Review: Ring the Bells (Stranger Times #5) by CK McDonnell
9 October 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, CK McDonnell, Fantasy, fiction, Review, Ring the Bells, Stranger Times #5
My Five Word TL:DR Review: This Series is a Blast
I’m absolutely loving the Stranger Times series and considering that we’re up to instalment No.5 already there hasn’t been a single blip or lull so far. I quite literally can’t say enough good things about this and if you’re currently looking for your next urban fantasy series then I highly recommend it. I would at this point also mention that if you’re intending to read this series (and you really should) then you might want to stop reading now in case of spoilers. I also suggest you start with book 1 as you really don’t want to miss any of these mysteries or the background to the characters.
This instalment is all about the merry Christmas vibe. As the book begins we meet with a small coven, meeting in the library after hours to do a few good deeds here and there. Unfortunately things go horribly wrong and all but one of the coven end up brutally slain. This is just the start of yet another mystery that the Stranger Times staff will become deeply embroiled with that has massive implications.
Basically, somebody is interfering with the universe, lulling people in with magical artefacts and causing chaos when things don’t go to plan. On this occasion an old, long forgotten God called Zalas has been released unwittingly. Absolutely livid at the paltry humans who no longer remember his existence he is determined to wreak havoc and have his revenge on these worthless people – and, well, if Christmas is ruined in the process then so be it.
The police are totally blindsided and although the staff of the Stranger Times are hot on the trail of Zalas it’s difficult to keep track when he can easily inhabit any body he wishes to. And, well, he’s currently playing the best role he’s ever had.
This was such an excellent read. It’s almost 500 pages but I couldn’t put it down and finished it in about two days.
As with the other instalments we learn more about the staff of the Stranger Times. Stella and Manny seem to be having something of a clash in this story which comes to a completely unexpected conclusion. Hannah and Tom are still pussyfooting around each other, Hannah being very protective over Tom’s (private) eye (I know!) Banecroft is saving the world whilst Ox plays audience and Grace wants nothing more than a festive party. Perhaps she’s on the naughty list after all.
To be honest, I loved this story and it’s another perfect instalment. The dialogue is funny, the imagination is incredible, I really care for the characters and I love the setting. I mean, I couldn’t begin to see how everything would be resolved and yet once again the author pulls it off with style. So, the whole package really. I seriously, wholeheartedly recommend this series.
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 Witch by CJ Cooke
6 October 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, CJ Cooke, Fantasy, Review, The Last Witch, Witches
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Fantastic, Truth Based Historical Fiction
The Last Witch is a phenomenal read. It’s tense, dark, cruel and totally compelling. I absolutely loved CJ Cooke’s A Haunting in the Arctic, a shocking and highly spooky ghost story that I thought would be difficult to surpass but The Last Witch certainly comes close to doing so.
Put simply I don’t really think I can do this book justice in a review but I’ll give it a shot.
The writing is absolutely beautiful, which is a strange thing to say when so much of the story is composed of misogyny and violence towards women. It is without doubt a shocking read, not gratuitous I must say, just totally horrifically mind blowing in the way it relates the injustices of the era.
This is a story set in Austria during the 15th century. Women’s lives were certainly not their own during that period and when the witch hunts began many women became scapegoats, blamed for crops failing to children becoming ill. Accusations, many from bitter, jealous or thwarted neighbours were treated as hard fact and the women accused were tortured to make them confess.
Helena Schueberin had drawn the notice of a religious zealot, a priest who eventually became one of the most feared witch hunters in Europe and went on to write and publish the Malleus Maleficarum. Heinrich Kramer makes it his mission to clean up the quiet city of Innsbruck of witches – and apparently the city is overrun. Taken into custody along with six other women Helena was starved, tortured and treated despicably but remained firm in her determination to speak out against the injustices.
I have to say this is so well written, it’s one of the most gripping historical stories that I’ve read. It’s so powerful, the writing brings the setting alive, the fear, the appalling conditions, Cooke doesn’t shy away from the bitter truth or the fickle crowds that turn from peaceful and loving to a pitchfork wielding mob hungry for violence.
Helena is a fantastic character to read. I really liked her and I must say that I was terrified on her behalf for a good deal of the book! Equally, Kramer is absolutely unbelievably horrifying, to think that a religious man could be so shockingly brutal, to seemingly take such pleasure in inflicting pain and to be so consumed with hate for all women. It’s difficult to get your head around to be honest. Fortunately, not everyone was of the same mind and one of the other characters, Bishop Georg Golser, took many personal risks to champion the accused women.
I highly recommend The Last Witch, I would mention again that this doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the treatment of many women during this period, it is shockingly brutal in its portrayal and might not be for everyone. Personally, I think it’s a remarkable book. A dark tale with hints of the supernatural, wonderfully written and with very powerful performances from the central characters. A book that will stay on my mind for some time.
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
Three Reviews: Shield of Sparrows; The Knight and the Moth; and, This Monster of Mine
4 October 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Devney Perry, Fantasy, Rachel Gillig, Romance, Shalini Abeysekara, Shield of Sparrows, The Knight and the Moth, This Monster of Mine
Today I’m posting three short reviews for books that I read a while ago and still haven’t reviewed. I figure three short and sweet reviews might help me to catch up.
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
Well, I’m enjoying my romantasy at the moment (in fact all three reviews today fall into that bracket or at least have romance elements) but unfortunately, and in spite of many glowing reviews for Shield of Sparrows, this one didn’t work for me.
Odessa is a princess who has spent her entire life in the shadows whilst her sister (Mae) has been reared with all the expectations. Unfortunately, on the day that an ancient blood pact is due to take place between Prince Zavier and Princess Mae, ensuring peace between the five kingdoms, everything goes a little pear shaped when Princess Odessa is chosen instead. From here forward Odessa finds herself married, uprooted and en route to a foreign land accompanied by a Guardian who seems to despise her (and the feeling is mutual) and high expectations from her father about turning ‘spy’ regardless of her total lack of training. I will say that I had some sympathy with Odessa at this point.
The world Odessa is taken to is cursed and monster ridden and nothing is quite as it first appears. I’m not going to go further into the plot as there are already plenty of other reviews out there.
Now, this book is receiving glowing reviews and to be fair it has all the ingredients that would normally work really well for me but on this occasion something didn’t gel.
The romance is described as slow burn, however, I would say that the first two thirds of the book are very slow paced so really it’s the plot itself that is slow (and the romance almost as a consequence). This wouldn’t usually be an issue for me tbh, I don’t mind books that take their time with world building but on this occasion I felt my interest wandering. On top of this, and this is probably the key issue, I didn’t really like Odessa. As I said above, I initially had sympathy with her but eventually I just found her a little irritating. She had a never ending stream of questions running through her head and on top of this, okay, she came across to me as a little too self pitying.
I don’t know, something just didn’t quite work for me. Take this with a pinch of salt though as there are many glowing reviews out there and it feels on this occasion it’s a ‘it’s me not you’ kind of situation.
I bought an audio copy. The opinions above are my own.
My rating 3 of 5 stars
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
I really enjoyed the Knight and the Moth. I listened to the audio of this and the narration was really good, I loved the world building and all the scenes with the Cathedral and the diviners and I was hooked pretty much from the start. I also really liked the main character – Six or Sybil (as she was once known) and the love interest character Rodrick (or Rory) Myndacious. This is a slow burn romance, well, it starts with something like contempt from both characters. Fortunately, their enemies to lovers status is not the main focus here but just simmers away in the background. Instead we have a mystery. One in which the other diviners are disappearing and Six is determined to find out what is actually going on.
I really enjoyed Six’s narration, it worked well for me and I found her intriguing. The diviners live a strange life of acquiescence, rescued by the Abess at a young age they are all subservient, playing their roles as soothsayers dutifully – which can’t be easy given that their visions are only induced through near drowning.
The Knights who visit the Abbey play a central role, eventually assisting Six in helping to uncover the truth behind the other diviners’ disappearances, whilst actually serving to fulfill their own agenda.
I liked the romance, it didn’t take over the plot and there was a maturity to it that I enjoyed. That on top of the gothic elements and the mystery of the diviners really did work their magic, plus the world was fascinating and the eventual reveals really interesting. Also Bartholomew – a gargoyle who, without doubt, stole the show.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
I purchased an audio copy.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
This Monster of Mine is an ancient Rome inspired fantasy with a mystery at it’s core. As the story begins there is an (attempted) murder. The survivor, Sarai, eventually returns to the City where she was left for dead, in search of answers. She becomes a petitor, a person who uses magic to detect lies, and is assigned to the most dangerous of the four judges, Tetrarch Kadra, the Tetrarchs basically rule the land. Sarai remembers very little from that terrible night four years ago but she does recognise Kadra’s voice and he quickly becomes her number one suspect.
This is a brutal world for sure and I think certain elements of this would not work well for the faint of heart. The world here is corrupt. The Tetrach’s ever in search of more power and certainly not shy of back stabbing. Aside from Sarai’s own murder mystery it appears that a large number of petitors have died in the last few years, all deemed suicide, and yet these cases resemble Sarai’s own. It appears that justice is definitely not being served and Sarai intends to uncover the truth.
I really liked Sarai and she definitely makes this story. As I said this is a dark tale. Life is cheap in these times and torture and cruelty rife and Sarai takes many risks. On top of this, Sarai and Kadra begin to develop feelings for each other – which is a conundrum, particularly to Sarai. Kadra is a complex character though and it’s easy to see how this develops.
Overall, I enjoyed this, it was intriguing and fast paced. The romance elements were low key with the political intrigue and murder mystery taking centre stage.
I purchased a copy for audio. I really enjoyed the narration for this one.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Review: Cinder House by Freya Marske
2 October 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Cinder House, Fantasy, Freya Marske, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: DIdn’t Quite Work For Me
Cinder House is a retelling of the Cinderella story with a twist in the tale. It has all the components that you would expect. The terrible stepmother and her ghastly daughters, a Prince who must choose a wife, a grand ball, a member of the fae (perhaps not a Godmother as such), time restrictions about returning home and one significant change that was interesting but that I won’t spoil here.
I can say, as it’s already mentioned in the description that at the start of the story Cinder dies and remains from that point forward a ghost, tethered to the house and with various restrictions.
I confess that the start of the story really intrigued me. It takes a step away from the original story and I was very curious how things would play out – ultimately it’s probably this twist that presented me with mixed feelings.
In terms of what I enjoyed.
I do enjoy a good retelling and as I already mentioned this has all the components to make it a clear retelling. The writing is solid, in fact I’ve read this author before and enjoy her style very much.
The characters come across as you might expect. The stepmother is cold and calculating and completely lacking in emotion other than her ambitions for her daughters. Her daughters – well, one has magic and is a horrible excuse for a human being, taking great delight in persecuting Cinder, the other sister isn’t quite as nasty. The Prince – well, his tale also has a twist and also moves in a direction that I really didn’t foresee – and I’m sorry, but I’m not going to give away spoilers for that either.
What didn’t work quite so well for me.
I think first and foremost this is a novella. I usually do avoid novellas because they don’t always have the depth that I’m really looking for, but, I do find that fairytale retellings can work well with a shorter length so, strictly speaking, perhaps this is more a ‘me’ issue. The other issue is that, and again this is really down to me and personal preferences, but I kind of expect a fairytale to have a happy ending. And, well, in some respects maybe this is a happy ending, it just didn’t quite work for me. That being said, this is an easy, bite sized story that I can see plenty of other readers simply wolfing down.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 3 of 5 stars
Review: Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
1 October 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alchemy of Secrets, Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Review, Stephanie Garber
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Fascinating world with ‘real’ myths
I haven’t read all of Stephanie Garber’s books, although I have enjoyed the ones that I have read, probably this boils down to the fact that I’ve moved away from YA stories over the last few years as I quite often feel I have more questions than answers. So, I confess, I was very intrigued to pick this up as it’s marketed as her first adult novel. Did it work for me. Yes. I enjoyed the writing. I loved the world, the old Hollywood references and this whole other ‘magical’ world living alongside the everyday mundane. Did it really feel like an adult story, I’m going to say not really, it still felt YA to me, particularly in terms of certain aspects such as dubious decision making by the MC, but, regardless, I did enjoy this.
As the story begins we meet Holland (St James), she’s on a date which is about to take a mysterious turn (not necessarily a turn for the better). From here we quickly learn that Holland believes in magic and so it’s no surprise to learn that she’s a student on the ‘professor’s’ Folklore 517 course, local legends and urban myths. Not gonna lie – I would probably love a course like this. Anyway, this is where the students learn that all those urban legends and myths are grounded in reality, another world existing alongside ours with mysterious people such as the Watch Man who can tell you exactly when you’re going to die (although why anyone would wish to know this remains a mystery to me). Pretty quickly Holland’s world spirals into chaos and she finds herself on a hunt for a mysterious object, and the clock is ticking.
Now, to be fair, I’m not going to give away any more of the plot so the rest will be my thoughts and feelings whilst reading.
I really enjoyed the writing. Garber certainly has a vivid imagination and some great writing chops. This has a whimsical feel. It combines the golden age of Hollywood with the glamorous art deco feel of the period and brings to us a mystery that takes place in a world that puts you in mind of looking glasses, rabbit holes, rainbows and wardrobes. This is a world sprinkled with clues and danger where nobody is what they first appear to be. And I do mean nobody.
To be honest it’s the kind of story I love reading and I quite easily let myself become fully absorbed. I wouldn’t particularly say this is fast paced, which feels almost like a contradiction in terms given that the period covered is little more than two days, but it was addictive and compelling.
Characters. Well, we focus on Holland who is literally pulled from pillar to post by (mainly) two men, both who seem to have a vested interest in her well being and the object she seeks to find. Both claim to have been sent by Holland’s twin sister and both cause her to make some questionable decisions. This is one of the elements that did give me pause for thought. Both of these characters briefly spend time as an almost ‘romantic’ interest. They’re both charismatic, slightly dangerous and dangerously easy on the eye. Frankly, I could have done without the ‘almost love interest’ element and that’s perhaps where my YA feelings came into the picture because there’s this expectation that whenever a man and woman are thrown together for one reason or another of course they’ll become involved – because why? Anyway, that’s a minor quibble to be honest.
The world building was my favourite aspect – and the mystery of it all of course. I loved all the little references, the secret hotels, the big conglomerate style bank that is simultaneously incredibly ‘correct’ but also gives off a dangerous vibe. The myth that the devil will give you his business card in exchange for a cocktail. And it’s all so twisted. I really had no notion of how things would unfold and I really didn’t see that ending coming at all.
I do feel that there’s a contemplative feel to this. It doesn’t feel like a story you should rush and perhaps I should have mulled over certain aspects a little longer – although I still don’t think I would have second guessed the ending.
Overall, tiny issues aside I had a good time with this. I like the author’s style and the magical and whimsical feel to the story. I’ve read that this is the start of a series although it felt complete and I can’t see any mention of this being a first book – but I would definitely continue to read if more books are written.
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 mysterious stars
Books and travelling with Lynn 