strange and random happenstance

Trouble with the Cursed by Kim Harrison
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rachel Morgan must keep her friends close - and her enemies closer - in the next Hollows novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison.

Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, has one unspoken rule: take chances, but pay for them yourself. With it, she has turned enemies into allies, found her place with her demon kin, and stepped up as the subrosa of Cincinnati - responsible for keeping the paranormal community at peace and in line.

Life is...good? Even better, her best friend, Ivy Tamwood, is returning home. Nothing’s simple, though, and Ivy’s not coming alone. The vampires’ ruling council insists she escort one of the long undead, hell-bent on proving that Rachel killed Cincy’s master vampire to take over the city. Which, of course, Rachel totally did not do. She only transformed her a little.

With Rachel’s friends distracted by their own lives and problems, she reaches out to a new ally for help - the demon Hodin. But this trickster has his own agenda. In the end, the only way for Rachel to save herself and the city may be to forge a new understanding with her estranged demon teacher, Al. There’s just one problem: Al would sell his own soul to be rid of her...."

Why don't they have like book holidays from work? Like if a book you've been waiting for forever is coming out you can take the day off and just read. I think it would catch on. Really I do.

Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos
Published by: Razorbill
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For Dracula lovers and fans of Diana Urban’s All Your Twisted Secrets, this spine-tingling thriller follows seven horror buffs as their dream trip to a remote Romanian castle turns into a nightmare when they begin to be killed one by one.

Alex Rush is ready for the trip of a lifetime.

She and her friends have made some creepily awesome films together throughout high school, so with only a few months left before they go their separate ways for college, they’re determined to make the best one yet: an epic short film that reimagines the story of Dracula, filmed on location at a remote castle in Romania.

But when they get there, it’s not quite the majestic setting they planned for. Menacing weapons line the walls, the twisted halls are easy to get lost in, and with no connection to the outside world, the group is unexpectedly off the grid. After just a few hours spent under its roof, Alex and her friends have no trouble imagining how this dark, terrifying castle inspired one of the most enduring horror novels of all time.

Only soon they no longer have to use their imaginations to understand the location’s terrifying history - just as they get the film's first shot rolling, one of Alex’s friends disappears, and she’s nearly certain she saw a cloaked stranger lurking in the shadows. As more members of the group begin to meet an untimely demise, Alex is desperate to stop the bloodshed, even if it means facing a monster she never thought would be let loose."

Romanian murder mystery with a bite? Yes please!

Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino
Published by: Page Street Kids
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They’ll lure you in with fruit and gems and liquor and dancing, merriment to remember for the rest of your life. But that’s an illusion. The market is death itself.

Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women - the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market - until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. The market learned her name, and even when she and her sister left York for Boston to escape it, the goblins remembered.

Seventeen years later, Lou, May’s niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage or the twisted streets, sweet fruits, and incredible jewels of the goblin market. But just like her aunt, the market calls to her, an echo of a curse that won’t release its hold on her family. And when her youngest aunt, Neela, is kidnapped by goblins, Lou discovers just how real and dangerous the market is.

To save her, both May and Lou will have to confront their family’s past and what happened all those years ago. But everything - from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves - is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. And if Lou isn’t careful, she could end up losing herself to the market, too."

A goblin market tale? Oh yes.

The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell
Published by: Mantle
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A haunting and moving debut, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding.

1830. After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked and near death, on the Northumberland moors. She has no memory of who she is or how she got there. But she can remember how to help a woman in labour and how to expertly dress a wound, and can speak fluent French. With the odds against her, a penniless single woman, she starts to build her life from scratch, using her skills to help other women around her. She finds a happy place in the world. Until tragedy strikes, and she must run for her life...

In London, Dr Borthwick lives a solitary life working as an accoucheur dealing with mothers and babies in the elegant homes of high society together with his midwife, Mrs Bates, and volunteering in the slums of the Devil’s Acre alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. But he is harbouring a dark secret from his past - one that threatens to spill over everything."

Dark secrets and a dark past mean I will be reading this long past dark.

Alchemy and Rose by Sarah Maine
Published by: Hodder
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A beautiful and sweeping historical novel that takes the reader from the west coast of New Zealand, to Scotland and Melbourne in the 1870s.

1866. Will Stewart is one of many who have left their old lives behind to seek their fortunes in New Zealand's last great gold rush. The conditions are hostile and the outlook bleak, but he must push on in his uncertain search for the elusive buried treasure.

Rose is about to arrive on the shores of South Island when a storm hits and her ship is wrecked. Just when all seems lost she is snatched from the jaws of death by Will, who risks his life to save her. Drawn together by circumstance, they stay together by choice and for a while it seems that their stars have finally aligned.

But after a terrible misunderstanding they are cruelly separated, and their new-found happiness is shattered. As Will chases Rose across oceans and continents, he must come to terms with the possibility that he might never see her again. And if he does, he will have to face the man who took her..."

Ever since reading The Luminaries I might be New Zealand gold rush obsessed.

Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Lizzie Pook
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of The Light Between Oceans and The Island of Sea Women, a feminist adventure story set against the backdrop of the dangerous pearl diving industry in 19th-century Western Australia, about a young English woman who sets off to uncover the truth about the disappearance of her eccentric father.

Western Australia, 1886. After months at sea, a slow boat makes its passage from London to the shores of Bannin Bay. From the deck, young Eliza Brightwell and her family eye their strange, new home. Here is an unforgiving land where fortune sits patiently at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to be claimed by those brave enough to venture into its depths. An ocean where pearl shells bloom to the size of soup plates, where men are coaxed into unthinkable places and unspeakable acts by the promise of unimaginable riches.

Ten years later, the pearl-diving boat captained by Eliza’s eccentric father returns after months at sea - without Eliza’s father on it. Whispers from townsfolk point to mutiny or murder. Headstrong Eliza knows it’s up to her to discover who, or what, is really responsible.

As she searches for the truth, Eliza discovers that beneath the glamorous veneer of the pearling industry, lies a dark underbelly of sweltering, stinking decay. The sun-scorched streets of Bannin Bay, a place she once thought she knew so well, are teeming with corruption, prejudice, and blackmail. Just how far is Eliza willing to push herself in order to solve the mystery of her missing father? And what family secrets will come to haunt her along the way?


A transporting feminist adventure story based on Lizzie Pook’s deep research into the pearling industry and the era of British colonial rule in Australia, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is ultimately about the lengths one woman will travel to save her family."

And since I'm already in New Zealand, how about I stop off in Australia too?

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: June 14th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness for the Dead...

As a Witness for the Dead, Thara Celehar can speak to the recently departed: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty to use that ability to ascertain the intent of the dead and to find the killers of the murdered. Celehar’s time in the city of Amalo has brought him both friends and enemies - and no little notoriety. Now, when solving the murder of a marquise raises more questions than it answers, he finds himself exploring Amalo’s dark underside.

His investigations lead him to the Cemchelarna School for Foundling Girls, where all is not as it seems. Discovering the truth about its headmistress will lead Celehar deep into the city’s history - and into the shattering depths of the loss he fears the most."

A DIRECT sequel you didn't have to wait years and years for!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Australia, Dracula, Goblin Market, Katherine Addison, Kelly Devos, Kim Harrison, Lizzie Pook, New Zealand, Romania, Sarah Maine, The Goblin Emperor, The Hollows, The Luminaries, Tori Bovalino, Tricia Cresswell

Now I do understand that changes are necessary for an adaptation to be successful. But that comes with the caveat that you have to maintain the spirit of the book. Just look to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and it's adaptation! A perfect pair without being carbon copies. The reason I mention Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is because that is a book I am fanatically devoted to, much as I am to Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries. Seeing as I just fell in love with this book last year I didn't know that it's one of those books that was viewed as unadaptable, and this adaptation kind of proves the point. The nonlinear narrative and large cast of characters were viewed as the primary stumbling blocks. So this adaptation decided to hone in on five characters to the detriment of all others. This also brought the two female leads into a more prominent role, which, given that it aired on Starz, is kind of their M.O., but it just didn't work. They need to be mysterious, but as you'll see below, they apparently don't like mysteries. In fact, aside from the casting, nothing about this adaptation worked. I want to do my own Snyder Cut on this because it could work, if it was entirely reconceptualized. The book works because it's a mystery you're working to solve along with the characters. Here there was literally no mystery. Unless you count the missing heart of the book in this adaptation as a mystery. Gone was the nonlinear narrative and instead everything was told step by step from beginning to end with a few glimpses into the future. We know from day one that Anna and Emery are "astral twins" and the mystery of their connection is just swept aside as a given instead of a riddle to be solved. Instead of trying to find out the mystery of the gold found in Crosbie Wells's cottage we just follow the gold around New Zealand as it changes hands. Boring. Also, the machinations of Francis Carver are laid out so simply and so plainly that you don't see the evil and the Machiavellian scheming playing out. You don't see him as the center of a vast conspiracy that unfolds over time. I just am baffled by this adaptation in that they had the building blocks and they made this!?! Why!?! Perhaps we'll never know, much like what kind of accent Eva Green was trying to accomplish.      

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, And the Emmy Goes To, Crosbie Wells, Eleanor Catton, Eva Green, Eve Hewson, Francis Carver, Himesh Patel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Mystery, New Zealand, Snyder Cut, Starz, The Luminaries

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: August 24th, 2013
Format: Kindle, 832 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

One night three odd things happen in Hokitika. Crosbie Wells, an ex-prospector hoping to build a lumber mill dies. Anna Wetherell, a popular prostitute in the Chinatown district and known opium addict is found unconscious on the road out of town and is taken to prison. And Emery Staines, a wealthy prospector, disappears. After that night surprising discoveries start to link these events. Crosbie Wells had a fortune in gold hidden about his cabin. Emery Staines was about to pay Anna Wetherell a substantial amount of money before he disappeared. Enough to get her off the game. As for Anna Wetherell, she wakes in prison no longer an opium addict and her clothes are weighted down with gold in all the seams. What does it all mean? Obviously gold is the lifeblood of Hokitika, the epicenter of the West Coast Gold Rush, but how could these specific individuals account for their windfalls? Twelve of the townsmen peripherally or directly involved in these events have formed a council of sorts to get to the bottom of things. At the night of their first meeting at the Crown Hotel they are interrupted by a newcomer, Walter Moody. Walter is taken aback by the incongruous gathering. After hearing about Walter's otherworldly journey to Hokitika aboard Francis Carver's ship, Godspeed, the twelve decide to let him into their counsel and tell him their stories, one at a time. Each story filling in gaps of knowledge for the others. A picture begins to emerge and one man appears to be at the center of it, Francis Carver. As their counsel draws to a close news arrives that the Godspeed has foundered on the spare. She is wrecked. Who knows what the contents of that ship might reveal? Or what the arrival of Crosbie Wells's widow will mean. No one knew he was married. Yet here she is arriving to claim her inheritance, arriving before she could have gotten news of his untimely passing or the windfall in his cabin. Whatever secrets lay in Hokitika, Walter and the council feel duty bound to get the the bottom of it, no matter what happens.

There is literally no other book out there where it's so apt that I can literally say the stars fell perfectly into alignment to get me to pick it up. It all started at a book club meeting where one of my fellow members was talking about a doorstop of a book set in New Zealand that was notorious for it's excruciating detail of the minutiae of 1800s life. I instantly perked up, this sounded like my kind of book! After the meeting and the hellacious months that followed I didn't have a spare minute to look into it more until I stumbled on an article on the Radio Times website about a miniseries adaptation of The Luminaries. I instantly put two and two together and realized THIS was the book! I knew I had to read it. And that's when the final star fell into alignment, my library was promoting their digital collection on OverDrive and The Luminaries was there with no wait list! So on July 23rd I dove into a book that became my solace for the next month. This book is amazing for two reasons. One is that Eleanor Catton created a book entirely based around the zodiac with each of the twelve councilmen representing a sign of the zodiac. The other important characters are assigned heavenly bodies and they influence certain signs. Throughout the book there are meticulously plotted star charts that will drive the action that happens within the following pages. So this is a whole rabbit hole you can do a deep dive into if that's your jam, I waded in the shallow end and was mightily impressed. But what impressed me more is that while this amazing structure exists under the surface with charts and graphs and what have you, even with no knowledge of the zodiac this is an amazing book. This book can be read on two levels. Those who revel in astrology will see something entirely different than those who don't. So do not let the astrology deter you from picking it up! For me the astrology was another level of the onion, but I loved the onion even before I started peeling it. This was Deadwood meets Agatha Christie and everything else was just icing on the cake.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1800s, Agatha Christie, Anna Wetherell, Astrology, Book Club, Crosbie Wells, Deadwood, Eleanor Catton, Emery Staines, Francis Carver, Gold, Gold Rush, Hokitika, New Zealand, OverDrive, The Luminaries, Zodiac