I’m gonna be honest with you: I have no idea how this got on my radar. It just appeared one day and, after picking it up and down several times, I went “Sod it!” and bought the audiobook. And what I got was something I wasn’t expecting (something I now discover the author does with every book he’s released).
Title and Author: The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton Publisher: Raven Books & Bloomsbury Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought Buy From (Affiliate):uk.bookshop.org
The world is ravaged by a fog that will kill all in its path. The only safe place is a small Greece island where 122 villagers and 3 scientists live, where all live in harmony, all overseen by ABI, an artificial intelligence who keeps the security fields up and the fog at bay.
But one morning, the island wakes up to one of the scientists is brutally stabbed, which triggers the security fields to lower, meaning that the fog will be on the island within 92 hours.
What makes the situation worse is that ABI has wiped everyone’s memories so no one can remember what happened the previous night, and even they don’t know what happened or who gave the order to erase the night’s events.
Meaning someone on the island is a killer and they don’t even know it. And the only way to put the security fields back up is to find the killer and figure out what happened last night…
Ok, this is kinda breaking my Summer of Love plans but you know me, I like to mix things up! And what better what to mix things up than to show off a guest post written by the lovely Stephanie Burgis, author of the coming soon middle-grade fantasy, The Raven Heir?
The first in the Raven Crown series follow Cordelia and her triplet siblings, Rosalind and Giles who are safely living in a castle at the centre of a forest, protected by spells that their mother have woven. But when the outside world comes crashing into their home, the triplets find themselves in danger. Two rivals and their solders have come for them as whoever is the eldest is heir to the throne.
But since the Raven Crown was broken, no one has been abled to rule the kingdom and live. So when their mother refuses to tell and she is taken prisoner, the triplets have to go on the run and soon, their realise that deep magic is at work and the three might be the ones to save the kingdom devastated by a war that has raged for generations. They might, also, be the ones to tear their family apart.
And here I am with an guest post about... well, I'm going to leave it as a surprise, but I enjoyed myself hugely reading this and it's making me itch to go to a garden centre! This looks like it's going to be fun magical middle grade so can't wait to read and share my thoughts on at a later date...
Now, before I share the extract, just want to thank Blue from Kaleidoscopic Tours for allowing me to nip in on this tour! And I want to thank Stephanie for writing g this post. I know she must be super busy with Raven Heir, so am thrilled she found time to write this! Oh, if you are curious on this or any of Stephanie's other stories, you can always visit her website at stephanieburgis.com, or you can send her a quick hello tweet at @stephanieburgis!
Ok, you guys have waited long enough. Here is Stephanie's guest post for your reading pleasure!
I know historical fiction isn't my normal go to genre, but when this came on my radar, I knew I had to share with you all!
The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Alpsten is the sequel to last year's Tsarina, the story of Peter the Great’s wife, who started out as a serf named Marta and ended up a Tsarina named Catherine – and ruler of Russia. The ultimateCinderella, if you were.
The Tsarina Daughter is Cinderella, but in reverse. It follows Elizabeth, Russian Empress, who though born as a princess, free to pursue her passions, only to have it all snatched away from her when her mother dies. She becomes penniless and powerless – living her mother’s story in reverse, riches to rags. But what those who took everything from her don’t know is that she will fight to get it back – though isolated and impoverished, a woman in a man’s Russia, Elizabeth isn't planning to give up... far from it...
This and Tsarina are based on historical fact, but this is the first time that either of these women's stories have been fictionalised, hence why I am a honoured to have Ellen Alpsten on the Pewter Wolf Reads, chatting about her top five novels about Hidden Historical Figures.
Now, before I hand you over to Ellen, I just want to thank her for writing this post. I know she must be busy as heck so thank you! I, also, want to thank Becky from Midas PR who emailed and had to deal with my almost instant reply of "Yes! This sounds like fun!". Also, if you are curious on Ellen, this series or her other works, you can check out her website at ellenalpsten.com or give her a small tweet at @EAlpsten_Author.
Before I go any further, I want to say quickly that I went through really bad audiobook slump before I settled on this [I started then DNF/put on the back burner several audiobooks, including audiobooks I was hugely excited to listen to [yes, Barack Obama. I’m talking about you]. I think I burnt myself out due to last year and global events (hence my decision to be more gentle with reading/blogging this year). So, this might effect my review/reaction to this. So, keep that in mind before you read this and judge me too harshly.
Title And Author: A Curse So Dark And Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Publisher: Bloomsbury Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook & Audiobook Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction while Audiobook’s bought. Length: 496 Pages or 14 Hours 51 Minutes
In this reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, we follow Harper, a girl from our world and Rhen, a prince and heir of Emberfall who, yep, you guessed it, is cursed. He’s cursed to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, only to be freed by love. If he isn’t freed, he is transformed into a monster, hell-bent of destruction and death, throwing his kingdom into fear and enemy kingdoms are waiting for the perfect time to invade. And now, the stakes are higher as this season will be his last…
Harper’s life hasn’t been easy. Her mother’s health is deteriorating due to terminal cancer, her father has got the family into huge debt and ran off, leaving her and her brother to pick up the pieces, doing jobs from the loan sharks their dad (now their family) is indebted to (and some of these jobs are violent) and having people see her as a victim or broken due to her cerebral palsy. So when she stops a man kidnapped a drugged girl, she takes that girl’s place and is taken to Emberfall. Prince Rhen and his sole guards man, Grey, assume Harper is going to be like the other girls - how wrong they are as Harper is stubborn, reckless and will fight tooth and nail to return home…
Another audiobook and a short one at that! And I know I am doing the Reindeer Readathon, this isn’t going to fill one of the prompts. I really tried to figure out which prompt would work for it, but nothing does. And I’m ok with that - like I said at the start of the month, I will try and do the Reindeer Readathon, but I’m planning to flexible with my reading/audiobooking. And seeing as I have a week of blogging before I go on a Christmas/New Year blog break, I want to go silly/hardcore with my reading/blogging. Sorry in advance for the weirdness to come!
Title And Author: Here Is The Beehive by Sarah Crossan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up
Length: 288 Pages or 3 Hours 55 Minutes
Ana is sitting in her lawyer’s office when she gets a phone call from Rebecca, saying her husband has died. But when Ana hear’s the name of Rebecca’s husband - Connor, it throws her into a spiral. Rebecca’s husband is the man Ana’s been having an affair with for the past three years.
Now Ana’s finds herself alone, trapped inside her secret grief and her life, her marriage, her relationships with her family and friends, are spiralling out of her control. How can she grieve for the man she loved, the end of her secret relationship, if the world knew nothing about it?
Oh yes. I audiobooked this. Actually, I preordered the audiobook to this a while ago and I kinda half forgot. But this title is a bit of a big deal.
Before I give you all the info and affiliate links, let em explain quickly why. Susanna Clarke is the author who wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, a monster of a book (1000ish pages) that main people have classed as a modern classic. I have tried to read it several times and it never really worked for me. That was fifteen years ago. Yes, FIFTEEN. Because of that, this (of course) is going to be a big deal.
But is it worth the hype?
Title And Author: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 272 Pages or 6 Hours 58 Minutes
Piranesi lives in the House. Maybe he always has. Maybe he hasn't...
In his notebooks, Piranesi writes carefully about the wonders and mysteries of the House: its labyrinths of Halls, the thousands of statues, the clouds in the Upper Floors and the seas and tides in the Lower. He is alone, barring the fourteen Dead and, on Tuesdays and Fridays, he is visited by his only friend, the Other. But, for the most part, he is alone.
But now, he's not so certain. Piranesi is sure there is someone else in the House. Someone who is writing messages in chalk for him. Someone he calls Sixteen and someone the Other calls a threat and a danger.
But who is Sixteen? Who is the Other? Who is Piranesi?
Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble...
Well, I had to start the month of Halloween like this, didn't I? I HAD to! And what real way to kickstart this month than to be involved in the blog tour for Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble, to get us in the spirit of things (see what I did there...?)!
Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble is an anthology of poems, featuring magic. Ranging from unicorns, dragons, witches, magic flying carpets, trolls, wands, spells going awry to nice (and not so nice) hauntings. With illustrations by Eilidh Muldoon and collected by Paul Cookson from a wide range of poets (including [takes deep breath] William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Benjamin Zephaniah, John Agard, Valerie Bloom, Matt Goodfellow, Joshua Seigal and AF Harrold among others]), this collection of poems will get you in the mood for things that go bump in the night and ask for a trick or a treat...
I am so thrilled to be involved in this tour and I can not wait for you guys to read the guest post from Paul Cookson, chatting about poetry and why poetry is so important to him. It's an interesting post (and it comes from me who is a bit uncultured when it comes to poetry!)
Now, before I hand you over to Paul, I just want to thank Paul for finding time to write this post, and to Blue from Kaleidoscopic for asking me to be involved in this tour. Also, if you want to find out more about this collection (if case the post inspires you), you can check out Bloomsbury's website.
Title And Author: Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
Publisher: Pottermore
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 144 Pages or 1 Hour 35 Minutes
REREAD TIME! Ok, not reread or #re3 (as I call them on the Pewter Wolf) as this is the audiobook version, which was only released a few weeks ago. But, this is a reread as I have read and reread this how often. I mean, it’s Harry Potter related, OF COURSE I have read this goodness knows how many times!
And while I was in two minds over whether to write this or not (for several days, I did say I wouldn’t as WHAT COULD I ADD?!), Am surprised that I haven’t written this up on the Pewter Wolf before. So, while in self-isolation and trying to avoid my eProofs TBR as if it was the [retracted badly-timed joke here], I thought I would listen to this and write a quick thingamabob here.
So, history to Beedle. Ok, most Harry Potter fans know this but Beedle was reference in the last Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows. And in it, it’s a collection of wizard fairy tales, very similar to Brothers Grimms’s. After finishing Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling decided to hand-write Beedle to people as a way of thank you. One went to her first UK editor (who, I believe, auctioned off his copy a few years ago with most proceeds going to charity), and a second going to her American editor. Another copy was auctioned and the proceeds went to charity and, less than a year later, the collection was published to general public. The sale of this collection went towards charity and continues to do so.
So, Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of five wizard fairy tales: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, Fountain of Fair Fortune, Warlock’s Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump and The Tale of the Three Brothers. Also, as this is seen as a Hogwarts Textbook (much like Fantastic Beasts and Quidditch Through the Ages), this has a little extra with footnotes written by Albus Dumbledore.
And we are dealing with the fierce, the fearless and the free in this blog tour (see what I did there?) with Fierce, Fearless and Free by Lari Don. Here, we have a collection of myths and legends from all over the world, where the princess didn't wait for the prince to save her. Rather, she saved herself...
I love a good myth and seeing as most myths I know of are gods acting like f***bois, it's nice to see cool, fierce and fearless women come to the forefront. And I am thrilled that Lari Don has come along onto the Pewter Wolf with this guest post for the tour!
So, before I hand you over to Lari, I just want to thank her for finding the time to write this post for me and for Faye from Faye Rogers PR for asking me to be involved in this tour!
Now, if you want to say hi to Lari, you can do so by either popping to her website - laridon.co.uk - or tweeting her at @LariDonWriter. And if you want to know more info about Fierce, Fearless and Free after reading Lari's guest post, you can check out Bloomsbury! Now, over to Lari!
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
Length: 277 Pages or 6 Hours 29 Minutes
I won an Advance Reader Copy of this from the UK publisher, Bloomsbury, YEARS AGO. And I was super excited to read it. So much so, every time I picked it up, I was overcome by The Fear. You know which Fear I mean. The Fear of you hyped a book so much in your head that there is no way it’s going to live up to it.
So I waited. And waited. And one of my friends (who has read it) was surprised I haven’t read it. So more waiting. Till I saw it on my library’s audiobook app (or BorrowBox) and went “If I’m going to do it, I going to do it now”.
This is a reimagining of Norse Mythology, told in Neil Gaiman’s wit and style. There’s no other way to explain it.
This is accessible retelling of some of the Norse Myths (I know most of lost, but I can’t believe these were all the myths). Plus, with this retelling, all the incest and rape was removed. This might not be a bad thing as, with Greek mythology, it’s everywhere. I mean, Zeus is a rapist. Let’s call a spade a spade, he is.
I feel that this is aimed for a younger reader, those who are curious over Norse due to Marvel and it will come as a surprise how Odin, Thor and Loki are in Norse mythology compared to the Marvel films and graphic novels.
But this is fun and I am curious to learn more about mythology. Plus, got a ton of Gaiman on my kindle, waiting to be read, so this might be a nice way to ease self in, but we shall see…
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.
I’m a sucker for a Greek myth. You can probably see that from the last few weeks of what I’ve reading. But, I’ve had my eye of Circe for a little while and I just wasn’t sure when/how I was going to read this. But after trying to figure out if I should get the pretty Hardback in my local Waterstones/Foyles, I went for audiobook - because why not!
Circe takes the Circe myth and twists it on its head, to explain who she was before and after that well known myth of her. First daughter to the Titan God, Helios, Circe doesn’t have the looks, the voice, the grace of divinity and is rejected from gods and water nymphs alike. Soon, she turns to mortals for companion. Soon, she falls in love with a mortal and, fearing his death, she does something she doesn’t know she can do: magic.
But when her second unknowing spell backfires in a horrible fashion, Circe tells the truth about what she has done and wrathful Zeus banishes her to the island of Aiaia, throwing her into exile. But rather than being a curse, it might be a blessing to Circe who discovers that she is a witch and slowly learns her craft. It is here that the Fates throw our people into her path: the messager god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus, and his young son. Her sister and her minotaur. The golden fleece, and Odysseus…
Soon, her independence and her solitary draws the wrath of both god and men alike. To protect herself and the people she holds dear, Circe must make a choice about who she is: god or mortal…?
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...
As you guys know, I struggled with Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas a few years ago. I actually went back and reread my review/post about my time and I wrote that, while it was a struggle, I did like it. Towards the end. But if you ask me my thoughts on that book and my reading experience, I would say "A hard slog". It was a struggle to say to say the least.
This explains why I keep putting off Crown of Midnight. I know, one day, I'll read it. Just because I want to see if I can and if I get into the story more. Have forgotten near everything from Throne of Glass so will be returning to this world blind.
But that didn't stop me from trying. Just before A Court of Thorns and Roses came out, I was lucky to get an eProof of it. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast? With faeries? And it's New Adult - an age group I've not read much/anything in? Where do I sign up?
But within two chapters, I DNFed it. I didn't click with the writing, hated the main character's family and wasn't exactly a fan of the main character herself. Plus, with rumours that there was a few sexual scenes coming up later in the book that can/have been read as non-consental via drink and drugs, this threw me out into a "No way in hell am I reading this!"
And I still hold those views. Let me make this clear. I don't want to read this if out
But something happened a few days ago when I wasn't feeling well: I was listening to a podcast (Read That F***ing Book) and, hearing their reactions and thinking of everyone's reaction, I thought "Did I judge this too harshly? I only read two or three chapters and I went so against it". So, probably because of the cold meds am taking taking, I saw a free eSampler of A Court of Thorns and Roses and downloaded it (it was free).
And I read the first four chapters. And I have something shocking to say - I kinda liked what I read.
I know! I'm in shock myself! I just thought "Will read these and that's it. Back to reading Invasion of the Tearling I go!" but I'm surprised how easily I clicked with the writing this time round and the start of the reimagining of this tale.
Maybe I did judge it too harshly. This is why it's important to form your own opinions. And, if your uncertain of a story, reread it at a later date and see how you feel about it then.
So, where does this leave me with this tale? I clicked with the writing now so should I try and go read this when I have the time (and my TBR pile is much MUCH less! I have a lot of books to read and, recently, been craving LGBT and thrillers!) or should I leave this alone and move on with my reading life?
Answer, dear reader: I have no idea. I know I won't be so harsh on Sarah J Maas as I was before, but there is still trouble in her books that makes me hesitated. The non-consental sex scenes in this, the non-consental use of drugs and alcohol and the diversity issue. OH! The diversity issue in Sarah J Maas's writing (from the looks of it, she writes mainly straight, white characters - something that I find very hard to believe in the worlds she's creating - this goes with all series, FYI).
So, while there are issues and issues I will be grinding my teeth over and hissing like an angry cat towards the skies about, I'm not going to rule reading this out completely. We shall see... Maybe one day... but that one day isn't today...
My first review of 2017 and I didn't read it this year. I audiobooked this just before Christmas so I can't count this towards my British Books Challenge for this year.
When Midas PR asked if there was any audiobooks that I wanted to listen to last month, not only did I ask for Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can (check out my review for that here), I also asked for The Pale Dreamer as well. It's a prequel to the Bone Season series and I have them on my TBR shelf and I REALLY want to try and read them this year (I admitted that I haven't read this series on Twitter and a few people - mainly @Chouett and @empireofbooks - were so shocked that they ordered me to read this series. Chouett even sent me a paperback copy of Bone Season she had spare (thank you!). I will try to read Bone Season. I will try! HONEST!
In this prequel to The Bone Season, we enter the world of the Scion London, where being clairvoyant is forbidden and punishable by death. Sixteen year old Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant and works with one of the most powerful Mime Lords, Jaxon Hall. When a violent and dangerous poltergeist is let loose, this could be Paige's chance to join Jaxon's gang, the Seven Dials. But the dark clairvoyant underworld play by its own rules and if Paige isn't careful, her first mission might be her last...
And, also, happy Stealing Snow Blog Tour day! (yes, if you have been following this tour, I was meant to be this Tuesday just gone. However, snow demons and ice goblins did something weird to my and Katrina from Bloomsbury's emails. Basically, computer said emails were sent but they weren't received. Anyway, we didn't realise this till yesterday (and yesterday, I discovered I was part of the tour! CURSE YOU, ICE COMPUTER DEMONS!!!)
So, changing dates about, I would like you to welcome Danielle Paige to the Pewter Wolf. Danielle is not only a Daytime Emmy nominated scriptwriter, she is the author of the Dorothy Must Die series and her new series, Stealing Snow.
Stealing Snow is a dark reimagining of The Snow Queen. And it comes at the perfect time as the nights draw in and the Halloween/Christmas magic linger in the air...
Before I hand over to my tiny Q&A about fairy tales, writing and whether fairy tales are feminist or sexistwith Danielle, I must thank Danielle for taking time out to answer my questions, and for both Lizz and Katrina from Bloomsbury for setting this up!
I've been aware of this book for a while. Am surprised that the publication of this went by without me knowing as when I first heard of this, I knew I had to read it and rave about it. It was Chouett who did a review on this and reminded me that this got published. Because of my excited tweet, the lovely Liz at Bloomsbury sent me a copy for review (with a rainbow bow tie. Which I think I might wear just to annoy some friends at their wedding... Maybe...). My thanks goes to Liz for this.
Errol and Thomas the teddy bear are best friends and play together every day. But one morning, Thomas is sad and Errol is worried. Even the swings at the park cheer Thomas up. Thomas has a secret that he wants to share, but it's difficult to say and he's scared Errol won't want to be his friend anymore...
Not going to say more, as this is quite a hard and yet easy book to review. This is a picture book and it's wonderful. It's charming and heart-warming and all that goodness that tackles issues little ones need to know such as acceptance, friendship and being true to yourself.
I fear this book might upset some parents as it tackles an LGBT theme (won't say what, but some parents might feel it's unacceptable for their child), but I think every child should read this. The world is a dark place at the moment, and we need a little more love, tolerance and acceptance.
I know this isn't much of a review. Like I said earlier on, this is a hard book to review and yet, remarkably easy. It's simply charming and heart-warming.
I remember Bloomsbury asking if I wanted to read this, and there were two reasons why I went yes. The first was the tag line - Six were taken. Five came back" and the second was the fact that this book was described as a must for We Were Liars fans. Even the author, E. Lockhart, wrote a tiny piece for this book on the cover (you might be able to just see it...)
Eleven years ago, six five-year-olds were taken without a trace. But eleven years has passed and five of them are back. They're sixteen and they are... fine. They are dumped in a playground in the dead of night and the five have to find their way home.
Scarlett returns to a house with a mother she barely recognised. She has no memory of what happened to her the past eleven years. But she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett too - but both can't remember anything from the past eleven years. They remember nothing.
And they or any of the others remember Max - the sixth victim. He hasn't come back and everyone want answers. Including Max's sister, Avery.
This is an interesting thriller. I sped through this and found it full of twists and "Wait! What?" moments. Once I found my stride (which was very quickly), I couldn't put this book down. It remembered me very strongly of We Were Liars. Both books tackle the issue of memory and ask "Can we trust our own memory?" and "Should we trust the narrators?" - something both authors do really well.
The story is told from 3 points of view: Scarlett, Lucas and Avery. Both Scarlett and Avery have unique storytelling techniques while Avery is the most straight-forward. This is the show the difference in what the characters went through.
And it was interesting to have each character see the aftermath of the disappearances and the re-appearances for themselves, even though Avery lived through it. It makes the characters interesting and complex.
The mystery was gripping. I really wanted to know why Scarlett, Lucas and the others couldn't remember what happened to them and why they only seem to remember one image. This is what kept me going forward. I had to know! And with Tara adding more and more twists, it more I wanted to know why.
I do have problems. Two, to be precise.
The first was how certain elements of the book were tackled. These kids have been missing for eleven years and yet, barring the start of the book, the media seems to nowhere to be seen. No one had to deal with journalists banging on their front door, trying to break it, phone hacking. There was very little of something I am sure the news outlet would crave. Plus, some characters acted not how I expected when their child returns to them after eleven years. Tiny elements just felt off and not true, somehow.
The second is the resolution. It's got to split readers. Some will get it and understand. Others will not and maybe feel checked. I'm somewhere in the middle. It makes sense to me and I get it, but I wish there was something more to it. I feel like it missed something. Maybe a reread is in order so I can see if I missed clues! But like I was saying, the ending is very much a Marmite ending - you either going to love it or hate it.
Though I sense this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, I found this a gripping read and believe fans of We Were Liars will devour it!
Crawling out of reading slumps are hard! And I have only just, I think, got out of it. But, because I am doing quite a few things on the blog this month, am scheduling my reviews/#re3 so by the time you read this, I shall be back to my reading self so HA HA! Eat that, reading slump!!!
So, Quidditch Through the Ages. As you guys are aware, I reread all seven Harry Potter novels last year (and enjoyed myself so much! I am thinking of reread one of them later this year) and I wanted to continue the Potter-ness with reading the novellas, the movies and maybe the stage shop!
This is a book that Harry, Ron and Hermione read during their time in Hogwarts. In it, we discover the history of Quidditch, how the balls came into play with the game, the roles, the teams of Quidditch from the UK and from around the world and other things that relate to the wizarding world's most popular sport.
This is for the Harry Potter fans. There's no two-ways about it. Plus, when you buy a copy, the money goes towards comic Relief so it's a win-win! (Not sure if this is the same thing outside of the UK).
What I found fascinating was how much detail JK Rowling put into Quidditch. Which shows us that JK Rowling had it all planned out or knew enough of the world she was writing when this novella was written (remember, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts was written after the publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). Plus, with this book, there was lots of little hints and nods to the previous Harry Potters. It was fun, fast reread and it made me want to read the others before the year is through.
And recently, I discovered that Quidditch is now a real Muggle sport so reading this made me go "I wonder if anyone has stolen these Quidditch teams's names?"
I'm back reviewing books again! No more weird End of Year/New Year's Resolution messages! And the name of these have changed! Bye bye Goodreads - it was a good run - but I think, for the sake of people who don't know my blog does book reviews, am changing your name to Book Review! So, out with the old and in with the new!
Last year, I said I was going to reread all seven Harry Potter books. And I did! I COMPLETED MY CHALLENGE! THROW THE CONFETTI AND LET'S CELEBRATE!!!
I admit, I cheated with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as I didn't read it, but I audiobooked it. The lovely people at Midas asked if I fancied reviewing some audiobooks via Audible and when they offered Harry Potter, I jumped at the chance to listen to Stephen Fry reading Deathly Hallows.
Now, for those of you not sure what Deathly Hallows is about, let me be as brief as possible - then we can have a real discussion about this book. Harry has a mission that Dumbledore has left him: find all of Lord Voldemort's Horocruxes and then kill Voldemort, freeing the magical world of his evil. But with Dumbledore dead, leaving Harry very few clues and Voldemort slowly taking over, how can Harry complete this seemingly impossible task...?
This book very much divide the fandom. Yes, it's the last book in the series and yes, it does do a lot of things the series has been running towards, but it does divide the fandom as most of the book, the main characters are camping/hiding and have very little idea on what they are doing. Which is the entire point! The main characters are seventeen years old and have NO IDEA what they are doing! And even though very little happens, a lot happens at the same time. A lot of character development, plotting, explaining. Yes, it's not as action packed as we all hoped (compare to the previous books), but this book does serve a purpose!
It was refreshing to come back to this book as, compared to the others, I haven't read this as often. I think I have read it once or two (normally, I would reread Philisopher's Stone, Prisoner of Azkaban or Goblet of Fire) so it was nice to go back to the final book in this series, sit down and pay attention to little details and clues.
Stephen Fry is a good narrator and his reading of this book (if not, the whole series) is great as he slows readers down and shows things that we readers miss in our reading run. There were several things in this relistening that I went "How did I miss that?!" or events that happened that, because of Mr Fry's reading, made it all the more emotional (let's not go down that route, shall we?). At times, though, Stephen's voice did seem flat or the character's voice didn't match the voice he used a few minutes prior, but this could be down to a number of reasons so am going to be very kind on this front.
But listening to this was very interesting. We all know the immortal line Mrs Weasley screams at Bellatrix (Gif below) but it was surprising how much swearing Ron and a few other characters got away with. Yes, these characters are adults so yes, they can swear but remember, this series is usually placed in the 8-12 reading range in book shops and libraries so go figure that logic. (But compared to The Casual Vacancy, the swearing in this book was very bare on the ground).
What was also interesting to remember was Ron's return. When he left, it was a shocking moment in the book the first read and seeing this build was a long time coming. Seeing Harry's and Hermione's reaction to his departure was hard, but seeing him return and their reactions was interesting. In the movie, Harry forgives Ron very quickly because Ron saved Harry's life and destroys the Locket Horocrux, and Hermione forgives Ron after a few scenes (mainly after Ron's speech). Even in the movie, he still got a bit of stubbornness because he goes "Of course not, I only destroyed a bloody Horocrux! Won't that change anything?" when Hermione says "This doesn't change anything?"). The book, however, is different. While Harry forgives Ron very quickly, Hermione doesn't forgive till much later in the book. Ron's return upsets Hermione because he left and then, he just returns. Even his story doesn't soften Hermione, who talks to him quite coldly and lofty. Ron has to work hard over the coming days/weeks/months to gain her trust and forgiveness again, but in the movie, because of time frame, it happens much quicker.
My main moment where I love that Hermione's attitude towards Ron and even, up to a point, Harry is when they return to the campsite after destroying the Locket Horocrux and Hermione sees them in The Silver Doe chapter. Let me get the UK hardback and US hardback and get the quotes.
"You - complete - arse - Ronald - Weasley!"
She [Hermione] punctured every word with a blow: Ron backed away, shielding his head as Hermione advances.
"You - crawl - back - here - after - weeks - and - weeks - oh, where's my wand?"
...
"Hermione!" said Harry. "Calm -"
"I will not calm down!" she screamed. Never before had he seen her lose control like this; she looked quite demented. "Give me back my wand! Give it back to me!"
"Hermione, will you please -"
"Don't you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!" she screeched. "Don't you dare! Give it back now! And YOU!"
She was pointing at Ron in dire accusation: It was like a malediction, and Harry could not blame Ron for retreating several steps.
"I came running after you! I called after you! I begged you to come back!"
"I know," Ron said, "Hermione, I'm sorry, I'm really -"
"Oh, you're sorry!"
She laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control sound; Ron looked at Harry for help, but Harry merely grimaced his helplessness.
"You come back after weeks - weeks - and you think it's all going to be all right if you say sorry?"
(Pages 309 to 310 in UK hardback edition & pages 380 - 381 in US hardback)
"Gosh, what a gripping story," Hermione said in a lofty voice she adopted when wishing to wound. "You must have been simply terrified. Meanwhile, we went to Goodrich's Hollow and, let's think, what happened there, Harry? Oh yes, You-Know-Who's snake turned up, it nearly killed both of us, and then You-Know-Who himself arrived and missed us by about a second."
"What?" Ron said, gaping from her to Harry, but Hermione ignored him.
"Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective, doesn't it?"
(Page 311 in the UK hardback edition and pages 382 & 383 in US hardback edition)
Another thing that is interesting is that this is the book we look at Dumbledore and the childhood vision Harry and the readers have of Dumbledore is finally gone. No longer the kindly grandfather/God-like figure, we see him as a man who had huge faults and failings. This is the same with Snape, but Dumbledore was the character I focused on as I am going to write a blogpost about Dumbledore in, hopefully, the near future!
I loved this series and rereading them in 2015 reminded me why I love the series so. So much so, I am making plans to reread at least one Harry Potter book this year and, hopefully, read Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them before I go see the stage show and the movie...
