Sheila's Guests and Reviews

So why did I choose to read these books. Witches and Wizards - I love the way the author creates strange worlds, and I wanted to see what she made of the Wizard of Oz. Haunting of Ashley Masterson - the cool haunted cover drew me in, and it felt like a story made to be made into a movie. Natural selection - because I couldn't resist reading about the Galapagos island. They're all romances, and all fun reads. Enjoy Of Witches and Wizards by Nicole Zoltack A mother wants the best for her daughter, and wants to believe the best of her daughter. But what if her daughter turns out to be an evil witch? Retelling the Wizard of Oz fairytale through new eyes, with new interpretations, author Nicole Zoltack takes the tale in whole new directions – dark, sinister, thought-provoking. It’s a thoroughly good read. The Haunting of Ashley Masterson by Marie Wilkens A haunted house mystery, with a protagonist fleeing an abusive husband, this novel includes lots of twists and turns. There’s ...

 I love bookshops and libraries, and I love books about bookshops and libraries, so here are two that I read recently, one set in a Tokyo library and the other in a Dublin bookstore... maybe. What you are looking for is in the library By Michiko Aoyama A charming book of books, the librarian in this novel offers reading lists to her customers, always including one surprise book, and a gift. Book and gift work together on the recipient, causing them to see their problems differently and find new solutions. It’s all told in simple language with a grown-up fairytale feel – lyrical, sweet but never cloying, and gently encouraging. Readers are sure to identify with at least one of the characters in this collection, and the fables are sure to feel real as they read. The Lost bookshop by Evie Woods He’s searching for a bookshop to confirm the theory of his thesis. She’s searching for a place to hide from abuse. And a house in Dublin stands with no space beside it for the bookshop to hid...

 Steampunk powers its machines with steam and resides in a moderately convincing real-world past, often Victorian, but other times work too. So it's fantasy, with a touch of mechanical realism (as opposed to magical realism I guess, though there's plenty of that too). The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The magical Night Circus is magically depicted in Erin Morgenstern’s beautiful novel, the Night Circus. It’s a Victorian world of clever tricks and amazements. But it hides a different world of magic and power, where two great magicians vie to best each other, using their proteges as tools. A game is afoot, but neither protagonist knows the threat or the promise. And when they meet, they fall in love, with brings both threat and promise together. The magic of love and the magic of words come together in a truly enticing novel and a captivating read.  Even though I knew the End by C. L. Polk Magical mystery set in 1940s Chicago, C. L. Polk’s Even though I knew the end i...

 A friend recommended a Russian scifi novel to me. So I thought I'd give it a try. Not sure I recommend it, but it was well worth the read. Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin In a scarily believable, near-future Russia, a distant monarch rules with the aid of oprichniks, who ease their own trials with strange new drugs and violence. Rape is punishment, collectively carried out with nauseous obedience. And the evil West is walled away, blamed safely for all ills. Could it happen here? There? Wherever? With dark humor and gritty realism, the author suggests there are devils deep in us all, and the urge to live might all too easily become the urge to harm. Day of the Oprichnik tells a single day through the eyes of a singularly unsympathetic protagonist, and keeps the reader glued to the page through many harms, idiocies, and evils, leaving the reader to decide just how wrong something has to be to become truly evil.

 I watched the first couple of series of Cormoran Strike on TV before I read any of the books. The TV series was fun, but my husband was beginning to get frustrated with the relationship between the protagonists, and couldn't see what it had to do with the plot. So I started reading the books. The relationships are much stronger in the books, and make much more sense in terms of the mysteries to be solved as well. The author adds intervening cases - more and more as the novels progress - which make for bigger books and more digressions, but which also give a convincing depiction of how investigations really work - never just one job at once. The Running Grave particularly appealed to me because of the main plot. Some of the digressions did annoy me, but I love the book. I love the author's depictions of people and places. And I'm (fairly) convinced that the series will come to a natural end sometime, rather than just petering out. So I'm eager for more. The Running Grav...

 Sometimes I get prerelease copies of books to review, and always these are a treat. Especially when they come from the Permanent Press who seem to publish several of my favorite authors. This book is from an author that's new to me. I very much enjoyed it, and hope you will too when it comes out later this month. The title, Who I Thought You Were, is intriguing. The premise--a young widow finding out more about her husband after his death--seemed dark, but not too dark. And the setting--New Mexico, near the border--is beautiful, scary, and sad. I really enjoyed the novel though, filled with thought-provoking characters, mysteries, and haunting times and scenery. Here's my review: Who I thought you were by Michaela Spampinato Michaela Spampinato’s novel, Who I thought you were, starts with the collision of a train and car, resulting in the death of the protagonist’s husband. Questions of whether this was an accident or murder will arise. But perhaps the more important questio...

 I love the Three Pines novels and will happily reread them over and over. Luckily many of the characters, locations and ideas came back into mind as I read the latest novel, The Grey Wolf. But perhaps that's not luck. Perhaps it's the clever way the author reminds you gently of past events without making you feel wrong for not knowing straight away. I'd recommend you read the first book first and work your way up. But this book's great and I kind of suspect it might almost stand alone for a new reader. The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny The mystery is complex, made more so by questions of who to trust. The characters are complex, from the familiar Three Pines residents to old enemies and allies coming to the fore. The issues are complex and hugely relevant to the present day. The world is complex, but surely we all know that. And the whole is an absorbing tale with great descriptions, enthralling characterizations, and desperate threats. A book to keep you turning pages. ...