...(book review) the lights of riverdell by mariane rosen

Isabelle Threlfall is juggling work, family and vast inherited home

but it's a fragile balance that depends on some finely kept secrets.

It's 2016 and the perfect craftsman is making inroads into her personal space.

Moth is courting danger in Turkey. Asha is determined to uncover the truth 

and Kit wants to bring the fractured family together for Christmas.

Reading the diaries of her ancestors shines a light on the past

but makes Isabelle fear she will lose herself in the keeping of Riverdell.

Kit has avoided his mother's diaries and gnawing disappointment 

with a relentless schedule and a gorgeous new boyfriend,

but now there's this broken-hearted friend to piece back together

and a few wounds of his own to avoid as they hang out the fairy lights.

As Isabelle and Moth wonder if they can solve each other's problems, 

Rose is writing out the bitter depths of her hidden longings

in the search to find herself. But with Christmas looming, 

will Moth and Isabelle find the courage to choose the future they really want?

THE LIGHTS OF RIVERDELL by Marianne Rosen @mariannerosen.writer 

https://www.mariannerosen.com/

PUBLISHED: 2022

GENRE: Adult Fiction, Modern Family Saga

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ahhhh why did this book have to end!

Huge thanks, first and foremost, to Marianne for gifting me a reader's copy! I'm so invested in the Threlfall family at this point, I jumped at the opportunity to read and review book three.

Although this was gifted, this is my honest review, and frankly The Lights of Riverdell was easily my favourite book so far of this ever evolving family saga. The author continues to give me whip lash with her characters' decisions and revelations, and as Isabelle, Moth and Kit's stories develop, I'm amazed to still be finding new qualities in them to love and despise all at once. Their complexity makes them so desperately human and therefore so relatable, despite their eccentricities (totally talking about Kit). I never know what to expect, and each turn of the page brings new shocks!

Isabelle is slowly gaining the confidence to make important decisions for her own happiness. Moth is on a journey of self discovery to try and separate the man he's becoming from the boy who endured so much trauma. And Kit is striving to achieve the perfect life...or does it only appear perfect to those he wishes to see it...

And as always, Riverdell is the mothership, calling out to them to come home. But home isn't always where you think your place is. Home is where your heart is.

This book, like its predecessors, continually pushes boundaries, and refuses to shy away from topics of importance. On this note, I was thoroughly hooked by the parallel timeline told through the reading of  Rose's old diaries. These were so candid and therefore so revealing to her mindset as a woman questioning not only her sexuality, but gender roles, and the way women are perceived. The LGBTQ+ representation throughout the series simply has to be talked about and applauded! It's unique, fluid, and modern. I hope it sparks discussion from everyone who reads it.

I have my suspicions about what happened after Rose's diary entries ended and were entrusted to the care of Elsa and Kate at Riverdell, along with her son Kit - but the contents of the mysterious parcel eludes me. I'll be waiting with baited breath for book four.

Book three climaxed in Kit-worthy style on New Year's Eve, laying the groundwork for a very interesting next instalment...

Please leave me a comment below if you've read this modern family saga, or if you intend to. I'd be flattered beyond words if you read it on my recommendation. Tell me your favourite character. I know mine has changed with each novel. Isabelle is surprisingly taking the lead at the end of this book.

If you haven't read this any of the brilliant Riverdell Saga, you can find my reviews for Book One: The Doors of Riverdell and Book Two: The Halls of Riverdell linked here.

Happy reading!

Zuzu 

...(book review) prince of foxes by h l macfarlaine

 

Sometimes a fox is not a fox, and a man is not what he seems. 

When Lachlan, the golden prince of the faeries, is transformed into a fox and banished from the forest on the eve of his mother's funeral, the last creature he expects to seek help from is a human. 

But Sorcha Darrow is not so easily enchanted by the wily faerie. It is only after discovering that her father means to marry her to a wealthy Londoner that she decides to help him, by seeking the power of a being even Larchlan is wary of: a kelpie. Sorcha hopes that, in finding one, she may avoid her own dire fate in the process. 

With Sorcha's dreams being their only true form of communication, Lachlan has to race against time to break his curse and take his place as king before he's doomed to live as a fox forever. 

But someone else is after the throne, and may just use 

Sorcha's growing connection to Lachlan to reach it.

PRINCE OF FOXES by H. L. Macfarlane

PUBLISHED: 2019

GENRE: Fantasy > Faerie, Fantasy Romance

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I adore foxes and I'm as enamoured with the fae now as I was in my childhood - how could I resist this book?

And it simply has to be said, any story that addresses the significance of names in the first few sentences has my vote of confidence no matter what comes next. I blame reading Rumpelstiltskin for my genuine belief that names have magic and power when revealed.

"So they disappeared in one fashion or another, and they only had themselves to blame. They had been warned, after all, and they didn't listen. Never give your real name to a faerie."

This is a tale of magic and mischief, of preserving and admiring the beauty of nature as untouched by human hands. This book is the soul of Scotland wrapped up in Loches and folklore that will entice and beguile. I loved it!

Lachlan is the prince of the fae who, on the cusp of being crowned king, by some traitorous turn of events, finds himself running through the forest in fox form, fated to remain as such until he can break his curse. What he doesn't expect however, is the willing assistance of a human, one he hasn't even successfully managed to enchant. Sorcha comes to him willingly, but she is no fool, and she knows not to give the fae her true name, but then again she is only human...

Though "fairy-tales" and "faerie tales" are popular and some may even say overdone, I found something quirky and refreshing in this novel, as well as familiarity that felt like greeting an old friend. I found themes and characters I recognised to empathise with, and some that were a surprise along the way. Sorcha, for example. She was wilful and fiery and felt very modern in her understanding of herself.

One of my favourite components of this book was the essence of Scottish pride, carried not only on the backs of the fae and the kelpie, but also the human characters. Throughout, the environmental protection of a land so well written with history and culture sang through in a way that felt respectful rather than preachy. I understood what was driving Sorcha's character in her decisions and felt her love of her home in my bones. It's a nod to current issues, cleverly plaited into the story. 

This was a quick read with a writing style all of its own that caught my attention. 

As the first book in the Bright Spear trilogy, this Prince of Foxes was a brilliant introduction to a new Scottish fairy-tale. It would stand on it's own, but I feel drawn to read more and see where the author will continue to lead us. I believe Sorcha's involvement with the fae is not quite over...

If you have the opportunity to read Prince of Foxes, let me know your thoughts!

Happy Reading, 

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) near the bone by christina henry

 Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. 

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for a creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

NEAR THE BONE by Christina Henry

PUBLISHED: 2021

GENRE: Horror > Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Fantasy

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Here's a book that had me gripping the cover tight enough to leave finger-marks, turning pages frantically, and yelling "run!" loud enough to frighten my cat from my lap more than once.

Christina Henry has a way of chilling me with her books. Near The Bone was the perfect cocktail of suspense, horror, blind fear, and atmospheric storytelling that leaves you jumping at every small sound. 

From page one we're led to believe that the cold, Amish-like existence Mattie lives is not by choice, and the flickerings of memory her husband dismisses as dreams may in fact be something more. 

"William said that place isn't real, it's a dream, a dream sent by the devil to tempt you away."

I began to have my suspicions about her past, but never did I expect the extent of what was gradually revealed to us. The truth is critically timed and when it is revealed the tension swells, getting bigger and bigger like a snowball running down a mountain.

Her husband, William, is as much a monster as the one that roams the woods surrounding their cabin, abusive, possessive and controlling to the point where Mattie isn't allowed to roam beyond a certain perimeter of their cabin without his permission - even their food store is off limits. It's a situation made worse by the sudden appearance of a creature that is not only killing the animals in the woods, but stringing them from the trees in a sinisterly deliberate warning. It's clear this is no ordinary creature, and William quickly decides to take the hunting of it into his own hands, not for the glory, but to keep strangers from coming in pursuit of it and drawing too close to their cabin. Mattie isn't meant to engage with people - and the reason soon becomes painfully clear. 

        "He's angry because now I know what he's really afraid of is people. He doesn't 

care about the creature in the woods or what it might do. He just doesn't want 

anyone else to come looking for it and to find us."

I honestly didn't know which monster I wanted her to run from fastest, the creature or her husband. And in this way Christina Henry has created a multi-layered horror story, not exchanging one nightmare for another, but making them overlap into one life-threatening chase! 

Mattie could in so many ways have been presented as a victim, but instead her strength and capacity for endurance is what I admired in her character. It made me will her to survive with greater fervour. 

The ending was a little open ended, but concussive enough to make me realise I'd been holding my breath since page one and could now justify letting it go. I don't know if a follow up book is necessary, but I would run to bookstores to buy it if it was ever written!

Let me know your thoughts if you've read this nerve-wracking book!

If you haven't, happy reading!

Zuzu

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...(book review) the winter ghosts by kate mosse

 

'Do you believe in ghosts?'

It's 1928. Freddie Watson is still grieving for his brother, lost in the Great War. Driving through the foothills of the French Pyrenees, his car spins off the road in snowstorm. Freddie takes refuge in an isolated village and there meets a beautiful, captivating woman. They spend the night talking of love and loss and war. But by daybreak, Fabrissa has vanished and Freddie realises he holds the key to an ancient mystery that leads him deep into the mountains, to a cave that has concealed an appalling secret for 700 years...

THE WINTER GHOSTS by Kate Mosse

Published: 2009

Genre: Historical Fiction, Supernatural > Ghost Story

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a hauntingly endearing tale, perfectly atmospheric, that needs to be read curled in an armchair on a cold winter's night. 

Naturally, as the title suggests, this is a ghost story, but you'll find no spooks or demons to jump out and scare, only the heavy weight of loss hanging like a low veil of cloud over a village, desperate to be dispelled. 

This book's set in France in the years following the first world war, when loss and grief were so commonplace it was almost seen as indulgent to show how it was affecting you. Everyone is doing their best to carry on and maintain normality, but Freddie feels the void of his brothers death acutely, and like a time bomb, it's only a matter of time before he explodes.

We join him on this quest for closure, and along the way he finds a sympathetic ear and someone with a story more devastating and chilling than his own.

There was something about this book that's resonated with me, and I'm finding it hard to articulate just what exactly it was. Perhaps its a sympathy towards a nation grieving loved ones and years lost to anxiety and uncertainty in the war. I think now more than ever, we as readers could understand that following a pandemic. 

Of course, I would never dare compare the pandemic to the war directly, but the years following it are where I think we can relate. There's a sense of lingering grief, of a community trying to catch its breath, or holding it for fear of letting go; not quite recovered, but trying so hard to re-establish normality.

The isolated French village in the snowy mountain-scape was the perfect setting for this story, bleak and beautiful, eerie and entrancing with its ghostly whispers drifting over the mountain paths.

This book kindled a sadness in me, but also brought a feeling of closure from the characters journey.

I'm glad to have plucked it off my shelf at long last. It was a fast paced, haunting and consuming. I recommend!!

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) lost for words by stephanie butland

 

It's time to turn the pages of her past...

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you.

Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious delivers, each of which stirs unsettling memories. 

Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story?

LOST FOR WORDS by Stephanie Butland

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Books About Books

Published: 2017

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lost for Words is a moving contemporary fiction about living with trauma. Surviving. Finding yourself under the layers, and letting other people see you too. There's love, there's grief, there's fear and there's laughter - one of the best healers. And of course, there's books!

"Nobody bothers children who read. I read."

This book captured the heart of the introverted booklover inside of me. I could pull a number of quotes and relate them to my life with an unapologetic laugh. But the main character, Loveday, unlike myself, has a deep and dark secret that makes it hard for her to trust and hard for her to break free of the comfort of the bookstore in which she works.

The mystery of her dark past unfolds with tantalising slowness, and even though at times I suspected what would be revealed about her childhood, I wanted it not be true. I could understand what led her to seek comfort from books for so many years, for books are an escape. But books can also hurt you. They provoke memories that lead us down roads we haven't visited in so long. They remind us of what we can never have, or what we were forced to leave behind. They tell us that not all beginnings are tragic, and not all ending are happy. Sometimes it's the other way around.

Where books offer Loveday a refuge and a confusing link to her past, poetry is a gateway to the truth, giving expression to the emotion's and secrets she's been stifling, and giving a window of insight to those around her.

The poems that feature are quirky, and so fitting to represent the characters. The final poem that features is called The Bookshop and it turned my heart to butter. 

"There's the simple love of books, of course: the knowledge that here is an escape, a chance to learn, a place for your heart and mind to romp and play."

Loveday is a fragile heroine at times, with strength cemented at her core. She's endearingly antisocial, passionately defensive of books and secretly poetic. I was drawn into her story from her first word to her last.

This beautifully multi-layered book is one that I recommend to anyone with an interest in humans, or in literature. You will learn something about both by the time you're through reading.

"A bookshop is not magic, but it can steal away your heart."

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) mistress of my fate by hallie rubenhold

 

England, 1789. Under a cloud of scandal, Henrietta Lightfoot flees her home at Melmouth Park. She has little money and no worthwhile talents, for what use is a neat stitch and a pretty voice outside the drawing room? Without family support, her only hope lies with the dashing but elusive Lord Allenham...

In a desperate quest to find him, Henrietta embarks on a journey through London's debauched and glittering underworld. With the aid of new-found skills at the card table and on the stage, will Henriette be able to turn her life around to become mistress of her fate?

MISTRESS OF MY FATE by Hallie Rubenhold

Published: 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Coming-of-age Novel

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mistress of My Fate: The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot. Ahhh, what a revealing confession it was. This book was ruthlessly honest in revealing of the horrors women encountered in the 1700s when cast out in the world to fend for themselves. No dark corner was left unillumined, no woman un-debauched. Had anyone in the 1700s actually got hold of this book to read, I swear they would have been shocked into a swoon, before burning it upon the fire where their daughters would never discover it. This was not your typical regency romance, and I was glad of the refreshing approach. Rather than a romance, I read a sequence of tragic events, grippingly told and unputdownable.

'If I may say, madam, it is for men to do what they ought and women to do what they must. We have not the choices they have. If we desire something, we do what we must to have it, or else...we have nothing, madam."

Henrietta Lightfoot is, by her own admission, a naïve young woman when we discover her at the beginning of her tale. Under the care of her uncle, with no parents to speak of, even Henrietta acknowledges that she has very few prospects. She's resigned to a life in her cousin's shadow, expecting fate to take her where her cousin goes, to be her companion when she marries. The hand she hadn't expected fate to deal, was that the man her cousin Catherine would fall for, would capture Henrietta's heart and return her affections. It's a match that appears destined for disaster, until fate takes another turn and Henrietta is forced to choose an entirely different path for herself and her love. Romance is found and quickly replaced with the grime of the periods realities, when she flees her home to his arms.

This was a remarkable Historical Fiction, that leads from the respectable drawing rooms of London, to the bedrooms of men who 'protect' women who find themselves with no other options. It's coloured with fictional characters, but also features many very real people who would genuinely have been encountered amongst London's seedy ranks. The historical references to people, shops and products from the period give more clout to this novel, for example, descriptions of the effects of elixirs purchased by women to 'remove obstructions from the womb'. 

As historical fictions go, this is one I'm glad to have discovered. I believe it was the author's debut novel of this genre, and I'm eager to read more of her work, particularly The Scandalous Lady W.

If you've had the delight of reading this book or any of Hallie Rubenhold's others, please let me know which you would most recommend in the comments below. 

Happy reading,

Zuzu 

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...(book review) the betrayals by bridget collins

 If everything in your life was based on a lie, would you risk it all to tell the truth?

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now, he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has chanced since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu's highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he's sure they've never met before. 

The bond between them is strengthened; but both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls...

THE BETRAYALS by Bridget Collins

Published: 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Ficional, Magical Realism

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where to begin? This is the second of Bridget Collins' books I've read, and like the first, its reputation proceeded it; Bridget Collins did not disappoint.

I began this book fearing I'd missed something important about the game of the grand jeu that's such an important component, since it seemed so specific and yet at the same time so elusive in its descriptions. Having reached the end of the book however, I now understand the story to have been partly inspired by Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game - (a book I've not read, but now very much wish to). What Bridget Collins calls the grand jeu has much in common with the glass bead game's components of math, music and ideas in an atmosphere of meditation. I must say that it sounds so intriguing and the only thing missing to complete the reading experience was a demonstration of the game in full. I'm longing to understand it. Though, of course, if demonstrated the grand jeu would lose its mystique, and so we are left to our imaginings. You're given the sense that something magical happens when the game is played, and I can only imagine the immersive experience.

The narrator rotates for each chapter and we're taken through two time lines, seeing Léo's perspective of Montverre then and now, as well as Claire's as she struggles to settle into her role as Magister Ludi at the academy - a position previously occupied by a man. It is uncommon for a woman to play the grand jeu, let alone to understand it and earn a place amongst its academy's ranking faculty. There is an outdated sexist feel to the academy and the game; a superiority of men assuming without cause that women cannot measure up. It's an opinion that I believe Léo shares at times, which was what made it interesting when his story and Claire's began to align. 

Léo's character is poked full of human flaws, making you groan and despair of his errors and ill-conceived interventions. Claire's character is full of anger and secrets, and the tense interactions between her and Léo kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering just what was being kept hidden and what would be revealed. 

*hint hint* It wasn't what I expected, and my jaw dropped!

Though Claire and Léo are well conceived, it must be said, that the story-stealing character that kept me turning pages was in fact The Rat. I just loved reading her chapters, the slow reveal of her part in the story and how she came to be hiding at such a sexist institution that did not allow girls to attend. Her sections appeared less frequently in the book and each time I reached one of her chapters my heart gave a little "yes" of delight. She felt so well formed; her inhuman behaviour and qualities somehow making her the most human or them all, for what could be more human than following our base and primal needs, food, sleep and safety...and later curiosity. She and one other hide in the many deserted rooms and corridors of Montverre, evading discovery. Over the years her presence has amounted to no more than whispers of a crying girl in the walls, or ghostly half-sightings that suggests the building is haunted.

I applaud Bridget Collins writing style and the easy tone of her books. They are purely character and story driven, and though it vexes me a little, I think it's clever that the storylines are often left open ended. As the reader I felt encouraged to imagine more, or forced to accept that I'll never know. That is her brilliance. 

The Betrayals (aptly titled by the way) is another book I'd thoroughly recommend. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy reading!

Zuzu

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...(book review) the sisters grimm by menna van praag

 

They found each other at eight, were separated at thirteen. Now they are nearly eighteen and must find each other again...

This is the story of four sisters Grimm - daughters born to different mothers on the same day. Each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire.

In thirty-three days, the sisters will meet their father in a place they go to when they dream. Only then will they discover who they truly are. And what they can do. Then they will fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love.

THE SISTERS GRIMM by Menna Van Praag

Published: 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Sisters Grimm wasn't at all what I was expecting, and alas, I must confess I didn't love this fantasy novel it as I was expecting to.

Goldie, Scarlet, Liyana and Bea are half sisters, sharing one demonic father, Wilhelm Grimm, who watches over them as they grow from the illusive land of Everwhere. 

When they were children, the sisters could meet in Everwhere in their dreams, exploring the powers born unto them and bonding as sisters will. But the curse of being born a Grimm Sister is the surety that upon your 13th birthday you will forget. Everwhere, magic and sisterhood will be a strangled repressed memory, not retrievable until you come of age on your 18th birthday. 

It's a tale of sisterhood; of  young women discovering their own power, not needing a man to save them. 

While I appreciated this female empowerment, and the fairy tale-like theme of discovering the truth when you come of age, unfortunately I found the story that led us there slow at times and even a little repetitive as the four sisters' lives begin to overlap the closer we get to their 18th birthdays.

The reveal of information was careful, but not always well paced. For a 482 page book, I was surprised that most of the "action" didn't come until the last 100 or so pages, and even then I felt a bit disappointed by the outcome (no spoilers if I can help it).

Upon returning to Everwhere on their 18th birthday and being reunited with their demon father, the Sisters Grimm must chose a side: good or evil. Why? I'm a little hazy on that if I'm honest. I did comprehend that if they choose evil, their father allows them to live; if they choose good then sadly he must kill them. And here is where my unanswered questions begin: Why is Wilhelm Grimm so intent on creating an evil army of his children? What is his motivation? What happens if they choose evil and are allowed to live? These are all questions I'm still craving an answer to, though I'm not sure I'd be motivated to read a second book to find out. 

I found the conflict between good and evil a little predictable, even if it is suggested that the choice isn't black and white. You aren't simply a good person or a bad person. There are many shades of grey that colour our lives and our choices.

As characters the sisters' personalities were interestingly contrasting, having different mothers and different backgrounds. We follow their lives across a decade of time, giving us as readers plenty of opportunity to connect with them, however I never developed a strong attachment that urged me to read on and see how their stories developed. I was interested more so in Scarlet and Bea than Goldie and Liyana, on the basis of suspecting they might have a greater capacity for evil than the other two. I was intrigued by what that would mean when they were eventually reunited with their father in Everwhere. 

Everwhere itself was my main captivation throughout the book. Its descriptions seeped through the pages, leaving such a strong essence that I wondered myself at times if I might have been there in a dream. I understood more than anything why the girls were so enticed to return here as children, and how their dreams and memories were determined to lure them back on the eve that they became adults. It had the mystical haziness of a dreamscape, and the impression that anything might be possible within its boundaries, offering an escape from the hardship, sorrow and mundanity of their lives in the "real-world".

I'm a fantasy lover, and I thought this storyline had a great potential, sadly it wasn't one of my favourites. I'd be interested to know your thoughts in the comments below. Did this book leave you with questions? Which characters did you connect with?

Zuzu

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...(book review) the bone season by samantha shannon

For the past two hundred years the Scion government has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in London.

Clairvoyance in all its forms has been decreed a criminal offense, and those who practise it viciously punished. Forced underground, a clairvoyant underworld has developed, combating persecution and evading capture.

Paige Mahoney, a powerful dreamwalker operating in the Seven Dials district of London, leads a double life, using her unnaturalness illegally while hiding her gift from her father, who works for the Scion regime...

THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon

Published: 2013

Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a brilliant introduction to a trilogy! The Bone Season is a paranormal, dystopian YA fiction, set in a uniquely futuristic London under the control of a security force, Scion, who keep their citizens safe from those they deem "unnatural". In a well regulated world, there is no place for those with abilities beyond their control - Voyants with unnatural gifts of sight, communing with spirits or catching glimpses of the future, are illegal and will be captured and taken to the Tower, from which they do not return.

Paige is one such unnatural, a unique brand of  Dreamwalker whose abilities have made her desirable as an illegal Voyant in the criminal underworld. But when she is captured by Scion and removed from the world she knows, she soon learns that Scion is responsible for concealing more than just captured Voyants.

Much of this book's gripping nature is due to Paige's strong character. She narrates and drives the book in a way that's opinionated and wilful, reminding me very much of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. She's rightfully fearful of the power born unto her, though she struggles to harness it knowing it is her greatest chance of survival in a world full of dangers.

Paige's character, as well as those supporting her, are well formed and multi-layered; believably human and complex in their emotions and actions. I applaud this, as it's not always a given, especially when reading a YA novel, which tend to be very driven by story and world creation. Regrettably I've read a few where the character development almost takes a back seat to atmospheric cleverness, but I don't believe this is the case here.

This is a very hyped series of books, and I'm glad to say that the first at least has lived up to its reputation, in my opinion. I've read a lot of controversial reviews suggesting that it's overly ambitious, or that the world creation is flawed, but I closed the book impressed and comprehending everything. Especially given this is just the first novel and more is sure to be explained along the way.

I'm intrigued by the Rephriam, and look forward to learning about how these creatures came to this earth. Their relationships with the Voyants is an interesting power struggle and I could sense the rebellion building from page one.

The element of rebellion again leads me to a Hunger Games comparison. I can't help but compare this sort of fiction with others of it's genre, but in a positive way. It shows a lot of potential and I can't wait to see what books 2 and 3 have in store.

If you, like me, are a Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The 100 fan, then this is very likely a series you'll enjoy. It lives up to the standards set by Fantasy and Sci-fi books that came before it.

If you've read this trilogy please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Let's get the book discussion flowing!

Happy reading,

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) the graveyard book by neil gaiman

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Apart from the fact that he lives in a graveyard and is being raised and educated by ghosts, and his guardian belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead.

There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch; and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that the real dangers lurk, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

Genre: YA Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal > Ghost Story

Published: 2008

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Graveyard Book follows Bod's obscure childhood in the sanctuary of the graveyard, exploring and learning from each of the ghosts residing there who contribute to raising him. 

His coming to live amongst the dead is the result of a brutal local murder of which his parents and older sister were victims. Just a baby at the time, Bod managed to slip free and crawl through the bars of the graveyard on the hill where he was discovered by Mr and Mistress Owens, long deceased, knowing that the time had passed for them to have a child. Bod became their living son.

Of all the Neil Gaiman books I've read, I have to say upfront that although this was a clever concept, it wasn't my favourite of his books. I couldn't help but compare it to Coraline due to it's similarities in tone, genre and target audience, which I was thoroughly gripped by, even reading it as an adult. There was just something more convincing in the characters that kept me intrigued.

My moments of intrigue throughout The Graveyard Book were plentiful, but burned briefly. The scenes were built up in suspense, then resolved too quickly for my liking. I craved more detail and explanation that would have given a new layer of complexity to the story and characters. I kept expecting it on the next page, and then feeling disappointed.

For example, I would have loved a more detailed explanation for why some ghosts can go amongst the living. We're given the impression that they're different, but the explanation was inadequate and not at all along the lines I expected. Whilst I can appreciate the author leaving this ambiguous to preserve the characters aloof nature and mystery, I'm a reader who can't stand to be left in suspense, and with questions unanswered. If anything I have more questions now.

I also thought the characters were a tad vague, even Bod. Normally when I read a book I find myself drawn to particular characters, routing for others, hating some even, but the only character I was intrigued by was the man Jack who's appearance on the first page was sinister, and cast shadows through the book. By the end however, I felt deflated by his involvement. I desperately wanted more information on the Jack of all Trade Society. 

However, having said all this, the thing that I can never deny Neil Gaiman is that he is an incredible world builder. The setting of this book was was spot on, and there were moments I swear I could feel the damp of the tombstones surrounding me. I felt that I knew every inch of the graveyard as well as Bod did himself. In this way the graveyard was the most defined and fleshed out character, despite the fact that it was filled with bones. I enjoyed the sense of community from the dead, and the way the banded together to take care of Bod and to defend him, even if they could only do so from inside the graveyard fence. I could picture the ghoul-gate entrance and their parasitic city on the other side, and I wanted to read more. The descriptions of the crypts, and the Sleer lurking in the darkness, and the quirky tombstones were all so atmospheric.

Thomas Pennyworth 

(here he lyes in the certainty of the moft glorious refurrection)

Overall, this was a unique ghost story to set aside for spooky season, especially if you're one for paranormal genres with softer edges. 

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on The Graveyard Book. Please leave a comment below if you've read it, or if you plan to!

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) the binding by bridget collins

 Imagine you could erase your grief.  Imagine you could forget your pain. 

Imagine you could hide a secret. Forever.

Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter arrives summoning him to begin an apprenticeship. He will work for a Bookbinder, a vocation that arouses fear, superstition and prejudice - but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.

He will learn to hand-craft beautiful volumes, and within each he will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there's something you want to forget, he can help. If there's something you need to erase he can assist. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible. 

In a vault under his mentor's workshop, row upon row of books - and memories - are meticulously stored and recorded. 

Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of them has his name on it.

THE BINDING by Bridget Collins

Genre: Historical Fiction,  Fantasy Fiction > Magical Realism

Published: 2018

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WHAT A CONCEPT! I've read so many clever and compelling books, but there are only a few that manage to make me feel true envy towards the authors who thought of the idea before me! Bridget Collins is a genius; I can't wait to read more of her work. (Watch this space for a book review of The Binding later this month).

We all know words have power, but what if books were dangerous? What if you could pay for the privilege to forget? What if you could sell your memories? What if you've been bound into a book against your will? What happens when part of your mind is bound inside a book, and the book falls into the wrong hands?

The questions buzzed in my mind, all shockingly answered by the end of the book, but not in the ways I would have expected.

"Which is worse? To feel nothing, or to grieve something you no longer remembered?"

Reading this will make you think differently about books and their contents. Only the author can tell you how much of a story is fictional or real, and what was sacrificed to write them. The though now gives me a shivery chill, that's both thrilling and eerie.

We all have memories and moments from our past that we would love to expunge, and that's why this novel is so relatable. It frightens me that so many people would jump at the opportunity to take memories away if bookbinders like this existed in our world and society. Memories in exchange for money. Desperate people do desperate things, as proved by Bridget Collins' imperfectly human characters. I was so invested in their stories!

The Binding was an alluringly immersive blend of historical fiction, fantasy and fairy-tale inspiration and boundary-defying love that literally makes my mouth water with appeal. It's pure untainted magic that will hold you captive from start to finish. I honestly could not be persuaded to put it down! I read it walking up the stairs to bed and night, and found it in my hands the moment I woke. I felt like I'd been bound between its pages.

Zuzu 🖋

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...liesl & po by lauren oliver

On the third night after the day her father died, Liesl saw the ghost.

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away from her cruel stepmother.  Her only friends are the shadows and the mice - until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone. 

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable. 

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

LIESL & PO by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, Adventure, Magic, Paranormal

Published: 2011

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Liesl & Po is a pure hearted and whimsical middle grade fiction, ideal for lovers of magic, otherworldliness and adventure. It deals with themes of loss and loneliness in a way that's relatable to adults and children alike. 

Newly orphaned, Liesl wants only to bring the ashes of her father, who's recently passed, to a final resting place under the willow tree where her mother is also buried. Guiding her on this journey is Po, a ghost whose gender has long ago begun to blur, and Bundle, the ghost of what might once have been a dog...or a cat. They've both been on The Other Side for so long that they've begun to blur.

Along the way, through a strange set of circumstances that force their lives to collide, they meet Will who's fleeing his master, a powerful Alchemist, following a mix up that seems somehow to relate back to Liesl.

Together they journey to help Liesl find the willow tree to achieve the closure on the life she no longer has, and to say a final goodbye to her father.

There are so many familiar fairy-tale elements packed into this book that I think readers will recognise: a little girl locked in an attic, an evil stepmother, a alchemist's apprentice, a ghost guide from the other side. 

The characters are quirky and stereotypical of their architypes: the kindly guard, the evil stepmother who's ugly inside and out, the foreboding lady of the manor, the spindly tricky magician. 

This is the sort of book I would have read a multitude of times as a child, knowing each page back to front, and re-examining the drawings incorporated that bring the characters to life and give definition to the environment.

This is the first of Lauren Oliver's books I've read, but I understand it to be unlike any other she's written. I can see how this story unfolded from a personal place, as Lauren Oliver wrote this book whilst grieving the death of her best friend. To have her character, Liesl, fight and journey to lay her loved one to rest must have been cathartic. 

Reading this in her acknowledgements at the end of the book made me look at the story with new eyes. 

I can understand her depictions of the ghosts and The Other Side blurring for those who haven't yet moved Beyond. Everyone wants to think of their loved ones in spirit as golden, glittering angels, not as blurred spirits who've lost their essence of humanity. But in reality, no one knows what happens when we move on.

This wasn't one of my all time favourite reads, but nevertheless, it does have an ease and a familiarity about it that feels comforting. I can't overlook it, and I recommend it for younger readers, or for anyone wanting to be reminded of childhood. 

Zuzu 🖋

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...(book review) circe by madelaine miller

 

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is strange - not powerful and terrible, like her father, not gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. But she has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When Circe's gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts.  Yet a woman who stands alone cannot live in peace for long - and among her island's guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.

CIRCE by Madelaine Miller

Genre: Fantasy > Mythology, Historical Fiction, Retellings

Published:

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was a mythological education in powerful goddesses and powerful women. Circe gets under your skin!

I love Fantasy, but I haven't read much Mythology, especially in the format of a retelling, but even so I recognised many of the Greek Myths that had made their way between it's pages, all weaving and interacting with Circe herself.

Circe was captivating as a character. She had to be since it was her words that drove the story, weaving and casting contempt like a spell. Other gods and mortals walk in and out of her solitude, but whilst alone on the island of her banishment, Circe can rely on no one but herself. Her independence is fierce. She's like a lioness roaring angrily into the darkness at the men who wronged her, and drawing the attention of those who would use her further. Even for a goddess, it's a man's world, but if anyone could break free from it, Circe could.

"But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, 

as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation he was to me."

There's always a light in the darkness, and where this is a tragic tale of loneliness and wrath, this is also a love story - one where happiness is snatched in brief moments, and preserved at all costs. 

Love is imperfect, and Circe feels no shame in the lovers she takes. From each encounter she learns and draws more strength, wrapping it around her like a cloak. Her journey through the novel is hard, but by the end she is quite the force to be reckoned with!

"It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures, flowers, eggs, 

anything that may be crushed in a moment's carelessness. 

If I had ever believed it, I no longer did."

I was nervous of reading this novel, worried that it wouldn't live up to it's stellar reputation, but wow, it did not disappoint! I wanted to sit down and devour it in one sitting, soaking up Circe's potent magic and letting it wash through my veins.

It's also piqued my curiosity for mythology, so I'll be seeking more fantastic tales of terror and tragedy to read. Please leave me some recommendations in the comments, and let me know your thoughts on Circe if you happen to read!

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Zuzu 🖋

...(book review) the sisters of the winter wood by rena rossner

In a remote village surrounded by forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell. As dark forces close in on their village. Liba and Laya discover a family secret about a magical heritage they never knew existed. The sisters realise the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all.

THE SISTERS OF WINTER WOOD by Rena Rossner

Genre: YA Fantasy / Magical Realism / Fantasy > Fairy Tales

Published: 2018

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was a mesmerising mixture of historical fiction, poetry and folklore that reads like an entirely believable fairy-tale from a cruel, anti-sematic time.

The original concept for this story, I believe, was to be a retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market, which I regret I haven't read to be able to draw comparisons. But I love that the author has incorporated so many different fairy-tales and folklore stemming from Russia and Ukraine on top of this retelling, whilst also incorporated some of her own history and fictional happenings inspired by real events:

In Dubossary, on the border between Ukraine and Moldova in 1903, an anti-sematic newspapers called for a riot and massacre of the Jews after the body of a young Christian boy was found drained of blood in the garden of a Jewish man. It escalated horribly and the Jewish people were falsely accused of using the blood of non-Jews to bake Passover bread, the Jews had no choice but to defend themselves. It's as a result of the riot in Dubossary that the author's family first made their way to America. The personal ties to this story make it so much more potent and multi-layered.

I love books with a fairy-tale feel and this book was honestly entrancing due to unusual mix of concepts, all well explained, horrifying and gripping at once. I devoured it like a hungry bear.

The love of the sisters and the bond they share despite their differences drove this book from start to finish. Liba and Laya have unique voices expressed in their own format, keeping the reading varied and interesting.

It's a strong and passionate story of self discovery, family, and sisterhood.

Thoroughly recommend! This is definitely one of my new favourites to shout about.

Let me know your thoughts if you've read this book, and let me know if you read it on my recommendation. 

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Zuzu 🖋

...(book review) the book thief by markus zusak

 

HERE IS A SMALL FACT

 You are going to die.

1939 Nazi Germany. The country is holding it's breath. Death has never been busier. 

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMORTANT INFORMATION.

This novel is narrated by death.

It's a small story about:

a girl

an accordionist

some fanatical Germans 

a Jewish fist fighter

and quite a lot of thievery.

THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak

Genre: Historical Fiction > WWII

Published: 2005

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stories from the war, both fictional and biographical, exist in abundance, but have you ever read Death's perspective on the tragedy?

Death's narrative is just one unique component of this book. The characters are engaging, real and compassionate. All have a magnetism that I was drawn to, and by the end of the book I felt I knew as friends. 

I laughed, I wept, I felt in my gut the collective anger, sadness and fear of the German people watching the Nazis come into power and take away Jewish people without motive, people they had called friends and neighbours.

For children growing up in this time, heads pumped with propaganda, made to witness the besmirchment of an entire race of guiltless people, it must have been even more confusing and distressing.

Liesel is the character whose life Death follows, a young girl whose mother has been taken away as a communist and who's been sent to live with Hans and Rose Hubermann. Her brother died on the journey, and she feels his absence in the empty bed beside hers in her new foster home. Death haunts her, literally and figuratively, drawn to her character, her spirit, and her odd pattern of stealing books that cross her path.

This author has an extraordinary gift for capturing the light in the great darkness that was the war years in Germany. I feel his appreciation of words and language warming and tugging at my heart, echoed in Liesel's character, who learns to read and write with the help of her foster father, Hans, an accordionist with a huge heart.

"The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn't be any of this."

This book will always hold a place on my list of top 5 brilliant books. I've yet to find an historical fiction that will best it.

It's uniqueness is very hard to articulate, but if you'll take me at my word, I can vouch for its brilliance. 

It has a resonance that continues to reverberate through me years after my first reading. The beauty and brutality of humanity is trapped within it's pages. It calls to me, and I know I'll be compelled to read it time and time again through my life, appreciating and despairing over it more and more with each read.

"Even Death has a heart."

If you've read this book, please let me know your thoughts. I thrive on discussing it!

If you haven't read it - do it now!!! It's a book I think everyone should read before they die. 

Happy reading!

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Zuzu 🖋

...(book review) the mermaid and mrs hancock by imogen hermes gowar

 On a September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock finds one of his captains waiting eagerly on his doorstep. He has sold Jonah's ship for what appears to be a mermaid.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock's marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, where he meets Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on...

What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the legendary destructive power a mermaid is said to possess? 

THE MERMAID AND MRS HANCOCK by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Genre: Historical Fiction / Magical Realism / Mythology > Mermaids

Published: 2019

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a strong four star read for me, and easily one of my favourites that I've picked up this year. Once again, shame on me for letting it languish for so long on my shelves before pulling it down on a whim to read.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock is a brilliant historical fiction, set in the Georgian era, which is a period of history that captivates and devastates me owing to the stark and brutal contrast of the rich being flamboyantly so, and the poor being pitiably so.

In this novel, we see the women caught between the two worlds in the seedy underbelly of London, honing in on Mrs Chappell's "nunnery" better known as London's most exclusive brothel.

Angelica Neal is one woman who managed to leave its walls under the protection of her patron, a Duke, who has recently passed away without marrying her, leaving her once again to fend for herself in the world. Reluctant to return to Chappell's she takes rooms in London and throws herself back into society, determined to climb in her rank whilst still preserving a sense of freedom. But the ties with her old life are hard to break, and soon she is compelled to attend a party at her old "nunnery", where she is assigned the task of looking after Mr Hancock, the "mermaid man", whose grotesque mermaid has been hired to be a display piece in the brothel by Mrs Chappell herself. Thus their meeting is cemented.

I found the comparison between the Angelica Neal and Mrs Chappell's other young ladies with the mermaid quite unexpected but potent. All are seen as spectacles. All are curiosities to be possessed. And like the mermaid is bound by it's display case, the women are bound by their position in the house and in society, mixing with the rich, but kept above the poor.

Whereas Mr Hancock is quite the opposite, reserved and unambitious towards his lifestyle, not knowing what was lacking from it until the mermaid comes unexpectedly into his possession, but also not knowing the affects the mermaid will have upon his person.

"I am cognisant, as those gentlemen are not, that all pleasures have their cost."

I loved the inclusion of the mythology of the mermaid in this historical fiction, adding the interest of a magical realism that wove through these characters and London society and piqued their interest. People have always been, and I daresay always will be, fascinated by the odd and the fantastical. The story and the period is convincingly researched and therefore very well written. The characters are real and fluid in their evolution, both the main and the supporting players. The cover is beautiful. What more is there to say?  I loved it.

I recommend reading this, especially if, like mine, your preferences run towards the historical and the magical. This was a lovely mix of both.

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Zuzu 🖋