Almost Famous Women: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman

Almost Famous Women: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From "a top-notch emerging writer with a crisp and often poetic voice and wily, intelligent humor" (The Boston Globe): a collection of stories that explores the lives of talented, gutsy women throughout history.

The fascinating lives of the characters in Almost Famous Women have mostly been forgotten, but their stories are burning to be told. Now Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Birds of a Lesser Paradise, resurrects these women, lets them live in the reader's imagination, so we can explore their difficult choices. Nearly every story in this dazzling collection is based on a woman who attained some celebrity—she raced speed boats or was a conjoined twin in show business; a reclusive painter of renown; a member of the first all-female, integrated swing band. We see Lord Byron's illegitimate daughter, Allegra; Oscar Wilde's troubled niece, Dolly; West With the Night author Beryl Markham; Edna St. Vincent Millay's sister, Norma. These extraordinary stories travel the world, explore the past (and delve into the future), and portray fiercely independent women defined by their acts of bravery, creative impulses, and sometimes reckless decisions.
The world hasn't always been kind to unusual women, but through Megan Mayhew Bergman's alluring depictions they finally receive the attention they deserve. Almost Famous Women is a gorgeous collection from an "accomplished writer of short fiction" (Booklist). 

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This book and I got a bit of a wrong start. I was expecting (looking really forward to) reading about these almost famous women as a nonfiction book. But it turned out to be historical fiction instead. But I prevailed and I actually liked most of the stories since. For instance, we get to know Dolly Wilde, Oscar Wilde’s niece, Butterfly McQueen who was in Gone with the Wind, author Bery Markham, the painter Romaine Remains etc. Some people in the book had I heard of before, some I hadn't.

But there were things with the book that bemused me like for instance a chapter about Allegra Byron, Lord Byron’s daughter, she was 5 when she died, hardly a famous woman, more like a famous child or, at least, a famous girl. Then we have a chapter called The Interness about the liberation of Bergen-Belsen in 1945. Every other chapter up till then had been about one famous woman; this was about how expired lipstick was given to the women in the concentration camp. Felt a bit like this story should have been in another book that was more about groups of women, like suffragettes. Last but not least the Lottery, redux, this is a “cover story” of Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery”. Good story but why put a pure fiction story, a remake of a classic, in a book about almost famous women that have actually lived?

In the end, I liked the book. It was interesting and many of the women did I google to find out more about. Btw that was also a problem, a short biography before every chapter had have been nice. Now it felt that Megan Mayhew Bergman felt that the reader, of course, knows everything about the women that the story is about. (But this is an ARC this could change in the finished book.)

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Macaque Attack! by Gareth L. Powell

Macaque Attack! by Gareth L. Powell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Spitfire pilot monkey Ack-Ack Macaque faces a world on the brink in this adventure, the conclusion to his astonishing trilogy.
In the thrilling conclusion of the Macaque Trilogy, the dangerous but charismatic Ack-Ack Macaque finds himself leading a dimension-hopping army of angry monkeys, facing an invading horde of implacable killer androids, and confronting the one challenge for which he was never prepared: impending fatherhood! Meanwhile, former journalist Victoria Valois fights to save the electronic ghost of her dead husband and reclaim his stolen soul from the sands of Mars.

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This is the third and last book in the Ack-Ack Macaque series and even though I looked forward reading this book did I have some trepidations about reading the last book in a series without reading the first two. But it went well, surprisingly well actually. I mean sure there was stuff from the first two books like the mentioning of the hive mind Gestalt, but it was very good explained in this book so I never really felt left out of the story. I actually got more interested in reading the first two books.

It was an action-filled book, a fast read with great characters and I recommend this to everyone that likes monkeys...lol and people that like action and adventure and a really well-written story!

Thank to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?

Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

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I have had two life-altering experience when it comes to fantasy, first reading David Eddings The Belgariad as a teenager and then reading Robin Hobb The Farseer trilogy in my early twenties. They made me love fantasy. So it was a great pleasure to finally be able to read the first book in The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy.

In this book Fitz is living a happy life with Molly, raising her sons, living a peaceful life in the country. But when a messenger disappears, everything changes, although he doesn’t know it yet, it will take some time before he realizes that. And that’s how much of the plot I’m going to reveal. The rest is up to you to find out!

Robin Hobb has written a fabulous book, a worthy follow-up The Tawny Man trilogy and I loved every page, every chapter was a truly joyous experience, it’s a book you read until your eyes can’t take in anything more and you have to sleep so you can continue reading the next day. It’s well written and intriguing to read and it’s never boring, even though there isn’t much action in the book. I was pulled into the story and the only thing that I didn’t like was reading the last chapter and knowing that it will be a while before the next book…

Hunter of Sherwood: The Red Hand (Guy of Gisburne, #2)

Hunter of Sherwood: The Red Hand by Toby Venables
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Guy of Gisburne, knight and agent to Prince John, is all that stands between England and anarchy, fighting a shadow battle to protect the kingdom from those who would destroy it.

Returning to England after foiling a plot to destroy Jerusalem, Guy of Gisburne is arrested and hauled to the Tower of London; John, England's regent in the absence of its monstrous King, needs his knight once more. A killer has broken into the Prince’s most secure castle in the north and left a message, drawn on the skin of one of his victims: 'the circle is closing,' signed with a handprint in blood. Is the threat genuine? Who or what is the Red Hand? Someone is killing John's men, and the obvious culprit—the most dangerous man in the Kingdom, Hood himself—has an alibi even Guy can't deny.

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When I read a book that has over 500 pages it better be good, it better not have a lot of fillers. This book hasn’t a lot of fillers. When I was somewhere in the middle I thought back to everything I had read and realized that every scene I had read was important to the story. That’s a good feeling. So I just plowed through the book enjoying the adventure, the action, the humor and the very well written story. And of course, tried to get my brain to grasp the fact that it’s Gisburne and Prince John that are the heroes in this book, not Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart (damn you movies)!

But I must admit that I had a soft spot for Robin Hood and some of my favorite scenes involved him and Gisburne. And somehow it was really nice to see a darker side to Robin Hood (can be because I‘m more of fan of antiheroes than heroes)

This a terrific book, perfect for anyone that likes adventure, action, and humor all in one!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Stalin's Gold by Mark Ellis

Stalin's Gold by Mark Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

December 1938. Moscow. Josef Stalin has lost some gold. He is not a happy man. He asks his henchman Beria to track it down.

September 1940. London. Above the city the Battle of Britain rages and the bombs rain down. On the streets below, DCI Frank Merlin and his officers investigate the sudden disappearance of Polish RAF pilot Ziggy Kilinski while also battling an epidemic of looting unleashed by the chaos and destruction of the Blitz.

Kilinski’s fellow pilots, a disgraced Cambridge don, Stalin’s spies in London, members of the Polish government in exile and a ruthless Russian gangster are amongst those caught up in Merlin’s enquiries. Sweeping from Stalin’s Russia to Civil War Spain, from Aztec Mexico to pre-war Poland, and from Hitler’s Berlin to Churchill’s London a compelling story of treasure, grand larceny, treachery, torture and murder unfolds. Eventually as Hitler reluctantly accepts that the defiance of the RAF has destroyed his chances of invasion for the moment, a violent shoot-out in Hampstead leads Merlin to the final truth...and Stalin to his gold.

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This isn't really the type of book I usually go after. I prefer more adventure, racing across the globe, finding lost treasure. In this book they are trying to find some lost gold, just not some ancient treasure, well it is from the beginning ancient, but that’s beside the point. Right now it's Stalin’s gold that someone has managed to take and Stalin wants it back and when we want something…he really does everything to get it back. Throw in the British police force and some bad Russian villains and of course the people that have the gold then you have the book Stalin’s Gold.

Stalin’s Gold is Mark Ellis second book and the sequel to Princes Gate which I haven’t read and sometimes you feel like you missing something when you jump in and read a book in a series but I had no problem getting into the story. There were some hints about the first book but it didn’t bother me at all. Frank Merlin is the main character in this book and I got Foyle's War (tv-show) vibes about him. For just like Foyles he is a police that is denied to serve in the war because they need him in the force which didn't make him happy. He's an ordinary man, widower, that is dating a Polish girl and because of that, he gets involved in the case when a friend to her brother disappears.

It's very well written, the only problem I had from time to time was keeping track of all the characters which got a little tougher because of all the Russian and Polish name. It’s a bit hard to read a book when you suddenly see a name you can’t place. But in the end, it got clearer and the book wrapped up nicely and I will probably in the future both read more books by Mark Ellis and read the first one about Frank Merlin.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

All The Things You Are by Declan Hughes

All The Things You Are by Declan Hughes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Imagine coming home to your house expecting to be greeted by your husband and your children. Instead, the house is empty, no family no furniture’s and the dog lies dead in the garden. That is what Claire Taylor finds when she comes home after a week in Chicago. Suddenly her life has turned upside done, but that is just the start.

Something happened thirty-five years ago, that changed four boys and a little girls’ life, something bad. And the past that the boys tried to forget will not be forgotten so much longer.

This book by Declan Hughes, made me think about books by Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay in the way everything wasn’t the way one expected and because of all the twist and turns in the story. It was an interesting story with an explosive ending, but in the end, the twist and turning weren't all that surprising. Nothing in the book made me go all “what the hell did that come from” when something was reviled it was more of a feeling of “of course”. I would have liked a story more complex, so complex that you can’t stop reading to find out what happens next. Not that the book is boring, it was a good read. I just never really got that “I-can’t-put-the-book-away-feeling”…

There was one other thing that bothered me with the books; the unknown narrator. Suddenly in the book the narrator turn from one of the character to an unknown person and it really irked me. It really destroyed the flow of the story. 

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! 

The Montauk Monster by Hunter Shea

The Montauk Monster by Hunter Shea
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
 Let’s see:
Gore
Monsters
Mayhem
Stoners
Soldiers
Innocent civilians
A hero and a heroine

Yes, these are the ingredients for a spectacular monster book. It would actually make a great monster movie. 

Montauk is ordinary town, a tourist magnet, but outside of the city lays an island called Plum Island. And on the Island lies Animal Disease Center. Now creatures have escaped from the island and has set their sight on the city and its population. And they are bred for one thing: to kill!

The Montauk Monster is not something I usually read, it more like something I would watch on the telly. This is definitely nothing for people that are faint of heart. It's nonstop action, people get slaughter right to left. A drawback for me was that the kindle version that I read had some problem with the structure of the text. And I don’t know if the paper book is better. But in the middle of the chapter, without warning, the focus could go from one scene to another and it was frustrating to be reading about something and then suddenly it doesn’t make sense anymore and then I realize that the story has shifted its focus to other characters. Annoying has hell!

Besides that, the book was quite good to read, it got a bit long-winded towards the end. Not boring, I just felt that it dragged on a bit and my interest in reading about people getting maimed dwindled.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

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There are probably endless with reviews explaining what this book is about and if you are a reader of YA you have probably heard about this before. So I will just go straight ahead to what I think about this book.

Shadow and Bone is a great book...if I was perhaps 15-20 years younger (yes I am old and picky) girl that for instance never had read any books by Robin Hobb. But now since I'm old and since I have read Robin Hobb, well that means that YA books like this, never really get that interesting. Mainly because I think the book lacked any depth both to the characters and to the world. That doesn't mean that the book isn't any good. I liked it, liked it quite lot in the beginning, I even thought that it would get a 4-star rating the first 1/3 of the book...but then it just lost steam and suddenly it was down to a stable 3-star rating instead. Which isn't bad...but I was hoping for a greater story. I wanted to be blown away by it, to love the characters, to immerse myself in the world. But I did not.

But that is just me. In the end, none of the characters really stood out for me. None did I really like. I mean I love dark characters (professor Snape is my favorite character in Harry Potter and I adore Darth Vader) but the Darkling? Meh! Boring and honestly a bit of a boring name/title.

#BookReview Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn

Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Postbellum America makes for a haunting backdrop in this historical and supernatural tale of moonlit cemeteries, masked balls, cunning mediums, and terrifying secrets waiting to be unearthed by an intrepid crime reporter.

The year is 1869, and the Civil War haunts the city of Philadelphia like a stubborn ghost. Mothers in black continue to mourn their lost sons. Photographs of the dead adorn dim sitting rooms. Maimed and broken men roam the streets. One of those men is Edward Clark, who is still tormented by what he saw during the war. Also constantly in his thoughts is another, more distant tragedy--the murder of his mother at the hands of his father, the famed magician Magellan Holmes...a crime that Edward witnessed when he was only ten.

Now a crime reporter for one of the city's largest newspapers, Edward is asked to use his knowledge of illusions and visual trickery to expose the influx of mediums that descended on Philadelphia in the wake of the war. His first target is Mrs. Lucy Collins, a young widow who uses old-fashioned sleight of hand to prey on grieving families. Soon, Edward and Lucy become entwined in the murder of Lenora Grimes Pastor, the city's most highly regarded--and by all accounts, legitimate--medium, who dies mid-seance. With their reputations and livelihoods at risk, Edward and Lucy set out to find the real killer, and in the process unearth a terrifying hive of secrets that reaches well beyond Mrs. Pastor.

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This book was fabulous, from the beginning to the end. Magicians, mediums, secret societies, murders, ghosts, a hero and heroine that start out hating each other and all mixed into a riveting story. I loved every chapter of the book. The only drawback to the book? I want more, I want more Edward Clark alias Columbus Holmes, I want more Lucy Collins, and I want more stories! I didn’t want this book to end. I loved the atmosphere in the book (How I love stories set in the 1900-century), I loved that P.T Barnum made a cameo appearance. 

I recommend this book strongly to anyone who wants to read a great book! 

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Joyland by Stephen King

Joyland by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever.

A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time—Joyland is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all of the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, Joyland is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.

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Joyland is not the best Stephen King book I have read, nor is the worst. It’s a good one, a sweet one with a dark ending. It’s a bit paranormal, not over the top paranormal, only just a hint of it. It’s a crime novel, but the crime isn’t a large part of the story, not until the end. It’s a book about one man’s year, a man that looks back to how a year changed his life. I will say that’s the year that made Devin Jones go from a boy to a man.

Sometimes when I read the book I almost forgot that it was a crime novel, hell it wasn’t even that paranormal, just the psychic kid and the haunted horror house, no biggie. It’s felt more like a story about growing up, with a hint of paranormal/crime. One thing that was good with the book was that I didn’t know how the killer was until the end when it was reviled. It’s always nice to be surprised.

Sunblind by Michael McBride

Sunblind by Michael McBride
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When U.S. Border Patrol Agent Christian Rivera discovers the body of an undocumented alien in the middle of the vast Sonoran Desert with three enigmatic words carved into her flesh, presumably by her own hand, it triggers a frantic search for the remainder of her party, a group of twenty-five men and women who have inexplicably vanished into the desert.

Aided by two of the agency's best trackers, Rivera follows the woman's trail into the brutal heart of one of the hottest and most unforgiving landscapes on the planet, where nothing can survive for long. As more bodies turn up, Rivera and the others begin to realize they may be up against an enemy far deadlier than the desert, an unseen adversary that will stop at nothing to take from them what it needs to survive. A mythical evil that may not be myth at all, but horrifically real, could very well be stalking them, and their only hope of surviving the same fate that befell the missing party lies in deciphering the clues to their disappearance before it's too late. If it isn't already…

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This is not a book for fainthearted; the story is brutal and intense. This is the first book I have read by Michael McBride, won't be my last, but it will take some time before I will let Mr. McBrides writing cross my path again. After this will I need something a bit less gruesome to read. Seriously, I almost want to curse my imagination towards the end of the book.  The story is very intriguing and harrowing to read and definitely worth checking up if you love to read horror!



I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

London, 1905: The city is alight with change, and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby, and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of bright, outrageous artistic friends who will grow into legend and come to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. And at the center of this charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter, and Virginia, the writer.

Each member of the group will go on to earn fame and success, but so far Vanessa Bell has never sold a painting. Virginia Woolf’s book review has just been turned down by The Times. Lytton Strachey has not published anything. E. M. Forster has finished his first novel but does not like the title. Leonard Woolf is still a civil servant in Ceylon, and John Maynard Keynes is looking for a job. Together, this sparkling coterie of artists and intellectuals throw away convention and embrace the wild freedom of being young, single bohemians in London.

But the landscape shifts when Vanessa unexpectedly falls in love and her sister feels dangerously abandoned. Eerily possessive, charismatic, manipulative, and brilliant, Virginia has always lived in the shelter of Vanessa’s constant attention and encouragement. Without it, she careens toward self-destruction and madness. As tragedy and betrayal threaten to destroy the family, Vanessa must decide if it is finally time to protect her own happiness above all else.

The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of prewar London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf.

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I can’t say I was overly pleased with the journal approach of this book, and I was a bit confused why there was dialog in the journal. I mean I haven’t written a journal in years but who writes dialog in it? It would have been just better to have this book written from Vanessa's point of view without the journal entries.

I read Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers some years ago and loved that book so I was intrigued by the thought of reading another book about the sisters, but this book was not nearly as good in my opinion. But still, Vanessa and Her Sister wasn’t all that bad, if you are interested in Bloomsbury Group, in Vanessa’s relationship with Virginia that you will probably find this book interesting to read. Also even though I wasn’t overjoyed about this book, I still liked it, and I especially liked the last part of the book, then the story really picked up. I would have loved to read more about Vanessa’s relationship with Roger Fry and Virginia’s marriage to Leonard instead there it ended. A bit of a letdown...

  

Vanessa and Virginia 

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! 

Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck

Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“She remembered when Hemingway had planted a banyan at his house and told her its parasitic roots were like human desire. At the time she’d thought it romantic. She hadn’t understood his warning.”

In Depression-era Key West, Mariella Bennet, the daughter of an American fisherman and a Cuban woman, knows hunger. Her struggle to support her family following her father’s death leads her to a bar and bordello, where she bets on a risky boxing match...and attracts the interest of two men: world-famous writer, Ernest Hemingway, and Gavin Murray, one of the WWI veterans who are laboring to build the Overseas Highway.

When Mariella is hired as a maid by Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline, she enters a rarified world of lavish, celebrity-filled dinner parties and elaborate off-island excursions. As she becomes caught up in the tensions and excesses of the Hemingway household, the attentions of the larger-than-life writer become a dangerous temptation...even as the reliable Gavin Murray draws her back to what matters most. Will she cross an invisible line with the volatile Hemingway, or find a way to claim her own dreams? As a massive hurricane bears down on Key West, Mariella faces some harsh truths...and the possibility of losing everything she loves.

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I have to admit that I have never read an Ernest Hemingway novel. I have read about him in school, I have seen movies based on his books, but somehow I have never actually read a whole book written by him. Not that I don’t want to, there are novels by him I would love to read, it just never happened. But someday perhaps…

Hemingway's Girl is a sweet story set in Key West, Mariella Bennet is a nineteen-year-old girl who recently lost her father and struggles to take care of her two sisters and her mother who is trying to cope with her husband’s death. To earn more money she starts to work for the Hemingway family and she is from the very start attracted to Ernest Hemingway, who is not only older but also married. So also meets a young ex-soldier named Gavin Murray. And she is torn between the two men.

Love triangles are a very common concept both in books and movies. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In this book, it works because I can understand Mariella's struggles. On one hand, she has a safe man, who shares the same dreams as her on her other hand she has a boastful married writer full of vitality and energy.

Personally, I found Hemingway to be the far more interesting character in this book (and in real life) than Gavin, but that just me.

Anyway, If you like historical fiction about real life authors then you will probably enjoy this boo
k!

Any Other Name by Craig Johnson

Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I think Walt Longmire takes his job to serious. As Lucian Connally, his old boss, says about Walt in this book; "Because he’s like a gun; once you point him and pull the trigger, it’s too late to change your mind." That sums up Walt pretty well. He just can’t let go of things. Even when he gets hurt, and let me tell you, he usually ends up with at least one visit to the hospital in every book, at least it feels like that.

Lucian asks him for a favor in this book, a simple request to visit a widow to a recently deceased police. She doesn’t believe that her husband killed himself and Walt agrees to look into the suicide even though all evidence points to suicide and not murder, and even though his daughter Cady is in Philadelphia ready to give birth and want her daddy there.  Luckily he has his friend Henry Standing Bear and his trusty deputy Vic Moretti by his side.

I probably had too high expectations after the last book. The ending in the last book had me in bits since I was worried that one of my favorite characters wouldn’t pull through and also since the ending revealed something unexpected and tragic. I found the case in this book a bit lacking. The book was never dull to read, but the case, the suicide that led to missing women wasn’t just my cup of tea. It just never really got intense, not even the ending. It was a good book, but since I have waited to read it for months, longing for it, to have Vic and Walt to have the big talk about what happened in the last book and they just skimmed the surface. So now I have to wait for the next book to see if they will have a heart to heart. I liked it better when I had all the published books to go through instead of this hellish waiting...

Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls by Katherine Larsen

First I will just say that I love Supernatural. It’s a great show and if I could I would love to visit Comic-Con, but…I think there is a limit to how far one takes one's obsession with a show/movie/singer/group/whatever…it’s one thing to like something, but to let it take over one’s life totally? It’s not that I don’t enjoy fandom’s, but I just don’t have the need to ruin my economy, drive away from my friends or family for it.

The ladies in this book, middle age women, suddenly start to obsess over Supernatural although it seems mostly Jensen Ackles, they fly to see him in play, watch everything he is in from movies to tv-shows. Nothing wrong with that, I have favorite actors also. But it bothered me reading how for example Lynn hid the fact from her family that she ordered passes to a convention. Like what she did was something shameful. And here we have the BIG problem with the book. Everything they did was so shameful, liking Supernatural and writing fanfiction. It’s shameful to like something; it’s shameful to write slash fanfiction. It’s shame, shame, shame. And I tried to remember if I have ever been ashamed for liking something (Hell I liked David Hasselhoff in Baywatch when I was a teenager and not even that makes me ashamed nowadays). 

This book felt like an excuse to be able to get up and close with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, a middle life crisis now that the children are almost grown up.

"As we pondered and plotted and looked for opportunities to get up close and personal with actors, our road trip through fandom continued."

But there are moments I feel for them because in a part they manage to find a life outside of being a wife, mother, and professor. That part of the book I liked, but I ultimately I think they failed in their mission to show the good side of the fandom, it felt more like they showed the worst part, the over-enthusiastic fans, the fanatic fans that sleep in hallways to have breakfast with actors.


There isn’t any shame in liking Supernatural. And if you like writing fanfiction, slash or not slash go for it. It’s your life. I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal

Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Ibby Bell’s father dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1964, her mother unceremoniously deposits Ibby with her eccentric grandmother Fannie and throws in her father’s urn for good measure. Fannie’s New Orleans house is like no place Ibby has ever been—and Fannie, who has a tendency to end up in the local asylum—is like no one she has ever met. Fortunately, Fannie’s black cook, Queenie, and her smart-mouthed daughter, Dollbaby, take it upon themselves to initiate Ibby into the ways of the South, both its grand traditions and its darkest secrets.

For Fannie’s own family history is fraught with tragedy, hidden behind the closed rooms in her ornate Uptown mansion. It will take Ibby’s arrival to begin to unlock the mysteries there. And it will take Queenie and Dollbaby’s hard-won wisdom to show Ibby that family can sometimes be found in the least expected places.

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12-year-old Liberty Bell or Ibby as everyone calls her is sent after her father’s death to live with her grandmother Fannie in New Orleans. That Ibby had a grandmother was quite a shock to her because it has always been her and her parents. Her grandmother Fannie lives in an old house with black servants Queenie, Dollbaby, and Crow. This is the 1960’s so segregation is still a part of the everyday lives. Ibby soon realizes that the town treats the blacks way different than the whites. She also get’s to know her grandmother Fannie better. And the years go by and Ibby grows up in the house with Fannie.

As we follow Ibby from 12 till 20 years old we also follow the world around her and all the people in her lives. She grows up in a world of changes, for instance; President Johnson declares The Civil Rights Act. She also gets to know her grandmother Fannie better.

I was a bit confused until the end why the book was called Dollbaby because I thought the book was more about Ibby than Dollbaby. But in the end, everything was explained.

I love to read and watch movies about the 60’s, so much happened during the decade and this book was not an exception. It’s a coming of age story, but it’s also a story about Fannie that we through the book get to know better. And what a woman what a life, she is a real eccentric.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of what might be a notorious Victorian child murdress and a baby snatcher known as "The Childminder" threatens modern-day Norfolk in the latest irresistible mystery from Elly Griffiths.

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of a Victorian murderess while a baby snatcher threatens modern-day Norfolk in this exciting new entry in a beloved series.
Every year a ceremony is held in Norwich for the bodies in the paupers' graves: the Service for the Outcast Dead. Ruth has a particular interest in this year's proceedings. Her recent dig at Norwich Castle turned up the body of the notorious Mother Hook, who was hanged in 1867 for the murder of five children. Now Ruth is the reluctant star of the TV series Women Who Kill, working alongside the program's alluring history expert, Professor Frank Barker.

DCI Harry Nelson is immersed in the case of three children found dead in their home. He is sure that the mother is responsible. Then another child is abducted and a kidnapper dubbed the Childminder claims responsibility. Are there two murderers afoot, or is the Childminder behind all the deaths? The team must race to find out-and the stakes couldn't be any higher when another child goes missing.

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The Outcast Dead is the sixth book Ruth Galloway by Elly Griffiths and as usually I'm having a bit of a problem reading the book, because even though I often enjoy the stories in the books I just can't stand the characters. Well, I don't hate them, they just annoy me, things they say or thinks can make me mentally roll my eyes. So when I pick up and read a book by Elly Griffith will I know that Ruth will as usually always bring up in her mind how fat she is and how thin everyone else is. Nelson, the cop she has a baby with will constantly nag her about what's best for their daughter and so on...

But I keep coming back to the books for the stories, for the cases, for the archaeology, for the mix of the past and the present time. In this book a, a woman gets accused of killing her own child and at the same time, Ruth has discovered the body of who they think is notorious Mother Hook who was hanged 1867 accused of killing children.

So the rating for the books is 3.5 stars with less annoying characters it would have gotten 4 stars.

#BookReview The Rise by Julie Plec

The Rise by Julie Plec
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep.

Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they've escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy…especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions—and Klaus's attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance. As Elijah works toward securing a piece of the city for his family, and Rebekah fights her unexpected feelings for a French captain, will Klaus's volatile desires bring their world crashing down—and tear them apart for good?

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This is without a doubt a book written for the fans of the tv-series The Originals, if you don’t like the show or has not even heard of the Mikaelsons then you probably won’t like it as much as a fan of the show. Like me, who loved the book! I can’t remember the last time I read a book with such an enjoyment that the time just flew by and suddenly the book is over and I just wanted more, but there isn’t anymore because the last 8 % of the book is just the first part of the next book (that I want pronto!) and now I’m sad because it was so good.

I mean it had instalove and everything and I bought it. Sure Rebekah falls way too soon, but that is part of her character, she has never been very lucky when it comes to men. Seeing Klaus in love was more of a surprise, but it worked also. Elijah, as usual, is the one trying to stay level headed and keep his brother away from problems, but as always, Klaus is a loose cannon and Elijah will always put his family before anything. Was the ending predictable? Yes, but I didn't mind that either. Damn, I just sucked up the story like a sponge sucking up water.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

An Atomic Love Story: The Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer's Life by Shirley Streshinsky

An Atomic Love Story: The Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer's Life by Shirley Streshinsky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Set against a dramatic backdrop of war, spies, and nuclear bombs, An Atomic Love Story unveils a vivid new view of a tumultuous era and one of its most important figures. In the early decades of the 20th century, three highly ambitious women found their way to the West Coast, where each was destined to collide with the young Oppenheimer, the enigmatic physicist whose work in creating the atomic bomb would forever impact modern history. His first and most intense love was for Jean Tatlock, though he married the tempestuous Kitty Harrison—both were members of the Communist Party—and was rumored to have had a scandalous affair with the brilliant Ruth Sherman Tolman, ten years his senior and the wife of another celebrated physicist. Although each were connected through their relationship to Oppenheimer, their experiences reflect important changes in the lives of American women in the 20th century: the conflict between career and marriage; the need for a woman to define herself independently; experimentation with sexuality; and the growth of career opportunities.

Beautifully written and superbly researched through a rich collection of firsthand accounts, this intimate portrait shares the tragedies, betrayals, and romances of an alluring man and three bold women, revealing how they pushed to the very forefront of social and cultural changes in a fascinating, volatile era.

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This book was not that easy to read, I had a bit of problem getting into it, especially since I had some trouble in the beginning separating the women stories from each other because the book shifted its focus from them all the time, instead of reading about one woman throughout her upbringing we got some info about her, jump to next, and so one and if you don’t have much knowledge about them before you read this book as I didn’t, then it can feel a bit too much info, to many new people all the time. This brings me to problem number 2, all the people! Relatives, friends, and scientists (and of course scientist friends) show up through the book and I felt it was a nightmare keeping track on everyone.

But I still found the book interesting, a bit heavy to read sometimes, but Robert Oppenheimer was such an interesting person to read about and it was a great approach this book to read about three women who all had an impact on his life. I especially found Jean Tatlock fascinating and it was devastating to read about her death.

I recommend this book for people that would like to know more about Robert Oppenheimer!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!

#BookReview Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . ."

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

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I decided to re-read Rebecca a couple of months ago, I started the books…and then other books managed to get in the way. But I decided to finish the book a couple of days ago.

I have also must I point out I have seen the movie version, I have also seen three miniseries (Two British and one Italien). So the story wasn't lost in the mist in the brain. But still, I enjoyed reading it.

Out nameless narrator (she is never named in the book everyone just calls her Mrs de Winter) meets Maxime de Winter in Monte Carlo, he has tragically lost his wife just a year before. They spend time in each other’s company and he proposes when the time comes for her to leave Monte Carlo with the women she works as a companion. Happily, she accepts and after they are married they go on a honeymoon and finally come home to his estate Manderley. She has a hard time there since she always feels like she pales in comparison to the beautiful Rebecca, Maxim's first wife. What happens next? Well, it’s up to you to find out…

Rebecca is a well-written book. I just have a lot of problem with the main characters, she is too naïve and shy for my liking and many times I just want her to stop being so insecure. But it's part of her charm I suppose that made Maxim fall in love with her. She is quite the opposite to Rebecca. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know that until Maxim tells her the truth about his first marriage.

The story is good and it’s easy to see that Daphne du Maurier was quite inspired with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë when she wrote the book. But even though I enjoyed reading the book again I just didn’t feel myself pulled into the story. It was fun to re-read it but reading this book felt sometimes forced like I will read 50 pages now and then do something else. As I mentioned before the main character just annoyed me so much. That took away some of the joy of reading the book. On the plus side, I loved it towards the end when she finally stood up for herself and didn’t let Mrs. Danvers bully her no more.

The Blackhouse by Peter May

The Blackhouse by Peter May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith.

A MURDER. Detective Inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past.

A SECRET. Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister.

A TRAP. As Fin investigates, old skeletons begin to surface, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.

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There is something alluring (at least for me) with crime novels placed on islands, especially those far up in the north, with bad weather and people that have known each other for generations. I mean it wouldn't be the same if it would be set on a Caribbean paradise, for instance, who would ever want to leave in the first place. Too idyllic, I prefer more these dark and rugged places with old secrets.

Fin Macleod (From the clan Macleod…sorry I'm a child of the 80s and I love the Highlander) returns home to Isle of Lewis 18 years after he left the island to work as a police. An old classmate has been murdered and the murders similarities with a previous murder in Edinburgh. But this is not an easy case to take on for Fin. He most both face people and events from his past and at the same time find a killer who could be one of the people he used to know.

Peter May has written a very intense and dark crime novel. As we follow Fin in present day trying to find a killer we also get flashbacks to the past, to the events in his childhood that led to Fin in the end leaving the Isle of Lewis. This is one of the best crime novels I have read in a while, with a nerve-racking ending.

Highly recommended!

On the Edge by Richard Hammond

On the Edge by Richard Hammond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Richard Hammond is one of our most in-demand and best-loved television presenters. In September 2006, he suffered a serious brain injury following a high-speed car crash. ON THE EDGE is his compelling account of life before and after the accident and an honest description of his recovery, full of drama and incident.

An adrenalin junkie long before his association with Top Gear, Richard tells the story of his life, from the small boy showing off with ridiculous stunts on his bicycle to the adolescent with a near-obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of petrol.

After a series of jobs in local radio, he graduated to television and eventually to Top Gear. His insights into the personalities, the camaraderie and the stunts for which Top Gear has become famous, make compulsive reading. It was whilst filming for Top Gear that Richard was involved in a high speed crash, driving a jet-powered dragster. His wife Mindy tells the story of the anxious hours and days of watching and waiting until he finally emerged from his coma. In an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing, she and Richard then piece together the stages of his recovery as his shattered mind slowly reformed. The final chapter recounts his return home and his triumphant reappearance in front of the cameras.

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On the Edge This is an excellent book, I listen to it a couple of years ago as an audiobook, but bought it now because 1.) It was so good I want to read it again and 2.) It will look smashing on my bookshelf 3.) I have a bit of a Top Gear obsession (and I’m not even a car fan.

But anyway, if you are after a great autobiographical book, then this is one I wholeheartedly recommend! I do btw recommend the audio book because both Richard and his wife Mindy is narrating the book, with Mindy taking over the story when Richard is inured. It's a very gripping story and you could really feel Mindy's anxiety when she learned about the accident and not knowing if he would survive. 

Vox Gn by Matteo De Longis

Vox Gn by Matteo De Longis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


.VOX is an original graphic concept artbook! A resonance between music and images, the power of rock and electric colors, VOX is a rockbook, the place where the graphic universe of Matteo De Longis explodes! The richness of the author's creative universe can be read through the diversity in the explored themes: musical instruments, intense and sensual women, planes, guns, cars this graphic variety doesn't fail to stimulate and intrigue. Presented in electric yellow transparent packaging the size of an LP record sleeve, this artbook is both lavish and singular."

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I realized after a while that I "read" this book totally wrong. I had no music on! So if you are going to "read" this book, crank up the volume and let the images captivate you, seduce you, enchant you...

Some samples:

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! 

The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family by Amber Hunt

The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family by Amber Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kennedy Wives is a biographical book about the five Kennedy women that were married to Joe, Jack, Bobby and Edward Kennedy. Every woman gets her own chapter and in the chapters, their lives are described from their childhood to how they met their husband and how their lives turned out.

For me, this book didn't really contain much of new information when with it come to Ethel, Jackie or Joan since I have read Taraborrelli's Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot. I have also read part of Rose Kennedys autobiography (that I own and must finish some day) so I knew much about her also. Vicki Kennedy, however, was a woman I hadn't read so much about and her relationship with Ted Kennedy actually made me soften up a bit to him. Ted Kennedy has never really been a Kennedy that I cared so much about. For me, it has always been Bobby and Jack. Well, mostly Bobby.

This book put the wives in focus, sure they are mostly known for their roles as wives, but I think it is nice to read about them, about what made them tick, and their influence on their husbands and the tragedies they suffered in their lives. 

I think Amber Hurst and David Batcher has done a really good work, this book is informative and it never gets boring reading it. I admit that I didn't think the chapters about Joan and Vicki would interest me so much, but they were just as interesting to read as the other wives chapters.

A great book for people that are interested in the Kennedys or for those who want to know more about Rose, Ethel, Jackie, Joan and Vicki Kennedy!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Star Trek: Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay by Harlan Ellison

Star Trek: Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For the first time ever, a visual presentation of the much-discussed, unrevised, unadulterated version of Harlan Ellison's award-winning Star Trek teleplay script, "The City on the Edge of Forever!" See the story as Mr. Ellison originally intended!

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I thought that Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever would be a graphic novel about the episode. What I didn't know was that it would be instead a graphic novel of Harlan Ellison's Star Trek teleplay script; “The City on the Edge of Forever”. I may have glossed over the fact in my joy of finding a Star Trek graphic novel on Netgalley...

What about the graphic novel then? 

I loved it, I loved the story, I loved the changes in the story from the episode I have seen to the version Harlan Ellison has written. I mean the episode is epic but damn it, this graphic novel is just as good and frankly in some way better because it isn't restricted to a time limit instead it can have many more wonderful scenes (I do miss Kirk's explanation for Spock's ears to the policeman)...

The art?

Breathtaking! I mean it's so gorgeous and so well drawn that every expression on Spock and Kirk's faces is just perfect, it's almost uncanny watching the art and seeing how well the expressions are drawn.

The verdict?

5 stars! I want this volume, I need this volume!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review

Forty Days Without Shadow by Olivier Truc

Forty Days Without Shadow by Olivier Truc
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Winter is savage and cold in Lapland. When a priceless local relic is stolen from Kautokeino, a village in the middle of the isolated snowy tundra, detectives Klemet Nango – a familiar face in the rural community – and Nina Nansen, fresh out of the local police academy, are called to investigate.

There are just a few days until the locals will host a UN World Heritage conference, and Klemet and Nina are under pressure to retrieve the artefact, due to be presented to a world-renowned French scientist as part of the celebrations. When a local reindeer herder is found brutally murdered, Klemet and Nina immediately suspect that the two events are linked. But the villagers don't take too kindly to having their secret histories stirred up and the duo is forced to cross the icy landscapes alone in search of the answers that will lead them to a killer.

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The Sámis in Sweden, Norway and Finland has during century’s, just like other indigenous populations, been oppressed, and one thing the church did against them was burning their drums, there used to be thousands of them, now there are only 71 documented left.  I have been for years fascinated by the Sámis so that made the experience of reading this book so much greater. Because even though this is a crime novel, it’s also a glimpse into the Sámi world, both the present one and the one the high power was hell bent on destroying, when they sent up people to colonize and make Christians out of the natives.

This book was truly well written, I mean it took me days to get through because I just couldn’t skim any part, because it was so well written and interesting to read. Of course the characters was great even though the police for instance fell into the risk of being stereotypes, bad cop, good cop, a new cop, but I didn't mind that. One character I really came to like was Aslak, the reindeer herder that preferred the old traditional way of herding reindeer instead the modern way with snow scooters.

The only part that I didn’t like was the abrupt ending; suddenly the book was just finished and I wanted more. I hope Olivier Truc writes more books, because this, his debut book was marvelous!

Thank you Trapdoor for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston

The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Lilith is the daughter of the sixth Duke of Radnor. She is one of the most beautiful young women in London and engaged to the city’s most eligible bachelor. She is also a witch.

When her father dies, her hapless brother Freddie takes the title. But it is Lilith, instructed in the art of necromancy, who inherits their father’s role as Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven. And it is Lilith who must face the threat of the Sentinels, a powerful group of sorcerers intent on reclaiming the Elixir from the coven’s guardianship for their own dark purposes. Lilith knows the Lazarus creed: secrecy and silence. To abandon either would put both the coven and all she holds dear in grave danger. She has spent her life honoring it, right down to her charming fiancé and fellow witch, Viscount Louis Harcourt.

Until the day she meets Bram, a talented artist who is neither a witch nor a member of her class. With him, she must not be secret and silent. Despite her loyalty to the coven and duty to her family, Lilith cannot keep her life as a witch hidden from the man she loves.

To tell him will risk everything.

Spanning the opulence of Edwardian London and the dark days of World War I, The Midnight Witch is the third novel from New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston..

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For me, this book didn't work. The witch part was ok, in the beginning, but the love affair destroyed for me any chance of enjoying the book. It was so boring, so predictable, so annoying that I loathed every scene with Bram. If Paula Brackston had focused on the witches and their struggle with the sorceress it would have made the book better, well a bit better, the story was quite predictable and boring also in the end. The mole in the coven? I wasn't surprised a bit when he was reviled.

I skimmed the last part of the book just to get through with it and to be able to move on to something better. I loved the cover and the blurb was interesting to bad the book was so bad.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The Snow Globe by Sheila Roberts

The Snow Globe by Sheila Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On a blustery afternoon, Kylie Gray wanders into an antique shop and buys an enchanting snow globe. "There's a story behind that snow globe," the antique dealer tells her. The original owner, he explains, was a German toymaker who lost his wife and son right before Christmas. When the grieving widower received the handcrafted snow globe as a Christmas gift, he saw the image of a beautiful woman beneath the glass—a woman who would come into his life, mend his broken heart and bring him back to the world of the living. For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle.

Kiley could use a miracle herself. This year, all she wants for Christmas is someone to love. A hopeful shake leads her on an adventure that makes a believer out of her. When Kylie shares the story of the snow globe with her best friends—two women with problems of their own—they don't believe it. But they're about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.

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I haven't had the best track record when it comes to romance novels these last couple of months. So I was a bit weary when it was time to reading this book. But I was in for a surprise! This book was sweet and cozy and had a wonderful Christmas feeling all over it. Sure it was romance in it, but it was much more than that. It was about family, happiness, and miracles. And the romantic part of it…it was perfectly ok. Not a single graphic sex scene. I'm happy!

The best part of the book was that it wasn't just a girl that needs to find a guy, sure Kiley wanted to find someone to love, but her friends didn't need a man to love, Suzanne was married with a child and was about to lose her family because she was blind to anything else than making money and Allison grieved her grandmother who died the year before.

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!