Can't-Wait Wednesday: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire & My Friends by Hisham Matar

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 160 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!

A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need."

I think I'm still one book behind in this series, but I'm hoping to catch up soon in time for the release of this latest installment. This series has its ups and downs, but I'm always drawn to them and have really loved the creativity from Seanan McGuire! Also, I'm always down for dinosaurs. 

My Friends by Hisham Matar
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Random House
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"The trick time plays is to lull us into the belief that everything lasts forever, and although nothing does, we continue, inside our dream.

One evening, as a young boy growing up in Benghazi, Khaled hears a bizarre short story read aloud on the radio, about a man being eaten alive by a cat. Obsessed by the power of those words—and by their enigmatic author, Hosam Zowa—Khaled eventually embarks on a journey that will take him far from home, to pursue a life of the mind at the University of Edinburgh.

There, thrust into an open society that is light years away from the world he knew in Libya, Khaled begins to change. He attends a protest against the Qaddafi regime in London, only to watch it explode in tragedy. In a flash, Khaled finds himself injured, clinging to life, an exile, unable to leave England, much less return to the country of his birth. To even tell his mother and father back home what he has done, on tapped phone lines, would jeopardize their safety.

When a chance encounter in a hotel brings Khaled face to face with Hosam Zowa, the author of the fateful short story, he is subsumed into the deepest friendship of his life. It is a friendship that not only sustains him, but eventually forces him, as the Arab Spring erupts, to confront agonizing tensions between revolution and safety, family and exile, and how to define his own sense of self against those closest to him.

A devastating meditation on friendship and family, and the ways in which time tests—and frays—those bonds, My Friends is an achingly beautiful work of literature by an author at the peak of his powers."

Something about this book just really calls out to me and I'm really curious to check it out. It sounds like it'll hit on a lot of different topics and events, which should make for an interesting read.  

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #21

              

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Current Read #21

I've been working my way through Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (sequel to Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries) and I'm absolutely loving it. This series has been such a delight and I can't recommend it enough. There are only two editions of this book to share, but I really like both of them so figured it would be worth it to have a look at both of them. 

2024 Del Rey US Edition

2024 Orbit UK Edition

My choice(s):

I really love the style of the US editions! I have the UK Fairyloot edition of the first book, but I'd actually really like to get my hands on the US edition as well someday. I also like the UK edition, though, and think it also fits so well with the vibe of the book and has so many fun little details to it. Which edition (if either) do you prefer?

Mini-Review: The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente
Tordotcom
Publication Date: July 20th, 2021

Hardcover. 160 pages.

About The Past is Red:

"The future is blue. Endless blue...except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown.

Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she's the only one who knows it. She's the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it's full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time.

But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected."

The Past is Red follows Tetley Abednego, one of a small population of survivors the remain on earth after devastating climate change has caused a majority of the world to end up underwater. Tetley tells readers about her life in Garbagetown, which is far more captivating than you might think. This short novel is an expanded version from a story found within one of her previous releases, The Future is Blue. 

What I liked: Catherynne M. Valente always writes with such vivid and elaborate prose (which is why she's one of my favorite authors) and The Past is Red felt absolutely trademark Valente. I loved the vibrancy of Garbagetown–despite the fact that it's not exactly a lovely world to most people–and how readers are thrown right into this future world and are then guided around by our animated protagonist, whose excitement for the world around her was immensely enjoyable. A common problem I see with short novels and novellas set in a unique setting is a lack of world-building and ability to really understand or connect with anything, and this was not at all a problem in Garbagetown. I was surprised by different things throughout the story and really appreciated that this felt like something truly imaginative and with a strong message about our present and our future, as well as the fact that it packed a bit of an emotional punch (which I didn't expect, but really should have given it's Catherynne M. Valente!). 

What I didn't like: Believe it or not, I don't really don't think I have anything to add here. I would say that for anyone looking for something a bit more action packed or plot-driven, this isn't going to be the book for you. It's really more about the journey, characters, and world than it is focused on plot progression, which worked perfectly!

Overall, I've given The Past is Red five stars! I loved the color and detail found within Valente's writing, as well as all of the messaging about our world and how we care for it that can be found within its pages as well. 

Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett & Divine Might by Natalie Haynes

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) by Heather Fawcett
Publication: January 16th, 2024
Del Rey
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.

And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart."

I, like many others, absolutely adored Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and I have been waiting for the winter season to start reading this sequel. I can't wait!

Divine Might by Natalie Haynes
Publication: January 2nd, 2024
Harper
Hardcover. 288 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Natalie Haynes, author of the bestselling Pandora’s Jar, returns to the world of Greek myth and this time she examines the role of the goddesses.

We meet Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father’s head: goddess of war and wisdom, guardian of Athens. We run with Artemis, goddess of hunting and protector of young girls (apart from those she decides she wants as a sacrifice). Here is Aphrodite, goddess of sex and desire – there is no deity more determined and able to make you miserable if you annoy her. And then there’s the queen of all the Olympian gods: Hera, Zeus’s long-suffering wife, whose jealousy of his dalliances with mortals, nymphs and goddesses lead her to wreak elaborate, vicious revenge on those who have wronged her.

We also meet Demeter, goddess of agriculture and mother of the kidnapped Persephone, we sing the immortal song of the Muses and we warm ourselves with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Furies carry flames of another kind – black fires of vengeance for those who incur their wrath.

These goddesses are as mighty, revered and destructive as their male counterparts. Isn’t it time we looked beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within?"

I'm always going to be curious about any new tellings of mythological figures, and I'm really curious about how Haynes will tackle such weighty figures as the goddesses. 

Review: The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

 

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Mantle (UK) / Atria Books (US)

Publication Date: September 5th, 2023

Hardcover. 528 pages.

About The Square of Sevens:

"Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of the Square of Sevens. Shortly before he dies, her father entrusts Red’s care to a gentleman scholar, along with a document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens technique.

Raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendor of Bath, Red’s fortune-telling delights in high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads to grave danger.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson, “the queen of modern Georgian literature” (Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora), has written a dazzling and Dickensian story of mystery and intrigue, with audacious twists and turns."

I absolutely adored this book. The Square of Sevens reminded me why I love huge historical fiction novels, especially ones filled with some compelling mystery à la Sarah Waters. This book had everything: a captivating historical setting, a strong cast of characters to love and hate and everything in between, endless secrets and mysteries to discover, and so much more. 

In The Square of Sevens, we follow Red over a number of years from childhood into young adulthood. We start out following Red as a young girl as she spends much of her childhood traveling around with her father, a pellar who makes a living telling fortunes and who is constantly on the move to avoid some mysterious enemies that Red doesn't know much about. He most often tells his fortunes via an ancient method known as the titular Square of Sevens (which he has also taught Red how to perform), a method that has fallen out of popularity and is considered rare to know how to perform it. After her father dies, Red ends up in the care of a kind man and becomes part of his family in Bath. This entire introduction is only the start of Red's story, and from her time in Bath and onward more and more events occur that shake Red's world and lead her on many different types of journeys. 

Throughout the book, Red ends up traveling to different places and meets a variety of characters that impact her life in a variety of different ways. As much as I'd love to touch on some more of what happens in this book, I don't want to give away a single thing and since there are so many fine details in this book that end up playing into other areas of the plot, I'll not go into much more detail. All I'll say is that Red's rare knowledge of the Square of Sevens draws some attention and she also finds herself in possession of something that a powerful and wealthy family wants a part of... and Red's connection to that family has a lot more to it than ever expected. 

Red is a fantastic protagonist and someone who really comes into herself throughout the story and also stays true to herself. Although she did have some fairly predictable traits and actions, I found a lot of her choices to be relatively unpredictable and brought something new to story, and I enjoyed that aspect a lot. I think something that I particularly appreciated about Red as our protagonist is that she is a very likable person who seems to have good morals in place and appreciates kindness to all, but as the story progresses and it is called upon her character to be a bit more deceitful and her goals turn into a bit of revenge, which I think was honestly a nice change. She didn't want to stop at just being 'okay' in her life; she wanted to challenge herself, help others, and actually force some people to realize that there are some things they cannot get away with.

I loved all the different character we met in this story, as well. All of them were very well developed to the point where a majority of them didn't seem particularly 'good' or 'bad' characters, but were instead a nice mix of both (though there were of course some characters that had a distinct 'villain' feel to them). I really appreciated how they were all complex and each character seemed to have so many different facets to them, from their motivations to their goals and reasonings for all of their choices. Everyone's doing something for multiple reasons and there were a myriad of grey areas that really fit the story. 

The historical setting of The Square of Sevens was also incredibly well-executed and you can easily tell that the author does a lot of research for her work, which also encourages me to check out some of her other books now. I think she deftly captured every setting we experience, from traveling with her father and visiting inns to her home in Bath and on to living on her own in London and telling fortunes, we really get to see it all and experience it as viscerally and vividly as Red does. 

Lastly, I wanted to note that this is definitely a slower paced novel. It's a large read at 500+ pages and while I enjoyed all of them, it is one that I think could lose about 50 pages or so and still be an incredibly story. That being said, I found the first half of this book to be a page turner that I could not put down, so a slow pace doesn't necessarily mean a slow read. By the last quarter or so of the book, however, that page turner feeling fell of a bit and there were some sections that felt drawn out and moved much more slowly than the rest of the book. That would be the only thing I have close to a negative thing to say about The Square of Sevens, as I genuinely loved this book and had the hardest time pulling myself away from it. 

Overall, I've given The Square of Sevens five stars! If you enjoy a big, immersive historical fiction with plenty of mystery and intrigue and a fascinating array of characters, then you're sure to love The Square of Sevens as well. 

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #20

             

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Current Read #20

I've finally gotten around to reading a copy of Isabelle Schuler's Lady Macbethad that I've had sitting on my shelf for a while and I am very much enjoying it so far! It's also one of the only books I'm reading right now that has more than one edition (and I might just make the other one next week's pick) and I figured they'd make great options to compare, so let's have a look.

2023 Bloomsbury UK Edition

2023 Harper Perennial US Edition

2023 Umbriel Spanish Edition

My choice(s):

As you can see, the US edition has a very different cover theme to it than the UK and Spanish  editions, and it also even has a different title! I always think it'd be a little confusing to have your book out with different titles, but I guess it's more variety. I'm currently reading the UK edition and I love how bold the red is, but I'm also quite partial to the way the red sword and crown pop out on the darker Spanish edition. Which edition(s) do you like the best?

Review: The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

          

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

Dutton

Publication Date: November 28th, 2023

Hardcover. 368 pages.

About The Kingdom of Sweets:

"Bestselling author of the Queen of the Tearling series, Erika Johansen, journeys to a new kingdom in this brilliant stand-alone novel—a darkly magical take on The Nutcracker where two sisters, cursed from birth, are forever changed one memorable Christmas. . . .

Light and dark—this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favorite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister’s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has brought the Nutcracker, an enchanted present that offers entry into a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also full of gifts . . . and dreadful bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical, and decide to which world she truly belongs."

I know people generally like to read warm and cozy holiday stories during December, but if you're like me and sometimes feel allergic to all of those, then you might enjoy Erika Johansen's dark Nutcracker-inspired book The Kingdom of Sweets. This is a very thoughtful story that explores some dark and complicated situations in a world that is touched by hints of magic and the unknown. 

I read Erika Johansen's The Queen of the Tearling years ago when it came out and unfortunately did not care for it, and as a result had not read any subsequent books from her. When I saw the premise for The Kingdom of Sweets and saw that it revolved around a dark re-inspired version of the Nutcracker, I knew it was time to give Johansen another read, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the result. 

The Kingdom of Sweets follow twins Clara and Natasha, cursed from birth by their devious godfather Drosselmeyer to embody light and dark, respectively. Clara lives a life that is blessed by beauty and charm and is generally loved by everyone around her. She lights up every room she walks into and lives a life of ease and comfort. Natasha, however, lives a life in the shadows, always avoided by those around her and seen to be a sign of bad luck and darkness. She lives a life of solitude, though she sometimes likes the fact that this allows her to spend more time reading and learning on her own. Despite this, Natasha harbors deep resentment towards her sister and those in their community who always disregard her, and this resentment drives her actions when both twins are swept away to the Kingdom of Sweets by a toy nutcracker one Christmas Eve.

The Kingdom of Sweets dives deep into the sisterly bond between Clara and Natasha and really digs into the many dark sentiments that reside in such an uneven relationship due to Drosselmeyer's curse. Natasha holds immense jealousy and rage towards Clara that is fully revealed after a betrayal that leaves Natasha at the end of her rope, and I think Johansen captured all of the hurt and anger that Natasha would feel from living such a life perfectly. While I didn't always agree with everything our characters did–especially Natasha–I found it easy to understand and empathize with where Natasha was coming from. It is an incredibly complex relationship that exists between the two sisters, and I really appreciated how much we truly got to explore this relationship throughout the story, from the good and the bad to the downright ugly. 

One of my favorite parts of this book was, of course, visiting the Kingdom of Sweets with Natasha. This is also why I'm disappointed to say that we don't spend nearly enough time in the Kingdom of Sweets to fully appreciate it, and I wish so badly that we had gotten to explore it a bit more. That being said, I loved it so much due to Johansen's evocative descriptions and how she made it feel both wonderfully magical and also deliciously dark at the same time. Johansen creates an atmosphere in both the setting Kingdom of Sweets and back in the real world that is full of darkness and foreboding, while also maintaining a sense of magic and curiosity that really kept me hooked. I was captivated by this world and all the possibilities that existed, and while we explored a lot of this, I do wish we had explored more. 

Johansen is an author who seems to really value precise, descriptive prose, and also seems to be fond of incorporating as many obscure vocabulary words as possible. I read a lot and often come across unfamiliar words, but I made great use of my Kindle's dictionary while reading this one, and while I love learning new words, I sometimes found the words used by Johansen a bit clunky and almost with a forced feeling. Her writing often wavered back and forth for me between really beautiful descriptions or observations and sentences or phrases that just felt overly clunky and awkward to the point that much of the book felt overwritten. This is actually one of the things that I recall disliking about The Queen of the Tearling, and so it was helpful to confirm that I don't think I mesh overly well with Johansen's natural writing style, but that I can still enjoy her work depending upon the story itself, and I think that is why I had a better time with The Kingdom of Sweets. I also found some issues with odd pacing and plotting that often times made it a bit more difficult for me to get through the book in a timely fashion, but not enough to where I ever felt like really putting the book down. 

Overall, I've given The Kingdom of Sweets 3.75 stars! I think The Kingdom of Sweets is a deliciously dark and beautiful Nutcracker-inspired story that will hit perfectly with the right reader. It's not without its faults due to some writing and plotting choices, but overall I enjoyed my experience reading this one and would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark retellings. 

*I received a copy of The Kingdom of Sweets courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton & Exordia by Seth Dickinson

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton
Publication: January 2nd, 2024
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A New York City fairy tale about two sisters that fall under the spell of an underworld cabaret troupe that might be a dangerous cult—but one that makes the materialist world left in its wake feel like a sinister cult itself.

Rose has come a long way. Raised—and often neglected—by a wayward mother in New York City’s chaotic bohemia, Rose has finally built the life she’s always a good job at a self-help startup, a clean apartment, an engagement to a stable if self-satisfied tech CEO who shares her faith in human potential, hard work, and the sacrifice of childish dreams.

Rose’s sister Cecilia, on the other hand, never grew up. Irresponsible and impetuous, prone to jetting off to a European monastery one month and a falcon rescue the next, Cecilia has spent her life in pursuit of fairy-tale narratives of transcendence and true love—grand ideas Rose knows never work out in the real world. When Cecilia declares she’s come home to New York for good, following the ending of a whirlwind marriage, Rose hopes Cecilia might finally be ready to face compromises and all.

But then Cecilia gets involved with the a cultish-sounding cabaret troupe—one that appears only at night, on a mysterious red boat that travels New York’s waterways—and soon one of a growing number of suspicious disappearances among the city’s lost and loneliest souls. The only way Rose can find Cecilia is by tracking down the Avalon herself.

But as Rose gets closer to solving the mystery of what happened to her sister, the Avalon works its magic on her, too. And the deeper she goes into the Avalon’s underworld, she more she begins to question everything she knows about her own life, and whether she’s willing to leave the real world behind."

This sounds a little all over the place so I have no idea what to really expect, but I'm excited for it and can't wait to get started on it. I was kindly provided an ARC by Danielle Prielipp at Simon & Schuster, so huge thanks for that!

Exordia Seth Dickinson
Publication: January 23rd, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 544 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"'Anna, I came to Earth tracking a very old story, a story that goes back to the dawn of time. it’s very unlikely that you’ll die right now. It wouldn’t be narratively complete.'


Anna Sinjari―refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker―has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world."

I did not care for The Traitor of Baru Cormorant, but I'm holding out hope that I can still love Seth Dickinson's work as much as everyone else and that maybe Exordia will be that book for me.

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #19

            

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Current Read #19

This week I'm working my way through Erika Johansen's The Kingdom of Sweets, a Nutcracker-inspired retelling that has been the perfect way to kick off December and the holiday season. I'm honestly not that much of a fan of holiday-themed movies and books, but I do enjoy something Nutcracker-related or that features some type of toymaker, so this sounded perfect. I've had an ARC for a little while, but I had to wait until it was the right season–reading this in summer just felt wrong, haha. There are only two different editions that I've seen out there so far, but I think they're different enough to make for a good comparison, so let's have a look. 

2023 Dutton US Edition

2023 Bantam UK Edition 

My choice(s):

I don't mind the US edition and think it has a really interesting design, but I have to say that the UK edition seems to embrace the Nutcracker theme so much more and I love all the detail. It's really beautiful and I love that it really pulls so many elements from the story. Which cover do you prefer?

Review: Palace of Shadows by Ray Celestin

Palace of Shadows by Ray Celestin

Mantle

Publication Date: October 12th, 2023 (UK)/January 9th, 2024 (US)

Hardcover. 340 pages.

About Palace of Shadows:

"'I’m not asking you to build something impossible. I’m asking you to build something that contains all the strangeness and confusion that you can muster.'

Samuel Etherstone, a penniless artist, is adrift in London. His disturbing art is shunned by patrons and critics alike, his friend Oscar Wilde is now an exile living in Paris, and a personal tragedy has taken its toll. So when he is contacted by a mysterious heiress, Mrs Chesterfield, and asked to work on a commission for the house she is building on the desolate Smugglers' Coast of North Yorkshire, he accepts the offer.

Staying overnight in the local village pub, Samuel is warned not to spend too much time there. He is told of the fate of the house's original architect, Francisco Varano, chilling tales of folk driven mad by the house, of it being built on haunted land where young girls have vanished, their ghosts now calling others to their deaths...

It is only on arrival at the Chesterfield house that he learns the sinister details of Varano's disappearance. And yet its owner keeps adding wing upon wing, and no one will tell him the reason behind her chilling obsession . . . But as Samuel delves deeper into the mysteries that swirl about the house, the nature of the project becomes terrifyingly clear."

Palace of Shadows follows out of work artist Samuel Etherstone as he accepts a job to work for the elusive, believed-to-be-mad heiress known as Mrs. Chesterfield at an isolated mansion in the grim, unforgiving Yorkshire moors. Mrs. Chesterfield has been building what is essentially a never-ending house, which many believe is due to her family relations to the Chesterfield gun company, which supplies weapons for wars. It is rumored that Mrs. Chesterfield is constructing this house filled with doors and staircases to nowhere and a maze-like interior in order to confuse any spirits of the dead who might be after her because they have been killed by her family's guns in the recent and ongoing wars.

If you know anything about the real life Winchester house and Winchester gun company, then you'll know this premise surrounding Mrs. Chesterfield is pretty much the same. Nowhere in descriptions or the author's note is there a mention of the Winchester House located in San Jose, California (which is a really neat place to visit, and you definitely should if you ever have the chance!), but Palace of Shadows is very much a Winchester House-inspired story. Once I realized this was the premise we were working with, I was excited to dive deeper into this story, as I don't think I've ever read a book that has used the Winchester House as inspiration. Samuel is hired on to construct a mausoleum for Mrs. Chesterfield due to his background as an artist known for creating optical illusions in his paintings, such as in the styles of M.C. Escher, and I think I was about as eager as Mrs. Chesterfield to see what Samuel would come up with for this task. 

I really enjoyed that this book had a somewhat substantial cast of characters to meet, as I initially expected this to be a more isolating Gothic novel. However, the construction and running of a house of this magnitude–as well as maintaining all the finances associated with the Chesterfield company and house–actually requires a lot of people to be involved, so there always seemed to be someone around the house for Samuel to interact with. 

This story is initially told from Samuel's POV, but there are two substantial sections within this book that deviate from this perspective and follow in epistolary formats. I was surprised at the length of these additional sections and how long it took to get back to Samuel's POV, but fortunately the interruptions were still compelling and provided some much needed insight into some characters and background. I also appreciated Samuel's narrative voice and found him to be a rather likable protagonist whose experiences made for a compelling reading experience. 

There are so many secrets and mysteries at play in this book for readers to uncover alongside Samuel, and these are also what helped make this book so compelling. Personally, I love a weird house, especially when the architecture of said house is a part of that, so any of the additional odd happenings related to the house only served to enhance my interest in what was happening. One of my favorite things was simply exploring this house alongside Samuel and observing the oddities and eccentricities, as well as some rather intense statues that the previous architect constructed seemingly with no pre-made plans–a feat that most other workers, as well as Samuel himself, found perplexing due to their complexity. 

Celestin captures the atmosphere of this Gothic setting and storyline perfectly. I felt as uneasy as Samuel at every turn, and found myself looking for both sanity and answers amidst the strange occurrences and behavior of some of the people living there, including Mrs. Chesterfield herself. I think this book really excelled in feeling initially dark and foreboding, but then sort of lures you into thinking you were just being silly and there's nothing that odd about it... only for you to slowly realize along with Samuel that things are far more complicated than they seem. This journey was a supremely fun one to be along the ride for.

I don't have any real complaints about this book other than that it can be a bit on the slow side at times, especially in the secondary POV segments, but there's a worthwhile conclusion that brought everything together in a way that I really appreciated. There isn't anything exceptionally shocking or crazy that happens in this book, so I can see where it might come across a bit mellow as well, but I think this is countered by the strong atmosphere, so readers' enjoyment may vary according to preferences. Also, although it didn't affect my reading experience, I'll admit that I was mildly annoyed that it isn't acknowledged anywhere within the book that this is actually based on a real person. Maybe it's to be obvious and not needing to be said, but I think some acknowledgement would be appropriate.  

Overall, I've given Palace of Shadows four stars! This is a very solid Gothic mystery that is very easy to sink into and stay hooked for every page. 

*I received a copy of Palace of Shadows courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan & The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Viking
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Rebecca and The House of Spirits meets Fatima Farheen Mirza in this sweeping, gorgeously atmospheric novel about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous.

Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Now, nearly a century since it was built, it stands in ruins: an isolated boardinghouse for misfits, seeking to forget their pasts and disappear into the mansion's dark corridors. Until Sana. She and her father are the latest of Akbar Manzil’s long list of tenants, seeking a new home after suffering painful loss.

Unlike the others, who choose not to look too closely at the mansion’s unsettling qualities—the strange assortment of bones in the overgrown garden, the mysterious figure seen to move sometimes at night—she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion. To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the locked door at its end, unopened for decades.

Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time, with faded photographs of a couple in love and a worn diary that whispers of a dark past: the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, the original owner’s second wife, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who once loved Meena and has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, awakening the memories of the house itself—and dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil."

Everything about this premise grabs me! I have an ARC of this one that I'm hoping to start soon and I can't wait.

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
Publication: January 30th, 2024
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild—selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.

It’s a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy’s grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they’ve bought.

There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn’t know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they’re certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years…and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina…something stirs."

I enjoyed Golden's Road of Bones and have been meaning to check out more of his work and this sounds like it'll be a really interesting one. 

Mini-Review: The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Zando/Gillian Flynn Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023

Hardcover. 288 pages.

About The Centre:

"Anisa Ellahi dreams of being a translator of ‘great works of literature’, but instead mostly spends her days subtitling Bollywood films in her flat in London while living off her parents’ generous allowance and discussing the ‘underside of life’ with her best friend, Naima. Then she meets Adam, who has successfully leveraged his savant-level aptitude for languages into an enviable career. At first, this only adds to her sense of inadequacy, but when Adam learns to speak Urdu with native fluency practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret.

Adam tells Anisa about the Centre, an elite, invite-only program that guarantees absolute fluency in any language in just ten days. Sceptical but intrigued, Anisa enrols. Stripped of her belongings and all contact with the outside world, she undergoes the Centre's strange and rigorous processes. But as she enmeshes herself further within the organisation, seduced by all that it’s made possible, she soon realizes the disturbing, hidden cost of its services."

The Centre is fascinating story of language and identity that pulls readers in to a mysterious method of language learning. We follow translator Anisa Ellahi as she aspires to become a great translator, but currently feels stuck in her role translating Bollywood films... until she meets Adam, who seems to be able to pick up languages to the point of native fluency in shockingly short time. 

What I liked: I love languages and learning languages (though I don't spend nearly as much time studying as I'd like to), so this entire story and concept centered around language was something I found myself really drawn to and enjoying. I was also completely fascinated by the Centre itself and their secretive and unique methods of teaching people in their elite language intensives. This aspect of the story is what I liked the most, probably. I was also intrigued to learn about Anisa's background with languages and how she viewed translation, and I think the author did a great job of providing some complex commentary on language and translation in the modern age. There is also a bit of a dark twist at the end of this book that I thought actually fit the story really well, though it could be hit or miss for some people. 

What I didn't like: It felt as though there was a lot of extraneous... stuff (?) in this book. There were sections where I found my attention completely drifting away from the story, and then when it returned I realized I hadn't really missed anything. I also, unfortunately, really disliked Anisa for most of the story. I found her pretty annoying and her attitude towards a lot of people and things was really frustrating. I appreciated her general curiosity and I can understand where some of her reactions to things originate due to her background, but she was just not the greatest narrator and is probably what prevented this story from getting a higher rating from me. 

Overall, I've given The Centre 3 stars.

Amazon | Bookshop