Audiobook Review - Witches Aboard

I’ve been holding off reading/audio booking this Discworld novel. I wanted to do a few others before I tackled this one as this one intrigues me. I wanted to do one of the City Watch books (Guards! Guards!), a standalone (The Truth) or a Death novel (reread Reaper Man or try Soul Music). But, in the end, I had to read more of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Oog. It would be rude not to!

Title and Author: Witches Aboard by Terry Pratchett

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Audiobook borrowed via Library’s BorrowBox app  

Buy From (Affiliate): bookshop.org

Stories have powers, and we all know the fairy tales of our children: the shoe fits Cinderella, True Love’s kiss awakens the sleeping princess, the Yellow Brick Road leads to the Great City. But this is the Discworld, and stories take a life of their own. 

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Oog and Magrat Garlick are tasked to travel to the city of Genua to stop a wedding and save the kingdom. Easy, right? But stories have power and how can you fight a Happily Ever After, especially one that has a glass slipper, a ball and a Fairy Godmother who is determined to get the happy ending, even if no one else wants it?

Audiobook Review - The Bone Hacker

Kathy Reichs is one of my favourite crime writers (I have a few that I have a soft spot for), and after having fun with Tempe’s Brennan’s previous outing, Cold Cold Bones, and my plans to try and read some of her earlier novels (mostly rereads, with one or two noticeable expectations), I knew I had to get Bone Hacker, and preordered it, ready. 

Title and Author: The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought

Buy from (Affiliate): Bookshop.org  

Called in to examine what is left of a body struck by lightning, forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan traces an unusual tattoo on the body and finds herself looking into another, much larger case. Young handsome men – all tourists – have been disappearing on the islands of Turks and Caicos for years. Seven years ago, the first victim was found with his left hand cut off; the other visitors vanished without a trace.

Against her better judgement, Tempe finds herself getting involved in the case and what starts as possible gang violence turns into something much, much bigger...

eProof Review - Open Throat

I have no idea how am going to write this write-up for Open Throat by Henry Hoke. It’s one of those books that I only came across because I saw a tweet on Twitter - sorry, X (let’s not get into my thoughts over this AWFUL rebranding) - and I went “what is this weirdness?!” 

Title and Author: Open Throat by Henry Hoke

Publisher: Picador

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction

Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

A mountain lion roams the drought-ridden hills of Hollywood. He is hungry but watches and protects the humans at their homeless encampment. But when he is forced to leave them, he finds himself in the heart of LA, he begins to wonder: whether he wants to eat one or be one?

Unscheduled Blog Break

Oh, the joys of reading/blogging burnout. Aren’t it grand?!

So yeah, my brain wasn’t happy with me last month so decided to “Nope!” itself out of here while I was planning to read a few short novels/short story collections and then indulge myself into slowly reading Cassandra Clare’s upcoming adult fantasy novel, Sword Catcher (which I got at an bookish event that I was very excited to be invited and go to. Second bookish event of the year that I managed to go to - and be invited to as I am not longer youthful or down with the kids with TikTok & Threads [innit?])

But nope, not happened like I planned. I still am reading Sword Catcher and I am enjoying the world and sinking into it. I am going to enjoy taking my time over this so no rushing me on this one as I want to savour!

I have done some short, quick reads (a novella [mini-review for that is coming], a short story prequel to a MM romance series I started via audiobook & the first book in that series [yes, a reread - sometimes, you need a platter cleanser] and sample chapters of an recently released novel [which am in two minds about finishing as, while good in places, I wasn’t completely sold on finishing]) and I am going to try and do a few audiobooks this month - should I make this month an audiobook only reading month?

So, yeah, last few weeks hasn’t been great. But am slowly getting back on track with my reading and audiobooking by allowing myself to not worry about it. Easier said than done. I am a worry wart at heart and things do get the best of me, but I feel like with my reading and blogging, I can allow myself to go “ok, I have blogged and read solidly for over 12 years now. I am allowed to not blog everything I read.”
So, that’s what I’m going to do. Take my time, blog not every book and audiobook, and think of some new ideas for fun blogging. I have ideas… let’s see if I follow through with them…

But yes, here I am, once again. Slowly trying to get out of a funk of my own making. Hopefully, normal service will resume shortly with a slightly different twist.

Audiobook Review - The Housekeepers

One of my favourite podcasts, All About Agatha, have a saying as they read and review each Agatha Christie novel: never underestimate the help. And this couldn't be more true for The Housekeepers by Alex Hay. 

Title and Author: The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

Publisher: Headline

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

Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

When housekeeper, Mrs King, is dismissed from her role at a luscious house in Mayfair, she has a plan. A plot that has been brewing for quite some time. She plans to pull off one of the biggest heist from her former employer. And she knows who she can call on to pull it off... 

A black-market queen, an actress, a seamstress, a former housekeeper. All have a reason for the heist to work. But can they pull it off while the Mistress of the house is planning to host the biggest ball of the season?

eBook Review - HappyHead

I've been sitting on this review for a while as I'm not sure how to write it. Even now, I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this, but I wanted to show you guys that I have read this. 

The backstory to this is the same as some of my other reads of late: I originally had an eProof from the lovely publisher via NetGalley. However, over Easter weekend, my Amazon was hacked/deleted, all my eProofs got wiped off my kindle. But, I saw this on sale for 99p, I bought it without a second thought, as this book intrigued me as soon as I first heard it. 

Title and Author: HappyHead by Josh Silver

Publisher: Rock The Boat

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought but I did have eProof via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction

Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org 

When Seb is offered a place at a radical retreat to tackle the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to do well. But he find himself being pulled to the mysterious Finn, Seb begins to realise that there's something deeply wrong with HappyHead as the tasks that are meant to be help their wellbeing become more and more disturbing...

Quickie Catch-Up

It’s been a while since I actually sat down and wrote a post about reading. I have been radio-silence for a while for a few weeks (sorry about that). Let me explain why it’s taken so long – laziness. There’s no other excuse. Sometimes, you need to reset and take your time to enjoy yourself. I don’t need to review every story I read/audiobook, right? Plus I did start then put down several titles because I wasn’t in the right mindset for them (Broken Light by Joanne Harris, Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood, and several others).

Also, I was binge-watching a lot of TV. I have, finally, caught up with Succession (well, that didn’t go in a direction I was expecting and, at the same time, it did. Satisfyingly so) and I have started Pokerface (which I am thoroughly enjoying).

So, here I am. Touching base with a small write up on a few books I’ve read and maybe a plan for the next few weeks as I’m thinking of taking a short blog holiday at the end of July/start of August. Just for a week or two, nothing major, but want to do some other non-blog related things before I can back for a summer of reading (I feel like I should have a theme for August reading. Thoughts?)

Since my last posts (Sara Barnard’s Where the Light Goes and Tales from Beyond the Raindow by Pete Jordi Wood), I have read/audiobook three books and just started a book (which I am going to mention before I sign off this post) and I am going to touch all each of the read titles now. Now, all of these were gifted to me from publishers either direct or via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and, if I can, I will include affiliate links for these titles, though I believe one is only available as an ebook at the present so no link to that one, sadly.

Blog Tour Review - Tales from Beyond The Rainbow

Another day, another blog tour review. And this is so up my street that as soon as Bee from Kaleidoscopic Tours emailed about this title, I instantly emailed back and went "PLEASE LET ME BE INVOLVED! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!"

And here we are!

Title and Author: Tales from Beyond the Rainbow by Pete Jordi Wood

Publisher: Puffin

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher and PR Blog Tour Company, Kaleidoscopic, in exchange for an honest review/reaction for blog tour. 

Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

There are fairy tales and folklore that time has forgotten or concealed in one form or another. This could be for a number of reasons. They became out of fashion. The morale of the story doesn't fit with the changing world. Or because the stories in question tackle the issue of gender and sexual identity, and all end (mostly) with happy ever afters. 

In this collection of short fairy tales and folklore from around the world (ranging from Germany, Russia, China, Taiwan, Cape Verde, Canada and other corners of the world), Pete Jordi Wood has collected and adapted them, each illustrated by an artist who shares heritage with he culture of where the stories have come from.