Alexandra Wolfe's Blog, page 24

Fickle Friday’s and Fun Festivals

Today is the start of a number of festivals, the Rickard’s BBQ festival, the Vintage Car festival, the Street Music festival, and also the opening of our new, covered, Grand Marché selling regional and seasonal products. You know the stuff, cheese and meats that make your mouth water, artisan-made breads and pastries, fresh fruit and veg from the region, and all things arty and edible.

So, of course, it’s raining. And I mean, peeing down in a steady, dull soaking wetness … I think you get the picture.

And we’re due rain for, get it, the entire three days of these festivals. It never fails. You can almost guarantee wet weather will mess up the start of the summer festivals. It’s almost a given.

We were especially looking forward to a day out at both the BBQ fest and then, the vintage car fest, in which over a 1000 vintage cars will be on view—and there’s usually a lot of food and drink to go with this festival too, which is situated in one of the most picturesque spots in and around Québec City: the Montmorency Falls, with its stunning views looking out over the city, the river and the south shore.

The BBQ festival is on the new and improved festival site right next to where the new marché will be, which is kind of convenient fun. This whole weekend was shaping up to be one long indulgent food and drink extravaganza. Fiddlesticks!

I guess we could always wear our wellies, raincoats, and carry an umbrella … but, you know, it’s not the same, is it? After all, this is the start of summer. Or, it’s supposed to be.

We’re all hoping the rain will have stopped by this evening as the festival site is open till 11pm tonight. We can but hope, right?

Anyway, folks, I’ll see you on the dry-side of the weekend. Have a good one yourself!

Author Spotlight: Karen Brooks

I decided to do a series called Author Spotlight, to highlight, well, obviously, my favourite authors—new and old—and to share my excitement for their work with you.

First up today is Australian-born author, Karen Brooks. I highly suggest you read her About Page by way of introduction to her, and her writing.

Brooks’ first forays into the writing world began squarely in the realms of fantasy, with her YA series The Cassandra Klein Quartet, which was followed up by a succession of YA fantasy titles that I would love to read, at some point.

Karen is now writing historical fiction. Not just any kind of historical fiction, she’s reinserting women back into history, placing them squarely at the forefront of periods of upheaval and change where fortunes could be lost and made, in an exciting way.

To date, she has written three richly detailed historical novels set in different locales and time periods:

THE BREWER’S TALE (2014)

“It had been Mother’s secret and mine, one passed down through the de Winter women for generations. I would ensure it was kept that way, until I was ready to pass it on.”

When Anneke Sheldrake is forced to find a way to support her family after her father is lost at sea, she turns to the business by which her mother’s family once prospered: brewing ale.

Armed with her Dutch mother’s recipes and a belief that anything would be better than the life her vindictive cousin has offered her, she makes a deal with her father’s aristocratic employer: Anneke has six months to succeed or not only will she lose the house but her family as well.

Through her enterprise and determination, she inadvertently earns herself a deadly enemy. Threatened and held in contempt by those she once called friends, Anneke nonetheless thrives. But on the tail of success, tragedy follows and those closest to her pay the greatest price for her daring.

Ashamed, grieving, and bearing a terrible secret, Anneke flees to London, determined to forge her own destiny. Will she be able to escape her past, and those whose only desire is to see her fail?

❖ ❖

THE LOCKSMITH’S DAUGHTER (2016)

In a world where no one can be trusted and secrets are currency, one woman stands without fear.

Mallory Bright is the only daughter of London’s master locksmith. For her there is no lock too elaborate, no secret too well kept. Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster and protector of Queen Elizabeth – the last of the Tudor monarchs – and her realm, is quick to realise Mallory’s talent and draws her into his world of intrigue, danger and deception. With her by his side, no scheme in England or abroad is safe from discovery; no plot secure.

But Mallory’s loyalty wavers when she witnesses the execution of three Jesuit priests, a punishment that doesn’t fit their crime. When Mallory discovers the identity of a Catholic spy and a conspiracy that threatens the kingdom, she has to make a choice—between her country and her heart.

Mallory, however, carries her own dark secrets and is about to learn those being kept from her—secrets that could destroy those she loves.

You can read my review HERE.

❖ ❖

THE CHOCOLATE MAKER’S WIFE (2019)

Damnation has never been so sweet…

When Rosamund Tomkins enters the world she is so different, with her darkling eyes and strange laughter, that the midwives are afraid, believing her a changeling. But Rosamund’s life is set to be anything but enchanted…

Born into poverty, brutalised and ignored by her family, it is only when she is married off to a nobleman that her life undergoes a wondrous transformation, as he recognises that Rosamund infuses magic she does not know she possesses into everything she touches.

Clever, quick and irrepressible, Rosamund soon becomes the darling of the haute ton, and presides over her luxurious chocolate house where the rich go to be seen and indulge in their favourite pastime, drinking the sweet and heady drink to which they’ve become oddly addicted.

But Rosamund stands on the brink of losing all she has worked so hard to achieve and will be forced to make a choice: walk away from all she knows and has grown to love with her soul intact, or make a deal with the devil?

I’m eagerly awaiting the release of this one because, come on, who can resist chocolate? No, no one that I know. And, if The Locksmith’s Daughter is anything to go by, then this too is going to be an outstanding read.

Stop by her website to find out more about Karen and her writing.

Top 10 All Time Favourites

Shanah over at the Bionic Book Worm has given us an easy task this Tuesday, to list our Top 10 Favourites of All Time. Which, really, when you think about it, is a no-brainer for most of us. And, I’m sure, like me, many are going to have very familiar titles on their lists, that we’ve all seen before. After all, we never really stop telling everyone about our favourite books, now do we? And today will be no exception!

So here we go, my top 10 choices from the last few years are:

GLASS HOUSES by Louise Penny — still my all-time favourite author, and still top on all my lists, but this (book 13 in the series) is outstanding. So well plotted, excellently written, and a culmination of so many threads that it had me yelling out loud at Gamache, “No, don’t … don’t do it!”
THE DEFENCE by Steve Cavanagh — my first Steve Cavanagh book that introduced me to one of my all-time favourite characters: Eddie Flynn. This first one is still the best of the series.
THE CITY OF BRASS / THE KINGDOM OF COPPER by S. A. Chakraborty — yes, I’m listing these two together, because, really, who can choose between either of them? The first book was really good, but the second one was even better! And that’s saying something about Chakraborty’s fantastic plotting and characters.
THE LOST MAN by Jane Harper — well, any and all of Harper’s novels, really, would make it onto a list of mine, but of her three novels so far, I enjoyed this one the best.
THE MISSING INFORMANT / THE SILENCED by Anders de la Motte — this police procedural mystery duo, set in Sweden, was such an unexpected find for me. Cleverly plotted, I really took to the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the political twists and turns that had me second guessing everyone’s motives and actions.
THE LOCKSMITH’S DAUGHTER by Karen Brooks — this historical mystery set in Elizabethan England, is so richly detailed the characters really came to life, as did the twisted plot of spies and palace intrigue.
DEEP DOWN DEAD by Steph Broadribb — the first action-packed installment of Broadribb’s Lori Anderson trilogy (so far) has her bounty-hunter MC running down the bad guys, all the while trying to manage being a single mother to a tween daughter with leukaemia. I literally could not put this one down till I had finished it. Fun, fast, and furious.
THE STOCKHOLM OCTAVO by Karen Engelmann — another absolutely fascinating mystery set in Stockholm, at the end of the 18th-c, in which our erstwhile hero, Emil Larsson, finds his destiny inextricably entwined with that of the King of Sweden, and a plot to assassinate the King. Another superbly written look at life during the turmoil that saw so many upheavals all across Europe.

An ‘honourable’ mention goes to CRITICAL MASS by Sara Paretsky, one of Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski novels that is an outstanding read because of the subject material. And you, what reads would make your Top 10 all-time favourites?

I’m Killing Eve

Okay people, why did no one tell me sooner about the Sandra Oh-helmed series, KILLING EVE, before now? Late to the viewing game, as the show is now on season 3—something I am soooo happy to read about—me and mine only discovered the show this weekend when we found the DVD for season 1 in the Recently Released section.

I mean, I’ve heard about Sandra Oh knocking it out of the ballpark with her performance, because didn’t she win an Emmy or something? But we’ve never gotten around to looking for it. We don’t have cable, and have never bothered subbing to Netflix or the like. We’re readers … usually. But this weekend has seen me binge-watch all 8 episodes of season 1 and now, I’m itching to get my sweaty palms on season 2, like, yesterday!

“Eve’s life as a spy is not adding up to what she had hoped it would be when she started. She is a bored, very smart, MI5 security officer who is very desk-bound. Villanelle is a very talented killer, mercurial in mood, who clings to the luxuries of her job. Eve and Villanelle go head to head in a fierce game of cat and mouse, each woman equally obsessed with the other as Eve is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic assassin.”

Brilliant, dark, twisted and oh-so compelling, I’m even drawn to the psycho assassin, Villianelle, who is superbly played by Jodi Comer, an actress I’ve never heard of before. It was also fun to see the straight-faced Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter’s aunt) getting in on the action, along with an excellent supporting cast.

Now, though, I’ll just have to be patient and wait for season 2 and, of course, season 3 to arrive. And you, have you been watching Killing Eve?

June 2019 TBR

Ever hopeful that I am, I’m making yet another list of books I hope to read this month. Books that have sat on my coffee table, in the lounge, staring up at me not quite pleading, but almost! Yes, I know, how very whimsical of me. But you know what I mean. I’ve had a weird couple of reading months in which, well, I’ve bombed out. Slump? Ennui? I have no idea. I’m either hitting a brick wall, or the books I’ve picked and read are just not grabbing me, or I’m not in the right head/reading space at the moment.

Anyway … hoped for reads in June are:

THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND by Louise Penny — Tried, tested, and always true to her vision. I can count on Penny to deliver me out of my reading slump.
AND FIRE CAME DOWN by Emma Viskic — This is the sequel to Resurrection Bay, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Hoping this one woos me too.
DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He — I had hoped to read this last month, but after being so disappointed with The Candle and the Flame, I kind of put off reading this one. But that cover keeps beckoning me.
THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD by Alan Bradley — I think I’ve kept putting off reading this one (I’ve carried it over for at least 2 months now) because it’s the last Flavia de Luce mystery, ever! I think June is a good month to read it, right?
US AGAINST YOU by Fredrik Backman — Another carry over from previous months I just haven’t picked up.

And you, what do you have lined up for June?

Top 5 Tuesday

Because Inge over at The Belgian Reviewer suggested it, I’ve been thinking about book covers and their impact. And more specifically, the one’s that I, personally, love. Certainly, there have been many over the years but, for this Top 5 post, I’m sticking to covers from the last few years rather than the last few decades.

#1. THE CITY OF BRASS by S. A. Chakraborty

#2. DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He as illustrated by Feifei Ruan

#3. THE COLOUR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett as illustrated by Josh Kirby

#4. EARTHSEA by Ursula La Guin as illustrated by Charles Vess

#5. The FLAVIA DE LUCE series by Alan Bradley as illustrated by Joe Montgogomery — And yes, I’m nominating the entire 10-book series for their bright colours, fun depictions, and consistent continuity of dark humour.

What’s important to note about all these covers—bar the Flavia de Luce series—is they are all fantasy titles. Which begs the question, what’s wrong with all the other genres that they don’t put the same kind of effort into the covers, as fantasy and science fiction do?

And you, dear reader, what are your favourite book covers?

New Endeavours

Hi All —

My latest project, PANTHEON, went ‘live’ today, with its very own website. It will be a ‘serialized’ novel served up in chapter-sized posts for easy reading with, I hope, the full novel being offered at a later date.

For now, I hope you will join me in following my characters as they strut their stuff across the ether of time and space for your reading enjoyment.

Power, politics, intrigue and nefarious machinations abound here, on Pantheon, a world were winter reigns seven months of the year, along with the cold, distant, and calculating Odessa herself: Aerian Caligisto.

Enjoy!

Geeking Out!

I don’t often treat myself to much, other than buying books that is. And given how much a month I spend on books, that’s probably my version of buying a pair of Manolo Blahnik every month!

I’m also not big on buying online, as I have trust issues. Especially with certain companies like Etsy, having been burned a couple of times. But I discovered Red Bubble and, so far so good. I order an iPhone 7 case from the amazing artist Myka Blacke, which I am now the proud owner of—it’s outstanding and so unique. I wholeheartedly recommend his work!

This image really sums me up in a nutshell … well, okay, in a picture.

A Twisted Tale

Having finally received a copy of TWISTED, by Steve Cavanagh, and having managed to avoid any reviews and opinion, I sat down last night to read.

I groaned. I fidgeted. And I moaned out loud. So much so that my Other Half asked what was wrong. I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and said I was bored.

B O R E D! Yes, all in CAPS!

I managed to read a whole 102 pages before I stuck my bookmark in and gave up, and went to bed muttering.

Why?

The two main characters of Paul and Maria are not only boring, but unsympathetic on any level. The story, such as it is—given all the hype we’ve had—lead us to believe this was going to be Cavanagh’s “best” book yet. Has, in fact, been a tedious struggle. The prose is flat and the situation these two MCs find themselves in, well, quite frankly, is beyond dull.

Reading it is like watching paint peeling off a wall. You keep waiting for something, anything, to happen.

It never did. I can’t say as I’m enthusiastic about reading further to find out what all the fuss is, given I. Just. Don’t. Care.

The one light in all this cliched morass of vanity and in-jokes, is the minor, fleeting character of Bloch. Her backstory is the only original thing between the covers that I’ve read, so far, and that’s saying something.

Sigh! I’m sure this is going to be an unpopular opinion and, quite possibly, I’ll be in the minority in rating this one a dead-end.

Top 5 Tuesday: Summer Reads

I was scratching my head wondering what books I might want to read while on holiday this summer. Especially given we’re taking the whole month of July off. Yes, the whole month! Thirty one (31) glorious days of doing, well, not nothing. I still plan on doing a lot of reading.

Here are the 5 books I fancy reading over the summer holidays:

THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous — Thank you Norrie, her great review has me looking at this one as a top five read. Lots of twisted family dynamics, secrets, and suspense. If V. C. Andrews and Kate Morton had a literary love child, Emma Rous, apparently, would be the result. High praise indeed.
THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata Massey — Anyone who knows me, knows I have a thing for novels set in India, and especially if they’re historical and have a mystery thrown in for good measure. The Widows Of Malabar Hill is set in India during the 1920s, but this is anything than the roaring 20s for women who have lost their husbands, protectors, and the household breadwinner. Throw in a female lawyer who’s also a sleuth, Agatha Christie style, and I am so there.
THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff — another title I have on my wish list that I’m really excited to read. This one is all about the hidden women who helped win the war; secret agents deployed from London to aid the Resistance, working as radio operators and couriers. Young women who were brave and courageous and survived or were caught, tortured, and died.
NIGHT TIGER by Yangsze Choo — This one is set in Colonial Malaysia during the 30s and is a complex family drama with a large side order of forbidden romance. I mean, what’s not to like? Again, I’ve been really looking forward to reading this one, especially as I lived in Malaysia as a child.
THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BOLLYWOOD STAR by Vaseem Khan — This is the third installment of Khan’s Inspector Chopra series, in which our (my) beloved Inspector is called in to help find a missing Bollywood star. In what is sure to be another hilarious, tongue-in-cheek look at contemporary life in India, as seen through a soft lens. They say the truth of Bollywood is often stranger than fiction!

Okay, so these are my quite eclectic choices, now over to you. What are your top 5 summer reads for 2019? Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Shanah @Bionic Bookworm.