Author: ramblingmads

I am a thirtysomething from London, with a cat, a husband, bookshelves which keep threatening to crush me under their load and chronic health conditions. Basically your average over stressed millennial. Welcome.
books, reviews

Book Review: The Quickening – Rhiannon Ward

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I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher, originally for a blog tour but it didn’t arrive in time. Please see my unbiased review below.

Feminist gothic fiction set between the late 19th century and the early 20th century – an era of burgeoning spiritualism and the suffragette movement – that couldn’t be more relevant today.

England, 1925. Louisa Drew lost her husband in the First World War and her six-year-old twin sons in the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Newly re-married to a war-traumatised husband and seven months pregnant, Louisa is asked by her employer to travel to Clewer Hall in Sussex where she is to photograph the contents of the house for auction.

She learns Clewer Hall was host to an infamous séance in 1896, and that the lady of the house has asked those who gathered back then to come together once more to recreate the evening. When a mysterious child appears on

the grounds, Louisa finds herself compelled to investigate and becomes embroiled in the strange happenings of the house. Gradually, she unravels the long-held secrets of the inhabitants and what really happened thirty years before… and discovers her own fate is entwined with that of Clewer Hall’s.

An exquisitely crafted and compelling mystery that invites the reader in to the crumbling Clewer Hall to help unlock its secrets alongside the unforgettable Louisa Drew.

My thoughts:

This was a dark, twisted Gothic mystery, complete with crumbling house (quite literally), secrets, stoic servants and a woman at the centre who might just be in terrible danger.

Contracted to photograph Clewer House and its contents by the auction house handling the sale, with the family due to move to India, Louisa Drew is eight months pregnant and desperate for an escape from her dull second husband, who she doesn’t love.

Draw into the web of secrets, tragedy and spiritualism surrounding the Clewer family, she becomes slightly obsessed with the child she thinks she sees in the garden. A few strange things happen to her before an infamous seance is recreated with the original guests.

The inclusion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife is interesting. Probably one of the most famous spiritualists, Doyle was a man of science who nevertheless believed mediums could communicate with the other side, despite having met his share of charlatans.

Louisa is a modern woman, used to providing for herself, after losing her first husband, Bertie, in WWI. This contrasts with the very Victorian fascination with mediums, lending an element of travelling back in time to the proceedings.

The atmospheric, damp, mouldy, crumbling house provides the perfect backdrop to the unfolding tragedy. As Louisa is drawn into solving a murder and investigating the Clewer family’s tragedy, she starts to unravel herself.

In grand Gothic tradition the house and the secrets it holds start to affect everyone who enters it and I really enjoyed the fact that there was something sinister about the plaster falling off the walls as the family and their guests take tea in another room.

This is an excellent read, full of suspense and things that jar against the early 20th century setting, a time of huge social change, while Clewer House clings onto its past.

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Blog Tour: Talland House – Maggie Humm*

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Royal Academy, London 1919: Lily has put her student days in St. Ives, Cornwall, behind her―a time when her substitute mother, Mrs. Ramsay, seemingly disliked Lily’s portrait of her and Louis Grier, her tutor, never seduced her as she hoped he would. In the years since, she’s been a suffragette and a nurse in WWI, and now she’s a successful artist with a painting displayed at the Royal Academy. Then Louis appears at the exhibition with the news that Mrs. Ramsay has died under suspicious circumstances. Talking to Louis, Lily realizes two things: 1) she must find out more about her beloved Mrs. Ramsay’s death (and her sometimes-violent husband, Mr. Ramsay), and 2) She still loves Louis.
Set between 1900 and 1919 in picturesque Cornwall and war-blasted London, Talland House takes Lily Briscoe from the pages of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and tells her story outside the confines of Woolf’s novel―as a student in 1900, as a young woman becoming a professional artist, her loves and friendships, mourning her dead mother, and solving the mystery of her friend Mrs. Ramsay’s sudden death. Talland House is both a story for our present time, exploring the tensions women experience between their public careers and private loves, and a story of a specific moment in our past―a time when women first began to be truly independent.

My thoughts:

Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse, and partly set at Talland House, which Woolf’s family rented when she was a child, this story fleshes out the details Woolf left out of her own narrative – primarily the death of Mrs Ramsey.

A beautifully written, lyrical meditation on art, the particular light of St Ives, families, women, war and love.

Following Lily Briscoe from her days as an art student, then as a Queen Alexandra’s nurse in WWI (as was my own great-grandmother), we encounter the seismic changes in society in the early years of the 20th century. Lily is present when a suffragette slashes a painting in protest of the government’s treatment of Emmeline Pankhurst.

Her fascination with Mrs Ramsey never really wains, she thinks of her often, even though years pass by without them meeting. I was reminded of the similar relationship in Howards End, where Margaret is fascinated by Mrs Wilcox.

The novel evolves in its final third into a investigation of Mrs Ramsey’s death. Lily suspects foul play, the suddenness of it seems suspicious, and she enlists her pharmacist friend after the cleaner and cook give her a small bottle found among Mrs Ramsey’s things. Shades of Agatha Christie, herself a pharmacist in the war.

I found this book deeply fascinating and strangely moving. St Ives is a place I’ve visited and I could picture it in my mind as Lily painted on the quayside and strode around the town with her friends.

Even if you’re not a fan of Woolf, this is very enjoyable and readable, Woolf isn’t present in the pages and the author really makes the characters her own.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Deadline – Geoff Major*

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Adam Ferranti was drinking away his waking hours, getting by in a regional newspaper in the North of England. An award-winning journalist, he moved to England to escape the media glare that followed his spectacular fall from grace at The Washington Post; only to be thrust back in it when a mysterious serial killer decides to make him his confidante.

DS Stephanie Walker is a successful member of the West Yorkshire Police force. Whilst she is tough and results-driven at work, with a fearsome reputation on the streets, she hides the domestic abuse she suffers at home.
She finds Ferranti exceptionally difficult to deal with, but he’s her only chance to stay close to what the elusive killer is planning next. Ferranti reluctantly complies with the Police, even though he is fighting his own personal demons, but when his best friend is murdered by the killer, it suddenly gets personal. And suddenly, no-one is quite who they seemed to be.

A long time ago, Geoff Major had an idea for a story, whilst walking his girls to primary school. Two years ago, he decided he had the time and patience to try to write the story down. His wife was wholly supportive, so he turned from full-time to part-time for four months and now – 23 years after that idea first popped into his head – it has been published.

As a self-employed business consultant for 18 years and a fundraising adventurer for 10 years (including ski-trekking 50 miles, over 6 days and 6 nights, to the geographic North Pole), he now works for a debt charity whilst plotting his next three books

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My thoughts:

A series of grisly murders with links to MI5 and the American government, a reporter who seems to be getting info direct from the killer, a police team from three different forces trying to stop further murders.

There’s so much intrigue and suspense in this thrill ride of a novel. The plot is twisty, knotty and the final twists shocking and rewarding.

There were lots of “wait, what?” moments, bits I had to read back over because they threw massive spanners and red herrings into the plot and sent it off in another direction.


*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Always Human – Ari North*

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First serialized on the popular app and website WebToon, Always Human ran from 2015-2017 and amassed over 76,000 unique subscribers during its run.

Now reformatted for a print edition in sponsorship with GLAAD, Always Human is a beautifully drawn graphic novel about a developing relationship between two young women in a near-future, soft sci-fi setting. Always Human is drawn in a manga-influenced style and with an incredible color palette that leaps off the page!

In the near-future, people use technology to give the illusion of all kinds of body modifications-but some people have “Egan’s Syndrome,” a highly sensitive immune system that rejects these “mods” and are unable to use them. Those who are affected maintain a “natural” appearance, reliant on cosmetics and hair dye at most to help them play with their looks.

Sunati is attracted to Austen the first time she sees her and is drawn to what she assumes is Austen’s bravery and confidence to live life unmodded. When Sunati learns the truth, she’s still attracted to Austen and asks her on a date.

Gradually, their relationship unfolds as they deal with friends, family, and the emotional conflicts that come with every romance. Together, they will learn and grow in a story that reminds us no matter how technology evolves, we will remain . . . always human.

Rendered in beautiful detail and an extraordinary color palette, Always Human is a sweet love story told in a gentle sci-fi setting by a queer woman cartoonist, Ari North.

Ari North is a queer cartoonist who believes an entertaining story should also be full of diversity and inclusion. As a writer, an artist, and a musician, she wrote, drew, and composed the music for Always Human, a complete romance/sci-fi webcomic about two queer girls navigating maturity and finding happiness. She’s currently working on a second webcomic, Aerial Magic, which is about the everyday lives of the witches who work at a broomstick repair shop. She lives in Australia with her husband.

My thoughts:

This was adorable, a sweet, pastel coloured love story about falling in love, making mistakes and finding a way back to each other and developing a deeper understanding.

Sunati and Austen are young women on the cusp of their adult lives, Sunati works as a programmer and Austen is a student, struggling with her course load and stressed about exams.

Set in a future where people use ‘mods’ to alter their appearances, Sunati uses technology with ease, while Austen’s allergy to these patches mean she retains her features and can’t alter them.

Both women try to do what they think the other wants, instead of actually speaking to one another. After a rocky start, their affection for each other grows and blossoms.

A gentle, sweet, old fashioned love story with a high tech twist. Simply charming.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Images reproduced by kind permission of the publisher.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Ritual Demise – Sally Rigby*

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Someone is watching…. No one is safe

The once tranquil woods in a picturesque part of Lenchester have become the bloody stage to a series of ritualistic murders. With no suspects, Detective Chief Inspector Whitney Walker is once again forced to call on the services of forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish.
But this murderer isn’t like any they’ve faced before. The murders are highly elaborate, but different in their own way, and with the clock ticking, they need to get inside the killer’s head before it’s too late.
For fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and L J Ross, Ritual Demise is the seventh book in the Cavendish & Walker crime fiction series.

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Sally Rigby was born in Northampton, in the UK. She has always had the travel bug, and after living in both Manchester and London, eventually moved overseas. From 2001 she has lived with her family in New Zealand (apart from five years in Australia), which she considers to be the most beautiful place in the world. After writing young adult fiction for many years, under a pen name, Sally decided to move into crime fiction. Her Cavendish & Walker series brings together two headstrong, and very different, women – DCI Whitney Walker, and forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish. Sally has a background in education, and has always loved crime fiction books, films and TV programmes. She has a particular fascination with the psychology of serial killers.

Check out her website for a FREE prequel story.

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My thoughts:

I really enjoy the Cavendish & Walker books so it was a pleasure to read this, the seventh novel, which find DCI Walker and Dr Cavendish once again hunting for a serial killer in Lenchester.

I love the fact that at least one character always comments on how a small British city seems to have so many serial killers, something few crime series’ ever acknowledge.

The protagonists feel like old friends after so many cases solved together, and don’t grate on each other as they did way back in book one, having settled into a comfortable working style.

My favourite character however, remains the prickly pathologist, Claire, who doesn’t like to be rushed and doesn’t have time for the various theories the others proffer.

An enjoyable, well written and very clever thiller, I think this might be the best one yet.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

books, reviews

Book Review: Camp – L.C. Rosen

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I was gifted a copy by the publisher with no requirement to review.

Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It’s where he met his best friends. It’s where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it’s where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim – who’s only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.

This year, though, it’s going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as ‘Del’ – buff, masculine and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish and his unicorn bedsheets, he’s determined to get Hudson to fall for him.

But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn’t know who he truly is?

My thoughts:

One of my favourite films is an indie called Camp, which is about an arts camp with a drag queen coming into their own and Anna Kendricks as a rather evil young woman, determined to be the star.

This book reminded me of that in more than just the title, because this book is also set at summer camp and is also full of joy.

There’s a love story, there’s learning to be yourself and embrace it, there’s so much hope for the future and there’s a group of wonderful, funny, talented friends at its core.

We dont really have summer camps in the UK in the same way as the US, so most of my knowledge comes from books and TV (Lumberjanes and Wet Hot American Summer are my favourites), but I worked at a summer playscheme (a sort of day camp) for 3 years and it was the best job I have ever had.

Anyway, I loved this book, it’s very upbeat and fun, and I think I would have loved this camp.

books, reviews

Book Review: Titanborn – Brian Schutter

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I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“No more death.”

In Titanborn, Schutter weaves the vivid world of Shangri-La — a colony living in isolation on Saturn’s moon, Titan — and the genetically-engineered humans known as Titanborn, whose task is simply to prove they can survive.

Meera is just one cog in the wheel of Shangri-La. Assigned to fulfill a role, Meera struggles to find a place for herself and overcome the trauma of loss as Titan casually takes the lives of her fellow colonists.

When a friend goes missing, Meera must choose to face her fears to save not just him, but all of the Titanborn, as the colony begins to unravel.

Can Meera and her people overcome the dangers of the inhospitable moon, or will the Titanborn fall to an enemy closer to home?

My thoughts:

This was really interesting, an action packed thriller set on Saturn’s moon, Titan, where AIs are so commonly used that those without implants and augmentations are seen as backward and a bit weird.

After her friend goes missing, Meera joins a mission to rescue him and uncovers a rogue AI system that is slowly taking over all the robots the Titanborn use, including the ones in their implants.

The five rescue team members have to learn to work together, and without relying solely on technology to defeat this threat and find their missing friend. The motto is No More Death, and they’re running out of time.

Despite being set in space, this story is more about human relationships and determination than aliens or space ships. It is the very human desire to stay alive and help one another that enables the five Titanborn to survive the inhospitable environment and take the fight right to the heart of the destructive AI.

Gripping, engaging and fast paced, an excellent addition to the new sci-fi thrillers of recent years.

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Blog Tour: Grubane – Karl Drinkwater*

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Read my reviews of Lost Solace and Chasing Solace

Major Grubane is commander of the Aurikaa, the most feared cruiser in the UFS arsenal.

His crew is handpicked and fiercely loyal. Together, they have never failed a mission, and their
reputation precedes them.

But this time he’s been sent to a key planet that is caught up in political tensions at the centre of the
freedom debate. What he thought was a simple diplomatic mission turns out to be the hardest
choice of his career. His orders: eliminate one million inhabitants of the planet, and ensure their
compliance.

Grubane has also rediscovered an ancient game called chess, and plays it against the ship AI as a
form of mental training. But maybe it could be more than that as he finds himself asking questions.

Can orders be reinterpreted? How many moves ahead is it possible for one man to plan? And how
many players are involved in this game?

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Karl Drinkwater is originally from Manchester but lived in Wales for twenty years, and now calls Scotland his home. He’s a full-time author, edits fiction for other writers, and was a professional librarian for over twenty-five years. He has degrees in English, Classics, and Information
Science.He writes in multiple genres: his aim is always just to tell a good story. Among his books you’ll find
elements of literary and contemporary fiction, gritty urban, ho

rror, suspense, paranormal, thriller,
sci-fi, romance, social commentary, and more. The end result is interesting and authentic characters,
clever and compelling plots, and believable worlds.
When he isn’t writing he loves exercise, guitars, computer and board games, the natural
environment, animals, social justice, cake, and zombies. Not necessarily in that order.

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My thoughts:

Set before the events of Lost Solace, this novella introduces the feared and famed Major Grubane, chess player and skilled negotiator, intent on bringing another planet into the UFS, but not by the means his superiors desire.

Preferring negotiations over violence and death, he applies his knowledge of ancient games (in this case his beloved chess) to complex interplanetary conflict.

Narrated by his personal AI bot, Aurikka12, we learn more about the apparently ruthless, utterly loyal Major that pursues Opal and Clarissa through the pages of Lost Solace.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Faithless Hawk – Margaret Owen*

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Kings become outcasts and lovers become foes in the thrilling sequel to Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow.

As the new chieftain of the Crows, Fie knows better than to expect a royal to keep his word. Still she’s hopeful that Prince Jasimir will fulfill his oath to protect her fellow Crows. But then black smoke fills the sky, signaling the death of King Surimir and the beginning of Queen Rhusana’s merciless bid for the throne.

With the witch queen using the deadly plague to unite the nation of Sabor against Crows—and add numbers to her monstrous army—Fie and her band are forced to go into hiding, leaving the country to be ravaged by the plague. However, they’re all running out of time before the Crows starve in exile and Sabor is lost forever.

A desperate Fie calls on old allies to help take Rhusana down from within her own walls. But inside the royal palace, the only difference between a conqueror and a thief is an army. To survive, Fie must unravel not only Rhusana’s plot, but ancient secrets of the Crows—secrets that could save her people, or set the world ablaze.

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IndigoGiveaway – win a copy of The Merciful Crow and The Faithless Hawk (US & Canada)

Born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail, Margaret Owen first encountered an author in the wild in fourth grade. Roughly twenty seconds later, she decided she too would be an author, the first of many well-thought-out life decisions.

The career plan shifted frequently as Margaret spent her childhood haunting the halls of Powell’s Books. After earning her degree in Japanese, her love of espresso called her north to Seattle, where she worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. The common thread between every job can be summed up as: lessons were learned.

Fortunately, it turned out that fourth-grade Margaret was onto something. She now spends her days wrestling disgruntled characters onto the page, and negotiating a long-term hostage situation with her two monstrous cats. (There is surprisingly little difference between the two.) In her free time, she enjoys exploring ill-advised travel destinations, and raising money for social justice nonprofits through her illustrations.

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My thoughts: I loved The Merciful Crow so I was really excited to read this, and I was not disappointed.From the get go, and the King’s death I just knew things were not going as Fie hoped.Instead of making things better for the Crows, things get worse, and worse and something has to give. So it’s off to the palace to unravel a conspiracy, stop an evil queen and save the day.There’s so much action, some romance and lots and lots of cats. Was this written just for me? Because the more cats, the better and any book with cats is therefore even higher in my estimation. Barf is still the best one though.I am immensely satisfied with the ending but I will need a book of what the Crows did next, or just The Adventures of Barf, Best of Cats.

Click the banner to follow the tour!*I was kindly gifted a copy of the book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Man I Married – Elena Wilkes*

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You love him. You’ll do anything for him. But do you really know him?This is the story of Lucy and Paul.

They met. They fell deeply in love. They got married.

Lucy thought that she had everything she wanted.

Until she found the photograph from Paul’s past life, read the text messages he’s so desperately trying to hide. Until she uncovered Paul’s darkest secrets.

Now Lucy realises she doesn’t really know her husband. She doesn’t know if she can trust her own mind. She doesn’t know the lengths Paul would go to keep his perfect life.

And worst of all, she doesn’t know that she’s in danger…

A gripping, dark psychological thriller with an absolutely nail-biting ending that will keep you hooked – the perfect read for fans of Behind Closed Doors, Mark Edwards and Lisa Jewell.

Elena Wilkes grew up in Walsall in the West Midlands. After eighteen years of working in H.M Prisons, she emigrated to New Zealand. She now lives in Shropshire. ‘The Man I Married’ is the author’s debut novel and will be published by Hera Books in August 2020.

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My thoughts:

What seems like a whirlwind romance deteriorates into a gaslighting nightmare, with a dangerous and controlling man manipulating everything.

Paul is a psychiatrist and knows exactly how to pull the strings and cause Lucy to doubt herself and her grip on reality. He plays games with her, lies, tells her best friend conflicting stories, slowly breaking down her resilience.

As Lucy’s mental state grows more fragile and she can’t trust the people around her, Paul claims more power, sending her to the mental health unit and making sure no one will believe her.

This was gripping, shocking and frustrating (I really hate men like Paul and he just seemed to keep getting away with it) and the ending was a twist I did not see coming.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.