Tag: #Loss

The Reanimator’s Heart by Kara Jorgensen

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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.

Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar

On By @f33lthesunIn #YALeave a comment

Blurb

Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions.

Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared?

Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

Review

Wow. This packed a punch and is still, a week after reading it, living in my head. It will be there for a long, long time. I immediately want to read the next book to continue the story.

Told from multiple points of view, this is a brilliant, character led story. Yes, there is a murder to solve, but it is not as simple as that. It never is, is it?

When Tashué Blackwood, Regulation Officer, is on the scene when the mutilated body of a child is found and no one else seems to want to know who, why or how, he decides to find out.

What follows is a story of flawed humans, moral dilemmas, vulnerability, political intrigue, power struggles, emotional turmoil, complex relationships, found family and love in all its forms.

This is a dark story, the characters have all faced (and are still facing) trauma and moral dilemmas, made their choices rightly or wrongly and are living the consequences of those choices.

Finding the corpse is the catalyst for Tashué to change the trajectory of his life, to try to make up for the decisions he has taken “for the Authority”. Is it too late?

Krystle Matar has created a complex and compelling world in which complex and compelling characters live and breathe.

Thanks to @The_WriteReads for the eARC.

Terra Electrica by Antonia Maxwell

On By @f33lthesunIn Upper Key Stage 2+1 Comment
Cover by Jet Purdie

Blurb

The last ice cap has melted, and the world is on the brink of collapse. A deadly force—Terra Electrica—has been unleashed. It feeds on electricity. It is infecting civilization.

In this chaotic, rapidly changing reality, 12-year-old Mani has lost her family and community to the Terra Electrica. Armed only with some ancestral wisdom and a powerful, ancient wooden mask she was never meant to inherit so soon, she suddenly finds herself responsible for the fate of the world.

Can Mani piece everything together and harness her newfound powers in time to save humanity?

Review

Mani’s father has left her in a cave whilst he goes to find food. He has not returned a month later so she is forced to leave the cave to find something to eat and look for him. She comes across the research centre and one scientist but she has been told they are the enemy and dangerous. What should she do?

She decides she has to interact with the scientist to survive. He has food and shelter. She then discovers she is infected by the deadly force that has killed so many, including her mother. Why is she not ill, or dead? Can she trust the scientist who says he will help her find her father or is his objective much more sinister?

Mani decides to try on the mask she has brought with her. Why did she feel she had to bring it? It is not essential to her survival. Or is it? When she puts it on, she has visions and meets some spirit animals who try to guide her. Frustratingly for Mani, they are not good at answering her direct questions but make her ask even more questions and give her lots to think about. She has a lot to learn about herself and the world.

She uses all her understanding of her people’s stories and traditions to help her work out what she needs to do.

Antonia’s writing carries powerful messages. There is power in stories, beliefs and traditions handed down through generations but there are also those who are selfish and/or greedy and would try to gain personally from something that could help everyone. However, there is always hope.

Thank you to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Faith of Their Fathers by Samuel M. Sargeant

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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)

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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.

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

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.

Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall

On By @f33lthesunIn Young Adult3 Comments

Blurb

Adair Finch is the most powerful warlock in the world, and one of the best private investigators for hire. He has dealt with corporate vampires, murderous werewolves, and even fae royalty. Everything was perfect until he lost one case—the case where he also lost his brother.

So Finch retired. From magic. From PI work. From everything.

Bree Blackstone, a twelve-year-old witch, doesn’t know or care about any of that except Finch’s reputation. In the middle of the night, she bangs on Finch’s door. Her mother has been murdered, and now the assassin is after Bree as well.

Reluctantly, Finch agrees to help, only to discover something sinister has been brewing in town while he ignored the world… He’ll need to dust off all his old skills and magic before it’s too late.

Review

I signed up for this as soon as I read the blurb, and I was not disappointed.

Wow. Totally blown away with how fast paced this is. I read it in two sittings as I needed to know what would happen.

Finch’s character is complicated and has a past we slowly find out about during the day, as he helps Bree escape an assassin and bring them to justice. He has a lot to deal with, having withdrawn from living a full life after he lost his brother. Helping Bree brings him some dilemmas that he is not always sure how to deal with, as well as having to contend with kind hearted Bree wanting to help everyone along the way, despite her grief. You have to read it to find out why this is a recurring issue for him.

Luckily he has a certain magic power that can get them out of tight fixes when things go wrong (sorry, no spoilers)…but what is the cost to him, having bargained for it? Time is against them…or is it?

Trickster demons, exploding witch’s brews and an out of practice magician…what’s not to love? Highly recommend.

Thanks to @The_WriteReads and the author for an eARC for the purposes of this review.

Red Runs the Witch’s Thread by Victoria Williamson

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult, SupernaturalLeave a comment

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.