Category: Adult

Flightless Falcon by James Charles Smith

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Blurb

In this Vietnam-era coming of age novel, a young man abandons military life and becomes an eyewitness to America’s deep divisions over the war.

Adrift and alone in 1969 America, a young man takes to the road.

When Sam Roberts resigns from the Air Force Academy, his father is furious.
His mother is understanding but offers little support. All Sam knows is he doesn’t believe in the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War and he can’t be part of it any longer.

Cut loose from a life he once believed in and the woman he once loved, Sam hitchhikes across the country in search of himself. As a passenger in the countless cars who stop to offer rides, he encounters people from all walks of life: Hispanic youths on their way to a quinceañera, retired WWII veterans with surprisingly different perspectives on the war, even a hippie who just left the military himself. His journey is an eye-opening tour through the polarized politics of 1960s America, a transporting exchange of ideas that sends Sam on his way to becoming the man he’s meant to be.

Review

Flightless Falcon is the story of Sam, just resigned from being a cadet in the Air Force Academy, making his way back home to his parents by hitchhiking.

His road trip is a much needed space for his head to work out what he actually wants from life. He knows what he doesn’t want, that much is clear.

His internal struggle is as much to do with his own feelings as it is to do with managing the feelings of others, especially his father.

During his journey he is picked up by a variety of people, reflecting the scenes and events happening across America at the time. This is also highlighted in the excellent soundtrack of his journey.

By conversing, and in some cases staying a while, with the people he travels with, they give Sam a lot to think about.

The author breaks up Sam’s homeward journey with stories from Sam’s past, both at the academy and his school days, which add perspective to how Sam found himself on the road.

The journey along with Sam is interesting and reflective, and the author has done a good job of bringing the turmoil of the time back to life, alongside Sam’s personal journey to find himself.

Thanks to the publisher, Brown Books, and The Write Reads for the eARC for the purposes of the review for this blog tour.

Nocturne with Gaslamps by Matthew Francis

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Blurb

An historical crime fiction novel set in Victorian London’s gaslit theatre scene, where ghosts lurk in the shadows and murder takes centre stage.

Gaslight. Ghosts. Murder.

Hastings Wimbury has always dreamt of playing Hamlet, but for now he works as a theatre gas-boy. Here, he tends to a gas chandelier so powerful it creates its own weather, and limelight machines that can throw a shadow onto a wall ten miles away.

When Hastings suddenly disappears, his fiancée Flora sets out to find him with the help of Cassie, her rival in love who is more preoccupied with the ghosts terrorising the streets of London. Soon total darkness is imposed upon the city, and they realise that something far more sinister is at hand…

Ladies aren’t supposed to solve mysteries, but this is a matter of life and death.

Review

As well as being about a disappearance, a murder and ghosts in the darkness of Victorian London, this story is very informative historically about how gaslight was used in theatres at the time, to create wonderfully dramatic, almost ethereal, illusions. It also highlighted to me the origins of the term “in the limelight”.

The story is noir-ish in tempo and style, with elaborate detail about the use of gaslight, the physicality and danger of the gas-boy profession and London at night. The spectacle of the “theatrical” ghostly production around London is something I would have loved to have been real and have seen for myself.

I loved the strength of character and independence of Cassie and Flora, something definitely frowned upon by society at the time. Just like me though, neither of them saw the twist at the end coming.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press for the ARC to review for this blog tour.

The Reanimator’s Heart by Kara Jorgensen

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Blurb

A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together.

Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in the path of the enigmatic Oliver Barlow.

Oliver has two secrets. One, he has been in love with the charming Felipe Galvan for years. Two, he is a necromancer, but to keep the sensible life he’s built as a medical examiner, he must hide his powers. That is until Oliver finds Felipe murdered and accidentally brings him back from the dead.

But Felipe refuses to die again until he and Oliver catch his killer. Together, Felipe and Oliver embark on an investigation to uncover a plot centuries in the making. As they close in on his killer, one thing is certain: if they don’t stop them, Felipe won’t be the last to die.

Review

I really enjoyed this historical, steampunk fantasy story told from two points of view: Oliver, an autistic necromancer working as a pathologist, trying to hide his magic so as not to be harshly judged by others and Felipe, a healer and paranormal investigator, who Oliver accidentally brings back from the dead when he is murdered.

What unfolds is a murder mystery involving organised religion, paranormal investigation, magical relics and the beginnings of a tentative love story between Oliver and Felipe, if only they would talk properly with each other.

The murder is important because of the consequences, the mystery behind it is not the main thing. It does set the backdrop for the relationship between Oliver and Felipe to develop beyond both of them admiring each other from afar but neither being confident enough to let the other one know.

Kara Jorgensen has created believable, well developed characters. The supporting characters are quirky and interesting and each brings their own foibles and personalities to the unfolding story.

This story achieved a very well deserved 3rd place in the BBNYA 2023 awards. Thanks to @The_WriteReads for the eARC to review for this tour.

Welcome to Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves

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Blurb

What if the only way to fix toxic masculinity were to erase it entirely?

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan never had, but one day he disappears without a trace. A year later, after encountering a woman who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He finds that dozens of young men have disappeared over the years, many of them students at the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, and most of them troubled or unruly. Why are students going missing? Who are these women who bear striking resemblances to them? And what is their connection to the selective student accommodation on the edge of campus, Dorley Hall?

Stefan starts studying at Saint Almsworth for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too.

Review

I was a bit unsure what to expect from this book. I chose to review it for this tour as I am trying to read at least one book a month outside of my usual genres.

What I found was a well written character driven narrative set in dark academia. The content however was not for me. There is definitely an audience out there for Dorley Hall, but it does not include me.

The biggest issue I had was the juxtaposition of the forced feminisation programme being run in Dorley Hall, against the much softer, often humorous, wholesomely frivolous post programme lives of those who have passed through the programme.

The biggest question I was left with was does the end justify the means?

I am not sure it does in this case.

Thank you as always to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for an ARC to review for this blog tour.

Faith of Their Fathers by Samuel M. Sargeant

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Blurb

False God.

At the dawn of the 10th Century in a small Icelandic settlement, these words, daubed in blood, herald the arrival of a killer. 

Soon, a spate of murders threatens the fragile peace between pagans and a growing Christian minority. Arinbjorn, a young pagan farmer resolves to track down the killer before the community is permanently torn apart. His investigations will draw in Freya, an isolated housewife whose secrets could either condemn or free her.

Meanwhile in Norway, King Olaf Tryggvason has his own designs upon Iceland and its people. War is rife in Scandinavia, and a Christian Iceland would bolster his control over the region.

Only one thing is certain: these murders will change Icelandic society forever.

Review

Considering that I love historical sagas and devour television series like Vikings and The Last Kingdom, I rarely read them. Faith of their Fathers piqued my interest and has very much tempted me to right this wrong and read more of them.

Unlike the sagas mentioned above, Faith of their Fathers focusses not on violent invasions or raids, but on the farming and trading population in a small settlement in Iceland, whilst still encompassing the desire for rulers to expand their power bases.

The King of Norway’s priest has been sent to convert the Icelanders to Christianity, but he is not converting as many as the King wants/needs. How can he speed up the conversion rate and also keep the peace between the newly baptised Christians and the majority who still worship the Old Gods? How will the murder of a Christian family impact on his work?

The author, using historical events to centre the story, describes life for these Icelanders clearly and the characters are fully formed and believable. There are explicitly violent scenes, as was the way of things at that time, with religion being used as an excuse for violence to convince one side or the other that their way is the right way way, their god is the right god. However, they do not take away from what is a well crafted, character led story.

As was also the way at that time, it is mostly the men who feature in this story, although the women who do, Freya, Bera and Tyra, are strong and perceptive, making the most of their circumstances and opportunities to influence the actions of the men they love and care for. Freya is particularly strong willed and influential.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for the ARC to review for this blog tour.

The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon by Safinah Danish Elahi

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Blurb

Zohaib, Misha and Nadia believed they would be in each other’s lives forever. As children they played, argued, teased and loved one another. Yet nothing could have prepared them for the tragic turn of events one fateful afternoon in Karachi, Pakistan, when the divisions and differences between them are revealed.

Years later and they are still trying to piece their lives back together, still trying to make sense of what happened. Zohaib is living in London, haunted by the ghosts of the past. Nadia has escaped the household where she first met Misha and Zohaib but finds fate delivering her back to their door…

The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon is a beautifully rendered portrait of love, healing, and long-buried pain, digging deep into the nature of trauma and class division.

Review

I was intrigued by the title of this book, and it engaged me enough to want to read and review it, despite it not being my usual type of read. I am very glad I made that decision. Without spoilers, the title is part of something the father of Misha and Zohaib says to them when they are children, and relates perfectly to the character arcs of both Nadia and Zohaib.

It took me a few chapters to get my head round the format and story, by then I didn’t want to put it down.

Dealing with family, friendship, love, loss, grief and class, this story of the long lasting effects of a childhood trauma, told from multiple perspectives, will stay with me.

The story unfolds mainly via the three main characters, Nadia, Misha and Zohaib, and is set both in the present and 17 years earlier, when Nadia and Misha are about 8. These are interspersed with chapters from the point of view of several other family members which add effectively to the narrative.

We do not find out exactly what happened until the end of the book, but hints are drip fed throughout, whilst we hear about how the event affected those involved as they dealt with it…or not, in some cases.

Despite the themes of poverty vs privilege, domestic violence, mysogyny, grief and mental health issues, there is hope in this story.

The ending (not the reveal of the childhood trauma event, but where the characters are in their lives and relationships) leaves the reader with a lot to contemplate. It is not what I expected but is reflective of reality, in my opinion.

Thank you to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for a copy of the book for me to review as part of this blog tour.

The Book of Perilous Dishes by Doini Risti (translated by James Christian Brown)

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Blurb

1798: A magical, dark adventure. Fourteen-year-old Pâtca, initiated in the occult arts, comes to Bucharest, to her uncle, Cuviosu Zăval, to retrieve the Book of Perilous Dishes. The recipes in this magical book can bring about damaging sincerity, forgetfulness, the gift of prediction, or hysterical laughter. She finds her uncle murdered and the book missing. All that Zăval has left her is a strange map she must decipher. Travelling from Romania to France and on to Germany to do so, Pâtca’s family’s true past and powers are revealed, as is her connection to the famous and sublime chef, Silica.

Review

As I read this story, it reminded me very much of folk tales, tales of magic, mystery, spells and intrigue with moralistic threads running through. As with traditional folk tales, this story carries with it warnings that things are not always as they seem, especially when you only have one viewpoint, the MC. People and events can be linked together without you/they realising how until much later, in some cases too late, and there are consequences (mostly unintentional) to actions taken or spells cast (or recipes made, in the case of this story).

When the cook gets hold of the perilous recipes and starts cooking and feeding the prince, he has no idea what mayhem and madness will ensue as he has not been taught about portions or scale, and in most cases he has no clue what the recipes are spells for. As such, it is often the population of the city, not just the prince, that is caught up in the consequences.

Based on historical events around the time of the French Revolution, the story, told from the point of view of Pâtca, a thirteen year old orphan raised by a witch, takes us on a wild ride as her grandmother is arrested and her great uncle murdered. She tries to find out who killed him as well as follow their advice and instructions to the best of her ability. This does not go to plan and she ends up being accused of her great uncle’s murder, suspecting many others, getting herself in trouble and trying to piece together what she knows, what she needs to do and who she can trust.

It did take me a couple of chapters to get my head round what was happening, mainly due to the dual timeline. The author always cut back to 30 years previously just as we were about to learn something of importance. This kept me on my toes and saying “just one more chapter” to myself.

With themes of folklore, heritage, the occult, herbal magic and cultural exploration, this is a murder mystery like no other.

As the story is told from 14 year old Pâtca’s point of view, much of her detective work is done with a tbsp of assumption, a pinch of knowledge, a tsp of information and a drop of life experience, making her version feel unreliable. This is brought together in the final chapter, when the missing pieces of the story are added in by one of the other characters.

Thanks to the publishers, Neem Tree Press, and @The_WriteReads for the eARC in exchange for this review.

Guns and Almond Milk by Mustafa Marwan

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Blurb

Meet Luke Archer, a British Egyptian doctor who struggles to be from two worlds at the same time. He’s working in one of the world’s most dangerous hospitals in Yemen. When rebel forces take over the city, a group of Western mercenaries take refuge inside the hospital and Luke and his team find themselves in the middle of a deadly clash. To make matters worse, leading the mercenaries is an unwelcome figure from Luke’s past. After years saving the lives of others, Luke needs to face the demons of his past in order to save his own.

Set in the UK and Yemen, Guns and Almond Milk is a literary thriller that deals with identity, diversity and old coins of arguable value. It’s The Sympathizer mixed with M.A.S.H by the way of Ramy.

Review

I was unsure what I expected from this but what I got was a fast paced, fairly graphic story with dry, gallows humour, of medics treating soldiers in war torn Yemen, with the intriguing back story of two of the characters, who find themselves reunited in siege circumstances as the hospital comes under sustained attack from the rebels.

The back story of Adam/Luke and Max was not what I expected. What could a first time volunteer medic and a mercenary possibly have been involved in together in the past? Sorry, no spoilers.

Besides the obvious war theme, the other main theme is that of names and identity. Yes…the age old “but where are you really from” question.

An interesting and thought provoking read.

Thank you to the author and @The_WriteReads for the eARC for the purposes of this review.

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green

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Blurb

Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction.

In an innovative, fast-paced company, a man’s job comes under threat when a team of robots are brought in to replace the HR department. A husband’s search for shortcuts to his domestic tasks goes painfully wrong. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a foreigner takes a weekend break and discovers something other than solitude in the mountains.

Marking Christopher Green’s debut adult fiction and inspired by his own experiences, these whimsical slice-of-life tales are full of heart and humour—perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Review

This is a collection of short stories, most set in Japan, with a few set elsewhere.

There are a range of themes across the stories, with family relationships at the heart of many, as well as moral dilemmas that make the reader wonder if they would make the same decisions if it were them.

A couple of the stories left me thinking deeply about revenge. Not planned revenge but the feeling when something bad happens to someone and their significant other decides, on reflection, that they got what was coming to them after all, now they think about it. A sort of unintended consequence revenge.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for the eARC for this review.

Red Runs the Witch’s Thread by Victoria Williamson

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Blurb

Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too.
But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions.

As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path. In the end she must make a terrible choice: her mind or her soul? Poverty and madness, or a devil’s bargain for the bleaching process that will make her the most successful businesswoman Paisley has ever seen?

Her fate hangs by a thread. Which will she choose?

Review

Victoria Williamson uses the dual timeline effectively, giving us an insight into why adult Christian Shaw is haunted by what happened to her as a child and why seven people were tried and burnt for witchcraft on her testimony. It also shows us the reason for her single minded pursuit of the whitest thread she can produce, which she is certain will ultimately save her family’s struggling business.

As the story unfolds we are gripped by her childhood memories of key events and people, which are unreliable at best, as her 11 year old mind tries to make sense of what she has witnessed and her adult mind works through what she thinks happened, as she seems to have blocked a lot of it out.

What did she really see and do? Why? Can there be another explanation?

Williamson’s writing notches up the tension, imagery and chillingness of the narrative, bringing clarity to the unhinged nature of Christian’s emotions and mental state.

Thanks to silver Thistle Press for the ARC for the purpose of this review on The Write Reads blog tour.