3.5 stars Epic fantasy with elements of murder mystery, following Neema, a scholar who becomes involved in a tournament to choose the next emperor, after one of the contender for the throne has been found murdered.

Soooo overall this was a great concept but the execution was a mixed bag for me. It started quite well, this being a fast paced setting of the story and the world so I quickly went through the first third of the book.

I really liked the concept , a mix of murder mystery and tournament. The world building was super interesting, specifically the animal deities and their specificities being transmitted to their followers. I liked the themes of the power of stories and folktales, religion as human invention, love, family, etc

The quality of the prose felt inconsistent, but mostly the writing was good especially the descriptions and world building elements.

I liked Neema as the main character and her arc, (I’ve seen some reviews identifying her as neurodivergent) and the other characters like Tala, Yasila, Ruko and Fenn. ‪However, most of the time, there was something about the relationship and dialogue between characters that bothered me. Despite being in their 20s and 30s, their interactions felt a bit superficial and juvenile (not that people in that age group can’t have juvenile moments but still).

Also it became more and more evident that each plot points didn’t evolve organically or subtlety enough, like some scenes was stitched together. So many of the twists and the emotional scenes were less impactful, though I did really like the type of twists the author went for. Halfway into the book the main resolution of the mystery plot felt rushed and the tournament part dragged, so the pacing also felt off, I think a shorter, edited book more focused on the mystery would have been better.

Because the execution was lacking, I’m not sure I’ll check out the sequel immediately and in physical format, I might download the ebook one day.

3.75 stars

Historical literary fiction translated from Norwegian, it follows the real life figure of Belle Gunness, a young woman who immigrated from Norway to the US at the end of the 19th century, and later known as the first female serial killer in the country.

How do you write the slow decay of the mind ? I feel the writing style in this was a perfect example, a frenzied stream of consciousness capturing the mental illness of the character, her depravity. The author painted her character’s words and feelings like a fever dream, with chaotic flashes of emotional, religious, violent and sexual ecstasy.

However this wasn’t a simple retelling of the murders perpetrated by Belle Gunness, with a classic narrative arc. It was more a hyper focused look on her psyche, so for me it ended up too static, dense and one tone story, too redundant and abstract. Another point of view, more outside context (like her supposed insurance frauds) or more excerpts of historical documents would have made it more interesting and dynamic read for me.

An unsettling little book with a lush prose but ultimately not compelling enough for me, overall this was mixed reading experience.

4.5 stars Speculative mystery, following Isserley a woman who spends her days riding her car, travelling through Scotland, picking up hitchhikers for mysterious reasons.

My first time reading Michael Faber, I really liked this book ! The writing was gorgeous, lush with an unsettling atmosphere and evocative description of the Scottish land. I love how the author explained the reasons behind Isserley’s actions in a subtle way, revealing bits by bits his overall world building that was fascinating. I liked reading about Isserley, her thoughts, pains and hopes, she came across as a very complex and touching person. I also liked how the author approached themes like identity, speciesism, oppression, capitalism, classism, animal rights, misogyny, perception and alienation

This wasn’t a strictly horror book, more unsettling than gory though there was a couple of disturbing scenes that really underlined the unsettling and creepy atmosphere. I’d also advise other readers to check the trigger warnings.

As this was a very character centric novel, the plot wasn’t incredibly elaborate and lack any intricate storyline which didn’t really bother me. Although I really liked the ending, however I felt the development towards it felt a bit rushed, compared to the rest of the story who was rightly paced for the atmosphere it conveyed. I also wanted to see more of the world so the last scenes felt a bit abrupt.

I also know there was a movie adaptation but from what I’ve heard I probably won’t watch it.

Overall a dark and unsettling novel, I definitely recommend reading this novel with knowing as little as possible about it.

4.25 Historical literary fiction following Tom, a young English man, who works as a shanker (fisherman), but dreams of becoming a folk singer; one day he encounters Edgar, a film director from Hollywood who hires him to show him potential locations for his next movie.

This was such a lovely little read. The writing was lush and evocative, the author did such a great job recreating the bleak seaside location, the hard and monotonous life of a fisherman. The setting made me remember of how a town on the Belgian coast is keeping this tradition (of shrimp fishing with horses) alive today. The atmosphere was perfectly damp like the moody sea weather, I loved the descriptions of the ghostly, claustrophobic and threatening presence of the fog on the beach. So this was a perfectly appropriate book for this wintery season. I really liked the slow burn character centric approach, that allows us to get into Tom’s thoughts, his aspirations and hopes, his desperation for another life. There was an emotional intelligence and positivity to Tom that made this a compelling and enriching read. I liked how the author discussed various themes on art, motherhood, tradition, family, choice, happiness, working class, ambition, etc The pacing itself was good though the ending and the characters’ arc resolutions felt a bit too abrupt, and I would have liked more fleshed out scenes with side characters. Overall a quick but very enjoyable atmospheric read.

3.75 stars Murder mystery taking place on the Orient Express train where Meredith, an Australian lawyer, and her twin brother Joe, a writer and lover of crime fiction, are travelling to Istanbul after Joe’s long battle with cancer. But their trip is perturbed by multiple deaths and the disappearance of their neighbouring passenger in addition to a Covid outbreak in another part of the train.

This is the second book by Sulari Gentill I’m reading, and although I prefer the previous one, this wasn’t a bad reading experience. First of all I loved the setting of the Orient Express train and it definitely made me want to rewatch the 1974 movie (definitely the best version, I wasn’t a fan of the Poirot episode) and some of the other adaptations of Agatha Christie’s works. I also liked the discussion about crime fiction, trains in fiction, true crime and the legacy and influence of fiction on our society. This felt very much like a plot heavy story and not much a character centric one. I liked the main character but I felt the side characters were at best boring and at worst useless. The pacing was good, fast paced and page turning. There was a good amount of twists though a couple fell flat since I had other darker theories. This was definitely a more cozy read so they didn’t happened. I devoured the book in a little over a day so I didn’t feel like I’ve waste time reading it, hence my rating. Although the last chapter was also a useless addition in my opinion, adding nothing to the plot nor the characters, not even a last twist.

Overall, a nice little cozy read that didn’t wow me but it made me want to rewatch some Agatha Christie’s adaptations, still the GOAT of crime/detective stories. I’ll probably check out the authors other work since I like books about books and other meta stuff.

3.75 stars Historical fiction set before and during the Big Freeze of 1962/1963 and the Cuban Missile crisis, it follows Marta a marine archaeologist assigned to collect the remains of a local hero inside a sunken ship near a remote Scottish island. Dealing with a painful past, she starts a relationship with Elsie, a local woman but her expedition is threatened by the disappearance of the ship’s treasure.

The main strength of this book was the atmospheric description of the Scottish island, a desolate, humid and creepy place with unwelcoming inhabitants. The writing was lushly evocative, with a distinct tone enriched by the Scottish vernacular, perfectly rendering the historical and geographical era. The historical events provided another layer of tension and danger to the story. The author did a great job showing the devastating effect of the cold on the islanders, physically and mentally, adding a dose of religious psychosis and supernatural horror elements. Marta wasn’t completely likeable and even irritating many times because of her self flagellation. It impacted on my enjoyment of her relationship with Elsie (it didn’t hit all the right notes as a sapphic enthusiast) and with other characters. I liked how she finally grew out of her self misery but it came a bit too late into the story. While her story was compelling enough for me to continue, I wished we saw more of her backstory, her diving skills and work as a marine archeologist since it was interesting to me. The pacing wasn’t great. It felt too repetitive during the 1st part of the novel, because of the character’s personality and ruminations. Some elements were a bit too quickly developed or resolved, with some superficial interactions and dialogue, not adding to the plot or the characters in an organic way. Fortunately with another character entering the story the 2nd half of the book was more entertaining. I really liked how the author integrated themes on xenophobia, bigotry, privilege, traditions, folklore, religion etc into the main story. Overall a mixed read for me, but I might check out the author’s other books in the future.

Second book in the Kindom trilogy, this space opera action thriller continues the journey of the cast from These Burnjng Stars as they are confronted by murder mysteries, conspiracies and political intrigue.

What an incredible sequel this was. I loved seeing the characters from the first books, but also a new character whose point of view was equally compelling to read. Bethany Jacobs does such a great job juggling twists and turns, different storylines and flashbacks to five a fast paced story with great world building and character development. I loved how this book has even more queerness than the previous. I will avoid saying anything else to avoid spoilers but this second book really put this trilogy into my top 3 queer space opera series. I can’t wait to read the third and final book that will be released in December.

3.75 stars Historical paranormal mystery following Sarah a young and lonely city girl who finds work with Alistair, a veteran from WW1, interested by ghosts, meeting his assistant the mysterious and unsettling Matthew; the three investigate the strange haunting of a recently deceased maid in the English countryside.

My third book by Simone St James. Overall this felt like reading The Book of Cold Cases, I was a bit underwhelmed compared to Silence for the Dead, though this was apparently the author’s first novel. The haunting parts were well done and I loved how the apparitions of the ghosts were described, how it affected each character differently. The atmosphere was creepy during those moments, I loved the use of birds too. The mystery itself was good but there wasn’t anything surprising to it, I clocked the villains quite rapidly so I did wish for more suspense and twists, more subtle hints throughout the novel. I liked Sarah as the main character, her strength,and resilience; but her point of view felt at times a bit too much telling rather than showing. The romantic subplot between Sarah and Matthew was a bit less underwhelming like her previous books. I did like the angsty, lust filled moments but it felt a bit too rushed and superficial, I wanted more scenes of them together just talking and developing their relationship more. I feel this story could have been told in various points of view, like Matthew’s and Alistair’s which would have add something more profound, especially their past experiences during the war. Pacing wise, I feel it lagged a bit during the middle part, so the final confrontation felt a bit rushed, but overall the story moved at a good pace. Overall a good novel but with some underwhelming elements especially the plot.