End of 2021

So, here we are. Christmas is around the corner and soon, we say bye-bye to 2021! A year that wasn’t as bad as 2020 but is flipping close!

And here I am, about to go on a nice, long Christmas blog holiday! It’s going to be a tad longer than my normal Christmas blog breaks, but I feel that, after the few years we’ve had, I need to take more time out and so, I’m going to have an extra week or so off and be chill with my reading/stealth blogging for the next few weeks and give myself time to get back into the swing of work before I throw myself back into the crazy world of book blogging!

But, I suppose, before I go, I should chat about my fave books… Nope, not gonna do that! I might do a catch up on all my reads on Instagram on New Year Eve… Actually, last year, I put some of my fave songs of the year up and I’m tempted to do that this year (will have to look at my Apple Music to see what calls to me as Apple Music doesn’t do Spotify Wrapped. They should, because I love sharing and discovering new music!)

Instead, just going to do a tiny thank you. Now, I say this every year (yes, I know), but I want to thank all the authors, illustrators, publishers, PR people, booksellers, fellow book bloggers/vloggers/podcasters/instagrammers/tweeters and everyone else who’s made blogging and reading this year (actually the past 10/11 years, but especially the last few years as the world went … well, whatever the heck this is!) such a pleasure. Even when my reading taste took a turn in a direction that surprised even me! Always nice for you guys to cheer this tiny book blog and its thirty-something gay guy on!

And, as always, to my friends, my family and to my Other Half – thank you and I love you.

On that note, let’s celebrate the holiday you celebrate (Christmas, Pancha Ganapati, Yule, Hanukkah [yes, I know that was earlier in December) and any others I missed), say goodbye to 2021 and hopefully step into a brighter, more hopefully 2022.

eBook review - Where The Drowned Girls Go

Title And Author: Where The Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction

I’ve been meaning to come back to this series for quite some time. But one thing or another has always gotten in the way, so when I was approved to read/review this on NetGalley, I was hugely surprised and found time to squirrel this novella into my December reading.

The seventh novella in the Wayward Children series, this follows Cora. Since the events of Come Tumbling Down, Cora is struggling. She has nightmares from the Drowned Gods, who are waiting to claim her if she even finds her door. Desperate, she decided to transfer from Eleanor West’s Home from Wayward Children to Whitethorn Institute, another school to help children who fall through doors into other worlds then come back. This school teaches the students to forget, to be “normal” again. But the more time Cora stays, the more she realises that she and her fellow students aren’t safe…

DNFing GILDED

It’s not often I do write-ups on The Pewter Wolf Reads about books/audiobooks I quit (or DNF [Did Not Finish]). And if I do, I usually only write my thoughts on Goodreads (mainly because so I remember why I quit or because it’s a review copy and I want to show publishers via NetGalley that “hey, look, I did try and read it. Why aren’t my Did Not Finish review not affecting my Reading Percentage, NetGalley [hint hint!]?”). But mainly, us book bloggers don’t exactly practice what we preach about reading for pleasure and quitting when we’re not enjoying it. Though we are getting better.

But Gilded by Marissa Meyer, I wanted to talk about because while I did quit this around the halfway mark (57%, I believe) and I borrowed the audiobook from the library and had this on double speed (something I rarely do), I do think some of you guys will really like this book. I mean, this is a fairy tale reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin – I already know most of you guys love a good fairy tale retelling.

Serilda is a miller’s daughter who can’t stop telling stories (well, she was cursed by the god of stories and lies). When she is caught out one night, she tells a story to keep herself from getting killed – that she’s out to collect straw so she can turn to gold, she catches the attention of the Erlking who, every full moon, takes her to his castle and demands to spin straw into gold – or be killed for lying. Desperate, Serilda accidently summons a mystery of a young man who can spin straw into gold – for a price. Magic always demand payment. As the two spend time together, they form a connection and wonder why the Erlking wants so much gold. For the Erlking has plans… dark plans and Serilda has found herself at the heart of it.

Now, in theory, this is right up my street. A YA fairytale retelling (with just enough darkness at its heart and yet, a romance to keep things light) with hints of other fairytales (I keep thinking this had dashes of Beauty and the Beast thrown in, and strong Once Upon A Time vibe) with strong writing and other elements that should have ticked all my boxes.

And yet… I quit the book around the halfway mark. Not because the book is bad – it isn’t, and I do think most of you guys will enjoy reading this. But, the book had two issues that didn’t work for me as reader and now that I’m typing, I now realise that these were the same issues I had when I tried to read another retelling from this author a few years, Heartless – a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Heart: book felt too long and repetition.

I get why: most of the story takes place on night of the full moon so, of course, there’s going to be repetition over how the characters react, their actions and whatnot – hence the issue of length. The chapters of the full moon have to be long and with the story going in the direction it’s going, it’s needs that length. However, this is the first in a series (duology?), so if these issues are here now with me, I sense I’m going to have these issues in the next book. Which then leads to a question every reader ask them when starting a new series: do I want/need to continue?

For me, the answer’s no. But I have read several reviews from book bloggers I like and respect, and their answer is yes. Not every book is going to work for every reader.

But I did try to read this, and there are elements I do like and I will recommend this book to readers. It’s just that this book didn’t work for me, sadly.

Audiobook Review - Marvellous Light

Ok, I am going to admit this. I have been sitting on this review/write-up for a little while now as, when I was at the near end of this, I spotted that there might be a blog tour to  celebrate this book's release and I went "Oh, can I be involved?" then released that they might ask me to post a review for tour so I went "Oh, I need to write this, BUT NOT SHARE FOR WHILE" hence that long dry spell in November's blogging. I was reading, honest! But I agreed to something then went "Oh, I don't know my next plan of action so... yeah...". And now, I saw the blog tour is happening and I think I might have missed my chance to take part. Oh well...

Anyway, WE'RE HERE NOW and talking A Marvellous Light, the first in a new fantasy series set in Edwardian England. Hang on, let me get info up and we can talk more about this! 

Title And Author: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Publisher: Tor UK

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof and Audiobook gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction

Robin Blyth has a lot on his plate. He's struggling being a good brother, taking over as head of the house since his parents's deaths and dealing with the mess of bills they have left and trying to find his own way in the world. So, when an admin error means he becomes civil service liaison to the hidden magical world and comes face to face with Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly magical counterpart, Robin finds himself in the deep end. 

And then he's cursed by mysterious men who think Robin's predecessor hid something of great importance. A man who has vanished off the face of the Earth. As Robin and Edwin find themselves in a plot that could very easily affect every magician in the British Isles, the two begin to realise that their first impressions of each other are wrong and there might be some connection between them...

Book Review - Terciel and Elinor

AT LAST! IT'S TIME FOR A NEW OLD KINGDOM BOOK! ANYONE ELSE EXCITED? ... no? Just me then.

Title And Author: Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Copy gifted by UK publisher in exchange of honest review/reaction. I, also, preordered the Forbidden Planet special edition 

If you have followed me for a little while, you know that I adore this series. I reread via audiobook the series in summer 2020 (Covid 19 lockdown burnout and a terrible case of reading slump) and it was a wonderful experience - even Clariel, a book I'm not the biggest fan of, I went "This is lovely. I missed this world." Plus, I think about the lead, Clariel, quite often. So, when it was announced that we were getting another instalment in this world, you can guess how excited I was? And the fact that it was a prequel to the first book in the series, Sabriel, looking at her parents made me more excited. 

Now, before I go further and explain the book, we get most of the information about Sabriel's parents in the prologue of Sabriel so we know where their story ends. But we don't know how they met and how the relationship evolved and that's what this book is about: her parents meeting.

Ok, I need to talk the story, don't I? In the Old Kingdom, where Charter Magic and Free Magic exists, 18 year old Terciel is the Abhorsen-In-Waiting. A necromancer to bind the Dead down and lay them to rest. Soon, he will be the Abhorsen and soon, he will have to face the Dead and, maybe, Greater Dead. But when he is sent south into the Ancelstierre, he doesn't realise the ploy he's walking into...

In Ancelstierre, where magic usually doesn't work (unless close to the Old Kingdom or the winds blowing from the north), 19 year old Elinor lives a seduced life. Her closest friends are her governess and a former circus performer. Her mother lies in bed, close to death. But in a space of a night, everything she knows is burnt, killed or ripped away from her as a ploy from an ancient enemy brings Terciel into her life and the truth of her connection to the Old Kingdom is revealed.

And still, the enemy is waiting, buying their time...

November Mini-Reviews

My reading has been ... well, mad. And here’s why: one book am currently reading is taking much longer to read than I expected, one audiobook that I have written the review for might be being used for a blog tour next month so holding fire, and I only finished a short audiobook a few hours ago. Plus, the idea of writing a blog post about the TV adaptaion of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, though tempting, feels me with dread as SO DIFFERENT FROM THE BOOK! Oh, so very different! And the podcasts I been dipping in and out of the past few weeks/months (The mini series in the Shedunnit podcast, Queens of Crime At War, I highly recommend)... 

Anyway, I warned you in my November And December Reading Plan that my reading was going to be a bit different. I might not read as much as I normally would and some of my reading choices might not be my normal, but I wanted to mix my reading/blogging up a little bit before I go on my winter break (I might go on my blog break a tad longer than I normally do)...

I've always said that I would try an Agatha Raisin mystery. There's something intriguing about her that made me want to try. Plus, she doesn't sound like a typical detective you read in a "cosy village mystery" - she's not likeable, quick to temper, a little prickly and bitter, and yet someone people like. And yet, I start with this one, rather than an older case such as Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death or Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House, or even Agatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush (which I have from UK publisher via NetGalley for review and not got the courage to read yet).

And yet, this is me we're talking about so, of course, I do this book blogging reading the wrong way round.

Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple in the middle of a bowling green—with the body of an old man lying at their feet. 

The Police writes off the death as an accidental poisoning as the man is notorious for his bullying and his heavy drinking and drunk weed killer that he stored in rum bottles. Agatha isn't convinced that anyone would make that mistake, but carries on with her work... until she receives an anonymous letter saying that the man\'s death was no accident...

There's not much to say about this, if I can be honest. This was a nice, fun audiobook (Penelope Keith narrates the audiobook and there's something wonderful about her take on the story), and yet... and yet, the characters felt a tad softer than I was expecting. I saw flashes of Agatha being quite prickly and blunt, but she seems much softer. Not sure if it's because the characters are getting older from when we first met them in book 1 or if because MC Beaton died and a new author (R.W. Green) taking over writing (he's done it with a previous Agatha Raisin, Agatha Raisin: Hot to Trot, and an upcoming novel from another of MC Beaton's series, Death of a Green-Eyed Monster and not got the character's down quite yet...

Probably not the best place to start but am intrigued to try one more of her earlier cases... We shall see...

And moving onto another mini-review of a different genre: Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce. 

I was meant to read/audiobook this last year after I blitz a few other Tamora Pierce books, and I did start this. But I put it down round the 30% mark and didn't go back till earlier this week and I thought it would be a good idea to continue from where I left off... yeah, that wasn't my best idea... 

The third book in the Immortals Quartet, Daine's wild magic with animals is growing and under the magical care of her teacher, Numair. So when they go to help the Emperor Mage of neighbouring kingdom, Carthak, it's in the hope that they can help smooth international relationships by helping the emperor's ailing birds. 

But Carthak's emperor, Ozorne, is charming but treacherous and ruthless and the kingdom is built on the suffering of slaves. And Daine's finds herself a pawn in the game of the mysterious Graveyard Hag...

I keep saying this when I read/audiobook Tamora Pierce that I wished I discovered her when I was much younger. Say in the early teens rather than in my mid-30s, as I think I would have devoured these and treasured all of Tamora Pierce's books. She is very much an author who knows how to write fantasy in a way that feels grounded and have the characters feel real without writing a mammoth of a book. There's something simple yet it sucks you in. 

I think, out of the books in the Immortals Quartet, I liked this a lot more than the second in the series, Wolf Speaker, but less than the first, Wild Magic. I'm in two minds over if I want to read the fourth and final in this series, Realm of the Gods, as I have heard very mixed things about it. VERY MIXED. However, I do have the first in a prequel series, Tempests and Slaughter, and I am hoping to read that in the next few months. 

I do like this book, but I wish I discovered this series when I was much younger... 

SpoOOoky Mini-Reviews

Yes, I know it's November. But I read these two in October (one I finished on All Hallow's Eve) so I'm going to pop these here in one post and hopefully, by the time you read them, you can forgive me. 

So, the two reads. One was a free short story/novella that acts as a prequel (of sorts) to a MM romance I read a few weeks back for a blog tour (Hostile Takeover by Lucy Lennox) - Luca and Marcel - and the other was a YA thriller that I had high hopes for as it felt perfect for Halloween - It's Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield. 

Ok, I'm not going to do my list of info, so I will say that Luca and Marcel was free on Amazon and I enjoyed their characters in Hostile Takeover, while It's Behind You was gifted to me by the UK publisher, Scholasticv, in exchange for an honest review/reaction. 

With all that out of the way, let me do a quick overview of both stories. 

With Luca and Marcel, this acts as a prequel (of sorts) to Lucy Lennox's MM romance, Hostile Takeover. When billionaire hotelier Luca Bernardi discovers his assistant can't come with him on an important business trip (due to her breaking her leg), he panics. Thankfully, she calls in a backup - PA to renowned venture capitalist, Marcel Abbott. Only... she was a little under the influence of heavy narcotics when she made the call and wires are definitely crossed as when Marcel turns shows up wearing sequins and a tiara (he came straight from a bachelorette party), Luca wonders if his PA might have accidentally hired him a rent boy and Marcel is confused over why Luca is acting all flustered around him? 

And in It's Behind You, five teen contestants enter one of the UK scariest reality TV shows (Imagine Most Haunted on ITV2 or E4) - staying the night in a haunted location. This episode is in haunted caves where a ghost haunts who eats the hearts of lovers and suffered a cave in only a few years ago. But as the night begins, things take a turn and secrets slowly come to light. And that's when the body count begins...

November and December Reading Plan

I'm not entirely sure why I'm writing this post, but if you have been following the blog or me on ANY of my social medias, you probably have guessed by now that me sticking to a monthly TBR doesn't exactly work for me. I do much better with themes or ideas, but even then, I have a habit to break the theme when the mood takes me or if/when I need a break. 

Yep, am very much a mood reader. 

But I wanted to write something about my reading plans for the rest of 2021, maybe even the start of 2022, for the main reason that I can say "Ok, I might be having a wobble with my feelings with reading and blogging of late, but here's an idea of what I should read the next few weeks till 2021 is over [thank goodness!] or till the blog goes on Christmas holiday". 

So, my crazy, shocking idea: to read fun and no pressure on self. 

Yes, I know, I say this all the time, but it's hard to not put pressure on yourself when you are involve in the book blogging community (and when I say this, I am using this term VERY loosely, to include book vlogging, bookstgramming, podcasts, TikTok, Goodreads and anything else that I know exists but can't think of right about now) and everyone is reading at warp speed and you feel slow, not reading books on trend and what not. 

And so, am going to try not to worry about that and read/audiobook stories that call to me. Which means over the next few weeks, my reading (therefore, my blog post about these stories) is going to be deliciously weird! If you look at my Currently Read on my Goodreads, you'll see what I mean! Same goes if you ask me what I'm eyeing up to read next on Twitter (I'm not know to keep things secret!)

I do have one or two things that I would like to do in the next few weeks that might be seen as "rules", but am planning real fast on loose on these: read at least three eProofs from NetGalley/publishers as it's getting really out of hand (that or do a cull), try and do some rereads (I keep saying this every year and every year, I don't!), make a decision on when the blog is going on Christmas break and to plan my 2021 year long reading challenge (I have the series in mind and it's a long series. I need to read either the first in December 2021 or read two books in one month and I haven't decided which is better...)

So yes. Randomly decided to read freely the next few weeks. What are your reading plans for now till one minute to midnight, 31st December 2021?