Book Review - Mistletoe and Murder

• Title And Author: Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens
• Publisher: Puffin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 383 Pages

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, because a murder was announced… 

I’ve been meaning to return to the Murder Most Unladylike series for ages! So, when a few months back, I saw the short story of The Mystery of the Missing Treasure at my local Waterstones, I bought that, read it and went “Ok, I have to return now.” and, rather than start at the first mystery and work my way through, I know I wanted to return into this world with either Mistletoe and Murder or Spoonful of Murder, the fifth and the sixth instalments in the series. And with Christmas a few weeks away, I knew it was going to be this one that would win… 

In case you haven’t followed the Pewter Wolf for a while, I tend to do this a lot with series. I’m not 100% sure why I do this but ha-ho! 

Arriving in Cambridge to celebrate Christmas 1935 in style, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are hoping for snowy Christmas with Daisy’s brother and, to everyone expect Daisy’s hopes, this will be a quiet Christmas. 

Expect it’s not. Danger lurks within the halls of Maudlin College for an tragic accident happens. But it’s an accident, a prank gone horribly wrong… right? Daisy and Hazel aren’t so sure so they call on all their Detective Society skills to find the truth. But with a rival agency looking into the accident as well, they have to solve the case quickly. Was it an accident? Was it murder? And can they solve the case before Christmas Day? 

So, what do I think of this? 

eBook Review - Gilded Cage

• Title And Author: Gilded Cage by Vic James
• Publisher: PanMacMillan
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 416 pages

You can blame Olivia from That Fiction Life for this! IT'S ALL HER FAULT!

Ok, allow me to explain. For the past few months - maybe even year - Olivia has been banging on about this trilogy that she thought I would love. You might know, if you follow a few book bloggers/vloggers/podcasters/etc that we usually have one book or trilogy/series that we want to force onto other people and go "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!" and this trilogy was Olivia's. I usually trust Olivia's judgement, but for some reason, I tried to read the sampler of Gilded Cage on my kindle and my brain goes "Nope". 

But when I saw it for 99p, I knew I had to buy it and, when I bought it, I said I would read it before the end of the year. Then, after chatting to Olivia at one or two bookish events (The Twisted Tree and Time's Convert), I decided that it was going to be my next read. I felt ready to try the Cray Cray (her words, not mine).

In a frightening similar world to our, Gilded Cage follows Abi, Luke and their family as they have to serve their slavedays - ten years of labour that commoners must serve - whereas magically skilled aristocracy - Equal - rule. Somehow, Abi has managed to get the family to serve the oldest Equal family, the Jardines. But on the day they have to go, the family discover that Luke won't be going with them, but to a factory town of Millmoor... 

Separated from each other, the family must do the best they can. Abi must work with the Jardines, watching her little sister look after the Jardine's Heir's baby daughter (rumours say he killed the commoner mother), and slowly falling for the middle Jardine son, an Equal without magic. And at Millmoor, Luke gets into a club and slowly, begins to dream of rebellion... 

And all the while, the political backdrop is filled of blackmail, uprisings and backstabbing and with a possible rebellion on the horizon, things will take a dangerous turn... 

So, what do I think of this? 

Audiobook Review - Heroes

• Title And Author: Heroes by Stephen Fry
• Publisher: Penguin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 469 pages or 15 hours

As you guys are probably aware, I got a little obsessed when I listened to the audiobook version of Stephen Fry’s Mythos. So much so, I did the super rare thing and bought the physical copy of the book. That was how obsessed I got with this. 

So, when I discovered that there was a second edition to the Mythos Volumes, Heroes, I preordered that audiobook faster than I thought possible. I had this reaction when I discovered I could preorder Michelle Obama’s audiobook, Becoming (which am slowly listening to now. Am trying to savour that one!). 

Following on from Mythos, Heroes follows the tales of Greek heroes - from Jason aboard the Argo and his quest for the Golden Fleece, Oedipus solving the riddle of the Sphinx, Bellerophon capturing this winged horse Pegasus and the Labours of Heracles… 

So, what do I think of this, seeing how much I loved Mythos? 

Audiobook Review - A is for Arsenic

• Title And Author: A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup
• Publisher: Bloomsbury 
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 Pages or 9 hours and 50 minutes 

As you might be have noticed over the past few months on here and on my social media (mainly my Twitter), I have slowly reading some more crime/thriller novels. I use to say this is a guilty pleasure of mine as my reading jam is usually fantasy, but not saying that now. I enjoy reading crime. What set this off was me reading/audiobooking Agatha Christie and making an effect to read some of her work this year (I am planning to read more next year as part of a reading challenge for The Pewter Wolf). But what intrigued me the most was how Agatha Christie did the killing in her works - poisonings.

So, when I saw this book a few months back, which looks at the poisons used in her novels, I became intrigued and wanted to read it. But no bookshop I went into had it on the shelf nor my library. Plus, I didn’t want to ask if anyone could order it for me - what if they thought I was plotting to kill my Other Half? So, when I saw this on Audible, I was in two minds for a good few minutes as I wasn’t sure if audiobooking this was a good idea, plus I wasn’t sure I would get on with the narrator, and it’s non-fiction (a genre I struggle in). But in the end, I went “What’s the worse that could happen?”

Agatha Christie was a chemist throughout both World Wars so her knowledge of poisons was extensive. A is for Arsenic looks into the poisons Agatha Christie used in well-known novels, such as Mysterious Affairs at Styles, Crooked House, Sparkling Cyanide and 4.50 from Paddington among others novels, and look at how the chemicals interact with the body to cause death, to cure the poison, real life cases and look at how the murder was committed in the novels. 

Book Review - The Case Of The Missing Treasure

• Title And Author: The Case of the Missing Treasure by Robin Stevens
• Publisher: Puffin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 148 Pages

For the past few months, I’ve been itching to get back into the Murder Most Unladylike series. I have no real reason why - I read Arsenic For Tea - the second book in the series - back in 2015 and I read a Mini-Mystery, The Case of the Blue Violet, in 2016. And I always said that these were fun and I wanted to go back. 

But for one excuse or another, I never did return and, when I tried, I couldn’t find my “in”. I tried with the fourth book in the series - Jolly Foul Play - and struggled and I didn’t want to read the starter in the series. Plus, for some reason, the later novels appealed to me, with the fifth - Mistletoe and Murder - catching my eye. I’m sorry, but murder at Christmas. Doesn’t that gripping?

So, when I went into my local Waterstones to have a look, I saw The Case of the Missing Treasure and jumped straight on it. At last, a fast “in” for me. Plus, it’s a Waterstones exclusive (for now - most booksellers will be able to sell this in match 2019) so, at the present moment in time, you have to go to your local bookshop and buy it! HAHA! 

After the events of A Spoonful of Murder, Daisy and Hazel are back in London, staying at Daisy’s Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy. One morning, they hear a news article, saying that a thief is robbing museums all over London. On Daisy’s birthday, Uncle Felix sets up a treasure hunt for her, Hazel and friends/rivals, the Junior Pinkertons, the four find themselves in the British Museum, trying to solve clues that Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy have left. Expect… one of the clues they find isn’t from Uncle Felix or Aunt Lucy. One clue is from the thief and they are going to rob the British Museum that night! 

eBook Review - Appointment With Death

• Title And Author: Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 272 Pages or 5 Hours and 57 Minutes

This has been sitting on my Kindle for quite some time (I’ve just checked - since September of last year. I got it in an eBook sale, I think) and I’ve always wanted to read this when I was in the mood for crime. Plus, it’s Agatha Christie so it can’t be a bad crime story. 

In the past few months, I read then audiobooked three Agatha Christie's (The Mysterious Mr Quin, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and And Then There Were None) as well as read a New Hercule Poirot mystery, written by Sophie Hannah (The Mystery of the Three Quarters) and each had their own success and pitfalls. So, when I remembered I had this while reading Time Convert, I knew I wanted to read it. I wanted to read a murder and this ticked the boxes. 

“You see, don’t you, that she’s got to be killed?”

Poirot overhears this one night as he was closing his hotel window and thinks nothing of this remark. But this remark comes back to haunt him several days later when he is told of a death. Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, the body of Mrs Boynton was discovered, like some swollen, detestable Buddha or a spider. She could have died of natural causes - expect for a small puncture mark on her wrist… Was Mrs Boyton murdered? Poirot decides he will try and find the truth and gives himself 24 hours to solve the crime. But with that remark in his head and seeing how damaged the Boynton family have been under Mrs Boynton rule, will the murderer get away with it…? 

eBook Review - The Snowman

• Title And Author: The Snowman by Michael Morpurgo (Inspired by the classic by Raymond Briggs
• Publisher: Puffin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an Honest Review
• Length: 160 Pages

Andrew, we are in September. Why on earth are you reading a Christmas novella? And a retelling of a well known Christmas classic? have you COMPLETELY lost the plot? 

I am imagining you are all thinking this. Don’t say you’re not. I love Christmas. I love Bonfire Night and Halloween (well… in theory, I love Halloween. I love all the myths and legends on Halloween. In pratice… no. I hate it. I will be the one sitting the dark of my house, pretending that no one is home… but that’s a blog post for another day). So, when I saw this on NetGalley, I thought it would be a fun little read for me. A nice break from Time Convert, my current adult read (which I an enjoying, but it’s so weird reading this book when, the other books In the series, I have audiobooked…). Plus, I was curious on how Michael Morpurgo was going to write this, how he was going to tackle this classic. Tackle it head-on, or go into it from a slight angle… 

When James wakes early on Christmas Eve to discover it had snowed overnight, he’s so excited that he goes out and builds a snowman. He spends all day building him and showing him off to his parents and his grandma, who is staying over Christmas. When he goes to bed that night, waiting for Father Christmas, he wonders about his snowman and, when he looks out of the window, he discovers that his snowman has come to life… 

Where do I start with this novella? 

Audiobook Review - Chocolat

• Title And Author: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
• Publisher: Transworld/Orion Audio
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 Pages or 9 Hours 48 Minutes

Joanne Harris is one of those authors. You know the one I mean. An author you admire and respect from a distance, but never read any of their books. Joanne was one of mine - I do have a eProof of A Pocketful of Crows on my kindle, waiting patiently for its turn. But I always have been curious over Chocolat. But whenever I try to start and read the sampler, I never clicked with the voice. But I knew I wanted to read this. 

So, when I discovered that this was on audiobook, unabridged and read by the author herself, I knew I had to listen to this. It’s always a special treat when you listen to audiobook when it’s read by the author themselves. 

The quiet life of small French village, Lansquenet, is thrown up in the air when an exotic and mysterious stranger, Vianne Rocher, and her young daughter arrive and open a chocolate boutique. Just before Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. Father Reynaud denounces her and her shop as a serious moral threat to the faith. 

As the community takes sides, passions and conflict flare. How can you balance the solemnity of the Church against the sinfulness of chocolate…?

Where do I start with this audiobook? 

eBook Review - Mystery of the Three Quarters

• Title And Author: The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
• Publisher: HarperCollins 
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by Publisher via NetGalley (in exchange for an honest review)
• Length: 400 Pages

I’ve had a bit of a bad run of authors writing new adventures for classic characters. I like that new audiences are discovering these well-loved characters, but recently, when I read these new advertures, I seem to hit a wall over liking the story. 

So why, I hear you ask, did I want to read this? Because I wanted to. Well, I wanted to read Closed Casket, the second in the new Hercule Poirot mysteries. I even got an copy to read, but got super chicken over it so never read it. But with this, I went “I want to try this. Plus, the premise sounds super intriguing and very Agatha Christie. And it’s an author I’ve never read before.”

Poirot comes home from lunch to find an angry woman standing in his doorstep. Here, she demands to know why he sent her a letter, accusing her of murder. Poirot has not sent any letter, has no idea who she is nor the person who was murdered. The woman doesn’t believe him and, shaken, Poirot goes into his house, only to come face to face with a man who’s son has received the same letter from Poirot. 

Over the next 48 hours, two more people comes to Poirot, saying he has written these letters to him, accusing him of murder. But Poirot doesn’t understand why these four unrelated people are accused of murder by someone pretending to be him… 

Who is Barnabas Pandy who these four are meant to have murdered? Was he murdered? Who is the poison letter writer? And can Poirot find the answers before more lives are put in danger? 

Where do I start with this? 

Audiobook Review - And Then There Were None

• Title And Author: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 224 Pages or 6 hours 1 minute

It looks like I am galloping through Agatha Christie now. And all because I was enjoying reading The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah (which I will be talking about on the Pewter Wolf soon. Ish. Though am still playing caught up on the blog with my July/early August reading) and am listening to a podcast called All About Agatha, which is going through all Agatha Christie’s novels and short stories one at a time. So, because of this, I wanted to go read/listen to some of the Queen of Crime’s work. Now, I just listened to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and, due to the twist at the end, I knew I wanted to listen to this, which I bought at the same, plus this has been called Agatha’s greatest work… 

Ten strangers, with nothing in common apparently, get summoned to a small island off the coast of Devon, through letters from old friends, employment and other means. But once on the island, after their first meal together, a chilling recording is played and the voice of their unseen host accuse each of them of committing murder and getting away with it… 

Not long after the message was played, one of them chokes to death, been given a fatal overdose of cyanide in his brandy. Soon, the tension and mistrust grows as their number grows smaller and smaller and they realise that the killer is among them and is prepare to kill the all. All in the style at the now terrifying nursery rhyme of Ten Little Soldier Boys… 

Audiobook Review - Murder of Roger Ackroyd

• Title And Author: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook 
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 320 pages or 6 hours 53 minutes 
 

Well, I am going through a bit of an Agatha Christie blitz, aren’t I? First I read The Mysterious Mr Quin (a collection of short stories I’ve wanted to read back at the start of July but only chatted about on here at the start of the month) and, at the time of writing this, I am reading The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah, which is taking Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and putting him in a new adventure (with the blessing of the Agatha Christie Estate, of course). So, I was around 40% into Mystery of the Three Quarters and I was having such a blast with it, I went “You know, I kinda want to read more Agatha Christie stories. But where do I start?” So I oooh-ed and aaah-ed and, in the end, I bought two audiobooks - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and And Then There Were None - and went “Ok, let’s try one out!”. On sheer impulse, I went with Roger Ackroyd. 

Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He discovered 24 hours earlier that the woman he was in love with and planning to propose to had poisoned her first husband, only for her to kill herself after revealing another dark secret: someone is blackmailing her. And after receiving the evening post, he discovers a letter by the woman, with the truth of who was blackmailing her. But before he could read it, he’s violently stabbed in the neck. 

The family and friends are in shocked - who could do such a thing? And why? 

Book Review - Little Eve

• Title And Author: Little Eve by Catriona Ward
• Publisher: W&N (Orion)
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical 
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted at Bloggers Event by Orion & Sarah from Feeling Fictional
• Length: 288 Pages

Like I said a few weeks back (before I decided to go on my Blog Holiday due to real life stuff/House move!), I went to #OrionBloggerBrunch and when I was there, I somehow got my hands on a copy of Little Eve by Catriona Ward. You can blame/thank Sarah from Feeling Ficitional for that as this wouldn’t be my typical Pick Up and Read. Yes, I like creepy thriller/crime, but I’m like more modern setting whereas this is set past First World War and tackles cults and other themes that I usually avoid. 

But because Sarah gave me her copy, I feel the need to read it. I think, due to the stress of real life/house move and me reading a lot of YA recently, I felt the need to read something more grown-up (don’t worry, I will juggle much better between reading adult and teen in future) and having this book made me go “Let’s try this out!” 

On a cold January morning in 1921, a young man goes to the island of Altnaharra with an order of beef. The family who live on the island are strange, and that’s putting it lightly. But when he gets there, he discovers a horrible sight. The family all dead, their eyes plucked out, bar one young woman who is alive and only has one eye. Dinah claims that it was her sister, Eve, who killed her family, driven by her religious freneticism. 

But as the story moves forward, we hear accounts from Eve’s point of view, years before the event happen, and from Dinah who is remembering that terrible night and the events that follow. But the two accounts intertwine and contradict. One woman is telling the truth, the other is not. Who can be trusted and what really on the island?

Book Review - The Mysterious Mr Quin

• Title And Author: The Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical 
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from Library
• Length: 336 Pages
• Buy From: Book Depository - Foyles - Audible

Well… that was unexpected. 

Ok, in the words of Craig David, re-e-wind! 

Sorry, no idea why I wrote that but anyway, back story. As you might remember from a blog post from months back when I chatted about Agatha Christie, this was one of the titles I’ve wanted to read for a while. Ever since I heard of the general bases of this, I wanted to read this. I mean, a mysterious man (who appears as if by magic. A bit like the shop keeper from Mr Benn! Anyone remember that?) who solves crimes. Sold! But I didn’t know when I was going to read this. Plus, I wasn’t sure if this was best place to start with reading Agatha Christie. 

Then I went “Sod it!”, requested it at my library (this was at the height of my last reading slump and real life drama of buying a house, trying to get a handle on work and general “Am I good enough to continue book blogging? Or should I quit?” - you know, the good stuff in life) and, before I had time to get myself ready, my library said “We got it and the other two books you requested for you!” (the other two books were Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs and Want to Play? by PJ Tracy [and why I haven’t read them will be made clear in the coming paragraphs]) so I decided to read this. 

The Mysterious Mr Quin is a collection of twelve short stories that follow Mr Satterthwaite as he gets himself involved in mysteries - some from the past, some present - and his mysterious acquaintance, Mr Quin, who seems to be the catalyst for the truth to come to light… 

#re3 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

As you guys know, I have been feeling in a bit of a reading slump - which is weird when you look at the blog posts that have been going over the past few weeks. Still talking and reviewing stories in book/ebook/audiobook form. But it has been a weird few weeks as I have been feeling a tad ... it's hard to explain. I have wrote a blog post (which will never see the light of day - not yet, maybe never), where I tried to figure it out and while I'm still in that blogger/reader mindset, real life has thrown a huge "life-changing" thing at me (not bad, FYI. Is good. Very good. But not gonna say anything for another few weeks), so my reading and blogging is going to be a bit erratic for a while. I might even do a small blog break randomly till things calm down.

Now with that public announcement out there (if anything changes, I will let you know via Twitter), let's reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Ok, back story. Because of reading slump, I decided I wanted to do a few rereads. A bit overwhelmed where to start, I did a poll of twitter, asking what series to go towards: Harry Potter, Twilight Saga, The Old Kingdom, or Hunger Games/Artemis Fowl (I wanted 4 opinions here the merging of these two series). Just the series, not the book. And, of course, you chose Potter. So, decided to do another flash poll of Twitter on which Potter book to read: Chamber, Prisoner, Goblet or Order (no to Philosopher as this is my usual fail-safe for reading slumps. Plus, I thought you would say Goblet or Chamber for some reason). But, of course, you chose Prisoner. Which I am grateful for as I have this on several forms (book and audiobook - Chamber would have been a tad tricky as I don't have this on  audiobook - I had on CD but not audible...), so I could jump back and forth between the two styles of storytelling while at work and home.

I have actually gone back to my previous #re3 of Prisoner of Azkaban back in my Harry Potter #re3 Challenge (if you want to check out my rereading of Harry Potter in 2015, ta-dah!) to see if I agreed of disagree with myself and, for the most part, I do. I still think Snape is a bad person - a bully, hypocrite, bitter, an abuser ever (I am willing to go that far). And yet, the fandom sees him as flawed.... I need to sit down and do a blogpost about Snape in the future as OH, I have thoughts and opinions on this and I really, REALLY want to vent.

What does surprise me is my thoughts of Lupin? Now, I love Lupin. He's a flawed human who is kind and a decent human, but makes mistakes and suffers terribly. He says and does things that, when other characters say them seem underhanded and a tad cruel, he says it in a way where Harry and us go "He's right". Though, on this reread, he doesn't seem as fleshed out as I remember him behind. Same with Sirius and Pettigrew, but these two have very little screen time compared to Lupin. I still love Lupin, but, as this is a children's book and Lupin is a teacher, we don't see him as a human being. We see him as a teacher. Harry (and us) see a more fleshed-out, rounded character at the end of the book and in the upcoming books, which now I might have to read.

What's so interesting to read this time round is the tiny little clues with the future and how this mirrors Order of the Phoenix. Most fans believe in the "Ring Theory" - where each book reflects a later book (Philosopher's reflect Deathly Hallows, Chamber reflects Prince, Prisoner reflects Order and Goblet stands alone because it's the turning point in the series). Harry "officially" mets the Minister of Magic in Prisoner and it's on friendly terms whereas in Order, the terms have become dangerous frosty. We met Sirius in Prisoner and we say goodbye to him in Order. We're told Trelawney has made a second correct prophecy in Prisoner and in Order, we find out her first and we have to deal with prophecies as a whole. We talk about Harry's dad (Harry hero-worships, up to a point) and Snape's hatred for him in Prisoner and in Order, we see why Snape disliked James so much and the rose-tainted glasses come off Harry when he thinks about his father. He's just a human who made mistakes and is hugely flawed. Yes, Prisoner and Order are very much Harry's books about his father...

I adore Hermione in this and am still hissy over Ron and Harry's treatment of her in the book. I get why, but still...

Also, what surprised me was there were one or two occasions, I paused the audiobook and didn't return to it for a while due to a knot in stomach over what was about to happen next. This happened a lot in the chapters Talons and Tea Leaves but it happened once or twice with other chapters - I believe it was Grim Defeat - and there were times I had to stop audiobook as I wanted to read the next section (in some cases, this was great idea. In one, not so sure as I sped-read!).

But I really enjoyed returning to rereading Harry Potter and I should reread this series (and other books) in general. So, this might be something I do more often in the coming few months. You have been warned.

PS - I now own the illustrated version of Prisoner of Azkaban (the only illustrated I own... I plan to get Goblet and, possibly, Order as well) and i jumped a few times to see what Jim Kay drew in where I was reading. Some I went "YES!" and others I went "...what?". But it's a beautiful edition and I plan to pour over my copy soon... ish...

Audiobook Review - Forever And A Day

A few years back, I listened to the audiobook of Anthony Horowitz's Trigger Mortis (write-up for that is here!) and I wrote "I hope Anthony Horowitz writes another Bond book". Well, the Fleming estate decided that they did want him to write another and, finding material Ian Fleming for a possible idea of turning James Bond into a TV serial (this was before the film rights were bought, to my knowledge), they give him the material and let him run with it.

007 is dead. He was shot in the French Rivera and MI5 wants to find out who and why he was killed. They promote a new recruit to the number and send him out to find out the truth. The new recruit's name? James Bond.

That's right, this is a "prequel" of Bond's first mission. And oooh... ooooh, I had problems. So many problems.

Ok, before I sink my teeth into the problems and issues I had, let's get into the positives. There are a few that I can talk about. Now, I have never read a Bond book, so bear with me, but the second half of the story had really good pacing. It moved faster. Plus, some of you guys will like reading this as this is Bond's first mission so you get to see what happened to make him tick.

My biggest positive is the "Bond Girl" (I loathe that term!) - the character of Sixteen. I found her fascinating, and she was, possibly, the only character I felt was fleshed out. She had a history, motivations, character traits and flaws. I wanted to read more about her. Possible spinoff prequel, anyone?

Now, onto the problems and issues. I have a long list! I didn't like the narrator for a good chunk of the audiobook (sorry!) , the first half of the story was slow in pace and it was a struggle to get to the heart of the story, not much was fleshed out, the idea of another prequel story coming out (I'm intrigued over Solo: A Star Wars Story but I know a lot of you don't want it). But the main thing that happened was, for the good amount of the audiobook, I frankly didn't care.

I know I am going through a bit of a reading slump, but I didn't care for the story. I never felt any true moment of danger for Bond and, because of that, I didn't care what happened because I thought "He'll be fine...". I just didn't really care about the story until the very end.

Now, I'm not sure if I feel like this because I'm in a weird reading slump, and I've only begun to crawl out of my reading slump but... yeah... this wasn't for me. I wonder if I had read a collection of James Bond stories, each story written by a different author, if my opinion was have been more favourable.

Book Review - Noah Could Never

I can't do cringe. I've said this before. I can't watch reality talent contests like Britain's Got Talent or The Voice/X Factor, as I just can't handle the people who think they can sing but can't - I cringe and get embarrassed on that person's behalf. I can't watch certain hidden camera shows due to certain elements. I can't watch certain comedy programmes or films due to the the tone of the humour. I just can't do cringe.

So, me wanting to be read this is a big contradiction. I mean, I read Noah Can't Ever last year (write-up for that is here, FYI) and I knew this sequel was going to make me cringe like heck, but I have been so excited to read this since finishing Noah Can't Even because it made me laugh. Do you know how rare it is for a book to make me laugh? I preordered a copy but Scholastic were super nice and sent me a copy of Noah Could Never for review. I squealed when I discovered it on my doormat and started reading it that very day (that's how excited I was!)

Noah and Harry are now dating. And now only is Noah trying to find his footing with what this could mean, a French exchange is happening and it includes the sexy and very gay Pierre Victoire, who might be having his eye on Harry, and Eva, a girl who dislikes Noah. And there are strangers beginning to follow Noah. Noah has no idea why - expect it could be his dad and half-brother doing something dodgy with his gran's fake diamonds OR that a drag queen is staying at his house due to a drag feud OR Noah maybe getting involved in a pyramid scheme linked to protein powder?

Can Noah get a break?

Yes, this book is cringe-worth - I knew that when I went in - but this is still hugely funny (maybe more so than Noah Can't Even, as I knew how Noah would react to certain things) and big hearted.

Ok, let's get the things I don't like out of the way first. Like I said, I can't do cringe that well and this book - no, this series - has a lot of cringe moments. If you don't like cringe, you might not like this. While there are a few cringe moments that made me want to curl up into a ball, there was a few I laughed at. The one that made me have the strongest reaction was on page 345, where I threw the book on the other side of the sofa then spent next ten or so minutes trying to uncurl my fingers and toes while going "MY EYES!!! MY EYES!!!"

Another thing I didn't warm to was the pyramid scheme storyline. Ok, I get it. I understand why it's here - it feeds into two/three other storylines - but whenever it cropped up, I just wanted to skim it. But seeing why Noah got involved and the fallout was really interesting, but I never warmed to this plot.

But I hugely enjoyed reading this. I read it in just under a week - that's fast for me. I enjoyed the humour in it and I enjoyed Noah trying to come to terms with everything (which, most of the time, was terrible and I wanted to shake him!). I hugely enjoyed a new character called Mike or, when "I got me hair on", Bambi Sugapops, and I hope that if there is a third book, Noah gets more of a relationship with Mike and Bambi.

And I liked how certain subjects are tackled. In this, Noah is worried about his relationship with Harry - is it going too fast or not fast enough - but also, he's worried about why Harry wants to be with him. He's worried that he's doesn't fit a gay template that he sees on the Internet and TV shows. That he's not jock or twink enough. And I get this - I struggled with this when I was coming to terms with my sexual identity and when I started dating. So the fact Simon talks about it and pokes fun at it is refreshing and makes Noah more relatable.

Maybe I cringed while reading this as Noah was me when I was in my teens. Only he's more extreme in his reactions than me...

Cringey, funny and big-hearted - I can't wait to see what Simon writes next.

Audiobook Review - Mythos

I think we all have a soft spot for Greek mythology. I do. I love myths in general and, if I wasn't scared of debts and everything else that comes with going to university, I think I would've loved to study myths (which would have been Classics, I think) or English. But I never went, but that's getting away from the point.

A few weeks back, I got a few credits on my Audible and asked what audiobooks I should listen to. I had a vague idea of one of the titles I wanted to do (Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, though Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz did call to me as well) but I wanted something different. I wanted to try something new and something I would be a little afraid to try. The lovely Virginie at Chouett tweeted me and said she was nearly finished audiobooking Mythos and was hugely enjoying herself and thought I might like. A few days later, she sent me a copy of the audiobook via audible, which was a lovely surprise. Plus, neither she nor I lost a credit over it (it's a one off thing Audible do, according to my research so am planning to return the favour with a surprise audiobook choice of my own... be afraid, Virginie. Be very afraid.)

Mythos is Stephen Fry's attempt to retell some Greek myths. From the dawn of creation, the war between the Titans and the Olympians, the creation of mankind through to the myths told within the Gold and Silver Ages of Greece.

There's not much else to say about what the book is about as it's just that: Stephen Fry retelling some Greek myths. And guess what: I adore this. So much so, I am very tempted to buy the hardback edition of this to use for research or when the mood takes me to reread/relearn the myths. I didn't know them all, so there was always a new myth to discover and me to go "Oh!" over.

I devoured this audiobook and Stephen is a wonderful narrator. I love him reading Harry Potter and it carried over. Plus, when the author reads their own work, there's something more special about it. They get the rhythm of the story and the humour, and Stephen does add a lot of humour to the myths he decides to retell.

He admits from the start that he tries to put the myths in an order to make it easier for himself and the reader to understand, and this does help with him doing this.

There are two faults with this, and they aren't really Stephen's fault. The first is the names. There are so many of them. There are gods, titans, demi-gods, nymphs, furies, humans, and that's to name a few. It can be overwhelming if you're not on the ball. I might have to do a relisten myself to get them straight in my own head.

The second is length. Like I said before, Stephen tackles the gods and their lengths and he tackles the myths told from the beginning to creation all the way through the Golden and Silver Ages. He goes into a little more depth with the myths he tackles. But, because of this, ee doesn't touch the three other stages in Geek myths - Bronze, Heroic and Iron - so he doesn't tackle Hercules, Jason, Troy and other myths we're probably more aware of. But this gives me a small hope that maybe, just maybe, that Stephen will do a sequel and tackle these ages.

I adore this and I do hope Stephen does do another book about Greek myths. If not, I will probably go on the prowl for other books that tackle myths (hopefully Egyptian as I am fascinated with Egyptian gods, but open to read Roman, Native American, Indigenous Australians - in fact, will happily read any myths and legends. Recommend to me, dear readers!). My copy of Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology is getting me the eye - should I be worried?

PS - Zeus. Mate, could you not stay faithfully? I mean... either see a sex therapist to talk about your sex addiction or let Hera leave you...