Month: September 2020

Recent Reads: Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files book 1)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files 1) is the first in the Dresden Files series.  You might have seen the TV series for it, which can often be found on Amazon Prime!  But, anyway, I’ve been reading and loving these books for a long time, and since Jim Butcher is publishing 2 Harry Dresden books this year, I wanted to make them a re-read!

Harry Dresden is the only wizard that you can find in the phone book.  He lives and works in Chicago, and is a private investigator as well as a police consultant.  He has a big heart, will do the right thing, and will typically manage to get horribly hurt in the process.  

Storm Front has a double murder that Harry is brought in to investigate, and he realises that it could only have happened if someone was practicing black magic.

I love the series, as you can tell from the fact I’m re-reading it for the latest books!  It’s urban fantasy, and I always enjoy the ride that Jim Butcher takes us on!

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files 1) was published on 1st April 2000, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.  

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

 

Recent Reads: The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg Loades

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg Loades is one of those books that you pick up, read a bit, and then want to share with someone the things you have learnt!  In my case, my husband has heard me extolling the virtues of this book.

It goes through cottage style, but then it also gives you ideas for planting, shows you plants in containers, again with suggestions, and there are so many photos of plants!

This really has been a joy to read, so much so that I’ve added it to my Amazon Wishlist as a hardcopy as I think having this book to go through, go back and re-read various sections, and to use the guides for what to do in each season would be great! 

Greg Loades also shows you his mostly container garden, from when it was empty of plants, to so much growth, which really shows you that he practices what he preaches.

The Modern Cottage Garden was published on 20th July 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Greg Loades on Twitter and Instagram.

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

Recent Reads: And Now For The Good News… :To the Future with Love by Ruby Wax

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

And Now For The Good News… :To the Future with Love by Ruby Wax looks at different things like education and food to see what the good things are that are coming, or are here already, just not in a big way, yet.

Ruby Wax compares the difference between schooling in China and Finland, such as in China where mental health issues bring shame to families, versus in Finland where they discuss how stories make them feel and why people do things.

There is also some suggested apps, and a mindful meditation to do with your phone where you chuck it out of a window, off a cliff, into the sea, your choice.  And that sums up the book.  It’s written with a playful tone but is there with a serious message.

Ruby Wax is public about her struggles with mental health, and so has been writing books to help others, and started Frazzled Cafes, which during Covid-19 is hosting online support meetings, and pre Covid-19 hosted in person meetings.  Maybe it will again.

And Now For The Good News… :To the Future with Love was published on 17th September 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Ruby Wax on her website, Twitter and Facebook.  

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

Recent Reads: Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazieris about a pregnant 18 year old, who works as a pizza delivery person.  Her alcoholic father died a year ago, she lives with her mom and her boyfriend, and she’s feeling lost and alone.  She’s worried she’ll end up like her father, but still drinks alcohol whilst pregnant, whilst knowing she’s doing a horrible thing.

Then she answers the phone to a weird request, a pepperoni pizza with pickles on it, requested by a woman for her homesick son, and life changes for pizza girl as she starts to obsess over this woman, Jenny.

This was bleak, funny, heartwarming and addresses how lonely you can be even when surrounded by loved ones.  Maybe especially so.  It is a good read, but sad, and reminded me a lot of how I felt when reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Pizza Girl is released in the UK on 17th September 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Jean Kyoung Frazier on her website, Instagram and Twitter.

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

Recent Reads: Monarchs of the Sea by Danna Staaf

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Monarchs of the Sea by Danna Staaf was a really interesting look at cephalopods, their evolution and development.

I didn’t know a lot about cephalopods before I started this book, but as it says, there’s 500 million years of history, and it really does have a look at how they have changed over time!  

I’m not planning on getting a pet octopus in a tank, but it showed what amazing creatures they are!

If you enjoy science and natural history books that are well written and will explain things to you, then this is a great book to dive into!

Monarchs of the Sea is being published on 15th September 2020, and is available to buy on Amazon and Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Danna Staaf on her websiteand Twitter.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley, and to The Experiment (the publishers) for this book. 

Recent Reads: The Tech by Mark Ravine

Posted on by Pam

My review:???

I was recently approached on GoodReads to review this book, and having read the blurb on GoodReads, I decided it was a book that I wanted to read. 

The Tech by Mark Ravine is about a team of FBI agents who are considered to be the rejects.  Alexandra Cassidy who is transferred to take charge is ready for the challenge.  Mike, the IT support, is there to help, he’s playing his cards close to his chest.

This felt like quite a long book for a thriller, and there were places where I thought it needed a little more editing, to make the prose punchier and to sweep you along for the ride.

The Tech was published on 3rd February 2020, and is available on Amazon.

You can follow Mark Ravine on Twitter.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to Dawn Hill Publications.

Recent Reads: Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook by Elizabeth Millard

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook by Elizabeth Millard is a guide for how you can grow plants inside, including micro greens – seedling forms of the larger plant – to things like carrots and chard.

The book goes through things like sunlight, through flow of air, pests (mice adore seeds), and other advice.

If you’re wanting to get in to growing plants for food, and are thinking about growing them inside, then this is a good book for you.  It doesn’t pull it’s punches about all of the things that you need to consider, and also gives tips like what electric lights you can use.

Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook was published on 8th September 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Elizabeth Millard on Twitter and Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quatro Publishing.

Recent Reads: The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley (The Seven Sisters 6)

Posted on by Pam

My review::????

The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley is number 6 in the Seven Sisters books.  It’s just over 1,000 pages long, but don’t let that put you off as it’s a book that will drag you in, and take you to different places!  In this book we visit New York, Switzerland and Kenya.

The first book in the series is The Seven Sisters, and you can read my review of it here!  I don’t read many family sagas but I’ve been enjoying this series, and I’m looking forward to book 7 coming out, which is apparently 2021.

My suggestion for this series is to read them in order, as they interweave with one another as you go on, and they are all set in 2007-2008.

Electra is the youngest sister, and is the one that’s termed the most difficult.  She screamed as a baby, and has always been headstrong and known what she doesn’t want to do.  Unfortunately, she has a drug and alcohol problem, which she tries to hide from her family.  This is her book of finding out more about where she has come from, which has an impact on where she is now.

Spoilers for the series below!

Yes, the books have a formula – sister struggles in present day, maybe she goes on search of her past, maybe it plops in front of her, then learning about her great grandmother will help her know more about her present day and see the way out of her issue.  But, it isn’t a formula that hurts the series!  Instead, it means you anticipate where the sister is going to go, how they’re going to find out what they need to know.

The mystery of Pa Salt… he’s been an elusive figure in all of the books, but one that all of the great grandmothers have met!  There’s a good Reddit on all of the encounters.  There’s been hints all along that maybe he isn’t really dead.  No one knows how he makes his money or where he goes off to when he leaves home.  It’s all very strange, and I’m looking forward (hoping!) for a wrap up in book 7!

The Sun Sister was published on 13th October 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Lucinda Riley on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I read this book through my library, on the BorrowBox app.  

Recent Reads: The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Edith Eger

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

The Gift by Edith Eger is a self help book from a woman who survived Auschwitz, and later in life became a therapist as she realised that she had been running from the trauma she suffered.

It’s a book with real life scenarios and advice for how to overcome them.  From things like recognising your own behaviour when you say someone else is cold and unfeeling, to loving yourself, and the power of saying that to yourself.

This is a very positive read, with lots of encouragement, and love (she calls the reader pet names at times), and gives you tools and thought points for how to help you.

I enjoyed the book, and at some point I would like to read her first book, The Choice.

The Gift was published on 3rd September 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Edith Eger on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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

 

Recent Reads: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orïsha 1)

Posted on by Pam

(My review: ?????

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is set in Orïsha, where maji people, who can have powers like a Burner who can summon flame, live.  But this all changed years ago when the king had maji slaughtered, and now magic is no longer around.

Zélie remembers the night her mother died, and struggles with her brother and father to survive.  And then a chance to help bring magic back arrives, and with the help of a princess and persued by the crown prince, there is hope that magic can return.

This is a great book, with the inspiration being African rather than Western culture, which is something that is become more popular.  You might have heard about Black Leopard, Red Wolf (it’s on my Kindle, ready to be read!) or Raybearer, which I’ve reviewed an extract of!

This is the first book in the Orïsha series, and I have the second book ready to listen to, so my review for that will be soon as well!

Children of Blood and Bone was published on 6th March 2018, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, your local independent bookshop and most likely your library!  I read this through my local library BorrowBox app, and listened to the audiobook.

You can follow Tomi Adeyemi on her website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.