Fyneshade by Kate Griffin

From Goodreads

Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade's dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me...

On the day of her grandmother's funeral, Marta discovers that she is to be sent to be governess at Fyneshade, her charge the young daughter of the owner, Sir William Pritchard.

All is not well at Fyneshade. Sir William is mysteriously absent, and his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house. Marta finds herself drawn to him, despite the warnings of the housekeeper that Vaughan is a danger to all around him. But Marta is no innocent to be preyed upon. Guided by the dark gift taught to her by her grandmother, she has made her own plans. It will take more than a family riven by murderous secrets to stop her...

My thoughts

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly can I say that I loved the cover of this book, it was very gothic looking and draws you in, well it certainly drew me in.  

Fyneshade is a house that to me felt every bit as much a character in the story, as the characters themselves.  An old gothic mansion with lots of corridors, wooden doors to rooms holding secrets and servants keeping those secrets,

Marta receives the job opportunity of becoming a governess to to the young daughter of Sir William Pritchard the owner of Fyneshade.  For Marta it couldn't have come at a worse time as it's the day of her grandmother's funeral.  However, Marta decides to take the job and is soon an inhabitant along with the staff  and her young charge.

As time goes on it's not long before Marta is soon immersed in the goings on in the interior of this gothic property.  Will  things ever be the same again for the inhabitants of Fyneshade, is Marts more than what they can cope with?  

This was an engaging read with some great characters, a plotline that will take you on many twists and turns among it's pages.  When you think things may be going one way, you will soon ne taken on a completely different journey.

Why not grab yourself a cuppa ad immerse yourself among Fyneshade and it's many rooms containing secrets.

 ewcwi==

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How Shall I Know You? by Hilary Mantel

 

From Goodreads

An unforgettable, unnerving short story about a writer’s life from one of today’s greatest writers – extracted from her upcoming collection, THE ASSASSINATION OF MARGARET THATCHER.

“One summer at the fag-end of the nineties, I had to go out of London to talk to a literary society, of the sort that must have been old-fashioned when the previous century closed. When the day came, I wondered why I’d agreed to it; but yes is easier than no, and of course when you make a promise you think the time will never arrive …”

‘How Shall I Know You’ is as unsettling and hauntingly written as we have come to expect from Hilary Mantel, one of Britain’s most accomplished, acclaimed and garlanded writers. It invites us into the usually hidden recesses of a writer’s life, into her hotel rooms, handbags, frustrations, desires, and darkest imaginings.

This story is also available in the collection ‘The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher’.

My thoughts

This  was a short story that is part of a larger collection. called 'The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher'.   I grabbed a copy of this via BorrowBox the digital lending side of my local Library.

This was a well written short story that took me back in time to my twenties.  Life was different back then, but we can all say that about any snapshot in time during our life.

A great short story to blow the cobwebs from a readers mind.   It drew this reader in as I was intrigued to find out what was happening.

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Christmas at the Castle (Ever After #3) by Melissa McClone

 

From Goodreads

A royal wedding. A meddlesome mother. An unexpected union.

A European getaway during the Christmas holiday is exactly what veterinarian Katrina “Kat” Parsons needs. She can’t wait to be a bridesmaid in her childhood friend’s royal wedding, but she hopes to steer clear of the bride’s arrogant older brother.

Crown Prince Guillaume wants his younger sister’s wedding day to be perfect, but he’s suspicious of Kat. He and his mother are on high alert, afraid Kat is not just there for the wedding, but also to find a prince of her own.

But when Kat’s kindness and generosity prove them wrong, the prince realizes there’s more to her than he ever imagined. Can he trust his heart or will he lose the one woman he can’t live without?

My thoughts

Telling the story of Katrina 'Kat' as she travels to be with her friend Sophie as she is preparing to marry.  Kat hopes to keep as far away from Sophie's older brother Guillaume 'Gill' as she can.  GIll has an arrogance around him that Kat plans not to get caught up in, that has worsened as he has got older.

Gill wants everything to be perfect for his younger sister on her wedding day, but he has doubts surrounding Kat, he doesn't know if she is genuine in her intentions towards them all.  This doubt his heightened by his interfering mother the Queen of Alistonia,  What I have neglected to tell you is that Gill and Sophie are no run of  the mill brother and sister, they are born into royalty.

Will Gill be able to keep things perfect for his younger sister Sophie or will Kat get in the way, in one way or another?  

This was a free book via Amazon and I will look out for more by this author.  This was an enjoyable romance that was pure escapism.  What's not to love about a fairytale style sort of romance?  This story hit that bill nicely.  I enjoyed my limited time in Alistonia and I had to keep reading to find out how Kat enjoyed her time in Alistonia with the royal family that she found herself surrounded by and the inimitable Gill and his preconceptions.

 

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

 
From Goodreads

Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home – a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse – but not with John. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb.

Told from a perspective unlike any other, Nutshell is a classic tale of murder and deceit from one of the world’s master storytellers.

My thoughts

I recently read this as one of my local Library reading group reads.

I have read quite a few books by Ian McEwan over the years, but this was unusual in the way that it was told to us.  The narrator of the story is an unborn child, who narrates from inside the womb. 

This is a modern contemporary retelling of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, so if you know the outcome of that play then you will have a fair good idea of what happens in this one.

I quite enjoyed the way the story was related to the reader and if you ever come across it, then it's worth a gander at.

 

Silo Submerged (The Runner, The Diver, The Watcher) by W.J. Davies

From Goodreads

In the depths of Silo 35, water is pouring in at an unstoppable rate. Ace and a team of Divers are doing the best they can to avert this disaster, but it may not be enough.

When Ace proposes another, more drastic way of saving the silo's population, he is banished for his sin of toxic words. What happens during and after his cleaning is unprecedented and will greatly affect the future of the silos.

Originally published in three parts (The Runner, The Diver, and The Watcher), Silo Submerged is a 75,000 word novel that takes the reader on a very personal journey through the vivid world Hugh Howey created with his Silo Saga (WOOL, SHIFT and DUST). This series was published with the full support of Mr. Howey and has gone on to sell over 15,000 copies.

My thoughts

I grabbed a copy of this via Kindle Unlimited.  This is a series of three short dystopian stories in a trilogy all in one book.  This trilogy is very similar in ways to the world that Hugh Howey created in his Silo series and was published with the full support of him.

I read this book back in 2023, but my life didn't allow me to write the review of it at the time.  I found this a thought provoking series of stories and it was right up my street as the dystopian genre is one that I do enjoy.  It was a good edition to the dystopian genre set around the world that Hugh Howey created.

Can Ace and his team of Divers save the future of Silo 35 as it is beginning to fill with water and the disaster that this may cause will possibly see the end of the inhabitants of the Silo or will they fail at every turn?  Ace has some ideas that may help, but can he be believed and allowed to do what he proposes.  Not everyone will be behind him and may have other ideas themselves that may put his life at risk.

The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych #2) by Various Authors

 

From Goodreads

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.

But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild.

THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.

Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, The Apocalypse Triptych is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME explores life after the apocalypse.

THE END IS NIGH is about the match. THE END HAS COME is about what will rise from the ashes. THE END IS NOW is about the conflagration.

My thoughts

I grabbed a copy of this via Kindle Unlimited.  This is the second in a trilogy of books that are a compilation of short stories all set around a dystopian time.

In this edition of the trilogy it is as the end of the World is happening and what the impact of that occurrence has on the characters and the environment that they live in.  Some of the short stories follow on from stories that appeared in the End is Nigh and others are standalone stories.  ]

I enjoyed this edition of the trilogy as I am quite a fan of stories that are of a dystopian nature.  Like all short stories sometimes you feel that they are not quite long enough to draw you in, but they try their best.  

Grab a copy and see for yourself what your views of them are.

The Shell Collector by Hugh Howey

From Goodreads

The ocean is dying. The sea is growing warmer and is gradually rising. Seashells have become so rare that collecting them is now a national obsession. Flawless specimens sell like priceless works of art. Families hunt the tideline in the dark of night with flashlights. Crowds gather on beaches at the lowest of tides, hoping to get lucky.

Supreme among these collectors is Ness Wilde, CEO of Ocean Oil. Ness owns many of the best beaches, and he keeps them to himself. It's his fault the world turned out this way. And I aim to destroy him.

My name is Maya Walsh. You might be familiar with my shelling column in the Times. I was working on a series of pieces about Mr. Wilde, when out of the blue, he called. He says he wants to talk. But I don't think he's going to like what I have to say. 

My thoughts

I enjoyed the Silo series by Hugh Howey and decided to read some of his other work.  I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  Whilst it has some of his usual dystopian themes, it also has a romantic theme running through it.

I have read some reviews that have slated the romance side of it, saying that it's a little 'predictable' BUT a lot of romances can be classed that way. I enjoyed this read as I do enjoy romances as they help take us away from our everyday lives, I don't mind the predictability of them at all and I am more than glad that I grabbed a copy of this book to read.  I immersed myself in the lives of Maya and Ness, enjoying where Howey took us as he related their story to us.

More like this please.