Month: September 2020

Recent Reads: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is set in a school for those with magic, called Scholomance.  Except there are things that are forever trying to kill you.

El is our protagonist, and is rude, grumpy and antagonistic, and on the first page, is planning to murder someone who has just saved her life.  

I really enjoyed the twists and turns, and learning about Scholomance, how the students survive it, and about the world!  As this is ‘Lesson 1 of the Scholomance’, I’m looking forward to the next book!

I’m a big Naomi Novik fan, and have been reading her books since the days of Temeraire, a dragon in the military during the Napoleonic War.

Her recent books, Uprooted and Spinning Silver have both been good plays on fairy tales, and so when I saw this book, I was excited!

A Deadly Education was published on 29th September 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Naomi Novik on her website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to Random House.

Read with me – October 2020

Posted on by Pam

Hello there! So, I thought I’d tell you briefly about how my plans for books to read in September went, and then tell you what I’m planning to read for October!

I did read the books that I had planned to read in September, on top of the NetGalley books I was reading for their publishing dates, and I found it a good motivator to read books that I have on my shelves rather than just always reading NetGalley.  This is a pit I can fall in to as I have quite a backlog to get through!

Here are the reviews, because yes, I’ve read and reviewed them!  It’s a habit I’m getting into for all the books I read.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher – Harry Dresden book 3

Skincare by Caroline Hirons

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

And I plan to do this again for October!

I’m going to carry on with Harry Dresden, so it’s time for Summer Knight, book 4 by Jim Butcher.

I’ve read the first 2 books in the Woman’s Murder Club series, and have the 20th to review, so let’s add 3rd Degree by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.

The Sword and Laser pick for October is Finder by Suzanne Palmer.

And the Robert Asprin’s mighty tome is actually multiple books, so I will read Myth Inc in Action.

Recent Reads: The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden is set in ancient Athens, starting in 490 B.C.E. (I prefer B.C.E which stands for Before Christian Era compared to B.C which stands for Before Christ.  It’s exactly the same year.  The book is written with B.C.)

Anyway, we’re in 490 B.C.E in Athens, and we’re joining men of Athens who are going to Marathon to fight the Persians.  We meet Xanthippus, Thermistocles, Aristides and other historical figures, and see events unfold for them.  Because yes, this is the famous battle of Marathon!  We see the aftermath, and how the Athenians carry out day to day affairs.

I enjoyed this book for the look at ancient Athens, and how democracy worked for them during this time, and there is a lot of political machinations and war in this book.  I also enjoyed revisiting characters that I learnt about during my degree.  

This is the first in a new series that will be set in these ancient times, so if you’d like to learn more then this is an enjoyable way to do it!

The Gates of Athens was published on 29th September 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and from your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Conn Iggulden on the official fan facebook page, run by his publishers.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Michael Joseph.

Read With Me: Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow is about January Scaller, a young girl who grows up in a large house as the ward of her father’s employer, Mr Locke, a collector of curiosities and artifacts.  Life is stifling and boring for her, but less so when she finds a book that changes so much for her.

I really enjoyed this book, and had a couple of moments of realisation whilst reading it about things that the author had been pointing at since the beginning, but which I only realised a page or so before the twist was revealed.  

I read this book because it was the September pick for the Sword and Laser bookclub, which has introduced me to so many wonderful books that I might not have found!

Ten Thousand Doors of January was published on 10th September 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Alix E Harrow on her website and Twitter.

Read With Me: Skincare by Caroline Hirons

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

Skincare by Caroline Hirons was a book that I was pretty excited about, because I’ve been following Caroline Hirons since 2017.  I have found some of my favourite products through her, such as Moringa Cleansing Balm.  So when I heard about the book, I pre-ordered it!

And wow, I am really happy that I did! I learnt so much from reading the book, and I know that it’s going to be a book that I refer back to. 

Caroline Hirons has broken it down to talk about skin type and condition, and to tell you what that means.  She goes through a morning routine and an evening routine, and explains what product ingredients mean, what ingredients you need to look for at what age, and all in all, wow!

It is one of those books that I know I’ll be talking about with friends and that I already have talked about with family!

The mug was my favourite of Caroline Hirons offerings with Holy Flaps, and I also love the other side of it, which is below.

Skincare was published on 25th June 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones (signed edition and pink signed edition as well!) and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Caroline Hirons on her website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.  Her Skincare Freaks Facebook group is here.

Other blog posts about skin care, and Caroline Hirons is mentioned in both of them….:

Glow Tonic from Pixi

DediKated – An evening with Kate Somerville

Recent Reads: Metropolis: A History of Humankind’s Greatest Invention by Ben Wilson

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Metropolis: A History of Humankind’s Greatest Invention by Ben Wilson covers the vast history of cities, from the earliest city, Uruk, through the ages, looking at different cities and how cities have impacted humans and the world around us.

The way Ben Wilson tells the story is really enjoyable, with a city being focused on for a certain period, and highlighting a certain feature.

There is a little mention of Coronavirus at the beginning of the book, which was obviously added as many people are moving out of cities currently, trying to escape the close proximity with others who could spread the disease.  But the push and pull of people in cities is covered in this book.

I enjoyed the way it’s written, and how Ben Wilson brings the history and cities to life.

Metropolis: A History of Humankind’s Greatest Invention was published on 24th September 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find a link for you to follow Ben Wilson!

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Vintage.

Read With Me: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files book 3)

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

Grave Peril is the third in the Dresden Files series, and introduces us to Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Cross, and Harry’s friend.  We also meet Thomas Raith, a White Court vampire, and Harry’s faerie godmother, Leanansidhe.

So yes, we have vampires in this book, along with ghosts, and a Knight of the Cross who winces when Harry swears.  Something is making ghosts attack people, and Harry is out to find out why.

I like the building of Harry’s friends and contacts.  This is a good sign of a book series building momentum, especially as it means that people can appear in future books, and you remember their previous adventures, or how Harry put his foot in it before.

Grave Peril was published on 4th September 2001, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Jim Butcher on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

My reviews for previous Dresden Files books are below:

Storm Front

Fool Moon

Recent Read: Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again by Page Dickey

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again is Page Dickey’s experience of leaving a well established garden and starting again.

Page Dickey is an American writer about gardens, and lived at Duck Hill, creating the gardens there during the 30 odd years she lived there.  She and her husband decide to move, and start again, at Church House, and this the book of her experiences of starting again.

The photos in this book are amazing, and Page Dickey tells you her reasons for things like trying not using weed killer, being aware of invasive species, and the problems with not having a deer fence.  She also describes reasons for putting plants in various places, and why she wanted to have native species of plants in the grounds.

This is a book that you’d enjoy even if you’re just dipping your toes in gardening as there’s a lot of passion and wisdom in these pages.  And did I mention the beautiful photographs?

Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again was published on 22nd September 2020, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Page Dickey on her website and Instagram.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Timber Press.

Recent Reads: I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite is about being a Black mother in Britain, but it is more than that!  It’s about the experiences that Brathwaite had, such as giving birth to her daughter, Esmé, and how no one listened to her when she said something felt wrong afterwards.  It’s about how Brathwaite and her husband, Bode, started making plans to leave London when they found out she was pregnant with a boy.  It’s about how white being a mummy blogger has been.

I’ve been following Candice Brathwaite on Instagram for a while now, and have enjoyed how she talks about different things, loved her bright style (she’s been on Lorraine a number of times to talk about style), hearing about her life, and watching things like her Instagram Live (now IGTV) interview with Stuart Lawrence, brother of Stephen Lawrence.

You don’t need to be a mother in order to read and enjoy this book.  Brathwaite has such a way with words that you’ll be chortling at her descriptions, and tells things with such honesty that it’s a great read.  As she says a couple of times, this isn’t an autobiography, this is focused on motherhood as a Black woman, and this focus keeps you on track, whilst covering a range of topics.

I Am Not Your Baby Mother was published on 28th May 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Candice Brathwaite on her website, Facebook and Instagram. 

Recent Reads: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files book 2)

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

Fool Moon is  the second Dresden Files book.  Harry Dresden is caught up in a case that has a mutilated corpse, paw prints and all on a full moon.  So yes, werewolves, but you know it’s not going to be that simple for Harry to work out what’s going on!

Fool Moon is a great sequel, and has Bob, Murphy and Susan Rodriguez returning, among others.  I very much enjoyed the story, and all of the twists and turns.

Fool Moon was published on 9th January 2001, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Jim Butcher on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

My review for the first Dresden Files book, Storm Front is here.