The Rotherweird Trilogy – Andrew Caldecott
The town of Rotherweird stands alone – there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird’s independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history. For beneath the enchanting surface lurks a secret so dark that it must never be rediscovered, still less reused. But secrets have a way of leaking out. Two inquisitive outsiders have arrived: Jonah Oblong, to teach modern history at Rotherweird School (nothing local and nothing before 1800), and the sinister billionaire Sir Veronal Slickstone, who has somehow got permission to renovate the town’s…
Cross Stitch Project: Nevernight
To celebrate the release of Darkdawn very soon and because I really loved reading Nevernight, I made a little cross stitch pattern! It’s an easy pattern that is fun to stitch and would look nice in a bookcase or on your library wall. If you want to make it yourself, you can find the pattern in my Etsy store. It’s a PDF download, a colour file and a black and white file. I’ve been really enjoying designing and stitching these patterns inspired by books I’ve really loved and I hope I can do some more original ones in the future.
Spotlight: The Dollmaker – Nina Allan
About the book: Stitch by perfect stitch, Andrew Garvie makes exquisite dolls in the finest antique style. Like him, they are diminutive but graceful, unique, and with surprising depths. Perhaps that’s why he answers the enigmatic personal ad in his collector’s magazine. Letter by letter, Bramber Winters reveals more of her strange, sheltered life in an institution on Bodmin Moor, and the terrible events that put her there as a child. Andrew knows what it is to be trapped, and as they knit closer together, he weaves a curious plan to rescue her. On his journey through the old towns of England, he reads the fairy tales of Ewa Chaplin–potent,…
The Sword Of Kaigen – M.L. Wang
A mother struggling to repress her violent past,A son struggling to grasp his violent future,A father blind to the danger that threatens them all. When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores? High on a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of…
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind – Jackson Ford
Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she’s got telekinetic powers—a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she’s normal for once. But then a body turns up at the site of her last job—murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She’s got 24 hours to clear her name—and it’s not just her life at stake. If she can’t unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of…
Cross Stitch Project #3: Red Sister
My third project is finally done! This one was a bit of a challenge because I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. It was frustrating and made me put it aside for weeks on end while I worked on other projects. But in the end, I’m super happy with how she turned out! My next project will be a full cover, not just part of it. It’s based on beautiful artwork from Raymond Swanland. It’s so big though that I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to finish it… But for now, I hope you like my cross stitch version of Nona! Colours: 36 Thread:…
Update: June 2019
We are halfway through 2019! I honestly still can’t believe it. It feels like yesterday I was coming back from Australia but it’s been over a year now! With the arrival of July I’m now also officially starting the write-up of my PhD thesis. If all goes well I will be handing in in September. Exciting! And terrifying. The last few months have been so hectic I have absolutely no clue what books I bought, received, read or reviewed. It’s all such a blur! So as much for you as for me, here’s an overview of my last month in books. Read In The Night Wood –…
Spotlight: The Sisters of the Winter Wood – Rena Rossner
About the book: Raised in a small village surrounded by vast forests, Liba and Laya have lived a peaceful sheltered life – even if they’ve heard of troubling times for Jews elsewhere. When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods. But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. She must guard this secret carefully, even from her beloved sister. Soon a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell-despite their…
In The Night Wood – Dale Bailey
In this contemporary fantasy, the grieving biographer of a Victorian fantasist finds himself slipping inexorably into the supernatural world that consumed his subject. American Charles Hayden came to England to forget the past. Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children’s book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow’s remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn’t dead. In the neighboring village, Charles meets a woman he might have loved, a child who could have been his own lost daughter, and the ghost of a…
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World – C.A. Fletcher
My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs. Then the thief came. There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point? Review A Boy and His Dog at the End of…
