Category Archives: Book Review

Speed Mating by Jessica Sims

July 3, 2019Book ReviewJessica Sims, Midnight Liasons, Novellas and Stories, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshiftersskyebjenner

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Title: Speed Mating
Author: Jessica Sims
Series: Midnight Liasons #2.3
In: Novellas and Stories (Meljean Brook, Carolyn Crane & Jessica Sims)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters
Dates read: 1st June 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: “Or horrified,” Estrella said quietly, sipping her own iced coffee.

Estrella may be going into heat, but she’s determined to remain in control. Just because she’s ovulating doesn’t mean she has to settle for just any man (or his beast). Her sexy alpha’s determined to find her a tiger to take care of her heat and father her child… but no one seems to look quite as good as the man in charge. Will giving in to her need for her alpha ruin her tenuous relationship with her clan or be a match made in heaven?

I was a bit thrown by the first novella I’ve read in this series. But, after reading Speed Mating, I’ve decided that this is going to be a fun, sexual and slightly cute series to sink my teeth into. Actually, it was kind of funny in moments. Especially through the use of a speed dating event in which it is so obvious who the main couple is going to be. But a little fun in the construction of their relationship.

I haven’t read a shapeshifter romance for a little while. I just seem to have moved onto other stories and tropes. But, reading this story about dating services and wanting children, and a liger shapeshifter (which is an awesome first for me) made me itch to pick up one of the many shapeshifter paranormal romances on my shelves… there is just something so much more animalistic and intriguing about these stories. Something more primal than many other romances. Which you kind of need every now and again.

The smut level of this story was quite intense, but not overdone like in Vixen. For me, it was just the right level of happy, fun smutty storyline to get my pulse racing. But not enough that I would feel completely uncomfortable reading this in public.

<- Out with a Fang

Single Wolf Female ->

Image source: Fantastic Fiction

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper by Maxim Jakubowski & Nathan Braund

July 2, 2019Book ReviewCrime, History, Mammoth Books, Maxim Jakubowski, Nathan Braund, Non-fictionskyebjenner

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Title: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper
Author: Maxim Jakubowski & Nathan Braund
Series: Mammoth Books
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, History, Non-fiction
Dates read: 13th March – 1st June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Non-fictional text
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 1999
5th sentence, 74th page: It may be, as is generally assumed, that Louis Diemschutz, returning home, interrupted the murderer and prevented him from performing his usual mutilations.

Jack the Ripper – all the evidence, all the key theories, fully updated with the newest ideas

The crime world’s most enduring mystery, the identity of Jack the Ripper, has plagued professional historians, criminologists, writers and amateur enthusiasts for over a hundred years. Chief suspects include Montague John Druitt,Walter Sickert, Aaron Kosminski, Michael Ostrog, William Henry Bury, Dr Tumblety and James Maybrick.

This newly updated volume offers the fullest ever overview of the Whitechapel Murders case. It collects not just the key factual evidence but also 17 different arguments as to the identity of the Ripper, including the more recent theories from Patricia Cornwell and others. Contributions from the world’s leading Ripperologists include William Beadle, Martin Fido, Shirley Harrison, James Tully and Colin Wilson.

The essays are supported by a detailed chronology, extensive bibliography and filmography.

I’ve been hearing about Jack the Ripper for as long as I can remember. I always knew that there were many different theories surrounding who, what, why… but nothing is truly known. So, I thought it might be about time to read a little more about this infamous serial killer. Especially since I have a few books based around him and I really wasn’t quite adding up the hints and information that was found in some of the short stories I’ve been reading.

I love the way that this book is broken up. To start with it outlines the very basics of the known facts of the case. The five known, canonical victims. It tells us the very basics and all those little clues which have lead to theory upon theory being built up. Then, it takes you in for a deeper look at each of the five victims. Showing testimonies, court statements and aspects of the coroners report to give you even more facts. I ended up taking quite a long time to read the first part of this book, just because the sheer number of facts and figures was a little overwhelming. But in the best sense possible, considering that this is a non-fiction book…

Finally, the different popular theories are highlighted in small chapters by “Ripperologists”. They take the facts that you’ve spent an age reading and present them to you in a whole new light. Which made things kind of difficult for me…since every single version sounded plausible. This is another one of those books that I will pick up again and again, learning something new and different each time. Being fascinated and drawn in over and over.

<- By the Light of My Heart

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories ->

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Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs

July 1, 2019Book ReviewDragons, Hurog Duology, Magic, Medieval fantasy, Patricia Briggsskyebjenner

Image result for dragon bones patricia briggs book cover

Title: Dragon Bones
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Hurog Duology #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, Magic, Medieval fantasy
Dates read: 22nd – 30th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Year: 2002
5th sentence, 74th page: “War?” I asked, trying to sound eager, the way an idiot who was good at fighting would say it.

Playing the fool

Most everyone thinks Ward of Hurog is a simple-minded fool – and that’s just fine by him. But few people know that his foolishness is (very convincingly) feigned. And it’s all that’s save him from death at the hands of his abusive father, who’s always seen Ward as a bitter rival for power. 88 When his father dies, Ward becomes the new lord of Hurog… until a nobleman declares that he is too dim-witted to rule. Ward knows he cannot play the fool any longer. To regain his kingdom, he must prove himself worthy – and quickly.

Riding into a war that’s heating up on the border, Ward is sure he’s on the fast track to glory. But soon his mission takes a deadly serious turn, for he has seen a pile of magical dragon bones hidden deep beneath Hurog Keep. The bones can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and Ward is certain his enemies will stop at nothing to possess them…

I read this book for the first time a very long time ago. Or at least, long enough that I couldn’t really remember anything that happened in the story. Beyond the fact that Ward had to pretend to be stupid to survive, and he couldn’t remember how to act as someone who was… less dumb. But the story is soooooo much more than that. And I honestly can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to get this off my shelves again. It’s just beautiful. And fun. And an incredibly enjoyable read.

Although there are hints of a love interest in a part of the story, there isn’t any overt romance. Rather, this story is about finding one’s own identity and strength. And also reconnecting with long alienated family members. It’s a really sweet, if not slightly violent storyline that deals with abuse and a longing to belong. A need to feel like you fit into your own skin. And figuring out just how to do that. All things that I’m sure almost everyone can relate to in one way or another.

Now that I’ve reread Dragon Bones I just can’t wait to sink my literary teeth into Dragon Blood. Again, I can’t quite remember what happens in it. But the entire tale is one that I know I’ve enjoyed in the past and look forward to enjoying again in the future. Dragon Bones is everything I enjoyed in a good fantasy story as a child. It features a misfit that is completely misunderstood by everyone, his family included. There are dragons. And swords. And lots of fighting and bloodshed. But, as an adult, I also appreciate the difficulties of having abusive parents, and the scars that that can impart. The constant fear that Ward is like his sire and this horror at what he has had to overcome. I didn’t really appreciate that, even in my early twenties when I first read this a few years ago. Now, the whole storyline not only was incredibly enjoyable. But also shook me to the core and helped me to commit wholeheartedly to Ward’s cause.

<- More Patricia Briggs reviews

Dragon Blood Review ->

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Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

June 29, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Family, Kate DiCamilloskyebjenner

Title: Because of Winn-Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Family
Dates read: 23rd – 27th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2000
5th sentence, 74th page: “I don’t know,” I told him.

When ten-year-old Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her father, she doesn’t know what to expect – least of all, that she’ll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they meet. Before long, Opal and her father realize – with a little help from Winn-Dixie – that while they’ve both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, they still have a whole lot to be thankful for.

This was such a fun, easy and sweet novel. It would have been amazingly easy to just read it cover to cover in one small afternoon, with a big smile on my face (the only reason this didn’t happen is because I haven’t sat still for an entire afternoon in a little while). India Opal, Winn-Dixie and the Preacher are a great little family that so obviously needs help. Actually, the whole rag tag bunch of characters that make up this story need a bit of a helping hand. And I love that this comes in the form of a slightly unorthodox and scraggly dog.

The underlying current of India Opal’s sadness at the loss of her mother is a little heartbreaking and it winds its way throughout the storyline so seamlessly. her own yearning to find a sense of belonging is further backed by the melancholy that seems to haunt every character in this story. Each and every person Winn-Dixie and India Opal come across are lonely and feeling some kind of loss. Yet, it surprisingly didn’t make a sad story at all. I was expecting a little bit of tragedy and an ending that would bring tears to my eyes. I even had a box of tissues next to me when I was getting close to the end…. There’s been very few stories I’ve read that feature a dog that doesn’t end in some kind of tragedy. But this didn’t. that feel good, wholesome vibe continued right the way through. And it was completely amazing.

This might not be the kind of story that I’m going to pick up once a year for a nice, fun revisit. But it is the kind of story that I will pick up again years down the track. When I need a reminder that not every tale is tragic and that there is always hope in the world. That it doesn’t matter how down life gets you, there is always something positive just around the corner…

<- More easy reading reviews

More family reviews ->

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Low School by Rhys Bowen

June 28, 2019Book ReviewAn Apple for the Creature, Demons, Easy Reading, Rhys Bowenskyebjenner

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Title: Low School
Author: Rhys Bowen
In: An Apple for the Creature (Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Demons, Easy reading
Dates read: 24th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: I shall have to report this to Ms. Fer.

Miss Weinstein finds herself in a situation she just can’t get out of. Her worst nightmare. Repeating school when she cant make it to a test, is dressed in the worst clothes imaginable and is… well, fat. But things are about to get a whole lot worse…

I thought at the beginning of this story that it was nothing more than a nightmare. After all, we’ve all had that dream where we can’t make it to an exam, that everyone has turned on us and we just don’t quite fit in. Alright, I’ve never dreamed that I’m wearing some weirdly disgusting clothing… but I can imagine how that would fit into the whole school-nightmare theme that is obviously going on here.

This short story doesn’t just play on our fears that seem to come from high school… it also highlights the idea that your decisions affect you. Every decision effects your potential future. The dumb things that you do that are questionable… well, they can certainly come back to haunt you. And throw you into a reality that you didn’t want to face… every day until the end of eternity.

I wasn’t popular in high school. I also wasn’t unpopular. But I never really wanted to be the homecoming queen and centre of attention… it just seemed so boring. So I honestly can’t imagine signing away my soul for the right to be the popular girl. Even if it was just in joke. This is the only thing about this story that just doesn’t compute for me. Why would someone want to be popular? Do anything to be in the centre of the crowd? As the story unfolded and Miss Weinstein’s attitude became clearer and clearer, it was more and more difficult to feel any kind of connection to her. More and more difficult to feel like she was really worth saving at all…

<- Sympathy for the Bones Review

Callie Meet Happy Review ->

Image source: Goodreads

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

June 27, 2019Book ReviewBook to Film, Dark Fantasy, Easy Reading, Horror, Neil Gaimanskyebjenner

Image result for coraline neil gaiman book cover

Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Dark fantasy, Easy reading, Horror
Dates read: 16th – 22nd May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 2002
5th sentence, 74th page: “The one who says she’s you other mother,” said the cat.

In Coraline’s family’s new flat there’s a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall – until Coraline unlocks the door… and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only different.

The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there’s another mother and father there who want Coraline to be their little girl. They want to change her and keep her with them….Forever.

Coraline is an extraordinary fairy tale / nightmare from the uniquely skewed imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman.

I picked up this book because I absolutely adored the movie. Just seeing the title makes me want to watch the movie again and again and again. Which meant that I was seriously hoping that the book would be just as good. I was a little wrong. For starters, the book is so much creepier and horrifying than the movie. For another thing. It was just better.

I really expected an easy, fun slightly twisted read when I opened this book. After all, it is described as a children’s twisted fairy tale. And it’s a tiny novel! I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I finished this about 10 o’clock at night… and then just lay there, imagining a creepy hand crawling across the bed towards me in my sleep… I’m really not sure that I would have read this when I was a child. And even if I did… I’m not sure that it would have been a great idea. There are certain downfalls to having such a vivid imagination…

As children, we all have moments when we feel that our family just doesn’t care about us. That we belong somewhere else. And that it could just be so much better if we just had someone who understood us more. Or at least, I felt that way frequently throughout my childhood. I like that Coraline plays on this and gives us a reality in which everything is far more fantastic, fun and just plain exciting than the real world. But at a cost, and it’s one that Coraline just doesn’t want to pay. After all, she realises that real life just isn’t too bad after all…

<- Angels & Visitations

Fragile Things ->

Image source: Goodreads

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

June 26, 2019Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Bruce Pascoe, Indigenous Australians, Non-fictionskyebjenner

Title: Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?
Author: Bruce Pascoe
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Indigenous Australians, Non-fiction
Dates read: 14th – 19th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Magabala Books
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: Sturt climbed one final dune and peered down onto the plain.

“If we look at the evidence presented to us by the explorers and explain to our children that Aboriginal people did build houses, did build dams, did sow, irrigate and till the land, did alter the course of rivers, did sew their clothes, and did construct a system of pan-continental government that generated peace and prosperity, then it is likely we will admire and love our land all the more.” – Bruce Pascoe

Pascoe puts forward a compelling argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticed plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing – behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag.

I’ve been meaning to get to this book for ages. Good intentions and all that. And once I picked this up… wow! It completely changed my outlook on Indigenous Australians and their culture – pre Europeans. Alright, I already had a lot of respect and fascination for these peoples, but after reading all of the different aspects of their daily lives and existences… just, wow.

Pascoe brilliantly sets out his arguments for an agricultural and sedentary existence in Dark Emu. Each chapter is set out into different aspects of this lifestyle and filled with examples, quotes and so many different forms of proof. Unlike a lot of books I’ve read which use quotes to back up their evidence, Pascoe provides some great background information before imparting the words of others. It feels less like information has just been spewed forth, and more like the quotes were adding to his information, instead of just complementing it.

When Dark Emu came out, it was highlighted as a great outlook on a forgotten group of people, or at least a group of people who, in Australian history are normally overlooked and forgotten. But for me it was almost something more… it was a great way to immerse myself in the ways that we use the land around us. I’m an ecologist and reading about species and plants which I see in the field all the time, just not in the same quantities. It gave me a much greater appreciation for the land and the soil that I step on all the time. A greater appreciation for the world I live in.

<- More Australian authors reviews

More Indigenous Australians reviews ->

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Only Joseph by Sophie Hannah

June 25, 2019Book ReviewContemporary, Crime, I Am Heathcliff, Sophie Hannahskyebjenner

Title: Only Joseph
Author: Sophie Hannah
In: I Am Heathcliff (Kate Mosse)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Crime
Dates read: 16th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Borough Press
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: We usually refer to ‘the problem’ or ‘the issue’.

She’s trying to find a new school for her troubled daughter. But when she comes across a conspiracy of murder and mayhem at a potential new place of education, things quickly spiral out of control.

Finishing off the I Am Heathcliff collection with this story worked surprisingly well. It took a modern take on Heathcliff’s stalkerish ways and also weaved in other themes of understanding, betrayal and appearances throughout the story.

The school setting made this an immediately relatable story. Alright, there was never a murder at my school (although there was an exorcism performed)… but the fact that a mother is searching for the best fit for her child and is constantly concerned that she’s not doing the right thing by her is touching. Not to mention a little frightening. I don’t have children, but now the idea of trusting my potential future children to possible murderers, and definitely people who don’t have the same concerns… it kind of gave me goosebumps…

<- Heathcliff Is Not My Name Review

I Am Heathcliff Review ->

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Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds by Rick Riordan

June 25, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Norse Mythology, Rick Riordan, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

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Title: Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Companion
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Norse mythology, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 17th – 18th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Collection
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: Having his hand eaten by Fenris Wolf while the other gods bound the beast with the rope Gleipnir

Dear Magnus Chase,
Welcome to Hotel Valhalla!
We hope you enjoy your eternal stay with us in the afterlife.

This is a guide to the gods, mythical beings and fantastic creatures of the nine Norse worlds – now your fellow guests.

There are stats, interviews, stories and anecdotes to help you avoid those awkward first introductions and make sure you never confuse a dwarf and an elf ever again.

Your story is just beginning, Magnus Chase. We hope you find this guide an entertaining companion on your adventures.

Hotel Valhalla is a great way to fill in the gaps that the storylines of the Magnus Chase novels just can’t fill. After all, they’re stories which follow a specific storyline. This hotel guide on the other hand isn’t a story, but a way to constantly give a background that you really don’t know you need until you read this collection.

Written with the typical Riordan humour, Hotel Valhalla really brings some of the more distant characters of Norse mythology to life in a very satirical and dry way. It helps to pull you further and further into the storyline of the Magnus Chase world and, because of this, the moment I finished the last page I was sorely tempted to get out of my couch next and grab Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead. I didn’t because I had two dogs happily asleep on my lap, but believe me, it was a fight of temptation.

My main complaint about this book is that it wasn’t longer. I would have loved a lot more insight into the characters which make up this aspect of Riordan’s world. But it still worked beautifully…

<- The Ship of the Dead

9 From the Nine Worlds ->

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The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

June 24, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Norse Mythology, Rick Riordan, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Image result for magnus chase and the hammer of thor book cover

Title: The Hammer of Thor
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Norse mythology, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 12th April – 16th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: The nightly numbers ranged from zero to twelve.

My name is Magnus Chase. Two months ago I died fighting a fire giant and woke up in Hotel Valhalla as one of Odin’s warriors. Time of a rest? I wish.

When I meet Otis, an informant with a lead on Thor’s missing hammer, all I get is the name ‘Provincetown’ before a wolf-masked assassin takes him out and warns me to stay away.

Someone really doesn’t want me to find the hammer, and even if I could it’s rumoured to be underground, guarded by powerful magic.

But the giant armies are on the move, preparing to invade. If I don’t find it, they’ll ravage the Nine Worlds, starting with the streets of Boston.

There’s just one person who could help. Someone who demands a very high price: the gods’ worst enemy, Loki.

It took me forever to pick this up after finishing Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. And now that I’ve finished this… I’m really not sure why. Or why it took me so long to get through the first half of this book. This tale has everything that I loved in the Percy Jackson books, but with Vikings. Which, as much as I love Greek mythology, there is something about Vikings and the Norse mythos that is… better.

For the first part of this book, I kept on thinking of Thor like he is in the Marvel movies… gorgeous, powerful and just plain “good”. The Thor in this story is nothing like that. Actually, he’s kind of a bumbling moron. And he farts a lot. And you know, he’s the reason that the whole mess in this story even happens. Because he’s a moron. Which adds a great level of humour throughout the whole novel. One that makes me grateful for Riordan’s writings. And makes me think that I need to keep adding some of his books (the few I don’t have) to my bookshelves.

There are hints from the very beginning of this tale that it isn’t all about Thor’s hammer. But, since I was so caught up in the action and what was happening to Magnus and his friends, I didn’t really pick up on them. It was only in hindsight that I managed to understand all the little clues that Riordan was sliding out for my slow little brain to grasp. Which is kind of great in a book that is aimed at a younger cohort. It makes me excited to reread this book at some point in the future. Read and reread and reread over the years to come, being able to find other “duh” moments throughout this story.

I was so impressed with Riordan’s use of a Muslim lead character in Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. I was even more head over heels in love, completely impressed, making this man my idol when I realised that he has a trans-person as a secondary lead in this story. Talk about helping to raise a generation on acceptance and love. Alex is feisty and fun, if not a little angry and damaged at times. Also a little too obsessed with taking off people’s heads with a wire… but I digress. Having two people from minorities that are being ostracised today means that I can’t wait until they feature even more strongly in the next Magnus Chase story! Now where did I put that book…??

<- The Sword of Summer

The Ship of the Dead ->