liseyp's reviews
1386 reviews

The Axe & Grindstone by Paul Phipps-Williams

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to the author, publisher Bad Press Ink, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
Mark loves working behind the bar. He likes his co-workers and isn’t tempted to move on to new horizons as they regularly do. Not until he’s fired. Then cast adrift an ex offers him a job as landlord at the Axe and the Grindstone, a role which is about far more than serving pints of cherry brandy to a troll named Arthur.
 
A combination of fun and epic, The Axe and the Grindstone is a bit like Legends and Lattes although with more complex lore and epic battles for the souls of two worlds.
 
The main character Mark is a great lynchpin for the story. He’s the right balance of charming and lost, someone who hasn’t found his place, but truly comes into his own when the chips are down.
 
There are some places where the story gets a little bit complex/hard to follow, but the moments in between more than make up for these. A great read.
A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett

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funny medium-paced

5.0

Relight My Fire by C.K. McDonnell

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to the author, publisher Head of Zeus, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this in the run up to publication day. Particular thanks to the author for writing such a compelling story that I also bought a copy of the ebook as soon as it published since the final part wasn’t released on Pigeonhole until the nect day and I couldn’t wait. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
Eva works occasionally as an interpreter for the police. Called upon to help in the interview of a Cypriot grandmother accused of murdering her daughter-in-law, Eva is quickly pulled in to the role of Zina’s supporter and champion even after she uncovers hints about Zina’s past.
 
Based on the true story of the second last woman to be hanged in England this is a powerful book. Even without knowing that it is based on a real case it would be impossible not to be struck by the themes of the story.
 
The author has done an incredible job of writing well-rounded characters which are both flawed and well-intentioned (in Eva’s case) and walking a fine line between sympathetic, arrogant and traumatised (in Zina’s).
 
The inherent bias in the system and the people within it against a woman who cannot speak English and is unable to read and write in her own language is heartbreaking. The author again does a brilliant job in showing this, in both the subtle ways and the direct ways it appears, without appearing preachy. Sadly, but not unsurprisingly, the author’s note shows how these elements are amongst the most closely based on the reality of records of the time.
 
And, even while telling a dramatised version of a true story, and dealing with complex themes of what makes a good or a bad marriage or a healthy family tie, and the impacts poverty, racism and misogyny have on justice (or injustice) this book fundamentally remains a really well-written story, and that’s not at all easy to do.
Gaslight by Femi Kayode

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Raven Books and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
Investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo returns. This time trying to see past his own bad experience of churches to help discover what has happened to the bishop’s wife at his sister’s church. Once again he has to combat corruption and secrecy in sections of Nigerian society who would rather he didn’t discover their secrets.
 
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Lightseekers. Philip’s experience of working with American police means he brings a mix of outsider perspective and insider knowledge that makes it easier for me as someone with no firsthand knowledge of the Nigerian settings of the books feel like I am welcome as a reader.
 
This sequel spends more time exploring both why the Taiwos have returned to Nigeria, and the impact the move has had on the family. I actually would have enjoyed more of this.
 
The main investigation plot doesn’t shy away from being complicated, so make sure you’re paying attention when reading. In saying that it’s not over complicated and does make sense.
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Frankenstein, but with dinosaurs. A descendant of Victor Frankenstein, Mary finds a copy of a letter sent to her grandfather detailing Victor’s final tale to the Arctic ship’s captain. Together with her husband she tries to recreate Victor’s experiments to bring a creature to life who will prove their theories of a marine dinosaur.
 
Darkly gripping, emotional, wildly imaginative and yet grounded, this is a brilliant take on Frankenstein. 
 
The main character Mary’s anger and frustration about how she is held back by the circumstances of her illegitimate birth, her husband’s self-destructive tendencies, and how she isn’t recognised for her scientific contributions/potential because she’s a woman, underline the entire book. Unwilling or unable to hide her anger she is further ostracised from the scientific community.
 
And from a modern perspective it’s hard not to get frustrated on Mary’s behalf that she doesn’t get the opportunities she deserves. When she is surrounded by men who make far more emotional and stupid decisions, but still have more autonomy and respect than she gets. Even to the extent of being able to diminish and deny her credit for the scientific discoveries which would have been impossible without her.
 
A great read.
Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Grieving the death of their young son, Ewan, Richard and Juliette Willoughby are falling apart. Juliette won’t leave Ewan’s room and Richard is throwing himself into a quest to find the roots of an ancient hanging tree said to have grown in a now barren field beside his house. But, in their grief they may welcome in something even more unwanted.
 
A short, atmospheric and compelling story. It follows much of the same structure as a short story, so if you’re not a fan of ambiguous endings then stay away as much of the underlying story here is implied rather than overtly stated.
 
That’s also how it manages to have the atmosphere of a ghost story without real ghosts. Those are largely left as memories rather than any jump scare/traditional horror spectres. And, then there’s the hare - although I can’t really say any more about that without basically describing the whole story, so I won’t.
 
The story strongly reminded me of The Monkey’s Paw in tone though not in plot. There are no magical wishes here, although regret, longing and grief are all threaded throughout the story in a similar way. It also strongly reminded me of Pet Semetary, again in tone/intent rather than specific plot points. But, I think if you enjoyed those stories or the way they made you think you’ll enjoy this one. 
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Historian Diana Bishop also happens to be a witch, although she tries not to use her powers. When she accidentally breaks the spell on an enchanted book wanted by other witches, daemons and vampires she is thrown into a world she has always resisted. Together with charismatic vampire Matthew Clairmont she has to discover her true powers to keep everyone she loves safe.
 
I watched the first season of the Sky One adaptation of this novel series a year or so ago, but as my TV streaming package changed I haven’t caught up with the rest of the series so decided to give the books a try again.
 
As the first in the series there’s naturally a fair amount of world building needing covered in this book. It’s set in a version of our world where witches, vampires and daemons live alongside but unacknowledged by humans. The three supernatural species also tend not to mix with each other.
 
There’s a mix of history to give a sense of the length of time the main vampire character has been around, with a dash of basic science  as the vampire is also researching the genetic histories of the various species. 
 
The characters are likeable if largely predictable. If you like a heavy dose of romance against the odds with a liberal sprinkling of the supernatural this is likely to be for you. I may well read the sequel during a future holiday, but despite the cliffhanger ending there wasn’t enough pull here for me to be in any hurry to read the next book.
My Brother's Keeper by Tim Powers

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Thank you to the author, publisher AdAstra, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
The Brontë family is famed for the three famous writing daughters. But, it’s their lesser known brother Branwell who activates a family curse helping the ghost of an angry god on the path to reuniting with its twin.
 
At its core this is a decent gothic horror, but it’s diminished by the ‘hook’ of reimagining the lives of the Brontë sisters intertwined with a werewolf/ghost/family curse/cult story. 
 
I’ve read books by each of the Brontë sisters and have a basic knowledge of their lives in terms of publishing under aa pseudonym and dying young. But, unless there are a lot more references to Brontë history/novels that super fans would pick up on I don’t think any of it actually adds anything to the book. At best I found it a distraction as it pulled me out of the story when it did refer to anything about the Brontës. 
 
At worst it made me suspect that the author was trying to tell a deeper story that I was missing, and if it’s a prerequisite to have read or re-read particular novels or biographies before reading a work of fiction than it feels like that’s more a failing of the author than the reader.
Holly by Stephen King

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When a distraught mother contacts private investigation firm Finders Keepers, the owner, Holly Gibney, is still dealing with her conflicted feelings over the death of her own overbearing mother. What at first appears to be a simple missing person case may be on course to become one of the most evil cases of Holly’s career.
 
To be completely honest I’m not a fan of Holly Gibney as a character. So, I was a bit apprehensive of another book focussed on her. I enjoyed the original Bill Hodges trilogy, particularly the first non-supernatural one. And, despite also enjoying The Outsider and Let It Bleed, which both also featured post-Bill Holly, I felt that compelling stories and the supporting character cast saved these for me.
 
The titular Holly feels that she has developed massively as a character and is now up to the weight of carrying a novel. And, this is a great novel.
 
Set largely in 2021, Covid features largely. Holly’s mum was a pro-Trump anti-vaxxer who dies from Covid. Holly, who has previously been established as having anxiety, and anxiety which often shows up around health issues, is the polar opposite of her mum in that respect. I enjoyed the author’s note which explains why Covid features so strongly in this, but given the real world setting and the previously established nature of the characters, it would feel odd to set a book written post-Covid and set mid-pandemic which didn’t feature it.
 
Overall this book highlights King’s story writing strengths. Which aren’t horror or the supernatural, gore or whatever the default public association with him is. It’s about real people in extreme situations and where good people care about others and the evil only care about themselves.