Book Title – Sea of Charms Author – Sarah Beth Durst Genre – Fantasy Publisher – Pan Macmillan Publication Date – 6th August 2026 My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst Sea of Charms sees us return to the world of the Spellshop with the third instalment of this cosy fantasy series. This time the story actually runs parallel to the events of the other two books which gives us a bit of an overlap but from a completely viewpoint which I actually enjoyed.
In Sea of Charms, we follow the story of Marin, the supply runner who sails from island to island delivering supplies, news and occasionally people (or statues). I really enjoyed the way that this not only let us reconnect with the characters from the previous books but also gain a wider knowledge of the Crescent Isles.
Sarah Beth Durst has created an incredibly beautiful world and each of the islands visited by Marin and her crew is magical in some way. From colonies of flying cats, to dragons, merhorses and even musical waterfalls, this world continues to enchant.
Family is a huge element of this book, both real and found. Marin has very close ties to her actual parents and is determined to pay off the debt that they have incurred by paying for her ship but also finds a family as she travels from island to island. First she manages to rescue the sea serpent who then stays with her. She is then persuaded to accept the sentient plant, Ree, who is determined to go to sea as a crew member. Finally, she rescues Dax and other musicians from the revolution in Alyssium and he stays on to explore the world with her. Marin’s found family are all brilliant characters but my favourite has to be Ree who has all the enthusiasm of a labrador puppy and is rarely cast down by anything.
This is a cosy fantasy but it does have a darker element. Marin has escaped an abusive relationship which makes it hard for her to trust her feelings as she was betrayed so badly before. Dax has been a ward of the Conservatory since he was 5 and has never been able to make his own decisions which is another form of coercion. We also see the effects of revolution and political upheaval on families as they have to leave their homes and make completely new lives elsewhere.
I loved the way that Marin and Dax find common ground in their passions. Marin’s feelings for the sea are echoed by Dax’s passion for music and this shared experience is what eventually lets Marin see that she can trust herself to love again.
It could be argued that the series is a bit repetitive but that point could equally be made about any romance novel. I love the world that the author has created and really enjoy the knowledge that I can sink into a world full of magic and enchantment knowing that although things might get difficult, there will be a happy ending. I think that I have grown to appreciate the warmth of the books more with each one that I read.
Maybe one of the reasons that cosy fantasy is so popular now is because our world seems so dark in many ways right now. Sarah Beth Durst creates a world where bad things happen but characters can still find their own happy endings and that feels really hopeful which I feel is important at the moment.
This is a gorgeously written novel full of loveable characters and fantastic settings and I am already looking forward to visiting the Cheese Emporium at some point in the not too distant future.
I received an ARC of Sea of Charms via Net Galley and the publishers but my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Welcome to this week’s Post. WWW Wednesday has always been one of my favourite memes and I love reading everybody else’s posts. It’s a great way to share my opinions about the books I’ve read without having to write a review and I get so many great book recommendations from other people’s posts.
The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here. Why not pop along to see what everyone else is reading at the moment?
The idea of WWW Wednesday is really easy. You just have to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read. What could be simpler than that?
We’re all back to normal and back from our holiday this week so I’ve spent quite a lot of time just lazing around reading. Not quite post holiday blues but certainly post holiday lethargy when reading is the only thing that I really feel doing. Luckily after last week’s library visit, I have plenty to read.
What I’m currently reading
Villa Coco – Andrew Sean Greer
Villa Coco – Andrew Sean Greer I started this yesterday and the tale of a strange summer in the Tuscan countryside seems like the perfect read for a heatwave.
What I haverecently finished reading
I finally finished this one and really enjoyed it. Kate Bryan covers all aspects of art from looking at it, buying and creating it yourself and has a lovely down to earth way of writing. I will hopefully get around to writing a review soon as it’s part of my Non Fiction Reader challenge for 2026. I have at least caught up with all my outstanding Net Galley reviews now 😃
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst This was a lovely cosy fantasy and I will be posting my review tomorrow.
The Tailor – Tim Sullivan
The Tailor – Tim Sullivan I bought my huge pile of books from the library on Friday afternoon and then spent a blissful few hours sitting in my shady garden catching up with DS George Cross as he tried to solve the mysterious murder of a seemingly harmless tailor in Bristol.
George didn’t make me laugh quite as much as he has in earlier books but this still remains one of my favourite crime series that I have read recently.
For full details about this book, Villa Coco and the next three, see my STS post from Saturday where I posted all the blurbs.
The Mermaid’s Cry – Kate Rhodes
The Mermaid’s Cry – Kate Rhodes After having a fantasy heavy couple of weeks, it’s been nice to catch up with some of my favourite crime series. This was as excellent as all of the previous books although I’m sad that the author killed off Ben Kitto’s wife. I guess it makes for more interesting plots for his personal life but it was quite nice having a happily married detective for a change.
No 1 St James Park – Alan Judd
No 1 St James Park – Alan Judd This is another from my mammoth library haul last week. It was an interesting spy mystery set during WWI in the early days of MI6. I enjoyed the plot but the characters seemed a bit stilted. I think it’s an author that I would pick up if I saw the books on the library shelf but not otherwise.
Ask Me What I’m Reading – Eleanor Goymer
Ask Me What I’m Reading – Eleanor Goymer I really enjoyed this contemporary romance novel. There were echoes of This Book Made Me Think of You as the main characters were both grieving and both had a list but the treatment of the idea was very different. The friendly bookshop was a common theme to both books but who doesn’t love that idea?
Empire of Storms – Sarah J Maas
Empire of Storms – Sarah J Maas Book 5 in the Throne of Glass series was excellent. Lots of plot twists and characters behaving in ways that you wouldn’t expect. I definitely didn’t expect to like the Fae, Lorcan, as much as I did.
What I intend to read next
Death on a Lively Sea – Katy Watson
Death on a Lively Sea – Katy Watson I’ve still got a lot of books to choose from but I think that this will be my next read as I’m really looking forward to catching up with the Three Dahlias.
Book Title – A Trade of Blood Author – Robert Jackson Bennett Genre – Fantasy Publisher – Random House Worlds Publication Date – 4th August 2026 My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Trade of Blood – Robert Jackson Bennett
A Trade of Blood – Robert Jackson Bennett
Yay! Ana and Din are back. Fantasy and Crime fiction are my two all time favourite genres and when they are both combined together as brilliantly as this, then I’m pretty much in heaven.
Is this the best book in the series so far? I really don’t know as they have all been 5 star reads for me. However, I do think that the books continue to improve as we learn more about Ana, Din and the strange world that they inhabit.
In A Trade of Blood, Ana and Din must solve a gory murder and prove that the obvious culprit, the heir to one of the Empire’s richest and most powerful families, is innocent. If they don’t do this, then the area will erupt into all out war and the Empire’s food supply will be threatened. No pressure there then!
The partnership of Ana and Din is one of my absolute favourites in fiction and it has been great to see their relationship progress over the three books. In this book, the partnership is clearly on a more equal footing now. While Ana is definitely still in charge, she trusts Din completely to carry out his part in the investigation and his character feels a lot more confident than previously. It was interesting to learn more about his family background too and I really enjoyed the introduction of Fotia who is another of the author’s strong female characters.
The world building is excellent as always. We are transported to a completely different part of the empire which adds to our knowledge of the world as a whole. The Leviathans are many miles away but they still cast a shadow and Din can instantly spot fellow soldiers who have fought on the wall. Even longer shadows are cast by the previous people to live in this land and learning a bit more about them was fascinating. I wonder if we will ever find out the truth about Ana and her links to the emperor?
For me, this book had a slightly darker feel than the previous two. As always, the murders have an almost horrific feel to them but the motivation behind them seemed darker as it seemed mainly to be driven by greed and RJB clearly shows the lengths that people will go to in order to get what they want. The augmentations and magic felt darker too especially as Din is beginning to worry about just how long he has before his mind begins to collapse. We also see very clearly how a society can be become uncaring about anything apart from their own profits and lifestyle and the author clearly sees parallels with our own world even without the afterword which I’m not absolutely sure was necessary.
I think that this book has everything that you could possibly want in a fantasy novel. A well realised world, characters that you care about and a plot that weaves about in many directions but then all comes together seamlessly at the end. Brilliant!
I received an ARC of A Trade of Blood via Net Galley and the publishers but my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Welcome to this week’s Stacking the Shelves post which is all about the humungous pile of books that I collected yesterday from the library. I really think that there is a mischievious fairy who thinks that it’s amusing to make all of my library reservations arrive at the same time. Yesterday’s haul of 11 books was definitely something else though. It’s a good job that I don’t live far away as I wouldn’t have wanted to carry them for any distance.
My library haul 7th August
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog as well as a huge amount of book reviews. Why not visit her blog if you haven’t already found it? The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
STS is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks and audiobooks!
My STS posts focus mainly on the books that I get on my weekly visits to the library. I love my library and use it every week if I’m at home. It always seems such a shame that more people don’t use their libraries as they are such great places absolutely full of books. And they’re free!!!
Library Haul
So I hope that you’ve settled in for a while as this is going to be quite a long post. This week’s haul is just books that I have put on hold during July. I knew that I had 5 to collect but the remaining 6 were a surprise especially as a couple of them have only just been published.
Ask Me What I’m Reading – Eleanor GoynerVilla Coco – Andrew Sean Greerthe mermaid’s cry – Kate Rhodes
Ask Me What I’m Reading – Eleanor Goyner I can’t remember why I reserved this one as I don’t think I’ve read any reviews of it. It might be just that I saw it on the new acquistions list and liked the sound of it.
I could pretend that it was the book that caught my eye – but it wasn’t his book that kept me looking.
Every morning, Sophie boards the same train. Every morning, she spots him – tall, unreadable, always with a novel in his hand…. often the same one she is reading.
Soon, their commute becomes a silent exchange of titles, a game only they seem to be playing. but how long can a story stay between the lines before someone dares to take it off the page?
Villa Coco – Andrew Sean Greer This was a book that I spotted in Waterstones and was attracted by the cover. The blurb sounded really intriguing too.
A young man takes a job in the Italian countryside as the assistant to Lisabetta – better known to her friends as Coco – a strong willed, wealthy aristocrat of great local renown.
Trained as an archivist, he thinks that he’s been hired to catalogue the contents of the crumbling mansion in Tuscany. But his actual duties seem to consist of days spent in a series of eccentric pursuits from entertaining a carousel of unusual guests to attending a funeral in order to steal the urn. But mainly his job is to help Coco to reunite with the first love of her life before it’s too late.
As Summer turns into Autumn, the Villa Coco begins to give up its secrets.
the mermaid’s cry – Kate Rhodes A lot of the books in this week’s haul are continuations of crime/mystery series that I read and this is one of them.
This is the latest book in the DI Ben Kitto series. Normally they are set on the islands of Scilly but this one is set on the Cornish mainland in Penzance. Ben sees a baby thrown into the harbour and this is the first in a chilling series of vanishing children. Ben is pulled into the investigation and it becomes increasingly personal when his own young son is threatened.
No 1 St James Park – Alan JuddThe Crooked Shore – Martin EdwardsThe Assassin’s Blade – Sarah J Maas
No 1 St James Park – Alan Judd This was another book that I spotted in a bookshop and liked the sound of.
At the height of the First World War, Emily Grey finds herself far away from the action, collating Swiss rubber imports in a hut in the middle of St James’ Park. Summoned to MI6’s Whitehall headquarters, Emily learns that her talent for languages is needed elsewhere and she is despatched to Bern to debrief Fritz the Ritz, an agent reporting on the wartime activities of German industry.
However, when she discovers that Fritz the Ritz may not be all he claims to be, she is led to the door of an import-export dealership in Lausanne and the unassuming couple who run it. Could they really be at the heart of a network that threatens the lives of millions of Allied soldiers? And, if they are, can Emily, and her ever-eager partner Nigel Nisbet, stop them before they go too far?
The Crooked Shore – Martin Edwards This is the following book from The Dungeon House which I read a couple of weeks ago. I think that this is the last book that he wrote in this mystery series which is set in the Lake District.
DI Hannah Scarlett is an expert in solving cold cases but is struggling under the weight of bureaucracy when Ramona Smith’s disappearance 20 years ago crosses her desk.
The prime suspect was charged but found not guilty. Now the case has come back into the public eye due to a shocking tragedy on the Crooked Shore. A ruthless killer who has already got away with one murder is now planning further appalling crimes.
The Assassin’s Blade – Sarah J Maas This is not strictly part of the Throne of Glass series but is a collection of five short novellas about Celeana’s life as an assassin. I’m reliably informed that it’s worth reading them for the background on some of the characters who appear in the series. 😃
Country People – Daniel MasonThe Magic of M C EscherDeath on a Lively Sea – Katy Watson
Country People – Daniel Mason This is another bookshop spot. I loved the cover and also really enjoyed North Woods by the same author last year.
Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories, and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog in a land with no truffles. He is also a bit lost, twelve years late with his PhD on Russian folktales, and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife Kate accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the far away forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be his year to finally move forward with his life.
But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms, one who possesses, in Kate’s words, “a great capacity to fall in with anyone, anywhere.” And no sooner does he arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as any of his folktales, from a ghostly tree surgeon to a scythe-mad biochemist, a Shakespearean temptress and a photographer of snowflakes obsessed with chronicling, on thousands of index cards, the world’s delusions in a “Inventory of Wrong Ideas.”
The new friends, the enchanted woods, the sure, no PhD, but all good fun. Until Miles stumbles upon a bizarre—perhaps ridiculous—local legend, which, he soon suspects, might not be just a legend after all.
The Magic of M C Escher I went to see the Escher exhibition in London last month as I’ve always loved his work. The exhibition was amazing but I was really disappointed that there was no catalogue with more details. Nor could I find a book about him in either Foyles or Waterstones so again, the library came to the rescue with this hefty book covering his life and work.
Death on a Lively Sea – Katy Watson I love the Three Dahlias books by Katy Watson, a series about three actresses who get caught up in solving murders.
Property mogul and billionaire, Percy Pendleton, has invited the Three Dahlias for a two-week trip on his mega yacht this summer to investigate a case of expected murder.
Percy doesn’t believe that his father’s recent death was natural, despite what the police say. In fact, he thinks he’s going to be murdered too – and soon.
Not being one to sit around waiting for things to happen, he’s gathered all the people he suspects of wanting him dead for a luxury cruise around the Mediterranean. He’s giving the three Dahlias the length of the voyage to investigate his father’s demise, figure out who wants him dead, and stop them.
Only two more to go 😃
The Tailor – Tim SullivanDeadly Remains – Kate Ellis
The Tailor – Tim Sullivan I love this series about DS George Cross and have been looking forward to reading this new book since I binge read the entire series so far at the beginning of the year.
THE KILLING A bespoke tailor boards the 9:26 train from Bristol to London. Before it even reaches Bath, his body is found slumped lifeless in the toilet. The police initially assume it’s a robbery.
THE CRIME But the truth is more complicated than that. Why was the man found with a plastic bag over his head? Why was his throat cut in such a savage way? DS George Cross realises that this was no mugging – it was an organised hit.
THE END This realisation forces George into a merciless, unfamiliar world – and is it his imagination or is he being followed?
Deadly Remains – Kate Ellis I’ve just read an ARC of the 30th novel in the Wesley Peterson series and realised that I had missed one.
When a body is discovered in a picturesque South Devon village, DI Wesley Peterson is called in to investigate. The victim, Barry Brown, is a celebrity ghostwriter and the theft of his laptop suggests that the motive for murder may lie in his work.
While Wesley investigates Barry’s famous clients, Wesley’s teenage son Michael joins family friend, Dr Neil Watson, on an intriguing excavation of a crashed World War Two plane on Dartmoor. The plane was used to ferry secret agents into Europe during the war and, when three skeletons are discovered nearby, it seems the wreckage might hold more secrets than they could ever have imagined.
It’s a very long running series but the stories and characters are still interesting and I really enjoy the links with archeology that are in each novel.
So that’s the end of my mammoth STS post this week. I doubt that I will be visiting the library next week but there might be a couple of new ARCs on my shelf.
Book Title – The Castle and the Cloister Author – Laura E Weymouth Genre – Fantasy Publisher – Random House UK Publication Date – 4th August 2026 My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Castle and the Cloister – Laura E Weymouth
The main problem with binge reading ARCs while you’re on holiday is that you build up a backlog of reviews that need writing. This is the second of the four reviews that I need to write while the books are still fresh in my mind. Then I’m going to give my Net Galley shelf a rest for at least a week.
“The Priory of the Orange Tree meets Black Sun in the thrilling launch of a political fantasy duology following three people—a wet nurse, a heretic queen, and a priest—as they attempt to shape the fortunes of a continent shattered by war” This is the initial blurb from the publisher and together with the gorgeous cover for the book, immediately attracted me. I’ve never read Black Sun but comparisons with The Priory of the Orange aren’t too misleading unlike some of them.
Publishers Blurb Two hundred years ago, the warmongering Inver clan conquered the nation of Honoria, suppressing its pacifist goddesses, and ushering in an era of blood and battles. Now, after a brief but fraught peace, a king’s whims threaten to reignite the engines of war
At the sun goddess Raea’s cloister, the last stronghold of Honoria’s matriarchal religion, Fia and her infant daughter are in search of a safe haven. Fia aims to offer her child more than the poverty and abuse she was raised with, but the price of the cloister’s protection will tear her from what she loves most and thrust her into a game more complex than she could imagine.
Within the Invers’ mountain fortress, Ariana is known as the apostate queen. Once a follower of the goddess of stars, she left her faith for the sake of a king. But old loyalties are not easily severed. Ariana treads a dangerous path, striving for peace in a court made for conquest
Amid a treacherous landscape of enemies, allies, and intrigue, three lives will intertwine. Each will have to risk the wrath of gods and kings alike to alter the course of nations
My review – The Castle and the Cloister Is an epic fantasy with a heavy dose of political and religious intrigue. The book is set on a continent split into warring nations with very different religious beliefs and war is a constant background to the events of the story.
The story is told through four POV characters but the stand-character for me was Fia, the young postulant who wants nothing more than to live out a religious life in the cloister with her baby daughter. However, she is refused permission to become a full member of the order until she has carried out an errand for the Cloister which takes her to the Inver Court of Orden and his wife Ari, a former soria (or sister) of a cloister. I loved Fia’s character and really felt her frustration with not being allowed to become a soria. Because she needed her daughter to be safe above everything else, it allowed other people to manipulate her by holding that over her head which reminded me a lot of Melissa Caruso’s The Hour Between Worlds where the main character has a similar problem.
The Priest was my other favourite character and I loved the way that we saw how he carried out his duties despite his blindness. I also really enjoyed the depiction of motherhood in this novel which is definitely unusual in fantasy where it is often skimmed over. In The Castle and the Cloister, Laura Weymouth shows all the pain and worry that are involved with giving birth and caring for a small baby and how that affects the actions of the mothers.
The events of this book are heavily influenced by what has happened in the past and we see flashbacks of events that happened years earlier which shed a lot of light on Ariana’s actions in particular. She was quite a problematic character for me during the book and it wasn’t until quite close to the end when we were given information that revealed more about her motivations that I felt I understood her.
I really enjoyed the plot twists that arose. A couple of these took me completely by surprise but then I realised that the clues were there.
Despite all of the things that I did love about the book, it never quite gripped me as much as I expected it to and I found it quite easy to put down which is extremely unusual when I’m reading a new fantasy novel. I can’t quite put my finger on why but I think it’s that the characters never quite engaged me as much as in other books I’ve read recently.
However, the plot and world building were both excellent and I am definitely interested in finding out where the story goes next especially after the events of the final chapter and the epilogue.
I received an ARC of this book via Net Galley and the publisher, Random House UK but my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Book Title – A Snake Among Swans Author – Hannah Kaner Genre – Fantasy Publisher – Harper Collins UK Publication Date – 30th July 2026 (UK) My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
A Snake Among Swans – Hannah Kaner
“Death is come to take you home, death of blood and thorn and bone…
Tilde has always heard the whispers of the kithwood, the voices of her ancestors speaking through the mysterious forest of her homeland. But now both the kithwood and her kingdom are in danger.
For Tilde is the only surviving heir of a conquered land. To unite the people and finally stop the bloodshed, she marries the aging warlord, King Liran. Her duty is to bind their nations and bear him a son.
But the swan king’s court is dangerous. Tilde is a threat to the claim of Liran’s older sons, who will do whatever it takes to remove her, to the princess Elise who has only ever known loyalty to her family, and to the priests who own them all
Yet none of them know that Tilde is a snake in their midst, with allies on her side and dark, forbidden power of her own. She wants her kingdom back, and she will sacrifice everything to claim it.
For the queen to rise, the swans must fall.
A Snake among Swans is a brilliant, dark and often violent fantasy that gripped me from the very first pages
The basic plot of an arranged marriage providing an opportunity for the bride to get revenge on a conqueror or invader has been done before but Hannah Kaner gave this a really fresh feel which has real echoes of our own world. From the Spanish Conquistadors to the Taliban, conquerors have imposed their religious beliefs and practices on the people they rule and the author gave us a brilliant picture of that in her depiction of the Swan Court. In a very short space of time, women have lost their rights to a life outside of their homes as the Swan Priests have gained power and the Princess Elise, has been forbidden to read as a punishment for something by her father. Into this court comes Tilde, a woman who comes from a line of women who can rule in their own right and has definite ideas about what she will do.
As with the author’s previous trilogy, Godkiller, the characters are brilliantly written. Tilde and Elise are the main POV characters and I really feel that we get to understand their motivations and actions. Tilde is the stand-out character and I guess could be seen morally grey in the way that she takes difficult decisions that cost her personally. I really enjoyed seeing how she developed her ability to think like a ruler during the course of the book. Her initial idea of assassination became a much more long-sighted plan of revenge by becoming more powerful. Elise was a great foil to Tilde. She is obedient and mostly invisible in the court and has had most of her courage stolen away by the rules she is forced to live under. However, there is still a spark there and Tilde’s entrance into her life gives her the chance to grow. I loved Tilde’s mother too even though we don’t see much of her in the book but the way Tilde’s view of her (and ours) changed through the book made her an intriguing and heartbreaking character.
The romance between Tilde and Elise has a very slow build up which feels completely appropriate given their circumstances and you know that this isn’t going to be ‘And they all lived happily ever after’. I loved the way that they distrusted each other at the same time as being attracted and Hannah Kaner built up the tension between them brilliantly.
The kings sons are all fairly dislikeable and one of the things that makes Elise’s situation so hard is the way that she is treated by her brothers, especially those younger than her who have still grown to see her as insignificant. All of the brothers are totally absorbed and only care about others for whatever power it might bring them. The King’s second son, Leon, appears to be the most reasonable but Tilde is constantly reminded that it was him who gave the order to torture her brother and sister to death. The streak of cruelty runs just as strongly in him as in the rest of his family.
A Snake Among Swans is definitely a political fantasy which I loved. The cast of characters is huge and at times, it was difficult to keep track of who everyone was. The Great Lord Lirian and his sons were easy enough and well differentiated but some of the other advisors and courtiers blurred together at times. The court was full of intrigue with alliances being made and broken as situations changed. One of the things that I loved about Tilde’s character was the way that she was able to use all of this intrigue for her own ends.
I was fascinated by the forest magic and the way that the knowledge of this has been partly lost. Tilde doesn’t really know anything about how it works even though she is definitely linked to the forest and hears the voices. We learn bits as the novel progresses and the magic is one that exacts a price from anyone that uses it. Towards the end of the novel, we see exactly how it can be used and maybe why its use has become, if not forbidden, then certainly frowned upon. I’m definitely hoping that we see more of it in the next book.
A Snake Among Swans was a brilliant start to a new series and I can’t wait to see how events develop in the next book after the way that this one ended.
Rating books is always so hard and entirely subjective. This was definitely better than a four star read but I’m not sure if it’s quite enough for five stars so 4 1/2 it is. I was a bit puzzled that I’ve seen so few mentions of this book but then I realised that it isn’t due for publication in the US until September although it was published here last week.
I received this ARC via Net Galley and the publishers but my opinions are entirely my own.
Welcome to the first WWW Wednesday post of August. How on earth is it August already?? We’ve just back from a brilliant holiday on the beautiful island of Jersey and I’m suffering from Sea withdrawal symptoms already. It was such a lovely week and the weather was pretty much perfect. We walked for miles and ate soooo much food! One of the highlights of the week was our visit to the Jersey Zoo which is totally focused on conservation. The red pandas were definitely my top spot of the visit.
Red Panda at Jersey ZooCoastline around Plemont Bay, Jersey
A random fact spotted by Jak Laurel at Lost in the Narrative is that Jersey appears as a separate place on the wordpress list of where your visitors are from. So if you noticed a visitor from Jersey over the past 7 days, that was probably me😃 I am a bit behind with blog hopping though but hopefully I’ll catch up over the next couple of days.
WWW Wednesday has always been one of my favourite memes and I love reading everybody else’s posts. It’s a great way to share my opinions about the books I’ve read without having to write a review and I get so many great book recommendations from other people’s posts.
The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here. Why not pop along to see what everyone else is reading at the moment?
The idea of WWW Wednesday is really easy. You just have to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read. What could be simpler than that?
I haven’t read a huge amount this week as we’ve been doing holiday things but I have made a dent in my list of ARCs. The only problem is that now I have three reviews to write ☹️
What I’m currently reading
No progress on this one since last week as I didn’t take it on holiday with me.
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst
Sea of Charms – Sarah Beth Durst I’ve read all of my July ARCs and have now started on my August ones. This is the third in the series that was begun in The Spellshop and is about Marin, the sailor who travels between the islands. I love the fact that this book extends the world as well as tying all of the places together.
What I haverecently finished reading
The Castle and the Cloister – Laura E Weymouth
The Castle and the Cloister – Laura E Weymouth I was really looking forward to this one. The cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded perfect. Somehow it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It was good and I did enjoy it but it didn’t engage me as much as I had hoped.
Murder in the Basement – Anthony Berkeley
Murder in the Basement – Anthony Berkeley This British Library Crime Classic was the only physical book that I took on holiday and was another enjoyable Golden Age murder mystery.
A Snake Among Swans – Hannah Kaner
A Snake Among Swans – Hannah Kaner I loved this new book by Hannah Kaner. I know the plot has been done before but the characters and the writing were both great. My reviews for this one and The Castle and the Cloister will be published soon (I hope)
What I intend to read next
Empire of Storms – Sarah J Maas
Empire of Storms – Sarah J Maas This is next up in my read through of the Throne of Glass series.
Welcome to this week’s Stacking the Shelves post which is a bit different to my normal library book haul.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog as well as a huge amount of book reviews. Why not visit her blog if you haven’t already found it? The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.
STS is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks and audiobooks!
My STS posts usually focus mainly on the books that I get on my weekly visits to the library. However, this week we’re on holiday on the Island of Jersey so I haven’t been to the library. During July though, I have managed to acquire a lot of art based books so I thought I would do a post about those.
My Art Book Haul
I love collecting books about art. I love books that tell me how to do things, books that are basically catalogues of an artist’s work, sketchbook examples or just books about art in general. I have quite a few already but there’s always room for more and July has been a bumper month for new arty books. Mainly I have to say because my daughter seems to have kept tabs on books that I look at when we visit book stores together.
My first book was one that I treated myself to at the beginning of the month as I just love Jenni with a j’s artwork on Instagram
La Lumiere – Jennifer Niedojadlo
La Lumiere – Jennifer Niedojadlo It’s quite a small book but is full of gorgeous colour illustrations of her work and step by step guides of how to create the same pictures and effects. The only slight problem is that it’s in French so I will be working my brain cells extra hard when I read it.
The next three books were all birthday gifts from my daughter who has obviously been keeping a very close eye on me when we’re browsing together in book shops.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles – Amy Tan
The Backyard Bird Chronicles – Amy Tan I first saw this in a bookstore near Lake Michigan when we were on holiday last year and I pick it up and look at it everytime I see it in a book shop but have never let myself buy it. It’s a nature journal where Amy Tan recounts her experiences of the birds she sees in her backyard and illustrates her thoughts. Aren’t these pages just gorgeous?
Birds – a watercolor workbook
Birds – a watercolor workbook I spotted this in a small independent bookstore in KC but didn’t buy as it felt quite expensive. It’s a collection of 12 bird illustrations in watercolour with a bland outline on the opposite for you to recreate the image. The pages are lovely thick watercolor paper and it’s a brilliant idea for when you want to create something but have no inspiration. So far, I’ve just done the pigeon.
Wee Wing Things – Karen Campbell
This was actually on my Amazon wishlist. It’s Karen Campbell’s latest in her Whimsical Watercolor series and is another great way of creating fun pictures and concentrating on the skills rather than trying to create something from your own imagination. I’ve done a couple of her pictures from her youtube video but the book means that I don’t have to copy from a screen.
How to Art – Kate Bryan
How to Art – Kate Bryan My final book was my treat to myself from my trip to London this week. After all, I couldn’t go to Foyles and not buy anything.
So that’s this week’s STS post with a difference. Normal service will be resumed next week.
What have you added to your shelves this week?
Do you have a hobby or interest that you collect books about?
Book Title – Harbour of Hungry Ghosts Author – Eliza Chan Genre – Fantasy Publisher – Little Brown Book Group UK Publication Date – 28th July 2026 My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Harbour of Hungry Ghosts – Eliza Chan
Harbour of Hungry Ghosts – Eliza Chan
Harbour for Hungry Ghosts is an intriguing mixture of Chinese mythology and folklore about the afterlife and British legends. The story is set in colonial Hong Kong in the 19th century when the Island is just seen as another resource to be exploited by the British who have installed themselves as overlords.
Kiamling is a ghost hunter in her family business and she is feeling completely hemmed in by her Grandmother who runs the business and doesn’t seem to believe that Kiamling is capable of working on her own. When her grandmother disappears, Kiamling discovers that hunting the ghosts and making sure that they stay where they belong is much harder than she expected. As she tries desperately to get her grandmother back from the other side, she begins to realise that the stakes are far higher than she realised and the whole culture of Hong Kong is at stake.
Kiamling isn’t an easy character to like. She’s self-opinionated and overconfident. Her belief that she is right almost costs her the relationship with her sister who wants a life very different to the one that her older sister has planned for her. However, during the novel, she gradually comes to be more self-aware and to have more empathy for others. I really loved the sibling relationship and the way that Kiamling came to see who her sister really was. I also loved seeing how she was forced to overturn some of her preconceptions completely as she learned more about the ghosts and the job that her grandmother actually did.
Kiamling’s confidence and refusal to become what other people expect aren’t all bad though and it is these qualities that attract the young Englishman Archie, to her as she is everything that he feels that he isn’t. I really liked his character and felt that Eliza Chan did a great job of showing someone who found it hard to give up the ideas that he had been brought up to believe in even when his eyes were obviously telling him something very different. He was torn between two worlds in every sense and I loved his story arc.
Harbour for Hungry Ghosts feels quite episodic and it is easy to imagine it as a TV series with each episode being a separate adventure. Some of these begin to feel a bit repetitive but each one actually leads Kiamling a bit closer to understanding what is actually going and that getting her Grandmother back might be the least of her worries. All of the strands were brought together brilliantly at the end in an action-packed finale that was full of surprises
This is a fast paced fantasy with a vivid setting and fantastic blend of Cantonese and British mythology and I really enjoyed it.
I received this ARC via the publishers, Little Brown Book Group and Net Galley but my opinions are entirely my own.
Welcome to this week’s WWW Wednesday post. This week the post is coming to you from the beautiful island of Jersey as we’re on holiday for a week.
WWW Wednesday has always been one of my favourite memes and I love reading everybody else’s posts. It’s a great way to share my opinions about the books I’ve read without having to write a review and I get so many great book recommendations from other people’s posts.
The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here. Why not pop along to see what everyone else is reading at the moment?
The idea of WWW Wednesday is really easy. You just have to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read. What could be simpler than that?
What I’m currently reading
I started reading this last week and am still dipping into it every couple of days. It’s extremely easy to read without being patronising and I do love her sarcastic comments about the art establishment.
What I haverecently finished reading
After the Fall – Edward Ashton
After the Fall – Edward Ashton This was a brilliant dystopian Science Fiction story about a future earth where aliens, the Greys, have conquered the planet and only a tiny fraction is still habitable. It’s quite a short book but the ideas are all well thought out and there’s a lot to make you think as well as just being a good story
The Dungeon House – Martin Edwards
The Dungeon House – Martin Edwards It was definitely time for another murder mystery and I enjoyed this book which is part of a series set in the Lake District. I had read the earlier books years ago and it was nice to reacquaint myself with the characters. The mystery was well worked out as you would expect from Martin Edwards who is definitely an expert in mystery writing.
The Saffron Thief – T L Mogford
The Saffron Thief – T L Mogford This ARC was a historical heist novel set in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London.
In 1666, England’s saffron industry is booming, with the spice fetching a staggering £4 per pound—rivalling gold. Fabian Smith, the sensible second son of a Holborn poulterer, has sacrificed his dreams of adventure for family duty. But when the Great Fire claims his father and his reckless brother plunges them into debt with a ruthless conman, their home—and freedom—hang in the balance. Desperate to save his family, Fabian hatches a daring plan: steal the fortune they need. His target? The wealthiest saffron grower in Saffron Walden.
I had never realised that Saffron was grown in England even though the name of the town is a pretty obvious clue. This was a fun historical read with a lot of memorable characters and plot twists.
The Book of Days – Francesca Kay
The Book of Days – Francesca Kay I’ve had this book on my shelf for at least two years and never quite felt in the mood to read it. I don’t know why though as I loved it. It was a very slow paced account of a young noblewoman’s life in the countryside at the end of Henry VIII’s when religion was going through a time of turmoil. Her husband is ill but he is determined to build a beautiful chapel to house a tomb for himself and his family.
It’s written in the first person and is beautifully, almost lyrically written and is a brilliant account of the days passing and how the people’s lives change.
What I intend to read next
Hannah Kaner’s A Snake Among Swans is still likely to be my next read as it is now my only July ARC remaining.
Wicked Witch's Blog 