allmyprettybooks-new

Earlier this year, I discovered the unexpected delight of Alix. E. Harrow’s Ten Thousand Doors of January (I muse upon that excellent title in the review post), so when I learned that this excellent word-mistress had another novel in progress, I was very excited to read it!Thanks to Netgalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of The Once and Future Witches , which I consider to be a glorious feminist approach to Witchcraft in literary form. The plot revolves around three sisters: James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna, who have - at different times in their lives - escaped their abusive father and drifted to the town of New Salem. Though at first, none of them are aware of their other sisters’ presence. An ominous magical occurrence draws them together, though at first the bond between them is frayed. Remembrance of their grandmother’s tales Witchcraft and the poetry of spells help fortify them - and their allies - against the oppressive dangers of the patriarchy and t

Having read and loved Stuart Turton's debut, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle , I was very excited to be able to read and review The Devil and the Dark Water. I knew from the start that this would be a very different story. Set in the 1600's, the plot follows "Problematory" Samuel Pipps, who has been imprisoned for a crime he may or may not have committed, aboard a ship setting sail from Batavia to Europe. He is accompanied by his bodyguard, Arent; there are similarities between these two and Holmes/Watson, though there are MANY more differences, which makes these characters uniquely compelling. As they board the ship, the crew and passengers behold a demonic premonition of the problems which will besiege the ship in the coming weeks, and the promise of a terror which may (or may not) be supernatural. The duo are assisted in their investigations by a feisty female heroine and her teenage daughter, while blighted by other passengers and select persons from the cr

I was really pleased to discover that Claire North had written a new title. Everything of hers I've read so far has been insightful, intelligent and hugely enjoyable. Sweet Harmony is no exception: though a shorter novella than her standard books, it packs a punch in its exploration of human nature through a slightly dystopian setting in the near future. The plot centers around Harmony: a young woman dissatisfied with her appearance and her life, who chooses to seek assistance from"nanos": a new technology to physically aid and enhance our bodies. The plot shifts between the recent past and the present, in which Harmony is in debt, and unable to continue payments for her nano packages. We learn how Harmony found herself in this situation: her dissatisfaction that her "plain" physical appearance proved a barrier to her career; the abusive relationship which led to a breakdown... It reads like an episode of the TV series, Black Mirror, in which every word and sent

Description from Goodreads:  Lucy and Jake live in a house by a field where the sun burns like a ball of fire. Lucy has set her career aside in order to devote her life to the children, to their finely tuned routine, and to the house itself, which comforts her like an old, sly friend. But then a man calls one afternoon with a shattering message: his wife has been having an affair with Lucy’s husband, Jake. The revelation marks a turning point: Lucy and Jake decide to stay together, but make a special arrangement designed to even the score and save their marriage–she will hurt him three times. As the couple submit to a delicate game of crime and punishment, Lucy herself begins to change, surrendering to a transformation of both mind and body from which there is no return. Told in dazzling, musical prose, The Harpy is a dark, staggering fairy tale, at once mythical and otherworldly and fiercely contemporary. It is a novel of love, marriage and its failures, of power, control and revenge,

We've reached the autumn season, when the temptation to curl up with a good book in front of the fire is at it's highest. What's more, this unexpected year yields a bounty of new and forthcoming releases. Last week, we had "Super Thursday" when almost 600 new books entered the UK market. In a few weeks more, around 800 new titles will be released in time for the Christmas sales.  In this post, I want to share the books I  anticipate the most. While they may not be to everyone's tastes, those who read my blog with regularity will recognise the genre and style of the books I favour most. Where possible, I've tried to include short videos and photographs (particularly those books most beautiful) to explain in visual form the reasons for my literary covets.  Here are my most anticipated books for the coming months: Orfeia by Joanne Harris Film made by my beautiful daughter to celebrate the pub day of #ORFEIA . I get CAKE for dinner too pic.twitter.com/SyZ96ZvL

A brief synopsis from the publisher: The Labyrinth of the Spirits is an electrifying tale of passion, intrigue and adventure. Within its haunting pages Carlos Ruiz Zafón masterfully weaves together plots and subplots in an intricate and intensely imagined homage to books, the art of storytelling and that magical bridge between literature and our lives. I took a long time to read and properly engage with this book. Perhaps because I knew it would be the last in a long and beautiful series, but also because I felt the timing was wrong the first time around. This long and enchanting novel weaves together the threads from all the previous in the quadrilogy (which began of course, with Shadow of the Wind). It does so beautifully, and in a hugely satisfying manner. Carlos Ruiz Zafon remains (and likely, always will be) one of my favourite authors and a master story-teller. Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on 31/08/2020. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is