Tag: 5 stars

The Watchers #2: Stay in the Light – A.M. Shine

When does a situation become so dire that the only choice is to surrender?

In a world where sequels are rarely better than the first book, this is an exception. I loved the claustrophobia and the threat that was unseen but most definitely heard for the majority of The Watchers.

Its cliffhanger had me searching for a sequel for the longest time. It wasn’t until I had given up hope that I finally found it and, boy, was it worth the wait!

‘Is this about Mina’s monsters?’

You’d better believe it!

Nighttime, which for so long carried the shrieks of unseen nightmares, continues to haunt Mina. She has daily contact with Ciara, who understands all too well the horrors that live in the dark. They have good reason to remain terrified.

They’re everywhere. They’ve been watching you.

Meanwhile, Sean Kilmartin has been continuing his father’s work since his disappearance three years ago. He believes he is on the verge of proving the sceptics wrong. Mina intends to stop him before it’s too late.

Nothing good ever came from beneath the earth, certainly not when a Kilmartin was involved.

Madeline, who I wasn’t overly sure of in the first book, was the standout here. I’ve loved watching her character evolve over the two books and can’t wait to see how her story ends up playing out.

Here, we learn more about the mythology and history of the Watchers. While the unknown generated its own fear in the first book, having an understanding of what they were capable of added a layer of dread and anticipation to this one.

Everything was bigger in this book: the locations, the screams, the bloodshed. Please, please read The Watchers first, though. This book includes major spoilers.

The set up for the third book (because there absolutely has to be a third book!) is even more dramatic than the first book’s cliffhanger. I just hope I don’t need to wait as long to get my hands on it. I need to see what happens in this world and who (or what) survives it.

Favourite no context quote:

History doesn’t sink over time. Tears keep it afloat.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aries, an imprint of Head of Zeus, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

YOU MAY HAVE ESCAPED… BUT YOU’LL NEVER BE FREE.

After her terrifying experience at the hands of the Watchers, Mina has escaped to a cottage on the west coast of Ireland. She obsessively researches her former captors, desperate to find any way to prolong the safety of humankind.

When Mina encounters a stranger near her home, she fears the worst – for she knows the figure is not what it seems. Soon, people she has encountered start to disappear. 

Mina knows the Watchers’ power is growing. She flees for her life, but when she reports her fears she finds her sanity questioned. Can she convince people that the Watchers are real, and ready to strike – or will she suffer the fate she has dreaded since she first encountered those malevolent beings?

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The Ballerina of Auschwitz – Edith Eger, with Esmé Schwal

Editor – Jordan Engle

If I survive today, tomorrow I’ll be free.

I finished reading this book a few days before Edie celebrated her 97th birthday. Revisiting her story at this time, it struck me again how close she came to not surviving to adulthood. If not for a loaf of bread…

After everything she experienced at Auschwitz, Edie could have chosen to retreat from the world, consumed by bitterness and resentment. Instead, she has used her pain to create a life where she offers hope, wisdom and a heart that clearly still dances to others. Her family. Her clients. Her students. A lifetime of connections across the world.

I was first introduced to Edie’s story in 2020. I’ve read The Choice and The Gift, and participated the first time her masterclass, Unlocking Your Potential, was offered. I feel like I know Edie’s story quite well at this point.

This book, adapted from The Choice but with about 30 percent new content, tells Edie’s story without interruption. It explores her life before, during and a short time after Auschwitz from the perspective of the teenager she was at the time.

You’ll be introduced to her first love, witness some of the horrors beyond the gate that bears the words Arbeit macht frei and learn how Edie began to pick up the pieces of her life after she survived against all odds.

I was longing to share with you the tools that helped me survive the unthinkable, longing for you to know that a story of humans’ capacity for evil is also a story of our inexorable capacity for hope.

Edie’s story is one I will never forget. No matter how many times I read or hear it, it never loses the impact of the first telling. Her courage, time and time again, when one wrong decision would have resulted in her death, baffles me.

“Just remember, no one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.”

Her resilience in the aftermath of experiences that render trauma too small a word inspires me. The choices she has made to turn unimaginable evil into a life that is a beacon of light gives me hope. If Edie can do it, we can too.

We can’t ever change what’s happened to us. We can’t alter the past or control what’s coming around the next corner. But we can choose how we live now. We can choose whom and how to love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rider, an imprint of Ebury Press, Penguin Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In 1944, sixteen year old ballerina Edith was sent to Auschwitz and endured unimaginable experiences. When the camp was finally liberated, she was pulled from a pile of bodies, barely alive.

Celebrated therapist and Holocaust survivor Edith Eger captivated millions with her incredible tale of survival and strength in her bestselling book The Choice.

Now, in The Ballerina of Auschwitz, Edith revisits her wartime experiences in a deeply personal retelling, through the eyes and emotions of her teenage self. Through this reworking of her poignant narrative, Edith brings readers of all ages into the heart of her experiences, offering a compelling message of hope and resilience that will ensure her story is never forgotten.

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The Norendy Tales #2: The Hotel Balzaar – Kate DiCamillo

Illustrations – Júlia Sardà

Marta spends her days counting the stairs between the attic and the lobby of the Hotel Balzaar. She uses the back stairs, never the elevator. In the lobby, she is careful not to touch anything and is as quiet as a mouse.

She watches a cat and mouse engage in a never ending chase. She observes a wing and Norman, the positively ancient bellman, who sleeps with a smile. Marta does this while Mama cleans.

Every day is the same. Stairs. Cat. Mouse. Wing. Norman. Until it’s not.

Checking into Room 314 is a countess and Blitzkoff, her green parrot. The countess sees the girl who is not supposed to be seen.

“Come as soon as you can. I have a story to tell you. It is a story that you will find quite interesting, I’m sure.”

When the countess tells the first of seven promised stories, Marta thinks she has found a connection between it and her life, but surely that’s not possible. The stories aren’t real, after all.

Perhaps I am only imagining all this.

Over the past six years, Kate DiCamillo has become one of my favourite authors. It’s gotten to the point where I can’t wait to dive into my next read because, without fail, I leave the worlds she creates feeling better about this one.

Here Kate introduces us to a young girl waking up every day with uncertainty. She hasn’t heard from her father, who is at war, for over a year. Her mother has lost hope.

Kate brings characters into my life that I become invested in almost immediately. Her books have the nostalgic feel of a childhood favourite and don’t lose their magic during rereads.

The joy of learning Bastian was connected to The Neverending Story was replicated here when I saw elements from the beginning of this book come full circle as it progressed. An early illustration confirms that you are in the same world as The Puppets of Spelhorst and while the connections between the two aren’t specifically mentioned, I found some potential crossovers.

I would not have appreciated this book as much if I’d read it as a child. Adult me loved it. I’m sure there are connections I haven’t made yet between the series of stories which seem to have no end that the countess shares.

One of the themes of this book is keeping hope alive and my favourite quote spoke to this.

“It takes no courage at all to doubt, Marta,” she said. “And we are not beyond rescue. We are never beyond rescue.”

I can’t wait for the next Norendy Tale.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta’s mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly — like a little mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel’s wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story — in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales? Book two in a trio of novellas bound by place and mood — with elegant line art by Júlia Sardà — The Hotel Balzaar masterfully juggles yearning and belief, shining light into every dark corner.

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Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz – Yuzuru Kuki

Translator – Mari Morimoto

Born on 26 November 1922, Charles ‘Sparky’ Schulz grew up to become one of the world’s most famous cartoonists. A childhood love of comic strips led Charles to creating Peanuts, which ran for 17,897 strips.

Peanuts in print

Charles was so dedicated to his work that he finished the weekday strips six weeks before their deadline and the Sunday strips ten weeks before theirs. He took his first vacation at 75! Yes, he worked during the vacation. He couldn’t help himself.

I’ve known Snoopy my whole life. The first stuffed toy I was given when I was a baby was Snoopy. One of my only childhood books that came with me into adulthood is a much loved Peanuts paperback. I learned what the characters sounded like watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown when I was a kid. One of my favourite cross stitches is of Lucy and her ‘the doctor is in’ sign.

Charlie Brown is a boy who never loses hope, no matter how disheartened he is.

Whenever I see a book collecting Peanuts strips, I am compelled to read it. The characters feel like childhood friends at this point but this is the first time I’ve spent time with them in a manga. It’s also the first time I’ve been introduced to the man behind the characters and I’ve got to say, I’m a fan!

Intro to Charles

I absolutely loved finding connections between Charles’ life and his characters. Charles’ childhood dog, Spike, became the inspiration for Snoopy. The mother of his childhood friend, Shermy, played Beethoven on the piano. Charles was unlucky when he was a kid. When he taught at the art school he graduated from, Charles’ coworkers included Linus and Charlie Brown. His first love became the inspiration for the red haired girl.

I’m keen to read a biography to learn even more about him.

Fun fact: Snoopy’s birthday is 10 August.

I wasn’t expecting to get all misty eyed reading about the creator of some of my all time favourite kids (and Snoopy) but the end got to me.

Charles announced his retirement on 14 December 1999. The final Sunday strip was published on 13 February 2000. Charles died in his sleep a few hours before it hit the stands.

I had the thought that the creator and creation were so intertwined after so many decades that they couldn’t live without each other. It struck me as so sad and strangely beautiful at the same time.

That’s what Charles M. Schulz spent his life creating … a comic strip that showed the ups and downs of life, love, and friendship.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read this manga.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Charles M. Schulz is the creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, and many more wonderful characters who inhabit the world of Peanuts. Now, learn how a shy, young Schulz first became a cartoonist and how he spent nearly 50 years drawing the beloved newspaper comic strip which has captivated the hearts of readers worldwide.

The Manga Biographies series explores the fascinating lives of legendary figures who accomplished extraordinary feats, all told through the fantastic lens of Japanese manga storytelling.

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Cerulean Chronicles #2: Somewhere Beyond the Sea – TJ Klune

The best book hug I’ve read in a long time has a sequel and it’s a book hug too!

“I have returned to this place in hopes of making it more than it was.”

When Arthur returned to Marsyas Island after 28 years, he brought memories of an abusive childhood and a dream of creating a home where kids like he once was have a safe, nurturing environment to help them grow into who they are.

He and Linus, the love of Arthur’s life who learned to live in colour in the first book, are raising six eggstraordinary kids. Or six of the worst of the worst who are destined to bring about the end of the world… Depending on who you believe.

Picking off after the events of the first book (please read this first), we’re introduced to David, a yeti who embraces being a monster, much to Arthur’s horror. We don’t use the ‘m’ word at Marsyas.

While it would be lovely to simply watch David learn to trust a bunch of strangers, find safety and belonging in his new home, and enjoy the interactions between him and the other kids, the government just can’t leave a found family that is clearly working, quirks and all, alone.

“I’ll never understand humans”

So we have to deal with yet another investigation, with yet another grey government lackey reporting back to the big wigs that be so this home filled with love and acceptance can be shut down for good. While I want nothing more than for this family to finally get a break, I have to admit I loved watching them rise to this challenge.

“Stab her with kindness!”

We rail against hatred and bigotry and divisiveness, and we band together, proud of who we are, refusing to diminish ourselves when people with loud voices and narrow minds demand it. We feel the fear but we don’t let it control us.

Along the way we learn that socks are feet gloves (they won’t be known by any other name from this day forward) and we make sure everyone is aware that we don’t eat Frank the fish.

We spend time with some of the townsfolk we met in the first book. J-Bone is still “saving the universe through music”, Helen has a larger role in this book (woohoo!) and you might like to warn Merle that I’m going to give him the biggest hug the next time I see him.

“You ever get the feeling you became sentient right in the middle of something?”

I had use for some oh, that’s so beautiful tissues in both books. I get all melty whenever I spend time with the Baker-Parnassus family so may need to ask David if I can hang out in his room for a bit to recover.

These books are hugs, absolutely. They’re also underdogs pulling together against all odds, when those in power want nothing more than to crush their spirit and keep them down. They’re learning to believe in yourself and standing up for what’s right. They’re hope and love and one of the best examples I know of the type of family we all deserved to grow up with, whether that was our reality or not.

If anyone needs me, I’m moving to Marsyas.

I am found because I refuse to be in black and white, or any shade of gray.

I am color. I am fire.

I am the sun, and I will burn away the shadows until only light remains.

And then you will have no choice but to see me.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus has built a good life on the ashes of a bad one. He’s headmaster at an orphanage for magical children, on a peculiar island, assisted by love-of-his-life Linus Baker. And together, they’ll do anything to protect their extraordinary and powerful charges.

However, when Arthur is forced to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself fighting for those under his care. It’s also a fight for the better future that all magical people deserve. Then when a new magical child joins their island home, Arthur knows they’ve reached breaking point. The child finds power in calling himself a monster, a name Arthur has tried so hard to banish to protect his children. Challenged from within and without, their volatile family might grow stronger. Or everything Arthur loves could fall apart.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.

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Cerulean Chronicles #1: The House in the Cerulean Sea – TJ Klune

Change often starts with the smallest of whispers. Like-minded people building it up to a roar.

This is the best book hug I’ve had in a long time. There’s power in found family: home can be a place of refuge, with kindred spirits who accept for who you are in your entirety. Even your weirdness. Especially your weirdness. You have room to grow and become more you. You are wanted and loved and chosen. This is what awaits you at Marsyas Island.

Arthur cares for six orphans, categorised by a government department as the worst of the worst. Linus, a representative of said government department, has been sent to the island with the mandate to report on the goings on.

Linus, who has existed in a world of grey, enters a world of colour. The rules and regulations that govern his life aren’t easily applied here.

I love every single inhabitant of the island. I love Helen and J-Bone. I’ve also got a soft spot for grumpy Merle. I want to live on Marsyas Island.

Books like this scare me, but not for any reason you’re probably imagining. I preordered both a signed copy of this book and the Kindle. They’ve both been sitting there unread for four years. Four years! That was before I read the first The Extraordinaries book. What other books have been waiting for me to fall in love with them and what if I never read them? That, my friends, is what terror is made of.

If you need a breath of fresh air and the following quote feels like it was written with you in mind, this is the book for you.

He couldn’t believe it was only Wednesday. And it was made worse when he realised it was actually Tuesday.

If you need some colour in your life, this is the book for you.

If you need a bookish hug is, this is it.

This is what hope looks like.

Don’t you wish you were here?

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn. 

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place — and realising that family is yours.

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Guillotine – Delilah S. Dawson

If you’ve ever worked in the service industry, been abused or have a burning desire to rail against the unfairness of the world, this is the book for you. It’s like The Menu without the restaurant. It’s Saw when John Kramer wasn’t actively involved in the implementation phase of the traps. It’s the stupid money you saw in Ready or Not. It’s Miss Inch from the original The Parent Trap declaring ‘Let the punishment fit the crime.’

Dez knows how hard it is to get a foot in the door in the fashion industry. Unlike many in its ranks, Dez wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Luckily, the school of hard knocks builds resilience and resourcefulness.

If she can’t get a job in high fashion in the traditional way, she has to move sideways. That’s what you do when you grew up poor: You think outside the box.

After a chance meeting with “Patrick Ruskin Yucky Yucky Ick Ick Ick”, son of the editor-in-chief of one of the most prestigious fashion magazines, Dez finds her in. Willing to suffer through some short term compromises to make the connection of a lifetime, she’s tickled pink when she secures an invitation to the Ruskin family island. Oh, sorry, Island.

You participate in Island life at your own risk.

Her timing isn’t as fortuitous as she had hoped, though, because she’s not the only one looking to make a connection this Easter. The army of pink, AKA the servants, are individually and collectively hoping to connect the Ruskins with what they deserve. Like a scalpel to expose their squishy underbelly and other creative dispatches. Roses will never smell the same.

I adored this murder book. It’s revenge fantasy in all its glory. It’s levelling the playing field between the haves and the have-nots. It’s the victimised resisting those who have oppressed and abused them in spectacular form.

I only wish this book had been longer and that there were more Ruskins who needed to learn the error of their ways. If this is ever made into a movie, I will be buying a copy so I can watch it repeatedly. I definitely need to read more books by this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Thrift fashionista Dez Lane doesn’t want to date Patrick Ruskin; she just wants to meet his mother, the editor-in-chief of Nouveau magazine. When he invites her to his family’s big Easter reunion at their ancestral home, she’s certain she can put up with his arrogance and fend off his advances long enough to ask Marie Caulfield-Ruskin for an internship someone with her pedigree could never nab through the regular submission route.

When they arrive at the enormous island mansion, Dez is floored — she’s never witnessed how the 1% lives before in all their ridiculous, unnecessary luxury. But once all the family members are on the island and the ferry has departed, things take a dark turn. For decades, the Ruskins have made their servants sign contracts that are basically indentured servitude, and with nothing to lose, the servants have decided their only route to freedom is to get rid of the Ruskins for good…

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Before Dementia – Dr Kate Gregorevic

When you’re caring for someone, that puts you in the role of advocate and I’ve found that the best way to understand the options for the person you’re caring for is to educate yourself.

You can’t rely on a neuropsychiatrist who disregards everything in a patient’s history that could explain some or all of their symptoms and relies on intimidation tactics to enforce compliance in a testing process they haven’t explained in a way that ensures the patient understands the task, then promptly diagnoses Alzheimer’s and sends you on your way with no explanation or follow up… But I digress.

As a carer, you’re entrusted to make the best decisions for the person you’re caring for, decisions that align with their values and are made alongside them; decisions that are made with and/or for them, not at them. You need to know what questions to ask and when, and you need to be able to weigh up the costs and benefits of treatments, and you need to somehow find a way to look after yourself in the process.

I’ve read a bunch of books about dementia but this is the first one I’ve wanted to talk about. It actually answered questions I’ve had that other books skirt around but ultimately raise more questions.

This book explains dementia in a way that’s easy to understand. This is the first time I’ve had someone explain why there isn’t medication that can reverse or at least stop the progression of dementia and it made sense. I particularly liked the way the symptoms are explained.

Dementia occurs when a disease or progressive processes cause damage, and brain function is impaired enough to impact everyday life. The symptoms of dementia are the result of a brain that is no longer able to correctly take in information, interpret it, and act on it. Dementia is a “syndrome,” or a collection of symptoms, and it can be caused by many different diseases.

Having something like this to hold onto when symptoms lead to frustration provides much needed perspective.

I learned a lot of useful information, things that should be explained by doctors but aren’t. For example, I didn’t realise that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) doesn’t automatically mean someone will progress to dementia. In fact, most don’t. It’s also made clear that memory loss doesn’t automatically equal dementia; other factors that may contribute to this are “lack of sleep, medications someone is taking, or anxiety, which can be fixed.”

One of my favourite things about this book is that it highlights that dementia risk isn’t equal. Racism, poverty, stress and whether you have access to education and preventative healthcare all have a bearing on your risk, despite the lifestyle strategies you may be employing. It’s clear that systems have a role to play in prevention.

Understanding health through an equality lens means considering gender, race, and disability, and how they intersect. It means integrating poverty, discrimination, and healthcare access as central when developing models of healthcare.

I’m not sure if this was a test or not but the list of ten brain healthy foods only had eight bullet points, which could be stretched to nine foods if “fish, poultry” are counted as two.

If your future health planning looks pretty lazy overall with a dash of it ain’t broke yet, I have good news for you. Many of the tips, especially around lifestyle decisions, in this book that could help prevent dementia are also good for a bunch of other conditions so a single good choice is a protective measure for many.

This book is intended to be read before someone you love is diagnosed with dementia. Given the prevalence and, let’s face it, how busy you are, it’s likely you won’t even look for this book until after you meet someone living with dementia. This has a lot of good information and it does cover some of what to expect after a diagnosis but I and I’m sure many others would benefit from a sequel, After Dementia.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HCI Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Structured around 20 questions you need to ask to help prevent, prepare, and cope, this book is a friendly, authoritative guide for anyone facing dementia and those who care for them. Exploring why disease is a social construct just as much as a biological construct, it helps us understand what it means to live with or care for someone with dementia.

How do I know if I have dementia, and how will I live with it if I do? Can people with dementia consent to sex? Can they choose euthanasia for their future selves? And can we prevent or push back its onset?

Chances are you know someone with dementia, but how well do you really understand the condition? Dementia is a complex interplay of biological, social, and psychological factors, and understanding it means understanding more about society and ourselves.

Approaching the topic through 20 insightful questions, geriatrician Dr. Kate Gregorevic explains the physical state of dementia, how to relate the diagnosis to real life, what questions to ask your doctor, strategies for preventing the condition, and how we can make our homes and society better for people with dementia.

While this book tackles some uncomfortable questions, its purpose is to help—to prevent, to prepare, to cope and to understand—and provide you with strategies for moving forward.

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A Sorceress Comes to Call – T. Kingfisher

It’s never taken me three weeks to read a five star book before. That’s how good this book is. I know. That doesn’t make any sense. Here’s some context…

I started reading this book after attending a conference about coercive control. The day after. It wasn’t the proximity to the conference that affected me, though. It was the fact that I had listened to a series of experts discussing coercive control for two days, yet not one speaker was able to get inside the experience of coercive control in the way that this book does.

I felt the control Cordelia’s mother had over her and because her experience was so authentic (magic aside), I was only able to tolerate small amounts at a time. It got to the point where I would notice my body tense whenever Evangeline walked into a room and that, more than anything else, told me the author had well and truly done their job.

Cordelia’s mother makes her obedient, using her power as a sorceress to control her every action. When she’s obedient, Cordelia is a marionette in her mother’s hands.

Her body is not her own.

No one noticed that Cordelia moved in unison with her mother.

No one ever did.

Her voice is not her own.

Her tongue did not belong to her.

She fears her mother can hear her thoughts.

Cordelia is constantly on guard, monitoring her mother’s moods, her tone of voice, every word she says – searching for clues about her safety – later that day, that hour, the next moment.

Cordelia resists her mother’s violence in small and big ways. She makes herself inconspicuous. Her careful study of her mother has taught her the behaviours she needs to avoid to increase her safety.

Closing the door when she was home alone was as much rebellion as she dared.

Despite having been abused all of her life, Cordelia has strengths her mother has failed to stamp out. Cordelia can identify her mother’s attempts at gaslighting, even though she doesn’t know the terminology, and has been able to hold onto her sense of self in a way that most adults who experience coercive control are unable to.

Evangeline, like many abusers, keeps her daughter isolated, but that’s going to change. They’re about to meet Hester, a fifty one year old woman with bad knees, who’s going to seriously mess with the status quo.

“You can’t save everyone, you know.”

“I’m not trying to. But if someone who needs help falls in your lap, you help them. It’s what you do.”

We all need a Hester in our corner.

This book is about the insidious nature of abuse but it’s also about the seen and unseen ways that people who experience abuse resist. It’s about courage and resilience and hope.

It’s also about the responsibility we have as individuals to remove domestic and family violence from our too hard basket and respond safely if someone shares with you that they are experiencing abuse. If you’d like to explore this more, I can’t recommend Insight Exchange highly enough.

New fear unlocked: white horses. Thanks for that, Ursula. 😊

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms — there are no secrets in this house! Cordelia isn’t allowed to have a single friend. The only time she feels truly free is on her daily rides with her mother’s beautiful white horse, Falada.

But more than a few quirks set her mother apart. Other parents can’t force their​ daughters to be silent and motionless — obedient — for hours or days on end. Other mothers aren’t … sorcerers. After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage. Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother. How the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. She knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

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Alchemical Journeys #2: Seasonal Fears – Seanan McGuire

Cover image of Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire

Melanie and Harry are the couple I didn’t know I needed and that’s saying something because my usual response to anything even approaching lovey dovey is “Bleurgh!” Because Melanie and Harry love one another in a world Seanan created, their love isn’t bleurgh. At all. It is everything!

She’s his fairy tale. The only one he’s ever wanted.

In this, the second book of the Alchemical Journeys series, Seanan expands the world of Roger and Dodger, Hunger Games style.

Melanie, the “overmedicated cheerleader”, and Harry, the quarterback, are the love of each other’s lives but they’ve always known Melanie’s heart condition came with a deadly countdown. But what if there was a way they could be together beyond high school? At a cost, of course.

Some of my favourite characters from Middlegame make an appearance here and I love them more than ever. You really should read Middlegame first for much needed background and because it’s one of my favourite reads of all time.

This book also gave me some new favourites. There’s Diana, who doesn’t get a lot of page time but she truly leaves her mark. There’s Aven, who … wants. There’s Jack, who hasn’t had enough training for this but is going to do her best to make up for lost time.

“All right, this is where things get weird.”

Seanan always introduces me to characters that stay with me long after the last page. I finished this book six weeks ago and I’ve spent more time than I should probably admit thinking about Melanie and Harry. I’ve also spent a lot of time trying (and failing) to come up with the perfect words to describe my love for their story.

Seanan always gives me so many sentences to highlight. Sometimes they’re about the characters or their circumstances but, more often than not, what I’m highlighting are things that make all the sense in the world but make me pause and wonder why I never thought of it like that before. Seanan just gets people, in all of our beauty, struggles and depravity.

People who think a pretty girl is prettier when she doesn’t know it are people looking to take advantage of a pretty girl who doesn’t understand the danger she’s in

Sentences like that just stop me in my tracks.

I didn’t think I’d ever find a series to rival Wayward Children but here we are. I’m sure that Seanan isn’t capable of writing a bad book.

Favourite no context quote:

“It’s all about the symbolism from here on out, buddy,” she says. “Symbolism and murder.”

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The king of winter and the queen of summer are dead. The fight for their crowns begins!

Melanie has a destiny, though it isn’t the one everyone assumes it to be. She’s delicate; she’s fragile; she’s dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul.

Harry doesn’t want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world.

So, when a new road is laid out in front of them — a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together — walking down it seems to be the only option.

But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts.

It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all…. 

“One must maintain a little bit of summer even in the middle of winter.” — Thoreau

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