Review: The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
11 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Danielle Valentine, fiction, Mystery, Review, The Dead Husband Cookbook
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Twisted, unreliable and totally delicious
I loved The Dead Husband Cookbook, it was addictive. The set up, the writing, the mystery, the twist, the characters, it hooked me and held me in its sway until the last morsel was devoured. It took me in unexpected directions and it is definitely a book that I would love to read again (for the recipes especially) and frankly I think it would make a fantastic adaptation – I would watch it for sure.
As the story begins we meet Thea Woods, an editor for Hanes House publishing, she’s worked there a number of years and her career was on a satisfying trajectory until she made a major error in judgement and everything she’d worked to achieve came crashing down round around her. As we make Thea’s acquaintance she’s been called into the office for a meeting with her (once friend) boss and she hopes to hand in her notice before she’s officially ‘let go’. As it turns out it seems that Thea is about to receive a lifeline. Hanes has been chosen to publish the much sought after novel by Maria Capello (more below) and this is conditional upon Thea editing her story.
So, Maria is both famous and infamous. She has cookbooks and tv shows firmly under her belt, not to mention a range of sauces that people can’t get enough of. At the same time her very successful husband disappeared many years ago – was it suicide or did Maria murder her husband and turn him into meatballs? Speculation has run amok for years and so everyone is waiting, eagerly, for this new book in which she has promised to ‘tell all’.
Now, Thea’s reprieve doesn’t come without strings. She needs to spend time at Maria’s home, leaving her young daughter and husband at home, she needs to turn in her mobile, because Maria is paranoid about leaks and she is only given one chapter at a time to read – which, combined with the poor wifi at the remote family farmhouse – is going to make turning this submission in by the deadline very difficult.
Straight away Thea is drawn in by Maria’s story, written well and in many ways similar to Thea’s own family life, she is totally absorbed by the read. At the same time she is shocked when she discovers that another guest at the house during this time is someone who was fundamental in her own downfall.
I really enjoyed this read. It’s written well. Thea isn’t above doing some investigating (snooping) and often takes chances that gave me the heebies. She’s under pressure both from work and in her homelife and is desperate to make this opportunity work out.
As the tension mounts Thea’s imagination runs riot – and, to be fair, with good reason. All the family are secretive and Maria’s children are definitely not happy about this most recent development which threatens to expose the family even more.
This is a contemporary novel but the remote setting and Maria’s paranoia and Thea’s imagination all feed into the tension really well.
And, of course, the format of the story is great as we have Thea narrating the story plus the written chapters provided by Maria all concluded with delicious sounding recipes with very amusing titles.
On top of this – who can you actually trust? Well, you’ll have to read this to find out because wild horses couldn’t drag spoilers out of me. There’s more going on here than originally meets the eye and the author drew me down the garden path into a totally wrong feeling of knowing what was going on – which I appreciate totally.
A twisted family story and a mystery with two women both desperate to succeed.
I listened to an audio version which I heartily recommend.
I received an audio 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: Fateless (Fateless #1) by Julie Kagawa
5 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fateless, Fateless #1, fiction, Julie Kagawa, reading, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Entertaining, fast paced YA adventure
Fateless is an entertaining adventure story set in the heart of a desert city made all the more fascinating by its history and the fact that the ruins of an ancient city lie below.
As the story begins we meet Sparrow. Sparrow is an orphan who has grown up in the Thieves Guild (raised by the Master, Vahn), at the age of 17 she has a certain talent and a knack for being ‘lucky’. This knack brings her to the attention of the Circle – powerful people who run the city, they can’t be denied and if they give you a mission and you fail you won’t live to tell the tale. Unfortunately for Sparrow she’s about to be given an impossible task – to retrieve an item from the ruins of the Deathless King. Failure isn’t an option because the only person who she cares about (Vahn) also has his neck on the line.
I enjoyed Fateless, it’s easy to read, entertaining and I particularly liked the world building. I did have some issues which probably relate to this feeling quite YA – which, yes, I’m not the target audience and so I rarely request YA as I sometimes struggle with the lack of depth, but, I have read Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series which I really enjoyed so wanted to give this a shot too. In fairness, as I said, this is without doubt entertaining and I would like to continue with the series.
What I really liked. The writing is solid and the descriptions and setting easy to get on board with. I had no problems with the pacing, there’s plenty going on to keep you entertained, I particularly enjoyed the adventures that took place beneath the city and could happily have spent more time checking out those ruins. I like the desert setting and the little details like the dual suns that make it impossible to be caught outside when both rise to their highest point. The sand sea and the means of getting about and the dusty and winding streets. I can see the Assassins Creed likeness although personally speaking this put me more in mind of The Mummy (and possibly a little bit even of Indiana Jones).
In terms of the characters apart from Sparrow we have Raithe and Halek. Halek is a Fatechaster – I’m not going to really get into explanations about either the culture here or the Fateless and what it actually means because that veers into the land of spoilers. In this case Halek comes across as an eager little puppy out for adventure – and it seems his fate is going to be linked to Sparrow. Raithe is an assassin, I’m not entirely sure what exactly he is – immortal or otherwise – but he does seem to be very long lived. He’s also the romantic interest of the story – more about that shortly. To be fair, I didn’t dislike any of the characters but by the same token I wouldn’t say that I’ve fallen hard for any of them – at this point at least.
I think the story is engaging, there’s plenty going on and a few twists and betrayals and the characters eventually travel further afield – although they’re being relentlessly pursued.
Now, I did have some issues with this. Firstly, I didn’t really think the romance elements worked. I just don’t feel any chemistry between Sparrow and Raithe and it feels like an unnecessary road to go down. Secondly, I have issues with the motivations of the ‘baddies’ – if you will (I’m trying not to be spoilery) – I just don’t understand why. I can’t really say any more but what were they actually thinking? I also had this feeling every now and again of being ‘told’, so Sparrow is this amazing thief – but is she really? Her exploits didn’t really give me that impression. I mean, she takes risks and she clearly has some good luck – but it didn’t come across as though she’s really skilled or talented or even really give her assignments any really thought. I don’t know, perhaps I was expecting too much. To me, she came across on the page as really young, a little naive (for all her bluster) and too easy to trust in others. I can’t dislike her for any of those things because she is young and naive and too open – but, at the same time, she’s had a tough upbringing and I expected that to give her some sharp edges.
Anyway. In spite of a few little quibbles here and there this was an entertaining and easy to read story and I would be keen to see how the story progresses – I’m particularly interested in seeing where Raithe is from and meeting his Queen.
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
Review: The Bone Raiders (The Rakada #1) by Jackson Ford
4 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Jackson Ford, reading, Review, The Bone Raiders, The Rakada #1
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Entertaining, fast paced, bit shallow
Okay, I will say that I had a very good time reading this, it was a lot of fun and definitely entertaining. It has a certain’set up’ quality to the story but I enjoyed the way events unfolded and I would love to read more from these characters.
The Bone Raiders, similarly to other raiders, are being slowly wiped out by the new Khan. As we begin the story we meet Sayana, one of three povs but clearly the leading character. She’s come a bit unstuck during a scouting mission and finds herself in a prickly situation – shortly to become much worse by the arrival of an araatan – a fire breathing lizard that’s bigger than a house. Managing to avoid death in the most spectacular way imaginable gives Sayana a big idea and so begins this new adventure.
I don’t really want to say too much about the plot. I found the story really entertaining, for me there was never a dull moment and I really enjoyed the banter between the raiders. To be fair, I had a brief moment where I felt like I shouldn’t really be enjoying the Bone Raiders’ company as much as I did, at the end of the day, as funny and high spirited as these characters may be, they’re not exactly living the life of a hero. They take from others and they kill those who try to defend themselves – although they do keep their killing to a minimum and their fearsome reputation does much of the work and prevents bloodshed – but, make no mistake, they raid villages and kill those who oppose them, wearing their bones as trophies. And, one of the other characters from the story goes to lengths to point this out. So, be aware, these characters are not really the good guys – and yet, I enjoyed their story and had fun reading about their exploits. They’re all a bit bats**t crazy and take terrible risks, made necessary by the fact that their numbers are so depleted.
In fact the characters really make the story. This little bunch of ‘found family’, all original with different back stories and motivations. My absolute favourite was Khun – don’t ask me why. She’s always muttering and doing strange things but she stole the show for me. For a bunch of raiders this story has a surprising amount of ‘heart’ and I really did find myself becoming attached to the characters and fearing for how this would all end.
In terms of the setting, the world building is perhaps a little bit light, in fact I mentioned above that this feels a little shallow and at first I thought I might struggle a little but my fears were unfounded as I very quickly became immersed in the read and the Bone Raiders’ adventures.
A highly entertaining story with amusing characters, plenty of action, a little bit of ‘How to train your Lizard’ and a heap of creativity, plus a touch of double crossing and a ‘nasty’ antagonist. I really did have fun with this one – come for the fire breathing lizard and kick ass females (of which I hope for much more in the future) and stay for the framily feels.
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: My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie
31 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Craig DiLouie, music, My Ex The Antichrist, Review, reviews
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Punk Rock, Horror and Blood
I enjoyed My Ex, it was very easy to read and I particularly liked the story telling format which comes across like a series of interviews for a documentary where the band members are recalling incidents from the past.
As the story begins we meet Lily and Drake. Lily has had a strict upbringing but longs to break free so when she meets a handsome and charismatic young man called Drake she follows him willingly with thoughts of fame and recognition. The two of them are about to set up a band – The Shivers – and make music history together. Along the way, they gather other band members and with Drake’s vision and Lily’s beauty they seem to hold everyone in their sway. As the band begins to find their feet and secure some gigs all hell seems to break loose, Drake’s playing seems to drive people into a frenzy, an almost hypnotised trance state where all their inhibitions fall away.
Now, there’s much more to the story than that, there’s a little bit of religion (not preachy but necessary given that the antichrist is making an appearance), a lot of rock and roll, the apocalypse looms on the horizon, and the rest of the band have no idea what they’re unleashing – until their eyes are opened in the most dramatic fashion.
What I really liked about this.
Obviously the writing is great and I love the format. DiLouie makes an excellent job of keeping everyone’s voice different and really bringing the band to life. It’s easy to get on board with the characters, I found myself liking them and in particular Lily. Even Drake, who, let’s be honest, you know is about to destroy the world, he doesn’t come across as evil – more, he has a vision and is following his destiny – and he really wants Lily to be at his side (although she’s not quite as happy with the whole ‘end of the world’ scenario).
This is such a unique story that it really hooked me and wound me in quite effortlessly. I thought at first that I might struggle a bit with all the ‘rock and roll’ elements but I really didn’t, everything fed into the story so well and all the threads came together in a very satisfactory way and more than that everything felt very tongue in cheek – even when the odds are ratcheted up and the body parts begin to fly it all feels so wildly campy.
And, I love the fact that the whole book is building up to a grand finale – a rock and roll competition known as Armageddon – where Drake is literally going to send the crowd into a frenzy.
This is such an unusual story, I felt a little unsure going in and I will say that the early chapters took a little getting used to as quite a few people are introduced in short order, but, this book won me over no problem. Very entertaining.
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: Another Fine Mess (Bless Your Heart #2) by Lindy Ryan
29 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Another Find Mess, Bless Your Heart #2, Book Reviews, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, Horror, Lindy Ryan, reading, Review, Summer of Horror 25
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Gothic Southern Charm and Guts
I’m very much enjoying Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series. It combines winning family dynamics, mystery, the unhappy dead and plenty of blood and guts fortunately tempered by humour. It’s a very easy series to read and quite refreshingly unique in so many ways.
Another Fine Mess picks up fairly quickly after Bless Your Heart concluded so be aware that there may be spoilers below for book 1, although I try to be careful not to include any if possible.
Lenore and Luna are trying to pick up the pieces following events from the conclusion of Bless Your Heart but they’re struggling, both to cope with the loss and continue to go about their everyday lives. Lenore eventually makes the decision to hire in help for the funeral parlour, a decision that goes against the family ethos but seems to be the only way forward. Luna is suffering from guilt and struggling to understand her own nature. And, at the same time the increased number of missing pets in the neighbourhood seems to be a precursor for the body count to once again begin to rise. A rare ‘ghost wolf’ is being cited as the cause for the latest bloodletting and as a consequence a local expert is called in but Lenore knows, she simply knows that something is wrong, she just doesn’t know what, until an unexpected houseguest makes an appearance to fill in some of the blanks.
I don’t want to give too much more away. Once again Ryan brings to us a charming horror – if such a thing is possible. She doesn’t shy away from a high body count, even taking characters that you really feel quite cross about losing, and she’s not afraid to paint the pages in blood, but at the same time she balances the gore with a good dose of Southern charm, strong family values and some lighthearted moments.
The pacing is quick. there’s no hand holding here. To be honest, I would say that you need to read the first in the series – well, of course, you could crash in at this point and I’m sure the author has done enough to make the story standalone – but, I think you’d miss so much about the family and frankly I think it would be more of a struggle so I would suggest reading the books in order.
I really like the family dynamic (and the unexpected guest – in fact I’m rather hoping for another appearance that I won’t elaborate on here). The main problem that the Evan’s ladies face is lack of knowledge. They’ve been told so very little over the years and it seems like secrets buried long ago need to be unearthed. To be fair, I’m not a lover usually of the ‘keeping people in the dark’ trope but here it really does feel more like secrets were buried rather as a means of forgetting and moving on than a plot device.
In conclusion, over the top horror with a Carrie-esque style ending – well, in terms of a high school end of term dance. A very easy to read and engaging series that I find myself really enjoying and hoping for more. A good mix of characters (although try not to become too attached because as I mentioned – ruthless author), a secret history waiting to be uncovered, a different take on some well established critters and horror that doesn’t give you nightmares (although, to be clear, there is no shortage of blood and death – just, it doesn’t have that scary vibe that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up).
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
Books and travelling with Lynn 