Inhibitor Phase by Alastair Reynolds

Yet another brilliant novel from Alastair Reynolds, but one that for me held a tinge of sad bleakness. Why? Because it's the endgame for the universe (possibly), most of life is gone, wiped out, with just pockets of humanity surviving in hollowed out worlds or similar.

Until danger comes their way in the form of a ship, exposing them to the dangers of discovery by the inhibitors and annihilation. One man goes to ensure that the ship never reaches their world, but things never go as they are planned and his actions have consequences that reach far into his future and beyond.

There is much depth to this story, but I think I may have read the authors mind at some point, because I had such Deja vu with one section of the story, that I was sure I had already read the book. And really I hadn't because I had no idea how the book was going to proceed after that section ended!

The characters are many and varied, some we stay with for a long while, others whom even though we grow to like them as we learn more about them, don't stay so long. But they make an impression and are remembered as the story keeps moving on.

The world building has been going on for years with this series of books and there is so much that readers new to it will want to go back to read, but it won't detract from this story to read it as it stands, if that is what the reader wants. Myself, I think I preferred to have read them all so that I know what went before and can appreciate how far the universe has fallen since the great heights of the previous centuries. And that is where the sadness creeps in, as the darkness of eternity looms cold and empty.

But the book is ace! So go read it, it's extremely well written and very clever.

I hope that there is a next one!

" ‘They’re here,’ she said, taking a step back from her work. ‘They’re here and they want to break in.’ Her tone became quietly accusatory. ‘It means you failed, Miguel. It means you failed and everything here is going to end.’ 

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley. I am delighted to provide a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

5/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

Official description: 

  

Miguel de Ruyter is a man with a past. Fleeing the 'wolves' - the xenocidal alien machines known as Inhibitors - he has protected his family and community from attack for forty years, sheltering in the caves of an airless, battered world called Michaelmas. The slightest hint of human activity could draw the wolves to their home, to destroy everything ... utterly. Which is how Miguel finds himself on a one-way mission with his own destructive mandate: to eliminate a passing ship, before it can bring unwanted attention down on them. Only something goes wrong. There's a lone survivor. And she knows far more about Miguel than she's letting on . . . Ranging from the depths of space to the deeps of Pattern Juggler waters, from nervous, isolated communities to the ruins of empire, this is a stealthy space opera from an author at the top of his game.  

 

Read it on a Kindle: 

  

 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:  

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

 

The Stranger Times by C.K.McDonnell

 

Hannah needs a job but hasn't held one down in years and has no experience. Having lost her marriage and her home (which she burned down) she has very little left, so is desperate for employment. Circumstances mean that she ends up working at 'The Stranger Times' for an obnoxious drunk alongside a bunch of random misfits.

Just, as it seems the divide between the world as we see it bumps up against the other world that exists alongside it. Manchester is the busiest place for the dark deeds that The Stranger Times reports on and the staff are just starting to realise that the stories they thought were a load of imaginations gone wild, are in fact true.

Some of the characters might be considered a bit unrealistic, but I did find that the editor reminded me of someone I have worked with in the past (just a little), so it did give the story more chance of being believable character-wise.

I haven't read any works by this author before and I would read his books again, but only the fantasy ones, I'm not interested in comedy. There were places where the author lost me a little, so I carried on reading and filled in the gaps as best I could.

"‘So, whatever your name is, couple of things you need to know about me. One – my sense of smell is perfectly fine, and two – I really dislike being lied to. Oh, and three – I’m, y’know . . . Magical'."

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Press for approving me to read this book.

3/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

Official description: 

  

There are Dark Forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular) and so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them. A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but more often the weird) of modern life, it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable . . . At least that’s their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little (and believes less) of the publication he edits, while his staff are a ragtag group of wastrels and misfits, each with their own secrets to hide and axes to grind. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door – and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got her own set of problems. It’s when tragedy strikes in Hannah’s first week on the job that The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious, proper, actual investigative journalism. What they discover leads them to a shocking realisation: that some of the stories they’d previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly, gruesomely real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker foes than they could ever have imagined. It’s one thing reporting on the unexplained and paranormal but it’s quite another being dragged into the battle between the forces of Good and Evil . . .  

 

Read it on a Kindle: 

  

 

Save on your mobile:
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

The Inner Darkness by Jørn Lier Horst

Wisting is back with his daughter Line in this latest story from Jørn Lier Horst. Line is helping the police with an investigation into the location of a convicted killers last victim. Tom Kerr has agreed to lead the police to where the body is buried. It is during the investigation that Kerr escapes, captured on film by Line.

The team build a plan to recapture him, knowing that if they fail, Kerr could commit further terrible murders. 

There is suspicions of another one who helped Kerr, both previously with his torturous murders and lately with his escape. But nothing is known of this individual, finding Kerr could be a way to capture this other person. 

Line meanwhile is working hard on her own journalist research into the case, in order to gather enough material for a documentary once the case reaches its conclusion, hopefully.

As ever Jørn Lier Horst writes a story that is both involving and full of tension.
I like the familiar way we are involved with the characters, we see them in their home, with their family and with their colleagues. The relationships are tangible and natural. 

 
What wasn't so good was the bit of descriptive evidence late on in the book. It was a bit too graphic for my squeamishness.

"As he passed Line, he turned and looked straight into the camera, so close that she could smell him. A dank, stale odour reminiscent of the interior of a house left empty for a long time."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

 
4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

 
Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle: 

 

Official description: 

 
The chilling and heart-pounding new novel from Norwegian superstar Jørn Lier Horst.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE HIT BBC FOUR SHOW WISTING 

After four years behind bars, notorious serial killer Tom Kerr is ready to talk. And Chief Inspector William Wisting is waiting to listen.

Kerr has finally agreed to lead the police to his final victim's grave.

But the expedition goes horribly wrong after his escape deep into the Norwegian forest, Wisting must launch a frantic search to find this cold-blooded killer before he strikes again. But the body of another woman, killed weeks before, has been found. Murdered in the same way as Kerr's victims.

Is there a copycat killer on the loose? Has Kerr become a twisted role model for a second killer? And, if so, what might happen if master and apprentice unite?

As the clock counts down to the next murder, Wisting must put everything on the line to stop a terrifying evil before it strikes again.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49: https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link
https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas

At one point near the start of this book I thought that it was going to read like a children's book. Thankfully the bit that made me think that (Larkin skipped up the central steps) was a one off and the story continued on a better footing. 

Larkin has crossed to the eyot on which the Kendricks Workshop is placed and where its magical dolls are made; his intention is to become a sorcerer and make such dolls himself. However, Larkin is not the only one with such a desire. In order to gain employment at the Workshop, Larkin must either be a family member or marry into the family. He believes his claim that he is a family member will gain him his employment.

There is a rare doll in the home of the current owner of Kendricks, made by Lucy Kendrick, one of the founders of the doll Workshop, "The Paid Mourner”. It is extremely valuable and, during an annual celebration, it is stolen. This theft is an unlikely event due to the protections surrounding the doll, but nonetheless it is gone. 

As the only people who live on the eyot are family or married into the family, suspicions are spread thin. The twin of the owner is suspected and all family members have police searches to endure.

Plots twist and people turn about as they worm their way to the top. Dolls are made and hexes writ on mannequins to change the fortune of sorcerers. Kendrick's, Jackson's and Botham's wait to discover the whereabouts of 'The Paid Mourner'.

Larkin dances through it all, but Persephone is by his side.

I like the way that the characters were tetchy and behaved as a normal person would. But, the thing that did annoy me was the way that bits were left out in certain areas, bits that will lead to another follow-up book I expect.

"Larkin explored an orchard. The bark of one tree was engraved with the image of a man on a winged horse, and beneath it, a single word: THIEF. Undeterred Larkin scrumped four quince and hid them in his bag."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description:

A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel.

The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls for over 200 years. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn the family craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and a blood tie to the Kendricks, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires. But then, one night, the family's most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her. Only a Kendrick could have committed this crime...

Reviews for Kate Mascarenhas:

'Witty, inventive and unflashily wise about human hearts; Mascarenhas's future promises to be an exciting one' GUARDIAN. 

'Breathtakingly tender and wryly understated' NEW YORK TIMES. 

'Captivating, delightful and thoroughly original' JENNIE MELAMED.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Stitcher and the Mute, Book Two of the Tales of Fenest by D.K. Fields

This is book two in the series of the Tales of Fenest, I haven't read the first one, I would like to though to get the back story. It is written in an intriguing manner, with storytellers yarning their tales, within tales, within tales. Stories are a key part of Fenest and it's administration and elections. It all adds up to a very interesting way of learning about a place, within the story.

The key character is Detective Cora Gorderheim, whose sister disappeared under awful circumstances when Cora was a young lady. Cora still suffers from an injury from that time and thinking that she keeps seeing her long lost sister is making her injury worse.

She is on the case of several murders linked to the elections in Fenest. Her Chief Inspector has placed limits on where she may go when trying to interview the Chambers (kind of like councillors but seemingly more powerful). She has a name, she just needs to find out who the person is. So she goes to the archives and once she actually finds the place manages to get inside. There she finds a vast underground place and has to call on others to help her locate what she is looking for.

Alongside this activity, Cora is attending each realms' story telling to see what leads she can get to help with her case. The story telling is part of the voting process for the governance of the region and competition is fierce between the 'tellers. So much so that murder has taken place!

A thoroughly good book, which I found really realistic and I was able to place myself right there in the story. I would have liked to have read the first book first, but it didn't impede the reading of this the second book in the least.

"Ruth had ruined everything when she stole their parents’ papers and gave the pennysheets the story of the Gorderheims embezzling Commission funds. Ruth had never even bothered to come back and witness the damage."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)


Get your copy:


Read it on a Kindle for an improved experience:


Official description:
Detective Cora Gorderheim has found the man who strangled the Wayward storyteller. But he was just a small part of a much bigger tale. Someone powerful ordered a murder on Cora's patch. That someone still lurks in the shadows. But as she continues her investigations, Cora is warned not to pry into the great and the good of Fenest.

Too stubborn to know better, Cora keeps digging and begins to piece together a conspiracy that reaches from the gutter dwellers of the Union of Realms right to the top: the Chambers.

As the Audience hear the Torn and Perlish tales, Cora realises she must return to her own story, to its very beginning, if she's going to have any say in its end.

Widow's Welcome, the first book in the Tales of Fenest trilogy, is available now.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49: https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link
https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

Elemental Magic by Nigel Pennick

 

As it says in the book description, this is an introduction to the basics of the craft. To me it felt more like a list of different mediums and what they can be used for, with an occasional instruction thrown in. 

Don't get me wrong, it was interesting, but I didn't find it 'engaged' me, for want of a better word. I have found it hard to give a star rating, and have eventually plumped for that below - you will need to click on the subsequent link to see what my rating means. 

I don't think that I will be using it for my personal development. Nor do I feel in a position to recommend it to anyone.

"Traditional spirituality, of which natural magic is a part, teaches us that we are not separate from nature and have no special privileges."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

2/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

 
Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description:
Learn how to use the principles and practices of natural magic for personal development and spiritual empowerment 

• Offers detailed descriptions of the magical properties of minerals, animals, plants, and the earth’s cycles and how to use them in your own practice 

• Explores the magical laws of nature and how to guide your inner energy to work in concert with cosmic energies 

• Details how to design your own ceremonies, practice elemental meditations, and craft your own magical talismans, wands, and divining rods 

 An expert on European rural folk magic traditions, author Nigel Pennick presents a comprehensive introduction to the principles, rituals, practices, and magical tools required to draw on the magic inherent in the natural world. He explains how people throughout the centuries have built a relationship with the elemental energies around them using simple, everyday practices in order to attune themselves to nature, the seasons, and the cosmos for magical purposes. 

 The author explores earth, mineral, and plant magic as well as the magical properties of the earth’s cycles and concentrated places of power within the landscape. He examines magical workings with animals, drawing on authentic traditions such as the Toadsmen or Toadswomen, whose power is given by toads, and the Berserker qualities conferred by magical bondings with wild animals like bears and wolves. He explains how to craft your own magical talismans, wands, and divining rods; design your own ceremonies; practice elemental meditations; fortify your health with herbs and crystals; and set an altar with the right food and drink for your intention. 

Pennick also describes how the practical techniques of natural elemental magic work through interactions between the inner world of the mind and spirit, the outer world, and the otherworldly. He shows that having a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all things and the inner power of these magical elements strengthens the practitioner’s harmony with nature, and thus their power. By harnessing the elemental energies around us, we can work with nature for personal development, spiritual empowerment, and the successful achievement of our desires 

Advance Praise “One of Nigel Pennick's best! Thorough, practical, and informed by a profound grasp of traditional European lore, this classic book on the art and practice of natural magic belongs on the bookshelf...  

 
Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:  

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

 
Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://www.oneplus.com/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

 
Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link 

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Trials of Koli - The Rampart Trilogy, Book 2 by M. R. Carey

Koli is on his way to London, his aim is to save humanity. Since the Unfinished War the number of humans is diminishing slowly but surely as each village is gradually erased from the map by natural decline. 

 
On his way he had joined up with Ursala-from-Elsewhere and Cup of the Shunned Men, as he has made his way from North of England through the Midlands and on South. 

 
Meanwhile, at his home village of Mythen Rood, Spinner has joined with Haijon Vennastin as a couple and has hopes of being a Rampart wife. As they make their way at the tannery, opportunities present themselves to Spinner to make improvements to her life. She just doesn't know what impact they really will have. 

 
This book swaps back and forth between Koli Faceless and Spinner Tanhide, with just the right amount of focus on each part of the plot. I'm pretty sure that in the final book the threads will come together as a complete masterpiece. 

 
It is just as well written as the previous book and just as enjoyable. I really hope that you'll read it for yourself.

"My hand touched something in the dark. Something that seemed to be growing out of the ground. I run my hand up it and felt the softness of feathers at the topmost tip. It was an arrow."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

 
4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

 
Get your copy:

 

 
Read it on a Kindle:

Official description:
Koli has been cast from his village and into the strange and deadly forest beyond. But he heard a story, once. A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the old times that was there. And if Koli can find it, there may be a way for him to redeem himself - by saving what's left of humanity. 

 
Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49: 

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

 
Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://www.oneplus.com/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

 
Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link 

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

Magnificent story telling! Twisting and turning throughout. 

May Owens is sentenced to be a Sin Eater for stealing a loaf of bread. Now she is Unseen and Unheard, except when she is either taking a Recitation or Eating Sins

She manages to find the other Sin Eater in town and begins to learn her new 'trade'. Without speaking, without touching. 

A cruel and grim fate for a young girl who was hungry. Slowly she begins to learn to 'eat', and listens and watches as she does. Class is no barrier for the Sin Eater, she attends the destitute and also the highest in the land. The danger is greatest when in the Royal Court, with all its plotting.

Megan Campisi keeps you on your edge as she draws you through the trials of May's life, her scrapes with death and the excitement of her escapades. I found myself looking forward to my next free block of time to read, so that I could find out what was happening next. This book gets a big FOUR stars from me. It is great.

"The sin eater walks among us. Unseen. Unheard,’ she says. ‘But I can see her—’ I hiss. ‘Unseen. Unheard,’ she silences."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

Get your copy:

 

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description: 

An old adage says there are really only two stories: a man goes on a voyage, and a stranger arrives in town. 

This is the third: a woman breaks the rules . . . 

Can you uncover the truth when you’re forbidden from speaking it? A Sin Eater’s duty is a necessary evil: she hears the final private confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite, and guarantees their souls access to heaven. It is always women who eat sins – a punishment, for it was Eve who first ate the Forbidden Fruit. Stained by the sins they are obliged to consume, the Sin Eater is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. 

Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen when she’s arrested for stealing a loaf of bread and sentenced to become a Sin Eater. It’s a devastating sentence, but May’s new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one, then two, of the Queen’s courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions – and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors. 

Set in a thinly disguised sixteenth-century England, The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi is a gripping story of treason and treachery; of secrets and silence; of women, of power – and, ultimately, of the strange freedom that comes from being an outcast . . . 

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49: 

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

Q by Christina Dalcher

This book held me right to the end and didn't end as expected. In fact I filled up at the last few paragraphs.

Children have to achieve certain standards or they get demoted to a lower school. The lowest schools are those where the children have to leave the family home and go to a state school somewhere else in the country.

Some unexpected transfers occur in the street where El lives, two girls in the neighbourhood get dropped from Silver to Yellow, unheard of before. And there was no sign of the girls failing before that.

Then El's daughter Freddie is transferred. El cannot stand the idea of Freddie in a yellow state school on her own. She asks her husband Malcolm to intervene, as he is in the top level of the management team for the Fitter Family Programme, but he refuses.

So El deliberately flunks her own teacher assessment to be transferred too.

What she expects and what she gets are so far apart as to be unbelievable.

"Freddie’s in a boarding school, and I’m going to take her out of it. It will be two short days before I realize how absolutely wrong I am."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.   

3/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle: 

  

 

Official description: 

PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more. 

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 

 

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link 
https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

I found this book (the second in the series) exciting to read, and liked following the progress of Sancia and her friends since they got together in the first book.

Sancia is always finding herself in awkward situations, she has for as long as she remembers. But at least now she has friends around her as she enters into the next crazy adventure. They are breaking into the Micheal campo in plain sight trying to succeed in the craziest theft ever thought of.

Meanwhile the Dandolo's are working on their own plans to improve their own situation. Plans which the troupe will need to look into and prevent if they want life to continue as it want it to.

Sancia will need to be on high alert as the Dandolo project is very interested in her too. And he is extremely dangerous. She does have help from a 'construct', of ancient design, who in turn wants help from Sancia. The construct 'Valeria' wants Sancia to destroy the Dandolo project, so that it can be free.

I was disappointed when the book came to its end and realised that I would have to wait until the third book is released to find out whether.. I can't tell you that! Sorry!

"Orso had just casually suggested a solution to some of the greatest limitations to scriving."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

Get your copy:

<

Read it on a Kindle for an improved experience: 

  

 

Official description: 

The upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it's not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won't tolerate competition, and they're willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.

But even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that's not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees - especially Sancia.

Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself - before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground. 

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 
I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more. 

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 

 

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link 
https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey [The Rampart Trilogy, Book 1]

 

The Book of Koli is the first book in The Rampart Trilogy and features Koli, who goes by many names during the book as his status changes. It is set way in the future after an everlasting war which devastated humanity and left them in pockets across the world. Koli is born into Mythen Rood in the valley of the Calder River, Ingland.

He worked as a Woodsmith ensuring a safe supply of wood for the village, but like many he dreamed of being a Rampart. A Rampart was important as they could use the artefacts left from the people before the war. Koli can't let things be, when things start to change around him and soon finds himself in a little bit of bother, resulting in him having to face difficult circumstances.

Koli is telling the story of his life, his language is different to ours but he describes things so that you can understand what has happened. He is doing it to make sure that what happened is remembered and so too are the people in the tale. I soon worked out that the places he was describing exist in Yorkshire and can be found on a map if you look carefully enough.

I really liked the way Koli was the narrator for himself, as if he were sat telling a tale to a group of people of how it was. It was easy to assume that you knew what was going to happen, even though you didn't really! What I didn't like was the fact that I reached the end of this first book far too soon and don't know when the next book will be released, so that I can continue reading it.

"So that was our life, and it seemed like nothing would ever happen to change it. But it’s when you think such thoughts that change is most like to come. You let your guard down, almost, and life comes running at you on your blind side. Because life is nothing but change, even when it seems to stand still. Standing still is a human thing, like a defiance we throw, but we can never do it for long.."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

  
4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

Get your copy:

 

 Read it on a Kindle: 

  

 

Official description: 

The start of a new post-apocalyptic trilogy from the author of the million-copy bestselling The Girl With All the Gifts... When the world broke down, all the plants were dying. We tried to make them stronger, but we went too far. Koli has lived in the small village of Mythen Rood his entire life. Beyond its walls lies an unrecognisable landscape. A place where overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly seeds will kill you where you stand. And if they don't get you, the Shunned Men will. Koli believes the first rule of survival is to never venture beyond the walls. He's wrong. 

From the author of the million-copy bestselling The Girl With All the Gifts comes The Book of Koli - the start of a breathtakingly original new trilogy set in a mesmerising and deadly future world. 

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts has sold over a million copies and became a major motion picture, based on his own BAFTA Award-nominated screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list. He also has several previous novels including the Felix Castor series (written as Mike Carey), two radio plays and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit. 

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

   

  https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app 

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49: 

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 

 

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

Sloane Andrews doesn't like being in the public gaze, and some publicists like to rat her out and bitch about her, so it is no wonder really.

Ten years ago, Sloane was a Chosen One, and now she really could do with a private life where she could actually live quietly. Unfortunately she lives a life of being on public display, attending public events and generally being a public possession.

Then Sloane and three of the other Chosen Ones find themselves pulled through to another reality, where they must fight their battles again, to save all worlds, not just their own.

Sloane is a flawed and snarky character, she can't help being off with people. I like that about her, she is content to be herself and doesn't like having to fake being nice.

I was able to guess some of the plot, but wasn't 100% right in any of my guessing. The ending was unexpected and different.

"Sloane was up and panting. Quiet, she told herself. Her toes curled under; the ground was cold here, in the Dark One’s house, and he had taken her boots."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

I also discovered spanakopita, which I intend to try out sometime soonest. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description: 

The mesmerising adult debut from Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent.

They were the Chosen Ones. Saving the world made them heroes. Saving it again might destroy them.

When Sloane Andrews and her friends defeated the Dark One, and saved the world, it nearly cost them everything. Ten years later, they are still struggling to put the battle behind them and reclaim their lives. After all, the rest of the world has moved on . . . so why can't they?

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD ­­- and her huge attitude problem - but really, she's hiding secrets from them . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One's defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One's ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold - bigger than the world itself.

Last time, it took everything she had. This time, it might not be enough.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.
 

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

I buy my glasses online now, I was dubious at first. Now I'll keep on buying them from Glasses Direct, it you do too, you can get a discount off your first order over £49:

https://glassesdirect.mention-me.com/m/ol/vm1jh-0d9e9eda68 

 
Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:
 

  https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

 
Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90 

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Thorn is a princess known in her own land as Alyrra, but is not valued by her mother or her brother. Since her father's death she is alone. The presence of the king of Menaiya in her land means that she is a prospect for marriage, that she may yet escape her bully of a brother. But, Alyrra needs to reach Menaiya safely in order to be wed. 

This was an engrossing tale of a princess betrayed by her own family, then rescued by a foreign prince. The prince himself is vulnerable and needs her help, but she doesn't know how to give it. Along the way she makes a lot of friends in all stations of life. These give her the will to keep striving for the truth.

I understand that this is a re-telling of an older story, but I haven't heard it before and found it quite engrossing. The author writes very descriptively and it was easy to visualise the world created for the characters. It was very enjoyable for me to read and I read it in a very short space of time, for the length of the book. I would recommend it to those who like a fantasy story based on fables and folk tales.

 

"Do not put yourself in a vulnerable situation. Do not walk alone. Do not remain with anyone you do not trust.”

I received an e-ARC of this novel through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

Get your copy:

Read it on a Kindle:

 

Official description: 

For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed. Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future. But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra.

Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own.

As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY 

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link: 

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

Bone Silence by Alastair Reynolds

Adrana and Arafura (Fura) Ness are back in this (allegedly) last book in the series. Having upset the whole Congregation of worlds with the changes in quoins and their values, they are now being hunted for a variety of crimes. They set out to acquire a means of communicating and listening in on ship to ship messages. Each sister also has their own 'shopping list' of things they want to acquire while docked.

Fura commandeers another ship for Adrana and they each set their ships towards their next target, where they will be able to satisfy their curiosity regarding certain matters relating to the cycle of the rise and fall of civilisations and other tasks they have taken upon themselves.

Meanwhile the hunters are circling and drawing near, with dirty tricks, to capture the Ness sisters. The intention is to hang every crime they can on the heads of the sisters, while setting everyone against them to ensure capture and conviction at the very least (death if necessary).

Each sister has to deal with difficulties thrown in their path, hoping that they will eventually be safely reunited and better placed than they are at the start.

I enjoyed this book, I like the world's that the sister's and their crew visit and the people they meet. They all have their different ways of speaking, for example the space farers talk like pirates, alien's have their own different ways of communicating and the robots speak depending on their level of repair. The author states that they have finished this world now, which I am disappointed about. However, the books in this series are excellent and I am glad that I have read them.

If you enjoy space or adventure stories you will most likely enjoy this book. I recommend it to you, but make sure that you read the other two first (Revenger and Shadow Captain).

"The man was not a man. The upper two thirds of his face, from the point where his nose might have begun, was a jumble of insect parts stitched together like the pieces of a rag doll."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

5/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

 

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description:

Return to the Revenger universe, for another thrilling tale set among the stars . . .

Quoins are accepted currency throughout the thousands of worlds of the Congregation. Ancient, and of unknown origin and purpose, people have traded with them, fought for them, and stolen quoin hordes from booby-trapped caches at risk to life and limb throughout the Thirteen Occupations. Only now it's becoming clear they have another purpose . . . as do the bankers who've been collecting them.

The Occupations themselves are another puzzle. The rise and fall of civilisation may have been unevenly spaced across history, but there is also a pattern. Could something be sparking the Occupations - or ending them? And if so, what could it be, lurking far beyond the outermost worlds of the Congregation?

The Ness sisters are being hunted for crimes they didn't commit by a fleet whose crimes are worse than their own. If they're to survive, and stay one step ahead of their pursuers - if they're to answer the questions which have plagued them - it's going to require every dirty, piratical trick in the book .

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]: 

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90

The Cabin by Jørn Lier Horst

This is the second of the 'Chief Inspector Wisting' books that I've read, and I enjoyed this one as much as the previous one.

Bernhard Clausen, a former Member of Parliament for the Labour Party has died, and Wisting has been given a secret case to investigate, forming his own team around him. Wisting's daughter (Line) is again involved, this time on Wisting's terms.

But, there is danger lurking, where from is not obvious. Another case overlaps Wisting's and the investigation starts to get very involved.

Line follows up on a previous journalists investigations and obliquely involves the woman in the case. This helps Line move her work for her father forward much more quickly. Meanwhile a Kripos cold case investigator wants to learn what Line knows about it too!

Jorn Lier Horst still tells an exciting story that keeps you along for the trip to the end. Definitely a book that I would recommend to someone that I know, they are a keen Wallender 'follower'. I'm sure that they would like it.

"‘We’re working on a case where it would be best for the police not to be the ones asking the questions,’ he told her."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

Get your copy:

  

Read it on a Kindle:

Official description:

It's been fifteen years since Simon Meier walked out of his house, never to be seen again.

And just one day since politician Bernard Clausen was found dead at his cabin on the Norwegian coast.

When Chief Inspector William Wisting is asked to investigate, he soon discovers he may have found the key to solving Meier's disappearance.

But doing so means he must work with an old adversary to piece together what really happened all those years ago.

It's a puzzle that leads them into a dark underworld on the trail of Clausen's interests and vices. A shady place from which they may never emerge - especially when he finds it leads closer to home than he ever could have imagined.

Fans of Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson will be captivated by The Cabin, a thrilling and atmospheric read from award-winning Nordic crime writer Jørn Lier Horst.

Save on your mobile [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

I'm on giffgaff and want to share the love. Order a SIM and you'll get £5 extra credit when you activate with £10 or more.

https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/julieshort?ggSMS=app

Get £20 off on accessories when you buy a OnePlus smartphone on oneplus.net [click on the image for more information or the link if no image is visible]:

https://oneplus.net/uk/invite#5SUGBN733ZPFCXY

Get 0.5GB extra storage space when you sign up to One Drive via this link

https://onedrive.live.com?invref=9e1dff9dd20d43ff&invscr=90