#CoverCrush Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Flashlight Commentary came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!

The English language debut of the bestselling Dutch novel from a Hugo and World Fantasy award nominated talent to watch

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.

The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated by being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.

This chilling novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in mainstream horror and dark fantasy.

Some thoughts about the cover:

I'm a big fan of horror books and this cover has that ominous feeling that I so love when it comes to books in this genre. From the "peaceful" houses to the stitches across the books titles...I want this book!

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages

Heather @ The Maiden's Court

Holly @ 2 Kids and Tired Books

Colleen @ A Literary Vacation

Meghan @ Of Quills & Vellum

Erin @ Flashlight Commentary

#BookReview The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman (@ahoffmanwriter) @simonbooks

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Find your magic

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

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You may have read Practical Magic, or seen the movie. If you have either (or both), then you know that it's the story about two girls, Sally and Gillian that grows up with their aunts after their parents die. Oh, and they are witches. The Rules of Magic goes back in time, to the 60s and onward and tells the story about Franny, Jet, and Vincent Owens. Franny and Jet happen to be the aunts that Sally and Gillian are staying with. This is their story...

I read Practical Magic for the first time this summer. I've seen the movie several times, but they are really very different. But, I still liked both the movie and the book and I was eager to read this book to get to know the aunts more. The Rules of Magic is just like Practical Magic an engaging and engrossing book to read. I've come to adore Alice Hoffman's way of writing, her descriptions, the flow of her text and above all the wonderful characters she creates. And, still, this is only the second book I have ever read by, her. Guess I have to remedy that...

This book is a must-read for every fan of Practical Magic fans (both movie and book lovers), the story is marvelous and if you like me love coming of age stories will you love this book. I love reading books set in the 60s, the bohemian atmosphere, the political turmoil and not to mention the music from the time like Bob Dylan. And, it's in this time that the Owen siblings are growing up, where they learn that they are different and that there is a curse hanging over their heads.

I finished the book last night and the story is still with me, their childhood and their first step into adulthood. And, the losses they have to face. There came a moment towards the end of the book when I had to put the book away to compose myself so that I wouldn't cry. That's how taken I was with the story. I loved the first book, but to be honest this one is better. I was definitely more taken with Franny, Jet and Vincent experiences than Sally and Gillian's. Not that I didn't find Sally and Gillian's lives in any way boring or so. It's just that that this book, the sibling's endurance, well it got to me.

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

#BookReview A Long Day in Lychford by Paul Cornell @torbooks

A Long Day in Lychford by Paul Cornell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A Long Day in Lychford is the third book in Paul Cornell's increasingly popular Witches of Lychford series.

It's a period of turmoil in Britain, with the country's politicians electing to remove the UK from the European Union, despite ever-increasing evidence that the public no longer supports it. And the small town of Lychford is suffering.

But what can three rural witches do to guard against the unknown? And why are unwary hikers being led over the magical borders by their smartphones' mapping software? And is the European question *really* important enough to kill for?

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What happened? This novella has nothing of the charm that the previous novella had. I was looking forward to reading the next installment in this series and it took me several times to finish it because I just couldn't find the storyline remotely interesting. Brexit, people that are disappearing, and three witches that find themselves the only ones that can find and bring everything back to normal. The only plus was that at the end did we get some more answers to what is going on, and that there is someone out there with some devious plan. 

As you probably can tell was this novella not to my liking, and I hope the next one is better!

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

#BookReview Angivaren (The Informer) by Jan-Erik Fjell (@JanErikFjell)

Angivaren by Jan-Erik Fjell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

I Fredrikstad hittas stans rikaste man mördad och kriminalkommissarie Anton Brekke kallas in. Brekke är känd för att vara orädd och oförskämd, och han har dessutom en hemlig last: poker. Med hjälp av polisstudenten Magnus Torp och polisinspektör Simon Haugen börjar han nysta i fallet, som först verkar ha ekonomiska motiv.

Men när han kastas in i New Yorks korrupta undre värld, rakt in i maffians högborg, inser han snart att helt andra krafter ligger bakom. I Angivaren flätas två parallella historier skickligt samman till en tät och överraskande intrig.

Detta är första boken om kriminalkommissarie Anton Brekke.

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Möt Anton Brekke, Norges svar på Dirty Harry i Angivaren den första boken om den egensinnige polisen. Jag måste erkänna att jag var lite tveksam till boken då jag var orolig att Antons spelberoende skulle dominera boken. Men det visade sig redan från början när jag satt och var orolig för honom att han skulle spela bort alla sina pengar, att denna last är något som bara ökar mitt intresse att läsa boken

En annan del som verkligen gjorde mig förtjust i boken var kopplingen till maffian. Precis som Anton så är jag fascinerad över maffian och att läsa om ett fall som har kopplingar till New Yorks undre värld var både intressant och spännande. Fallet har också något som jag verkligen gillar och det är kopplingar till det förflutna. Älskar böcker där svaret ligger bak i tiden.

Boken är rakt igen underhållande, med just den typ av humor som jag gillar när det gäller kriminalare med en dominerade manlig rollbesättning. Anton är något av en kvinnotjusare, men inte sliskig på ett obehaglig sätt, utan snarare ett spjuveraktigt sätt. 

Angivaren är en förträfflig bok, och jag ser fram emot att läsa resterande böcker i serien och jag hoppas att det kommer bli många fler skriva!

Tack HarperCollins Nordic för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Fredrikstad's richest man is assassinated and DI Anton Brekke is called in. Brekke is famous for being unruly and rude, and he also has a secret vice: poker. He starts to investigate the case, with the help of police student Magnus Torp and police inspector Simon Haugen, and it looks like economic motives may be the cause of the murder.

But, he soon realizes that completely different forces lie behind it when he is when he is thrown into the corrupt underworld of New York, straight into the mafia. In The Informer are two parallel stories cleverly combined into a solid and surprising scheme.

This is the first book about criminal commissioner Anton Brekke.

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Meet Anton Brekke, Norway's answer to Dirty Harry in Angivaren (The Informer), the first book about the willful cop. I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant about the book. I was worried that Anton's gambling addiction would dominate the book. But, it was apparent from the beginning when I was sitting worried that he would play away all his money that this vice is something that only increases my interest in reading the book

Another part that really made me fond of the book was the link to the mafia. Like Anton, I'm fascinated by the mafia and reading about a case that has links to New York's lower world was both interesting and exciting. The case also has something that I really like and it's the connections to the past. Love books where the answer is in the past.

The book is straight true entertaining to read, with just the kind of humor I like when it comes to detectives novels with a dominated male company. Anton is something of a womanizer, but not slimy in an unpleasant way, but rather a mischievously way.

The Informer is an excellent book, and I look forward to reading the remaining books in the series and I hope there will be many more books published!

Thanks HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!

#BookReview The Grave Tender by Eliza Maxwell @AmazonPub

The Grave Tender by Eliza Maxwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Endless questions from a shadow-filled East Texas childhood haunt Hadley Dixon. People said her mother, Winnie, was never quite right, but with one single, irreparable act, life as Hadley knew it was shattered. The aftershocks of that moonlit night left her reeling, but the secrets and lies had started long before.

When a widowed and pregnant Hadley returns years later, it’s not the safe harbor she expects. The mysteries surrounding a local boy’s disappearance remain, and the townspeople still whisper about Hadley’s strange and reclusive Uncle Eli—whispers about a monster in their midst.

But Hadley’s father and grandmother, the cornerstones of everything safe in her world, avoid her questions. If Hadley stays here, will she be giving her children the family they need, or putting their lives in danger?

The hunt for answers takes a determined Hadley deep into the pine forests, in search of sunlight that will break through the canopy of lies long enough to reveal the truth.

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I had some difficulties getting into this book. The first time I tried it out did I stop after a while and started to read something else. The second time did I still feel some difficulties, but I had seen that several of my friends had really liked this book so I decided to give it a shot. And, the book is OK. It's a tragic story, especially towards the end of the book. But, here lies the problem as well, the first half of the book doesn't have a big impression on me. The characters fail to come alive and I just feel that I was ill-suited for this book. I wanted to care for the characters, but I felt that they very not well developed enough to really make me feel for them. Still, the story was interesting enough and I did want to know what happened to the missing boy.

It's the last part of the book that makes me start to warm up to the characters, when bit by bit it all started to come out, not only what happened to the missing boy, but the truth about Hadley's family. I just wish that Hadley own life as a grown-up had been more explained, more detailed so that I felt that I've gotten to know her better. Still, there were moments towards the end when I felt deep sadness for her and the others around. Sometimes evil is not where one thinks it will be...

The Grave Tender is a book that for turned out to be better than I thought at the beginning. I can look back at the experience of reading this book thinking that it was worth it and I especially like the title of the book now that I know what it means. 

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

#BookReview A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas (@sherrythomas) @BerkleyPub

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The game is afoot as Charlotte Holmes returns in the atmospheric second novel in New York Times bestseller Sherry Thomas's Victorian-set Lady Sherlock series.

Being shunned by Society gives Charlotte Holmes the time and freedom to put her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, she’s had great success helping with all manner of inquiries, but she’s not prepared for the new client who arrives at her Upper Baker Street office.

Lady Ingram, wife of Charlotte’s dear friend and benefactor, wants Sherlock Holmes to find her first love, who failed to show up at their annual rendezvous. Matters of loyalty and discretion aside, the case becomes even more personal for Charlotte as the missing man is none other than Myron Finch, her illegitimate half brother.

In the meanwhile, Charlotte wrestles with a surprising proposal of marriage, a mysterious stranger woos her sister Livia, and an unidentified body that surfaces where least expected. Charlotte’s investigative prowess is challenged as never before: Can she find her brother in time—or will he, too, end up as a nameless corpse somewhere in the belly of London?

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I totally love this book. Charlotte Holmes is such a fabulous character and I enjoyed the book so much that not even half-way through did I order the first book in the series. I had no problem whatsoever getting into this book. However, I'm deeply curious to learn more about Charlotte's past transgressions that made her being shunned by her family and society. And, most of all I want to know more about her "creating" Sherlock Holmes. And, the case she was involved in the first book.

The story starts off interesting with Charlotte being contacted by Lady Ingram to find her first love. This case becomes very "personal" since Lady Ingram, of course, is the wife of Charlotte's dear friend Lord Ingram. A man that she, well, Charlotte may be very analytic, but if there is one man for her, would that be Ash Ingram. So, yes, very personal case. Still, Charlotte being Charlotte doesn't mean that she will let her emotion's rule the case. Not even when it's revealed that it's her own half-brother the Lady is looking for. Then, we have the proposal from Lord Ingram's brother Bancroft (Made me think of Mycroft, of course, lol) that Charlotte ponders over during the book. I found the case interesting, and yes I was surprised by the ending.

Now Charlotte, of course, like Sherlock Holmes has a weakness and if he needed the seven-per-cent solution is Charlotte's more the seven cookie solution. Yes, she needs cookies, not cocaine. Love that.

This is a book that surprised me. I did not expect to love it as much as I did. I love reading Sherlock Holmes pastiches and this is beside the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King my favorite so far. And, I have only read one book.

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

#BookReview Döden ingen ser (The Death No One Sees) by Anne-Marie Schjetlein (SWE/ENG) @Bokfabriken

Döden ingen ser by Anne-Marie Schjetlein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Precis när du tror att allt kommer att ordna sig och livet är på din sida, det är då det händer.

En sjuksköterska hittas död på rälsen efter att ha sagt upp sig från sjukhuset. Många tvivlar på att Lotta skulle ha begått självmord. Hon verkade alltid så glad, älskade sitt jobb och var omtyckt av kollegorna.

Sjukhuskorridorerna sjuder av rykten och snart är Lottas död inte det enda märkliga dödsfallet. Kirurgen Andreas Nylund känner sig alltmer otrygg och pressad i sin arbetssituation och med det ökar risken för att allvarliga vårdmisstag begås.

När olyckan väl händer får den ödesdigra konsekvenser.

Anne-Marie Schjetlein väver samman ett nät av relationer och livsöden i en dagsaktuell sjukhusproblematik. Döden ingen ser är den tredje fristående boken i serien om kirurgen Andreas Nylund och den kantstötta villaidyllen i Tylösand, uppföljare till Döden kvittar det lika och Döden den bitterbleka.

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Efter att ha läst bok nr 2 i serien, Döden den bitterbleka, såg jag verkligen fram emot att få läsa Döden ingen ser får att se vad som skulle hända härnäst i kirurgen Andreas liv. Om hans nya relation skulle hålla eller om hans bortgångna frus syster Petra skulle ställa till det för honom. Och självklart om kriminalfallet skulle vara lika rysligt spännande som i förra boken.

Jag fann att Anne-Marie Schjetlein på ett sådant fantastiskt realistisk sätt speglade problemen i sjukvården, med för få anställda, tidsbrist, stressens och oron att göra fel. Och det är just sjukskötarnas hårda jobb som jag fann intressant att läsa om. Om vad som händer när något går fel. Nu när jag ser tillbaka så hade jag klarat mig utan mordfallen i boken, eller rättare sagt personen i fråga, dennes inblandning i handlingen kändes inte helt intressant. Det är svårt att förklara utan att avslöja för mycket. Men låt oss säga att handlingen tog en vändning som jag helt enkelt inte fann lika spännande som själva läkarmissen som hade begåtts i början av boken. 

Däremot var det precis som i förra boken lika intressant att följa Andreas i hans vardag, med problem i hemmet och på jobbet och framförallt oron i vad Petra skulle ställa till med. Jag läser inte så mycket relationsdrama i vanliga fall, men Schjetlein skriver på ett sådant sätt att jag verkligen intresserar mig för karaktärerna att jag skulle kunna läsa om dem utan att de var inblandade i mord etc. 

Kriminalfallet i denna bok var inte lika nagelbitande spännande som i förra boken, men trots det så gillade jag verkligen att åter möta karaktärerna igen och jag måste verkligen ta mig i kragen och läsa första boken!

Tack till Bokfabriken för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Just when you think everything will work out and life is on your side, that is when it happens.

A nurse is found dead on the rails after quitting her job at the hospital. Many doubt that Lotta would have committed suicide. She always seemed so happy, loved her job and was well-liked by her colleagues.

The hospital corridors are full of rumors and soon Lottas death is not the only strange death. Surgeon Andreas Nylund is feeling increasingly insecure and depressed in his work situation, increasing the risk of serious maladministration.

When the accident is happening, it has the fatal consequences.

Anne-Marie Schjetlein brings together a network of relationships and lifestyles in a day-to-day hospital problem. The Death No One Sees is the third independent book in the series about surgeon Andreas Nylund.

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After reading book number two in the series, The Bitter Pallor of Death was I really looking forward to reading The Death No One Sees to see what would happen next in surgeon Andrea's life. If his new relationship would hold or if his late wife sisters Petra would make trouble for him. And, of course, if the criminal case would be as exciting as in the previous book.

I found that Anne-Marie Schjetlein showed the problems in healthcare, with too few employees, shortage of time, stress and worry to make mistakes in a truly realistic way. And it's the hard work of the nurses that I found interesting to read about. What happens when something goes wrong. Now that I look back I would have done without the murder cases in the book, or rather the person in question. The person involved in the book did not feel quite interesting. It's hard to explain without revealing too much. But, let's say that the story took a turn that I simply did not feel as exciting as the actual medical mistreatment that had been committed at the beginning of the book.

However, just as in the first book, was it just as interesting to follow Andreas in his everyday life, with problems at home and at work, and above all the worries of what Petra would do. I do not read many relational dramas, but Schjetlein writes in such a way that I really care about the characters that I could read about them without being involved in murder, etc.

The criminal case in this book was not as compelling as in the previous book, but in spite of that, did I really enjoyed meeting the characters again and I really have to make time for the first book that I still haven't read!

Thanks to Bokfabriken for the review copy!

#BookReview Whisper of the Moon Moth by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

Whisper of the Moon Moth by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

For nineteen-year-old Estelle Thompson, going to the cinema is more than a way to pass the time…it’s a way out. In 1931 in Calcutta, Anglo-Indian girls like Estelle are considered half-breeds, shunned by both English and Indian society. Her only escape is through the silver screen, where she can forget the world around her.

When Estelle catches the eye of a dashing American heir with connections to a major motion-picture studio, he also captures her heart. Soon, Estelle has a one-way ticket to London and a recommendation for a screen test.

To get to the top, she must keep her Indian heritage concealed—and so begins her new identity as movie goddess Merle Oberon. But just as her dreams are poised to come true, she discovers that her own family is keeping a much more shocking secret from her—one that changes everything she’s believed about her past.

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Merle Oberon's life before (and after) fame is one that is so fascinating that I was thrilled to learn that a book was going to be published. However, my expectations of the book turned out to be too high. As a close friend of my (who is also reading this book, will link to her review when it's done) wrote about the book "categorizing this one as a freely adapted biographic fiction that is significantly heavy on the fiction." I personally called it fantasy since the author decided to take leaps in the story that had no anchoring in real life. But, that's me...

Anyway, the writing isn't bad. I enjoyed reading The Woman on the Orient Express by the author and if this had been a historical fiction with made-up characters would I have enjoyed the book more. But, alas there are so many omissions and added events that I felt that this is like taking a real person's life, erasing parts that don't fit with the story and adding events to make it more thrilling. For instance, the whole Vivien Leigh feud is just laughable. And, the ending is saccharine and definitely felt like the author decided to change the truth to a suitable lie instead. And, the part I was looking forward to, the love affair with a fellow actor was totally omitted. Glossed over. But, he was married so of course that is taboo and we can't have Merle having an affair with a married man. Instead, make it believe that she had a fling with David Niven before finding true love...

Would I recommend this book? Not if you are looking for a biographical fiction, this is so far away from Merle's life that you will probably enjoy it if you know nothing about her and/or don't mind the author taking liberation with Merle's life.

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