Published September 15th, 2022 by Mantle Greek Mythology, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Fantasy
Today I’m sharing my review for this fierce feminist retelling. Thank you to Mantle for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023.
In Stone Blind, the instant Sunday Times bestseller, Natalie Haynes brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before.
‘Witty, gripping, ruthless’ – Margaret Atwood via X (Twitter)
‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters’
Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt.
When Poseidon commits an unforgiveable act against Medusa in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can: on his victim. Medusa is changed forever – writhing snakes for hair and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. She can look at nothing without destroying it.
Desperate to protect her beloved sisters, Medusa condemns herself to a life of shadows. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .
********
MY REVIEW:
“They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster, just like they do your sisters.”
Fierce, feminist, moving and addictive, Stone Blind is a powerful story full of humour, strength, empathy, heartbreak and righteous female rage. It tells the story of Medusa, offering you a new way to see the myths we think we know so well. And it tells us how a story can be warped and twisted until the truth is no longer recognisable.
Medusa is a myth I have long been fascinated with, and as a long-time fan of Natalie Haynes, I was excited to see her bring her and her story to life in a new way. Medusa is the original complicated protagonist, and I have a soft spot for those kinds of characters. Traditionally billed as the villain, this book finally exposes the truth of Medusa’s fate in all of its devastating and complicated glory. It’s unsettling and hard to read in places, but never gratuitous, exposing the so-called heroes for the villains they really are. And while it is billed as Medusa’s story, the snake-haired Gorgan is actually only a part of this tale. It is also a book about the bickering, jealous, selfish and vengeful gods and goddesses who are inextricably linked with Medusa and her tragic fate.
“I feel like becoming the monster he made.”
The story itself is exquisitely written, richly layered and intricate. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Haynes. Her narration is evocative and emotive, making the world around me disappear as the story came to life around me. It’s emotional, raw and heartbreaking, but also funny, insightful and passionate. Natalie’s meticulous research and extensive knowledge is evident throughout, making these ancient stories feel as relatable and resonant today as they were when first written.
A magnificent retelling, I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Greek Mythology or stories about strong women.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster and – according to the Washington Post – a rock star mythologist. Her first novel, The Amber Fury, was published to great acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, as was The Ancient Guide to Modern Life, her previous book. Her second novel, The Children of Jocasta, was published in 2017. Her retelling of the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships, was published in 2019. It was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020. It has been translated into more multiple languages than she can now remember. Her non-fiction book, Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myth was published in Oct 2020, and reached number 2 in the New York Times Bestseller chart. Her novel about Medusa, Stone Blind, was published in Sep 2022 and Margaret Atwood liked it.
Natalie has been speaking on the modern relevance of the classical world for the last fifteen years, on tours which have spanned many countries and three continents.
Natalie is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4: ten series of her show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, have been broadcast on Radio 4: all series are available now on BBC Sounds. She will make series 11 in 2025.
Published September 22nd, 2022 by Orenda Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Ficiton, Urban Fiction, Crime Series, Religious Fiction, Lesbian Literature
Welcome to my review of the outrageous and addictive Black Hearts which I’m sharing as part of Skelf Summer. Thanks to Orenda Books for the invitation to take part and sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A faked death, an obsessive stalker, an old man claiming he’s being abused by the ghost of his late wife, and a devastating spectre from the past. The Skelfs are back in another warmly funny, explosive thriller, and this time things are more than personal…
**SHORTLISTED for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year**
‘A new outing for the Skelfs deserves dancing in the streets of Edinburgh’ Val McDermid
‘Tense, funny and deeply moving’ Mark Billingham
‘An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones’ Herald Scotland
‘A total delight to be returned to the dark, funny, compulsive world of the Skelfs … Johnstone never fails to entertain whilst packing a serious emotional punch. Brilliant!’ Gytha Lodge
_________________________________________
Death is just the beginning…
The Skelf women live in the shadow of death every day, running the family funeral directors and private investigator business in Edinburgh. But now their own grief interwines with that of their clients, as they are left reeling by shocking past events.
A fist-fight by an open grave leads Dorothy to investigate the possibility of a faked death, while a young woman’s obsession with Hannah threatens her relationship with Indy and puts them both in mortal danger. An elderly man claims he’s being abused by the ghost of his late wife, while ghosts of another kind come back to haunt Jenny from the grave … pushing her to breaking point.
As the Skelfs struggle with increasingly unnerving cases and chilling danger lurks close to home, it becomes clear that grief, in all its forms, can be deadly…
********
MY REVIEW:
Skelf Summer continues with the fourth instalment in the series, and its the tensest one yet with a fist fight by an open grave, an investigation into a possible faked death, a widow who claims his late wife’s ghost is physically harming him, Hannah is being stalked and Jenny is pushed to breaking point by a ghost from her past.
Chaotic, taut, immersive, and darkly funny, Black Heart packs a punch. Doug Johnstone gets better with each book and this was my favourite of the series so far. This is domestic noir at its finest, but with a scientific slant. Johnstone’s expert writing is filled with humanity, insightfulness, suspense and black humour that feels magnetic, drawing us into the strange and crazy world of the Skelf women. And, this time around, life for Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah is more turbulent than ever. I love reading about these extraordinary women and their unorthodox careers and how their jobs get more dangerous and bizarre with each book, keeping me glued to the pages and on tenterhooks as I read. But one of my favourite things about this series is the depth and introspection that is woven into the stories, adding a more serious and emotional layer that I love.
Atmospheric, entertaining and outrageous, Black Hearts is a must-read for all thriller lovers. And while it can be read as a standalone, I’d highly recommend reading the whole series. After all, who doesn’t want to read gripping thrillers about three compelling and brave women running a funeral business while also working as PIs.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
*I listened to this on Bookbeat. Click here to get 60 days of listening for free*
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Doug Johnstone is the author of Fourteen novels, includingThe Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Black Hearts (Book four), was published in 2022, with The Opposite of Lonely (book five) out in 2023. Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his first science fiction novel, The Space Between Us, was a BBC2 Between the Covers pick. He’s taught creative writing, been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He lives in Edinburgh.
Published September 15th, 2022 by Orenda Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Mystery, Noir Fiction, Hardboiled Mystery, Horror Fiction, Occult Horror, Translated Fiction
Today I’m sharing a review for a magnificent gothic thriller that’s perfect for spooky season.
********
SYNOPSIS:
Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle Époque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart … FIRST in a bewitching new series
**Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**
`A wonderfully dark, intricately woven historical thriller spanning three generations … it will have you hooked from the very first page’ B A Paris
`A gripping story of murder and black magic …Gustawsson slowly weaves together three seemingly disparate strands of her narrative with a skill that shows why she is such an admired crime writer in her native France´ The Times BOOK OF THE MONTH
`Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly told through three different time frames´ Essie Fox
________________
Three women Three eras One extraordinary mystery… 1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.
1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.
2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.
Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…
********
MY REVIEW:
“It’s like in Macbeth. Everything begins with an encounter, a prophetic encounter with a witch. If Macbeth’s path had never crossed that of the three witches, he would have never killed King Duncan. Lady Macbeth or no Lady Macbeth.”
Halloween is almost upon us and we’re almost at the end of Orentober, so I thought this was the perfect time to finally read The Bleeding, which I’ve been highly anticipating for a long time. I mean, just look at that cover. How was I supposed to resist such beauty? And those spredges! Absolute heaven. But it wasn’t just the outside of this book that drew me to it. The synopsis immediately grabbed me and I’ve been even more excited to read it since having the pleasure of author Johana Gustawasson talking about the book at an event last year. And what a book! Reading anything published by Orenda is always a joy, but this is an absolute masterpiece. Unnerving, haunting, and macabre, it is one of my favourite books this year.
This is a story of three women in three different timelines who are all connected by a single thread. Paris, 1899, Lucienne is devastated when her two young daughters are believed dead after a fire burns her mansion to the ground. Searching for certainly, she is introduced to Spiritualism by one of her society friends. Then in post-war Quebec, teenager Lina is an outcast at school who strikes up a friendship with an elderly resident at the rest home where her single mother works that will have life-changing consequences. In 2002, a famous Quebec university professor was found brutally murdered and his wife, a former schoolteacher, is the only suspect. Detective Maxine Grant is called in to investigate the baffling and bizarre crime, making a series of gruesomediscoveries that raise more questions than answers.
“Don’t be expecting to unearth a logical reason for their barbaric acts. This quest sheds light on just one aspect of their psychopathy… a psychopath’s logic is theirs and theirs alone. And it defies all other logic.”
Though I own many of Ms. Gustawasson’s books, I’m ashamed to say that this was my first time reading one of them, and I’m so mad at myself for sleeping on this author for so long. She is a master sinister storyteller, living up to her title of the Queen of French Noir as she weaves a cunningly crafted gothic thriller laced with emotion, drama, secrets, and the supernatural. Gustawasson pulled no punches as she dived head-first into the action and I was enrapt from start to finish. The characters are memorable and compelling, and I loved the unique voices of each narrator. They were a trio of troubled, fractured women who draw the reader into their stories and make you care what happens to them. I also loved Pauline’s character who is an enigma. To Maxine she’s her kind, former teacher, but there are horrific discoveries made at her home that she may have been part of. Her refusal to talk only adds to the mystery and I could never be sure if I sensed a darkness about her or if she was in shock. I had my suspicions, but for most of the book I had no idea if they were correct, adding to the tension and making Pauline a stand-out character even though she barely utters a word.
This is definitely one of those books you need to read with the lights on. Darkly atmospheric, ominous and forbidding, fear snaked its way up my spine as I searched the pages for clues that would connect the women and timelines. But I was stumped for the most part, Ms. Gustawasson proves herself to be a master of misdirection and disguise as she slowly weaves her intricate, tangled web. The story is shrewdly choreographed and only gives up its secrets when Gustawasoon decides the time is right, delivering jaw-dropping revelations that hit me out of the blue. Of the many scenarios I had in my head I never came close to guessing the truth and I’m still reeling.
Bewitching, eerie, unsettling and sinister, The Bleeding is a phenomenal gothic thriller that I can’t recommend highly enough. So if you’re looking for a witchy or supernatural read that’s perfect for the spooky season, read this book!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Published: September 1st, 2022 Publisher: Grove Press Genre: True Crime Format: Paperback, Kinlde
Welcome to my review of Slenderman. Thank you to Grove Press and Netgalley for the eBook ARC.
********
SYNOPSIS:
The 2014 Slenderman stabbings in Wisconsin, USA, shocked the local community and the world. The violence of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weiser, the two twelve-year-old girls who attempted to stab their classmate to death, was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they had done so under the influence of an internet meme, the so-called ‘Slenderman’.
Slenderman tells the full story for the very first time. Morgan and Anissa’s friendship could so easily not have taken the turn it did – but Morgan was suffering with early onset schizophrenia. She believed she had been seeing Slenderman for years, and that the only way to stop him killing her family was to bring him a sacrifice. Her victim miraculously survived the attack but was left deeply traumatised, while the severity of their crime meant Morgan and Anissa would be tried as adults. Slenderman is both a page-turning true crime classic and a compelling search for justice.
********
MY REVIEW:
“There is a natural tendency, when a child is hurt, as Payton was, to want vengeance. But vengeance isn’t justice—vengeance is an appeal to passion and prejudice, an appeal to ignore the facts and the law.”
The Slenderman stabbings in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA is a haunting crime that shook the world. On May 31st 2014, three 12-year-old friends went to play at a local park after a sleepover. A few hours later one of them is found bloodied and near death after being stabbed nineteen times. She says her friends are the culprits. When Morgan Geyser and Anissa Wieser are apprehended and questioned hours later, the story they tell is one no-one expected. It’s a story of myth, horror and childhood obsession. They say they attempted to murder their friend to protect themselves and their families from Slenderman, an internet meme that the girls believed was real.
I am a devourer of true crime. I read it, I watch it and I listen to it. When I first heard of the Slenderman stabbings back in 2014 I was shocked and appalled. Not only at the ages of the perpetrators, but of the sheer brutality and violence of the attack. As I learned of the detailed planning of the crime and watched the interview tapes of Morgan and Anissa I was even more disturbed. My own children were only a few years younger than these three girls and the idea of my sons being on either side of this crime was horrifying. My instinct was to agree with the decision to charge them as adults and say that the book needed to be thrown at them. Lock them up for the rest of their lives. But I didn’t know the whole story.
In her fascinating, illuminating and compelling book, Kathleen Hale reveals the truth behind the headlines; the lesser known details that emerged in the hours, days, months and years following the stabbings. She explores how mental illness can affect people’s actions and shines a light on how mental illness is treated – or rather untreated – within the justice system. It is exquisitely written, never sensationalising or glorifying the crime yet not shying away from the truth. And while she doesn’t focus on the gory details of the attack and life-threatening injuries Payton Lautner suffered, it is detailed and makes for uncomfortable reading.
But it isn’t this that I think people will find most unnerving and hard to read. Ms. Hale gives the reader an insight into the minds of Morgan and Anissa, reminding us that these were impressionable children that day. Children whose brains had not yet fully developed, and with decision making-skills that were immature. And though it is made clear multiple times that Payton was an innocent victim who not only bravely fought for her life that day, but still lives with the physical and mental scars of that day, a lot of the focus is on Morgan and Annisa, exploring what life was like for them following their crime, the illnesses they were later diagnosed with that led to them committing the attack, and asks us to consider morally complex and uncomfortable questions about the desire for justice versus the need for vengeance. Were Morgan and Anissa two cold-hearted, evil monsters or troubled young girls who needed help? Can both of these be true? And what price should they pay for what they did?
This is a case that is so much more complex and emotionally fraught than I’d realised going into reading this book. I’d watched the documentaries, interviews and court appearances, and I’d read a number of articles, yet I was still unprepared for the conflicting emotions this book would stir within me. We learn that Morgan was suffering from early onset schizophrenia and was removed from reality at the time of the stabbings. Following her crime she completely lost touch with reality until finally being diagnosed and treated for her illness. Meanwhile, Anissa was eventually also diagnosed with an illness that distorted her perception of reality at the time of the stabbing, making what happened not simply a case of good versus evil. As a mother my heart first goes out to the victim, but I couldn’t stop putting myself in the shoes of Morgan and Anissa’s parents, imagining how I’d react and feel if it had been my kids and the pain it must cause when the child you love so much commits such an atrocious act. I also felt a huge amount of compassion for Morgan suffering from schizophrenia and for some of the things Anissa went through. I struggled with the question of whether they should have been tried as adults and how long they should serve for their crime. This is a case with no easy answers and no winners, only losers.
Unflinching, powerful and moving, I think this will become a true crime classic. It is meticulously researched, balanced and will stay with you long after reading. There is an overwhelming grief that pervades every page, not only because of Payton and all she suffered, but for the many lives changed that terrible day. A difficult read that is also hard to put down, I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in true crime.
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kathleen Hale is the author of two young adult novels and one essay collection. She has written for Vanity Fair, the Guardian, Hazlitt, and Vice, among other outlets, and is a writer and producer for Outer Banks on Netflix. She was born in Wisconsin and lives in Los Angeles.
Published: September 13th, 2022 Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Medical Thriller, Police Procedural, Horror Fiction Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the deliciously dark, menacing and eerie The Butcher and the Wren. Thank you to Michael Joseph for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book.
********
SYNOPSIS:
THE CHILLING SERIAL KILLER THRILLER FROM THE CO-HOST OF CHART-TOPPING PODCAST MORBID
WREN WAS NEVER AFRAID OF THE DARK. UNTIL SHE LEARNED THAT SOME MONSTERS ARE REAL . . . _________
In deep Louisiana, a serial killer with a taste for medical experimentation is completing his most ambitious project yet. The media call him ‘The Butcher’ – and, so far, he’s proved impossible to catch.
With her encyclopaedic knowledge of humanity’s darkest minds, and years of experience examining their victims, forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is. The longer the Butcher’s killing spree continues, the more determined she is to bring him to justice.
And yet, he continues to elude her.
As body after body piles up on Wren’s examination table, her obsession grows. Pressure to put an end to the slaughter mounts. And her enemy becomes more brazen.
How far is Wren willing to go to draw the Butcher into the light . . .?
An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.
********
MY REVIEW:
Wren was never afraid of the dark. Until she learned that some monsters are real…
The Butcher and the Wren is a dark, menacing and forbidding game of cat and mouse that will send shivers down your spine. This is one of those books best read in the daytime because if you read it in the dark you will never close your eyes…
Forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is determined to bring the killer known as ‘The Bayou Butcher’ to justice. But as the body count rises, she fears she is no closer to finding the brutal murderer with a penchant for experimenting on his victims. Then one day she notices a clue that changes the game completely. Now she knows who he is and she is willing to do whatever it takes to stop him.
“Catch me if you can.”
Alaina Urquhart wields a scalpel as sharp as her protagonist in this outstanding debut. Intricately woven, tightly plotted, fast-paced and unbearably tense, it oozed fear from its every pore and had me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing. Darkly atmospheric and cleverly written, the author uses the power of suggestion to make your imagination go wild, conjuring imagery more horrifying than graphic descriptions could ever portray, though there are some gruesome moments too. I devoured it quickly, unable to turn away even though I desperately wanted to.
“The feeling in this place is dark and ominous, saturated with the evil that has touched it for so long.”
Not only has Urquhart written a chilling story, but she’s created a truly terrifying villain. Jeremy is particularly frightening because he seems like he could be anyone you know. He is completely sane and aware of his actions, meticulously plans his every move, and seems so normal that his victims willingly accompany him to their doom. He’s the monster that lurks in the shadows or under your bed while also being the person sitting next to you on the bus or who chats to you at a bar. He is what we don’t want to believe evil is made of.
Ominous, suspenseful and filled with jaw-dropping twists that will take you by surprise, this is a must-read for any thriller lover. Urquhart is my new favourite sinister storyteller and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. Hopefully it will include Wren as I’d love to see her featured in a series.
Published: August 4th, 2022 Publisher: Hot Key Books Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Today is the last day of the blog tour for Daughter of Darkness and I’m thrilled to be sharing my review for this enthralling start to a new series. Thank you to Vic at Insta Book Tours for the invitation to take part and to Hot Key Books for the gifted copy of the book
********
SYNOPSIS:
DISCOVER THE EPIC NEW FANTASY INSPIRED BY ANCIENT GREEK MYTH . . .
The Underworld awaits . . .
Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world – unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out.
Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.
So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades. . . The prize of freedom is before her – but what will it take to reach it?
********
MY REVIEW:
“All you have to do is succeed and survive.”
Deina, one of the Soul Severers of Hades, is trapped and desperate to escape. But it’s years before she can buy her freedom and there are many Soul Severers who don’t live long enough to be free, losing their minds as a result of what it takes for them to escort souls from the mortal world and into the next.
Then Orpheus comes to town. The tyrant ruler offers Soul Severers who volunteer to take part in a special crusade the chance of both fortune and freedom. It is an opportunity too good for Deina to resist and she becomes one of a group of severers chosen to embark on the quest. But can they survive long enough to gain their freedom?
A fantasy series inspired by Greek Mythology with a breathtakingly beautiful cover is a book I was always going to read and I couldn’t wait to start this book. Imbued with mythology, suspense and beauty, this spellbinding tale had me hooked from the first pages. Beautifully written, the world building is magnificent and the authors’ vivid imagery makes it feel like you are watching a movie in brilliant technicolour. It is a complex world with an intricate and layered plot full of serpentine twists you won’t see coming. Overflowing with tension, the creepy notes began to play in earnest as the group of Soul Severers stepped into the underworld. There is danger in every step and a savage fight to survive that is alluring.
I listened to the story on audiobook as I was unwell in the time leading up to my stop on the blog tour and while I know I’d have still enjoyed the book however I read it, I am glad I experienced the audiobook. The narrator was superb, capturing the atmosphere and every emotion perfectly, transporting me from my sickbed into the world the author had created. I didn’t just listen to this story, I lived it, my heart actually pounding and the terror creeping through my bones.
The book is filled with a fantastic cast of characters, some of whom will be familiar because of the myths. But our narrator, Deina, and the Soul Servers she journeys with, are creations of the authors’ imaginations. Deina is a fierce young woman, full of fire and determination. She and the other Soul Severers band together for the quest but it is forced and they are still filled with the competitiveness and distrust that’s been bred in them for years. This makes their journey through the underworld all the more perilous and I enjoyed trying to guess who Deina could trust and what might happen next. Spoiler: I was usually wrong.
Atmospheric, enthralling and utterly breathtaking, Daughter of Darkness is a magnificent start to a new series that you will get lost in. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book and can’t wait for book two so I can find out what happens next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
MEET THE AUTHORS:
From their website: We are sisters and best friends (try writing a book with someone else and you’ll see why that last bit is kind of important). After spending our childhood in Essex, we now live ten minutes away from each other in Surrey. We both studied history at university and went to work in London for a bit. When we both decided to write novels – on account of fictional people being much easier to deal with than real ones – it was obvious we should do it together.
We are authors of The Witch’s Kiss Trilogy (HarperCollins) and the Solanum Duology (Hot Key Books), including A Throne Of Swans (which topped the Amazon chart as the best seller in fantasy romance for young adults) and A Crown Of Talons. Our new duology is House Of Shadows, also with Hot Key. Book 1 (Daughter of Darkness) will be out in August 2022 and book 2 in August 2023.
Stuff Katharine likes: playing instruments badly; dead languages; LOTR; loud pop concerts; Jane Austen; Neil Gaiman; Loki; the Surrey Hills. Killing off characters.
Stuff Elizabeth likes: sketching, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cinema, long baths, kitchen discos, Terry Pratchett, Thor, London. Saving characters.
Stuff we both like: YA / non-YA fantasy and science fiction, Star Wars, Star Trek, each other (most of the time).
Published: September 8th, 2022 Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
Today is my stop on the blog tour for the moving and heartfelt Mika in Real Life. Thank you to Jen at Michael Joseph for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book.
********
SYNOPSIS:
AT 35, MIKA SUZUKI IS STRUGGLING.
She’s been fired (again). Her last relationship went up in flames. Her mother is perpetually disappointed in her.
And now, she’s had a phone call from sixteen-year-old Penny Calvin: the baby she reluctantly placed for adoption when she was just a teenager herself.
Penny has questions – and Mika is desperate to meet her girl. But she barely feels like she can take care of herself . . .
Is she ready to show Penny who Mika Suzuki really is?
********
MY REVIEW:
“All these moments live in me still. You live in me still. Half of my breaths, a quarter of each heartbeat, are yours. I guess that’s what happens when you have children — they take a piece of you.”
Mika in Real Life was a hidden gem that took me by surprise. The story opens with a letter from Mika to her daughter and then jumps back to the day Mika receives Penny’s first phone call seven months earlier. What follows is a heartfelt, funny and insightful tale of self discovery that explores the powerful bond between a parent and child. By the third page I already felt broken and I was unprepared for the emotional journey this takes you on, going through a rainbow of emotions over the next 375 pages.
Wonderfully written and compelling, Emiko Jean perfectly captures the essence of the parent and child bond; the intensity, fear, sacrifice, constant change, grief and inadequacy you feel as a part of your heart walks around outside your body. As a mother myself, I felt so much of this story on a visceral level. It was like my own heart and soul was wide open for all to see. She also examines how the reality never quite measures up to the fantasy and expectations we have and how parenthood is the epitome of learning the art of letting go, something that really hit home with me as the mother of two eighteen-year-olds going through that stage of spreading their wings.
“It was a kind of beautiful agony having a child. Feeling their emotions as well as your own.”
Mika is one of those characters you cannot help falling in love with. She is a mess, has no idea what she’s doing or who she is and makes some huge mistakes, but that is part of her charm and what makes her so relatable. I was rooting for her at every step and enjoyed reading as she found herself while getting to know Penny. It is so easy for us to get caught up in where we thought we should be in life and compare ourselves to others and Mika is a great reminder why that isn’t healthy and why we should celebrate what we have rather than chastising ourselves for what we don’t have or didn’t accomplish. The book is also filled with great background characters. I loved Penny and thought the author did a fantastic job of really capturing both how it feels to be a teenager and how it feels to parent one. I also had a real soft spot for Thomas and enjoyed seeing a positive but realistic representation of a single father.
Moving, witty and layered, this delightful book is one that will linger long after turning the final page. Highly recommended.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
When Emiko is not writing, she is reading. Most of her friends are imaginary. Before she became a writer she was an entomologist (fancy name for bug catcher), a candle maker, a florist, and most recently a teacher. She lives in Washington with her husband and children (unruly twins). She loves the rain.
Published: September 29th, 2022 Publisher: Pan Macmillan Genre: Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Biographical Fiction Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this marvellous novel. Thank you to Chloe at Pan Macmillan for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book.
********
SYNOPSIS:
It’s 1954 and, in Barbados, Ruby Haynes spots an advertisement for young women to train as nurses for the new National Health Service in Great Britain. Her sister, Connie, takes some persuading, but soon the sisters are on their way to a new country – and a whole new world of experiences.
As they start their training in Hertfordshire, they discover England isn’t quite the promised land; for every door that’s opened to them, the sisters find many slammed in their faces. And though the girls find friendships with their fellow nurses, Connie struggles with being so far from home, and keeping secret the daughter she has left behind in search of a better life for the both of them . . .
Inspired by real life stories of the Windrush Generation and her mother’s own experiences as a nurse coming to Britain from the Caribbean, Sarah Lee’s debut novel An Ocean Apart is a must for fans of Call the Midwife.
********
MY REVIEW:
February 1954. Sisters Connie and Ruby Hayes travel to the UK from Barbados to train as nurses for the newly formed National Health Services. The sisters soon discover that England is not quite the promised land they were expecting and they face challenges they never expected.
A story of friendship, love, hope and new beginnings, An Ocean Apart is a walk through a notabletime in British history. Inspired by her mother’s life and stories from the Windrush Generation, Sarah Lee tells the story of the women who left everything behind to become the foundation of our NHS. Beautifully written and well researched, it is so evocative that I could taste the bland food and feel the cold English winter. Lee doesn’t shy away from the difficult topics either, delivering an unflinching portrayal of intolerance, racism, PTSD and other important issues.
The story is narrated by Connie, Ruby and Billie, three strong, courageous and captivating women who were easy to root for, with Billie quickly becoming like a third Hayes sister. Their stories really brought home the challenges and sacrifices of those who were the bedrock of our NHS. I lost myself in their world and lived every emotion alongside them, so immersed in their stories that I could have kept reading about them forever and was bereft when the story ended. There is also a cast of vivid and compelling background characters that help to tell this story. The romantic liaisons and joyful friendships were a delight to read and the vile villain who subjected poor Ruby to such disgusting racism and bullying was brilliantly written.
Heartwarming, atmospheric and engaging, An Ocean Apart is a celebration of the NHS and the remarkable people who were part of its creation. Perfect for fans of Call the Midwife, I would love to see this get its own TV adaptation and I’m hoping that Ms. Lee will turn this marvellous debut into a series so that I can return to these characters again and again.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Sarah Lee is a journalist and editor of 25 years, across news and features, and has written for regional and national newspapers as well as commissioned for women’s true life magazines. More recently, she has focused her attention on the world of travel, creating luxury blog. She also works with destinations and brands worldwide on storytelling marketing campaigns and conferences through her company, Captivate.
Her first book, AN OCEAN APART, is a saga about Windrush nurses, a topic to which she has a personal connection; her mother came to Britain from Barbados to work in the NHS, and many of the women she grew up around were Windrush nurses.
Published: May 13th, 2021 Publisher: Sandstone Press Genre: General Fiction Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
As part of the Squadpod’s Sandtember, I’m featuring an extract from The Disassembly of Doreen Durant on the blog today. Thank you to Sandstone for the extract and proof.
********
SYNOPSIS:
From her apartment window, Doreen Durand witnesses a horrific accident. The police want to know what she saw. Doreen doesn’t want to tell them – or anyone. But when she runs away it’s straight into the fantastic world of the wealthy and mysterious Violet Cascade. With one rogue police officer in pursuit, and life becoming more bizarre by the day, Doreen is caught up in a surreal game of cat and mouse.
********
EXTRACT:
Chapter One.
The first weekend after Whitney left, a man showed up at the apartment unannounced. He knocked on the door too many times in a row, then rang the doorbell. Doreen ignored it at first – slightly scared, but also sleepily negligent – but when he drilled one more ungodly time on the doorbell, she pushed her hair around into something not haphazard, slipped on a pair of sweatpants, and answered it. ‘Whitney, right?’ said an older, grizzled man. He wore a stained t-shirt that wrapped too-tight around his globe of a gut and extended a callused hand in greeting. ‘I’m Jack.’ ‘Sorry, no,’ said Doreen, not saying her name and not taking his hand. ‘I’m here for the couch.’ ‘The couch? What?’ ‘You must be the roommate. Whitney gave me the address. I’m here for the couch you girls were selling.’ Doreen looked over her shoulder at the sofa in the living room, one of the few things Whitney had left. There was the sofa, a coffee table, an empty TV stand, and not much else. ‘I didn’t know she was selling it,’ Doreen said to the sofa. Jack craned his neck to try to see around her. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to cause a fuss,’ he said. ‘She posted an ad for the couch the other day. I said I was interested and we made a deal over email. I already sent her a hundred bucks – pretty good deal for a couch that nice. She said this morning would be a good time to pick it up. She said you might be the only one here, but it was fine to stop by.’ ‘Right,’ said Doreen. She picked at nothing behind her ear and squinted at the man. ‘I guess, yeah, you have to take it. Sure.’ Jack called down to a younger man who had been waiting in a pickup truck in the parking lot and the two of them came inside, thudding across the living room carpet in heavy, dusty boots, Saturday-sweaty. They lifted the long sofa, but struggled to shimmy it out the front door. The apartment was built in the seventies – Whitney said she had had to sign a waiver about lead paint or something – and its age showed whenever furniture was moved around like this. The floor creaked, the walls were too easily scuffed. The wood around the doorframe might as well have been made of fabric and seemed to stretch around the sofa squeezing through. ‘That’s it. There we go,’ said Jack. They marched it down to the pickup and threw it in the back. After they had it secured, Jack turned and nodded a mannish goodbye up at Doreen on the balcony, who shrugged and went back inside. A brighter rectangle of carpet remained where the couch had been. Whitney had bought it, so she had sold it. That was it. Logic, running its course around Doreen like a river running dry. What else had she bought? Doreen paced around and took inventory of all the things in her life that were not her own and could also vanish without warning. It was true, she hadn’t bought any of the furniture in the apartment – Whitney had been living there for almost a year before she came along – but the sudden removal was still jarring. For a minute, it felt like her life was being uprooted without her, but that was followed quickly by the realization that these roots were never hers to begin with. This scene repeated itself all weekend and the following weekend as well. With no warning, strangers showed up at the apartment asking for Whitney, explaining the transaction they had made and requesting entry. One after the other, the coffee table, the TV stand, the kitchen table and chairs, the decorative poufs, a mirror – all disappeared, taken away by strangers – men and women of varying ages and degrees of inclination towards small talk, like ants touring the shell of some dead animal, taking what they needed. After the second weekend of this, Doreen still hadn’t communicated with Whitney. An aggressive-aggressive text message would have been more than appropriate to send by now, but she didn’t. It wasn’t that she was actively refusing to communicate – the idea of reaching out, of snidely asking if anyone else would be coming by, just wasn’t there to be had. She sat on the carpet in the empty living room alone and did nothing while the dwelling around her disappeared. The trappings of life flew away. Sounds reverberated differently in the emptiness. She had no idea what to do with herself. She started letting things go. Nothing extraordinary, but little things like letting the few dishes that were left pile up in the sink, leaving wrappers and pop cans on the floor, letting the long black tails of chargers for different electronics dangle out across the living room. It wasn’t depression, she thought, it was simply a letting go. A closing. She felt a valve in her mind turn off, and another turn on, leading somewhere else, with some other function entirely. There was a miraculousness to it. She felt weightless. She had read once, in some quasi-self-help, tip-ridden pop-up article, about the importance of letting go – a more dressed-up version of spring cleaning, sponsored by a cleaning company – and how it could clean the mind, reformat the authenticity of life. Doreen wasn’t sure this was what was happening to her, but whatever was happening she allowed it. She lost track of time. She started to forget things, like turning the lights off in the kitchen or in the living room before bed, leaving them on all night. Other times, she’d spend a whole day forgetting to turn them on, dwelling in the dark. She would run the air conditioner at arctic levels or not at all. She started sleeping at odd times throughout the day, napping all the time. She went to work, then came home and disrobed right in the living room, leaving her clothes on the floor. She dragged Whitney’s bare mattress into the living room and fashioned it into a couch, which became a multi-purpose nest as the clutter gathered, until another stranger came and took that away, so then she dragged her own mattress out and never slept in her bedroom again. After nearly two months of this, like an amoeba left to morph and transform (some might say break down), new household problems cropped up. That strange smell from the laundry machine – maybe it wasn’t mold, maybe there was a dead rat behind it, Doreen wondered but did nothing about it – then the rust forming in the tub. The toilet and the kitchen sink continually clogging. These combined dangerously with her new listlessness – outliers that threatened to taint the overall image of her well-being as not one of letting go and living lightly, but one of neglect and mental illness. Objectively speaking, anyone stepping foot in that apartment would see more than a few reasons for concern, but after the strangers stopped coming to take her things away, she was left alone. The only person who saw the inside of Doreen’s apartment now was a delivery boy named Tyler, who caught glimpses of the chaos behind her when she opened the door for her dinner. She had stopped grocery shopping entirely and had taken to ordering in expensive meals every night when she came home from work. Money was another thing she felt herself letting go and she let it fly, ordering the best meals from the best places. ‘Sorry, I know it’s probably not my place to ask, but are you OK?’ Tyler finally asked one evening. He had just dropped off a platter of sushi. ‘What do you mean?’ said Doreen. She leaned out. Her long hair draped like a privacy curtain between him and the scene behind her. He craned his neck to see past her. He shrugged. ‘You’re ordering food every night, tipping me way too much money, and – I don’t want to be rude – but your apartment looks kind of messed up.’ ‘Messed up?’ Doreen adjusted her jacket. She was still wearing her work clothes on this occasion. She looked professional, with a blue blouse with a high collar, a dark skirt, and a freshly dry-cleaned white jacket. Behind her though, was a nest of blankets, empty take-out boxes covered in crumbs, unopened mail, cords for electronics, silverware, mugs. Also, all of the lights were off and the blinds were closed. Doreen and Tyler were standing in almost total darkness. ‘Not messed up,’ said Tyler. ‘It’s just that it doesn’t seem healthy to still have your take-out boxes from yesterday and the day before all thrown around back there. It looks like you’ve just let the trash stay there. And the lights are always off. Did they cut your power or something? Do you have any furniture?’ ‘How would I have charged my phone and used it to order dinner if I didn’t have power?’ said Doreen without missing a beat. Tyler fumbled over himself. ‘I’m sorry, I was just saying—’ Doreen leaned back into the living room and turned on the light, the mess behind her lit up in all its glory, then she stepped outside and stood next to Tyler, closing the door behind her. The two of them faced each other, illuminated by the orange glow through the window. Shadows cut across Doreen’s diamond-shaped face. ‘Is that better?’ she asked. ‘Now that you can’t see it? ‘I just wanted to make sure everything was OK,’ said Tyler. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.’ ‘No, you shouldn’t have.’ The next evening, when Tyler came back with a bacon cheeseburger, two orders of sweet potato fries, and a strawberry shake from a hip new gastropub, Doreen was standing outside the front door already, waiting for him. The porch light was on this time and the door was closed behind her. She accepted the food, thanked Tyler and stayed standing there until he left. He got on his motorcycle, consulted his phone for his next delivery, and drove off. Once he was out of the complex and Doreen could no longer hear his motorcycle bumbling off into the night, she finally went inside and closed the door. Nothing had appeared out of the ordinary this time except for a small pile of dead grass, dirt, and a bottle cap on the ground, and the porch light itself, which had been twisted upside down.
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Ryan Collett is a writer, knitter, and animator. He grew up in Oregon and now lives in London where he works as an editor. He also runs a popular YouTube…
Welcome to my review of this superbly sinister novel. Thank you to Sandstone Press for the copy of the book, which is the Squadpod Book Club September pick.
********
SYNOPSIS:
The public think Ava’s a monster. Ava thinks she’s blameless.
In prison, they called her Butcher Bird – but Ava’s not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she’s always wanted.
But someone knows who she is. The lies she’s told are about to unravel.
********
MY REVIEW:
“He thinks he knows me, that he’s got it all figured out. But really he’s only seeing the tip of what lies above the surface. The rest is hidden, and it will always stay that way.”
Ava is trying to adjust to life again after spending twenty-five years in prison. But that isn’t all that’s new, she also has a new identity to protect her from the public who see her as a monster. Ava thinks they’ve got her wrong and what happens wasn’t her fault. But there’s someone who’s sure it was and they want to see her pay. Is her new life about to fall apart?
Dark, harrowing and haunting, this twisted tale is an intimate look inside a fractured mind. There is an immediate sense of unease and an eerie atmosphere that lingers over the pages. Ava’s long sentence and ominous nickname – Butcher Bird – hint at a terrible crime but she believes herself to be blameless. A mere victim of happenstance and other people’s actions. But her subconscious seems to know what she can’t admit to herself and she is haunted by the spectre of those she’s accused of harming. It is exquisitely written, each word infused with heartache, grief and trauma that pulls at your heartstrings even when you doubt that you should be feeling any kind of empathy for Ava. The author drops small breadcrumbs that help the reader piece the puzzle together, slowly revealing the full, awful truth of Ava and her crime. It sent chills down my spine as things built to a shocking and unexpected climax.
Ava is one of the most chilling and unsettling characters I’ve read. Spectacularly written, she is unlikeable and unreliable yet utterly compelling, and there is something about her that makes it impossible not to feel some sympathy for her. She also seems pretty harmless and pathetic, if not a bit arrogant, and I found myself wondering if she wasn’t as bad as everyone seems to think, yet there was that little voice just stopping me from believing what she said. As time goes on we begin to see Ava come apart; she is increasingly paranoid and her inner monologue reveals the true darkness harbouring within her that she tries to hide.
Superbly sinister and tantalisingly twisty, Caged Little Birds is an unnerving thriller that you won’t be able to put down.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Originally from Hertfordshire, Lucy Banks moved to Devon, where she promptly fell in love with the landscape and lifestyle. Author of the Dr Ribero’s Agency of the Supernatural series, and winner of several literary awards and competitions, she lives with her husband, two children, and extremely boisterous cat.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 