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. ...

 We found a Ben Aaronovitch novel in, not surprisingly, London while we were visiting family. It caught my husband's eye. As Harry Potter addicts, how could we resist the Harry Potter grows up and becomes a policeman vibe written on the piece of paper advertising the book? So we bought it, brought it home on the plane, and were hooked. I have to wait for my husband to finish one before I can start, so I'm following the series slowly, and these are the ones I read in 2024 while my broken wrist was keeping me from writing book reviews. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant makes for a great narrator. Sarcastic, cynical, bitingly humorous, fiercely honest and loyal, and frequently out of his depth, he’s the human face of London’s rather secretive magic police. Together with Leslie, who “lost” her face some time ago, a dog that barks at magic, and a boss who feels like a cross between Gandalf, Dumbledore, and a regular police inspector, he investigates and solves mysteries ...

 There's a cool resonance to that kind of title isn't there? I read a Court of Thorns and Roses some time ago, and finally got hold of the second two in the series. And loved them. Then there's a House of Salt and Sorrows, with a name that matches these, and a theme - fairytale all grown up - that matches too. Interesting... A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas I think I’m hooked (blame my daughter-in-law). I love this series, and this second book was no disappointment. I love how the author takes a fairly complete story, then adds a whole new level to entice and entertain. Feyre and Tamlin were surely in love, but now their relationship fractures under the strain of the events in book 1. And maybe the fractures were always there. And maybe they’re not meant for each other. Except perhaps… All the questions feel so real, and Feyre’s struggles to come to terms with her feelings resonate with the reader. Meanwhile politics and power rear their ugly heads and somethi...

History - straight, or laced with fantasy and magic - sounds fun to me. I love to know more about history (which I didn't study seriously enough in school). But mostly I love the what-ifs, which the addition of magic, or mystery, adds so intriguingly. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry Set around the time of the French Revolution, there’s enlightenment in the air, and maybe a promise of freedom for magicians. Freedom for slaves is debated in English Parliament. Magic powers are strictly regulated and often hidden away. Unlicensed magic can destroy lives. And definitely no wielding of magic in war. But all of this could be turned around as the French magicians claim back their rights, and dark forces stir. A long, slow read, this book is beautifully researched and thoroughly intriguing, with wonderful depictions of real-world characters only slightly changed by power. Sadly, despite its length, it doesn’t end. So now I’m eagerly awaiting the second half. An...

 A friend recommended this book to me and I felt sure I would love it. Instead I just "liked" it. It's a slow read, but it brings to life a different world in vivid detail. And its depiction of the struggles of a broken family to stay together is truly haunting. Before we were yours by Lisa Wingate In 1930s Memphis, a family living in comfortable poverty are split up by do-gooders, their children sent to a Tennessee Children’s home where they are prepared to be “sold” to eager (rich) adoptive parents. The novel is based on real records and presents a stark image of “doing good” gone wrong. In the present day, a privileged young woman finds herself drawn to a total stranger in a chance encounter. Choosing to research where the stranger comes from, she uncovers a past that just might change everything. The two timelines of this novel stay separate for a large part of this slow-reading book, leaving reader and protagonist alike to guess at what part each story might pl...

 A friend who lives in the Pacific Northwest recommended this author to me, saying these books might offer the best depiction of the area. So I had to read them. Now, at last, I'm catching up on writing book reviews. The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld Set in a vividly depicted Pacific Northwest, Rene Denfeld’s dark novel follows a PI nicknamed the Child Finder as she researches a cold case – the mystery of a child who disappeared three years previously. Child Finder Naomi is herself a “lost” child, and her skills have been honed by her past. But the search for Madison threatens to open dark doors to that past, and Naomi is soon in danger of “finding” her own self – a self she keeps deeply locked away, even from those she cares for most. A dark, haunting novel about an all-too-believably dark, haunted world, The Child Finder is an enthralling read full of character and plot. The Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld Sequel to the Child Finder by the same author, the Butterfly Gir...

 I got these two books for my birthday last year but found them hard to hold with a broken wrist. They stared at me from the not-read bookshelf, enticingly. And eventually I got them down, reading both in the space of three or four day. Long books, but great reads, especially if you like time travel contradictions, or just like London. Blackout by Connie Willis Historians in 2060 Oxford, England, are researching the past. It’s a kind of hands-on research whereby they travel into the past, with strict instructions (and many protections) to avoid their changing anything. Of course, things go wrong. Travelers visiting different locations, times and events of WWII find themselves trapped. Time-travel interactions might mean a certainty that someone will survive, combined with uncertainty about oneself. And multiple viewpoints have the reader tracking back and forth till the threads start coming together. And the fears. The characters quickly become very real, and the world of WWI...