The Christmas Keepsake by Annie Rains

What a wonderful light read for the Christmas season! It has that feel of fitting in with a fire, falling snow, hot cocoa and everything that is good and magical during the holidays. With the well done vocal talents of Ann Richardson, all of Annie Rains’ characters spring to life and weave a treasured tale around the listener. You can definitely see the familiar patterns of many a Christmas tale and song within it, but that adds to the charm.

Mallory Blue’s Grandmother, Nan, is suffering from dementia and is falling into the long dark of a dying brain. Still, with moments of lucidity and perfectly functioning memories, she aids Mallory with snippets of the past that fit into the tale her journal weaves. There is an accompanying box of special treasured Xmas tree decorations, all placed lovingly into the box, wrapped and numbered, so that Mallory can place them on the tree in order and know what. They stood for and once meant to her Nan. 

Annie treats the subject of dementia with both respect and heartfelt kindness, allowing those who haven’t experienced it a glimpse into how it can change the lives of those involved. Christmas is a tough time of year for many people, and this novel will definitely pick you up and give you something good to feel happy about. 

It’s filled with a small town vibe, twists and turns galore, Christmas, family and even second chances. What more could one ask for from a feel good seasonal book?

Thanks to both the Hachette Book Group and NetGalley for the advance ARC in return for an honest review.

Narrator Ann Richardson

10 hours 30 mins

From Malice to Ashes: Forest of No Mercy by Gary W. Toyn

 

OMG!!!!! Ok, I’m not certain what I was expecting when I began listening to this novel, but it surely wasn’t the riveting, yet sobering tale of horror, loved ones and family and what happened during WWII. It is a very well researched and largely forgotten chapter of the Holocaust. What a nightmare for those who experienced it on the wrong end of the hatred and horrible machinations of the Nazi’s. 

This novel is inspired by actual events. It spans Nazi occupied Lithuania, the Soviet labour camps, and the refugee corridors of wartime Europe. Those who helped the refugees, and fought the deadly killing machine spurred by unfounded hatred usually gave their lives, but not always. Those people are the heroes in my mind. But, I digress…

It is a tale of three families, torn apart by two brutal and monstrous regimes. An all enveloping and compelling read. Insidious in the way it drags you back in when you have a spare moment, or has you thinking and wondering about it when you are unable to listen.

Olek Kosmen is a student, who was raised Catholic, the only thing showing her was born Jewish - his circumcision. Olek’s fiancée and her brother flee to neutral Sweden from Lithuania. From there her brother goes on to America where he joins the fight against the Nazi’s. Their parents, briefly meet up with Olek and allow him to stay in their cottage in the Ponary (Paneriari) Forest. The parents are subsequently apprehended and taken to the frozen gulags of Siberia. 

Unfortunately neither Olek, nor Leva’s parents know the horrors and dangers that the Ponary will hold for Olek in the coming months. It is the site of massacre after massacre as the German Einsatzgruppen and their Lithuanian auxiliaries murdered thousands of Jewish residents of Vilna (Vilnius) at this specially contrived killing site. The Jewish prisoners were made to dig deep pits, then strip and were summarily shot. The next wave would cover the first with sand or dirt and the process was repeated. It is estimated that 40,000 Jews were slaughtered. Olek becomes a chronicler of the events of horror.

Olek discovers a wounded boy, Mordecai, who managed to escape from the pits and cares for him despite the dangers. Until Olek is captured and forced to join the ‘Burning Brigade,’ a special prisoner unit forced to exhume the bodies and burn them to hide the war crime. His survival seems impossible, but Olek never gives up. As for what happens to them all… read it and find out!

An all too close look at the holocaust to be called comfortable. This is a great novel, well written, pieced together from historical documents and facts that shows its readers what was happening during one of the ugliest periods of documented history.

It reminds readers what happens when hatred goes unchallenged, and in an age where antisemitism is on the rise once more, it’s a warning to the people of the world. Don’t expect it to tuck you in with a warm and cuddly feeling at night, but don’t miss it either!

Matt Armstrong’s work with the narration is admirable! His character voices are some of the best I’ve heard, and give personality to each of the characters that Gary has created. I really enjoyed this audiobook, and am glad for the knowledge it imparted. 

Thanks to NetGalley and American Legacy Media for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

12 hours and 30 minutes

Scary Book of Fairy Tales - Tim Rayborn, Neil Evans

 

 

This is an anthology of 50 fairy tales, but with the real not so pretty endings. I listened to the audiobook as a bedtime treat, and it took me awhile to get through. There are fairy tales from around the world, from the classics to the little known. Purportedly not for the faint of heart. 

I was sorely disappointed. I thought there would be something new... this was the standard unoriginal retelling of the dark endings heard before. It was painful to listen to and in honesty, the narrator, Dennis Kleinman, might've been a robot. There was little tone, little inflection of any emotion. I get more emotional inflection from Siri! I think the only reason I finished listening to it, is that it put me to sleep. 

I'm really sorry, but this would be rating a huge warning sign from me. Honestly, there's better books and audiobooks out there that collect these tales with the darker endings. Ones that make you look around to see if you are alone in the room, or not... 

Thanks NetGalley and HCCP & HCF Audio and Cider Mill Press. Sorry my honest review can't be more positive.

 

 

 

No Rest for the Wicked - Rachel Louis Adams

At first I was hesitant about reviewing this book. In some ways it radiated echoes of something already done, but there was just enough of a hook in the synopsis to arouse my interest. I do love Halloween, I do love mysteries, and I adore a good suspense novel. So I bit, and am I ever glad that I did! I was fully caught up in a net so skillfully woven tat it’s difficult to believe this is a debut novel.

No Rest for the Wicked is one of the strongest debut novels I have ever laid eyes upon. Do not be misled, though. It is far from being a cozy, comfy mystery novel it’s dark and twisted and quite satisfying. The protagonist, a forensic pathologist who goes by the name of Dolores Diaz, hasn’t been in her Halloween obsessed hometown of Little Horton in nearly two decades. Nor has she had any contact with her family. A call about her missing father brings her back, and his final words in a private message set her on a high speed path with so many twists and turns, you could almost get whiplash! “Trust no-one…”

Dolores teams up with the FBI to locate her missing Father, a retired senator and once Little Horton’s mayor. As the investigation delves deeper, both bodies and Dolores’ past begin to stack up. With Halloween coming up in short order, the mystery needs to be solved and her past must be dealt with.

I couldn’t stop listening, and actually was late for work so I could finish it. Yes, priorities… this was just TOO good. I didn’t want to wait a whole shift to hear the ending. I couldn’t. Be prepared to be engulfed in a world you can’t let go of.

The narrator, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, did a phenomenal job with the different voices and as usual, it was a high quality audio release. 

This debut has all the components necessary! Strong and sometimes very relatable characters, a well thought out and executed plot line, and tons of the unexpected! All I can say is that if Rachel Louise Adam’s stops this particular universe with just one tale, I will be driven insane! It’s the effect universe for a series, if she so wills it. I know the readers want at least a sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the early audio copy of the novel in return for an honest review. This audiobook is 12hrs and 4mins in length.

#NetGalley

#Macmillan Audio

#Mystery/Thriller

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) has hit a home run with this imaginative and dark-kissed retelling of the fairy tale Snow White. So much more imaginative and intriguing than most of the previous ones I have read. Thankfully, Hemlock and Silver, is a standalone book allowing readers (and listeners) to pick it up without having to previously read anything else. Although, you just might find yourself looking for more of Kingfisher’s works if you aren’t familiar with it. 

 

The tale focuses on Anja, a skilled poison expert with a secondary talent in healing. She’s far more interested in poisons and their antidotes, and not beyond drinking poisons to confirm her theories. She’s rather heavier and curvier than the usual protagonist, and her social skills leave a great deal of room for improvement. However, she is immediately likeable and her motivations are easily understood.

 

The King’s daughter, Snow, is ill and he is certain she is being poisoned by enemies of the crown. He arrives at Anja's workshop and fairly begs her to come and examine his daughter and hopefully heal her. Naturally, Anja feels rather duty bound to examine the girl and perhaps cure her, after being recommended by her father. She isn’t holding her breath, though.

 

She befriends her two guards – the king wants her kept safe – one of whom, Javier, catches both her eye and heart. She is soon caught up in the mystery surrounding the girl, and the guardsman follows along to do his job. Snow is ill, and Anja is fairly certain she is being poisoned, but there is just no obvious way it could be happening. 

 

There is something odd going on at the castle, something that involves the mirrors. Anja may have to change her stance on her beliefs in magic as the tale progresses, especially after discovering Grayling, the talking, narcissistic gray cat is discovered. Time is rapidly running out as Anja struggles to believe what is happening and cure the worsening Snow. Tension mounts, the mystery builds.

 

While it begins slowly as the world is built, the ground is laid and the characters introduced and brought to life, then this story simply flies along lickety-split towards its surprising ending. Kudos to Kingfisher for the mind-blowing imaginative use of magic and mirrors. I absolutely love idea of the ‘gelds’! They made so much sense and answered a question I’ve had for decades!  

 

Listening length was 11 hours and 50 minutes. The narration was done by Jennifer Pickens, who provided entertaining voices and just the right amount of necessary snark in her tone for both Anja and Grayling. 

My thanks to NetGalley, Tor and MacMillan Audio for the advance audio edition in exchange for an honest review.  

Lives Entwined in Kind - Tucked Away by Mel Parrish

                                

                                                                  

 I knew I was going to be introduced to a new fantasy author, but beyond the basic somewhat vague synopsis, I had no idea what I would be listening to. It turned out to be a very enjoyable - although SHORT listen.

‘Tucked Away’ is basically a prologue with a dash of prequel in my opinion. It’s setting us up for the real story which is soon to follow. In fact book 2, ‘Emerge’ is already out, and readily available.

‘Tucked Away’ is a rather delightful whimsical and emotionally rich YA fantasy tale, but with somewhat slower pacing than I am used to. Old secrets lay covered in dust and laden with curses just waiting to be discovered, much as the hidden family members do. There are Mer people, Trolls, magic, and as I’ve mentioned, curses.

A great deal is also left to the imagination, which is fine as I like to give mine the exercise. There is some great character and world building going on, however, so many of the characters have such similar names that it can get a trifle confusing now and again.. There’s also numerous backgrounds and places. I honestly found myself hitting the back button, or just dancing back a chapter or two to clarify things in my mind.

Abraxos, the Master of Asulon Mansion, is the central character around whom all the darkness and the whimsy dance. He began as a surly figure, rather reclusive and definitely not what one would call friendly. That all changes the night an old lady arrives on the doorstep with a wee bundle in her arms. Delivering it to the Master before getting a night’s sleep and returning from whence she came. 

Poor Abraxos’ life suddenly takes a drastic change, for what his servant and seemingly only friend would call for the better. It will most certainly never be the same again.

Mel Parrish’s writing is solid and creative, quite enjoyable for the most part. With Tom Fairfoot narrating, it’s a rather cozy fantasy that I look forward to completing with book 2! Thanks NetGalley for this delightful, although occasionally confusing listen!

#NetGalley

#Mel Parrish

#Tom Fairfoot

#Lives Entwined in Kind

#YA Fantasy

Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton

 

AI and magic…. Oh the possibilities….

Seven Jones is a coder who finds herself making a deal with her parents. She’s got no better prospects at the moment, so a flight home from half a world away and college sound a whole lot better.

Finding herself taking an AI class, and then accidentally joining a weird magic circle leads to a completely unexpected and new future. Coding magic into an AI app that she built allows her to use it as a conduit for her magic… or, is it her magic?? It’s hard to know and Seven finds herself in a little trouble with the Board. Is her magic, if it is hers safe, or is it black magic? Does it matter? 

Shit hits the proverbial fan as her friends begin to die.  Naturally Seven Jones is the first to fall under suspicion, her possible ‘bad magic’ to blame. The roller coaster ride begins, and it’s going way too fast for anyone to get off.

Liz Shipton is a tick tokker and previously unknown to me. I am SO grateful that I have found her. I found myself laughing out loud in public at the dry humour and the beautifully snarky protagonist. I would have enjoyed a fuller look at some of the side characters, but honestly, there just wasn’t room to do so. I can appreciate the fast pace of the plot as the story gets deeper

‘Dot Slash Magic’ had me laughing, crying, and even feeling like I’d been punched in the gut at one point… I am praying that there will be a sequel!!!! Seven Jones is far to amazing to just vanish after one tale. A really human character, with flaws and all!

If you like urban fantasy, tech, and magic… this is definitely the book for you!

Thanks NetGalley for the audio ARC, and Mary Pochatko for doing such a great job with the reading. 

#Dot Slash Magic

#Liz Shipton

#NetGalley

#Urban Fantasy

#Tantor Media