Tag: Book Review

Book Review: The Shardlake Series by C.J. Sansom

The Shardlake Series was written by C.J. Sansom over the course of almost twenty years. The first novel, Dissolution, was published in 2003 and the last book in the series, Tombland, came out in 2019. The series follow the main character, Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer practicing in London during the time of King Henry VIII and Edward VI. Each of the novels follows Shardlake as he pursues a different murder mystery in London and across England. Throughout each adventure, historical and political events impact Shardlake and his assistants from the dissolution of monasteries to the rebel uprising of Robert Kett. Fans of Susanna Gregory and S.D. Sykes will love this Tudor murder mystery series. 

While originally picking up this book in the airport in Edinburgh because I’d had my eyes on it for the last five years and I needed something to read on the plane, I ended up falling in love with this series and have spent the last three months devouring them! This series is exceptionally well written and truly pulls you into the atmosphere of Tudor England. Small warning: the murders get progressively more gruesome throughout the series.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

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Book Review: Burning the Books by Richard Ovenden (2020)

In Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge, Richard Ovenden covers the creation of cuneiform tablets, the loss of the Library of Alexandria, the destruction of knowledge during the English Reformation, book burnings during the Holocaust, cultural site and library destruction during the Bosnian and Iraqi wars and how the digitization of documents could either preserve or destroy knowledge depending on how such information is handled. While there have been other historical works published that cover the intentional destruction of knowledge, Ovenden’s work is the most expansive, accessible, and diverse study to be published in recent years. However, this book builds upon previous scholarship to create such an expansive account of the historical destruction of knowledge. Ovenden states in the Introduction that his purpose in writing this work is due to his own sense of anger at the repeated attacks on the preservation of knowledge that have occurred over the last several centuries. This book is therefore a successful historical account of the destruction of knowledge around the world, touching on several different centuries and geographic areas, that is also accessible for the public. 

Ovenden’s work provides important insight into the political and cultural significance of the destruction of knowledge from books and documents to libraries and cultural heritage sites and how the preservation of knowledge is just as important for the future as it is for the past.

Rating 5.0/5.0

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Book Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke (2021)

If you’re looking for a read that will help you end your summer while ushering in the fall, definitely pick up The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke. The Lighthouse Witches follows a family of four – a single mother, Liv, with her three young daughters – as they move to a remote Scottish cliffside because Liv has been commissioned to paint a mural on the inside of a lighthouse. This novel combines elements of history, fantasy, folklore, and horror into a delightfully witchy, fall feeling read. All summer I’ve been craving a read that can pull me in and whisk me away to somewhere dark and stormy and this was the perfect match. This book definitely had elements I wasn’t expecting but C.J. Cooke fully delivers when it comes to world building and suspense. I highly recommend The Lighthouse Witches to anyone who is a fan of dark, witchy thrillers.

Rating 5.0/5.0

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Book Review: The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

If you’re looking for a witchy, thriller, perfect for an October night, definitely pick up The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor. Tudor creates the perfect atmospheric, psychological thriller set in a small English village. While I don’t usually enjoy books with dual perspectives, the mother-daughter dual perspective in this novel works perfectly. The story line follows Reverend Jack Brooks and her daughter Flo, who move to the small village, Chapel Croft, after the mysterious death of the village’s previous Reverend. As the pair get acclimated to their new home, they discover the village’s pained past that includes missing girls, ghostly apparitions, and a history of witchcraft. Beautifully written and poignant, C.J. Tudor’s The Burning Girls is a must read, especially since it will soon be turned into a television series!

Rating: 5.0/5.0

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Book Review: Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

If you’re looking for the perfect spooky read for the fall season, look no further than Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates. The story follows the heroine, Margot, who was abandoned by her parents at a young age and is now back at her childhood home for her parents funeral. Margot is left the house in their will, along with Gallows Hill Winery. As Margot is introduced to her new inheritance, she hears rumors that the land is cursed and was the cause of her parents death. This book takes you on a journey of grief, acceptance, and sacrifice from start to finish.

While I normally don’t read horror, this book kept me in it’s grip the entire time and made me not want to turn out the lights! I highly recommend this suspenseful thriller by Darcy Coates, especially for those who are fans of Phoebe Wynne and Tana French.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

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Book Review: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May takes you back to the years after WWI in a novel that is reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby but with magic intertwined. Wild and Wicked Things is filled with the glittering parties of the roaring twenties and the danger of not only new love but also what happens when friends grow apart. The story follows Annie as she moves to Crow Island where magic is prohibited and she knows no one but a long lost friend. Annie is drawn further and further into the world of magic by her magnetic neighbor, Emmeline and she begins to push the boundaries of everything she knows about the world and herself. This gothic novel makes you fall in love with the characters and the world that Francesca May has created. 

May leaves a trail of wreckage behind in her wake and left me with a book hangover I couldn’t quite cure. This was simply a book I could not put down. This novel features everything I never knew I needed: diverse characters (LGBTQ+ included), magic, and murder. I loved this book, even if it did have some flaws, but what book doesn’t? I highly recommend for fans of The Once and Future Witches. 

Rating: 4.0/5.0

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Book Review: THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL by Hester Fox

The Witch of Willow Hall is a wonderful debut by Hester Fox from 2018. The Witch of Willow Hall follows the Montrose family who has been discarded from Boston due to scandal and have moved to a newly built country house. The family attempt to find normalcy in their newfound setting, but Lydia, the middle sister of three, finds herself surrounded by bumps in the night, a swirling romance, and the death of loved one. Lydia is forced to follow her heart, embrace her power, and deal with the depressing nature of death. The Witch of Willow Hall is an atmospheric tale perfect for fans of Louisa Morgan and Nicola Cornick.

I picked up this novel for the gothic vibes and for the inclusion of witchcraft, but I stayed for the story, the relationship building, and the elements of a traditional gothic ghost story. I did not expect the romantic elements of the story but enjoyed them nonetheless. While this novel does not have as heavy a focus on witchcraft as I was expecting (it is titled The Witch of Willow Hall afterall), Lydia’s encounters with the supernatural more than make up for it. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a book that’s hard to put down.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

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Book Review: The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine

Sarah Maine’s debut novel The House Between Tides (2014) is a beautiful examination of relationships, grief, and the impact of emotions on those around us. Set on an isolated island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, The House Between Tides is dual point of view novel, from the point of view of Hetty, a woman who inherits Muirlan House from her grandmother, and Beatrice, the wife of renowned painter, Theodore Blake, who lived on the island during the early 1900s. When Hetty arrives on the island to examine the house she finds out that the bones of a murder victim have been found under the floorboards and she spends the rest of the novel researching the history of the house and trying to come to terms with what she wants. While Hetty is researching the house, we are seeing the history of the house unfold from Beatrice’s perspective. 

While it took me a while to fully get into this novel, I ended up falling in love with it. Both points of view were interesting and drew me in. I found myself guessing throughout the story who the bones would be and I kept changing my mind. Sarah Maine has created a dark and brooding mystery and a wonderful story of ancestral history and how grief affects us. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

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Book Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The prequel to Ken Follett’s award winning Knightsbridge Trilogy The Evening and the Morning begins at the end of the 10th century in England, with excursions to the Norman coast. While written thirty years after the first novel in the trilogy, Pillars of the Earth, and set almost 150 years prior, The Evening and the Morning still provides the same engrossing storytelling and historical setting that will please original fans of the Knightsbridge Trilogy and newcomers alike. 

Ken Follett’s The Evening and the Morning is filled with a compelling story-line (especially for fans of evil plots, religious turmoil, and, of course, murder), complex characters that you’ll both love and hate, relationships that will draw on your heartstrings, and action and adventure. Even though it’s quite large, I couldn’t put it down so it was a relatively quick read. I won’t give everything away but I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves to read and wants to fully be immersed in another place and time. 

Rating 5.0/5.0

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Book Review: A Shameful Murder by Cora Harrison

A Shameful Murder was written by Cora Harrison and published by Seven House Publishers in 2015. The first in the Reverend Mother Mystery series, A Shameful Murder takes place in Cork, Ireland in the 1920s. The novel opens with the Reverend Mother finding the body of young girl who has washed into the street by the convent due to the flooding in Cork. The Reverend Mother takes a special interest in the girl, deducing, with the help of Police Sergeant Patrick Cashman and Dr. Sher, that the young girl has been murdered. The three of them begin to investigate the murder of the girl and look into her family, the upperclass of Cork, and even the local asylum. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle and Tana French will love this 1920s murder mystery. 

While originally picking up this book because I did not realize it was set in the 1920s and thought it was set during the medieval period, I enjoyed it from beginning to end! I’m excited to read further in the series and find out what other mysteries the three eccentric characters will investigate! This novel is exceptionally well written and will leave you thinking that you really are experiencing Cork. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle and Tana French will love this 1920s murder mystery. 

Rating: 5.0/5.0

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