My chosen poem this week is actually a folk song but one that I rather like.
Fare You Well
Fare you well, my dear, I must be gone, And leave you for a while; If I roam away I'll come back again, Though I roam ten thousand miles, my dear, Though I roam ten thousand miles.
So fair thou art, my bonny lass, So deep in love am I; But I never will prove false to the bonny lass I love, Till the stars fall from the sky, my dear, Till the stars fall from the sky.
The sea will never run dry, my dear, Nor the rocks melt with the sun, But I never will prove false to the bonny lass I love, Till all these things be done, my dear, Till all these things be done.
O yonder doth sit that little turtle dove, He doth sit on yonder high tree, A-making a moan for the loss of his love, As I will do for thee, my dear, As I will do for thee.
You know her name, you know her story. Just not the right one.
Within the depths of the Underworld the formidable snake-haired Gorgon has finally had enough. Tired of being eternally and unjustly brandished a villain, Medusa has found the courage to face her tragic past and speak out. Determined to expose the centuries of lies surrounding her name, Medusa gives unparalleled insight into her cursed life, from her earliest memories and abandonment at birth, right through to her tragic and untimely death at the hands of the hero Perseus. Through telling her story, Medusa finally reveals the lost truth behind antiquity’s most infamous monster.
Review
Medusa is one of my favourite characters from the ancient Greek myths so I am always excited to read a retelling. Hewlett has chosen the Roman poet Ovid’s version of Medusa to base her retelling on.
This version of Medusa is an interesting take on the story because Medusa is telling her story from the depths of the underworld. She is putting the story straight after centuries of being unjustly portrayed as the villain. I would have liked to know why she chose now to put the story straight but sadly that is never explained. She starts at the very beginning and tells the reader her whole life story.
The first thing I realised with this story was that for a whole life story the book is rather short and I found this a shame as I just felt there was potential for a lot more detail in the book. I think it could have easily been another 100 pages and it would have explored Medusa’s personality in greater detail. The other thing that I found rather jarring was the modern language that Medusa used. Even if Medusa has been in the underworld for thousands of years I doubt she would be using the type of language she does at times and I just found it rather unbelievable.
I liked that the story included Medusa’s mother Ceto in the book as the retellings I have read in the past only mention Ceto as her mother and we never hear of her again. I would have liked to have seen more of Euryale and Stheno because they are an important part of Medusa’s life but their characters weren’t really developed and we didn’t see much of them or how the relationship between the sisters developed over the years.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but I just found it way too short and lacking detail. The characters needed more development and the relationships between characters needed exploring more. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Rosie Hewlett is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of MEDEA and MEDUSA.
Having secured a First Class Honours degree in Classical Literature and Civilisation at the University of Birmingham, Rosie Hewlett has studied Greek mythology in depth and is passionate about unearthing strong female voices within the classical world. Rosie currently lives in Kent with her husband and is now a full-time author spending her days lost inside her favourite stories from mythology.
Rosie’s first traditionally published novel, Medea, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. Her self-published debut novel, Medusa, won the Rubery Book of the Year award in 2021 and is being re-released in hardback for the first time in autumn 2025.
The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.
Review
I first read this book back in 2002 and I must admit it wasn’t my favourite Austen novel and is one of the reasons I never bothered to read it again. However, I decided to give it another go this year because I remembered part of it is set in Bath which is one of my favourite places. I absolutely loved the descriptions of places I love in Bath and kept telling my husband where the characters were.
I am so pleased I decided to give this book another go because I absolutely loved it and couldn’t put it down. Northanger Abbey is a hilarious coming of age and satire novel of the gothic genre. Instead of finding Catherine annoying which I did in my first read I found her adorable, funny and when she let her imagination run away with her I cringed for her but also understood where she had come from. Catherine loved reading novels especially novels by Ann Radcliffe so how could she not help imagining crazy gothic mysteries around every corner. When I read The Mysteries of Udolpho I also saw the potential for gothic mysteries everywhere.
Henry Tilney is definitely a new favourite character of mine from the Austen novels. He loves reading novels and doesn’t dismiss Catherine’s love of reading gothic novels like the pompous John Thorpe who I really could not stand. Tilney is a true gentleman, he takes time with Catherine, he listens to her and enjoys her company. He also forgives Catherine’s mistakes.
Isabella Thorpe is a character much like her brother but it doesn’t become clear straight away. In fact the Thorpe family were just terrible full stop and I could easily see how Austen had been influenced by people she knew in society. The people in society she clearly disliked and had little time for.
I loved this book and would happily read it again and again. I really appreciated this book more now that I am older. I give this book a massive 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Jane Austen born 16th December 1775 died 18th July 1817 was an English novelist known for her six major novels. Austen’s novels are known for social comedy and accurate depiction of human relationships.
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 is having a good week so far. Today has been another busy day of teaching so I am looking forward to some reading later.
My chosen book to feature this week is one that has sat on my TBR pile and Goodreads TBR for a very long time. It is a new author for me but the storyline looked really interesting.
1645. When Alice Hopkins’ husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives.
But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women’s names.
To what lengths will Matthew’s obsession drive him? And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?
My blogging this week has been a lot better and I even managed to get some reviews done. I have so many books to review and I really want to get them all done before Christmas but I’m not sure I will manage it.
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 hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I have managed a little bit of reading today as well as a bit of book sorting.
I am really getting back into my classics at the moment and I ordered this on Tuesday and I have already started reading it. I was not expecting it to be over 1000 pages though!
Tornado Onwubiko is one of seven people on Earth paired with sentient ships to explore and research the cosmos for twenty million euros. A decade of solitary life for a lifetime of wealth. Five years into the ten-year mission of total isolation comes a a temporary meetup among fellow travelers. A lot can happen in a week. For Tornado, who left a normal life behind, a little company can be life-changing.
Review
This is the fifth book of The Far Reaches collection and my first book by Okorafor. I also think this book is my favourite of the collection. I would have loved this to have been a full length novel as I just wanted to know so much more.
The first thing I loved about this short story was the science and technology involved in the living ships called Miris. The ships really reminded me of one of my favourite TV shows Farscape. I really found the Miris fascinating and I would love to have learned more about them. I loved how each Miri adapted to whomever lived in them and made things comfortable for them.
Each captain of the Miris is on the ship on their own although some do have pets, they also have AI on board to help them. I loved the story and found the characters unique and interesting. There were a couple of scenes that I found quite sad but they also just added to the story. The story might only be 45 pages long but it really packed a lot in and I enjoyed Okoafor’s idea of what humans travelling the universe would be like and what they might encounter. I really enjoyed this short story and I will definitely be reading more by Okorafor in the near future. I give this story 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ.
My chosen quote this week is by the author and lay theologian Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963). He is best known for his works The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
Lady Book Dragon 