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Under the Whispering Door
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. Tor Books. Wallace Price is a lawyer, and like many of his kind, he’s cold, analytic, and mean. One day he wakes up at his own funeral and is soon escorted away by the newly minted reaper, Mei. At first, Wallace doesn’t quite get what’s happening and he’s pretty calm. But he soon catches on and he suddenly wants to get back home and runs away. By this time he’s arrived at Charon’s Crossing at the teahouse run by Hugo, who just happens also to be the ferryman. It’s while at this way-house that Wallace learns how to live. This was a delightful…
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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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Carmilla
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. Pushkin Press. Teenager Laura lives with her father when a woman shows up with her daughter and asks the father to look after the daughter as she has urgent business that requires heavy travel. Apparently the daughter is not well enough to travel and so Laura’s father agrees to look after her. Not long after, Laura suffers a mysterious illness. This is not much more than a novella and it’s not bad but it’s definitely not a page-turner. My main interest is its historical value within the literature world as it’s not a book I have been aware of before now. There’s a steady narrative…
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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…
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Farewell to the Liar
Farewell to the Liar by D.K. Fields. Head of Zeus Cora Gorderheim, recently stripped of her job as a detective, is currently on a single mission: to protect her sister Ruth, the Wayward storyteller, until the story is told for the election. As a former detective in Fenest, she is quite skilled at getting places. But she runs against a number of challenges in the run-up to the story, and there are those who don’t want the Wayward story told and are willing to kill to prevent it. I will start by advising I was unaware of this book being the third in a trilogy when I requested it and…
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Vespertine
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. Simon and Schuster Australia Artemisia is a novice at the convent where she has lived for many years. She is content to do the work there and has no ambitions to go elsewhere. Even though she is often pointed at by others for having been possessed by a spirit for much of her life. The convent is attacked by possessed soldiers and Artemisia is forced to awaken a reverent that has long been locked away in an ancient relic to save it. This sets off events that take her away from the convent, into more danger, and leaves her with a reputation as a saint. I’ve…
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He’s Cancelled
He’s Cancelled by Sophie Ranald. Bookouture Natalie and Archie have been going out for a year now and then Archie proposes, launching the wedding preparation process. While Natalie is from a single-parent family with limited funds, Archie’s family is reasonably well-to-do and has offered to pay for the whole shebang. Archie’s sister gets involved along with his mum and the planning takes off in ways neither Natalie nor Archie could imagine. They really just wanted a simple and small wedding with a “do” at the local pub afterwards. At the heart of the story is a couple with family taking over plans and leaving them with little control. I found…
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Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompous Ass
Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompous Ass by Lisa Wells. Entangled Publishing In the last eighteen months, Aggie has had numerous jobs and hasn’t stuck to even one of them. Meemaw, her grandmother, has raised her from a young age and she still lives with her. Max owns his own business and has a bet with his father, with whom he constantly butts heads, to win. It just happens his grandmother, his closest family ally, makes the acquaintance of Meemaw, and soon they hatch a plan to get their grandchildren together. Because they are sure Aggie and Max are perfect for each other. Their plan starts out with getting…