’s absolutely determined to enjoy this decadent party, even though some of her colleagues, also in attendance, are also determined to plague her about when she’s going to return to work.
Also at the party, Rika Nonesuch (which, can I just say I love that name for some inexplicable reason). The two have a history that ended in tears. Well, Rika is a Cat – and we all know that cats and dogs can be at each other’s throats. She’s a burglar, and one of the best.
On top of this something just feels wrong. Even though she’s exhausted, sleep deprived and ridden with guilt Kem can’t help detecting little things that seem amiss, not to mention having a sudden pull towards an old clock that seems to be a relic from the past – and also haunted by a young girl.
I don’t want to give away too much about the plot, basically, there are some seriously big players (by which I mean powerful) using this party as their own personal playground to try and score points over each other. Each level gets more and more intense until the bodycount and action are crazy.
The setting. Well, we have a few little excursions out into the wilder parts of some of the echoes and they are creepy and yet strangely exhilarating. But, the majority of the action takes place within the mansion where the party is being held. The absolutely winning element is that as the clock strikes the hour the house finds itself an echo lower with the danger cranking up each time. Also, each time the house ‘falls’, for want of a better word, it’s like a reset button has been pressed and all the players (mostly) are back on the board. I loved this idea – hence the groundhog day comparison. Each level the mansion changes. I mean, could you make it any more complicated for yourself as an author – but I loved this idea. There’s such a lot of creativity and it’s so cunningly explored.
I think the two main characters are good together. They know each other, they have a history, they start things definitely on a rocky footing but gradually have to pull together to survive and this is when all the kinks start to get worked out.
The pacing is really good. There is time to reflect, there’s plenty of action and sometimes it feels like hardly enough time to catch your breath before the next crisis, but, as I said, this is very well executed and there are always little moments for respite.
The writing is beautiful. I was quite mesmerised really. I don’t know what else I can say other than it was a lovely read. I wouldn’t say I sped through this but that’s more to do with my reading at the moment and I actually enjoyed taking my time and savouring every element.
In conclusion. A beautifully written mystery with plenty of magic, critters and characters that really grow on you. I can’t wait for the next instalment.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Books and travelling with Lynn 