Book club choice August 2022- The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward

Publisher: Trapeze

Publication Date: 16 Sept. 2021

Genre: Historical Fantasy Fiction

Summary:

When well-to-do Hester learns of her sister Mercy's death at a Nottinghamshire workhouse, she travels to Southwell to find out how her sister ended up at such a place.

Haunted by her sister's ghost, Hester sets out to uncover the truth, when the official story reported by the workhouse master proves to be untrue. Mercy was pregnant - both her and the baby are said to be dead of cholera, but the workhouse hasn't had an outbreak for years.

Hester discovers a strange trend in the workhouse of children going missing. One woman tells her about the Pale Lady, a ghostly figure that steals babies in the night. Is this lady a myth or is something more sinister afoot at the Southwell poorhouse?

As Hester investigates, she uncovers a conspiracy, one that someone is determined to keep a secret, no matter the cost...

Review:

So August was our local author event month and we were very lucky that the fabulous Rhiannon Ward agreed to come to our meeting! Safe to say we were all more than a little excited about it before we'd read the book, and the excitement increased after we had (spoiler alert, we loved it). Now Rhiannon ward is the name crime writer Sarah ward uses to write her gothic horror books and when we were choosing this month's book we had all the books she'd written as a choice but this one came out on top(obviously).

What made it even better was she writes about the local area and The Shadowing was set in Southwell! 
Now I don't want to give too much of the book away, you know I try not to spoil books because I really want you to go read it yourselves, but it was fantastically written and I really loved Hester the main character.

I personally devoured it in a couple of days, if I didn't have a small child it probably would have been a one-sitting kind of book because I just got so pulled into the story. I loved that the main character was a quaker and that I actually learned a little bit more about them through the story. I don't know much about Quakers, aside from the fact that all the main chocolate brands we know and love were started by Quaker families and that they set really good working practices for how to look after your workers. So finding out that there were different sort of levels of religion, some were more strict than others was really interesting. I can't wait to read her next gothic horror, or go dip into her crime for that matter because she is a great writer, and quite frankly a lovely human being!

The rest of the ladies loved it as well, as you'll see from the score! But here are a few quotes from the evening after I asked them to give me one sentence about why they enjoyed it.

"So many beautiful elements in it that I can't sum it up in one sentence!"

"I like the way it covered the poverty of the time"

In conclusion, Thank you Rhiannon Ward for taking the time to come to our meeting and answer our questions, you are always welcome back we loved chatting with you and we loved your book!

Krystina x

Book Club Score -8/10

 

Burn a Black Candle by Dee Norman

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 13 Sept. 2022

Genre: Wicca, Occult Magic

Summary:

This is a beautifully illustrated introduction to a topic that has rarely been written about before: Italian American magic. Tarot and magic expert Dee Norman shares never-before-disclosed practices and rituals for personal well-being. The Italian folklore tradition is one of the most ancient unbroken chains of wisdom on earth. Discover the previously unwritten secrets of an Italian American family's magical tradition passed down from generation to generation. This book provides easy, step-by-step introductions to the basics of authentic Italian American magical practice. 

Discover how to:

- Run a magical household, including creating a family altar and connecting with your ancestors

- Enhance your well-being for self and family through Buona Fortuna

- Perform transformative candle magic

- Diagnose, cure and ward away malocchio

- Learn time-tested health remedies from relieving symptoms of viruses to maintaining healthy skin and sleep routines

- Develop your most important magical tool - your mind

- Master divination through cartomancy, dreams, pendulums and more With Tarot and folk Italian magic expert Dee Norman as your guide, build your magical toolkit and discover one of humanity's longest-lasting traditions for good fortune, a happy home and self-care.

Review:

First off I need to say that I was sent a proof copy of this by the publisher Watkins, which I am ever so grateful for! And I do love the proof, its a whole different colour to the final print, and I'm weird in that I like the fact that mine is a little special, but it does mean it has little errors like an X instead of a page number but they don't make a big difference in the grand scheme.

This is such a beautiful book, the illustrations are so fabulous, they are just little black and white pencil-style drawings but they fit the book and its content perfectly. It has a number of exercises throughout the book for various things and I love that you can find those pages without having to flick through because they are edged in grey. It starts you off with ones to sharpen your attention and build your magical toolkit and goes right through to house blessing ones and celebrating your ancestors. Dee Norman starts you off at the beginning with the building blocks you need to know and never at any point makes you feel "you should know this why don't you". With the exercises, she makes it clear that even "Failures" are learning opportunities and help build your knowledge just not in the way you were expecting. I recommend it as a perfect book for anyone at the beginning of their journey, but that's not to say old hats won't learn something too! I've already recommended it to two fellow pagans!

From the moment I opened the book, it felt like I was sitting at Dee's kitchen table, with a cuppa having a good natter about all things practical magic. I love the way shes written it and I'm definitely on the lookout for more from her.

Now I'm off back to read through those exercises again!

Krystina x

 

The Modern Craft: Powerful Voices on Witchcraft Ethics Edited by Claire Askew and Alice Tarbuck

 

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 14 Jun. 2022

Genre: New Age/ Occult

Summary: 

In a world that often feels like it makes no sense, many people have begun to reach out to the numinous for a sense of understanding and connection. Looking back to ancient wisdom, folklore and classic texts for answers can be helpful, but sometimes without the context of the contemporary it can be hard to see how these old ways apply to the here and now. Too often, depictions of witches – and indeed some contemporary witchcraft practices – perpetuate harmful racist, colonialist and culturally appropriative narratives. Gender essentialism crops up often in witchcraft circles, and  #witchgoals trends proliferated by large companies and mass media raises troubling questions about the relationship between witchcraft and capitalism. The Modern Craft is an eclectic and radical collection of essays on witchcraft practice and the ethics of magic, which gives that much-needed modern context to timeless wisdom. This is a fascinating snapshot of contemporary occult practice viewed through an intersectional lens. Essays include poets on the magic inherent in language, working-class witches on the reclamation of agency through practical spellwork, and gender fluid practitioners on the necessity of breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolism. Poetic, inspiring and electrifying glimpses from the brink of contemporary craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter where they live or who they are, can find positivity and the force for powerful change in the subversive unknown.

Review:

I have to start by thanking Watkins publishing because they sent me a beautiful physical copy of this book and it's a lovely thing to be able to hold and flick through.
It took me a while to finish reading this book, far longer than I normally take to read. And I think that's because it's a series of essays and each one very much give you the author's voice, which I loved, but that made it difficult to sit and read in one sitting. Each essay also gave you plenty to think about, and I didn't like moving on to the next one straight away without letting what the last author said sink in.
As it's a collection of essays with a variety of people contributing some obviously you connect with more than others but again that's the beauty of this book. It gives you the opportunity to hear other points of view and opinions but also with the ones you really do connect with it makes you feel like you're not on your own with this and there is someone who thinks or feels the same. 
For me I felt like I connnected with the Mental health and magic essay a heck of a lot, it was one I really had to sit back after reading and think about.
I loved that this book made me sit and think after each essay, and yes it took so much longer to read(i received this book before publication so I really have been slow to review) but I think that it was better to take the time and thought than just skim read and review in a rush for publication.
Not only did I come away from this book having, I feel, learned a lot I came away with a huge reading list! Some of the authors mention other authors or books that I've ended up putting on my tbr pile.
It's defiantly a book id recommend to others in the community because we lack books on the subject of witchcraft ethics and this is defiantly a good one to start that section off with.

Krystina x

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 30 Aug. 2022

Genre: Young Adult

Summary:

For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars . . .

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her wellbeing - and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.

Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family's waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother's restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

Signa's best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he's made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful - and more irresistible - than she ever dared imagine.

Review:

I have to start by saying I absolutely loved this book! I loved the sound of it when I read the blurb on NetGalley and I was so happy when I got approved for it. Unusually for me I requested the Audiobook, this was only about the 3rd audiobook I've listened to and this was fabulous. The narrator was brilliant her pacing was spot on and her voices for the different characters were great I really hope they get her to do the rest of the series. I think I started saying how brilliant the book was about 3 chapters in and I ended up convincing two other fabulous bloggers at Reads must and Reading the year away to join me in reading it as a mini read-along/bookclub( ill pop links to their blogs/ Instagram at the end so you can see what they thought). By the time they requested it the audiobook wasn't available so they both read instead of listening to it, which meant that they finished way before me and I think we perceived things differently because of that. For example, I wasn't surprised that Death and Silas were the same person, I think early on I clocked onto that and I'm not sure if that was because the voices being used were quite similar or the way they used certain phrases were similar or that I just saw that plot hook coming. But both of my fellow bloggers were surprised by it.
I have to say my absolute favorite parts of this book were the interactions between Signa and Death and watching their relationship blossom, I just couldn't get enough of those parts they were so well written. And I really can't wait for book 2 for more of it!
I honestly didn't see Percy being the killer, that was a surprise to me. And his level of planning to try and see though what he wanted to happen was impressive.

I think I've given enough spoilers, for now, if you want them all you'll have to go buy the book! (i pre-ordered it right after I finished the audiobook)
I don't usually score my none book club reviews... but this was 5-star!

Krystina x

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Book Club Choice July 2022-The Rosie Project

 

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publication Date: 2nd January 2014

Genre: Romance

Summary:

Don Tillman has got his love life planned out. He knows exactly who he wants, but is it who he needs?

Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman.

A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner.

Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos.

But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling? . . .

Review:

Ok so when this book was chosen by the ladies as our Romance book for july i have to say i wasnt looking forward to it.The blurb didnt make me want to read it and if it hadnt been a book club choice i would not have picked it up. Personally i did not enjoy it, it was an ok read but i have no desire to finish the triology or find out what happened to Rosie and Don. But it turns out i was the minority! The rest of the ladies quite enjoyed it. 

The general consesus was that it was good to see a Neurodivergent as the main character and the narrator in a book, that the persepective was good and rare to see. Some ladies thought it was laugh out loud funny and others that it was genuinly amusing but mostly because it had points that were just stupid.

It did cause alot of discussion at our meeting and some shareing of stories that were similar to some of the escapades of Rosie and Don.

In short whilst it wasnt my cup of tea (not every book will be) but it was the majorities cup of tea, and it was fairly easy to read i read it over two days whilst looking after my small human. And i will leave it at that because as i said i did not enjoy it.

Book club score - 6.5/10

Krystina xx

Daughter of Darkness

 

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Publication Date: 4th August 2022

Genre: YA

Summary:

The Underworld awaits . . .

Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world - unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out.

Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.

So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades. . . The prize of freedom is before her - but what will it take to reach it?

Review:

So this book caught my attention on NetGalley originally because of the cover (yes occasionally I just like the cover and read it without looking at the blurb), which is very pretty but I really enjoyed it. Now if you look back at our book club choices you'll see we have a love of books based around greek mythology so there was a fair chance this was going to be right up my street.
We get introduced to Deina and what exactly a Soul Severer is right from the off (it's pretty much what you think it is, they sever the soul from the body) and this is another book where the authors ability to describe the scene is beautiful and you can instantly picture where Deina is and what she's seeing. We get a chapter or two that just explains the setting and why Deina is a Severer, she's part of the House of Hades and there are Houses for all the main Gods each with their own purpose.
Now I know for once I'm actually giving details and I do try and avoid a lot of that so I don't spoil the book so I will stop after this next bit, promise.
Deina's travels into the realm of Hade's arent without trails and issues and there are twists thrown in just when you least expect it, admittedly I did guess the twist to do with Deina BUT I think it's because the authors did a fab job of foreshadowing it. In short, I really enjoyed this book, and it's part of a duology so I'm really looking forward to seeing the second book hopefully in the near future.

Krystina xx

Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop

 

Publisher: Canelo

Publication Date: 1st September 2022

Genre: Romance

Summary: 

Tis the season for finding love... and the perfect book

With just two weeks until Christmas, everything in Clove Lore should be perfect. But the latest holidaymaker to the Borrow a Bookshop is feeling far from festive...

Icelandic ex-bookseller Magnús Sturluson might be surrounded by love stories in the Bookshop, but he's nursing a sadness that not even fiction can fix.

When Alexandra Robinson finds herself stranded in Clove Lore, she finds a safe place to hide from heartbreak. After all, all that's waiting for her at home is a cheater boyfriend and the memories of her parents. As Alex finds herself embraced by the quirky village community, she finds her tough exterior thawing - and as she grows closer to Magnús, she finds an equally soft heart under his gruff shell.

It seems that Clove Lore is working it's magic once again - until a great flood on Christmas Eve brings devastation in its wake. It's up to Magnús and Alex to batten down the hatches and help bring the village back together again, while also introducing the locals to the Icelandic tradition of the jólabókaflóð - Yule book flood - where families and friends gather on Christmas Eve to exchange books and read together.

But can Magnús and Alex truly rescue the ruins of the village, and salvage their Christmas spirit? Or is there another complication lurking even closer than they thought?

Review:

Now anyone who knows me knows I love a good romance, down to me having some I read every year around Christmas....and I think I've just found a new one to add to that list.
I was really excited to dive into this one as soon as I got approved by NetGalley for the ARC, it involves some of my favorite things, Christmas, Books, and Nordic men!
It was well written and I could just slip back into the story every time I picked it up, Kiley Dunbar just created a place that I could so clearly see it was like going back to visit friends. I loved the fact that Magnus and Alex didn't have the usual enemies to lovers relationship and they actually just liked each other from the off and had an easy friendship where they genuinely wanted to help each other which developed into something more. 
I also really liked the little side story with Jowan and Minty, it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling that Christmas books should always create.
Normally I don't like to put comparisons to other authors in but the way that Kiley Dunbar creates her whole village, and makes a place that you wish was real and you could just visit is very like Heidi Swain's Wynbridge series, which means I will be adding Kiley to my auto-buy list because I absolutely love books that instantly sweep me away a place.
Now I didn't realise this was one of a series until id finished but now I do ill be going back to read the first in the series and I will most defiantly be on the lookout for the next in the series coming out in 2023. 


Krystina x

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

 

Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 23rd August 2022

Summary:

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon has lived her life by three rules: hide your magic, keep your head down, and stay away from other witches. An orphan raised by strangers from a young age, Mika is good at being alone, and she doesn't mind it . . . mostly.

But then an unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches, and Mika jumps at the chance for a different life.

Nowhere House is nothing like she expects, and she's quickly tangled up in the lives and secrets of its quirky, caring inhabitants . . . and Jamie, the handsome, prickly librarian who would do anything to protect his charges, and who sees Mika's arrival as a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika finds her feet, the thought of belonging somewhere starts to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and soon Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect the found family she didn't know she was looking for . . .

ISBN: 978-1399709859

Review:

So I need to start by saying I absolutely loved this book! I picked it up to read a few pages before bed and ended up halfway through and hours past when I planned to sleep because I couldn't put it down. I finished it the next day and I was really disappointed that id finished because I just wanted more! 
Mika Moon is our main protagonist in this and she's just so beautifully written, a little bit quirky and unique but so utterly herself. I think we could all do with being a little bit more like Mika Moon in this life. The author has carefully crafted all the characters in this book so well that you feel like you could just bump into them on the street sometime(probably near Norfolk), there isn't one single character that didn't feel well done.

 I won't do any spoilers because you all need to give this book a read and not just take my word on it but it is the kind of book that you didn't know you needed in your life. 

It's a sweet little escape to a place a little bit more magical, and definitely a lot more irregular than normal life. Because this was a digital ARC I don't have it on my bookshelf but I will be pre-ordering it asap because its a book that I plan on making regular visits back to, and I really hope the author writes more about this madcap irregular family because I for one really want to know how life progresses for them.

Krystina xx