The Two-Penny Bar by Georges Simenon (#28 Review)

The Two-Penny Bar by Georges Simenon

Blurb

‘We saw a door opening ahead of us. There was a car parked by the roadside. This guy came out pushing another guy in front of him. No, not pushing. Imagine you’re carrying a shop dummy and trying to make it look like it’s your friend walking next to you. He put him in the car and got into the driver’s seat . . . The guy drove all over the place. He seemed to be looking for something, but seemed to keep losing his way. In the end, we realised what he’d been looking for.’

A series of chance encounters sends Inspector Maigret down yet another winding path of murder and mystery. While visiting a criminal in his cell, the young convict tells Maigret of a man who’d been spotted dumping a body in a Parisian canal some years ago. On an unexpected trip to a popular inn, Maigret finds himself in the very place the suspected killer was last seen, and the Inspector is pulled deeper into the web of blackmail and deceit.

Review

I really enjoyed this Maigret book but yet again I felt very sorry for poor Mrs Maigret. All Mrs Maigret wants is her husband on holiday with her but as per usual Maigret chooses his work first. The poor woman deserves a medal in my opinion.

While visiting a criminal in his cell the criminal tells Maigret of a crime scene he witnessed years ago. The criminal witnessed a man dumping a body in the canal years ago and of course Maigret is intrigued.

Maigret ends up getting caught up with a group of friends who meet every weekend at a bar near the Seine. This group of friends happily drink, gamble and party the weekend away and enjoy swinging. This leaves Maigret drinking way too much and trying to work out what exactly these people are hiding.

Maigret has quite a task on his hands in this book as he really has no idea who could have done the crime and been responsible for the disposal of the body. After all he has no evidence just the man’s account of the crime. As he is trying to put the pieces together and deal with the people he also has Mrs Maigret sending him telegrams asking him when he will join her on holiday.

I really found this book quite different to the ones I had read before and I enjoyed the different feel about it. I also found this book quite funny in places. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

(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

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Hidden Depths by Ifan Morgan Jones (#27 Review)

Hidden Depths by Ifan Morgan Jones

Blurb

Rees has been running away his whole life. But when a legend from his childhood turns out to be fact rather than fiction, he is drawn deeper into a hidden world that reveals a troubling truth – not just about his present, but also his past. The choice is keep running, or stay and fight.

Review

I do love a quick read and I was really excited to read this one as it is my kind of book. Ifan Morgan Jones is also a new author for me and I do love discovering new authors through the Quick Reads scheme.

This book had all my favourite things: sci-fi, legends turning out to be real and even some dragons made an appearance. However, no matter how hard I tried I just could not gel with this book! I know I struggle with short books because I find myself wanting more from the story but if this book had been any longer I would have had to DNF it.

I did not get on well with Jones’ writing style and I fear that this will be one of the books that I soon forget about because it just lacked that something for me. Jones tried to put a very human story into a sci-fi setting and for me it just didn’t work. I give this book 2 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Ifan Morgan Jones is lecturer in Journalism at Bangor University. He is the author of Babel – the first steampunk novel in Welsh, which won the 2020 Wales Book of the Year award (in the Welsh language), the Fiction category prize, and the Golwg360 Barn y Bobl (People’s Choice award).

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint (#26 Review)

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

Blurb

When Princess Atalanta is born, a daughter rather than the son her parents hoped for, she is left on a mountainside to die. But even then, she is a survivor. Raised by a mother bear under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis, Atalanta grows up wild and free, with just one condition: if she marries, Artemis warns, it will be her undoing.

Although she loves her beautiful forest home, Atalanta yearns for adventure. When Artemis offers her the chance to fight in her name alongside the Argonauts, the fiercest band of warriors the world has ever seen, Atalanta seizes it. The Argonauts’ quest for the Golden Fleece is filled with impossible challenges, but Atalanta proves herself equal to the men she fights alongside. As she is swept into a passionate affair, in defiance of Artemis’s warning, she begins to question the goddess’s true intentions. Can Atalanta carve out her own legendary place in a world of men, while staying true to her heart?

Full of joy, passion, and adventure, Atalanta is the story of a woman who refuses to be contained. Jennifer Saint places Atalanta in the pantheon of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, where she belongs.

Review

I am a huge Jennifer Saint fan and she is now an auto buy author for me. I just wish I was faster at reading the books so they don’t sit on my TBR pile for so long!

Atalanta is not a very well known hero in the ancient myths and she is definitely not a main character in the myths so I was excited to read a story where she is the main character and not some woman at the sidelines like all the females in the ancient myths.

Atalanta was left exposed on a hillside as a baby because her father wanted a son. However, a mother bear took her in and protected her so she didn’t succumb to the elements. Once she is older Artemis herself takes charge of Atalanta. Atalanta grows up wild and free and a skilled hunter but she longs for more and so Artemis offers her the chance of adventure and fame by letting her join Jason and the Argonauts.

The story of Atalanta is told in the first person and I think this works brilliantly with how the storyline moves along because we get all of Atalanta’s feelings and opinions and we also get the adventure and interactions with the Argonauts. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Argonauts and their hunt for the Fleece and the Caledonian boar hunt told from Atalanta’s perspective and how she proved herself worthy to be among them time and time again.

However, I did find that a bulk of Atalanta’s narrative was dominated by the exploits of men and her feelings for these men. I also felt let down at times because Atalanta was also quite passive in the story and although she had physical strength and power, mentally she was not that strong and relied on certain men in her company. For me Atalanta lacked the strength of character that Saint’s Ariadne had and that is why the book only gets 4 out of 5 Dragons from me.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Jennifer Saint grew up reading Greek mythology and was always drawn to the untold stories hidden within the myths. After thirteen years as a high school English teacher, she wrote ARIADNE which tells the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur from the perspective of Ariadne – the woman who made it happen. Jennifer Saint is now a full-time author, living in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two children.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Silas Marner by George Eliot (Review #25)

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Blurb

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot, published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, it is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.

Review

This is one of the books off my Classics Club list but it is also a book that is one of my all time favourite books. I have read this book quite a few times but I thought it was time for a reread.

This wonderful little book is in my humble opinion Eliot at her best. Silas Marner is a beautifully written character and one you can’t help but love. Silas had a hard start in life and was cruelly mistreated and it is because of this he finds himself in Raveloe. In Raveloe Silas keeps away from his fellow villagers and works hard. He weaves day and night and the one joy he has is his gold but then a series of events take place and Silas’ life changes forever.

This book is only short but contains so many different themes. There is the theme of religion and how different denominations of Christianity are treated with fear and misunderstanding. We witness industrialisation taking away the work of cottage industries. How newcomers are treated in communities. There is so much within this tiny book but the main theme is the power of love and it is a wonderful theme within this book.

I will be honest there are certain characters within this book I have never been keen on and the main for me is Nancy. I’m not really sure why I dislike her so much but for some reason she just grates against my nerves. Godfrey Cass is also one who annoys me, he has good points but he also has bad points and I find the bad points outweigh the good.

I just love this book and will happily reread it again. I give this book a big 5 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She was born in 1819 at a farmstead in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, where her father was estate manager. Mary Ann, the youngest child and a favourite of her father’s, received a good education for a young woman of her day. Influenced by a favourite governess, she became a religious evangelical as an adolescent.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Dancer at Gai-Moulin by Georges Simenon (Review #24)

The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin by Georges Simenon

Blurb

The city of Simenon’s youth comes to life in this new translation of this disturbing novel set in Liège, book ten in the new Penguin Maigret series.

In the darkness, the main room is as vast as a cathedral. A great empty space. Some warmth is still seeps from the radiators. Delfosse strikes a match. They stop a moment to catch their breath, and work out how far they have still to go. And suddenly the match falls to the ground, as Delfosse gives a sharp cry and rushes back towards the washroom door. In the dark, he loses his way, returns and bumps into Chabot.

Review

Another fantastic Maigret book and one which was quite strange because Maigret didn’t actually make his presence known until about half way through the book. The book is set in the rougher part of Liege which was in fact Simenon’s home town.

The story is centred around two useless teenagers who are doing their very best at ruining their lives. Delfosse is from a wealthy family and Chabot is from a poor family but he has a good job in an office. However, the pair are living way beyond their means and spending all their time out partying and to keep funding this they have taken to stealing.

Whilst trying to rob another location the two boys find something very unexpected and from that night everything starts to go wrong for them. The mysteries also keep mounting up from that night.

I will be honest I missed Maigret’s presence in this book and found it lacked a special something by not having him appear until later. The case is rather tangled and I never knew what to expect next but that just made the book a real page turner. I really enjoyed this book but I did miss Maigret so I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (Review #23) #20BooksofSummer23 3/20

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

Blurb

It was first serialised in the Merry’s Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter “Six Years Afterwards” and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book revolves around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live–but also left out because of her “countrified” manners and outdated clothes.

Review

I was really excited to read this because I love Little Women and the sequels and have always wanted to read more books by Alcott. The version of the book that I bought was a big mistake though. Sadly I got a printed by Amazon edition and it was bizarre to say the least. The book contained weird pictures that didn’t entirely relate to the story and they were all badly pixelated. The layout of the book was also terrible which made the book difficult to read and I found myself wondering who random people were because new names had suddenly appeared but then realised that yet again it was just a wrong name for one of the characters.

Anyway, ignoring all the terrible faults with the publishing I really enjoyed this little story of the adorable Polly. The story begins with Polly visiting her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw and her family. Fanny lives in the city and is fashionable and surrounded by wealthy and fashionable friends. These friends find Polly countrified and old fashioned and this also means that poor Polly feels left out at times. However, Polly soon makes an impression on the Shaw family.

The Shaw family comprises Mr and Mrs Shaw, Grandma, Maud, Tom and of course Fanny. Each of these characters need some sort of help and comfort and little Polly in her own way sees this and helps them.

As the book goes on we see Polly getting older and eventually moving to the city herself and we see her struggles, her loneliness and isolation. However, we also see her grow, we see her learn and appreciate every little thing around her. Polly shows us that there are things to be thankful for everywhere even things we don’t normally consider or even think about Polly considers them and appreciates them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but for me it was nowhere near as good as Little Women and it just felt less sophisticated in the way it was written than Little Women and the sequels. Whether it is because the book was originally written in a serialised format I don’t know but I didn’t gel with the writing as I usually do. However, I still give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Persephone Book of Short Stories (Review #22) #20BooksofSummer23 2/20

The Persephone Book of Short Stories

Blurb

Most of these stories focus on the small, quiet or unspoken intricacies of human relationships rather than grand dramas. The use of metaphor is delicate and subtle; often the women are strong and capable and the men less so; shallow and selfish motives are exposed.

The dates of these stories range from 1909 to 1986 and there are thirty in all. The ten stories which are already in print in Persephone editions of their work are by Katherine Mansfield, Irène Némirovsky, Mollie Panter-Downes (twice), Elizabeth Berridge, Dorothy Whipple, Frances Towers, Margaret Bonham, Diana Gardner and Diana Athill.

The ten stories which have already been published in the Quarterly and Biannually are by EM Delafield; Dorothy Parker; Dorothy Whipple; Edith Wharton; Phyllis Bentley; Dorothy Canfield Fisher; Norah Hoult; Angelica Gibbs; Penelope Mortimer; and Georgina Hammick. And lastly the ten stories which are new are by Susan Glaspell, Pauline Smith, Malachi Whitaker, Betty Miller, Helen Hull, Kay Boyle, Shirley Jackson, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Elizabeth Spencer and Penelope Fitzgerald.

Review

To celebrate Persephone Books’ one hundredth book, the publisher decided to issue this book of short stories all written by women. Some of the authors are more well-known than others but they all deserve to be in this book and also deserve to be more widely read.

I loved the variety of stories within this book and I had already read a couple of them from other Persephone Books publications but I didn’t mind reading them again. These stories cover first jobs, first loves, marriages, affairs (quite a few affairs), illness and death and many other themes which are either obvious or subtle.

I loved this book and I couldn’t put it down as I just loved the variety of the stories and I also really enjoyed the mixture of longer and shorter stories within the book. I also loved the phrase ‘skin food’ that was used in quite a few stories to describe facial moisturiser and I am now using the phrase myself as I think it sounds far more fun than moisturiser.

There was only one story in this book that I found hard to read which was the last story. The last story within this book I found rather harrowing and to be honest it was a big surprise after the other stories.

The thing I loved most about this book was it explores the small parts in women’s lives. The stories are about everyday people with everyday lives and problems. It explores the basic and tiny moments in different women’s lives which don’t usually get explored in books. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Foyles | Waterstones

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (Review #21) #20BooksofSummer23 1/20

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

Blurb

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

Just one more night. Then I’ll end it.

Alison drinks too much. She’s neglecting her family. And she’s having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.

Alison’s client doesn’t deny that she stabbed her husband – she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing.

But someone knows Alison’s secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who won’t stop until she’s lost everything….

Review

This has been sat on one of my TBR trolleys (I have many) for a very long time. In fact I remember buying it on an Amazon deal during one of the many lockdowns but I never seemed to get around to reading it. Thankfully, along came the amazing 20 Books of Summer Challenge and this was the first book I read off my list.

The first thing I will say is that once I started this book I could not put it down. I just loved Tyce’s writing and for a debut novel I was pleasantly surprised by how excellently written this book was. However, there was main problem for me and that was that I hated the main character! I just could not get on with the character of Alison and yes I know she was written that way but gosh she drove me mad! Thankfully, I didn’t let this put me off and carried on reading.

Alison was not the only character I did not like. I really did not like her husband who just felt off from the start. In fact most of the characters in this book I disliked but I loved the storyline and that is what kept me reading and not giving up with this book.

As we are reading about Alison’s chaotic life we also meet Madeleine who Alison is defending. Madeleine is accused of murder and as we learn more about the case we see many parallels between Alison and Madeleine’s lives and situations.

This book made me quite uncomfortable at times but it didn’t put me off and gave me a great deal to think about. It’s also a book that I think will stay with me for a long time and that shows just what a great author Tyce is. This book was a difficult book to rate for me because I loved the way it was written and the storyline but I just could not get on with the characters so in the end I decided to give it 3 out of 5 Dragons. I am really looking forward to reading Tyne’s other books soon and hopefully they won’t sit on my TBR pile for quite so long this time.

🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Link

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Harriet Tyce (1972) is a Scottish barrister and novelist, the author of Blood Orange, The Lies you Told and It ends at midnight.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (Review #20)

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Blurb

During a vicious persecution of the clergy in Mexico, a worldly priest, the ‘whisky priest’, is on the run. With the police closing in, his routes of escape are being shut off, his chances getting fewer. But compassion and humanity force him along the road to his destiny, reluctant to abandon those who need him, and those he cares for.

Review

I really like Graham Greene and this had been sat on my TBR pile for quite a while so I picked it up when I fancied reading a short book. I have read that this book is considered one of Greene’s greatest books but I must admit I have read better books by Greene than this one.

The book is set in the 1930’s in Mexico during the time when the church was under persecution and the Catholic priests either had to marry and renounce being a priest or face execution if they refused. This leads us to follow the “Whiskey priest” who is on the run from the authorities and who I think is my least favourite character I have ever come across. The “Whiskey Priest” is lazy, arrogant and clearly only a priest because he wants a cushy life and not because he wants to help the people.

The story follows the priest on the run and also the authorities trying to find him. In particular the incorruptible lieutenant who is willing to cross any line to capture the priest.

There are so many themes in this book. There is hatred, foreboding, fear, greed and very little joy. As usual the book is excellently written and even if I didn’t know the author I would be able to tell it was Greene from his style and finesse but I just did not like the characters. I knew it wouldn’t be a happy read and the “Whiskey priest” was clearly written to be an unlikeable character but I hated him. I hated the lieutenant and the only good thing about this book was how well it was written. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Henry Graham Greene (1904-1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded as one of the leading English novelistsof the20th century.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon (Review #19)

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Blurb

In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory’s purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother’s past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.

Review

I was so excited to read this book because I really enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree and thankfully I was not disappointed. As a prequel I was hoping to learn a lot more about the Priory of the Orange Tree and the world it is set in. The prequel takes place 500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

This book is a slower read than The Priory of the Orange Tree but I liked that aspect because I learned so much more. The history is more fleshed out and I learnt so much more about the different cultures featured in the book and their different beliefs. I learnt so much about the four different geographical regions, the history and the religious and political beliefs of the different cultures. It really gave me so much more detail into how and why certain changes occur within this book and The Priory of the Orange Tree.

The other element I thoroughly enjoyed was the multi person point of view, although I soon found myself wanting certain characters’ chapters to come around quicker than others because I had favourite characters. The different points of view all flow through each other and we see how they connect but at the same time it felt like reading several books because each storyline was so rich and detailed.

My favourite characters were by far Wulf, Glorian and Tunuva, especially Tunuva. I really hope Shannon writes more books in this series and fast because I would love to learn more about The Priory. I would love a book about the founding of The Priory but I will have to wait and see what Shannon comes up with next. I found this a hard book to rate as in my mind it wasn’t quite a 5 out of 5 Dragon book so I think I will go with a first half rating of 4.5 Dragons out of 5.

🐲🐲🐲🐲 🐲

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Samantha Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. She currently lives in London.

Etsy