strange and random happenstance

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: January 31st, 2017
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Peter owes Lady Ty. When he was trapped under the platform at Oxford Circus she saved his life for a favor. And she has come to cash it in. Her daughter, Olivia McAllister-Thames, was out with her classmates from St. Paul's. The teens had snuck into the posh One Hyde Park where they were partying in a vacant flat when Olivia's classmate, Christina Chorley, overdosed. Christina died on the way to the hospital. Lady Ty wants Olivia kept out of it. She doesn't just want her daughter exonerated, she wants her daughter's name never to be even mentioned in connection to the overdose at One Hyde Park. But that isn't how Peter works, even if he does owe her his life. He was willing to go easy on Olivia, but that became complicated when she admitted to supplying the drugs that killed Christina. And that's when Olivia was arrested and low-lying areas around the Tyburn were in danger of flash flooding. Just because Olivia confessed doesn't mean she actually did it, and Peter is nothing if not thorough, you kind of have to be when you're a magician, so he starts digging. And what he finds is interesting and disturbing. Interesting in that Olivia is obviously covering up for someone, who turns out to be her girlfriend, she just hadn't come out to her mother yet. Disturbing in that Reynard Fossman seems to be involved. Peter and Nightingale have never figured out quite what he is. Is he the spirit of Reynard the Fox? Is he someone who wants people to think that? Or is he just a creepy pedophile who just happens to get in their way? Whatever he is other than a pedophile, because that is confirmed, he seems to have been up to something with Christina Chorley. They were selling stolen magical artifacts. But Reynard didn't realize that his partner had been stupid enough to put them up on eBay. Magical artifacts need to be sold secretly, by word of mouth, because otherwise everything goes tits up. Which is what happens here. The main item of interest is Isaac Newton's Third Principia, rumored to have the secret of eternal life and turning lead into gold. Everyone wants it. The Americans, the Linden-Limmer's, the Folly, and any other practitioner who ever had a classical education. Which means Christina put a big ol' target on her back. Moreso because, if Peter and Nighttingale are correct, the Faceless Man is involved as well. Anyone could have killed her, but one thing is certain, it probably wasn't the pills but magic.

Peter and the crew are back in top form in The Hanging Tree with architectural collateral damage and big developments on the Faceless Man front. Though what I really connected to with this volume was the interwoven narrative of women within the magical community. In the present day we see that the Folly is quite open to female practitioners, with Lesley being taught by Nightingale, before her betrayal, and with plans for Abigail to be taught once she comes of age. But other than the Night Witch, Varvara Sidorovna, most magical women are creatures from the demimonde or Genius Loci. Here we get not just witches, but the history of witches. Lady Helena Linden-Limmer and her daughter Caroline Linden-Limmer might both have had connections to the Faceless Man of their generation. Helena was revolutionary in her medical experimentation and healing, which she only recently started to have qualms about. Whereas her daughter encountered Peter before in his pursuit of the Faceless Man and has one goal in life, to learn how to fly. And she doesn't mean aviation. The two of them come to the Folly for tea and sympathy and in short order they are setting history straight. Because back in the days when Isaac Newton was codifying magic men and women were equals. They were hanging out at disreputable coffee houses and taking on the mysteries of the universe. Together. This Society of the Wise then was able to get a premise on Russell Square and the doors of the Folly were closed to women. Women didn't take this lying down. They continued teaching each other in secret. Magic was passed down through the female line for generations. Magic that men couldn't even contemplate. At one point Peter tries to figure out the forma of a spell Caroline is doing and it's unlike anything he's ever seen. Because women invented, created, worked around all that was standing in their way, and they made their own branch of magic. What I love about this isn't the sad history that is all too common of women being shunned, what I love is that they persisted. They developed their own skillsets because they were pushed aside. I mean, there's a part of me that wants to liken this to "home arts" and wise women and their healing, which I think Aaronovitch is implying, but it's so much more, because domesticity doesn't mean what some people think it means. Just because women have been pigeonholed for so long it doesn't mean they've let these restrictions hold them back. It's like Lesley was always saying to Peter with regard to rebuilding her face, it's not like the Folly knows everything. Just because they are the academic repository of magical knowledge doesn't mean they're the only way. There's more in heaven and earth and all that, especially if you're trying to deny the abilities of half the people on the planet. Let the world of magic expand!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ben Aaronovitch, Caroline Linden-Limmer, Faceless Man, Lady Helena Linden-Limmer, Lady Ty, London Calling, Magic, Nightingale, Peter Grant, Rivers of London, The Folly, The Hanging Tree, Tyburn, Witches, Women

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The next high concept horror novel from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden.

Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild - selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.

It's a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy's grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy's grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they've bought.

There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn't know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they're certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years...and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina...something stirs."

I mean, I'm here for anything that Christopher Golden writes, he's an awesome writer and human being. But the buzz on this book is beyond anything I can imagine. This is your "must read" for January.

Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A suspenseful and entertaining debut thriller - and love letter to vintage horror movies - in which a teenager must overcome her own anxiety to protect the two children she's babysitting when strangers come knocking at the door.

October 1993. One night. One house. One dead body.

When single mom Eleanor Mazinski goes out a for a much-needed date night, she leaves her two young children - sweet, innocent six-year-old Ben and precocious, defiant twelve-year-old Mira - in the capable hands of their sitter, Amy. The quiet seventeen-year-old is good at looking after children, despite her anxiety disorder. She also loves movies, especially horror flicks. Amy likes their predictability; it calms the panic that threatens to overwhelm her.

The evening starts out normally enough, with games, pizza, and dancing. But as darkness falls, events in this quaint suburban New Jersey house take a terrifying turn - unexpected visitors at the door, mysterious phone calls, and by midnight, little Ben is in the kitchen standing in a pool of blood, with a dead body at his feet.

In this dazzling debut novel, Emily Ruth Verona moves back and forth in time, ratcheting up suspense and tension on every page. Chock-full of nods to classic horror films of the seventies and eighties, Midnight on Beacon Street is a gripping thriller full of electrifying twists and a heartwarming tale of fear and devotion that explores our terrors and the lengths we'll go to keep our loved ones safe."

I agree, there's something calming about horror films, but don't expect this book to calm you.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this stunning and propulsive debut, a town grieves the loss of a young girl - but some fight to keep the truth about her death a secret. For fans of Jane Harper, Ashley Flowers, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

The question
For the last ten years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing: Why did it take young Grant Dean twenty-seven minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe? If he'd called sooner, she might still be alive.

The secret
As the anniversary of Phoebe's death approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night on the bridge and everything he lost: his future, his reputation, his little sister. And the secret he's been keeping all these years is suffocating him. But he and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the car that night. Becca was there. She knows what happened - and she will do anything to help Grant keep his secret.

The truth
Everyone in West Wilmer remembers Phoebe, but only June remembers that another person was lost that night. Her brother Wyatt has been missing for ten years and now June is alone - no family, no friends. Until someone appears at her door. Someone who may know where Wyatt went all those years ago. Someone who knows what really happened on the bridge that night. Someone who is ready to tell the truth.

Taking place over three days and culminating in a shocking twist that will leave you breathless, Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping story about what happens when grief becomes unbearable, dark secrets are unearthed, and the horrifying truth is revealed."

I'm all about the gaps in the timelines of crime.

The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 380 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Benny is so nice they feel compelled to destroy him, but he has a friend who should scare the hell out of them in this breathtaking new kind of thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz.

Benny Catspaw's perpetually sunny disposition is tested when he loses his job, his reputation, his fiancée, and his favorite chair. He's not paranoid. Someone is out to get him. He just doesn't know who or why. Then Benny receives an inheritance from an uncle he's never heard of: a giant crate and a video message. All will be well in time.

How strange - though it's a blessing, his uncle promises. Stranger yet is what's inside the crate. He's a seven-foot-tall self-described "bad weather friend" named Spike whose mission is to help people who are just too good for this world. Spike will take care of it. He'll find Benny's enemies. He'll deal with them. This might be satisfying if Spike wasn't such a menacing presence with terrifying techniques of intimidation.

In the company of Spike and a fascinated young waitress-cum-PI-in-training named Harper, Benny plunges into a perilous high-speed adventure, the likes of which never would have crossed the mind of a decent guy like him."

What I love most is that the breaking point for poor Benny is the lose of his favorite chair. It's very Douglas Adams.

The Traitors by C.A. Lynch
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 270 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The brand new locked-room thriller for fans of Ruth Ware and Freida McFadden.

You are cordially invited to the Beechwood Castle for a night you'll never forget...

Six people find a thick cream envelope on their doorstep. Inside is an invitation to spend 24 hours in a crumbling manor house and be in with the chance to win a portion of one million dollars. The catch: Beechwood Castle was the site of one of the most horrific murders in modern history.

The smell of blood, decay and death still hangs heavy in the air.

Six people walk into the house. One of them is an imposter, all of them are traitors, which of them will survive the night?"

Anything that even remotely makes me think of Clue is a must read.

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teenage sorcerer's apprentice must solve her boss's murder in order to prove her innocence in this twisty, magic-infused murder mystery perfect for fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games.

Being an apprentice to one of the world's most famous sorcerers has its challenges; Tabatha Zeng just didn't think they would include solving crime. But when her boss, the infamous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death - and worse, it comes true - Tabatha finds herself caught in the crosshairs.

The police have their sights set on her and Callum Solomon, her murdered boss's youngest son. With suspicion swirling around them, the two decide to team up to find the real killer and clear their own names once and for all.

But solving a murder isn't as easy as it seems, especially when the suspect list is mostly the rich, connected, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon's family. And Tabatha can't quite escape the nagging voice in her head asking: just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon?

Nothing is as it seems in this quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery."

The cover design is a little too on the nose for a book compared to The Inheritance Games.

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Published by: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Three girls, one supernatural killer on the loose...

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider - that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave - even trading in the occult.

Jude Wolf may be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul has been slowly turning necrotic. It's a miserable existence marred by pain, sickness, and monstrous things that taunt her in the night. Now that she's glimpsed what's beyond the veil, Jude's desperate to find someone to undo the damage she's done to herself.

Enter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a deadly power, a.k.a. the solution to both Zara's and Jude's problems. Though Emer lives a hardscrabble life, she gives away her most valuable asset - her invocations - to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for a scrap of power. Zara and Jude are willing, but they first have to find Emer.

When Emer's clients start turning up dead all over London, a vital clue leads Zara and Jude right to her. If a serial killer is targeting her clients, Emer wants to know why - and to stop them. She strikes a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude to hunt a killer before they are next on his list, even if she can't give them in return what Zara and Jude want most: a sister and a soul."

That cover is haunting.

Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea by Mike Mignola
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One of the last followers of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, the unassuming Miss Truesdale is the recipient of Brotherhood leader Tefnut Trionus's final vision.

From meek secretary in Victorian London to a mighty gladiator in ancient Hyperborea, Truesdale is thrust into the past to fight ancient evils and change the future forever.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with artist Jesse Lonergan for an all-new time-bending horror tale from the Mignolaverse.

Collects Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1-#4 and bonus material."

I think this year I should make a resolution to dive fully into the world of Hellboy.

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
Published by: Redhook/Orbit
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Slip into a lush world of magic, stardust, and monsters in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy from debut author Georgia Summers.

For centuries, the Everlys have seen their best and brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick - and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was a child when her mother left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer. Unless she can break the curse first.

Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope's quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted - and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

With her time running out, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began."

Seriously, just look at that cover and dream of a world with power-hungry scholars.

Heartsong by T.J. Klune
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Heartsong is the third book in the Green Creek Series, the beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family.

The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Heartsong is Robbie Fontaine's story.

All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It's enough - until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine. Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes - the Alpha of all - and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home. But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he's been told.

Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound--but who are the traitors and who the betrayed? More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett - the wolf who may be his mate.

The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter."

I want this cover as art on my wall!

The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham
Published by: Hyperion Avenue
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a rich Black debutante enlists the help of a low-level speakeasy manager to identify the head of an underground crime syndicate, the two are thrust into the dangerous world of Prohibition-era Chicago.

The year is 1921, and America is burning. A fire of vice and virtue rages on every shore, and Chicago is its beating heart.

Nelly Sawyer is the daughter of the "wealthiest Negro in America," whose affluence catapulted his family to the heights of Black society. After the unexpected death of her only brother, Nelly becomes the premier debutante overnight. But Nelly has aspirations beyond society influence and marriage. For the past year, she has worked undercover as an investigative journalist, sharing the achievements and tribulations of everyday Black people living in the shadow of Jim Crow. Her latest assignment thrusts her into the den of a dangerous vice lord: the so-called Mayor of Maxwell Street.

Born in rural Alabama to a murdered biracial couple, Jay Shorey knows firsthand what it means to be denied a chance at the American dream. When a tragic turn of fate gave Jay a rare path out, he took it without question. He washed up on Chicago's storied shores and forged his own way to the top of the city's underworld, running Chicago's swankiest speakeasy, where the rich and famous rub elbows with gangsters and politicians alike.

When Nelly's and Jay's paths cross, she recruits him to help expose the Mayor and bring about lasting change in a corrupt city. But Jay also introduces a whole new world to Nelly, one where her horizons can extend beyond the confines of her ivory tower. Trapped between the monolith of Jim Crow, the inflexible world of the Black upper class, and the violence of Prohibition-era Chicago, Jay and Nelly work together and stoke the flames of a love worth fighting for.

Debut author Avery Cunningham's stunning novel is at once an epic love story, a riveting historical drama, and a brilliant exploration of Black society and perseverance when the '20s first began to roar."

I love reading about Chicago during this period. AKA the period when my grandmother was roaming its streets.

Of Hoaxes and Homicide by Anastasia Hastings
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The second in the delightful Dear Miss Hermione mystery series from Anastasia Hastings - when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, fielding questions from both irate housekeepers and heartbroken mothers is par for the course...

"Dear Miss Hermione - what is a mother to do?"

Sensible Violet Manville and her very ladylike half-sister Sephora are absolutely bored, thank you very much. Though neither of them would ever admit it aloud, they're missing the thrill of playing detective.

So when Violet receives a letter from "A Heartbroken Mother" sent to her alter-ego, the Agony Aunt known to the world only as Miss Hermione, her pulse can't help but quicken. The daughter in question has gotten caught up in a cult: the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. Rumors of human sacrifices, mystical doings, and a ghost in the ruined Alburn Abbey where the Children pray have gripped the public consciousness, helped along by a series of novels about the group, written by the mysterious Count Orlando, and clearly this girl has fallen prey.

Miss Hermione's investigation soon collides with very real life when Violet discovers a surprising connection to the cult. With the dashing-but-frustrating Eli Marsh turning up and a member of the Children poisoned, Violet and Sephora - along with their ever-trusty housekeeper Bunty - may have more intrigue than they can manage."

A very Gothic cult? YAS!

Puss in Books by Paul Magrs
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: January 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A charming collection of quotes about cats from our favourite authors, accompanied by artwork in the trademark style of Paul Magrs (author of The Panda, the Cat and the Dreadful Teddy).

'I love them, they are so nice and selfish' - L.M. Montgomery

This collection of quotes from the literary greats explores just why cats have fascinated, mesmerised and often infuriated writers for centuries. Celebrating the mystery of these daydreaming, snarky, selfish, watchful, contemplative and changeable creatures, Puss in Books helps cat and book lovers to understand these beings who have intrigued great thinkers and writers since the dawn of time.

Quotes include:
'Time spent with a cat is never wasted' - Colette
'Those who play with cats must expect to get scratched' - Miguel de Cervantes
'If cats could write history, their history would be mostly about cats' - Eugen Weber"

I love Paul and will buy whatever he writes!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anastasia Hastings, Andrea Tang, Ashley Tate, Avery Cunningham, C.A. Lynch, Christopher Golden, Dean Koontz, Emily Ruth Verona, Georgia Summers, Hellboy, Krystal Sutherland, Mike Mignola, Paul Magrs, T.J. Klune

Silverwolf by Jacey Bedford
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Will's ghost has been laid to rest and Ross feels like her life with Corwen is about to begin. And when you entwine your life with another you entwine yourself with their family as Corwen well knows after his escapades with Ross's family. Corwen has been estranged from his family, the Deverells of Denby Hall, Yorkshire, for many years. They couldn't come to grips with the fact that he turns into a wolf. Yet he always made sure they could contact him. And they finally have. Though perhaps a little later than they should have. A lot has changed in six years, his little sister Lily and his twin brother Freddie both turned out to be shapechangers as well, and in December their eldest brother Jonathan died resulting in their father having an apoplexy. Freddie should have stepped into the breach left by Jonathan's death but instead he fled to friends in London and now hasn't been heard from in four months. There's been no one to hold the family estate together and there's trouble at the mill. But first things first, the widow Rossalinde Sumner must be introduced to the family as Corwen's fiance. Which is an oddly joyous greeting and homecoming, with only some minor recriminations. Perhaps Corwen's father regrets how they ended things? With very little ability to communicate their problems might never be resolved, but Corwen can at least show his family that he is up to the task at hand. First there's the mill, which is being unscrupulously run, which Lily takes into hand. Then there's the bigger problem of Freddie... He was trying to reject his true nature, a dangerous undertaking. When they arrive at his lodgings in London they can see something bad has happened. With the rowenkind free and wild magic on the loose Walsingham has risen from the ashes to harness this new threat to his own advantage. Can they save Freddie from Walsingham's clutches? And if they do can they then save him from himself?

When the average reader thinks of Regency England they think of Jane Austen. More well read readers might also throw in Georgette Heyer and Julia Quinn. But these women all wrote about a very specific echelon of society. Everyone is, for the most part, financially secure, or at least has the prospects to be secure. In other words, it doesn't really reflect society as a whole it was a very specific slice of Regency life. It would take authors like Dickens and Gaskell to actually shine a light on the working class and the poor. And yet the Industrial Revolution which is so associated with their works was already underway. Which is why I so love this second volume in Jacey Bedford's Rowankind series, because it doesn't just draw on the drawing room aspect of society that was so often written about. In fact I would more associate this book with Elizabeth Gaskell than with Jane Austen. I couldn't help compare Silverwolf to Mary Barton and North and South. Very favorably I might add. We get to see the plight of the workers, the treatment of the rowankind, and an actual effort made to improve the lives of those who are dependent on the Deverell family. This volume is Downton Abbey meets Elizabeth Gaskell, or, because it's all about family drama in Yorkshire, this is Jacey Bedford doing her Barbara Taylor Bradford Emma Harte saga! I never wanted this book to end. But more importantly I could have just stayed at Denby Hall forever. I do love a big country house and a family business and compassionate people, but so many times they are a pale carbon copy of something truly original. And yes, for as much as I love Downton Abbey, it's just Upstairs, Downstairs in Yorkshire with a nicer house that's actually not in Yorkshire. Downton Abbey literally lifts plot points left and right. This world that Jacey Bedford has created is just so original and new. Old themes seen in a different light. And I just think I talked myself into re-reading this volume again. I seriously loved it so much, plus if someone were to ask what I was reading I could respond "trouble at t'mill" which everyone who's anyone knows that that's the start of Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition Sketch. And if there's one thing I love as much as family sagas, it's Monty Python.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barbara Taylor Bradford, Corwen, Downton Abbey, Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, Jacey Bedford, Jane Austen, Julia Quinn, Mary Barton, North and South, Regency Magic, Ross Tremayne, Silverwolf, Yorkshire

Winterwood by Jacey Bedford
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2016
Format: Paperback, 424 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Ross Tremayne hasn't seen her mother since Ross eloped with Will. What happened that night on the docks was because of her mother. Ross's father had promised Ross a ship, and she and Will took the Heart of Oak. It belonged to them. Her mother saw it differently. Seven years is a long time to hold a grudge and life doesn't turn out as you expect, just ask Will, dead these three years. Yet Ross comes to her mother's deathbed. She felt compelled to stand before the woman who called her a pirate's whore and prove once and for all that the woman who bore her no longer has power over her. Turns out the dying lady had a few surprises left aside from insulting Ross's sartorial choices. Not only is Ross's brother Philip dead in a duel, she bequeaths Ross a winterwood box, an inheritance and a curse in one. As Ross and her right hand man, minus a hand, Hookey, attempt to leave Plymouth, word has gotten out that Redbeard Tremayne is back and the Kingsmen are looking for "him." Their escape blocked they head back to the family home in hopes of "borrowing" some horses, only to find the house engulfed in flames and her mother's remaining rowankind servant, David, in need of an egress as well. The only place the three travelers can escape to is the dangerous Okewood. There the Green Man and his Lady hold sway. But they seem in a giving mood. The Lady imparts Ross's mother's biggest secret, David is actually Ross's half-brother. As for the winterwood box? That was forged in the time of Good Queen Bess to enslave the rowankind by taking away their memories of their homeland. It is Ross's destiny to right this ancient wrong. But there are forces in the Mysterium who want to stop Ross at any cost. The mysterious Walsingham is working with her brother Philip, who is very much alive, to retrieve the box for themselves. And they aren't playing by the rules. But Ross isn't fighting this battle alone, her loyal crew, the Fae, Will's ghost, and a mysterious man named Corwen are all willing to help her. But at what cost?

Growing up in the eighties, girls were basically told they fit in one of two categories, princess or tomboy. But as we all know no one fits perfectly into any category. Because I wanted to be a princess but also wanted to be a pirate. And if I was forced to choose I would have chosen pirate, obviously a subcategory of tomboy much like horse girl was a subcategory of princess. My mother was very much against me ever becoming a horse girl. Which brings me to Winterwood. I love this book. I love this book so much I can barely form my thoughts. But what I love most about this book is that it shows that a girl can dress elegantly and perform magic and meet the Fae while also being a pirate, the scourge of the high seas. Ross doesn't let anyone categorize her which is why it's hard to categorize this book. Yes, Winterwood is Historical Fantasy, but it's so much more, it's like Jacey Bedford looked at all the different kinds of Regency Magic that exist and thought, but why can't I have it all AND the kitchen sink? And that's what this book and this series is. It's everything! Sure there's Austen, but there's also Du Maurier with heavy Jamaica Inn vibes. Do you want high Fae fantasy? Well that's here too? Do you what a wolf shapechanger? That's here too, but be careful never to call him a werewolf, he is definitely not moon called but does kind of have a Geralt of Rivia vibe. So yes, this is over the top, this is magnificent, but I don't want you thinking it's just all fluff. Because with the plight of the rowankind and also how the society controls magic through the Mysterium, we're getting deeper issues of free will and the fight for equality. The rowankind's plight mirrors the abolition of slavery that was growing steam at this time in England. As this book is set in 1800 it was still seven more years until the slave trade was abolished, and make note, the trade alone was abolished, not the owning of slaves, that took until 1838. But the rowankind are an interesting conundrum. Their magical origin and their status means fight for their independence relies almost solely on Ross's shoulders. A task she doesn't take lightly. But it's a worthy fight that will play out over the course of this trilogy.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abolition, Corwen, Daphne Du Maurier, Fae, Geralt, Heart of Oak, Historical Fantasy, Hookey, Jacey Bedford, Jamaica Inn, Jane Austen, Pirates, Princess, Regency Magic, Ross Tremayne, Rowankind, Tomboy, Winterwood

No One Can Known by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"The author of What Lies in the Woods returns with a novel about three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.

Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant - right as the bank account slips into the red.

That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.

Were murdered.

And that some people say Emma did it.

Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don't want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again."

Kate Alice Marshall has become a must read author for me.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself - to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family - and anyone who could help her."

A perhaps evil and remote rehab clinic wreathed in fog? Oh yes.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A whip-smart and "fast-paced mystery" (The Daily Telegraph, London) from the internationally bestselling author of The Twyford Code and The Appeal about a true crime journalist who revives a long-buried case about a cult - and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby's trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it."

Though fiction this is two of my favorite things, true crime and cults.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Published by: Head of Zeus
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Something has been let loose..."

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen - and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern Gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry."

This book has been on my "must buy" list since it came out in 2019 in England.

The Last Immortal by Natalie Gibson
Published by: BHC Press
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 422 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I am Lady Ramillia Winmoore, daughter of the very late Earl of Brooksberry, or I was lifetimes ago. I am an immortal, and this is my story. Do what you will with it, but I must warn you: this tale is not for the faint of heart. Highborn Victorian Lady that I was, my life was one of violence and cruelty.

Lady Ramillia Winmoore has suffered gaps in her memory her entire life. This darkness has proven to be a blessing until the day she awakens strapped to an examination table at the West Freeman Asylum for Lunatics. Imprisoned for the gruesome murder of her parents, she is forced to endure years of torture until salvation arrives in the form of a benefactor named Sir Julian Lawrence. Betrothed to her through an arranged marriage, Julian helps her gain freedom.

But appearances are deceiving and soon Ramillia learns the cost she must pay. The horrors she encounters in his household are far worse than the asylum. When he inducts her into a society of bloodthirsty, cruel immortals, she is forced to join them and accept their way of life.

Armed with talents she doesn't know she has, Ramillia must break free of a prison she cannot see, kill an enemy who cannot die, and find a daughter who she cannot remember - all with the help of an ally she does not know.

In this chilling gaslight-era Gothic horror novel where paranormal powers are bred and collected, friends and foes are not always what they seem when immortality is at stake."

I mean, the winter months were meant for gaslight Gothic right?

Picasso's Lovers by Jeanne Mackin
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A tangled and vivid portrait of the women caught in Picasso's charismatic orbit through the affairs, the scandals, and the art - only this time, they hold the brush.

The women of Picasso's life are glamorous and elusive, existing in the shadow of his fame - until 1950s aspiring journalist Alana Olson determines to bring one into the light. Unsure of what to expect but bent on uncovering what really lies beneath the canvas, Alana steps into Sara Murphy's well-guarded home to discover a past complicated by secrets and intrigue.

Sara paints a luxurious picture of the French Riviera in 1923, but also a tragic one. The more Sara reveals, the more cracks emerge in Picasso's once-vibrant social circle - and the more Alana feels a disturbing convergence with her own life. Who are these other muses? What became of them? What will become of her?

Desperate to trace the threads, Alana dives into the glittering lives of the past. But to do so she must contend with her own reality, including a strained engagement, the male-dominated world of art journalism, and the rising threat to civil rights in America. With hard truths peeling apart around her, it turns out that the most extraordinary portrait Alana encounters is her own."

Here because of and for the women.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she'd found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph."

I mean, I know it's not another season of Victoria, but Daisy Goodwin is always able to make the historical human.

The Devil's Daughter by Gordon Greisman
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 258 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Emmy-nominated screenwriter Gordon Greisman, The Devil's Daughter is a noir thriller full of the best - and worst - of New York City in the 1950s.

Most nights PI Jack Coffey can be found hanging out in smoky Greenwich Village jazz clubs with well-known mobsters, jazzmen, and hoods. So, when an uptown financier calls him in for a job, it seems like he's headed for tonier climes. But it turns out the view from Louis Garrett's lavish penthouse overlooks the same vice-ridden Manhattan streets, which explains why he's so desperate to find his missing teenage daughter, Lucy.

When Jack's search for Lucy leads him to swanky nightclubs packed with well-dressed pimps and wealthy drug dealers, he begins to wonder if Garrett is really concerned about his daughter's welfare or if he simply fears she may reveal his own shocking secrets. After an attack outside Jack's own apartment and Lucy's boyfriend is found floating face down in the East River, the story kicks into high gear.

But death threats, crooked cops, lies, or ugly truths can't stop Jack from finishing the job - whether an angel or a devil, Lucy is still a kid in danger, and Jack will do whatever it takes to find her."

A little noir isn't a bad thing.

The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mariah Fredericks' mesmerizing novel, The Wharton Plot, follows renowned novelist Edith Wharton in the twilight years of the Gilded Age in New York as she tracks a killer.

New York City, 1911. Edith Wharton, almost equally famed for her novels and her sharp tongue, is bone-tired of Manhattan. Finding herself at a crossroads with both her marriage and her writing, she makes the decision to leave America, her publisher, and her loveless marriage.

And then, dashing novelist David Graham Phillips - a writer with often notorious ideas about society and women's place in it - is shot to death outside the Princeton Club. Edith herself met the man only once, when the two formed a mutual distaste over tea in the Palm Court of the Belmont hotel. When Phillips is killed, Edith's life takes another turn. His sister is convinced Graham was killed by someone determined to stop the publication of his next book, which promised to uncover secrets that powerful people would rather stayed hidden. Though unconvinced, Edith is curious. What kind of book could push someone to kill?

Inspired by a true story, The Wharton Plot follows Edith Wharton through the fading years of the Gilded Age in a city she once loved so well, telling a taut tale of fame, love, and murder, as she becomes obsessed with solving a crime."

I like how they're trying to pretend the Gilded Age wasn't over by saying it's "fading" and in it's "twilight years."

The Diamond of London by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Born into an illustrious family of swashbuckling war heroes and brilliant political leaders, Lady Hester Stanhope was a Regency-era adventuress who lived on her own terms and refused to conform.

Fans of Shana Abé, Theresa Ann Fowler, and Fiona Davis will be captivated by the unforgettable spirit at the heart of USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose's dazzling new historical novel based on the real life of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), a British aristocrat, antiquarian, and adventurer who defied all conventional strictures of what a woman could and couldn't do during the Regency era.

Even with her privileged life, Lady Hester Stanhope knows that claiming the adventurous life she truly wants will not be easy, thanks to her eccentric father's stifling grip. With the help of her renowned statesman uncle William Pitt the Younger, she takes on the glittering, treacherous heights of London Society. Her formidable intelligence, outspoken opinions, and headstrong determination gain the favor of the beau monde's leading taste-maker Beau Brummell - and she quickly learns to bend the rules of the ton to her own advantage. And as her uncle's hostess, she astutely uses her skills to preside over - and give advice to - the most influential figures of her day, rising to a position unequaled in society...

But when it comes to holy matrimony, Hester will settle for no less than a passionate match of equals - a search marked by challenges and heartbreak. Her affair with a charismatic naval officer tempts her with forbidden pleasures - even as it threatens her reputation. Her love for a sophisticated, brilliant diplomat offers the marriage of her dreams...and unsuspected betrayal. And as England is plunged into war, Hester's world changes forever, causing her to find courage and strength amid loss, chart a completely unexpected future - and make a glorious legacy forever hers..."

I know, I know, it's not a new Wrexford and Sloane or Lady Arianna book, but it's the same time period and so so fascinating.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Penrose, Cate Quinn, Daisy Goodwin, Edith Wharton, Gothic, Janice Hallett, Jeanne Mackin, Kate Alice Marshall, Maria Callas, Mariah Fredericks, Michelle Paver, Natalie Gibson, Pablo Picasso, Regency

The Ill-Kept Oath by C.C. Aune
Published by: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Publication Date: September 27th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Prudence and Josephine are the very best of friends as well as family. Therefore when Prudence heads off to London with their maiden aunt Amelia for her debut season it's no surprise that the letters fly back and forth between the cousins from the metropolis to Wiltshire. Josephine feels left behind and Prudence just wishes she were home. But Prudence knows the realities, unlike her cousin, she is penniless and therefore must make a great match. Which is complicated by what she and Josephine are about to uncover. The start of the season also coincides with Prudence's eighteenth birthday. Eighteen is a milestone birthday and she is surprised by her aunt with a box. Aunt Amelia claims it's full off nothing but rubbish but has been keeping it for Prudence as a bequest from her parents. Prudence knows next to nothing about her parents, she and her brother were orphaned at a young age, and to get a mysterious box and to be told they had a rare set of talents called the Inheritance, well, it makes her question everything she's ever known. But the box appears to be rubbish indeed, relics that are better off in the trash; an Elizabethan velvet overgown, a pair of elbow-length gauntlets missing a couple of digets, a stained wool cloak, a sword with a broken blade and a dented cross-guard, and a shining gold ring which needs repair. Despite their decrepitude Prudence keeps being drawn to them and even gets the ring repaired and takes to wearing it. She's wearing the ring in fact when her aunt agrees to accept an invitation from a Baroness Revelle. It turns out that Aunt Amelia and Lady Revelle have a history, as did Lady Revelle and Prudence's mother. Which might explain why Aunt Amelia wants to keep them apart. Lady Revelle claims to know about the ring Prudence wears as well as other things. Could Lady Revelle be the answer to the cousins' questions? Because Josephine has been dealing with magical artifacts of her own discovered in the attics of Greenbank Manor; a man's costume cut for a woman that must have belonged to her own mother as well as a pair of pistols. She's woken up more than once sporting the clothes and welding the weapons somewhere on the grounds of Greenbank. Plus, not that she likes to eavesdrop, but there's an encampment of troops in Wiltshire and she could have sworn that she heard Lieutenant Quimby talking about trolls to her father. Could all of this be related? Could magic really exist? And if so, Prudence and Josephine have been lied to by those whom they love the most and they need to know why.

Many lovers of Regency Magic were first introduced to this historical fantasy subgenre through Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede's Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. Released in the late eighties this epistolary novel is really the go-to recommendation for this subgenre. I see why historically, but there are so many better books out there that whenever I see the recommendation to read it I instantly want to horn in on the conversation and be like, "but have you read..." and start just listing books. I can actually do it for quite awhile. But now I specifically want to say "but have you read The Ill-Kept Oath?" And then avoid shouting in someone's face that it's Jane Austen but with trolls! The non-troll reason being is that The Ill-Kept Oath has the same basic framework, two cousins who are best friends separated because one of them is having her first season and magical things start to happen which they write to each other about. I mean obviously the Regency and epistolary novels go hand in hand because of how Jane Austen herself originally wrote Sense and Sensibility, but the epistolary format has limitations. You only get access to what the characters are willing to tell their correspondent, not what else is happening in their life or what they are excluding. The Ill-Kept Oath uses an expanded epistolary form, we get letters, but we get so much more. So while this is very Sorcery and Cecelia meets Les Liaisons Dangereuses with a heavy helping of Sense and Sensibility it is so wonderfully it's own unique voice that I fell in love with it almost instantly. What's more it gave me hope in books again. A renewed love of reading. My mood is effected by what I read and for the week it took me to devour The Ill-Kept Oath I was walking on air. I had so much work to do and when I head to bed if I'm tired I will forgo reading. But it didn't matter how tired I was, I had to keep reading. I had to know more. I had to know what Lady Revelle was up to, The Ill-Kept Oath's own Marquise de Merteuil. I had to know all about what Prudence and Josephine's parents kept from them. And right there I have to call out the brilliance of this book. Often when adults keep secrets from their children in books the reasons are often lame. I mean, if it was my kid I'd totally tell them. Here it actually made sense for Amelia and Lord Middlemere to keep quiet. Of course now I can't wait to read about the fallout of that decision... Oh how I long for the sequel.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: C.C. Aune, Epistolary, Inheritance, Josephine Weston, Lady Revelle, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Prudence Fairfeather, Regency Magic, Sense and Sensibility, Sorcery and Cecelia, The Ill-Kept Oath, Trolls, Wiltshire

What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: March 16th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 232 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Abigail Kamara should not be left to her own devices. She's not like her brother Paul who is terminally ill and needs looking after. She's just very good at getting into trouble. Just ask her cousin, DC Peter Grant. The second Peter's mom started bragging about her son doing magic Abigail demanded that he teach her. In an attempt to fob her off he said she'd need to get a GCSE A level in Latin. More fool him if he thinks she's not going to hold him to that, she's already in Latin club. She used to imagine her life out there, away from home, on some lonely road, but now she knows about magic, now she imagines seeing in the dark and running with foxes. Now she imagines finding a cure for Paul. When not being the bane of her teachers existence she's always on the lookout for the uncanny as a way to pass the time and impress Peter. There have been a recent spate of disappearances around Hampstead Heath and Abigail thinks they're rather sus. The entire nation is gripped by two white girls missing in Herefordshire and yet in London they can't be bothered with children missing on their own manor. This needs to be looked into, especially something Abigail thinks is extra sus, an old classmate of hers she hadn't seen for years invites her to a "happening" on the Heath. She's stood up but she meets Simon, who was also invited by someone he barely knew who also didn't show. At loose ends Simon and Abigail start to hang out. As Abigail comes to the realization that she's stuck with Simon she lets him help with her investigation. One that gets even stranger when it's revealed the the missing kids have all returned home with no memory of where they were. The most important piece of information is where are the kids going, thankfully Abigail has a skulk of talking foxes who have labeled her as a "person of interest" and are willing to help her with her operation; they're very big on the spy speak. And she needs each and every one of them to monitor the perimeter of the Heath. Which is how she gets her big break. The kids are all going into a house. But when Abigail enters, unlike the other kids, the house doesn't want to let her go. This conundrum is up to her to solve, without the help of the Folly, but oddly with the help of Simon's mom. Simon's mom is well connected, the foxes would be impressed.

While this is a standalone novella it is also technically a companion book to Foxglove Summer. Here we see Abigail in a similar situation to what Peter was dealing with in Herefordshire, missing children. While there are probably millions of stories about missing children what's interesting is seeing how one author handles the same subject in two very different ways. One was successful, the other was not. This book is damn near perfection. The bones of the story are a solid haunting of a house. The inside of the house is different pockets of time and it forces those whom it's lured inside to replay moments from it's past. It's not the most original of concepts, even Angel did a similar story in the season three episode "Waiting in the Wings," which I think was predominately written so that Angel and Cordelia could make out thus acting on years of pent up sexual frustration without them actually becoming an item. Yet Ben Aaronovitch writes his story so cleverly, so perfectly, that you feel like it's the first time you've head a haunted house story like it. What's more, the way that Abigail is trying to dissect the pockets of time while being forced to be a participate is fascinating. She actually appreciates these memories she is being shown while at the same time trying to find the source of the haunting. Abigail is just an amazing character with so much depth. What I personally connected to was the melancholy that is at the heart of her life, the fact that one day her brother Paul is going to die. Since the age of five his world has been getting smaller and smaller and I think that's why she pushes herself beyond her comfort zone. She wants to experience everything, even if it's the ghostly memories that a house gives her. Ben Aaronovitch understands the kind of suffering that a family with chronic illness endures. The hope that is almost worse than the bone deep pain of lifelong trauma. He wrote this book at the beginning of the pandemic and I think it influenced the story in an elegiac way. If you doubt me just read the section wherein Abigail is reading Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man to her brother. As she makes passing reference to that book's conclusion, if you know and love that book like I do, your heart will break anew.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angel, Ben Aaronovitch, Foxen, Foxglove Summer, Grief, Hampstead Heath, Haunted House, London Calling, Missing Children, Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett, Trauma, Waiting in the Wings, What Abigail Did That Summer

The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fortune favors the bold - but is a confirmed spinster daring enough to loosen the reins and accept a favor from the wicked gentleman who haunts her dreams?

Lady Anne Deveril doesn't spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she's the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother's devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she's tempted to run...right into his arms.

No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse - on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather's country estate. No more mourning clothes. No more barriers. Only the two of them, unrequited feelings at last laid bare.

Finally free to gallop out on her own, Anne makes the tantalizing discovery that beneath the roguish exterior of her not-so-white knight is a man with hidden depths, scorching passions - and a tender heart."

Country estate holiday party!?! YAS!

The Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey
Published by: Storm Publishiing
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 353 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London, 1879. The city's most notorious pickpocket is about to become the jewel of high society...

Della Rose learned her trade as a pickpocket on the vice-ridden streets of the notorious Seven Dials. But when the handsome Cole Winthrop offers her a huge sum of money to steal from his arch nemesis, the nefarious Duke of Salisbury, it seems Della’s days of deceit and thievery could soon be behind her.

To do the job she must go undercover as a member of high society, learning to walk, talk, ride and flirt like a lady. Which also means pretending to be Cole's cousin...

As an undeniable attraction grows between them, Della must fight to stay focused. Succeeding in her mission could be her ticket to a new life. And this thief won’t let the small matter of falling in love get in her way...

With irresistible charm, sparkling romance and an unforgettable heroine, The Lady Thief of Belgravia will delight fans of Evie Dunmore, Minerva Spencer and Julia Quinn's Bridgerton."

I mean, who doesn't like a dash of deception?

Always Remember by Mary Balogh
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Jennifer Arden and Ben Ellis know that a match between them is out of the question. Yet their hearts yearn for the impossible. Discover a new heartwarming story from New York Times bestselling author and beloved "queen of Regency romance" Mary Balogh.

Left unable to walk by a childhood illness, Lady Jennifer, sister of the Duke of Wilby, has grown up to make a happy place for herself in society. Outgoing and cheerful, she has many friends and enjoys the pleasures of high society - even if she cannot dance at balls or stroll in Hyde Park. She is blessed with a large, loving, and protective family. But she secretly dreams of marriage and children, and of walking - and dancing.

When Ben Ellis comes across Lady Jennifer as she struggles to walk with the aid of primitive crutches, he instantly understands her yearning. He is a fixer. It is often said of him that he never saw a practical problem he did not have to solve. He wants to help her discover independence and motion - driving a carriage, swimming, even walking a different way. But he must be careful. He is the bastard son of the late Earl of Stratton. Though he was raised with the earl's family, he knows he does not really belong in the world of the ton.

Jennifer is shocked - and intrigued - by Ben's ideas, and both families are alarmed by the growing friendship and perhaps more that they sense developing between the two. A duke's sister certainly cannot marry the bastard son of an earl. Except sometimes, love can find a way."

This is what I'm looking for, more diverse representation in books from the Queen of Regency Romance!

When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd
Published by:Tule Publishing
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 339 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Her reputation is at risk. He vows to help…but soon finds resisting her the greatest challenge of all.

When Lord Hugh Aldershot, the Viscount of Tremberley, overhears the drunken Earl of Hartley claiming to have bedded Lady Henrietta Breminster, his best friend's little sister, he is livid. He drags the passed-out earl to Breminster House to face punishment for his blathering, only to find himself face-to-face with Lady Henrietta in a sexy night dress and little else.

When Lady Henrietta Breminster sees the Viscount of Tremberley dragging the unconscious Earl of Hartley to her doorstep, she panics. Not only was she indiscreet with the earl, but she has long nursed a flaming tendre for her brother's best friend. Now she must ask Tremberley to help her keep her biggest mistake from the gossips of the ton.

Drawn closer by their efforts to subdue the jealous earl, Trem and Henrietta soon discover their own forbidden attraction. But even as Henrietta discovers true passion with Trem, she knows she could never marry for anything less than love."

Oh, I think love is definitely on the table.

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This bittersweet Pride and Prejudice remix follows a trans boy yearning for the freedom to live openly, centering queerness in a well-known story of longing and subverting society's patriarchal and cisheteronormative expectations.

London, 1812. Oliver Bennet feels trapped. Not just by the endless corsets, petticoats and skirts he's forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society's expectations. The world - and the vast majority of his family and friends - think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone's wife.

But Oliver can't bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family's home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It's during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to "Elizabeth" at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart. And not to mention incredibly attractive.

As Oliver is able to spend more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares begin to hope that his dream of love and life as a man could be possible. But suitors are growing bolder - and even threatening - and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: Settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he's not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly, honestly his own."

I love this remix series but I adore Marlowe Lune's artwork even more. Every book that they have done the cover art for has a precious place on my bookshelves.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it's too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world's first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She's learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures...and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He's an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily's feelings for Bambleby, she's not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers.

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby's realm and the key to freeing him from his family's dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart."

The series everyone has been urging me to pick up. Perhaps now's the time?

Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney
Published by: Harperteen
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.

Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.

Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air - not to mention a handsome face - Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward's mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall - unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.

On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha's resilience and Jane's persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.

When their only chance at safety - and perhaps something more - is in each other's arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward's dark machinations close in around them?"

THE Jane Eyre reimagining we've ALL been waiting for.

The Search Party by Hannah Richell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A spellbinding locked-room mystery about a glamping trip gone horribly wrong when a powerful storm leaves the participants stranded and forced to confront long-held secrets and a shocking disappearance.

Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race with their twelve-year-old son to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. Eager for a dry run ahead of their opening, they invite three old university friends and their families for a long-needed reunion. But the festivities soon go awry as tensions arise between the children (and subsequently their parents), explosive secrets come to light, and a sudden storm moves in, cutting them off from help as one in the group disappears.

Moving between the police investigation, a hospital room, and the catastrophic weekend, The Search Party is a propulsive and twisty destination thriller about the tenuous bonds of friendship and the lengths parents will go to protect their children - perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley."

This is why I don't go glamping.

The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From debut author Nishita Parekh, a fresh take on the classic locked-room thriller, about a multigenerational Indian American family marooned in a house with a murderer during Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey is about to hit Houston. Meanwhile, single mom Jia Shah is already having a rough week: her twelve-year-old son, Ishaan, has just been suspended from school for getting in a fight. Still reeling from the fallout of her divorce - their move to Houston, her family's disapproval, the struggle to make ends meet on her own - now Jia is worried about Ishaan's future, too. Will her solo parenting be enough? Doesn't a boy need a father?

And now their apartment complex is under a mandatory evacuation order. Jia's sister, Seema, has invited them to hunker down in her fancy house in Sugar Land, and despite Jia's misgivings - Seema's husband, Vipul, has been just a little too friendly with her lately - Jia concedes it's probably the best place to keep Ishaan safe during the hurricane. With Jia's philandering ex scrutinizing her every move, all too eager to snatch back custody of Ishaan, she can't afford to make a mistake.

When Vipul's brother and his wife show up on Seema's doorstep, too, it's a recipe for disaster. Grandma, the family matriarch, has never been shy about playing favorites among her sons and their wives. As the storm escalates, tensions rise quickly, and soon someone's dead. Was it a horrible accident or is there a murderer in their midst?

With no help available until the floodwaters recede in the morning, Jia must protect her son and identify the culprit before she goes down for a crime she didn't commit - or becomes the next victim...."

Never get in a locked anything with family. That's what I've learned.

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teen girl and her family return to her mother's childhood home, only to discover that the house's strange beauty may disguise a sinister past, in this contemporary Gothic horror from the author of What We Harvest.

The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That's what Libby's mom said. And after Libby's recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.

But Libby's new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.

Libby's mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family's perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.

We all wear masks - to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself - and everyone she loves."

Here for all the Gothic horror.

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen edited by Ellen Datlow
Published by: Night Shade Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Ellen Datlow - "the venerable queen of horror anthologies" per the New York Times - comes a new entry in the series that has brought you thrilling stories from Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, the best horror stories available.

For more than four decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave. Now, with the fifteenth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. Encompassed in the pages of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Laird Barron, Mira Grant, and many others.

With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today's most challenging and exciting writers."

My question is this for last year because it seems premature for 2024...

Murder in the Alps by Sara Rosett
Published by: McGuffin Ink
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 237 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cold-blooded killer lurks in the luxurious winter wonderland of St. Moritz...

Switzerland, 1924. Lady sleuth Olive Belgrave is set to enjoy a holiday of ice-skating and snowshoeing in the glamorous alpine setting of St. Moritz, but her plans are rudely interrupted when an unfortunate accident takes place. It quickly becomes clear that the tragic event was a carefully concealed murder.

Olive isn't one to shy away from a challenge, and with her sharp intuition and knowledge of the high society set, she uncovers motives among the elite guests. However, this case is one of the most challenging she's faced.

Her suspects include a famous lady mountaineer, an up-and-coming fashion designer, a mousy lady's maid, and several gentlemen sportsmen who seem to be only interested in tobogganing, ice-climbing, and the new sport of skiing down the mountain slopes. Can Olive find the cunning killer and solve the impossible crime before it's too late?

If you enjoy puzzling mysteries set among the glitz and glamor of the 1920s, you'll enjoy Murder in the Alps, the latest installment of USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett’s High Society Lady Detective series."

I love Olive Belgrave and Sara Rosett!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Allison Grey, Ann Fraistat, Gabe Cole Novoa, Hannah Richell, Heather Fawcett, Jane Eyre, L.L. McKinney, Lydia Lloyd, Mary Balogh, Mimi Matthews, Nishita Parekh, Pride and Prejudice, Regency, Sara Rosett