Laura
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
John Matthew & Xhex. At the end of the last book in the series Xhex was kidnapped by Lash . The brothers fear the worst, but are searching. Eventually Xhex escapes as Lash seems to weaken The Omega casts out Lash, who plots revenge by passing info to the brotherhood , whilst still aiming to recapture Xhex.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
The main character has been keeping his awful family history and his half sympath nature hidden. He meets and falls in love with a nurse in Havers' clinic. He feels unworthy because in addition to the aboveHe is a drug dealer, a pimp and is forced to pay blackmail and sexually service his evil half sister . The heroine and her father used to be one of the glymera but were cast out when her father was duped out of his fortune, and her fiancé traduced her to excuse his dumping her. Her father now suffers from schizophrenia . Lash is back now that his biological father the Omega has made him a lesser of great power. There is a plot to Kill king Wrath
A rattling good read, easy to rip through the 700+ pages. As usual, the action jumps between several exciting plot strands.
Grey mask is the first in a long series of Miss Silver stories, and is not a typical example. Miss Silver plays a minor role in this story, but gradually becomes more important in the later novels. All of the stories are charming in their old-fashioned style. Each one has a heroine who ends up in peril; a hero who assists Miss Silver in bringing about a happy ending; a scheming villain; usually an admiring policeman left floundering in Miss Silvers wake, and plenty of excitement along the way. The order of reading doesn't matter greatly. As far as I can recall, the only notable change during the whole series is that her first inside-contact in the police force is swapped for a younger model after a few books. It is easy to confuse one book with another after you have read a lot of them, as they don't vary greatly in style or plot device. But that isn't a bad thing for me; they are my go-to comfort-read, or preferably comfort-listen. If you can get the audio books, brilliantly read by Diana Bishop, you will love them. She really gets the period tone and voices just right. I listen to them all again every now and then, on long car journeys or when I'm under the weather. They are the perfect cozy mystery treat.
Evil humans want to force the werewolves to assassinate a prominent man, and try to bring this about by kidnapping almost the entire pack. Mercy hides Jesse as best she can and goes with Stefan and Ben to save Kyle, who is being held in his home. Fun adventure.
The first non-picture book that I read on my own, in my own room, voluntarily, aged 7. It was a revelation, and started a delight in books that will last as long as I do.
I enjoyed this more than the first Midnight book, and that one was a great read. We find out a bit more about a couple of the existing people in Midnight, and there are some new arrivals, including some old friends if you have read her previous books. The range of characters is much wider than in many paranormal stories, more complex, and not all either goodies or baddies. I'm not sure what the blurb on the back of the midnight books means by saying they are darker than the Sookie stories as I don't they have been yet. Dark enough for me though. Looking forward to the next one.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
More easy-reading shenanigans with Betsy the unconventional vampire queen, her fiancé and friends. As their wedding approaches and is then postponed again, Betsy and Eric fall out when he realises that she can hear his thoughts when they are having sex. Betty's half sister, Laura, is becoming less religious and more like her mother, the devil. A killer is on the loose, the driveway killer is abducting women from their driveway and killing them. Betsy, Laura and the ghost of one of the victims save the day
I'm giving up at 400 or so pages because I'm bored. I am always wary of long books because ninety nine times out of a hundred they just need drastic editing, and this one does too. A big revelation has just happened, which promises more interesting stuff to come, but I've had enough. If you're flagging a bit and haven't yet got to the surprise, then it might be worth your while pressing on to the half way point, and see if it grabs you. Unfortunately, I think I can now guess the rest of the plot, and I can't summon the enthusiasm to read on and see if I'm right.
Taking an old tale and giving it an exciting twist for a new audience is a job for a skilled, dedicated writer who is prepared to put effort into making the differences in the new version gel with the original story and characters. Fans of the original will mostly love it, and it will still be accessible to everyone else.
Taking the same tale and changing every part of it, trashing every character within it, is a job for the less talented, lazy writers out there. This is like writing a story about a lovely faultless guy, who visits his mother once a week and gives to charity, and then calling him Dracula. Why bother? I gave it two stars rather than one because I did finish listening to it on a long journey, and it did pass the time.
Karen Swan's books have so much more depth than many others in this genre. All of the characters are strongly written, there will be some surprises, the plot is not predictable and it's more about the growth of the heroine than the romance. What I like particularly is that she doesn't do two-dimensional baddies. Yes, the “rival woman” turned out to be very far from perfect, but she had a traumatic past as well, and the charming surface image was still true. In so much “women's writing” the rival woman or erring boyfriend/husband is so ridiculously selfish and cruel that it isn't credible that the supposedly intelligent hero or heroine could possibly have stuck with them. Laura's boyfriend is lovely, he just isn't the right one. I have read a few of Karen Swan's books and she hasn't disappointed me yet.
I usually find that a romance of 500+ pages is far too long, but not this one. I enjoyed every page, thought the characters were well-rounded and the pace just right to keep me turning pages. The plot surprised me several times, including one big shock. Not your usual fluff, really good.
This novel is long at over 1000 pages. I'm normally wary of anything over 400 or 500 pages because I know I will get annoyed with the unnecessary padding. This author is a rare exception, I think because she is very easy to read, and I'm already invested in the main characters. Even so, I'm surprised that I was never bored. It's best not to start it until you have some time available, so that you don't lose track of the plot twists and characters. I scribble the names down on the back of an envelope with a quick note next to each one, and before long I've got them all in my head and can throw the envelope out. I really enjoyed it.
Starts well, with clever ideas for a kind-of time travelling story. The middle section, set in russia in the cold war, is tedious. This part is made harder to plough through because the main character is grey and boring.The last third of it got better. I gave it three stars for the brilliant idea, partly realised, but I couldn't recommend it as a good read. It had the potential to be a classic, what a pity.
Sex: none
Violence: some nasty things happen, but not described in much detail.
Bad language: none
I only marked this down for my own records because I'm terrible with tension. However, if you aren't, this is a very moving, scary, tense story, told from a unique viewpoint.
My favourite funny modern romance. The audio version is brilliantly narrated by Julia Barrie with a perfect down-to-earth Yorkshire voice. The romance itself is a good one, with an endearing heroine, who returns to the bosom of her very odd family after an unfortunate accident. But it's the eccentric supporting characters that lift this story above so many others. Some are charming, some very irritating indeed, but all are full of life.
It was mildly amusing sometimes, but I just want looking forward to getting back to it at all. I think it was probably better in its original serial form in the newspaper.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
The merry Larkin family come home to their idyllic little farm to find a man from the tax office waiting to pursue their failure to send a tax return. They distract him with food, drink and their beautiful daughter . The story covers about 3 weeks in May-June, culminating ina lively gymkhana on the Larkin's meadow. At the end, the tax man is engaged to the daughter, Ma Larkin is expecting a 7th child, and briefly considers getting married to Pa Larkin, but they decide against it . The skies are always blue, the setting is pastoral perfection, the plentiful food is “perfick”. Written and set in 1950's England when a huge social upheaval had taken place following world war 2. The enterprising Larkins are thriving, but the gentry are poor, and mostly not coping without the servants that they were accustomed to - but not in a sad way. Nothing is sad in this book. The ultimate in cosy reading.
Starts off good, and gets better. The story is set in the area around a small local library which is threatened with closure. Someone has left a short list of books for a few people to find. Two families are unhappy. The Patels have lost someone very dear, and the Thomas family are struggling with their mental health. There is unhappiness and tragedy in the story, but it is ultimately positive. You don't need to have read the books on the list, although it is enjoyable to remember them if you do know them.
Great book. There's an interview with Emma Gannon about Olive on YouTube. Search for “Emma Gannon on Olive and motherhood in fiction”.
A few pages in, realised that this was blatant plagiarism Kind Hearts and Coronets. So I know the story already, and if I want to experience it again, I'll take the original, thanks. Really glad that I borrowed this book from the library and didn't pay for it.
I gave this a low mark because the fighting between the couple just went on and on. It was funny, and inventive, for a while, but then it just got tedious. The fighting went on for between half and two thirds of the book, without you learning a great deal about them or their problems whilst ploughing through it. There is never a clear explanation of what caused such a catastrophic break-down between them. Well, there are some reasons kind of given, but I wasn't convinced by them, because the author never explained why. Then a resolution happens in the last quarter to a third of the book, which I wasn't convinced by either. I need to believe that a character's behaviour has a reason and is plausible. Too little explanation.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
MM werewolf coming of age found family. Ox is slower than other people, and his dad convinced him early on that he's without value. Ox lives with his mum in a lonely house outside of an isolated small town. He works in the local garage as a boy to help his mum. The only other house on their road has been empty for years. And then it isn't. The new people are welcoming and kind and Ox feels like he belongs. He doesn't realise that the world is not as he thought. The Bennett's are werewolves . Their youngest son, who thinks Ox smells perfect has imprinted on him without his knowledge . His kindly boss at the garage is a witch , and a group of evil rogue werewolves want to destroy the Bennett's and rid the world of humans Betrayal, violence, and the inevitable mistakes of the young, when placed under too much pressure, ensue.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
If you love long drawn out angst where the hero spends most of the novel believing that he can never have the one woman that he has ever loved, this will be right up your street. As it's a Bridgerton story, their mutual sexual attraction eventually gets the better of them. This comes much later in the story than with other Bridgerton tales though. As ever, the wider Bridgerton family add humour and continuity to the story.
Francesca née Bridgerton has not long been married when her beloved husband suddenly dies . His cousin and their best friend, Michael, has been in love with her from first sight and cannot bear the guilt of inheriting John's estate whilst still loving Francesca , as if he has somehow wished this to happen. He goes abroad for several years, returning just as Francesca is ready to start looking for a second husband, only because she wants a baby .
Marshall is lying dead on a down-at-heel tea shop floor. Vera, the elderly owner, sets about solving the case when the police decide it's an accident. Vera investigates 4 people who were all showing an unusual interest in her tea shop after the murder. Cosy mystery, minor jeopardy, friendships made, fallings out, all comes right in the end.
I gave it a low score because I found Vera irritating rather than endearing. She went past feisty and into abrasive and her behaviour, particularly towards the police, was unrealistically rude. I know the idea in this kind of cosy is that the heroine stands no nonsense from the younger generation, and gets away with it because no one wants to be harsh to an elderly lady, and that is usually funny. But this one went too far for me. I struggled to keep going with it, and only got to the end because I was stuck with nothing else to listen to.