All posts by skyebjenner

November 2020

December 31, 2020ListNovember, November 2020, Reading listskyebjenner

November was a much more settled month. It just didn’t have as much insanity as October. Even though the state went into a really strict lockdown… My change of name also came through which was super exciting!

Series

Short story collections

Standalones – Novels

Standalones – Novellas

Standalones – Short stories

Image source: FUSE Jakarta

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison

December 31, 2020Book ReviewKim Harrison, Paranormal Fantasy, Strong Women, The Hollows, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison

Title: The Good, the Bad, and hte Undead
Author: Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Strong women, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 4th October – 28th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Eos
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: Brow furrowing, I looked down at my red blouse, black skirt, nylons, and ankle-high boots.

It’s a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent, bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night.

She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits.

Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child’s play – and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.

Finishing this novel gave me a pretty major book hangover… there is just something about Harrison’s writing that has me absolutely, totally and utterly hooked. And in love. And just in my general, serious happy place. It took me a little longer than usual to read this, because I knew that once I allowed myself to sink into the story, I wouldn’t want to look away. Which is exactly what happened. And then, when I finished it… I didn’t really want to read any other stories…

Trent seems to me like he’s completely winning the battle of wits between Rachel and himself. It makes me wonder if he’s maybe not truly the evil, devil man that I originally thought. And, after reading The Turn, I have SOOOOO many questions about what happened to him between the two storylines… I mean, there are so many unanswered questions and… well, things to be answered! It gives me hope that maybe he’s not as truly, deeply evil as I thought, and just messed up and morally grey… although I can definitely attest to the fact that Piscary is most definitely evil. Which is nice. It’s always good to have at least one clear, cut, and dry villain.

Rachel is probably one of the most accident-prone characters that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time. Not accident prone in the sense of physically… but circumstantially? Yeah. She tends to find herself in one horrible situation after another. It serves to not only be an entertaining read, but draws you further and further into the storyline. Completely powerful, completely unforgettable and so much damn fun.

Ivy and Jenks kind of felt like they stole the show a little bit in Dead Witch Walking. They didn’t so much in this, they fell strongly into the secondary character role. That’s not to say that they didn’t still shine. Jenks is still funny, witty and fiercely loyal and independent. I absolutely adore him for that fact. And Ivy? Well, Ivy is one of the most complex and tragic secondary / supporting characters that I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in quite a while. She’s also a terrifying best friend. I mean, who doesn’t want a best friend who kind of wants to eat you all the time?

I seriously loved this novel, and I can’t wait to get through the TBR that is currently sitting next to me so that I can sink my teeth into Every Which Way But Dead. I just need to finish the monster TBR piled next to me first… otherwise, it could fall on my head while I sleep…

<- Dead Witch Walking

Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil ->

Image source: Goodreads

Marley and Me by John Grogan

December 31, 2020Book ReviewHumour, John Grogan, Memoirsskyebjenner

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan

Title: Marley & Me
Author: John Grogan
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Memoirs
Dates read: 25th – 28th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hachette
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: Dr. Sherman had cleared her to try to get pregnant again.

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life.

John and Jenny were young and in love, without a care in the world. Then they brought Marley home and their lives changed forever.

Marley quickly grew into a 44-kilogram steamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, stole women’s undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around. Obedience school did no good – Marley was expelled. Nor did the tranquilisers the vet prescribed him.

Yet Marley’s heart was pure, and his love and loyalty were boundless. He shared the couple’s joy at their first pregnancy and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. When the babies finally arrived, he was there too – winning hearts while making a mess of things.

Through it all he remained steadfast, a model of devotion even when his family was at its wits’ end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a larger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.

This novel never fails to make me cry. In fact, since this is the first time I’ve read it since I got a house and dogs of my own, the moment I turned the final page I went looking for my staffy, Onyx, for a big cuddle. And then didn’t let him leave me lap for a good half an hour before I stopped feeling so sad. We love our dogs so much, so the idea of them having shorter lifespans than we do… it’s not something that I like to think about.

I have two dogs, one of which is a beagle (and fellow beagle owners know the trials and difficulties that that can lead to…). Yet, Marley’s antics and insanity most definitely helped to put Lexi’s misbehaviours into perspective. Don’t get me wrong, if she weighed four times what she weighs now… then I think that the destruction and insanity that she would bring down on us would most certainly be comparable. It’s nice reading about another insane dog that doesn’t quite do what its told… it’s a reminder that I’m not alone and I’m not actually a bad dog trainer.

This whole novel is pretty much a love story. To Marley. It’s a great tale about man’s best friend, and a reminder that when we do finally have to say goodbye… they never leave us. Every word in this is lovingly crafted by a master hand. Lovingly and painstakingly telling the story of a dog that is most definitely insane and quite probably completely out of control.

Being my second time reading this, I can clearly and definitely say that its one of my favourite memoirs. In fact, this is the book that got me into memoirs and biographies in the first place. I just hope that one day I have the skill and talent to write something similarly touching and brilliant as an ode to my own dogs.

<- The Longest Trip

The Last Black Unicorn ->

Image source: Goodreads

Dead Man’s Hand edited by John Joseph Adams

December 30, 2020Book ReviewAlan Dean Foster, Alastair Reynolds, Ben H. Winters, Beth Revis, Charles Yu, Christie Yant, David Farland, Dead Man's Hand, Elizabeth Bear, Fred Van Lente, Hugh Howey, Jeffrey Ford, Joe R. Lansdale, John Joseph Adams, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Ken Liu, Laura Anne Gilman, Mike Resnick, Orson Scott Card, Rajan Khanna, Science Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Short Story Collections, Tad Williams, Tobias S. Buckell, Walter Jon Williams, Weird Westernskyebjenner

Image result for dead man's hand book cover

Title: Dead Man’s Hand
Author: John Joseph Adams, Joe R. Lansdale, Ben H. Winters, David Farland, Mike Resnick, Seanan McGuire, Charles Yu, Alan Dean Foster, Beth Revis, Alastair Reynolds, Hugh Howey, Rajan Khanna, Orson Scott Card, Elizabeth Bear, Tad Williams, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Tobias S. Buckell, Jeffrey Ford, Ken Liu, Laura Anne Gilman, Walter Jon Williams, Fred Van Lente & Christie Yant
In: Dead Man’s Hand (John Joseph Adams)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Science fiction, Short story collections, Weird western
Dates read: 4th June – 26th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Titan Books
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: “Am I interrupting?” she asked.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD!

From a kill-or-be-killed gunfight with a vampire to an encounter in a steampunk bordello, the weird western is a dark, gritty tale where the protagonist might be playing poker with a sorcerous deck of cards, or facing an alien on the streets of a dusty frontier town.

Here are twenty-three original tales – stories of the Old West infused with elements of the fantastic – produced specifically for this volume by many of today’s finest writers. Included are Orson Scott Card’s first “Alvin Maker” story in a decade, and an original adventure by Fred Van Lente, writer of Cowboys & Aliens.

What a fantastic collection. And a great new genre to add to my ever-expanding knowledge of / collection of books. Before reading Dead Man’s Hand and Westward Weird, I had never heard of Weird westerns. And now it’s a genre that I’m seriously keen to find more of. There is just something amazingly fun and awesome about this collection. Very, very enjoyable.

The gunslingers and card players throughout this anthology took me on an absolutely joyous ride. One that I was kind of disappointed finished so quickly. The idea of the wild west has always intrigued me, making this the first time that I was completely able to thrown myself into this fascination.

This anthology didn’t quite get five stars because I didn’t fall head over heels for each and every story. Having said that, I would most definitely read this again. Even those stories which weren’t quite as holy crap amazing as the others.

<- Dead Man’s Hand

The Red-Headed Dead ->

Image source: Amazon

The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women edited by Marie O’Regan

December 30, 2020Book ReviewAlex Bell, Alison Littlewood, Amelia B. Edwards, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Cynthia Asquith, Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Gaskell, Elizabeth Massie, Gaie Sebold, Gail Z. Martin, Ghosts, Horror, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Lakin-Smith, Lilith Saintcrow, Lisa Tuttle, Mammoth Books, Marie O’Regan, Marion Arnott, Mary Cholmondeley, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Muriel Gray, Nancy Holder, Nancy Kilpatrick, Nina Allan, Sarah Langan, Sarah Pinborough, Short Story Collections, The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women, Yvonne Navarroskyebjenner

Image result for the mammoth book of ghost stories by women book cover

Title: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women
Author: Marie O’Regan, Kim Lakin-Smith, Sarah Pinborough, Kelley Armstrong, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, Sarah Langan, Elizabeth Massie, Alex Bell, Alison Littlewood, Nina Allan, Lisa Tuttle, Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, Mary Cholmondeley, Marion Arnott, Lilith Saintcrow, Nancy Kilpatrick, Muriel Gray, Cynthia Asquith, Amelia B. Edwards, Elizabeth Gaskell, Gail Z. Martin, Edith Wharton & Gaie Sebold
Series: Mammoth Books
In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror, Short story collections
Dates read: 29th June – 26th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: She was a sickly child, prone to unaccountable fits and agues, and her parents were convinced on more than one night that she would not live to see the dawn.

25 chilling short stories by outstanding female writers

Women have always written exceptional stories of horror and the supernatural. This anthology aims to showcase the very best of these, from Amelia B. Edwards’s ‘The Phantom Coach’, published in 1864, through past luminaries such as Edith Wharton and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, to modern talents including Muriel Gray, Sarah Pinborough and Lilith Saintcrow.

From tales of ghostly children to visitations by departed loved ones, and from heart-rending stories to the profoundly unsettling depiction of extreme malevolence, what each of these stories has in common is the effect of a slight chilling of the skin, a feeling of something not quite present, but nevertheless there.

If anything, this showcase anthology proves that sometimes the female of the species can also be the most terrifying…

This is a fantastic collection. One which I thoroughly enjoyed but learnt fairly quickly that I shouldn’t be reading this late at night… after all, some of these ghost stories are actually kind of scary. And reading them late at night with the wind blowing through the house while you’re home alone… not the best decision making of my life. To be fair, it’s also not the worst…. But that’s a whole other story.

I love that all of these ghost stories are written by women. I definitely believe that we need a collection of women-only writers more often. Or at least, I need to buy more to put on my shelves… although not all of these stories had strong women as the voice, they still felt more relatable than many of the stories that I read by men. I suppose shared experience and all that nonsense.

As a kid, I was never into ghost stories or tales of things that go bump in the night. Although I’ve gotten more into the genre over the past few years, it’s still sometimes not the most powerful driver for me. This collection though is swaying me more and more towards those horror stories.

<- The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2

Field of the Dead ->

Image source: Goodreads

Begin, End, Begin edited by Danielle Binks

December 29, 2020Book ReviewAlice Pung, Amie Kaufman, Australian Authors, Begin End Begin, Contemporary, Danielle Binks, Ellie Marney, Gabrielle Tozer, Jaclyn Moriarty, Lili Wilkinson, Melissa Keil, Michael Pryor, Short Story Collections, Will Kostakis, Young Adultskyebjenner

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Title: Begin, End, Begin
Author: Danielle Binks, Amie Kaufman, Will Kostakis, Alice Pung, Michael Pryor, Melissa Keil, Ellie Marney, Lili Wilkinson, Gabrielle Tozer & Jaclyn Moriarty
In: Begin, End, Begin (Danielle Binks)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Contemporary, Short story collections, Young adult
Dates read: 30th June – 26th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: I couldn’t imagine what they’d think of Diamond Rose Fashions.

Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all.

With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world eactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

This is a fantastic collection, one that I wish was around when I was finishing high school. It’s all about those moments on the cusp of adulthood when the world is stretched before you and you’re suddenly responsible for yourself. It’s kind of a huge, pivotal point in someone’s life, so a collection on this was completely fantastic. And although I’m not exactly that young anymore, this was still a great journey that reminded me of the decisions we make in life.

I love that #LoveOzYA has come up with a collection of Aussie YA authors. This, and Kindred have introduced me to so many new and wonderful authors to fill my shelves with. Something that I’m always looking for. And the fact that they’re homegrown and often write about the areas that I’m more familiar with? It’s very, very much appreciated. I hope that they come out with a new collection soon!

I didn’t know any of the authors in this collection, other than Melissa Keil when I bought it. Now I have a handful of amazing new Australian authors to add to my wish list. Some that will challenge me, some to enthral, and some just to leave a giant smile on my face.

<- Competition Entry #349

One Small Step… –>

Image source: Harper Collins Australia

Death’s Excellent Vacation edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner

December 29, 2020Book ReviewA. Lee Martinez, Charlaine Harris, Chris Grabenstein, Christopher Golden, Daniel Stashower, Death's Excellent Vacation, Jeaniene Frost, Jeff Abott, Katie MacAlister, Kim Newman, L.A. Banks, Lilith Saintcrow, Paranormal Fantasy, Sarah Smith, Short Story Collections, Toni L.P. Kelner, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Image result for death's excellent vacation book cover

Title: Death’s Excellent Vacation
Author: Charlaine Harris, Sarah Smith, Jeaniene Frost, Daniel Stashower, A. Lee Martinez, Jeff Abott, L.A. Banks, Katie MacAlister, Christopher Golden, Lilith Saintcrow, Chris Grabenstein, Sharan Newman & Toni L.P. Kelner
In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Short story collections, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 4th June – 26th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: Still, appearances were deceiving.

An all-new anthology of vampire stories edited and with an introduction by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner.

I absolutely loved this collection. I normally love anything to do with paranormal fantasy anyway. But this is a particularly good one. After all, it’s all paranormal fantasy and urban fantasy stories that feature vacations.

It’s coming to that kind of year that I wish I got vacation time in y job. That I wish I could just take some time off and do whatever it is that people do on vacation. Which meant that it was really lovely to read a collection of short stories that feature vacations. All of which made me a little more thankful that I haven’t been going on vacation.

This is a collection that has a little bit of romance, a lot of humour, and generally anything that could possibly go wrong when you have vacation time does. It had me smiling and laughing throughout. I will most definitely be reading this one again.

<- Pirate Dave’s Haunted Amusement Park

Two Blondes ->

Image source: Amazon

Dead Man’s Hand by Christie Yant

December 29, 2020Book ReviewChristie Yant, Dead Man's Hand, Paranormal Fantasy, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: Dead Man’s Hand
Author: Christie Yant
In: Dead Man’s Hand (John Joseph Adams)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 26th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Titan Books
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: Mr. Sutherland immediately turned his weapon over to Ed Durham, proprietor, and waited peacefully while a miners’ jury was assembled.

Going through the different hands that were once called “Dead Man’s Hand” and regaling the dead men that held them…

I loved how each little tale of death in this story started off with a hand of cards. And they were the cards that each of the characters were holding. Not that I’ve ever gambled much or played many card games, but it was interesting to see what a Dead Man’s Hand actually was.

It’s also nice how a collection called Dead Man’s Hand ends with a story of that same name. Featuring the cards that originally coined that term. It was well done and rounded out this Weird western collection brilliantly.

All in all, this was a fun and engaging short story. It was well written and left me with a huge smile stretched across my face. As all final short stories in an anthology should be.

<- Neversleeps

Dead Man’s Hand Collection ->

Image source: Amazon

A Silver Music by Gaie Sebold

December 28, 2020Book ReviewGaie Sebold, Ghosts, Paranormal Fantasy, The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Womenskyebjenner

Title: A Silver Music
Author: Gaie Sebold
In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan)
Rating Out of 5: 2 (Managed to read it… just)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Paranormal fantasy
Dates read: 26th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: The lettering of a human hand, be it hasty scrawl or copperplate or the awkward, childlike printing of the barely literature, connected one to the writer.

A ghost story that will draw you in and entrance you.

It took me a little while to get into this story and really figure out what was even going on. And even then, it was most certainly not my favourite short story in the whole collection.

I struggled with this. Actually, I thought it might be because I wasn’t really paying attention, but I tried rereading this about three times before I just pushed my way through.

Definitely not my favourite short story, but maybe I’ll have to give it another shot in the future.

<- Afterward

The Mammoth Book of Golden Age Detective Stories ->

Image source: Goodreads

Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty

December 28, 2020Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Begin End Begin, Contemporary, Jaclyn Moriarty, Young Adultskyebjenner

Title: Competition Entry #349
Author: Jaclyn Moriarty
In: Begin, End, Begin (Danielle Binks)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Contemporary, Young adult
Dates read: 26th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Well done, she said to me.

It’s a competition to win five time travel trips of ten minutes each. Explain why you should win in 25 words or less…

This is an incredibly meandering and very funny short story. It honestly sounds exactly like a teenager refusing to get to the point and basically telling their life story. Actually, it reminded me a lot of my sister when she was a preteen… she’d start the story at a. Then take about a thousand detours and end up at 10. I was never entirely sure where we were going with a story, or what the point was, but it was always fun.

The format for Competition Entry #349 was completely unique. I have never read a story that is supposed to be a competition entry. It was kind of amazing how Moriarty managed to tell a whole story in a piece that was a competition entry. She got so much history and detail into just a few short pages. You also got to know the character very well in an incredibly short space of time.

Just thinking about this story, the day after I read it to write this review has left a huge smile on my face. It was so light, funny and just downright cute. I am completely intrigued to see if I can find anymore books / stories by Jaclyn Moriarty now…

<- Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory

Begin, End, Begin ->

Image source: Harper Collins Australia

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.

All posts by skyebjenner

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Dead Man’s Hand edited by John Joseph Adams

The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women edited by Marie O’Regan

Begin, End, Begin edited by Danielle Binks

Death’s Excellent Vacation edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner

Dead Man’s Hand by Christie Yant

A Silver Music by Gaie Sebold

Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty