I decided to change the format of my reviews at least until someone complains. For the time being I’ll just do recommendations for five star viewing and reading for the month in question. I still have a full record of all I’ve watched and read but won’t share unless asked!
Here we go with recommendations from April.
Viewing:
Umbrella Academy S2***** Netflix. I am mesmerised by this series. Sci fi, adventure, and mystery with totally relatable characters. Will the gifted group save the world or is their presence the actual threat?
Carnival Row S2***** Amazone Prime. I adored Carnival Row and am sad that it finished but appreciate the explanation that the story is indeed over. However, I wish they’d think up another story using the same incredible world with all the detail – it seems such a waste not to! Season 2 was dark. At times I could barely watch, and it made Game of Thrones look tame. But it was wonderful and the ending was marvellously satisfactory.
Blue Lights***** BBCThis is a brilliant and superbly acted cop drama set in Belfast in the present day. Three new cops are being mentored by three ‘old hands’ and we are introduced to all kinds of believable back stories plus all kinds of believable crime. At times I left an episode not altogether sure whether I’d watched a drama or a real life story. I understand a second season has been commissioned and can’t wait.
Reading:
Arthropoda by Xenia Melzer*****Excellent crime story with a detective who can talk to insects. A totally ‘new’ concept that makes for fascinating detection. There’s a hint of cop buddy romance but I suspect it’s going to go the bromance or ACE relationship router. I’m going to follow the series.
Madison Square Murders by CS Poe.***** Intriguing ‘cold’ case crime drama with fascinating detectives and a hint of mm romance. When I finished the last page I went straight to buy the second in this Memento Mori series.
How to love thine enemy by Eli Easton***** As usual, I am fascinated by this author’s world of dog shifters, both born that way and ‘quickened’ and this time she adds Inuit culture and locations.
Bought daffodils. The ones in our garden are the mini variety and we don’t pick them.
Both reading and viewing in one post this time.
The best of what I read:
Sloth and other delights by TJ Nichols***** I adore this series. The characters are so complex and interesting and the world building is amazing. To say that it follows a human cop and his dragon shifter partner doesn’t give it any of the nuances it deserves. I know there are at least two more volumes and am not sure whether to gobble them up or ration myself.
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N Holmberg***** Gorgeous mf romance set in an alternate universe where magic is normal but rare. Merritt inherits an enchanted house and Hulda is sent to help him adjust. There is plenty of danger, not least from the house, but also from a fascinating villain. The magic is interesting and unusual. Apart from the added magical element the period (mid nineteenth century) is beautifully evoked.
Deliverance by Jason Bray**** Fascinating real life Merrily (crime series about diocesan exorcist) and it seems Bray helped Rickman create some of Merrily’s cases and solutions. Probably mostly of interest if you follow the Rickman series.
The Knight and the Necromancer by AH Lee**** Interesting and three dimensional characters plus good world building and some fascinating magic. This is volume one; Roland and Sair have started to bond and Queen Daphne might be safe for now, but there is no resolution or even a HFN. I shall be reading the sequel.
Postscript by Anne Barwell**** A delightful mm romance featuring a magic bookshop and a possibly ghostly cat. I enjoyed both threads of the story, past and present, but am still slightly confused by the apparent time travel, something that always plays havoc with my brain.
Run Wild, Run Free by Fiona Glass**** Pleasant gentle romance set in ‘50s UK though I was a bit puzzled by the way 18 was referred to as a special birthday. At the time, 21 was the usual celebration. I was also concerned that Joe couldn’t access further education at an art college. He would have left school at 15 and gone ‘down the pit’ or stayed till 18 at which point his local authority would have provided further ed without cost to his parents.
Stone Skin by Jenn Burke**** Lovely sequel to Stone Wings. The cursed gargoyles make fascinating characters.
Queer Weird West Tales ed. Julie Bozza.**** As is usual for an anthology, this is a mixture of excellent and merely good. One story,The Train Ticket by Dannye Chase, really resonated with me. In my alter ego on AO3 I’m partially responsible for a collection of stories that echo this one: Ain’t no rest for the wicked: tales of the train ed moth2fic and rubyelf. The tales are not specifically fanfic but use fandom tropes and in some cases backgrounds. https://archiveofourown.org/collections/aintnorestforthewicked )
Safe House by Chris Ewan**** Unusual spy thriller set on Isle of Man.
The Peacekeeper by BI Blanchard**** Some brilliant world building in this crime story set in an AU where America was never colonised. However, although I enjoyed the details of the twentyfirst century life of Native Americans, I realised who the killer was long before it dawned on any of the police/peace keepers. Worth reading but I won’t follow the author.
Readable:
Clueless by E Broom*** Cute story but the magic didn’t quite ring true
The Christmas Rescue by VL Locey*** Nice romance featuring the snowed-in trope.
Pole Position by Kristian Parker*** Thoroughly readable mm romance set in the world of Formula 1 motor racing and in the Queen’s Crescent ‘universe’ that the author is developing. I find it hard to get into the mindset of top sports people and although I watch and enjoy Formula 1 this didn’t appeal to me as much as I hoped.
Year of the Rat by Marshall Thornton*** Competent private investigator story about freeing an innocent man from prison. There were a lot of mysteries about the PI narrator and then right at the end he was linked to a different series and I was somehow disappointed.
Blinding Light by BL Maxwell*** A Rocktoberfest novel and this time there was plenty of interesting information about management and backstage things. However, the mm pairing agreed not to explore their feelings till after Rocktoberfest then when that was over we saw them leave, and the next chapter was an epilogue which assumed they were together. There was some explicit UST earlier but I found the ending disappointing.
On the third kiss by George Loveland. *** Pleasant mm romance, nicely written but with some tired tropes.
Still Life with Murder by Patricia Ryan*** Competent crime investigation story set in Boston, US, in the aftermath of the civil war. I wasn’t sufficiently drawn to the female sleuth to continue with the rest of the series.
Less recommended:
Bear and Fred by Iris Argaman** Intended as a memorial to children uprooted by WWII, this is a disappointing book that glosses over some of the worse aspects of the children’s experiences and relies on the ‘ahh’ factor of the teddy bear. It’s a children’s book and is not, I think, the best of its kind. It compares very unfavourably with books like Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, and whilst it is perhaps aimed at even younger readers I feel if they aren’t old enough to hear sad stories they should perhaps be made to wait a while. It is also worth noting that the book is not really suitably formatted for ebook reading. I got it ‘free’ as an Amazon Prime first read but would have felt let down if I’d paid for it.
The Christmas Ghosts of Rothery Hall by Graham Peace. Abandoned. The style simply wasn’t for me so this isn’t an actual criticism, just an expression of personal taste.
Windswept and Interesting by Billy Connolly. Abandoned. Somehow, Billy’s humour and fierceness don’t come across in the written word the same way they do in live performances. I got bored very quickly.
I have been culling my tbr pile on my Kindle and have deleted a large number of books I should never have downloaded in the first place. I haven’t listed them and it wouldn’t, in most cases, even be fair to say I abandoned them as I didn’t read more than a few pages. (Less than the ‘sample’ Amazon tend to offer!) I think once upon a time I was beguiled by offers of free books, and in some cases of extremely cheap ones. I hope I have learnt my lesson. The cull continues…
Excellent viewing:
The Third Man***** I didn’t mean to watch but got hooked for yet another viewing. Brilliant as ever.
Vera 12:Episodes 2 and 3 (ITVX)***** As I’ve said before, I love this series, not least because it’s set in my native city.
The Bay Series 4**** (ITVX) I think the cop show set in Morecambe has developed well and it’s good the way the cops’ personal problems are not only made very real but don’t overshadow the crime plot. They also feed into it in unexpected ways.
Unmasking my autism – Charlotte McGuiness BBC**** Interesting programme looking at autism in women.
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse.**** Animated film for children and adults first shown at Christmas and still available on iPlayer for the rest of the year. Recced last month and it got an Oscar for best animated short so I thought I’d mention it again.
The Night Stalker My5**** Real life crime in Perth, Australia. It was interesting to compare their policing with ours (UK), and the reactions of the victims added to the effect of the show.
Watchable
The Blob***(and the real one***). I can’t recall the name of the ‘real’ programme (or which channel both were shown on) but it was about slime mould and was fascinating at times. Then we watched the old film which, although dated, had some extremely tense moments.
Rocketman*** The Elton John biopic. I quite enjoyed the music.
Dire
The Wall. All4. Canadian noir. ** Almost abandoned but husband was watching. The entire thing is filmed either in semi darkness or against snow, both of which are presumably correct for the Canadian mining town setting, but the French Canadian accents were difficult and many of the subtitles were set against snow… Virtually all the cast spent their time in winter weather gear and it was often impossible to tell who was who. The plot, or what I gathered of it, was less than inspiring.
Better BBC iPlayer. I actually abandoned this even though husband was watching. The lead character is a female, ethnic minority, corrupt cop and the whole thing seemed so full of stereotypes and attempts to break some kind of wall that I just couldn’t watch.
We’ve had less snow than most. I expected to see our tree like this but we’ve only had hard frosts and bitter cold.This pic was taken in a snowier year.
Books by authors I already knew.
The recommended:
The Narrow Door by Joanne Harris***** Brilliant writing. I love her unreliable narration – sometimes deliberate and other times unconscious on the part of the narrator. This novel had a lot in common with Gentlemen and Players, the first book in the Malbry series. It’s a psychological thriller that investigates a death that occurred half a century ago through the eyes of the sister of the deceased and one of her staff at St. Oswald’s. The suspicion builds and builds but we are never sure till the very end. Like Stephen King, Harris has a knack for drawing the reader into a strange but recognisable world and every chapter is like attending a master class in the art of writing.
Warning: Deep Water by AL Lester ***** A brilliant novella set just post WWII -probably perfect. Second Wind**** is also good. The title refers to a position in an orchestra. The Celtic Myths series **** was excellent. I had already read and enjoyed Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, so I borrowed the rest of these short stories from KU. (As the crows fly, Taking flight, Surfacing again, and Playing chicken.) They’re delightful romances with various LGBT+ combinations. The author has taken elements of myths and woven them into contemporary tales. The writing in these and the longer novellas is beautiful and the author is good at creating believable characters in fairly short pieces.
Claiming Rys by Annabelle Jacobs**** A well written and exciting beginning to a series about shifters, witches and fae living in and around Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire (somewhere I once visited frequently). I liked the characters and the careful explanations of skills, magic, etc. and I will be following the series.
Chainsaw Heart by Kiernan Kelly**** A sweet ff romance with just enough drama to keep it interesting all the way through. I’ve always liked Kiernan’s writing and this was no exception.
Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness**** A return to the world of the All Souls trilogy which I loved. This was equally gripping (it even invaded my dreams) but I didn’t feel as concerned about Phoebe and Marcus as I did about Diana and Matthew, and would have liked Diana and her family to have featured more in this volume. I also found the structure, with the book hopping between the eighteenth century and the present day slightly jarring at times. So although I love the ‘world’ the author has created, and her very complex vampire, witch and daemon characters, this volume doesn’t quite make the five star pantheon.
Melody of the Snow by Blake Allwood **** For once I dithered about awarding four stars to this author but the book was beautifully written and kept me engaged. It’s just that it had, for me, too little drama. Family and career decisions don’t really enthuse me the way crime or the paranormal do. However, as a romance, with a lot of detailed and interesting information about a number of things like the hotel/resort business, drag queens, and singing careers, I knew it should be recommended.
Readable:
Driven Snow by Tara Lane*** I’m on the fence about this. Tara Lane is a good writer and I wanted to see what she did with a ‘twist’ to the story of Snow White, particularly because I did an mm version myself (Silkskin and the Forest People). It was clever and at times exciting but was at heart a college story which doesn’t appeal to me much. Recommended for those attracted to tales like that.
Books by authors new to me.
Recommended:
From the cradle by Mark Edwards and Louise Voss**** A really good exciting police procedural involving child snatching, with interesting characters and unexpected twists and turns. Well written with a lot of fascinating psychological insight into motives and reactions. I will be looking for the next in the DI Lennon series.
Spell it out by Andy Gallo **** Plenty of drama and romance in this short mm paranormal novel. I will probably get the sequel as I liked the main characters and the minor ones too. There was perhaps too much explicit sex for a short piece but it was at least counterbalanced by magic and angst.
Readable:
Muted Chords by Samuel York*** A disappointing addition to the Rocktoberfest series. This was quite a sweet romance though it really seemed like lust rather than love at first sight and the author didn’t make me believe in a HEA. There was very little about the way the music industry works, and the drama that enlivened the plot was unlikely and poorly explained. Readable, but only just.
In Tune by Elle Keaton*** Another Rocktoberfest novel Again, less background information than I would have liked but the characters were interesting and the plot was pleasing.
The Running Girls by Matt Brolly*** I ended up mostly skimming this crime story set on the island of Galveston off the coast of Texas because there was a lot of repetition. The events, most of which took place during a hurricane, were quite exciting but I resented the way a totally new character was introduced quite late in the story and used as the explanation for everything.
New Edge Sword and Sorcery Issue #0 *** Some very gory stories and some interesting articles. This was an ARC I read and reviewed for Scott’s Liminal Fiction group and although I found the articles quite fascinating I might not have continued with the stories if I hadn’t felt obliged by my commitment to review.
Silent Scream by Angela Marsons *** Interesting plot and resolution. Some gratuitously unpleasant scenes. I think it would have been better to let the reader investigate alongside the police rather than showing flashback interludes from the pov of one of the criminals. Not terribly well written. I won’t be following the further exploits of DI Kim Stone.
Poor:
Interviews with an ape by Felice Fallon** I was really disappointed in this. I requested it as a Christmas gift but had obviously misunderstood the blurb and reviews. To begin with, I knew I was getting a fictional account of interviews with a gorilla who learnt to sign. Fine – and interesting. But the interviews were, it turned out, interviews the gorilla managed to have with a pig, a foxhound, an orca and an elephant. Nobody ever said how he managed this. I’m sure the stories were based on true events but they didn’t ‘change my mind’ (as one reviewer suggested) – I, along with almost anyone who would read this in the first place, already deplore cruelty to other species. I know classics like Black Beauty, or more recently Babe, have changed attitudes but both were consistent within their fictional worlds. This wasn’t. This is Ms Fallon’s first novel and I won’t read any more by her.
And not for me:
The Congressman’s Whore by Nacht and Clancy. Abandoned. A kind of mm version of Pretty Woman with an added political agenda. Far too much very boring sex. I assume they got together at the end and didn’t want to follow the journey.
Our crocus are out, but may not survive the forecast cold snap.
Some friends have been discussing the way they have not renewed their TV licences because they never watch BBC, in real time or via streaming services, and I was surprised. I wouldn’t have missed most of these programmes for the world! I also watch a lot of news and political programmes but mostly not on BBC.
Things I would recommend from my February TV:
Happy Valley season 3 ***** (BBC iPlayer) Excellent cop/family drama set in West Yorkshire, starring Sarah Lancashire who is brilliant in the role of Catherine Cawood and ably backed up by a stellar cast. This was always intended to be the final season but people are already hoping for spin-offs.
Doc Martin Seasons 1-10***** (BBC iPlayer)We binged watched the entire series over January and February and enjoyed it enormously. Think Last of the Summer Wine crossed with The Detectorists, add a large helping of House and set in a facsimile of Brigadoon, but in Cornwall.
The Magic of Mushrooms **** (All4) Richard Fortey and Patrick Hickey explore fungi. I knew most of what they said, but it was good to have it all put together in one place!
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse.**** (BBC iPlayer) Animated film for children and adults first shown at Christmas and still available for the rest of the year. Interesting, and beautifully made.
Inside Our Autistic Minds ****(BBC iPlayer) presented by Chris Packham. Very well done and interesting, especially to our family with our autistic grandchild. Packham (who is autistic himself) explores the experiences of four people with very different expressions of autism and helps them make films explaining themselves to their families and to the world at large.
The World’s Most Scenic River Journeys. ****(My5). We watched the programme about the Mosel which the presenter insisted on calling by its French name, the Moselle. We know that part of Germany well by road and it was lovely to see it from a different angle.
The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution.**** (BBC iPlayer) I had already seen some of the programmes but it was interesting to watch them again.
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice**** (BBC iPlayer). A look at the singer’s life including interviews with her. Interesting, and obviously full of lovely music. I hadn’t realised that she also flirted successfully with operetta.
Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs**** (BBC iPlayer) The presenter followed palaeontologists recovering dinosaur fossils from a ‘dig’ where a lot of them died. It really brought home to me how far the Jurassic period was removed in time from the later dinosaurs such as T Rex.
And one I could do without…
The Wall (Canadian Noir on All4) Husband is still enjoying this but I’ve given up. The subtitles are frequently shown against snow and the Canadian French is not always clear to the foreign ear. The whole setting is stark with blinding snow and gloomy interiors and whilst I know that’s probably realistic I wasn’t enjoying it. Added to that I found I didn’t care much about the police, the victims or the other characters.
We had two delightful whippets to stay for New Year while their people were away.
January
I didn’t watch much this month – or rather I did, but mostly ongoing things that I’ll review at a later date.
Detectorists Christmas Special***** Delightful long episode of the very British ‘comedy’ show. It has plenty of gentle humour but is not played totally for laughs. BBC iPlayer
Frozen Planet II: Worlds of Wonder**** Nice eye candy, as all nature programmes tend to be. BBC iPlayer
I did, however, do a lot of reading!
Familiar authors
The highly recommended:
Changing his tune by Blake Allwood**** Another in the Rocktoberfest series. This one has a pop star wanting to switch to rock or at least more ‘adult’ music, and his affair with one of the technical crew. Lovely plot with thriller twists, nice romance, and I am still totally hooked on these music stories.
Loving Daniel by Ruby Moone**** Great story in the MC Securities series. The romance is good and the thriller elements are suitably thrilling. The characters are great and it was lovely to meet some of the people from the previous books. The main setting is Manchester which is where I live so the story comes alive for me in a personal way. These books would probably get a five star top rating if the proof reading was better. There are far too many typos – and they are typos, not author errors. Examples: ‘there we’re’ instead of ‘they were’ and a whole sentence in punctuation marks instead of just the dialogue bit. We can all make or rather not notice mistakes like that but they come thick and fast in these books which is a pity. If they weren’t otherwise so good it would throw me out of the story.
The Love and the Anger by Rebecca Cohen**** As usual, a lovely addition to the Crofton Hall series. Lots of fascinating details and an exciting plot.
The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams**** This is a kind of bridge between Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and the next series. It is almost wholly concerned with a battle and siege and I only really continued with it because I need to know about the events in it before continuing. I love Williams’ writing, and I must say I was engrossed, which is not usual for me when military matters are concerned. However, the author made the whole thing fascinating by recounting the opposing points of view and it will be interesting to see what happens to both sides in the new series, the first of which I have ready to read. All the books are set in a fantasy world.
The readable:
The Case of the Undiscovered Corpse by Charlie Cochrane*** I think this might be the first time I haven’t given one of this author’s books four stars. The plot was interesting and the mingling of the Cambridge fellows with the actor pair was clever, but there were altogether too many detectives. I lost count when various colleagues and staff started joining in. And then there was the multiplicity of possible suspects. My head was spinning. Readable, for the nice character portraits and the murder mystery, but needless to say, totally incomprehensible for anyone not familiar with the earlier books in either series.
The Witness of the Sun by Suki Fleet*** This was an ARC copy for review so there’s a more detailed review on Scott’s site. It was high fantasy with a YA vibe though with some explicit sex scenes that moved it into a adult category. Not really my ‘scene’ but might appeal to some readers and the writing is good.
A Body in his Bed by Sue Brown*** Nice enough addition to the series about the fledgling detective agency, with the most lucrative client of Skander and Owen arrested for murder. Because the guys are now civilians rather than cops there is less detailed detecting, and a lot of family interest and drama, which is pleasant but needs a thorough knowledge of both this and the general island series to appreciate fully.
The Family We’re Born With by Kaje Harper*** Quite a good Christmas story with various lost family members coming together plus some mm romance. I think there’s a sequel but I didn’t get into the characters sufficiently to care though I’ll read it if I come across it because I always enjoy Kaje’s writing.
The Prince and his bedeviled bodyguard by Charlie Cochet*** Pleasing story in YA fairytale style with a quest and a moral.
1979 by Val McDermid *** I usually like this author and the way they weave LGBT+ issues into their thrillers. The writing was as good as usual but I found the switch to investigative journalism not really to my taste and quickly got bored by the newspaper reporter lifestyle. I have the second book in the series and might read it if I run out of books…
Rainbow Advent Calendar – varied. I am not listing all the stories and can’t really give the calendar itself any meaningful star rating. I enjoyed it but had difficulty keeping up with the amount of reading, and then discovered a couple of forgotten files with even some of last year’s Christmas stories kept for this year but still unread. I think next Christmas I will opt out of the entire ‘read a story a day’ thing till I’ve caught up with myself. Though I’ve already had an idea for my own contribution… Many of the stories will still be available on authors’ websites etc. My own is. Check out the FB group for details.
Not for me:
Mage Bond by Eden Winters. Abandoned. I could see quite quickly that there was too much high fantasy plus pirates for my tastes. I love fantasy, but not all types of fantasy.
Authors new to me
Highly recommended:
The Silent Traveller in Edinburgh by Chiang Yee ***** A Christmas present I was really pleased with as this series has been out of print for some time and has only just reappeared. It’s a fascinating account of a stay in Edinburgh by an academic and artist from China, working in UK during the second world war and cut off from his family. We see Edinburgh through the fresh eyes of a foreign traveller and we also learn about similarities and differences in Chinese and Western culture. I think perhaps the fact that the book was written (and illustrated by the author) during wartime adds to the new perspectives. I understand there are similar books about Yee’s experiences in the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, both of which are familiar ground for me. I shall be looking out for them.
Two Tribes by Fearne Hill**** A thoughtful and well written novel about two very disparate characters falling in love as schoolboys then finding each other again in middle age. The first half was reminiscent of Heartstopper (Netflix) then the tragedy that separated the pair came as a complete shock and added immeasurably to the structure of the story and the explanation for so many aspects of the lives of both men.
Alia Terra (Stories from the Dragon Realm) by Ava Kelly and illustrated by Matthew Spencer**** An interesting and beautifully illustrated set of Romanian fairy stories, suitable for primary age kids. (I did a slightly longer review for Scott.) The adventures end with people and dragons accepting their lives and their differences rather than with princes and princesses getting married and living happily ever after. As such, a refreshing alternative to the usual Disney take on fairy tales so often marketed to today’s children.
Readable:
A Bridge to a Troll’s Heart by Lee Colgin*** Quite sweet mm fairy tale based on Three Billy Goats Gruff. Suitable for YA audience but not very memorable for me.
Three Stupid Weddings by Ann Gallagher*** Pleasant enough mm (but ace) romance. Once the characters and situation were introduced my brain could immediately tell me the rest of the story… Dom agrees to be Vic’s fake boyfriend for three family weddings. I bet most of you could figure out what happens. The only marginally interesting bit was Vic’s eating disorder, triggered by his controlling ex.
Not recommended:
Last Fight of the Old Hound by Nils Odlund** Some great worldbuilding in this shifter story set in an alternate universe, but I couldn’t even work out whether it was going to involve mf romance or not. Then it ended on a cliff-hanger. I don’t mind knowing there’s more story to come, but cliff-hangers are an absolute no-no for me as endings unless the book is initially advertised as e.g. a trilogy like Lord of the Rings.
Southern Bound by Stuart Jaffe** A paranormal detective story. Hmm. Stereotyped characters, confusing investigation, no underlying explanation of paranormal phenomena. There’s to be a series. It will have to go on its way without me as a reader.
Whisky from Small Glasses by Denzil Meyrick ** I did actually plough through this police procedural set in Scotland on the west coast. The series (because of course there’s a series) is set in a fictional town which has unaccountably been given the name of a real town, some way off. (Cue much use of Google Maps until I read an interview with the author.) The writer is ex-police and the procedural part is no doubt accurate but not very interesting. There is a lot of head hopping which is irritating. There is also a fair amount of slightly shaky vocabulary. I wish most retired police would stick to some kind of police consultancy and leave writing to writers. The end was reasonably exciting once you got round the head hopping, but then the very final page had a twist that was presumably meant to entice the reader to buy the next book but left me wondering why I’d bothered with that one.
This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes** I like her acting and her contributions to TV discussion and so on. I didn’t enjoy this. It seemed very self-absorbed (though I don’t think she necessarily is) and came across as just a list of all the people she’d acted and interacted with over the years. Unless you knew the people concerned (and mostly, I didn’t) this quickly became very boring indeed. There were a few nuggets of gem-like quality but not enough to justify a whole autobiography.
Not for me:
The Goblin Twins by Kit Barrie. Abandoned. It started with reams of information about goblin languages (actually, these were dialects, not languages) – information that was not really informative. For example, despite what the author would have us believe, neither of the ‘a’ letters in ‘adorable’ is long, and long ‘a’ usually sounds ‘ay’ whereas ‘aa’ is normally used for ‘ah’. Having waded through this strange form of linguistic usage I found the next section concerned elf languages and I nearly gave up at that point. Then, when the story started, there were, indeed, goblin twins, royal ones at that, though why everybody had to be described as a goblin man or a goblin woman rather than referring to their gender in other ways was beyond me. Anyway, the twins seemed to inhabit a world of clichés and tropes and I couldn’t be bothered.
Meru by S V Divya. Abandoned. Sci fi by a scientist. The amount of world building involving scientific terminology, some of it quite abstruse, was overwhelming.
First Impressions by Jay Hogan. Abandoned. It started with a lot of sex and thoughts about sex between characters the reader did not yet know or care about. I persevered but the basic plot seemed to be very predictable. Two guys meet – lust plus hate at first sight – then they are thrown together. I might be wrong but Aukland Meds (this is book 1) probably isn’t for me, though I was initially attracted by the NZ location.
Right as Raine by Lucy Lennox. Abandoned. Dietician appointed as personal chef to footballer. Again, once I knew the characters and situation I couldn’t be bothered to read on.
The Botanist by M W Craven. Abandoned. Billed as a gripping thriller. It wasn’t. I got tired of the frequent switches to new sets of characters and the amount of so-called humour.
Daughter’s dog unwraps his new dinosaur in our lounge.
TV and books for December. I’ve put them all into one post for New Year’s Eve.
TV
Castle Howard : Through the Seasons. ***** (All4) 4 episodes. A no brainer because I worked there every sixth form and uni holiday as a tour guide, and one of the Howard boys was in my mother’s class when she taught in a private school for a while. (Not sure if it was the current owner.) A nostalgia trip and it was interesting to see how the current owner is altering the way the estate works.
Jews Don’t Count (David Baddiel)*****(All4) Based on the book with the same title by the presenter. (I added it to my KU wishlist). Thoughtful discussion of why and how Jews in modern UK and US have an uphill struggle against antisemitism. I have now read the book and will review it too (see below). Sadly, it didn’t live up to the programme.
Death in Paradise Christmas Special **** Despite the fact that the plot was less complex than usual, I enjoyed the Christmas ghost story vibe of this long episode.
The History of Now (BBC iPlayer) Simon Schama *** The very long introductions to the three episodes confused me since they were all the same. I think I’ve watched all three, possibly in the wrong order. There were some interesting moments but I’m not sure I learnt or retained a great deal.
Planet Sex with Cara Delavigne(BBC iPlayer) *** I’ve watched about half of the series and keep meaning to return to the rest but the fact that I haven’t probably says a lot.
Prince Andrew: The Musical*** Half watched while multi-tasking. Quite good but not really memorable music, and as the Guardian review said, it almost sanitised some really nasty stuff.
Reading
I have read a lot of short stories, some from ‘advent calendars’ and others in magazines such as New Statesman (Alan Garner) and New Scientist. After a while, Christmas offerings seem to blur and I haven’t listed them all here. I enjoyed them, and offer thanks to all the authors who gave their work to readers, but you’d get bored with a rundown on ‘pleasant Christmas story’ repeated with some alternative ways of saying it, over and over again.
Books
The Best:
Death in Heels by Kitty Murphy***** Fab – murder, drag, mm and mf romance, found and real families and their drama, Dublin setting. This was an Amazon First Read (Prime subscribers get a free or discounted book every month) so was in among a number of other mainstream books. I’m so glad I chose it and I was pleased to see the issues it raised in a mainstream setting. Will definitely look for the sequels.
bad data by georgina sturge***** Amazing detailed look at the data that underpin government (by all parties) by a statistician at the House of Commons Library. This was a Christmas present (my family know me…) and I devoured it straight away.
Also excellent: If you’re only going to buy one, go for the charity anthology which has lots of stories which range from good to remarkable and is in a good cause!
Consider Pegasus (Si Clarke)**** A very enjoyable sequel to The Left Hand of Dog, and Judgement Dave. I had an ARC copy to read and review for J Scott Coatsworth’s Liminal Fiction FB group and left a much more detailed review there (14th December). In the footsteps of ‘greats’ like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, Si Clarke uses apparently light hearted sci fi to explore serious social issues. This one is centred on the question of whether a unicorn or a pegasus should be allowed to exist.
Kind Hearts at Christmas ed. Liam Livings**** It isn’t often an anthology gets four stars from me. Christmas romance (mm) stories collected by the editor and sold in aid of HIV and AIDs charities. Some of the authors were new to me and others were familiar. I think this is possibly the first anthology I’ve read where every story is at least readable, and some are brilliant. If I had to choose a favourite it would be Clare London’s Santa Number Five with its clever echoes of Hot Fuzz and its air of mystery until quite late in the story. But I was also totally intrigued by Jack Pyke’s paranormal world(s) in Holly and the Heathen and would like to know more.
The Best Gift by Eli Easton**** I thought/feared this was going to be another ‘just a romance’. However, there was enough excitement to add a star to a well written story set in a Christmas ‘wonderland’ with gifts and trees.
The Christmas Leap by Keira Andrews. **** Pleasing friends to lovers story with a few dramatic moments to raise it above the general over-sweetness of the season. Michael and Will have been best friends for years, until Michael ‘ghosts’ his friend. Then Will needs to rescue Michael and they both realise what they’ve been missing.
The Christmas Throwaway by RJ Scott**** A cop rescues a young man thrown out by his family for being gay. Nice story with extra interest in the form of cartoon style illustrations added for this special edition.
The Santa Problem by Barbara Elsborg**** Lovely Christmas story with magic and reindeer. I would actually have liked a little more about the magic but enjoyed it enormously anyway.
Christmas in January by Charlie Cochrane**** It was great to see Dan and Steve again after their first book, Don’t Kiss the Vicar. I enjoyed catching up with them, and with their problems. I hope the author will continue to let us know how things are going.
Some other books worth considering:
Life is Right Here by Sophia Soames*** Lost a star because despite a HEA (or maybe HFN) ending, I was constantly distressed by the illness of one of the characters I’d loved in the first book so didn’t enjoy the read. I wished, almost to the end, that I hadn’t read it in the run up to Christmas because I was getting so upset. Yes, it warned for triggers, but I didn’t expect that to be such a huge part of the plot. Very well written and the two intertwined families are incredibly real. I suppose that’s why it upset me so much! Recommended but you have been warned!
The Emperor’s Aeronaut by Shelley Adina and RL Scott*** Fascinating world building – steampunk during the Napoleonic wars. I was less impressed by the characters and much preferred Adina’s series Magnificent Devices set in Victorian times (also steampunk). I’ve written a fuller review for Scott’s group.
A Badger’s Tale by Geoff Francis*** This was saved by the illustrations, gorgeous photographs by the late Eric Ashby. The story of Liam becoming a badger shifter, followed by the story of the badger clan, is interesting but I never managed to suspend disbelief. Then the whole thing just sort of petered out so I was left wanting more badgers, more about Liam as an adult, more photographs and more in general!
Don’t you want me by Liam Livings*** Technically well written mm office romance but for reasons I can’t work out, this author doesn’t make me care about the main characters. The same was true of their story in the Kind Hearts at Christmas anthology.
Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel*** Gained a star by being totally worthy. I loved the TV programme but found the book badly structured and hard to follow properly. Whilst Baddiel makes some very valid points about the way antisemitism is separated from other ‘isms’ and treated as less important, he seems to be almost rambling about things he has read or seen, which have (not surprisingly) offended him rather than formulating any kind of plan to deal with them either politically or in argument between friends etc. A large portion of the book concerned the current attempt to right past wrongs by using e.g. deaf actors to play deaf characters and actors of colour to play characters of colour but never any effort to cast actual Jews as Jewish characters. I came away confused as to his actual opinions on the issue as a whole. An interesting book but one that I suspect was only preaching to the converted and had little to offer in the way of putting things right.
The Cottage in the Highlands by Julie Shackman*** I enjoyed this slow burn mf romance set in Glasgow and surrounds (not exactly the Highlands but still…). The story was quite convoluted, involving a couple of investigations (Leonie is a journalist) but the book lost a star for two reasons. One was the rather clumsy punctuation of dialogue, and the other was the epilogue which was really the end of the main story rather than a ‘later’ addition, and was very rushed.
No fanfiction this month other than Small_Hobbit’s Christmas Hamlet which was as amusing as usual, but tbh only got read at all because the chapters kept landing in my inbox. https://archiveofourown.org/works/43358580
I have not managed to read all the free stories I’ve been offered this month. I must do better and maybe at least get to the end of the Christmas themed ones in January. As for my tbr pile, I leave it to your imagination!!
Directed by Martha Tilston, this is a feel-good film about a romance set in Cornwall. Martha is also the lead actor, and the singer. There is an album of the same name featuring all the songs from the film. I only came across it all because my husband met Martha and some of her friends on a business trip to Cornwall and came home determined I should watch. I did, and I enjoyed the experience very much. Martha is, of course, a performer (she tours as a singer) but she is not primarily an actor and perhaps as a result the character in the story comes across as very real and fresh, not at all glamourised for the screen. The plot is quirky, with moments of extreme humour and others of pathos. There’s a happy ending, and there are morals to be learnt from what happens to Tally, Martha’s character. Tally starts as ‘a crazy cleaner in wellies’ living in a van and ends up in a much better or at least more comfortable place. Leo, the romance interest, is equally fascinating and also has a lot to learn and to gain. The Cornish coastal scenery is lovely, and to watch at this time of year transports you to summer and a gentle pace of life.
I would recommend this highly. You can rent or buy the film from YouTube. We bought the YouTube copy so that we can watch again and perhaps show other family members. It deserves wider distribution and I promised to blog about it. So here you are! My film of the month.
Desperately trying to read the menu in the dimly lit but gorgeous restaurant where we went for my husband’s birthday. Fortunately we all had our phones with flashlights!!
New and old authors all together this time. No fanfiction.
Familiar authors – a clutch of highly recommended books this month.
Superb.
The Crofton Chronicles by Rebecca Cohen***** I had already read The Actor and the Earl but borrowed the box set from KU to get the two sequels, Duty to the Crown, and Forever Hold his Peace. I became totally immersed in the Tudor world, finding faint echoes of Twelfth Night (theatre and cross dressing) and Hunt’s The Bisley Boy (cross dressing and secrecy), and absolutely loving Anthony and Sebastian all over again. The author’s research is impeccable, and I am really looking forward to The Love and the Anger. If you enjoy historical novels with a smattering of crime and a heavy dose of romance, you won’t be disappointed.
‘Merely’ excellent
Sleeping Dogs by AL Lester**** Nice, well written ff short story with a focus on local myths and legends.
Three’s Company by Kristian Parker**** Another trip to an English village. Perfectly recreated and I felt I was back in a similar place where I grew up (also in Yorkshire). The romance is lovely but never overwhelms the other events in the lives of the three main characters who have to deal with family problems and in Andrew’s case a vengeful ex. Very satisfying.
Upside Down by NR Walker**** Delightful romance with a lot of humour, some interesting minor characters, a couple of fighting fish and a cactus called Spike. This was a great introduction to the world of asexuals. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hidden Blade by Kaje Harper**** I had never realised but it appears I really really like novels about rock stars and members of bands. Not just this and others in the current Rocktoberfest mm romance collection but others by various authors such as Jackie Keswick and NR Walker. There is something very satisfying about seeing ‘stars’ from different angles – the public persona and the private individual – and following the varying levels of technical support needed to bring music into our lives. This book was no exception and I loved it. I really felt for Cam/Blade and his inability to socialise or appear in public. A great story and although I don’t imagine there’s a sequel, somewhere in my head and heart there’s a fan of this imagined group hoping Hellsbane and Blade will go from strength to strength! I have the rest of the Rocktoberfest books on my KU list and will get to them soon.
Life is good and other lies by Sophia Soames**** An excellent novel. The slow character development is fascinating and the location is brought vividly to life. Two gay couples and their children holiday in Sweden. Everybody has problems, major or minor. I’m sure all readers of every gender will be able to relate to one or other of the characters. The holiday begins to create solutions, and there is a sequel, ten years later, due soon. That promises to be interesting, too. I found the progression rather slow at times but think that was because I was, for various reasons not related to the story anxious to finish the book. I still think some scenes could do with slightly tighter writing but overall this was a magical book.
Reasonable Doubt by Gregory Ashe**** A great addition to the series. The couple, for they are now a couple, have doubts and concerns about their relationship that are brilliantly expressed. The murder case is fascinating though I have to say I guessed one of the pillars of the solution quite early. Some exciting moments and some gruesome ones. Some sad ones, too. Altogether satisfying.
Agents of the Truth by Jackson Marsh**** Superb mystery for the Larkspur academy alumni. I love the way Marsh weaves real historical figures into the story. A slight quibble: this one assumed some familiarity with the previous Clearwater series and although things were well explained this led to rather too many recounts of past events, needed, both for the reader and the main characters, but slightly irritating. The story also relies heavily on the immediately previous book in the series. I was amused by a typo, not in the text but in the author’s notes, which had 1922 printed as 1822 which would have made the discovery of Tutankamen’s tomb happen before Howard Carter was born…
New
Not such a good selection this month!
Seeds of Love. *** A romance collection with numerous authors sold to benefit Ukrainians in need. As with all collections of this kind the contents are mixed. Some were lovely and others didn’t appeal to me at all. There were both mm and mf stories and I found equally enjoyable and less than enjoyable offerings in both genres. I’ve been dipping in and reading it over a few months and can’t recall the titles of the ones I loved so they weren’t all that special! I skimmed quite a few of the ones I didn’t love. Worth buying because of the charity angle, so if you want to give for Ukraine, get it, but remember not all the stories will speak to you!
Holy Island by LJ Ross**. Crime story set on Lindisfarne, which I know quite well. Some head hopping which was irritating, and some odd vocabulary choices (e.g. since when did Christmas lights give a scene ‘levity’??) The plot was not exactly believable. Very gruesome with loving attention to nasty details, a detective who didn’t appeal to me, and an ending in the epilogue that suggested the resolution was not as neat and tidy as it seemed, thus paving the way for the next in the series which I won’t be reading.
Grim Undertakings by Whit McClendon abandoned. For me, where magic is concerned, less is more. This was no doubt exciting, but both hero and heroine reminded me of the Marty Stus and Mary Sues of poorer fanfiction, with far too many unlikely talents, ready to save the world via a lot of gore. Not my magic.
Birthday flowers received in October; they lasted well into November with some judicious culling.
Umbrella Academy.Season 1 ***** Hooked. Amazing adaptation of a comic by one of the My Chemical Romance band. I’ll be watching the other seasons, too.
Heartstopper Season 1***** Delightful story line. I liked this a lot better than Everyone’s Talking About Jamie even though the latter was based on fact and this was fiction. The Jamie film was slightly pretentious, with a lot of unnecessary glamour and ideas of being a musical despite the very pedestrian song offerings. Heartstopper had music, but simply chosen to reflect the events. I’m looking forward to Season 2.
The Tape***** A film set in Cornwall, made by and acted in by people my husband knows. I’m supposed to be writing a separate post about it but meanwhile, find it on YouTube and watch!
I started watching The Rings of Power. It’s very pretty eye candy. Pity about the plot and script. I may watch another episode if bored…
However, I seem to have a watch list that’s getting as unwieldy as my tbr list (again) so I think The Rings of Power will have to wait quite a while!
The Rule of Three by Kristian Parker****Enjoyable story about a threesome in a country village. I didn’t quite believe the ‘villain’ (one protagonist’s sister) but I liked the portrayal of village life. I will certainly read the rest of the trilogy. There are no truly dramatic events but the book works well as comfort reading.
Stone Wings by Jenn Burke**** Shifters, including gargoyle shifters, turf wars and a curse that must be broken. An exciting first story in this mm paranormal romance series and I will definitely read the next which is due out in January.
Ghosted by Jess Whitecroft**** I chose this for a Halloween read and thoroughly enjoyed it. Desanges is a mixed race wannabe spiritual medium from New Orleans with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Jason is a reluctant exorcist from Wisconsin with a difficult past, living a ‘prepper’ lifestyle in the countryside. They meet when called in to use their professional skills in a haunted house. There are genuinely scary moments and almost as many hilarious ones. The plot twists and turns and had me on the edge of my seat till the very end. Actually, I finished it on November 1st over breakfast but thought it was more appropriate to review it with the rest of October’s offerings. Try it next Halloween – or any time really!
Readable
Tricks with Cats and Dogs by Mere Rain*** Quite a nice story, suitably creepy for Halloween season, but it was very short and could well have been expanded with more character development. The concept was good but it almost read like a very long blurb. Further information would inevitably be spoilers but it does involve shifters and mm romance.
Abandoned.
The Beatrix Stubbs Boxset 1 by JJ Marsh. After lengthy flashbacks the reader knew who committed the murders (and that they were murders, not suicides), how, where, when and probably why. The international team set up as a task force to investigate was not very interesting and the lead detective (Beatrice Stubbs) was, after a few chapters, unappealing to me.
Where the Silent Screams are Loudest by John Pye. Poorly written crime story by an ex-police officer. Sadly, I had actually bought this. Only £1.99 but still… somehow I don’t mind so much when a new author borrowed on KU doesn’t appeal. It read like a policeman’s court reporting, and there was quite a bit of less than stellar vocabulary usage. An ex detective ought to know how to use a dictionary or thesaurus. And no, they weren’t typos.
Nothing dire, though I was disappointed in the last book. I love well written crime stories by authors such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, even when they haven’t any romance or paranormal elements. But there’s a lot of very uninspiring work in the genre, often highly praised by people in the relevant social media groups. And of course I have to at least give it a try!
Jay's World 