Review: Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Grim, Dark, Bloody and Twisted
I’m always excited to pick up a new Mark Lawrence book and not only did Daughter of Crows sound very intriguing it also looked amazing. I know, just saying. Anyway, I think having read this author since his first book, Prince of Thorns, I have a good deal of trust in his ability to weave a tale. Not only is he a superb wordsmith, his books are always clever and they all require a degree of patience because the big picture is always of paramount importance. There are light bulb moments where everything suddenly clicks into place – and I must say it’s a cunning element of his storytelling because it makes you feel like you’ve uncovered something, and I can’t speak for anyone else but you have this little moment of triumph because you think you’ve cracked the secret – invariably things will change and you’ll realise that no, you haven’t in fact cracked it at all but for that little moment you feel like a mastermind.
To be fair I don’t really think, or want, to share too much with you about the story. In a nutshell this is about one woman seeking retribution for the seemingly mindless destruction of her peaceful life. What makes this more unique than it first appears is that the woman in question, a former assassin of the Academy of Kindness, is now retired and enjoying her dotage in a quiet village, where she’s even managed to make friends.
What I really enjoyed about this.
Firstly, the writing. Lawrence has some writing chops and I think he could probably make a set of instructions about how to build a wardrobe seem compelling. I thoroughly enjoy reading his books because his words, more to the point the way he arranges them, makes me happy to be a reader.
Secondly, as I already mentioned there’s always a bigger picture with any of his stories. It’s like you have to pan out, and then pan out some more, so that you can eventually see all the links – and then he throws in some more surprises and you’re back to panning out some more.
Thirdly, three timelines. I always enjoy books with multiple povs and this is no exception. Of course there’s always the risk that you will enjoy one of those threads more than the rest and feel frustrated when you’re dragged away from your favourite. But, I really enjoy the scope this allows the author. You can see so many more angles with this style even if it can take a little longer to develop connections to the characters. We have three main characters, Rue, the retired assassin who is now on a mission to find the person responsible for attacking the village she called home for a few years. Mollandra is a student at the Academy. And then we have Eldest, introduced a little later in the story and at first a bit puzzling – and yet, of the three I found this one a real hook. It has an incredibly dark, and menacing feel to it that adds a note of horror.
This is grimdark without a shadow of doubt. If that isn’t your cup of tea then walk away now. Bad things happen. People die in quite horrible ways. There is plenty of blood and battered bodies. I mean, it isn’t gratuitous, that’s not what I’m saying at all, but this is a harsh world. Life is cheap and there’s always somebody plotting and sending mercenaries out to do a bit of killing and plundering.
In terms of the plot and pacing. Well, I’m kind of veering away from saying too much as I want to avoid spoilers. I did find it took me a little while to become attached to the characters. We do have other characters in the earlier chapters and as I already mentioned there is a lot of death – what with the village and it’s inhabitants having just been massacred and the Academy admitting 100 girls every year that will eventually be whittled down to three – so, at first, there’s a kind of hesitancy to become too attached as people don’t always stick around long enough – well, apart from Rue. I liked Rue, her storyline had moments of very dry humour, particularly as she’s quite often not quite as formidable as she thinks (in the earlier chapters in particular) and she’s persistent and difficult to kill, plus, she has a constant companion in the form of a crow – I love a good critter and so I really enjoyed that element to the story.
Did I have any issues? Well, it did take me a little while to connect to the characters. I think at the beginning there was so much death that I almost became immune to it all and felt wary of liking anybody too much. And, I wouldn’t say that this is a book to rush through. It’s not a lightweight read, it needs time to find its feet, which is a simple observation, not a criticism.
Anyway, I think I’ll draw this review to a close. There’s necromancy plus plenty of mythology such as the underworld and lots of references to threes, the triple goddesses of vengeance (the Furies), three timelines, three friends remaining at the Academy, etc. There’s lot of raging anger. A number of twists. Some sorrow, Some smiles. And a feeling of found family that I think will definitely develop even more over the series. On top of that the story concludes with a definite hook for book 2, it’s going to feel like a long wait! No pressure there then.
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
Review: How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson
9 March 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, fiction, How To Get Away With Murder, Mystery, Rebecca Philipson, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Bit Unrealistic but Ultimately Entertaining
I enjoyed How to Get Away with Murder – with a few provisos. This is an entertaining book that kept me turning the pages wanting to find the answers.
The story revolves around Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen who has been on long term sick leave for the past six months. Her godfather and therapist are trying to encourage her into a gentle return to work without much success but when the body of a local young girl is discovered in the park Sam decides she has a compelling need to return and find the killer and also uncover the person behind a book called “How to Get Away with Murder” that was placed at the scene of the crime.
What I liked about this.
The story is told both by Sam as she undertakes her investigations and Denver Brady (pen name?) of the author. I really liked the whole book within a book idea. Both storylines have a worrying thread of unreliability to them which adds an extra layer of entertainment to the story. As mentioned above Sam has been absent from work, this was following a sexual assault incident that was hastily and unsatisfactorily dealt with and resulted in a breakdown. On top of this she is displaying the symptoms of PTSD (possibly because of the aforementioned or also as a result of too many brutal cases). So, does she overestimate her own ability to jump into a high profile murder hunt – of course she does. But, although this involves a little bit of ego, being one of the Yard’s most successful homicide detectives, you can forgive her for rushing in because she genuinely cares. Denver Brady on the other hand is the author of How to Get Away with Murder, the reading of this part of the story is definitely disturbing as the author seems to take great pleasure in talking about his kills and clearly has a huge ego, the bragging becoming worse as the story unfolds – but, can we believe everything that Brady says or does he have an underlying motive.
This is without doubt entertaining. It relies on certain tropes that can be irritating – for example, the ‘I need to tell you something very important but keep getting interrupted’ scenario. Was this a little bit frustrating? Yes. Did it spoil the read? No. What I would say is that if you come to this story expecting a hard nosed police procedure being followed to the letter then you might be a little bit disappointed. If you leave your suspension at the door when you enter then you’ll have an entertaining read, quite often injected with a dose of dry humour and various twists along the way that you may or may not guess – for the record – I didn’t.
Without a doubt I liked Sam and worried for her almost in equal measure (which, let’s be honest, I wouldn’t worry if I didn’t care for the character). She’s not always had a pleasant past herself. Her mother and father have both died, her godfather has undoubtedly let her down and her best, only, friend is a stray dog that has attached itself to her. She’s clever too, I won’t say that I always followed her train of thought but I still like where she took us. In fact the relationships and dialogue in the book was well done.
Brady, is a real piece of work. I don’t want to give too much away, but he’s a boastful egomaniac, sly, self indulgent – I’m sure you get the picture, insert whichever unpleasant descriptors that you can think of and you’ll probably hit the nail on the head.
Anyway, I’m not going to overdo this review because I’m aware of spoilers and don’t want to be the one to give them away. At the end of the day I enjoyed this and it definitely kept me guessing. I think you definitely need to come to this expecting a story that takes liberties, both in terms of procedures and believability, it definitely strays into irritating territory with certain aspects – like the lack of communication mentioned above, but, at the same time, I understand this ploy as it makes you doubt people and think they have underlying motives. I would definitely read more from this author and would love to see more of Sam although this reads as a standalone. There is a serial killer within these pages – you simply need to discover who it is.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating a strong 3.5 of 5 (rounded to 4)
Review: Snake-Eater by T Kingfisher
5 March 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Fantasy, Horror, Review, Snake-Eater, T Kingfisher
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Oddly Unique Yet Still Cosy
I think I can safely say that I never know what to expect from this author – other than, of course, it’s almost 99% certain that I will enjoy whatever she delivers.
In a nutshell the story begins with an introduction to Selena and her dog copper, arriving at Quartz Creek – where Selena’s aunt lived- only to find out that Selena’s aunt passed away a little time ago. Selena, is trying to escape an unhappy life in the city with a domineering partner. Her aunt’s cottage remains uninhabited, the desert not being a popular place to go to live apparently, and so, maybe she can stay for a little while, just to save up the money for the fare back home. In the meantime, the people of Quartz Creek take a real shine to Selena and take her under their collective wings. Unfortunately, something else seems to have taken a shine to Selena – something a little more creepy.
So, what did I love about this.
Well, Kingfisher excels at bringing her people to life. Selena is a great character, you really feel for her at the start, she’s so nervous and so scared of making mistakes. Her character really does undergo the most fabulous character arc. Grandma Billy is also a great character and of course the local priest, Father Aguirre. Both these characters will surprise you in the best way. On top of this Kingfisher is never afraid to introduce alternative characters such as Merv the Peacock and Copper the dog – they both play their roles perfectly. And, lets not forget the roadrunner. Yes, who would have thought that this particular character could be so, mmm, daunting! Enough said.
Quartz Creek is a great setting. I seriously loved it and the way of life. Wow, who wouldn’t love to find themselves in a place where the residents wrap you up and hold you close, feeding you, protecting you and fighting on your behalf. I could live here – although I could do without the strange things that stare in at the windows. Yes, there is also a side dose of horror with this one – just enough to give you the heebies mind, this isn’t some slasher type horror, it’s not blood soaked or terrifying. It’s just enough to be creepy. You might not be aware of cosy horror – I certainly wasn’t – but here you are, it’s arrived and I love it. I really do think that Kingfisher should take us back to Quartz Creek, I feel like there’s so much potential here. It’s one of those supernatural places with Gods, critters and myths and so much leeway for storytelling. Like Oliver, I would like more. Please.
I don’t think I can tell you too much more. Lovely writing, as always. Lovable characters and a little banger of a story. I have no hesitation in recommending this. Kingfisher fans will devour it and if this is your first time reading this author I have no doubt that this will make you want to take a look at the rest of her work. Happy reading. Beep beep.
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
Review: The Magician’s Daughter by HG Parry
3 March 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, fiction, HG Parry, Review, The Magician's Daughter
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Quite Simply, This Was Brilliant
I loved The Magician’s Daughter and can’t believe that I let this beautiful story languish on my shelves for so long. HG Parry is still a fairly new to me author, I have read and really enjoyed The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door and A Far Better Thing and recommend them highly and I did wonder, just for a tiny moment, if this might not be quite as good (being an earlier work being my reasoning) but I’ve never been quite so happy to be wrong. I fell for this book with ease – and really, having read the aforementioned books it shouldn’t ever been a doubt that I harboured. This author is my catnip. I feel like she’s writing these stories just for me. I realise that might sound incredibly selfish but seriously, it’s like she knows exactly the sort of story I love. And the writing – it’s magical. I am undone.
In a nutshell, the Magician’s daughter is a coming of age tale about a young orphan woman called Biddy. The year is 1912, Biddy has lived her life on a remote island with her guardian Rowan and his familiar – a rabbit called Hutch. Biddy is very familiar with magic and the magical – even though this is a period in which magic is disappearing from the world. The island on which she lives is protected and remains unseen to ordinary folk which is just as well because Rowan and Hutch seem to be in hiding and although Biddy longs to see other people and places she is, for the time being, forbidden to leave. It’s even possible she could be in danger. And yet, many times, in the dead of night, she witnesses Rowan transform into a raven and depart the isle for who knows where. Unfortunately, on one such escapade Rowan falls foul of his enemies and Biddy is left in the tricky position of having to venture further abroad to stage a rescue. Of course, nothing about this rescue is going to be easy and in the process everything Biddy knows will be called into question.
What I loved about this.
Well, apart from everything! The writing is wonderful. I really enjoy the way this author writes. She’s a conjuror of beautiful prose and a fantastic storyteller. Everything you read here just falls into place with what seems like ease – but I’m sure cost blood, sweat and tears in the making. The descriptions bring the story to life and there’s a real sense of whimsy that took me back to stories when I was much younger, first picking up fantasy (and not even knowing that’s what it was called) and simply becoming hooked. Books like these reinforce my love of reading and falling down these fantastically hypnotic wormholes where I remain captive until the last page.
The characters were also easy to fall for. Biddy is very easy to like. Rowan can be a little bit frustrating but in spite of that I still really liked him and Hutch is such a unique familiar – I loved him. I literally nearly cried at one point during this story – which I will not elaborate upon further I mention it only to demonstrate how very caught up my emotions were with these characters.
The story itself is intriguing. It doesn’t particularly race through the plot but at the same time there were no lulls. I never knew what to expect and the wealth of imagination was breathtaking. We have this alternate England where we visit the tight streets of Whitechapel and it’s poverty stricken residents, an underground castle populated by magical people who are watching the decline of the world they knew and then the small island that our main characters have been squirrelled away on for the past years, keeping company with black rabbits, strange critters and mentions of an ancient people that are reminiscent of the fae.
As I said above. Many things that Biddy thought she knew will be called into question. Rowan’s actions will be scrutinised and pulled apart by those that are his enemies – and even some who are not. Biddy knows nothing of his past and hasn’t seen the extremes to which some people will go to retain magic.
I don’t really want to say too much more. I had an absolutely lovely time reading this. I was captivated and couldn’t put it down and on the strength of this and the previous two books I really have to go back and read everything that this author has ever written. I don’t know how much more gushing I can do right now so I’ll quit at this point. Read it is my advice.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 5 magical stars
Review: Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
26 February 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Between Two Fires, Book Review, Books, Christopher Buehlman, fiction, Horror, reading, Review
My Five Word TL:DR: A Bit Too Much Horror
I really do like this author, very much so. I like his style of writing. I absolutely loved The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughter’s War even moreso. In fact Between Two Fires has been on my wishlist for a while so I was excited to pick it up. And, to be perfectly honest, I really enjoyed this, but, I think this veered into perhaps a little too much horror for me personally. That being said, I still wolfed this down, the writing is good, the dialogue is excellent, its grim and gritty and I was positively intrigued.
The story gets off to an immediate start. We meet up with a band of brigands, really not very nice characters at all (serious understatement). They basically roam the countryside stealing and terrorising the people moving swiftly on before they can be caught. Unfortunately, they’re about to have a serious falling out. One of their band, Thomas, is about to disagree with their latest scheme and decide to save the young innocent girl they’ve just discovered (instead of following orders). This will be the first in what appears (to Thomas especially) a strange turnabout in character. He seems unable to say ‘no’ to this young girl and soon finds himself on a mission, accompanied by a priest.
The setting here is mediaeval, the period a particularly turbulent time when the plague was sweeping across Europe killing thousands in it’s wake. It seems like God has abandoned the people and hell and all it’s evil minions are running amok.
What I really liked about this.
Well, firstly I loved the writing. This is quite dark and bleak and the ending definitely descends into something of a blood bath – which isn’t really my thing, but I wanted to know how it was all going to end. For the record, this is not cosy, there is no romance, I would say it’s grimdark, meets horror, meets fiery apocalyptic end of world as we know it, with blood and lots of death. This author has a way with words where I find myself reading a story even when it becomes too much.
The characters. It’s a great group of characters. I was reading a discussion piece just recently about this very thing – good vs evil and morally grey characters. Here, we definitely fall into the ‘morally grey’ for at least two of the characters. The young girl is very innocent, although as the story develops it soon becomes clear that she is ‘different’. She knows things! Thomas is a disgraced knight and the priest has also suffered a fall from grace. I loved the dynamic between the three.
The majority of the story is in the style of overcoming trials and tribulations. The three are on a quest, travelling to a known destination, but without the knowledge of what they will need to do once they get there. The further they progress the more difficult their journey becomes and the more bizarre the trials that they endure.
What held this back a little for me.
First and foremost, it was just a bit too much horror for me, but that’s my personal preference and the last third, or maybe quarter, of the book, lost me a little. Now, I have been reflecting on what was taking place and so it has become clearer once I put the book down and had time to really think, but whilst I was reading I was definitely a bit perplexed and felt like I simply needed to push on to understand things, which turned out to be the case, because things did clear up. But, without doubt, for a spell there I was a bit, well, out of my depth – or at least that’s how it felt. Strange that even as I’m typing this review I’m having second thoughts because now I’m beginning to wonder if maybe the author intended for this to be all chaotic and confused. His characters were certainly a little lost after all. Mmm, food for thought. Seriously though – don’t you love a book that makes you think? I’m still going round in circles with my pondering which is exactly what I want from a book – I think this story will be in my head for a while making me go backwards and forwards, thinking I’ve pinned it down and then realising that I really haven’t.
Overall, I would have no hesitation in recommending this. The writing is excellent, I liked the characters, the setting was perfect – just be aware that it is very dark and quite horrific.
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
Books and travelling with Lynn 