When three very different siblings, Fern, Rowan and Willow, go home for a Christmas reunion at their family home in Edinburgh, it’s not long before some VERY BIG SECRETS threaten their cosy holiday … The McAllister house on Arboretum Road has seen 120 Christmases since its completion. This year, FERN is bringing her gorgeous boyfriend home and she wants everything to be perfect. But her twin brother ROWAN would rather go on the pull than pull crackers with the family. And their younger sister WILLOW is terrified of Christmas Day. With FOUR sleeps till Christmas, THREE secretive siblings, TWO hot houseguests, And ONE juicy secret … This Christmas, there will be some BIG surprises under the tree. Sometimes at Christmas, you don’t get what you want, you get what you need…
I don’t tend to read that many festive books, but I was drawn to this one and I ended up buddy reading it with a couple of friends for our December book club pick which was a lot of fun! I’ve read some of Juno’s books before and found them quite mixed, so I was a little hesitant going into this one but I really enjoyed it.
I was half expecting a thriller, from the taglines on the front of the book and synopsis. However, this is more of a high drama contemporary set around a family and written from the points of view of the 3 siblings. I really enjoyed the family drama and I could never guess where the book was going, which kept me interested throughout. I also liked the close-knit group involved in the story, and the side-characters began to feel like main characters the more we read about them.
There were a lot of heavy discussions throughout, including discussions about self harm and eating disorders. Although I can’t give my opinion on this from any kind of personal experience, I felt these discussions were handled with care and attention, and I appreciated the trigger warnings in the front of the book.
The characters were messy and chaotic, but Juno weaves something so clever throughout the story and I couldn’t help but root for them. They might make mistakes and not always treat people brilliantly, but they have their own reasons and it makes them real.
I also appreciated the non-binary and bisexual rep, and I loved having a non-binary side character without a coming-out story or discussion of their gender in depth, it just came across naturally. The discussions of racism, sexism and gender were witty and sharp, and again, felt very real.
Overall, there was a lot to love about this book and the short chapters and constant chaos made it very hard to put down. Although it was a little too neatly wrapped for the amount of mess that happened throughout the story, I couldn’t help but be happy for the characters and root for them. And it is Christmas, after all.
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!
Hi all! I’ve been buying or receiving pretty much 2 books per week recently, but I actually got 3 this week, oops. So here are the books I got this week!
Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago. As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
I’ve had my eye on this special edition of If We Were Villains for a while now, and I managed to find a copy this week! It’s so pretty and has black sprayed edges too.
The dead of Loraille do not rest. Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on. She’d rather deal with the dead than the living, who point and whisper about the odd girl who was once possessed by a violent spirit. When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia fights back by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a high saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being now whispering in her head. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her in body and soul. But death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has a chance of stopping it. As Artemisia investigates a mystery of saints, secrets and dark magic, an ancient evil is stirring. Can an untrained girl, tormented by the burden of containing the revenant’s devouring power, have any hope of defeating it?
I also had a pre-order come through in the form of this beautiful Fairyloot edition of Verspertine. I’ve wanted to read a book by this author for a while, and I couldn’t resist the Fairyloot edition!
Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t fix. Her best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother’s drinking problem is a constant concern. She’s even running out of outlandish diseases to fake so she can skip PE. But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs. Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client” who needs her “help,” it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.
I picked this one up kind of from the publishers/through the bookshop I work in, as I loved the authors’ other book The Falling in Love Montage.
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!
Hi all! I seem to have definitely gotten my book buying a little more under control, but it looks like my limit is 2 books per week as I seem to be consistently buying or receiving two each week at the moment! These are the two books I bought this week.
When three very different siblings, Fern, Rowan and Willow, go home for a Christmas reunion at theirfamily home in Edinburgh, it’s not long before some VERY BIG SECRETS threaten their cosy holiday … The McAllister house on Arboretum Road has seen 120 Christmases since its completion. This year, FERN is bringing her gorgeous boyfriend home and she wants everything to be perfect. But her twin brother ROWAN would rather go on the pull than pull crackers with the family. And their younger sister WILLOW is terrified of Christmas Day. With FOUR sleeps till Christmas, THREE secretive siblings, TWO hot houseguests, And ONE juicy secret … This Christmas, there will be some BIG surprises under the tree. Sometimes at Christmas, you don’t get what you want, you get what you need…
I bought this one as I’m going to be reading it with friends as part of a little book club we have. It sounds really interesting and I’m looking forward to reading something a bit different for Christmas!
Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
I also had my pre-order of this one come through in a beautiful Waterstones edition to match my copies of Wayward Son and Any Way the Wind Blows. It looks so pretty and the sprayed edge is to die for!
Hi all! I can’t believe it’s December and nearly the end of the year. I have so many books I’d love to read by the end of the year and I’m hoping to have a great reading month in December to smash through some books! I thought I’d do a post about what I’d like to read before the end of the year.
Way out in the furthest part of the known world, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off from the rest of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath the Snow Sea. There, a little boy called Ash waits for the return of his parents, singing a forbidden lullaby to remind him of them… and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardian, Tobu. But life is about to get a whole lot more crazy-adventurous for Ash. When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers, he’s whisked aboard the Frostheart, a sleigh packed full of daring explorers who could use his help. But can they help him find his family . . . ?
This is one I’d definitely love to read over the winter season for obvious reasons! This one has been on my tbr for a while after Gavin from How To Train Your Gavin on YouTube raved about the series on a video.
The Moomins, in case you didn’t know, are kind, philosophical creatures with velvety fur and smooth round snouts, who live in a tall blue house in a beautiful woodland valley beside the sea. One summer a grumbling volcano causes Moominvalley to flood, forcing the Moomin family to leave their beloved home and find refuge on a floating theatre. When this casts adrift, leaving Moomin, the Snorkmaiden and Little My marooned on land, Moominsummer Madness ensues. Will they all be reunited before the final curtain?
My lovely friend Courtney gave me this Moomin book for my birthday. I’ve wanted to read this series for a long time and collect these beautiful editions, so she looked into the best one to start with and picked this up for me! Although it’s set in summer, I’d love to read it and start this series by the end of the year.
Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope. Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.
Alex and I have been trying to read more series this year and we want to read this one in December hopefully! We’ve both read the first book before but we want to carry on with it and complete it by the end of the year.
Adultery is not a typical Jane Austen theme, but when it disturbs the relatively peaceful household at Mansfield Park, it has quite unexpected results. The diffident and much put-upon heroine Fanny Price has to struggle to cope with the results, re-examining her own feelings while enduring the cheerful amorality, old-fashioned indifference and priggish disapproval of those around her.
I only have a couple of classics left in my Wordsworth set to read, and this is one of them! I’ve been slowly making my way through Jane Austen books recently and I’m excited to finish off with this one.
The Little Prince is a modern fable, and for readers far and wide both the title and the work have exerted a pull far in excess of the book’s brevity. Written and published first by Antoine de St-Exupury in 1943, only a year before his plane disappeared on a reconnaissance flight, it is one of the world’s most widely translated books, enjoyed by adults and children alike. In the meeting of the narrator who has ditched his plane in the Sahara desert, and the little prince, who has dropped there through time and space from his tiny asteroid, comes an intersection of two worlds, the one governed by the laws of nature, and the other determined only by the limits of imagination. The world of the imagination wins hands down, with the concerns of the adult world often shown to be lamentably silly as seen through the eyes of the little prince. While adult readers can find deep meanings in his various encounters, they can also be charmed back to childhood by this wise but innocent infant.
This is the other classic I have left and I’ve been saving it for December! It’s only short so I know it will be a quick and easy one to get through which is exciting.
Nottingham, 1906 Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered. At the wishes of her family, she will be obligated to marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But when a mysterious new toymaker, Dr Drosselmeier, purchases a neighbouring townhouse, it heralds the arrival of magic and wonder in her life. Although Drosselmeier’s magic is darker than Marietta could have imagined… When he constructs an elaborate theatrical set for her final ballet performance, Marietta discovers it carries a magic all of its own. As the clock chimes midnight, Marietta finds herself walking through a land of snow-topped fir trees leading to a frozen sugar palace silent with secrets and must find a way to return home. In the darkness of night, magic awaits and you will never forget what you find here…
This one is already on my December tbr as I knew I wanted to read it close to Christmas, and I’m super excited to get to it soon. I’ve been looking forward to this one since hearing about it late last year when the original ARCs were released, and it sounds so good!
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés. Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town. But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?
I received this one from the publisher (thank you Harper!) and it sounds like the perfect cute christmassy read.
North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters: Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own. Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained. Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose. Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home. As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.
I would love to re-read Little Women over the Christmas period, but reading a retelling would also be amazing – which is why I’ve chosen to put this one on my tbr.
Which books would you like to read before the end of the year?
Join your favorite villagers from Animal Crossing: New Horizons on new adventures! What do the villagers of Animal Crossing: New Horizons get up to when you’re not around? Find out all about their antics in this hilarious manga filled with goofy gags and silly stories! Plus, read comics that highlight each villager, as well as get tips and tricks for playing the game in a special bonus section.
The only book I’ve actually bought was this one! I’ve heard really mixed things about it, but I am excited to see what they do with the game I adore so much.
New Orleans Fang Fest, 1995. Mina’s having a summer to die for. 17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in Whitby, the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can’t wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths… And it gets even better when Mina lands a part-time job at a horror movie mansion and meets Jared, Libby’s gorgeous housemate, co-worker and fellow horror enthusiast. But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina stumbles upon the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, clutching a lock of hair that suspiciously resembles Libby’s… Someone is replicating New Orleans’ most brutal supernatural killings. Mina must discover the truth and prove her sister’s innocence before she becomes the victim of another myth.
I also was very kindly gifted a few books from my friend and colleague Jo, including this one. I’ve had my eye on this one for a while so I’m very excited to now own it!
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they’ve been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia’s courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?
She also gave me this middle grade, which I’ve heard such good things about and sounds so good.
Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all. Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.
I couldn’t resist picking up this one after deciding to do a buddy read with a few of my colleagues. It sounds perfect for spooky season and I want to keep the Halloween season going!
Taking place in the years between Vicious and Vengeful, ExtraOrdinary follows the tale of a teenage girl named Charlotte Tills who following a fatal bus crash, seemingly dies only to wake up to discover she has become an EO – a person with ExtraOrdinary abilities. In Charlotte’s case, it’s the ability to see people’s deaths, but when she looks into her own future, sees her own murder at the hands of the self-proclaimed hero and notorious EO killer Eli Ever, who is currently in prison for the murder of Victor Vale. Refusing to accept her fate, Charlotte sets off to find-and change-her future-before it comes for her. This graphic novel introduces Eli Ever, the antagonist at the heart of the Villains series.
I also had a few Illumicrate orders turn up this week and this was one of them. I can’t read this yet as I haven’t read the Villains series, but I’m very excited to pick it up!
Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—witness what the gods do after dark in this stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of mythology’s most well-known stories from creator Rachel Smythe. Featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story, Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated web-comic Lore Olympus brings the Greek Pantheon into the modern age with this sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel. This volume collects episodes 1-25 of the #1 WEBTOON comic, Lore Olympus.
I bought Extraordinary alongside Lore Olympus and this one looks so beautiful. I’ve been recommended this by a friend and I can’t wait to read it!
I had this one come through as a pre-order and this finally completes my series! I’ve been collecting these in hardback and waiting for them all to come out, and I’m so excited to pick them up.
I also had my beautiful Illumicrate pre-order of these hardbacks. The House in the CeruleanSea is my favourite book of the year so far so I couldn’t resist picking this set up! I’ll be reading Under the Whispering Door soon too.
Hello all! I surprised myself by managing to read 18 books in October. Although some of these books were graphic novels, I feel like I did really well with my reading and managed to read a lot of the books I wanted to in autumn. If you’d like to see this in video format you can watch below!
When Fran Cooper accepts a mysterious temporary job as a PA to a celebrity, she is swept off her feet overnight. Working with internationally famous singer Juliette, Fran is the person charged with getting Juliette to the Crystal Ball, the glittering event when the world’s rich and famous gather on Panarea, a beautiful Mediterranean island, for a night like no other. What Fran doesn’t know is that on this one night, everything will change for her too – that instead of standing on the sidelines, she’ll be putting on the most beautiful dress she’s ever seen and having the most unforgettable night of her life…
From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.
Cass can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead. When Cass’s parents start hosting a TV show about the world’s most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh. Here, graveyards, castles and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. But when Cass meets a girl who shares her “gift”, she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil—and herself. And she’ll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.
Although described by Jane Austen as a character ‘whom no one but myself will much like’, the irrepressible Emma Woodhouse is one of her most beloved heroines. Clever, rich and beautiful, she sees no need for marriage, but loves interfering in the romantic lives of others, until her matchmaking plans unravel, with consequences that she never expected. Jane Austen’s novel of youthful exuberance and gradual self-knowledge is a brilliant, sparkling comic masterpiece.
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out―and going out for their first kill―and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night. Welcome to the evolution of the vampire―and a revolution on the page. Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.
Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Bergensdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Northern town of Vardø must fend for themselves. Three years later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband’s authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God and flooded with a mighty evil. As Maren and Ursa are pushed together and are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them with Absalom’s iron rule threatening Vardø’s very existence.
Exiled to a far-flung island by the whims of the gods, Medusa has little company except the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. But when a charmed, beautiful boy called Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is disrupted with the force of a supernova, unleashing desire, love, betrayal . and destiny itself. Filled with glorious full-colour illustrations by award-winning Olivia Lomenech Gill, this astonishing retelling of Greek myth is perfect for readers of Circe and The Silence of the Girls. Illuminating the girl behind the legend, it brings alive Medusa for a new generation.
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh. Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House.
This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane: A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse. An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made. A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile. And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed. They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edge of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved…
Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester. However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors. Ultimately the grand passion of Jane and Rochester is called upon to survive cruel revelation, loss and reunion, only to be confronted with tragedy.
The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.
Emilia and her twin sister Victoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Victoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin… desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to discover who did this, and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden. Then Emilia meets Wrath, the outlier among the seven demon brethren, always choosing duty over pleasure. He’s been tasked by his master with investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. When Emilia and Wrath’s fates collide, it’s clear this disturbing mystery will take a bewitching turn…
★★★★ 4 out of 5 stars
I had a pretty good month for ratings, but my least favourite has to be The Once and Future Witches. My favourite books are probably tied at Jane Eyre, The Woman in Black and the Tea Dragon books because they’re all so different!
The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.
I’ve been a fan of Karen M McManus for a long time, but I do prefer her standalone work to One of Us is Lying. Up until now Two Can Keep a Secret has been my favourite book by her, but it might just about be beaten by The Cousins. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me and I’m so glad I finally picked this one up! It feels like it’s been a while since I read a YA thriller and this one was such a quick read and so entertaining.
I enjoyed the dynamic between the 3 cousins who had never met before, and the setting of Gull Cove Island was so much fun and felt like the perfect environment for the family murder-mystery we had going on. I just wish I’d read this one in summer!
You gotta shoot your shot when it comes…
At first, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like one of the cousins, and since this is a multiple point of view story I thought that I may not enjoy all of the perspectives. However, as the story went on I did sympathise with all of the main characters and feel like having several POV worked well. The way the author uncovered secrets about the family kept me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to read on to find out what was going to happen.
The writing was so addictive and easy to read and I sped through this despite not having much time to read. Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down and just wanted to keep reading. The only negative is that I expected more murder! Having read books by McManus before, I did go into this expecting more graphic content. However, the focus on more of a family drama was still fun to read about and was written really well. The fact the 3 main characters didn’t know each other before the story began gave an extra layer of secrets and lies that were super interesting to uncover.
Who knows if you’ll get another chance?
Karen M McManus is definitely going to still be an auto-buy author for me and I’m glad I picked this one up as it was so entertaining to read!
This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane: A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse. An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made. A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile. And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed. They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edge of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved…
This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and I’ve been recommended it more than once by friends and colleagues! After booking to see the West End play, I knew I wanted to finally pick it up before seeing it on stage. I finally picked it up the other night, just days before the play, and ended up finishing it in just one evening.
I read the beautiful illustrated edition with artwork by Elise Hurst and it fit the book so well. Hurst has done a beautiful job of creating haunting, dark, shadowy illustrations that compliment the scenes perfectly.
Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look just like they always have.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Gaiman, having not read anything of his before, but I knew it would be whimsical and dark. However, I found this book a lot more grounded than I expected, with more of a real life focus and magical elements, than a complete fantasy world.
I loved the writing and found it emotive but so easy to read. I flew through this book and easily read 100 pages in 45 minutes, which is very fast for me! This illustrated copy is around 80 pages longer than other editions, and I definitely feel like the artwork helped break up the reading experience and therefore made me speed through even faster. I just found that once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down!
Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren’t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.
Overall, I feel like this one was a great one to choose as an introduction to Gaiman, and I’m excited to pick up another. Which do you think I should pick up next?
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh. Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge.
I’m not a big horror reader, but my boyfriend Mark told me this is one of the only books that has ever scared him and made me want to pick it up as well! I thought it was the perfect time of year to dive into this one and I read the entire book in an evening – I couldn’t put it down. I read it by candlelight in the bath and it just added to the scary atmosphere of this book – I loved it.
The plot of this book was super interesting and honestly made it difficult to put down. We follow Arthur, who at the start of this book is reflecting on an experience he had when he was younger, and decides to write down the story instead of telling it out loud. Around 40 pages in, we start to be told that very story and here, things get spooky…
At the age of 23, Arthur was sent to sort out Eel Marsh House after the woman who owns it passes away. He works as a solicitor and travels away from his home in London to take care of the house. This whole story was so eerie and full of atmosphere, and the writing showed it off beautifully. There is so many aspects of this book that work together to make it spine-chilling – the weather, the isolated location of the house, the Victorian Gothic feel of the writing.
This one did send chills down my spine and I was definitely spooked out in places. Overall, I was just super impressed with this one and it was such an enjoyable read despite the creepiness!
The Books are Everywhere 