Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I must admit I found my first day back at school rather a shock to the system.
I am determined to start my Agatha Christie challenge back up, so for today I have chosen the next book on the list for me to read.
A practical joke goes chillingly, murderously wrong in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic detective story, The Seven Dials Mystery.
Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper, so the other houseguests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6:30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank then backfired, with tragic consequences.
For Jimmy Thesiger in particular, the words “Seven Dials” were to take on a new and chilling significance…
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I am back at school tomorrow and I must admit I’m not keen on going back, half term has gone way too quickly this time. One good thing is the amount of reading I have managed this week.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
I am still trying to buy less books this year and so far this month I haven’t bought any books but this week a very nice author sent me her book for me to read and review. I am quite excited about this book and hope to get reading it this month.
This book is partially set in Greece so I am very excited because I just love Greece!
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I have had a fab day of reading today and it has been bliss.
My chosen poem today is by the American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962).
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,mydarling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet) i want no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
Welcome to my first This and That Thursday of 2024.
I will be honest I have been rather hectic with work so have had less adventure time. I am now teaching at three different schools as well as teaching from home and doing playing work but I can’t complain as it helps me do the things I love, oh and pay the bills.
Walking and Pokemon Go
During 2023 my walking really took a hit so my husband and I have decided to really make an effort and get back into our walking again. This has also meant I am playing more Pokemon Go. I am in a bit of a competition with my sister-in-law with Pokemon Go but sadly she has really pulled ahead due to my lack of movement and playing. However, I am determined to catch up again! If anybody would like to add me as a friend my friend code is 6008 1727 2520.
National Trust
We have managed a few of National Trust properties so far this year. We went to one of my favourites in the New Year to see their Christmas displays before they took it all down. Berrington Hall does one of my favourite Christmas displays and they never disappoint. We have also been to Hanbury Hall which we haven’t been to for many years. I had forgotten just what a beautiful property it was and what beautiful gardens it has. This week we went to Benthall Hall which also included a lovely walk and a trip into Much Wenlock for lunch.
Etsy
I am still running my little Etsy business and I am absolutely loving it. The TBR Tickets are proving very popular and keeping me busy. I just love creating new bookmarks and coming up with new products for my fellow book lovers.
So there are a few things I have been up to. I am really hoping for more walks and more adventures soon, I just wish it would stop raining!
In this new epic fantasy, three societal outcasts must work together to fulfil the orders of a dead king’s ghost or risk their nation falling to a tyrant
The king is dead, his queen is missing. On the amber coast, the usurper king is driving Zavonia to the brink of war. A dangerous magical power is rising up in Biela Miasto, and the only people who can set things right are a failed bodyguard, a Landstrider witch, and the assassin who set off the whole sorry chain of events.
Valdas, Captain of the High Guard, has not only failed in his duty to protect the king, but he’s been accused of the murder, and he’s on the run. He’s sworn to seek justice, but his king sets him another task from beyond the grave. Valdas doesn’t believe in magic, which is unfortunate as it turns out.
Mirza is the healer-witch of a Landstrider band, valued and feared in equal measure for her witchmark, her scolding tongue, and her ability to walk the spirit world. When she’s given a task by Valdas’ dead king, she believes that the journey she must take is one she can never return from.
Lind is the clever assassin. Yes, someone paid him to kill the king, but who is to blame, the weapon or the power behind it? Lind must face his traumatic past if he’s to have a future.
Can these three discover the real villain, find the queen, and set the rightful king on the throne before the country is overcome?
Review
Firstly, thank you to Jacey Bedford who very kindly sent me a copy of The Amber Crown in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a while to get into this book as I found the world building rather confusing to begin with. Instead of a completely new world Bedford has taken a lot of influences from the real world and added them to the world she has created for The Amber Crown. The book is told from the perspective of three people, Valdas, Captain of the High Guard, Mirza a healer-witch and Lind an assassin.
There were certain aspects of this book that I found rather upsetting and I do believe that this book could be quite triggering for some people. Certain scenes have certainly stayed with me and I would rather they hadn’t. Lind is a particularly broken character who is desperately trying to make his way in the world. Valdas is trying to get justice for his dead king but I couldn’t help but wonder if he would have got the resolution quicker if he had taken his mind off sex occasionally.
Mirza was my favourite character in this book. Mirza has had to fight people’s opinions since she has been born. She was born with a witch mark which makes people fear her and hate her but she defies them all. She does her duty to her people and always tries to help everyone.
I enjoyed this book but I am pleased it is a standalone book because I personally did not find it had the detail in the world building to stand up to being a series. I would also not be able to deal with Valdas for anymore books. The book having short and snappy chapters and a quick storyline made this book a quick and enjoyable read. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Jacey Bedford is an English writer who is published by DAW in the USA. She lives and works behind a desk in Pennine Yorkshire. She’s had stories published on both sides of the Atlantic. She has seven novels out now. Her newest is The Amber Crown, published by DAW inJanuary 2022. Previous books are: Empire of Dust, Crossways, and Nimbus, science fiction (space opera) which make up the Psi-Tech trilogy. Winterwood, Silverwolf and Rowankind make up the Rowankind trilogy. These are historical fantasy, set in 1800, with a cross-dressing privateer captain, the jealous ghost of her dead husband, and a sexy wolf shapechanger.
Jacey is secretary of the UK Milford Writers’ Conference, a peer-to-peer workshopping week for published SF writers. She also hosts Northwrite SF, a critique group based in Yorkshire.
She’s been a librarian, a postmistress and member of internationally touring a cappella trio, Artisan. When not writing she arranges UK gigs for folk artists from all over the world.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Happy Monday Everyone!
I have had a lovely day enjoying the sunshine on a nice walk and National Trust visit and I have also done some teaching.
My chosen book to feature today is a book from a series I started a couple of years ago and I have sadly not finished yet. This is the next book in the series I need to read and has been sat on my TBR for way too long!
A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy – a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships – has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante’s problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Blurb
From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction–a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.
As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted–no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape–she was able to turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance.
“What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world’s gifts.
Warm, lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders is a book of sustenance and joy.
Review
I received this book for Christmas from my niece and nephew and it really intrigued me especially the amazing illustrations.
I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Each chapter is about an animal or plant from this world and how that animal or plant has influenced Nezhukumatathil’s life. Each chapter contains information about the plant or animal and this was definitely my favourite part as I learnt so much that I didn’t know before. I loved the chapter on Axolotls but I also found it very sad as I didn’t realise just what horrific things are done to these small creatures.
You learn a lot about Nezhukumatathil’s life in this book. How hard her childhood was with all the moves for her parents’ jobs and because of her ethnicity. We learn how she met her husband and the birth of her children.
The reason this book didn’t get the full 5 Dragons from me and only 4 was because certain scenes rather upset me, the bit with octopus hunting was one. I also found at times that Nezhukumatathil was rather showing off with everything she has done in her life and some links that she was creating between the natural world and her childhood were rather tenuous at times. Overall, though, I loved this book and the illustrations really helped the book.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Nezhukumatathil (1974) is an American poet and essayist. She is professor of English in the University of Mississippi. She is married to the writer Dustin Parsons. They live in Oxford, Mississippi with their two sons.
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