The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gist I absolutely love Winters’ works. I have read all of her novels without fail. Heck, I even went out in a snowstorm while on a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend retreat to Montreal so that I could purchase one of her books for the train ride home. It’s rare for me to read, or even want to read a book twice, because I can remember most stories quite well, generally speaking. Something strange happened with The Raven’s Tale. Starting in August of this year I kept thinking about it. It was haunting. I had the indescribable urge…
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The Forgotten Sister
The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House Books, for providing me with an ARC of The Forgotten Sister in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist The duality of the narration The Forgotten Sister promised to offer intrigued me greatly. One part historical fiction plus one part contemporary fiction makes for an interesting read for sure. Throw in the promise of a murder mystery, a ghost and a special gift and I’m all yours. The Details I did not particularly like the two main characters. I thought they were both very self-absorbed, but…
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Talland House
Talland House by Maggie Humm My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing me with an ARC of Talland House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Almost three years ago I took my mother on a holiday to England. We visited St. Ives for a few days and I became enchanted with Cornwall. It was beautiful, magnificent and charming. I had a wonderful time there. We were very lucky with the weather and ever since then I have used Cornwall as my mental happy place, especially during this terrible pandemic. So, when I received a copy…
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The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I had Fox’s first novel, The Witch of Willow Hall, on my to-read list ever since it came out in 2018. Being the hopeful optimist that I am, I kept making plans to read it any day now. Well, the road to hell is usually paved with good intentions. So, sadly, I hadn’t been introduced to her writing until the publisher was so kind…
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The Talking Drum
The Talking Drum by Lisa Braxton My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inanna Publications, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist An ensemble of characters provides diverse and individualized perspectives on life in a neighbourhood that is deemed unimportant by the “higher” social strata. Each chapter tells the overall story of displacement, personal and interpersonal struggle, and gentrification through the eyes of one of several main characters. Each one is in one way or another connected with the other characters in the story to varying degrees. The Details What struck…
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The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller My rating: 1 of 5 stars I read this book in early February of this year and I have been dreading writing a review ever since for two reasons. For one, according to the reviews and ratings of it mine is a very unpopular opinion. Secondly, I’m not sure I can keep my sarcasm in check, but I will try my best and as a result turn this into a very boring and dull review…maybe. The Song of Achilles has been on my to-read list for a very long time and I finally took the opportunity to read it now that I have…
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The Body at the Tower
The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee My rating: 2 of 5 stars It has been a while since I read A Spy in the House, but I remember enjoying the premise and thought it would be fun to continue with this series. It took me a bit to get back into the story and remember the main character and her background, but once I did, I was excited to really sink my teeth into this story. I felt a little let down by the way the story unfolded. I had hoped for a little more intrigue, mystery and (maybe) ghostly elements. I mean the beginning talks a bit…
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The Raven’s Tale
The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters My rating: 3 of 5 stars I finally had the chance to read Cat Winters’ new book The Raven’s Tale. I found it to be extraordinarily dark, making my skin crawl with every page. I don’t know much about Edgar Allen Poe. I had to analyze one of his shorter stories, Ligeia for my Gothic Literature course last fall, I read a manga version of The Tell Tale Heart and obviously saw The Simpsons version of The Raven many years ago, but Poe has always been a creator of dark tales that I could only stomach in very small dosages. And this comes from…
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Once Upon a River
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield My rating: 1 of 5 stars I think this was one of the most anticipated books of 2019 for me and what a let down it turned out to be. I waited months for this story to become available at my local library; that’s how in demand it is. When I finally held it in my hands all I could think was “tis mine now!” and I took it with me on my trip to the UK. That’s right. I lugged a book halfway across the world on top of buying a whole bunch of books on my trip for research purposes. And…
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Edinburgh Dusk (Ian Hamilton Mysteries #2)
Edinburgh Dusk by Carole Lawrence My rating: 5 of 5 stars I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.Detective Inspector Hamilton is back. I was very excited to have been approved to read an ARC of this and promptly decided to put my schoolwork on hold until I had finished reading it, which only took about two days. Once you start this story, you won’t stop until the last page.DI Hamilton is just as introverted and unsociable as ever. Always quick with a cheeky remark and ready to solve another case. I was glad the story also included most of the…
