Review: Let Him In

Read from 23rd – 28th September 2023

Synopsis: 

William Friend’s haunting debut Let Him In is a creeping, gothic psychological suspense about a young, newly widowed father struggling to raise twin daughters obsessed with an imaginary friend.

“Daddy, there’s a man in our room…”

Alfie wakes one night to find his twin daughters at the foot of his bed, claiming there’s a shadowy figure in their bedroom. When no such thing can be found, he assumes the girls had a nightmare.

He isn’t surprised that they’re troubled. Grief has made its home at Hart House: nine months ago, the twins’ mother Pippa died unexpectedly, leaving Alfie to raise them alone. And now, when the girls mention a new imaginary friend, it seems like a harmless coping mechanism. But the situation quickly develops into something more insidious. The girls set an extra place for him at the table. They whisper to him. They say he’s going to take them away…

Alfie calls upon Julia—Pippa’s sister and a psychiatrist—to oust the malignant tenant from their lives. But as Alfie himself is haunted by visions and someone watches him at night, he begins to question the true character of the force that has poisoned his daughters’ minds, with dark and violent consequences.

Whatever this “friend” is, he doesn’t want to leave. Alfie will have to confront his own shameful secrets, the dark past of Hart House, and even the bounds of reality—or risk taking part in an unspeakable tragedy.

Bookish Things: 240 pages. The cover is suitably creepy and fits with the genre of choice.

Review: Under The Spanish Stars

Read from 10th – 21st September 2023

Synopsis: 

Charlotte Kavanagh’s beloved grandma Katarina Sanchez is gravely ill, so when she begs Charlotte to travel to her homeland in Andalucía to uncover the truth behind a mysterious painting, Charlotte agrees.  Taking leave from her soul-destroying job and stalled life in Australia, Charlotte embarks on a quest through Granada’s ancient cobble-stoned streets and vibrant neighbourhoods. There she meets Mateo Vives, a flamenco guitarist with a dark past, and through him she quickly becomes entangled in the world of flamenco and gypsies that ignites a passion she had thought lost. 

But the mystery surrounding the painting deepens, reaching back in time to the war-torn Spain of the 1940s and Charlotte discovers her grandmother’s connection to the Spanish underground. Who is her grandmother, really? What is Mateo’s connection to her family history? And why is finding answers to a family mystery turning into a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte?

Weighed down by secrets, betrayals and shattered relationships, Charlotte finds herself questioning the true meaning of heritage, family and love.

Bookish Things: 352 pages. The cover is pretty stock standard for this type of genre from a big publishing house. Didn’t really grab me or encourage me to read the book more than any other.

Review: The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses

Read from 13th August – 8th September 2023

Synopsis: 

Theodora Corvus can hear the whispers of her crumbling family home. She can hear the whispers of Kingsward Manor, her place of employment. She sees the watchers by the lake, black-eyed and waiting. But Broken Oak is silent. Broken Oak is empty.

When Theodora takes the job as governess to young Ottoline Thorne, she leaves behind her beloved grandmother and the decaying ruins of her childhood home to travel far north to Broken Oak Manor. There, she finds a house filled with secrets. Under the stern eye of the foreboding housekeeper, Theodora quickly navigates the dark and winding corridors of Broken Oak, only to find herself irrevocably drawn to the mysterious lord of the manor. But someone walks the hallways late after nightfall, their footsteps leading to the attic. The only place in the sprawling house that does not remain silent.

As her scandalous feelings for Cassias Thorne grow, Theodora fights to unearth the secrets of Broken Oak. Who wanders the house at night? Where is the Lady of the manor? What lies behind the attic door high up under the eaves of the house?

“Where is Lady Thorne, Cassias? Where is your wife?”

Bookish Things: 194 pages. The cover is glorious and very fitting of the style of story.

Reblog: Tightening our Prose: Too Much Information on Story Empire!

Check out this fantastic post on how to keep an eye out for putting in too much information into your work.

Tightening our Prose: Too Much Information!

Review: Her Dark Enchantments

Read from 16th July – 11th August 2023

Synopsis: The Wicked Fairy. The Mistress of All Evil. The villain of Sleeping Beauty goes by many names, but where did she come from?

Myravelle Spinner grew up in a tower with only spiders, spindles, and stone walls for friends while her mother spun gold for the king. She wondered why her mother refused to teach her fairy magic until one fateful mistake led Myravelle to become the healer in the king’s Sleepy Wood Company…

Drained from years of waking soldiers from a cursed sleep, Myravelle must now choose a new canvas–a man whose life she drains with a dagger to fuel her healing powers. A ritual binds her to Byzarien Dumont, who loathes fairies for the fires that left his family impoverished and his body riddled with scars. His burning hatred causes Myravelle’s enchantments to wilt, leading the king to threaten her mother’s life.

Byzarien can only see Myravelle as a beautiful spider who strings men along her web, while Myravelle considers love a weakness for the king to exploit. With their families in danger and soldiers rotting in a death-like sleep, the pair must learn to trust one another before the dark magic spinning in Myravelle’s soul unravels once and for all.

The Wicked Fairy never asked to become a monster…

#Review: The Welsh Linnet

Read from 10-15th July 2023

Synopsis: 

England in the year 1642. Civil War looms between King Charles I and his Puritan Parliament.

The excitement of life as officers in King Charles I’s cavalry soon turns sour for brothers Will and Harry Lucie, drawn to the war like moths to a flame. The family divided by the conflict, their sister Bess becomes caught up in the deadly struggle and is forced to flee the family home. In the grim aftermath of battle, Harry is thrown together with grieving widower Gabriel Vaughan, a man concealing a dangerous secret.

From the slaughter of Edgehill to the defence of doomed fortress Basing House, the story of dishonour and betrayal plays out against the backdrop of real events and places, “this war without an enemie”.

Bookish Things: 470 pages. The cover is appropriate for the genre and feel of the book. This is the first book in the War Without An Enemy Series and happily book #2 is already out.