Hello!
I hope everyone has had a nice weekend so far. I sadly haven’t managed much reading this weekend but I have managed to catch up on some jobs.
Blog Posts
Currently Reading
Yes I am still plodding along with The Shadow Rising but I am definitely going to get it finished before the end of February.
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 have been book buying which is very naughty and going against my plan for less book buying this year. On Thursday I went to Ely for the first time and discovered Toppings. Now as you all know I love Toppings in Bath so obviously I had to see the Ely branch. This led to buying some books. Two books I bought for my husband and two I bought for myself.
I’m really hoping I get around to reading these soon as they are both rather short so shouldn’t take me too long to read.
Happy Reading
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
Hello!
How is everyone’s week so far? I was overjoyed to actually finish a book this week. I really do feel like I am slacking with my reading at the moment but I just seem to struggle for time.
What I am Currently Reading
I’ve decided for the rest of the week I am going to push ahead with this book and get it finished. I am really enjoying it and I’m so close to the end that a chapter a day is far too restraining.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is my first 5 out of 5 Dragons read of 2024. Here is the review if anybody is interested.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I’m not sure what I will read next but here are a few contenders.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Happy Reading
Them Old Bones by Astor Y Teller
Blurb
Behind a veil of treachery and haunted bones, a dragon curse is about to set the world ablaze… Dragons didn’t exist until recently. Neither did traitors, until Miriam Huckerpucker started nosing around in The Vault where she and the other undeads are holed up, when they are not out in the countryside picking up haunted bones, which is what they do for an unliving. For Miriam, who has been in the game for a while, with a refined skill set in magic spelling and swordy gymnastics and mourning classes, the hard part is not bone picking but catching homing pigeons which like all living beings don’t fancy the undead at all. When no pigeons arrive from the undead expedition to barbarian lands, where the first known dragon’s bones lay waiting, Miriam suspects a traitor is messing about with the pigeon post. Mustering someone who is literally dying to get a new occupation and also getting an undead dog into the bargain, her investigations unravel a sinister plot far bigger than The Vault.
Review
Firstly, a massive thank you to Astor Y Teller for gifting me this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this book but I was definitely not expecting this wonderful world Teller has created. The book follows Miriam Huckerpucker who is a bone collector for The Vault. She is also an undead with an unusual skill set of swordy gymnastics and magic spelling. She also overthinks things and has a suspicious mind.
On one of her adventures Miriam meets Crazyjones who is a farmer and the adorable Tenderloin who is his dog but things are not as they seem. This meeting is a fantastically funny introduction to the book and introduces these wonderful characters to the reader. There is no messing about with this book and you are thrust straight into the storyline which I loved.
I loved Teller’s writing style and imagination and I flew through this book and laughed constantly. The names of the characters are hilarious and are excellent descriptions for the characters. I also love the world that Teller has created and I can’t wait to learn more about The Vault and the undead. I’m also fascinated by the bones and really hope we learn more about it all. I’m also hoping to see a lot more of Tenderloin as he is very cute (yes he is my favourite character). I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one. This is a definite 5 out of 5 Dragons from me.
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About the author
Everybody makes a story about themselves. Here is my take:
I started out
1) as a kid telling myself stories using my imagination, then
2) growing up to tell stories to others as a gamemaster (which I still do), then
3) getting sucked most unwilling into occult stuff (the flip side of quantum physics?), escaping that to
4) hesitantly get an education in programming, then
5) surviving dull years surrounded by the machines that go ping and keeping the weekends occupied by reading and being artful and conjuring exhaustion for the work week, then
6) saying enough is enough and submitting myself to another long streak of education, this time in art, where I started out painting (and still do) but graduated in spontaneous storytelling (or bearing witness to my imaginary worlds if you want a fancy way of saying it) then
7) start writing down these stories instead of telling them to an audience, ending up like
1) the kid I began as, telling myself stories using my imagination…
…which is the nation I prefer to be in (after doing my stint of travelling abroad) and where I go by the name of Astor Y Teller.
The rest of me can be gleaned from the books and if not, it’s not worth telling.
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.
Happy Reading
Hello!
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.
Blog Posts
Currently Reading
Happy Reading
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!
Happy Reading
The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford
Blurb
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.
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Purchase Links
(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.
Happy Reading
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a nice weekend so far. I am now on half term so I’m hoping I can get some real reading in this week.
Blog Posts
Currently Reading
I’ve been reading this book solidly all weekend and I can’t put it down.
Happy Reading
