strange and random happenstance

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Published by: Custom House
Publication Date: May 27th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

The death of Cora Seaborne's abusive husband means she can finally cast aside the shackles of the life she was forced into. She can indulge her desire to be the next Mary Anning. Taking her household, which consists of her companion Martha and her disturbed son Francis, to Colchester, she spends her days mucking about the countryside wearing men's boots and unflattering clothing looking for ammonites. Once she even tangled with a man trying to rescue a sheep from the muck. But soon Colchester is abuzz with rumors of the Essex Serpent. It's hunting the estuaries and killing children and pets. Cora doesn't believe in something so fanciful, but she does wonder, could a creature from long ago have survived in an out of the way place to be discovered in the present day? Might she find a living fossil? Science doesn't deny it is possible and her hero, Mary Anning, often hoped to make such a discovery. Cora longs to have her name next to such a find in a museum and therefore jumps at the opportunity that fate hands her. Through mutual friends she is introduced to the Ransomes who live in Aldwinter. As fate would have it the Reverend Will Ransome is the man she helped to rescue the sheep. Despite such an inauspicious beginning the two become fast friends. Cora is fascinated by a pew in his church which is carved to represent the serpent, while Will is incensed by his parishioners obsession with folk tales and threatens to destroy the pew. Will and Cora argue over everything, from religion to science, it is a meeting of true minds. Everyone comments on their closeness, Cora even moves to Aldwinter. Yet Will's wife Stella doesn't seem to mind, and Martha, well Martha has more important things to worry about. But then there's an incident at the school. Cora begs her friend, Doctor Luke Garrett, to come down and investigate the medical reason behind the hysteria. This causes a breach between Cora and Will. A breach that will be healed and ruptured on one fateful night. So while they might not survive, the question remains, does the serpent?

Yes, I fully admit to picking up The Essex Serpent due to Tom Hiddleston. Will Ransome is a role Hiddles was born to play in my mind. But I picked up the book a second time mainly because of that adaptation. Yes, The Essex Serpent was also picked for my book club, but I wanted to wade back into the world of Cora and Will, a world that the adaptation made seem so shallow and hostile. To have wasted such talent on taking a multidimensional book and making it so one-dimensional just infuriates me. Yes, the book is rather light on plot but The Essex Serpent is beautifully and lushly written and has so much substance. It fits more into the style of Gothic literature and romance from the 19th century than what we necessarily think of as Gothic now. The book is all about duality as epitomized by the word "cleave," to cling and to separate all at once. The serpent is both a supernatural entity and a rather large fish. Stella is both dying and luminous. The world runs on both religion and science. Cora and Will's romance is both everything and nothing. Two states of being happening simultaneously. This recurs over and over again, reality versus fallacy. And at one point, the hysteria of Aldwinter with regards to the serpent reaches such a fever pitch that the young schoolgirls act out in a way that would best be described as Salem in 1692. And the fact that the doctor swings in and brings up ergot poisoning made my dorky history heart soar! Because it could very well be hysteria OR ergot OR none of the above. The Essex Serpent is about the mysteries that science hasn't yet explained but even when they eventually are they are still magnificent. Look to the Fata Morgana that Will and Cora saw. They literally saw a ship with red sails sailing across the sky but it is just an optical illusion. Did knowing what it was make it any less amazing? No it didn't. But we go back to the duality of superstition and science, there are those that will meet wonder and invention with hostility and those who will welcome it with open arms. That is why Will is such an interesting character, while he will embrace an illusion in the sky and turn his flock from superstition he still won't embrace medical science. He is the essence of duality. A mystery that resides in us all and will keep me coming back to this book time and time again.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Aldwinter, Cora Seaborne, Fata Morgana, Going Gothic, Gothic Literature, Living Fossil, Mary Anning, Reverend Will Ransome, Sarah Perry, Science, Superstition, The Essex Serpent, Tom Hiddleston

The Haunting Season by Bridget Collins, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Andrew Michael Hurley, Jess Kidd, Elizabeth Macneal, Natasha Pulley, and Laura Purcell
Published by: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: October 12th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★
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Morton is not a good man. He has secrets in his past, but his future looks bright. He has just stumbled upon the most perfect house he has ever seen. His love of chess was obviously shared by the previous owner. Everything about this place is perfection. He is so in love with it he inquires about leasing it immediately. Deciding to spend the night there without any provisions might have been unwise. There's a storm coming and there's something lurking in the house. Could Morton have been lured here? It seems inconceivable, but someone who plays chess knows that it's best to anticipate your enemy's plan of attack. A mother and her son have taken refuge in many places, but now that the money has run out they have resorted to the old Thwaite house. Yet her father insists after a time that she return to her husband. Yet what choice does she have, her husband or a house that creaks and groans with thuds in the night. Perhaps neigther is in option and she must run again. Ketia Mori is exhausted from remembering the future. For the holidays he and Thaniel and Six are going to have a respite. But a place that dampens powers giving a long desired rest might have reasons for the powers to be dampened. Lily Wilt has passed away. Young Walter Pemble has been hired to take her memorial photograph. Yet something odd happens in the development of the print. Something that sends him back to Lily. All are being drawn to Lily and her beauty in death. Yet something in Walter makes him do things he would never thought himself capable of. He must have Lily, even if the darkest of rites are all that will bring her back to him. Evelyn was injured at Chillingham Grange. Old Chillingham had an infirmity that led him to use a chair. A chair that is given to Evelyn to help her in her recovery. But if anything the chair is driving her insane. As her sister's wedding day grows near her family and the Chillinghams are worried for Evelyn's sanity. But what if the chair was trying to give her a warning? Salter Farm was bedecked with greens, yet they hid a secret in their depths. A secret that they will try to tell. Catherine Mary Blake has reached her confinement. Yet upon the birth of her daughter she wasn't allowed to care for her. She knew something evil was coming for her daughter. A witch. A witch who can only be stopped by the blessing of God on her child. Victor plans to make an archaeological find in Lyme Regis. Yet he can't see what is happening right in front of him. Could his great discovery come at too high a cost?

I have issues with short story collections. Mainly just because I have issues with short stories. I'm always the one who wants more. I agree a story should be just as long or as short as it takes to tell the tale, but I will always gravitate towards a television show over a movie because they have more time to be expansive. Therefore a collection of short stories isn't something I'm inclined to pick up. That is unless it's a book of stories by a favorite author or a collection of favorite authors. And here I had Natasha Pulley and Laura Purcell. So right there I was sold. Also, I do like the very British tradition of telling ghost stories around Christmas, and that is what this book sets out to do, entertain on a long winter's night. But there's also an unspoken rule that this has to be new material. You aren't here to sell your other work in any way other than writing a story so good that the reader goes and picks up your back catalog. Natasha Pulley just did not get this brief. Which pains me more than I can say. She made it not about the theme of the book but about shoehorning a story about her own characters into this book. That's just not cool. It takes you out of the book, it makes you confused, it just isn't done! Oddly enough one of my friends whom I always disagree with about books but who has contributed to and edited several short story collections heartily seconded my disbelief that Natasha Pulley did this. Why didn't the editors go back to her and make her do it again? In fact it makes me actually not want to pick up The Watchmaker of Filigree Street series because I was forced to read about Ketia Mori, Thaniel, and Six before I wanted to read about them. And there's the whole I wasn't sure what was going on with them and their powers angle, but that just feeds into the whole THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T DO THIS! Another downside to short story collections is the whole consistency aspect. There's just no conceivable way that each story will be equally awesome to each individual reader. Which is why the overall collection gets a middling grade. It's not that there weren't amazing stories here, it's just they were balanced by some truly spectacularly bad ones. Ironically the friend whom I disagree with got the same rating as me but each story we disagreed on. So read this collection for the haunting "Confinement" by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, the Mary Anning inspired "Monster" by Elizabeth Macneal, and the VERY Avengers-esque "A Study in Black and White" by Bridget Collins. And I mean the Steed and Peel Avengers, not the Marvel. They were truly spectacular, in my mind.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrew Michael Hurley, Bridget Collins, Elizabeth Macneal, Imogen Hermes Gower, Jess Kidd, Kiran Millwood Hargrace, Laura Purcell, Natasha Pulley, The Haunting Season, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award - nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica's natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.

Tiberius has received a cryptic message - along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners - that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.

As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening's events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for."

Time to cheer, the new Deanna Raybourn is here!

A Most Intriguing Lady by Sarah Ferguson
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, a sweeping, romantic compulsively readable historical saga about a Duke's daughter - the perfect Victorian lady - who secretly moonlights as an amateur sleuth for high society's inner circle.

Victorian London was notorious for its pickpockets. But in the country houses of the elite, gentleman burglars, art thieves and con men preyed on the rich and titled. Wealthy victims - with their pride and reputation at stake - would never go to the police. What they needed was a society insider, one of their own, a person of discretion and finely tuned powers of observation, adept at navigating intrigue.

That person was Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, the youngest child of Queen Victoria's close friends the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Bookish, fiercely intelligent, and a keen observer, Mary has deliberately cultivated a mousey persona that allows her to remain overlooked and significantly underestimated by all. It’s the perfect cover for a sleuth, a role she stumbles into when trying to assist a close friend during a house party hosted by her parents at their stately Scottish home, Drumlanrig Castle.

It is at this party where Lady Mary also meets Colonel Walter Trefusis, a distinguished and extremely handsome war veteran. Tortured by memories of combat, Walter, like Mary, lives a double life, with a desk job in Whitehall providing a front for his role in the British Intelligence Service. The two form an unlikely alliance to solve a series of audacious crimes - and indulge in a highly charged on-off romance.

Pacy, romantic, and fun, A Most Intriguing Lady documents one remarkable woman's ability to be both the perfect lady, and a perfectly talented detective...and, of course, to find love too."

Is it wrong that if I were to ask her a question I'd be more interested in the welfare of the corgis than in this book, which does sound fascinating.

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about truth, illusion and the grave risks women will take to avenge the ones they love.

May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium...

1873. At an abandoned ch teau on the outskirts of Paris, a dark's seance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister's death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London's exclusive Seance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves..."

Here's the thing, I LOVE reading about seances, probably because I'm not stupid enough to ever be a part of one.

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Feiwel amd Friends
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
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The official patter:
"A teen boy tries to discover the reason behind his best friend's disappearance - and the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic stranger - in misty Victorian London, in Kalynn Bayron's My Dear Henry, a Gothic YA remix of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, sixth in the Remixed Classics series.

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life - and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll - was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog - and not all of them are out for blood..."

I'm all about Jekyll and Hyde reinterpretations and this one is an entirely new take!

One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hollywood intrigue, glamor...and murder: Enter the roaring twenties in this thrilling Silver Screen historical mystery, starring two very different female sleuths.

May, 1924. It's been seven months since young British widow Emma Blackstone arrived in Hollywood to serve as companion to Kitty Flint: her beautiful, silent-movie star sister-in-law. Kitty is generous, kind-hearted...and a truly terrible actress. Not that Emma minds; she's too busy making her academic parents turn in their graves with her new job writing painfully historically inaccurate scenarios for Foremost Studios, in between wrangling their leading lady out of the arms of her army of amorous suitors.

So when one of Kitty's old flames, renowned film director Ernst Zapolya, calls Emma and tells her it's imperative he meet with Kitty that morning, she's not surprised. Until, that is, he adds that lives depend on it. Ernst sounds frightened. But what can have scared him so badly - and what on earth does cheerful, flighty Kitty have to do with it?

Only Ernst can provide the answers, and Kitty and Emma travel to the set of his extravagant new movie to find them. But the shocking discovery they make there only raises further questions...including: will they stay alive long enough to solve the murderous puzzle?"

Hollywoodland calls to me. Always.

Weyward by Emilia Hart
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha's mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives - and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world."

Can I go to a cottage and transform through the power of the natural world?

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"By turns suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking first novel weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman.

Collette LeSange is a lonely artist who heads an elite fine arts school for children in upstate New York. Her youthful beauty masks the dark truth of her life: she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache in the wake of her grandfather's long-ago decision to make her immortal like himself. Now in 1984, Collette finds her life upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger.

Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, Jacqueline Holland's The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?"

I always find the concept of immortality one that needs to be read and explored in as many ways as is possible.

A Man Among Ghosts by Steven Hopstaken
Published by: Flame Tree Press
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"You'll love this if you like the movie Jacob's Ladder, Stephen King's The Dead Zone or Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.

After surviving a near-death experience, David finds himself haunted by ghosts in the old Victorian house he is renovating. These tortured souls beg for his help and offer him protection from a demonic presence that wants David dead for a crime he doesn't remember committing. Even more surprising, he soon learns these are spirits of people who are not yet dead. Is this real, is he hallucinating, or is someone trying to drive him insane? As his paranoia ramps up, he discovers the truth is even more bizarre. The haunting won't stop until he kills a man named "Fitz.""

Oh, insanity or haunting or both? 

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Ripley Jones's Missing Clarissa is a gripping novel about two friends who start a true crime podcast - with dangerous consequences.

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her - who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found - dead or alive.

Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what - or who - happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa's relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode...

But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man - and help the true killer walk free?"

Fictional true crime is my new jam because I get the true crime aspect but I am also guaranteed a solution.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV's hottest baking competition - perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.

Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for "Bake Week" but also the childhood home of the show's famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as "America's Grandmother," Betsy Martin isn't as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it's merely sabotage - sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high - but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut."

Because everyone who is a fan of GBBO has been wanting that extra element of murder... 

The Medici Manuscript by C.J. Archer
Published by: C.J. Archer
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 286 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One book can change your life.

Finding an old manuscript in the attic has always been a fantasy of Sylvia's. She just never expected the fantasy to come true, or for it to lead her to answers about her mysterious family.

The silver clasps binding the pages contain rare magic - the same magic that might run through Sylvia's veins. To discover a link to her ancestors means understanding the book itself, but it's written in a code that proves difficult to crack. The only thing she knows for certain is that it was once owned by the Medicis, the powerful family that controlled Renaissance Florence.

With the help of Gabe and his friends, Sylvia investigates the book's origins. But following the clues throws up more questions - questions they need help answering. Trusting others is not Sylvia's strong suit, but with Gabe at her side, she becomes capable and confident. Until their trust is shattered when the book is stolen.

Uncovering the thief proves dangerous, particularly when someone is also trying to kidnap Gabe. With his own mysteries to unravel, Gabe's private life becomes more complicated. Sylvia tries to keep her distance but staying away from someone as magnetic as Gabe is impossible.

With so many distractions, can they find the thief before the book is lost forever? Or will the secrets contained within its pages remain unsolved and will Sylvia's past continue to be a mystery?"

Who doesn't want to have their past unlocked by a magical book owned by some of the most famous people in history?

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries brings us Birnam Wood, a gripping thriller of high drama and kaleidoscopic insight into what drives us to survive.

Birnam Wood is on the move...

Five years ago, Mira Bunting founded a guerrilla gardening group: Birnam Wood. An undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic gathering of friends, this activist collective plants crops wherever no one will notice: on the sides of roads, in forgotten parks and neglected backyards. For years, the group has struggled to break even. Then Mira stumbles on an answer, a way to finally set the group up for the long term: a landslide has closed the Korowai Pass, cutting off the town of Thorndike. Natural disaster has created an opportunity, a sizable farm seemingly abandoned.

But Mira is not the only one interested in Thorndike. Robert Lemoine, an enigmatic American billionaire, has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker - or so he tells Mira when he catches her on the property. Intrigued by Mira, Birnam Wood, and their entrepreneurial spirit, he suggests they work this land. But can they trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust each other?

A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton's Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. A brilliantly constructed study of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is a mesmerizing, unflinching consideration of the human impulse to ensure our own survival."

After I read The Luminaries I will never not read an Eleanor Catton book.

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A legendary YA debut. This dazzling sapphic fantasy inspired by Greek mythology will captivate fans of Circe and The Song of Achilles.

Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die - or the tides of fate will drown them all.

Sarah Underwood weaves an epic tapestry of lies, love, and tragedy, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Alexandra Bracken, and Renée Ahdieh."

I real physical arc of this book showed up on my doorstep and it really, truly, made my day.

Mr. and Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Mr. and Mrs. Witch, the next novel from bestselling author Gwenda Bond, a couple discovers at the altar the surprising secret identities they've kept from each other.

Savannah Wilde is a witch, a very powerful one - an identity that only her fellow witches know. Following a whirlwind romance that surprised herself and her family, Savvy is all set to marry the love of her life. But she isn’t the only one with a secret that needs to be kept, even from her soon-to-be husband.

Griffin Carter is a top agent for a clandestine organization that, well, used to primarily hunt witches, but now mainly tries to shut down supernatural threats their own way. He can’t wait to lay his eyes on the woman he’s about to spend the rest of his life with.

As Savvy walks down the aisle to Griffin, the wedding quickly goes from blessed day to shit show when their true identities are revealed. To say there’s bad blood between their factions is putting it mildly. Savvy and Griffin are tasked to take the other out, but when they discover a secret that could take down both of their agencies, they realize the only way to survive is to team up. With assassins hot on their trail, will Savvy and Griffin make it out alive to try again at 'I do'?"

Love the author. Love the concept. Hate the cover so much.

Instinct edited by L.J. Hachmeister
Published by: Source 7 Productions, LLC
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 342 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Danger. Evil. Death. Heroes can face it all, but they cannot do it alone.

Throughout history, creatures both big and small have stood alongside heroes and helped them through trying times, whether on the battlefield or in their laps. In these brand-new stories, seventeen bestselling authors regale us with adventures of animal companions and how they often are the ones rescuing the rescuer.

New stories by / in the world of

Jim Butcher - from The Dresden Files
Faith Hunter - from Jane Yellowrock
Patricia Briggs - from Mercy Thompson
Seanan McGuire - standalone
L. E. Modesitt - from Archform: Beauty and Flash
Kelley Armstrong - from Cainsville
L. J. Hachmeiste - from the Triorion Universe/Laws of Attraction
Sam Knight - from The Abandoned Lands
Eliza Eveland - from Talons and Tethers
Hailey Edwards - from The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy
D. J. Butler - from Abbott in Darkness
Lucienne Diver - from The Latter-Day Olympians
A. J. Hartley - from The Bowescroft Series
Alex Erickson - from Furever Pets
John Hartness - from Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter
R.R. Virdi - from Tales of Tremaine
Jennifer Blackstream - from Blood Trails

Purchasing this book saves a puppy’s life! Book sale profits are donated to: Lifeline Puppy Rescue."

I mean, I'd buy this just for Patricia Briggs and the cause, but all the other authors? This book is stacked!

Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the twelfth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

Reunion, noun:
1. The state of being united again.

Reconciliation, noun:
1. An act of reconciling, as when former enemies agree to an amiable truce.
2. The process of making consistent or compatible.
3. See also "impossible."

Alice Price-Healy gave up her life for fifty years to focus completely on the search for her missing husband. The danger of focus like that is that it leaves little room for thinking about what happens after…and now that she’s finally managed to find Thomas, she has no idea what she’s supposed to do next. The fact that he comes with a surrogate daughter who may or may not have some connection to Alice’s recently adopted grandson is just icing on the complicated cake.

So the three of them are heading for the most complicated place in the universe: they're going home.

But things on Earth have changed while Alice, Thomas, and Sally have been away. The Covenant of St. George, antagonized by Verity's declaration of war and Sarah's temporary relocation of an entire college campus, is trying to retake North America from the cryptids and cryptozoologists who've been keeping the peace for the past hundred years. And they’re starting in New York.

Alice and company have barely been back for an hour before the Ocean Lady and the Queen of the Routewitches are sending them to New York to help, and they find themselves embroiled in the politics of dragons, kidnappings, and of course, the most dangerous people of all: family.

Getting "back to normal" may be the hardest task Alice has undertaken yet."

Seanan's fiftieth release of the year. I kid. Slightly. OK, it's only the third if you include the anthology above, but that's already one a month!

The Curator by Owen King
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers are the most wonderful criminals you can imagine.

It begins in an unnamed city nicknamed "the Fairest", it is distinguished by many things from the river fair to the mountains that split the municipality in half; its theaters and many museums; the Morgue Ship; and, like all cities, but maybe especially so, by its essential unmappability.

Dora, a former domestic servant at the university has a secret desire - to find where her brother went after he died, believing that the answer lies within The Museum of Psykical Research, where he worked when Dora was a child. With the city amidst a revolutionary upheaval, where citizens like Robert Barnes, her lover and a student radical, are now in positions of authority, Dora contrives to gain the curatorship of the half-forgotten museum only to find it all but burnt to the ground, with the neighboring museums oddly untouched. Robert offers her one of these, The National Museum of the Worker. However, neither this museum, nor the street it is hidden away on, nor Dora herself, are what they at first appear to be. Set against the backdrop of a nation on the verge of collapse, Dora's search for the truth behind the mystery she's long concealed will unravel a monstrous conspiracy and bring her to the edge of worlds."

Eastern European in scope and mythmaking.

The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill
Published by: Random House Graphic
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? From the author of the beloved Tea Dragon Society comes a must-read for fans of the rich fantasies of Hayao Miyazaki and the magical adventures of Witch Hat Atelier.

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what Anya thought it would be?

Night after night, it is lonely in the desert, with only one lantern for light. Still, Anya is eager to prove her worth, to show her thanks to her friends and her village. But is it worth the cost? And yet something isn’t right. When Anya glimpses the one thing that could destroy what she’s meant to protect, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.

K. O'Neill brings to life a beautifully illustrated fantasy with lush, gorgeous art and intricate world-building. A story about coming of age and community, The Moth Keeper is filled with magic, hope, and friendship."

Anything K. O'Neill does I need. Desperately.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barbara Hambly, C.J. Archer, Deanna Raybourn, Eleanor Catton, Emilia Hart, Jacqueline Holland, Jessa Maxwell, Kalynn Bayron, Owen King, Ripley Jones, Sarah Penner, Sarah Underwood, Seanan McGuire, Steven Hopstaken

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Beatriz lost everything with the death of her father. Branded a traitor he was executed and she and her mother moved in with relatives who treated them worse than slaves. When Beatriz catches the eye of Don Rodolfo Solórzano she jumps at the chance of a new beginning and a home of her own. He's well off and has a position of power in the new Provisional Government and is wealthy enough to support two residences, a house in the city and his family pulque plantation in the county. Her mother's dislike of him can be overcome in time, and as for the rumors of what happened to his first wife? She thinks little of it, which might be just what her new husband wants, someone desperate enough to not ask questions. His job keeps him in town while Beatriz will primarily reside at the Hacienda San Isidro, an arrangement that suits him perfectly. Of course Beatriz had pictured San Isidro as her husband romanticized it in stories of his childhood. She did not expect the rundown house with the verdant growth gone to rot. She also didn't expect to be dumped there. Surely a newly wedded man would want to spend time with his wife? But she is soon left alone in a hostile environment. Her sister-in-law Juana wants nothing to do with her or the house and the staff keep themselves apart. Beatriz got what she thought she wanted and is more alone than she's ever been. If she can restore San Isidro, bring the house and the gardens back to life, she can lure her mother to live with her and perhaps then she will feel less alone. But the house doesn't want this. She hears voices and sees things that cannot possibly be real. She looks to Juana for confirmation but gets none. Yet why does Juana only enter the house when she has to and only during daylight? Beatriz has nowhere to turn but the church. Padre Andrés is a newly ordained priest and he is the only one who will listen to Beatriz. He grew up at San Isidro and as soon as he returns he can tell that something is horribly wrong. This isn't the home he knew and Beatriz is right, there's danger here. Thankfully Andrés is willing to help the young bride, but as they battle San Isidro they have to battle their growing attraction and victory is not assured. Not in the least.

This book was lauded as Rebecca meets Mexican Gothic. Now I, for one, will admit that PR for a book has to always go for the biggest names, the one haunted house book with true name recognition to compare to the haunted house book they're trying to get you to pick up. It's all designed to grab our attention, and I totally fall for it. Every. Single. Time. You liked this? Well you'll love this, it's the same but better! No, it never is. Except once in a great while. Whenever I see a book compared to my beloved Rebecca I read the book and wonder if the author or the PR department had actually ever read Du Maurier's classic. And as for the Mexican Gothic comparison, after that book became a surprise hit every Gothic book coming out had to somehow be "like" it. Here's the thing though, Mexican Gothic wasn't that good, whereas this book is. Oh my, they really delivered on the "same but better." I should find those PR people and apologize for how I've always trashed them for their cunning deceptions. It's their job after all... I've even been known to do it! The reason The Hacienda beats Mexican Gothic hands down is Isabel Cañas didn't complicate this story with mushrooms and what have you. She went for the standard tropes of the Gothic genre, dead first wife, hostile family, lonely outsider newlywed, recalcitrant servants, haunted house, conflicted priest, forbidden romance, and wrote these tropes to the highest standard. There isn't much original here, but it is so well crafted, so well drawn out, that you will love it completely. The story of Beatriz is propulsive. How will she survive? I kept turning the pages late into the night. I could see it all before me and yet somehow it maintained my interest. The Hacienda has all the goodness of a true Gothic haunted house story paired with what it means to belong and want a home. And that's where it set itself above the tropes, that's where it was unique, in Beatriz's desire for a place of her own. Her family had been cast out and degraded and she took the first opportunity she had to break free. Yes, it was a dangerous decision in the end, but who wouldn't risk it all to find their place in the world? To finally feel safe? I know I would, wouldn't you?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Place to Call Home, Daphne Du Maurier, Family, Forbidden Romance, Ghosts, Going Gothic, Gothic, Haunted House, Isabel Cañas, Mexican Gothic, Mexico, PR, Priests, Pulque Plantation, Rebecca, The Hacienda, Tropes

Some people might think that Gothic books are seasonal, only to be read around Halloween. Those people would be wrong. Yes, fall is a wonderful time to read spooky tales, but how about the depths of winter? When the wind blows and the landscape is bleak and tree branches gently scratch at your window. Or spring, when the snow begins to melt and new life starts to shoot up out of the dirt, what else could be unearthed? Then there's summer. I love escaping the heat to a moonlit moor or a deserted castle. Plus summer I've always associated with horror and slasher films and they are a close cousin to the Gothic. In other words, any time of the year is perfect for a good Gothic read, so why not now? That's why I'm Going Gothic right now, I hope you'll come along for the ride.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Castles, Fall, Going Gothic, Gothic, Halloween, Horror, Moors, Seasonal Reading, Slasher, Snow, Spring, Summer, Winter

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling Gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed...

It;s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.

But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall."

Oh, so Gothic! A widow turned governess, a secret affair, an abandoned win, yes yes yes!

Emily Goes to Exeter by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 178 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New York Times bestselling Traveling Matchmaker series begins with a Regency tale of seductive subterfuge - from the author of the Agatha Raisin novels.

A dead employer's legacy of five thousand pounds allows spinster Hannah Pym to resign from housekeeping and find adventure traveling the English countryside by coach. But the adventure soon finds Miss Pym traveling with Miss Emily Freemantle, a spoiled, violet-eyed beauty fleeing an arranged marriage to a rake she has never met. When Emily's darkly handsome betrothed boards their stage, Miss Pym is certain the girl was rash to bolt from this aristocratic catch So, as soon as the travelers repair to an inn, Miss Pym begins her matchmaking. Although Lord Ranger Harley complains he'll not marry an ungrateful minx, Miss Pym suspects once she's marshaled the couple into sharing intimate household chores, all romantic knots will be untangled."

I am SO glad they are reissuing this series by M.C. Beaton, originally not published under that name, because they were impossible to find stateside.

The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the early 1900s, a young woman is caught between two worlds in H. G. Parry's spellbinding tale of miracles, magic, and the adventure of a lifetime.

Off the coast of Ireland sits a legendary island hidden by magic. A place of ruins and ancient trees, sea salt air, and fairy lore, Hy-Brasil is the only home Biddy has ever known. Washed up on its shore as a baby, Biddy lives a quiet life with her guardian, the mercurial magician Rowan. A life she finds increasingly stifling.

One night, Rowan fails to return from his mysterious travels. To find him, Biddy must venture into the outside world for the first time. But Rowan has powerful enemies - forces who have hoarded the world’s magic and have set their sights on the magician’s many secrets.

Biddy may be the key to stopping them. Yet the closer she gets to answers, the more she questions everything she’s ever believed about Rowan, her past, and the nature of magic itself."

Keep an eye on my blog for more H.G. Parry!

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong
Published by: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a dazzling new fantasy world full of whispered secrets and political intrigue, the magic of women is outlawed but four girls with unusual powers have the chance to change it all.

The Nightbirds are Simta's best-kept secret: Girls with a unique and powerful magic they can gift with just a kiss. Some would kill to possess them; the church would kill them outright. But protected by the Great Houses, the Nightbirds are well-guarded treasures.

As this Season's Nightbirds, Matilde, Æsa, and Sayer will spend their nights bestowing their gifts to well-paying clients. Once their season is through, they're each expected to marry a Great House lord and become mothers to the next generation of Nightbirds before their powers fade away. But as they find themselves at the heart of a political scheme that threatens not only their secrets, but their very lives, their future suddenly becomes uncertain.

When they discover that there are other girls like them and that their magic is far more than they were told, they see the Nightbird system for what it is: a gilded cage. Now they must make a choice - to remain kept birds or take control, remaking the city that dared to clip their wings."

Anyone else getting magical Hunger Games vibes? With perhaps a touch of Carnival Row?

The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. Henry
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 287 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Vodou priestess turned amateur sleuth investigating a ritual murder is embroiled in an insidious case of corruption that reaches beyond the shadows of New Orleans.

After solving a crime blamed on Vodou in New Orleans's French Quarter, Vodou priestess turned amateur detective Reina Dumond has returned to her benevolent work as a healer. But when her friend and enigmatic client Evangeline "Vangie" Stiles comes to her for a spell, Mambo Reina quickly realizes what Vangie really needs is a sleuth.

Something is amiss in the Stileses' marriage. Five thousand dollars has inexplicably appeared in the bank account Vangie shares with her scam-artist husband, Arthur, and she smells trouble. So does Reina. Especially when her investigation into Arthur's likely new con leads to murder. Considering the manner of death and the signs on the victim's body, Reina recognizes it for what it is: ritual magic of the vodouisant kind.

As Reina digs deeper, she encounters a conspiracy exploiting vulnerable youth - one of whom may have abilities just like hers. With the help of her friends Darryl and Tyka, Reina must hone her ever-evolving skills to uncover a mystery that reaches further than she imagined."

Thanks to AMC and Anne Rice I am ALL about New Orleans at the moment.

The Angel Maker by Alex North
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Whisper Man and The Shadows comes a dark, suspenseful new thriller about the mysteries of fate, the unbreakable bond of siblings, and a notorious serial killer who was said to know the future.

Growing up in a beautiful house in the English countryside, Katie Shaw lived a charmed life. At the cusp of graduation, she had big dreams, a devoted boyfriend, and a little brother she protected fiercely. Until the day a violent stranger changed the fate of her family forever.

Years later, still unable to live down the guilt surrounding what happened to her brother, Chris, and now with a child of her own to protect, Katie struggles to separate the real threats from the imagined. Then she gets the phone call: Chris has gone missing and needs his big sister once more.

Meanwhile, Detective Laurence Page is facing a particularly gruesome crime. A distinguished professor of fate and free will has been brutally murdered just hours after firing his staff. All the leads point back to two old cases: the gruesome attack on teenager Christopher Shaw, and the despicable crimes of a notorious serial killer who, legend had it, could see the future."

English countryside and a serial killer with powers? This is right up my alley.

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.

Daisy sees dead people - something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she's completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother's secrets, nor what lurks within these walls...

A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at "Miracle Mansion" allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that's nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother's lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she'll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most - Daisy's or her own?

As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy's story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight."

Dual timelines? Ghosts? Hauntings? Yes!

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This house eats and is eaten...

A House with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She's always lied to fit in, so if she's straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don't belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can't ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves cryptic warnings: Don't eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house - the home they have always wanted - will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house's rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all."

Sometimes a good haunting is what's needed for the truth to be set free and for you to find yourself.

Marvelous by Molly Greeley
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mesmerizing novel set in the French royal court of Catherine de' Medici during the Renaissance, which recreates the touching and surprising true story behind the Beauty and the Beast legend, from the acclaimed author of The Clergyman's Wife and The Heiress.

1547: Pedro Gonzales, a young boy living on the island of Tenerife, understands that he is different from the other children in his village. He is mercilessly ridiculed for the hair covering his body from head to toe. When he is kidnapped off the beach near his home, he finds himself delivered by a slave broker into the dangerous and glamorous world of France's royal court. There "Monsieur Sauvage," as he is known, learns French, literature, and sword fighting, becoming an attendant to the French King Henri II and a particular favorite of his queen, the formidable Catherine de' Medici. Queen Catherine considers herself a collector of unusual people and is fascinated by Pedro…and determined to find him a bride.

Catherine Raffelin is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl whose merchant father has fallen on hard times and offers up his daughter to Queen Catherine. The queen will pay his debts, and his daughter will marry Monsieur Sauvage.

Catherine meets Pedro for the first time on their wedding day. Barely recovered from the shock of her father's betrayal, she soon finds herself christened "Madame Sauvage" by the royal courtiers, and must learn to navigate this strange new world, and the unusual man who is now her husband.

Gorgeously written, heartbreaking and hopeful, Marvelous is the portrait of a marriage, the story of a remarkable, resilient family, and an unforgettable reimaging of one of the world’s most beloved fairy tales."

Oh a Fairy Tale reimaging with Catherine de' Medici!?! You can't give me this book fast enough.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 880 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The stunning, standalone prequel to the New York Times bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree.

In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms - but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow - exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat."

If you're like me and haven't quite gotten around to reading The Priory of the Orange Tree, good news, this is a prequel!

Barbarian's Prize by Ruby Dixon
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The next novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with a bonus original novella!

Tiffany doesn't care about all the attention she's getting from the alien men, but there is one particular hunter she can see herself with - if only she can find a way to move forward from the past....

It's hard being the most popular girl on the ice planet. The alien men are falling all over themselves to impress me in the hopes that I'll take them to my furs. But they don't know my secrets. And they don't realize that behind my smile, I just wish they'd take their courting presents and their competitions for my affection and go away. I want to be left alone. But on a planet where women are a scarcity, that won't be happening.

If I had to choose a mate...it'd be someone with a gorgeous blue body, big horns, and the most intense gaze ever. Someone who knows the truth of what happened to me and why I don't like attention. Patient, handsome Salukh knows my secrets. He knows why I have nightmares and why I don't trust anyone. He's willing to let me "experiment" with him. I can use him. Take what I need from him to work through my trauma. He's been a good friend and the best shoulder to cry on.

There's one small problem.

When it comes to us, he doesn't just want to be my friend. He wants to be my forever. And day by day, he's getting harder to resist...."

But Salukh could be the one!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex North, Carnival Row, Gothic, H.G. Parry, Kate J. Armstrong, Katie Lumsden, Liselle Sambury, M.C. Beaton, Molly Greeley, Regency, Ruby Dixon, Samantha Shannon, Trang Thanh Tran, Veronica G. Henry

Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 6th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Enola Holmes currently has it all. She no longer has to sklunk about in the shadows as a perditorian hoping that her famous brothers won't catch her and send her off to a finishing school when all she wants to do is make a name for herself as a finder of the lost. She has her place in the world, a safe roof over her head at the Professional Women's Club, and the chance of an education at the London Women's Academy. But she is a rare case. Most women in Victorian London are nothing more than chattel to their male relatives, be they fathers, or as was the case for Enola, brothers. By showing Sherlock and Mycroft what she is capable of she broke out of the cage her contemporaries live in. But a girl whom Enola has viewed as a dear friend from the first moment they met is trapped in this cage. Lady Cecily Alastair hasn't had the best of luck. First she was hypnotized and abducted, then because of her abduction her family, in particular her father, Sir Eustace Alastair, viewed her as spoiled goods and tried to force her into an arranged marriage. Both times Enola saved Cecily. And now Cecily needs saving again. Sir Eustace has locked Cecily in her room making her a literal prisoner. Enola hears about this and rushes to Cecily's aid, breaking her out of her prison cell and secreting her away. The only problem is Cecily's family hires Sherlock to find her. Things have been going so well between Enola and Sherlock and it hurts her to have to lie to him to protect her friend, but he just doesn't know what it's like to be a woman. Thankfully Cecily isn't as helpless as she seems, at least some of the time, fleeing Enola's office before Sherlock discovers her hide-hole. The danger is Cecily's upbringing has split her personality between the left-handed and her right-handed selves. Her right-handed is the woman her father and society wants her to be, her left-handed is her true self, brave, resilient, and capable. The only problem is who knows when she will be which. And when Cecily fled Enola's protection because she worried that Sherlock would discover her will she thrive or will she barely survive? One thing is clear, Cecily needs Enola and now Enola is working against the clock and her own brother. Again.

The world that Nancy Springer has created with Enola Holmes is just a pure delight with her innovative use of language and worldbuilding. I could read a further eight volumes and never grow tired of Enola's adventures, though perhaps poor Cecily is tired... That poor girl deserves a break. And while yes, this book is an escapade from beginning to end I have questions. Now these questions are spoilers, so look away if you haven't read about Enola's elegant escapade yet. OK you have been warned and if you are still reading this I assume that you know what happens or are willing to be spoiled. So the "big reveal" that frees Cecily from the clutches of her father's machinations is that he has made his fortune as a resurrection man. Well a more refined resurrection man in that he's only selling off the corpses of his dead employees. And I have so many questions. Mainly, how does he have so many dead employees? I mean it's heavily implied they have all died of natural causes so he's not doing a Burke and Hare, so how can this be a guaranteed income? At the time this book takes place it was basically a dead end job, pun fully intended. Cecily's father would have actually made more money selling off the hair and teeth separately. But would this have been enough to support a family with eight kids in luxury? I think not! This story, more than any of the others, relies on a heavy suspension of disbelief, at least from my point of view. The crime that Sir Eustace Alastair commits is so horrific that you are meant to recoil at the crime and not question it. Not question the economic logistics. But I did. Burke and Hare made about £8 a corpse in 1828 and that was in Edinburgh where corpses were in high demand because it was the center of medical study and research when they committed their crimes. This book takes place in 1889 and the pounds purchasing power had declined so if the price of a corpse stayed the same he'd only be making £6.77. And it's not mentioned if he had a lucrative side business in articulated skeletons like H.H. Holmes did. To be middle class, which a Baronet definitely is above, he'd have to make more than about £150 per year. So a middle class person would have to sell twenty-two plus corpses a year if that was there job. How the hell could he get that many? What's more that doesn't take into account the Anatomy Act of 1832 which came about as a result of the London Burkers. It made it easier to obtain corpses for medical research due to the strictures of medical cadavers only being criminals being lifted and licensing of teachers. So we're to believe that fifty-seven years later a Baronet is making his fortune doing this? As Conan Doyle himself said; "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." And the truth is that this twist doesn't work.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Burke and Hare, Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, H.H. Holmes, Lady Cecily Alistair, Mycroft Holmes, Resurrection Man, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlocked: Enola Edition, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Now that Enola Holmes is no longer hiding from her famous, much older, brothers, she has the luxury of freedom. No longer constantly looking over her shoulder to see if Mycroft's lurking in a carriage to spirit her off to a dreadful and deadly boarding school. What's more, this means she can actually go and visit her brother Sherlock whenever she wants! Only her current visit to 221 Baker Street is at the insistence of Doctor Watson. Sherlock is suffering from melancholia. After triumphantly solving his last case he won't eat, he won't bath, he won't dress, and it took all of Doctor Watson's vast resources just to get him out of bed. So Enola swoops in. She is determined to get Sherlock off the sofa and back in the game. Thankfully a compelling case arrives on his doorstep. While he languishes on his sofa Miss Letitia Glover spins her story for Enola. Tish's twin sister Felicity has been declared deceased. But Tish just knows it can't be true. She would feel it if Flossie had left this mortal coil. They're twins after all. Therefore Flossie's husband must be lying. Felicity married above her station. While Tish is a humble typist, Flossie is a talented watercolourist and the wife of the Earl of Dunhench, Lord Cadogan Burr Rudcliff II. He wrote to Tish saying that Felicity had contracted a fever and died the same day and was immediately cremated in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Her ashes were included with the letter. Everything about this is too cavalier, too pat. But the case is enough to get Sherlock off the couch. Enola couldn't be happier. She's working a case with her brother! Or at least he'll soon realize they're working the case together once she arrives in Surrey. Of course she didn't intend to actually end up in Caddie's house. But since she's there she might as well investigate what happened to his first wife as well... because Caddie hasn't just tragically lost one wife in similar circumstances, but two. And things aren't adding up. For a family obsessed with death portraiture, neither of his wives have one. Then there's the secret message that Felicity hid in her most recent painting. And if they weren't convinced that Caddie was up to no good, the fact that Doctor Watson's signature was forged on the death certificate would be the nail in the coffin. Which begs the question, can they find Felicity before Caddie does something even more drastic?

Enola Holmes returns to her first home after her triumphant success on the small screen. When I was invited to be a part of the Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche Blog Tour I decided to do an Enola Holmes deep dive. I picked up my Scholastic Book Fair copy of The Case of the Missing Marquess and before I knew it, thanks to my local library, I had devoured Enola's entire back catalog of cases. For as long as I can remember Sherlock Holmes has always been in my life, primarily because of the Jeremy Brett adaptations for PBS which my parents adored. Personally though my Holmes canon revolves around Young Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and perhaps the first two seasons of Sherlock. Though the later seasons soured me to the earlier ones. What I'm saying is, despite there being SO MUCH Sherlockian storytelling out there, from irregulars to noncanonical wives, children, and siblings, only a few things have sparked something inside me and made me really connect to the material. This rarefied list now includes Enola Holmes. There is such joy and daring and girl power in this series that I fell instantly in love with it. What's more, Nancy Springer's use of language is a delight to read. To have an author properly use fantods in a text, it almost had me suffering from the vapors while Edward Gorey gleefully rolled over in his grave. This newest adventure, the first published in over a decade, shows a more mature Enola. After the events in The Case of the Gypsy Good-Bye a shift has taken place. Enola is no longer having to divide her efforts between solving her cases and hiding from her famous brothers. Now she can concentrate on her work, or in this case, concentrate on inveigling herself into Sherlock's work. In fact, their one-upmanship brings about the funniest moments as Enola reverts a little to her more childish ways, because who doesn't revert to being a child around their siblings no matter their age? As for the case? Well, we are still dealing with the problems that only women suffer at the hands of Victorian society, but this time it's a little darker and a lot more Gothic, which has me very excited to see where Enola goes in future adventures and I can't wait.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baker Street, Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, Feminism, Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlocked, The Great Mouse Detective, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Victorian, Younger Sherlock Holmes