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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Shards: A haunting post-apocalyptic story of heartbreak, hope and survival by Jack Wakefield (aka Bob Palmer)

Hi, all:

I bring you a new book by an author I discovered not very long ago, thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team, although this time he has published his book (not exactly new) under a different name.

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Shards by Jack Wakefield (Bob Palmer)

Shards: A haunting post-apocalyptic story of heartbreak, hope and survival by Jack Wakefield (aka Bob Palmer)

When you’ve lost everything, what’s left to lose?

In a post-pandemic world stripped bare of people, ten-year-old Dallin Smith wanders the vast red-rock desert of Utah searching for signs of life.

Haunted by loss, the unexpected return of his childhood friend Taylor Nielsen brings him comfort, guidance, and something darker he can’t quite name.

But as their relationship slowly unravels, Dallin must face the most harrowing truth of all: the real battle for survival must be fought within his own mind.

Shards is a disturbing, morally complex story of hope and horror, of joy and heartbreak from Bob Palmer, writing as Jack Wakefield. Perfect for fans of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend.

About the author:

Jack Wakefield has been, in chronological order, a construction worker, town planner, rock drummer, graphic designer, adman, entrepreneur, scriptwriter and film producer. He now writes full time, mostly under his real name Bob Palmer. If you enjoy humorous novels, then check out the award-winning Hacking George and Cute.

His favourite theme is the absurdity of life – nothing on the planet is more fascinating than human behaviour. And even after decades of creating ads, he still loves a great concept.

In his spare time, he’s been caught in a desert flash flood, set off the sirens at Area 51, and hikes canyons in the US Southwest searching for ancient ruins and rock art. To share his passion, he created the popular hiking website Red Dirt Blue Skies. It is this landscape that provided the catalyst for his latest novel, Shards.

Home is a creaky cottage on the fringe of London UK which he shares with a black and white cat, rampant woodworm, and his infinitely patient author and cover-designer wife Berni Stevens.

He is never bored.

My review:

This is the third novel I read by this author (he published the two before under his own name, Bob Palmer), and, although it is very different in style and plot from the previous two (that were satirical comedies with a dark undertone), I have enjoyed it as well.

Let me start by recommending the author’s note at the end of the book, as it helps understand the reasons why the author decided to use a different name when he published this book, and also to appreciate the circumstances of its publication, because the book was ready 6 years ago, and it was finally published only a few months ago. If the plot might have felt very improbable at the time of writing, that is not the case any longer; quite the opposite.

This novel, written in the first person, is a coming-of-age story, but not that of an adolescent who goes through the usual difficulties all youths have to face. Dallin Smith (Dal) is not your usual teenager when we meet him, as he has been brought up in a pretty peculiar family, in a community of survivalists who live quite isolated from the rest of the population. To make matters worse, a pandemic arrives with dire consequences for his family and for humanity at large, and he ends up the lone survivor of the little community. He wants to find an adult to look after him, but that proves complicated, although at least he can count on his friend, Taylor, who is always there in time of need.

Together, the duo manages to move away and find food and other necessities, but although Taylor is quite happy with the situation, Dal still wants to find an adult who can take care of them. After several attempts, they meet Jacko, a man much older than his father who seems to have led a pretty isolated life even before the pandemic. Thankfully, he is quite happy to guide Dal and teach him all (or almost all) he needs to know to survive.

The plot of the story is not complicated, and it is made up of Dal’s experiences and adventures, first at home with his family (a small section of the book) and then in the post-apocalyptic world (which makes up most of the novel). As you can imagine, this is not a novel with many characters, but it is full of adventures, and Jacko, who loves books, recommends The Swiss Family Robinson, and Robinson Crusoe as readings to both boys, and those seem pretty apt recommendations considering the circumstances. In my case, the story reminded me of a Catalan novel I read in school, called Mecanoscript del segon origen (Typescript of the Second Origin) by Manuel de Pedrolo, which I love.

Apart from the adventures and the process of Dal learning everything necessary to survive in this new world order (and that includes reading and writing, apart from some more hands-on stuff), the book also digs deep into Dal’s psychology, his feelings, doubts, and shadows. He is polite, decent, tries to behave according to the rules of morality he was taught, and tries hard to be good, but at times he seems to be easily influenced by Taylor, who isn’t always an upstanding citizen (if there can be such a thing in a post-apocalyptic world). Both Jacko and Taylor try to gain Dal to their way of seeing and doing things, and although he tries to avoid it, Dal knows he might be forced to choose only one.

The plot makes it sound like a cut-and-dry story, but the book is not without its surprises, and one of them is pretty major. At least in my case, it took me quite a while to reach the right conclusion, but once I did, thinking back about what had happened, it all made sense. (I won’t go into any more detail to avoid spoilers).

I liked most of the characters (Taylor not so much at times), especially Jacko with his love of books, his acceptance of the boys’ arrival, and his taking up a paternal role with them. I also loved the descriptions of the different places and the dramatic landscapes, that play a very important part in the story (and were a big inspiration for the author), and after all we have experienced, it is difficult to read this book and not wonder what we would have done in Dal’s situation and worry that perhaps we might not have managed as well as he does (no matter how old we are).

Despite all that happens, the novel ends on a pretty hopeful note, and the themes of personal growth, forgiveness, second chances, and acceptance of moral ambiguity play big parts in this novel that demonstrates that Bob Palmer can write compelling and unforgettable characters no matter what genre he chooses. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review. And thanks to all of you for reading, liking, sharing, commenting, and for always being there. Have fun and keep smiling!

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Fourth Victim (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries 7) by Brian O’Hare (@brianohare26)

Hi, all:

I bring you a police procedural novel in a series set in Northern Ireland that I’ve been following from the very beginning, and I look forward to the 8th novel already!

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The Fourth Victim (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries 7) by Brian O’Hare


The Fourth Victim (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries 7) by Brian O’Hare

DCI Jim Sheehan and Belfast’s Serious Crimes Unit are called to investigate the brutal killings of three solicitors. Each victim’s shady dealings leave a long list of suspects — but one stands out.

“Thrilling and intriguing, all the way to the end.” 

A child buried alive. Three lawyers beaten to death. A judge murdered in his own home.

Evidence points squarely to a grieving mother who believes the lawyers were responsible for her nine-year-old daughter’s death. The team is convinced she’s their killer. Sheehan isn’t so sure.

When a fourth body drops, he’s forced to re-examine the case from the ground up. Is the evidence as solid as it seems, or is someone orchestrating the murders from the shadows?

As Sheehan’s enquiries edge closer to the truth, a hidden adversary grows more dangerous. If Sheehan clears the wrong suspect, the killer will strike again — and this time, the fallout could be explosive.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213307918-the-fourth-victim?

About the author:

Brian O’Hare’s early writing was academic but when he decided to write fiction, his success surprised him. His books have won several awards and his first mystery novel, Angel of Death, led to the award-winning Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series. There are eight books in the series with a ninth on the way.

Before retirement, he was Assistant Director of the Southern Regional College in Northern Ireland. Married, with three children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, he now writes full-time. For many years, he and his wife enjoyed travelling, especially in France. He also enjoys reading, chess, and plays golf twice a week.

Reviewers say that O’Hare writes with a keen eye for detail with his tales evolving at a surprisingly fast pace, that he leans towards the human side of his characters,that he imbues them with a real-world presence that is in turn witty and passionate. If you are interested in discovering whether or not there is any truth to these judgements, the novels are available on Amazon, sometimes at a reduced rate.

My review:

I have read and enjoyed all of Inspector Sheehan Mysteries, a series of police procedural novels set in Northern Ireland, which follow a team of detectives working at Belfast’s Serious Crime Unit. And, what a team they are. I’ve always loved how this series shows a team of individuals with different talents, attitudes, characters, of various ages, and genders, at different points in their careers. Despite all that, they are a team, and as we read the novels, we get to learn more about them and appreciate how they have evolved and become better for it. This is not a novel where everyone is out to stab everybody in the back, where nobody can trust anybody else, and where corruption and conspiracy abound within the police force. Not that the characters are perfect, but they try to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, and they work together to get a result.

That doesn’t mean somebody who hasn’t read the rest of the novels cannot enjoy this one. Each novel deals with a different case, which is completely solved within its pages, and there is more than enough information about each member of the team to understand their motivations and get a good idea of their role and how they relate to each other. The author also includes a list of Acronyms of the Police Service in Northern Ireland, to make it easier for readers to identify the different roles and understand how the police force is organised in that part of the United Kingdom, and, in this case, it also includes a Foreword that briefly summarises some of political issues in Northern Ireland and a glossary of the acronyms of some of the organisations involved in the “Troubles”, so that the references to some of those groups in the novel don’t confuse. But, although I want to avoid spoilers, let me clarify that this is a novel dealing with four victims, four murders, as the title indicates, and not one centred in Northern Ireland’s politics per se.

The story is told in the third person, from different points of view (not only Sheehan and his team but also other characters who play some part in the story, although we don’t always know how they relate to the cases the team are investigating), and although the investigation of the murders takes place in the present of the story, we are also taken back in time to a series of events that happened within the fourteen years previous to that moment. Those events are interesting in their own right, and it is impossible to read them without wondering how they relate to the crimes committed in the present. The author is excellent at planting suspicion, seeds of doubt, red herrings, and making us think we know a lot more than we actually do. We get some background information ahead of the members of the team, but we need to keep our wits about us and not jump to conclusions, because there are twists and surprises aplenty, and, as Sheehan often says, we have to pay attention to the small details.

The story is a page-turner, intriguing and fascinating, full of shady characters whom many people would be happy to see meet their just deserts, and it includes enough police-procedural detail and action to keep readers hooked and entertained. The unique setting, the relationship between the characters, the touches of humour, the solid psychological insights into the minds of victims and suspects, and some questions of ethics and morals raise the novel to the top of the genre, and I recommend it together with the rest of the books in the series. I am always happy to revisit the team, and I always feel as if I am with a group of dear friends whose adventures I’m always eager to read about.

I wanted to add a warning: the crimes are violent, and some moments can trigger readers, as tends to be the case with this genre of novels. I also wanted to add that the last 6% of the novel (in e-book format) shares a teaser, the beginning of the 8th novel in the series, and a short section about the author. I am happy to say I already have the 8th novel waiting on my list, and I know it won’t be too long before I visit Sheehan’s team again.

I received an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.

Thanks to the author for this novel, and to all of you for visiting, reading, commenting, and sharing with others. Keep smiling and take lots of care.

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Cleansing by Victoria Alvear (@valvearshecter) #RBRT

Hi, all:

I share my review of another book I’ve discovered thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team. I hadn’t read a book set in this historical period for a very long time, and this one felt incredibly relevant to our world today.

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The Cleansing by Victoria Alvear

The Cleansing by Victoria Alvear

Based on a true story, this is not the enlightened Rome of myth. This is a city choking on fear, where blood flows on both the battlefield and altar, and where generals and politicians alike are desperate to appease rageful gods.

When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim there can be only one reason the gods abandoned a Vestal Virgin has broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses.

Forced as a child into serving Vesta, the goddess of fire, Mia has always chafed against Rome’s control of her every move—especially after being separated from her childhood love, Attius. Now, accused of a crime she did not commit, she must defend herself in a hostile court to avoid being buried alive for her “crime.”

Betrayed by the high priestess, hunted by Rome’s political and religious elite, Mia must either accept her fate — or join with the Sybil of Cumae to expose the truth behind a world built on superstition, fear, and lies.

A story of personal awakening amid public catastrophe, The Cleansing is a haunting journey through a city at war with itself — and a woman who risks everything to survive it.

“Shocking, searing and all too timely.”
Kate Quinn

“Excellent and very evocative.”
Ben Kane

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243371380-the-cleansing?

About the author:

Victoria Alvear aka Vicky Alvear Shecter is the author of multiple books set in the ancient world. She writes for adults as Victoria Alvear and for children as Vicky Alvear Shecter. Her adult novels include THE CLEANSING: BASED ON A TRUE STORY, which tells of the true story of a Vestal Virgin falsely accused of having sex and facing a death sentence. Others include A DAY OF FIRE: A NOVEL OF POMPEII, A SONG OF WAR, and A YEAR OF RAVENS. Her YA novels include CLEOPATRA’S MOON, based on the life of Cleopatra’s only daughter, and CURSES AND SMOKE: A NOVEL OF POMPEII. She has written a mid-grade series on mythology (ANUBIS SPEAKS, HADES SPEAKS, and THOR SPEAKS) as well as two award-winning biographies for kids. She is a docent at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Antiquities at Emory University in Atlanta.

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

This is my first experience of reading one of this author’s novels, and I was impressed by the story and how vividly she recreates what life in Ancient Rome must have been like, especially for the protagonist, a Vestal Virgin called Opimia (Mia). Those who have the notion of Ancient Rome being an enlightened and civilised empire are likely to be horrified by much of what happens in the novel, which is based on real events, although it is a work of historical fiction. The author adds several sections at the end that I recommend reading, as they include an author’s note where she explains why she thought the story was so important in this day and age (and there are many thoughts and ideas expressed in the book that could be easily applied to some of the events we’re experiencing at the moment and some of the “reasoning” behind them); a collection of historical notes about the real historical events behind the novel (that takes place during the Second Punic War, in 216 BCE Rome); a list of real historical characters that are featured in the story; and a fascinating section on ‘Strange but true facts about Ancient Rome in this novel’ where we can find topics such as female virginity, blood sacrifices/relationship with the Gods, human sacrifices, Prodigia, among others that I won’t mention because they might reveal too many details about the plot. Alvear also mentions the sources of her information; there is a section of acknowledgements, and a map of the Roman Forum, where much of the action takes place.

The novel starts with a warning about the content, and I think readers must indeed be warned that this is no genteel historical fiction. It starts with a bloody and horrendous battle that we live up close and personal (the Battle at Cannae), and the horrors do not stop here. The Roman defeat and the great loss of lives (an estimated 50000 men) in that battle created terror in Rome, as they feared Hannibal’s army and his next move. Somebody had to be blamed for that loss, and their belief in the supernatural meant the explanation had to be that somebody had done something that had enraged the Gods, and they had to pay for it to ensure Rome’s safety. Animal sacrifices and the usual rituals were not enough.

We follow Mia, the youngest of the six Vestal Virgins in Rome at the time, as she goes about her duties, and through no fault of her own, she gets accused of being the reason behind the defeat at the battle. She knows she hasn’t done what she is accused of, being impure (she was taken into the service of Vesta at age 6 and has never known a man), but nobody is interested in hearing her side of the story. Although she manages to secure a trial of sorts, she eventually realises that everybody is conspiring to ensure she is made an example of and ‘the cleansing’ of the title takes place.

Although Mia is a real historical character, there is little known about any of the individual Vestal Virgins, and that gives the author a chance to turn her into a fascinating character, with doubts about religion but also very influenced by all she has been taught. She is a rebel at heart but tries to obey and behave as expected to avoid something terrible happening to Rome and the Roman people. We learn about her past experiences through flashbacks where she (her story is told in the first-person) remembers specific moments of her life, and by the end of the novel we have quite a clear picture, not only of what she is like, but also of what life must have been like for these women, who, in the best of cases, had to serve for thirty years from a very young age and live a very restricted existence. If they were unlucky, they might end up flogged and buried alive. What a bargain!

You will have to read the novel to appreciate how things worked and the process she goes through until she realises that much of what passes for truth, religious belief, and rituals have been manipulated and doctored by those in power to control the masses.

Apart from Mia, whose stubbornness could be frustrating at times, there were other characters I loved as well, like Kete, her servant, an Egyptian woman who is brave and intelligent; Prisca, a childhood friend who keeps in contact with Mia and tries to help her; Atticus, another childhood friend and a bit more than that; Floronia, another young Vestal Virgin and the one closest to Mia; the wonderful Sybil of Cumae (my favourite), and Useless, the dog. Of course, there are some horrible characters as well, but I’d rather not talk too much about them.

I have already mentioned the way the author createsa vivid portrayal of Mia’s life and the life led by the Roman citizens at the time. The book is full of small details that bring it to life, from dresses and hairstyles to customs, traditions, food, drink, laws, and everyday routines. This is not a fast-paced novel, as it takes its time to build up enough understanding of the way the religion and the society of the time worked to ensure we fully appreciate the change in Mia’s beliefs and the arc her character experiences. That doesn’t mean the story is not gripping, because it is full of fascinating scenes inhabited by characters who won’t leave anybody indifferent.

Although the ending doesn’t feel particularly realistic, considering what happens in the rest of the story, it is satisfying. I think most readers will be happy with it. And the author explains why she chose this ending as well.

A fascinating novel that feels particularly relevant now. I kept highlighting quotes and sections that spoke to me loud and clear, and I know it’s a story that will stay with me for a long time. I recommend it to readers interested in this historical period and to readers of historical fiction in general, provided they take into account the author’s warning about the violent and extreme content.

I leave you with some of the quotes I mentioned to give you a taste of what the writing is like and what I was talking about.

A frightened people will always side with the powerful, if they believe the powerful will protect them in some way. Even when they actively hurt them. The promise of safety and protection was more potent than the strongest poppy tincture.

It was ill-omened to speak lies of the dead, I told them. And I would not accept being told up was down, white was black, and truth was false even as our leaders spat falsehoods with impunity. The goddess of lies and deceit, Fraus, I told them, must never be given more credence than the goddess of truth, Veritas.

Whatever the powerful in Rome claimed to be true— and wrote down as true— became “fact”. And with enough repetition, lies always seemed more true than the truth.

Thanks to Rosie and her team for their support, to the author for her fabulous novel, and especially to all of you for visiting, commenting, sharing, liking, and for your support. Keep smiling and keep reading!

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog My Husband’s Wife: A Novel by Alice Feeney (@panmacmillan) (@alicewriterland)

Hi, all:

I bring you a book by a writer who has become very popular, but this is my first experience reading one of her novels. Not one straight plot-line in the whole book!

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My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

My Husband’s Wife: A Novel by Alice Feeney

The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists is back with a psychological masterpiece that will leave you questioning everything you know about love, identity, and revenge.

“Nonstop thrills! The best Feeney book yet!” —FREIDA MCFADDEN
“Propulsive, compulsive, addictive.” —LISA JEWELL

Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.

Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.

My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.

About the author:

Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author of novels including His & Hers, Sometimes I Lie, Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations, with His & Hers currently in production for Netflix, produced by Jessica Chastain, and starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal.

Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years. Her seventh novel, Beautiful Ugly, will be published around the world in January 2025.

You can follow Alice on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. To find out the latest book and TV news, or to sign up for Alice’s free newsletter, please visit alicefeeney dot com

My review:

I thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.

I had seen the author and her novels featured and was aware she is a very popular writer, but this is the first of her novels I read, although I have some others already waiting on my list.

I read many thrillers and mysteries, and I do love a story with twists and turns, red herrings and unreliable narrators, but this one must be one of the most convoluted stories I’ve ever read (if not the most), and with one of the highest counts of unreliable narrators I’ve ever come across. And that’s saying something. Of course, not having read any of her previous novels, I cannot comment on how it compares to those, but based on what I’ve read, she truly deserves the title of the Queen of Twists.

I am not sure what else to say about the book. I won’t tell you that I will try not to give too many details of the plot to avoid spoilers, because it is almost impossible to explain the plot in any way that makes sense without getting tangled up in who is doing what, when, who knows what, who is lying to whom, who is hiding what… Well, you probably catch my drift.

To begin with, the story starts with a fascinating premise. A woman named Eden Fox returns home after a run and discovers her key doesn’t work on the door. To make matters worse, the woman who opens the door tells her “she” is the real Eden Fox. The first woman we meet (who is telling the story in the first person, as all the narrators do) doesn’t have her phone or any means of identifying herself. She soon discovers how difficult it can be to prove you are who you really say tiy are when you’ve recently moved to a small town (Hope Falls) and haven’t interacted with any of the locals. That is, of course, if she is who she says she is.

Her story alternates with the story of another woman, Birdy (Olivia Bird), a bit of a loner who lost her mother when she was very young and seems to enjoy the company of her dog more than anybody else’s. She is given a terrible diagnosis, but also some surprising news about a relative she hadn’t thought about in years. Of course, readers will think there is a connection between the two women, but what is that connection?

We also get the story, as it develops and gets more and more complicated, from the point of view of other characters as we get into the story (Eden’s husband, the local policeman, and a few more), and when the body of a woman appears, there are also interrogations, transcripts, autopsy reports… The small town and Spyglass, the house where Eden Fox and her husband live, also feature prominently, and we get to hear about some peculiar characters, festivals and traditions, as well as local gossip. There are elements we’d expect to see in classical mysteries, and others fairly original (a company that tells people when they are going to die, and it seems to get it right), and there are stories of revenge, family relationships, questions of ethics and morality (how far would you go for your children, and what would you do to somebody who hurt them), and the odd touch of humour.

The characters… Well, it is impossible for such a twisted and changeable story to have characters that act consistently. I kept changing my mind about Eden Fox to begin with, and although I did like many things about Birdy (who has quite a sharp sense of humour), all the characters hide so many things (especially considering the narrative is told by all of them in the first-person) that I didn’t get the sense I knew any of them when I reached the end. Did I care for them? I felt intrigued, but I am not sure I’d say these are characters that will stay with me for a long time.

This is a genre that requires suspension of disbelief, like all fiction, but some novels stretch this more than others. This is not one of those stories that, as you read it, you think that it could easily happen to you or your next-door neighbour. Unless you lead a pretty complicated life. I finished reading it and wondered if everything would fit in and make sense if I reread the story now that I know what had happened (well, more or less). I am not sure.

This is an entertaining read that will keep you turning the pages (and yes, of course, there is a final-final-final twist), ideal if you are looking for something to keep you entertained and aren’t worried about it not being terribly realistic. Don’t expect deep psychological insights (there are many quotable phrases, though) or truly consistent and credible characters, but if you like twisted and challenging plots that will make your head spin, this is your book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the book, thanks to all of you for your support, for visiting, reading, liking, sharing, commenting, clicking… Have fun, keep reading, and always keep smiling. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog So Shall Ye Reap (Book 2 of the Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler (@TerryTyler4)

Hi, all:

I bring you the second book in a new series by one of my favourite authors, whose stories regularly feature on my blog.

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So Shall Ye Reap (Book 2 of the Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler

So Shall Ye Reap (Book 2 of the Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”
-Galations 6:7

Call it karma, call it poetic justice – two novellas that explore the cunning way life can exact its own revenge, in a way that no amount of foresight can ever fully predict.

Ordinary Joe

A phone call on a cold November morning summons Joe Carter from Vienna to Brazil, to meet up with his old travelling buddy, Ziggy. But Ziggy’s changed. He has a new crowd, different values, and a clever way of reeling Joe in.

Soon, Ziggy will make an offer Joe could refuse, if he really wanted to. When he agrees, he has no idea of the dark path he will travel down.

Some roads don’t let you turn back.

King of the Playground

The path between love and hate is narrow indeed.

At six years old Jerry and Mikkel become inseparable, the brothers each other never had. Mikkel is generous, funny, adventurous, the leader of the gang, the king of the playground. Jerry feels honoured to be his second-in-command, but over the years his resentment grows. Why can’t he be the king? Why does Mikkel always turn up smelling of roses?

As they become men, Jerry acknowledges that this choke hold of emotions that intensifies as the years pass, has consumed him.

About the author:
Terry Tyler is the author of twenty-eight books available from Amazon, the latest being the post-apocalyptic thriller, Safe Zone.
Other recent publications include the SFV-1 rage virus trilogy: Infected, Darkness and Reset, also ‘Where There’s Doubt’, the story of a romance scammer and his prey, and ‘Megacity’, the final book in the dystopian Operation Galton trilogy. Happy to be independently published, Terry is an avid reader and book reviewer, and a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team.
Terry is a Walking Dead addict, and has a great interest in history (particularly Saxon, Plantagenet, and Tudor), along with books and documentaries on sociological/cultural/anthropological subject matter. She loves South Park, the sea, and going for long walks in quiet places where there are lots of trees. She lives in the north east of England with her husband.
Terry can be found on X @TerryTyler4
My review:
Having read several of Terry Tyler’s stories before, I was keen to read the books in her Revenge Series, for several reasons: I love revenge stories (perhaps I’m a bit twisted, but who is perfect?), I am always happy to read anything this author writes, and I was intrigued by the idea of combining two novellas under a general theme in each book. I read the first one, and I knew I would be waiting eagerly for the rest. So, in case you’re in a hurry, I can already confirm: the second book in the series is a fabulous read as well.
I don’t want to dissect the two stories in excessive detail, to avoid giving too much away to future readers, so I’ll try to talk in general about the two.
As expected from an author who is talented at creating gripping stories inhabited by realistic and psychologically complex characters, ‘Ordinary Joe’ and ‘King of the Playground’ manage that elusive combination: a compelling plot and protagonists we can relate to (even when we don’t like them very much).
The two novellas in this book have male protagonists who narrate their stories in the first person. Both stories share some similarities: both feature a male friendship that has lasted many years (in one of the cases since childhood), where one of the friends is the more popular, adventurous, and fun of the two; in both of them, one of the friends betrays the other, although the nature of the betrayal is very different (one is very personal, the other involves something that is more “dangerous” in the usual sense); and, as can be guessed by the title, in both stories fate has a way of punishing the betrayer, more or less directly. Both protagonists also learn a lesson by the end of the story, and they are changed by their experience, at least to some extent.
There are also many differences. While one of the protagonists is determined to turn his life into a successful story, and his ambition is to achieve an important social status and become well-off, the other cares nothing for material things and only sees money as a means to an end: travelling, meeting people, and collecting unique experiences. Also, one of them is the “victim” of the betrayal, while the other one is the “perpetrator”, although there are many nuances and things aren’t clear-cut, because life is rarely, if ever, black or white. While one of the stories is set in a world that will feel everyday and familiar to many readers, the other takes place in a much more exotic, dark, and dangerous world, but both are compelling and make us keep turning the pages.
The plot builds up quickly, but the author manages to pack enough details into both stories to make us grasp the psychological makeup of the protagonists, so we understand why they behave in the way they do, and we get the full impact of what happens next.
The two stories work as cautionary tales and deep explorations of the psychology of relationships, self-perception, fairness, and revenge. Readers can draw their own conclusions, but I’m sure both stories will keep them turning the pages until the end and thinking for a long time after.

Thanks to the author for this book, to all of you for reading, and remember to like, share, comment, click, and above all, to keep reading and smiling!

I’ve closed comments here as I will be a bit busy. Take care! ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog My Greek Island Christmas (Holiday Reading Selection) by Effrosyni Moschoudi (@FrostieMoss)

Hi, all:

I bring you a very seasonal novel, one I’ve picked up from Rosie’s book review team list, although I have read and enjoyed other books by the same author before.

Oh, and I’m adding some links at the end of the post so you can see some of the things Sants 3 Ràdio (the local radio station where I volunteer) and I have been busy with over the holidays.

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My Greek Island Christmas by Effrosyni Moschoudi


My Greek Island Christmas (Holiday Reading Selection) by Effrosyni Moschoudi

Two die-hard cynics when it comes to love meet on a small family farm on the alluring Greek island of Santorini, and the magic of Christmas goes to work.

Cathy Roussos, a Greek-American single mom, swore off love many years ago after a painful breakup. Her nine-year-old son, the energetic but rather shy Leo, is everything she lives for. When she takes a temp job as a housekeeper for the Christmas season at a small family farm on the island of Santorini, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the standoffish son of the owner.

Alex Rallis, a veterinarian living in Athens, is a sworn bachelor. As Christmas draws near, he is offered an ideal job abroad. Before taking it, he has to sell the family farm in Santorini and find a new place for his elderly father. The last place Alex wants to be at Christmas is the farm that holds painful memories, but he can’t avoid it. His father will only agree to sell the farm and move out if Alex spends one last Christmas with him there. It seems the old man has a ploy in mind, and a string of adorable locals have their parts to play, too. Next thing you know, Christmas cheer is shared all around, old sad tales are retold in different ways, and romantic love swirls through the air deliciously, like the aromatic steam of hot chocolate.

Can these two wounded souls find happiness together? They say Christmas holds its own magic, and Santorini can be just as enchanting. Even in the midst of winter, its allure remains—enough to give anyone a chance to heal and open up their heart.

About the author

Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She writes books for the romantic at heart, and for all readers around the world, who love her country and its vast culture.

Her stories are set in alluring locations around Greece and tend to feature supernatural creatures such as angels, ghosts or witches, as she believes our world is magical and not as mundane as we think.

She writes clean and sweet romances that are peppered with humour and a touch of family drama, offering the reader an emotional rollercoaster ride with perfect happily-ever-after endings.

Effrosyni lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with a British husband, two mischievous cats, and a vast collection of books. Her little town is heavenly enough, yet her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.

The Ebb, her new adult beach romance that was inspired by her summers in Corfu in the 1980s, was a Q-Finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2014. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. Her supernatural suspense novella, The Boy on the Bridge, was a Top 10 winner of the “50 Best Indie Books” awards of Readfreely in 2021.

Effrosyni’s books are Amazon bestsellers, having hit #1 several times, and are available mainly in kindle and paperback format.

What others say about Effrosyni’s books:

“Effrosyni layers her words on the page like music.” ~USA Today bestselling author Jackie Weger

“Very few writers have such a gift for realism.” ~Kelly Smith Reviews

“I was glued to the pages by the author’s vivid descriptions and her beautiful, almost poetic way of writing.” ~Angel Sefer, author of The Greek Isles series

“Moschoudi’s writing is impressive; sweet and delicate yet powerful, like a punch rolled up in silk.” ~Nicholas Rossis, author of The Pearseus sci-fi series

Visit her website, Effrosyniwrites, for her travel guide to Corfu, delicious Greek recipes, and a plethora of blog posts about her life in Greece.

You are welcome to join her bimonthly newsletter for free books in every issue. You may also contact her via her website or her favorite social medium, Facebook, with any comments or just to say hi. She loves to hear from her readers!

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

I have read several novels by Moschoudi, and they are sure to be favourites among the fans of romantic novels, especially those who like to travel thanks to the stories, as they tend to be set in wonderful holiday locations. Here, the reluctant couple meet in Santorini, and although it is winter, the island is depicted as a paradise, as enjoyable in Christmas as it is in the summer, only cosier, with fewer tourists and with the added magic of the season to look forward to.

We meet Cathy, who is travelling with her young son Leo, as she is about to take up a brief assignment as the housekeeper for the Christmas holidays at a Santorini farm. She is half-Greek and half-American, but had been living in Athens when the story starts. She plans to go back to the USA to live with her parents and her son after Christmas. A man mistakenly takes her suitcase at the airport, and there is a nasty misunderstanding before things are cleared out. To her surprise, she discovers that the stranger who took her suitcase, Alex, is the son of the man she is supposed to be keeping house for, and they are all going to be living under the same roof.

Most readers will imagine that, despite the inauspicious beginnings, Alex and Cathy will end up finding each other. I won’t confirm or deny that, but one of the many strong points of the story is the way the two characters seem to be total opposites to begin with, but they have more in common than they imagine, as we discover as the story progresses. Both of them are traumatised, both of them have suffered betrayals and feel abandoned, have issues of trust, and find it difficult to confide in others. Alex has a difficult relationship with his father, whom he hadn’t visited for years, and the complex story behind that is slowly revealed. There are secrets, lies, and even more misunderstandings. There are also third parties involved, future plans, and life in general, which might have other plans for them both.

Added to the central romance, there are some wonderful secondary characters (Mr. Stavros, the father; Mrs. Marianna, a friend of the family and owner of the bakery; Mr. Nikos, a friend and colleague of Mr. Stavros; Leo, Cathy’s son, who is a wonderful child and loves the farm animals and any other animals and people in need of help, and more) and all of them are changed by the experience. Traditional families might not always work as they should, but found and chosen families can bring unexpected happiness to people who have given up hope.

For readers looking forward to discovering new things about Greece through this novel, there is also plenty of Greek food, all of which sounds delicious. I am not sure this book shouldn’t come with a warning, because it is impossible to read it and not feel hungry and eager to try many of the wonderful dishes mentioned.

The story is written in the third person, with Cathy as the main narrator of the story, and we see things mostly from her point of view, although there are also some scenes from Alex’s and Leo’s perspectives, and that gives us a better understanding of the characters and how they truly feel. But I must warn readers to prepare their handkerchiefs, as Moschoudi has written a very moving story, and it is impossible not to grow fond of the main characters and feel for and with them by the end.

This is a great read for this time of the year, especially for readers who miss a bit of sun and enjoy sofa-travelling, those who prefer a romance where the protagonists are grown-ups with emotional baggage, lovers of Greek food, and anybody looking for a different kind of Christmas story in a glorious setting and with a big heart.

Thanks to Rosie and her team for their support, to the author for another enjoyable story, and to all of you for reading, commenting, liking, and sharing, and before you go, as I promised…

Here you can see the party Sants 3 Ràdio organises every year on New Year’s Eve:

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/105765/la-bordeta-dona-inici-al-2026-amb-les-campanades-del-barri-al-campanar-de-la-parroquia-de-

Here, and in the whole of Spain, it’s common to celebrate the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men (the Kings of Orient here) visited baby Jesus with gifts. The children write letters to the king of their choice, asking him for presents. Several organisations of the neighbourhood, with the support of the town hall, create what they call a Royal Encampment, so the children can visit, see the Kings, and give them their letters. My mother and I helped decorate the place, and we also dressed up for the event itself. (I played one of the royal pages, and I didn’t mind the feather on my cap, although it isn’t exactly a cap, but…)

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/105766/mes-de-5.000-persones-han-visitat-els-reis-dorient-al-campament-reial-de-sants-hostafrancs

And here, we also participate in a parade the day before Epiphany (6th of January):

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/106853/la-cavalcada-de-reis-de-sants-les-corts-emplena-els-carrers-i-balcons-del-barri-per-54e-an

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Last Death of the Year(A New Hercule Poirot Mystery. Book 6) by Sophie Hannah (@HaperCollinsUK)

Hi, all:

I bring you a book in a series you might already be familiar with. I’ve read some of the previous books, and most people will know the main character.

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The Last Death of the Year. (The New Hercule Poirot Mystery, book 6) by Sophie Hannah


The Last Death of the Year: The exciting new Hercule Poirot mystery for 2025 (A New Hercule Poirot Mystery. Book 6) by Sophie Hannah

The new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah, follow-up to the bestselling Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night.

New Year’s Eve, 1932.

Hercule Poirot and his good friend Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the Greek island of Lamperos for a little holiday…or is it?

Catchpool suspects Poirot has a different reason for being there — one he won’t reveal. As the clock ticks towards the New Year and a festive guessing game takes a sinister turn, can Poirot stop a murderer who is determined to strike before midnight?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221714629-the-last-death-of-the-year?

About the author:

Hello! Welcome to my Amazon Author Page, and thank you for your interest in me and my books. Below you will find my official biog and all my online links so that you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You’ll also find a link to my Dream Author Coaching Programme for writers, which launched in September 2019.

Oh, and you can see some cute photos of my amazing dog Brewster on this page too! He often leaps onto my laptop while I’m writing and deletes entire paragraphs by accident – so you could say he’s a regular contributor to my literary efforts!

If you would like to receive my monthly newsletter (in which I give away freebies and share scandal, gossip and intrigue) you can sign up at the bottom of the home page of my website, sophiehannah.com. And if you want to contact me directly (to say you’ve loved a book of mine, or even to complain vociferously about one of my books), email sophie@sophiehannah.com. I’m always delighted to hear from my readers!

Sophie xx

My Official Biography is as follows:

Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling crime fiction writer whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her crime novels have been translated into 49 languages and published in 51 countries. Her psychological thriller The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the 2013 UK National Book Awards. In 2014 and 2016, Sophie published The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket, the first new Hercule Poirot mysteries since Agatha Christie’s death, both of which were national and international bestsellers. She went on to publish a third, The Mystery of Three Quarters in 2018 which was an instant bestseller, and her fourth Poirot novel, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill will be published in August 2020. Sophie helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of the Dream Author Coaching Programme for writers which launched in September 2019.

Sophie is also an award-winning, bestselling poet, and her poetry is studied at GCSE level across the UK. She has co-written two murder mystery musicals with composer Annette Armitage: The Mystery of Mr. E and Work Experience. She has written a self-help book called How To Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life, and hosts the How to Hold a Grudge podcast.

Sophie lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.

And I can be found online here:

Website: http://www.sophiehannah.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sophiehannahauthor/

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sophiehannahwriter/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sophiehannahCB1

Home

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-hold-a-grudge/id1439465411

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My review:

I thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.

I have read several of Sophie Hannah’s novels in the New Hercule Poirot Mystery series and enjoyed them. The plots and the figure of Poirot were true to the spirit of the original novels, and I also liked Catchpool, an inspector from Scotland Yard, happy to follow Poirot in his adventures and to put up with his peculiarities.

This novel, the sixth in the series, had an interesting premise. Poirot and Catchpool travel to a Greek Island, although Catchpool is given the impression that they are going on a short break over New Year’s, and they’ll stay with some friends of Poirot. The truth is somewhat different, because Poirot has been called due to the concerns of the owner of the house, who also happens to be the leader of a small community of people who share a set of intentions and beliefs all around the importance of forgiveness and its power to make the world a better place.

This wouldn’t be a Poirot novel (old or new) without a crime (or several), in this case, a murder that revolves around the New Year’s resolutions of all the characters living there, one of which contains what seems to be a very specific threat.

I won’t reveal too much about the plot, and although the principles that rule the community and the intricacies of the interactions and relationships between all the characters raised some interesting questions, I did not find the plot as compelling as that of other stories in the series, perhaps because I didn’t feel much connection or even sympathy for any of the members of the community (although I had a soft spot for the Greek inspector and the cook, who brought a humorous and bright spot to the proceedings). And although I don’t have to “like” the characters to enjoy a novel, if I don’t care for them at some level, I find that the experience of reading doesn’t grab me as much as I’d like, especially when reading a mystery.

I also missed Poirot playing a bigger part in the story. Although he is there, investigating, it felt more like a novel about Catchpool, where each one of them did their own thing and then compared notes, and Catchpool is always convinced that his ideas are bad and he won’t get anywhere. Needless to say, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I liked the idea behind the setting, both the place and the time of the year, but apart from a few times, I didn’t feel the location played as important a part as it could have, although perhaps that was due to my own expectations.

Regarding the mystery itself, there aren’t many factual clues, and all the characters hide things and contradict each other, making it quite convoluted and even confusing at times, with red herrings and misdirections galore.

I enjoyed the ending, which, as expected, takes the form of the familiar meeting of all the characters where Poirot shares the big reveal (or one reveal after another), and the epilogue, pretty light-hearted, but, all in all, this is my least favourite of this new series of novels about one of Agatha Christie’s most memorable characters.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers, the author, and Agatha Christie, of course, and to all of you for being there, for visiting, liking, commenting, and sharing. I hope 2026 is a year full of peace, great books, kindness, and forgiveness as well.

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (@CathChidgey)

Hi, all:

I bring you a book by an author new to me, but one that I will follow in the future.

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The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Every day, the triplets do their chores, play their games and take their medicine, under the watchful eyes of three mothers: Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night.

Their nightmares are recorded in The Book of Dreams.
Their lessons are taken from The Book of Knowledge.
And their sins are reported in The Book of Guilt.

All the boys want is to be sent to the Big House in Margate, where they imagine a life of sun, sea and fairground rides. But, as the government looks to shut down the Sycamore Homes, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told.

Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.

About the author:

Catherine Chidgey (born 8 April 1970) is a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer and university lecturer. She has published eight novels. Her honours include the inaugural Prize in Modern Letters;the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship to Menton, France; Best First Book at both the New Zealand Book Awards and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (South East Asia and Pacific Region); the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards on two occasions; and the Janet Frame Fiction Prize.

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My review:

I discovered this book thanks to NetGalley, and I went ahead and bought it when it was published.

I had never read any books by Catherine Chidgey before, but the description of this book intrigued me enormously, and it lived up to my expectations.

This book is set in a somewhat dystopian parallel historical universe, as it takes place in the UK, most of it in 1979, but there are important changes in the situation and history of the XX century we are familiar with. WWII in this novel didn’t end with clear winners and losers. Instead, there was an agreement between both sides that changed the political situation, but not only that. One of the important things that changed was the sharing of the “research” and the conclusions of the “experiments” that took place in the concentration camps, resulting in some scientific advancements like the discovery of DNA in the late 1930s, and there are other unseen and unexpected consequences that readers discover in the book.

The story is told from three different points of view, clearly marked and differentiated. The first one, narrated in the first person, is that of Vincent, a teenager and one of a triplet of orphaned brothers who always dress in the same colour to avoid confusing the people taking care of them. They live in a peculiar orphanage, where three “mothers” (one for the morning, one for the afternoon, and one for the night) look after them. The orphanage is isolated, and they have only very limited contact with the outside world. They follow pretty rigid routines: there is a Book of Dreams, where Morning Mother records their dreams every morning; they receive their education from reading and learning the Book of Knowledge, a children’s encyclopedia with a missing page; and if they do anything wrong, that is recorded in the Book of Guilt, which gives name to the novel. The novel is peppered with fragments from the Book of Knowledge (the author mentions the sources she consulted in a section at the end), and also with some descriptions of the children’s dreams and their wrongdoings.

The three children are fighting an unnamed illness (“a bug”), the mothers also record their symptoms regularly, and they are visited by a kind and elderly doctor who adjusts their medication according to their symptoms. The three brothers (Vincent, William, and Lawrence) are the only three children left now in the orphanage, as the children who recover are sent to Margate, where they can enjoy the seaside resort, with all it has to offer, and live together in a big house.

Changes in the government result in changes in their situation, such as the possibility of going on errands to a nearby town, and even bigger changes that are in the planning as we are introduced to the story.

The second point of view belongs to Nancy, a girl who lives with her parents, but her life is also isolated, as they don’t allow her to mix with anybody, and there are secrets she cannot grasp.

The third point of view, narrated in the third person like Nancy’s, belongs to the Minister of Loneliness, a married woman focused on her career who is given a mission by the female Prime Minister: to dismantle the homes and try to place all the remaining children with families. She comes into contact with the triplets and ends up becoming involved beyond the call of political duty.

The novel is divided into three parts, each named after one of the books the children’s lives revolve around, and it reminded me of a book by Ishiguro I read a while ago, and I loved: Never Let Me Go. The writing style is very different, though, and I won’t go into details about both plots to avoid spoilers. Those who read this one and have read the other one (which I recommend as well) can make their own minds up.

Readers from the UK will find references to a variety of events TV programmes, products, places, famous people, and even pretty well-known news items that will sound familiar. As mentioned, the author includes a note on the sources she consulted and was inspired by, and that might help join the dots for other readers.

I enjoyed the different narrators and trying to work out how they might interconnect. Also, I am a fan of unreliable narrators, and, for different reasons and in different ways, several (or even all) the narrators might be considered unreliable here. It is a novel that brings up interesting questions, as novels set in parallel historical universes tend to do. “Could something like that happen here and now?” is one of the questions most people will ask themselves. I will leave it to each reader to decide, but for me at least, it is not unthinkable.

A fascinating story, full of intriguing ideas and with characters who are unusual, complex, and morally ambiguous, so, pretty much like most of us. Judging by this novel, I will follow with interest this author’s work in the future.

Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support, for visiting, liking, sharing, and commenting. And, of course, Merry Christmas! Have a lovely holiday season, and let’s hope 2026 is much kinder and brighter for all.

And I thought I’d leave you with a Catalan Christmas Carroll, that many of you might have heard in other languages as well. A friend suggested I dedicate a post to the Catalan language, but I haven’t been organised enough to do that yet. Let’s make this a little introduction to it. Oh, and pay attention to the background. It’s el Palau de la Música Catalana, a fabulous building I recommend you visit if you come to Barcelona. It’s not by Gaudí, but the architect was a contemporary of his, and pretty famous as well, Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Resonant Blue and Other Stories by Mary Vensel White #RBRT

Hi, all:

I bring you a collection of stories by an author new to me. It’s another find thanks to Rosie and her Book Review Team.

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Resonant Blue and Other Stories by Mary Vensel White

Resonant Blue and Other Stories by Mary Vensel White

The first collection of award-winning short fiction from the author of Bellflower and Things to See in Arizona; Mary Vensel White’s writing reflects “how we can endure and overcome our personal histories, better understand our ancestral ones, and accept the unknown future ahead.”
In “Driftwood,” a woman in a sleepy desert town willingly jumps into the back of a stranger’s pickup to escape her quiet house. In “Griffin,” an organized wife struggles to keep her family together and keep the beast of her husband’s mental illness away. And in the title story, “Resonant Blue,” an egotistical architect shatters everything around him as he tries to connect with his loved ones and build a better life. A game show for those seeking love, a family wedding that unveils another secret union, a woman’s impulsive trip to Greece to find her first love—in these twelve stories, Vensel White’s characters face turning points. Whether backed against a wall, reeling from a loss, or forced to confront a painful truth, each doggedly pursues the glimmer of possibility shining on the horizon.

About the author:

Mary Vensel White is the author of the novels Starling, Bellflower, and The Qualities of Wood, and the young adult novel, Things to See in Arizona. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous publications. Born in Los Angeles, Mary has lived in Northern California, Denver, and Chicago, and has been back in Southern California for two decades.

Visit Mary at maryvenselwhite.com

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

This is my first experience reading Vensel White’s stories, although she is a well-known author. People who know her work might have already read some of them, because quite a few have been published in magazines before. I recommend followers of the author to check the list of stories to avoid surprises, although even those who have read some of these stories might appreciate the chance to have them collected in a single book and rereading them at their leisure.

I thought I’d share a bit of information (no spoilers, of course) about each story, so prospective readers might get a sense of how well they might fit their taste. I will add that they are beautifully written, differ in length and subject, and all of them are populated by well-built characters whose emotions and feelings are recognisable. We meet at crucial points in their lives, and we get to share in their experiences, close and personal.

Stories:

Griffin: A story about a grown-up daughter coming back to visit her parents, a seemingly happy occasion, but one that raises many questions and issues, especially for the mother, who has to confront what life with her husband has been and is like. Full of eerie symbology, the story is one of latent threats and hidden (and not so hidden) tensions.

Prism: A brief story/vignette, about a young girl’s perception of her mother’s complex relationship with men and the impact it has on her.

Cadmium: Three siblings attend their mother’s wedding, and issues of forgiveness, tolerance, and change in our family relationships over time are brought into focus. Can people change, and can prejudice be overcome?

Driftwood: A very atmospheric story set in a striking location, where a woman in crisis rediscovers the zest for life and manages to inspire her husband as well. One of my favourites.

Resonant Blue: The end of the relationship between an older man and his younger partner, which he should have seen coming, but he ignored the signs until it was too late. His attempts at trying to reconstruct what had happened by focusing on an unfinished project aren’t a great success, but there are some positives.

Smoke: One of those stories where the protagonist is stalling for time after something terrible has happened. The author does a great job creating a sense of foreboding and menace, and making readers understand the kind of life this woman has had to bear with. An unfortunately common occurrence in many women’s lives, but disturbing nonetheless.

Verdant Pastures: A story about missing fathers, unknown siblings, religious (Christian) faith, how well do we know anybody, and what it means to be a parent.

Dear Rebecca: A very special love letter, written many years after the loss of his wife, where the author of the letter explains his life, the emptiness that never went away, and he reveals a traumatic event that ended up having a positive impact on everybody involved. Another one of my favourites, and it links quite nicely with some of the themes from the previous story.

The Love of Your Life Show: A reality TV show about finding the love of your life, where the protagonist, a young woman who was a reluctant participant in the proceedings, discovers that perhaps the perfect life companion isn’t necessarily a romantic partner.

Par Avion: The story begins in mystery mode, with the mother of two quite different children, now grown adults, disappearing from the condo she had moved into not long ago. It transforms into something quite different, where readers get to share in the various characters’ thoughts and points of view, and it ultimately becomes a story about families, secrets (sunny rather than dark or nasty), new and old experiences, reinventing oneself, and the joy of small things. Another favourite of mine.

Bad Luck: A young couple’s weekend break turns out anything but romantic, and the male protagonist suspects that another guest’s bad luck might not be a coincidence.

What You Know: This is a story that starts one way, with a troubled couple, but it is not about them at all, or perhaps it is. Those readers who love stories about writers and about the process of writing will probably find it fascinating, as I did.

This is a varied collection of stories whose author’s talent shines through. Having learned that she has written and published several novels, I am curious now to check them out. Another author to add to my list.

Thanks to Rosie and her team for their work and support, thanks to the author for her stories, and thanks to all of you for visiting, reading, sharing, liking, and supporting my blog. Keep smiling, and I hope the holiday season treats you well. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog King of Christmas: A Choose Your Own Path Psychological Thriller by J.E. Rowney (@newbooksplease) #BooksGoSocial

Hi, all:

I bring you something special today. It might bring back memories…

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King of Christmas: A Choose Your Own Path Psychological Thriller by J.E. Rowney


King of Christmas: A Choose Your Own Path Psychological Thriller by J.E. Rowne

THE ONLY CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE CHRISTMAS THRILLER BOOK – AND THE MUST READ HOLIDAY BOOK OF 2025.

Not every path leads to the truth. But every one brings you closer to him.

Eight missing children. One urban legend. A town that stopped asking questions.

They call him the King of Christmas—a red-suited figure said to haunt Pine Hollow, taking children who’ve done wrong. Always on Christmas Eve. Always leaving behind a trail of footprints in the snow… and a single silver bell for every home that’s lost a child.

Jenny Matthews, now a Boston journalist, returns to the snowbound town she fled decades ago to investigate the disappearances.
Officially, she’s here to write about the legend.
Unofficially, she’s chasing something much closer to home.

The police won’t help. The town won’t talk. And this year a new family will receive a silver bell.

In this unique psychological thriller book, you decide what Jenny does next.

Will she uncover the truth—or become the next to vanish?
Will she expose the legend—or step straight into it?
Will she find redemption—or lose everything trying?

KING OF CHRISTMAS is a uniquely immersive Choose Your Own Path psychological thriller where your decisions shape the story. Every choice matters. Some truths are buried deep. Some paths lead to justice. Others to regret.

Choose carefully. The King of Christmas is watching.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242439461

About the author:

J.E. Rowney is a British author who has written several psychological thrillers, including “Gaslight”.

“Gaslight” is a gripping novel that tells the story of a young woman named Ella, who becomes convinced that she is being gaslit by her partner. As she struggles to uncover the truth, she is forced to confront the dark secrets that lie hidden in her own past.

Rowney’s writing style is known for being fast-paced and suspenseful, with a focus on building tension and keeping readers on the edge of their seats. She is skilled at creating complex, multidimensional characters and weaving together intricate plots that keep readers guessing until the very end.

In addition to her work as a writer, Rowney is also an advocate for mental health awareness and works to support mental health charities. This theme is often present in her books, which explore the impact of trauma and mental illness on the lives of her characters.

Overall, J.E. Rowney is a talented author who has gained a following for her gripping psychological thrillers. “Gaslight” is just one example of her ability to create unforgettable stories that leave readers on the edge of their seats.

Ms. Rowney says: “I always dreamed of being a writer, until I realised that I was. Then I started to write.”

You can find out more about JE Rowney on her website at jerowney.com, or follow @jerowneywriter on social media and @jerowney on TikTok


My review:

I thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.

I remember discovering the Choose Your Own Path books when I was a teenager, thanks to one of my younger cousins, and I read a few of them at the time. The idea of the books is that the reader becomes the protagonist of the adventure (they usually were adventure-type children’s books) narrated in the book, and he or she has to decide between several options at certain points of the story. One book can turn up very differently depending on who reads it, and you can read the same book several times, choosing different paths and discovering different stories.

I hadn’t thought about these books in years, until I saw this novel, a psychological thriller, described as an old-fashioned Choose Your Own Path story, but this time for adults. Not only that, but the crime involved the disappearances of young children that had been happening in a small town for over forty years. To make matters worse, the children had gone missing on Christmas Eve, and the parents who had lost children would also receive a memento of their loss every Christmas Eve after that: a silver bell.

I read a lot of thrillers, and I could not resist the idea of trying this one. The story sounded interesting; it was also appropriately seasonal and dark. And I was curious about how the formula would work for an adult book.

As you can imagine, it is not easy to talk about this genre of books without revealing any spoilers, and that is even more the case here. There is also the issue that the reading experience can vary a lot depending on the choices one makes. I had to follow different paths and go back and forth a few times to get to some semblance of an explanation, although I am not sure the path I followed is the one the author originally chose for the story. (In her afterword, she explains that readers can access her version of the story on her website, but I haven’t checked it yet).

I was impressed by how easily one gets dragged into the story and carries on reading, wanting to know what is going to happen if one follows a particular path. It is a bit like watching a horror movie and shouting at the screen for characters not to enter a room or not to hide somewhere, only in this case, the reader has become the person choosing (rightly or wrongly) what to do. Although the reader takes on a character, a writer who is the sister of one of the missing girls, we are only given some background information; the rest is up to us. The book is written in the second person and addresses the reader directly, something not common in fiction books, and that makes for a quite peculiar reading experience.

I was also impressed by how well the story’s continuity works. It must have been hard to work everything out, because it is like writing several stories, chopping them and mixing them all, and making sure that the details fit. That is something pretty important in this genre, and in this case, it becomes multiplied many times, as there are many different options. Some of the paths share many similarities, but the order in which one does things can change the outcome, and I didn’t spot any inconsistencies in the parts I read.

The style of writing is easy to read, flows well, and although, as per genre, a degree of suspension of disbelief is required (pretty large here), the story works quite well within its own parameters. This is not a police procedural or a story where the fine details of the investigation, the methodology and talent of the investigator win the day, and it all fits in nicely. The fullest version I read (which I suspect is probably pretty close to the one the author intended) put me in mind of some horror books and movies that take place in small towns, rather than standard psychological thrillers, but I won’t mention any examples to avoid unduly influencing those who are interested in trying it for themselves.

In sum, this is a clever idea, an interesting and gripping story, and a nostalgic and fun trip down memory lane for those of us who experienced this book format in our childhood. I especially recommend it for those who prefer their Christmas stories to be dark rather than sweet. Oh, and do not worry about the format of the book: I read an e-book copy, and the format and the transitions work perfectly well.

A side note: if you decide to read it, in case you want to go back to the previous point in the story, I recommend bookmarking the place where you choose to go down a path or the other, although you might prefer to start the story from the very beginning and try a completely different approach.

Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and the author for this fun book. Thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, commenting, liking, and visiting my blog. Remember to keep smiling!

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