#SPFBO 8 Ever Alice by HJ Ramsay : Review
What is SPFBO? Check out Mark Lawrence’s post here to look at this year’s entrants, judges and allocations list.
I am teaming up again with the ladies from The Critiquing Chemist.
This year we have chosen four Semi Finalists. See the announcement posts here and here. I have since read both of the CC’s SFs and will now be reviewing both in fairly short order. Then we have the difficult job of choosing just one book to move forward.
Anyway, today I’m reviewing Ever Alice by HJ Ramsay. I really enjoyed this, it’s beautifully written and made me feel quite whimsical as I read.
Ever Alice is not a retelling but a sequel. Alice’s Adventures involved a young girl named Alice who fell down a rabbit hole when she was chasing a white rabbit and from there ensued the utter magical chaos of Wonderland. The next instalment showed us a slightly older version of Alice as she travels through the looking glass to experience the back to front world of Wonderland. In Ever Alice, a teenage version of Alice finds that her sweet ramblings about white rabbits are no longer cute or fanciful and her family, worried about her mental health, proceed to engage a string of doctors. Eventually Alice is placed in an asylum where the treatment she will receive is scary to say the least. Once again, she manages to escape to Wonderland but is it a mistake to come back, the Queen of Hearts once asked for her head after all.
What I really enjoyed about this is that the author brings to us with Ever Alice a sequel that very much moves the story forward whilst maintaining the essence of Wonderland. So, we still have the utter chaos, the crazy behaviour and the nonsense and it all relies very heavily on the original body of works but at the same time we’re now observing this through the eyes of a 15 year old who is feeling disillusioned (to say the least) and her perspective lends the story a much darker view. There’s also an alternate history running through this, what started in Alice’s adventure with the slightly veiled reference to the War of the Roses has progressed to the rivalry between Queen Elizabeth 1 (the Queen of Hearts) and Mary Queen of Scots (The Queen of Spades). To be honest, that might be something that readers pick up on or not but I felt like it added an interesting layer and although I’m definitely not a history buff I could see certain elements leading the story, particularly the Queen of Heart’s paranoia about plots against the throne.
Alternate histories aside, I enjoyed returning to Wonderland and meeting up with familiar characters over again. In Ever Alice everyone is called by their own names which, whilst a little confusing at first, does actually make a certain sort of sense. So, for example, the White Rabbit is Ralph and the Queen of Hearts is Rosamund. The characters here do feel different but this is an element to the story that I like, it makes you stop to consider, have the characters changed or is Alice seeing them more clearly now she’s a little older. The Mad Hatter (William) is something of a schemer, Ralph isn’t quite the softie he first seemed although he’s still regularly late, often disappears and simply can’t be relied upon. Rosamund’s character has also intensified. Heads are now rolling at such an alarming rate that Wonderland might be empty if someone doesn’t put the breaks on soon!
Wonderland itself proved to still be crazily chaotic. I loved all the upside/downness of it all and thought the author managed to come up with some wonderfully witty and silly creations of her own. I frequently found myself smiling at the world, the place and the characters and had no problem with racing to the conclusion.
In terms of criticisms. Well, not much from me. I do think this relies on a certain knowledge of the world and characters, that being said, having read the original works and a few adaptations over the years I don’t think I could reliably say that this couldn’t be read as a standalone – I just think it’s better to be read with some prior knowledge. I would also say to moderate your expectations. This is not quite the charmingly innocent and silly children’s tale that you might want or expect. This can be quite shockingly dark, even unexpectedly brutal and the ending is definitely one to ponder. Bittersweet- maybe. Possibly leaves room for manoeuvre and undoubtedly provides plenty of food for thought.
I had a good time reading Ever Alice. It’s definitely a lot of crazy mixed in with a strange alternate history and a harsh look at the brutality of asylums and early treatments where mental health issues were concerned. It took me in a direction I didn’t expect and kept me thinking long after I’d turned the last page.
I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
#SPFBO 8 Semi Finalist Announcement
What is SPFBO? Check out Mark Lawrence’s post here to look at this year’s entrants, judges and allocations list.
This year I am teaming up again with the ladies from The Critiquing Chemist.
Today I’m posting the two books that I’ve chosen as semi finalists. Check out my recap post here for all the reviews and updates posted so far.
I carried five books forward and have recently read and reviewed them. I have to say that I had a good time with all of them which makes this process even harder. But, I’m not going to draw this out longer than necessary.
Here are my five potentials:
and my two chosen semi finalists are :
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Now stop on over to the Critiquing Chemist to check out which books they’ve chosen.
We will now press on with each other’s selected SFs before choosing our finalist.
#SPFBO 8 Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson : Review
6 October 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #SPFBO, Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons, Quenby Olson, Review
What is SPFBO? Check out Mark Lawrence’s post here to look at this year’s entrants, judges and allocations list.
I am teaming up again with the ladies from The Critiquing Chemist.
Today I am posting my fifth and final review for the books that I rolled forward (see my feedback posts for batch No.1, 2 and 3). All told I carried forward five books, The Hidden Blade by Marie M. Mullany, The Blood of Crows by Alex C Pierce, Scarlight by Evid Marceau, Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright and Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson and over the next few days I will review each book in the order I read them.
So, without further ado here’s my review for Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson:
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a fantasy reader in possession of a gargantuan stack of unread books, must surely be in want of just one more book containing an outrageously cute dragon.
Miss Percy is an absolutely delightful, regency period, fantasy of manners style story that won me over with apparent 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.
As the story begins we make the acquaintance of Mildred Percy, a spinster in her forties who lives on the slightly begrudging charity of her younger sister in the quaint village of Upper Plimpton, Wiltshire. Immediately you are given to understand that Mildred’s life is given little significance by the family at large. Her sister, Diana Muncy, gave Mildred a place to live following the death of their father and never fails to boss and belittle her sister as she sees fit. Secreted away in a dusty room beneath the attic Mildred fills the role of Governess, childminder/entertainer, trouble shooter, housekeeper, general dogs body come beating block together with ‘any other duties as and when required’. I’m probably making it seem a lot more dreadful than it was because Mildred certainly doesn’t seem to complain until her circumstances alter slightly and she begins to look at things through a different lens.
Following the death of their Great Uncle Forthright, Mildred is set to inherit certain items. Neither of the sisters are quite sure what this inheritance will entail although Diana is hoping for something worthwhile (i.e. money) that she can no doubt take control of. Meanwhile, a trunk arrives at the house one evening whilst the family are out. It contains all sorts of fascinating objects, rocks and the like, journals and books and although Mildred doesn’t imagine her sister will have any interest in the contents she becomes strangely possessive and decides to hide the trunk, an escapade that is more strenuous than she first imagined and eventually concludes with the local vicar, Mr Wiggan, assisting with the endeavour. From here the two form a friendship with Mildred visiting the Vicarage to discuss the contents of the trunk – now imagine, one of those unassuming rocks cracks open and delivers a, not-seen-in-I-don’t-know-how-many years, dragon. Surely these are creatures of fairytales and myth – or maybe those tales arose out of truth that has long since been forgotten.
To be honest I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot but instead go into my thoughts and feelings.
Firstly. Mildred. What a wonderful creation she is. I loved her. She likes to talk to the readers and share little snippets of what she’s feeling and I couldn’t have enjoyed these interactions more if I tried. It’s an absolute revelation watching her develop an understanding that her life is worth something, she’s not just an add on for the Muncy family and seeing her stand up to her bully of a sister made me want to do a little air punch. Her slowly developing relationship with Mr Wiggan is cosy and heart warming and comes with the added benefit of friendship with Mrs Babbington (the vicarage housekeeper and a dab hand with anything baked – you might want to invest in a supply of biscuits before picking this one up because the constant descriptions of tea and sweet delights are indeed mouth watering).
Secondly, I can’t deny that I love reading stories set in this sort of period and this is executed so well. The writing is positively delicious, I found myself immersed and actually a little resentful when interruptions, such as eating or sleeping, interrupted proceedings.
Thirdly, the plot develops a winning thread when a new character appears on the scenes, believing that the inheritance should rightfully be his. This takes the plot out of its comfort zone and what I particularly enjoyed was that this took Mildren totally out of her comfort zone, like Bilbo, she goes on an adventure leaving her cosy little hole shaped life behind – whist also realising that it will be difficult to ever return to it. Of course, Mildred is blissfully unaware that she is being pursued and this only serves to heighten the tension.
Fourthly, Fitz. Fitz the dragon, I mentioned above his excessive cuteness. He’s a great judge of character and immediately develops a strong attachment to Mildred, perching on her shoulder and trying to protect her when situations arising.
What else can I say? I loved the chapter openings, I really enjoyed watching Mildred’s awakening to the fact that she could have a life of her own, there’s a lovely, slow blossoming relationship and I thoroughly enjoyed sinking into a period novel with a difference.
Overall, I had a thoroughly good time reading this and can’t wait to read what comes next when I suspect Mildred’s actions will become positively scandalous.
I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
#SPFBO 8 Between Ink and Shadows (Between Ink and Shadows #1) by Melissa Wright : Review
5 October 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #SPFBO, Between Ink and Shadows, Between Ink and Shadows #1, Melissa Wright
What is SPFBO? Check out Mark Lawrence’s post here to look at this year’s entrants, judges and allocations list.
I am teaming up again with the ladies from The Critiquing Chemist.
Today I am posting the fourth of five reviews for the books that I rolled forward (see my feedback posts for batch No.1, 2 and 3). All told I carried forward five books, The Hidden Blade by Marie M. Mullany, The Blood of Crows by Alex C Pierce, Scarlight by Evid Marceau, Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright and Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson and over the next few days I will review each book in the order I read them.
So, without further ado here’s my review for Between Ink and Shadows (Between Ink and Shadows #1) by Melissa Wright:
Between Ink and Shadows is a book that took me by surprise in a good way. This is quite a short read and described as fantasy romance I wondered whether it would work it’s magic on me as neither short books or romance are usually my ‘go to’. As it happens I was quite happy to be proved wrong.
Imara is a kingdom divided. On the one hand we have the King, ruling the kingdom and declaring the use of magic illegal, meanwhile, beneath the city streets we have the Trust who make a living in its use. The magic within these pages is dark and menacing. The Trust is all about power, they use betrayal, cohesion and blackmail to swell their ranks luring people in with the promise of power, wealth, beauty, etc, and then keep them indefinitely bound using blood contracts and threats. As the story begins we meet Nim, she is owned by the Trust, repaying a debt incurred by her father. Each month she pays a tithe and each month she is given another job to undertake on their behalf. Her latest job involves stealing from the castle itself, from the King’s closest advisor, Warrick Spenser, the King’s Seneschal. When she’s caught she has only two options – go to jail,stand trial and face the possibility of hanging, or save her skin and become an agent for the Seneschal.
Okay, so straight to what I enjoyed with this one. Well, I’m not going to deny that there is quite a blatant,not to mention fast moving, clear as the nose on your face romance that you can see, even from the far reaches of deepest space, is inevitable. As soon as Nim and Warrick meet, as sure as eggs is eggs these two are a dead cert. There it is,no point in beating about the bush. Now, I’ll be honest, this would normally put me off a little, in my defense (as mentioned) romance isn’t my first choice of book to pick up (I ain’t judging) although I don’t mind a light touch as long as it’s not the full story. So, I was wrong (unfortunately this seems to be happening more often that I’d like of late) because whilst, yes, this is a romance, it’s also a lot more. In fact, considering the length of this book I’m surprised at just how much the author has managed to cram into the book.
The world building in some respects is light. For example, I would be hard pressed to tell you anything of Imara. Going off the way Nim travels about so easily it feels like a tiny place, there really isn’t a feeling of scope. I’d also be hard pressed to pin a feel for period on this although there are some pointers, such as the wearing of trousers being highly irregular for a lady and it feels like a place that has a certain level of social conventions implied rather than outright stated. I think I only have a loose understanding of the magic. We have a ‘dark queen’ who has strong magic – I’m not sure why some people had magic in the first place but apparently this can only be inherited. Other people use the magic of the Trust by striking a bargain, unfortunately these bargains are rarely what they seem. They’re always loaded in the Trust’s favour – in fact the Trust reminded me a little of the fae, tricksy and you need to be careful with the wording. Basically be careful what you wish for because whatever it is that becomes important to you is going to be the very thing that is taken as payment. No magic without sacrifice.
There are a fairly small, easy to keep track of, cast of characters. Lady Nimona Weston, daughter of Bancroft Weston, now fallen from grace. Nim spends the early hours of the night dressed as a thief, sneaking through the city streets and taking trinkets from people to lure them into the Trust’s web. Warrick, the mind candy, works for the King rounding up illegal users – but he’s keeping some pretty hefty secrets. We have a few people helping Nim such as Allister the valet,Alice the maid, Margery the best friend. And Wesley, who works for Warrick as a messenger- I can’t deny they’re a likable bunch. And, of course, Warrick’s nemesis, Calum. Son of the dark queen. He collects people and he and his mother are ambitious, maybe no longer content with the confines of their underworld.
So, I found myself with a whole host of questions as the story developed and to be fair, I found that these were answered by the conclusion together with a clear opening for book 2 which I would certainly like to pick up.
In terms of criticisms. This won’t come as a surprise to some people who have heard me bang on relentlessly about short books – I wanted more. I mean on the one hand, and considering the length the author succeeds in making you want to keep reading on into the early hours. On the other hand, I think this could quite easily have included an extra 100 pages without any detriment in fact it would have helped to develop the characters and place – okay, it wouldn’t be quite as punchy – but, just more.
I received a copy from the author for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
#SPFBO 8 The Blood of Crows by Alex C Pierce : Review
4 October 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #SPFBO, Alex C Pierce, Review, The Blood of Crows
What is SPFBO? Check out Mark Lawrence’s post here to look at this year’s entrants, judges and allocations list.
I am teaming up again with the ladies from The Critiquing Chemist.
Today I am posting the third of five reviews for the books that I rolled forward (see my feedback posts for batch No.1, 2 and 3). All told I carried forward five books, The Hidden Blade by Marie M. Mullany, The Blood of Crows by Alex C Pierce, Scarlight by Evid Marceau, Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright and Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson and over the next few days I will review each book in the order I read them.
So, without further ado here’s my review for The Blood of Crows:
I had a good deal of fun with Blood of Crows. It started strong and the momentum was continuous. A well thought out story with magic and heists and a murder mystery that threatens the stability of the realm.
As the story begins we meet Ren and his Partner Martin, they’re on a job which involves stealing a precious book from the Praetorian Order. Both are under contract to the Order’s militia to act as peacekeepers so they are ultimately biting the hand that feeds them. From the outset we’re thrown into the world and it is immediately apparent that magic exists. Sigils are used for protection and on top of this the Order uses Inquisitors – feared greatly these are more akin to feral animals than human beings. What also becomes immediately apparent is that Ren is different, he’s contracted to the militia and must wear the bracelets that seal his knack (elemental magic) – but, he actually doesn’t have a knack – or at least it hasn’t awakened so far. What Ren does have is an ability to see the magic sigils that are used throughout the city for any number of purposes and this undoubtedly gives him an unknown advantage in terms of getting in and out of difficult situations.
The pacing for the story is really good. It’s not chaotic or rushed but at the same time it feels like there’s always something going on to keep your attention and it’s written in a way that delivers information smoothly as you find yourself becoming immersed in the plot.
Speaking of plot – we start with a robbery, we move on to murder and to cut to the chase this becomes a race for our character Ren to discover the identity of the murderer before the whole shebang is hung at his door.
Firstly, I liked the characters. Ren has a lot to discover during Blood of Crows, a few home truths that are unsettling and a further mystery that we haven’t even touched on at this point, and we are along for the ride. Ren is an easy to like character, he’s young, sometimes a little over confident but then that’s swiftly countered as he blunders around or finds himself in an embarrassing situation. He cares about others even though that puts him at risk and he’s usually fighting against the odds. Ren’s apparent lack of magic puts him at a massive disadvantage in terms of strength, speed, even quick thinking. He is thankfully quick on his feet and has a couple of very good friends. Molly is a young woman who over the years Ren and his partner tried to help. I really liked Molly, she is a master with gadgets and has a way of winding Ren up in a playful sisterly fashion. Haim is a young student who helps Ren through a tricky situation. She becomes involved in the investigation and is quick thinking and very capable and she and Ren eventually start to develop feelings for each other – although no romance as such at this point – just lots of side eyeing each other followed by furious blushing and awkward moments.
I thought the author also did a really good job of drawing her ‘bit’ characters, especially the victims – hear me out – they only have short starring roles unfortunately but they’re brought to life, albeit momentarily, in such a way that made me care about them and want somebody to come to their rescue.
Secondly, I liked the sense of place. I wouldn’t say it was groundbreaking as such but there’s a sense of comfort in reading something that’s so easy to imagine. We don’t travel outside the boundaries of the city but this is a place broken easily into different layers, the wealthy situated on the upper terraces moving slowly down according to status until you have the lower echelons known as the Sprawl -aptly named for its sprawling twisted streets of crumbling ramshackle buildings and alleys. The City has an uneasy alliance that seems to teeter on the edge of failure. Many years ago peace was struck and the Accords were agreed upon and signed up to – signatures from the University, The Praetorian Order and the Royal Family keep the individual stakeholders from breaking the peace. However, certain elements within the City are now straining against those boundaries drawn up years ago.
The magic is element related and people can have the knack for one or more elements. Earth relates to strength, Air to speed and agility, water for healing, Fire for intelligence and there is a further strand which I won’t mention here as it needs to be uncovered as the story expands. Sigils can be used for any number of things from protecting entryways to making it impossible to scale walls and elemental magic can be used to imbue these sigils.
Finally, the plot has a good pace, I enjoyed the writing and more than that I really enjoyed the fact that the story has the sort of balance that I enjoy. The author makes good use of certain moments to lighten the moment and not only does this give the reader a bit of respite from some of the darker elements but it also does make those moments more shocking somehow.
In terms of criticisms. Well, I don’t have much to be honest. I did have a small query concerning Ren and his abilities and I don’t, even now, feel that I really know what’s going on in that respect (I won’t mention what my query relates to as it would involve a spoiler). Also, – that ending! What?! I am looking at you Alex C Pierce.
Heists. Easy to like characters. A murder mystery. Potential civil unrest. An unresolved mystery that I’m thinking may be touched upon in the next book and an ending that throws everything up in the air.
I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Books and travelling with Lynn 