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Death at the Manor
By Katharine Schellman. Crooked Lane Books Lily Adler is back with a third mystery in the series and it’s another great story. Lily is visiting her aunt along with her friends, Ned and Ophelia. Captain Jack, who appeared in the first two books, is absent for this book but he does show up as a correspondent a couple of times. Instead, we have Matthew Spencer, who appeared in the previous story, to provide some assistance and male companionship for Lily. Matthew takes the visitors to see Belleford manor along with its famous ghost. Unfortunately, they don’t get to see much due to the sudden and suspicious death of the owner,…
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Servant Mage
Servant Mage by Kate Elliott. MacMillan-Tor/Forge Due to the takeover by the Liberationists, Fellion has become an indentured servant mage with little prospect of another life until she is freed by a group of Monarchists. They need her fire skills and there's a possibility of a real future. Along the way, their priority shifts so they are saving a very special baby from being killed before moving on to the original mission. I must point out this is a novella rather than a full-length novel. I found this to be a super-easy and engaging read, finishing it in under three hours. The world-building is quite good and there are some…
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A Narrow Door
A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris. OrangeSky Audio It’s the beginning of a new school year at St. Oswald’s Academy and the way of things has changed considerably. Roy Straitley, the long-standing master of Latin is still there but the latest change might be a step too far. The school now admits girls and the new headmaster is a woman, Rebecca Buckfast. Straitley’s Brody boys come to see him the day before classes begin and report having found a body on the site of the new swimming facility that is under construction. After a number of scandals in recent years, Straitly is reluctant to report this incident but goes to…
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Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka. Pantheon “Chronicle from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth” is a scathing satire of a fictionalised modern Nigeria. There is a plot to this lengthy work but it takes quite a while before we have any understanding of it. The writer takes us on a journey into scenes from a variety of characters, from Papa Davina, a modern-day charlatan of a religious leader, to Sir Goddie, a prime minister whose main objective is to make sure he’s elected for another term, to Dr. Menka and Duyole Pitan-Payne, two members of a gang of four from…
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Call of the Penguins
Call of the Penguins by Hazel Prior. Random House UK Veronica McCreedy is 87 years old and can claim the joy of having visited and come to know the adelie penguins when she visited the Antarctic. One might think that would be enough for her but then she is invited to present some segments of a wildlife documentary on penguins by a famous conservationist. This requires travel to both Australia and the Falkland Islands to perform her duties. During the course of this experience, she learns a lot more about humans as she continues to focus on her love of penguins. Along for the ride are grandson Patrick, nine-year-old cancer…
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Crown of Cinders
Crown of Cinders by Emily R. King. 47North Althea has just learned she and her sisters are not mortals but daughters of Cronus and goddesses at the end of the first book in the series, ” Wings of Fury”. As this book opens, plans are being made to aid Zeus and their siblings in taking down their father. Althea, or Hera, her true name, must journey to seek out two more brothers, and this will eventually find her traveling through the underworld and will require great strength from her. Finally, she will use all her power and ability in order to make sure she and her siblings and allies succeed…
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Mordew
Mordew by Alex Pheby. MacMillan/Tor. Nathan Treeves lives in the slums of Mordew with his parents. His father is quite ill and his mother has a succession of male visitors that helps pay the bills. Nathan is only thirteen years old but he does have a potential weapon even though he doesn’t know how to use it. He has a spark that creates an itch and it really is much like it’s called. He wants to use it but his father has warned him against using the spark or any magic. Things become desperate and Nathan is sent by his mother to be sold to the Master. In the course…
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Once Upon a Broken Heart
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. Hodder and Stoughton. Evangeline Fox has long believed in the notion of a happy ever after in life. She’s been meeting Luc in secret and she thinks he’s the one for her. But then he proposes to her stepsister, Marisol, out of the blue instead. She’s heartbroken and seeks out assistance from the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding. In exchange, she must kiss someone three times, at the prince’s choosing. The way the wedding is stopped isn’t what she expects and she’s soon on a path that she’d never have dreamed of and is travelling to the North, where her…
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The Bookbinder’s Daughter
The Bookbinder’s Daughter by Jessica Thorne. Bookouture Audio Sophie is an accomplished bookbinder, taught by her father, also a bookbinder. It happens that her mother was also one too. Once upon a time, they lived at Ayredale and life was good. But then, some trauma occurred where Sophie’s mother disappears and Sophie forgets most of the details of her life before the trauma. Since then, Sophie has never been back to Ayredale, mostly due to her father’s wishes. But after her father dies, Sophie is contacted by her uncle Edward, brother to her mother, and offered a job at what is called the Special Collection. There are a few aspects…
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The Island of Missing Trees
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. Viking Teenager Ada has the worst day ever at school when she stands up and screams in front of her class. Life has been tough for her after her mum dies and her father is left heartbroken. Then her mother’s sister arrives and it feels like it’s all getting worse. Why didn’t her aunt show up at her mum’s funeral? But this book isn’t so much about Ada as about her parents, how they met, how two people from Cyprus ended up in London, and about a fig tree. This book is one that shifts from the present to the past and…